Retracing Augustine's Ethics

Augustine's exposition of the image of God in Book 15 of On The Trinity (De Trinitate) sheds light on multiple issues that arise in scholarly interpretations of Augustine's account of lying. This essay argues against interpretations that posit a uniform account of lying in Augustine—with the same constitutive features, and insisting both that it is never necessary to tell a lie and that lying is absolutely prohibited. Such interpretations regularly employ intertextual reading strategies that elide distinctions and developments in Augustine's ethics of lying. Instead, I show how looking at texts written prior and subsequent to the texts usually consulted suggests a trajectory in Augustine's thought, beginning with an understanding of lies as morally culpable but potentially necessary, and culminating in a vision of lying as the fundamental evil and the origin of every sin.     

The Church as an Agent of Help in the Battle Against Late Life Depression

Late life depression has become recognized as a serious mental health problem. Almost 1 in 6 elderly suffer (often in silence) with late life depression. New care delivery agents need to be uncovered and mobilized. Because older Americans' religious habits positively impact their sense of well-being and physical health, the church becomes an ideal medium to offer educational programming focused onprevention and early intervention. This article presents a proposal for how the church could become an agent of help to depressed elderly and their families.     

The association of oral hydroxyurea therapy with improved cognitive functioning in sickle cell disease.

This study examined potential cognitive benefits of oral hydroxyurea therapy for children with sickle cell disease (SCD). Cognitive abilities of 15 children with SCD on hydroxyurea were compared to 50 other children with SCD, controlling for demographics and hematocrit. Children on hydroxyurea scored significantly higher on tests of verbal comprehension, fluid reasoning, and general cognitive ability than children not on the drug. The data therefore provide preliminary evidence of cognitive benefits of hydroxyurea. Mechanisms for this effect may be improved blood/oxygen supply to the brain or reduced fatigue and illness.     

An evidence-based group coping intervention for women living with HIV and history of childhood sexual abuse

Women living with HIV/AIDS and a history of childhood sexual abuse often exhibit sexual trauma symptoms and elevated rates of HIV-risk behaviors. In this paper, we describe a coping skills group intervention that reduced traumatic stress and sexual-risk behavior in a recent randomized clinical trial. We focused on clinical issues that emerged among female participants receiving the intervention. Clinical observations showed that recognizing connections between trauma, psychological distress, and high risk behaviors was a new and powerful experience for many participants. Participants successfully applied psychoeducational material, expressing an increased sense of power and control over their relationships and behaviors as they developed more adaptive cognitive and behavioral skills. Women expressed high levels of satisfaction with the intervention. Recommendations for clinical practice are provided.     

Measuring Russian Culture using Hofstede's Dimensions

This article reports results of Hofstede's five cultural dimensions for 250 Russian respondents. Scores are reported for subgroups according to age, work experience, occupation, number of subordinates, and geographical region. On average, responses showed that Russian culture in the mid-1990s appeared to be moderate in individualism, masculinity, and power distance, and fairly high in paternalism and uncertainty avoidance. The younger generation that came of age during the perestroika of the late 1980s and early 1990s had the highest scores in masculinity and the lowest scores in paternalism. Individuals employed in business had higher uncertainty avoidance than people in the university sector.     

Changes in Religious Coping and Relapse to Drug Use Among Opioid-Dependent Patients Following Inpatient Detoxification

Relapse rates remain high among people with opioid dependence. Identifying psychosocial factors associated with outcomes is important for informing behavioral treatments. This study examined religious coping, opioid use, and 12-step participation among 45 participants receiving inpatient opioid detoxification at baseline and follow-up. At baseline, higher positive coping was related to less frequent opioid use pre-admission (β?=?-.44, p?相似文献