Paul: An Introduction to His Thought

Reviewed Book: Barrett, C K. (Charles Kingsley). Paul: An Introduction to His Thought. London: Geoffrey Chapman; Louisville, Ky: Westminster/John Knox Pr, 1994. Outstanding Christian thinkers

New Testament Background: Selected Documents (Book Review)

Reviewed Title: The New Testament Background: Selected Documents, by C. K. Barrett (San Francisco: Harper and Row) 1989. xxix + 361 pp

Holistic, Ethical Leadership for the 21st Century

The New Oxford American Dictionary (2001) delineates two definitions for a leader: “1) The person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country; a person followed by others. 2) A short strip of nonfunctioning material at each end of a reel of film or recording tape for connection to the spool.” How often does the latter definition seem more applicable for many of our educational leaders than the former? What are the philosophical foundations of leadership? What does a modern, ethical leader look like? These are just a few questions that will be explored in this article. The challenge beset for the educational leaders of the present and the future is one that will require a bridging and blending of old and new paradigms. A mere paradigm shift may not be sufficient–the term shift is still too mechanistic and linear to adequately describe this new approach. Rather, the modern ethical leader must create a paradigm blend. In the circular way of knowing, akin to the epistemology of the Lakota Sioux (Stolzman, 1986), this article will explore four aspects of modern educational leadership. First, the criticisms and attacks on the educational system will be addressed. Second, the aim of education will be analyzed through three lenses: axiology, epistemology, and ontology. Third, systemic education will be discussed. Fourth, the role of the modern/future educational leader will be explored: specifically regarding the need for him/her to address the concerns of the critics and bridge the divide between two paradigms of education. This essay is a brief exploration that delves into the shortcomings of the modern educational system, the core purposes of education, systemic educational paradigms, and the role of the 21st century ethical leader. The author’s goal is not to provide answers, nor propose a prescription for ethical leadership. Rather, the intent is to aid in focusing the direction which leaders must follow in order to be effective in this millennium. Similar to the manner in which Descartes shared his method of inquiry, the author will share part of his experience in learning and growing as an educational leader. “Thus my purpose here is not to teach the method that everyone should follow in order to conduct his reason correctly, but merely to show how I have tried to conduct mine” (Descartes, 1637/1980, p. 2)

On the causal Barrett--Crane model: measure, coupling constant, Wick rotation, symmetries and observables

We discuss various features and details of two versions of the Barrett-Crane spin foam model of quantum gravity, first of the Spin(4)-symmetric Riemannian model and second of the SL(2,C)-symmetric Lorentzian version in which all tetrahedra are space-like. Recently, Livine and Oriti proposed to introduce a causal structure into the Lorentzian Barrett--Crane model from which one can construct a path integral that corresponds to the causal (Feynman) propagator. We show how to obtain convergent integrals for the 10j-symbols and how a dimensionless constant can be introduced into the model. We propose a `Wick rotation' which turns the rapidly oscillating complex amplitudes of the Feynman path integral into positive real and bounded weights. This construction does not yet have the status of a theorem, but it can be used as an alternative definition of the propagator and makes the causal model accessible by standard numerical simulation algorithms. In addition, we identify the local symmetries of the models and show how their four-simplex amplitudes can be re-expressed in terms of the ordinary relativistic 10j-symbols. Finally, motivated by possible numerical simulations, we express the matrix elements that are defined by the model, in terms of the continuous connection variables and determine the most general observable in the connection picture. Everything is done on a fixed two-complex.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX 2e, 1 figur

Precise doping of metals by small gas flows

Simple method was developed for doping refractory metals with oxygen. The metal specimens are heated in a dynamic high-vacuum system. The system can be used for other oxygen absorption processes /such as low-pressure oxidation measurements/ and for gases other than oxygen