For a long period, no attention was paid in our literature to the circumstance that space and time, as fundamental forms of the existence of matter, cannot be reduced to the characteristics of space and time as viewed in physics. Nor was the fact taken into consideration that sociohistorical being is no less real than the existence of physical things, that the activity of human society is no less objective than the physical interactions of the material world.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Buddhist-Christian Studies 23 (2003) 151-155 [Access article in PDF] Buddhism and Christianity: A Multicultural History of their Dialogue. By Whalen Lai and Michael von Bruck. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 2001. xiv + 265 pp. This book is an abridged translation of Buddhismus und Christentum: Geschichte, Konfrontation, Dialog, first published in 1997 by Verlag C. H. Beck in Munich. I do not know how much has been lost in the abridgement, (...) but this English version remains a treasure trove that deserves to be read and digested by everyone engaged in Buddhist-Christian dialogue.From the English title, I expected a somewhat dry work of intellectual history, summarizing dated doctrinal debates. This book provides much more than that. Most valuable is its emphasis on the historical and cultural context of Buddhist-Christian encounters, especially the poisonous legacy of Western colonialism (which still survives today as economic neocolonialism). These quite varied contexts have usually been decisive for the success or failure of the encounter, and as this nuanced but frank study shows, the failures have been at least as notable as the successes. Here, too, we must remember the past if we want to do more than keep repeating it. As well as identifying specific problems, there is a perceptive analysis of the obstacles to openness and dialogue in each case.The penultimate chapter includes a discussion of our Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies, its conferences, and this journal. As a relative newcomer to the conversations, I found this particular example of contextualizing fascinating. In just the few conferences I have been able to attend, there have been so many facets to the dialogue that it has been difficult to gain a sense of the whole, to understand how the main threads have developed and interwoven. How well do we remember what has already been discussed, and often agreed upon? It is important that we do not just keep repeating ourselves, and I know of no other book that conveys the historical dimension of the dialogue so well. The silent, contemplative aspects of the encounter are also addressed: cross-cultural meditation groups, Christian Zen teachers, and visits to each other's monastic centers.A useful foreword by Hans Kung reviews his own contributions, including his [End Page 151] paradigm analysis of six different "general constellations" found in the Christian tradition (the original Jewish-apocalyptic paradigm, the ancient ecumenical-Hellenistic paradigm, the medieval Roman Catholic paradigm, the Reformation Protestant-evangelical paradigm, the modernist progress-oriented paradigm, and now the postmodern ecumenical paradigm) and six other constellations in the Buddhist tradition (Gautama's original paradigm, the Theravada- sravakayana paradigm, the Mahayana paradigm, the tantric Vajrayana paradigm, a defensive modernist paradigm, and most recently an emerging postmodernist paradigm), with the implication that we need to be careful to clarify which of the paradigms we are comparing.Inevitably, the focus is limited: India and Sri Lanka are discussed at length, but not southeast Asia; China and Japan, but not Korea; Germany, but not the rest of Europe. The Indian chapter is mostly about Tibetans in exile. I was intrigued by the generation gap between older, conservative Tibetan monks and more freethinking younger ones. Otherwise, the Indian dialogue seems not to have been as intensive as many other places in Asia, which makes sense since there are relatively few Buddhists in India today. Given the mass conversions of Dalits, the social context has usually been the emancipation of disadvantaged social groups, and is further complicated now by the increasing influence of neo-Hindu political movements, which makes all interreligious exchange more sensitive.The Sri Lankan dialogue, perhaps more than any other, has been preoccupied with the heritage of colonialism. Sinhalese take pride in being citizens of the only country to have shaken off colonial rule with a successful Buddhist revolution, which reversed the power relationship between the two religions. Evidently most Sinhala Buddhists, including much of the sangha, accept the need to defend Buddhism and Buddhist culture militarily, if necessary. The ruling political class that succeeded the British, a largely Buddhist- and Marxist-inspired elite, opted for constructing a national identity... (shrink)

Concerted, timely action for mitigating climate change is of uttermost importance to keep global warming as close to 1.5°C as possible. Air traffic already plays a strong role in driving climate change and is projected to grow—with only limited technical potential for decarbonizing this means of transport. Therefore, it is desirable to minimize the expansion of air traffic or even facilitate a reduction in affluent countries. Effective policies and behavioral change, especially among frequent flyers, can help to lower greenhouse gas (...) emissions. For both, a positive evaluation and public support is indispensable. This study contributes to understanding air travel behavior and the perception of regulative policies. We examined the role of attitudes, perceived behavioral control, efficacy, global identity, and justice concerns for intentions to avoid flights and aviation-related environmental policy support. We conducted an online survey study with a quota sample of N = 2,530 participants in Germany. The strongest positive predictors of intentions to refrain from flying and policy support were perceived behavioral control to travel without flying, efficacy beliefs that avoiding air travel contributes to climate change mitigation, and intergenerational justice concerns; pro-travel attitude was a negative predictor. Moreover, we tested whether the provision of additional information on climate impact, global and intranational inequalities as well as subsidies affected the intention to avoid air travel and policy support. We found no effects of the different types of information. Nor did we find an interaction between the type of information provided and global or national identity. Our results highlight the need for a shift within the mobility sector that facilitates attractive and accessible transport alternatives in order to strengthen people’s behavioral control to choose other means than planes and their efficacy perceptions. Moreover, raising awareness of the impacts of climate change on future generations and developing strategies to promote people’s concern for intergenerational justice might motivate people to reduce air travel and thereby contribute to a livable future for new generations. (shrink)

Aims: To describe individuals’ perceptions of the activities that take place within the cancer genetics clinic, the relationships between these activities and how these relationships are sustained. Design: Qualitative interview study. Participants: Forty individuals involved in carrying out cancer genetics research in either a clinical (n = 28) or research-only (n = 12) capacity in the UK. Findings: Interviewees perceive research and clinical practice in the subspecialty of cancer genetics as interdependent. The boundary between research and clinical practice is described (...) as vague or blurred, and this ambiguity is regarded as being sustained by a range of methodological, ethical and economic factors. The implications of these findings for the “therapeutic misconception” are explored. It is argued that while research participation is seen as having therapeutic benefit for individual patients, the interviewees are not labouring under any misconceptions about the relationship between research and clinical care. It is suggested that concepts such as the “therapeutic misconception” may have less relevance in highly technological specialities that are characterised by a developing evidence base. (shrink)

Study on the philosophy of semantics in Tantric texts and Sanskrit grammar.

Context: Technology has not only changed the way we teach mathematical concepts but also the nature of knowledge, and thus what is possible to learn. While geometric transformations are recognized to be foundational to the formation of students’ geometric conceptions, little research has focused on how these notions can be introduced in elementary schooling. Problem: This project addressed the need for development of students’ reasoning about and with geometric transformations in elementary school. We investigated the nature of students’ understandings of (...) translations, rotations, scaling, and stretching in two dimensions in the context of use of the software application Graphs ’n Glyphs. More specifically, we explored the question “What is the nature of elementary students’ reasoning of geometric transformations when instruction exploits the technological tool Graphs ’n Glyphs?” Method: Using a design research perspective, we present the conduct of a teaching experiment with one pair of fourth-graders, studying translation and rotation. The project investigated how and to what extent activity using Graphs ’n Glyphs can elicit students’ reasoning about geometric transformations, and explored the constraints and affordances of Graphs ’n Glyphs for thinking-in-change about geometric transformations. Results: The students proved adept using the software with carefully designed tasks to explore the behavior of two-dimensional shapes, distinguish among transformations, and develop predictions. In relation to varied conditions of transformations, they formed generalizations about the way a shape behaves, including the use of referent points in predicting outcomes of translations, and recognizing the role of the center of rotation. Implications: The generalizations that the students developed are foundational for developing an understanding of the properties of transformations in the later years of schooling. Dynamic technological approaches to geometry may prove as valuable to elementary students’ understanding of geometry as it is for older students. Constructivist content: This study contributes to ongoing constructivism/constructionism conversations by concentrating on the transformation of ideas when engaging learners in activity through particular contexts and tools. Key Words: Geometry, transformations, constructionist technologies. (shrink)

Ethics as depicted in the Brahmanas, Hindu canonical texts.

Este libro presenta más de medio siglo de la historia de España a través de los ojos de un espectador lúcido y atento que nunca ha sido extraño a su propia época. Es un testimonio vital de un gran historiador de la filosofía y un documento valioso para entender algunos aspectos de la historia del pensamiento español y de la evolución de la enseñanza en la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Índice: Prólogo, por Horacio Capel.- Preámbulo.- Infancia y orígenes.- Guerra (...) y posguerra, universidad y milicia.- Segunda juventud y madurez.- En la monarquía de Juan Carlos.- Penúltimas reflexiones (aunque no nuevas).- Epílogo, por Laureano Bonet. (shrink)

The authors study U.S. stockbrokers, workers directly affected by the technological and economic forces of globalization. Drawing on interviews with 61 brokers and managers in four firms, they find that competition from electronic communication networks and international markets has increased the pace of work for stockbrokers, spurred online and after-hours trading, and may prompt the major stock exchanges to establish later trading sessions known as extended-hours trading. These events are lengthening already long working days for brokers and contributing to a (...) deficit of the time and energy they have to care for their families. These developments also reinforce gender inequality at home and in the workplace. The authors also find an alternative response to this globalization: The discount firm model, which creates the conditions for more gender balance in jobs and careers and thus the possibility for greater gender balance in the provision of care. (shrink)

ch. 1. Svi︠a︡tai︠a︡ garmonii︠a︡-- ch. 2. Ontologicheskie predposylki.

Este libro recoge una veintena de estudios que, desde el punto de vista de la teoría social abordan aspectos variados de la Globalización, el Riesgo y la Reflexividad, considerados como los retos fundamentales con los que ha de enfrentarse la sociología actual.

Correct interpretation of the data from integral laboratory tests, including Thrombin Generation Test, requires biochemistry-based mathematical models of blood coagulation. The purpose of this study is to describe the experimental TGT data from healthy donors and hemophilia A and B patients. We derive a simplified ODE model and apply it to analyze the TGT data from healthy donors and HA/HB patients with in vitro added tissue factor pathway inhibitor antibody. This model allows the characterization of hemophilia patients in the space (...) of three most important model parameters. The proposed approach may provide a new quantitative tool for the analysis of experimental TGT. Also, it gives a reduced model of coagulation verified against clinical data to be used in future theoretical large-scale modeling of thrombosis in flow. (shrink)

В книге анализируются проблемы творчества с позиции новейших достижений когнитивной науки и неклассической эпистемологии. Предназначено специалистам по философии.

WHAT do we mean by saying that a being, God for example, is omniscient? One way of answering this question is to translate ‘God is omniscient’ into some slightly more formalised language than colloquial English, e.g. one with variables of a number of different types, including variables replaceable by statements, and quantifiers binding thes.

The man who is isolated over against God is as such rejected by God. But to be this man can only be the choice of the Godless man himself. The witness of the Community of God to every individual man points in this direction: that this choice of the Godless is null and void, that he belongs to Jesus Christ from eternity and thus is not rejected, but rather chosen by God in Jesus Christ, that the reprobation which he deserves (...) on the basis of his wrong choice is borne and removed by Jesus Christ; that on the basis of the true, the Divine choice he is chosen for eternal life with God. The promise of his election will determine him as a member of the Church to become himself a carrier of its witness to the whole world. And the revelation of his rejection can determine him only to believe in Jesus Christ as Him by whom it is borne and removed. (Fourth of Karl Barth's "main theses" on God's Election of Grace in his Dogmatic II/2). (shrink)

It is frequently said that words like ‘now’, ‘then’, ‘ago’, ‘present’, ‘past’, ‘future’ and the various indications of tense, are ‘egocentric’ or ‘token-reflexive’ in character. I want to suggest, on the contrary, that the apparent egocentricity or token-reflexiveness of this class of expression is deceptive. It is perhaps not easy to see how on a point of this sort deception is possible, but a parallel case may make the position clearer.