TURING MACHINE AS UNIVERSAL ALGORITHM EXECUTOR AND ITS APPLICATION IN THE PROCESS OF HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS` ADVANCED STUDY OF ALGORITHMIZATION AND PROGRAMMING FUNDAMENTALS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleksandr B. Yashchyk

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the importance of studying the notion of algorithm and its formal specification using Turing machines. In the article it was identified the basic hypothesis of the theory of algorithms for Turing as well as reviewed scientific research of modern scientists devoted to this issue and found the main principles of the Turing machine as an abstract mathematical model. The process of forming information competencies components, information culture and students` logical thinking development with the inclusion of the topic “Study and Application of Turing machine as Universal Algorithm Executor” in the course of Informatics was analyzed.

Stochastic Turing Patterns: Analysis of Compartment-Based Approaches

KAUST Repository

Cao, Yang; Erban, Radek

2014-01-01

© 2014, Society for Mathematical Biology. Turing patterns can be observed in reaction-diffusion systems where chemical species have different diffusion constants. In recent years, several studies investigated the effects of noise on Turing patterns and showed that the parameter regimes, for which stochastic Turing patterns are observed, can be larger than the parameter regimes predicted by deterministic models, which are written in terms of partial differential equations (PDEs) for species concentrations. A common stochastic reaction-diffusion approach is written in terms of compartment-based (lattice-based) models, where the domain of interest is divided into artificial compartments and the number of molecules in each compartment is simulated. In this paper, the dependence of stochastic Turing patterns on the compartment size is investigated. It has previously been shown (for relatively simpler systems) that a modeler should not choose compartment sizes which are too small or too large, and that the optimal compartment size depends on the diffusion constant. Taking these results into account, we propose and study a compartment-based model of Turing patterns where each chemical species is described using a different set of compartments. It is shown that the parameter regions where spatial patterns form are different from the regions obtained by classical deterministic PDE-based models, but they are also different from the results obtained for the stochastic reaction-diffusion models which use a single set of compartments for all chemical species. In particular, it is argued that some previously reported results on the effect of noise on Turing patterns in biological systems need to be reinterpreted.

Stochastic Turing Patterns: Analysis of Compartment-Based Approaches

KAUST Repository

Cao, Yang

2014-11-25

© 2014, Society for Mathematical Biology. Turing patterns can be observed in reaction-diffusion systems where chemical species have different diffusion constants. In recent years, several studies investigated the effects of noise on Turing patterns and showed that the parameter regimes, for which stochastic Turing patterns are observed, can be larger than the parameter regimes predicted by deterministic models, which are written in terms of partial differential equations (PDEs) for species concentrations. A common stochastic reaction-diffusion approach is written in terms of compartment-based (lattice-based) models, where the domain of interest is divided into artificial compartments and the number of molecules in each compartment is simulated. In this paper, the dependence of stochastic Turing patterns on the compartment size is investigated. It has previously been shown (for relatively simpler systems) that a modeler should not choose compartment sizes which are too small or too large, and that the optimal compartment size depends on the diffusion constant. Taking these results into account, we propose and study a compartment-based model of Turing patterns where each chemical species is described using a different set of compartments. It is shown that the parameter regions where spatial patterns form are different from the regions obtained by classical deterministic PDE-based models, but they are also different from the results obtained for the stochastic reaction-diffusion models which use a single set of compartments for all chemical species. In particular, it is argued that some previously reported results on the effect of noise on Turing patterns in biological systems need to be reinterpreted.

Control of Turing patterns and their usage as sensors, memory arrays, and logic gates

Science.gov (United States)

Muzika, František; Schreiber, Igor

2013-10-01

We study a model system of three diffusively coupled reaction cells arranged in a linear array that display Turing patterns with special focus on the case of equal coupling strength for all components. As a suitable model reaction we consider a two-variable core model of glycolysis. Using numerical continuation and bifurcation techniques we analyze the dependence of the system's steady states on varying rate coefficient of the recycling step while the coupling coefficients of the inhibitor and activator are fixed and set at the ratios 100:1, 1:1, and 4:5. We show that stable Turing patterns occur at all three ratios but, as expected, spontaneous transition from the spatially uniform steady state to the spatially nonuniform Turing patterns occurs only in the first case. The other two cases possess multiple Turing patterns, which are stabilized by secondary bifurcations and coexist with stable uniform periodic oscillations. For the 1:1 ratio we examine modular spatiotemporal perturbations, which allow for controllable switching between the uniform oscillations and various Turing patterns. Such modular perturbations are then used to construct chemical computing devices utilizing the multiple Turing patterns. By classifying various responses we propose: (a) a single-input resettable sensor capable of reading certain value of concentration, (b) two-input and three-input memory arrays capable of storing logic information, (c) three-input, three-output logic gates performing combinations of logical functions OR, XOR, AND, and NAND.

Church, freedom and bolshevisation of Moscow University

Science.gov (United States)

Gaina, Alex

2008-05-01

A short description of events, occured in Russia after 1917 with emphasysis on main phyilosophycal curents such as marxism and believing, first of atheistic content and second of christian moralty content is given. It is argued, that bolshevicks contributed to progress of Russia, but this was reached by mean of purges and terror, during which many peoples were killed, especially representatives of the Russian Ortodox church. A list of scientists, which contributed more than other to the bolshevisation of the Russia and Moscow University, particularly, is given. The controverse between Hegel and Einstein from one part and Marx and bolshevicks from other part is examined also. The bolshevicks destroyed the Russian ortodox church, instead of its modernisation, is argued. The Calendar in the Russian Ortodox church is discussed, which is Julian, and it is argued, that a peaceful dialogue between the representatives of the Church and scientists is needed in order to make a transition to the Gregorian one.

A physical implementation of the Turing machine accessed through Web

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marijo Maracic

2008-11-01

Full Text Available A Turing machine has an important role in education in the field of computer science, as it is a milestone in courses related to automata theory, theory of computation and computer architecture. Its value is also recognized in the Computing Curricula proposed by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM and IEEE Computer Society. In this paper we present a physical implementation of the Turing machine accessed through Web. To enable remote access to the Turing machine, an implementation of the client-server architecture is built. The web interface is described in detail and illustrations of remote programming, initialization and the computation of the Turing machine are given. Advantages of such approach and expected benefits obtained by using remotely accessible physical implementation of the Turing machine as an educational tool in the teaching process are discussed.

The law and financial transparency in churches: reconsidering the form 990 exemption

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Montague

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Il contributo - già apparso su Cardozo Law Review, vol. 35, october 2013, n. 1, pp. 213-265 - è ora pubblicato per la cortesia dell’EditoreTABLE OF CONTENTS: Introduction - I. Legislative History A. Early Legislative History of the Information Return Requirement - The Revenue Act of 1943 - 2. The Imposition of the Unrelated Business Income Tax in 1950 - 3. Expanding the Information Return and Unrelated Business Income Tax in 1969 - B. Televangelist Scandals During the 1980s - C. Recent Legislative History of the Information Return - 1. The William Aramony Scandal and Aftermath - 2. Recent Revisions to Form -II. Increased public access to and use of FORM 990 Information Returns - III. Churches should not be exempt from filing form - A. Churches Are Especially Susceptible to Financial Abuses /- 1. Many Churches Lack Basic Forms of Oversight and Accountability, Revealing Too Much Trust in the Honesty of Religious People - 2. Churches Where Power is Concentrated in the Hands of One Leader Provide the Ideal Structure for Financial Abuse - 3. Even at Churches with More Independent Boards, Leaders Still Maintain Undue Influence - 4. The Nature of Spiritual Leadership Gives Church Pastors Extraordinary Power - 5. Hierarchical Churches also Lack Proper Financial Oversight, and Lay Members Have Little Say in Accountability - B. Churches Themselves Would Benefit from Increased Transparency and Accountability - 1. Greater Transparency May Increase Donations - 2. Requiring Transparency Would Mitigate the Inevitable Fall in Donations from Scandals at Similar Institutions -3. Financial and Other Scandals, Caused or Exacerbated by Lack of Transparency, Have the Potential to Damage the Spiritual Lives of Churchgoers - C. Many Churchgoers Would Likely Welcome More Financial Transparency - D. Financial Transparency is Consistent with the Teachings of Many Churches - E. Self-Regulation Is Insufficient to Prevent Financial Abuse

Passing the Turing Test Does Not Mean the End of Humanity.

Science.gov (United States)

Warwick, Kevin; Shah, Huma

In this paper we look at the phenomenon that is the Turing test. We consider how Turing originally introduced his imitation game and discuss what this means in a practical scenario. Due to its popular appeal we also look into different representations of the test as indicated by numerous reviewers. The main emphasis here, however, is to consider what it actually means for a machine to pass the Turing test and what importance this has, if any. In particular does it mean that, as Turing put it, a machine can "think". Specifically we consider claims that passing the Turing test means that machines will have achieved human-like intelligence and as a consequence the singularity will be upon us in the blink of an eye.

Testing the Turing Test — do Men Pass It?

Science.gov (United States)

Adam, Ruth; Hershberg, Uri; Schul, Yaacov; Solomon, Sorin

We are fascinated by the idea of giving life to the inanimate. The fields of Artificial Life and Artificial Intelligence (AI) attempt to use a scientific approach to pursue this desire. The first steps on this approach hark back to Turing and his suggestion of an imitation game as an alternative answer to the question "can machines think?".1 To test his hypothesis, Turing formulated the Turing test1 to detect human behavior in computers. But how do humans pass such a test? What would you say if you would learn that they do not pass it well? What would it mean for our understanding of human behavior? What would it mean for our design of tests of the success of artificial life? We report below an experiment in which men consistently failed the Turing test.

Churching Alone

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leth-Nissen, Karen Marie

bridging forms of social capital. Methodologically, I combined the use of surveys with interviews and fieldwork, including document sources and statistical data. In the course of my study, I worked in different modes – distanciation and participation – using both quantitative and qualitative research...... methods. My research approach resembles the approaches used in the research field of empirically informed practical theology. Though using a diverse research strategy, I do not claim to present a universal knowledge of the context of the church through this study; my goals are “particularity......The aim of my dissertation is to study changes in the use of the Danish folk church. Through my studies, I am establishing a new research concept: churching alone. I work as a practical theologian using methods from the sociology of religion. My theoretical perspectives are drawn from the research...

The universal computer the road from Leibniz to Turing

CERN Document Server

Davis, Martin

2011-01-01

The breathtakingly rapid pace of change in computing makes it easy to overlook the pioneers who began it all. Written by Martin Davis, respected logician and researcher in the theory of computation, The Universal Computer: The Road from Leibniz to Turing explores the fascinating lives, ideas, and discoveries of seven remarkable mathematicians. It tells the stories of the unsung heroes of the computer age -- the logicians. The story begins with Leibniz in the 17th century and then focuses on Boole, Frege, Cantor, Hilbert, and Godel, before turning to Turing. Turing's analysis of algorithmic pro

Religious Authority in African American Churches: A Study of Six Churches

OpenAIRE

Yeary, Karen Hye-cheon Kim

2011-01-01

A sociological study of religious authority and gender in the context of a rural, impoverished community was conducted in African American churches in one county of the Arkansas Lower Mississippi Delta region to understand relationships between religious leadership, gender, race, and social justice. Three female and three male African American pastors were interviewed as key-informants of their churches to investigate views of female religious authority, and to compare and contrast the congre...

Simulations of Quantum Turing Machines by Quantum Multi-Stack Machines

OpenAIRE

Qiu, Daowen

2005-01-01

As was well known, in classical computation, Turing machines, circuits, multi-stack machines, and multi-counter machines are equivalent, that is, they can simulate each other in polynomial time. In quantum computation, Yao [11] first proved that for any quantum Turing machines $M$, there exists quantum Boolean circuit $(n,t)$-simulating $M$, where $n$ denotes the length of input strings, and $t$ is the number of move steps before machine stopping. However, the simulations of quantum Turing ma...

Polyamide membranes with nanoscale Turing structures for water purification

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Zhe; Chen, Shengfu; Peng, Xinsheng; Zhang, Lin; Gao, Congjie

2018-05-01

The emergence of Turing structures is of fundamental importance, and designing these structures and developing their applications have practical effects in chemistry and biology. We use a facile route based on interfacial polymerization to generate Turing-type polyamide membranes for water purification. Manipulation of shapes by control of reaction conditions enabled the creation of membranes with bubble or tube structures. These membranes exhibit excellent water-salt separation performance that surpasses the upper-bound line of traditional desalination membranes. Furthermore, we show the existence of high water permeability sites in the Turing structures, where water transport through the membranes is enhanced.

Trust Building Recruitment Strategies for Researchers Conducting Studies in African American (AA) Churches: Lessons Learned.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonner, Gloria; Williams, Sharon; Wilkie, Diana; Hart, Alysha; Burnett, Glenda; Peacock, Geraldine

2017-12-01

An initial and vital important step in recruiting participants for church-based hospice and palliative care research is the establishment of trust and credibility within the church community. Mistrust of medical research is an extremely important barrier hindering recruitment in African American (AA) communities. A church-based EOL dementia education project is currently being conducted at four large urban AA churches. Church leaders voiced mistrust concerns of previous researchers who conducted investigations in their faith-based institutions. We explored strategies to ameliorate the mistrust concerns. Specific aim: To identify trust-rebuilding elements for researchers following others who violated trust of AA church leaders. Face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted from a convenient sample of four established AA church leaders. Interviews were held in the informants' churches to promote candor and comfort in revealing sensitive information about trust /mistrust. Content analysis framework was used to analyze the data. Elements identified from the analysis were then used to create themes. Multidimensional overarching themes emerged from the analysis included: Experience with researchers (positive and extremely negative), violation of trust and trust building strategies. Findings suggest that researchers who wish to conduct successful studies in the AA religious institutions must implement trust rebuilding strategies that include mutual respect, collaboration and partnership building. If general moral practices continue to be violated, threat to future hospice and palliative care research within the institutions may prevail. Thus, potential benefits are thwarted for the church members, AA community, and advancement of EOL care scholarship.

Turing instability in reaction-diffusion systems with nonlinear diffusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zemskov, E. P., E-mail: zemskov@ccas.ru [Russian Academy of Sciences, Dorodnicyn Computing Center (Russian Federation)

2013-10-15

The Turing instability is studied in two-component reaction-diffusion systems with nonlinear diffusion terms, and the regions in parametric space where Turing patterns can form are determined. The boundaries between super- and subcritical bifurcations are found. Calculations are performed for one-dimensional brusselator and oregonator models.

Theoretical Fundaments for a Turing-Type Test for Virtual Environments

OpenAIRE

Sonnenfeld, Nathan

2016-01-01

AbstractAlan Turing supposed the “imitation game” which has also been called the Turing Test. In the game an interrogator is tasked with telling two similar stimuli apart by asking questions then, based on their responses, correctly identifying both stimuli. Applying this concept to virtual reality to create a similar test will be important as virtual reality becomes more and more like reality. It is also important to explore the conceptual and theoretical issues with the Turing Test in order...

The Imitation Game: Alan Turings enigmatiske imitationsspil

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bentzen, Martin Mose

2015-01-01

Alan Turing revolutionerede computervidenskaben og modtog først verdens anerkendelse længe efter sin død. Nu sætter filmen 'The Imitation Game', der har premiere i Danmark 29. januar 2015, fokus på det oversete geni.......Alan Turing revolutionerede computervidenskaben og modtog først verdens anerkendelse længe efter sin død. Nu sætter filmen 'The Imitation Game', der har premiere i Danmark 29. januar 2015, fokus på det oversete geni....

HEALS Hypertension Control Program: Training Church Members as Program Leaders.

Science.gov (United States)

Dodani, Sunita; Beayler, Irmatine; Lewis, Jennifer; Sowders, Lindsey A

2014-01-01

Health disparities related to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) including stroke have remained higher in the African-Americans (AAs) than in other populations. HEALS is a faith-based hypertension (HTN) control program modified according to AA community needs, and delivered by the church-lay members called church health advisors (CHAs). This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of training CHAs as HEALS program leaders. Four CHAs completed a 10-hour HEALS program training workshop at the Church, conducted by the nutrition experts. Workshop was evaluated by CHAs on their level of satisfaction, clarity of contents covered and comfort in delivery the program to the church congregation. The overall six main HEALS curriculum components were completed. Workshop was highly evaluated by CHAs on length of training, balance between content and skills development, and level of satisfaction with program delivery. Church-based culturally modified health promotion interventions conducted by the community lay members may be a way to reduce health disparities in ethnic minorities.

Religious Authority in African American Churches: A Study of Six Churches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen Hye-cheon Kim Yeary

2011-11-01

Full Text Available A sociological study of religious authority and gender in the context of a rural, impoverished community was conducted in African American churches in one county of the Arkansas Lower Mississippi Delta region to understand relationships between religious leadership, gender, race, and social justice. Three female and three male African American pastors were interviewed as key-informants of their churches to investigate views of female religious authority, and to compare and contrast the congregational culture of female-headed vs. male-headed churches. Among male-headed congregations, views of gender and leadership were complex, with beliefs ranging from no support to full support for female-headed congregations. Two congregational cultures emerged from the data: Congregations with a Social Activist orientation focused on meeting the social needs of the community through Christ, whereas congregations with a Teach the Word orientation stressed the importance of meeting the spiritual needs of the community through knowing the Word of God. Although aspects of both congregational cultures were present to some extentin all six congregations studied, the Social Activist culture played a more dominant narrative in female-headed congregations, whereas the Teach the Word culture was more evident in male-headed congregations. This study reports preliminary information about gender and religious authority in rural African American churches by revealing the different clergy training requirements and church placements of female and male clergy, a myriad of views about female religious authority in the African American faith community, and through uncovering two distinct congregational cultures. This study also enhances understanding on the role of gender in Black churches’ perceptions and interactions with rural, socioeconomically challenged communities.

Feasibility of Turing-Style Tests for Autonomous Aerial Vehicle "Intelligence"

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Larry A.

2007-01-01

A new approach is suggested to define and evaluate key metrics as to autonomous aerial vehicle performance. This approach entails the conceptual definition of a "Turing Test" for UAVs. Such a "UAV Turing test" would be conducted by means of mission simulations and/or tailored flight demonstrations of vehicles under the guidance of their autonomous system software. These autonomous vehicle mission simulations and flight demonstrations would also have to be benchmarked against missions "flown" with pilots/human-operators in the loop. In turn, scoring criteria for such testing could be based upon both quantitative mission success metrics (unique to each mission) and by turning to analog "handling quality" metrics similar to the well-known Cooper-Harper pilot ratings used for manned aircraft. Autonomous aerial vehicles would be considered to have successfully passed this "UAV Turing Test" if the aggregate mission success metrics and handling qualities for the autonomous aerial vehicle matched or exceeded the equivalent metrics for missions conducted with pilots/human-operators in the loop. Alternatively, an independent, knowledgeable observer could provide the "UAV Turing Test" ratings of whether a vehicle is autonomous or "piloted." This observer ideally would, in the more sophisticated mission simulations, also have the enhanced capability of being able to override the scripted mission scenario and instigate failure modes and change of flight profile/plans. If a majority of mission tasks are rated as "piloted" by the observer, when in reality the vehicle/simulation is fully- or semi- autonomously controlled, then the vehicle/simulation "passes" the "UAV Turing Test." In this regards, this second "UAV Turing Test" approach is more consistent with Turing s original "imitation game" proposal. The overall feasibility, and important considerations and limitations, of such an approach for judging/evaluating autonomous aerial vehicle "intelligence" will be discussed from a

A Turing Machine Simulator.

Science.gov (United States)

Navarro, Aaron B.

1981-01-01

Presents a program in Level II BASIC for a TRS-80 computer that simulates a Turing machine and discusses the nature of the device. The program is run interactively and is designed to be used as an educational tool by computer science or mathematics students studying computational or automata theory. (MP)

Practical Implementation of a Graphics Turing Test

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borg, Mathias; Johansen, Stine Schmieg; Thomsen, Dennis Lundgaard

2012-01-01

We present a practical implementation of a variation of the Turing Test for realistic computer graphics. The test determines whether virtual representations of objects appear as real as genuine objects. Two experiments were conducted wherein a real object and a similar virtual object is presented...... graphics. Based on the results from these experiments, future versions of the Graphics Turing Test could ease the restrictions currently necessary in order to test object telepresence under more general conditions. Furthermore, the test could be used to determine the minimum requirements to achieve object...

Kairic Rhythmicity in the Turing-Galaxy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Sisse Siggaard

2001-01-01

This paper explores problems of time and timing in different spaces with refer-ence to two case studies from the epoch of the Turing-Galaxy. Case study 1 is on networked learning communities and case study 2 is an e-learning project in a small multimedia firm in Denmark. Basic assumptions...... are that time has be-come one of our major problems, almost an obstacle rather than a rich source of life, in the epoch of the Turing-galaxy or in the network society, and it is ar-gued, that we have to deal with time in a new way different from during the industrial epoch. In order to discuss these assumptions...

Nonlinear effects on Turing patterns: Time oscillations and chaos

KAUST Repository

Aragón, J. L.

2012-08-08

We show that a model reaction-diffusion system with two species in a monostable regime and over a large region of parameter space produces Turing patterns coexisting with a limit cycle which cannot be discerned from the linear analysis. As a consequence, the patterns oscillate in time. When varying a single parameter, a series of bifurcations leads to period doubling, quasiperiodic, and chaotic oscillations without modifying the underlying Turing pattern. A Ruelle-Takens-Newhouse route to chaos is identified. We also examine the Turing conditions for obtaining a diffusion-driven instability and show that the patterns obtained are not necessarily stationary for certain values of the diffusion coefficients. These results demonstrate the limitations of the linear analysis for reaction-diffusion systems. © 2012 American Physical Society.

Turing Test and After

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

was educated entirely in England and got his degree in mathematics from ... Reading) and designed a machine to do it. The last ... of intelligence' since his seminal work on the universal Turing ... woman. In the game the man will respond like a woman to fool .... him to leave the room while she conversed with the computer!

Church Tourism in Batangas Province, Philippines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JAYZEL ANN. T. DE CASTRO

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Church tourism has clearly increased over the past ten years. Churches are an important part of the tourism product of many parts of the country. This study aimed to determine the contribution of the churches in terms of social, cultural and economic aspects of the place, to identify the problems encountered in the promoting church tourism and propose plan of action to sustain the tourism of the Province of Batangas through churches. The researchers used the descriptive method of research and utilized self-made questionnaire as the main data gathering instrument of the study. The respondents were consisting of 5 people in the offices of the pilgrim churches from Batangas City and 10 churchgoers. The respondents agree that pilgrim churches contribute to tourism in terms of social and economics aspect while they strongly agree in term of cultural aspect. The most commonly experienced problems were the accessibility of the transportation and an action plan was proposed to address the problems encountered. The recommendation addressed that roving guards should be provided to ensure the safety and security of the tourists during their visit in the church. The church personnel may provide creative and command activities that will encourage people. Also they may have a briefing about the history of the church so that if visitor needs information it easy for them to answer and an action plan may be implemented to solve the problem encountered.

Turing mechanism underlying a branching model for lung morphogenesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Hui; Sun, Mingzhu; Zhao, Xin

2017-01-01

The mammalian lung develops through branching morphogenesis. Two primary forms of branching, which occur in order, in the lung have been identified: tip bifurcation and side branching. However, the mechanisms of lung branching morphogenesis remain to be explored. In our previous study, a biological mechanism was presented for lung branching pattern formation through a branching model. Here, we provide a mathematical mechanism underlying the branching patterns. By decoupling the branching model, we demonstrated the existence of Turing instability. We performed Turing instability analysis to reveal the mathematical mechanism of the branching patterns. Our simulation results show that the Turing patterns underlying the branching patterns are spot patterns that exhibit high local morphogen concentration. The high local morphogen concentration induces the growth of branching. Furthermore, we found that the sparse spot patterns underlie the tip bifurcation patterns, while the dense spot patterns underlies the side branching patterns. The dispersion relation analysis shows that the Turing wavelength affects the branching structure. As the wavelength decreases, the spot patterns change from sparse to dense, the rate of tip bifurcation decreases and side branching eventually occurs instead. In the process of transformation, there may exists hybrid branching that mixes tip bifurcation and side branching. Since experimental studies have reported that branching mode switching from side branching to tip bifurcation in the lung is under genetic control, our simulation results suggest that genes control the switch of the branching mode by regulating the Turing wavelength. Our results provide a novel insight into and understanding of the formation of branching patterns in the lung and other biological systems.

A simple and efficient universal reversible Turing machine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Axelsen, Holger Bock; Glück, Robert

2011-01-01

We construct a universal reversible Turing machine (URTM) from first principles. We take a strict approach to the semantics of reversible Turing machines (RTMs), under which they can compute exactly all injective, computable functions, but not non-injective ones. The natural notion of universalit...... factor slowdown, with no other complexity-wise cost wrt time and space. The URTM is also able to function as an inverse interpreter for RTMs at no asymptotic cost, simply by reversing the string representing the interpreted machine....

Turing and Non-Turing patterns in diffusive plankton model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. K. Thakur

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we investigate a Rosenzweig-McAurthur model and its variant for phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish population dynamics with Holling type II and III functional responses. We present the theoretical analysis of processes of pattern formation that involves organism distribution and their interaction of spatially distributed population with local diffusion. The choice of parameter values is important to study the effect of diffusion, also it depends more on the nonlinearity of the system. With the help of numerical simulations, we observe the formation of spatiotemporal patterns both inside and outside the Turing space.

The mechanism of Turing pattern formation in a positive feedback system with cross diffusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Xiyan; Liu, Tuoqi; Zhang, Jiajun; Zhou, Tianshou

2014-01-01

In this paper, we analyze a reaction–diffusion (R–D) system with a double negative feedback loop and find cases where self diffusion alone cannot lead to Turing pattern formation but cross diffusion can. Specifically, we first derive a set of sufficient conditions for Turing instability by performing linear stability analysis, then plot two bifurcation diagrams that specifically identify Turing regions in the parameter phase plane, and finally numerically demonstrate representative Turing patterns according to the theoretical predictions. Our analysis combined with previous studies actually implies an interesting fact that Turing patterns can be generated not only in a class of monostable R–D systems where cross diffusion is not necessary but also in a class of bistable R–D systems where cross diffusion is necessary. In addition, our model would be a good candidate for experimentally testing Turing pattern formation from the viewpoint of synthetic biology. (paper)

The sensitivity of Turing self-organization to biological feedback delays: 2D models of fish pigmentation

KAUST Repository

Gaffney, E. A.

2013-10-01

© The authors 2013. Turing morphogen models have been extensively explored in the context of large-scale self-organization in multicellular biological systems. However, reconciling the detailed biology of morphogen dynamics, while accounting for time delays associated with gene expression, reveals aberrant behaviours that are not consistent with early developmental self-organization, especially the requirement for exquisite temporal control. Attempts to reconcile the interpretation of Turing\\'s ideas with an increasing understanding of the mechanisms driving zebrafish pigmentation suggests that one should reconsider Turing\\'s model in terms of pigment cells rather than morphogens (Nakamasu et al., 2009, PNAS, 106, 8429-8434; Yamaguchi et al., 2007, PNAS, 104, 4790-4793). Here the dynamics of pigment cells is subject to response delays implicit in the cell cycle and apoptosis. Hence we explore simulations of fish skin patterning, focussing on the dynamical influence of gene expression delays in morphogen-based Turing models and response delays for cell-based Turing models. We find that reconciling the mechanisms driving the behaviour of Turing systems with observations of fish skin patterning remains a fundamental challenge.

Frances Allen Wins Turing Award

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 12; Issue 8. Frances Allen Wins Turing Award. Priti Shankar. Article-in-a-Box Volume 12 Issue 8 August 2007 pp ... Author Affiliations. Priti Shankar1. Department of Computer Science and Automation, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India ...

Facilitators and Barriers to Implementing Church-Based Adolescent Sexual Health Programs in Baltimore City.

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, Terrinieka W; Weeks, Fiona H; Illangasekare, Samantha; Rice, Eric; Wilson, James; Hickman, Debra; Blum, Robert W

2017-02-01

Black churches are an important community resource and a potentially powerful actor in adolescent health promotion. However, limited research exists describing the factors that may influence the successful implementation of evidence-based adolescent sexual health programs in churches. In the present study, a multi-informant approach was used to identify facilitators and barriers to implementing adolescent sexual health programs in black churches. Nine Black churches located in Baltimore, MD, were recruited to participate in this study. The senior pastor and youth minster from each congregation participated in an in-depth interview (N = 18). A total of 45 youth (ages 13-19 years) and 38 parents participated in 15 focus groups. Qualitative data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a qualitative content analytic approach. Participants agreed that comprehensive adolescent sexual health education should be available for youth in black churches. They also believed that abstaining from sex should be discussed in all adolescent sexual health programs. Three facilitators were discussed: widespread endorsement of church-based adolescent sexual health education, positive influence of youth ministers on youth, and life lessons as teaching tools. Four barriers are described: perceived resistance from congregants, discomfort among youth, lack of financial resources, and competing messages at home about sexual health. Our findings suggest that churches are a preferred place for adolescent sexual health education among some parents and youth. Study findings also reinforce the feasibility and desirably of church-based adolescent sexual health programs. Copyright © 2016 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The first coronation churches of medieval Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kalić Jovanka

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The medieval ceremony of coronation as a rule took place in the most important church of a realm. The sites of the coronation of Serbian rulers before the establishment of the Žiča monastery church as the coronation church of Serbian kings in the first half of the thirteenth century have not been reliably identified so far. Based on the surviving medieval sources and the archaeological record, this paper provides background information about the titles of Serbian rulers prior to the creation of the Nemanjić state, and proposes that Stefan, son of the founder of the Nemanjić dynasty, was crowned king (1217 in the church of St Peter in Ras.

A new necessary condition for Turing instabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Elragig, Aiman; Townley, Stuart

2012-09-01

Reactivity (a.k.a initial growth) is necessary for diffusion driven instability (Turing instability). Using a notion of common Lyapunov function we show that this necessary condition is a special case of a more powerful (i.e. tighter) necessary condition. Specifically, we show that if the linearised reaction matrix and the diffusion matrix share a common Lyapunov function, then Turing instability is not possible. The existence of common Lyapunov functions is readily checked using semi-definite programming. We apply this result to the Gierer-Meinhardt system modelling regenerative properties of Hydra, the Oregonator, to a host-parasite-hyperparasite system with diffusion and to a reaction-diffusion-chemotaxis model for a multi-species host-parasitoid community. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Globally Stable Microresonator Turing Pattern Formation for Coherent High-Power THz Radiation On-Chip

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Shu-Wei; Yang, Jinghui; Yang, Shang-Hua; Yu, Mingbin; Kwong, Dim-Lee; Zelevinsky, T.; Jarrahi, Mona; Wong, Chee Wei

2017-10-01

In nonlinear microresonators driven by continuous-wave (cw) lasers, Turing patterns have been studied in the formalism of the Lugiato-Lefever equation with emphasis on their high coherence and exceptional robustness against perturbations. Destabilization of Turing patterns and the transition to spatiotemporal chaos, however, limit the available energy carried in the Turing rolls and prevent further harvest of their high coherence and robustness to noise. Here, we report a novel scheme to circumvent such destabilization, by incorporating the effect of local mode hybridizations, and we attain globally stable Turing pattern formation in chip-scale nonlinear oscillators with significantly enlarged parameter space, achieving a record-high power-conversion efficiency of 45% and an elevated peak-to-valley contrast of 100. The stationary Turing pattern is discretely tunable across 430 GHz on a THz carrier, with a fractional frequency sideband nonuniformity measured at 7.3 ×10-14 . We demonstrate the simultaneous microwave and optical coherence of the Turing rolls at different evolution stages through ultrafast optical correlation techniques. The free-running Turing-roll coherence, 9 kHz in 200 ms and 160 kHz in 20 minutes, is transferred onto a plasmonic photomixer for one of the highest-power THz coherent generations at room temperature, with 1.1% optical-to-THz power conversion. Its long-term stability can be further improved by more than 2 orders of magnitude, reaching an Allan deviation of 6 ×10-10 at 100 s, with a simple computer-aided slow feedback control. The demonstrated on-chip coherent high-power Turing-THz system is promising to find applications in astrophysics, medical imaging, and wireless communications.

Church, mission and ethics. Being church with integrity | Dreyer ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article is an exercise in Practical Ecclesiology. The author reflects on church, mission and ethics from historical, hermeneutical and strategic perspectives. Using the ecclesiology of Karl Barth as a point of departure, the author argues that the church needs to be church if it wants to be a credible witness to the Gospel of ...

Competition of Spatial and Temporal Instabilities under Time Delay near Codimension-Two Turing-Hopf Bifurcations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Huijuan; Ren Zhi

2011-01-01

Competition of spatial and temporal instabilities under time delay near the codimension-two Turing-Hopf bifurcations is studied in a reaction-diffusion equation. The time delay changes remarkably the oscillation frequency, the intrinsic wave vector, and the intensities of both Turing and Hopf modes. The application of appropriate time delay can control the competition between the Turing and Hopf modes. Analysis shows that individual or both feedbacks can realize the control of the transformation between the Turing and Hopf patterns. Two-dimensional numerical simulations validate the analytical results. (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)

Noise-induced temporal dynamics in Turing systems

KAUST Repository

Schumacher, Linus J.; Woolley, Thomas E.; Baker, Ruth E.

2013-01-01

We examine the ability of intrinsic noise to produce complex temporal dynamics in Turing pattern formation systems, with particular emphasis on the Schnakenberg kinetics. Using power spectral methods, we characterize the behavior of the system using

The super-Turing computational power of plastic recurrent neural networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Cabessa, Jérémie; Siegelmann, Hava T

2014-12-01

We study the computational capabilities of a biologically inspired neural model where the synaptic weights, the connectivity pattern, and the number of neurons can evolve over time rather than stay static. Our study focuses on the mere concept of plasticity of the model so that the nature of the updates is assumed to be not constrained. In this context, we show that the so-called plastic recurrent neural networks (RNNs) are capable of the precise super-Turing computational power--as the static analog neural networks--irrespective of whether their synaptic weights are modeled by rational or real numbers, and moreover, irrespective of whether their patterns of plasticity are restricted to bi-valued updates or expressed by any other more general form of updating. Consequently, the incorporation of only bi-valued plastic capabilities in a basic model of RNNs suffices to break the Turing barrier and achieve the super-Turing level of computation. The consideration of more general mechanisms of architectural plasticity or of real synaptic weights does not further increase the capabilities of the networks. These results support the claim that the general mechanism of plasticity is crucially involved in the computational and dynamical capabilities of biological neural networks. They further show that the super-Turing level of computation reflects in a suitable way the capabilities of brain-like models of computation.

SOME CHURCH MANAGEMENT IN THE PRINCIPALITY SOUTHEAST RUSSIA IN XI-XII CENTURIES

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Наталья Вячеславовна Логачёва

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This paper shows that the joint cooperation of church and state in the principalities of South-Eastern XI-XII centuries. Emphasizes that the problem is not only scientific but also of practical interest for the modern Russian society. This experience is for national history an invaluable contribution to the field, both secular and ecclesiastical administration in feudal principalities and Old Russian state as a whole. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the process of establishing the relationship between church and state, which were formed, changed and improved over the centuries. In particular, the article says that the medieval relations between church and state were more active and expressed that the church served a number of public functions and is thus, a special part of government agencies and their authorities. At the same time, the author notes that the church was in this historical financial content of the state apparatus. In view of this church-state relations in ancient Russia, primarily in the South-East of Russia, wore a special character - the church was interested in the state, and the state - in the church.

Alan Turing and the origins of modern Gaussian elimination

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Dopico, Froilán M.

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The solution of a system of linear equations is by far the most important problem in Applied Mathematics. It is important both in itself and because it is an intermediate step in many other important problems. Gaussian elimination is nowadays the standard method for solving this problem numerically on a computer and it was the first numerical algorithm to be subjected to rounding error analysis. In 1948, Alan Turing published a remarkable paper on this topic: “Rounding-off errors in matrix processes” (Quart. J. Mech. Appl. Math. 1, pp. 287-308. In this paper, Turing formulated Gaussian elimination as the matrix LU factorization and introduced the “condition number of a matrix”, both of them fundamental notions of modern Numerical Analysis. In addition, Turing presented an error analysis of Gaussian elimination for general matrices that deeply influenced the spirit of the definitive analysis developed by James Wilkinson in 1961. Alan Turing’s work on Gaussian elimination appears in a fascinating period for modern Numerical Analysis. Other giants of Mathematics, as John von Neumann, Herman Goldstine, and Harold Hotelling were also working in the mid-1940s on Gaussian elimination. The goal of these researchers was to find an efficient and reliable method for solving systems of linear equations in modern “automatic computers”. At that time, it was not clear at all whether Gaussian elimination was a right choice or not. The purpose of this paper is to revise, at an introductory level, the contributions of Alan Turing and other authors to the error analysis of Gaussian elimination, the historical context of these contributions, and their influence on modern Numerical Analysis.La resolución de sistemas de ecuaciones lineales es sin duda el problema más importante en Matemática Aplicada. Es importante en sí mismo y también porque es un paso intermedio en la resolución de muchos otros problemas de gran relevancia. La eliminaci

Turing patterns and long-time behavior in a three-species food-chain model

KAUST Repository

Parshad, Rana D.

2014-08-01

We consider a spatially explicit three-species food chain model, describing generalist top predator-specialist middle predator-prey dynamics. We investigate the long-time dynamics of the model and show the existence of a finite dimensional global attractor in the product space, L2(Ω). We perform linear stability analysis and show that the model exhibits the phenomenon of Turing instability, as well as diffusion induced chaos. Various Turing patterns such as stripe patterns, mesh patterns, spot patterns, labyrinth patterns and weaving patterns are obtained, via numerical simulations in 1d as well as in 2d. The Turing and non-Turing space, in terms of model parameters, is also explored. Finally, we use methods from nonlinear time series analysis to reconstruct a low dimensional chaotic attractor of the model, and estimate its fractal dimension. This provides a lower bound, for the fractal dimension of the attractor, of the spatially explicit model. © 2014 Elsevier Inc.

Use of an interactive, faith-based kiosk by congregants of four predominantly, African-American churches in a metropolitan area

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Scott eDulchavksy

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Chronic diseases are prevalent in ethnic communities. Churches represent a potent resource for targeted health promotion. A Faith-Based Kiosk (FBK was developed as an informational tool and placed in four predominantly (>80% African-American churches. Congregants were surveyed to describe Kiosk use, kiosk-user characteristics, health status, and self-reported behavior changes attributed to the kiosk. We analyzed 1,573 questionnaires. Mean age of respondents was 46.4 years and >70% were women. Older congregations (mean age > 46.1 years had more reports of diabetes (p=0.002 and heart disease (p=0.01 than younger churches (mean age 40 years (p2 health conditions, adjusted Odds Ratio (95% Confidence Interval=1.43 (1.0-2.0, p=0.05. Male Kiosk-users preferred to select disease-specific content, aOR=1.87 (1.10-3.17, p=0.02, while females tended to select information about supportive community resources, aOR=0.49 (0.23-1.04, p=0.062. Knowledge of Kiosk-user characteristics and the health status of a congregation, provide an opportunity for targeted, church-based health promotion.

Mapping structural influences on sex and HIV education in church and secular schools in Zimbabwe.

Science.gov (United States)

Mpofu, Elias; Mutepfa, Magen Mhaka; Hallfors, Denise Dion

2012-09-01

The authors used state-of-the-art concept mapping approaches to examine structural institutional effects of church and secular high schools on the types of sexual and HIV-prevention education messages transmitted to learners in Zimbabwe. Participants were school teachers (n = 26), school counselors (n = 28), and pastors involved in student pastoral care (n = 14; males = 27, females = 41). They reported on messages perceived to influence sexual decisions of learners in their school setting. The self-report data were clustered into message types using concept mapping and contrasted for consistency of content and structure both between and within type of school. The authors also engaged in curriculum document study with member checks in the participant schools to determine convergence of the evidence on school-type effects of the messages transmitted to students. Church schools prioritized faith-informed sexual and HIV-prevention messages, whereas both types of schools prioritized Life skills education and a future focus. Secular schools prioritized sex and HIV messages in the context of community norms. Facts about HIV and AIDS were relatively underemphasized by church schools. The implicit knowledge values that differentiate types of schools influence learner access to information important for their sexual decisions.

Relational leadership and the missional church

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacob J. Breedt

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The global realities regarding cultural shifts and the transition between traditional, modern and postmodern world perspectives have particular implications for leadership in general. In several institutions, including those in commercial, educational, medical and religious circles, leaders face the challenges of constant change in lifestyle, relational intelligence and responsibility. The combined impact of these changes in thought and culture, information technology, globalisation and racial, ethnic and religious pluralism has displaced the historic role the church has traditionally played. In this article it was argued that the church would have to take a hard look at relationships, in order to be the successful missional church which was demonstrated by Jesus Christ. The church needs to change, evolve and advance in relational intelligence and leadership � and leaders should set the pace. This implies that a paradigm shift is necessary; it is believed that this can be achieved through the proposed relational leadership style, as clearly demonstrated in the Trinitarian discussion. The Trinity, especially a relational Trinity, revealed the core understanding of missional ecclesiology and leadership and showed that as a result of the total �oneness� of God, there is no hierarchical order in the Godhead and as such the church should function and operate with the Trinity as its model and example.

Alan Turing the enigma

CERN Document Server

Hodges, Andrew

1983-01-01

It is only a slight exaggeration to say that the British mathematician Alan Turing (1912-1954) saved the Allies from the Nazis, invented the computer and artificial intelligence, and anticipated gay liberation by decades--all before his suicide at age forty-one. This classic biography of the founder of computer science, reissued on the centenary of his birth with a substantial new preface by the author, is the definitive account of an extraordinary mind and life. A gripping story of mathematics, computers, cryptography, and homosexual persecution, Andrew Hodges's acclaimed book captures bot

On the Super-Turing Computational Power of Non-Uniform Families of Neuromata

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Wiedermann, Jiří

2002-01-01

Roč. 12, č. 5 (2002), s. 509-516 ISSN 1210-0552. [SOFSEM 2002 Workshop on Soft Computing. Milovy, 28.11.2002-29.11.2002] R&D Projects: GA ČR GA201/00/1489 Institutional research plan: AV0Z1030915 Keywords : neuromata * Turing machines with advice * non-uniform computational complexity * super-Turing computational power Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics

A novel modification of the Turing test for artificial intelligence and robotics in healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashrafian, Hutan; Darzi, Ara; Athanasiou, Thanos

2015-03-01

The increasing demands of delivering higher quality global healthcare has resulted in a corresponding expansion in the development of computer-based and robotic healthcare tools that rely on artificially intelligent technologies. The Turing test was designed to assess artificial intelligence (AI) in computer technology. It remains an important qualitative tool for testing the next generation of medical diagnostics and medical robotics. Development of quantifiable diagnostic accuracy meta-analytical evaluative techniques for the Turing test paradigm. Modification of the Turing test to offer quantifiable diagnostic precision and statistical effect-size robustness in the assessment of AI for computer-based and robotic healthcare technologies. Modification of the Turing test to offer robust diagnostic scores for AI can contribute to enhancing and refining the next generation of digital diagnostic technologies and healthcare robotics. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

On Tight Separation for Blum Measures Applied to Turing Machine Buffer Complexity

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Šíma, Jiří; Žák, Stanislav

2017-01-01

Roč. 152, č. 4 (2017), s. 397-409 ISSN 0169-2968 R&D Projects: GA ČR GBP202/12/G061; GA ČR GAP202/10/1333 Institutional support: RVO:67985807 Keywords : Turing machine * hierarchy * buffer complexity * diagonalization Subject RIV: IN - Informatics, Computer Science OBOR OECD: Computer sciences, information science, bioinformathics (hardware development to be 2.2, social aspect to be 5.8) Impact factor: 0.687, year: 2016

The sensitivity of Turing self-organization to biological feedback delays: 2D models of fish pigmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaffney, E A; Lee, S Seirin

2015-03-01

Turing morphogen models have been extensively explored in the context of large-scale self-organization in multicellular biological systems. However, reconciling the detailed biology of morphogen dynamics, while accounting for time delays associated with gene expression, reveals aberrant behaviours that are not consistent with early developmental self-organization, especially the requirement for exquisite temporal control. Attempts to reconcile the interpretation of Turing's ideas with an increasing understanding of the mechanisms driving zebrafish pigmentation suggests that one should reconsider Turing's model in terms of pigment cells rather than morphogens (Nakamasu et al., 2009, PNAS, 106: , 8429-8434; Yamaguchi et al., 2007, PNAS, 104: , 4790-4793). Here the dynamics of pigment cells is subject to response delays implicit in the cell cycle and apoptosis. Hence we explore simulations of fish skin patterning, focussing on the dynamical influence of gene expression delays in morphogen-based Turing models and response delays for cell-based Turing models. We find that reconciling the mechanisms driving the behaviour of Turing systems with observations of fish skin patterning remains a fundamental challenge. © The Authors 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. All rights reserved.

The Potential Role of Business Intelligence in Church Organizations

Science.gov (United States)

Felder, Charmaine

2012-01-01

Business intelligence (BI) involves transforming data into actionable information to make better business decisions that may help improve operations. Although businesses have experienced success with BI, how leaders of church organizations might be able to exploit the advantages of BI in church organizations remains largely unexplored. The purpose…

Continual Learning through Evolvable Neural Turing Machines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lüders, Benno; Schläger, Mikkel; Risi, Sebastian

2016-01-01

Continual learning, i.e. the ability to sequentially learn tasks without catastrophic forgetting of previously learned ones, is an important open challenge in machine learning. In this paper we take a step in this direction by showing that the recently proposed Evolving Neural Turing Machine (ENTM...

The Lattice-Valued Turing Machines and the Lattice-Valued Type 0 Grammars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Tang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The purpose of this paper is to study a class of the natural languages called the lattice-valued phrase structure languages, which can be generated by the lattice-valued type 0 grammars and recognized by the lattice-valued Turing machines. Design/Methodology/Approach. From the characteristic of natural language, this paper puts forward a new concept of the l-valued Turing machine. It can be used to characterize recognition, natural language processing, and dynamic characteristics. Findings. The mechanisms of both the generation of grammars for the lattice-valued type 0 grammar and the dynamic transformation of the lattice-valued Turing machines were given. Originality/Value. This paper gives a new approach to study a class of natural languages by using lattice-valued logic theory.

Oral Sources and Missionary Historiography in Igbo Church History ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper takes a look at the problems of oral sources and missionary historiography in Igbo church history, 1940-2012. Findings show that the problems of missionary and African Christian oral informants and historiographers had significant effect on Igbo church history. Primary and secondary means in the collection of ...

Turing patterns in parabolic systems of conservation laws and numerically observed stability of periodic waves

Science.gov (United States)

Barker, Blake; Jung, Soyeun; Zumbrun, Kevin

2018-03-01

Turing patterns on unbounded domains have been widely studied in systems of reaction-diffusion equations. However, up to now, they have not been studied for systems of conservation laws. Here, we (i) derive conditions for Turing instability in conservation laws and (ii) use these conditions to find families of periodic solutions bifurcating from uniform states, numerically continuing these families into the large-amplitude regime. For the examples studied, numerical stability analysis suggests that stable periodic waves can emerge either from supercritical Turing bifurcations or, via secondary bifurcation as amplitude is increased, from subcritical Turing bifurcations. This answers in the affirmative a question of Oh-Zumbrun whether stable periodic solutions of conservation laws can occur. Determination of a full small-amplitude stability diagram - specifically, determination of rigorous Eckhaus-type stability conditions - remains an interesting open problem.

Is pigment patterning in fish skin determined by the Turing mechanism?

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Masakatsu; Kondo, Shigeru

2015-02-01

More than half a century ago, Alan Turing postulated that pigment patterns may arise from a mechanism that could be mathematically modeled based on the diffusion of two substances that interact with each other. Over the past 15 years, the molecular and genetic tools to verify this prediction have become available. Here, we review experimental studies aimed at identifying the mechanism underlying pigment pattern formation in zebrafish. Extensive molecular genetic studies in this model organism have revealed the interactions between the pigment cells that are responsible for the patterns. The mechanism discovered is substantially different from that predicted by the mathematical model, but it retains the property of 'local activation and long-range inhibition', a necessary condition for Turing pattern formation. Although some of the molecular details of pattern formation remain to be elucidated, current evidence confirms that the underlying mechanism is mathematically equivalent to the Turing mechanism. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Turing Machines with One-sided Advice and Acceptance of the co-RE Languages

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

van Leeuwen, J.; Wiedermann, Jiří

2017-01-01

Roč. 153, č. 4 (2017), s. 347-366 ISSN 0169-2968 Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GA15-04960S Institutional support: RVO:67985807 Keywords : advice functions * co-RE language s * machine models * Turing machines Subject RIV: IN - Informatics, Computer Science OBOR OECD: Computer sciences, information science, bioinformathics (hardware development to be 2.2, social aspect to be 5.8) Impact factor: 0.687, year: 2016

The Church Bridge Project: An Academic-Community Perspective of a Church-Based Weight Management Pilot Intervention among Young Adult African Americans.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemacks, Jennifer L; James, Robert E; Abbott, Laurie; Choi, Hwanseok; Parker, Ashley; Bryant, Ashley; Ralston, Penny A; Rigsby, Annither Gilner; Gilner, Patricia

2018-01-01

Churches are effective community partners and settings to address weight management among African Americans. There is limited information on the use of churches to reach young adult populations and church collaborations with primary care clinics. The Church Bridge Project represents a community-academic partnership that presents the recruitment process of a church-based weight management intervention and describes baseline data of participants recruited from churches and primary care providers. We also discuss research contributions, challenges and limitations, study applicability, and practice implications from an academic and community perspective. Church leaders were involved in the entire research process. The theory-driven intervention included 12 diabetes prevention program-adapted education and motivational interviewing (MI)-guided sessions. Participants were recruited through primary care providers and church leaders. Demographics, medical and weight history, stage of change for weight loss, social support, and self-efficacy for diet and physical activity, weight, and girth circumferences were measured. Baseline descriptive data were analyzed. Of 64 potential participants, 42 (65.6%) were enrolled in the study and 16 (25.0%) completed baseline data collection. No participants were recruited through primary care providers. Recruited participants were similar to the target population except for being all obese and mostly female. The mean ± SD age of participants was 34.31 ± 8.86 years with most reporting having more than a high school education (n = 14 [87.5%]), individual yearly income of less than $59,000 (n = 12 [75.0%]), and been married or living with a partner (n = 9 [56.3%]). Most reported a history of hypertension and an immediate family history of diabetes and hypertension. Most participants were classified as class III obesity. Young adults and primary care providers are difficult to engage in church-based interventions. Church leaders were

Inter-dependent tissue growth and Turing patterning in a model for long bone development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, Simon; Iber, Dagmar

2013-01-01

The development of long bones requires a sophisticated spatial organization of cellular signalling, proliferation, and differentiation programs. How such spatial organization emerges on the growing long bone domain is still unresolved. Based on the reported biochemical interactions we developed a regulatory model for the core signalling factors IHH, PTCH1, and PTHrP and included two cell types, proliferating/resting chondrocytes and (pre-)hypertrophic chondrocytes. We show that the reported IHH–PTCH1 interaction gives rise to a Schnakenberg-type Turing kinetics, and that inclusion of PTHrP is important to achieve robust patterning when coupling patterning and tissue dynamics. The model reproduces relevant spatiotemporal gene expression patterns, as well as a number of relevant mutant phenotypes. In summary, we propose that a ligand–receptor based Turing mechanism may control the emergence of patterns during long bone development, with PTHrP as an important mediator to confer patterning robustness when the sensitive Turing system is coupled to the dynamics of a growing and differentiating tissue. We have previously shown that ligand–receptor based Turing mechanisms can also result from BMP–receptor, SHH–receptor, and GDNF–receptor interactions, and that these reproduce the wildtype and mutant patterns during digit formation in limbs and branching morphogenesis in lung and kidneys. Receptor–ligand interactions may thus constitute a general mechanism to generate Turing patterns in nature. (paper)

Inter-dependent tissue growth and Turing patterning in a model for long bone development

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Simon; Iber, Dagmar

2013-10-01

The development of long bones requires a sophisticated spatial organization of cellular signalling, proliferation, and differentiation programs. How such spatial organization emerges on the growing long bone domain is still unresolved. Based on the reported biochemical interactions we developed a regulatory model for the core signalling factors IHH, PTCH1, and PTHrP and included two cell types, proliferating/resting chondrocytes and (pre-)hypertrophic chondrocytes. We show that the reported IHH-PTCH1 interaction gives rise to a Schnakenberg-type Turing kinetics, and that inclusion of PTHrP is important to achieve robust patterning when coupling patterning and tissue dynamics. The model reproduces relevant spatiotemporal gene expression patterns, as well as a number of relevant mutant phenotypes. In summary, we propose that a ligand-receptor based Turing mechanism may control the emergence of patterns during long bone development, with PTHrP as an important mediator to confer patterning robustness when the sensitive Turing system is coupled to the dynamics of a growing and differentiating tissue. We have previously shown that ligand-receptor based Turing mechanisms can also result from BMP-receptor, SHH-receptor, and GDNF-receptor interactions, and that these reproduce the wildtype and mutant patterns during digit formation in limbs and branching morphogenesis in lung and kidneys. Receptor-ligand interactions may thus constitute a general mechanism to generate Turing patterns in nature.

Competing Turing and Faraday Instabilities in Longitudinally Modulated Passive Resonators.

Science.gov (United States)

Copie, François; Conforti, Matteo; Kudlinski, Alexandre; Mussot, Arnaud; Trillo, Stefano

2016-04-08

We experimentally investigate the interplay of Turing (modulational) and Faraday (parametric) instabilities in a bistable passive nonlinear resonator. The Faraday branch is induced via parametric resonance owing to a periodic modulation of the resonator dispersion. We show that the bistable switching dynamics is dramatically affected by the competition between the two instability mechanisms, which dictates two completely novel scenarios. At low detunings from resonance, switching occurs between the stable stationary lower branch and the Faraday-unstable upper branch, whereas at high detunings we observe the crossover between the Turing and Faraday periodic structures. The results are well explained in terms of the universal Lugiato-Lefever model.

Faith in the algorithm, part 1: beyond the turing test

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodriguez, Marko A [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Pepe, Alberto [UCLA

2009-01-01

Since the Turing test was first proposed by Alan Turing in 1950, the goal of artificial intelligence has been predicated on the ability for computers to imitate human intelligence. However, the majority of uses for the computer can be said to fall outside the domain of human abilities and it is exactly outside of this domain where computers have demonstrated their greatest contribution. Another definition for artificial intelligence is one that is not predicated on human mimicry, but instead, on human amplification, where the algorithms that are best at accomplishing this are deemed the most intelligent. This article surveys various systems that augment human and social intelligence.

The Brand's PREACH Model: Predicting Readiness to Engage African American Churches in Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, Dorine J; Alston, Reginald J

2017-09-01

Despite many attempts to reduce health disparities, health professionals face obstacles in improving poor health outcomes within the African American (AA) community. To promote change for improved health measures, it is important to implement culturally tailored programming through a trusted institution, such as the AA church. While churches have the potential to play an important role in positively impacting health among AAs, it is unclear what attributes are necessary to predict success or failure for health promotion within these institutions. The purpose of this study was to create a model, the Brand's PREACH ( Predicting Readiness to Engage African American Churches in Health) Model, to predict the readiness of AA churches to engage in health promotion programming. Thirty-six semistructured key informant interviews were conducted with 12 pastors, 12 health leaders, and 12 congregants to gain information on the relationship between church infrastructure (physical structure, personnel, funding, and social/cultural support), readiness, and health promotion programming. The findings revealed that church infrastructure has an association with and will predict the readiness of a church to engage in health promotion programming. The ability to identify readiness early on will be useful for developing, implementing, and evaluating faith-based interventions, in partnership with churches, which is a key factor for sustainable and effective programs.

A 'Turing' Test for Landscape Evolution Models

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, A. J.; Wise, S. M.; Wainwright, J.; Swift, D. A.

2008-12-01

Resolving the interactions among tectonics, climate and surface processes at long timescales has benefited from the development of computer models of landscape evolution. However, testing these Landscape Evolution Models (LEMs) has been piecemeal and partial. We argue that a more systematic approach is required. What is needed is a test that will establish how 'realistic' an LEM is and thus the extent to which its predictions may be trusted. We propose a test based upon the Turing Test of artificial intelligence as a way forward. In 1950 Alan Turing posed the question of whether a machine could think. Rather than attempt to address the question directly he proposed a test in which an interrogator asked questions of a person and a machine, with no means of telling which was which. If the machine's answer could not be distinguished from those of the human, the machine could be said to demonstrate artificial intelligence. By analogy, if an LEM cannot be distinguished from a real landscape it can be deemed to be realistic. The Turing test of intelligence is a test of the way in which a computer behaves. The analogy in the case of an LEM is that it should show realistic behaviour in terms of form and process, both at a given moment in time (punctual) and in the way both form and process evolve over time (dynamic). For some of these behaviours, tests already exist. For example there are numerous morphometric tests of punctual form and measurements of punctual process. The test discussed in this paper provides new ways of assessing dynamic behaviour of an LEM over realistically long timescales. However challenges remain in developing an appropriate suite of challenging tests, in applying these tests to current LEMs and in developing LEMs that pass them.

Planting and growing churches in informal settlement communities with special reference to Orange Farm / Matholose Paulus Ntshumayelo

OpenAIRE

Ntshumayelo, Matholose Paulus

2001-01-01

The study of planting and growing of churches in the informal settlement communities is an important research topic. It has not been covered by most researchers in their research work. Although it is a very important research topic, it is also a very difficult topic to handle because there are no adequate written records on the activities of the informal settlement communities in South Africa. In South Africa today there are millions of people who are staying in the informal settlement commun...

Turing patterns and biological explanation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Serban, Maria

2017-01-01

, promoting theory exploration, and acting as constitutive parts of empirically adequate explanations of naturally occurring phenomena, such as biological pattern formation. Focusing on the roles that minimal model explanations play in science motivates the adoption of a broader diachronic view of scientific......Turing patterns are a class of minimal mathematical models that have been used to discover and conceptualize certain abstract features of early biological development. This paper examines a range of these minimal models in order to articulate and elaborate a philosophical analysis...

The Influence of Pastors' Ideologies of Homosexuality on HIV Prevention in the Black Church.

Science.gov (United States)

Quinn, Katherine; Dickson-Gomez, Julia; Young, Staci

2016-10-01

Young, Black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV, and Black Churches may be a source of stigma which can exacerbate HIV risk and contribute to negative health and psychosocial outcomes. Findings from this study are based on 21 semi-structured interviews with pastors and ethnographic observation in six Black Churches. Interview transcripts and field notes were analyzed in MAXQDA using thematic content analysis. Although pastors espoused messages of love and acceptance, they overwhelmingly believed homosexuality was a sin and had difficulty accepting YBMSM into their churches. The tension around homosexuality limited pastors' involvement in HIV prevention efforts, although there still may be opportunities for some churches.

The influence of pastors’ ideologies of homosexuality on HIV prevention in the Black Church

Science.gov (United States)

Quinn, Katherine; Dickson-Gomez, Julia; Young, Staci

2016-01-01

Young, Black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV and Black churches may be a source of stigma which can exacerbate HIV risk and contribute to negative health and psychosocial outcomes. Findings from this study are based on 21 semi-structured interviews with pastors and ethnographic observation in six Black Churches. Interview transcripts and field notes were analyzed in MAXQDA using thematic content analysis. Although pastors espoused messages of love and acceptance, they overwhelmingly believed homosexuality was a sin and had difficulty accepting YBMSM into their churches. The tension around homosexuality limited pastors’ involvement in HIV prevention efforts, although there still may be opportunities for some churches. PMID:27099095

On reversible Turing machines and their function universality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Axelsen, Holger Bock; Glück, Robert

2016-01-01

We provide a treatment of the reversible Turing machines (RTMs) under a strict function semantics. Unlike many existing reversible computation models, we distinguish strictly between computing the function backslashlambda x.f(x) $ x . f ( x ) and computing the function backslashlambda x. (x, f(x)...

Unilateral regulation breaks regularity of Turing patterns

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Vejchodský, Tomáš; Jaroš, F.; Kučera, Milan; Rybář, Vojtěch

2017-01-01

Roč. 96, č. 2 (2017), č. článku 022212. ISSN 2470-0045 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 328008 - STOCHDETBIOMODEL Institutional support: RVO:67985840 Keywords : unilateral term * Turing instability * pattern Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics OBOR OECD: Applied mathematics Impact factor: 2.366, year: 2016 https://link. aps .org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.96.022212

First experiences with electrochemical in-situ desalination of bricks in a church vault construction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rörig-Dalgaard, Inge

2012-01-01

was chosen. Salt profiles from three different bricks within this area clarified two bricks with low ion contents and one with a high ion content which is representative for church vault constructions. The idea of using a climate chamber for dissolution of present salts for minimizing additional water supply...... problematic in relation to church vault constructions with murals as the surface deterioration can result in loss of valuable cultural heritage. An electrochemical method has been investigated with focus on possible use for desalination of salt loaded vault constructions with murals in laboratory scale...

Not All the Bots Are Created Equal: The Ordering Turing Test for the Labeling of Bots in MMORPGs

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Stefano De Paoli

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This article contributes to the research on bots in Social Media. It takes as its starting point an emerging perspective which proposes that we should abandon the investigation of the Turing Test and the functional aspects of bots in favor of studying the authentic and cooperative relationship between humans and bots. Contrary to this view, this article argues that Turing Tests are one of the ways in which authentic relationships between humans and bots take place. To understand this, this article introduces the concept of Ordering Turing Tests: these are sort of Turing Tests proposed by social actors for purposes of achieving social order when bots produce deviant behavior. An Ordering Turing Test is method for labeling deviance, whereby social actors can use this test to tell apart rule-abiding humans and rule-breaking bots. Using examples from Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games, this article illustrates how Ordering Turing Tests are proposed and justified by players and service providers. Data for the research comes from scientific literature on Machine Learning proposed for the identification of bots and from game forums and other player produced paratexts from the case study of the game Runescape.

Nonlinear effects on Turing patterns: Time oscillations and chaos

KAUST Repository

Aragó n, J. L.; Barrio, R. A.; Woolley, T. E.; Baker, R. E.; Maini, P. K.

2012-01-01

consequence, the patterns oscillate in time. When varying a single parameter, a series of bifurcations leads to period doubling, quasiperiodic, and chaotic oscillations without modifying the underlying Turing pattern. A Ruelle-Takens-Newhouse route to chaos

The issue of reform of the Church Calendar: The level of information and positions of citizens of Serbia

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Stefanović-Banović Milesa

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Even though the issue of the Calendar used by the Serbian Orthodox Church has been discussed for more than one century, it is still equally as current as in the time of the first attempts aimed at its reform. In the discussions on this topic, the Church Calendar is frequently connected to the religious, i.e. national identity and traditions. This paper is aimed at exploring whether and how citizens of Serbia consider this issue and which arguments are employed by the most fervent supporters of the Calendar, or the opponents of its reform. It aims at providing answers to a range of issues, among which the impact of knowledge and level of information relating to positions about this topic has the central position.

Spiritual gifts for biblical church growth

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Brian A. DeVries

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This article examines the use of spiritual gifts for church growth, particularly in relation to the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. The article begins with a definition of spiritual gifts and by highlighting their purpose for growing the church. This is followed by two practical considerations: How should Christian believers use spiritual gifts for church growth, and how should church leaders motivate gift use for this purpose? Since the Holy Spirit works though believers to build up the body of Christ, advocates of biblical church growth should seek to employ his means to motivate spiritual giftedness in the church.

The keys of the kingdom as paradigm for building up the church in reformed church government

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A. le R. du Plooy

1998-06-01

Full Text Available This article adopts an ecclesiological approach and concentrates on the prominent concepts the keys of the kingdom and building up the church. The article attempts to determine the significance those concepts may have for the government of the church and emphasises the close relationship between the keys of the kingdom and the building up of the church. According to Reformational viewpoints the administering of the keys serves the edification of the church. It becomes clear that the notae ecclesiae and the keys of the kingdom function as the basic elements of the church order and must be regarded as the basis or pillars upon which the church is built.

Turing instability for a two-dimensional Logistic coupled map lattice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, L.; Zhang, G.; Han, B.; Zhang, L.; Li, M.F.; Han, Y.T.

2010-01-01

In this Letter, stability analysis is applied to a two-dimensional Logistic coupled map lattice with the periodic boundary conditions. The conditions of Turing instability are obtained, and various patterns can be exhibited by numerical simulations in the Turing instability region. For example, space-time periodic structures, periodic or quasiperiodic traveling wave solutions, stationary wave solutions, spiral waves, and spatiotemporal chaos, etc. have been observed. In particular, the different pattern structures have also been observed for same parameters and different initial values. That is, pattern structures also depend on the initial values. The similar patterns have also been seen in relevant references. However, the present Letter owes to pattern formation via diffusion-driven instabilities because the system is stable in the absence of diffusion.

Mission of evangelization of the Roman Catholic Church in the information era

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Kyyak Maksym Tarasovich

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Radical changes that are taking place in the media sphere lead to a significant cultural and social development. New technologies not only change the way we communicate, but communication itself so that we can state that we live in times of great cultural transformations. Modern media not only transform the existing system of values but also form new axiological space. Media nowadays has turned into an effective modelling tool of value orientation of society. By the level of impact on the value system, society media can be compared with religion today. Along with the development of the information society, as well as with the development of the Internet, appears a new virtual reality. The Roman Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965 is characterized by its dynamism and modernity; it has many benefits from that era which is called informational, especially in its evangelistic mission.

A Church with the Poor – Lessons From Scripture and From ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The church has an essential role to play in communities riddled with poverty, disease, and despair. Communities in informal-settlement areas suffer a great deal. Churches in these communities are often small and have few means for alleviating poverty. In the Bible, the community of God is a community of love. Although ...

Alan Turing: person of the XXth century?

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Sánchez Ron, José M.

2013-12-01

Full Text Available “Time” magazine chose Albert Einstein as “Person of the Century.” This was undoubtedly a reasonable choice, but as I will argue in this article, there are also good reasons for contending that Turing might have received this honor. One such reason I consider here is his purely scientific work, which stems from the greatest mathematical tradition, and how it affected the development of mathematics itself and was finally instrumental in shaping a new technological world. This is true both as regards the computation and treatment of information as well as the establishment of new forms of social relations. In relation to the foregoing, we have Turing’s contributions to the deciphering of secret codes during the Second World War, which in a somewhat metaphorical sense may be regarded as a new tool for undermining personal privacy, that civil right whose denial finally ruined his lifeEn diciembre de 1999, la revista Time eligió a Albert Einstein “The Person of the Century”. Fue, no cabe duda, una elección razonable, pero, como se argumenta en este artículo, existen también buenos argumentos para sostener que Turing podría haber recibido tal honor. En apoyo de semejante tesis están sus trabajos puramente científicos, que se esbozan aquí, trabajos que entroncan con la mejor tradición matemática, y cómo afectaron al desarrollo matemático, siendo finalmente instrumentales en la configuración de un nuevo mundo tecnológico, tanto en lo que al cálculo y manejo de información se refiere, como en lo relativo al establecimiento de nuevas formas de relaciones sociales. Relacionadas con lo anterior, se encuentran las aportaciones que hizo durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial al desciframiento de códigos secretos, que, en cierto sentido, metafórico, se pueden considerar como una nueva herramienta para socavar la privacidad, ese derecho civil cuya negación arruinó su propia vida.

Responses to migration: Tensions and ambiguities of churches in Pretoria Central and Mamelodi East

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Wayne Renkin

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This article is a result of research being conducted to explore how churches in two regions of the City of Tshwane – Pretoria Central and Mamelodi East – respond to urban change and vulnerability. Both regions are deeply affected by urban migration patterns. Firstly, I will explore various forms of migration – transnational, rural-urban, urban–suburban and generational – and the causes of migration – social-economic and political – as experienced and described by the churches themselves. Secondly, I will seek to reflect on some of the tensions or ambiguities of how churches respond to migration, how the identity, self-understanding or locatedness of churches inform their responses to migration, and/or how churches and their identity are shaped by migration – commuter or local church, home or temporary church.

ANÁLISIS DE LA INESTABILIDAD DE TURING EN MODELOS BIOLÓGICOS

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JUAN VANEGAS

2009-01-01

Full Text Available El análisis matemático de modelos biológicos descritos por ecuaciones de reacción difusión da lugar al concepto de inestabilidad de Turing. En este artículo se analiza este concepto y el espacio matemático en donde tiene lugar, conocido como espacio de Turing. El objetivo es establecer la relación entre el conjunto de parámetros que definen la presencia de patrones espacio-temporales en un sistema de reacción difusión. Estos parámetros son validados mediante la implementación numérica por el método de los elementos finitos en 1D y 2D de dos modelos conocidos: el modelo de Schnakenberg y el modelo de glucólisis. Los resultados demuestran que los parámetros obtenidos mediante el análisis matemático cumplen las restricciones de Turing y permiten la formación de patrones espacio-temporales. Se concluye que el análisis matemático de estabilidad es una herramienta útil para la obtención de parámetros desconocidos en modelos que usualmente requieren de ajustes mediante experimentación numérica.

THE FORTIFIED CHURCHES FROM TRANSYLVANIA - HOW WELL ARE THEY KNOWN BY THE ROMANIAN CITIZENS?

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Serb Silvana Valentina

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The Fortified Churches from Transylvania represent an important category of historical and religious sights of the anthropic touristic potential - historic cultural potential of this region. However, they are not exploited from a touristic point of view at their fair value, one reason being the weak promoting activity, especially the lack of information among citizens about the existence of these churches. In this paper, I intend to highlight on the information level awareness among the Romanian citizens regarding the existence of these churches, to identify which are the most well known and visited churches and to establish the profile of those who visit the churches. In the end, the results of this research impose a set of measures to improve the level of information among the Romanian citizens concerning the existence of this historic and religious heritage. The paper is relevant for the doctoral research project called Marketing Places - religious and historical sights of touristic interest from Transylvania under the guidance of Professor Doctor Marius Pop, Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, during 1st of October 2009 - 1st of October 2012.

Turing Incompleteness of Asynchronous P Systems with Active Membranes

OpenAIRE

Leporati, Alberto; Manzoni, Luca; Porreca, Antonio E.

2013-01-01

We prove that asynchronous P systems with active membranes without divi- sion rules can be simulated by place/transition Petri nets, and hence are computationally weaker than Turing machines. This result holds even if the synchronisation mechanisms provided by electrical charges and membrane dissolution are exploited.

Social topos of church architecture

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Zarochintseva Irina

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article proves the idea that descendants are reminded about the history and culture of their country through the architectural forms of Church architecture. Church architecture expresses the power and greatness of folk feats, patriotism and love of freedom. Each church has its own history, includes the architectural style of its epoch, and occupies a certain position among the other religious buildings. Churches have city-forming significance and represent the sacred center of the city; as well they possess a sign, marking function in the area, which can be “read” as a common landmark in the social topes

Church, mission and reconstruction: Being a church with integrity in reconstruction discourse in post-colonial Zimbabwe

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Canon B. Shambare

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The church in Africa, like its counterparts elsewhere in the world, is called to fulfil the mission of God as expressed in the call ‘Missio Dei’ and influentially remains with the integrity of the mission of Christ (Missio Christos, which is liberative and practical. For Christ was not only concerned with the spiritual needs of the people, but also with their material well-being. The following question therefore arises: how can the church in Africa, in general, and in Zimbabwe, in particular, actively do God’s mission and remain with integrity in the midst of the reality of suffering. Furthermore, how can the church for mission and reconstruction be understood in a post-colonial Zimbabwe given the contextual realities of political crises, corruption, poverty, moral decadence, defined or censored truth, leadership crises and no freedom of expression? This article argues that, although the church is faced with these arduous realities, it remains called by God to do God’s mission. While in post-colonial Zimbabwe the socio-political, socio-economic and socio-religious situation might seem hopeless, the church has remained vibrant and alive for reconstruction theology. The transformation of society is possible given the authority and mission mandate of the church. This article argues that the church is a key player in reconstruction theology and in the transformation of society. For transformation to be possible, the church should witness to the gospel of Christ without fear of being labelled, castrated and persecuted. The article asserts that the spirit of the Bible should be revived in a time of reconstruction in Zimbabwe. The assumption in this article is that Zimbabwe is ready for reconstruction discourse. For this to happen, the researchers argue that the church as a critical relevant player in reconstruction needs to ‘be church’ in its missional mandates. Integrity is essential if a church wants to be relevantly missional and

The data collection/data distribution center: building a sustainable African-American church-based research network.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldmon, Moses; Roberson, James T; Carey, Tim; Godley, Paul; Howard, Daniel L; Boyd, Carlton; Ammerman, Alice

2008-01-01

This article describes the Carolina-Shaw Partnership for the Elimination of Health Disparities efforts to engage a diverse group of Black churches in a sustainable network. We sought to develop a diverse network of 25 churches to work with the Carolina-Shaw Partnership to develop sustainable health disparities research, education, and intervention initiatives. Churches were selected based on location, pastoral buy-in, and capacity to engage. A purposive sampling technique was applied. (1) Collecting information on the location and characteristics of churches helps to identify and recruit churches that possess the desired qualities and characteristics. (2) The process used to identify, recruit, and select churches is time intensive. (3) The time, energy, and effort required managing an inter-institutional partnership and engage churches in health disparities research and interventions lends itself to sustainability. The development of a sustainable network of churches could lead to successful health disparities initiatives.

Deciphering CAPTCHAs: what a Turing test reveals about human cognition.

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Thomas Hannagan

Full Text Available Turning Turing's logic on its head, we used widespread letter-based Turing Tests found on the internet (CAPTCHAs to shed light on human cognition. We examined the basis of the human ability to solve CAPTCHAs, where machines fail. We asked whether this is due to our use of slow-acting inferential processes that would not be available to machines, or whether fast-acting automatic orthographic processing in humans has superior robustness to shape variations. A masked priming lexical decision experiment revealed efficient processing of CAPTCHA words in conditions that rule out the use of slow inferential processing. This shows that the human superiority in solving CAPTCHAs builds on a high degree of invariance to location and continuous transforms, which is achieved during the very early stages of visual word recognition in skilled readers.

Connecticut church passes genetics resolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Culliton, B J

1984-11-09

The Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ, which represents the largest Protestant denomination in the state, has passed a resolution affirming an ethical duty to do research on human gene therapy and is planning to form local church groups to study the scientific and ethical issues involved. The resolution is intended to counter an earlier one proposed by Jeremy Rifkin to ban all efforts at engineering specific traits into the human germline. The Rifkin proposal had been endorsed by a large number of religious leaders, including the head of the U.S. United Church of Christ, but was subsequently characterized by many of the church leaders as overly restrictive.

Forging a Collaborative Relationship between the Black Church and the Counseling Profession

Science.gov (United States)

Adksion-Bradley, Carla; Johnson, Darrell; Sanders, JoAnn Lipford; Duncan, Lonnie; Holcomb-McCoy, Cheryl

2005-01-01

In the field of counseling, there has been a growing awareness of the important role the Black church plays in African American communities. Although counseling professionals have begun recognizing the influence the Black church has in the lives of African Americans, there seems to be little information on how counselors can collaborate with…

Beliefs About Sex and Parent-Child-Church Sex Communication Among Church-Based African American Youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Erin; Berkley-Patton, Jannette; Bohn, Alexandria; Hawes, Starlyn; Bowe-Thompson, Carole

2015-10-01

Parent-child sex communication has been shown to be protective against sexual risk among African American youth. The current study sought to use the theory of planned behavior as a framework for focus group discussions (N = 54 youth participants aged 12-19 years) to explore church youths' (a) sex beliefs and values (attitudes), (b) sources and evaluation of sex communication and education (subjective norms), (c) facilitator/barriers to adolescent sexual risk reduction and communication behaviors (perceived behavioral control), and (d) intentions to engage in these behaviors. Additionally, participants identified strategies for consideration in developing tailored parent-child-church sex communication education programs for use in African American churches. Themes suggested both positive and negative attitudes toward premarital sex and parents and churches as key sources of sex education and communication. Strategies to enhance parent-child-church sex communication are discussed in the context of these findings.

Churches, chaplains and the Great War

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Takken, A.J.

2015-01-01

When in 1914 the European nations mobilised for war, the churches followed suit. Notwithstanding pre-war church peace conferences and close international cooperation, most churches and churchmen immediately and whole-heartedly supported their nation’s participation in war and provided the religious

Probabilistic Feasibility of the Reconstruction Process of Russian-Orthodox Churches

Science.gov (United States)

Chizhova, M.; Brunn, A.; Stilla, U.

2016-06-01

The cultural human heritage is important for the identity of following generations and has to be preserved in a suitable manner. In the course of time a lot of information about former cultural constructions has been lost because some objects were strongly damaged by natural erosion or on account of human work or were even destroyed. It is important to capture still available building parts of former buildings, mostly ruins. This data could be the basis for a virtual reconstruction. Laserscanning offers in principle the possibility to take up extensively surfaces of buildings in its actual status. In this paper we assume a priori given 3d-laserscanner data, 3d point cloud for the partly destroyed church. There are many well known algorithms, that describe different methods of extraction and detection of geometric primitives, which are recognized separately in 3d points clouds. In our work we put them in a common probabilistic framework, which guides the complete reconstruction process of complex buildings, in our case russian-orthodox churches. Churches are modeled with their functional volumetric components, enriched with a priori known probabilities, which are deduced from a database of russian-orthodox churches. Each set of components represents a complete church. The power of the new method is shown for a simulated dataset of 100 russian-orthodox churches.

The Dutch Reformed Church as a prominent established South African church: In transition towards the 21st century

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Pieter Kruger

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The Dutch Reformed Church (Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk is in transition because of the influences of the more recent South African epochs of democratisation, Africanisation and globalisation. The histories of these epochs extend over more than 20 years and have had a significant influence on the church. The Dutch Reformed (DR Church changed institutionally because its place and influence within society changed considerably as a result of political and social transformation since 1994. The ongoing process of Africanisation that accompanies these transformations brings certain reactions to the bosom of the church via the experiences of its members. Most are Afrikaners being more inclined to westernised social frames of reference. Ironically, these people are more susceptible to the effects of globalisation, especially secularisation, which transposes the religious set-up of the DR Church into an open and individuated system. These developments pose major challenges to the DR Church in the sense that it has to reconsider how it approaches society, what it can contribute to the ecumenical church, why it is necessary to reflect on its denominational identity and what its academic, theological endeavours in these regards entail.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article has an interdisciplinary scope because the multiplicity of the present-day calls for interdisciplinary academic reflection. For the purpose of this article, Church Historiography helps to systemise recent ecclesiastical developments within the DR Church. To clarify the influences of these developments on the DR Church, sociological premises are incorporated to describe them within a broader social context. References to the conducted empirical study serve to explain respondents� (members of the DR Church social and religious constructs regarding these ecclesiastical and sociological phenomena.

Object-Oriented Programming in High Schools the Turing Way.

Science.gov (United States)

Holt, Richard C.

This paper proposes an approach to introducing object-oriented concepts to high school computer science students using the Object-Oriented Turing (OOT) language. Students can learn about basic object-oriented (OO) principles such as classes and inheritance by using and expanding a collection of classes that draw pictures like circles and happy…

Emerging Churches in Post-Christian Canada

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Steven Studebaker

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The traditional mainline and evangelical churches in Canada, as in most western countries, are either in decline or static. Taken as a measure of the future, the prospects for Christianity in Canada, and more broadly the West, are bleak. Post-Christian Canada, however, contains thriving alternative and innovative forms of church, often called ‘emerging’ churches. They take many forms of expression, but share common theological convictions. Based on site research and personal interviews, this article describes the various types and contexts of these churches in Canada. It then highlights three of their central theological characteristics. First, rejecting the ‘culture wars’ social involvement of Christendom churches, they embrace practices and initiatives that transform their local communities. Second, they embrace an incarnational and contextual understanding of Christian life and ministry. Eschewing mega-church franchise models, they endeavor to shape their ministry to the their local communities. Third, they adopt a comprehensive rather than compartmental spirituality.

Church unions and their consequences in Poland

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Antoni Mironowicz

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Orthodox Christians in Poland have faced numerous attempts to be forced into union with the Roman Catholic Church, ranging from the thirteenth to the twentieth century. The first attempt at a union between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church took place as early as the mid-thirteenth century. Another attempt at forcing the Orthodox Church into union with Rome took place during the reign of Ladislaŭ II Yagiello. The problem of church union returned in the reign of Alexander the Yagiellonian. When Ivan III rejected all projects for bringing the Florence such a union into practice, discussion on church union disappeared until the end of the sixteenth century. The mission of the papal legate, Father Antonio Possevino, to Ivan IV, had been intended to draw Moscow into the union, and its failure caused the papacy to concentrate its efforts on the Orthodox Church in Poland. The Ruthenian bishops’ obedience to the Pope was officially announced on the 8 October 1596. The decisions of the Uniate-Catholic synod were met with numerous protests from the Orthodox clergy and nobility. The larger part of the clergy and the faithful, together with bishops remained in the Orthodox camp. Despite the failure of the Brest Synod in fully uniting Orthodox and Roman churches, new union projects concerning the Orthodox Church in Poland continued to arise prior to the end of 18th century. The Vatican’s interest in the Orthodox Church in Central Europe was renewed at the end of the First World War. On April 1st, 1917, the Pope created the Congregation for the Oriental Churches which was responsibile for all issues relating to the activities of all the Eastern denominations. Despite aims at unification, attempts at church union have had a negative influence on the relations between the Roman Catholic and Polish Orthodox Church in contemporary Poland. The result of centuries of attempts at unification under the Pope has been fragmentation and division.

1989 lectures in complex systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jen, E.

1990-01-01

This report contains papers on the following topics: Lectures on a Theory of Computation and Complexity over the Reals; Algorithmic Information Content, Church-Turing Thesis, Physical Entroph, and Maxwell's Demon; Physical Measures of Complexity; An Introduction to Chaos and Prediction; Hamiltonian Chaos in Nonlinear Polarized Optical Beam; Chemical Oscillators and Nonlinear Chemical Dynamics; Isotropic Navier-Stokes Turbulence. I. Qualitative Features and Basic Equations; Isotropic Navier-Stokes Turbulence. II. Statistical Approximation Methods; Lattice Gases; Data-Parallel Computation and the Connection Machine; Preimages and Forecasting for Cellular Automata; Lattice-Gas Models for Multiphase Flows and Magnetohydrodynamics; Probabilistic Cellular Automata: Some Statistical Mechanical Considerations; Complexity Due to Disorder and Frustration; Self-Organization by Simulated Evolution; Theoretical Immunology; Morphogenesis by Cell Intercalation; and Theoretical Physics Meets Experimental Neurobiology

Instituting dispute resolution procedures in the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe church

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Norman Chivasa

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The need to institute dispute resolution procedures in the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM in Zimbabwe church informs this study. Remarkably, one of the most critical problems facing the AFM in Zimbabwe church is intrachurch disputes, which manifest in diverse forms such as pastors’ transfers disputes, election disputes and pastors’ performance disputes. Such disputes have produced undesirable consequences not only for pastors but also for the wellbeing of the church in general. Intrachurch disputes require internal mechanisms to manage them so that constructive rather than destructive results are achieved. To do this, internal dispute resolution procedures become critical as they provide a framework for the constructive resolution of disputes. The lived experience of disputes in the AFM in Zimbabwe church confirms the appropriateness of systems theory, which states that social institutions are vulnerable to disharmony owing to differing interacting elements. To mitigate the negative impact associated with disputes, this study proposes the need to institute dispute resolution procedures in the AFM in Zimbabwe, because the church currently relies only on disciplinary procedures to address disputes. The study further emphasises that instituting dispute resolution procedures will help the church handle disputes from within its ranks without necessarily involving local courts, which may have negative financial and relationship implications. Finally, the study develops a model for dispute resolution procedures as an instrument that can assist local churches in AFM in Zimbabwe church to handle disputes as and when they arise.

Hierarchy of the Russian Church and Relations between the Horde and the Russian Church during the Tatar-Mongol Invasion of 1237–1240 according to Contemporary Estimates.

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T.R. Galimov

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: The author analyzes activities of the Russian church and its supreme hierarchs during the most active period of the Russian-Horde conflict (1237–1240. Materials: Old Russian chronicles and tales remain the main source of information on the activities of the church hierarchy during the military-political confrontation between Russian principalities and the Horde. As it has been shown by studies of recent years, complex of scenes depicting the struggle against the invaders is not so clear, as it was considered to be in the national historiography for many decades. This observation allows a new reading of the reports on church life in Rus’ during the most acute phase of Russian-Horde war. Results and novelty of the research: Events of 1237–1240 led to a fundamental change in the existing situation in Rus’. This concerned not only the power but also religious institutions. The results of this study suggest that behavior of church hierarchs became the main cause of changes in the socio-political and economic spheres of ancient Russian ecclesiastical organization. The church accepted the rule of the Horde over Rus’ and the Horde benefits and awards reinforced the higher clergy’s loyalty to the khans’ power. This circumstance required the church to declare its stance in respect to the new power. As a result, the need for accepting existing relations between the church and the Horde found its justification in the concept of “Plagues of God”. Such an ideological justification removed conquerors’ responsibility for the ills that befell Rus’ and justified contacts between the church and the Horde. Old Russian sources do not provide direct estimates of the prelates’ behavior. But reading of the chronicle reports leave the impression that contemporaries assessed the behavior of the church quite ambiguously and probably reprehensibly.

A Korean perspective on megachurches as missional churches

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Cornelius J.P. Niemandt

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Both the megachurch and the missional church are on-going global phenomena. Working from the premise that the church has to be missional, this article operates from a Korean perspective and researches whether a megachurch can be missional. The megachurch is not simply a very large church in terms of membership or the physical size of its building(s � because of the influence of the interaction between socio-cultural, historical, and theological backgrounds, the megachurch has its own missiological and ecclesiological perspectives. The megachurch understands that the growth of an individual church implies the expansion of the kingdom of God, which means that the individual church has a responsibility to be both functionally and structurally sound, in order to ensure the efficient growth of the kingdom. This is an influential tendency that is found not only in larger size churches, but in all churches who are trying to achieve the quantitative growth of the church by way of evangelisation. The Korean megachurches, represented by the Poongsunghan Church, display these characteristics. The missional church is not simply a mission-driven church, sending many missionaries to other countries; the missional church believes that all churches are sent to the world by God, who wants to reconcile the whole universe with himself. The implication of this is that the church has to restore its missional essence in order to be able to participate in the mission of God. Thus, the missional church is a reforming movement that witnesses to God�s rule by recovering its apostolic nature. The characteristics of this movement are clearly visible in one of the case studies � the Bundang Woori Church. The importance of the missional movement for Korean churches is emphasised.Interdisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The research is a case study of Korean megachurches from a missional perspective. The research represents a critique of practises in

Missional church and local constraints: A Dutch perspective

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Rein Brouwer

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The missional church concept promises to guide local churches in the direction of a new identity and mission. It is a response to a sense of ecclesiological and congregational urgency that is felt all over the world. In Africa, North America and Europe, churches and local faith communities have been challenged by the changes in the religious state of affairs since the 1960s. Whether we still call it �secularisation� or rephrase it as �differentiated transformation�, the face of religion is changing globally. In many parts of the world, this raises a feeling of crisis that gives way to the redef nition of the mission and purpose of the church. �Missional church�, however, is a precarious concept. Nobody disagrees with the intention but can it be more than an inspiring vision? In order to realise this vision, a multi-layered and multi-dimensional analysis of �culture� is essential. We should move the analysis beyond the philosophical interpretation of relatively abstract and evasive macro-level processes, such as �modernity� and �post-modernity�. The future of the missional church depends on a differentiated and empirical, informed perspective on culture. For this purpose, this article proposes the concept of ecology: A system of diverse populations, including populations of congregations and faith communities, that interacts with these populations and with their specific environments. Preparing a missional congregation for the future should be accompanied with a thorough empirical investigation into the ecology of the congregation. We should be thinking intensively about and looking for vital ecologies.

Sex and the Church : a study of the Catholic Church and reproductive health in Chile

OpenAIRE

Longenecker, Karen

2010-01-01

This work explores the modern day discourse on sexuality in Chile with particular attention given to the influence of the Catholic Church on reproductive health policy. The Catholic Church has historically been involved in popular social reform efforts in the 19th and 20th centuries, and was also heavily involved as the protectorate of human rights during the Pinochet dictatorship. Due to this popular reputation of the Church after the dictatorship and during the transition to democracy, the ...

One in the Spirit: Multiculturalism in Church Libraries.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilton, Donna L.

2001-01-01

Describes the importance of creating church libraries that include multicultural materials, examining preliminary points to consider (how multiculturalism varies from church to church, factors to consider in building a diverse collection, ethnic group characteristics, and the multicultural church collection). Discusses finding and ordering…

Parallel communicating grammar systems with context-free components are Turing complete for any communication model

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Wilkin Mary Sarah Ruth

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Parallel Communicating Grammar Systems (PCGS were introduced as a language-theoretic treatment of concurrent systems. A PCGS extends the concept of a grammar to a structure that consists of several grammars working in parallel, communicating with each other, and so contributing to the generation of strings. PCGS are usually more powerful than a single grammar of the same type; PCGS with context-free components (CF-PCGS in particular were shown to be Turing complete. However, this result only holds when a specific type of communication (which we call broadcast communication, as opposed to one-step communication is used. We expand the original construction that showed Turing completeness so that broadcast communication is eliminated at the expense of introducing a significant number of additional, helper component grammars. We thus show that CF-PCGS with one-step communication are also Turing complete. We introduce in the process several techniques that may be usable in other constructions and may be capable of removing broadcast communication in general.

Alan Turing's Automatic Computing Engine The Master Codebreaker's Struggle to build the Modern Computer

CERN Document Server

Copeland, B Jack

2005-01-01

The mathematical genius Alan Turing (1912-1954) was one of the greatest scientists and thinkers of the 20th century. Now well known for his crucial wartime role in breaking the ENIGMA code, he was the first to conceive of the fundamental principle of the modern computer-the idea of controlling a computing machine's operations by means of a program of coded instructions, stored in the machine's 'memory'. In 1945 Turing drew up his revolutionary design for an electronic computingmachine-his Automatic Computing Engine ('ACE'). A pilot model of the ACE ran its first program in 1950 and the product

Church mediation - een vak apart

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Annelies Klinefelter; dr Hans A.J. Jonker

2009-01-01

Welke rol kan mediation in de kerk spelen in de diverse geledingen en specifieke activiteiten? In dit artikel wordt ingegaan op kerkelijke conflicten, gelaagdheid in church mediation, en specifieke dilemma's van church mediation. Daarnaast komen enkele benaderingen aan bod zoals: helende

Getting young adults back to church: A marketing approach

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Michelle C. van der Merwe

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Worldwide, church membership is decreasing. A decline in the number of young adults that attend church services is also evident. The purpose of the research was to determine whether the application of a well-established body of knowledge of marketing theories and principles could be used by churches to encourage young adults to return to the church. The application of services marketing to the church as a non-profit organisation is discussed by focussing on non-physical and physical atmospheric cues in the church’s servicescape that could enhance church attendance. A quantitative approach was used by testing the opinions of 200 church service attendees of different denominations. The findings indicated that certain elements in the servicescape of a church may be useful in attracting young adults. It was found that music is a strong determinant of whether young adults attend church services, followed by layout and design of the church and then by the signs and symbols used in the church. Females reported significantly higher levels of positive perceptions concerning the layout and design. Although the research showed that some marketing elements, such as a positive servicescape, could improve church attendance, other personal elements such as forming personal relationships with fellow Christians and God need to be further explored.

Hardware Development and Locomotion Control Strategy for an Over-Ground Gait Trainer: NaTUre-Gaits.

Science.gov (United States)

Luu, Trieu Phat; Low, Kin Huat; Qu, Xingda; Lim, Hup Boon; Hoon, Kay Hiang

2014-01-01

Therapist-assisted body weight supported (TABWS) gait rehabilitation was introduced two decades ago. The benefit of TABWS in functional recovery of walking in spinal cord injury and stroke patients has been demonstrated and reported. However, shortage of therapists, labor-intensiveness, and short duration of training are some limitations of this approach. To overcome these deficiencies, robotic-assisted gait rehabilitation systems have been suggested. These systems have gained attentions from researchers and clinical practitioner in recent years. To achieve the same objective, an over-ground gait rehabilitation system, NaTUre-gaits, was developed at the Nanyang Technological University. The design was based on a clinical approach to provide four main features, which are pelvic motion, body weight support, over-ground walking experience, and lower limb assistance. These features can be achieved by three main modules of NaTUre-gaits: 1) pelvic assistance mechanism, mobile platform, and robotic orthosis. Predefined gait patterns are required for a robotic assisted system to follow. In this paper, the gait pattern planning for NaTUre-gaits was accomplished by an individual-specific gait pattern prediction model. The model generates gait patterns that resemble natural gait patterns of the targeted subjects. The features of NaTUre-gaits have been demonstrated by walking trials with several subjects. The trials have been evaluated by therapists and doctors. The results show that 10-m walking trial with a reduction in manpower. The task-specific repetitive training approach and natural walking gait patterns were also successfully achieved.

Kidney branching morphogenesis under the control of a ligand–receptor-based Turing mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menshykau, Denis; Iber, Dagmar

2013-01-01

The main signalling proteins that control early kidney branching have been defined. Yet the underlying mechanism is still elusive. We have previously shown that a Schnakenberg-type Turing mechanism can recapitulate the branching and protein expression patterns in wild-type and mutant lungs, but it is unclear whether this mechanism would extend to other branched organs that are regulated by other proteins. Here, we show that the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor–RET regulatory interaction gives rise to a Schnakenberg-type Turing model that reproduces the observed budding of the ureteric bud from the Wolffian duct, its invasion into the mesenchyme and the observed branching pattern. The model also recapitulates all relevant protein expression patterns in wild-type and mutant mice. The lung and kidney models are both based on a particular receptor–ligand interaction and require (1) cooperative binding of ligand and receptor, (2) a lower diffusion coefficient for the receptor than for the ligand and (3) an increase in the receptor concentration in response to receptor–ligand binding (by enhanced transcription, more recycling or similar). These conditions are met also by other receptor–ligand systems. We propose that ligand–receptor-based Turing patterns represent a general mechanism to control branching morphogenesis and other developmental processes. (paper)

Pilgrimage to Wellness: An Exploratory Report of Rural African American Clergy Perceptions of Church Health Promotion Capacity

Science.gov (United States)

Carter-Edwards, Lori; Hooten, Elizabeth Gerken; Bruce, Marino A.; Toms, Forrest; Lloyd, Cheryl LeMay; Ellison, Calvin

2013-01-01

Churches serve a vital role in African American communities and may be effective vehicles for health promotion in rural areas where disease burden is disproportionately greater and healthcare access is more limited than other communities. Endorsement by church leadership is often necessary for the approval of programs and activities within churches; however, little is known about how church leaders perceive their respective churches as health promotion organizations. The purpose of this exploratory pilot was to report perceptions of church capacity to promote health among African American clergy leaders of predominantly African American rural churches. The analysis sample included 27 pastors of churches in Eastern NC who completed a survey on church health promotion capacity and perceived impact on their own health. Capacities assessed included perceived need and impact of health promotion activities, church preparedness to promote health, health promotion actions to take, and the existence and importance of health ministry attributes. The results from this pilot study indicated a perceived need to increase the capacity of their churches to promote health. Conducting health programs, displaying health information, collaborations within the church (i.e., kitchen committee working with the health ministry), partnerships outside of the church, and funding were most commonly reported needed capacities. Findings from this exploratory work lay the foundation for the development of future, larger observational studies that can specify some of the key factors associated with organizational change and ultimately health promotion in these rural church settings. PMID:22694157

Conceptions of Church Slavonic

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Helmut Keipert

2017-08-01

Full Text Available In our time Church Slavonic is a “language without native speakers,” but it is not in all respects a “dead” one. It is for this reason that the Slavs have given it a great variety of names, the different use of which in philological publications heavily depends on the respective linguists’ connotative purposes (e.g., national and ideological interests and so forth. As a rule, the description of the language is based on the analysis of written or printed texts. Only recently have a few additional corpora been introduced in addition to the well-known group of “classical” Old Church Slavonic manuscripts, which, for all their merits in the history of Slavistics, can give only a vague idea of the rich language tradition of Church Slavonic as a whole, since, as a means of actual (oral communication, it can nowadays be observed only in the liturgy. The article discusses the main linguistic conceptions applied to Church Slavonic in the past and present (root language, i.e., proto-language, common language, literary language [Schriftsprache], Ausbau language, etc.; singles out binaristic approaches in opposition to vernaculars; gives an overview of the numerous varieties to be differentiated within the language (connected to regions, chronology, functions, individuals, and groups; recalls the role of reconstruction in modern textbooks and the widely neglected construction devices used in early grammars and dictionaries; and, at the end, refers to the possibility of including Church Slavonic as a model for comparative judgments on degrees of diversity in the structural development of Slavonic languages.

Orientation of medieval churches of Morava school

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Tadić Milutin

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we present the mathematical and topographic analysis of orientation of the most significant churches (11 of Morava school, the last style in architecture of medieval Serbia whose executors were chief architects. The deviation from equinox East of the main axis of each church and the dates when the Sun rises on the physical horizon, in the extension of the main axis, have been calculated. These were the dates when the church could have been oriented towards the rising Sun. This possibility has been ruled out for four churches. As for the other churches, the matching of the mentioned dates with the patron’s days wasn’t established. The churches in monasteries Ljubostinja and Kalenic are oriented with astronomical precision towards equinox East, an admirable fact considering the tools available to the builders. Rade Borovic, the only chief architect who put his signature on his work, was the chief architect of Ljubostinja.

Overcoming violence - a basic task of Christian churches

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Wolfgang Huber

2011-06-01

Full Text Available In this article � based on the second of two keynote lectures at a conference on violence � the view is developed that the task of the church with respect to violence consists mainly in overcoming violence. In the first part of the article dealing with the basic tasks of the church it is argued that the task to overcome violence is close to the essence of the church. The point of departure is taken in Article 7 of the Augsburg Confession, which understands the church as the �communion of saints� and names the pure proclamation of the gospel and the right administration of the sacraments as the two characteristics of the church. The Christian message that the church has to proclaim the gospel entails a preferential option for nonviolence that includes the responsibility to put an end to existing violence. In the second part of the article attention is given to the implications the basic task of the church in overcoming violence holds for the practice of the church. It is argued that the starting point is that the church has to proclaim the gospel of peace and as a community of faith become a community of peace herself. Some of the most important practical consequences the proclamation of the gospel of peace has for the church as a community of action, for her work in education, for her promotion of justice and for her solidarity with those in need, are discussed.

Democracy in understanding of the Orthodox church.

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Grigorios M. Liantas

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Subject of this paper is the notion of “democracy” in understanding and practice of the Ortho-dox Church. Beginning with genesis of the term and its application in ancient Greece author of the paper presents similarities and differences between concepts of “democracy” and “conciliarity”. “Democracy” is a form of government in which people are the source of political authority which is executed by elected representatives and rules on behalf of a nation. However, organization of the Orthodox Church is not “democratic” in common understanding of the term. Every member of the Church has the same duties and carries on the same mission, but everything is based on equality of the Apostles to whom Christ has entrusted spreading of the Gospel and establishment of the Church. “Democracy” in life of the Orthodox Church bears a name of “conciliarity” (greek „συνοδικότης” and it is lived in an unceasing community of all the Church members among themselves and their Divine Head mainly in the Mystery of Eucharist, the core of unity of the Church in Christ. Institution of conciliarity is not just a matter of Church administration or canon law but constitutes fundamental principle of ecclesiology. The fact of presence of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Trinity at each Council provides conciliarity with charismatic character. Organization of the Orthodox Church as ob-served in monastic community of Mount Athos, the world most ancient existing democracy, is set as an example for all social-political systems aiming to improve organization of society.

The place and role of youth in the liturgical life of the Church

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Isbasoiu Iulian

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The Church takes good care of each single person, from the beginning of their lives, giving them all the support so that they achieve the final goal of human creation: their salvation. From birth, man is involved in the liturgical life of the Church, which initiates them as members, transforming them progressively into active members, who participate on their own free will in the divine worship and in the social and cultural events held by it. Acknowledging the role that the young have in the activity of the Church we will discuss in our study an overall view of their involvement in liturgical life. We will emphasize the role of the Church in completing the religious information received within the family, as well as methods to help the Church get the young involved in the liturgical, social and cultural activities held by it. In addition, we will highlight the decisive role the priest has in motivating the young by using the power of the word (preach and catechesis and above all by personal example. Applying the most suitable methods in order to get the young people closer to the Church and involving them in the life of the Christian community offers the Church the certitude of fulfilling its role within the contemporary society.

Approaching Artificial Intelligence for Games – the Turing Test revisited

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Jenny Eriksson Lundström

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Today's powerful computers have increasingly more resources available, which can be used for incorporating more sophisticated AI into home applications like computer games. The perhaps obvious way of using AI to enhance the experience of a game is to make the player perceive the computer-controlled entities as intelligent. The traditional idea of how to determine whether a machine can pass as intelligent is the Turing Test. In this paper we show that it is possible and useful to conduct a test adhering to the intention of the original Turing test. We present an empirical study exploring human discrimination of artificial intelligence from the behaviour of a computer-controlled entity used in its specific context and how the behaviour responds to the user's expectations. In our empirical study the context is a real-time strategy computer game and the purpose of the AI is merely to pass as an acceptable opponent. We discuss the results of the empirical study and its implications for AI in computer applications.

Self-organization in the limb: a Turing mechanism for digit development.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Kimberly L

2015-06-01

The statistician George E. P. Box stated, 'Essentially all models are wrong, but some are useful.' (Box GEP, Draper NR: Empirical Model-Building and Response Surfaces. Wiley; 1987). Modeling biological processes is challenging for many of the reasons classically trained developmental biologists often resist the idea that black and white equations can explain the grayscale subtleties of living things. Although a simplified mathematical model of development will undoubtedly fall short of precision, a good model is exceedingly useful if it raises at least as many testable questions as it answers. Self-organizing Turing models that simulate the pattern of digits in the hand replicate events that have not yet been explained by classical approaches. The union of theory and experimentation has recently identified and validated the minimal components of a Turing network for digit pattern and triggered a cascade of questions that will undoubtedly be well-served by the continued merging of disciplines. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Society of Brains: How Alan Turing and Marvin Minsky Were Both Right

Science.gov (United States)

Struzik, Zbigniew R.

2015-04-01

In his well-known prediction, Alan Turing stated that computer intelligence would surpass human intelligence by the year 2000. Although the Turing Test, as it became known, was devised to be played by one human against one computer, this is not a fair setup. Every human is a part of a social network, and a fairer comparison would be a contest between one human at the console and a network of computers behind the console. Around the year 2000, the number of web pages on the WWW overtook the number of neurons in the human brain. But these websites would be of little use without the ability to search for knowledge. By the year 2000 Google Inc. had become the search engine of choice, and the WWW became an intelligent entity. This was not without good reason. The basis for the search engine was the analysis of the ’network of knowledge’. The PageRank algorithm, linking information on the web according to the hierarchy of ‘link popularity’, continues to provide the basis for all of Google's web search tools. While PageRank was developed by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1996 as part of a research project about a new kind of search engine, PageRank is in its essence the key to representing and using static knowledge in an emergent intelligent system. Here I argue that Alan Turing was right, as hybrid human-computer internet machines have already surpassed our individual intelligence - this was done around the year 2000 by the Internet - the socially-minded, human-computer hybrid Homo computabilis-socialis. Ironically, the Internet's intelligence also emerged to a large extent from ‘exploiting’ humans - the key to the emergence of machine intelligence has been discussed by Marvin Minsky in his work on the foundations of intelligence through interacting agents’ knowledge. As a consequence, a decade and a half decade into the 21st century, we appear to be much better equipped to tackle the problem of the social origins of humanity - in particular thanks to the

Influence of Architectural Features and Styles on Various Acoustical Measures in Churches

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho, Antonio Pedro Oliveira De.

16% in the differences between the predicted and real RTs. Using binaural measurements and subjective information collected in these churches, BACH (Binaural Acoustical CoHerence), a new binaural measure, is presented. A linear correlation coefficient near 0.7 was found between BACH and the subjective quality ratings, supporting the hypothesis that it can be useful in predicting the quality of music in churches. In conclusion, this study revealed important acoustical and architectural parameters and their relations, providing the basic information to predict several acoustical measures in churches at early stages of design or without the need of measurements in the real buildings.

Church Attendance and Religious Experience

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Marianne Nilsen Kvande

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Previous studies have shown that gender may moderate the relationship between religiousness and mental health in most countries, but few studies have been conducted in Norway and Denmark. This study examined gender differences in religious experiences and church attendance as predictors of existential well-being among 295 women and 233 men from the general Norwegian population. Analyses showed that the structural equation models for women and men did not differ significantly on the global level. The models for women and men, however, showed different patterns. Among men, church attendance and negative religious experiences predicted existential well-being; among women, positive and negative religious experiences were related to existential well-being, but church attendance was not. The present findings suggest that men may benefit more from active religiousness, whereas women may benefit more from affective religiousness. Comparing these results with research in other cultural contexts, we find that different operationalizations of church attendance yield the same types of patterns across cultural contexts. Consequently, the benefits of religiousness may be similar for women and men irrespective of cultural context.

Ethiopian church forests : opportunities and challenges for restoration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wassie Eshete, A.

2007-01-01

In Northern Ethiopia almost all dry Afromontane forests have been converted to open agricultural lands. Only small isolated fragments remain around churches ("church forests"), but these are many. This study analyses forest community structure and composition of the church forests, investigates

Women and Popular Church

OpenAIRE

Maria Brendalí Costa; EST

2013-01-01

From the early 1960s, the Popular Church organized and influenced the actions, ideas and objectives of the Brazilian civil society. From the Feminist Theology, the article reflects on the different ways which this praxis influenced, through principles, worldviews and methodologies, the actions performed by women in the 1980s who engaged in the Urban Popular Church in suburbs of cities which belonged to the diocese of Caxias do Sul. The study is bibliographic, documental and is analyzed throug...

Gnosticism, church unity and the Nicene Creed

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C. F.C. Coetzee

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Gnosticism (derived from the Greek word “gnosis; knowledge” is the well-known phenomenon or movement which dates from the first centuries of church history. The teaching of Gnosticism questioned and/or contradicted the teaching of the church on some of the fundamental truths of Scripture. Apart from Gnosticism, the Early Church also had to deal with the heresy of Arianism. In the Nicene Creed, formulated by the councils of Nicea (325 AD and Constantinople (381 AD the universal or catholic church responded officially to the heresies of both Gnosticism and Arianism. In the final edition of the Nicene Creed we also find an article on the unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity of the church. Both Gnosticism and Arianism posed a serious threat to the unity of the church.   In our times we experience a revival of ancient Gnosticism, both pagan and “Christian”. This revival is also called the New Age or the Age of Aquarius. Within the framework of this new worldview, we are witnessing a rediscovery of gnosis. The discovery and publication of certain ancient gnostic texts like the Nag Hammadi Codices, play a significant role in this revival. Consequently the canon of Scripture is questioned or openly rejected and also the creeds based on that Scripture.   The Nicene Creed played a major and decisive role in preserving and maintaining the unity of the church on the basis of the truth of Scripture. This age-old creed is today just as relevant and important in proclaiming and confessing the true faith and preserving the true unity of the church.

A Church History of Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lausten, Martin Schwarz

A Church History of Denmark from the Missionary periode, through the Middle Ages, the Lutheran Reformation, the Ortodoxy, Pietisme, Enlightenment and det History of the 19. and 20. century......A Church History of Denmark from the Missionary periode, through the Middle Ages, the Lutheran Reformation, the Ortodoxy, Pietisme, Enlightenment and det History of the 19. and 20. century...

Church Colleges Today. Perspectives of a Church Agency on Their Problems and Possibilities. Studies in Christian Higher Education, No. 15.

Science.gov (United States)

Geler, Woodrow A., Ed.

Six articles giving the perspective of the United Methodist Church on the problems and possibilities in higher education are presented. The topics include: Why is the Church in Higher Education?, Church-College Relationships and Challenges, Higher Education for Blacks, The Crisis in Enrollment, New Generations for New Days, and Trends and…

A critical historical analysis of the South African Catholic Church's HIV/AIDS response between 2000 and 2005.

Science.gov (United States)

Joshua, Stephen Muoki

2010-12-01

The South African HIV and AIDS experience is unique in many ways considering the country's delayed and robust epidemic, the apartheid context, and successive HIV-denialist government regimes. While the struggle for democracy may have overshadowed the enormity of the unfolding HIV epidemic, there was also a delay in constructive religious responses to it early on. In 1990, HIV/AIDS was declared a Catholic institutional focus, and by 2000 the Church had established the largest system of care and treatment in the country besides that of the government. However, the Catholic Church suffered severe criticism on account of its anti-condom policy to HIV prevention. As a result, the institutional Church underwent both organisational and ideological changes in an attempt to adapt to the contextual challenges brought about by HIV and AIDS. Informed by archival collections and oral sources, this article endeavours to critically analyse the HIV/AIDS-related care and treatment activities of the Catholic Church in South Africa between 2000 and 2005. It argues that the complex interplay between HIV and AIDS, the controversy about condom use, and the availability of antiretroviral therapy, accompanied by church activists' multiple engagements with these issues, changed the Church's institutional HIV/AIDS response at that time, in effect transforming the Catholic Church in South Africa into a substantial health asset and agent. However, its stance against the use of condoms for HIV prevention, informed by a larger religious tradition on sexuality, proved to be a health liability.

MEANS OF ESTABLISHING CHURCH PROPERTY AND FUNDING SOURCES

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Cricovean Mircea

2013-07-01

Regarding the administration of goods, the Church finds guidance in the laws of the State to which it belongs (Stan, 1952 but taking into consideration the fact that the Church cannot “have its special principles and rules contradicted”(Floca, 1990: 448. However, the church, in fulfilling its purpose - the salvation of believers, needs wealth or heritage. This is not to understand that the Church can “lose its essential character, supernatural character, because, for the Church the earthly possessions and temporal happiness are not an immediate end” (Floca, 1990: 451-452. To understand the Church’s sources of financing it is necessary to take account of its properties. Along the time the church was holder of ownership rights. Its property had to be maintained, at least, so it needed funding. The Church’s canonical and statutory provisions are those governing the Church’s source of funding. They cannot conclusively be understood without observing the principles and rules specific for the ecclesiastical wealth management. Noted should be that previously there were no generally accepted rules on the management of financial resources of the church. The canonical, legal and statutory establishments have become customary in time, making it possible this way, by the dioceses supervisors, that sources of funding should be directed towards the maintenance of the Church, of the worship and of social activities.

Restoration and Rehabilitation of world heritage Site of Chupan Church

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S. Darvish Rohani

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Church of Chupan is located in Jolfa cityin north of Iran and is laid at south side of Arax River. Built of the church traced back to 14th to 15th century and the time when Armenians were inhabited in the region. Chupan church had been inscribed at World Heritage List of UNESCO under no 1262 in 2008, as one of the five churches of “Armenian Monasteries of Azerbaijan province of Iran” dossier. As it is located at a religious and tourism road of Darresham and each year most of Armenian from all over the world visited the church as a part of a religious ceremony, also as the same church on opposite side of the Arax in Republic of Nakhchivan is completely destroyed between 1998-2002 and the church is the only existing evidence of these two couple church, the restoration and rehabilitation of chupan church is very important. Because of very bad statues of structure stability and long-term neglect of the conservation and preservation of the building, restoration and rehabilitation of the church in the earliest was necessary. Restoration of this church was my MA degree thesis and now as a Ph.D student in field of urban design and planning student, I am working on the next step which is to revitalization and rehabilitation of the church.

Restoration and Rehabilitation of world heritage Site of Chupan Church

Science.gov (United States)

Darvish Rohani, S.

2015-08-01

Church of Chupan is located in Jolfa cityin north of Iran and is laid at south side of Arax River. Built of the church traced back to 14th to 15th century and the time when Armenians were inhabited in the region. Chupan church had been inscribed at World Heritage List of UNESCO under no 1262 in 2008, as one of the five churches of "Armenian Monasteries of Azerbaijan province of Iran" dossier. As it is located at a religious and tourism road of Darresham and each year most of Armenian from all over the world visited the church as a part of a religious ceremony, also as the same church on opposite side of the Arax in Republic of Nakhchivan is completely destroyed between 1998-2002 and the church is the only existing evidence of these two couple church, the restoration and rehabilitation of chupan church is very important. Because of very bad statues of structure stability and long-term neglect of the conservation and preservation of the building, restoration and rehabilitation of the church in the earliest was necessary. Restoration of this church was my MA degree thesis and now as a Ph.D student in field of urban design and planning student, I am working on the next step which is to revitalization and rehabilitation of the church.

Self-secularisation as challenge to the church

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Jaco Beyers

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The concept of self-secularisation has been identified by Wolfgang Huber, bishop of the German Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD, when he reflected on the context of the church in Germany. Self-secularisation however, is a worldwide phenomenon with effects in South Africa as well. After discussing the origin of the concept and its interpretations, the author tries to identify instances of self-secularisation within especially the Afrikaansspeaking churches, although not limited to them, in South Africa. The theological jargon comes under scrutiny, civil religion, the pluralistic society within which the church exists, the effect of emotionalism, the commercialisation of the church, the role of mass media and the phenomenon of infotainment, rationalisation and a lack of ethics are some of the elements identified and discussed. Finally the author attempts a correction by indicating what the church ought to do in order to counter the effects of self-secularisation.

Dimensions of religiousness and cancer screening behaviors among church-going Latinas.

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Jennifer D; Pérez, John E; Pischke, Claudia R; Tom, Laura S; Juarez, Alan; Ospino, Hosffman; Gonzalez-Suarez, Elizabeth

2014-02-01

Churches are a promising setting through which to reach Latinas with cancer control efforts. A better understanding of the dimensions of religiousness that impact health behaviors could inform efforts to tailor cancer control programs for this setting. The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between dimensions of religiousness with adherence to cancer screening recommendations among church-going Latinas. Female Spanish-speaking members, aged 18 and older from a Baptist church in Boston, Massachusetts (N = 78), were interviewed about cancer screening behaviors and dimensions of religiousness. We examined adherence to individual cancer screening tests (mammography, Pap test, and colonoscopy), as well as adherence to all screening tests for which participants were age-eligible. Dimensions of religiousness assessed included church participation, religious support, active and passive spiritual health locus of control, and positive and negative religious coping. Results showed that roughly half (46 %) of the sample had not received all of the cancer screening tests for which they were age-eligible. In multivariate analyses, positive religious coping was significantly associated with adherence to all age-appropriate screening (OR = 5.30, p religious coping could increase the impact of cancer control interventions for Latinas.

Why I Left the Church

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leth-Nissen, Karen Marie Sø

2014-01-01

both drivers and triggers. The drivers are the motifs and reasons building up the possibility of leaving the church. The trigger is the straw the breaks the camel's back, and is therefore just a trigger, and not as important as the drivers. The study argues that economy as a reason for leaving...... to better explain the multifaceted reasons why members decide to leave the National Church. The aspects explored are the motifs, thoughts and reflections of the former members. Methods applied will be qualitative life-historical semi-structured interviews. The study produces data comparable with a similar...... the church is more of a trigger than actually a driver, why we should be more aware of the other reasons for resigning membership....

Sacred Space: A Beginning Framework for Off-Planet Church

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, T. K.

As governments and corporations continue to engage space security, commerce, exploration and colonization, the Christian Church will not be far behind. Historically the Church has always been part of the first waves of explorers and colonizers, with its ideological interests being easily supported by generous resources and strong infrastructures. The exploring Church has not always been a friendly guest, however, and at times has initiated or condoned great harm. This paper offers a beginning framework as one way of insuring an appropriate presence in space for the Church. This framework is built with three common religious planks, namely, theology, ecclesiology and church worker vocation. Each of these is recast in terms of the off-planet scenario. This paper concludes that an appropriate off-planet Church will be founded on an "exomissiological" theology, will embrace an ecclesiology that emphasizes religious health, and will adequately select, train and monitor its off-planet church workers.

Church, mission and ethics. Being church with integrity

African Journals Online (AJOL)

documentaries and books proved this point. A quick ... Triune God's new creation and involvement in this world. It is quite clear .... reformation history into modern times, the church struggled with issues ..... Augustine and his Manichaean audience: ... Randi, J., 1987, The faith healers, Prometheus Books, Buffalo, NY. Reuver ...

Helical Turing patterns in the Lengyel-Epstein model in thin cylindrical layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bánsági, T.; Taylor, A. F., E-mail: A.F.Taylor@sheffield.ac.uk [Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin Street, Sheffield, S1 3JD (United Kingdom)

2015-06-15

The formation of Turing patterns was investigated in thin cylindrical layers using the Lengyel-Epstein model of the chlorine dioxide-iodine-malonic acid reaction. The influence of the width of the layer W and the diameter D of the inner cylinder on the pattern with intrinsic wavelength l were determined in simulations with initial random noise perturbations to the uniform state for W < l/2 and D ∼ l or lower. We show that the geometric constraints of the reaction domain may result in the formation of helical Turing patterns with parameters that give stripes (b = 0.2) or spots (b = 0.37) in two dimensions. For b = 0.2, the helices were composed of lamellae and defects were likely as the diameter of the cylinder increased. With b = 0.37, the helices consisted of semi-cylinders and the orientation of stripes on the outer surface (and hence winding number) increased with increasing diameter until a new stripe appeared.

Helical Turing patterns in the Lengyel-Epstein model in thin cylindrical layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bánsági, T.; Taylor, A. F.

2015-01-01

The formation of Turing patterns was investigated in thin cylindrical layers using the Lengyel-Epstein model of the chlorine dioxide-iodine-malonic acid reaction. The influence of the width of the layer W and the diameter D of the inner cylinder on the pattern with intrinsic wavelength l were determined in simulations with initial random noise perturbations to the uniform state for W < l/2 and D ∼ l or lower. We show that the geometric constraints of the reaction domain may result in the formation of helical Turing patterns with parameters that give stripes (b = 0.2) or spots (b = 0.37) in two dimensions. For b = 0.2, the helices were composed of lamellae and defects were likely as the diameter of the cylinder increased. With b = 0.37, the helices consisted of semi-cylinders and the orientation of stripes on the outer surface (and hence winding number) increased with increasing diameter until a new stripe appeared

Church as heterotopia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tanya van Wyk

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This article reflects on an ecclesiastical institution as a spatial panoptic structure which domesticates representational space as a hierarchy of power devoid of a sensitivity for the ‘human Other’ (Autrui. The notion of heterotopia is promoted to deconstruct spatiality and linearity (time as theological binary concepts. Being church as heterotopia does not deny the desire for the utopian dimension in religious thinking but holds on to utopian thinking amidst adversity and diversity. Therefore the concept of heterotopia is used to describe reconciliatory diversity, which is characteristic of an inclusive postmodern church which is a space where unity is not threatened by diversity, where the one is not afraid of the Other.

Selection of flow-distributed oscillation and Turing patterns by boundary forcing in a linearly growing, oscillating medium.

Science.gov (United States)

Míguez, David G; McGraw, Patrick; Muñuzuri, Alberto P; Menzinger, Michael

2009-08-01

We studied the response of a linearly growing domain of the oscillatory chemical chlorine dioxide-iodide-malonic acid (CDIMA) medium to periodic forcing at its growth boundary. The medium is Hopf-, as well as Turing-unstable and the system is convectively unstable. The results confirm numerical predictions that two distinct modes of pattern can be excited by controlling the driving frequency at the boundary, a flow-distributed-oscillation (FDO) mode of traveling waves at low values of the forcing frequency f , and a mode of stationary Turing patterns at high values of f . The wavelengths and phase velocities of the experimental patterns were compared quantitatively with results from dynamical simulations and with predictions from linear dispersion relations. The results for the FDO waves agreed well with these predictions, and obeyed the kinematic relations expected for phase waves with frequencies selected by the boundary driving frequency. Turing patterns were also generated within the predicted range of forcing frequencies, but these developed into two-dimensional structures which are not fully accounted for by the one-dimensional numerical and analytical models. The Turing patterns excited by boundary forcing persist when the forcing is removed, demonstrating the bistability of the unforced, constant size medium. Dynamical simulations at perturbation frequencies other than those of the experiments showed that in certain ranges of forcing frequency, FDO waves become unstable, breaking up into harmonic waves of different frequency and wavelength and phase velocity.

HONEST TO GOD AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN CHURCHES IN 2016

African Journals Online (AJOL)

the rise of a liberal, secular and science-informed culture in Britain was undermining ..... up to God. Once again, Robinson argues for an ethically oriented view that ... How sound was Robinson's view of the future of his own Church of England.

Effective strategic leadership: Balancing roles during church ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Effective strategic leadership: Balancing roles during church transitions. ... a substantive grounded theory of organisational change and leadership, particularly focusing on the manifestation and management of organisation inertia in churches ...

Modern Church Construction in Urals. Problems and Prospects

Science.gov (United States)

Surin, D. N.; Tereshina, O. B.

2017-11-01

The article analyzes the problems of the modern Orthodox church architecture in Russia, special attention is paid to the problems of the Ural region. It justifies the importance of addressing to this issue connected with the Orthodox traditions revival in Russia over the last decades and the need to compensate for tens of thousands of the churches destroyed in the Soviet period. The works on the theory and history of the Russian architecture and art, studies of the architectural heritage and the art of building of the Ural craftsmen are used as a scientific and methodological base for the church architecture development. The article discloses the historically formed architectural features of the Russian Orthodox churches the artistic image of which is designed to create a certain religious and aesthetic experience. It is stated that the restoration of the Russian church construction tradition is possible on the background of architectural heritage. It sets the tendencies and vital tasks in church construction and outlines a complex of measures to solve these tasks at the public and regional levels.

Network topology and Turing instabilities in small arrays of diffusively coupled reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horsthemke, Werner; Lam, Kwan; Moore, Peter K.

2004-01-01

We study the effect of the network structure on the diffusion-induced instability to nonuniform steady states in arrays of diffusively coupled reactors. The kinetics is given by the Lengyel-Epstein model, and we derive the conditions for Turing instabilities in all arrays of two, three, and four reactors

Computer simulation of Turing structures in the chlorite-iodide-malonic acid system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, O.; Mosekilde, Erik; Borckmans, P.

1996-01-01

that develop from the noise infected homogeneous steady state is examined. In the region where they are both stable, the competition between Hopf oscillations and Turing stripes is studied by following the propagation of a front connecting the two modes. Examples are presented of the types of structures...

Forging patterns and making waves from biology to geology: a commentary on Turing (1952) 'The chemical basis of morphogenesis'.

Science.gov (United States)

Ball, Philip

2015-04-19

Alan Turing was neither a biologist nor a chemist, and yet the paper he published in 1952, 'The chemical basis of morphogenesis', on the spontaneous formation of patterns in systems undergoing reaction and diffusion of their ingredients has had a substantial impact on both fields, as well as in other areas as disparate as geomorphology and criminology. Motivated by the question of how a spherical embryo becomes a decidedly non-spherical organism such as a human being, Turing devised a mathematical model that explained how random fluctuations can drive the emergence of pattern and structure from initial uniformity. The spontaneous appearance of pattern and form in a system far away from its equilibrium state occurs in many types of natural process, and in some artificial ones too. It is often driven by very general mechanisms, of which Turing's model supplies one of the most versatile. For that reason, these patterns show striking similarities in systems that seem superficially to share nothing in common, such as the stripes of sand ripples and of pigmentation on a zebra skin. New examples of 'Turing patterns' in biology and beyond are still being discovered today. This commentary was written to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

Orientation of medieval churches of Morava school

OpenAIRE

Tadić Milutin; Gavrić Gordana

2012-01-01

In this paper we present the mathematical and topographic analysis of orientation of the most significant churches (11) of Morava school, the last style in architecture of medieval Serbia whose executors were chief architects. The deviation from equinox East of the main axis of each church and the dates when the Sun rises on the physical horizon, in the extension of the main axis, have been calculated. These were the dates when the church could have been oriented towards the rising Sun....

Follower-Centric Influences on Sexual Decision Making in a Pentecostal Church Faith Community

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elias Mpofu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study utilized participatory action research approaches to construct a follower-centric framework for measuring influences on sexual decision making by youth members of a church organization. Participants were Batswana Pentecostal church members self-reporting on their engagement in pre-marital sex (n = 68, females = 62%; age range 15–23 years; median age = 20.3 years from eight of 26 randomly selected congregations. They completed a multi-stage concept mapping process that included free listing of statements of potential influences on their sexual decisions. They then sorted the statements into groupings similar in meaning to them, and rated the same statements for relative importance to their sexual decisions. Multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis of the data yielded a five cluster solution in which church teachings emerged as most salient to the teenagers’ sexual decision making followed by future orientation, community norms, knowledge about HIV/AIDS and prevention education. While the youth believed to be influenced by religion teachings on primary sexual abstinence, they self-reported with pre-marital sex. This suggests a need for secondary abstinence education with them to reduce their risk for STIs/HIV and unwanted pregnancies. Concept mapping is serviceable to construct frameworks and to identify content of follower-centric influences on sexual decision making by church youth members.

Jeremy Bentham and Church of England Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Brian

1979-01-01

The author traces Jeremy Bentham's attacks, in 1815 and 1816, on the Church of England's role in the provision of schooling in Britain, particularly his objections to Church policies excluding non-adherents from instruction. (SJL)

Relational Principles for Effective Church Leadership

Science.gov (United States)

Watt, Willis M.

2014-01-01

In the 21st century, effective church leaders need to be prepared to emphasize and demonstrate ethical leadership, personal responsibility, and community service. The foundation for success in all those areas lies in the ability of church leaders to initiate, develop, and maintain positive functioning relationships. Based on over 40 year's…

Legal Status of the Catholic Church as an Economic Entity in EU and Croatian Law

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomislav Sokol

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Regulation of the Catholic Church’s legal status in the European Union primarily falls within the competences of the Member States. The Croatian legal framework in this respect consists of various types of legal rules, most important of which is the set of international agreements entered into between the Republic of Croatia and the Holy See. Still, EU competition, state aid and free movement rules affect this legal framework to a significant degree. The aim of this paper is to analyse the applicability of the said EU rules to the activities of the Catholic Church in Croatia, that is to determine whether the Catholic Church can be considered an undertaking conducting an economic activity (and to what degree according to the said legal framework, whether the Croatian national legal framework is aligned with the EU rules, and whether there are points of contention in this area which need to be legally rectified. The second part of this paper analyses the European Union state aid and free movement legal framework, primarily trying to determine whether the Catholic Church is an undertaking carrying out an economic activity as prescribed by EU law. In this analysis, several issues emerge which have not been clearly resolved by the Court of Justice. The following part features an outline of the Croatian national legal framework on the legal status of the Catholic Church, focusing on potential points of contention between the national and the EU law. Finally, certain solutions to the mentioned issues are proposed, on the European and the national level, in accordance with legal certainty as the general principle of (EU law.

Experiencing Churches as Spiritual and Religious Places: A Study on Children's Emotions in Church Buildings during Scholastic Field Trips

Science.gov (United States)

Kindermann, Katharina; Riegel, Ulrich

2018-01-01

Going on a field trip to the church, pupils can experience lived religion. But how do they feel during such a church visit? In this paper, we analyse statements of 516 German third graders (about 8 years old) made after they had visited their local church on a field trip. Using affective schema theory, we develop a conceptual model of emotions in…

Orientation of English Medieval Parish Churches

Science.gov (United States)

Hoare, Peter G.

Our understanding of the alignment of English medieval parish churches, after more than three centuries of research, is far from complete. The arrangement of relatively few structures has been explained beyond reasonable doubt, and tests of the overwhelmingly popular festival orientation theory are often insufficiently rigorous to provide convincing answers. Much work remains to be done, including verifying and analyzing some of the existing raw data, determining whether the present church was dedicated at the time of construction, examining wills for evidence of early dedications, measuring the effect of eastern horizons on sunrise azimuths, and consulting excavation reports to assess whether earlier buildings may have influenced the arrangement of those churches that replaced them.

Acoustic energy relations in Mudejar-Gothic churches.

Science.gov (United States)

Zamarreño, Teófilo; Girón, Sara; Galindo, Miguel

2007-01-01

Extensive objective energy-based parameters have been measured in 12 Mudejar-Gothic churches in the south of Spain. Measurements took place in unoccupied churches according to the ISO-3382 standard. Monoaural objective measures in the 125-4000 Hz frequency range and in their spatial distributions were obtained. Acoustic parameters: clarity C80, definition D50, sound strength G and center time Ts have been deduced using impulse response analysis through a maximum length sequence measurement system in each church. These parameters spectrally averaged according to the most extended criteria in auditoria in order to consider acoustic quality were studied as a function of source-receiver distance. The experimental results were compared with predictions given by classical and other existing theoretical models proposed for concert halls and churches. An analytical semi-empirical model based on the measured values of the C80 parameter is proposed in this work for these spaces. The good agreement between predicted values and experimental data for definition, sound strength, and center time in the churches analyzed shows that the model can be used for design predictions and other purposes with reasonable accuracy.

Niépce–Bell or Turing: how to test odour reproduction

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

Decades before the existence of anything resembling an artificial intelligence system, Alan Turing raised the question of how to test whether machines can think, or, in modern terminology, whether a computer claimed to exhibit intelligence indeed does so. This paper raises the analogous issue for olfaction: how to test the validity of a system claimed to reproduce arbitrary odours artificially, in a way recognizable to humans. Although odour reproduction systems are still far from being viable, the question of how to test candidates thereof is claimed to be interesting and non-trivial, and a novel method is proposed. Despite the similarity between the two questions and their surfacing long before the tested systems exist, the present question cannot be answered adequately by a Turing-like method. Instead, our test is very different: it is conditional, requiring from the artificial no more than is required from the original, and it employs a novel method of immersion that takes advantage of the availability of easily recognizable reproduction methods for sight and sound, a la Nicéphore Niépce and Alexander Graham Bell. PMID:28003527

Niépce-Bell or Turing: how to test odour reproduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Harel, David

2016-12-01

Decades before the existence of anything resembling an artificial intelligence system, Alan Turing raised the question of how to test whether machines can think, or, in modern terminology, whether a computer claimed to exhibit intelligence indeed does so. This paper raises the analogous issue for olfaction: how to test the validity of a system claimed to reproduce arbitrary odours artificially, in a way recognizable to humans. Although odour reproduction systems are still far from being viable, the question of how to test candidates thereof is claimed to be interesting and non-trivial, and a novel method is proposed. Despite the similarity between the two questions and their surfacing long before the tested systems exist, the present question cannot be answered adequately by a Turing-like method. Instead, our test is very different: it is conditional, requiring from the artificial no more than is required from the original, and it employs a novel method of immersion that takes advantage of the availability of easily recognizable reproduction methods for sight and sound, a la Nicéphore Niépce and Alexander Graham Bell. © 2016 The Authors.

Thermoluminescence dating of some Hungarian medieval churches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kasa, I.; Bajnoczy, G.

1984-01-01

Thermoluminescence dating of three Hungarian historic churches was performed using the quarz inclusion technique and sup(60)Co gamma irradiation. Quarz grains obtained from the bricks were irradiated and the radiation doses were measured by CaSOsub(4):Dy TL dosemeters. Glow curves of irradiated and non-irradiated samples were also measured. From the results it was concluded that the ages of two churches were 10 and 30 percent less, respectively, than the ages estimated earlier. The age of the third church proved to be correct. (R.P.)

Love and Truth in Social Involvement of the Church

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henryk Szmulewicz

2012-09-01

Full Text Available This study begins with a brief outline of the essence of the whole encyclical Caritas in veritate . Benedict XVI expresses the desire for „the dialogue with the world”. He understands this dialogue as a special kind of the service of the Church towards eternal love and truth, fully revealed in Christ. The dialogue of the Church with the world, in the spirit of love and truth, is accomplished every day at the level of so-called official relations. There are numerous opinions that in the past the Church repeatedly neglected the dialogue with the world. Indeed, the Church historians point out the existence of examples of the fall of the authority of the Holy See in particular countries and circumstances. Similarly, the Church is the sign of objection in the contemporary world. Instructed by past experiences the Church is aware that what is necessary for the renewal of culture and society, is evangelical love and truth.

Radio and the Church – a Historical Glance

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Carl-Mario Sultana

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Radio is a very powerful mass communication medium. In radio broadcasting, one can hear the echo of Christ’s words to his apostles in the missionary discourse: “You received without charge, give without charge...What you hear in whispers, proclaim from the house tops” (Mt 10,8b.27. Although the Church uses radio as a means to transmit the Good News of salvation, and we as human beings receive radio transmissions as a part of our daily life, we barely stop to think and reflect upon the underlying aspects of radio as a means of communication. In this paper, the Author endeavours to give a historical overview of what makes radio an important medium for evangelisation according to four key documents of the Church, while also studying the underlying theological positions found in these documents. These documents enable us to study radio as a broadcasting medium, highlighting the possible reactions of the Church to radio and how the Church changed its stance on radio over the years. The reason for focussing specifically on radio is for two particular reasons: from the very beginning, the Church has considered radio as a means for evangelising the masses. Notwithstanding this, what is going to be discussing in the paper can be equally applied to Television as a mass communication medium. Secondly, the Church took an active role in radio broadcasting by asking Guglielmo Marconi himself to construct the Vatican Radio in 1931. The documents of the Church also offer us a theology of radio as a mass communication medium, with unity, progress and evangelisation being the fundamental aspects. Church documents posit that not everything should be broadcasted over radio but only messages which bring about peace and unity.

Turing mechanism for homeostatic control of synaptic density during C. elegans growth

Science.gov (United States)

Brooks, Heather A.; Bressloff, Paul C.

2017-07-01

We propose a mechanism for the homeostatic control of synapses along the ventral cord of Caenorhabditis elegans during development, based on a form of Turing pattern formation on a growing domain. C. elegans is an important animal model for understanding cellular mechanisms underlying learning and memory. Our mathematical model consists of two interacting chemical species, where one is passively diffusing and the other is actively trafficked by molecular motors, which switch between forward and backward moving states (bidirectional transport). This differs significantly from the standard mechanism for Turing pattern formation based on the interaction between fast and slow diffusing species. We derive evolution equations for the chemical concentrations on a slowly growing one-dimensional domain, and use numerical simulations to demonstrate the insertion of new concentration peaks as the length increases. Taking the passive component to be the protein kinase CaMKII and the active component to be the glutamate receptor GLR-1, we interpret the concentration peaks as sites of new synapses along the length of C. elegans, and thus show how the density of synaptic sites can be maintained.

Noise-induced temporal dynamics in Turing systems

KAUST Repository

Schumacher, Linus J.

2013-04-25

We examine the ability of intrinsic noise to produce complex temporal dynamics in Turing pattern formation systems, with particular emphasis on the Schnakenberg kinetics. Using power spectral methods, we characterize the behavior of the system using stochastic simulations at a wide range of points in parameter space and compare with analytical approximations. Specifically, we investigate whether polarity switching of stochastic patterns occurs at a defined frequency. We find that it can do so in individual realizations of a stochastic simulation, but that the frequency is not defined consistently across realizations in our samples of parameter space. Further, we examine the effect of noise on deterministically predicted traveling waves and find them increased in amplitude and decreased in speed. © 2013 American Physical Society.

Content analysis in information flows

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grusho, Alexander A. [Institute of Informatics Problems of Federal Research Center “Computer Science and Control” of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilova str., 44/2, Moscow (Russian Federation); Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics, Moscow State University, Moscow (Russian Federation); Grusho, Nick A.; Timonina, Elena E. [Institute of Informatics Problems of Federal Research Center “Computer Science and Control” of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilova str., 44/2, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2016-06-08

The paper deals with architecture of content recognition system. To analyze the problem the stochastic model of content recognition in information flows was built. We proved that under certain conditions it is possible to solve correctly a part of the problem with probability 1, viewing a finite section of the information flow. That means that good architecture consists of two steps. The first step determines correctly certain subsets of contents, while the second step may demand much more time for true decision.

Divine empowerment: The Holy Spirit and church revitalisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian A. DeVries

2015-07-01

Full Text Available How do principles of church revitalisation correlate with the divine work of the Holy Spirit? This article argues that the Spirit is the primary agent of church revitalisation, and churchleaders should cooperate with the Spirit as he works for revitalisation. Thus the Spirit empowers church leaders who are used by him to revive, renew, and revitalise a church community. After briefly defining the Spirit’s empowerment with biblical examples, this article examines the underlying principles of empowerment for church leaders, followed by briefly considering methodology for church revitalisation. The author concludes by suggesting several signs of biblical empowerment in a local church community. Goddelike bemagtiging: Die Heilige Gees en kerkherstel. Watter plek beklee die goddelike werking van die Heilige Gees in die beginsels van kerkherstel? Hierdie artikel poneer dat die Heilige Gees die primêre agent is om nuwe lewe in die kerk te bring en kerkleiers behoort onder leiding van die Heilige Gees hulle hiervoor te beywer. Die Heilige Gees bemagtig dus die kerkleiers wat Hy gebruik om ’n kerklike gemeenskap te laat herleef, te vernuwe en hulle te besiel met lewenskragtigheid. Die Gees se bemagtiging word kortliks aan die hand van bybelse voorbeelde gedefineer, waarna die grondliggende beginsels vir die bemagtiging van die kerkleiers ondersoek word. Daarna word die metodologie om nuwe lewenskrag in die kerk te bring kortliks oorweeg. Die outeur sluit af deur verskeie tekens uit te lig wat op skriftuurlike bemagtiging van die Heilige Gees in die plaaslike kerkgemeenskap dui.

Moisture distribution in the stone portal of a church: how it influences the salt accumulation in porous limestone

Science.gov (United States)

Török, Ákos; Galambos, Éva

2017-04-01

Mathias Church of Budapest (Hungary) is an emblematic stone monument that represents various phases of constructions from Medieval period to the early 20th century. The church is found at the elevated Castle Hill and forms a landmark at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Budapest. Its main construction material is porous Miocene limestone. Besides porous limestone travertine was also extensively used. The current study focuses on the Medieval Gate of the church which encompasses richly decorated porous limestone ornaments. The gate is now sheltered and form an interior portal of the church. It shows various forms of stone decay. The most striking one is efflorescence of salts. This feature has become more intense in the past years leading to flaking and granular disintegration of the limestone, causing damage to the monument. This study focuses on the detection of moisture content within the stone structure and its role in the salt accumulation. To obtain this goal in situ moisture measurements were made along vertical profiles by a portable moisture detector (Gann-Hydromette). It allowed outlining the moisture distribution within the studied structure. The moisture measurement was combined with sampling of salt efflorescence and porous limestone of the gate, itself. The samples were tested by optical microscopy. Conductivity, salt content and main elements were also detected from solutions. Mineralogical composition was recorded by XRD and Thermogravimetric analyses. Magnesium-sulphates were found to be the main salts responsible for damages. Besides sulphates chlorides were also detected. Gypsum was also found in the weathering crusts of the previously exposed limestone surfaces. It accumulated in black crusts but was also detected in white efflorescence and below the stone surface. The salt distribution clearly correlates with the moisture content. The financial support of NKFI Fund (ref. no. K 116532) is appreciated.

Personality traits of Church Planters in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Paas, S.; van Saane, J.W.; Foppen, Annemarie

2017-01-01

In this article we present the results of a Big Five personality test among 59 religious entrepreneurs (church planters) in Europe, and we compare these results with (a) a general database, and (b) existing research among secular entrepreneurs. Our study concludes that church planters are

The amazing growth of the early church

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wim A. Dreyer

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The church grew rapidly during the first centuries. The question is: Why? Generations of scholars approached this question from different perspectives and with different methods. Historical research, analysis of early Christian texts and theological reflection were the most common methods used to shed light on the growth of the church. In this contribution five different models of growth were discussed, using the approach of A.M. Schor as a point of departure. These models of church growth were put under the headings of an apostolic mission model, values reproduction model, social reaction model, network model with an institutional model added.

Wittgensteinian Perspectives on the Turing Test

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Ondřej Beran

2014-04-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses some difficulties in understanding the Turing test. It emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between conceptual and empirical perspectives and highlights the former as introducing more serious problems for the TT. Some objections against the Turingian framework stemming from the later Wittgenstein’s philosophy are exposed. The following serious problems are examined: 1 It considers a unique and exclusive criterion for thinking which amounts to their identification; 2 it misidentifies the relationship of speaking to thinking as that of a criterion; 3 it neglects the “natural” course of the development in semantics. However, these considerations suggest only that it is problematic to label a successful chatbot as a “thinking entity” without further qualifications, but not necessarily and once and for all incorrect. Philosophy has only little to say about the technical possibility of creating such an effective program.

The Dutch Reformed Church Mission in Swaziland - A dream come true

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arnau van Wyngaard

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This article covers the time from 1652 onwards when employees of the Dutch East India Company – most of whom were members of the Reformed Church in the Netherlands – arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in present South Africa. With time, a new church, the Dutch Reformed Church, was established in the Cape. In 1836, a number of pioneers moved from the Cape to the east of South Africa and some of them eventually made Swaziland their new home. Although most members of the white Dutch Reformed Church opposed any integration with Christians from other races, there was nevertheless a desire that they should join a Reformed Church. In 1922, the first Dutch Reformed congregation in Swaziland was established in Goedgegun in the southern region of the country, intended for the exclusive use of white, Afrikaans-speaking church members. In 1944, the first Reformed congregation for Swazi members was formed, which later became known as the Swaziland Reformed Church. This article documents the history of this church and concludes with a description of the Swaziland Reformed Church in 1985, with four missionaries from South Africa ministering in the four regions of Swaziland.

Conversion growth of Protestant churches in Thailand

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Visser, M

2008-01-01

This study set out to answer the question what factors are conducive for church growth through conversion in Protestant Thai churches. After 180 years of unhindered Protestant missionary activity only 0.3% of ethnic Thai, about 185,000 people, have become Protestants. Though small, ethnic Thai

Skrif en Kerkorder/Scripture and church order | Celliers | Acta ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This enables the congregation to adhere to its calling for obedience, love, and witness, so that the church can continue to exist. The outlines of the nature and order of the church should be addressed in all church orders to avoid pragmatism and arbitrariness on the one hand, and to create space for the various demands of ...

Spiral patterns near Turing instability in a discrete reaction diffusion system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Meifeng; Han, Bo; Xu, Li; Zhang, Guang

2013-01-01

In this paper, linear stability analysis is applied to an exponential discrete Lotka–Volterra system, which describes the competition between two identical species. Conditions for the Turing instability are obtained and the emergence of spiral patterns is demonstrated by means of numerical simulations in the vicinity of the bifurcation point. Moreover, the impact of crucial system parameters on the stability and coherence of spiral patterns is illustrated on several examples

Poverty and Christian Welfare Scheme: Evidence from the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion Osun State, Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Awoniyi

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Existing studies on welfare schemes in Nigerian Churches have focussed on the political and economic perspectives, neglecting the ethical dimension which has a stronger basis in the Bible. This study, therefore, examined the welfare scheme of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion, Osun State, Nigeria as evidence with a view to assessing their method of generating welfare resources, as well as their implementation and monitoring strategy against the provision of the Bible on welfare ethics. Data were obtained through interviews, observation and questionnaire. In-depth interviews were conducted with 90 randomly selected key informants including 12 clergy, 24 poor members of the church, 18 welfare scheme officers and 36 beneficiaries. Four welfare schemes were observed between 1991 -2012 in a total of 30 Anglican Churches in major towns in Osun State. A total of 600 copies of the questionnaire were purposively administered to beneficiaries, church members and welfare scheme officers. Out of these, 550 were retrieved and analysed using percentages. The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion generated resources for welfare schemes through compulsory  levies, donations, annual harvest proceeds, offering collection ,tithes/offering and foreign assistance .Four categories of welfare schemes were adopted: Health care delivery, vocational rehabilitation, micro-credit loans, and women’s empowerment. One implementation strategy was adopted, namely, social advocacy. The church utilized sensitisation mechanism, widow retreat workshops, free health campaign, radio/television programmes and supportive counselling. Welfare scheme for the Church of Nigeria offered socio-economic benefits to members of the Church, but they were weakened by limited human coverage, insufficient funds and poor monitoring. These call for moral reorientation on the part of stakeholders in order to inculcate the ethics of justice and fairness as enshrined in the Bible.

Poland: A Dark Side of Church Cultural Policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Szocik Konrad

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The cultural policy of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland is incorporated into state-run cultural policies. The organs of public authority enforce the objectives of Church regardless of Church’s actual ability to influence the society. It should be pointed out that the secularization of religion in Poland is frequently misinterpreted and usually equated with its deprivatization. It is worth mentioning that Catholicism is the dominant religion of the country and the Roman Catholic Church has hold a special position in Poland and play a major role in the country’s social and political life. In practice, however, Polish society appears to be religiously indifferent. This paper proves that the official, state-run cultural policy in Poland is based on favoritism of the Roman Catholic Church, regardless of Church’s actual ability to wield influence on society. Thus, there is a variety of implicit and explicit cultural policies implemented by the authorities to support Church. This work also aims at addressing the question of social attitudes to women, especially the one concerning the UN and EU law embracing women’s rights, until recently still not implemented in Poland. This paper further explores some peculiarities of this topic as an example of a specific outcome of Church cultural policy and its impact on both the past and present-day society.

Church parties in the Arian controversy: problems of typologization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Georgy Zakharov

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the problems of typologization of the church parties of the 4th century. This historical phenomenon arises within the framework of a long church conflict, called the Arian crisis. The designations of the church parties used by contemporaries are polemical concepts and do not correspond to the self-consciousness of their supporters. In the early Christian heresiological tradition and in the modern historiography, the basis of church parties’ classification is their theological position. However, it is necessary to take into account other consolidating factors, such as Eucharistic communion and church-political activity. The formation of church parties, as a rule, was directly related to the development of the synodal institution. Analysis of sources in the 4th century allows us to distinguish, in addition to the extensive currents - macro-parties - claiming a universal or regional consensus based on the heritage of one of the representative and authoritative councils, some small consolidated groups - micro-parties, which gather for little councils and constantly coordinate their actions within the ecclesiastical confrontation. Micro-parties could exist both within the limits of macro-party, in many respects determining the trends of it’s development, and beyond it’s boundaries. In the latter case, it is actually a marginal church group rallied around one or more extraordinary theologian, sometimes even without the episcopal rank.

A complicated answer to a simple question: Are believers and members of minority religions, churches and religious communities in postdayton BiH discriminated?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nagradić Slobodan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The work treats the real social position of minority religions, denominations, religious communities and churches in postdayton Bosnia and Herzegovina. In other words, the author researches real social, political, legislative, mass-media-communicational, economic status and a status of so called small religious communities and churches in other spheres of existence like education, culture, public health etc., and seeks to answer to, from rhetorical point of view, simple question: are minority religions, denominations, religious communities and churches, as defined and treated by the Law on Freedom of Religion and Legal Position of Churches and Religious Communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, discriminated or not. In the focus of the author's analyses are equally institutional sphere or so called minority religious communities as such, but also and individuals, believers and followers of those institutionalized and formalized religious-denominational- ecclesial subjects having been named religious communities and churches. The results of the author's empirical-theoretical researches can be condensed into nuanced and complex answer whose content leads to conclusion that minority religions, churches and their members in several spheres of life are, after all, in inferior position, in spite of declarative equality of all religions, denominations, religious communities and churches. The author supports such conclusion with numerous and plausible arguments.

Church attendance and self-esteem among adolescents

OpenAIRE

Robbins, Mandy; Francis, Leslie J.; Williams, Emyr

2007-01-01

A total of 279 young people (123 males and 156 females) aged between 12 and 16 years of age attending one school in Wales completed the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory alongside a measure of frequency of church attendance. The data indicate a small positive correlation (r = .18) between self-esteem and church attendance.

Algorithms R

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

After introducing the basic counter machine, we discuss the. Church-Post-Turing ... SERIES I ARTICLE. The variables are called counters as the operations possi- ..... Nobody goes to that restaurant any more, it is too crowded. . Around the ...

Church-Based Recruitment to Reach Korean Immigrants: An Integrative Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Chorong; Jang, Myoungock; Nam, Soohyun; Grey, Margaret; Whittemore, Robin

2017-04-01

Although the Korean church has been frequently used to recruit Korean immigrants in research, little is known about the specific strategies and process. The purpose of this integrative review was to describe recruitment strategies in studies of Korean immigrants and to identify the process of Korean church-based recruitment. Thirty-three studies met inclusion criteria. Four stages of church-based recruitment were identified: initiation, endorsement, advertisement, and implementation. This review identified aspects of the church-based recruitment process in Korean immigrants, which are different from the Black and Hispanic literature, due to their hierarchical culture and language barriers. Getting permission from pastors and announcing the study by pastors at Sunday services were identified as the key components of the process. Using the church newsletter to advertise the study was the most effective strategy for the advertisement stage. Despite several limitations, church-based recruitment is a very feasible and effective way to recruit Korean immigrants.

OCTOPUS--A Church-Based Sex Education Program for Teens and Parents.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacknik, Michele; And Others

1984-01-01

Describes OCTOPUS (Open Communication Regarding Teenagers or Parents Understanding of Sexuality), which was established as a forum for family discussion within a church setting. The program was designed to enhance communication skills, convey information, and help teenagers acquire appropriate morals and values. Feedback from four churches…

Exploratory Study Based on Stakeholder Theory in the Development of Accounting Information Systems in the Catholic Church: A Case Study in the Archdiocese of Semarang, Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siswanto Fransiscus Asisi Joko

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This study aims to find a strategy in the development of computer-based accounting information system in the church. With exploratory study on the theory of stakeholders, this study identifies the needs of financial information for the purposes of making a decision required by the parish priest, the parish treasurer, and a team of economists at the archdiocese of Semarang (AS. This research was conducted by using qualitative and quantitative approach. Qualitative method is conducted by applying a focus group discussion with economist team in AS (the users who have major influence in the development of the system. In addition to that, quantitative method is also applied to the parish treasurer (the users who have great interest in the system development. The results showed that the parish treasurer has high perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived of relevance, and the self-efficacy toward the accounting information system (AIS for the parish. This study provides an answer on the benefits of a bottom-up strategy based on the stakeholder analysis in the development of AIS in the area of the Catholic Church AS.

Reverse engineering Turing Machines and insights into the Collatz conjecture

OpenAIRE

John Nixon

2017-01-01

In this paper I have extended my earlier work \\cite{jn} on small Turing Machines (TMs) by developing a method for obtaining recursive definitions of the irreducible regular rules (IRR) for a TM when explicit formulae for them cannot be obtained. This has been illustrated by two examples. The first example was randomly chosen and the second example was designed to simulate the Collatz conjecture. Analysis of this TM based on the its IRR suggested new approaches that might be the basis for a pr...

Aurora Borealis, A Painting by Frederic Edwin Church

Science.gov (United States)

Love, J. J.

2015-12-01

This year marks the sesquicentennial anniversary of the end of the American Civil War. In 1865, the same year as the War's end, the great American landscape artist, Frederic Edwin Church, unveiled Aurora Borealis, a painting that depicts a fantastic, far-northern place, an auroral arch stretched across a quiet night-time sky, above dark mountains and a frozen sea. Church was born in Connecticut, lived in New York, and traveled to Labrador; he would have often seen the northern lights. Church might have also been influenced by the spectacular displays of aurora that were caused by some unusually intense magnetic storms in 1859. Aurora Borealis can certainly be interpreted in terms of 19th-century romanticism, scientific philosophy, and Arctic missions of exploration, all subjects of interest to Church. As with so many of his paintings, Church's meticulous attention to detail in Aurora Borealis reveals his deep admiration of nature. But his depiction of auroral light is a curious and possibly intentional departure from natural verisimilitude. Some art historians have suggested that Church painted Aurora Borealis as a subdued tribute to the end of the Civil War, with the drapery of auroral light forming an abstract representation of the American flag. If so, then colors of the flag have been unfurled across a cold and barren landscape, not in extravagant celebration, but in somber recognition of the reality of post-war desolation and an uncertain future.

The facilitation by church leaders in overcoming resistance to change.

OpenAIRE

2008-01-01

Little has been done to address the issue of how to overcome resistance to change in a change effort in the church world. “How to overcome resistance to change?” is a question that requires serious consideration among church leaders. Church leaders continue to act in ways that produce resistance to change and ultimately failed change efforts. These actions on the part of church leaders often strengthen and reinforce the sources of resistance to change, making it very difficult for change to b...

The birth of an Empire of Two Churches : church property, theologians, and the League of Schmalkalden

OpenAIRE

Ocker, Christopher

2010-01-01

Did the creation of Protestant churches in Germany during Luther's generation follow someone's intentions? Heiko Oberman, appealing to a medieval Luther, portrays the reformer as herald of a dawning apocalypse, a monk at war with the devil, who expected God to judge the world and rescue Christians with no help from human institutions, abilities, and processes. This Luther could not have intended the creation of a new church. Dorothea Wendebourg and Hans-Jürgen Goertz stress the diversity of e...

The sensitivity of Turing self-organization to biological feedback delays: 2D models of fish pigmentation

KAUST Repository

Gaffney, E. A.; Lee, S. S.

2013-01-01

© The authors 2013. Turing morphogen models have been extensively explored in the context of large-scale self-organization in multicellular biological systems. However, reconciling the detailed biology of morphogen dynamics, while accounting

The church and nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, G.O.

1978-03-01

The subject is covered in sections, entitled: foreword (explaining that report is a synopsis of the Hearing on Nuclear Energy arranged by the World Council of Churches, held in Sigtune, Sweden, June 24 to 29, 1975); humanity's energy needs); alternative sources of energy (nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, non-nuclear processes; some generalisations (concerning the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy to various sections of the world); what risks are acceptable (radiation hazards, reactor safety, radioactive wastes, misuse of Pu, safeguarding); nuclear weapons; nuclear energy - a challenge to the Churches; social and ethical issues; certain conclusions; postscript -the American move. (U.K.)

HEALS: A Faith-Based Hypertension Control and Prevention Program for African American Churches: Training of Church Leaders as Program Interventionists.

Science.gov (United States)

Dodani, Sunita; Sullivan, Debra; Pankey, Sydney; Champagne, Catherine

2011-01-01

Background. A 12-session church-based HEALS program (healthy eating and living spiritually) was developed for hypertension control and prevention program in African Americans (AAs). This study presents specifics of training lay health educators to effectively deliver HEALS to high-risk AAs. Methods. A one-day workshop was conducted by the research experts in an AA church. Five church members were recruited to be program interventionists called church health counselors (CHCs). Results. Using principles of adult education, a training protocol was developed with the intention of recognizing and supporting CHCs skills. CHCs received training on delivering HEALS program. The process of training emphasized action methods including role playing and hands-on experience with diet portion measurements. Conclusion. With adequate training, the community lay health educator can be an essential partner in a community-based hypertension control programs. This may motivate program participants more and encourages the individual to make the behavior modifications on a permanent basis.

A Viennese Project in Valpovo (Croatia. Parish Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Valpovo and Baroque Churches with Two-Bay Naves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Horvat-Levaj, Katarina

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The Parish Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary in Valpovo (1733–1736, exceptional both in its spatial organization and the design of its exterior, was constructed in specific circumstances in the aftermath of the liberation of Slavonia from the Ottoman occupation. The old lands of Valpovo, with the medieval fort of Morović, were, in accordance with the Habsburg politics, given as a feud to Baron Hilleprand by Charles VI. The baron initiated the construction of a monumental parish church on his estate by commissioning its design in Vienna, as evidenced by the rich archival material on Hilleprand's property housed at the State Archive in Osijek. In keeping with the provenance of its design, the church was built as a monumental structure consisting of a two-bay nave covered with domical vaults and flanked by a narrower semicircular groin-vaulted sanctuary and a facade belfry. The type represented by the church in Valpovo – single-aisled structure with two bays – was a sort of innovation by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt, inspired by the famous church of San Fedele in Milan (1569 and often used by Hildebrandt in his own church projects built under the patronage of high Austrian nobility, such as the parish church in Seelowitz in Moravia (1722–27 with an integrated facade belfry, or the parish churches in Aspersdorf (1730, Stranzendorf (1733 and Großstelzendorf (1735–37. This architectural type was adopted and further developed by Hildebrandt's contemporaries, especially his immediate follower Franz Anton Pilgram, a Viennese architect whose design for the parish church in Münchendorf (1740 shows great similarity with the Valpovo church, both in its proportions and in the treatment of details. All this is hardly surprising if one keeps in mind the Viennese origin and the courtly status of the commissioner and donor of the parish church in Valpovo. It took more than two decades for the spatial features of this church to

Extraction of Information of Audio-Visual Contents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Aguilar

2011-10-01

Full Text Available In this article we show how it is possible to use Channel Theory (Barwise and Seligman, 1997 for modeling the process of information extraction realized by audiences of audio-visual contents. To do this, we rely on the concepts pro- posed by Channel Theory and, especially, its treatment of representational systems. We then show how the information that an agent is capable of extracting from the content depends on the number of channels he is able to establish between the content and the set of classifications he is able to discriminate. The agent can endeavor the extraction of information through these channels from the totality of content; however, we discuss the advantages of extracting from its constituents in order to obtain a greater number of informational items that represent it. After showing how the extraction process is endeavored for each channel, we propose a method of representation of all the informative values an agent can obtain from a content using a matrix constituted by the channels the agent is able to establish on the content (source classifications, and the ones he can understand as individual (destination classifications. We finally show how this representation allows reflecting the evolution of the informative items through the evolution of audio-visual content.

REMARKS ON THE CHURCH IN THE CONSUMER SOCIETY ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

1.1 Product and services are inseparable. In business the concept of the customer is of paramount importance. The customer is so powerful that .... the early history of the church, it has always been evident that the church makes a difference in ...

the racial discourse and the dutch reformed church

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) distanced itself from racism in the middle eighties, and in ... “card” is part of the current debate, and the church is part of the discussion ...... Race an inequality in Brazil, South Africa and the United. States.

A pastoral examination of the Christian Church's response to fears of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2014-02-24

Feb 24, 2014 ... churches), the second is the African Independent Churches and the third is ..... Spiritual warfare is a lifestyle, not just an occasional event of .... and are mutually exclusive', The church leader in Africa: A training publication of.

On Tichý’s Attempt to Explicate Sense in Terms of Turing Machines

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Materna, Pavel

2018-01-01

Roč. 25, č. 1 (2018), s. 41-52 ISSN 1335-0668 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA17-15645S Institutional support: RVO:67985955 Keywords : Oracle * possible worlds * procedure * sense * Turing machine Subject RIV: AA - Philosophy ; Religion OBOR OECD: Philosophy, History and Philosophy of science and technology

Calvin’s view on church discipline and unity: a South African perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P.J. Strauss

2010-07-01

Full Text Available The reformer John Calvin, born in 1509, considers discipline and unity as two essential aspects of the Christian church. According to him, the bond of church discipline is a way to unite church members in the truth of the Word and the Christian faith based thereupon. If discipline is exercised with exaggerated strictness and without compassion, tolerance and love, it can break the unity. Because church unity is essentially a unity of faith, or a unity in the truth of the Word, discipline can sever adulterated elements that threaten the unity from the church. Discipline, if correctly ap- plied, builds the unity of the church as a unity in religious truths.

Medieval Round Churches and the Shape of the Earth.

Science.gov (United States)

Haagensen, Erling; Lind, Niels C

2015-12-01

There is a unique cluster of four medieval round churches, linked by a simple geometry, on Bornholm Island in the Baltic Sea. Why so many and why so close together? Immediate simple answers are "Just by chance" and "For no reason." Why are the churches round? "Defense." This essay proposes another hypothesis for this unique situation: the churches are astronomical observatories, meant to solve a scientific problem (Is the Earth really spherical?) and a practical problem (How far is it to sail west to the Orient?). The capacity and desire to find answers, together with other practical needs related to astronomy, can better explain these round churches' special architecture. The geometry that connects them fits the ideal pattern with an angular accuracy of 1 minute of a degree. The round churches may be the earliest astronomical observatories in Christian Europe; other hypotheses have been shown to be untenable. Their location provides for a good method to estimate the Earth's extent in the east-west direction, seemingly the earliest such measurements.

The Christian Churches, the State, and Genocide in Rwanda

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Court, Anthony

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The churches in Rwanda have exercised considerable political influence during both the colonial and post-colonial periods. Although formally autonomous institutions subordinate to the state, in actuality they have cultivated political influence through their religious teachings and secular role as the loci of material and social resources. However, there is at least one key factor, which has contributed to their fluctuating political influence within Rwanda. During the colonial period, the dominant Catholic Church functioned within a colonial regime of indirect rule, predicated on sustaining the political authority of a Tutsi-dominated Central Court presiding over the territories roughly contiguous with the present-day republic. This threefold division of power and authority acted as a brake upon the hegemonic ambitions of the Church, the royal house and the colonial administrators. Following the abolition of the monarchy in 1961, the structure of political power and authority of the state was fundamentally transformed, clearing the way for the emergence of a state church whose political role in the two Hutu dominated post-colonial republics would have significant historical implications. In this essay, I argue that it was this structural transformation of the Rwandan polity - marking the shift from a trilateral to a dual relationship between state and Church -, which contributes to our understanding of how the Church became embroiled in the mass violence and genocide in the twentieth century Rwandan polity.

Factors Facilitating the Implementation of Church-Based Heart Health Promotion Programs for Older Adults: A Qualitative Study Guided by the Precede-Proceed Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Banerjee, Ananya Tina; Kin, R; Strachan, Patricia H; Boyle, Michael H; Anand, Sonia S; Oremus, Mark

2015-01-01

To describe the factors facilitating the implementation of heart health promotion programs for older adults in Anglican, United, and Catholic churches. The study used qualitative methods comprising semistructured interviews and focus groups. The interviews and focus groups were conducted in Anglican, Catholic, and United churches located in the Canadian cities of Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario. Twelve ordained pastors and 21 older parishioners who attended church regularly and who had no health conditions were recruited to best explain how churches could be suitable locations for health promotion activities targeting older adults. Twelve semistructured interviews with the pastors and three focus groups with the 21 parishioners were undertaken. A component of the Precede-Proceed model (a model for planning health education and health promotion programs and policies) was applied to the findings after direct content analysis of the data. Participants identified pastor leadership, funding for a parish nurse, community-focused interventions, secured infrastructure, and social support from congregation members as pertinent factors required for implementing health promotion programs in Anglican, United, and Catholic churches. The findings have particular relevance for health promotion and public health because they suggest factors that would be necessary to design church-based heart health promotion programs for older adults at risk of chronic diseases.

Making sense of climate risk information: The case of future indoor climate risks in Swedish churches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gustaf Leijonhufvud

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Organizations and institutions managing built heritage have to make use of increasingly detailed, elaborate and complex climate change impact assessments. It is a challenge to determine how, when and by whom climate predictions should be translated into risk estimates usable for decision-making. In this paper results from the Climate for Culture project are used to study how heritage decision-makers interpret future indoor climate-related risks to Swedish churches. Different sets of risk maps were presented to ten engineers, ten building conservators and five experts on indoor climate related risks. Interviews were used to understand how the interviewees made sense of the presented information and if they associated it with a perceived need for adaptation. The results show that the risks were interpreted and assessed largely dependent on their pre-understanding and familiarity with the individual risks. The magnitude of change and the lack of uncertainty estimates were subordinate to the overall impression of the information as being credible and salient. The major conclusion is that the dissemination of risk information, also from projects which at the outset have aimed at producing knowledge relevant for end-users, should be both customized and tested in collaborative efforts by stakeholders and scientists.

Against all odds: Alphaeus Zulu and racism in church and society

OpenAIRE

Simangaliso Kumalo, R; Mbaya, Henry

2015-01-01

This article examines the response of Bishop Alphaeus Hamilton Zulu to the racism that was prevalent in both the church and society when he was elected as the first African Bishop of the Anglican Church in South Africa. Clergy, especially bishops, are by virtue of their ecclesial positions expected to transcend racial prejudices, to embrace all members of their churches and to transform their churches to multi-racial ones. This means that they have to deal with racial stereotypes both within ...

Calculating Kolmogorov Complexity from the Output Frequency Distributions of Small Turing Machines

Science.gov (United States)

Delahaye, Jean-Paul; Gauvrit, Nicolas

2014-01-01

Drawing on various notions from theoretical computer science, we present a novel numerical approach, motivated by the notion of algorithmic probability, to the problem of approximating the Kolmogorov-Chaitin complexity of short strings. The method is an alternative to the traditional lossless compression algorithms, which it may complement, the two being serviceable for different string lengths. We provide a thorough analysis for all binary strings of length and for most strings of length by running all Turing machines with 5 states and 2 symbols ( with reduction techniques) using the most standard formalism of Turing machines, used in for example the Busy Beaver problem. We address the question of stability and error estimation, the sensitivity of the continued application of the method for wider coverage and better accuracy, and provide statistical evidence suggesting robustness. As with compression algorithms, this work promises to deliver a range of applications, and to provide insight into the question of complexity calculation of finite (and short) strings. Additional material can be found at the Algorithmic Nature Group website at http://www.algorithmicnature.org. An Online Algorithmic Complexity Calculator implementing this technique and making the data available to the research community is accessible at http://www.complexitycalculator.com. PMID:24809449

INCREASING ECONOMIC WELFARE OF CHURCH CONGREGATION : A CONCEPT OF EMPOWERMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

TONGAM SIHOL NABABAN

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In our community, many structural problems unresolved well, especially in social and economic life. Seeing this reality, the Church needs to have a sensitivity and a strong commitment to encourage cooperation of some parties to empower people, especially its congregation. Congregation of the Church, especially the poor need to be raised and empowered to pursue their own welfare through economic business. One manifestation of the Church's task is to empower the community-based and to revitalize its role more focused on optimizing the institution of community economy. For that, it is important to use the Model of Empowerment of Congregation-Based Community Economic in form of business partnership. The success of congregation economic empowerment lies in the motivation and orientation of the actors themselves, where the Church is expected to seriously fight. Keywords: Church, Congregation, Community-Based Economic, Business Partnership,  Empowerment.

Solar and Calendrical Symbolism in the Early Medieval Finnish Church Murals

Science.gov (United States)

Ridderstad, Marianna

2015-05-01

The earliest church murals of the first stone churches in Finland were painted at the time when Christianity had only just become the official faith in the region and the old ethnic religion was still widely practiced. The 'pagan' motifs of these Early Medieval Finnish church murals reflect the complexity of the religious beliefs in this transition phase. The church actively transformed the festivals of the vernacular religion by giving Christian meanings to the symbols and rituals, as well as by replacing the ethnic deities with Christian figures. The solar symbolism and the calendrical motifs of the church murals are interpreted as imagery largely based on the Christianized remnants of the pre-Christian annual festivals. The earliest church murals thus provide important insight into the pre-Christian religious beliefs of late Iron Age Finland. Many of the motifs and symbols represented in the murals are related to the annual fertility cult and the solar goddess as one of its central figures.

Black churches and HIV/AIDS: factors influencing congregations’ responsiveness to social issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Fulton, Brad R

2011-01-01

The ambivalent response of many black churches to current social issues has caused some scholars to question the centrality of black churches within African-American communities. Using a nationally representative sample of black congregations, this study engages the debate about the institutional centrality of black churches by focusing on their response to HIV/AIDS. Although many congregational studies treat black churches as a monolithic whole, this analysis identifies heterogeneity among black churches that shapes their responsiveness to social issues. Contrary to prior claims, a congregation's liberal-conservative ideological orientation does not significantly affect its likelihood of having an HIV/AIDS program. Beyond assessing churches’ internal characteristics, this study uses institutional theory to analyze churches as open systems that can be influenced by their surrounding environment. It demonstrates that externally engaged congregations are significantly more likely to have a program. These results indicate that black churches maintain institutional centrality by engaging their external environment.

Christian Church: A Catalyst for Economic Development in Nigeria

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Toshiba

The issue of economic development is of national concern. The. Nigerian economy ..... The Christian church has provided both moral and economic impetus ... posits that the church needs to concentrate on the business of creating economic ...

Explaining seemingly paradoxical consumer experiences: conjoining weekly road rage and church attendance.

Science.gov (United States)

Gau, Li-Shiue; Woodside, Arch G; Martin, Drew

2015-02-01

The purposes of the current study are threefold: Provide evidence that an extreme paradoxical group exists-people frequently attending church and exhibiting road rage, profile this group, and frame possible explanations for the seemingly paradoxical behaviors. This study employs data from a national (USA) lifestyle survey conducted by Market Facts with 3,350 American respondents. The major questions asked about church participation and road-rage behavior ("giving a finger" and "flashing headlights"). Nomologically, relevant activities include 3 items for church goers and 3 items for road-rage givers. Additionally, 14 items profiled the lifestyles of the unique paradoxical behavior segment. Utilizing cross-tabulation tables, property space analyses identify the double extreme (XX) group (18 people) and other 6 groups with a significant chi-square test, confirming the extreme group exists. Analyses of variance test results show that comparing nomologically relevant activities among the seven groups is all statistically significant, indicating the nomological validity is met. Overall, the XX group tends to have more males, be younger, and have a higher proportion of people working in sales. The profile of lifestyle analyses shows the XX group members have both high ambitions and expectations, might be very frustrated individuals, and equip with the adventurous and masculine traits related to aggression. The XX behavior group's demographic and psychographic characteristics portray similar lifestyles that differ from other groups. Case-based analyses provide further contextual information of nuances to XX segment individuals. The limited energy theory, the Eagleman's theory of unconscious mind, and justification theory help to explain why people conjointly go to church and commit road rage. Addressing chronic paradoxical behaviors provides implications for social de-marketing to reduce aggressive anti-social behavior such as road rage. Frequent church attendance may

Unshackling the Church

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Vuyani Vellem

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In whose ‘order’, ‘newness’ and ‘foundation’ is ecclesiology based in South Africa? The colonial legacy of pigmentocracy, the cultural domination and annihilation of the indigenous dispensation of black Africans, is not devoid of institutional structures of faith and their historical performance in South Africa. The church is one institution in South Africa that played a crucial role in perpetrating perversities of racial, economic and cultural exclusion with a fetish of its institutional character that is still pervasive and dangerously residual in post-1994 South Africa. By presenting a brief outline of the basics on ecclesiology, the article argues that things remain the same the more things seem to change if the methodological approach to ecclesiology circumvents the edifice and foundations on which the history of ecclesiology in South Africa is built. To unshackle the church, a Black Theology of liberation must begin from and debunk the foundations of models of ecclesiology that are conceived on perverse theological and ideologised forms of faith that have become residually hazardous in South Africa post-1994.

Pentecostal mission spirituality: a study of the classical Pentecostal Churches in Ghana

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White, Peter

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Mission is not just about proclaiming the gospel - it encompasses spiritual preparation of those involved in both mission activity and in converted souls. This approach is what is termed as mission spirituality in this article. Mission spirituality is the means by which churches and individual believers participate in the mission of God, through the way they live in and by the Holy Spirit, in order to know the will of God regarding what He is doing in their context and to follow His example. In view of the importance of mission spirituality in missionary activities of the church, this article explores the mission spirituality of the classical Pentecostal churches in Ghana (The church of Pentecost, Christ Apostolic Church International, The Apostolic Church Ghana and the Assemblies of God.

Elaborating on ubuntu in a Johannesburg inner-city church

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Elina Hankela

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article was originally delivered as the speech of the winner of the 2014 Donner Institute Prize for Outstanding Research into Religion, and deals with some core findings of the research that won the prize, namely, the doctoral thesis Challenging Ubuntu: Open Doors and Exclusionary Boundaries at the Central Methodist Mission in Johannesburg. The author approaches the meanings of ubuntu (Nguni: humanity/humanness in the context of a Methodist church that sheltered thousands of African migrants in its premises in the inner city of Johannesburg. Using ethnographic research methods, she analyses both the inclusionary message of humanity preached at the church and the exclusionary boundaries between the people who lived in the church and the local congregation that worshipped there. Based on the social dynamics of the church community, the author suggests the rules of reciprocity and survival as some of the socio-moral patterns that set the boundaries to the actualisation of the moral ideal of ubuntu in this context. Overall, the case of this particular church speaks to a broader discussion of the meaning of and limits to being human in one world.

One Dimensional Turing-Like Handshake Test for Motor Intelligence

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Karniel, Amir; Avraham, Guy; Peles, Bat-Chen; Levy-Tzedek, Shelly; Nisky, Ilana

2010-01-01

In the Turing test, a computer model is deemed to "think intelligently" if it can generate answers that are not distinguishable from those of a human. However, this test is limited to the linguistic aspects of machine intelligence. A salient function of the brain is the control of movement, and the movement of the human hand is a sophisticated demonstration of this function. Therefore, we propose a Turing-like handshake test, for machine motor intelligence. We administer the test through a telerobotic system in which the interrogator is engaged in a task of holding a robotic stylus and interacting with another party (human or artificial). Instead of asking the interrogator whether the other party is a person or a computer program, we employ a two-alternative forced choice method and ask which of two systems is more human-like. We extract a quantitative grade for each model according to its resemblance to the human handshake motion and name it "Model Human-Likeness Grade" (MHLG). We present three methods to estimate the MHLG. (i) By calculating the proportion of subjects' answers that the model is more human-like than the human; (ii) By comparing two weighted sums of human and model handshakes we fit a psychometric curve and extract the point of subjective equality (PSE); (iii) By comparing a given model with a weighted sum of human and random signal, we fit a psychometric curve to the answers of the interrogator and extract the PSE for the weight of the human in the weighted sum. Altogether, we provide a protocol to test computational models of the human handshake. We believe that building a model is a necessary step in understanding any phenomenon and, in this case, in understanding the neural mechanisms responsible for the generation of the human handshake. PMID:21206462

Portuguese Cistercian Churches - An acoustic legacy

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Rodrigues, Fabiel G.; Lanzinha, João C. G.; Martins, Ana M. T.

2017-10-01

The Cistercian Order (11th century) stands out as an apologist of the simplicity and austerity of the space. According to the Order of Cîteaux, only with an austere space, without any distractions, the true spiritual contemplation is achieved. This Order was an aggregator and consolidator pole during the Christian Reconquest. Thus, as it happens with other Religious Orders, Cîteaux has a vast heritage legacy. This heritage is witness, not only of the historical, but also social, political, and spiritual evolution. This legacy resumes the key principles to an austere liturgy, which requirements, in the beginning, are based on the simplicity of worship and of the connection between man and God. Later, these requirements allowed the development of the liturgy itself and its relation with the believers. Consequently, it can be concisely established an empirical approach between the Cistercian churches and the acoustics conditioning of these spaces. This outcome is fundamental in order to understand the connection between liturgy and the conception of the Cistercian churches as well as the constructed space and its history. So, an analysis of these principles is essential to establish the relation between acoustic and religious buildings design throughout history. It is also a mean of understanding the knowledge of acoustics principles that the Cistercian Order bequeathed to Portugal. This paper presents an empirical approach on Cistercian monastic churches acoustics. These spaces are the place where the greatest acoustic efforts are concentrated and it is also the space where the liturgy reaches greater importance. On the other hand, Portugal is a country which has an important Cistercian legacy over several periods of history. Consequently, the Portuguese Cistercian monastic churches are representative of the development of the liturgy, the design of spaces and of the acoustic requirements of their churches since the 12th century until the 21st century and it is of

Getting young adults back to church: A marketing approach

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2013-04-04

Apr 4, 2013 ... In a business context, marketing is used to recruit new customers. Similarly, the .... church can be used as a basis for young adults to experience the church .... the spatial relationships (distances) between the items, whereas ...

Geological and geotechnical properties of the medieval rock hewn churches of Lalibela, Northern Ethiopia

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Asrat, Asfawossen; Ayallew, Yodit

2011-01-01

Lalibela is a medieval settlement in Northern Ethiopia famous for its 11 beautifully carved rock hewn churches, registered as World Heritage Site in 1978. The rock hewn churches are grouped into three based on their proximity: the Bete Medhane Alem (Church of the Holy Saviour), Bete Gabriel-Rufael (Church of St. Gabriel-Rafael) and Bete Giorgis (Church of St. George) groups. The churches are carved out of a single, massive scoriaceous basalt hill which was deposited along an East-West extending palaeovalley in the Oligo-Miocene Trap basalt of the northwestern Ethiopian plateau. The Rock Mass Rating (RMR) classification scheme was used to classify the rock mass (assuming each church as a separate rock mass) based on their uniaxial compressive strength and the spacing and conditions of discontinuities. Though most of the churches are hewn from medium to high strength rock mass, discontinuities make them vulnerable to other deteriorating agents mainly weathering, and water infiltration. Most of the rock hewn churches are affected by pre-carving cooling joints and bedding plane discontinuities, and by mostly but not necessarily post-carving tectonic and seismic induced cracks and fractures. Material loss due to deep weathering triggered by rain water infiltration and uncontrolled groundwater seepage affects most of the churches, particularly the Bete Merqorios (Church of St. Mark) and Bete Aba Libanos (Church of Father Libanos) churches. The scoriaceous basalt which is porous and permeable allows easy passage of water while the underlying basalt is impermeable, increasing the residence time of water in the porous material, causing deep weathering and subsequent loss of material in some of the churches and adjoining courtyards.

S.S. Annunziata Church (L'Aquila, Italy) unveiled by non- and micro-destructive testing techniques

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Sfarra, Stefano; Cheilakou, Eleni; Theodorakeas, Panagiotis; Paoletti, Domenica; Koui, Maria

2017-03-01

The present research work explores the potential of an integrated inspection methodology, combining Non-destructive testing and micro-destructive analytical techniques, for both the structural assessment of the S.S. Annunziata Church located in Roio Colle (L'Aquila, Italy) and the characterization of its wall paintings' pigments. The study started by applying passive thermal imaging for the structural monitoring of the church before and after the application of a consolidation treatment, while active thermal imaging was further used for assessing this consolidation procedure. After the earthquake of 2009, which seriously damaged the city of L'Aquila and its surroundings, part of the internal plaster fell off revealing the presence of an ancient mural painting that was subsequently investigated by means of a combined analytical approach involving portable VIS-NIR fiber optics diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) and laboratory methods, such as environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), and attenuated total reflectance-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The results obtained from the thermographic analysis provided information concerning the two different constrictive phases of the Church, enabled the assessment of the consolidation treatment, and contributed to the detection of localized problems mainly related to the rising damp phenomenon and to biological attack. In addition, the results obtained from the combined analytical approach allowed the identification of the wall painting pigments (red and yellow ochre, green earth, and smalt) and provided information on the binding media and the painting technique possibly applied by the artist. From the results of the present study, it is possible to conclude that the joint use of the above stated methods into an integrated methodology can produce the complete set of useful information required for the planning of the Church's restoration

INFORMATION SYSTEMS AUDIT CURRICULA CONTENT MATCHING

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Vasile-Daniel CARDOȘ

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Financial and internal auditors must cope with the challenge of performing their mission in technology enhanced environment. In this article we match the information technology description found in the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC and the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA curricula against the Model Curriculum issued by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA. By reviewing these three curricula, we matched the content in the ISACA Model Curriculum with the IFAC International Education Practice Statement 2 and the IIAs’ Global Model Internal Audit Curriculum. In the IFAC and IIA Curriculum there are 16 content elements, out of 19 possible, which match, in their description, the ISACA Model Curriculum’s content. We noticed that a candidate who graduates an IFAC or IIA compliant program acquire IS auditing competences similar to the specific content of the ISACA model curriculum but less than the requirements for a professional information systems auditor.

Hiding behind the Cloth: Child Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church

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Dale, Kathryn A.; Alpert, Judith L.

2007-01-01

The existence of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church has shocked many. In this article, the authors review the history of child sexual abuse in the church, the recent events that brought this tragedy into societal consciousness, and the efforts by the church to conceal the abuse. Two sources of empirical literature, the general…

Statements of the church on the peaceful use of nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feldhaus, S.

1990-01-01

Also the churches participated in the extensive discussion of energy politics effected in the FRG in the middle of the 70ies by the increased use of nuclear energy. There are a whole host of statements of the church, from general questions of energy supply to concrete yes/no statements on the further peaceful use of nuclear energy. Within the framework of a comparative analysis it has been tried to bring out of records the chronological order of statements on this subject made by both churches as well as by the ecumenical movement, the differences and common ground with regard to the analysis categories, the way the church sees herself, theological interpretations, ethical criteria and thus the requirements concerning energy politics based on these. The result shows that there are considerable differences of opinion between the Catholic and the Protestant Church about nuclear energy whereas the ecumenical statements constitute a real compromise as in the end the opinion of none of the two churches could gain full acceptance. (orig.) [de

Church Member Support Benefits Psychological Well-Being of Pregnant African American Women

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Giurgescu, Carmen; Murn, Nicole L.

2016-01-01

Depression during pregnancy is common, and pregnant African American (AA) women are more likely to experience depressive symptoms compared with pregnant non-Hispanic white women. This study explored AA women’s experience of church attendance, church member support, depressive symptoms, and psychological well-being at 15–25 weeks’ gestation. Nurses need to be aware of the importance of church support and encourage clergy and church members to be supportive of pregnant women. PMID:27119803

Reproductive rights in Poland: when politicians fear the wrath of the Church.

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Heinen, Jacqueline; Portet, Stéphane

2010-01-01

The historical prestige of the Polish Catholic Church is the result of its presence as a national symbol of resistance, both under foreign occupation and during the communist regime. In the post-communist era the power of the Church within the political arena has significantly increased, through the Concordat that was signed with the state as well as through formal and informal ties with political parties. Catholicism is the de facto religion of the state, even if Poland remains a nominally secular country. This was illustrated by the adoption, in 1993, of a total abortion ban. Although the relation of Poles to the Catholic dogma on sexuality and reproductive rights tends to be weak, fearing criticism from Church authorities, most politicians avoid controversial topics and express their commitment to Catholic dogma. Thus women's groups have encountered serious difficulties in their efforts to defend women's rights to sexual and reproductive autonomy. Although accession to the European Union has put Poland in an awkward position with respect to equality of rights between women and men, it has not fundamentally altered the real situation with respect to the controversial topic of abortion.

Northeast Church Rock Mine

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Northeast Church Rock Mine, a former uranium mine 17 miles northeast of Gallup, NM in the Pinedale Chapter of the Navajo Nation. EPA is working with NNEPA to oversee cleanup work by United Nuclear Corporation, a company owned by General Electric (GE).

Christianization of folk customs: An example of Ox'Church

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Ivanović-Barišić Milina

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the process of transformation of a pre-Christian custom in Zuce, a village near by Belgrade. The custom is called 'provlaka', held all until the WW II on August 29. This custom was established after the cattle pest in the village. Since WW II, however, this day is celebrated as the village St. patrons/slava day. After the village church has been built and blessed in 2002, the day became also celebrated as one of the church's slava days. Transformation of holidays assumes vanishing of some and appearance of some other segments of the given custom: 1. Until WW II the most important segment of the custom 'provlaka' was extracting wild fire and passage of people and cattle. This custom was maintained with an aim of preventive protection against epidemics. 2. A significant feature of annual celebration of calendar holidays included collective gatherings. On this day people visit relatives from other villages, attend lunch together, and gather at a particular village spot in the afternoon. 3. The beginning of the church building has allowed introduction of religious elements in celebration. In the morning, it is a time usually to attend a liturgy, while what follows represent some inherited customs like reception and eating together with relatives and friends. 4. After the village church has been built and blessed in 2002, the day became also celebrated as one of the church's slava days. This assumes presentation of the village cake maker and cake cutting in the church, accompanied by a local priest.

As I see it: a study of African American pastors' views on health and health education in the black church.

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Rowland, Michael L; Isaac-Savage, E Paulette

2014-08-01

The Black Church is the only institution that has consistently served the interest of African Americans, and there is no other institution in the African American community that rivals its influence (Camara, 2004). The spiritual well-fare, social support, health, and well-being of its people have been one of its main goals. With health disparities of African Americans still at an alarming rate, the Black Church has used informal education as a means to impart knowledge on health, as well as other non-religious and religious topics. One of the avenues least researched within the Black Church is the pastor's perception of its educational role in health and wellness and its efforts to reduce health discrimination and health disparities between African American and European Americans in the U.S. Since social justice appears as a theme and concern in the traditions of many churches, it is only appropriate that, among other things, the Black Church should address the issue of health education and interventions. The purpose of this study was to explore African American pastors' perceptions of the role of the Black Church in providing health care, health education, and wellness opportunities to African Americans. Many pastors reported their church provided some form of health education and/or health screenings. Their perceptions about the important issues facing their congregants versus African Americans in general were quite similar.

Insight into the Fulnek Church and Parish Medieval Building Chronology

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Augustinková Lucie

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The church of the Holy Trinity and parish in Fulnek was for nearly four centuries an Augustinian canonry and collegiate church (1293-1389. The medieval church and parish building chronology, however, have not been thus far established. From research between 2015 and 2016 we have been able to identify medieval portions of the buildings, clarify the site medieval construction phases and date the parish buildings (formerly the canonry from dendrochronological analysis of embedded wooden scaffolding.

Theologian in the service of the Church

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Gheorghe Metallinos

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The word about God anticipates some knowledge of God, and the knowledge of God can never be a fruit of the rational, intellectual, metaphysical research, but only of the holy-spiritual experience. Consequently, a theologian of the Church is not the rational man, however great his achievements may be, but the spirtual man, who has the experience of the Saints, namely who has tasted and is living the states of purification, illumination and deification. Disconnected from the reality of the spiritual life, a theologian becomes a false prophet. On the other hand, the Church cannot be divided into two parts, one that ministers to the believers in the place of worship, and another one that speaks from the teacher’s desk, through the theologians’ voice, but is one and the same Church. Actually, there is no existence more tragic than the one of a theologian, on any education level, teaching things to which he is not connected on the inside, by the heart, and which he does not accept or believe. If such a thing means failure for any science, however, for the area of Theology it is directly suicidal. In fact, the lack of the Orthodox and ecclesial way of thinking and living makes the person theologizing in the area of the Orthodoxy dangerous, because as an officially recognized teacher of Orthodox Theology, he functions as a representative of the Church tradition, while he is nothing but a false prophet. And, while, probably, the science of philology is not endangered by an unlearned philologist or the science of law by an unjust legist, the science of theology is logically denied in the person of its servant who is an unbelieving or atheist theologian and creates very great obstacles in the way of the accomplishment of the redeeming mission of the Church in the world.

Calculating Kolmogorov complexity from the output frequency distributions of small Turing machines.

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Fernando Soler-Toscano

Full Text Available Drawing on various notions from theoretical computer science, we present a novel numerical approach, motivated by the notion of algorithmic probability, to the problem of approximating the Kolmogorov-Chaitin complexity of short strings. The method is an alternative to the traditional lossless compression algorithms, which it may complement, the two being serviceable for different string lengths. We provide a thorough analysis for all Σ(n=1(11 2(n binary strings of length n<12 and for most strings of length 12≤n≤16 by running all ~2.5 x 10(13 Turing machines with 5 states and 2 symbols (8 x 22(9 with reduction techniques using the most standard formalism of Turing machines, used in for example the Busy Beaver problem. We address the question of stability and error estimation, the sensitivity of the continued application of the method for wider coverage and better accuracy, and provide statistical evidence suggesting robustness. As with compression algorithms, this work promises to deliver a range of applications, and to provide insight into the question of complexity calculation of finite (and short strings. Additional material can be found at the Algorithmic Nature Group website at http://www.algorithmicnature.org. An Online Algorithmic Complexity Calculator implementing this technique and making the data available to the research community is accessible at http://www.complexitycalculator.com.

The fresco at the entrance to Danilo II church of the Mother of God at Peć

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Milanović Vesna

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Painted around 1330, this fresco is located on a large section of the western façade of the church of the Mother of God Hodegetria at Peć above the entrance that leads from the monumental narthex into the interior of the building. It is a composition, joining the unusual image of the holy patroness of Archbishop Danilo II's ecclesiastical endowment, accompanied by two figures of angels in adoration, to create an iconographic whole with a twin presentation of the archpriests, St. Nicolas and Danilo II himself bowing in prayer. After giving a careful and detailed description of the entire content and setting of the painting, first of all, the paper discusses the content and message conveyed in the choice of the image of the Mother of God with Child, which, in the given assembly of figures, is distinguished by its central position and enlarged proportions. A perception of the views maintained so far, regarding the interpretation of this composition, and the specific points related to the choice of the central figure, when attempting to decipher its meaning, leads to considering that in a certain reinterpretation of the aforesaid, quite specific representation of the patroness of the Serbian archbishop's church endowment, there also lies the key for the explanation of the twin presentation of the two hierarchs in prayer, as well as for shedding light on the inter-relationship of all the figures involved in the painting, i.e. for perceiving the logic of uniting them in one composition. Even though a new attempt at comprehending the content and the subtle message of the fresco largely rests upon the examination and thorough research of comparative material that previous research workers have already noted as being significant for the examination of the given solution, this does not hold for the conclusions arising from the observation of that material. There is a critical review particularly of the previous conclusions that remain within the

Developing a culturally responsive breast cancer screening promotion with Native Hawaiian women in churches.

Science.gov (United States)

Ka'opua, Lana Sue

2008-08-01

This article presents findings from research to develop the promotional component of a breast cancer screening program for Native Hawaiian women associated with historically Hawaiian churches in medically underserved communities.The literature on adherence to health recommendations and health promotions marketing guided inquiry on screening influences. Focus groups and individual interviews patterned on the culturally familiar practice of talk story were conducted with 60 Hawaiian women recruited through religious and social organizations.Text data were analyzed with an incremental process involving content analysis and Airhihenbuwa's PEN-3 model. Key informants and senior colleagues reviewed preliminary findings to ensure accuracy of interpretation. Findings reflect collectivist values at the intersection of indigenous Hawaiian culture and religiosity. Inclusion of messages that encourage holistic health across the intergenerational continuum of extended family and fictive kin, reinforcement from spiritual leaders, and testimonials of cancer survivors and family members may facilitate Hawaiian women's screening intent.

A Model Program for Churches and Ex-Offender Reintegration.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connor, Thomas; Ryan, Patricia; Parikh, Crystal

1998-01-01

Prison Fellowship Ministries' church and community based Transition of Prisoners (TOP) program in Detroit is examined. TOP mobilizes, trains, and equips primarily African-American churches and volunteers to assist ex-offenders to successfully reintegrate into their community. Preliminary outcome data suggest that participation in TOP reduces need…

Iceland as a western country. How to classify medieval church law in the vernacular

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Lára Magnúsardóttir

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Iceland’s subjection to the king of Norway in 1262-64 was followed by a legislation in which a law book for Church and spiritual matters was composed in the vernacular for each country. Such law was implemented in Iceland in 1275 along with a separate secular law book in 1281. Both books remained in force until the middle of the 16th century. A church law that was separate, both from the secular law and that of Roman Church appears to set Iceland apart from other Western European countries where spiritual matters were governed according to the Latin law of the Roman Church. This has been viewed as an indication of constant rivalry between the religious and secular authorities, usually presenting the Church as an overreaching and even oppressive institution against which laity struggled. But a comparison of Icelandic Church law with the Latin Canon law shows that the Church in Iceland submitted entirely to the authority of the Roman Church and thus shows that the Icelandic Church law was, despite its obscure language, a specific representation of the law of the Roman Church. A Norwegian concordat from 1277 shows the king’s recognition of separate spiritual and temporal jurisdictions. This cooperation is readily apparent in later court cases.

Alexios I Komnenos and his Church Policy

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Iakovos MENELAOU

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Alexios I Komnenos has been characterized as a gifted military leader. Nevertheless, apart from his military career and after he took the throne, Alexios proceeded to certain measures in order to revive an empire in condition of decline. Alexios established himself as a defender of Orthodoxy, since he helped monasticism, fought heresies and supported the building or renewal of foundations, such as monasteries and churches. In this paper, I deal with Alexios’ church policy and how he defended Orthodoxy.

Healthcare and Catholic identity in the universal Church.

Science.gov (United States)

Danneels, C D

1987-10-01

Two topics that are closely related to the daily work and the primordial concern of Catholic healthcare givers are the meaning and sense of Catholic healthcare institutions, and the relationship between a particular Church and the universal Church, especially since the Second Vatican Council. Some question whether it is worthwhile to maintain independent Catholic institutions, rather than working with others in nondenominational healthcare institutions. Christian institutions are indispensable as a defense against the well-organized forces of evil in the world, and because togetherness is needed in the struggle for good and for faith. Without this togetherness, the danger exists that the power of faith will be taken over by the power of money and financial interest groups. The elements of the Catholic identity of institutions and organizations are a service to the world, the Gospel message, a balance between technology and humanism, a permanent solicitude for the whole person, and a respect for human liberty. This Catholic identity must be fostered in our institutions, especially among the laypeople working there. The relationship between the universal Church and local Churches has come under stress since the Second Vatican Council, and a balance must be found. The problem has two aspects: the theological, and the cultural and psychological. A sound communion theology must be established to provide a good perspective on the relationship. In addition, a dialogue must be established between Rome and the particular Churches to prevent the universal message of Christ in his Gospel from conflicting more and more with local styling of the message.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The cause of Arseniy Matseevich as an "indicator" of the ideology of the church conservatism at the Catherinian age: historiographical aspect

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Rudnev, M. A.

2017-05-01

Full Text Available On the materials of the historico-biographical treatises and furthermore the generalizing and monographic works in history of the Russian Orthodox Church and the social and political thought the historiographical appraisals and treatments of the ideological content and motivation of the church opposition to the Catherine's II policy led by metropolitan of Rostov Arseniy Matseevich is examined. This problematico-historiographical review is realized in the context of the Russian conservatismʼs origins and development from its initial oppositional version to the posterior incarnation. The Russian Pre-October and émigré "secular" historians (V. S. Ikonnikov, A. V. Kartashev appraised Arseniy Matseevichʼs struggle against the secularization church estates decreed by Catherine II as the manifestation of the class economical egoism of the highest clergy only. These authors denied any "ideal" (spiritual and ideological motives of his opposition to the Catherinian policy. Contrary to this viewpoint in the apologistical treatise about Arseniy Matseevich published in 1912 the priest M. S. Popov represented him as the principal ideological fighter for the Church's independence of the Catherinian absolutist regime. The Soviet historiography and the majority of the contemporary Russian historians assertes the "class egoistical" economical motivation of Arseniy Matseevichʼs opposition to the Catherinian politics and confronted his oppositional church conservatism with its "system" version personified by the metropolitan of Moscow Platon (Levshin.

Content dependent information flow control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielson, Hanne Riis; Nielson, Flemming

2017-01-01

Information flow control extends access control by not only regulating who is allowed to access what data but also the subsequent use of the data. Applications within communications systems require such information flow control to be dependent on the actual contents of the data. We develop...

Secrets, silence and the sacred: The communications Trinity of the Catholic Church

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Stéphane DUFOUR

2013-12-01

Full Text Available If the Catholic Church experiences difficulties in today’s world of ‘hyper-communication’ and 24/7 media pressure, esoteric religious language or generalised misuse of the media may not be the only factors to blame. This paper is based on the hypothesis that the reasons run more deeply into the communications ethos of the Catholic Church itself. More precisely, the paper contends that the Church’s communication in the social sphere cannot totally escape the principle of secrecy. This is not to say that there is one particular secret which the Church wishes to keep, rather that the whole Catholic tradition is marked by a culture and practice of secrecy, as shown through such examples as the Seven Seals of The Apocalypse, the Holy Secret of Confession, the Three Secrets of Fatima, meetings held systematically behind closed doors, etc. This contribution will analyse this communicational ethos based on the value of secrecy and on its corollary: mystery, through acts of enunciation involving texts, actors’ strategies, semiotically-charged scenes and everything which helps set the “stage” for a typical instance of religious communication. This cult of secrecy, as far as it can be identified, enters inevitably into conflict with the value of transparency. The dialectical relationship between secrecy and transparency leads us to focus our analysis on the tension between the Church’s desire to respect secrecy, to retain information and to remain silent, and the demands of visibility immediacy and openness we associate with information-based society.

Employing the Church as a Marketer of Cancer Prevention

Science.gov (United States)

Lumpkins, Crystal Y.; Coffey, Candice R.; Daley, Christine M.; Greiner, K. Allen

2013-01-01

Health promotion programs designed to address colorectal cancer disparities among African Americans are increasing. Unfortunately, this group still shoulders a disproportionate mortality burden in the United States; these numbers are also reflective of colorectal cancer (CRC) disparities in the Midwest. The purpose of this study was to extrapolate results from in-depth interviews and brief surveys on the effectiveness of the church as a social marketer of CRC-prevention messages. Results show that pastors believe the congregation has limited knowledge about CRC risk and prevention; they also believe the church can improve cancer-prevention communication among members and those affiliated with the church. PMID:23718957

Spolia from the Church of St. Nicholas in Nikoljac

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pejić Svetlana

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Two, so far unknown, spolia with carved interlace ornaments, built into the wall of the Church of St. Nicholas in Nikoljac are analyzed. These spolia are a part of the collection of fragments discovered earlier in the Church of St. Peter in Bijelo Polje. A comparative analysis was performed on a multitude of pre-Romanic material, in order to determine the time when they were made and whether they originated from any specific circle of stonemasons, and also to identify the initial position of the fragments in the liturgical church furniture for which they had been carved. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177036

Acoustic simulations of Mudejar-Gothic churches.

Science.gov (United States)

Galindo, Miguel; Zamarreño, Teófilo; Girón, Sara

2009-09-01

In this paper, an iterative process is used in order to estimate the values of absorption coefficients of those materials of which little is known in the literature, so that an acoustic simulation can be carried out in Mudejar-Gothic churches. The estimation of the scattering coefficients, which is even less developed, is based on the size of the irregularities. This methodology implemented is applied to six Mudejar-Gothic churches of Seville (southern Spain). The simulated monophonic acoustic parameters, both in the frequency domain and as a function of source-receiver distance (spatial distribution), are analyzed and compared with the in situ measures. Good agreement has been found between these sets of values, whereby each parameter is discussed in terms of the just noticeable difference. This procedure for existing buildings, especially for those which are rich in heritage, enables a reliable evaluation of the effect on the maintenance, restoration, and conditioning for new uses, as well as the recreation of the acoustic environment of ancient times. Along these lines, the acoustic influence of the timber roof and the presence of the public in these churches have also been studied.

Church silver in the monetary reform of 1922-1924 years

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Ivanov Sergei, deacon

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This article offers support the claim expense seized in 1922 under the slogan of helping the starving of church property in the minting of coins in connection with the monetary reform. It is primarily a silver, whose share in the value of the selected property in the existing temples was 86 percent. Need dragmetalah as the reform of the circulation of money there, regardless of the problem of hunger 1921–1922 and determined refusal of the Bolshevik leaders from the course on monetary economy in the post-war chaos. Evidence for the main thesis of the article served as the internal reports of structural divisions of People’s Commissariat of Finance and the People’s Commissariat of Workers ‘and Peasants’ Inspection, which indicated that in the period of the campaign for the withdrawal and delivery of church property in the state store, recently seen as the main source of silver for coinage on Petrograd Mint. Information about church silver was present in the reports to send to the metal from Gokhran Mint statements and the amount of metal intended for coinage. Demand for silver for the execution of production programs for minting exceed the available reserves of the metal, which resulted in the purchase of silver on foreign markets and buying coins Imperial coinage in the population of the country. Silver in donations and reform played a role supportive factor for strengthening confidence in the paper currency treasury.

Scientific evaluation of wall paintings from Bunesti Evangelical Church, Brasov county

Science.gov (United States)

Baciu, Annamaria; MǎruÅ£oiu, Constantin; Bibire, Cristina; Vornicu, Nicoleta; Dreve, Simina

2013-11-01

Evangelical Church in the village Bunesti, Brasov county, is part of the fortified churches built since the XIV century at the south-eastern territory of Transylvania. Developed by addition in several stages during centuries, the church begun as Catholic chapel, then that was amplified in the sixteenth century, when Reform was adopted by the Saxon communities. In that period the building was extended in length and height and the catholic specific iconographic decorations were cancelled by covering with different layers of plaster and paint. The campaign of introducing in touristic circuit of old Saxon fortified churches generated, in terms of maintenance and renovations undertaken, the discovery of significant wall paintings, as treasures to be rescued and put into value. Our present efforts are focused on scientific evaluation of mural paintings found in Evangelical Church from Bunesti, by XRF and specific analysis performed on 10 different samples of mural paintings, completing visual and artistic analysis in order to establish the strategies for their recovering and preservation.

PRAYER IN ALEXANDER BLOK'S LYRIC POETRY ("A GIRL WAS SINGING IN THE CHURCH CHOIR..."

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Irina Aleksandrovna Spiridonova

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The article examines the genre clash of a prayer and stanzas in Alexander Blok’s poem A girl was singing in the church choir... (1905. Prayer is the main ecclesiastical source, shaping the poem’s lyric model. The genre canon of stanzas with the strophes detached substantially and compositionally, transforms the central musical theme into four scene-developments linked by dissonance. Each of the strophes in A girl was singing in the church choir... has its own semantic point (prayer – singings – illusion – enlightenment and reveals a different content of the event, intensifies and develops the tragic theme of two worlds, intended and unintended substitutions, spiritual quest and time losses. Blok’s stanzas are poetic evidence of a modern man’s exit from a prayerful concentration. The model of “conflicting synthesis” of ecclesiastical and literary genres reflects the religious/mystical opposition in symbolism aesthetics and strengthens the tragic pathos of Blok’s lyric poetry.

The Irish Church Disestablishment Act (1869) and the General Synod of the Church of Ireland (1871): The Art and Structure of Educational Reform

Science.gov (United States)

McCormack, Christopher F.

2018-01-01

Historians have observed that the period 1860-1890 was educationally progressive. This paper identifies the renaissance with the creation of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland in the aftermath of Church Disestablishment. Disestablishment legislation facilitated the inclusion of the laity in Synod. The paper argues that the lay-clerical…

The political economy of churches in Denmark, 1300-2015

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Paldam, Martin; Paldam, Ella

2017-01-01

The paper reports new time-series for the numbers and sizes of churches in Denmark over a 715-year period. Per capita, the new series are termed church densities. A pattern emerges in the series that corresponds to the main development in the economy: Until 1750, the economy was in the traditional...

Dimensions of sustainability for a health communication intervention in African American churches: a multi-methods study.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheirer, Mary Ann; Santos, Sherie Lou Z; Tagai, Erin K; Bowie, Janice; Slade, Jimmie; Carter, Roxanne; Holt, Cheryl L

2017-03-28

Sustainability of evidence-based health promotion interventions has received increased research attention in recent years. This paper reports sustainability data from Project HEAL (Health through Early Awareness and Learning) a cancer communication implementation trial about early detection, based in African American churches. In this paper, we used a framework by Scheirer and Dearing (Am J Publ Health 101:2059-2067, 2011) to evaluate multiple dimensions of sustainability from Project HEAL. We examined the following dimensions of sustainability: (a) continued benefits for intervention recipients, (b) continuation of intervention activities, c) maintaining community partnerships, (d) changes in organizational policies or structures, (e) sustained attention to the underlying issues, (f) diffusion to additional sites, or even (g) unplanned consequences of the intervention. Project HEAL provided a three-workshop cancer educational series delivered by trained lay peer community health advisors (CHAs) in their churches. Multiple sources of sustainability were collected at 12 and 24 months after the intervention that reflect several levels of analysis: participant surveys; interviews with CHAs; records from the project's management database; and open-ended comments from CHAs, staff, and community partners. Outcomes differ for each dimension of sustainability. For continued benefit, 39 and 37% of the initial 375 church members attended the 12- and 24-month follow-up workshops, respectively. Most participants reported sharing the information from Project HEAL with family or friends (92% at 12 months; 87% at 24 months). For continuation of intervention activities, some CHAs reported that the churches held at least one additional cancer educational workshop (33% at 12 months; 24% at 24 months), but many more CHAs reported subsequent health activities in their churches (71% at 12 months; 52% at 24 months). No church replicated the original series of three workshops

The information content of options

OpenAIRE

Navon, Yonatan

2017-01-01

The objective of this thesis is to examine the information content of stock options in financial markets. A key question in financial economics is how information diffuses across markets and how quickly it is reflected in security prices. This thesis aims at exploring this question by investigating the informational role that options play in financial markets. This is achieved by exploring the joint cross section of option and bond prices, the informational role of options in seasoned equity ...

The Pauluskerk: an unorthodox church in Rotterdam

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Frank van der Hoeven

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The tale of the rebuilding of the Pauluskerk (St. Paul’s Church in the Dutch city of Rotterdam is a multilayered story that blurs the lines between architecture, societal issues, policymaking and urban redevelopment.The original Pauluskerk was built in the late 1950s in a city centre that was still recovering from the damage it suffered during the Second World War. The church may never have received the attention it has were it not for Reverend Visser, who developed the church into a refuge for the outcasts of Dutch society: asylum seekers, homeless people and drug addicts. Visser’s activism eventually evolved into the Perron Nul (Platform Zero initiative, through which he organized support for the addicted and indigent on a scale not seen before in the city.The close proximity of the Pauluskerk to Rotterdam Central Station and the controversy surrounding its mission brought it slowly but steadily onto a collision course with the renewal and redevelopment of the station area, which would eventually lead to the demolition of the original Pauluskerk in 2007 and the construction of a new church building as part of the CalypSO project, designed by British architect William Alsop.This article brings these story lines together to showcase the complex process involved in an inner-city urban development founded in the well-established practice of local democracy, where consensus-seeking is the norm, even when this crosses societal borders.

Indicators of Commitment to the Church: A Longitudinal Study of Church-Affiliated Youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Dudley, Roger L.

1993-01-01

Examined late adolescents who drop out of church and others who remain committed to it. Survey of Seventh-day Adventist youth found commitment related to cognitive, experiential, and activity dimensions of religion. Ethical considerations, perception of one's importance to local congregation, and peer influence also played part in stepwise…

Content Sharing Based on Personal Information in Virtually Secured Space

Science.gov (United States)

Sohn, Hosik; Ro, Yong Man; Plataniotis, Kostantinos N.

User generated contents (UGC) are shared in an open space like social media where users can upload and consume contents freely. Since the access of contents is not restricted, the contents could be delivered to unwanted users or misused sometimes. In this paper, we propose a method for sharing UGCs securely based on the personal information of users. With the proposed method, virtual secure space is created for contents delivery. The virtual secure space allows UGC creator to deliver contents to users who have similar personal information and they can consume the contents without any leakage of personal information. In order to verify the usefulness of the proposed method, the experiment was performed where the content was encrypted with personal information of creator, and users with similar personal information have decrypted and consumed the contents. The results showed that UGCs were securely shared among users who have similar personal information.

Acoustic analysis in Mudejar-Gothic churches: experimental results.

Science.gov (United States)

Galindo, Miguel; Zamarreño, Teófilo; Girón, Sara

2005-05-01

This paper describes the preliminary results of research work in acoustics, conducted in a set of 12 Mudejar-Gothic churches in the city of Seville in the south of Spain. Despite common architectural style, the churches feature individual characteristics and have volumes ranging from 3947 to 10 708 m3. Acoustic parameters were measured in unoccupied churches according to the ISO-3382 standard. An extensive experimental study was carried out using impulse response analysis through a maximum length sequence measurement system in each church. It covered aspects such as reverberation (reverberation times, early decay times), distribution of sound levels (sound strength); early to late sound energy parameters derived from the impulse responses (center time, clarity for speech, clarity, definition, lateral energy fraction), and speech intelligibility (rapid speech transmission index), which all take both spectral and spatial distribution into account. Background noise was also measured to obtain the NR indices. The study describes the acoustic field inside each temple and establishes a discussion for each one of the acoustic descriptors mentioned by using the theoretical models available and the principles of architectural acoustics. Analysis of the quality of the spaces for music and speech is carried out according to the most widespread criteria for auditoria.

Acoustic analysis in Mudejar-Gothic churches: Experimental results

Science.gov (United States)

Galindo, Miguel; Zamarreño, Teófilo; Girón, Sara

2005-05-01

This paper describes the preliminary results of research work in acoustics, conducted in a set of 12 Mudejar-Gothic churches in the city of Seville in the south of Spain. Despite common architectural style, the churches feature individual characteristics and have volumes ranging from 3947 to 10 708 m3. Acoustic parameters were measured in unoccupied churches according to the ISO-3382 standard. An extensive experimental study was carried out using impulse response analysis through a maximum length sequence measurement system in each church. It covered aspects such as reverberation (reverberation times, early decay times), distribution of sound levels (sound strength); early to late sound energy parameters derived from the impulse responses (center time, clarity for speech, clarity, definition, lateral energy fraction), and speech intelligibility (rapid speech transmission index), which all take both spectral and spatial distribution into account. Background noise was also measured to obtain the NR indices. The study describes the acoustic field inside each temple and establishes a discussion for each one of the acoustic descriptors mentioned by using the theoretical models available and the principles of architectural acoustics. Analysis of the quality of the spaces for music and speech is carried out according to the most widespread criteria for auditoria. .

Constantine and Christianity: The formation of church/state relations ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper discusses the effects of the events and legislation of that period on both church and state. It will attempt to explain how as a result of Constantine's policies, the Christian Church and the Roman State each gained control of, and influence over the other. This in turn resulted in a mutual dependency which allowed ...

The racial discourse and the Dutch Reformed Church: Looking ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The aim of this article is to give a descriptive-empirical description of the relationship between the DRC and race by using the Church Mirror surveys. An altered social distance scale is used to measure church acceptance. In the discourse on race, acceptance and unity in the DRC with regard to racial prejudice and attitudes ...

21st Century Notae Ecclesiae specifically necessary for churches

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Test

2011-06-07

Jun 7, 2011 ... the true church from the false as arcane disciplines. However, these marks ... gospel is by the spread of gossip. ... are the four conditions of the true church. ..... to share the good news of the kingdom' (WCC, NMC 2005:11,. §41). .... February 2010, from http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=505.

Atomic energy - challenge to the church. Atomenergie - Herausforderung an die Kirchen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Altner, G [comp.

1977-01-01

In the nuclear debate, the church has astonishingly soon and clearly stated its point of view and supported the social-ethic commitment of many of its members, of preachers, bishops, and church councils. This volume, in its first part, presents and comments on the church's statements concerning the nuclear problem, with special interest in the focal points of the nuclear debate, i.e. Wyhl, Brokdorf, Biblis, Grafenrheinfeld, and Borken. The second part deals with the challenge of nuclear power.

The use of the term ‘DNA’ as a missiological metaphor in contemporary Church narratives

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Scott Andrews

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Missiologists propose that the Church and mission are inseparable as the Church has its very being because there is mission, and it is the Missio Dei which constitutes the Church. In recent history the Anglican Church has interpreted this as the essential ‘DNA’ of the local church which is to be a missional community. The church’s mission therefore is presented as the gift of participating through the Holy Spirit in the Son’s mission from the Father to the world. In other words, it is proposed that the Church is both the fruit of God’s mission and the agent of His mission. But, in order to communicate this relationship between Church and mission in a postmodern context, the use of new metaphors and new terminologies, which are derived from our contemporary context, is shaping new ways of thinking. An exploration of the development of missional churches considers the significance of developing and embedding what has become referred to as missional DNA or mDNA at every level of the organisation of the Church. This mDNA is the outward model of missional behaviour that compels the whole church to reach a lost world. It can be seen from evidence-based, case study research amongst large churches in the UK that there is consistency in the adoption and use of the term DNA by its leadership in reference to the local church’s values and its attitude towards mission. This article explores the hypothesis that the term DNA is commonly accepted amongst local churches as a contributor to a contemporary language that forms the narrative of the Church and explores its feasibility and shortcomings as an adopted missiological metaphor.

An experimental design method leading to chemical Turing patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Horváth, Judit; Szalai, István; De Kepper, Patrick

2009-05-08

Chemical reaction-diffusion patterns often serve as prototypes for pattern formation in living systems, but only two isothermal single-phase reaction systems have produced sustained stationary reaction-diffusion patterns so far. We designed an experimental method to search for additional systems on the basis of three steps: (i) generate spatial bistability by operating autoactivated reactions in open spatial reactors; (ii) use an independent negative-feedback species to produce spatiotemporal oscillations; and (iii) induce a space-scale separation of the activatory and inhibitory processes with a low-mobility complexing agent. We successfully applied this method to a hydrogen-ion autoactivated reaction, the thiourea-iodate-sulfite (TuIS) reaction, and noticeably produced stationary hexagonal arrays of spots and parallel stripes of pH patterns attributed to a Turing bifurcation. This method could be extended to biochemical reactions.

How My Program Passed the Turing Test

Science.gov (United States)

Humphrys, Mark

In 1989, the author put an ELIZA-like chatbot on the Internet. The conversations this program had can be seen - depending on how one defines the rules (and how seriously one takes the idea of the test itself) - as a passing of the Turing Test. This is the first time this event has been properly written. This chatbot succeeded due to profanity, relentless aggression, prurient queries about the user, and implying that they were a liar when they responded. The element of surprise was also crucial. Most chatbots exist in an environment where people expectto find some bots among the humans. Not this one. What was also novel was the onlineelement. This was certainly one of the first AI programs online. It seems to have been the first (a) AI real-time chat program, which (b) had the element of surprise, and (c) was on the Internet. We conclude with some speculation that the future of all of AI is on the Internet, and a description of the "World- Wide-Mind" project that aims to bring this about.

The semaphore codes attached to a Turing machine via resets and their various limits

OpenAIRE

Rhodes, John; Schilling, Anne; Silva, Pedro V.

2016-01-01

We introduce semaphore codes associated to a Turing machine via resets. Semaphore codes provide an approximation theory for resets. In this paper we generalize the set-up of our previous paper "Random walks on semaphore codes and delay de Bruijn semigroups" to the infinite case by taking the profinite limit of $k$-resets to obtain $(-\\omega)$-resets. We mention how this opens new avenues to attack the P versus NP problem.

PROMOTING TRADITIONAL FAMILY BY THE CHURCH – RELIGIOUS MARKETING STRATEGIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ciprian GAVRA

2016-09-01

Full Text Available We live in a postmodern period where the old values or imperatives have lost the force as they were replaced by new values. Amidst this chaos, the Church opens its road by promoting values such as family and marriage based upon responsibility, understanding, compromise, etc. If the current trends move towards the personal satisfaction with everything this aspect involves, the Church is trying to preserve the traditionalism, the union between a man and a woman, the marriage. In our work we aim to analyze the methods by which the Orthodox Church promotes the heterosexual marriage.

Church-Based Social Support Among Caribbean Blacks in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Ann W.; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Chatters, Linda M.

2016-01-01

An emerging body of research notes the importance of church-based social support networks in the daily lives of Americans. However, few studies examine church-based support, and especially among ethnic subgroups within the U.S. Black population, such as Caribbean Blacks. This study uses data from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) to examine demographic and religious participation (e.g., attendance, interaction) correlates of church-based social support (e.g., receipt of emotional support, receipt of general support, provision of support to others, and negative interaction) among Caribbean Blacks residing in the U.S. Multiple regression analyses indicated that religious participation was associated with all four dependent variables. Church attendance was positively associated with receiving emotional support, general social support, and providing support to others, but was not associated with negative interaction. Frequency of interaction with fellow congregants was positively associated with receiving emotional support, receiving general support, providing support to others and negative interaction. Demographic findings indicated that women provided more support to church members and experienced more negative interactions with members than did men. Education was positively associated with frequency of support; household income was negatively associated with receiving emotional support and providing social support to others. Findings are discussed in relation to the role of church-based support networks in the lives of Caribbean Black immigrants and communities. PMID:27942078

Financing of the National Churches in the Nordic Countries, England and Scotland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjems, Sidsel; Bille, Trine

This article analyses the financing of seven national churches in a large comparative study. The national churches in the Nordic countries and in England and Scotland are compared. They have many similarities in terms of history, intertwinement with the state, type and level of religiosity...... of the population, public role and public responsibilities, but the level of financing differs greatly. The purpose of the article is to discuss possible explanations for the differences in the level of financing. Adjusting for cost of public service tasks and for GDP leaves a large difference in financing among...... the seven national churches. We suggest that the source of finance is a determinant factor for the level of finance of national churches. Comparing the sources and level of financing of seven national churches in the Nordic countries, England and Scotland shows that financing by a taxation right yields...

Information content versus word length in random typing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferrer-i-Cancho, Ramon; Moscoso del Prado Martín, Fermín

2011-01-01

Recently, it has been claimed that a linear relationship between a measure of information content and word length is expected from word length optimization and it has been shown that this linearity is supported by a strong correlation between information content and word length in many languages (Piantadosi et al 2011 Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 108 3825). Here, we study in detail some connections between this measure and standard information theory. The relationship between the measure and word length is studied for the popular random typing process where a text is constructed by pressing keys at random from a keyboard containing letters and a space behaving as a word delimiter. Although this random process does not optimize word lengths according to information content, it exhibits a linear relationship between information content and word length. The exact slope and intercept are presented for three major variants of the random typing process. A strong correlation between information content and word length can simply arise from the units making a word (e.g., letters) and not necessarily from the interplay between a word and its context as proposed by Piantadosi and co-workers. In itself, the linear relation does not entail the results of any optimization process. (letter)

Ecumenical church renewal: the example of the United Reformed Church.

OpenAIRE

Camroux, Martin Frederick

2014-01-01

Background to the Research.\\ud In his enthronement sermon as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1942 William Temple famously declared the ecumenical movement to be ‘the great new fact of our era’. For much of the twentieth century it was the major metanarrative of Church renewal. By the end of the century however the enthusiasm had largely dissipated, the organizations which represented it were in decline, and the hoped for organic unity looked further away than ever. Surprisingly little has been wr...

Volunteer work in the church among older Mexican Americans.

Science.gov (United States)

Krause, Neal; Hayward, R David

2012-07-01

The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that influence the amount of volunteer work that older Mexican Americans perform in the place where they worship. The relationship between religion and volunteering is viewed from a social identity perspective. Data from a nationally representative sample of older Mexican Americans suggest that Evangelical/Pentecostal church members spend more time performing volunteer work at church than older Mexican Americans who affiliate with other denominations. Moreover, the findings indicate that the difference in the amount of volunteering between the two groups can largely be explained by differences in the nature of the spiritual support that Evangelical/Pentecostal receive from their fellow church members as well as depth of their commitment to their faith.

Liquidation of the Belarusian Renovationist Church in 1934–1938

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Baranenko Viktor

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the process of liquidation in 1934-1938 of the Belarusian Renovationist Church as a religious community having its hierarchical and organisational structure. The study is based on a complex of legal archival documents. The aim of the paper is to describe the activity of renovationist institutions in the territory of the BSSR in the absence of a collective form of government of the Russian Orthodox (Renovationist Church during the period of “independent clerical government”. The paper also gives statistics on the clergy and Orthodox ecclesiastical institutions of the BSSR in the 2nd half of the 1930s. It also discusses forms of adaptation of Orthodox clergy to prohibitions and limitations imposed by the state during the period of the “Great Purge”. The main conclusion of the paper is that the reason for the disappearance of Church Renovationism in the BSSR was the oppressive politics of the Soviet government against the Belarusian Renovationist Church fi gures.

360° FILM BRINGS BOMBED CHURCH TO LIFE

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K. Kwiatek

2012-09-01

Full Text Available This paper explores how a computer-generated reconstruction of a church can be adapted to create a panoramic film that is presented in a panoramic viewer and also on a wrap-around projection system. It focuses on the fundamental principles of creating 360º films, not only in 3D modelling software, but also presents how to record 360º video using panoramic cameras inside the heritage site. These issues are explored in a case study of Charles Church in Plymouth, UK that was bombed in 1941 and has never been rebuilt. The generation of a 3D model of the bombed church started from the creation of five spherical panoramas and through the use of Autodesk ImageModeler software. The processed files were imported and merged together in Autodesk 3ds Max where a visualisation of the ruin was produced. A number of historical images were found and this collection enabled the process of a virtual reconstruction of the site. The aspect of merging two still or two video panoramas (one from 3D modelling software, the other one recorded on the site from the same locations or with the same trajectories is also discussed. The prototype of 360º non-linear film tells a narrative of a wartime wedding that occurred in this church. The film was presented on two 360º screens where members of the audience could make decisions on whether to continue the ceremony or whether to run away when the bombing of the church starts. 3D modelling software made this possible to render a number of different alternati ves (360º images and 360º video. Immersive environments empower the visitor to imagine the building before it was destroyed.

360° Film Brings Bombed Church to Life

Science.gov (United States)

Kwiatek, K.

2011-09-01

This paper explores how a computer-generated reconstruction of a church can be adapted to create a panoramic film that is presented in a panoramic viewer and also on a wrap-around projection system. It focuses on the fundamental principles of creating 360º films, not only in 3D modelling software, but also presents how to record 360º video using panoramic cameras inside the heritage site. These issues are explored in a case study of Charles Church in Plymouth, UK that was bombed in 1941 and has never been rebuilt. The generation of a 3D model of the bombed church started from the creation of five spherical panoramas and through the use of Autodesk ImageModeler software. The processed files were imported and merged together in Autodesk 3ds Max where a visualisation of the ruin was produced. A number of historical images were found and this collection enabled the process of a virtual reconstruction of the site. The aspect of merging two still or two video panoramas (one from 3D modelling software, the other one recorded on the site) from the same locations or with the same trajectories is also discussed. The prototype of 360º non-linear film tells a narrative of a wartime wedding that occurred in this church. The film was presented on two 360º screens where members of the audience could make decisions on whether to continue the ceremony or whether to run away when the bombing of the church starts. 3D modelling software made this possible to render a number of different alternati ves (360º images and 360º video). Immersive environments empower the visitor to imagine the building before it was destroyed.

Church of St. Peter and Paul in the village under Kopaonik

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raičević Slobodan

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In the border of the municipality towards Kosovo, Kuršumlija preserved the St. Cemetery's church of Peter and Paul in village Lukovo near the famous rehabilitation center Lukovo's spa. Church is one nave with a semicircular apse at the east vaults with semicircular arch reinforced with cross sec­tion curve, which relies on a few strong pilasters placed inside long walls. According to folk tradition the church was built in the middle ages and served to diggers and foundries of lead ores of King Milutin. Upon termination of exploitation ore the church neglected and in the 19th century it suffered its first renewal 1871st and another 1895th year. Saved epigraphic inscription with carved year of renewal (1895th, icons and wall decor of the church provide information about reliably judging its recent history and artistic value. Soon after the bricklaying work 1895th Church has received from the altar wall of icons, and after that, and mural painting small artistic value. The crown of the vault is painted Pantocrator, about whose performances are painted scenes of the Transfiguration, Ascension of Christ, Vavedenje and Entry into Jerusalem. On the western wall are shown the Dormition of the Mother of God and in the first zone are shown standing figures of Sts. Constantine and Helena, St. Simon Mir refills and St. Prince Lazar - kefaloforos. On the triumphal arch are Old. Testament scenes of hospitality and sacrifice of Abraham and in the apse bust of God Savaot. In the zone of standing figures are shown Sts. Druid, St. Czar Uroš and St. King Stephen, St. Sunday, St. Petka, St. Procopius, and St. George. From the figures standing at the altar of bishops are shown St. John Chrysostom, St. Sava Serbian, St. Basil the Great and St. Athanasius. There was saved the altar compartments with icons. At the czar's gate are shown Blagovesti and in the order of main icons: Christ Almighty, Mother of God with Christ, St. John the Forerunner, icons of patron St

Assessment of Participation of Churches in Social Forestry in Uyo ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

These reasons, individually had significant (p<0.05) influence on respondents' unwillingness to plant trees on vacant lands. There is need for enlightenment campaigns in churches in Uyo LGA of Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, to deflate wrong beliefs that trees host evil spirits. Keywords: Participation, churches, social forestry, Uyo ...

''Your Big Wedding Day''. Temporal Goal in Church Marriage Rituals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Robinson, R.; Hermans, C.A.M.; Scheepers, P.L.H.; Schilderman, J.B.A.M.

2007-01-01

In this contribution the authors explore notions about the origin and destiny of bridal couples’ relationships from participants’ views of church marriage rituals. A church wedding can be a pivotal moment in a bridal couple’s life, and on these occasions people tend to contemplate the past and the

The unusual practices within some Neo-Pentecostal churches in South Africa: Reflections and recommendations

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Mookgo S. Kgatle

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This article reflects and makes recommendations on the recent unusual practices within some Neo-Pentecostal churches in South Africa. Neo-Pentecostal churches in South Africa refer to churches that have crossed denominational boundaries. These churches idolise the miraculous, healing, deliverance and enactment of bizarre church performances often performed by charismatic and highly influential spiritual leaders. There have been unusual practices within some Neo-Pentecostal churches that include, among others, the eating of grass, eating of snakes, drinking of petrol, spraying of Doom on the congregants and other experiences. There are many possible theological, psychological and socio-economic explanations for these unusual practices. Given the facts that many South Africans experience various socio-economic challenges, it is argued here that the socio-economic factor is the main explanation for the support of these unusual practices. The unusual practices within some Neo-Pentecostal churches in South Africa are critically unpacked by looking at various churches where the incidents happened. The possible theological, psychological and socio-economic explanations for such practices are outlined in detail. Recommendations are made based on the scientific findings on the unusual practices.

Calvin on church and government

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W.A. Dreyer

2010-07-01

Full Text Available This article examines Calvin’s understanding of civil govern- ment as well as the relationship between church and govern- ment against the background of radical political change during the sixteenth century. It becomes clear that Calvin had an organic understanding of church, government and people. These three entities are interwoven and interact on the basis of the covenant and civil contract. Calvin’s approach, however, is not limited to the covenant, but has a surprising richness and diversity. He integrated theological, juristic and philosophical concepts in his understanding of the state. It is further shown that Calvin’s high regard for civil government, entrenched the corpus christianum, even though he clearly distinguished between ecclesiastical and civil governance. It is also shown that Calvin had a fundamental influence on many of the political concepts which are generally accepted within modern democra- cies.

House Church: Investigating Chinese Urban Christians’ Choice of Religious Practicing Site in Wuhan, China

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Junqiang Han

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we discuss the reasons why urban Christians choose certain sites for religious activities and explain the rapid development of house churches in urban areas in China from the perspective of individual Christians, through survey data obtained by the Chinese Urban Research Center for Ethnic and Religious Affairs Management in the city of Wuhan. We found that Christians who attend religious activities in urban house churches are generally younger in age, higher in education level, and more likely to be working in independent, private, or foreign-invested enterprises. Further investigation reveals that “Three-Self churches” are few in number and poorly planned geographically, resulting in very limited service abilities, thus being far from satisfactory for all believers. Moreover, the activities of such churches are unvaried and lack attractiveness. On the other hand, in house churches, Christians are able to build tight-knit social networks and house churches are more competitively aware in the “religious market”, leading some urban Christians to choose house churches, thereby inciting the fast development of house churches in Chinese urban areas.

Feminists and their perspectives on the church fathers' beliefs regarding women: An inquiry

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Hannelie Wood

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The church fathers and their views on women were influenced substantially and significantly by philosophical voices, such as that of Aristotle and Plato, amongst others. A brief account on Aristotle�s and Plato�s ideas about women, from feminist perspectives, will be touched upon. The article furthermore explores feminist voices, regarding the church fathers� thinking about women, and how these views contributed to women�s subordination and domination. The research will focus on the many varied views on women held by Latin church fathers, such as Tertullian (c. 155�255, Cyprian (c. 200�258 AD, Jerome (c. 347�419, Ambrose (c. 339�397 and Augustine (354�430, and the Greek church fathers, such as Clement of Alexander (c. 150�215, Origen (c. 185�254 and Chrysostom (c. 347�407, from the perspective of feminists. It will be contended that an insensitive and too early denunciation of the early church fathers as misogynists often occurs in women�s history without taking into consideration the church fathers� philosophical and social contexts and, hence, the opinions that formed their views. One such theory that helped to shape the church fathers� views about women is the classic medical theory, and this therefore merits a brief discussion. Another important point one has to take into account is the church fathers� perceptions of the carnal (sexual and the spiritual world that shaped their views about women.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: History teaches us what people before us did, what their intentions were and where they failed or went wrong. If historical viewpoints about women reflect women�s subordination and oppression, they force women to discover their roots and their past. The church fathers, however, inherited a long tradition of debates, beliefs, and arguments regarding women�s moral, intellectual, and natural capacities. Therefore, generalised, simplified, and unsympathetic views

Church-State Relations in Cameroon's Postcolony: The Case of the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The socio-political role of mainline Christian churches in the African postcolony tends to be more complex than a number of pessimistic and optimistic scholars originally assumed. There is growing evidence that the relations between church leaders and the authoritarian and corrupt elites, who seek to exercise hegemony in ...

Mathematical-geographical analysis of the orientation of St John’s church of the Studenica monastery

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Tadić Milutin

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Considering the fact that ecclesiastical rules do not precisely say that a church must be directed “to the East” or “to sunrise”, it should always be checked if there is a connection between the orientation of a church and geometry of the Sun. In this paper, such examination is performed on the example of the church of St. John (the 13th century, one of four churches of the Studenica monastery, in the following way: 1 using gnomon method, the azimuth of the main longitudinal axis of the church is measured; 2 the altitude above the horizon of the point in which the extended axis of the church touches the true horizon is determined by cartometry; 3 the most probable dates when the Sun rises at that point are determined: May 7th according to Gregorian calendar, or April 30th according to Julian calendar, in the 13th century. The applied method is described in details and it can be applied for the analysis of the orientation of any other medieval church. This method can determine the time when the church was founded, as well as the fact if the church is original, or possibly erected on the foundations of some older sacral object.

Effective strategic leadership: Balancing roles during church transitions

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Noel J. Pearse

2011-08-01

Full Text Available As part of their responsibilities of leading the organisation, strategic leaders are responsible for leading change. This article investigated the application of the strategic leadership of change within the church context. A Straussian approach to the grounded theory method was used to generate a substantive grounded theory of organisational change and leadership, particularly focusing on the manifestation and management of organisation inertia in churches within South Africa that were transitioning from a programme based to a cell based church design. This article reported on one aspect of this study and focused on the patterns of leadership roles. It further distinguished between effective and ineffective leadership patterns that either enhanced or compromised the credibility of the leader and by implication, affected the success of the change intervention. The results of the study were discussed from the perspective of social capital theory, thereby contributing to understanding the role of strategic leaders in building social capital within the context of organisation change.

Spiritual and Affective Responses to a Physical Church and Corresponding Virtual Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Murdoch, Matt; Davies, Jim

2017-11-01

Architectural and psychological theories posit that built environments have the potential to elicit complex psychological responses. However, few researchers have seriously explored this potential. Given the increasing importance and fidelity of virtual worlds, such research should explore whether virtual models of built environments are also capable of eliciting complex psychological responses. The goal of this study was to test these hypotheses, using a church, a corresponding virtual model, and an inclusive measure of state spirituality ("spiritual feelings"). Participants (n = 33) explored a physical church and corresponding virtual model, completing a measure of spiritual feelings after exploring the outside and inside of each version of the church. Using spiritual feelings after exploring the outside of the church as a baseline measure, change in state spirituality was assessed by taking the difference between spiritual feelings after exploring the inside and outside of the church (inside-outside) for both models. Although this change was greater in response to the physical church, there was no significant difference between the two models in eliciting such change in spiritual feelings. Despite the limitations of this exploratory study, these findings indicate that both built environments and corresponding virtual models are capable of evoking complex psychological responses.

Getting young adults back to church: A marketing approach | van der ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Getting young adults back to church: A marketing approach. ... A decline in the number of young adults that attend church services is also evident. The purpose of the research ... Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT

What Would They Do? Latino Church Leaders and Domestic Violence

Science.gov (United States)

Behnke, Andrew O.; Ames, Natalie; Hancock, Tina U.

2012-01-01

Understanding what Latino church leaders believe about domestic violence, and what they do when they confront it, is a key step in developing programs to help them engage in domestic violence prevention and intervention activities in their congregations. This article presents the findings from an exploratory study of 28 Latino church leaders. The…

The political economy of churches in Denmark over 700 years

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Paldam, Ella; Paldam, Martin

This paper reports new macro time-series for the number and size of churches in Denmark from year 1300 to 2000. Church densities are defined as the series per capita. The densities are interpreted as a proxy for religiosity. It is falling throughout all 700 years, but two events gave an extra fall...

Galileo's Religion Versus the Church's Science? Rethinking the History of Science and Religion

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, D. B.

Galileo's conflict with the Catholic Church is well recognized as a key episode in the history of physics and in the history of science and religion. This paper applies a new, historiographical approach to that specific episode. It advocates eliminating the science and religion. The Church concluded that the plainest facts of human experience agreed perfectly with an omniscient God's revealed word to proclaim the earth at rest. Supported by the Bible, Galileo, God-like, linked the elegance of mathematics to truths about nature. The Church, in effect, resisted Galileo's claim to be able to think like God, instead listening to God himself - and paying close attention to what man himself observed. We can thus see that the phrase ``Galileo's religion versus the Church's science'' is as meaningful (or meaningless) as the usual designation ``Galileo's science versus the Church's religion.''

Remarks on the church in the consumer society: similarities and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Pastors should make it clear that the gospel message is not a product for sale; however the gospel message should be directed at the needs of people. This article outlines the influence of the consumer society on the church. The article also outlines the similarities and dissimilarities between the church and the consumer ...

Reaching and Supporting At-Risk Community Based Seniors: Results of a Multi-church Partnership.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, Julie L; Morzinski, Jeffrey A

2018-04-26

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a nurse-led, church-based educational support group for "at-risk," older African Americans on hospitalization and emergency department use. Study nurses enrolled 81 "at-risk" older adult members of ten churches. Participants completed a trifold pamphlet identifying personal health information and support, and they attended eight monthly educational/support group sessions in their church during the 10-month intervention. Study nurses completed a risk assessment interview with each senior both pre- and post-participation. The study nurse completed post-program assessments with 64 seniors, a 79% retention rate. At the program's conclusion researchers conducted a focus group with the study RNs and used an anonymous written survey to gather participant appraisals of program elements. Neither hospitalization nor emergency department/urgent care usage was significantly different from pre- to post-program. Session attendance was moderate to high and over half of the seniors brought a family member or friend to one or more sessions. The majority of seniors initiated positive health changes (e.g., smoking cessation, weight loss, or diet changes). Participants expressed high satisfaction and expressed satisfaction to perceive that they were supporting other seniors in their community. We conclude that this intervention was successful in engaging and motivating seniors to initiate health behavior change and contributed to a health-supportive church-based community. To demonstrate a statistically significant difference in hospital and ED usage, however, a stronger intervention or a larger sample size is needed.

1 Corinthians 14:33b�36 in light of women and church leadership in Nigeria

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Solomon O. Ademiluka

2017-01-01

Full Text Available 1 Corinthians 14:33b�36 contains the injunction by Paul that women should not speak in the church. In Nigeria, many of the mainline denominations exclude women from church leadership, basing the doctrine on this passage. This research examines the text with a view to assessing its relevance for women�s participation in church leadership with a focus on contemporary Nigeria. An examination of the history of the Jews reveals that women had a very small role in religious leadership. However, Jesus in his woman-friendly ministry marked a change in the male-dominated social structure. Paul built upon this, having many women as co-preachers; which would contradict a literal interpretation of 1 Corinthians 14:33b�36. However, the text is best understood from the perspective of the Greek term ekklesia. In its popular context, it refers to the assembly of a Greek city-state in which women were not permitted to speak. In similar Christian assemblies, they were permitted on the basis of the Christian brotherhood. Apparently, in the Corinthian church, women were abusing this privilege by disrupting church services, which warranted Paul�s order. This being the case, the crucial issue is the disorderliness being caused by the women, and not their participation. Therefore, in this text it was not the intention of Paul to establish a doctrine disallowing women from participating in church leadership. Hence, for the Nigerian context, the text does not provide a basis for excluding women from church leadership.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This research involves the disciplines of New Testament theology and church history. It examines 1 Corinthians 14:33b�36 with a view to assessing its relevance for women participation in church leadership and anticipates a situation in which all the mainline churches in Nigeria would involve women in church leadership.

Development and Testing of the Church Environment Audit Tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaczynski, Andrew T; Jake-Schoffman, Danielle E; Peters, Nathan A; Dunn, Caroline G; Wilcox, Sara; Forthofer, Melinda

2018-05-01

In this paper, we describe development and reliability testing of a novel tool to evaluate the physical environment of faith-based settings pertaining to opportunities for physical activity (PA) and healthy eating (HE). Tool development was a multistage process including a review of similar tools, stakeholder review, expert feedback, and pilot testing. Final tool sections included indoor opportunities for PA, outdoor opportunities for PA, food preparation equipment, kitchen type, food for purchase, beverages for purchase, and media. Two independent audits were completed at 54 churches. Interrater reliability (IRR) was determined with Kappa and percent agreement. Of 218 items, 102 were assessed for IRR and 116 could not be assessed because they were not present at enough churches. Percent agreement for all 102 items was over 80%. For 42 items, the sample was too homogeneous to assess Kappa. Forty-six of the remaining items had Kappas greater than 0.60 (25 items 0.80-1.00; 21 items 0.60-0.79), indicating substantial to almost perfect agreement. The tool proved reliable and efficient for assessing church environments and identifying potential intervention points. Future work can focus on applications within faith-based partnerships to understand how church environments influence diverse health outcomes.

The Catholic Church, Moral Education and Citizenship in Latin America

Science.gov (United States)

Klaiber, Jeffrey

2009-01-01

The Catholic Church, with deep roots in the history of Latin America, exercises considerable influence on all levels of society. Especially after the Second Vatican Council and the bishops' conference at Medellin (1968) the Church took up the banner of human rights and the cause of the poor. During the dictatorships and in the midst of the…

Kingdom, church and civil society: A theological paradigm for civil ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article deals with the role that churches can and should play in civil society to develop societal morally. The central-theoretical argument is that the biblical notion of the kingdom of God can, when it is systematically and theologically developed, offer an acceptable foundation for the civil action of churches. In light of this ...

Impossible Subjects: LGBTIQ Experiences in Australian Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches

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Mark A. C. Jennings

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This paper is the product of in-depth interviews with 20 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer (LGBTIQ people who identify, or formerly identified, as members of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christian (PCC churches. Interviewees typically found themselves confronted with a number of choices (not necessarily mutually exclusive: remain closeted, come out but commit to remaining celibate, undergo “SOCE” (Sexual Orientation Conversion Efforts therapy, or leave. Most left their churches, often after agonising attempts to reconcile their faith and their sexuality. Several of the practices adopted by Australian PCC churches exclude LGBTIQ people from full participation in their own congregations, rendering them “impossible subjects.” Australian Pentecostalism’s surprisingly egalitarian history, wherein the spiritually authorised ministry of women was both recognised and celebrated, suggests another, more inclusive way forward in regard to this vexed issue.

Uses of theories of depth psychology in ordained ministry and the institutional church.

Science.gov (United States)

McNish, Jill L

2002-01-01

Burgeoning understanding of unconscious processes should inform the work of the church and its ministries. Understanding derived from depth psychology can lead to deeper understandings of relationship with God and with one another, of the vicissitudes of spiritual life, of the meaning of ritual and sacraments, and to more profound and relevant scriptural hermeneutics and theological understandings. These claims are illustrated with examples.

Method for Measuring the Information Content of Terrain from Digital Elevation Models

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Lujin Hu

2015-10-01

Full Text Available As digital terrain models are indispensable for visualizing and modeling geographic processes, terrain information content is useful for terrain generalization and representation. For terrain generalization, if the terrain information is considered, the generalized terrain may be of higher fidelity. In other words, the richer the terrain information at the terrain surface, the smaller the degree of terrain simplification. Terrain information content is also important for evaluating the quality of the rendered terrain, e.g., the rendered web terrain tile service in Google Maps (Google Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA. However, a unified definition and measures for terrain information content have not been established. Therefore, in this paper, a definition and measures for terrain information content from Digital Elevation Model (DEM, i.e., a digital model or 3D representation of a terrain’s surface data are proposed and are based on the theory of map information content, remote sensing image information content and other geospatial information content. The information entropy was taken as the information measuring method for the terrain information content. Two experiments were carried out to verify the measurement methods of the terrain information content. One is the analysis of terrain information content in different geomorphic types, and the results showed that the more complex the geomorphic type, the richer the terrain information content. The other is the analysis of terrain information content with different resolutions, and the results showed that the finer the resolution, the richer the terrain information. Both experiments verified the reliability of the measurements of the terrain information content proposed in this paper.

The Training of Semiliterate Rural Pastors in the Northwest Region Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church

Science.gov (United States)

Fellows, Timothy Steven

2014-01-01

A common plea in missions is the need to train pastors and church leaders for the rapidly multiplying churches in the Majority World, resulting in numerous formal and nonformal theological education training programs. In spite of these efforts, many rural churches remain without pastors. Using appreciative inquiry and participatory…

The Filling Station as a Fresh Expression of church for consideration ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... whether it meets the values of authentic missional churches. In examining whether The Filling Station ought to be considered for import into appropriate local congregational contexts, it enquires whether it satisfactorily addresses prevailing social trends affecting churches, including consumerism and the need for identity.

Gendered representations of fatherhood in contemporary South African church imagery from three Afrikaans corporate churches

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Leandra H. Koenig-Visagie

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The South African secular media do not frequently portray men in parental roles; on the other hand, it seems that media and visual culture created by the Christian sector is more likely to engage with issues of fatherhood. Accordingly, it is relevant to explore representations of fatherhood in the Christian context, as these constitute some of the few examples of men�s parental roles in the South African visual culture landscape. Through a Barthean visual semiotic analysis, this article describes and problematises the representation (and non-representation of certain aspects of fatherhood in the recent visual culture of three Afrikaans corporate churches in the Pretoria-Centurion area. It further establishes that strong connections between breadwinning, male headship and fatherhood exist in images created by these churches. Fathers are mainly shown as patriarchs, heads of households and as active outdoor adventurers. We argue that although men are depicted as involved parents, there are certain limitations and exclusions to this involvement.

The role of church youth in the transformation agenda of South African cities

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Eugene Baron

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The churches in City of Tshwane have incredible youth capital. There is so much energy and passion that fill the concrete walls of the mushrooming churches. This article emerges from a research that was conducted to explore religious innovation and competition amidst demographic and social change among churches in the City of Tshwane. The data of the study suggest that the impetus behind most of the innovation and development in the churches is borne from the hearts and minds of the young people. The striking involvement of the youth in the congregations, their participation and also the reflection in the data in terms of youth agency highlight the concern on their involvement in urban, social change, with specific reference to the City of Tshwane. The article assesses the participation of the church youth in the transformation of the city.

The Presbyterian Churches in New South Wales, 1823-1865 : with particular reference to their Scottish relations

OpenAIRE

Bridges, Barry John

1987-01-01

This study covers the period from arrival of the first minister to union of most congregations in a Church unconnected with the Scottish parent Churches. My thesis is that reliance on the Scottish Churches was a necessary condition for establishment of the Presbyterian Church in the Colony but also the principal cause of failure to attempt to become a major religious force. Equality with the Church of England was conceded gradually and, initially, reluctantly and from the first State aid and ...

Da metamatemática para a ciência cognitiva From metamathematics to Cognitive Science

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Henrique de Morais Ribeiro

1999-01-01

Full Text Available Neste artigo, propõe-se uma configuração possível para a transição histórico-filosófica de temas investigados no domínio da metamatemática para o domínio da Ciência Cognitiva funcionalista neurocomputacional. A descrição de tal transição é feita por meio de uma breve análise das idéias de Post, Church, Gödel e Turing sobre a possibilidade de formalização do pensamento criador na matemática, enfatizando as contribuições deste último.In this article, it is suggested a possible profile for the historical and philosophical migration of several issues from the metamathematical domain to the domain of functionalist neuro-computational Cognitive Science. The description of such a transition is accomplished by an analysis of the ideas of Post, Church, Gödel, and, in particular, Turing on the possibility of formalization of creative thinking in Mathematics.

An extravaganza of old church music

OpenAIRE

Mercieca, Simon

2005-01-01

To celebrate the completion of its first course in Diploma in Music (Sacred Music), the Mediterranean Institute has invited the Choir of the University of Palermo to Malta to give three public performances in local Churches.

The early medieval tesserae from the St Servatius Church excavations in Maastricht - The Netherlands (1981-1989)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Panhuysen, T.

2016-01-01

In the eighties of the last century a massive excavation was carried out in the Church of St Servatius in Maastricht in the context of an overall restoration of the church building which dates from the 11th to 15th century. The Servatius Church was originally a grave church that was founded in the

Optimal setpoint operation to reduce peak drying of a church organ

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schijndel, van A.W.M.

2008-01-01

The paper presents the characteristics of the Walloon Church in Delft (Netherlands) and a description of constraints for the indoor climate, giving criteria for the indoor air temperature and relative humidity with the focus on the preservation of the monumental church organ. The set point operation

Implementation of evidence-based HIV interventions for young adult African American women in church settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Jennifer M

2014-01-01

To assess the barriers and facilitators to using African American churches as sites for implementation of evidence-based HIV interventions among young African American women. Mixed methods cross-sectional design. African American churches in Philadelphia, PA. 142 African American pastors, church leaders, and young adult women ages 18 to 25. Mixed methods convergent parallel design. The majority of young adult women reported engaging in high-risk HIV-related behaviors. Although church leaders reported willingness to implement HIV risk-reduction interventions, they were unsure of how to initiate this process. Key facilitators to the implementation of evidence-based interventions included the perception of the leadership and church members that HIV interventions were needed and that the church was a promising venue for them. A primary barrier to implementation in this setting is the perception that discussions of sexuality should be private. Implementation of evidence-based HIV interventions for young adult African American women in church settings is feasible and needed. Building a level of comfort in discussing matters of sexuality and adapting existing evidence-based interventions to meet the needs of young women in church settings is a viable approach for successful implementation. © 2014 AWHONN, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

The founder of the church of Saint George at Pološko

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Pavlović Dragana

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The paper seeks to establish who was the founder of the church of Saint George at Pološko and revise the conclusions of previous researchers regarding this issue. According to the opinion commonly adopted in the scholarly literature, Jovan Dragušin, a cousin of King Dušan, had merely undertaken the construction of church at Pološko, whereas his mother was responsible for the completion of construction and painting of frescoes in the church. Through an analysis of written and visual sources the conclusion is reached that the sole person responsible for the construction and painting of the church at Pološko was the nun Maria, the mother of Jovan Dragušin. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177036: Srpska srednjovekovna umetnost i njen evropski kontekst

The Roman Catholic Church, the Holocaust, and the demonization of the Jews

Science.gov (United States)

Kertzer, David I.

2015-01-01

Following eleven years’ work, in 1998 a high-level Vatican commission instituted by Pope John Paul II offered what has become the official position of the Roman Catholic Church denying any responsibility for fomenting the kind of demonization of the Jews that made the Holocaust possible. In a 2001 book, The popes against the Jews, I demonstrated that in fact the church played a major role in leading Catholics throughout Europe to view Jews as an existential threat. Yet defenders of the church position continue to deny the historical evidence and to launch ferocious ad hominem attacks against scholars who have researched the subject. The anti-Semitism promulgated by the church can be seen as part of the long battle it waged against modernity, with which the Jews were identified. PMID:27011787

African American church-based HIV testing and linkage to care: assets, challenges and needs.

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Jennifer M; Thompson, Keitra; Rogers, Christopher

2016-01-01

The US National HIV AIDS strategy promotes the use of faith communities to lessen the burden of HIV in African American communities. One specific strategy presented is the use of these non-traditional venues for HIV testing and co-location of services. African American churches can be at the forefront of this endeavour through the provision of HIV testing and linkage to care. However, there are few interventions to promote the churches' involvement in both HIV testing and linkage to care. We conducted 4 focus groups (n = 39 participants), 4 interviews and 116 surveys in a mixed-methods study to examine the feasibility of a church-based HIV testing and linkage to care intervention in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Our objectives were to examine: (1) available assets, (2) challenges and barriers and (3) needs associated with church-based HIV testing and linkage to care. Analyses revealed several factors of importance, including the role of the church as an access point for testing in low-income neighbourhoods, challenges in openly discussing the relationship between sexuality and HIV, and buy-in among church leadership. These findings can support intervention development and necessitate situating African American church-based HIV testing and linkage to care interventions within a multi-level framework.

Exarh of the Bulgarian Church metropolitan Stephen and the Moscow Patriarchy

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Kostriukov Andrei

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The article covers the last period of church-administrative activity of the Sofia’s metropolitan Stephаn (Shokov. The author describes the testimonies of contemporaries about the character and personal qualities of this ambiguous hierarch. In 1945–1948 metropolitan Stephan was the exarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and participated in the Meeting of heads and representatives of Autocephalous Orthodox Churches in 1948. The author considers the circumstances of the dismissal of metropolitan Stephаn and his exile as especially important and interesting ones. The meeting of 1948 became the critical event in the exarch’s destiny. Being the supporter of ecumenism, metropolitan Stephen tried unsuccessfully to convince Patriarch Alexis of his rightness in order not to allow the condemnation of ecumenical contacts by the Moscow meeting. However Moscow looked on ecumenism differently in those days. In Moscow the Soviet management aspired to establishment of the centre of World Orthodoxy and tried to cite the Moscow Patriarchy against Constantinople that was under the influence of the USA and the Great Britain. As the Constantinople Patriarchy approved the ecumenical movement, the Moscow Patriarchy has been forced to take of an opposite position. Therefore, the participation of the Russian Church and Churches of the socialist countries in the ecumenical movement was impossible. Metropolitan Stephan, supporting the superiority of the Moscow Patriarchy in the World Orthodoxy, supported the active participation of all Local Churches in the ecumenical movement. The communistic management applied the maximum force to the exarch in order he has not made undesirable statements at the meeting. The fate of metropolitan Stephan has been decided after this meeting. In 1948 he was fired and exiled. The Moscow Patriarchy did not exclude the possibility of moving of metropolitan Stephаn to Russia and his location in any monastery. However metropolitan

Turing patterns induced by cross-diffusion in a predator-prey system in presence of habitat complexity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghorai, Santu; Poria, Swarup

2016-01-01

In this paper, we have investigated the phenomena of Turing pattern formation in a predator-prey model with habitat complexity in presence of cross diffusion. Using the linear stability analysis, the conditions for the existence of stationary pattern and the existence of Hopf bifurcation are obtained. It is shown analytically that the presence of cross diffusion in the system supports the formation of Turing pattern. Two parameter bifurcation analysis are done analytically and corresponding bifurcation diagrams are presented numerically. A series of simulation results are plotted for different biologically meaningful parameter values. Effects of variation of habitat complexity and the predator mortality rate and birth rate of prey on pattern formation are also reported. It is shown that cross-diffusion can lead to a wide variety of spatial and spatiotemporal pattern formation. It is found that the model exhibits spot and stripe pattern, and coexistence of both spot and strip patterns under the zero flux boundary condition. It is observed that cross-diffusion, habitat complexity, birth rate of prey and predator’s mortality rate play a significant role in the pattern formation of a distributed population system of predator-prey type.

Quantum Kolmogorov complexity and the quantum Turing machine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mueller, M.

2007-08-31

The purpose of this thesis is to give a formal definition of quantum Kolmogorov complexity and rigorous mathematical proofs of its basic properties. Classical Kolmogorov complexity is a well-known and useful measure of randomness for binary strings. In recent years, several different quantum generalizations of Kolmogorov complexity have been proposed. The most natural generalization is due to A. Berthiaume et al. (2001), defining the complexity of a quantum bit (qubit) string as the length of the shortest quantum input for a universal quantum computer that outputs the desired string. Except for slight modifications, it is this definition of quantum Kolmogorov complexity that we study in this thesis. We start by analyzing certain aspects of the underlying quantum Turing machine (QTM) model in a more detailed formal rigour than was done previously. Afterwards, we apply these results to quantum Kolmogorov complexity. Our first result is a proof of the existence of a universal QTM which simulates every other QTM for an arbitrary number of time steps and than halts with probability one. In addition, we show that every input that makes a QTM almost halt can be modified to make the universal QTM halt entirely, by adding at most a constant number of qubits. It follows that quantum Kolmogorov complexity has the invariance property, i.e. it depends on the choice of the universal QTM only up to an additive constant. Moreover, the quantum complexity of classical strings agrees with classical complexity, again up to an additive constant. The proofs are based on several analytic estimates. Furthermore, we prove several incompressibility theorems for quantum Kolmogorov complexity. Finally, we show that for ergodic quantum information sources, complexity rate and entropy rate coincide with probability one. The thesis is finished with an outlook on a possible application of quantum Kolmogorov complexity in statistical mechanics. (orig.)

Silence or condemnation: The Orthodox Church on homosexuality in Serbia

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Miloš Jovanović

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the representation of the gay population in the discourse of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The declarations of Church bodies and officials, as well as unofficial public statements of prominent believers regarding gay persons are analysed. There is an ambivalent attitude towards gay people that is usually expressed in the ‘hate the sin, love the sinner’ formula. There is also a different kind of ambivalence: the Serbian Orthodox Church as well as its faithful either stick to the ‘policy of silence’ regarding LGBT(Q issues, or they resort to a very strong moralistic judgment and condemnation. This was particularly noticeable around the time of the gay parade taking place in Belgrade in 2010, as well as during the public discussion before the passing of the anti-discrimination law in the national assembly in 2009. The inclusion of philosophical and medical concepts in theological discourse can also be ascertained. As a result, besides the expected ‘sin’, the categories of ‘unnatural/contrary to nature’ and ‘(mental illness’ are often mentioned in the Church discourse, which is usually saturated with accentuated anti-Westernism.

Subjective study of preferred listening conditions in Italian Catholic churches

Science.gov (United States)

Martellotta, Francesco

2008-10-01

The paper describes the results of research aimed at investigating the preferred subjective listening conditions inside churches. The effect of different musical motifs (spanning Gregorian chants to symphonic music) was investigated and regression analysis was performed in order to point out the relationship between subjective ratings and acoustical parameters. In order to present realistic listening conditions to the subjects a small subset of nine churches was selected among a larger set of acoustic data collected in several Italian churches during a widespread on-site survey. The subset represented different architectural styles and shapes, and was characterized by average listening conditions. For each church a single source-receiver combination with fixed relative positions was chosen. Measured binaural impulse responses were cross-talk cancelled and then convolved with five anechoic motifs. Paired comparisons were finally performed, asking a trained panel of subjects their preference. Factor analysis pointed out a substantially common underlying pattern characterizing subjective responses. The results show that preferred listening conditions vary as a function of the musical motif, depending on early decay time for choral music and on a combination of initial time delay and lateral energy for instrumental music.

The energy sources and nuclear energy - The point of view of the Belgian Catholic Church

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoenraet, Christian

2000-01-01

The problems related to the environment are reported regularly to the public by means of the newspapers, on radio and television. The story is the product of a journalistic process and in general does not bear much resemblance to the original event. The rate and type of reportage depend not only on the body of data available to the journalist but on the information sources the journalist chosen to use. The same story is reported in a positive or negative way. Finally people are overwhelmed by contradictory information and became uncertain or frightened. In order to provide the general public with objective information about nuclear energy in particular and to made a statement about the position of the Belgian Catholic Church concerning this matter, the results of the study were published in Dutch under the form of a book with the title 'The Energy Sources and Nuclear Energy - Comparative analysis and ethical thoughts written the same author. Thia paper is a short survey of the results of the study and to present the point of view of the Belgian Catholic Church in the energy debate

NIGERIAN PENTECOSTAL CHURCHES AND THEIR PROSPERITY ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

UWUJA ALEX

prosperity messages are a safe guard against poverty in Nigeria. .... As the leader of the Pentecostal movement, Seymour (in 1906) received an invitation ... CAC led to the formation of prayer groups and Churches to cushion the effect of the.

The church's missionary efforts among domestic workers with special reference to Johannesburg West / by Malatsi Samuel Mofokeng

OpenAIRE

Mofokeng, Malatsi Samuel

2007-01-01

This research deals with the role of the church in its efforts to bring the gospel to domestic workers with reference to five church denominations in Johannesburg-West namely, the Methodist, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Anglican and the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa. Church leaders of the above mentioned church denominations used the integrated ministry by introducing programmes, projects and skills training along side the preaching of the gospel to empower domestic workers spiritua...

The State-Church Relationship in Post-Communist Romania

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ANCA GORGAN

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Starting from the Romanian edition of Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu’swork Religion and Politics in Post-Communist Romania, we argue in favour of thenecessity to study the relationship between the State and the Romanian OrthodoxChurch using an approach which takes into account the details and the possibleexistent perspectives, bringing a plus of objectivity, which is so needed in a fieldperceived as a sensible one. The arguments put forward will be justified by thehistorical tradition of the State-Church relationship in the Byzantine Empire, but alsoin Romania, as well as by the predominantly Orthodox structure of our country.

The real crisis of the church

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2015-05-21

May 21, 2015 ... various religious communities, in courses of theology and religious studies and in the field of ... is used a great deal in North Atlantic Reformed circles these ... (e.g. China and Korea) and in Africa the church is growing.

The role of the theology of retribution in the growth of Pentecostal-Charismatic churches in Africa

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Jonathan Kangwa

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This article considers the contribution of the theology of retribution to the growth of Pentecostal-charismatic churches in Africa. It argues that the beliefs and practices of African Pentecostal-charismatic churches uphold the theology of retribution. The success of prophecy and healing in these churches is based on their extensive engagement with the theology of retribution. To show this, the article begins with a brief review of the principle of retribution, describing it as resulting from the conception of a perfect and just universe in which every human deed brings with it consequences. Good deeds are followed by good consequences, evil deeds have bad consequences. Based on this understanding of retribution, the article discusses beliefs and practices of Pentecostal-charismatic churches which support the principle of retribution and whose involvement in healing and prophecy is attractive to Africans. The article concludes that the current discourse on Pentecostal-charismatic churches in Africa focuses strongly on the aspects of healing and prophecy while neglecting the contribution made by the theology of retribution to the popularity of these churches.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Located within African theologies and African church history, this article maintains that the current discourse on Pentecostal and charismatic churches in Africa, as it concentrates on healing and prophecy, overlooks the role played by the theology of retribution in the growth of these churches.

The Byzantine Church of ``40 Holy Martyrs'' in Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria: Pigments and Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Sakellariou, E.; Zorba, T.; Pavlidou, E.; Angelova, S.; Paraskevopoulos, K. M.

2010-01-01

The "St. 40 Martyrs" church is the most famous medieval building in Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria. It is located in Assenova mahala, just next to Tsarevets. It was built and its walls were painted during the reign of Bulgarian king Ivan Assen II after the victory against Epyrus despot Theodoros Comninos (1230 AD). It consists of two buildings - a six-column basilica and another, smaller building on its western wall, which was built later. During the presence of the Ottoman Turks, maybe until the first half of the 18th century, the church remained christian. When it was converted to a mosque, all the christian symbols in it were destroyed. The archeological researches on site were initiated in 1969. As it is clear, the 40 Martyrs church is a historical monument of culture with great significance. The church had murals, from the earlier period, but in the following years and especially during the Ottoman period, the church has suffered many and different destructions. Nevertheless, the very few pieces of murals that are rescued till nowadays provide important information for the technique and the pigments that were used on its wall paintings. In the present work, twelve series of samples from the wall paintings were studied in order to characterize the materials and the technique used for church iconography. The study was based on the micro-analytical techniques of the Fourier Transform Infrared micro-spectroscopy (μs-FTIR), the Optical Microscopy and the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) coupled to an Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometer (EDS). In the FTIR spectra of all pigments the characteristic peaks of calcite were detected, confirming the use of fresco technique for the creation of murals. The combination of FTIR spectroscopy and SEM-EDS analysis, reveal the existence of lapis-lazuli for the blue color, green earth for the green color, cinnabar for the red color, calcite for the white color and carbon black for the black color. Moreover, in other chromatic layers

The Byzantine Church of '40 Holy Martyrs' in Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria: Pigments and Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakellariou, E.; Zorba, T.; Pavlidou, E.; Paraskevopoulos, K. M.; Angelova, S.

2010-01-01

The 'St. 40 Martyrs' church is the most famous medieval building in Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria. It is located in Assenova mahala, just next to Tsarevets. It was built and its walls were painted during the reign of Bulgarian king Ivan Assen II after the victory against Epyrus despot Theodoros Comninos (1230 AD). It consists of two buildings - a six-column basilica and another, smaller building on its western wall, which was built later. During the presence of the Ottoman Turks, maybe until the first half of the 18th century, the church remained christian. When it was converted to a mosque, all the christian symbols in it were destroyed. The archeological researches on site were initiated in 1969. As it is clear, the 40 Martyrs church is a historical monument of culture with great significance. The church had murals, from the earlier period, but in the following years and especially during the Ottoman period, the church has suffered many and different destructions. Nevertheless, the very few pieces of murals that are rescued till nowadays provide important information for the technique and the pigments that were used on its wall paintings. In the present work, twelve series of samples from the wall paintings were studied in order to characterize the materials and the technique used for church iconography. The study was based on the micro-analytical techniques of the Fourier Transform Infrared micro-spectroscopy (μs-FTIR), the Optical Microscopy and the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) coupled to an Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometer (EDS). In the FTIR spectra of all pigments the characteristic peaks of calcite were detected, confirming the use of fresco technique for the creation of murals. The combination of FTIR spectroscopy and SEM-EDS analysis, reveal the existence of lapis-lazuli for the blue color, green earth for the green color, cinnabar for the red color, calcite for the white color and carbon black for the black color. Moreover, in other chromatic layers

The wall paintings in Tirsted Church: problems of aesthetic presentation after the fourth re-restoration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brajer, Isabelle Eve; Thillemann, Lise

2002-01-01

according to the whim of the restorer. The most recent re-restoration of the paintings took place in 1999 and 2000. After completing the technical treatments, the conservators faced difficult decisions about the aesthetic presentation. The case study presented here describes the historical background......Throughout the 20th century, numerous interventions were carried out on the wall paintings in Tirsted Church, including four complete re-restorations and many local attempts to preserve deteriorated scenes. During several of these re-restorations the pictorial content was repeatedly altered...

THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM AND THE CHURCH

African Journals Online (AJOL)

in the CMa 125 the ministry of the gospel as human contribution is added. We conclude with the .... the main manual for instruction of the Christian faith, also on the church. It is remarkable that leading .... De Jong, r. 2013. Trouw. [Online.] ...

City’s lost jewel. History of Cracow’a All Saints church till the end of XVI century

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Katarzyna Walczak

2013-12-01

Full Text Available One of the oldest churches in Krakow, dedicated to All Saints, was situated between Grodzka and Franciszkańska Street. It was build in the XIII century, could had been replacement church for first Cracow’s parish, which was transferred from Saint Trinity church. The name of All Saints church was mentioned for the first time in Vita S. Stanislai. The second time in 1278 his rector Arnold was noted. Most interesting fact is that in the Tables of Pence from 1325–1327 you can find two rectors, who had separate salary and were called rectors of wooden and brick churches. In 1490 church got a collegiate title. Than double rectory was liquidated and positions of provost and dean were established. Church was a place where Brotherhood of the Poor created by Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki used to work. Our knowledge of churches looks comes from iconography which was made when the building was already a ruin. According to those sources church had two naves, was oriented and had simply completed presbytery. The building had adhered tower, sacristy, treasure and chapel, called capella antiqua. Description of the interior of the church comes from 1599, when Jerzy Radziwiłł, Bishop of Cracow had visited it. According to the decision of the City Beautification Committee, the church was demolished in 1835, and church’s equipment was sold on auction. The tower survived till 1840, when it shared the fate of the rest of the building.

Karl Barth's role in church and politics from 1930 to 1935

African Journals Online (AJOL)

p1243322

have severe consequences for the Protestant Church in the years to come, were the following: .... In an attempt to deal with Barth's insights from 1930 to1935, I will examine his ...... 17 “It is neither the same perception, conviction or deliberate learning that brings people to the church and ..... LESSONS TO BE LEARNED.

Karl Barth's definition of church in politics and culture: Growth points ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The article describes briefly Karl Barth's views on church, its role in politics and how it relates to culture. This is done by identifying the way in which the church participates in the social realm through its relationship with the State. The historic religious question asks whether there is a natural mutual-determining relationship ...

HBIM for restoration projects: case-study on San Cipriano Church in Castelvecchio Calvisio, Province of L’Aquila, Italy.

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Romolo Continenza

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Although there have been significant developments in research into assigning semantic content to 3D models for the purposes of documentation, conservation and architectural and archaeological heritage management, the application of 3D GIS to individual artifacts has remained rare. Where 3D GIS has been used in this context, it has not been done in a consistent or standardised way.As an alternative to the elaborate construction of 3D GIS, the international academic community has embarked on a process of investigating how HBIM (Historical BIM might be used in the fields of historical architecture and archaeology.In this paper, we report on experiments carried out at the San Cipriano Church in Castelvecchio Calvisio, Province of L’Aquila, Italy, on the basis of the integrated survey of the church, before turning to a discussion of the planning of restoration work in a BIM environment.

The black church as the womb of black liberation theology?: Why the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2015-04-30

Apr 30, 2015 ... Southern Africa (URCSA) is not a genuine black church? This article ..... peculiar constituency of black slaves and freed men[sic] what no one else was .... church in the USA, which started during the early 20th century when ...

THE CONCEPT OF IDENTITY IN THE SOCIO-POLITICAL DISCOURSE OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

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E. M. Morozov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes the strategy of the Russian Orthodox Church for the revival of national, state and church identity in Russia. The peculiarities of the church interpretation of the concept of identity and the risks of loss of national identity are revealed from the standpoint of the Church. The author concludes that in the socio-political discourse of the Orthodox Church the concept of identity is presented as a cultural and social marker and is comprehended in the paradigm of conformity with established standards and behavioral responses. Spiritual identity is seen in Orthodoxy through an appeal to the religious tradition and is correlated with the moral imperative formed in the past and with the social and legal code. The Church considers the Orthodox self-identification of citizens and its participation in sociocultural transformations of Russia to be important factors of state identity. In declarations on the topic of Christian identity, the leaders of the Church rely on the idea of Russian religious philosophy about the genetic connection of Orthodoxy with national consciousness. The tendency of Orthodox participation in the public examination of secular cultural events, in teaching schoolchildren (“General Professional Competences’ in the course of ‘The Basics of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics” and in the scientific activity of higher educational institutions (the inclusion of “theology” in the list of scientific disciplines of the Higher Certifying Commission is developing. Public support for the interaction of the Church with state institutions of culture and education is regarded by the author as a factor of acquiring institutional features of identity by Orthodoxy. The active participation of the Church in the public discussion on the relationship between Russia and European countries is motivated by the desire to develop international cooperation, which is hampered by the value contradictions that the �

Ancient Worship Wars: An Investigation of Conflict in Church Music History

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Michael J. Wood

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to prove that conflict in church music is nothing new. Even in the time of the early church fathers, dissenting views on what were acceptable and unacceptable practices in church music were present. The music of the 2nd century through the 14th century is examined. The method used to find specific conflicts in church music history involved reading early Christian literature on music. When possible, both sides of the conflicts included in the project are presented. However, oftentimes only one side of an argument can be found since there is not an abundant supply of early Christian writings on music. When this is the case, a brief attempt at reconstructing the opposing side is made. The most important resources for this research were James McKinnon’s Music in Early Christian Literature and Oliver Strunk’s Source Readings in Music History: Revised Edition. These were integral to this project as they provided primary sources translated into English.

Turing instability and bifurcation analysis in a diffusive bimolecular system with delayed feedback

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Xin; Wei, Junjie

2017-09-01

A diffusive autocatalytic bimolecular model with delayed feedback subject to Neumann boundary conditions is considered. We mainly study the stability of the unique positive equilibrium and the existence of periodic solutions. Our study shows that diffusion can give rise to Turing instability, and the time delay can affect the stability of the positive equilibrium and result in the occurrence of Hopf bifurcations. By applying the normal form theory and center manifold reduction for partial functional differential equations, we investigate the stability and direction of the bifurcations. Finally, we give some simulations to illustrate our theoretical results.

"Holy Rus": The Geopolitical Imagination in the Contemporary Russian Orthodox Church

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Suslov, M. D.

2014-01-01

The author analyzes the geographical and geopolitical ideas inherent in the concept of "Holy Rus" as used by Patriarch Kirill and other hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church.......The author analyzes the geographical and geopolitical ideas inherent in the concept of "Holy Rus" as used by Patriarch Kirill and other hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church....

Seismic performance assessment of three masonry churches through FE simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Milani, Gabriele; Shehu, Rafael; Valente, Marco

2017-07-01

The paper presents some seismic analyses on three masonry churches located in Emilia-Romagna (Italy), recently stricken by a devastating earthquake sequence from 20th to 29th May 2012. These churches have a similar geometrical configuration, consisting of three naves, a central colonnade and a simple apse. Limit analyses are conducted on the most important macro-elements of the structure and a full investigation of the churches is carried out by means of the commercial FE Code SAP2000, in both linear and non-linear ranges. Two accelerograms are considered: one is defined in accordance with Italian code response spectrum and the other is based on a natural record of the 29th May earthquake. For both scenarios, the seismic behaviour of the churches is analysed in detail and some vulnerability considerations are drawn. A remarkable consistency is found between limit analyses of macro-elements and response spectrum analyses, whilst some discrepancies can be noted for non-linear dynamic analyses. The results put in evidence the insufficient strength of the apses for shear actions, the columns of the naves for bending moments, the façade for overturning and the triumphal arch for the formation of an in-plane four hinges mechanism.

Cognitive evaluation for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease based on Turing Test and Virtual Environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez Montenegro, Juan Manuel; Argyriou, Vasileios

2017-05-01

Alzheimer's screening tests are commonly used by doctors to diagnose the patient's condition and stage as early as possible. Most of these tests are based on pen-paper interaction and do not embrace the advantages provided by new technologies. This paper proposes novel Alzheimer's screening tests based on virtual environments and game principles using new immersive technologies combined with advanced Human Computer Interaction (HCI) systems. These new tests are focused on the immersion of the patient in a virtual room, in order to mislead and deceive the patient's mind. In addition, we propose two novel variations of Turing Test proposed by Alan Turing as a method to detect dementia. As a result, four tests are introduced demonstrating the wide range of screening mechanisms that could be designed using virtual environments and game concepts. The proposed tests are focused on the evaluation of memory loss related to common objects, recent conversations and events; the diagnosis of problems in expressing and understanding language; the ability to recognize abnormalities; and to differentiate between virtual worlds and reality, or humans and machines. The proposed screening tests were evaluated and tested using both patients and healthy adults in a comparative study with state-of-the-art Alzheimer's screening tests. The results show the capacity of the new tests to distinguish healthy people from Alzheimer's patients. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The Coptic Church in South Africa: The meeting of mission and migration

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David A. Ogren

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Previously identified as an entrenched Egyptian community, Copts have propelled themselves into the greater Africa through two main phenomena: migration and mission. Copts have recast displacement to transcend powerlessness and loss by highlighting the sovereign opportunity to consolidate identity in new contexts and widen the fold of the Coptic community, expressed through ecumenism, holistic ministry, cultural sensitivity and the presentation of the Coptic Church as essentially ‘African’. In migration, the Coptic Church creates identity through physical presence (church buildings, recasting the narrative (African originality, employing a rubric of sovereignty (agency rather than passivity and engaging others ecumenically (gaining Orthodox legitimacy. Beyond reaching out to migrants, much energy has been devoted to mission by establishing institutions, including a missionary training department at the Institute of Coptic Studies and a Department of African Studies in Cairo. In mission, the Coptic Church extends its influence beyond migrants to include non-Copts and non-Christians through ecumenism, social programs and the presentation of Copts as essentially African.

An Architecture for the Electronic Church: Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Grubiak, Margaret M

2016-04-01

More than a university, Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was also the headquarters for evangelist Oral Roberts's electronic church. The electronic church in America, dominated by Christian evangelicals, used technology to spread the Gospel over radio airways and television signals to a dispersed audience. Yet evangelicals like Roberts also constructed ambitious campuses in real space and time. The architecture of Oral Roberts University visualized a modern and "populuxe" image for the electronic church in the 1960s and 1970s. The university's Prayer Tower purposely alluded to the Seattle Space Needle, aligning religion and the Space Age, and the campus's white, gold, and black color palette on late modern buildings created an image of aspirational luxury, conveying Roberts's health and wealth gospel. Oral Roberts University served as a sound stage for Roberts's radio and television shows, a pilgrimage point for his audience, and a university dedicated to training evangelicals in the electronic church.

The history of the Russian Orthodox Church in Denmark (1741-2016 seen in a Danish-Russian historical perspective

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Christensen Carsten Sander

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the history and the problems of the Russian Orthodox Church in Denmark – and here seen in a Danish-Russian historical perspective, especially, in the last 300 years. The relations between the Danes and the Orthodox Church began, however, around 900 years before, in the Eastern European state of Kievan Rus. The article shows that the history of the church is closely linked to the political development in Russia. In this article, the history of the church and the changing Russian congregations will be illuminated in a historical perspective so that both the church and church buildings will throw a new light on the role of the Russian Church in both Danish and Russian history. In addition, it will be analysed to what extent trade policy, strategy and power policy and family relations have influenced the role and position of the Russian Church in Danish history.

Design Issues and Information Contents of the Provincial Government Websites of Indonesia: A Content Analysis on Visual Messages

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Achmad Syarief

2009-07-01

Full Text Available A website is not just merely act as an object of displaying information, but it also represents a contextual medium of communication through visuals and contents. The interplay of website design elements builds up meanings that affect users beyond what previous communication practices have uncovered. Previous research acknowledges that visuals and contents have significant effects in attracting users’ attention and trust. Thus, the ability of a website to provide credible information through visuals and contents to target users is therefore plays great importance in the success of a website. However, although a considerable number of researches on website design have been performed, study in understanding the characteristics of site’s visual appearances and information contents for the purpose of promoting local investment in Indonesia has been very limited. This paper addresses visual design issues and information contents of eighteen provincial government websites of Indonesia. Through content analysis, the paper comparatively examines visual appearances, information contents, and functions of each website, in order to determine visual characteristics and contents that suit the purpose of promoting local potencies. The paper focuses on commonality, discrepancy, and pattern of contents, provide suggestions to improve the use of provincial government website design of Indonesia.

Discovering and exploring ubuntu-language in the dialogue between the Dutch Reformed Church and the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa

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Lieze Meiring

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Discussions with members of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC and the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA in Ohrigstad illustrate the possibilities of ubuntu-language in overcoming racism and prejudice. After proposing a number of meanings and values related to ubuntu, this research explores the role of ubuntu-language � and at times the lack thereof � in the concrete relationship between these two faith communities as an expression of recent South African history. Ubuntu-language seems to offer unique outcomes in this relationship in strengthening identity, unleashing vitality, celebrating diversity, awakening solidarity, revealing humanity, bolstering individualism and enhancing Christianity.

An Evaluation of Spatial Organization of the Church Architecture of Kerala during the Sixteenth to Seventeenth Centuries

Science.gov (United States)

Panjikaran, S.; Vedamuthu, R.

2013-05-01

The churches of Kerala of the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries exhibits an architectural character which is different from that of the indigenous Church Architecture of Kerala. Preliminary studies show that the spatial organization of these churches also varied from that of the indigenous churches of Kerala. Did these variations in spatial organization arise of any change in functional requirements of churches? How did the indigenous Architectural character adapt to these changes or did it give way to a new style? The objective of this study is to understand the spatial organization of the indigenous Church Architecture of Kerala and to evaluate the changes in spatial organization during the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries. This study is primarily based on field survey and documentation, evaluation is done by relying on the Rapoport's theory. It is concluded that the church architecture of this period is a fusion of the Western and Eastern ecclesiastical traditions in terms of spatial organization and planning.

The dependence of human reliability upon task information content

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hermanson, E.M.; Golay, M.W.

1994-09-01

The role of human error in safety mishaps is an important factor in system design. As systems become increasingly complex the capacity of the human to deal with the added complexity is diminished. It is therefore crucial to understand the relationship between system complexity and human reliability so that systems may be built in such a way as to minimize human error. One way of understanding this relationship is to quantify system complexity and then measure the human reaction in response to situations of varying complexity. The quantification of system complexity may be performed by determining the information content present in the tasks that the human must execute. The purpose of this work is therefore to build and perform a consistent experiment which will determine the extent to which human reliability depends upon task information content. Two main conclusions may be drawn from this work. The first is that human reliability depends upon task information content. Specifically, as the information content contained in a task increases, the capacity of a human to deal successfully with the task decreases monotonically. Here the definition of total success is the ability to complete the task at hand fully and correctly. Furthermore, there exists a value of information content below which a human can deal with the task successfully, but above which the success of an individual decreases monotonically with increasing information. These ideas should be generalizable to any model where system complexity can be clearly and consistently defined

Liturgical language of the Eastern Slavonic Orthodox Churches. The Position of The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church’s Faithful Concerning Liturgical Language

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Tomasz Stempa

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The analysis of collected materials from the life of the Slavic Orthodox Churches indicates, that in some cases Church Slavonic language is no longer a current or justifiable liturgical language. Bilingualism was introduced or Church Slavonic language was replaced by national languages. A closer investigation into the liturgical language situation in Orthodox Churches reveals that the topicality and the validity of using Church Slavonic language as a liturgical language depends on a few factors. As in the case of the non-canonical Orthodox Churches in Macedonia and Ukraine, the Church Slavonic language has been replaced by national languages for nationalistic reasons. In the case of Bulgaria and Serbia, the main factor that has influenced this change is treating Orthodox Church as a national church. In Eastern Slavonic Orthodox Churches (Belarus, Poland and Russia, changing the liturgical language has occurred at a slow pace. The history of churches in XIX and XXI century, the temper and character of Eastern Slavs have had an influence on this. In this case, the biggest opponent of the Church Slavonic language is democracy in a broad sense. Orthodox Christians in Poland still want to pray in the Church Slavonic language. It is worth mentioning, that in churches, where the national language is used, Church Slavonic language has not been completely removed from liturgical life. Bilingualism of liturgical languages is common and in some cases, when the place is considered as backbone for the Orthodox Church, reversion to Church Slavonic language has been noted (Serbia, Bulgaria.

Leo Tolstoy’s Anticlericalism in Its Context and Beyond: A Case against Churches and Clerics, Religious and Secular

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Alexandre Christoyannopoulos

2016-05-01

Full Text Available In the last thirty years of his life, Leo Tolstoy wrote numerous books, essays and pamphlets expounding his newly-articulated views on violence, the state, the church, and on how to improve the human condition. Since then, these “Christian anarchist” views have often been dismissed as utopian or naive, and, despite inspiring many activists and intellectuals, often forgotten or ignored. Some of those views and arguments, however, arguably remain apposite today—and can in some cases be applied to broader phenomena than those he identified. This article focuses on one of the aspects of his Christian anarchist thought: his anticlericalism. The first Section recounts the evolution of Tolstoy’s views on religion and the church, and briefly describes Tolstoy’s peculiar metaphysics. The second outlines his main charges against the church, discusses some common objections to it, and considers the continuing relevance of his anticlericalism. The third seeks to secularise his anticlerical arguments by applying them beyond the church, against secular preachers and institutions, and does so by reflecting on the quality of debate in the contemporary public sphere, on the hypocritical distance between the morality preached by secular “clerics” and their practice, and on the steady process of ossification and betrayal which befalls secular political ideals. The article thus contributes to the literature firstly by summarising, discussing and reflecting upon the anticlericalism of a famous writer who also espoused controversial religious and political views; secondly by succinctly outlining his idiosyncratic metaphysics, including his peculiar reinterpretation of traditional Christian referents; and thirdly by applying the arguments that informed his criticisms of the church to a broader variety of religious and secular secular institutions.

SOCIAL ACTIVITY OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN 1990-2000S: CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS AND EXPERIENCE OF REALIZATION

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Мария Александровна Симонова

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This article deals with the essential characteristics of the social activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1990-2000s. There are characterized priorities, shape, effective practice of social work and examined the conceptual foundations of the social activities of the Russian Orthodox Church. The analysis enables to establish the conceptual framework and the specifics of the social activities implementation of the Russian Orthodox Church. Particular attention is paid to the study of the status of the Russian Orthodox Church in the state and society. The specificity of the Social Concept of the church was active development, determined by social practices. In this regard, special attention is paid to the activities of the spiritual and educational centers, which are formed into a single system connected to various forms of ecclesiastical education and social service. In the analyzed period the Church clarified its position towards the state and civil society institutions and identified the principles and promising areas of cooperation. The Russian Orthodox Church has become one of the key social institutions that implement the function of the spiritual care of the moral state of society.

The church and the secular: The effect of the post-secular on Christianity

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Jaco Beyers

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Paradigms determine relationships. During the Enlightenment period Emile Durkheim proposed a relationship between the sacred and the profane. Religion, which is concerned with the sacred, was defined in terms of being different from the profane. The profane came to denote the secular. The organic character of religion caused some scholars to predict the end of the church at the hand of modernisation and rationalisation. Some scholars instead envisaged a new form and function of the church. Some scholars anticipated the growth of Christianity. Reality shows that Christianity has not died out but seems to be growing. The new era we are currently in (identified as the postmodern has been described as the post-secular age where a process of re-sacralisation takes place. How will the post-secular influence the church? What will the relationship between the church and the secular be like under a new paradigm? This article suggests that within a postmodern paradigm, the post-secular will emphasise the place of the individual in the church. Fragmentation of society will also be the result of the post-secular. Religiosity in future will have to contend with fundamentalism and civil religion.

The Spanish Church and the American Social Help (1954-1968

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José Luis Mínguez Goyanes

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The historical research about the contemporaneous Spanish Church has most of all pay attention to the política dimension in the Church-State relationships, disregarding dates about welfare work and social help. Cardenal Quiroga Palacios, President from the episcopal Committee for Charity, was the maximun responsible in the distribution of the American Social Help. Together with a Bibliography, the Article offers documentation from the «Archivo Histórico Diocesano de Santiago».

To DNA, all information is equal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sennels, Lau; Bentin, Thomas

2012-01-01

Information storage capabilities are key in most aspects of society and the requirement for storage space is rapidly expanding. In principle, DNA could be a high-density medium for information storage. Church and coworkers recently demonstrated how binary data can be encoded, stored in, and retri......Information storage capabilities are key in most aspects of society and the requirement for storage space is rapidly expanding. In principle, DNA could be a high-density medium for information storage. Church and coworkers recently demonstrated how binary data can be encoded, stored in...

Reciprocal Family, Friendship and Church Support Networks of African Americans: Findings from the National Survey of American Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Robert Joseph; Mouzon, Dawne M; Nguyen, Ann W; Chatters, Linda M

2016-12-01

This study examined reciprocal support networks involving extended family, friends and church members among African Americans. Our analysis examined specific patterns of reciprocal support (i.e., received only, gave only, both gave and received, neither gave or received), as well as network characteristics (i.e., contact and subjective closeness) as correlates of reciprocal support. The analysis is based on the African American sub-sample of the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Overall, our findings indicate that African Americans are very involved in reciprocal support networks with their extended family, friends and church members. Respondents were most extensively involved in reciprocal supports with extended family members, followed closely by friends and church networks. Network characteristics (i.e., contact and subjective closeness) were significantly and consistently associated with involvement with reciprocal support exchanges for all three networks. These and other findings are discussed in detail. This study complements previous work on the complementary roles of family, friend and congregational support networks, as well as studies of racial differences in informal support networks.

Confessing the Catholicity of the Church

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sarot, M.

2013-01-01

Starting from a recent discussion in the Netherlands about the application of the Pontifical Council for Social Communication for the internet extension ‘.catholic,’ the author inquires into the meaning of confessing the catholicity of the church. He shows that ‘catholic’ is a title phrase, a

Physical activity and masculinity in rural men: a qualitative study of men recruited from churches.

Science.gov (United States)

Carnahan, Leslie R; Zimmermann, Kristine; Khare, Manorama M; Paulsey, Ellen; Molina, Yamile; Wilbur, JoEllen; Geller, Stacie E

2018-04-01

The majority of rural US men fail to meet physical activity (PA) guidelines and are at risk for chronic diseases. This study sought to understand rural men's perceptions about PA and PA engagement and the influence of masculinity and social norms. From 2011 to 2014, 12 focus groups were conducted with men prior to a church-based health promotion intervention. Men were recruited from Illinois' rural, southernmost seven counties, where 40% of men report no exercise in the past 30 days. We used inductive content analysis methods to identify PA-related themes, and subsequently used elements of the Health, Illness, Men, and Masculinities framework as a lens to explore subthemes. We identified four themes: (i) knowledge of the positive impact of PA on health, (ii) perceptions of appropriate types of PA for men, (iii) the importance of purposeful PA and (iv) the desire to remain strong and active, particularly during aging. These findings can inform strategies for messaging and interventions to promote PA among rural men. Health promotion efforts should consider the intersections between rurality and masculinity as it relates to rural men's perceptions of PA, include information about purposeful PA and encourage them to engage in PA with a support person.

INFORMATION SYSTEMS AUDIT CURRICULA CONTENT MATCHING

OpenAIRE

Vasile-Daniel CARDOȘ; Ildikó Réka CARDOȘ

2014-01-01

Financial and internal auditors must cope with the challenge of performing their mission in technology enhanced environment. In this article we match the information technology description found in the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) curricula against the Model Curriculum issued by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). By reviewing these three curricula, we matched the content in the ISACA Model Curriculum wi...

Effective strategic leadership: Balancing roles during church ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2011-08-15

Aug 15, 2011 ... Received: 10 Nov. 2010. Accepted: ... as strategic leadership) or 'inner growth engines' of an organisation that account for its success. (Hoskisson ... a cell church design, the central characteristic being affected was the sense ...

Women, sexuality, ecology, and the church.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruether, R R

1993-01-01

This abridged article originally was given as a lecture at Seattle University. The view presented is that women's status within the Catholic Church is subordinate to men's status, and that the Church is misguided in its notion of protection of and support for life. Affirmation of life is not promoted by isolated acts of giving birth, but exists in a social and ecological system in a community over time. The fit between children being born and the network to sustain their lives is misaligned. The minority of the world's population has control over the majority of the world's resources, while the majority live in misery, poverty, and starvation. The affirmation of the value of human life must be both qualitative and quantitative. The woman must be empowered, and not continually defined and controlled by male decision makers. Being prolife means to change the conditions of women and the conditions that deny most humans adequate food, clear air and water, housing, and land to sustain life. The American Catholic Bishops confuse teachings on abortion and teachings on nuclear arms buildup. American Catholic Bishops have had great difficulty formulating a pastoral letter on women, which is unfair to the growing number of women who are alienated by the treatment of the church. The denigration of women is deeply imbedded within Catholicism and Christianity, in general, in spirituality and practice. The issue of abortion has more to do with paternalism and women's sexuality and reproduction than valuing or nonvaluing fetal life. Women are denied leadership within the church because of women's sinful nature and the need for paternalism as a punishment for self-determination. St. Augustine stated that two men were not created in God's image and lack personhood. Thomas Aquinas agreed with Aristotle that women are defective due to a gestational process which deprives women of full mental, moral, or physical humanity. Only a man can fulfill the role of priest. The taboo of woman

Petrographic and porosimetric study of opuka stones from different construction phases of the medieval Church of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist in Dolní Chabry (Prague, Czech Republic)

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Sidova, Katerina; Prikryl, Richard; Weishauptova, Zuzana; Racek, Martin

2015-04-01

Opuka as a very fine-grained sedimentary rock deposited during Upper Cretaceous in relatively shallow (hemipelagic) marine conditions in the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin (Czech Republic) represents type of natural stone that has been widely exploited and used for construction from about 9th c. AD. Romanesque churches in Prague and central Bohemia are among the first preserved structures for which the opuka has been used. Question whether very local or more distant sources have been employed represents still unsolved matter. In the recent study, we focus on the detailed analysis of specimens of opuka taken from the Church of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist in Dolní Chabry (Prague). During the previous archaeological survey of the recent church (dated to 12th c. AD), remnants (basements constructed of opuka stone) of three older churches have recognized. The aim of recent material study is recognition of similarities or differences between opuka stones coming from these different construction phases and answering a question, whether material from a single source or from different localities has been employed. The study is based on the detailed petrographic examination using four sets of techniques: (1) microscopic observation (basic optical microscopy supplemented with the electron microscopy with microanalysis and X-ray elemental mapping), (2) X-ray diffraction of insoluble residue (composition of clay fraction and detection of some less organized silica forms), (3) chemical analysis and computation of modal composition by using normative minerals based on known mineralogical composition (input from microscopy and XRD), (4) study of physical properties, specifically by means of mercury porosimetry to quantify complex pore space of these rocks. Based on the results, three basic sets of specimens have been distinguished: (1) opuka stone with low content of carbonates (22-26 wt. %) and with higher content of kaolinite and illite (both WCI and PCI), (2) opuka stone

The role of the church in the struggle against poverty: A Hervormde Kerk in Suidelike Afrika perspective

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S. P. Mpanza

1996-12-01

Full Text Available The essence of being a church is love. The church as an organization based on love has the responsibility of loving God, his people and the world which God himself loved first. This paper is about the responsibility of a 'poor church', the Hervormde Kerk in Suidelike Afrika, which despite its poverty still has the vocation of becoming meaningful to its members. Two appeals are made here: firstly, that both the rich and the poor churches should, despite their circumstances, play their roles in combating poverty among their members. Secondly, churches should shift from charity work to development.

A Cross-Cultural Perspective:An Integration of Traditional Chinese Cul-ture into College English Textbooks

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHANG Ni

2014-01-01

Teaching language is teaching culture. English is an international language with local and global significance.In“New Horizon College English”, Chinese culture elements are deficient, which is not conducive to our country ’s higher education and cross-cultural communication skills and to achieve the goal of innovation of Chinese culture. As an important part of world cul⁃ture, Chinese culture should be integrated into college English education. College English teaching materials should include not only western cultural elements but also fully present Chinese culture elements.

The famine of 1921-1922 and the confiscation of church property (on materials of the Mari region

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Starikova Elena

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Famine 1921–1922 led to the death of thousands of people. The Soviet government used this fact against the Russian Orthodox Church. On the basis of regional sources revealed the true extent of hunger in the Mari region. This event was the reason for the start of the campaign in favor of the confi scation of church property. The study described in detail the main stages of preparation, organization and implementation of this process in the Mari region. The author describes the formation and work of the regional committee for the implementation of the decree of the Central Executive Committee February 23, 1922. The author also describes the procedures canton commissions in individual parishes. The author gives a detailed description of the order of confiscation of church property in the May-June 1922. The study shows the character and content of the documents that were provided to local authorities, describes the procedure of removal of property in the parish, partially installed subsequent fate of the seized property. According to the materials of parishes revealed damage that was done separately taken the community of believers. Statistical data on the withdrawal values in the Mari region are shown in comparison with the general Soviet figures. Analyzing the response of believers to the current policy, the author comes to the conclusion that this campaign has not got wide publicity and generally calm was greeted population of the province. Such a reaction is understandable by severe plight of the population in conditions of famine of the early 1920s. Results of the study allowed the author to explain the circumstances of the campaign. It is rated as blasphemous method of helping the starving population at the expense of inalienable property of the Russian Orthodox Church

Investigating the Turing conditions for diffusion-driven instability in the presence of a binding immobile substrate

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Korvasová, K.; Gaffney, E. A.; Maini, P.K.; Ferreira, M.A.; Klika, Václav

2015-01-01

Roč. 367, February (2015), s. 286-295 ISSN 0022-5193 Institutional support: RVO:61388998 Keywords : turing instability * non-diffusive substrate * pattern formation Subject RIV: BJ - Thermodynamics Impact factor: 2.049, year: 2015 http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0022519314006766/1-s2.0-S0022519314006766-main.pdf?_tid=63ec0858-9ffa-11e5-969b-00000aacb35d&acdnat=1449833527_e470798087aa42f7ca3b2efcfffc48cf

A Qualitative Phenomenological Analysis Exploring Digital Immigrants' Use of Church-Based Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Brinkman-Kealey, Renee

2012-01-01

Individuals and societies have traditionally sought answers to important questions in life through religion. In the 21st century, physical churches with clergy are no longer the sole source of spiritual answers or knowledge. Since the late 1960s, church attendance has been declining. Church leaders have begun to implement new methods such as using…

Historical and artistic aspects of St Nicholas's Church in Czulice

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Lucyna Rotter

1999-12-01

Full Text Available Czulice is a village in the Małopolskie voivodeship; the village which belongs to the Kocmyrzów/Luborzyca municipality. The parish church is the place which offers the faithful an opportunity­ to deepen their religious life; it also becomes a reflection of their care and involvement. Understandably, priests, landowners and parishioners strove to adorn the temple in the most distinguished manner. The church in Czulice is a treasure trove of priceless heritage dating back from medieval to contemporary times.

ptimal setpoint operation to reduce peak drying of a church organ

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A. W.M. van Schijndel

2008-03-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the characteristics of the Walloon Church in Delft (Netherlands and a description of constraints for the indoor climate, giving criteria for the indoor air temperature and relative humidity with the focus on the preservation of the monumental church organ. The set point operation of the Heating Venting and Air Conditioning (HVAC system is evaluated by simulation. The next main model components are presented and combined in a single integrated model: 1 a whole building response model for simulating the indoor temperature and relative humidity, 2 a Partial Differential Equation (PDE based model for simulating detailed dynamic moisture transport in the monumental wood (church organ and 3 a SimuLink controller model. The building model is validated with measurements. The main advantage of the integrated model is that it directly simulates the impact of HVAC control set point strategies on the indoor climate and the church organ. Two types of control strategies are discussed. The first type is a limited indoor air temperature-changing rate. The second type is a limited indoor air relative humidity changing rate. Recommendations from international literature suggest that 1 a changing rate of 2 K/h will preserve the interior of churches and 2 a limited drying rate is important for the conservation of monumental wood. This preliminary study shows that a limitation of indoor air temperature changing rate of 2 K/h can reduce the peak drying rates by a factor 20 and a limitation of the relative humidity changing rate of 2%/h can reduce the peak drying rates by a factor 50. The second strategy has the disadvantage that the heating time is not constant.

Technical Limitations in Merging Secular and Sacred Functions in Monumental Churches

Science.gov (United States)

Piatkowska, Ksenia

2017-10-01

The abandonment of churches and their adaptation for secular purposes is a current subject in Europe and worldwide. Most cases involve objects that were desacralized and then rebuilt as a whole object for alternative functions. Thus far, the merging of secular and sacred functions in one monumental Catholic church has not raised any issues. The paper describes the case of St. Catherine’s Church in Gdansk, Poland, where sacred function exists parallel to the new secular function being implemented. The study is based on the authentic, professional experience of the author. It describes the technical limitations arising from the need to ensure destinies for the optimal conditions of both sacred and secular function, while avoiding undesirable interference between them. The author further identifies architectural solutions most relevant to current requirements for protection of sacred zones in the church, for preservation of the monument, and for optimal function of a modern science museum. Significant design issues include: the inviolability of the sacred zone, preservation of the historical value of the monument, proper operation of new secular zones in compliance with contemporary standards of safety, performance of the assumed mission and profitability. The research indicates specific areas where the highest probability of collision exists between the sacred and profane and where technical problems are likely to occur.

Information content of poisson images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cederlund, J.

1979-04-01

One major problem when producing images with the aid of Poisson distributed quanta is how best to compromise between spatial and contrast resolution. Increasing the number of image elements improves spatial resolution, but at the cost of fewer quanta per image element, which reduces contrast resolution. Information theory arguments are used to analyse this problem. It is argued that information capacity is a useful concept to describe an important property of the imaging device, but that in order to compute the information content of an image produced by this device some statistical properties (such as the a priori probability of the densities) of the object to be depicted must be taken into account. If these statistical properties are not known one cannot make a correct choice between spatial and contrast resolution. (author)

Violence in post-apartheid South Africa and the role of church and theology

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C.F.C. Coetzee

2004-08-01

Full Text Available South Africa is known as one of the most violent countries in the world. Since the seventeenth century, violence has been part of our history. Violence also played a significant role during the years of apartheid and the revolutionary struggle against apartheid. It was widely expected that violence would decrease in a post-apartheid democratic South Africa, but on the contrary, violence has increased in most cases. Even the TRC did not succeed in its goal to achieve reconciliation. In this paper it is argued that theology and the church have a great and significant role to play. Churches and church leaders who supported revolutionary violence against the apartheid system on Biblical “grounds”, should confess their unbiblical hermeneutical approach and reject the option of violence. The church also has a calling in the education of young people, the pastoral care of criminals and victims, in proclaiming the true Gospel to the government and in creating an ethos of human rights.

The ‘enemy within’ the post-Vatican II Roman Catholic Church

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Graham A. Duncan

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965 is regarded as one of the most significant processes in the ecumenical church history of the 20th century. At that time, a younger generation of Roman Catholic theologians began to make their mark in the church and within the ecumenical theological scene. Their work provided an ecumenical bridge between the Reforming and the Roman Catholic ecclesiastical traditions, notwithstanding the subsequent negative response of the Roman church hierarchy. Despite important advances, recent pontificates significantly altered the theological landscape and undermined much of the enthusiasm and commitment to unity. Roman Catholic theological dissent provided common ground for theological reflection. Those regarded as the ‘enemy within’ have become respected colleagues in the search for truth in global ecclesiastical perspective. This article will use the distinction between the history and the narratives of Vatican II.

The evangelical church of Zaire and the female ordained ministry 1

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M. M. Mulemfo

1997-12-01

Full Text Available African culture(s had assigned inferior roles to women in society. The first Christian missionaries did very little to liberate women from this cultural enslavement. The missionaries's understanding of the leadership roles of women was not very different from that of African culture and its societal organisation. Many churches in Africa had kept to this cultural conservatism and also adopted the missionary theology. However, there are some Christians who accept women into the pastoral ministry, while others consider this move as blasphemous and unbiblical. The role of the church in this conflictual issue is to elaborate a new biblical hermeneutic which would help the church to create a conducive environment where men and women would understand their humanity on an equal basis and participate in God's salvific mission for the world.

Communities: Development of church-based counselling teams

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Stella D. Potgieter

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Pastoral care is a biblical mandate to the Church to be involved in the lives of God’s people. A key metaphor used by Jesus to describe his pastoral role was that of a shepherd. Thus, to be God’s shepherds and instruments of healing and transformation in God’s world is an imperative to all people, clergy and laity alike. The brokenness in South African society is strikingly apparent, exacerbated by the effects of exceptionally high criminal behaviour as statistics show. The demand for pastoral care and assistance with various personal problems is on the increase, with many non-church goers turning to churches for help. Also apparent in South Africa is the acute shortage of trained individuals to offer care and counselling. The task of offering care is not the sole responsibility of clergy, as all are called to be shepherds and caregivers. The importance and urgency in training church-based counselling teams cannot be overstated. More so in that we are becoming increasingly aware that not only are individuals in need of care, but whole communities are struggling with trauma and life’s challenges, and often do not know whom to turn to. In pursuance of the realisation that pastoral care is the function and duty of all Christians, this article will delineate in particular an explanation of lay counselling, reasons for its importance including biblical foundations, where and how ordinary South Africans can get involved, and will propose certain models and approaches for getting started. These models will not be discussed in depth, but present an opportunity for the next. Teams for these models consist of professional counsellors, but ought not to be restricted to a select few, as all are called to this special ministry and can be trained for the task, which will include on-going supervision and mentoring. The overall purpose of this article is to highlight the urgency of training lay counsellors and some recommendations will be made how to

The Content-Provider Paradox: Universities in the Information Ecosystem.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaidhyanathan, Siva

2002-01-01

Asserts that universities' rush to abandon their role as "national parks" in the information ecosystem in favor of becoming profitable "content providers" has led to a paradox: to generate new knowledge, researchers and teachers need broad content freedom, but the role of content provider requires highly restrictive policies to…

Semi-renovationism in the Russia Orthodox Church in the middle of 1920-s.: toward the question about the church policy’s estimate of bishop Irenaeus (Shulgin of Elabuga and bishop Alexiy (Kuznetsov of Sarapulsk

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Zimina Nina

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The article concerns the activity of the St. Petersburg Department of the Moscow Society for Religious education, targeted to give the western Christians the knowledge about the affairs’ state of the Eastern Church. The author identifies the literature published and translated by Russian theologians and members of clergy for western Christians from 1871 to 1880. She describes the work’s methods of the Department. The response of western theologians was the publication of works about the Eastern Church. Members of the St. Petersburg Department managed to fulfill designated tasks despite the short period of activity. They illuminated as much as possible the state of the contemporary Church, a church history and theology and assisted western and east Christians in the dialog’s development.

Spongiosa Primary Development: A Biochemical Hypothesis by Turing Patterns Formations

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Oscar Rodrigo López-Vaca

2012-01-01

Full Text Available We propose a biochemical model describing the formation of primary spongiosa architecture through a bioregulatory model by metalloproteinase 13 (MMP13 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF. It is assumed that MMP13 regulates cartilage degradation and the VEGF allows vascularization and advances in the ossification front through the presence of osteoblasts. The coupling of this set of molecules is represented by reaction-diffusion equations with parameters in the Turing space, creating a stable spatiotemporal pattern that leads to the formation of the trabeculae present in the spongy tissue. Experimental evidence has shown that the MMP13 regulates VEGF formation, and it is assumed that VEGF negatively regulates MMP13 formation. Thus, the patterns obtained by ossification may represent the primary spongiosa formation during endochondral ossification. Moreover, for the numerical solution, we used the finite element method with the Newton-Raphson method to approximate partial differential nonlinear equations. Ossification patterns obtained may represent the primary spongiosa formation during endochondral ossification.

Numerical approaches to model perturbation fire in turing pattern formations

Science.gov (United States)

Campagna, R.; Brancaccio, M.; Cuomo, S.; Mazzoleni, S.; Russo, L.; Siettos, K.; Giannino, F.

2017-11-01

Turing patterns were observed in chemical, physical and biological systems described by coupled reaction-diffusion equations. Several models have been formulated proposing the water as the causal mechanism of vegetation pattern formation, but this isn't an exhaustive hypothesis in some natural environments. An alternative explanation has been related to the plant-soil negative feedback. In Marasco et al. [1] the authors explored the hypothesis that both mechanisms contribute in the formation of regular and irregular vegetation patterns. The mathematical model consists in three partial differential equations (PDEs) that take into account for a dynamic balance between biomass, water and toxic compounds. A numerical approach is mandatory also to investigate on the predictions of this kind of models. In this paper we start from the mathematical model described in [1], set the model parameters such that the biomass reaches a stable spatial pattern (spots) and present preliminary studies about the occurrence of perturbing events, such as wildfire, that can affect the regularity of the biomass configuration.

"Give Us the Words": Protestant Faith Leaders and Sexuality Education in Their Churches

Science.gov (United States)

Hach, Alexa; Roberts-Dobie, Susan

2016-01-01

A small sample of faith leaders from the USA's three largest Mainline Protestant denominations (American Baptist, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and Methodist) were interviewed as part of a case study regarding sexuality education in their churches. The interview schedule, based on a previous Alan Guttmacher Institute designed…

Action and Church : Pastoral Work as the Focal Point of a Liberating Ecclesiology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Först, Johannes; Dillen, Annemie; Wolfteich, Claire

2016-01-01

Pastoral work is the church in action. That is perhaps the most concise definition of pastoral work. Despite its briefness, however, it offers an ingenious point of departure for reflecting on key issues concerning the church and its task in the world. Based on this short definition, the current

Handling of pastoral misconduct and discipline: Evidence from the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe church

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Norman Chivasa

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Misconduct has permeated almost every community across the globe and Christian churches have not been spared either. The two basic questions that the current study addresses were what are some of the reported behaviours of male pastors that constitute misconduct in the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM in Zimbabwe church?; and is there any policy framework in the AFM in Zimbabwe designed to repair distressed relationships between offending pastors and the church? Results showed that in the AFM in Zimbabwe, pastoral misconduct is seen as a negative force that militates against sustaining harmony in the church. As such, whenever a male pastor commits an act of misconduct, disciplinary action is taken against him. It was also found that constructive dialogue to address misconduct is still a blind spot in the church under review. And because there is no policy framework to amend distressed relationships after administering discipline, social interactions between offending pastors and the church remain antagonistic. In view of the identified problem, this study proposed that the AFM in Zimbabwe might need to embrace a peace building framework because it has the propensity to repair broken relationships and to build friendships, social networks and trust between people. This framework can be instrumental in repairing distressed relations between offending pastors and the church at large. The strength of peace building lies in the values of brotherly love, forgiveness, reconciliation and relationship building, which are compatible with Christianity.

The state-church relations in Estonia during the years 1944 - 1953

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Nepochatova Marina

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The article features an analysis of the nature and dynamic of church-state relations in Estonia during the first years following its integration into the USSR. In 1944 the religious situation in the republic was characterized by a number of distinctive attributes. The local population, which had lived prior to the accession of the Baltics to the USSR in 1944 in an atmosphere of relative religious freedom, presented the Soviet authorities with a new phenomenon that would have to be reckoned with. The Plenipotentiaries for Estonia appointed by the Council on ROC Affairs at the USSR Council of Ministers were able to convince their superiors of the need to tread carefully in light of the local specifics. The article deals with an analysis of the distinctive features of the Estonian Orthodox Church. As a secondary denomination in the region, it felt the powerful influence of Lutheran customs and rites. The ethnic heterogeneity of the fold and pronounced language barrier determined the choice of candidacy for the ruling eparchy. The Estonian diocese was rather well endowed with cathedrals, meaning that the main problem of church life in the USSR since the easing of persecution in 1944-1947 - the opening of new parishes - was not an issue in Estonia. On the whole, the church-state relations that dominated the republic in 1944-1947 were quite stable, just as they were around the country; moreover, they were typified by a cautious policy on the part of the Soviet authorities. In 1948-1949 the situation began to deteriorate across the country and Estonia was no exception. The difference was in the methods used: in Estonia, the decision was made to fight the Church and its clergy primarily through collectivization, which was actively pursued in the Baltics beginning in the early 1950s. Collectivization left rural parishes and their clergy in dire straits, and religious life in the countryside began to wane. Yet, the arrival from the central regions

Creating social spaces to tackle AIDS-related stigma: reviewing the role of church groups in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, C; Skovdal, M; Gibbs, A

2011-08-01

An expanding body of literature explores the role of African church groups in facilitating or hindering the support of people living with AIDS and challenging or contributing to HIV/AIDS-related stigma. Treating church groups as social spaces in which HIV/AIDS-related stigma may potentially be challenged, we systematically review this literature, identifying five themes that highlight the complex and contradictory role of the church as a potential agent of health-enhancing social change. In many ways the church perpetuates HIV/AIDS-related stigma through (i) moralistic attitudes and (ii) its reinforcement of conservative gender ideologies. However some churches have managed move towards action that makes a more positive contribution to HIV/AIDS management through (iii) promoting various forms of social control for HIV prevention, (iv) contributing to the care and support of the AIDS-affected and (v) providing social spaces for challenging stigmatising ideas and practices. We conclude that church groups, including church leadership, can play a key role in facilitating or hindering the creation of supportive social spaces to challenge stigma. Much work remains to be done in developing deeper understandings of the multi-layered factors that enable some churches, but not others, to respond effectively to HIV/AIDS.

Culture, pouvoir et eglise (Culture, Power, and Church)

Science.gov (United States)

Vallin, Pierre

1973-01-01

Examines the historical evolution of the terms "culture" and "civilization" in Europe beginning with the medieval concept of the "studium," and focuses on the influence of the church in shaping these concepts. (RL)

The Catholic Church & Social Justice Issues: An Expose of Vatican Power in America.

Science.gov (United States)

Mumford, Stephen D.

1983-01-01

Three popular modern movements--ERA, family planning, and legal abortion--all undermine church authority and power by having as their ends the promotion of acts that completely counter the tenets with which the church leadership has indoctrinated its congregants. Actions the Vatican has taken to counter these threats are discussed. (RM)

Affected by Ritual : Predictors of Agreement with Church Marriage Rites in The Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Robinson, Remco; Hermans, Chris; Scheepers, Peer; Schilderman, Hans

2007-01-01

Why do couples opt for a church wedding ritual living in a modern secularized society. Based on the ritual form hypothesis of Lawson and McCauley, the authors identify the specific church wedding rites as special agent rituals and the rites that form the ritual framework of every eucharist or prayer

Contents operation center for 'mopera' information service; Mopera joho service muke contents un'ei center

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

'Mopera' information service is a mobile information service in which NTT Mobile Communications Network, Inc. offers information of various fields such as business and hobbies for the users of the portable telephone or PHS of the company. Toshiba Corp. started the contents operation center consistently performing from the preparation of contents to the management of a server for the above information service, making efforts in expanding the contents since the beginning of the service in the fall of 1998, and operating at present more than ten kinds of contents such as news, weather forecast, and stock information other than mobile 'Ekimae-Tanken Club' (adventure club in front of a station). Moreover, Toshiba takes it into consideration to build a system aiming at a stable operation like a duplex operation of a server, 24-hour automatic surveillance, etc., continuously providing highly reliable services. (translated by NEDO)

Territorial Dioceses and Ethnic Episcopies in the Structure of the Church Organization of the First Bulgarian Kingdom (Canonical Aspects

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Archpriest Alexander Zadornov

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The coexistence of ethnic and territorial principles in the structure of ecclesiastical organizations is a well known fact in church history. Both principles are equally legitimate from the point of view of canonical law. The “ethnic principle” was based on legal norms of the so-called 34th Apostolic Rule, and contrary to the opinion of scholars of the 19th century, it was still in use after the era of the Ecumenical Councils. This fact must be considered by students of the history of Church organizations in the First Bulgarian Kingdom, too. The observations regarding the structure of church organizations in Simeonic Bulgaria make it possible to assume the coexistence of ethnic and territorial principles of church organizations in his kingdom. As is known, Slavonic church schools were established in the southwestern part of the First Bulgarian Kingdom after 886. They were aimed at training the Slavonic clergy for the Slavonic church organization. In 893, the Bulgarian King Simeon was elevated to the throne, and a Slavonic eparchy headed by St. Clement of Ohrid was established in the southwestern territories of the First Bulgarian Kingdom. As a result, heterogeneous church organizations were established in the region, and church structures of ethnic and territorial types appeared. They differ from each other by the language of their church services. Old Church Slavonic must have been used as a liturgical language in the ethnic Slavonic eparchy. Since direct historical evidence for such heterogeneous church structure in the First Bulgarian Kingdom is absent, new interpretations of sources made on the basis of canonical law can be of importance for Slavonic studies.

New Insights about St Michael’s Church in Ston

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Ivana Tomas

2016-01-01

Full Text Available St Michael’s church in Ston is an important monument of medieval architectural heritage within a wider area of Dubrovnik and the only positively attested monument of the so-called southern Dalmatian single-nave dome type in the area of historical Zahumlje. The church stands on the top of the Gradac hill or St Michael’s Mount (107 m.a.s.l., at the location of an earlier fortification. Based on an analysis of St Michael’s architecture, as well as its stone furnishing, the author has argued that the church is pre-Romaneseque in origin. It has also been suggested that the belfry (the structure to the west was built together with the church, since the concept of the ground plan (the width-length ratio, the slightly protruding apse, its small dimensions, as well as its vertical stratigraphy (the belfry and the dome indicate that it was constructed as a ruler’s chapel. It is most probable that the church was dedicated to Archangel Michael from the very beginning, as the cult of the heavenly host-leader as the patron saint of rulers and their military campaigns was widespread among the upper classes in the early Middle Ages. The time of construction should most probably be connected with the first historically attested and significant ruler of Ston – Duke Mihajlo Višević (before 910 – after 928, who raised Ston to an administrative and ecclesiastical centre of this Sclavinia. An analysis of the younger layer of sculpture in St Michael’s (the monumental window frames and a fragment with human face, as well as its murals, has suggested that the ruler’s chapel was furnished more richly around the mid-11th century. Considering the historical sources on Ston in this period, it has been suggested that its renovation took place at the initiative of Stefan Vojislav (before 1018 – 1043/1050, founder of the Vojislavljević dynasty. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that Vojislav, having defeated Byzantium and its allies (among them the

Comprehensive personal witness: a model to enlarge missional involvement of the local church

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Hancke, Frans

2013-06-01

Full Text Available In the The Split-Level Fellowship, Wesley Baker analysed the role of individual members in the Church. He gave a name to a tragic phenomenon with which Church leaders are familiar. Although true of society in general it is especially true of the church. Baker called the difference between the committed few and the uninvolved many, Factor Beta. This reality triggers the question: Why are the majority of Christians in the world not missionally involved through personal witness and which factors consequently influence personal witness and missional involvement? This article explains how the range of personal witness and missional involvement found in local churches are rooted in certain fundamental factors and conditions which are mutually influencing each other and ultimately contribute towards forming a certain paradigm. This paradigm acts as the basis from which certain behavioural patterns (witness will manifest. The factors influencing witness are either described as accelerators or decelerators and their relativity and mutual relationships are considered. Factors acting as decelerators can severely hamper or even annul witness, while accelerators on the other hand, can have an immensely positive effect to enlarge the transformational influence of witness. In conclusion a transformational model is developed through which paradigms can be influenced and eventually changed. This model fulfils a diagnostic and remedial function and will support local churches to enlarge the individual and corporate missional involvement of believers.

Full information estimations of a system of simultaneous equations with error component structure

OpenAIRE

Balestra, Pietro; Krishnakumar, Jaya

1987-01-01

In this paper we develop full information methods for estimating the parameters of a system of simultaneous equations with error component struc-ture and establish relationships between the various structural estimat

Church music in the light of national legislation in the principality of Serbia and the Kingdom of Serbia

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Peno Vesna

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Officially, the Serbian Orthodox Church enjoyed a legally guaranteed status throughout the 19th century and Orthodox faith was considered to be prevalent both in the Principality of Serbia and in the Kingdom of Serbia. Nevertheless, after gaining its autonomy within the Constantinople Patriarchate in 1831 (under whose forced jurisdiction it had been since 1766, Knez Milos’s attitude and a number of state provisions led to the unsparing diminishing of the Church authority together with frequent subversions of the Church Canon law. Introduction of the constitutional and legislative framework for the activities of the Serbian church, the enforcement of institutionalized mechanisms of control, and above all, direct interference of the State authorities in the elections of Church hierarchs and their activities, marked relations of the Church and the State in the 19th century. “Might makes right” rule was always on the State side. Investigations so far have least examined those provisions of the Government concerning general and theological education, in which church music also found its place. Presentation and analysis of the facts about the beginnings of organized music education go in favor of the existing findings on concurrencies and discrepancies in two cultural policies - that of the State and the one of the Church. Attitudes of the Sovereign and the Government towards the educational process, so vital during the decades of the State formation, are also indicative for affirmation of chanting practice and music art in general, as are (non- conflicting interests between the prelates and distinguished public figures on one, and those in charge at the ministries on the other side. This paper presents all relevant government legislations regulating religious and music education at regular and theological schools. Attempts of the Church dignitaries and learned Serbian musicians to raise the level of music culture with the help of the State

The Spatial Information Content of the Honey Bee Waggle Dance

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Roger eSchürch

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In 1954, Haldane and Spurway published a paper in which they discussed the information content of the honey bee waggle dance with regard to the ideas of Norbert Wiener, who had recently developed a formal theory of information. We return to this concept by reanalyzing the information content in both vector components (direction, distance of the waggle dance using recent empirical data from a study that investigated the accuracy of the dance. Our results show that the direction component conveys 2.9 bits and the distance component 4.5 bits of information, which agrees to some extent with Haldane and Spurway's estimates that were based on data gathered by von Frisch. Of course, these are small amounts of information compared to what can be conveyed, given enough time, by human language, or compared to what is routinely transferred via the internet. Nevertheless, small amounts of information can be very valuable if it is the right information. The receivers of this information, the nestmate bees, know how to react adaptively so that the value of the information is not negated by its low information content.

Nonintrusive tools to detect salts contamination in masonry: case study of Fontaine-Chaalis church

Science.gov (United States)

Giovannacci, David; Brissaud, Didier; Mertz, Jean-Didier; Mouhoubi, Kamel; Bodnar, Jean-Luc

2017-07-01

Such developments come from conservation experts in the community of cultural heritage - encompassing artworks, museum artifacts or historical monuments - for less intrusive and non-destructive tools to gain information about the subject. Increasingly the demand is for information regarding internal structures and indications of life histories and behaviors of an object. As it is well known, the deterioration due to the capillary rise of water through the walls is a very widespread problem. In this paper, a study of Stimulated Infrared thermography and Evanescent-Field Dielectrometry was applied to a non-destructive mapping, in situ, and in a semi-quantitative way the distribution of water, salt and the structural deterioration induced in a wall of the 13th century of the abbey's church of Chaalis. Complementarity of the both techniques will be underlined. The Stimulated Infra-Red Thermography (SIRT) is a contact free technique and allows the detection of plaster layers delamination of masonry. Evanescent-Field Dielectrometry (EFD) is a recent diagnostic method based on dielectric spectroscopy at microwave frequency. The measuring instrument is a portable resonant microwave device for mapping the water content and salinity on flat surface up to a depth of 2-3 cm in real time, in a non-destructive way. The method detects the water content and salt concentration in frescoes and walls by estimating the dielectric properties of tested porous materials that is viewed as a "binary" dielectric mixture consisting of bulk material and water, by the contrast between the dielectric constant of a dry material and water. According to the resolution of the optics, the SIRT has a less lateral resolution and more limited in depth, but it is easy to implement and can be used on-site, like in scaffolding conditions. Moreover, this technique gives an overview at a larger scale (metric) than EFD (centimetric).

Jurisprudence, Peyote and the Native American Church.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawson, Paul E.; Scholes, Jennifer

1986-01-01

Examines federal and state governments' attempts to suppress peyote use in Indian rituals as historically Christian-inspired. Focuses on questions of morality versus criminal law. Explains history and development of Native American Church of North America. Examines nine contemporary peyote trials. Concludes larger questions of tribal sovereignty…

Community and Christianity in the Black Church.

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Joseph R.; Robinson, Dianne T.

1996-01-01

Explores the experience of Christianity for many African Americans and how such experience provides a foundation for social activism. Discusses Black church burnings with respect to the more traditional Christian African American view of religion. Explores implications for incorporating the religious traditions of Christian African Americans into…

Optimization of information properties of NAA with respect to information content and profitability of results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obrusnik, I.; Eckschlager, K.

1986-01-01

Information properties of analytical results together with other important parameters especially economic ones can be used for the optimization of analytical procedures. Therefore, we have proposed a computational technique for the optimization of multielement neutron activation analysis (NAA) based on the information content and profitability. The optimization starts with the prediction of the γ-ray spectra to be expected during analysis under given experimental conditions (sample size, irradiation, decay and counting times etc.) and with the calculation of detection and determination limits. In the next step, the information contents for the determination of particular elements and for the simultaneous determination of element groups are computed. The information content depends or is closely connected with such properties of the method as selectivity, snesitivity, precision, accuracy and, as in the other cases of trace analysis, also with the detection limit. Then, the information profitability (IP) taking into account the information content and relevance (appreciation of specific information according to its contribution to the solution of a given problem) together wit economic aspects can be calculated. This function can be used for the optimization of a particular NAA procedure, for the mutual comparison of different variants of NAA and also for the comparison with other analytical methods. The use of information profitability for the optimization of NAA is shown on a practical example of the INAA analysis of urban particulate matter SRN 1648 produced by NBS (USA). (author)

Church and state in South Africa and human rights

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Piet J. Strauss

2015-10-01

Full Text Available After the Second World War, there was a universal rise and greater acknowledgement of human rights, which entered churches and ecumenical organisations’ way of thinking. Human rights influenced the church’s understanding of justice and human dignity both internally and externally. The concept of human dignity came from the biblical believe that man is created in the image of God. In South Africa human rights were also increasingly recognised and respected. A charter of human rights was included as chapter 2 of the 1996 Constitution and churches regard human dignity as a central tenet of their approach to members and non-members. Differences between church and state on the issue have arisen as the result of differences on the freedom of religion. Church and state in South Africa can complement each other in the promotion of human dignity. Opsomming: Kerk en staat in Suid-Afrika en menseregte. Na die Tweede Wêreldoorlog is menseregte wêreldwyd erken en aanvaar. Dit was ook die geval in kerke en ekumeniese organisasies. Menseregte het kerke se siening van geregtigheid en menswaardigheid in hulle interne sowel as eksterne optrede beïnvloed. Die begrip menswaardigheid het ontstaan uit die bybelse oortuiging dat die mens na die beeld van God geskape is. In Suid-Afrika is menseregte ook toenemend erken en aanvaar. ’n Verklaring van menseregte is as hoofstuk 2 in die 1996-grondwet ingesluit en kerke beskou menswaardigheid as toonaangewend in hulle benadering van mense binne en buite die kerk. Verskille tussen die kerk en die staat in Suid-Afrika oor menseregte het ontstaan as gevolg van verskille oor die inhoud van die vryheid van godsdiens. Teen hierdie agtergrond kan kerk en staat mekaar egter aanvul in die bevordering van menseregte.

Thinking beyond Secularism: The Catholic Church and Political Practice in Rural South India

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Aparna Sundar

2012-04-01

Full Text Available This article re-opens the debate on secularism in India by looking at a religion and a region that has historically been marginal to this discourse, focusing on the way in which the Catholic Church has historically mediated the relationship between individuals and the state, among the fishing communities of South India. The Catholic Church’s dominant position among the fishing communities, its minority status within India, as well as theological and other shifts that have taken place within the global Church, lead it to articulate a secular, even radical politics as its primary mode of religious engagement. Radical clergy, many from fishing backgrounds, act as both organic and traditional intellectuals in the Gramscian sense, linking the traditional religious concerns of the Church to the secular interests of their parishioners. Likewise, villagers participate in Church-generated associations spaces to secure wider political goals. The paper concludes that certain forms of religious organisation in the public sphere might indeed be compatible with democracy, citizenship, and even secularism.

The early Korean Protestant Churches' impact on Korea's ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2014-06-20

Jun 20, 2014 ... general and the Korean Presbyterian Church in particular on the early phases of .... The missionary first asks for religious liberty, and then proclaims ..... which was historically founded in 1907, in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Informal Content and Student Note-Taking in Advanced Mathematics Classes

Science.gov (United States)

Fukawa-Connelly, Timothy; Weber, Keith; Mejía-Ramos, Juan Pablo

2017-01-01

This study investigates 3 hypotheses about proof-based mathematics instruction: (a) that lectures include informal content (ways of thinking and reasoning about advanced mathematics that are not captured by formal symbolic statements), (b) that informal content is usually presented orally but not written on the board, and (c) that students do not…

Using a Graphics Turing Test to Evaluate the Effect of Frame Rate and Motion Blur on Telepresence of Animated Objects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borg, Mathias; Johansen, Stine Schmieg; Krog, Kim Srirat

2013-01-01

A limited Graphics Turing Test is used to determine the frame rate that is required to achieve telepresence of an animated object. For low object velocities of 2.25 and 4.5 degrees of visual angle per second at 60 frames per second a rotating object with no added motion blur is able to pass the t...

Concept And Its Implementation During The Reconstruction Of The Church Of Blessed Virgin Mary In Chojna

Science.gov (United States)

Płotkowiak, Maciej

2015-12-01

St. Mary's parish church in Chojna was erected at the turn of XIV and XVc. in a shape of three aisles, hall church without transept, completed from the west with a single tower and from the east with polygonal presbytery with an ambulatory attached. The convergence of characteristic structural and decorative features with employed ones in medieval churches being attributed to Hinrich Brunsberg's fabric resulted in such a way, that also authorship of St. Mary in Chojna was assigned to this legendary architect and master builder of late Middle Ages period. The church was destroyed by fire during WWII in February 1945 and since then had remained as an open ruin. In 1997 reconstruction procedure of the church was begun under the leadership of the author and it still continues. This text consists of the sum of experiences connected with confronting design ideas and solutions with their executions on the site during construction works.

The Political Position of Southeast Russian Church Council (1919 During the Civil War

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Biriukova Iuliia

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The article studies the attitude of the Southeast Russian Church Council toward rather an inhomogeneous politically White Movement. This council took place in Stavropol in 1919. Various socio-political forces, represented at the council, tried to take advantage of that assembly in order to use its authority for political causes, but the council successfully ignored such attempts. According to the council the main purpose of the Church was to work constructively in a religious and moral sphere. Since the White Army became an ally of the Church in its struggle with militant atheism, the leader of the White Movement General Anton Denikin was the only political fi gure who received a special support from the council

CHURCH, Category, and Speciation

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Rinderknecht Jakob Karl

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The Roman Catholic definition of “church”, especially as applied to groups of Protestant Christians, creates a number of well-known difficulties. The similarly complex category, “species,” provides a model for applying this term so as to neither lose the centrality of certain examples nor draw a hard boundary to rule out border cases. In this way, it can help us to more adequately apply the complex ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council. This article draws parallels between the understanding of speciation and categorization and the definition of Church since the council. In doing so, it applies the work of cognitive linguists, including George Lakoff, Zoltan Kovecses, Giles Fauconnier and Mark Turner on categorization. We tend to think of categories as containers into which we sort objects according to essential criteria. However, categories are actually built inductively by making associations between objects. This means that natural categories, including species, are more porous than we assume, but nevertheless bear real meaning about the natural world. Taxonomists dispute the border between “zebras” and “wild asses,” but this distinction arises out of genetic and evolutionary reality; it is not merely arbitrary. Genetic descriptions of species has also led recently to the conviction that there are four species of giraffe, not one. This engagement will ground a vantage point from which the Council‘s complex ecclesiology can be more easily described so as to authentically integrate its noncompetitive vision vis-a-vis other Christians with its sense of the unique place held by Catholic Church.

Exploring the role of the church as a ‘reformation agency’ in enhancing a socially transformative agenda in South Africa

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Micheal M. van Wyk

2017-03-01

Full Text Available International political, social, economic and religious developments influence how local communities operate. The South African church society is influenced by such developments taking place globally and which clearly influence how local churches function. This article explores the role of the contemporary church as a ‘reformation agency’ in enhancing a socially transformative agenda in South Africa. A qualitative research approach – an interpretative phenomenology design – was employed to negotiate a shared understanding through conversation and intersubjective meaning-making with church ministers, with the primary focus being their subjective experience of the changing role of the church in enhancing a transformative agenda in a South African context. A purposive sampling (n = 6 consisted of local church leaders who participated in the face-to-face and telephonic semi-structured interviews to achieve the purpose of the study. The findings clearly show that deliberate and intentional actions by churches allow them to become a voice for the marginalised, to create spaces for searching for excellence and to increase the quality of servant leadership, all as vehicles for transforming church society. Furthermore, servant leadership is a social phenomenon, a philosophy-in-practice aimed at leading by example to achieve a common goal. To accomplish this, church ministers are required to spearhead the challenge as a prerequisite to creating ‘lived experienced’ opportunities for members as an inward-outward spiritual journey. Finally, church leaders believed that transformation is a secular dimension, but that it can also be aligned towards God’s redemption plan and enhancing a socially just transformation agenda. Ultimately, this study proposed several recommendations to allow the local church to be relevant in practicing and promoting stronger unity and reconciliation amongst all churches nationally and globally.

A missional study of Ghanaian Pentecostal churches' leadership ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2015-06-11

Jun 11, 2015 ... Leadership is an organisational challenge, and the nature of the church ..... word; a priestly people, offering the sacrifice of a life lived ..... Dessler, G., 2012, Supervision and leadership in a changing world, Pearson Education,.

Cancer Patients' Informational Needs: Qualitative Content Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Heidari, Haydeh; Mardani-Hamooleh, Marjan

2016-12-01

Understanding the informational needs of cancer patients is a requirement to plan any educative care program for them. The aim of this study was to identify Iranian cancer patients' perceptions of informational needs. The study took a qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were held with 25 cancer patients in two teaching hospitals in Iran. Transcripts of the interviews underwent conventional content analysis, and categories were extracted. The results came under two main categories: disease-related informational needs and information needs related to daily life. Disease-related informational needs had two subcategories: obtaining information about the nature of disease and obtaining information about disease prognosis. Information needs related to daily life also had two subcategories: obtaining information about healthy lifestyle and obtaining information about regular activities of daily life. The findings provide deep understanding of cancer patients' informational needs in Iran.

"In my house": laying the foundation for youth HIV prevention in the Black church.

Science.gov (United States)

Lightfoot, Alexandra F; Woods, Briana A; Jackson, Melvin; Riggins, Linda; Krieger, Kathleen; Brodie, Kimberly; Gray, Phyllis; Howard, Daniel L

2012-01-01

This article describes the process our community-academic partnership used to lay the groundwork for successful implementation of an adolescent-focused, evidence-based HIV/AIDS prevention curriculum in two Black churches. We highlight the challenges encountered and lessons learned in building a relationship with two churches, garnering the pastor's support, and implementing the curriculum within church youth groups. We engaged a Community Advisory Board (CAB) made up of youth, parents, and diverse faith leaders to ensure community relevance and guide project development, implementation, and evaluation. Using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach helped us to (1) engage diverse, intergenerational community members, (2) initiate a "culturally humble" process to build relationships with faith leaders, (3) remain responsive to stakeholder concerns, and (4) open the door to HIV prevention in the Black church. Finding effective and responsive ways to implement HIV/AIDS prevention in faith settings is facilitated by engaging diverse partners throughout the research process.

An improved nonparametric lower bound of species richness via a modified good-turing frequency formula.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Chun-Huo; Wang, Yi-Ting; Walther, Bruno A; Chao, Anne

2014-09-01

It is difficult to accurately estimate species richness if there are many almost undetectable species in a hyper-diverse community. Practically, an accurate lower bound for species richness is preferable to an inaccurate point estimator. The traditional nonparametric lower bound developed by Chao (1984, Scandinavian Journal of Statistics 11, 265-270) for individual-based abundance data uses only the information on the rarest species (the numbers of singletons and doubletons) to estimate the number of undetected species in samples. Applying a modified Good-Turing frequency formula, we derive an approximate formula for the first-order bias of this traditional lower bound. The approximate bias is estimated by using additional information (namely, the numbers of tripletons and quadrupletons). This approximate bias can be corrected, and an improved lower bound is thus obtained. The proposed lower bound is nonparametric in the sense that it is universally valid for any species abundance distribution. A similar type of improved lower bound can be derived for incidence data. We test our proposed lower bounds on simulated data sets generated from various species abundance models. Simulation results show that the proposed lower bounds always reduce bias over the traditional lower bounds and improve accuracy (as measured by mean squared error) when the heterogeneity of species abundances is relatively high. We also apply the proposed new lower bounds to real data for illustration and for comparisons with previously developed estimators. © 2014, The International Biometric Society.

SOCIAL ACTIVITY OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN 1990-2000S: CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS AND EXPERIENCE OF REALIZATION

OpenAIRE

Мария Александровна Симонова

2014-01-01

This article deals with the essential characteristics of the social activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1990-2000s. There are characterized priorities, shape, effective practice of social work and examined the conceptual foundations of the social activities of the Russian Orthodox Church. The analysis enables to establish the conceptual framework and the specifics of the social activities implementation of the Russian Orthodox Church. Particular attention is paid to the study of ...

ROLE OF COMMON VESTRY OF ST. NICHOLAS CHURCH IN MAROSEIKA STREET IN SPIRITUAL LIFE OF MOSCOW IN XXTH CENTURY

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Анна Филипповна Грушина

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article concentrates on the history of the formation and development of the Common Vestry of Moscow Church of St. Nicholas in Klenniki. There are revealed the outstanding characteristics of the living, its spiritual origins and bonds. In the centre of the research is the ministration of two hegumens of the church, namely: archpriest Alexius Mechov and his son priest Sergius Mechov. The father started the penancing-liturgical family and the son continued the father's work, retained and enriched his pastoral heritage. The Common Vestry of the Church of St. Nicholas in Klenniki, which had been guided by father Sergius, turned out to be one of the most wonderful phenomena of the Russian Church history of the previous century. In the years of the persecutions against the Church it survived. The peculiarity of this living was that it was disintegrated after the shutdown of the church and the taking away of the pastors. This peculiarity is unique not only for Moscow, but also for all Russian Orthodox Church.

The Dynamism of the Sacraments of Healing in the Service of Church Community Building

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Marek Kluz

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Inspired by the prophetic vision of Blessed John Paul, the pastors of the Church in Poland made huge efforts to ensure that the Church is becoming a real home for her children. The statement became the keynote of the Polish Pastoral Program at the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century. Building the Church community is of key importance for creating a common sense of fraternity, unity and peace in the world. The sacraments play a fundamental role in enhancing the process. Among all the sacraments, the so called Sacraments of Healing, namely the sacrament of penance and reconciliation and the sacrament of anointing of the sick, are of crucial importance, since they constitute an indispensable element of ecclesial identity. The article aims at showing the clearly ecclesial character of the sacrament of penance and the sacrament of the anointing. It also points out that faithful Christian fulfilment of all obligations arising from the sacraments of penance and anointing becomes the leaven of the Gospel, making the community of unity, love and peace present in the Church. Man reconciled with God in the Sacrament of Penance and strengthened in the Sacrament of the Anointing contributes to the growth of the whole Church and her holiness. Therefore, every important aspect of the life of the Church, and all that gives it the true dimension and meaning, can be found in the Sacraments of Healing.

Information Content of Aerosol Retrievals in the Sunglint Region

Science.gov (United States)

Ottaviani, M.; Knobelspiesse, K.; Cairns, B.; Mishchenko, M.

2013-01-01

We exploit quantitative metrics to investigate the information content in retrievals of atmospheric aerosol parameters (with a focus on single-scattering albedo), contained in multi-angle and multi-spectral measurements with sufficient dynamical range in the sunglint region. The simulations are performed for two classes of maritime aerosols with optical and microphysical properties compiled from measurements of the Aerosol Robotic Network. The information content is assessed using the inverse formalism and is compared to that deriving from observations not affected by sunglint. We find that there indeed is additional information in measurements containing sunglint, not just for single-scattering albedo, but also for aerosol optical thickness and the complex refractive index of the fine aerosol size mode, although the amount of additional information varies with aerosol type.

NEW WAYS TO DEVELOP AND PPROMOT TOURISM THROUGH RESTORATION OF WOODEN CHURCHES FROM BUZAU REGION

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Elena-Teodora, NECULA

2014-11-01

Full Text Available With highlighting of the wooden churches from the sub-Carpathian region is possible to make projects of development and promovation of tourism in Buzau. Publishing a book of the wooden churches witch presents the overview on architecture helps with the prom ovation of tourism by bringing new light on the full set, geographical specking it brings new territory to view. Advantage by placing wooden churches in the vicinity of hermitage caves from Buzau will attract even more interest of the large public for seed region. Realizing a few projects of conservation-restoration of wooden churches which are declared historical monuments, will bring a local developing from a cultural-tourist view. A particular case is the wooden church "Saints Emperors" from the vicinity city Nehoiu which has ruttier access, helps with the cost for restoration and number of viewers. Through realizing interventions of conservation-restoration and placing it in a favorable aesthetic view, the monument can be used in a cultural-tourist circuit of international important and this way it can help with the growth of value of monuments and developing cultural-tourist with the final scope heightening the economy.

The Church of St. Stephan on Šćepan polje near Soko-grad

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Popović Marko

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The Church of St. Stephan, in this paper, belonged to a medieval residential complex above the confluence of the River Piva and the River Tara, in the extreme northeast of the present-day Republic of Montenegro. The central part of the complex consisted of Soko-grad, a castle with the court of the prominent, aristocratic, Kosača family, which, at the end of the 14th century, right until the Turkish conquests in the sixties and seventies of the 15th century, ruled the regions later known as Hercegovina. At the foot of the castle, on Šćepan polje, is the suburb with the Church of St. Stephan the endowment of the grand duke, Sandalj Hranić (+1345. At the foot of the northern slope, beneath the castle, in the area of Zagrađa, is another church erected by the grand duke's successor, Herzeg Stefan Vukćić Kosača (+1465. After the Turkish conquest, the complex of the Soko castle with its suburb was destroyed and the churches became deserted and were never renewed. The ruins of St. Stephan were discovered, investigated and then conserved from 1971-973, however, the results of this research have not been published until now. In reviewing the results obtained in the course of the archaeological excavations, it is possible, in a considerable measure, to comprehend the position and former appearance of the Church of St. Stephan and establish roughly, the time when it came into being. This was the largest church erected in the regions governed by the powerful, Kosača noble family, during the 15th century. The total length of the church exceeded 25 metres and its width was approximately ten metres. In the preserved body of the construction, of which the remaining walls rise to a height of four metres one may see three basic stages of building. A narthex was later erected beside the church, and subsequently a small parakklesion was added, on the northern side. The original church had a single nave, a cruciform base and a gently, horseshoe-shaped apsis

PUPILS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND REPRESENTATIONS OF THE WOODEN CHURCHES IN MARAMUREŞ, ROMANIA

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SORIN-ALIN KOSINSZKI

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The main objective of the research was to study the perceptions and representations of some pupils and students, living in Maramureş, of the wooden churches from Maramureş and their employment as tourist attractions. The specific objectives of this research were the following: conceiving, analysing and applying a research instrument for the perceptions and representations on the wooden churches from Maramureş and their employment as tourist attractions, the analysis and interpretation of the obtained results. The following research hypothesis was tested: pupils and students do not have very precise representations of the wooden churches in Maramureş and their employment as tourist attractions. After the questionnaire was applied and the results were analyzed, the working hypothesis was confirmed.

Exploring the Influence of Social Determinants, Social Capital, and Health Expertise on Health and the Rural Church.

Science.gov (United States)

Plunkett, Robyn; Leipert, Beverly; Olson, Joanne

2016-09-01

In rural communities, religious places can significantly shape health for individuals, families, and communities. Rural churches are prominent community centers in rural communities and are deeply woven into rural culture. Thus, health influences arising from the rural church likely have health implications for the greater community. This article explores health influences emerging from rural churches using social determinants of health, social capital, and health expertise. Although nurses are important health resources for all populations, their value in rural areas may be exceedingly significant. The contribution of nurses to church-based health capital in rural communities may be quite significant and underestimated, although it remains poorly understood. © The Author(s) 2015.

John's gospel and the Johannine church: A mirror of events wifhin a text or/and a window on events within a church

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H. A. Lombard

1987-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the problem of an alleged Johannine church/ school. The hermeneutical paradigms and results of two mainline exegetical methods are assessed, namely the historico-critical method and literary criticism (a textimmanent procedure. Their respective approaches of using the text of John's Gospel (JG as a window and as a mirror are correlated. An analysis of the narrator's commentary (footnotes, asides furnished important conclusions. They are that a referential correlation exists between the worlds within and outside the text. The direction of reference runs from the textexternal to the textexternal worlds, furthermore, the pragmatics of JG as a religio-historical text justifies the assumption that the readers/church within and outside the text are to be identified as ambivalent entities consisting of both Jewish and Hellenistic elements.

Church Hierarchy and the Elections of 5 June 1949 in Colombia

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Andrés Felipe Manosalva Correa

2014-01-01

Full Text Available During the elections of 5 June 1949 in Colombia, the bishops and archbishops  of the Catholic Church voiced their opinion regarding the exercise of vote. According to general opinion, the Church was homogeneously conservative and intractable with respect to communism and liberalism; however, the article shows that there were different positions within that hierarchy. Some were intractable, others less so, and there was even a special case of moderation: that of the then Bishop of Manizales, Luis Concha Córdoba.

Reverse engineering Turing Machines and insights into the Collatz conjecture

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John Nixon

2017-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper I have extended my earlier work \\cite{jn} on small Turing Machines (TMs by developing a method for obtaining recursive definitions of the irreducible regular rules (IRR for a TM when explicit formulae for them cannot be obtained. This has been illustrated by two examples. The first example was randomly chosen and the second example was designed to simulate the Collatz conjecture. Analysis of this TM based on the its IRR suggested new approaches that might be the basis for a proof of this conjecture. The method involves running the TM backwards from a configuration set (CS. This in general produces a tree of CSs at each step. The aim is to find CS's $\\mathtt{y}$ that are reachable from a CS $x$ that simply specifies the symbol about to be read and the machine state. This means that following the computation forward from $x$ by adding some symbols when needed at the pointer, the CS $y$ can be reached. These CS's form the basis of the LHS's of the IRR.

Assessment of Post-Earthquake Damage: St. Salvatore Church in Acquapagana, Central Italy

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Gessica Sferrazza Papa

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This article proposes a multidisciplinary approach for the assessment of seismic damage from the perspective of conservation and prevention. A comparison of the state of damage has been carried out in a case study, St. Salvatore church in Acquapagana (MC, as an example of church, which underwent two important seismic events in the Central Italy area, the 1997 and the 2016 earthquakes. The comparison of the state of damage passes through the following stages: (a the territorial seismic overview; (b the historical description and material analysis; (c the identification of macro-elements with activated damage mechanisms; (d the comparison between the two seismic events both from a territorial- and building-scale perspective. This work puts together the archived and the on-site survey data with those elaborated starting from seismogenic information, available from the National Seismological Institute, and it provides a strategy also for other similar conditions. This work is to be considered a contribution to a wider study that could be carried out in the areas hit by the 2016 earthquake. It could also represent a way to collect documentation in the post-earthquake phase, improving the effectiveness of procedures currently applied to the first level of damage assessment.

Four-dimensional conversion for spiritual leadership development: A missiological approach for African churches

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Kalemba Mwambazambi

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The process of a four-dimensional conversion and/or transformation strives in helping the leadership of an organisation, especially such as the church, with practical ways that may lead to the development of an effective leadership by observing the four important aspects of human spirituality as elaborated on in the article. The spiritual, intellectual, moral and socio-political dimensions of the transformation can be catered for so that the complete inner being of humans, as well as their social and political attitudes and behaviours, can equally be transformed to maximum spiritual, personal and socio-political profitability. Mutombo-Mukendi demonstrates that the need for a spiritual leadership that can contribute to an effective transformation of Africa is dire, both for the church and the larger community. The real challenge is how to develop such leadership. This article provides intentional and practical ways that may lead to the development of the needed leadership. Four-dimensional transformation of people can be planned and carried out both in the church arena and in the surrounding communities. Skills development and transfer can also take place when skilled people from the church work with unskilled people from the community.

Uusi andmeid Mihkli kiriku vanemast ajaloost / New data on the early history of the church of Mihkli

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Ain Mäesalu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The church of Mihkli is located in Pärnumaa County, approximately 40 km north-west of Pärnu. It is unknown when the limestone building of the church was constructed. The current vaulted church was probably built in the fourth quarter of the 13th century.Preparatory works for building a new roof for the church of Mihkli were carried out in August 2011. The removal of a layer of debris, which had cumulated on top of the vaults of the church, uncovered a layer of soil containing human bones. The results of the archaeological excavations there have led to the assumption that the human bones were brought there in the 19th century together with soil taken from the immediate vicinity of the church, where there used to be a cemetery during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern periodSome of the 55 finds were originally grave goods. A bronze ring, three iron knives, an iron belt-buckle and four silver coins can be considered as such. The artefacts have been dated to the 15th and 16th centuries, whereas the coins were minted in 1515 (?, 1577, 1621 and 1664.The 26 shards of window-glass, some with traces of painting, which were found in the soil, are probably remnants of the church windows. The extraordinary finds were two bronze book clasps that are similar to book clasps used in Northern-Germany and the Netherlands in the 16th century.Three three-ponged sconces produced at the end of the 19th century were found in the holes in the walls located 80–90 cm below the top of the northern and southern walls of the church. The sconces were taken apart and hid in these holes in 1943 during the Second World War.It is now clear, as a result of the excavations that the original stone church had been without vaults, with a simple beam ceiling and plastered from the inside. A two metre long passage within the upper part of the northern wall of the church revealed that it had originally been a fortified church.This paper also discusses if priest Henry, the author

The energy content of restaurant foods without stated calorie information.

Science.gov (United States)

Urban, Lorien E; Lichtenstein, Alice H; Gary, Christine E; Fierstein, Jamie L; Equi, Ashley; Kussmaul, Carolyn; Dallal, Gerard E; Roberts, Susan B

2013-07-22

National recommendations for the prevention and treatment of obesity emphasize reducing energy intake through self-monitoring food consumption. However, little information is available on the energy content of foods offered by nonchain restaurants, which account for approximately 50% of restaurant locations in the United States. To measure the energy content of foods from independent and small-chain restaurants that do not provide stated information on energy content. We used bomb calorimetry to determine the dietary energy content of the 42 most frequently purchased meals from the 9 most common restaurant categories. Independent and small-chain restaurants were randomly selected, and 157 individual meals were analyzed. Area within 15 miles of downtown Boston. A random sample of independent and small-chain restaurants. Dietary energy. All meal categories provided excessive dietary energy. The mean energy content of individual meals was 1327 (95% CI, 1248-1406) kcal, equivalent to 66% of typical daily energy requirements. We found a significant effect of food category on meal energy (P ≤ .05), and 7.6% of meals provided more than 100% of typical daily energy requirements. Within-meal variability was large (average SD, 271 kcal), and we found no significant effect of restaurant establishment or size. In addition, meal energy content averaged 49% greater than those of popular meals from the largest national chain restaurants (P restaurants have been criticized for offering meals with excess dietary energy. This study finds that independent and small-chain restaurants, which provide no nutrition information, also provide excessive dietary energy in amounts apparently greater than popular meals from chain restaurants or information in national food databases. A national requirement for accurate calorie labeling in all restaurants may discourage menus offering unhealthy portions and would allow consumers to make informed choices about ordering meals that promote weight

Specifics of nursing care for members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church

OpenAIRE

VOTRUBOVÁ, Veronika

2016-01-01

Seventh Day Adventist Church was established in the United States in the 19th century and belongs among the Protestant churches. Adventists are characterized by the fact that they expect the second coming of Jesus Christ and hold Saturday holy for celebration of God. The theoretical part deals with the definition of multicultural nursing, nursing and describes the nursing process. It is focused on nursing models Leininger and Giger with Davidhizar. Another part of the theoretical work deals w...

From Alexander von Humboldt to Frederic Edwin Church: Voyages of Scientific Exploration and Artistic Creativity

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Frank Baron

2005-04-01

Full Text Available Article in English, Abstracts in Spanish, German and English.Stephen Jay Gould wrote recently that “when Church began to paint his great canvases, Alexander von Humboldt may well have been the world’s most famous and influential intellectual.” Humboldt’s influence in the case of the landscape artist Church is especially interesting. If we examine the precise relationship between the German explorer and his American admirer, we gain an insight into how Humboldt transformed Church’s life and signaled a new phase in the career of the artist. Church retraced Humboldt’s travels in Ecuador and in Mexico. If we compare the texts available to Church and the comparison of Church’s paintings and the texts and images of Humboldt’s works we can arrive at new perspectives on Humboldt’s extraordinary influence on American landscape painting in the nineteenth century.

Assessment of Quality and Content of Online Information About Hip Arthroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellsworth, Bridget; Patel, Hiren; Kamath, Atul F

2016-10-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of information available to patients on the Internet when using popular search engines to search the term "hip arthroscopy." We analyzed the quality and content of information about hip arthroscopy (HA) on the first 50 websites returned by the search engines Google and Bing for the search term "hip arthroscopy." The sites were categorized by type, and quality and content were measured using the DISCERN score, along with an HA-specific content score. The HA-specific content score was used to assess each website for the presence or absence of 19 topics about HA determined to be important for a patient seeking information about the procedure. The Health on the Net Code (HONcode) status of each website was also noted. The mean DISCERN score for all websites analyzed was 39.5, considered "poor," while only 44.6% of sites were considered "fair" or "good." Governmental and nonprofit organization (NPO) websites had the highest average DISCERN score. The mean HA-specific content score was 8.6 (range, 2 to 16). The commercial website category had the highest average HA-specific content score, followed by the governmental and NPO category. Sites that bore the HONcode certification obtained significantly higher DISCERN scores than those without the certification (P = .0032) but did not obtain significantly higher HA-specific content scores. "Hip arthroscopy" is a fairly general term, and there is significant variability in the quality of HA information available online. The HONcode is useful to identify quality patient information websites; however, it is not commonly used in HA-specific websites and does not encompass all quality websites about HA. This study increases awareness of the quality of information on HA available online. Copyright © 2016 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Information Reference Models for European Pork Supply Networks - Identifying Gaps in Information Infrastructures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lehmann, Richard J.; Hermansen, John Erik; Fritz, Melanie

2011-01-01

Several global developments such as diminishing production resources, limits in the availability of water and the growing demand for bio-energy as well as sector-wide crises (e.g. BSE, swine fever, dioxin) have led to a changing attitude of society towards the conse-quences of the food system......‘s activities for social, economic and environmental issues, cap-tured in the term of sustainability. As a consequence, consumers show increasing interest in the characteristics of food, and in turn, on the availability of related information and guaran-tees. The paper introduces different information reference...

Catholic Church-State Relations in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: A Review of 20 Years

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Beatrice K.F. Leung

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The Catholic Church and the Hong Kong British Government formed warm relations when the Church became the contractor of the government to provide education and social and medical service. The British did not provide democracy to Hong Kong but allowed ample freedom including religious freedom which the Hong Kong Catholics would like to protect in the post-colonial period under the Communist Party rule. For religious freedom, right after Hong Kong became the Special Administrative Region (HKSAR, the Hong Kong Catholic Church under the prophetic and vocal leadership of Bishop Joseph Zen, became very active in political participation. Zen’s leadership was short-lived (1996-2009 and the soft-spoken Bishop John Tong replaced him with a different approach of consolidating the church without antagonising the government with social issues.

Church-based social marketing to motivate older adults to take balance classes for fall prevention: cluster randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

DiGuiseppi, Carolyn G; Thoreson, Sallie R; Clark, Lauren; Goss, Cynthia W; Marosits, Mark J; Currie, Dustin W; Lezotte, Dennis C

2014-10-01

Determine whether a church-based social marketing program increases older adults' participation in balance classes for fall prevention. In 2009-10, 51 churches (7101 total members aged ≥ 60) in Colorado, U.S.A. were randomized to receive no intervention or a social marketing program. The program highlighted benefits of class participation (staying independent, building relationships), reduced potential barriers (providing convenient, subsidized classes), and communicated marketing messages through church leaders, trained "messengers," printed materials and church-based communication channels. Between-group differences in balance class enrollment and marketing message recall among congregants were compared using Wilcoxon Two-Sample Test and regression models. Compared to 25 control churches, 26 churches receiving the social marketing program had a higher median proportion (9.8% vs. 0.3%; psocial marketing effectively disseminated messages about preventing falls through balance classes and, by emphasizing benefits and reducing barriers and costs of participation, successfully motivated older adults to enroll in the classes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Informal reasoning regarding socioscientific issues: The influence of morality and content knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Sadler, Troy Dow

This study focused on informal reasoning regarding socioscientific issues. It explored how morality and content knowledge influenced the negotiation and resolution of contentious and complex scenarios based on genetic engineering. Two hundred and sixty-nine undergraduate students completed a quantitative test of genetics concepts. A sub-set of the students (n = 30) who completed this instrument and represented divergent levels of content knowledge participated in two individual interviews, during which they discussed their ideas, reactions, and solutions to three gene therapy scenarios and three cloning scenarios. A mixed-methods approach was used to examine patterns of informal reasoning and the influence of morality, the effects of content knowledge on the use of informal reasoning patterns, and the effects of content knowledge on the quality of informal reasoning. Students demonstrated evidence of rationalistic, emotive, and intuitive forms of informal reasoning. Rationalistic informal reasoning described reason-based considerations; emotive informal reasoning described care-based considerations; and intuitive reasoning described considerations based on immediate reactions to the context of a scenario. Participants frequently relied on combinations of these reasoning patterns as they worked to resolve individual socioscientific scenarios. Most of the participants appreciated at least some of the moral implications of their decisions, and these considerations were typically interwoven within an overall pattern of informal reasoning. Although differences in content knowledge were not found to be related to modes of informal reasoning (rationalistic, emotive, and informal), data did indicate that differences in content knowledge were related to variations in informal reasoning quality. Participants, with more advanced understandings of genetics, demonstrated fewer instances of reasoning flaws, as defined by a priori criteria (intra-scenario coherence, inter

Improved HVAC operation to preserve a church organ

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schijndel, van A.W.M.; Schellen, H.L.; Wit, de M.H.

2009-01-01

The common operation of heating systems installed in churches in the Netherlands has led to typical building physics problems directly related with heating. One of the main problems is the drying related shrinkage and damage to (monumental) wooden organs under cold winter conditions. The paper

Leadership for the church: The shepherd model

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2014-05-30

May 30, 2014 ... also monarchical leaders (2 Sm 5:2) and God himself (Is 40:11; Ps 23:1). The prophetic ... referred to are Abraham (Gn 12:16); Rachel (Gn 29:9); Jacob ... these functions are contrary to the shepherds of Ezekiel's era, ..... Volf, M., 1998, After our likeness: The church as the image of the trinity, Wm. B.

Healing in Herero culture and Namibian African independent churches

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Selaelo T. Kgatla

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The current phenomenon of Namibian African Independent Churches (NAICs draws attention from various people in civil society in Namibia. Although the ministries of NAICs are engaged with activities which are unusual for Christian churches, such as healing the people, fighting against evil spirits and power, performing certain rituals, prophesying and leading the worship services with African Traditional Religion (ATR as a frame of reference in 21st century, they do have a very big influence on various aspects of society in Namibia, which cannot be ignored. This is because those activities are familiar to the everyday lives of Africans and in touch with their culture. With regards to this, this article focuses on the causes of integration or harmony between the Herero culture and the NAICs.

Lead theft--a study of the "uniqueness" of lead from church roofs.

Science.gov (United States)

Bond, John W; Hainsworth, Sarah V; Lau, Tien L

2013-07-01

In the United Kingdom, theft of lead is common, particularly from churches and other public buildings with lead roofs. To assess the potential to distinguish lead from different sources, 41 samples of lead from 24 church roofs in Northamptonshire, U.K, have been analyzed for relative abundance of trace elements and isotopes of lead using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, respectively. XRF revealed the overall presence of 12 trace elements with the four most abundant, calcium, phosphorus, silicon, and sulfur, showing a large weight percentage standard error of the mean of all samples suggesting variation in the weight percentage of these elements between different church roofs. Multiple samples from the same roofs, but different lead sheets, showed much lower weight percentage standard errors of the mean suggesting similar trace element concentrations. Lead isotope ratios were similar for all samples. Factors likely to affect the occurrence of these trace elements are discussed. © 2013 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Racism and xenophobia: The role of the Church in South Africa

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Jerry Pillay

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Racism and xenophobia have become a worldwide issue and challenge. The recent flood of immigrants and refugees into Europe and America has put this matter on the world map. In South Africa racism and xenophobia have, in recent times, reached explosive proportions and have greatly intensified the need for the Church to get more deeply involved in the creation of racial harmony and peace as it works towards the fullness of life for all people. This chapter explored the challenges of racism and xenophobia in South Africa and concluded by discussing the role of the Church in combating these realities.

Content-Based Information Retrieval from Forensic Databases

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geradts, Z.J.M.H.

2002-01-01

In forensic science, the number of image databases is growing rapidly. For this reason, it is necessary to have a proper procedure for searching in these images databases based on content. The use of image databases results in more solved crimes; furthermore, statistical information can be obtained

Leadership succession patterns in the apostolic church as a template for critique of contemporary charismatic leadership succession patterns

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Cephas Tushima

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The pattern of leadership succession observed globally in most contemporary Pentecostal movements and churches can be characterised as dynastic succession. Yet historic modern Pentecostalism (in the Azusa tradition prided itself on being biblical. This article explores the biblical sources, examining first the leadership structure and then the leadership succession patterns in the apostolic church as well as the extra-biblical sources of the apostolic patristic era. Our findings from this New Testament (and patristic sources survey of leadership succession in the apostolic church and post-apostolic churches furnish a template for critical evaluation of the prevalent succession approaches of contemporary Pentecostal groups. Critical elements of apostolic and leadership structure and succession patterns are highlighted, and needed inferences are drawn for the re-shaping of leadership and its succession in contemporary Christian ministries and churches. Keywords: Azusa; Apostolic Leadership; Leadership Succession; Pentecostalism; Evangelicals; Leadership Patterns

Jeremy Bentham, the Church of England, and the Fraudulent Activities of the National Schools Society.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Brian W.

1978-01-01

The article examines charges which Jeremy Bentham levelled at the National Schools Society and establishes reasons for his hostility toward the Church of England. The argument centered around Bentham's interest in the education of the poor and the Church's belief that the poor needed religion more than education. (KC)

Modeling Information Content Via Dirichlet-Multinomial Regression Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrari, Alberto

2017-01-01

Shannon entropy is being increasingly used in biomedical research as an index of complexity and information content in sequences of symbols, e.g. languages, amino acid sequences, DNA methylation patterns and animal vocalizations. Yet, distributional properties of information entropy as a random variable have seldom been the object of study, leading to researchers mainly using linear models or simulation-based analytical approach to assess differences in information content, when entropy is measured repeatedly in different experimental conditions. Here a method to perform inference on entropy in such conditions is proposed. Building on results coming from studies in the field of Bayesian entropy estimation, a symmetric Dirichlet-multinomial regression model, able to deal efficiently with the issue of mean entropy estimation, is formulated. Through a simulation study the model is shown to outperform linear modeling in a vast range of scenarios and to have promising statistical properties. As a practical example, the method is applied to a data set coming from a real experiment on animal communication.

The urban explosion of black majority churches : their origin, growth, distinctives and contribution to British Christianity / by Babatunde Aderemi Adedibu

OpenAIRE

Adedibu, Babatunde Aderemi

2010-01-01

British church history in the last sixty years is best described as a “coat of many colours”. This image is appropriate because of the growth and proliferation of Black Majority Churches in urban areas of the British Isles. The advent of these churches has contributed to the prevailing pluralistic theological landscape. This thesis aims to evaluate the current status of Black Majority Churches with respect to their origin, growth, distinctives and contributions to British Ch...

The wall painting in the church of the assumption of the virgin in village Donje Korminjane

OpenAIRE

Ženarju, Ivana S.

2014-01-01

As a part of religious revival in the 19th century church of the Assumption of the Virgin in the village Done Korminjane, was renewed. Painter Avram Dičov was engaged to paint the church interior in the 1870, along with his companions Zafir, Todor and Spiro. The decorative program of wall painting was common for the parish churches in the Diocese of Raska and Prizren in the 19th century. The program was organized in two horizontal zones on the walls, and vault was painted as well. The altar a...

Medieval Churches in Shushica Valley (South Albania and the Slavonic Bishopric of St. Clement of Ohrid

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Skënder Muçaj

2014-08-01

In St. Clement’s bishopric Church Slavonic was used as a liturgical language. For that purpose, a set of Byzantine liturgical books was translated from Greek into Church Slavonic, and Clement took an active part in this process. Liturgical pecularities of these books partially observed in Greek manuscripts of South Italian provenance testify to the hypothesis that Greek sources of the earliest Church Slavonic translations belonged to liturgical tradition of Epirus, similar to those of South Italy. This also proves the location of St. Clement’s bishopric in the valley of the Shushica River.

A Niche in a Conflict Area: The Development of the Baptist Church in the Areas of Petrinja, Glina, Sisak and Dvor

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Laura Šakaja

2007-06-01

Full Text Available One of the aspects of social changes during the transitional period in most post-socialist countries was the revival of religion. The revival of Churches that accompanied the national upsurge in some countries was associated with the growth of post-socialist nationalism. This discussion focuses on the development of a different, transnational religious option in an area of ethnic conflict. It analyses the development of the Baptist Church in the post-conflict region of Banovina. The paper is based on interviews conducted mostly among representatives and members of the Baptist Church. After the Croatian Homeland War, in Banovina there was an increase in the number of members of this Church. Among new members the majority were ethnic Serbs, persons from mixed marriages and former communists. Neither the Catholic Church nor the Serbian Orthodox Church were acceptable options to them. The authors conclude that the Baptist option was sustainable due to three factors. First, the development of the Church was based on an already existing tradition and on memories of events from World War II, which were activated by the new war situation at the beginning of the Nineties. Second, the Baptist Church ensured a middle, transnational option in an ethnically mixed setting, and in this way attracted all those who were looking for a neutrality niche in an ethnically strongly divided and conflictive society. Third, the active involvement and help of humanitarian organisations associated with the Baptist Church, during the war and the afterwards, helped to create an image of the Baptist Church as a shelter. These humanitarian activities made it possible for the Baptist Church to leave the shadows and become “visible”, and thus prevail over perceptions in which it was seen as an obscure sect.

Investigations of biodeterioration by fungi in historic wooden churches of Chiloé, Chile.

Science.gov (United States)

Ortiz, Rodrigo; Párraga, Mario; Navarrete, José; Carrasco, Ivo; de la Vega, Eduardo; Ortiz, Manuel; Herrera, Paula; Jurgens, Joel A; Held, Benjamin W; Blanchette, Robert A

2014-04-01

The use of wood in construction has had a long history and Chile has a rich cultural heritage of using native woods for building churches and other important structures. In 2000, UNESCO designated a number of the historic churches of Chiloé, built entirely of native woods, as World Heritage Sites. These unique churches were built in the late 1700 s and throughout the 1800 s, and because of their age and exposure to the environment, they have been found to have serious deterioration problems. Efforts are underway to better understand these decay processes and to carryout conservation efforts for the long-term preservation of these important structures. This study characterized the types of degradation taking place and identified the wood decay fungi obtained from eight historic churches in Chiloé, seven of them designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Micromorphological observations identified white, brown and soft rot in the structural woods and isolations provided pure cultures of fungi that were identified by sequencing of the internal transcribed region of rDNA. Twenty-nine Basidiomycota and 18 Ascomycota were found. These diverse groups of fungi represent several genera and species not previously reported from Chile and demonstrates a varied microflora is causing decay in these historic buildings.

Quantum information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodgers, P.

1998-01-01

There is more to information than a string of ones and zeroes the ability of ''quantum bits'' to be in two states at the same time could revolutionize information technology. In the mid-1930s two influential but seemingly unrelated papers were published. In 1935 Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen proposed the famous EPR paradox that has come to symbolize the mysteries of quantum mechanics. Two years later, Alan Turing introduced the universal Turing machine in an enigmatically titled paper, On computable numbers, and laid the foundations of the computer industry one of the biggest industries in the world today. Although quantum physics is essential to understand the operation of transistors and other solid-state devices in computers, computation itself has remained a resolutely classical process. Indeed it seems only natural that computation and quantum theory should be kept as far apart as possible surely the uncertainty associated with quantum theory is anathema to the reliability expected from computers? Wrong. In 1985 David Deutsch introduced the universal quantum computer and showed that quantum theory can actually allow computers to do more rather than less. The ability of particles to be in a superposition of more than one quantum state naturally introduces a form of parallelism that can, in principle, perform some traditional computing tasks faster than is possible with classical computers. Moreover, quantum computers are capable of other tasks that are not conceivable with their classical counterparts. Similar breakthroughs in cryptography and communication followed. (author)

Quantum information

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodgers, P

1998-03-01

There is more to information than a string of ones and zeroes the ability of ''quantum bits'' to be in two states at the same time could revolutionize information technology. In the mid-1930s two influential but seemingly unrelated papers were published. In 1935 Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen proposed the famous EPR paradox that has come to symbolize the mysteries of quantum mechanics. Two years later, Alan Turing introduced the universal Turing machine in an enigmatically titled paper, On computable numbers, and laid the foundations of the computer industry one of the biggest industries in the world today. Although quantum physics is essential to understand the operation of transistors and other solid-state devices in computers, computation itself has remained a resolutely classical process. Indeed it seems only natural that computation and quantum theory should be kept as far apart as possible surely the uncertainty associated with quantum theory is anathema to the reliability expected from computers? Wrong. In 1985 David Deutsch introduced the universal quantum computer and showed that quantum theory can actually allow computers to do more rather than less. The ability of particles to be in a superposition of more than one quantum state naturally introduces a form of parallelism that can, in principle, perform some traditional computing tasks faster than is possible with classical computers. Moreover, quantum computers are capable of other tasks that are not conceivable with their classical counterparts. Similar breakthroughs in cryptography and communication followed. (author)

Self-Organized Patterns Induced by Neimark-Sacker, Flip and Turing Bifurcations in a Discrete Predator-Prey Model with Lesie-Gower Functional Response

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feifan Zhang

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The formation of self-organized patterns in predator-prey models has been a very hot topic recently. The dynamics of these models, bifurcations and pattern formations are so complex that studies are urgently needed. In this research, we transformed a continuous predator-prey model with Lesie-Gower functional response into a discrete model. Fixed points and stability analyses were studied. Around the stable fixed point, bifurcation analyses including: flip, Neimark-Sacker and Turing bifurcation were done and bifurcation conditions were obtained. Based on these bifurcation conditions, parameters values were selected to carry out numerical simulations on pattern formation. The simulation results showed that Neimark-Sacker bifurcation induced spots, spirals and transitional patterns from spots to spirals. Turing bifurcation induced labyrinth patterns and spirals coupled with mosaic patterns, while flip bifurcation induced many irregular complex patterns. Compared with former studies on continuous predator-prey model with Lesie-Gower functional response, our research on the discrete model demonstrated more complex dynamics and varieties of self-organized patterns.

A relevant liturgy for Reformed churches of African origin concerning liturgical music

OpenAIRE

Letšosa, R.S.; De Klerk, B.J.

2007-01-01

The question to be answered in this article is: How can the Reformed Churches of African origin come to liturgical music that is Biblical and contextual? The following basis theoretical principles for Reformed Churches can be summarised: Liturgical music must be faithful to the Bible and it has to glorify God; it must edify the congregation and the music should be composed in such a way that people should sing from the heart, through the Spirit and in understanding. Liturgical music is a spir...

The church hisTory socieTy of souThern AfricA (chssA) ATTemPTing ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

it is attempting to come of age and the prospects for the future are relatively positive. ... itself to be dominated by primarily Transvaal teachers' organizations and for ... the initial and recurring pleas and even attempts for a representative membership ... church history students in the ministry of the reformed churches attended.

Women ministers' experiences of gender discrimination in the Lutheran Church : a discourse analysis

OpenAIRE

2011-01-01

M.A. The aim of this psychological study was to uncover women minister’s experiences of gender discrimination in the Lutheran Church by using a discourse analysis. Three female participants, who are involved in ministry in the Lutheran Church, were interviewed about their experiences and perceptions of gender discrimination. The resultant texts were analysed using Parker’s (2005) steps to discourse analytic reading. The discourses that were discovered indicate that power struggles are prev...

78 FR 23918 - Request for Information Regarding Third Party Testing for Lead Content, Phthalate Content, and...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-23

... CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION [Docket No. CPSC 2011-0081] Request for Information Regarding Third Party Testing for Lead Content, Phthalate Content, and the Solubility of the Eight Elements Listed in ASTM F963-11 Correction In notice document 2013-8858 appearing on pages 22518-22520 in the issue...

A framework for crafting and implementing a congregational strategy in the local congregations of the Reformed Churches of South Africa

OpenAIRE

Grobler, Aldeon B.; van der Walt, J. Louw; de Klerk, Barend J.

2012-01-01

The church is not like any other institution or organisation in society. Although the church is primarily invisible and spiritual, it is a visible organisation in the world, and it spans across borders of nations, languages and countries. John Calvin strongly rejected the notion that the church is only a spiritual organisation of which the visible administrative side is downplayed. The fellowship of the church must not only be seen as a mystical relation with Jesus Christ. During 2010, an emp...

Church-based health programs for mental disorders among African Americans: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Hankerson, Sidney H; Weissman, Myrna M

2012-03-01

African Americans underutilize traditional mental health services, compared with white Americans. The authors conducted a systematic review of studies involving church-based health promotion programs for mental disorders among African Americans to assess the feasibility of utilizing such programs to address racial disparities in mental health care. A literature review of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and ATLA Religion databases was conducted to identify articles published between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 2009. Inclusion criteria were as follows: studies were conducted in a church; the primary objective involved assessment, perceptions and attitudes, education, prevention, group support, or treatment for DSM-IV mental disorders or their correlates; number of participants was reported; qualitative or quantitative data were reported; and African Americans were the target population. Of 1,451 studies identified, only eight met inclusion criteria. Five studies focused on substance-related disorders, six were designed to assess the effects of a specific intervention, and six targeted adults. One study focused on depression and was limited by a small sample size of seven participants. Although church-based health promotion programs have been successful in addressing racial disparities for several chronic medical conditions, the literature on such programs for mental disorders is extremely limited. More intensive research is needed to establish the feasibility and acceptability of utilizing church-based health promotion programs as a possible resource for screening and treatment to improve disparities in mental health care for African Americans.

Unity and catholicity in the Korean Presbyterian Church: An ecumenical Reformed assessment

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Jaegeon Ha

2016-03-01

Full Text Available I attempt to find the main causes of the serious disunity in the Presbyterian Church in Korea (PCK, which started as one church but is now divided into more than 100 denominations, as well as a solution to promote the unity of the PCK. This attempt starts with an exegesis of Ephesians, with special reference to Ephesians 4:1�16, to understand the biblical principle on this matter. This article draws on a mature ecclesiology and a mature sense of unity as key concepts. After that, the history of the PCK disunity is briefly described, dealing with four major schisms. Based on this historical investigation, the disunity in the PCK is assessed. In addition, the weak sense of unity and weak ecclesiology of the PCK, which played a role in its disunity, are discussed in view of the confessions of faith, the ministry of the word and the Lord�s Supper, and ecumenical efforts in relation to national and international ecumenical organisations. Lastly, contributory suggestions based on the mature sense of unity are offered to the PCK in particular and the Reformed family and all Christian churches in general.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: In my ecumenical Reformed intradisciplinary assessment of unity and catholicity in the PCK, which started as one church but is now divided into more than 100 denominations, I identify the main causes of serious disunity in the PCK, namely a weak sense of unity, immaturity and secularisation.

The early Korean Protestant Churches’ impact on Korea’s democratisation: With special reference to the Korean Presbyterian Church

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Jae-Buhm Hwang

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This study examines the significant influence of the early Korean Protestant churches in general and the Korean Presbyterian Church in particular on the early phases of Korea’s democratisation. Firstly, the Western Protestant mission works in general were visibly conducive for dissemination and cultivation of egalitarian and democratic ideals, with the mission churches becoming sites of do-it-yourself democracy. Secondly, the Nevius (Mission Methods of the Korean Presbyterian Church came to foster the democratic spirit of self-support and self-government, resulting in its rapid growth. Thirdly, with the implementation of a nationwide, representative and democratic polity (presbytery with a constitution, the church even facilitated law-binding and institutional democracy for Koreans in general and Korean Christians in particular. Fourthly, the church’s democratic working deeply inspired Korean democratic politicians, especially Mr Changho Ahn, who had an important influence on the making of the Provisional Government of Korea and its Constitution.

An assessment of information communication technology content ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An assessment of information communication technology content, context and ... a- vis the upscaling of ICT in health care facilities in Nairobi and Machakos counties. ... high in all the facilities compared to levels of services operations computerised and ... for Authors · for Policy Makers · about Open Access · Journal Quality.

Philippines. Church vs. state: Fidel Ramos and family planning face "Catholic Power".

Science.gov (United States)

1994-08-24

Catholic groups and individuals united in a public rally in Manila's Rizal Park to decry a "cultural dictatorship," which promotes abortion, homosexuality, lesbianism, sexual perversion, condoms, and artificial contraception. Government spokesmen responded that condoms and contraception were part of government policy to spread family planning knowledge and informed choices among the population. Cardinal Jaime Sin and former president Corazon Aquino joined forces to lead the movement against the national family planning program in the largest demonstration since the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. Also criticized was the 85-page draft action plan for the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) scheduled for September 1994. Cardinal Sin accused President Clinton of using the action plan to promote worldwide abortion. Under the administration of President Fidel Ramos, family planning funding has quintupled and the number of family planning workers has increased from 200 to 8000. President Ramos has gone the farthest of any administration in opposing the Church's positions on contraception and abortion, although years ago Fidel Ramos and Cardinal Sin were allies in the effort to push out Ferdinand Marcos. The population of the Philippines is 85% Catholic, and laws reflect the Church's doctrine against divorce and abortion. The current growth rate is 2.3%, and the goal is to reduce growth to 2.0% by 1998, the end of Ramos's term in office. The population target is in accord with demographic goals proposed in the UN draft action plan. The Vatican has opposed the language in the plan and may have encouraged other religious leaders to join those opposed to the "war against our babies and children." Sin said that contraceptive distribution was "intrinsically evil" and should be stopped now. Ramos's administration stated that their policies and programs are not "in the hands of the devil" and there is support for the Church on family values and

Explaining the Variation in Adoption Rates of the Information Content of Environmental Disclosure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fallan, Even

2015-01-01

of content, and whether innovation adoption theory might represent important factors of this decision-making process. Design/methodology/approach: - Actual adoption rates of 13 information content categories are computed using content analysis of annual reports for 62 listed companies. Each content category......Purpose: - Corporate management decides what types of environmental information content to disclose/adopt. It is explored whether internal context - decision-makers’ perception of characteristics of the information content - might predict the variation in adoption rates of different types...... is seen as an innovation the company decides to adopt or not. Interviews with management in several companies illustrate the decision process of disclosure, and help predict adoption rates. Predicted and actual adoption rates are compared. Findings: - Adoption rates vary considerably among the 13 types...

Justice and the Missional Framework Document of the Dutch Reformed Church

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Jaco Botha

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article engages with the Missional Framework Document of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC from the perspectives of solidarity with the poor and justice for South African society. The democratic South Africa continues to face significant socio-economic problems and an increasingly dissatisfied population. In the light of this, the article presents an introductory conversation with the Missional Framework Document in order to ask whether it offers an adequate response to South Africa�s current contextual challenges. The lens through which this article will engage the Framework Document is the theological paradigm of justice, specifically the theory of justice presented by Nicholas Wolterstorff as well as some important contributions from contemporary South African scholars who advocate for a theology from the margins of society. It is contended that the DRC remains a predominantly white middle-class church. This social, economic and political location has an impact on the missional theology of the church as expressed in the Framework Document. Hence, we engage with the Missional Theology of the DRC by means of a paradigm that operates from the �underside� or the economic, political and social �margins� of South African society. We argue that any missional theology aimed at furthering God�s Kingdom in South Africa at present must develop in community with the marginalised majority of the nation. The critical engagement with the Framework Document will be done by sketching a theological landscape where current contextual realities are brought into relief against a kairos moment on which the efficacy of this church�s mission, indeed its public work and witness, is being called into question.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This interdisciplinary study in Systematic Theology and Ethics engages the missional theology found in the Missional Framework Document of the Dutch Reformed Church. Methodologically, the

The Russian Orthodox and Catholic Church in 1980 – the 1990th Years: to History of Relationship

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Larisa A. Koroleva

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In article relationship of Russian Orthodox Church and Catholic in 1980 – the 1990th years is considered. Dialogue development between them had not only internal political, but also foreign policy value. One of the most painful questions in relationship of Russian Orthodox Church and the question of the uniatsky church earlier existing in the territory of Ukraine and Belarus and restored in the second half of the 1980th years was Catholic. Divergences in a number of theological questions remained. In particular, it belonged to the doctrine confirmed with the Second Vatican Cathedral about Papal infallibility and a primacy of the Roman High priest. Peacekeeping activity was that sphere where the Russian Orthodox and Catholic churches most successfully cooperated though rivalry was present and here.

Repressive Actions of the State Security Against True Orthodox Church Structures in the Ukrainian SSR (1944–1953

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Vedeneev Dmitrii

2016-04-01

Full Text Available In the article on the basis of unknown scientific community documents of the Soviet state security bodies provides an analysis of the objectives and key areas of operational work and repressive actions of the security services communities against True Orthodox Church (TOC in the Ukrainian SSR in 1944–1953. The characteristic of agent and operational developments NKGB–MGB–KGB of the USSR against the so-called «catacomb Church», as a form of religious and social protest against aggressive atheistic policy of the Communist authorities, infringement of the rights of believers. The basic forms and methods of intelligence and operational activities of the security organs, aimed at creating informer positions in the environment of the communities of the TOC, making the split in the ranks of the adepts of secret religious sects, the collection of «compromising material» as the basis for the application of harsh repressive measures against the movement of the TOC. The authors pay special attention to the organization and personnel of units of the NKGB–MGB–KGB, engaged, according to the terminology, «the struggle with the Church-sectarian counterrevolution» and «Church-monarchist underground», a leading representative of which was considered in the TOC, particularly active in Chernihiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv oblasts of the Ukrainian SSR and the Donbass, and also in the neighboring regions of the Russian black soil region and the North Caucasus. Given the author’s periodization of the development of the catacomb movement, highlights the historical conditions of its creation and release in the USSR. Through the prism of intelligence documents examines the liturgical aspect of the TOC, its governing structure, forms of secrecy and concealment from the prosecution authorities, the position of the catacomb members in relation to social life and social structure in the USSR.

Content of Bachelors' in Tourism Informative Training in Ukrainian and Polish Experience: Comparative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Zubekhina, Tetiana

2015-01-01

This article provides a comparative analysis of the content of Bachelors' in Tourism informative training in Ukrainian and Polish experience. The content of Bachelors' in Tourism informative training in Ukraine and Poland has been analyzed. The content of subjects, namely, "Information Technologies in Tourism" and "The Foundations…

Gene therapy, human nature and the churches.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunstan, G R

1991-12-01

Moral analysis must begin with respect for the empirical features, the "facts of the case". Major advances in genetic knowledge and technology -- as in other sciences -- inevitably change mental attitudes. But they could not change human nature, a product of the distinctively human cerebral cortex. Human capacities like compassion and justice are our own and for us to guard. To ask (as some do) about a "right" to inherit a non-manipulated genome is to ask an unanswerable question: the language of rights is inappropriate in this context. Parents have a duty to safeguard and to serve the interests of their potential child. The medical duty is to help in that task in ways which they have limited freedom to choose. The role of churches is to be faithful to their deposit of faith and their theological principles, including that of freedom of conscience. Churches are too easily led in practice to over-rule conscience on grounds of authority, ecclesiastical or biblical, not sustained by convincing reason. This is most evident in some declarations concerning human reproduction. Better were it for them to help their faithful in moral reasoning, the ethics of choice; to keep consciences tender.

Tacit consent: the Church and birth control in northern Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Dalla-Zuanna, Gianpiero

2011-01-01

This article employs novel documentation to examine ways in which the Church's moral rules on contraception were (or were not) communicated to parishioners in a predominantly Catholic context in a period of rapid fertility decline: the diocese of Padua, in the northeastern Italian region of Veneto, during the first half of the twentieth century. The account is based on documents that have until now been overlooked: the moral cases discussed during the periodic meetings among Padua priests in the years 1916–58, and the written answers provided by priests in response to a question asked of them concerning their efforts to combat the limiting of births. This documentation reveals the limited effect on the reproductive behavior of the position of the Catholic Church against birth control.

Reducing Cancer Health Disparities through Community Engagement: Working with Faith-Based Organizations (Project CHURCH)

Science.gov (United States)

Lorna H. McNeill, PhD, MPH, is Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Health Disparities at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. McNeill's research is on the elimination of cancer-related health disparities in minority populations. Her research has particular emphasis on understanding the influence of social contextual determinants of cancer in minorities, with a special focus of the role of physical activity as a key preventive behavior and obesity as a major cancer determinant. Her research takes place in minority and underserved communities such as public housing developments, black churches, community-based clinics and low-income neighborhoods-communities with excess cancer death rates. She has been continuously funded, receiving grants from various funding agencies (i.e., National Institutes of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, etc.), to better understand and design innovative solutions to address obesity in racial/ethnic minority communities. Dr. McNeill is PI of several community-based studies, primarily working with African American churches. One is a called Project CHURCH, an academic-faith-based partnership established to: 1) identify underlying reasons for health disparities in cancer and cancer risk factors (e.g., screening, diet) among AAs using a cohort study (N=2400), 2) engage AAs as partners in the research process, and 3) to ultimately eliminate disparities among AAs. In 2014 Dr. McNeill furthered her partnership through the Faith, Health, and Family (FHF) Collaborative. The goals of FHF are to enhance the Project CHURCH partnership to address family obesity in African Americans, strengthen the partnership by developing a larger coalition of organizations and stakeholders to address the problem, assess church and community interest in family obesity and develop an agenda to address obesity in faith settings. To date we have 50 churches as members. Dr. McNeill is also director of the Center for Community

Picture Good Health: A Church-Based Self-Management Intervention Among Latino Adults with Diabetes.

Science.gov (United States)

Baig, Arshiya A; Benitez, Amanda; Locklin, Cara A; Gao, Yue; Lee, Sang Mee; Quinn, Michael T; Solomon, Marla C; Sánchez-Johnsen, Lisa; Burnet, Deborah L; Chin, Marshall H

2015-10-01

Churches may provide a familiar and accessible setting for chronic disease self-management education and social support for Latinos with diabetes. We assessed the impact of a multi-faceted church-based diabetes self-management intervention on diabetes outcomes among Latino adults. This was a community-based, randomized controlled, pilot study. One-hundred adults with self-reported diabetes from a Midwestern, urban, low-income Mexican-American neighborhood were included in the study. Intervention participants were enrolled in a church-based diabetes self-management program that included eight weekly group classes led by trained lay leaders. Enhanced usual care participants attended one 90-minute lecture on diabetes self-management at a local church. The primary outcome was change in glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C). Secondary outcomes included changes in low-density lipoproteins (LDL), blood pressure, weight, and diabetes self-care practices. Participants' mean age was 54 ± 12 years, 81 % were female, 98 % were Latino, and 51 % were uninsured. At 3 months, study participants in both arms decreased their A1C from baseline (-0.32 %, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: -0.62, -0.02 %). The difference in change in A1C, LDL, blood pressure and weight from baseline to 3-month and 6-month follow-up was not statistically significant between the intervention and enhanced usual care groups. Intervention participants reported fewer days of consuming high fat foods in the previous week (-1.34, 95 % CI: -2.22, -0.46) and more days of participating in exercise (1.58, 95 % CI: 0.24, 2.92) compared to enhanced usual care from baseline to 6 months. A pilot church-based diabetes self-management intervention did not reduce A1C, but resulted in decreased high fat food consumption and increased participation in exercise among low-income Latino adults with diabetes. Future church-based interventions may need to strengthen linkages to the healthcare system and provide continued support to

Considering Weight Loss Programs and Public Health Partnerships in American Evangelical Protestant Churches.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, D Gibbes

2018-06-01

The obesity epidemic is a critical public health threat facing the USA. With the advent of American Evangelical Protestant (AEP) weight loss guides and narratives, AEP churches could potentially aid public health agencies in combatting obesity, and some scholars have called for investment in partnerships between public health agencies and religious institutions. This paper examines the theological and social underpinnings of AEP weight loss programs and considers the potential benefits and risks of public health partnerships with AEP churches to combat obesity. While AEP churches may be successful at empowering people to lose weight, AEP weight loss also carries several risks. These risks include reinforcing gendered bodily norms, stigmatizing both overweight bodies and unhealthy behaviors deemed to be sinful (for example, overeating), and failing to acknowledge social factors that promote obesity. These risks must be assessed and minimized to create appropriate public health weight loss partnerships with AEP communities.

Motier church - refurbishment of heating system; Kirche Motier Sanierung der Raumheizung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grizzetti, V.

2003-07-01

This final report for the Swiss Federal Office for Energy describes the refurbishment of the space heating system of the historical church in Motier, Switzerland. The 50-year old, inefficient electrical direct heating system of the church, which is a listed building, and the new, heat pump-based system are described. Heating energy is distributed via a warm-air system, geothermal energy provides the primary heat source for the heat pump. Technical details of the heating characteristics and energy consumption of the old and new heating systems are presented in the form of tables and diagrams. The maintenance of the heating system's ventilation unit is also discussed.

Bridging cultures: Nonprofit, church, and emergency management agency collaboration after the May 2013 Oklahoma tornado outbreak.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Haley; Pudlo, Jason

Community-based organizations, such as nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and churches, play an important role in helping individuals and communities bounce back after a disaster. The nature of disasters requires organizations across sectors to partner together to provide recovery services; however, collaboration is difficult even in times of stability and requires trust and communication to be built through prior collaborative relationships. These prior relationships rarely exist between the majority of the nonprofit sector, churches, and existing emergency management structures. Furthermore, these organizations often have very different cultures, values, and norms that can further hinder successful postdisaster collaboration. The authors use data collected from interviews with nonprofit and church leaders involved in recovery efforts after a series of devastating storms impacted central Oklahoma in 2013 to understand how well nonprofit and church leaders perceive their organizations collaborated with each other and with government and emergency management agencies in response and recovery efforts. Interview data suggest that NPOs and churches without a primary or secondary mission of disaster response and recovery have a difficult time collaborating with organizations involved in existing emergency management structures. The authors suggest that nonprofits with a primary or secondary purpose in disaster response are a potential bridge between other nonprofits and emergency management agencies.

The Muted Voice of the Catholic Church in Angola

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-01

laboring for the Church in the spacious lands of Africa.” 87 Harkening back to the centuries of colonialism, this document anachronistically celebrates ...112 The peace conference, which was endorsed by Pope John Paul II, featured a 107Comerford, “The