Theism and Psychological Science: A Call for Rapprochement

The authors offer two arguments for the inclusion of theism in natural science. First, an argument against excluding theism is offered. Though early roots of science promoted a view that it is a way to accumulate knowledge that is untainted by presuppositions and traditions, postmodern critiques call this into question. Scientists have sometimes rejected religion as a context-dependent, tradition-based way of knowing, yet science itself is also context-dependent and tradition-based. Second, an argument for including theism in psychological is offered. Theistic beliefs are relevant insofar as they are part of human experience for many, they represent a form of human diversity, and they have been associated with some positive health outcomes

The Helper-Therapy Principle Applied to Weight Management Specialists

One hundred twenty applicants to a weight management specialist training program were studied over a 33-month period. Following a nine-month training period, Specialists (N = 29; those leading at least one posttraining weight management group) were compared to Contact Controls (N = 31; persons participating in the weight management program, but not in the helper role) and No Contact Controls (N = 60; those not accepted into the training program and whose only contact with the program was for data collection purposes) in a test of the helper-therapy principle. The major question was, What are the long-term physical, psychological, and behavioral effects on overweight and formerly overweight individuals involved in helping other persons manage their weight? Data gathered at 12 and 24 months posttraining revealed few differences between the total group of specialists and persons in the two control groups. However, when the data were analyzed by the amount of commitment to the specialist role, it was found that the Higher Involved Specialists (N = 16; those who led two or more weight management groups in the year posttraining) were significantly more likely to lose additional weight (or maintain earlier weight losses), to be more consistent in their adherence to the eating and activity levels advocated by the program, to feel better about themselves and their bodies, and to maintain their levels of general well-being than control subjects or the Lesser Involved Specialists. These latter individuals (N = 13) were significantly the worse for having gone through specialist training, but not fully carrying out the specialist role

Pacifism and Emotional Arousal

Excerpt: At the age of eighteen, American youths must make an ideological decision about war. Although most probably perceive selective service registration as little more than a rite of passage, others struggle with the ethics of military service and options of conscientious objection. What can be said of youths who decide, for moral and religious reasons, that they will not be involved in warfare? To date, no descriptive studies have been reported that address this question. Previous studies on pacifism focus on the likelihood of pacifism in eliciting cooperation (Gruder & Duslak, 1973; Marwell & Schmitt, 1973) or aggression (Borden, 1975; Borden & Taylor, 1976; Fitz, Kimble, & Heidenfelder, 1979; Fitz, Marwit, & Gerstenzang, 1983; Kimble, Fitz, Onorad, 1977; Mander & Gaebelein, 1977). Moreover, these studies have typically recruited participants who were assigned pacifistic strategies rather than recruiting those with pre-existing pacifistic inclinations

Early Cretaceous biogeographic and oceanographic synthesis of Leg 123 (off Northwestern Australia)

Biogeographic observations made by Leg 123 shipboard paleontologists for Lower Cretaceous nannofossils, foraminifers, radiolarians, belemnites, and inoceramids are combined in this chapter to evaluate the paleoceanographic history of the northwestern Australian margin and adjacent basins. Each fossil group is characterized at specific intervals of Cretaceous time and compared with data from Tethyan and Southern Hemisphere high-latitude localities. Special attention is given to the biogeographic observations made for the Falkland Plateau (DSDP Legs 36 and 71) and the Weddell Sea (ODP Leg 113). Both areas have yielded valuable Lower Cretaceous fossil records of the circumantarctic high latitudes. In general, the Neocomian fossil record from DSDP and ODP sites off northwestern Australia has important southern high-latitude affinities and weak Tethyan influence. The same is true for the pelagic lithofacies: radiolarian chert and/or nannofossil limestone, dominant in the Tethyan Lower Cretaceous, are minor lithologies in the Exmouth-Argo sites. These observations, together with the young age of the Argo crust and plate tectonic considerations, suggest that the Argo Basin was not part of the Tethys Realm. The biogeography of the Neocomian radiolarian and nannofossil assemblages suggests opening of a seaway during the Berriasian that connected the circumantarctic area with the Argo Basin, which resulted in the influx of southern high-latitude waters. This conclusion constrains the initial fit and break-up history of Gondwana. Our results favor the loose fit of the western Australian margin with southeast India by Ricou et al. (1990), which accounts for a deeper water connection with the Weddell-Mozambique basins via drowned marginal plateaus as early as the Berriasian. In fits of the du Toit-type (1937), India would remain attached to Antarctica, at least until the late Valanginian, making such a connection impossible. After the Barremian, increasing Tethyan influence is evident in all fossil groups, although southern high-latitude taxa are still present. Biogeographic domains, such as the southern extension of Nannoconus and Ticinella suggest paleolatitudes of about 50°S for the Exmouth-Argo area. Alternatively, if paleolatitudes of about 35° are accepted, these biogeographic limits were displaced northward at least 15° along Australia in comparison to the southern Atlantic. In this case, the proto-circumantarctic current was deflected northward into an eastern boundary current off Australia and carried circumantarctic cold water into the middle latitudes. Late Aptian/early Albian time is characterized by mixing of Tethyan and southern faunal elements and a significant gradient in Albian surface-water temperatures over 10° latitude along the Australian margin, as indicated by planktonic foraminifers. Both phenomena may be indicative of convergence of temperate and antarctic waters near the Australian margin. High fertility conditions, reflected by radiolarian cherts, are suggestive of coastal upwelling during that time

Assertiveness Training and Christian Values

Assertiveness training, like any psychotherapeutic procedure, requires an understanding and tolerate of various values of clients. Studies exploring the relationship between religious values and assertiveness are reviewed. Ideological obstacles in assertion training with religious clients are considered, and appropriate therapeutic strategies suggested. The importance of presenting a rationale for treatment and of understanding the client\u27s value system is emphasized

A Memetic Algorithm for whole test suite generation

The generation of unit-level test cases for structural code coverage is a task well-suited to Genetic Algorithms. Method call sequences must be created that construct objects, put them into the right state and then execute uncovered code. However, the generation of primitive values, such as integers and doubles, characters that appear in strings, and arrays of primitive values, are not so straightforward. Often, small local changes are required to drive the value toward the one needed to execute some target structure. However, global searches like Genetic Algorithms tend to make larger changes that are not concentrated on any particular aspect of a test case. In this paper, we extend the Genetic Algorithm behind the EvoSuiTE test generation tool into a Memetic Algorithm, by equipping it with several local search operators. These operators are designed to efficiently optimize primitive values and other aspects of a test suite that allow the search for test cases to function more effectively. We evaluate our operators using a rigorous experimental methodology on over 12,000 Java classes, comprising open source classes of various different kinds, including numerical applications and text processors. Our study shows that increases in branch coverage of up to 53% are possible for an individual class in practice

Reviews and syntheses: ice acidification, the effects of ocean acidification on sea ice microbial communities

Sea ice algae, like some coastal and estuarine phytoplankton, are naturally exposed to a wider range of pH and CO2 concentrations than those in open marine seas. While climate change and ocean acidification (OA) will impact pelagic communities, their effects on sea ice microbial communities remain unclear. Sea ice contains several distinct microbial communities, which are exposed to differing environmental conditions depending on their depth within the ice. Bottom communities mostly experience relatively benign bulk ocean properties, while interior brine and surface (infiltration) communities experience much greater extremes. Most OA studies have examined the impacts on single sea ice algae species in culture. Although some studies examined the effects of OA alone, most examined the effects of OA and either light, nutrients or temperature. With few exceptions, increased CO2 concentration caused either no change or an increase in growth and/or photosynthesis. In situ studies on brine and surface algae also demonstrated a wide tolerance to increased and decreased pH and showed increased growth at higher CO2 concentrations. The short time period of most experiments (While there have been few studies on the effects of OA on the growth of marine bacterial communities in general, impacts appear to be minimal. In sea ice also, the few reports available suggest no negative impacts on bacterial growth or community richness. Sea ice ecosystems are ephemeral, melting and re-forming each year. Thus, for some part of each year organisms inhabiting the ice must also survive outside of the ice, either as part of the phytoplankton or as resting spores on the bottom. During these times, they will be exposed to the full range of co-stressors that pelagic organisms experience. Their ability to continue to make a major contribution to sea ice productivity will depend not only on their ability to survive in the ice but also on their ability to survive the increasing seawater temperatures, changing distribution of nutrients and declining pH forecast for the water column over the next centuries