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Contemporary Context (contemporary + context)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Beyond Dialogue: The Role of Science Within Theology

DIALOG, Issue 3 2007
Ernest L. Simmons
Abstract:, The purpose of this article is to provide background overview and contemporary context for the theme of this issue of Dialog, the role of science within theology. Over the last fifty years, this role has primarily involved dialogue and the drive to mutual understanding. That discussion has now reached a new stage seeking to move beyond dialogue toward what some are referring to as hypothetical consonance. One of the most serious constructive proposals moving beyond dialogue is Creative Mutual Interaction (CMI), proposed by Robert John Russell. The first five ways he discusses in CMI specifically address the role of science in theological reflection. It is argued that these five ways will assist the reader in contextualing the discussion found in the articles in this issue. Elaboration of each way is given, concluding with a constructive theological example of the heuristic use of scientific concepts found in quantum field theory. [source]

Beyond Presentism: Rethinking the Enduring Co-constitutive Relationships between International Law and International Relations,

INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
Rémi Bachand
This paper challenges the views in the fields of International Relations and International Law that treat the significance of law in the international system solely on the basis of the contemporary context marked by the increased institutionalization of world politics. Instead of focusing on the relationship between rules and the conduct of actors, we conceptualize the co-constitutive relationship between law and politics, and incorporate the multiple forms of legal-political expression that constitute power relations and dynamics into our analysis. Three dimensions of the co-constitutive relations between Law and Politics are explored: legal forms, legal constraints, and the indeterminacy of law. [source]

Citizenship and the Biopolitics of Post-nationalist Ireland

JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 3 2005
John A. Harrington
In June 2004 voters in the Republic of Ireland endorsed a constitutional amendment to deprive children born on the island of Ireland of their previously automatic right to Irish citizenship. This change came amid increasing immigration and so-called ,baby tourism', whereby non-national mothers were alleged to be coming to Ireland to give birth for the sole purpose of bestowing Irish citizenship on their children. This article sets the referendum in its historical and contemporary context. Along with recent jurisprudence of the Irish Supreme Court, the amendment betokens a distinctive biopolitics orchestrated according to neo-liberal themes consonant with Ireland's membership of the European Union and its foreign direct investment strategy. As such, the amendment confirms the shift in Irish constitutional history from autarkic nationalism to cosmopolitan post-nationalism embodied in the Belfast Agreement of 1998. [source]

THEOLOGY FROM A FRACTURED VISTA: SUSAN NEIMAN'S EVIL IN MODERN THOUGHT

MODERN THEOLOGY, Issue 1 2007
PHILIP J. ROSSI SJ
Evil in Modern Thought, Susan Neiman's account of the intellectual trajectory of modernity, employs the trope "homeless" to articulate deep difficulties that affirmations of divine transcendence and of human capacities to acknowledge transcendence face in a contemporary context thoroughly marked by fragmentation, fragility, and contingency. The "hospitality" of the Incarnation, which makes a fractured world a place for divine welcoming of the human in all its contingency and brokenness, is proposed as locus for theological engagement with Neiman's appropriation of a Kantian sense of hope as the readiness to resist evil in a world seemingly bereft of welcome. [source]

Alban Berg's Piano Sonata, Op.

MUSIC ANALYSIS, Issue 1-2 2007
1: a Landmark in Early Twentieth -Century Music
ABSTRACT Eventually published in 1926, the Piano Sonata, Op. 1, was completed in 1908, the year after Berg terminated his formal studies with Arnold Schoenberg, and first performed in Vienna in 1911. Berg's decision to assign the first opus number in his compositional canon to this piece was highly significant, since it clearly indicated the status that he accorded to such extraordinary music. The Sonata is one of the most expressive instrumental compositions of the early twentieth century , comparable, for example, to works by Debussy such as L'isle joyeuse (1904) and Bartók's Sonata for piano (1926). The present article situates the work in its contemporary context, illuminating points of theoretical significance as they relate to the composer's ongoing creative development and distinctive musical language. [source]

There is no ,truth' outside a context: implications for the teaching of analytical psychology in the 21st century

THE JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2007
Michael Horne
Abstract:, Humans are from birth embedded in a historical and contemporary context of meanings. This always constrains their theoretical and practical activities. In this paper, I will be suggesting that there are no guiding ,truths' outside such contexts. In order to understand the foundations of any concept or new idea, it is important to comprehend the context in which it is embedded. Candidates and some of their teachers have very little knowledge of the intellectual context in which Jung or any other analytic theorist wrote. As a result, the analytic ,founders' are often believed to have discovered ,truths' transcending the context of history and of everyday life. They were, however, as much creative synthesizers as pure originators. I propose that the components of all analytic theories emerge from their embeddedness. I contend, therefore, that the understandings of these components such as psychic causality, epistemology and identity formation were quite differently conceived at the time the analytic founders were working than they are today. I will give examples to show how the acceptance of this attitude is useful in inculcating a discerning approach in candidates towards traditionally accepted analytic theories and practices. This can provide them with a method to promote their individual creative development. Translations of Abstract L'être humain est pris dès sa naissance dans un contexte de sens, historique et contemporain. Ceci délimite toujours ses activités théoriques et pratiques. Dans cet article, je suggère qu'il n'existe pas de , vérités premières » en dehors d'un tel contexte. Pour comprendre pleinement les fondements de tout nouveau concept ou idée, il est important d'englober la situation de discours dans lequel l'idée est enchâssée. Les candidats en formation et certains de leurs enseignants possèdent une connaissance très restreinte du contexte intellectuel dans lequel Jung,ou tout autre théoricien analytique,produisit son ,uvre. Avec pour résultat, la croyance commune que les , fondateurs » analytiques auraient découvert des vérités transcendant le contexte de l'histoire et de la vie quotidienne, alors qu'ils furent en réalité des synthétiseurs créatifs autant que de purs découvreurs. J'avance l'idée que les composantes de toute théorie analytique émergent de leur contexte sémantique et j'affirme par conséquent, que des composantes telles que la causalité psychique, l'épistémologie et la constitution de l'identité furent conçues différemment à l'époque des fondateurs qu'elles ne le sont aujourd'hui. Je montre à travers des exemples, qu'une telle attitude contribue à inculquer aux candidats en formation une approche critique des théories et des pratiques analytiques communément admises. Elle peut leur fournir une méthode propice au développement de leur créativité personnelle. Alle Menschen sind von Geburt an in einem historischen und zeitgenössischen Zusammenhang eingebettet. Hierdurch werden ihre theoretischen und praktischen Aktivitäten eingeschränkt. In der vorliegenden Arbeit vertrete ich die Ansicht, dass es keine leitenden Wahrheiten außerhalb eines solchen Kontextes gibt. Um die Grundlagen eines Konzeptes oder einer neuen Idee zu verstehen, ist es wichtig, den Kontext zu begreifen, in den die Idee eingebettet ist. Auszubildende und einige ihrer Dozenten und Dozentinnen haben wenig Wissen über den intellektuellen Kontext, in dem Jung oder andere analytisch theoretische Autoren und Autorinnen schrieben. Dies führt dazu, dass oft geglaubt wird, analytische ,Gründer' hätten die Wahrheit entdeckt, die weit über den historischen Kontext und das alltägliche Leben hinausgehen. Tatsächlich waren diese jedoch in der Lage, sowohl neue Ideen hervorzubringen, als auch auf kreative Weise vorhandenes Wissen zusammenzustellen. Ich vertrete die Ansicht, dass die Komponenten aller analytischen Theorien aus ihrem Eingebettetsein hervorgehen. Dementsprechend vertrete ich die These, dass alles Verständnis ihrer Komponenten, wie z.B. psychische Kausalität, die Erkenntnistheorie und IdentitätsbiIdung zu Zeiten der analytischen Gründer etwas anders aufgefasst wurden als heutzutage. Ich werde Beispiele geben, um zu zeigen, wie die Anerkennung dieser Einstellung nützlich ist, um Auszubildenden eine differenzierte Wahrnehmung gegenüber der traditionell akzeptierten analytischen Theorie und Praxis zu vermitteln. Dies gibt ihnen eine Methode an die Hand, mit der sie ihre individuelle kreative Entwicklung fördern können. Fin dalla nascita gli esseri umani sono immersi in un contesto storico e contemporaneo di significati. Questo condiziona sempre le loro attività teoriche e pratiche. In questo scritto io sosterrò che non esistono ,verità guida' al di fuori di tali contesti. Per poter comprendere pienamente le fondamenta di qualunque concetto o nuova idea, è importante comprendere il contesto in cui tale idea è radicata. I candidati e alcuni dei loro docenti hanno una scarsa conoscenza del contesto intellettuale nel quale Jung o qualsiasi altro teorico di analisi scrisse. Ne risulta che si crede spesso che i ,fondatori' dell'analisi hanno scoperto ,verità' che trascendono il contesto della storia e della vita di tutti i giorni.Essi erano, comunque, tanto capaci di sintesi creative, quanto creatori. La mia ipotesi è che le componenti di qualunque teoria analitica emergono da dove sono già le loro radici. Il risultato è che io metto in discussione che la comprensione delle loro componenti quali la causalità psichica, l'epistemologia e la costruzione dell'identità fossero concepite differentemente ai tempi in cui lavoravano i fondatori di quanto non lo siano oggi. Porterò degli esempi per dimostrare come l'accettazione di questo atteggiamento sia utile nell'inculcare nei candidati un approccio più attento nei confronti di prassi e teorie analitiche tradizionalmente accettate. Ciò può fornirli di un metodo che incoraggi il loro sviluppo creativo individuale. Los humanos son criados en un contexto contemporáneo de significados históricos. Esto siempre restringe sus actividades prácticas y teóricas. En este trabajo, estaré sugiriendo que no hay ,verdades' que puedan dar guía fuera de estos contextos. Para poder entender en su totalidad los fundamentos de cualquier concepto o idea nueva, es importante comprender el contexto en el cual ella está incluida. Los candidatos y algunos de sus profesores tienen muy poco conocimiento del contexto intelectual en el cual escribieron Jung o cualquier otro teórico del análisis. Como resultado, se cree con frecuencia que los ,pioneros' del análisis han descubierto ,verdades' que trascienden el contexto de la historia y la vida cotidiana. Ellos fueron, sin embargo, tan sintetizadores creativos como originadotes puros. Propongo que los componentes de todas las teorías analíticas emergen de su hábitat. Como consecuencia, Estoy estableciendo que la comprensión de los componentes tales como causalidad psíquica, epistemología, y formación de la identidad fueron concebidas en alguna manera diferente en la época en la cual los fundadores del análisis estaban trabajando que en nuestros días. Daré ejemplos para mostrar como la aceptación de esta actitud es útil para inculcar la capacidad de discernir entre los candidatos en relación a las teorías y prácticas analíticas tradicionalmente aceptadas. Estos les puede proveer un método que promueva su desarrollo creativo individual. [source]

Brownian motion: a paradigm of soft matter and biological physics

ANNALEN DER PHYSIK, Issue 1-3 2005
E. Frey
Abstract This is a pedagogical introduction to Brownian motion on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Einstein's 1905 paper on the subject. After briefly reviewing Einstein's work in a contemporary context, we pursue several lines of further developments and applications to soft condensed matter and biology. Over the last century Brownian motion has been promoted from an odd curiosity of marginal scientific interest to a guiding theme pervading all of the modern life sciences. [source]

Relentless Patterns: The Immersive Interior

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Issue 6 2009
Mark Taylor
Abstract What happens when patterns become all pervasive? When pattern contagiously corrupts and saturates adjacent objects, artefacts and surfaces; blurring internal and external environment and dissolving any single point of perspective or static conception of space. Mark Taylor ruminates on the possibilities of relentless patterning in interior space in both a historic and a contemporary context. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Dilemmas in the quest for inclusion

BRITISH JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, Issue 1 2005
Klaus Wedell
In 1995, on the occasion of his ,retirement', Professor Klaus Wedell wrote a leading article for BJSE entitled ,Making inclusive education ordinary'. Last October, Professor Wedell, also known to BJSE's readers as the author of the regular ,Points from the SENCo-Forum' column, delivered the Gulliford Lecture at Birmingham University. Here he makes the text of his lecture accessible to a wider audience. In this article, Professor Wedell places some of the ideas he discussed in 1995 in a contemporary context. He explores the systemic rigidities that create barriers to inclusion; he offers creative ideas for new ways to approach the challenges of inclusion; and he argues persuasively for much greater flexibility, at a range of levels, in order to facilitate change, development and innovation. Building on these themes, Professor Wedell summarises a series of implications for policy and practice. These concern teaching and learning; staffing and professional expertise; and grouping and locations for learning. In concluding his article, Professor Wedell calls on the Government to consider in more depth the issues that are raised by moves towards inclusion , particularly those issues that concern the individual learner in relation to the shared curriculum. This article will be of interest to anyone who recognises these and other tensions in the movement towards inclusion. [source]

Penser la connaissance de sens commun dans la modernité avancée,

CANADIAN REVIEW OF SOCIOLOGY/REVUE CANADIENNE DE SOCIOLOGIE, Issue 3 2001
Geneviève Daudelin
In this article, a reappraisal of S. Moscovici's theory of social representations is proposed, a reappraisal based on J. Habennas' and A. Giddens' theoretical approaches. The author argues that S. Moscovici's common-sense knowledge theorization remains relevant, as long as it is read and understood in light of the conditions peculiar to modern advanced societies, where doubt and discussion are exacerbated to the detriment of immediate trust and a supposedly unproblematic consensus. The construction of "common sense" has to be understood in a way that embraces the exigencies of the contemporary context. L'auteure propose une relecture de la théorie des représentations sociales de S. Moscovici à la lumière des perspectives de J. Habermas et de A. Giddens. La théorisation de la connaissance de sens commun proposée par Moscovici demeure pertinente à la condition, selon l'au-teure, de la replacer dans les conditions des sociétés modernes avancées, lesquelles font s'exacerber le doute et la discussion au détriment de la confiance immédiate et du consensus présumé non problématique. La formation des «lieux communs» doit être pensée de façon à tenir compte des exigences imposées par le contexte contemporain. [source]

CHINESE PUBLIC FINANCE FRAMEWORK: A CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY & MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2010
ChunLei Yang
This paper explores the complexities of government financial management in China and examines the nature of the recent Public Finance Framework (PFF) reform in that country. We argue that this reform is not just the latest instalment in a centrally dominated reform agenda (and a logical and strategic development in the process of social, political and economic transformation), but that it reflects the Central Government's struggle to fine-tune central-local financial relationships and to grapple with the consequences of the previously misplaced delegation of government budgets. In so doing, the paper challenges the prescriptive research which often pervades policy studies in China. Instead, it analyses the historical and contemporary contexts which are shaping government administration in China, and sheds new light on the background, implementation and future prospects of Chinese public sector financial reform. Overall, our contextual analysis provides a starting point for more critical research into the changes in government financial administration at both policy and organisational levels in China. [source]

Sterilizing Vaccines or the Politics of the Womb: Retrospective Study of a Rumor in Cameroon

MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2000
Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg
In 1990 a rumor that public health workers were administering a vaccine to sterilize girls and women spread throughout Cameroon. Schoolgirls leapt from windows to escape the vaccination teams, and the vaccination campaign (part of the Year of Universal Child Immunization) was aborted. This article traces the origin and development of this rumor. Theories of rumor and ambiguous cultural response to new technologies shed some light on its genesis and spread, but explain neither its timing nor its content. For this task we need to examine the historical context of Cameroonian experience with colonial vaccination campaigns and the contemporary contexts of the turmoil of democratization movements and economic crisis, concurrent changes in contraceptive policy, and regional mistrust of the state and its "hegemonic project." Drawing on Bay art's politique du ventre and White's thoughts on gossip, we explore this rumor as diagnostic of local response to global and national projects. This response, expressed in this case through the idiom of threats to local reproductive capacity, reveals a feminine side to local-global relations, a politics of the womb, [rumor, immunization, public health, Cameroon, fertility] [source]