A world from brave to new: Talcott Parsons and the war effort at Harvard University.

This article argues that for Parsons and some of his colleagues at Harvard, the Second World War and the post-war period provided a context in which their work contributed to the transformation from totalitarianism to democracy in Central Europe (especially Germany) and Japan. The various agendas of Parsons' work are shown, supplemented by that of three of his colleagues with whom he collaborated (Gordon W. Allport, Carl J. Friedrich, Clyde Kluckhohn). The immediate effect of this work, for Parsons, however, meant frustration rather than fame, and his eventual reputation, I maintain, came unexpectedly with the third of his three attempts in the immediate post-war period to sum up what he believed were crucial insights that the Second World War had yielded concerning the ways in which sociology could contribute to the analytical understanding of democracy. The significance of this work is that it was both political and scientific. Because of the world situation of the 1940s, when the Holocaust in Germany was the nadir of civilization, Parsons believed that social science could contribute to the cause of making the world safe for future democracy. In the 1940s, this future depended on brave citizens, or such might have been Parsons' worldview. Targets envisaged for the 1950s, then, were community and citizenship in the newly democratic societies such as (West) Germany, the land that defeated Nazism.     

Pitirim Sorokin and the American sociological association: The politics of a professional society

Pitirim Sorokin is known as both a pioneer and outcast in the history of American sociology. A Russian emigré with a bruising and combative intellectual style, he was increasingly treated as a pariah by the sociological community. Yet in 1963 he won the presidency of the American Sociological Association by a landslide. Otis Dudley Duncan and the Committee of Eight implemented on his behalf the first successful write-in campaign in the history of the Association. This event put Sorokin in the presidency and significantly changed the electoral processes and politics of the Association. How this came to be so constitutes the focus of this paper.     

Decisions at the end of life: Catholic tradition.

Medical decisions regarding end-of-life care have undergone significant changes in recent decades, driven by changes in both medicine and society. Catholic tradition in medical ethics offers clear guidance in many issues, and a moral framework accessible to those who do not share the same faith as well as to members of its faith community. In some areas, a Catholic perspective can be seen clearly and confidently, such as in teachings on the permissibility of suicide and euthanasia. In others, such as withdrawal of nutrition and hydration, the Church does not yet speak with one voice and has not closed out the discussion. Yet, it is not in the teaching on individual issues that a Catholic moral tradition offers the most help and comfort, but in its account of what it means to lead a life in Christ, and to prepare for a Christian death. As in the problem of pain and suffering, it is the spiritual support more than the ethical guidance that helps both patients and physicians bear the unbearable and fathom the unfathomable.     

Local traditions and Islamic tradition: The dynamics of a conflict seen through the study of a specific case: Funeral rites in a Shfcite village in South Lebanon

In the wake of fifteen years of ‘war’ in Lebanon, the gap between the different religious communities which make up Lebanese society seems to have become unbridgeable. However, through the study of shared traditions, anthropological investigation reveals the existence of a common basis of custom. Similarities in lifestyle and manner of life are all the more apparent in that these communities are united by a common identity (in this case rural), even if at certain times of polarization the likenesses are ignored, and even denied. Detailed research into the funeral rites as practised in a Shi^cite village in Lebanon today, together with a comparative study of those in a Christian village in the same region, bring to light the fact of a shared way of living and an identical attitude in the face of death.     

The critical role of conflict resolution in teams: a close look at the links between conflict type, conflict management strategies, and team outcomes

This article explores the linkages between strategies for managing different types of conflict and group performance and satisfaction. Results from a qualitative study of 57 autonomous teams suggest that groups that improve or maintain top performance over time share 3 conflict resolution tendencies: (a) focusing on the content of interpersonal interactions rather than delivery style, (b) explicitly discussing reasons behind any decisions reached in accepting and distributing work assignments, and (c) assigning work to members who have the relevant task expertise rather than assigning by other common means such as volunteering, default, or convenience. The authors' results also suggest that teams that are successful over time are likely to be both proactive in anticipating the need for conflict resolution and pluralistic in developing conflict resolution strategies that apply to all group members.     

Decision making under conflict: Decision time as a measure of conflict strength

Conflict and choice are closely related in that choice produces conflict and conflict is resolved by making a choice. Although conflict was invoked in psychological approaches to decision making early on (Lewin, 1931/1964), no generally accepted measure of conflict strength has been established (Tversky & Shafir, 1992). The present study introduces a model (multiattribute decision field theory) that predicts a decision time pattern depending on the conflict situation. In a risky decision-making experiment with multiattribute choice alternatives, decision time is investigated as a possible measure of conflict strength. It is shown that the model can be fitted to a complex choice pattern.     

哈佛医学院医学人文课程体系设置探析

哈佛医学院医学人文课程体系较为完整系统.以描述哈佛医学院必修课课程设置为主体,从基础医学教育阶段的职业导论、病人—医生Ⅰ与病人—医生Ⅱ、社会与人口科学相关课程以及医学探索四大类课程和临床见习与实习阶段的病人—医生Ⅲ、临床管理相关课程以及凯普斯课程三大类课程出发,分别对各门课程的主要内容、课时安排、教学方法、评价方式等进行阐述.并以介绍十六大类五十余门选修课的课程设置为补充,剖析哈佛医学院医学人文课程体系发展现状.提出改革必修课程、完善选修课程、促进医学人文教育与专业教育整合的几点建议.     

Spiritual pain: a brief overview and an initial response within the Christian tradition

The author notes that spiritual pain is widespread, both within individuals and society. Drawing on personal experiences and a literature survey, he offers an overview of current work on spiritual pain. As distinct from palliative caregivers, he suggests that spiritual pain can be noticed, but is difficult to define. Drawing on some of the Church's spiritual masters, the author offers a broad typology for spiritual pain, claiming that current methods for attending to spiritual pain are too complex to be useful. He therefore offers, and briefly explores, the image of retreat for attending to spiritual pain--compassionate hospitality, tempered by a form of "tough love" that enables the retreatAnt to embrace, welcome, and dialogue with pain. He suggests that essential features within such an image include an experience of support; a safe and sacred space, a sense of freedom; appropriate expressions of reassurance, and opportunities for forgiveness and reconciliation.