Smoking and pain--a method of limits and sensory decision theory analysis

The effects of tobacco smoking on responses to electrical stimulation were studied according to a Method of Limits (ML) threshold analysis and a Sensory Decision Theory (SDT) analysis. For the ML procedure, Detection Threshold (DT), Pain Threshold (PT) and Tolerance Level (TL) measures were obtained. For the SDT procedure, nonparametric estimates of capacity to discriminate between stimulus intensities (P(A)) and response criterion (B) were calculated. There was no main effect of tobacco smoking on responses to electrical stimulation. Males had consistently higher ML thresholds than females in both the NS and S condition. Males also tended to increase in DT and PT after smoking. From a comparison between the effects of smoking on ML and SDT measures it was suggested that PT is related mainly to sensory factors and TL to response factors.     

Influence of prolonged deprivation,age and culture on the development of future orientation

Prolonged deprivation and future orientation (FO) were studied in 200 Indian and Nepalese students of 14–16 and 18–20 years with verbal measures. In both cultures low deprived subjects were significantly more future-oriented. In the development of FO both age and deprivation were significant with experiential aspect of socialization exerting greater influence than physico-economic deprivation.     

Liberation Pneumatology: On the Unfettered Work of the Holy Spirit in the World

Despite the frequent refrain concerning the paucity of attention paid to pneumatology in the theological discipline, a review of literature over the past fifty years reveals that pneumatology is an idea whose time has come. However, while writings on the Holy Spirit are manifold, systematically developed pneumatologies are not. In response to this reality, this essay explores four contextually constructed pneumatologies based in communities experiencing marginalisation, oppression, and exclusion: Latin American, womanist, Latinx, and black. These pneumatologies not only represent particular ethnic, social, and racial contexts, but also express a particular hermeneutical perspective on the presence and action of the Holy Spirit, i.e., that of liberation. This perspective reflects the conviction that each genuine act of the Holy Spirit is essentially liberating—individually, socially, politically, ecclesially, and theologically. While other effects accompany this experience, liberation emerges at the heart of the encounter with Spirit. Exemplifying this in multiple ways are pneumatology as the irruption of the Spirit by liberation theologian José Comblin, pneumatology as the memory of the future by womanist Linda E. Thomas, the Holy Spirit as the improvisation of God by black theologian David Emmanuel Goatley, and the Spirit dwelling in convivencia by Latinx theologian Néstor Medina.     

The roles of self-regulation and partner regulation on romantic relationship quality

Research into self-regulation and partner regulation strategies has largely involved parallel lines of research, thus, it is difficult to determine the relative contribution of both forms of regulation when it comes to relationship outcomes. Therefore, the question remains as to which form of regulation is more strongly associated with relationship quality; is it more important to focus on adaptive self-regulation or adaptive strategies to regulate one's partner? The current research addresses this important gap by comparing the relative associations of adaptive self-regulation and adaptive partner regulation strategies on romantic relationship quality. A community sample of mixed gender couples (N = 114) who were predominantly satisfied with their current relationships – but nonetheless still experienced relationship conflict – were administered self-report assessments of various self-regulation and partner regulation strategies as well as a measure of relationship quality. Couples also participated in a videotaped discussion of an unresolved relationship issue that was scored by trained coders for verbal and nonverbal indicators of self-regulation and partner regulation strategies. Actor–partner interdependence modeling revealed that for both men and women, adaptive self-regulation strategies were positively associated with their own evaluations of relationship quality as well as their partner's relationship quality. In contrast, engaging in adaptive partner regulation strategies was not significantly associated with men's or women's own, or their partner's relationship quality. Findings highlight the importance of focusing on self-regulation in relationships, as it is these strategies, over partner regulation strategies, that have more positive implications for the relationship quality experienced by typically satisfied couples.     

The intergenerational transmission of relationship instability: A focus on emerging adult on-off relationships

This study extends prior research on the intergenerational transmission of relationship instability by examining parents' history of on-off relationships as a predictor of emerging adults' own cycling (i.e., breaking up and renewing with the same romantic partner). Data were collected at a large mid-western university from 702 emerging adults (18–25 years old). Multinomial logistic regression was used to predict the likelihood that participants had cycled in a past or current relationship. Results show that parental cycling increased the likelihood of offspring cycling in a past or current relationship relative to never cycling, and greater uncertainty about the future of the relationship was a mechanism through which such transmission occurred. Findings from this study demonstrate that parental relationship instability can even be consequential for the transient relationships within emerging adulthood, making family history a productive area to explore for practitioners working with cyclical partners and/or emerging adults.     

An interview on energy,Christian theology,and ethics with Larry Rasmussen

An interview with Larry Rasmussen on his and others' work on Christian energy ethics. The introduction to the interview gives a brief outline of Christian energy ethics. Rasmussen then reflects on this body of scholarship, where it has been, where it needs to go, and what perspectives or methods it should draw on.     

Unsound and Informally Fallacious Preterist Arguments for Mark 13:24-27

Abstract: The following article evaluates two common arguments for preterist interpretations of Mark 13:24-27, collectively dubbed the ‘time-text’ argument. These two arguments support symbolic and/or historicised interpretations. Our thesis is that the first argument is unsound and the second commits the informal fallacy of false dilemma. Owing to these problems, the arguments and preterist interpretations should be rejected in favour of more plausible futurist interpretations.