Do What You Do in the Wisdom of God : Theological Resources for Quaker Ecological Action in the Writings of George Fox (Chapter One of Quakers, Creation Care, and Sustainability)

In a time when intentional action to care for our planet is of increasing importance, Friends drafted the Kabarak Call for Peace and Ecojustice (2012) to call Quakers to ecological action as an expression of faithfulness. The following work represents one starting point for drawing Friends\u27 awareness to the theology and practice of early Friends in relation to creation by exploring the writings of George Fox. In this essay, we examine Fox\u27s use of the motif of wisdom, his view of the connection between wisdom and creation, his understanding and experience of the Word of wisdom (that is, Christ), and the way the experience of the wisdom of God in Quaker worship can inspire ethical action in the world

Transpersonal Gratitude: Nature, Expressions and Links

The concept of gratitude has always been a topic of interest for philosophers and theologians, and more recently for psychologists, in terms of its role in social harmony and its implications in a morally good life. This research proposes to conceptualise a modality of gratitude which has not received the philosophical attention that it merits: transpersonal gratitude, or gratitude for a benefit in the absence of benevolent agency, human or otherwise. After an examination of the existing literature, the first few chapters offer a definition of the concept of transpersonal gratitude, as well as a description of the phenomenological features of the experience. Gratitude in the absence of a benefactor is conceptualised as distinct from the personal and theistic modalities, focused on the significance and salience of the gift, inducing feelings of connectedness and broadening the scope of the grateful conduct. The introduction of the concept of transpersonal gratitude as a distinct modality raises a few questions in terms of the applicability of current perspectives on gratitude. This research addresses issues such as the centrality of the benefactor’s kind intention and the requirements of grateful expression and argues for a shift in philosophical considerations of gratitude from strict triadic accounts towards a dyadic view which allows a better understanding and conceptualisation of the spectrum of grateful experiences. The moral worth of gratitude and the implications of transpersonal gratitude in morality are discussed, both as an emotion and a character trait. Subsequently, this research argues for a virtue of gratitude and suggests that such a virtue can be conceptualised according to a dyadic transpersonal model. Finally, we explore the links between transpersonal gratitude and empathy, as well as humility, to propose that transpersonal gratitude fosters a positive relationship of dependence between the individual and the world and as such, it is an important component of the morally good life

A Personal Experience of Working with Classical Grounded Theory: From Beginner to Experienced Grounded Theorist

In this article the authors offer an example of the application of principles of classical grounded theory (Glaser) in data collection and analysis and present how they generated a substantive grounded theory named Preparative Waiting for patients who underwent the diagnostic phase at a gastric ward. They demonstrate how patients’ main concern emerged by constant comparison of data in open coding and how the core category of the theory and related concepts developed through selective coding. The authors offer examples of memos, the fitting of concepts to their data set, and the process of theoretical coding to illustrate how three different models were generated to improve fit, relevance, and workability of their grounded theory. They also discuss when and how to search and read the literature during a grounded theory study

A Personal Experience of Working with Classical Grounded Theory: From Beginner to Experienced Grounded Theorist

In this article the authors offer an example of the application of principles of classical grounded theory (Glaser) in data collection and analysis and present how they generated a substantive grounded theory named Preparative Waiting for patients who underwent the diagnostic phase at a gastric ward. They demonstrate how patients’ main concern emerged by constant comparison of data in open coding and how the core category of the theory and related concepts developed through selective coding. The authors offer examples of memos, the fitting of concepts to their data set, and the process of theoretical coding to illustrate how three different models were generated to improve fit, relevance, and workability of their grounded theory. They also discuss when and how to search and read the literature during a grounded theory study.publishedVersio

On Improvised Music, Computational Creativity and Human-Becoming

Music improvisation is an act of human-becoming: of self-expression—an articulation of histories and memories that have molded its participants—and of exploration—a search for unimagined structures that break with the stale norms of majoritarian culture. Given that the former objective may inhibit the latter, we propose an integration of human musical improvisers and deliberately flawed creative software agents that are designed to catalyze the development of human-ratified minoritarian musical structures

Nitric Oxide Regulates Neuronal Activity via Calcium- Activated Potassium Channels

Nitric oxide (NO) is an unconventional membrane-permeable messenger molecule that has been shown to play various roles in the nervous system. How NO modulates ion channels to affect neuronal functions is not well understood. In gastropods, NO has been implicated in regulating the feeding motor program. The buccal motoneuron, B19, of the freshwater pond snail Helisoma trivolvis is active during the hyper-retraction phase of the feeding motor program and is located in the vicinity of NO-producing neurons in the buccal ganglion. Here, we asked whether B19 neurons might serve as direct targets of NO signaling. Previous work established NO as a key regulator of growth cone motility and neuronal excitability in another buccal neuron involved in feeding, the B5 neuron. This raised the question whether NO might modulate the electrical activity and neuronal excitability of B19 neurons as well, and if so whether NO acted on the same or a different set of ion channels in both neurons. To study specific responses of NO on B19 neurons and to eliminate indirect effects contributed by other cells, the majority of experiments were performed on single cultured B19 neurons. Addition of NO donors caused a prolonged depolarization of the membrane potential and an increase in neuronal excitability. The effects of NO could mainly be attributed to the inhibition of two types of calcium-activated potassium channels, apaminsensitive and iberiotoxin-sensitive potassium channels. NO was found to also cause a depolarization in B19 neurons in situ, but only after NO synthase activity in buccal ganglia had been blocked. The results suggest that NO acts as a critical modulator of neuronal excitability in B19 neurons, and that calcium-activated potassium channels may serve as a common target of NO in neurons

Las elecciones en Estados Unidos desde América latina: ''racializando la agenda política'' latinos, trabajadores e indocumentados

En este artículo queremos argumentar que el nuevo giro de “racialización” de la agenda política no debe verse simplemente como simple “demagogia” conservadora o progresista sino como un fenómeno sintomático de cambios más profundos producto de las tensiones económicas abiertas desde la crisis del 2008 y el legado del ciclo de guerras de inicios del siglo XXI que estarían configurando una cultura política que coloca en el centro de la escena tópicos como el racismo, la migración y la nueva configuración demográfica de los Estados Unidos. Algunos interrogantes que discutiremos en este artículo son: ¿Por qué la cultura política de los Estados Unidos está poniendo en el centro de la escena el debate en términos “racializados”? ¿Cómo podemos pensar este fenómeno más allá de nociones como “demagogia” o propaganda electoral? ¿Cómo podemos analizar –a partir de la perspectiva de Sudamérica- las tensiones y ansiedades que despierta esta retórica?Fil: Artinian, Juan Pablo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras; Argentina. Universidad Torcuato Di Tella; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin