EVIDENCING THE ESCHATON: PROGRESSIVE‐TRANSFORMATIVE ANIMAL WELFARE IN THE CHURCH FATHERS

The author aims to retrieve and creatively develop a strand of Christian thought, stretching from early Christian interpretations of biblical data through the hagiographies of the saints into modern Christian thought, which provides a foundation for concern over the welfare of nonhuman animals. To provide the framework for this strand, the author explores the theology of Irenaeus of Lyons and Ephrem the Syrian. First, he considers their positions regarding the place of nonhuman animals in protology and eschatology. Then, he notes their view that the created order is in via toward its eschatological consummation. With this framework in place, he turns to other voices in the Christian tradition, including the hagiographies of the saints, in order to further develop the framework. Ultimately, the author suggests that, within this particular strand of Christian thought, the further a human being progresses along the path of redemption, the more he or she ought to serve as a prolepsis of eschatological hope, which includes peaceful relationships between humans and animals.     

EDUCATION,SOCIAL CREATIVITY,AND THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIETY

The evolution of society, the transcendence of existing social structures, and how society creates itself rests in a function of education. In this article the author examines education's work as that of social creativity. The need for pedagogies of “educate hope” and “imaginative possibilities” is explored. Social epistemology and social imaginary are discussed as dimensions of social creativity within the postmodern society. The aesthetic imperative in education is argued as important to developing the capacities and capabilities in youth to imagine alternative future possibilities of democratic society. The author concludes by examining the role of education in the evolution of society.     

AN ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATION FOR THE ASYMMETRICAL EFFECTS IN RELATIONAL DEMOGRAPHY RESEARCH

Several relational demography studies have demonstrated asymmetrical effects of dissimilarity across different groups of employees. Some groups of employees appear to be more influenced by differences from fellow employees, whereas other groups of employees appear indifferent. Although numerous theoretical explanations have been developed to account for these asymmetrical effects, this paper argues that such effects are actually methodological artifacts resulting from an imbalance in the proportion of group members and deficiencies in the most commonly used measure of dissimilarity, Euclidean distance. This paper illustrates how such asymmetrical effects can be observed even when none exist in the population. Suggestions for methodological improvements in future diversity research are discussed along with recommendations for managing diversity in organizations.     

MATCHING INDIVIDUALS TO OCCUPATIONS USING ABILITIES AND THE O*NET: ISSUES AND AN APPLICATION IN CAREER GUIDANCE

The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is a modern computerized occupational database with the potential to be an important resource for numerous work-related applications. However, developing any O*NET-based application requires working through conceptual, methodological, and practical issues. This article discusses a set of major issues in the context of using the O*NET for person-occupation matching purposes, providing examples of how these issues were addressed in a systematic ability-based matching application developed for career guidance. Specifically, we (a) describe the O*NET and its potential for career guidance, (b) explain person-occupation fit and its positive consequences for individuals and organizations, (c) compare person-occupation fit with person-job fit, (d) discuss matching individuals to occupations empirically using abilities, (e) highlight issues faced in using the O*NJST in this process and give examples of how these issues were addressed in our matching application, and (f) evaluate the functioning of this example matching method.