Die ontwikkeling van die menslike bewussyn: Teorieë oor die ontwikkeling van menslike bewussyn – die ontdekking van die ‘misterie van die siel’

The development of the human consciousness: Theories of the development of human consciousness – discovering the ‘mystery of the soul’ A number of theories on the development of human consciousness have tried to incorporate all views on the subject into one integral theory. However, Ken Wilber is the fi rst philosopher who managed to combine the external with the internal fi elds of study. Using Wilber’s integral theory, a number of researchers developed their own theories in their fi eld of speciality. Jim Marion used Wilber’s development theory to show the evolution of consciousness from a Christian perspective.Steve McIntosh, an integral philosopher, takes Wilber’s ideas further, and even criticises him on a few points. Another important researcher following Wilber is Andre Marquis, who developed an integral questionnaire to help pastors gauge clients’ problems. James Fowler, Clare Graves and Bill Plotkin also researched the evolution of human consciousness. This article examines each of these researchers, and concludes with a glance at several viewpoints on the soul and the mystical union with God

Die ontwikkeling van die menslike bewussyn: Kan die postmodernekerk ruimte bied vir ‘mitologie’? Ken Wilber se bydrae tot die pastoraat

The development of the human consciousness: Can a ‘postmodern church’ accommodate ‘mythology’? Ken Wilber’s contribution to pastoral care Postmodern theologians like Hal Taussig are not very optimistic about the future of Christianity. To them, the theistic (mythological) understanding of God is of little use in the postmodern world of the 21st century. Taussig prefers the grassroots Christianity, which has room for persons of all sexual orientations, and advocates ecological sensitivity. The question is: What do the followers of this spirituality teach their children about God? The solution is what Wilber calls ‘the conveyer belt’ and God’s ‘Kosmic address’. Everyone starts at square one, ‘traditional’ and grassroots Christians alike, and move along this conveyer belt. Along the way, there are seven stages and three perspectives, i.e. the first, second and third-person perspective, through whichhuman consciousness could evolve. That means that any given person could have one of 21 different possible understandings and experiences of God. A questionnaire could assist pastors to determine at which stage or level of evolution an individual is, as well as the ‘Kosmic address’ that God has for that individual. Through spiritual exercises, pastors could then support the individual’s further growth towards mature human consciousness

Die ontwikkeling van die menslike bewussyn: Ken Wilber se AQAL-teorie

The development of the human consciousness: Ken Wilber’s AQAL theory Kenneth Earl Wilber III, an integral philosopher, psychologist and mystic with an intelligence quotient of 160, was born on 31 January 1949 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in the United States ofAmerica, and is considered by some as one of the most important philosophers of the 21st century. He developed his integral philosophy over 30 years, which can be divided into five phases. The most important aspects of his philosophy for the purposes of this article are the AQAL integral map of reality, and the evolution of consciousness. AQAL stands for ‘all quadrants, all levels, lines and stages’. Wilber divides reality into singular and plural interiors and exteriors; or art,morals and science. Also deriving ideas from Developmental Psychology, he sees the evolution of consciousness unfolding in seven stages: archaic, magic, mythic, rational, pluralistic, holisticand transpersonal. This theory could add value to pastoral care by enabling pastors to support believers’ own spiritual growth in pursuit of the kingdom of heaven

Die ontwikkeling van die menslike bewussyn: Die postmoderne vraag na God

The development of the human consciousness: The postmodern quest for God This article critically reflects upon ‘emerging Christians’ – those who have departed from a premodern (theistic) and modernist (secular) view of reality, and have rather embraced postmodernity in response to the cognitive dissonance they experience due to a clash of  epistemological paradigms. The article discusses psychological theories on the development of human consciousness, and describes seven levels or stages of such development, namely the archaic, magical, mythological, rational, pluralistic, holistic and transpersonal levels. The article focuses on Ken Wilber’s integral psychological theory, better known as AQAL (All Quadrants, All Levels and All Lines), which also covers the internal and external dimensions of human consciousness, including an integral view on the so-called ‘states of human consciousness’. In doing so, the article aims to contribute to that aspect of pastoral care that focuses on psychological theory

A Socio-Demographic Analysis of the Board of Directors of Selected Destination Marketing Organisation (DMOs).

Destination marketing organisations (DMOs), specifically those at local level play a critical role in marketing towns and cities. However, it is not just the marketing that is key, but also how the DMO is managed and governed by the board of directors. This paper reviews the constitutions of selected DMOs in two provinces in South Africa, as well as the socio-demographic composition of the board of directors of DMOs. The study revealed that the constitution of DMOs that are funded by both the public and private sector do not specifically prescribe any equity or gender parameters in as far as the election and appointment of directors are concerned. This is disconcerting, given South Africa’s segregated past and the need to ensure that imbalances at board level are addressed. The study also indicated that whilst boards of directors in the Western Cape Province had younger directors compared with the Eastern Cape Province the latter had a greater proportion of board members who were older than 60 years of age. In addition, the Western Cape Province had more female directors than the Eastern Cape Province, which suggests that the Western Cape Province possibly have more females in management positions in tourism, who can be nominated and elected for positions on the board of directors. Furthermore, in both provinces, directors from previously disadvantaged backgrounds were under-represented. This implies that more focus needs to be given to enhancing the representivity and gender of board of directors of DMOs

Think twice before starting a new trial; what is the impact of recommendations to stop doing new trials?

ObjectivesIn evidence-based medicine, we base our conclusions on the effectiveness of interventions on the results of high-quality meta-analysis. If a new randomized controlled trial (RCT) is unlikely to change the pooled effect estimate, conducting the new trial is a waste of resources. We evaluated whether recommendations not to conduct further RCTs reduced the number of trials registered for two scenarios.MethodsAnalysis of registered trials on the World Health Organisation (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). We regarded trial protocols relevant if they evaluated the effectiveness of (1) exercise for chronic low back pain (LBP) and (2) cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for chronic pain. We calculated absolute and relative numbers and change of registered trials in a pre-set time window before and after publication of the recommendations, both published in 2012.ResultsWe found 1,574 trials registered in the WHO trial registry for exercise in LBP (459 before 2012; 1,115 after) and 5,037 trials on chronic pain (1,564 before 2012; 3,473 after). Before 2012, 13 trials on exercise for LBP (out of 459) fit the selection criteria, compared to 42 trials (out of 1,115) after, which represents a relative increase of 33%. Twelve trials (out of 1,564) regarding CBT for chronic pain, fit the selection criteria before 2012 and 18 trials (out of 3,473) after, representing a relative decrease of 32%. We found that visibility, media exposure and strength of the recommendation were related to a decrease in registered trials.ConclusionsRecommendations not to conduct further RCTs might reduce the number of trials registered if these recommendations are strongly worded and combined with social media attention

Accuracy and quality assessment of 454 GS-FLX Titanium pyrosequencing

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The rapid evolution of 454 GS-FLX sequencing technology has not been accompanied by a reassessment of the quality and accuracy of the sequences obtained. Current strategies for decision-making and error-correction are based on an initial analysis by Huse <it>et al. </it>in 2007, for the older GS20 system based on experimental sequences. We analyze here the quality of 454 sequencing data and identify factors playing a role in sequencing error, through the use of an extensive dataset for Roche control DNA fragments.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We obtained a mean error rate for 454 sequences of 1.07%. More importantly, the error rate is not randomly distributed; it occasionally rose to more than 50% in certain positions, and its distribution was linked to several experimental variables. The main factors related to error are the presence of homopolymers, position in the sequence, size of the sequence and spatial localization in PT plates for insertion and deletion errors. These factors can be described by considering seven variables. No single variable can account for the error rate distribution, but most of the variation is explained by the combination of all seven variables.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The pattern identified here calls for the use of internal controls and error-correcting base callers, to correct for errors, when available (e.g. when sequencing amplicons). For shotgun libraries, the use of both sequencing primers and deep coverage, combined with the use of random sequencing primer sites should partly compensate for even high error rates, although it may prove more difficult than previous thought to distinguish between low-frequency alleles and errors.</p

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections for Higgs boson production in the diphoton decay channel at s√=8 TeV with ATLAS

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections are presented for Higgs boson production in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=8 TeV. The analysis is performed in the H → γγ decay channel using 20.3 fb−1 of data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The signal is extracted using a fit to the diphoton invariant mass spectrum assuming that the width of the resonance is much smaller than the experimental resolution. The signal yields are corrected for the effects of detector inefficiency and resolution. The pp → H → γγ fiducial cross section is measured to be 43.2 ±9.4(stat.) − 2.9 + 3.2 (syst.) ±1.2(lumi)fb for a Higgs boson of mass 125.4GeV decaying to two isolated photons that have transverse momentum greater than 35% and 25% of the diphoton invariant mass and each with absolute pseudorapidity less than 2.37. Four additional fiducial cross sections and two cross-section limits are presented in phase space regions that test the theoretical modelling of different Higgs boson production mechanisms, or are sensitive to physics beyond the Standard Model. Differential cross sections are also presented, as a function of variables related to the diphoton kinematics and the jet activity produced in the Higgs boson events. The observed spectra are statistically limited but broadly in line with the theoretical expectations

Evidence for the Higgs-boson Yukawa coupling to tau leptons with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for H → τ τ decays are presented, based on the full set of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during 2011 and 2012. The data correspond to integrated luminosities of 4.5 fb−1 and 20.3 fb−1 at centre-of-mass energies of √s = 7 TeV and √s = 8 TeV respectively. All combinations of leptonic (τ → `νν¯ with ` = e, µ) and hadronic (τ → hadrons ν) tau decays are considered. An excess of events over the expected background from other Standard Model processes is found with an observed (expected) significance of 4.5 (3.4) standard deviations. This excess provides evidence for the direct coupling of the recently discovered Higgs boson to fermions. The measured signal strength, normalised to the Standard Model expectation, of µ = 1.43 +0.43 −0.37 is consistent with the predicted Yukawa coupling strength in the Standard Model