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Many Writers (many + writer)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	75%

Selected Abstracts

Revising and polishing a structured abstract: Is it worth the time and effort?

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 12 2008
James Hartley
Many writers of structured abstracts spend a good deal of time revising and polishing their texts,but is it worth it? Do readers notice the difference? In this paper we report three studies of readers using rating scales to judge (electronically) the clarity of an original and a revised abstract, both as a whole and in its constituent parts. In Study 1, with approximately 250 academics and research workers, we found some significant differences in favor of the revised abstract, but in Study 2, with approximately 210 information scientists, we found no significant effects. Pooling the data from Studies 1 and 2, however, in Study 3, led to significant differences at a higher probability level between the perception of the original and revised abstract as a whole and between the same components as found in Study 1. These results thus indicate that the revised abstract as a whole, as well as certain specific components of it, were judged significantly clearer than the original one. In short, the results of these experiments show that readers can and do perceive differences between original and revised texts,sometimes,and that therefore these efforts are worth the time and effort. [source]

Toward a Pluralist Account of Parenthood

BIOETHICS, Issue 3 2003
Tim Bayne
What is it that makes someone a parent? Many writers , call them ,monists', claim that parenthood is grounded solely in one essential feature that is both necessary and sufficient for someone's being a parent. We reject not only monism but also ,necessity' views, in which some specific feature is necessary but not also sufficient for parenthood. Our argument supports what we call ,pluralism', the view that any one of several kinds of relationship is sufficient for parenthood. We begin by challenging monistic versions of gestationalism, the view that gestation uniquely grounds parenthood. Monistic and necessity gestationalism are implausible. First, we raise the ,paternity problem', necessity gestationalists lack an adequate account of how men become fathers. Second, the positive arguments that necessity gestationalists give are not compelling. However, although gestation may not be a necessary condition for parenthood, there is good reason to think that it is sufficient. After further rebutting an ,intentionalist' account of parenthood, in which having and acting on intentions to procreate and rear is necessary for parenthood, we end by sketching a pluralist picture of the nature of parenthood, rooted in causation, on which gestation, direct genetic derivation, extended custody, and even, sometimes, intentions, may be individually sufficient for parenthood. [source]

Beauty Spot, Blind Spot: Romantic Wales

LITERATURE COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 3 2008
Mary-Ann Constantine
Romantic-period Wales was a fascinating place: part literary construct, part tourist destination, it appears in the work of many writers as a locus of alternative possibilities, both political and personal. Welsh landscape, language and literature attracted poets, artists, antiquarians and historians alike, and an energetic literary cultural revival within Wales produced a rich blend of texts, legends and fabrications which would inspire makers of both fiction and history on either side of the border. The questions of national and cultural allegiance at the heart of this revival are of profound importance to current discussions of ,British' identity, particularly in the light of so-called ,four nations' criticism. This article argues that the Welsh contribution to British Romanticism has been seriously neglected by Romantic studies in general. It suggests reasons for this neglect, surveys recent work in the field, and points to future possible directions for research. [source]

Reading Symbols, and Writing words.

NEW BLACKFRIARS, Issue 1019 2008
A Model for Biblical Inspiration
Abstract Biblical Inspiration has long been considered an important concept for Catholic theology, but the difficulties experienced in trying to give an adequate and convincing explanation of how divine and the human authors could collaborate in producing Biblical texts has discouraged many writers from pursuing the topic. Some have considered that the difficulties are so great that the task of exploring a theology of Inspiration is too great to make the effort worthwhile. This article, in attempting to sketch a model for Biblical Inspiration, begins by trying to identify exactly what is required for the theology of Inspiration, and then discarding what is not; it also sets out to distinguish clearly between Revelation and Inspiration, while recognising that the two are closely related, and using a model of symbolic mediation for Revelation. The article goes on to propose a model of Inspiration which satisfies not only the demands of contemporary Biblical scholarship and philosophical hermeneutics, but also the requirements of the doctrine of Inspiration as found in the Magisterial documents of the Catholic Church. [source]