A Hymnal's Theological Significance

Abstract : A hymnal is a synthetic theological manual, which is a cue card to the church's sounding form. It lives in a stream with a soundscape, expresses a theological orientation, and stands as an ethical check and balance with a prophetic voice against the empire's addictions and entrapments.     

Keeping in Tune with the Times—Praise & Worship Music as Today's Evangelical Hymnody1 in North America

Abstract : In the heated discussion about different church music styles, one aspect often gets overlooked: the similarities between traditional hymns and the modern or contemporary Praise and Worship music (P&W). Aiming at unfolding some of these similarities, this article contemplates technological, sociological, and theological perspectives to reveal parallels between the two practices and postulates P&W as today's evangelical hymnody in North America.     

Acceptance of cosmetic surgery and celebrity worship: Evidence of associations among female undergraduates

The present study examined the association between acceptance of cosmetic surgery and celebrity worship in a sample of British female undergraduates. A total of 401 women completed the Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Scale (ACSS; Henderson-King & Henderson-King, 2005), the Celebrity Attitude Scale (McCutcheon, Lange, & Houran, 2002), and provided their demographic details. Results showed that there were highly significant correlations between all subscales of the ACSS and CAS, as well as with participant age, and body mass index (BMI). A series of multiple regressions showed that celebrity worship and participant demographics explained about half of the variance in acceptance of cosmetic surgery, with Intense-personal celebrity worship emerging as the strongest predictor. Limitations of the current study are discussed in conclusion.     

Effects of self-correction on the spelling performance of junior high students with learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Self-Correction and Traditional spelling on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of spelling words with five junior high school students with learning disabilities. During Traditional spelling students received a weekly list of 20 unknown words. Daily 20-minute assignments with these words varied among writing them, arranging them in alphabetical order, dividing the words into syllables, and using a dictionary to locate word meaning. Students were tested on the 20 words at the end of the week. During Self-Correction, students received 20 words on a 5-column sheet of paper. Columns were arranged so that stimulus words could be hidden by folding the paper back, and later exposed after the teacher dictated and the student wrote the words. Students used proofreading marks to self-correct. Sessions lasted 20 minutes, and weekly, delayed, and generalized assessments were conducted. Results indicated that for all five students the Self-Correction procedure was more effective for word acquisition than Traditional spelling. Also, for four of the five students, maintenance of words was higher under Self-Correction. Generalization occurred for three students. Finally, measures of social validity indicated that the students preferred Self-Correction over Traditional spelling, although two teachers in regular classrooms did not notice significant changes in the overall spelling performance for the students. Implications for the classroom practitioner are discussed.     

RALPH WENDELL BURHOE IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract. Ralph Burhoe has sought to preserve “traditional religious wisdom,” but he emphasizes science as a new revelation. His relation to philosophical positivism and his insistence on including in a scientific theology only views that reflect the scientific worldview constitute major philosophical and theological problems. This essay considers the influence of several historical precursors—Francis Ellingwood Abbot, George Burman Foster, and Shailer Mathews of the “Chicago School” of theology, Douglas Clyde Macintosh, and, especially, Henry Nelson Wieman—which has contributed to a favorable reception of Burhoe's ideas. Social problems such as the youth revolution of the 1960s and indifference to the lack of intellectual credibility of religious beliefs have, however, hindered reception of his ideas. The conclusion notes some tasks that must yet be accomplished in order to continue Burhoe's work, particularly that of increasing the general level of education in the sciences.     

Literature, Religion, and Science: A Personal and Professional Trajectory

By tracing the trajectory of his own personal and professional life, the author provides a perspective on how intellectual and religious or spiritual growth, while often seemingly at odds with each other, can nonetheless advance in a mutually enhancing manner. The historical conflict between literature and science is briefly outlined as a parallel to that between religion and science, and the importance of metaphor as a common element in all three fields is explored. Emphasis is placed on metaphor as a means of challenging absolutism, encouraging humility, and promoting a sense of wonder about the universe.     

又有一项生物学信条受到挑战

生物学上的一条新发现———终末分化的神经细胞和心肌细胞具有分裂增殖的能力,向传统理论提出了挑战。指出了真理受一定时代和范围的限制,具有相对性,我们不能超越客观事实去片面追求完善的真理,又要敢于在新技术手段的支持下,提出新观点,勇于向传统观念挑战     

决策中损益值大小效应的发生条件及机制再探 —— 一种齐当别视角及兼对视角本身的一些探讨

通过两个研究,损益值大小效应在1元~1亿元的广阔范围内,以及在只采用选择反应模式的条件下得到了进一步探讨,其机制也在齐当别模型的全新视角下得到了讨论;此外,齐当别模型本身以及模型的经典判断任务也得到了探讨。结果发现：基于选择反应模式时,损益值大小效应在获得情景中稳定存在,并只存在一个风险倾向的拐点,而它在损失情景中则不存在;损益值大小效应的机制能够被齐当别模型很好的解释;齐当别模型的经典判断任务对模型预测效能的检验力不足,但其与新设计的维度内判断任务联合后却有很大改善;齐当别模型对损失情景中的均含0结果值的决策任务的解释力还有待进一步探讨     

仪式动作、象征意义和积极情绪增强控制感：双路径机制

以中国普米族人的传统文化仪式“敬锅庄”为例, 采用回忆任务、创设新颖仪式等方法考察仪式动作、象征意义和积极情绪对普米族青少年及成人的控制感的影响。结果表明, 熟悉敬锅庄仪式的动作、象征意义或者具有更多情感体验的青少年的控制感更强。仪式动作与象征意义对控制感的影响存在双路径机制：仪式动作直接增强个体的控制感, 象征意义通过积极情绪间接增强个体的控制感。象征意义与控制感的关系还因仪式主体不同有所区别：祈求庇佑通过积极情绪间接增强青少年的控制感, 表达感恩通过积极情绪间接增强成年人的控制感。研究结果对探究仪式动作、象征意义和积极情绪对个体控制感的影响有重要启示。     

Suicide bombings and the self

The failure to locate a unifying psychological profile of suicide bombers should prompt moves to a more extended and interdisciplinary front, availing itself of insights from disciplines such as sociology, philosophy and history of ideas, as well as from psychology. This paper aims in that direction by exploring ‘traditional’ versus ‘western liberal’ conceptions of the self, with special emphasis on their possible pathologies; and by integrating those pathologies with insights from Durkheimian suicidology. It is hypothesised that suicide bombers in the West are typically callow, malleable young men targeted by terror merchants, and that their suicide missions are, first and foremost, acts of deluded self-enhancement, which need to be understood against the backdrop of the western liberal conception of the self. Finally, some implications for moral education are suggested.