A Vocation as Politics: Work and Popular Theology in a Consumer Culture

The idea of vocation or a calling is particularly salient in much business motivational literature and popular Christian self-help books alike. Promoted is the idea of vocation that glosses over issues stemming from political power in the corporate workplace in order to given meaning to workers in spite of working conditions. In this form, vocations are unable to engage one\u27s working life in ways that they can and should. I argue that recent trends in academic theologies of vocation as well as the role of consumer culture combine to allow the ascendancy of this form of the idea. I support this claim with an analysis of the relationship between consumer culture and business. I locate Rick Warren\u27s concept of purpose contained in The Purpose-Driven Life as the functional equivalent of the idea of vocation that serves to distance the idea from the material workplace through its interplay with the mechanics of consumer culture. Utilizing selective theological sources and José Casanova\u27s work concerning public religions, I finally contend that the idea of vocation that resists wholesale commodification can express a latent political quality to combat particular unjust social norms that regulate the corporate work world

Thermal light cannot be represented as a statistical mixture of single pulses

We ask whether or not thermal light can be represented as a mixture of single broadband coherent pulses. We find that it cannot. Such a mixture is simply not rich enough to mimic thermal light; indeed, it cannot even reproduce the first-order correlation function. We show that it is possible to construct a modified mixture of single coherent pulses that does yield the correct first-order correlation function at equal space points. However, as we then demonstrate, such a mixture cannot reproduce the second-order correlation function.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Published versio

Relationships and Ethics in the Land Use Game

Ethical considerations in the land use decision making process can be organized into a number of categories, including, first and foremost, the broad subject of conflicts of interest.1 Players in the land use game can find themselves in real or perceived conflicts situations based on personal financial interests resulting from investments, including businesses and real estate holdings (such as the location of their property vis-à-vis the location of the subject property before the Board), employment for themselves or members of their immediate family, and memberships in nonprofit organizations that may be either passive or active (e.g., simply dues paying member or officer or other volunteer engagement). Other relationships may be problematic, such as private relationships that typically have a shield of confidentiality, such as the lawyer-client relationship or the doctor-patient relationship. This could also extend to members of the clergy who appear before boards where their followers serve as members. This article discusses ethics issues that arise because of various personal relationships between members of land use boards, applicants and other stakeholders. Of course, disclosure of relationships that could be viewed as potential conflicts is always advisable, and the discussion of whether or not such disclosure necessitates a recusal may at times warrant discussion with board counsel

Impacts of soil carbon on hydrological responses – a sensitivity study of scenarios across diverse climatic zones in South Africa

Soil organic carbon (SOC) content and the water holding capacity of soils are two properties which link the carbon and hydrological cycles. Hydrological model inputs seldom include soil carbon as a parameter even though soil carbon content is known to influence soil water retention capacities. This study is a sensitivity analysis of changes in hydrological responses when the model inputs include different soil carbon percentages for the topsoil horizon. Sensitivities of hydrological responses such as transpiration, runoff volumes, the stormflow component of runoff and extreme runoff events to SOC content were quantified under various climatic conditions in South Africa. The soil water holding capacities at the drained upper limit (i.e. field capacity), permanent wilting point and saturation were calculated for the topsoil horizon, using SOC dependent pedo (soil)-transfer functions for different soil carbon scenarios and locations in South Africa. These variables, together with other pre-determined soil- and locationrelated inputs, as well as 50 years of daily climate, were then used as inputs in a process-based hydrological model. Overall, it was found that increased SOC content in the topsoil horizon leads to an increase in transpiration, a reduction in runoff, especially in its stormflow component, and a reduction of extreme runoff events. However, these changes are relatively small compared to the influence of climate, particularly of rainfall amount and distribution.Significance: Organic carbon content of the soil and the water holding capacity of soils link the carbon and hydrological cycles. Management interventions that increase SOC lead to win-win situations because, in addition to climate change mitigation, plant water availability improves, and overall surface runoff ‘flashiness’ becomes more regulated. While rainfall amount and distribution over space and time remain the most critical determinants of hydrological responses, increased SOC in the topsoil horizon leads to increases in transpiration and thus plant growth, and to a reduction in runoff, especially in its stormflow component, and hence to a small reduction of severe flooding events

Partisan impacts on the economy: evidence from prediction markets and close elections

Analyses of the effects of election outcomes on the economy have been hampered by the problem that economic outcomes also influence elections. We sidestep these problems by analyzing movements in economic indicators caused by clearly exogenous changes in expectations about the likely winner during election day. Analyzing high frequency financial fluctuations following the release of flawed exit poll data on election day 2004, and then during the vote count we find that markets anticipated higher equity prices, interest rates and oil prices, and a stronger dollar under a George W. Bush presidency than under John Kerry. A similar Republican–Democrat differential was also observed for the 2000 Bush–Gore contest. Prediction market based analyses of all presidential elections since 1880 also reveal a similar pattern of partisan impacts, suggesting that electing a Republican president raises equity valuations by 2–3 percent, and that since Ronald Reagan, Republican presidents have tended to raise bond yields

Breeding Biology and Longevity of Russet-Crowned Motmots in Central Mexico

Motmots, with their distinctive racketed-tails, represent one of the most easily recognized tropical birds, yet little is known about the basic natural history of most species in the family Momotidae. We report basic breeding biology and longevity of Russet-crowned Motmots (Momotus mexicanus), a medium-sized Neotropical bird that ranges from northwest Mexico to central Guatemala. We monitored nest success of eight pairs from 1 May to 17 July 1998 in tropical deciduous forests in central Mexico. Motmots laid an average of 4.1 eggs and incubated for approximately 20 d. Four of eight nests fledged young. Of these four nests, average hatching success was 69% and average fledgling success was 56%. The mean duration of the nestling period at three nests was 33.7 d. Based on the recapture of one individual bird in April 2008, we provide a longevity estimate that Russet-crowned Motmots can survive at least 11 yr in the wild. These data on nesting success and longevity add to our limited knowledge of the natural history of this understudied species

Ab-Initio Calculation of Molecular Aggregation Effects: a Coumarin-343 Case Study

We present time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations for single and dimerized Coumarin-343 molecules in order to investigate the quantum mechanical effects of chromophore aggregation in extended systems designed to function as a new generation of sensors and light-harvesting devices. Using the single-chromophore results, we describe the construction of effective Hamiltonians to predict the excitonic properties of aggregate systems. We compare the electronic coupling properties predicted by such effective Hamiltonians to those obtained from TDDFT calculations of dimers, and to the coupling predicted by the transition density cube (TDC) method. We determine the accuracy of the dipole-dipole approximation and TDC with respect to the separation distance and orientation of the dimers. In particular, we investigate the effects of including Coulomb coupling terms ignored in the typical tight-binding effective Hamiltonian. We also examine effects of orbital relaxation which cannot be captured by either of these models

Associations between youth homelessness, sexual offenses, sexual victimization, and sexual risk behaviors : A systematic literature review

Homeless youth commonly report engaging in sexual risk behaviors. These vulnerable young people also frequently report being sexually victimized. This systematic review collates, summarizes, and appraises published studies of youth investigating relationships between homelessness, perpetration of sexual offences, experience of sexual victimization, and engagement in sexual risk behavior. A systematic search of seventeen psychology, health, and social science electronic databases was conducted. Search terms included “homeless*”, “youth”, “offend*”, “victimization”, “crime”, “rape”, “victim*”, and “sex crimes”. Thirty-eight studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria. Findings showed homeless youth commonly report being raped and sexually assaulted, fear being sexually victimized, and engage in street prostitution and survival sex. Rates of victimization and sexual risk behavior were generally higher for females. Given the paucity of longitudinal studies and limitations of current studies it is unclear whether homelessness is prospectively associated with sexual victimization or engagement in sexual risk behavior, and whether such associations vary cross-nationally and as a function of time and place. Future prospective research examining the influence of the situational context of homelessness is necessary to develop a better understanding of how homelessness influences the perpetration of sexual offences, experience of sexual victimization, and engagement in sexual risk behavior among homeless youth

Demonstration of early functional compromise of bone marrow derived hematopoietic progenitor cells during bovine neonatal pancytopenia through in vitro culture of bone marrow biopsies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bovine neonatal pancytopenia (BNP) is a syndrome characterised by thrombocytopenia associated with marked bone marrow destruction in calves, widely reported since 2007 in several European countries and since 2011 in New Zealand. The disease is epidemiologically associated with the use of an inactivated bovine virus diarrhoea (BVD) vaccine and is currently considered to be caused by absorption of colostral antibody produced by some vaccinated cows (“BNP dams”). Alloantibodies capable of binding to the leukocyte surface have been detected in BNP dams and antibodies recognising bovine MHC class I and β-2-microglobulin have been detected in vaccinated cattle. In this study, calves were challenged with pooled colostrum collected from BNP dams or from non-BNP dams and their bone marrow hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) cultured <it>in vitro</it> from sternal biopsies taken at 24 hours and 6 days post-challenge.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Clonogenic assay demonstrated that CFU-GEMM (colony forming unit-granulocyte/erythroid/macrophage/megakaryocyte; pluripotential progenitor cell) colony development was compromised from HPCs harvested as early as 24 hour post-challenge. By 6 days post challenge, HPCs harvested from challenged calves failed to develop CFU-E (erythroid) colonies and the development of both CFU-GEMM and CFU-GM (granulocyte/macrophage) was markedly reduced.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study suggests that the bone marrow pathology and clinical signs associated with BNP are related to an insult which compromises the pluripotential progenitor cell within the first 24 hours of life but that this does not initially include all cell types.</p

Projection of the health and economic impacts of Chronic kidney disease in the Chilean population

Background: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a leading public health problem, with substantial burden and economic implications for healthcare systems, mainly due to renal replacement treatment (RRT) for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). The aim of this study is to develop a multistate predictive model to estimate the future burden of CKD in Chile, given the high and rising RRT rates, population ageing, and prevalence of comorbidities contributing to CKD. // Methods: A dynamic stock and flow model was developed to simulate CKD progression in the Chilean population aged 40 years and older, up to the year 2041, adopting the perspective of the Chilean public healthcare system. The model included six states replicating progression of CKD, which was assumed in 1-year cycles and was categorised as slow, medium or fast progression, based on the underlying conditions. We simulated two different treatment scenarios. Only direct costs of treatment were included, and a 3% per year discount rate was applied after the first year. We calibrated the model based on international evidence; the exploration of uncertainty (95% credibility intervals) was undertaken with probabilistic sensitivity analysis. // Results: By the year 2041, there is an expected increase in cases of CKD stages 3a to ESKD, ceteris paribus, from 442,265 (95% UI 441,808–442,722) in 2021 to 735,513 (734,455–736,570) individuals. Direct costs of CKD stages 3a to ESKD would rise from 322.4M GBP (321.7–323.1) in 2021 to 1,038.6M GBP (1,035.5–1,041.8) in 2041. A reduction in the progression rates of the disease by the inclusion of SGLT2 inhibitors and pre-dialysis treatment would decrease the number of individuals worsening to stages 5 and ESKD, thus reducing the total costs of CKD by 214.6M GBP in 2041 to 824.0M GBP (822.7–825.3). // Conclusions: This model can be a useful tool for healthcare planning, with development of preventive or treatment plans to reduce and delay the progression of the disease and thus the anticipated increase in the healthcare costs of CKD