Liberating diakonia

Diakonia, as the churches' social action and healing ministry, has received increased attention over the last few decades. The ecumenical reflection on diakonia generally focuses on: Ecclesial identity, emphasizing the mutual relation between what the church is and what the church does Holistic nature and interdisciplinary approach Prophetic mandate, publicly defending the cause of the poor and suffering in the struggle for justice. Liberating Diakonia presents and reflects critically on these issues. The reader can follow these issues through twelve essays under three main headings: 1. The Theology of Diakonia 2. The Diaconal Ministry 3. Diakonia as Integral Part of Mission Through the book, special attention is given to questions of hermeneutics and the methodological approach. How is it possible to establish a scientific discourse on diakonia, as disciplined reflection on praxis

Diakonia according to the Gospel of John

The Gospel of John is often considered less important in providing material for a biblical reflection on the understanding of diakonia, conceptualized as the social ministry of the for a the church, due to the fact that the diak-words (diakonia, diakonein and diakonos) do not have the same central role in this gospel as compared with the synoptic gospels. There are, however, other approaches to discovering the diaconal message in the Forth Gospel and its important role in the ministry of Jesus. This article points to the seven narratives of signs presented in John 2-11, interpreting them as diaconal both in the sense that they announce Jesus as a defender of human dignity, justice and life, and as examples of what it means to follow Jesus, incarnated in human reality. Upon reading the signs in this perspective, seven themes – shame, vulnerability, exclusion, hunger, fear, guilt and death – are identified that give meaning to interpreting them in today’s context, with special reference to diaconal challenges and practices

O ministério diaconal na comunidade local: impulsos da teologia da libertação para uma reformulação do diaconato

O professor norueguês de Ecumenismo e Teologia Sistemática Kjell Nordstokke reflete sobre “O Ministério Diaconal na Comunidade Local”, apresentando os “Impulsos da Teologia da Libertação para uma Reformulação do Diaconato”

A Note on the Assumption of Identical Distributions for Nonparametric Tests of Location

Often, when testing for shift in location, researchers will utilize nonparametric statistical tests in place of their parametric counterparts when there is evidence or belief that the assumptions of the parametric test are not met (i.e., normally distributed dependent variables). An underlying and often unattended to assumption of nonparametric tests of location is that of identical distributions. The assumption of identical distributions requires that distributions conform to one another in terms of variability and shape (i.e., variance, skew and kurtosis). The purpose of the current study is to demonstrate, via the use of Monte Carlo simulation, the assumption of identical distribution using the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney (WMW) test and the Student t-test for comparison. For each of the conditions, there are several levels of sample size, variance ratio, group sample size ratio, and degree of skew in the parent distribution. Empirical Type I error rates are compared to nominal Type I error rates to determine the validity of the result for each run of the simulation. Violation of the assumption of identical distributions lead to bias in the result of the WMW test and the Student t-test. Practical implications are also discussed. Accessed 1,139 times on https://pareonline.net from April 05, 2018 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

Missão como diaconia

The text begins with a reflection on concepts related to Christian identity and praxis as well as their need. It then analyzes from this perspective the concept of mission and its connection in recent years with development work in social terms. That connection gives rise to problems both at the methodological and the terminological level. These problems are then analyzed, aiming at a renewal on both levels. The result could be an understanding of mission as diaconia. The final part of the article contains a reflection on this theme.El texto comienza reflexionando sobre conceptos que denotan la identidad y la praxis cristiana y la necesidad de los mismos. Examina, desde esta perspectiva, el concepto de misión, y su conexión en los últimos anos con el trabajo en pro del desarrollo en términos sociales. Esta conexión crea problemas tanto a nivel metodológico como terminológico. Estos son analizados con miras a una renovación en ambos niveles. El resultado podría ser un entendimiento de misión como diaconía. La parte final del artículo es dedicada a una reflexión sobre este tema.O texto começa refletindo sobre conceitos que denotam a identidade e a práxis cristã, e a necessidade dos mesmos. Examina, desde esta perspectiva, o conceito de missão, bem como a sua conexão nos últimos anos com o trabalho em prol do desenvolvimento em termos sociais. Esta conexão cria problemas tanto em nível metodológico como terminológico. Estes são analisados com vistas a uma renovação em ambos os níveis. O resultado poderia ser um entendimento da missão como diaconia. A parte final do artigo é dedicada a uma reflexão sobre este tema

The study of Diakonia as academic discipline

Este artigo discute a compreensão do termo diaconia numa perspectiva histórica,sobretudo desde sua introdução na Alemanha no século XIX, quando foi usado paradesignar obras caritativas fundadas por pessoas ligadas à igreja protestante. Essas fundaram instituições diaconais, que também formaram ordens de diaconisas e diáconos. Apresenta interpretações teológicas da prática diaconal ao longo dos últimos 150 anos, refl etindo diversos contextos históricos e sociopolíticos, fi nalizando com uma introdução ao conceito diaconia ecumênica, assim como esse tem surgido no movimento ecumênico nas últimas décadas.This article discusses the comprehension of the term diaconia from ahistorical perspective, especially since its introduction in Germany in the 19th century, when it was used to designate the charitable works founded by persons connected to the Protestant church. These people founded diaconal institutions, which also formed orders of deaconesses and deacons. It presents theological interpretations of the diaconal practice throughout the last 150 years, refl ecting various historical and sociopolitical contexts, ending with an introduction to the concept of ecumenical diaconia, as it has emerged in the ecumenical movement in the last decades

Who Is the Successful University Student? An Analysis of Personal Resources

A number of factors have been identified in the research literature as being important for student success in university. However, the rather large body of literature contains few studies that have given students the opportunity to directly report what they believe contributes to their success as an undergraduate student. The primary purpose of this study is to explore students’ descriptions of the personal resources that they use to succeed while attempting to reach their goals as well as those personal characteristics or obstacles that keep them from reaching their goals. Prominent themes supportive of student success included having a future orientation, persistence, and executive functioning skills such as time management and organization. Results also demonstrate that stress, inadequate academic skills, and distractions are detrimental to student success in university. This study is unique in that it gathers the content data directly from the population of interest; it is one of the few qualitative studies of undergraduate students’ self-generated perceptions. Implications for university administrators and academic counsellors and directions for future research are discussed.  Des travaux de recherche ont déjà relevé certains facteurs comme étant importants pour la réussite des étudiants de niveau universitaire. Mais bien qu’abondante, la recherche n’a cependant pas donné aux étudiants de premier cycle la possibilité de communiquer directement leur avis quant aux raisons de leur réussite. Le but principal de cette étude est d’explorer les descriptions que les étudiants font des ressources personnelles qu’ils utilisent pour atteindre leurs objectifs et, subsidiairement, les caractéristiques personnelles ou les obstacles qui les empêchent d’atteindre leurs objectifs. Parmi les thèmes importants menant à la réussite des élèves on trouve l’orientation vers l’avenir, la persévérance et des compétences exécutives telles que la gestion du temps et l’organisation. Les résultats démontrent également que le stress, des compétences académiques inadéquates et les distractions représentent des obstacles à la réussite des études universitaires. Cette étude est unique car elle collige les données directement de la population concernée. Elle est aussi l’une des rares études qualitatives portant sur la perception des étudiants de premier cycle. On y examine les conséquences pour les administrateurs universitaires et les conseillers scolaires, de même que les orientations possibles de futures recherches

A Note on Using the Nonparametric Levene Test When Population Means Are Unequal

This computer simulation study evaluates the robustness of the nonparametric Levene test of equal variances (Nordstokke & Zumbo, 2010) when sampling from populations with unequal (and unknown) means. Testing for population mean differences when population variances are unknown and possibly unequal is often referred to as the Behrens-Fisher problem when the populations are normally distributed, and the generalized Behrens-Fisher problem when the populations are non-normal. The nonparametric Levene test was developed to overcome reductions in power of the original Levene test of equal variances in the case of the generalized Behrens-Fisher problem. We use a Monte Carlo computer simulation to demonstrate that sampling from populations with unequal and unknown means can lead to incorrect (either inflated or decreased) Type I error rates of the nonparametric Levene test. Centering samples using either sample means or medians does not correct the Type I error rates. This note is intended to make applied researchers aware of this problem when testing for the equality of population variances with the NPL test and in general. Accessed 1,444 times on https://pareonline.net from September 17, 2018 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

The operating characteristics of the nonparametric Levene test for equal variances with assessment and evaluation data

Many assessment and evaluation studies use statistical hypothesis tests, such as the independent samples t test or analysis of variance, to test the equality of two or more means for gender, age groups, cultures or language group comparisons. In addition, some, but far fewer, studies compare variability across these same groups or research conditions. Tests of the equality of variances can therefore be used on their own for this purpose but they are most often used alongside other methods to support assumptions made about variances. This is often done so that variances can be pooled across groups to yield an estimate of variance that is used in the standard error of the statistic in question. The purposes of this paper are twofold. The first purpose is to describe a new nonparametric Levene test for equal variances that can be used with widely available statistical software such as SPSS or SAS, and the second purpose is to investigate this test’s operating characteristics, Type I error and statistical power, with real assessment and evaluation data. To date, the operating characteristics of the nonparametric Levene test have been studied with mathematical distributions in computer experiments and, although that information is valuable, this study will be an important next step in documenting both the level of non-normality (skewness and kurtosis) of real assessment and evaluation data, and how this new statistical test operates in these conditions. Accessed 15,120 times on https://pareonline.net from February 26, 2011 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right