The concept of regeneration in Christian thought

Who is the Christian? What does it mean to be a "new man" in Christ? What does it mean to be "born again"? Is this the same as the Pentecostal expression "the baptism in the Holy Spirit"? And what are we to make of the phrase, "the baptism in/with the Holy Spirit"? What is the relationship between water baptism and spirit baptism? What is the relation of regeneration to baptism? Does baptism alone constitute the complete rite of initiation, or is something more required? How is a person's initiation into the Christian way to be described and understood? What is Christian baptism? What is its place in the plan of salvation? When is the Holy Spirit given?In search of an authentic theology of the Christian, we have treated the writings of the Fourth Evangelist, Cyril of Jerusalem and Ambrose of Milan, John Calvin, Karl Barth and modern day Pentecostalists and NeoPentecostalists.The work, although not divided into specific parts, has two aspects. First of all, there is a full exposition of how the term, regeneration, has been treated in each of the above theologies. From this it can be seen that various interpretations of the concept have emerged in the church over the centuries.The second aspect is an examination of four critical categories surrounding our theme, namely, regeneration, initiation, water baptism and spirit baptism. Today is an opportune time to understand the various inter¬ relationships of these categories, both from the point of view of the pastoral ministry of the churches and the life of the individual Christian.In the course of our study, various other topics are touched upon: the nature of faith, the relation of baptism to confirmation, the paedobaptist debate, the need to restore a Spirit Christology either alongside, or instead of, Logos Christology, the nature of the gift of speaking in tongues and its place in the fellowship of the church. Each of these subjects requires a thesis of its own, and we have by no means exhausted their significance, although they have necessitated comment because of their relationship to our central theme

Development of a Novel Test Apparatus for the Evaluation of an Active Geometry Tilting-Pad Thrust Bearing

The paper outlines the design of a novel test apparatus for the evaluation of an active geometry tilting-pad thrust bearing (AGTPTB). The primary objective of the AGTPTB is to minimise viscous shearing losses of the thin lubricant film whilst maintaining reliable operation. Conventional hydrodynamic thrust bearing test rigs usually lack provisions for active systems due to the space required for actuation mechanisms and data acquisition from various sensors. The proposed equipment employs a horizontally loaded bearing, enabling the inclusion of actuation mechanisms at the rear of the bearing. Data acquisition includes monitoring power loss, speed, bearing load, lubricating film thickness and temperature. A test cycle is discussed, which includes variations in speed, applied load, oil supply temperature and lubricant flow rate. It is planned to compare performance data collected from an active bearing and its conventional counterpart

A differential role for the posterior cerebellum in the adaptive control of convergence eye movements

Introduction The vergence oculomotor system possesses two robust adaptive mechanisms; a fast “dynamic” and a slow “tonic” system that are both vital for single, clear and comfortable binocular vision. The neural substrates underlying these vergence adaptive mechanisms in humans is unclear. Methods We investigated the role of the posterior cerebellum in convergence adaptation using inhibitory continuous theta-burst repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (cTBS) within a double-blind, sham controlled design while eye movements were recorded at 250hz via infrared oculography. Results In a preliminary experiment we validated our stimulation protocols by reproducing results from previous work on saccadic adaptation during the classic double-step adaptive shortening paradigm. Following this, across a series of three separate experiments we observed a clear dissociation in the effect of cTBS on convergence adaptation. Dynamic adaptation was substantially reduced while tonic adaptation was unaffected. Baseline dynamic fusional vergence response were also unaffected by stimulation. Conclusions These results indicate a differential role for the posterior cerebellum in the adaptive control of convergence eye movements and provide initial evidence that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is a viable tool to investigate the neurophysiology of vergence control. The results are discussed in the context of the current models of implicit motor adaptation of vergence and their application to clinical populations and technology design in virtual and augmented head mounted display architectures. Significance statement The cerebellum plays a critical role in the adaptive control of motor systems. Vergence eye movements shift our gaze in depth allowing us to see in 3D and exhibit two distinct adaptive mechanisms that are engaged under a range of conditions including reading, wearing head-mounted displays and using a new spectacle prescription. It is unclear what role the cerebellum plays in these adaptive mechanisms. To answer this, we temporarily disrupted the function of the posterior cerebellum using non-invasive brain stimulation and report impairment of only one adaptive mechanism, providing evidence for neural compartmentalization. The results have implications for vergence control models and applications to comfort and experience studies in head-mounted displays and the rehabilitation of clinical populations exhibiting vergence dysfunctions.National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada || Canadian Foundation of Innovators || American Academy of Optometry Foundation || Canadian Institutes for Health Research

Smart Capital in German Start-Ups - An Empirical Analysis

It is still an open question what kind of smart capital relational investors actually supply. We divide smart capital into several components and conduct a survey among 85 German suppliers of start-up finance. The results show that the degree of smartness is determined by the financial product used and also by the financiers institutional background, the duration of the investment and the stage of development of the firm being financed

Communication Biophysics

Contains reports on six research projects.National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 PO1 NS13126)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 RO1 NS18682)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 RO1 NS20322)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 R01 NS20269)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 T32NS 07047)Symbion, Inc.National Science Foundation (Grant BNS 83-19874)National Science Foundation (Grant BNS 83-19887)National Institutes of Health (Grant 6 RO1 NS 12846)National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 RO1 NS 21322

Country Concepts and the Rational Actor Trap: Limitations to Strategic Management of International NGOs

Growing criticism of inefficient development aid demanded new planning instruments of donors, including international NGOs (INGOs). A reorientation from isolated project-planning towards holistic country concepts and the increasing rationality of a result-orientated planning process were seen as answer. However, whether these country concepts - newly introduced by major INGOs too - have increased the efficiency of development cooperation is open to question. Firstly, there have been counteracting external factors, like the globalization of the aid business, that demanded structural changes in the composition of INGO portfolios towards growing short-term humanitarian aid; this was hardly compatible with the requirements of medium-term country planning. Secondly, the underlying vision of rationality as a remedy for the major ills of development aid was in itself a fallacy. A major change in the methodology of planning, closely connected with a shift of emphasis in the approach to development cooperation, away from project planning and service delivery, towards supporting the socio-cultural and political environment of the recipient communities, demands a reorientation of aid management: The most urgent change needed is by donors, away from the blinkers of result-orientated planning towards participative organizational cultures of learning.Des critiques croissantes de l'aide au développement inefficace exigent de nouveaux instruments de planification des bailleurs de fonds, y compris les ONG internationales (ONGI). Une réorientation de la planification des projets isolés vers des concepts holistiques de la planification de l’aide par pays ainsi que la rationalité croissante d'un processus de planification orientée vers les résultats ont été considérés comme réponse. Toutefois, si ces concepts de pays - nouvellement introduites par les grandes OING eux aussi - ont augmenté l'efficacité de la coopération au développement est ouvert à la question. Tout d'abord, il y a eu l’impact des facteurs externes, comme la mondialisation de l'entreprise de l'aide, qui a exigé des changements structurels dans la composition des portefeuilles des OING vers la croissance de l'aide humanitaire à court terme. Cela était difficilement compatible avec les exigences de l'aménagement du territoire à moyen terme. Deuxièmement, la vision sous-jacente de la rationalité accrue de la planification, concentré sur les resultats, comme un remède pour les grands maux de l'aide au développement était en soi une erreur. Un changement majeur dans la méthodologie de la planification, étroitement liée à un changement d'orientation dans l'approche de la coopération au développement, qui n’est pas concentrer sur planification du projet et la prestation de services, mais qui soutienne l'environnement socio-culturel et politique des communautés bénéficiaires, exige une réorientation de la gestion de l’aide: Le changement le plus urgent est un changement par les donateurs eux-mêmes, qui devrait implanter des cultures de collaboration étroit avec les partenaires et la population locale

Credit Rationing with Symmetric Information

Without denying the importance of asymmetric information, this article purports the view that credit rationing may also originate from a lender's inability to classify loan applicants in proper risk categories. This effect is particularly strong when novel technologies are involved. Furthermore, its relevance may increase with the importance assigned to internal rating systems by the Basel accord. This article presents a measure of the inadequacy of a lender's classification criteria to the qualitative features of prospective borrowers. Even without information asymmetries, credit rationing may occur if this quantity reaches too high a value. Furthermore, some general principles are outlined, that may be used by lenders in order to change their classification criteria

How does neopatrimonialism affect the African state? The case of tax collection in Zambia

Following the neopatrimonialism paradigm, it can be hypothesised that in African states informal politics of the rulers infringe on the collection of taxes and in turn reduce state revenue. This article tests this proposition for the case of Zambia. Neopatrimonial continuity in the country is evidenced by three factors : the concentration of political power, the award of personal favours, and the misuse of state resources. Despite this continuity, the revenue performance increased considerably with the creation of the semi-autonomous Zambia Revenue Authority. Donor pressure has been the most important intervening variable accounting for this improvement. Yet, strengthening the collection of central state revenue has been consistent with a neopatrimonial rationale, and may even have fed neopatrimonialism overall, by providing increased resources for particularistic expenditure