The content and coherence of theism.

Some philosophers claim that the Judaeo-Christian God not only does not exist but could not exist. In support, they offer over various arguments to show that one or more of the properties commonly associated with this God are inconsistent. One such argument, for instance, says it is impossible to be perfectly just and merciful, since one is merciful precisely by being unjust in favor of those to whom one shows mercy. I suggest that the logical problems in question result from assuming a popular view of God's nature---that God is the being, if any, who is supremely perfect (e.g., is omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly good, etc.). I develop an alternative view on which God is the being, if any, who satisfies a relational role specified by the texts of the tradition---the being who, in particular, accounts for the existence of the world, miracles and religious experiences; is worthy of awe, trust and love; and warrants worship and prayer. I argue that a being does not need the perfections to do these jobs and so escapes inconsistency.Ph.D.PhilosophyPhilosophy of ReligionPhilosophy, Religion and TheologyTheologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/132770/2/9990877.pd

Capp Street Project, 1987-1988

While founder Hatch introduces the Capp Street Project and its goal to support public art, Brew comments on the installations by the 11 American artists who participated in the project in 1987 and 1988. Statements by some of the artists. Biographical notes

Optimizing Care for Adults with Congenital Heart Disease: Results of a Conjoint Analysis Based on a Nationwide Sample of Patients Included in the German National Register

(1) Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) requires lifelong specialized care. Failure to follow up and gaps in care are common in this group and lead to increased morbidity/mortality. We evaluated patients’ perceived needs and expectations regarding specialized care using state-of-the-art statistical and market research techniques based on a nationwide sample of CHD patients. (2) Methods: A random sample of adults with CHD registered in the German National Register for Congenital Heart Defects were invited to answer an adaptive online questionnaire based on the conjoint analysis (CA) technique. CA determines the relative importance of various aspects of health care provision and allows individuals to trade between characteristics, thus recognizing limited resources. (3) Results: 637 patients participated (mean age 33.8 ± 12.6 years; 55.6% female; disease complexity: simple defect 12.6%, moderate complexity 40.3%, complex CHD 40.2%) in the analysis. Patients assigned the highest relative importance to aspects of patient–physician communication, physician qualifications, waiting time, medical care, and medical equipment. Comfort-related aspects such as driving time or hotel aspects of care received much lower scores. We identified four well-defined clusters of patients with differing expectation patterns: (i) time sensitive patients; (ii) excellence seeking patients; (iii) continuity seekers, and (iv) support seeking patients. (4) Conclusions: Adult CHD patients rank effective patient–physician interaction and communication as the most important factors. As we identified significant heterogeneity between CHD patients, centers should cater for individual preferences and integrate individual needs into treatment plans to prevent failure to follow up and ensure patient compliance