Religion and Democratic Commitment: A Unifying Motivational Framework

There is no easy answer to the question of whether religiosity promotes or hinders commitment to democracy. Earlier research largely pointed to religiosity as a source of antidemocratic orientations. More recent empirical evidence is less conclusive, however, suggesting that the effect of religiosity on democratic commitment could be positive, negative, or null. We review the existing approaches to the study of religiosity and democratic commitment, focusing on support for the democratic system, political engagement, and political tolerance, by distinguishing accounts that examine a single dimension of religiosity from accounts that adopt a multidimensional approach. We show that multidimensional approaches, while effective in accounting for the effect of religiosity on discrete democratic norms, fall short of accounting for some of the inconsistencies in the literature and in identifying the mechanisms that may be responsible for shaping how religiosity affects endorsement of democratic norms as a whole. To fill this gap, we propose the Religious Motivations and Expressions (REME) model. Applying theories of goal constructs to religion, this model maps associations between three religious expressions (belief, social behavior, and private behavior) and the religious motivations that underly these expressions. We discuss how inconsistent associations between religiosity and elements of democratic commitment can be rendered interpretable once the motivations underlying religious expressions, as well as contextual information, are accounted for. We contend that applying goal constructs to religion is critical for understanding the nature of the religion-democracy nexus.     

疾病疼痛与人文关怀

几乎任何疾病都可能引起疼痛。在临床上和日常生活中,疼痛问题常常被人忽视,而疼痛的敏感性问题也常被人们误认为是耐受性问题。人类的出现,赋予了疼痛以人文意义。随着社会的进步,应该对疼痛问题给予足够的重视。对病人的疼痛,我们有必要给予足够的人文关怀。     

医疗腐败与医院管理伦理

医疗市场经济的利益导向在医疗领域的扭曲体现,产生了医院管理伦理失范,医疗腐败更是对医院管理伦理产生极大的腐蚀作用。因此,反对医疗腐败,倡导文明行医,需要正本清源,从医院管理道德建设的源头抓起,注重医院管理道德人格的完整性;需要对医疗市场经济中的医院管理伦理建设进行方法论的思考,真正做到既要面对市场,又要超越市场。     

Do We Need Toleration as a Moral Virtue?

In this essay, I reconstruct tolerance as a moral virtue, by critically analysing its definition, circumstances, justification and limits. I argues that, despite its paradoxical appearance, tolerance qualifies as a virtue, by means of a restriction of its proper object to differences that are chosen. Since this excludes the most important and divisive differences of contemporary pluralism from the scope of the virtue of tolerance, the moral model of toleration cannot constitute the micro-foundation of the corresponding political practice. However, if the political ideal of toleration must be founded on independent political reasons of justice, the moral model can bridge the gap between private morality and public reason, providing citizens with moral motives to supplement the political obligation to neutrality. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

单纯糖耐量受损的冠心病患者临床及冠脉造影特点分析

入选空腹血糖正常并通过冠脉造影（CAG）确诊为冠心病（CAD）的患者104例行糖耐量试验（OGTT ）,将糖耐量正常（NGT ）者、单纯负荷后2h 血糖受损者（I-IGT ）与同期合并糖尿病（DM ）并通过 CAG 确诊为 CAD 的患者38例对照。结果,（1）DM 组甘油三酯（TG）、总胆固醇（TC）、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇（LDL-C）、载脂蛋白（Apo）、高敏-C 反应蛋白（hs-CRP）、尿微量白蛋白、尿酸（UA）高于 NGT 组（P＜0．05或 P＜0．01）,且 I-IGT 组体质量指数（BMI）最大,与 NGT组及 DM 组比较有统计学意义（P＜0．01）;（2）I-IGT 、DM 组冠状动脉病变支数、重度狭窄、闭塞、弥漫性病变、病变总积分、右冠状动脉病变比例均高于 NGT 组（P＜0．05或 P＜0．01）;（3）DM 组三支病变、弥漫性病变、冠状动脉病变总积分均高于 I-IGT 组（P＜0．05）。因此,空腹血糖正常的 CAD 患者均应行 OGTT 检查,以降低糖耐量异常的漏诊率;I-IGT 患者发生心血管疾病的危险性增加,且随着糖代谢异常的加重而加剧,应及早干预。     

A network conceptualization of the multiple facets of distress tolerance

ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives: Using a network analysis (NA) approach, the current study examined the relations among different facets of Distress Tolerance (DT). The NA approach quantifies and displays relations among variables in a visual network consisting of nodes (symptoms) and edges (partial correlations between symptoms). Design: An exploratory NA approach evaluated how manifestations of DT uniquely and systematically relate to one another. Methods: Undergraduate students (N?=?288) completed 10 commonly used measures of DT including cognitive, behavioral, and self-report measures. Results: Results indicated all relations in the network were positive apart from social sensitivity and suppression. Further, individual DT facets did not form distinct community structures (nodes that cluster together and thus have stronger relations with each other than other nodes in the network). Conclusions: The lack of community structures suggests that DT is a general ability to tolerate distress that is comprised of many different facets rather than the idea that DT is hierarchical and comprised of distinct domains; a current debate within the literature. The self-reported ability to tolerate life demands and tasks was the most influential facet in the overall network suggesting the Frustration Discomfort Scale may be the best global measure of DT.     

Corruption as violation of distributed ethical obligations

The ethics of corruption cannot be analysed without simultaneously addressing the legitimacy of public office or entrusted power. This paper introduces a concept of core unethical corruption, defined as violations of distributed ethical obligations for private gain. In other words, it is suggested that what is ethically wrong with corruption is that it entails the violation of certain obligations attributed to agents. By explicitly relating corruption to obligations, this approach helps make ethical sense of the concepts of public office or entrusted power, attending to the question of their legitimacy. Since distributed obligations are implied by a wide range of ethical theories, the concept of core unethical corruption also reflects a (partial) overlapping consensus on the ethics of corruption.     

Anxiety sensitivity and distress tolerance typologies and relations to posttraumatic stress disorder: A cluster analytic approach

A growing literature suggests a relationship between a high anxiety sensitivity (AS; the fear of anxiety and its related consequences)/low distress tolerance (DT; the capacity tolerate internal negative states) profile and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, specific profiles have not been identified or examined specifically in Veteran samples. Thus, the aims of the present study were to establish empirically derived profiles created from response patterns on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index and Distress Tolerance Scale and to examine associations with PTSD symptom clusters among a sample of combat-exposed Veterans (N = 250). A cluster analytic approach was used to identify AS/DT profiles, and a series of multivariate analyses of variance with post hoc analyses was conducted to examine the relationship between each AS/DT profile and each PTSD symptom cluster. Results indicated a 3-cluster solution including a high AS/low DT “at risk” profile, a low AS/high DT “resilient” profile, and an average AS/DT “intermediate” profile. The at-risk profile was associated with significantly greater symptoms in each PTSD cluster (i.e., hyperarousal, avoidance, re-experiencing) when compared to the other two profiles. The at-risk profile was also associated with greater depressive symptoms and lower self-reported resilience. These findings extend the previous literature by identifying a high AS/low DT “at risk” profile and its associations with PTSD symptoms, underscoring the potential utility in targeting these affect-regulation constructs for clinical intervention.