The Beginning and Before: Interpreting Creation in Paul and Philo

God’s creative activity in the beginning is important to Paul. Yet Paul’s care for and interpretation of it is often unrecognized, occasionally denied, typically left underdeveloped, and sometimes interpreted wrongly. This thesis approaches Paul as an interpreter of his sacred scriptural texts concerning creation. It compares his reading of creation in 1 and 2 Corinthians and Romans with those more detailed treatments of the same texts by Philo of Alexandria in his commentary on Genesis 1-2, De Opificio Mundi. The central thesis is this: Paul’s interpretation of creation, like Philo’s in his commentary, contains three interwoven aspects: the beginning of the world, the beginning of humanity, and God’s intentions before the beginning. Chapter 1, “Before the Beginning?,” explores Philo’s view that God’s pre-creational plan involves an architectural blueprint of the universe which enables goodness and beauty and Paul’s view that it involves a crucified Christ and a glory to which God-lovers are redeemed through conformity with this Christ’s image. There we will demonstrate that for Paul, as for Philo, the Before both affects and is affected by his reading of Genesis’ creation texts. Chapter 2, “The Beginning of the World,” establishes how Philo and Paul consider the ontological nature of heaven, earth, and their inhabitants to be beautiful and glorious due to perfect accord with God’s word, intentions, and desires—i.e., an implicit Before. Chapter 3, “The Beginning of Humanity,” investigates how Philo and Paul set the more particular creation of humanity within the larger context of the creation of the world, and how recognizing this aids in our own interpretation of some often misunderstood aspects of their views of Adam. God’s pre-creational “purpose” and “desire” is also an integral aspect of both interpreters’ treatments of the creation of humanity. Paul, like Philo, displays three tightly woven strands within his interpretation of the Beginning

Every student counts: promoting numeracy and enhancing employability

This three-year project investigated factors that influence the development of undergraduates’ numeracy skills, with a view to identifying ways to improve them and thereby enhance student employability. Its aims and objectives were to ascertain: the generic numeracy skills in which employers expect their graduate recruits to be competent and the extent to which employers are using numeracy tests as part of graduate recruitment processes; the numeracy skills developed within a diversity of academic disciplines; the prevalence of factors that influence undergraduates’ development of their numeracy skills; how the development of numeracy skills might be better supported within undergraduate curricula; and the extra-curricular support necessary to enhance undergraduates’ numeracy skills

Predictive Validity of Subtle and Obvious Empirically Derived Psychological Test Items under Faking Conditions

Psycholog

Opiate users' knowledge about overdose prevention and naloxone in New York City: a focus group study

BACKGROUND: Drug-induced and drug-related deaths have been increasing for the past decade throughout the US. In NYC, drug overdose accounts for nearly 900 deaths per year, a figure that exceeds the number of deaths each year from homicide. Naloxone, a highly effective opiate antagonist, has for decades been used by doctors and paramedics during emergency resuscitation after an opiate overdose. Following the lead of programs in Europe and the US who have successfully distributed take-home naloxone, the Overdose Prevention and Reversal Program at the Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center (LESHRC) has started providing a similar resource for opiate users in NYC. Participants in the program receive a prescription for two doses of naloxone, with refills as needed, and comprehensive training to reduce overdose risk, administer naloxone, perform rescue breathing, and call 911. As of September 2005, 204 participants have received naloxone and been trained, and 40 have revived an overdosing friend or family member. While naloxone accessibility stands as a proven life-saving measure, some opiates users at LESHRC have expressed only minimal interest in naloxone use, due to past experiences and common misconceptions. METHODS: In order to improve the naloxone distribution program two focus groups were conducted in December 2004 with 13 opiate users at LESHRC to examine knowledge about overdose and overdose prevention. The focus groups assessed participants' (i) experiences with overdose response, specifically naloxone (ii) understanding and perceptions of naloxone, (iii) comfort level with naloxone administration and (iv) feedback about increasing the visibility and desirability of the naloxone distribution program. RESULTS: Analyses suggest that there is both support for and resistance to take-home naloxone, marked by enthusiasm for its potential role in reviving an overdosing individual, numerous misconceptions and negative views of its impact and use. CONCLUSION: Focus group results will be used to increase participation in the program and reshape perceptions about naloxone among opiate users, also targeting those already prescribed naloxone to increase their comfort using it. Since NYC is advancing toward a citywide naloxone distribution program, the LESHRC program will play an important role in establishing protocol for effective and wide-reaching naloxone availability

Predictive Validity of Face-valid and Subtle Mmpi Pd Scale Items under Faking Conditions

Psycholog

Soot Suppressing Mechanisms of Iron in Premixed Hydrocarbon Flames.

In-situ light scattering measurements are combined with chemical analysis of sampled soot particles to elucidate the mechanisms through which iron addition affects soot formation and growth processes in fuel-rich, premixed propane and oxygen flames. Soot particle optical inhomogeneity resulting from the addition of iron is accounted for in the light scattering analysis using an effective refractive index model. The influence of iron addition on soot particle diameters, number densities, volume fractions, surface areas, and specific growth rates is investigated. In addition, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to determine the chemical state of iron species throughout the flame. The analysis revealed that the iron oxide Fe\sb2O\sb3 is the only dominant species within the soot particles, corresponding to residence times from 10 to 32 milliseconds. The influence of iron addition on soot particle parameters is assessed and the important reaction mechanisms involving iron in sooting flames are discussed. It is proposed that Fe\sb2O\sb3 catalysis of carbon oxidation by oxygen to carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the soot burnout zone is the primary soot suppressing mechanism of iron in flames

Evaluation of the regional nurse-supported hepatitis C shared care program in Western Australia: a mixed methods study

Background: Nurse-supported shared care services for patients living with hepatitis C have been implemented in some regional areas of Western Australia to provide access to local treatment and care services for patients and to improve currently low levels of treatment uptake. This study collected data from health professionals involved in managing the care of patients living with hepatitis C and from patients engaged in regional nurse-supported hepatitis C shared care services in Western Australia. Methods: Key informant qualitative interviews were conducted with health professionals in regions operating a nurse-supported shared care service and in regions without this service. Patients engaged in the shared care program at the time of the study were invited to complete a short questionnaire. Results: Nurse-supported shared care services reduced patient transport costs to tertiary centres, accelerated access to treatment and delivered \u3e98 % compliance with treatment schedules. Patients engaged with regional hepatitis C shared care services expressed high levels of satisfaction and indicated that they would delay treatment if it was not available locally. Telehealth support from tertiary liver clinics and allied health services were available to health professionals engaged in regional shared care services and were used effectively. There was limited participation by general practitioners in regional hepatitis C shared care services and regional patients’ access to treatment was influenced by the availability and capacity of health professionals. Uptake of treatment and engagement in the regional shared care program was limited for Aboriginal people and younger people although these groups had the highest rates of hepatitis C notifications in Western Australia. Discussion: The patients consulted for this study preferred to access hepatitis C treatment and care locally rather than travel to tertiary liver clinics, up to 1500 kilometres away. The reasons for limited engagement in the shared care program by some groups with high rates of hepatitis C notifications requires further investigation. Health professionals identified several benefits of the shared care program including continuity of care for patients, shorter waiting times, longer appointment times and high levels of treatment compliance. Conclusions: Hepatitis nurses in regional areas can coordinate effective patient treatment and care when supported by treatment protocols and access to physicians and liver specialists, including through telehealth. Treatment and care options to suit individual preferences are required to avoid further stigmatising marginalized groups. The role of primary care in facilitating hepatitis C treatment uptake should be explored further including strategies for improving the participation of general practitioners in regional shared care services

Input uncertainty quantification for simulation models with piecewise-constant non-stationary Poisson arrival processes

Input uncertainty (IU) is the outcome of driving simulation models using input distributions estimated by finite amounts of real-world data. Methods have been presented for quantifying IU when stationary input distributions are used. In this paper we extend upon this work and provide two methods for quantifying IU in simulation models driven by piecewise-constant non-stationary Poisson arrival processes. Numerical evaluation and illustrations of the methods are provided and indicate that the methods perform well