bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Altruism and Subjective Well-Being: Conceptual Model and Empirical Support
Authors: Schwartz Carolyn 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
Although the benefits of giving support have long been acknowledged among spiritual and religious texts as a key to living well, the predominant focus in psychological research on social support has been on the benefits one enjoys when one receives social support. There is, however, emerging evidence that giving support to others provides as much or perhaps more reward to the giver than to the recipient. Based on the results of two studies, this chapter hypothesizes that altruistic social-interest behaviours enhance subjective well-being for both healthy and chronically ill adults. The first study focused on chronically ill patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). It examined the health implications of receiving training in coping strategies accompanied by monthly telephone support versus simply receiving fifteen-minute phone calls from trained peer supporters (who also had MS) once a month for a year. Data collected from the five peer supporters revealed that they (the givers) reported improvements on more outcomes than the receivers and that the effect from the size of these changes was larger for the givers than for the supported patients. The second study used previously collected data on a large stratified sample of Presbyterians in order to examine the hypothesis within a healthy and much larger cohort. Data showed that giving help was a more important indicator of better mental health than receiving it.
Altruism, Well-Being, and Mental Health in Late Life
Authors: Midlarsky Elizabeth , Kahana Eva 
Published: September 2007

AbstractThis chapter begins with the background of and a theory on altruism. It then focuses on research on older helpers, emphasizing work on Holocaust heroes, who are at the time of writing this book quite elderly. The basic premise of this chapter is that the consequences of altruism, in the form of well-being and mental health, can be viewed through the prism of the altruism paradox.
Altruism and Health in HIV
Authors: Ironson Gail 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
This chapter presents research on altruism and health in the context of people living with AIDS. It begins with a review of the literature on AIDS patients who volunteer to help others with the illness. This literature indicates that, as a result of such helping, the volunteers develop a positive sense of self, increase safer sex behaviours, and feel at greater peace with regard to their own future deaths. It then turns to the chapter's own research on a group of seventy-nine long-term survivors of AIDS (people who have survived twice as long as expected), who were compared with a group who had AIDS with a normal course of the illness. The long survivors were significantly more likely to have engaged in AIDS volunteerism and had significantly less depression, anxiety, and perceived stress. In a subsequent study on the psychological predictors of slower disease progression, the chapter again notes that volunteering, giving to charities, and expressing caring for others are related to better prognosis in AIDS and to less emotional distress.
Helping Behavior and Longevity: An Emotion Model
Authors: Danner Deborah D. , Friesen Wallace V. , Carter Adah N. 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
This chapter examines a possible mechanism to account for why helping behaviours might have positive health outcomes. It argues that positive emotional responses, particularly future-oriented positive emotions, form the basis of attitudes that lead to repetitive choices in one's use of time and energy. Such choices related to the arousal of positive emotions secure accompanying cardiovascular and immune physiologic responses capable of improving health and extending life. The chapter focuses primarily on the elderly population, where declining health may be a factor, and where accumulated knowledge and decreased daily demands make providing help to others personally appropriate and socially useful. It suggests that the most likely underlying mechanism linking helping behaviour and health is positive emotions, and no single activity or even class of activities will arouse positive emotions in all individuals, especially when responses must be time extended or repetitive.
Health and the Ecology of Altruism
Authors: Wilson David Sloan , Csikszentmihalyi Mihaly 
Published: September 2007

AbstractThis chapter tests an ecological and evolutionary hypothesis of the fitness of altruists, using the Sloan Study of Youth and Social Development, which includes information on a large sample of American adolescents gathered through questionnaires and the experience sampling method. The hypothesis places altruism in its ecological context as a human behavioural strategy that will be advantageous in some environments (stable ones where altruism thrives) and that may cause stress in others (where altruism is unreciprocated or unappreciated). Data showed that highly prosocial teens tended to inhabit positive, stable, and encouraging environments while low-prosocial teens experienced events typical of harsh social environments (i.e., fighting and teen pregnancy). Transplanting these altruistic and selfish teens would cause stress to both groups, and this is supported by the fact that the highly prosocial teens are less able to cope with the stresses typical of the low-prosocial environment. The study's hypothesis is further supported by the predominantly male sample of narcissists (low-prosocial teens with high self-esteem and plans for the future) within the study who had extremely good mental health, much like the highly prosocial individuals within supportive environments. Religiousness is highly correlated to prosocial behaviour, and religions appear to be very effective at creating social environments or niches where altruism flourishes.
Chapter 5 PHILADELPHIA POLITICS, IN AND OUT OF DOORS, 1742–76
Authors: Carp Benjamin L. 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
Philadelphia is the case study for this chapter because of the famous political meetings that occurred inside the State House (now known as Independence Hall), as well as the dramatic mobilization of Philadelphians “out of doors.” This chapter examines the various types of political activity that took place outside the Court House and the town meetings in the State House Yard (now Independence Square). During the decade that preceded the Revolution, groups outside the political elite increasingly began mobilizing just outside the halls of power. They became frustrated with the unresponsive, oligarchic legislature. By 1774, these outdoor gatherings had cleared the way for the meetings of the Continental Congress at Carpenter's Hall and the State House that ordained Philadelphia the capital of the American Revolution.
The Baby with the Baboon Heart
Authors: Johnson Norman A. 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
The H5N1 avian flu virus has spread to fowl across several continents and has killed hundreds of people. Fortunately, this flu is not easily transmitted to humans yet; if it were, a deadly pandemic would likely ensue. How did this virus arise? What are the factors that govern its evolution and its potential to be transmitted to humans? These are questions that can and have been addressed by the application of evolutionary principles. Evolutionary biology is also being applied to combat the evolution of resistance of bacteria to antibiotics, and insect pests to pesticides. This chapter addresses these and other applications of evolution, including plant and animal breeding, the human genome project, studies of aging and other maladaptations, and forensic uses. The facts and principles of evolutionary genetics are not just arcane, academic matters; they are highly relevant to “real world” problems.
Detecting Positive Selection
Authors: Johnson Norman A. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractPositive natural selection, though rare in comparison with negative selection, is the main evolutionary force responsible for adaptive evolutionary change. Using the neutral theory to generate null hypotheses, evolutionary geneticists have developed tests for detecting positive selection. Several of these tests make use of DNA sequence data sets that contain information on both variation existing within a species (polymorphism) and differences accumulated between species (divergence). This chapter focuses on the McDonald-Krietman test, a powerful but relatively simple test of detecting positive selection. Also discussed is how inferences about the action of selection can be made through the examination of linkage disequilibrium, patterns of correlations of genetic variants at different (but linked) sites. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the legacy of Kimura and his neutral theory of molecular evolution.
Religious Diversity in a “Christian Nation”
Authors: Wuthnow Robert 
Published: September 2007

AbstractThis chapter summarizes the most important descriptive results of the Religion and Diversity Survey and offers some conclusions about the distinctive ways in which religious diversity is being received in the United States, compared with other countries in which Christianity has historically been dominant, notably those in Western Europe. The discussion proceeds as follows: a description of the scope of influence of Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists in the United States; an overview of attitudes toward these groups among the adult population of the United States; an assessment of the extent to which Americans still perceive themselves to be living in a “Christian nation” and the impact of this perception on their attitudes toward non-Christian religions and other minority groups; and a discussion of the tensions within American culture surrounding religious diversity and the implications of these tensions for American democracy.
Pluralism, Tolerance, and Democracy
Authors: Davie Grace 
Published: September 2007

AbstractThis chapter has three sections. The first discusses the conceptual difficulties arising from the study of religious pluralism and democracy, drawing on the work of James Beckford — particularly his discussion of religious pluralism as social construct. The second examines the study of new religious movements and the questions that such movements raise for democracy. The third section discusses the growing faith communities in Europe and the gradual process of accommodation, or otherwise, as these communities become part of their chosen societies. The British case is developed in some detail, with the French and Dutch cases offering points of comparison.
Religion and Nationalism
Authors: Stan Lavinia , Turcescu Lucian 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
In Romania, religion has often intersected with nationalism and ethnic identity. In this chapter we discusse the religious determinants of Romanian nationalism, the role of Greek Catholicism and Orthodoxy in the formation of ethnic identity, and the post‐1989 redefinition of nation and ethnic identity as a result of domestic and external pressures. Internally, Romania's minorities have asked for a civic, not ethnic, understanding of the nation. Externally, Romania has faced pressures from the West to view its ethnic diversity as an advantage, not a liability, and recognize minorities as full‐fledged members of the national community.
Religion and Elections
Authors: Stan Lavinia , Turcescu Lucian 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
This chapter investigates the role of religious groups in local and general elections and the use of religious symbols by political parties and electoral candidates. It documents the change of heart from political involvement to political neutrality on the part of the Orthodox Church, the refusal of religious minorities to adhere to political neutrality, the participation of priests in political parties as members and candidates, and the increased prominence of religiosity and religious ritual in presidential elections. The chapter argues that collaboration in the area of electoral politics benefited politicians, who won additional capital, more than it benefited churches, which were tainted by collaboration.
Why Are Prices Sticky?
Authors: Aucremanne Luc , Druant Martine 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
This chapter reports the results of a survey on price setting behavior conducted in 2004 among 2,000 Belgian firms. The results clearly deviate from a situation of perfect competition and show that firms have some market power. Prices are rather sticky, the average duration between two consecutive price reviews being ten months, whereas it amounts to thirteen months between two consecutive price changes, and both time-dependent and state-dependent behavior are observed. Evidence is found in favor of both nominal (mainly implicit and explicit contracts) and real rigidities (including flat marginal costs and counter-cyclical movements in desired mark-ups). The survey results point to a non-negligible degree of non-optimal price setting.
Asymmetries in Price Setting
Authors: Loupias Claire , Ricart Roland 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
This chapter reports the results on price setting asymmetries of French manufacturing companies from a survey conducted by the Banque de France during winter 2003–04. Price increases are more likely (70 percent) than price decreases (30 percent) among price changes. The magnitude of positive price changes over the year 2003 (3 percent for the median increase) is lower than the one of negative price changes (−5 percent). Asymmetries are found to be different for cost shocks compared to demand shocks: prices are more rigid downward than upward for cost shocks, while the reverse is true for demand shocks (prices are more rigid upward than downward).
A Comparison Based on International Survey Evidence
Authors: Lünnemann Patrick , Mathä Thomas 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
This chapter compares internationally the available survey evidence of firms' price setting behavior. It reports a number of remarkable similarities across countries. Firms typically operate in imperfectly competitive markets, where they have a low market share, face several competitors, and are primarily engaged in long-term relationships with their customers, mainly other firms. The modal price review and price change frequency per year is one across countries. Implicit and explicit contracts, coordination failure, and cost-based pricing are recognized as the most important reasons for price rigidity.
Feminist Theology and the Challenge of Difference
Authors: Kamitsuka Margaret D. 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
How can we respect the irreducible diversity of women's experiences and unmask entrenched forms of privilege in feminist theological discourse? This book offers proposals on how to address the challenge of difference for constructive theological purposes. Toward this end, the objective of this book is three-fold: 1) to make the case for why ongoing attentiveness to differences of race and sexuality is needed in order to avoid the imposition of white racial privilege and heterosexual privilege; 2) to make creative use of poststructuralism principally (Judith Butler, Michel Foucault), but also postcolonial, queer, and other theoretical resources in order to complicate our understanding of embodied selfhood, moral agency, and empowerment; and 3) to make constructive proposals in light of those theories on methodological issues (e.g., appeals to women's experience, to the erotic, or to women's solidarity), on hermeneutical issues (e.g., white feminist uses of the literature of women of color or interpreting biblical texts that harbor patriarchal, imperialist, heteronormative, and other biases), and on doctrinal issues (e.g., sin, creation in the image of God, and christology). New theoretical resources are indispensable for analyzing divisive issues in feminist theology today, and for carving out new avenues for critical negotiation with a religious tradition that feminists see as both alienating and sustaining, repressive and empowering.
3 Intuitionism and Disagreement
Authors: Roger Crisp 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
This chapter argues that, due to the kind of normative disagreement found in philosophical ethics, Audi's epistemology of self-evident normative principles will not properly apply to any specific first‐order view, such as the Rossian pluralism he endorses. This chapter states that if our normative intuitions are denied by others who are in an equally good epistemic position, then we should suspend judgment on the matter. Granting that there is strong consensus on some normative claims, Crisp insists that there is much disagreement on underlying principles (“at the level of theory”) among equally well‐placed participants in philosophical ethics. This chapter closes with a discussion of how we should proceed in philosophy and in life in the face of this normative disagreement.
Liturgical Selfhood
Authors: Kepnes Steven 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
Cohen's Religion of Reason is based on careful textual reasonings of Torah and creative interpretations of Jewish liturgies such as the Sabbath and High Holidays. Cohen places liturgy at the crucial bridge points between the self and the other, the self and the community, and the self and God. Cohen uses liturgy to map out a path for the growth of the self into moral autonomy. I refer to this moral self as a “liturgical self.” What Cohen's liturgical self explains, and Kantian ethics does not, is how the individual becomes at once autonomous and moral, at once for others, for itself, and for its community. Cohen's textual and liturgical thinking makes him an important resource to critique both modern foundational and postmodern views of the self‐other relation.
6 Sacvan Bercovitch as “American” Scholar
Authors: Fuller Randall 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
This chapter examines the construction of Emerson by Sacvan Bercovitch and the New Americanists. Focusing on the so-called subversion-containment model of the New Historicism, it reveals how Bercovitch's application of this model to Emerson grew out of his own unusual circumstances as a Canadian Jew who own gradually migrated to American Studies.
Neural Representations Used to Specify Action
Authors: Bunge Silvia A. , Souza Michael J. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractTo understand how humans use rules to determine actions, it is critical to learn more about how they select responses on the basis of associations in long‐term memory. This chapter discusses what has been learned thus far about the neural substrates of rule storage, retrieval, and maintenance. This chapter presents evidence that rule knowledge associated with environmental cues is stored in areas of the posterior temporal lobes, such as the middle temporal gyrus. It also provides evidence that ventrolateral prefrontal cortex is engaged in the effortful retrieval of rule meanings from long‐term memory. During initial rule retrieval, there is some evidence that different brain structures are recruited, depending on the type of rule retrieved. In contrast, during rule maintenance, brain activation in prefrontal cortex and other brain regions appears to be sensitive to the amount of information to be held in mind, rather than the type of rule or instructional cue.
The Neurophysiology of Abstract Response Strategies
Authors: Genovesio Aldo , Wise Steven P. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractIn traditional animal learning theory, stimuli, responses, and outcomes determine an animal's behavior. But how can animals, or people, for that matter, make decisions regarding stimuli they have never encountered? One way involves abstract response strategies. These strategies are considered abstract because they do not depend on experience with particular, previously experienced stimulus‐response mappings. This chapter reviews relevant neurophysiological data from macaque monkeys and addresses the following questions: (1) What is a strategy? (2) How, if at all, do strategies differ from rules? (3) Does the idea that prefrontal cortex subserves strategies contribute to contemporary ideas about its evolutionary history? (4) What are the adaptive advantages of a strategy‐implementing prefrontal cortex for those animals that have one?
Task‐Switching in Human and Nonhuman Primates: Understanding Rule Encoding and Control from Behavior to Single Neurons
Authors: Stoet Gijsbert , Snyder Lawrence 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
Task‐switching paradigms are ideal for studying how primates implement and apply rules. This chapter summarizes a large body of work conducted on the comparative primatology and neurophysiology of task‐switching in macaque monkeys. This chapter presents ?ndings of rule representations from single‐neuron recordings in the intraparietal sulcus in posterior parietal cortex and argues that rule representation and control is implemented by a network spanning both frontal and posterior brain regions. These ?ndings provide a useful model for studying neuronal representations of task rules and the neural processes that apply those rules.
Neural Mechanisms of Cognitive Control in Cued Task‐Switching: Rules, Representations, and Preparation
Authors: Ruge Hannes , Braver Todd S. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractThis chapter discusses the possible role and neural basis of three different types of rules used in the service of cognitive control, including: (1) rules for the specification of responses based on preceding events (stimulus‐response mappings); (2) rules for the specification of responses based on anticipated effects (i.e. goals to be reached, or response‐effect mappings); and (3) rules that determine behavior by specifying cost‐benefit tradeoffs. Considered are recent results from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioral studies on preparatory activation in cued task‐switching. Furthermore, included is a larger review of relevant literature regarding cognitive flexibility and competition resolution to provide a broader context for this theoretical perspective on cognitive control.
The Development of Rule Use in Childhood
Authors: Zelazo Philip David 
Published: September 2007

Abstract
The ability to follow explicit rules improves dramatically during the course of childhood, and this improvement depends, in part, on a growing ability to formulate and use increasingly complex systems of rules. Relatively little is known, however, about the changes in brain structure and function that underlie these cognitive changes. Drawing from neuroscientific studies in human adults and other animals, as well as an emerging literature in developmental cognitive neuroscience, this chapter proposes a brain‐based account of the development of rule use in childhood. This account focuses on four types of rules represented in different parts of prefrontal cortex (PFC). It is hypothesized that the pattern of developmental changes in rule use reflects the different rates of development of specific regions within PFC. According to this account, lateral PFC‐mediated reprocessing allows one to reflect on relatively simple rules (i.e. at a higher level of consciousness) and formulate higher‐order rules that control the application of these simpler rules. As individuals engage in recursive reprocessing, ascend through levels of consciousness, and formulate more complex rule systems, they recruit an increasingly complex hierarchical network of PFC regions.