A spy’s guide to Boston University

This article originally appeared in the Vol 23, No 3, Winter 2017-18 edition of AFIO’s Intelligencer journal, which is published by AFIO (Association of Former Intelligence Officers), Falls Church, VA.In this article, Professor John Woodward, a retired CIA officer, examines the people and places associated with Boston University that have made significant, or otherwise interesting, contributions to the world of intelligence

“Point of View: Now Is Not the Time to Cut Funding for Public Broadcasting,” POV, BU Today

President Trump’s proposed budget threatens to pull the plug on federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the major funder of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) programming and National Public Radio (NPR) and the supporter of 350 local member public television stations. This proposed cut will do very little to fix the US budget deficit, but it will contribute mightily to the shortage of reliable public information available to citizens at a time when they need it most.http://www.bu.edu/articles/2017/pov-funding-for-public-broadcasting/Published versio

Effects of Curriculum Discourse Style on Eighth Graders\u27 Recall and Problem Solving in Earth Science

This study investigated the effects of science curricula organized around topical (a collection of concepts or descriptions) and causal (superordinate principles directly related to underlying concepts) styles of discourse. The curricula were revised to control for number of concepts and amount of vocabulary, and numerous audiovisual materials (videodisc, films, and slides) were used throughout the study. This research attempted to extend prior work on discourse styles by substantially lengthening the intervention and controlling for students\u27 background knowledge. The intervention involved 6 weeks of earth science materials. 46 eighth graders and 2 teachers participated in the study. All students were taught the same background knowledge for 4 weeks prior to the intervention and were randomly assigned to 1 of the 2 discourse groups. Posttests and maintenance tests indicated that students who were taught with material employing the causal style of discourse had significantly better retention of facts and concepts and were superior in applying this knowledge in problem-solving exercises

Rediscovering the Bible for Involvement and Insights for Spiritual Growth for the Restoration Church Member

This dissertation proposes that many individuals in the Restoration Church, an early nineteenth-century American church movement founded by Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell that today includes hundreds of Churches of Christ/Christian Churches, are experiencing spiritual malnourishment, while finding in the tradition a lack of resources, rhetoric, or guidance to stem the hunger. Section 1 describes the influence of contextualization, tracing the history of the Restoration Movement back to its early philosophical and social influences that resulted in a rationalist and Biblicist interpretation of the Bible that focused primarily on conversion and church organization, while distracting attention from spirituality and divine immanence. Section 2 critiques popular spiritual formation literature from the rationalist-Biblicist mindset to determine its ability for both invitation and instruction for spiritual formation for Restoration members. Section 3 argues for a modest movement toward a more authentic Christian spirituality by maintaining a solid hold on two foundational Restoration beliefs of biblical authority and conversion. Moving forward will involve, first, the rediscovery of Scripture to include the entire canon. This will allow, second, the possibility for a richer soteriology that includes a more informed pneumatology. Third, it will be argued that a more robust and experiential understanding of conversion will lead to a more effectual Christian life. Sections 4 and 5 outline a non-fiction book for the church member to rediscover a wider view of the Bible, salvation, and service that will invite and empower the believer to move into a deeper faith and active Christian life based squarely on the familiar foundations of the Restoration tradition. The artifact will be several chapters of the book described in Sections 4 and 5