Context Matters: Promises and Concerns Regarding Nanotechnologies for Water and Food Applications

Expectations in the form of promises and concerns contribute to the sense-making and valuation of emerging nanotechnologies. They add up to what we call ‘de facto assessments’ of novel socio-technical options. We explore how de facto assessments of nanotechnologies differ in the application domains of water and food by examining promises and concerns, and their relations in scientific discourse. We suggest that domain characteristics such as prior experiences with emerging technologies, specific discursive repertoires and user-producer relationships, play a key role in framing expectations of nanotechnology-enabled options. The article concludes by suggesting that domain-specific discourses may lead to undesirable lock-ins into specific de facto assessments pre-structuring anticipatory strategies of actors.     

Die Dauer der Unterbringung in der Entziehungsanstalt

In Germany offenders can be sentenced to forensic addiction treatment which is realized in secure mental hospitals (according to section 64 of the German Penal Code). As a rule the persons concerned are transferred to the treatment institution after having served part of their prison sentence. There is an ongoing debate regarding the appropriate length of time of inpatient treatment. The average time in treatment differs considerably between the States of the Federal Republic of Germany and varies from somewhat over 1 year (Bavaria) to more than 2 years (North-Rhine Westphalia). In the trials mandating the treatment order, psychiatric experts are expected to exactly quantify the appropriate time of treatment for a specific person. For a number of reasons this surpasses expert capabilities as there is little empirical evidence regarding the effects of the duration of long-term treatment on outcome criteria, such as relapse or reoffending. This article discusses relevant aspects and suggests a pragmatic way to handle courts’ expectations in these lawsuits.     

Extending the Debate Between Spearman and Wilson 1929: When do Single Variables Optimally Reproduce the Common Part of the Observed Covariances?

The covariances of observed variables reproduced from conventional factor score predictors are generally not the same as the covariances reproduced from the common factors. We sought to find a factor score predictor that optimally reproduces the common part of the observed covariances. It was found algebraically that—under some conditions—the single observed variable with highest loading on a factor reproduces the non-diagonal elements of the observed covariance matrix more exactly than the conventional factor score predictors. This finding is linked to Spearman's and Wilson's 1929 debate on the use of single variables as factor score predictors. A population-based and a sample-based simulation study confirmed the algebraic result that taking a single variable can outperform conventional factor score predictors in reproducing the non-diagonal covariances when the nonzero loading size and the number of nonzero loadings per factor are small. The results indicated that a weighted aggregation of variables does not necessarily lead to an improvement of the score over the variable with the highest loading.     

A CRITIQUE OF BOROWITZ'S POSTMODERN JEWISH THEOLOGY

Abstract. Borowitz's book is primarily a systematic response by a liberal Jewish theologian to his perceived challenges from rationalism on one hand and postmodernism on the other. It is within this context that Borowitz discusses issues of the relationship between modern science and Judaism. The first part of this essay is a summary of Borowitz's book. Here I locate Borowitz's place in the general discipline of Jewish philosophy and theology. The second part of the paper is a critique of Borowitz's discussion of postmodernism and liberalism. It is in this concluding section that the issues raised by contemporary science for Jewish religious thought are discussed.     

Mood as a Result of Temperament Profile: Predictions from the Regulative Theory of Temperament

The paper examines the relationship between three dimensions of mood and temperament traits according to the Regulative Theory of Temperament (RTT). The theory emphasises the role of temperament in meeting environmental requirements and implies that temperamental traits influence mood. The results showed that subjective level of energy was linked most strongly to activity (undertaking behaviours providing intense stimuli). It is questioned whether energy should be considered as a result or a cause of high activity. The best predictor of tense arousal and hedonic tone proved to be emotional reactivity. The former mood dimension was positively related to emotional reactivity, whereas the latter was negatively linked to this trait. The results are consistent with previous investigations on neuroticism and extraversion and widen the knowledge on temperamental predictors of mood by showing associations between briskness and all three mood dimensions. Moreover, the results showed that advantageous mood profile was associated with advantageous temperamental structure which corroborates the relevance of RTT.     

Zur Phänomenologie islamistisch-terroristischer Straftäter

Very little reliable information is currently known about the individual background of terrorist offences. The few empirical studies available are as a rule based on a consideration of the social statistical characteristics without reference to personality or psychopathological diagnostic findings. The present article is based on 40 expert opinions which were given by the author on a total of 29 subjects in the years 2000–2013. All subjects had committed crimes motivated by Islamic beliefs of which 23 could be explored and investigated in detail. Although the offenders included in this study consisted mainly of immigrants to Germany, in recent years a group of young offenders has crystallized, even in this sample of subjects, who were born and grew up in Germany. In the “immigrant” group (n?=?19) no psychopathological traits were detected and also only few ego-syntonic offenders who acted on convictions. In fact, these subjects were more a series of primarily conspicuously dissocial offenders and subjects who had failed to cope with their way of life or with their aims in life. Of the young Moslems who grew up in Germany (n?=?10) three subjects suffered from a schizophrenic psychosis and two had a primarily dissocial psychosis. Among the other subjects there were some special features in the developmental background, especially in the area of identity crises but without any noticeable uniform background pattern for a personality development to an Islamic offender.