Autism: A Brief History

This paper discusses how the understanding of autism has changed in the 60 years since Leo Kanner first described the syndrome. Originally identified as an emotional disorder caused by parental ambivalence and rejection, autism today is universally seen as a neurohiological difficulty, whose cause is organic and related to atypical brain development. Evidence for the organic and genetic causes is presented, along with a discussion of how the understanding of autism has evolved during the past half century. The current understanding of autism as a developmental disorder has dramatically improved the quality of care and effectiveness of interventions for these youngsters and their families.     

Biography: A Brief History.

Journal of Religion and Health -     

A History of Western Astrology,volume II: The Medieval and Modern Worlds,by Nicholas Campion

Abstract

The text of the ‘Summary’ of 1523, which forms the basis of this article, has been exhaustively studied in biographies of Bucer, and its theological content has been analysed considerably. I would like to approach it with a question which can appear a little strange. In the years 1522-23, if a Christian layman or woman embraced or shaped themselves to the reforming message of the preacher Martin Bucer, what would that have meant for them in concrete terms in their everyday life? Such a questioning obviously carries with it the risk of too great a subjectivity. I admit this and I accept it. For, on occasions, the reformer himself uses the expression of the Christian life (pp. 100, 13), of life totally centred in Christ, ‘volkommen christlich Leben’ (pp. 116, 21). Here is the result of researches yet to be completed. This research also needs to be measured against texts from Bucer which stem from his mature years.¹     

Pentecostalism in Brazil: A Brief History

Pentecostalism is a popular, fast-growing and politically active force in Brazilian society. It constitutes the greater part of what is now one of the largest practising Protestant communities in the world. However, there have been virtually no academic histories of the phenomenon. The current article, drawing heavily on the author's doctoral thesis, examines the six most important Pentecostal churches as dynamically evolving institutions. They are studied in terms of three waves of institutional creation, emphasizing the flexibility of Pentecostalism's relationship to Brazilian culture and the historical constraints on the development of each group.     

Aversion to Happiness Across Cultures: A Review of Where and Why People are Averse to Happiness

A common view in contemporary Western culture is that personal happiness is one of the most important values in life. For example, in American culture it is believed that failing to appear happy is cause for concern. These cultural notions are also echoed in contemporary Western psychology (including positive psychology and much of the research on subjective well-being). However, some important (often culturally-based) facts about happiness have tended to be overlooked in the psychological research on the topic. One of these cultural phenomena is that, for some individuals, happiness is not a supreme value. In fact, some individuals across cultures are averse to various kinds of happiness for several different reasons. This article presents the first review of the concept of aversion to happiness. Implications of the outcomes are discussed, as are directions for further research.     

A Brief History of Dissonance Theory

Prior to the construction of the theory of cognitive dissonance, the dominant view in American experimental psychology held that behavior, including verbal attitude statements, was learned and shaped by rewards and/or punishments. Dissonance theory took a surprisingly different view by stating that behaviors and reasons for engaging in them could be strengthened by minimizing the very rewards or threatened punishments that produced the behaviors. Many hundreds of experimental studies later, the main argument of dissonance theory is well supported, although researchers disagree about the necessary and sufficient conditions. The present paper traces the major lines of research, including contributions from around the world, and the major controversies among some of the researchers.     

Relationship Between Religious Belief and Happiness: A Systematic Literature Review

Happiness is a feeling that is desired by every human being. To achieve happiness, human try various routes like, to gain financial superiority, fame, entertainment, assets and so on. But on the contrary, religiosity is claimed to be a technique to attain purpose in life, mental health, physical well-being and internal peace, which ultimately leads to happiness in life. This study analyses the studies conducted in last two decades toward understanding the relationship between religiousness and happiness. These studies have been organised in terms of the religions, geographic locations, scales and significance. The study shows that the claim has proven to be true by a vast majority of the surveys irrespective of religion, gender, nationality or race. Although Muslims seems to be the happiest, it requires further verification.     

GENTILES AND HOMOSEXUALS: A Brief History of an Analogy

This paper examines the argument that moral approval of homosexuality is analogous to the early church's inclusion of gentiles. The analogy has a long but often overlooked history, dating back to the start of the modern gay‐rights movement. It has recently gained greater prominence because of its importance to the Episcopal Church's debate with the wider Anglican Communion. Beginning with the Episcopal Church argument, we see that there are five specific areas most in need of further clarification. In this essay I examine significant uses of the analogy from the prior 25 years to see how effectively they address these five areas. I conclude that the conversation surrounding the Gentile Analogy is the current, best hope for mutual understanding among Christians about homosexuality. However, if the analogy is to advance the Christian conversation, much greater care and precision is needed in its application from traditionalists and revisionists alike.     

Psychology and Religion at Rice University: A Brief History

This essay provides a brief history and overview of the psychological, especially psychoanalytic, study of religion at Rice University.     

McEwen-Induced Modulation of Endocrine History: A Partial Review

In endless facets of physiology, there are points of homeostatic balance, such that too much or too litttle of something can both be deleterious (i.e., an "inverse U" pattern). This is particularly true when considering glucocorticoids (GCs), the adrenals steroid secreted during stress. In the first part of this paper, I review a number of realms in which a paucity and an excess of GCs are both damaging. Some findings are classical (for example, concerning GC effects upon body weight), while some are quite recent and have considerable implications for both physiology and pathophysiology (for example, inverse U's of GC actions in the realm of immunity and neuronal survival). The second part of the review considers the far thornier issue of how such inverse U's of GC actions are generated on a cellular and molecular level. One solution that has evolved, primarily in the hippocampus within the nervous system, involves the presence of two different types of receptors for GCs within the same cells; so long as the two receptors have very different affinities and mediate opposing effects on some cellular endpoint, an inverse U will emerge. The second solution, found in a number of peripheral tissues, involves GCs having opposing effects on the amount of some signal being generated (e.g., an immune cytokine) and the sensitivity of target tissues to that signal; under conditions that appear to be physiologically relevant, inverse U's emerge from this pattern as well. The final section of this review considers the enormous role played by Bruce McEwen in the emergence of this literature. I suggest that while much of this obviously has to do with the facts that have come from his group, another substantial contribution is from his steadying and supportive personality, the veritable embodiment of homeostatic balance.     

焦点解决短期治疗(SFBT)的理论述评

焦点解决短期治疗是近二十年逐步发展成熟的心理治疗模式．在西方社会得到了广泛的应用。本文阐述了SFBT的产生背景、基本理念、基本流程与技术及其应用价值．并对这种新兴的心理治疗模式作了简要的评述。     

镇海寺佛教简史

镇海寺自明初创建以来,经过铁林果禅师的中兴,成了五台山的禅宗丛林。康熙五十年(1711)敕建后,改为黄庙,旋即给予二世章嘉阿旺罗森曲殿管辖,遂成历世章嘉活佛道场。新中国成立后,成了喇嘛自主的黄教寺庙。     

Happiness, Economics and Public Policy: A Critique

If politicians and their advisers want to promote the well-being or happiness of citizens they have three ways to find out what they should do. (1) They can analyse the behaviour and the decisions of citizens to find out what they want, in other words: they can try to identify their “revealed preferences”. This is common practice in economics. (2) They can analyse the “stated preferences” of people as they express them explicitly in inquiries, referenda, polls and elections. (3) They can analyse the conditions that make people happy by comparing the conditions of people at different levels of happiness. Economists, like Helen Johns and Paul Ormerod, have an outspoken preference for the first option and they are sceptical about the third. Their argument is unbalanced because they are too critical about the authenticity and complexity of self-reported happiness and not critical enough about the authenticity and complexity of revealed preferences. Economists should appreciate the comparative advantages and additional value of each option and try to find optimal combinations with synergistic effects. Economists should appreciate happiness research as an option to assess the nature and magnitude of “externalities” within their own discipline.     

Metacomprehension: A Brief History and How to Improve Its Accuracy

ABSTRACT— People's judgments about how well they have learned and comprehended text materials can be important for effectively regulating learning, but only if those judgments are accurate. Over two decades of research examining judgments of text learning—or metacomprehension —has consistently demonstrated that people's judgment accuracy is quite poor. We review recent research that has shown some success in improving judgment accuracy and then argue that the most common method used to investigate metacomprehension accuracy may inadvertently constrain it. We describe a new method that sidesteps some problems of the older method and present evidence showing how people can achieve high levels of metacomprehension accuracy.