Divine Foreknowledge and the Problem of Evil: Four Views

This paper examines the issues of divine foreknowledge and the Problem of Evil from the standpoint of four different theological systems: Open Theism, Arminianism, Molinism, and Calvinism. The author summarizes each view’s understanding of divine foreknowledge and then explains how this understanding applies to the view’s refutation of the Problem of Evil

Untamed God or Reckless Risk-Taker? A Reply to Hasker\u27s Natural Order Theodicy

This paper argues that Molinism best rebuts the problem of natural evil when compared to the attempts of Open Theists, particularly William Hasker. The author begins by summarizing Hasker\u27s own Natural Order Theodicy, and subsequently critiques it. He finds no issues with the proposed theodicy, but takes issue with Hasker\u27s attempt to establish the coherence of Open Theism from this theodicy. He then explains the weaknesses of Open Theism\u27s response to natural evil, and simultaneously argues for the strength of Molinism\u27s response. He concludes that Open Theism leaves God as a reckless risk-taker, and therefore Molinism provides a better response to the problem of natural evil

Lipotoxicity, aging, and muscle contractility: does fiber type matter?

Sarcopenia is a universal characteristic of the aging process and is often accompanied by increases in whole-body adiposity. These changes in body composition have important clinical implications, given that loss of muscle and gain of fat mass are both significantly and independently associated with declining physical performance as well as an increased risk for disability, hospitalizations, and mortality in older individuals. This increased fat mass is not exclusively stored in adipose depots but may become deposited in non-adipose tissues, such as skeletal muscle, when the oxidative capacity of the adipose tissue itself is exceeded. The redistributed adipose tissue is thought to exert detrimental local effects on the muscle environment given the close proximity. Thus, sarcopenia observed with aging may be better defined in the context of loss of muscle quality rather than loss of muscle quantity per se. In this perspective, we briefly review the age-related physiological changes in cellularity, secretory profiles, and inflammatory status of adipose tissue which drive lipotoxicity (spillover) of skeletal muscle and then provide evidence of how this may affect specific fiber type contractility. We focus on biological contributors (cellular machinery) to contractility for which there is some evidence of vulnerability to lipid stress distinguishing between fiber types.Accepted manuscrip

Application of digital terrain data to quantify and reduce the topographic effect on LANDSAT data

Integration of LANDSAT multispectral scanner (MSS) data with 30 m U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) digital terrain data was undertaken to quantify and reduce the topographic effect on imagery of a forested mountain ridge test site in central Pennsylvania. High Sun angle imagery revealed variation of as much as 21 pixel values in data for slopes of different angles and aspects with uniform surface cover. Large topographic effects were apparent in MSS 4 and 5 was due to a combination of high absorption by the forest cover and the MSS quantization. Four methods for reducing the topographic effect were compared. Band ratioing of MSS 6/5 and MSS 7/5 did not eliminate the topographic effect because of the lack of variation in MSS 4 and 5 radiances. The three radiance models examined to reduce the topographic effect required integration of the digital terrain data. Two Lambertian models increased the variation in the LANDSAT radiances. The nonLambertian model considerably reduced (86 per cent) the topographic effect in the LANDSAT data. The study demonstrates that high quality digital terrain data, as provided by the USGS digital elevation model data, can be used to enhance the utility of multispectral satellite data

Left of Maidan: Self-Organization and the Ukrainian State on the Edge of Europe

This dissertation examines the intersection of processes of Europeanization and decommunization in Ukraine during a time of war and upheaval. Through the lens of leftist and feminist activists, it explores how political action was renegotiated during and after the mass mobilizations of 2013-2014, known as Euromaidan or Maidan. I use the concept of “self-organization” to consider ways these activists have engaged with a dominant national ideology, which draws from specific political ideas about Europe and communism. I trace how self-organization has roots within socialist-era political forms, how it was enacted during the Maidan mobilizations, and its path since the end of the protests and the onset of war in Ukraine’s eastern regions. In the dissertation, I consider the relationship between self-organization and neoliberalism, as this latter force has permeated activist discourses. I use three specific ethnographic examples from participant observation with leftist and feminist activists to make these arguments. During the Maidan period and after, I consider the ways leftist activists organized volunteer-based initiatives in order to engage during the protests without using violence and without supporting right-wing national ideologies. Second, I use the example of education-based activism to understand how the leftist student population made criticisms of state institutions that they integrated into the broader anti-state protests of Maidan. Finally, I examine how feminist activists’ views of Europe widely diverged from those of the majority of protesters on Maidan, and I follow how these feminists—like leftists—reconfigured their own participation through self-organization. Together, these elements provide both an ethnographic analysis of this significant moment of disorder and a lens onto a more complex understanding of the relationship between the state and political action. More specifically, examining how marginalized groups participated in this form of collective political action has led me to determine that these protests have reformulated people’s expectations of their governing regimes and their notions of what political participation can and should achieve. I conclude, ultimately, that this reformulation has great bearing on the future of Ukraine’s relationship with its more dominant neighbors—namely, Russia and the European Union

Attorney General’s Annual Report to Congress on U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons Fiscal Year 2006

Trafficking in persons (TIP), or human trafficking, is a regrettably widespread form of modern-day slavery. Traffickers often prey on individuals, predominantly women and children in certain countries, who are poor, frequently unemployed or underemployed, and who may lack access to social safety nets. Victims are often lured with false promises of good jobs and better lives, and then forced to work under brutal and inhuman conditions. It is difficult to accurately estimate the extent of victimization in this crime whose perpetrators go to great lengths to keep it hidden. Nonetheless, the United States has led the world in the fight against this terrible crime

Attorney General’s Annual Report to Congress on U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons Fiscal Year 2006

Trafficking in persons (TIP), or human trafficking, is a regrettably widespread form of modern-day slavery. Traffickers often prey on individuals, predominantly women and children in certain countries, who are poor, frequently unemployed or underemployed, and who may lack access to social safety nets. Victims are often lured with false promises of good jobs and better lives, and then forced to work under brutal and inhuman conditions. It is difficult to accurately estimate the extent of victimization in this crime whose perpetrators go to great lengths to keep it hidden. Nonetheless, the United States has led the world in the fight against this terrible crime

Report to Congress from Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales on U.S. Government Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons in Fiscal Year 2004

Trafficking in persons is a regrettably widespread form of modern-day slavery. An estimated 600,000 to 800,000 human beings are trafficked across international borders each year. Furthermore, between 14,500 and 17,500 victims are trafficked into the United States each year. In response, the United States has led the world in the fight against this terrible crime