Seeing the World Through Ramist Eyes: The Richardsonian Ramism of Thomas Hooker and Samuel Stone

Using as examples the writings of Thomas Hooker and Samuel Stone, founding ministers of the First Church of Hartford, Connecticut, this article shows how influential thinkers in early seventeenth-century England and New England saw the world around them through the filters of the Ramist philosophy of Alexander Richardson. It argues that Richardsonian Ramism produced theology and preaching that was less “biblical” and more “Calvinist” than has been conventionally thought

Thomas Hooker, Martin Luther, and the Terror at the Edge of Protestant Faith

Unlike their Roman Catholic counterparts, early Protestants insisted that individual Christians could be certain that they personally enjoyed God’s favor and would be saved. Their faith in Christ’s redeeming work would give them “assurance of salvation,” and their ministers insisted that every Christian ought to feel that assurance. This article argues that Protestant assurance did not – and could not – banish believers’ anxiety that God’s saving promises had never been meant for them. “Behind” the God who promised salvation lurked a “hidden God” who had decided the ultimate fate of every individual before the beginning of time. Even the strongest believers – Martin Luther and the first-generation New England minister Thomas Hooker are offered as examples – dreaded the wrath of a terrifying God who might at any moment dash their comfort to pieces

Hartford Puritanism: Thomas Hooker, Samuel Stone, and Their Terrifying God

Statues of Thomas Hooker and Samuel Stone grace downtown Hartford, Connecticut, but few residents are aware of the distinctive version of Puritanism that these founding ministers of Hartford\u27s First Church carried into the Connecticut wilderness (or indeed that the city takes its name from Stone\u27s English birthplace). Shaped by interpretations of the writings of Saint Augustine largely developed during the ministers\u27 years at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, Hartford\u27s church order diverged in significant ways from its counterpart in the churches of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Hartford Puritanism argues for a new paradigm of New England Puritanism. Hartford\u27s founding ministers, Baird Tipson shows, both fully embraced - and even harshened - Calvin\u27s double predestination. Tipson explores the contributions of the lesser-known William Perkins, Alexander Richardson, and John Rogers to Thomas Hooker\u27s thought and practice: the art and content of his preaching, as well as his determination to define and impose a distinctive notion of conversion on his hearers. The book draws heavily on Samuel Stone\u27s The Whole Body of Divinity, a comprehensive exposition of his thought and the first systematic theology written in the American colonies. Virtually unknown today, The Whole Body of Divinity not only provides the indispensable intellectual context for the religious development of early Connecticut but also offers a more comprehensive description of the Puritanism of early New England than any other document. [From the Publisher]https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/books/1079/thumbnail.jp

Inclusive design for air travel

(Inclusive design in air travel by baird L and Dong H) This paper addresses the issue of inclusive design in air travel. Firstly the scale of the problem is defined with reference to passenger demographics, and the different stages of a typical commercial air travel. The relevant government legislation is described, with particular emphasis on the new EU Regulation that requires special assistance to be provided to any passenger who requests it. An assessment of current practices in the air travel industry indicates that existing guidelines are having little impact on design practice. Similarly, an analysis of the major stakeholders in the air travel industry illustrates that a number of different parties are involved in the design and management of a typical journey. The study identifies the needs to reduce the number of passengers who require special assistance through inclusive design. The future directions, which include empirical work, case studies and the possible development of an information tool aimed at the industry are described

Can the ischemic penumbra be identified on noncontrast CT of acute stroke?

<p><b>Background and Purpose:</b> Early ischemic changes on noncontrast CT in acute stroke include both hypoattenuation and brain swelling, which may have different pathophysiological significance.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> Noncontrast CT and CT perfusion brain scans from patients with suspected acute stroke <6 hours after onset were reviewed. Five raters independently scored noncontrast CTs blind to clinical data using the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS). Each ASPECTS region was scored as hypodense or swollen. A separate reviewer measured time to peak and cerebral blood volume in each ASPECTS region on CT perfusion. Time to peak and cerebral blood volume were compared for each region categorized as normal, hypodense, or isodense and swollen.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Scans of 32 subjects a median 155 minutes after onset yielded 228 regions with both CT perfusion and noncontrast CT data. Isodense swelling was associated with significantly higher cerebral blood volume (P=0.016) and with penumbral perfusion (posttest:pretest likelihood ratio 1.44 [95% CI: 0.68 to 2.90]), whereas hypodensity was associated with more severe time to peak delay and with core perfusion (likelihood ratio 3.47 [95% CI: 1.87 to 6.34]). Neither isodense swelling nor hypodensity was sensitive for prediction of perfusion pattern, but appearances were highly specific (87.2% and 91.0% for penumbra and core, respectively). Intrarater agreement was good or excellent, but interrater agreement for both hypodensity and swelling was poor.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> Regions exhibiting hypoattenuation are likely to represent the infarct core, whereas regions that are isodense and swollen have increased cerebral blood volume and are more likely to signify penumbral perfusion. Although noncontrast CT is not sensitive for detection of core and penumbra, appearances are specific. Some information on tissue viability can therefore be obtained from noncontrast CT.</p&gt

Contemporary splinting practice in the UK for adults with neurological dysfunction: A cross-sectional survey

This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Aim: To explore the contemporary splinting practice of UK occupational therapists and physiotherapists for adults with neurological dysfunction. Method: Cross-sectional online survey of members of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Neurology and College of Occupational Therapists Specialist Section Neurological Practice. Results: Four hundred and twenty therapists completed the survey. Contracture management is the most common rationale for therapists splinting adults with neurological dysfunction. Other shared therapeutic goals of splinting include maintaining muscle and joint alignment, spasticity management, function, pain management and control of oedema. Considerable clinical uncertainty was uncovered in practice particularly around wearing regimens of splints. Most therapists have access to locally-derived splinting guidelines, which may contribute to this diversity of practice. Conclusions: This study provides a unique insight into aspects of contemporary splinting practice among UK therapists, who belong to a specialist neurological professional network and work in a number of different health-care settings with adults who have a neurological condition. Study findings show a wide variation in splinting practice, thereby indicating a potential need for national guidance to assist therapists in this area of clinical uncertainty. Further research is required to establish best practice parameters for splinting in neurological rehabilitation

The Comparative Value of Commercial Phosphoric Acid as a Fertilizer

The practice of applying fertilizers to the soil by adding the liquid form to the irrigation water is increasing in popularity. There are several advantages maintained for such a method of application. Some of the advantages are: (A) Ease of application (B) No special equipment is required for application. (C) The fertilizer can be applied at any stage of plant growth without physical disturbance of the plant. (D) Penetration into the root zone may be greater than the dry fertilizers. Considerable phosphate fertilizer is used on soils of irrigated regions. If the behavior of liquid phosphoric acid after its incorporation with soil is such that it penetrates into the root zone and is otherwise as efficient as dry phosphate fertilizers in inducing favorable plant response, then it would seem practical to utilize the other advantages offered by applying the fertilizer in irrigation water. Commercial phosphoric acid (52% available P2O5) is produced by applying an excess of sulfuric acid to ground rock phosphate. This phosphoric acid is usually applied to an additional amount of phosphate rock to make concentrated superphosphate. A given quantity of phosphoric acid can yield more available phosphorus by applying it to rock phosphate than by using it directly as a fertilizer. Because of its potential value in producing concentrated superphosphate commercial phosphoric acid has been used very little as a fertilizer. There is insufficient research in which the comparative value of the acid as a fertilizer has been investigated the purpose of the studies reported in this paper are, to compare: (A) the value of commercial phosphoric acid and concentrated superphosphate as fertilizers when applied in equivalent amounts and, (B) the different methods of application and dilution of the phosphoric acid

The design and analysis of circular rings for splicing sign columns

Circular rings are used extensively in the sign industry to splice columns of different sizes together. Typically two or three rings are used to splice the columns. Due to the complex geometry no straightforward design approach is applicable. The scope of this thesis limits the applied load to that from lateral wind pressure only. To analyze the rings an indeterminate static model is applied in spreadsheet form. The analysis is greatly simplified by only using four effective sections of the ring. The virtual sections are rectangular shaped and defined by a variable angle. The top column is treated as a rigid beam and the effective sections as springs. Finite element models are created to determine the actual stress in the rings. The stresses found in the finite element models are made to equal the stresses for the spreadsheet model by adjusting the angle defining the effective section. The angle and variables used in the model are entered into a statistical analysis platform to determine an approximation for the effective section angle. The approximation of the angle is entered in the spreadsheet model and the approximate stress is compared to the stress found from finite element analysis. The effective section method is applicable to designing circular rings if used with the approximation of effective section angle. Many configurations can be analyzed quickly with the approximation in spreadsheet form. The rigidity of the top column has more affect on the ring_ stress when the inertia of the top column is low. This result requires that larger factor of safety be used when the top column is small. The highest stress areas of the rings are the sections in tension and compression which lie in the same plane as the direction of applied lateral load. The percent difference between the actual and approximate stress averaged 9.2 percent for the top and bottom rings and 12.7 percent for the middle ring when used. The section angle required ranged between 2.8 and 21.5 degrees for the configurations tested here