bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Government-Minority Dialogue in Austria
Authors: Sanford William E. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to analyze the functioning of Austria's Ethnic Advisory Councils as institutionalized mechanisms for government-minority dialogue. The article first describes the Austrian social and political context, specifically regarding Austria's six officially-recognized autochthonous ethnic groups2. After an overview of the historic and contemporary situations of these groups, their legal status and the process for policy-making on minority issues in Austria are examined. Based on extensive interviews with policy-makers and minority representatives during Summer 1995, the last sections specifically address the role of the Ethnic Advisory Councils and consider various proposals for improving their functioning.
The issue(s) of minorities in the European peace and security context1
Authors: Trifunovska Snežana 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThis article gives a short analysis of the protection of minorities in the European peace and security context. Starting from a brief description of the complex minority situation in Europe, the author deals with the existing legally and non-legally binding documents adopted by the European organizations, OSCE, Council of Europe and the European Union, relevant for protection of minorities, as well as with the available mechanisms which can be used in the situations in which the position of minorities can affect peace and security. The purpose of the author is to determine whether the existing documents and mechanisms are sufficient for protection of minorities and preservation of peace and security. The paper was presented at the Eight Annual Meeting of the Academic Council on the United Nations Systems, held in New York on 19-21 June 1995.
Regime Change, State Crime and Transitional Justice: A Criminal Law Retrospective Concentrating on Former Eastern bloc Countries3
Authors: Arnold Jörg , Silverman Emily 
Published: April 2008

AbstractIn an initial summing up of this necessarily abbreviated and cursory report of findings, the first thing to recognise is that the countries examined in the study accorded different significance to the criminal law as a means for dealing with the past. The Eastern European countries, at any rate, appear to be largely in agreement with regard to the role of rehabilitation and compensation, although more comparative research into their realization in practice is required. With regard to the direct criminal prosecution and punishment of political and state-promoted crime, however, there is much less uniformity. This is clearly illustrated by the disparate criminal justice practices in the individual countries. Nevertheless, it cannot be said that criminal law plays no role whatsoever in accounting for the past.
Jesuit Concepts of Spatium Imaginarium and Thomas Hobbes's Doctrine of Space1
Authors: Leijenhorst Cees 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThomas Hobbes's doctrine of space is here considered as an example of the Nachzuirkung of Jesuit commentaries on Aristotle's natural philosophy (especially those by Toletus, Pereira, Suarez, Fonseca and the Conimbricenses) in seventeenth-century mechanistic science. Hobbes's doctrine of space can be reconstructed in terms of his intensive dialogue with late scholasticism, as represented in the works of several important Jesuit authors. Although he presents his concept of space as an alternative to the Aristotelian notion of place, there are some remarkable similarities between Hobbes's alternative notion of space and the concept of spatium imaginarium, found in the Jesuit commentaries. While Hobbes adopts many scholastic elements, he employs these to his own purposes. Thus, on the one hand, this article does not so much challenge Hobbes's "modernity", but rather tries to put it in its proper perspective. On the other hand, it tries to show the vitality and importance of Jesuit natural philosophy in non- or even anti-Aristotelian contexts.
Celestial Motions in the Late Middle Ages
Authors: Grant Edward 
Published: April 2008

AbstractWith the introduction of Greco-Islamic science and natural philosophy, medieval natural philosophers were confronted with three distinct astronomical systems: Aristotelian, Ptolemaic, and the system of al-Bitruji. A fundamental problem that each had to confront was how to explain simultaneous contrary motions in the heavens -for example, the sun's motion, which moves east to west with a daily motion while simultaneously moving west to east along the ecliptic- within an Aristotelian physical system that assumed that a simple body could have only one proper motion. How medieval natural philosophers resolved this problem is the focus of the article.
Philosophical Cosmology in Judaism
Authors: Rudavsky T.M. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractIn this paper I shall examine the philosophical cosmology of medieval Jewish thinkers as developed against the backdrop of their views on time and creation. I shall concentrate upon the Neoplatonic and Aristotelian traditions, with a particular eye to the interweaving of astronomy, cosmology and temporality. This interweaving occurs in part because of the influence of Greek cosmological and astronomical texts upon Jewish philosophers. The tension between astronomy and cosmology is best seen in Maimonides' discussion of creation. Gersonides, on the other hand, is more willing to incorporate astronomical material into his cosmological thinking. By examining these motifs, we shall arrive at a greater understanding of the dimension of temporality within Jewish philosophy.
Cannibalism and Contagion: Framing Syphilis in Counter-Reformation Italy*
Authors: Eamon William 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThe outbreak of syphilis in Europe elicited a variety of responses concerning the disease's origins and cure. In this essay, I examine the theory of the origins of syphilis advanced by the 16th-century Italian surgeon Leonardo Fioravanti. According to Fioravanti, syphilis was not new but had always existed, although it was unknown to the ancients. The syphilis epidemic, he argued, was caused by cannibalism among the French and Italian armies during the siege of Naples in 1494. Fioravanti's strange and novel theory is connected with his view of disease as corruption of the body caused by eating improper foods. His theory of bodily pollution, a metaphor for the corruption of society, coincided with Counter-Reformation concepts about sin and the social order.
Gilles De Corbeil Ou Le Médecin Pédagogue Au Tournant Des Xiie Et Xiiie Siècles
Authors: Ausécache Mireille 
Published: April 2008

AbstractGilles de Corbeil (12th century) figures as the initiator of the scientific teaching of medicine in Paris at a time when medicina became physica. He studied medicine at the famous school of Salerno, and his teaching was based upon Salernitan theories and practice. He showed himself very concerned with teaching methods and attached great importance to memorizing. This explains why he composed medical poetry so as to provide a mnemonic aid for his students. As a teacher, he took care of his students' reading, offering them advise. He insisted on the importance of a personal relationship between teacher and student, evoking his own relationship with his Salernitan masters, but repeatedly criticized the students of his time.
Towards a tripolar approach to the relationship between the religions
Authors: Saayman W.A. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThis article emphasises the need for ongoing reflection on interreligious relationships. The author proposes that such reflection should take account of three religious realities (or 'poles'): (what is considered as) divine revelation, human religious experience, and the possibility of the demonic. On this basis, and with full respect for other people's religious commitments, it may be possible to move to a satisfying relationship between the religions.
Feminist studies in religion and a radical democratic ethos 1
Authors: Schüssler Fiorenza Elizabeth 
Published: April 2008

AbstractFeminist studies in religion contribute to the fashioning of a radical democratic political culture and the creation of an egalitarian politics of meaning. In the South African context feminist studies are important elements in the emergence of a democratic and just society since they provide a theoretical framework and intellectual space for transforming kyriarchal knowledges and deeply inculcated values of oppression. Several issues are addressed, namely the nature of feminist religious studies, feminist religious studies as a knowledge producing discourse, and the institutional location of feminist studies in religion.
Spiritual healing A comparison between New Age groups and African Initiated Churches in South Africa
Authors: Steyn H.C. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThis article explores and compares spiritual healing in two contemporary guises: the New Age movement and African Initiated Churches (AICs). A third component which cannot be ignored is the traditional African healing practices which (to a large extent) have shaped practices in the AICs. Firstly, the current growth in the prevalence of these groups is considered. Secondly, the two major components are compared with regard to illness and its causes, gifted healers, rituals, and transformation. And finally, the possible effects of these practices on the restoration of the country is considered.
Beyond the debate: an agenda for biblical studies in the new South Africa
Authors: Speckman Rev M. T. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractNew Testament methods are products of the contexts out of which they have emerged. Any attempt at devising new ways of teaching Biblical Studies should be cognisant of this. The different methods used are not naive but are in the service of the user's interests. Hence fragmentation and sectarianism. A common departure point is suggested as a prerequisite for any meaningful alternative to the teaching of Biblical Studies in South Africa.
Participatory Democracy the Case of the Brazilian Ecclesial Base Communities: 1981-1991
Authors: Maclean Iain S. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractIn the early stages of Brazil's democratisation, ecclesial base communities (CEBs) were regarded by liberation theologians as models for a participatory democracy. However, as democratisation advanced, this model became increasingly difficult to uphold. Reasons for this included differences among liberation theologians on how to approach the fact of political options presented by political parties, the increasing polarisation in the institutional Catholic Church which had previously supported the CEBs, and weaknesses within the CEBs themselves which effectively limited national political participation.
Biblical Archaeology as an Academic Discipline in Search of Its Academic Identity
Authors: Craffert Pieter F. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractWhile the history of the term 'biblical archaeology' shows that it has no single meaning, debates on the disciplinary status of biblical archaeology point towards its long-standing struggle to define itself as a scholarly discipline. A critical discussion of these two aspects results in a rejection of the recent trend to define biblical archaeology as a subsidiary of biblical studies. Instead, it is suggested that biblical archaeology should be defined as a subspecies of general archaeology. This argument finds support in three features of general archaeology: the impetus Of new archaeology, the nature of archaeological scholarship and its interdisciplinary features.
Social Location of Transformative Orientations Among South African Youth
Authors: Pieterse Hendrik J.C. , Van Der Ven Johannes A. , Dreyer Jaco S. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractIn the previous article we asked the question of to what extent a group of 538 Grade 11 students from Anglican and Catholic church-affiliated schools in the Johannesburg/Pretoria region show transformative orientations in the fields of ecology, economics and politics. In this article we deal with the question of what the social location of these transformative orientations is. The more transformatively oriented students are to be found among female, ANCoriented, transethnically directed, postmaterialistic, self-controlling, non-religious, and sometimes Anglican (in each case non-Catholic) students who regard work as something interesting, participate in political communication and consensus building, and see politics and study as a value. Students who favour socio-economic equality more specifically are to be found among the more religiously inspired and motivated students.
'Ilahle Elinothuthu'?* the Lay Reader and /or the Critical Reader- Some Remarks On Africanisation
Authors: Snyman Gerrie F. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractThis article intends to link Africanisation, lay readings and critical scholarship. Its point of departure is the dialectic of colonial inferiority complexes and the realisation of a Babelesque confusion as a defining element of South Africanness. Within this socio-political context the focus falls on Semeia 73 ('Reading with': an exploration of the interface between critical and ordinary readings of the Bible), drawing some implications for a grassroots reading of Esther 9 as well as the role of critical scholarship in the Afrikaans Reformed tradition. Bearing in mind the work of Edward Said on the subject of intellectuality, the article suggests that as long as the renewed focus on the lay reader represents only a change in political grid and power relations, it does not initiate a new trend in hermeneutics. A fundamental shift will only occur when the underlying reading strategies of lay reading are revealed and critically assessed. Instead of merely reproducing the ideological mechanisms and alignments whereby description becomes prescription and the local is represented as universal, it is suggested that these mechanisms should be challenged by the critical reader, even when and while socially engaged.
Toward the Truth About the Trc: a Response To Key Moral Criticisms of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Authors: Verwoerd Wilhelm J. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractIn this article the 'genre' of the TRC Report is clarified in order to answer some of the criticisms of the TRC. It is argued that the TRC conceptualised its role as the promotion of restorative justice rather than retributive justice. Justice and reconciliation is served not by isolating perpetrators of gross human rights violations but by restoring human community. Different aspects of the effects of the TRC's work are considered, namely reconciliation, amnesty and forgiveness Justice-based and reconciliation-based criticisms of the TRC are answered.
Metastable Decomposition of High-Dimensional Meteorological Data with Gaps
Authors: Horenko Illia , Dolaptchiev Stamen I. , Eliseev Alexey V. , Mokhov Igor I. , Klein Rupert 
Published: April 2008

Abstract
This paper presents an extension of the recently developed method for simultaneous dimension reduction and metastability analysis of high-dimensional time series. The modified approach is based on a combination of ensembles of hidden Markov models (HMMs) with state-specific principal component analysis (PCA) in extended space (guaranteeing that the overall dynamics will be Markovian). The main advantage of the modified method is its ability to deal with the gaps in the high-dimensional observation data. The proposed method allows for (i) the separation of the data according to the metastable states, (ii) a hierarchical decomposition of these sets into metastable substates, and (iii) calculation of the state-specific extended empirical orthogonal functions simultaneously with identification of the underlying Markovian dynamics switching between those metastable substates. The authors discuss the introduced model assumptions, explain how the quality of the resulting reduced representation can be assessed, and show what kind of additional insight into the underlying dynamics such a reduced Markovian representation can give (e.g., in the form of transition probabilities, statistical weights, mean first exit times, and mean first passage times). The performance of the new method analyzing 500-hPa geopotential height fields [daily mean values from the 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40) dataset for a period of 44 winters] is demonstrated and the results are compared with information gained from a numerically expensive but assumption-free method (Wavelets–PCA), and the identified metastable states are interpreted w.r.t. the blocking events in the atmosphere.
Effects of TRMM Boost on Oceanic Rainfall Estimates Based on Microwave Emission Brightness Temperature Histograms (METH)
Authors: Shin Dong-Bin , Chiu Long S. 
Published: April 2008

Abstract
A physical–statistical algorithm for estimating space–time average oceanic rainfall has been applied to microwave measurements taken by the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) on board the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) on board the TRMM satellite. The algorithm is based on Microwave Emission Brightness Temperature Histograms (METH) and produces monthly rainfall over 5° × 5° latitude–longitude boxes as a TRMM standard product (3A11). The TRMM satellite was boosted from an altitude of 350–402 km in August 2001 to extend its mission life. The orbit boost affected the orbital parameters, rain-rate–brightness temperature relations, and then rain-rate parameters. Using oceanic rain rates derived from SSM/I, the difference between 3A11 and SSM/I for the preboost and postboost periods was analyzed. The difference shows a significant jump from the preboost to the postboost data if no adjustments were made for the postboost TRMM data. The jumps in rain-rate parameters are attributed to the changes in earth’s incidence angle of TMI, affecting the brightness temperature in the TMI channels, the retrieved altitude of the freezing level, and the beam-filling correction factor. The changes in the brightness temperature (and freezing level) estimates and the beam-filling correction factor accounted for differences of approximately 4.9% and 1.5%, respectively. After the orbital and radiometric parameters are corrected for the boost, there is no detectable jump between the pre- and postboost 3A11 rain rates. The intersatellite calibration results demonstrate the robustness of the technique in producing a long record of climate-scale oceanic rainfall.
The effect of exercise on adrenocortical responsiveness of patients with chronic low back pain, controlled for psychological strain
Authors: Chatzitheodorou Dimitris , Mavromoustakos Savvas , Milioti Styliani 
Published: April 2008

Objective: To investigate the effects of high-intensity aerobic exercise on adrenocortical responsiveness and on standard outcome measures in patients with chronic low back pain. Design: Controlled clinical trial. Setting: Physical therapy department of a university general hospital. Subjects: Sixty-four patients with chronic low back pain were randomly allocated into positive and negative suppression test groups and assigned to exercise protocol. Interventions: Subjects in the positive and negative dexamethasone suppression test groups received a 12-week high-intensity aerobic exercise programme. Main outcome measures: Dexamethasone suppression test as an index of adrenocortical responsiveness, pain measured with the McGill Pain Questionnaire, functional status measured with the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire, and psychological strain measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Results: Data analysis in the positive group identified a significant reduction of pain by 30% (t 30 = 11.2, P<0.001), a recovery of the lost functioning by 34% (t 30 = 19.7, P<0.001), a reduction of anxiety/depression by 25% (t 30 = 10.2, P<0.001), and a change in adrenocortical responsiveness by 40% (t30 = 14.1, P<0.001). In the dexamethasone suppression test negative group, data analysis identified a significant reduction of pain by 8% (t31 = 4.2, P<0.001), a recovery of lost functioning by 10% (t31 = 4.8, P<0.001), a reduction of anxiety/depression by 11% (t31 = 5.0, P<0.001), and no change in adrenocortical responsiveness (t31 = 1.2, P=0.22). In univariate analysis between-subject differences were significant for dexamethasone suppression test (F61 = 163, P<0.001), and for anxiety/depression (F61 = 21.3, P<0.001). Conclusion: Exercise alleviated pain, functional disability and anxiety/depression, also improved adrenocortical responsiveness in patients with chronic low back pain with dexamethasone suppression test positive values.
Short-term effects on mobility, activities of daily living and health-related quality of life of a Conductive Education programme for adults with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and stroke
Authors: Brittle Nicola , Brown Melanie , Mant Jonathan , McManus Richard , Riddoch Jane , Sackley Catherine 
Published: April 2008

Objective: To evaluate the impact of 10 sessions of Conductive Education on mobility, functional independence and health-related quality of life in adults with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and stroke. Design: Observational, pretest—posttest design. Setting: The National Institute of Conductive Education, Birmingham, UK. Participants: One hundred and twenty-nine self-referred community-living individuals with moderate disability. Intervention: Following an individual consultation, participants attended 10 diagnostic-specific group sessions of Conductive Education, scheduled daily or less commonly weekly. Outcome measures: All participants were assessed using the Barthel Index and the Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily living Index. Stroke, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease patients also completed the Short Form 36 (SF-36) Health Survey, the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life 54 questionnaire (MSQoL-54) and the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) respectively. Results: One hundred and five individuals completed the programme as well as all pre and post-assessments. Of these, 34 had suffered a stroke, 55 had Parkinson's disease and 16 had multiple sclerosis. Stroke patients demonstrated statistically significant improvements in the Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily living Index (mean change 3.4, P<0.001) and the SF-36 mental health subsection (mean change 7.8, P<0.001). Non-significant trends towards improved physical and mental function were demonstrated by other outcome measures across all three diagnoses. Conclusions: The results emphasize potential benefits of Conductive Education for individuals with stroke. The results will inform further randomized comparisons of the effects of Conductive Education in neurologically disabled people.