Defining forgiveness: Christian clergy and general population perspectives.

The lack of any consensual definition of forgiveness is a serious weakness in the research literature (McCullough, Pargament &amp; Thoresen, 2000). As forgiveness is at the core of Christianity, this study returns to the Christian source of the concept to explore the meaning of forgiveness for practicing Christian clergy. Comparisons are made with a general population sample and social science definitions of forgiveness to ensure that a shared meaning of forgiveness is articulated. Anglican and Roman Catholic clergy (N = 209) and a general population sample (N = 159) completed a postal questionnaire about forgiveness. There is agreement on the existence of individual differences in forgiveness. Clergy and the general population perceive reconciliation as necessary for forgiveness while there is no consensus within psychology. The clergy suggests that forgiveness is limitless and that repentance is unnecessary while the general population suggests that there are limits and that repentance is necessary. Psychological definitions do not conceptualize repentance as necessary for forgiveness and the question of limits has not been addressed although within therapy the implicit assumption is that forgiveness is limitless.</p

Decisional and emotional forgiveness scales: Psychometric validity and correlates with personality and vengeance.

Forgiveness is an internal process to overcome negative aspects (e.g., anger, bitterness, resentment) towards an offender, being associated to a range of variables (e.g., well-being, quality of loving relationships, resilience). Forgiveness can happen through two different types: (1) decisional, which is a behavioural modification to reduce direct hostility; and (2) emotional, which is a transformation of negative emotions into positive. The current research aimed to gather psychometric evidences for the Decisional Forgiveness Scale (DFS) and the Emotional Forgiveness Scale (EFS), using a Brazilian sample. Two studies were conducted. In Study 1 (n = 181), the bifactorial structures were replicated, also providing satisfactory reliability levels. Through Item Response Theory, results indicated good discrimination, difficulty levels, and considerable information to all the items from both measures. In Study 2 (n = 220), confirmatory factor analyses confirmed their structure, presenting good model fit. The measures were also invariant regarding participants’ gender. Finally, the measures presented significant results when correlated to personality and vengeance. In sum, the instruments demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties, evidencing the possibility of their use in the respective context.The authors acknowledge financial support from the CAPES Foundation (Brazil, http://www.capes.gov.br/) for the Ph.D. scholarship to the second author. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

U and Sr Isotopes in Ground Water and Calcite, Yucca Mountain, Nevada: Evidence Against Upwelling Water

Hydrogenic calcite and opaline silica deposits in fault zones at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, have created considerable public and scientific controversy because of the possible development of a high-level nuclear waste repository at this location. Strontium and uranium isotopic compositions of hydrogenic materials were used to test whether the veins could have formed by upwelling of deep-seated waters. The vein deposits are isotopically distinct from ground water in the two aquifers that underlie Yucca Mountain, indicating that the calcite could not have precipitated from ground water. The data are consistent with a surficial origin for the hydrogenic deposits

Employment Outcomes for Recent Canadian Radiation Oncology Graduates

Introduction: Radiation oncology (ro) is one of several specialties identified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada with employment difficulties for graduating trainees. The purpose of the present study was to determine the employment status and location of recent Canadian ro trainees within 2 years after graduation, to monitor workforce recruitment trends over time, and to capture the opinions of program directors about employment difficulty for graduates and resident morale. Methods: Visa trainee graduates were excluded. Results of the survey administered to ro program directors in 2016 and again in 2018, both with 100% response rates, are presented here. Results: In both surveys, approximately 57% of ro graduates had attained staff or locum employment in Canada or abroad within 2 years from graduation (p = 0.92). However, graduates with Canadian staff employment increased by 46% to 32 in 2018 from 22 in 2016, while the proportion of graduates with staff positions abroad decreased to 6% from 27% (p = 0.04). Most trainees without staff positions were employed as fellows. The proportion of program directors reporting employment difficulties for graduates in the Canadian labour market declined to 38% from 85% (p = 0.04), and the morale of residents in training programs remained high. Conclusions: Employment challenges for newly certified Canadian-trained radiation oncologists continue. However, compared with the situation 2 years ago, trends in the Canadian ro job market suggest a modest improvement, with more staff employment in Canada and lower emigration rates for jobs abroad