bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Caste and Christianity in Kerala
Authors: Alexander K.C. 
Published: March 2007

Dans cet article, l'auteur s'interroge sur les facteurs histo riques et sociaux qui font obstacle à l'intégration des castes inférieures dans les communautés chrétiennes du Kerala. Si, dans l'ensemble de la structure sociale de l'Inde, les chrétiens s'intègrent difficilement, pour ceux qui proviennent des castes inférieures, cette difficulté est plus grande encore. Les con versions ont été nombreuses à l'intérieur de ces castes et ont représenté un moyen concret de promotion sociale; toutefois, dans le système ecclésial lui-même, une ségrégation sub siste : lieux de culte séparés, personnel ecclésiastique différent selon les castes, etc... Aussi, le retour à l'hindouisme est-il de plus en plus fré quent dans les castes inférieures qui, de cette manière, ob tiennent de nouveau l'assistance des pouvoirs publics. On assiste également à la création d'Eglises indépendantes, qui recrutent dans ces castes, et dont le message social est plus ou moins radical et révolutionnaire. L'auteur estime que l'obstacle principal réside dans l'im possibilité de modifier l'image sociale, mais aussi dans l'iden tité des castes inférieures. La conversion au christianisme n'a pu transformer une religiosité plus ou moins magique, pas plus qu'elle n'a pu modifier les modèles familiaux ou le niveau de vie.
The Meaning of God: A Factoranalytic Study
Authors: Vercruysse Godelieve 
Published: March 2007

Le concept « Dieu » recouvre de nombreuses significations: le but principal de la présente enquête est d'apporter un peu de cohérence et de structure dans cette multiplicité. Afin de mettre au point un instrument de différenciation de ces signi fications, on a réalisé un échantillonnage d'interviews. Une sélection de 27 items ont été présentés à 80 catholiques, hommes et femmes. âgés de 20 à 64 ans et de formation supérieure. L'analyse des facteurs a permis de dégager quatre facteurs interprétables d'une valeur propre supérieure à 1. A l'intérieur des facteurs I et IV (bipolaires), plusieurs composantes ont été distinquées selon des critères tant statis tiques que de contenu. Etendu à 34 items, cet instrument a ensuite été intégré dans une enquête descriptive portant sur l'image de Dieu chez les grands adolescents (17-18 ans) représentés par 470 garçons et 409 filles. L'analyse des fac teurs sur les données relatives à l'entièreté du groupe dégagea 9 facteurs parmi lesquels 6 étaient doté d'une valeur propre supérieure à 1.00 : ces derniers seulement furent retenus pour l'interprétation. Le parallélisme entre les deux structures de facteurs est limité, mais nettement plus élevé lorsqu'il est tenu compte, dans l'analyse du groupe « adultes », des compo santes des facteurs. L'analyse des réponses et les composantes des facteurs de la première analyse (1e version) indiquent que Dieu trouve sa signification dans la relation active de l'homme au monde et à l'autre, ou dans une interrogation d'ordre métaphysique sur l'existence elle-même, plutôt que dans l'expérience du besoin humain. La relation à un Dieu-Personne est plus manifestement pré sente dans le groupe « adultes » que chez les adolescents. Dieu, en tant que réalité vague. en tant que nom pour le mystère de l'existence est plus souvent attesté dans ce dernier groupe. En outre, les adolescents mentionnent plus souvent que les adultes « Dieu en tant que présence dynamique non personni fiée ». Les données recueillies au cours de ce travail constituent une base de révision de l'instrument et de l'orientation d'études ultérieures.
Le Symbole du feu dans la vie des adolescents et dans leur univers religieux
Authors: Winand Paul 
Published: March 2007

This study concentrates on the impact of this major symbol on teenagers, as may be perceived in the religious context through free associations and impromptu stories, and in the religious context through biblical and liturgical references. The sampling was done according to three variables (sex, age, school) and hoped to reach the highest degree of homo geneity concerning life environment and curricula. For computational reasons, 400 answers were examined so as to have 200 for each series. The aim of this paper is to introduce briefly our findings, taking into consideration the two variables, sex and school. The prospections of the secular context through the analysis of free associations and impromptu stories reveal, from the point of view of sex, that boys experience the world of things as means or obstacles. Girls, on the other hand, being more sensitive to the surroundings and aesthetic overtones perceive the world as values and enter the symbolic domain more easily. As far as ' school ' is concerned, it appears that the evocation of the Fire Symbol is experienced by students according to the characteristic trends of each set up. In the religious context one sees that in general teenagers have a better knowledge of the Bible than of the Liturgy. Courage and strength being attractive, boys refer to « power theophanies » while girls stress the quality and depth of theophanies which may be termed « personal and intimate ». They know the liturgy better and are touched by the words of the liturgy, whereas the boys lose themselves in the rite itself and its materiality. As for the educational variable, the biblical and liturgical culture of state school students is characterised by a statistically broader amplitude. The pupils of the denominational network seem to be more under the influence of a primary-school-level catechesis. Comparison of the two contexts : The symbolic structure in tegrates the same harmonics in both contexts. On the contrary, the choice and polarization of the harmonics differ. The religious overdetermination smoothes out the sexual and educational differential stresses which come out in the natural context. Conclusion : In our contemporary culture, the young are alive to symbols. The Firc Symbol, in the Bible as well as in the Liturgy, has a powerful and positive impact, but its resonance is relative to various stresses in both contexts. secular or religious.
La naissance du dogme relatif à I'unité de I'Eglise
Authors: Mantzaridis Georges 
Published: March 2007

M. Weber and E. Troeltsch have already given a rough plan of a sociology of christian dogmas. This is the perspective taken by the author and in the light of the historical data available today, he takes up again the problem of a socio logical approach of dogma relating to the unity of the Church (Nicea, 325). Through the study of the functions of the eucharistic cult, of the notions of alliance, of Church and of Episcopacy, one can see the regulatory processes of the unity of the faithful develop in an historical context in evolution.
The Pessimistic Sect's Influence on the Mental Health of its Members : the Case of Jehovah's Witnesses
Authors: Montague Havor 
Published: March 2007

L'auteur de cet article a tenté de voir dans quelle mesure la structure religieuse et l'environnement social des Témoins de Jéhovah ont une influence sur ce qu'il est socialement convenu d'appeler « la santé mentale ». L'analyse critique de leurs écrits semble indiquer des fré quences de ce que l'on appelle communément « pathologie mentale » plus élevées que la moyenne. Mais il faut être réservé sur cette affirmation, car ces fréquences sont varia bles et diffèrent selon les groupes de Témoins et les moments de l'investigation. L'étude de certains facteurs à l'œuvre au sein de la Société de la Tour de Garde se révèle également utile pour mesurer les influences bénéfiques ou nuisibles à la santé mentale des membres. A ce propos, l'auteur analyse l'opinion courante des Témoins et la position officielle de l'organisation vis-à-vis de la maladie mentale. Il lui semble que deux facteurs im portants d'explication du taux relativement élevé de maladies mentales parmi les Témoins de Jéhovah sont le statut socio économique des membres et l'emprise incompétente des « An ciens » sur ceux-ci.
Ascèse, rationalité, modernité en contexte oriental: le bouddhisme de la Soka Gakkai
Authors: HOURMANT Louis 
Published: March 2007

The concept of asceticism assumes a multidimensional character for Max Weber. This confers upon it a certain ambiguity. One of the facets of the concept concerns the progressive emergence of a form of “ascesis-in-the-world” in the context of oriental wisdom, particularly within Japanese Buddhism. The removal of mystical traits from this form of Buddhism was completed during the reforms of the monk Nichiren in the 13th century and reinforced in the 20th century with the creation of the Soka Gakkai. This powerful organization has put an end to the outsider status of the laity vis-a-vis supreme salvation, which is now seen as encompassing all members of society. Salvation is achieved through a process of “human revolution”. It is a question here of a moral transformation brought about in daily life, conceived as a matter of personal choice, which is well in keeping with modern demands for a rational approach to such matters.
La CISR: Réflexions sur la thèse d'Emile Poulat
Authors: HOUTART François 
Published: March 2007

Responding to Emile Poulat, Houtart thinks that the question of confessionality must be relativized. Its meaning differs from society to society. The Dutch Catholics were building their place in a society based on Church or non-Church belonging. In France and in Belgium the problem was meeting with a society and a culture in which Christianity was no longer central. There also, two directions were possible: to build a partial Christianity, which orientated Sociology of Religion as a service of the ecclesiastical institution; or to insert evangelical values in an unequal society, with the discovery of the role of religion as a class ideology. This brought a more theoretical preoccupation. In both cases the majority of the promotors of Sociology of Religion were religious agents. For some of them a theological perspective should establish the epistemology of the disciplines, but others accepted the scientific foundation of sociology as the same for believers and non-believers. The other question raised is the existence of various theoretical currents in the Conference: Max Weber, Durkheim, Functionalism. However there is a relative absence of the Marxist approach. This could be explained by different factors: the fact that research has perhaps been less developed within this theoretical orientation; or because of the institutional origin of the members of the Conference; or because of their permeability to the anti-marxist current prevailing in the intellectual world after 1968. Houtart concludes with some considerations on his participation as General Secretary of the Conference.
An Optical Measurement of the Trash Content of Ginned Cotton
Authors: Baker Cameron , Kirk George , Gaffney Harry 
Published: March 2007

Current methods of evaluating the amount and particle size of trash in ginned cotton are reviewed and the need for simplicity and speed in obtaining a measurement of trash content is evidenced. The authors discuss a new optical-electronic method of scanning a classer's sample to record both particle size and number of particles. The sum of the areas in the sample which are darker than the background is taken as a percent of the total area scanned. The method utilizes a closed circuit television camera, which in a fraction of a second traverses the face of a sample and reads out the desired information directly. Results of tests designed to prove the reliability and validity of the method are shown and a comparison to current methods of evaluation is given. Diagrams of the optical and computing systems used in the method are explained in detail.
The Polarographic Estimation of Sulfydryl and Disulfide Groups in Wool
Authors: Human J.P.E. 
Published: March 2007

Methods for determining sulfydryl sulfur only and sulfydryl plus disulfide sulfur in intact wool are described. In the first case, the wool is allowed to react with an excess of an organic mercurial in a buffer containing urea at pH 7-8.5, while in the second case sulfite as well as urea is present in a buffer at pH 8.5. In both, the excess mer curial is determined polarographically. Two existing methods for the polarographic determination of sulfydryl plus disulfide sulfur in protein hydrolysates, namely amperometric titration with mercuric chloride and the use of the catalytic wave produced by cysteine and cystine in the presence of cobalt ions, have been adapted for the special case of wool. to cope with 10-100 mg. samples and 0.05-0.10 mg. samples, respectively. An indication of the reliability of the nonhydrolytic methods is also given.
Comparison of Methods for Determining Intrinsic Viscosities from Non-Newtonian Viscosities
Authors: Cram K.H. , Whitwell J.C. 
Published: March 2007

Absolute flow curves for solutions of two samples of cotton cellulose at concentra tions of 0.1. 0.2. and 0.3 g. 100 ml. in 0.5 M cupriethylenediamine were determined over a shear stress range of 0.01-1000 dynes sq. cm. Both rotational and capillary viscome ters were employed. All three solutions behaved as Newtonian fluids below a shear stress of 1.0 dyne sq. cm. Various methods of calculating intrinsic viscosities were investigated. Values based on zero shear rate viscosities are required to avoid dependence on the viscometric proce dure. Where determination of intrinsic viscosities is not the primary objective, the best method for precise differentiation among closely similar samples appears to be compari son of apparent viscosities using a single high concentration and as low a standard shear stress as practicable. Intrinsic viscosity determinations, based on non-Newtonian vis cosities, are less satisfactory.
Filial devotion in Tamil culture and the Tiger cult of martyrdom
Authors: Roberts Michael 
Published: March 2007

The popular responses to the first instance of cyanide suicide in the Jaffna Peninsula, that of Ponnadurai Sivakumaran in 1974, highlight the value that is accorded to devotional sacrifice in Tamil culture on both sides of the Palk Strait. The circumstances of Tamil dissatisfaction with Sinhalese society and the state apparatus provided an ideal scenario for the crystallisation of this emphasis. The LTTE have seized the opportunity and built up a cult of martyrdom as a mobilisational device, cementing force and precise weapon. Such instrumental usages should not obscure the likelihood that, among the Tiger leadership, the cyanide vial is both instrument and faith. Speculatively it is suggested that the varied expressions of Tamil sentiment in northern Sri Lanka during the 1960s and 1970s-before the Tigers secured their dominance—will reveal an emphasis on filial devotion in ways which draw on Caizkam and bhakti traditions. The article therefore draws attention to certain continuities in the popular folk cults in Tamil lands—traditions which provide a seedbed of evocative symbols that, in specific contexts, can impel, or be made to impel, individuals in sacrificial directions. The essqy argues that the understanding of such subjectivities and these essentialising moves among the Tamil militants requires a measure of essentialisation in our approaches. It elaborates this view through a critical review of Pandian's instrumental and semiotic analysis of the MGR phenomenon, a review which enables the author to introduce the hermeneutic approach of the early Taussig and his own subjectivist emphasis on the manner in which some Tamils merge their being with that of the icon of their hearts, be it MGR, Eelam or Prabhakaran.
What did Bernier actually say? Profiling the Mughal empire
Authors: Tambiah Stanley J. 
Published: March 2007

Bernier's text Travels in the Mughal Empire; A.D. 1656-1708 was a primary source for certain European writers from Montesquieu to Marx for their representation and characterisation of oriental despotism. The distinctive features of oriental despotism in their eyes were absolutist and tyrannical monarchs who ruled over polities that lacked a hereditary nobility and private property in land. In this paper I have attempted to demonstrate that, when read closely, Bernier's text discloses particulars that can be shown to yield a quite different patterning. The Mughal empire of the 17th and 18th centuries, the period I am discussing, was characterised by a devolutionary distribution of authority among multiple lesser sovereignties, by a complex hierarchy of land tenure and appropriation of product, by a developed system of commerce, and by a tolerance and coexistence of pluralistic subcultures. The contours of the empire seem to conform to a model of what I have previously conceptualised in my writings as the 'galactic polity'. The current trend in theorising about post-colonial societies is that the representation of pre-colonial societies at the time of contact as oriental despotisms was a proto-colonial and colonial construction which served as a reason and justification for political intervention, conquest and exploitation. That was so. But I want to emphasise that the stereotypical image of oriental despotism also importantly served as a polemic for an internal political debate and advocacy in France as a warning against and attack on the alleged absolutist ambitions of French monarchy and a defense of feudal nobility as a break on such tendencies. Montesquieu in particular exemplifies this posture. Bernier's formulaic gloss on the Mughal empire, despite what he actually reports, is one kind of tendentious representation. My own reading of Bernier's text is no doubt informed by my present day intellectual and political concerns.
Carl Schmitt
Authors: WOLIN RICHARD 
Published: March 2007

Carl Schmitt's polemical discussion of political Romanticism conceals the aestheticizing oscillations of his own political thought. In this respect, too, a kinship of spirit with the fascist intelligentsia reveals itself. Jürgen Habermas, “The Horrors of Autonomy: Carl Schmitt in English” The pinnacle of great politics is the moment in which the enemy comes into view in concrete clarity as the enemy. Carl Schmitt, The Concept of the Political (1927)
Evolutionary Narratives and Ecological Ethics
Authors: THIELE LESLIE PAUL 
Published: March 2007

We are in trouble just now because we do not have a good story. We are in between stories. The old story, the account of how the world came to be and how we fit into it, is no longer effective. Yet we have not learned the new story.... We need a story that will educate us, a story that will heal, guide, and discipline us. Thomas Berry, The Dream of the Earth
Effectiveness of Kindergarten Intervention Programs
Authors: Lewis Robert J. , Vosburgh William T. 
Published: March 2007

Psychologists and educators continue to design and implement kindergarten intervention programs unsubstantiated by previous research. The present study used meta-analysis procedures to examine the effects of kindergarten intervention programs on variables related to school success. The meta-analysis was performed on 444 effect sizes derived from 65 previous studies involving 3194 kindergarten children. The mean effect size of 0.434 indicated that test scores obtained by the treatment groups were raised from the 50th to the 67th percentile in relation to the control groups. Strong to moderate positive effects were demonstrated on all measured variables related to school success. As predicted, the effect sizes from highly structured approaches (M- 0.517) were larger than those from the less structured programs (M = 0.298; t = 4.671, d.f. = 386, p < 0.001). In general, there was no significant difference found between various levels of parent involvement (F = 0.244, d.f. = 2,385, p > 0.05). However, when only the long-term effects were compared, a significant difference was found be,ween the programs with active parent involvement (M = 0.521) and those without (M = 0.362; t 2.067, d.f. = 134, p < 0.05). Strong effects were found in studies based on behavioral (M 0.523), psychoeducational (M- 0.497), and stage referenced (M = 0.355) theories. The lack of research to support kindergarten programs based on rnaturational theories was discussed. The positive results of this meta-analysis should encourage program planners and policy-makers to support the widespread implementation of structured early intervention and prevention programs at the kindergarten level.
Social Administration, Social Policy and Socialism
Authors: Deacon Bob 
Published: March 2007

This paper develops from the marxist critique of social policy under capitalism a speculative picture of socialist social policy. It draws its ideas from: (a) socialist theory of the state, human nature, family life, and the relationship between need and resources (b) 'socialist' countries such as Russia and Cuba (c) struggles about welfare policies under capitalism. It attempts to answer a number of questions posed by the discipline of social administration about the nature of socialist social policy.
Interleukin-2: the public and professional face of rationing in the NHS
Authors: Freemantle Nick , Harrison Stephen 
Published: March 2007

This paper examines a recent rationing crisis in the UK National Health Service (NHS) in which a patient was denied treatment for a life threatening illness on the basis of cost. Rationing is inevitable in health care, as resources which can be allocated to health are finite and demand is essentially infinite. The new managerial relationships which constitute the purchaser/provider split contribute to rationing becom ing more explicit. The NHS is socialist in that it socialises the financial risk of illness. Questions about the form which rationing should take are funda mentally political rather than empirical. Yet the media purvey a version of reality which is best understood as myth. The paper con cludes by raising these crucial questions in the context of the politics of the left.
THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM AND THE WORK SITUATION: A COMPARISON OF FINLAND AND ESTONIA
Authors: Blom Raimo , Kivinen Markku , Melin Harri , Rannik Erkki 
Published: March 2007

The article compares the work situations of five occupational groups in Finland and Estonia: industrial workers, clerical employees, technicians, teachers and managers. The main concern is with the structuration of the work situation, of which four aspects are given central attention: 1) objective characteristics, 2) the reproduction situation, 3) the nature of work, and 4) developmental aspects of work and the subjective experiences of qualification requirements. The main differences between the two countries are summarised as follows: 1) Wage differentials between occupational groups are greater in Finland than in Estonia. The differences between genders are greater in Estonia. In Estonia relative incomes are highest among industrial workers, in Finland among managers. 2) In all occupational groups Estonian workers have a higher educational level than colleagues in Finland. 3) All occupational groups experience more mental and physical stress in Finland than in Estonia. 4) Finnish managers have more decision-making authority than their Estonian colleagues, but Estonian workers have supervisory and task authority more often than do Finnish workers.