Pacific School of Religion

This article focused on a selected random sample of over 7,000 individuals who responded to a survey regarding online sexual activity. Results helped identify potential problem areas for online sexual compulsives and at-risk users. These results provided descriptions of activities that could lead to problematic behavior in three areas: obsession, compulsion, and consequences. In addition, specific results were highlighted by gender differences, and types of cybersex users. As a descriptive article, the results of this study help us understand who online sexual activity users are and how they might experience problems related to their behaviors.

The global rise of populist campaigns against democratic governments has revived the long-standing scholarly debate on how democracies can best defend themselves against anti-democratic challenges. While some view an aggressive militant democracy approach as the most effective option, others propose accommodation of populist actors and voters. Others again suggest a merging of the two paradigms. This article analyzes how the government of Indonesian President Jokowi has responded to the unprecedented Islamist-populist mobilization in the capital Jakarta in late 2016. Unsystematically mixing elements of all available options, Jokowi’s administration pursued a criminalization strategy against populists that violated established legal norms, and launched vaguely targeted but patronage-oriented accommodation policies. As a result, the government’s attempt to protect the democratic status quo from populist attacks turned into a threat to democracy itself. Indonesian democracy, I argue, is now in a slow but perceptible process of deconsolidation.

The purpose of this study was to report the outcome of 'isolated' anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures treated with anatomical endoscopic reconstruction using hamstring tendon autograft at a mean of 15 years (14.25 to 16.9). A total of 100 consecutive men and 100 consecutive women with 'isolated' ACL rupture underwent four-strand hamstring tendon reconstruction with anteromedial portal femoral tunnel drilling and interference screw fixation by a single surgeon. Details were recorded pre-operatively and at one, two, seven and 15 years post-operatively. Outcomes included clinical examination, subjective and objective scoring systems, and radiological assessment. At 15 years only eight of 118 patients (7%) had moderate or severe osteo-arthritic changes (International Knee Documentation Committee Grades C and D), and 79 of 152 patients (52%) still performed very strenuous activities. Overall graft survival at 15 years was 83% (1.1% failure per year). Patients aged < 18 years at the time of surgery and patients with > 2 mm of laxity at one year had a threefold increase in the risk of suffering a rupture of the graft (p = 0.002 and p = 0.001, respectively). There was no increase in laxity of the graft over time. ACL reconstructive surgery in patients with an 'isolated' rupture using this technique shows good results 15 years post-operatively with respect to ligamentous stability, objective and subjective outcomes, and does not appear to cause osteoarthritis.

In this paper, we propose a flexible mixed-integer linear programming formulation of the AC OPF problem for distribution systems, using convexification and linearization techniques. The proposed formulation allows the representation of discrete decisions via integer decision variables, captures the nonlinear behavior of the electrical network via approximations of controllable accuracy, and can be solved to global optimality with commercial optimization solvers. The formulation is based on conventional variables that describe network behavior, which ensures its flexibility and the possibility of application to various distribution system problems, as we indicate with case studies.

Abstract In late antiquity astrology held a key position among the accepted and well-reputed sciences. As ars mathematica closely connected with astronomy, it made its way into the highest political and philosophical orders of the Roman Empire and became the standard model of interpreting past, present, and future events. Although this is widely acknowledged by modern historians, most scholars assume that the application of astrological theories is limited to the 'pagan mind,' whereas Jewish and Christian theology is characterized by a harsh refutation of astrology's implications. As can easily be shown, this assumption is not the result of careful examination of the documentary evidence but of a preconceived and misleading opinion about the basic ideas of astrology, which led to an astonishing disregard of Jewish and Christian evidence for astrological concerns. This evidence has been either played down - if not neglected entirely - or labeled 'heretic,' thus prolonging the polemics of the 'church fathers' right into modernity. After having reviewed the biases of previous research into monotheistic astrology and its crucial methodological problems, I shall propose a different approach. Astrology has to be seen as a certain way of interpreting reality. In this regard it is the very backbone of esoteric tradition. I shall sketch the different discourses reflected in some late antiquity's Jewish and Christian documents. It will be shown that the astrological worldview of planetary and zodiacal correspondences was common to most of the sources. Examples will be presented for illustrating different adoptions of this attitude, namely the discourse of cult theology, the magical and mystical application of astrological knowledge, the debates concerning volition and determinism, and, finally, the use of astrology for political and religious legitimization.

The ethical norms established in various codes and regulations are inadequate to resolve some of the ethical problems presented by clinical trials. They are stated too vaguely to provide unequivocal answers to many specific questions. In order to remedy this situation, many commentators have proposed the development of more specific and complex regulations. We propose that a more fruitful approach would be to examine the ethical principles underlying the norms and to apply these principles to the specific problems. We apply this approach to two questions: (1) Is it ethical to select subjects for a randomized clinical trial (RCT) exclusively from Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals? (2) In the conduct of a RCT is it necessary to disclose the fact that therapy will be determined by chance? We conclude that problems of justice arise not only because of the vulnerability of patients in VA hospitals but also because of the loss of the physician-patient relationship in an RCT. However, the use of patients in a VA hospital is not always unjust; in most cases such use can be made more just through various modifications in design. We also conclude that the fact of randomization should be disclosed in any situation in which it might materially affect the prospective subject's decision, and that the values and preferences of the subjects should be taken into account in determining what information might be material. This work is only a preliminary step toward analyzing ethical issues in clinical trials. While some would challenge our conclusions, we hope that our methods will facilitate clarity about the locus of disagreement in current controversies and about the value questions that must be answered in order to set an ethical context for the conduct of clinical trials.

Two perspectives guide examinations of alcohol-related injury; studies of drinking behaviors which characterize the activities in which drinkers participate, and studies of drinking patterns which characterize individuals' likelihoods of intoxication. This paper presents a study of self-reported drinking and driving using both perspectives. A theoretical model of the relationships of drinking patterns and drinking behaviors to drinking and driving is derived. This model is used as the basis for analyses of self-reports of driving after drinking and driving while intoxicated. Using cross-sectional data from a study of alcohol-related injury in the United States, these self-reports were related to measures of respondent socio-demographics, drinking patterns, beverage preferences and routine activities. The results showed: (1) that the drinking pattern measures were significantly related to likelihoods of drinking and driving; (2) these measures were superior to alternate measures of drinking patterns in their ability to explain drinking and driving; (3) the measures of beverage preferences were unrelated to either measure of drinking and driving; and (4) that the utilization of certain venues for drinking (bars and restaurants) was significantly related to both measures of drinking and driving. It is concluded that observed socio-demographic differences in drinking and driving (e.g. related to ethnicity and marital status) are due to related differences in drinking patterns and drinking behaviors.

Abstract This article addresses the predicament of the academic study of religions and directs the debate into more fruitful fields of research. After a brief account of the most important problems - identified as the "crisis of representation", the "situated observer", and the "dilemma of essentialism and relativism" - I argue that, in order to cope with these afflictions, we should scrutinize religions as systems of communication and action and not as systems of (unverifiable) belief. Not inner states of the mind or speculations about the transcendent are our issue, but the analysis of publicly communicated constructions. The term "fields of discourse" is introduced to denote both the coherence of these cultural arenas and the "recursive" involvement of scholars who are themselves actors in them. As a meta-theoretical instrument, the ideal type of "discourse" makes visible multiple perspectives on religious phenomena and - although the analysis' contingency and ethnocentricity is acknowledged - allows for the description of long-lasting traditions.

This article presents the Dutch Questionnaire God Image (QGI), which has two theory-based dimensions: feelings towards God and perceptions of God's actions. This instrument was validated among a sample of 804 respondents, of which 244 persons received psychotherapy. Results showed relationships between the affective and cognitive aspect of the God image. The God image of psychiatric patients had a more negative and threatening nature than the God image of the non-psychiatric respondents. Also, religious culture appeared to affect the God image.

CONTEXT: teaching students in reflection calls for specific teacher competencies. We developed and validated a rating scale focusing on Student perceptions of their Teachers' competencies to Encourage Reflective Learning in small Groups (STERLinG). METHODS: we applied an iterative procedure to reduce an initial list of 241 items pertaining to teacher competencies to 47 items. Subsequently, we validated the instrument in two successive studies. In the first study, we invited 679 medical and speech and language therapy students to assess the teachers of their professional development groups with the STERLinG. Principal components analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation was used to investigate the internal structure of the instrument. In the second study, which involved 791 medical, dental, and speech and language therapy students, we performed a confirmatory factor analysis using the oblique multiple group (OMG) method to verify the original structure. RESULTS: in Study 1, 463 students (68%) completed the STERLinG. The PCA yielded three components: Supporting self-insight; Creating a safe environment, and Encouraging self-regulation. The final 36-item instrument explained 44.3% of the variance and displayed high reliability with α-values of 0.95 for the scale, and 0.91, 0.86 and 0.86 for the respective subscales. In Study 2, 501 students (63%) completed the STERLinG. The OMG confirmed the original structure of the STERLinG and explained 53.0% of the total variance with high α-values of 0.96 for the scale, and 0.94, 0.90 and 0.90 for the respective subscales. CONCLUSIONS: the STERLinG is a practical and valid tool for gathering student perceptions of their teachers' competencies to facilitate reflective learning in small groups considering its stable structure, the correspondence of the STERLinG structure with educational theories and the coverage of important domains of reflection. In addition, our study may provide a theoretical framework for the practice of and research into reflective learning.

Through publication in The Interpreter's Bible the theory is being given wide currency that Paul's collected letters were published originally in the form of two papyrus rolls, the first containing Ephesians and I and II Corinthians, the second comprising Romans, I and II Thessalonians, Galatians, Colossians-Philemon, and Philippians.

New evidence from the Utah Population Database (UPDP) reveals that at the onset of the fertility transition, reproductive behavior was transmitted across generations - between women and their mothers, as well as between women and their husbands' family of origin. Age at marriage, age at last birth, and the number of children ever born are positively correlated in the data, most strongly among first-born daughters and among cohorts born later in the fertility transition. Intergenerational ties, including the presence of mothers and mothers-in-law, influenced the hazard of progressing to a next birth. The findings suggest that the practice of parity-dependent marital fertility control and inter-birth spacing behavior derived, in part, from the previous generation and that the potential for mothers and mothers-in-law to help in the rearing of children encouraged higher marital fertility.

Increased use of cigars has been noted among youth, as well as use of blunts (hollowed-out cigars filled with marijuana). Three types of relationships have been previously hypothesized between use of tobacco and marijuana in substance use progression. We aimed to assess these relationships for Southeast Asian American youth and adults in an urban population. We conducted in-person interviews with 164 Southeast Asians, smokers and non-smokers, in two low-income urban communities in Northern California, collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. Analysis of the quantitative data indicated distinct use patterns for blunts, cigars and other forms of marijuana in terms of associations with generation in the United States. The use of these items was also found to be related: ever having smoked cigarettes or blunts increased the risk of ever having smoked the other three items. Qualitative data found indications of all three hypothesized relationships between tobacco and marijuana for youths but not for older adults. For youths in the study, 'smoking' was found to constitute a social construct within which use of cigarettes, cigars and blunts were somewhat interchangeable. Youths in similar settings may initiate into and progress through smoking as an activity domain rather than any one of these items.

This article concentrates on the care for people who suffer from progressive dementia. Dementia has a great impact on a person's well-being as well as on his or her social environment. Dealing with dementia raises moral issues and challenges for participants, especially for family members. One of the moral issues in the care for people with dementia is centred on responsibilities; how do people conceive and determine their responsibilities towards one another? To investigate this issue we use the theoretical perspective of Margaret Walker. She states that ideas about identity play a crucial role in patterns of normative expectations with regard to the distribution of responsibilities in daily practices of care. The results of this study show how the identity of a family-member is put under pressure and changes during her loved one's illness that leads to difficulties and misunderstandings concerning the issue of responsibility These results offer an insight into the complexities of actual practices of responsibility and highlight the importance for those caring for people with dementia of attending carefully to how they see themselves and how they see other people involved (Who am I? Who do I want to be for the other?). Answers to such questions show what people expect from themselves and from one another, and how they at any rate, are distributing responsibilities in a given situation. Professional caregivers should take into account that family members might have different ideas about who they are and consequently about what their responsibilities are.

Children's ideas about needles, stethescopes, and X rays can be ordered in the same manner as their ideas about number seriation, conservation of weight, or projective space.

This paper explores eco-theological responses to climate change in Oceania. First, we review central texts in the contextual theological tradition in Oceania, focusing on recent responses to climate change. This points to a body of theological texts integrating climate change into a broader effort to reform classical theologies and church practices. Secondly, we identify challenges facing the contextual theologies, among them recent claims about climate-change-denying responses by Biblicist Christians in the Pacific region. These challenges apart, we suggest, thirdly, that the churches are important actors in the cultural modeling of climate change. We highlight the uniqueness of Christian narratives from the Pacific region, while alluding to the fact that literal interpretations of scriptures are influential in many other parts of the world too.

Abstract Ancient seafarers faced dangers and fears posed by the sea and sailing. Specialized religious beliefs and practices developed accordingly. Sailors honored deities whose attributes could benefit or devastate a voyage. Divine patrons were worshipped in harbor and at promontory shrines. Ships were considered imbued with a protective spirit and contained sacred spaces. Mariners performed religious ceremonies on land and at sea to protect their voyages. Specialized features are found in funerary practices and mortuary rituals of seafarers. Maritime religions were subsets of ancient religions, generated by unique uncertainties and perils at sea.

Several criticisms of the Groningen Protocol rest on misunderstandings about how it works or which babies it concerns. Some other objections-about quality-of-life judgments and parents' role in making decisions about their children-cannot be easily cleared away, but at least in the context of Dutch culture and medicine, the protocol is acceptable.

Abstract Whether or not it will be possible to relocate settlers from the “territories” depends not just on the willingness of the relevant Israeli officials to authorize evacuation of some or all of the West Bank and Gaza given the violence it may cause, but especially on the thinking and the changing attitudes of the settlers themselves. Only by understanding the views of the current settlers — their motivations, their beliefs, and the differences among them — will it be possible to formulate a sensible relocation strategy. That was the focus of the conference's first panel.

The long-accepted theory that Hebrew literature is largely the product of Babylonian influences is now discredited, both because of the unquestionable originality of Hebrew thought, in general, and in particular because the use of cuneiform models and materials is recognized to have been greatly overrated. Eventually Amurru or Khatti or Caphtor may be found to have made important contributions in the intellectual realm, as they have in the material, but at present the most powerful antidote for Pan-babylonianism is to be found in Egypt. Not that the view is returning which once prevailed among the Greeks, that all culture and wisdom came from the valley of the Nile, but the extent and importance of its influence, especially in Palestine, is becoming more and more evident.