The Facets of Place

This chapter will outline one theory aimed at integrating aspects of environmental psychology with issues in architectural design. The theory to be reviewed is broad in those characteristics of theory that Moore (1987) called their 'form and scope'. This broad brush, top down approach is intended as a contrast with bottom up attempts to specify the behavioural effects of specific aspects of design, such as lighting levels or size of spaces. It also contrasts with models that seek to answer immediate design problems. However, in Moore's (1987) vocabulary, the theory to be outlined is more than an 'orientation', or 'framework'. It is an 'explanatory theory' that has been found to have considerable scope, open to direct empirical test

The Blind Arhat and the Old Baby: Liberation by Wisdom, the Dry-Insight Practitioner, and the Pairing of Calm and Insight

The distinction between “calm” (Pāli: samatha; Sanskrit: śamatha) and “insight” (P: vipassanā; Skt: vipaśyanā) is one of several ostensibly related dichotomies that have exerted a significant influence on classical and contemporary understandings of Buddhist practices, institutions, and history, as well as of the Buddhist path(s) to and conception(s) of awakening. However, scholars continue to debate whether Buddhists ever conceptualized two (or more) different paths or conceptions of this goal. Much of the debate has been based on the interpretation of doctrinal and theoretical materials. This essay takes as its starting point the concept of “liberation by wisdom” (P: paññāvimutti; Skt: prajñāvimukti) and the figure of the “dry-insight practitioner” (P: sukkhavipassaka), and asks how Buddhist narratives, in particular, characterize these key ideas, as well as the relationship between calm and insight. It focuses primarily on two narratives: the story of Cakkhupāla, the first story of the Pāli Dhammapada commentary, and the story of Sthavira in the Sanskrit Avadānaśataka. It argues that these stories do not support a clear opposition between calm and insight as competing forms of life, but rather point to their combination on the path to awakening, or to the possibility that insight meditation can sometimes stand for the notion of intense practice. Both stories reflect an overarching “ascetic” ethos or lifestyle, but as stories they also project narrative worlds and invite us, the audience, to consider what it would mean to take such worlds seriously as our real world of lived human experience. In this way, the essay tries to bridge a divide that has often been maintained between doctrine and narrative, and thereby offers a fresh look at an influential distinction (or set of distinctions) in the history and theory of Buddhist practice

Electronic Information in School Libraries

Microcomputers have progressed from toys to tools in managing school libraries. Equipment inventory, circulation, online catalogs, acquisitions, and serials management/check-in have all been affected. In addition, high technology has presented new possibilities for educating young people, and school librarians are faced with a role change as they rise to meet this challenge.published or submitted for publicatio

How Do We Know It Works? Approaches to the Evaluation of Complementary Medicine

Complementary medicine is a term used to cover a vast array of treatment procedures as wide ranging as aroma therapy, iridology, acupuncture, homeopathy and osteopathy. It is sometimes known as alternative or even folk medicine. These complementary therapies exist because people find them helpful. Research must, therefore, be directed at asking 'Who?' ,. 'What?', and 'How?'. In the following chapter ways of answering these questions are examined. Emphasis is given to the need for a variety of different research strategies and tactics. A preliminary outline of an overall approach which would hold together the strands in a fruitful way is proposed, based on facet Meta-Theory. In considering the emerging research prospect for the study of complementary medical practice it is important to clarify some initial premises. These provide a framework within which to consider a great variety of research possibilities. They also point towards areas of study that might not otherwise be apparent