James Cone: Subject of Tradition and True Reformer

James Cone is widely respected as the ‘Father of Black Theology’ and one of the most important theologians of the twentieth century. Yet at the same time, he is in many circles too quickly dismissed as a dangerous theological radical. This article presents two hermeneutical strategies that are designed to help Catholic readers better appreciate Cone’s agenda. As a ‘Subject of Tradition,’ some of Cone’s most challenging theological positions are shown to be the result of Cone actively and creatively wrestling with existing theological traditions. As a ‘True Reformer,’ Cone’s career is interpreted in light of Yves Congar’s criteria for authentic reform in the church. James Cone remains a challenging theologian, but these strategies can be utilized to encourage deeper engagement with Cone in pastoral settings

Student’s Conceptualization of Engineering Design Over Multiple Design Experiences

Cal Poly’s undergraduate engineering program requires a design experience for each of the four years. This research project\u27s focus is to better understand how students are conceptualizing engineering design over their multiple design projects. Data was collected through a comprehensive survey given to 73 engineering students. The questions in this survey targeted student’s comprehension and relationship with design, as well as their demographics and course history. Open-ended questions were organized using a thematic coding system which were then compared to the demographics and course history information. This process resulted in four separate comparisons between the survey questions. Interpreting these results reveals essential information to better support student learning. Correlations point to areas where students may need additional help in design thinking. Themes among the responses indicate students’ thought processes behind engineering design. The next steps for this project include conducting follow-up interviews and further interpreting the results

Augmenting Exposure Therapy for Social Anxiety with tDCS

Purpose/Background: Exposure therapy is one of the most potent techniques available to treat social anxiety. However, studies suggest that exposure therapy only produces full remission in 20-50% of patients. Furthermore, laboratory conditioning and extinction studies suggest that fear responses toward individuals who differ from one\u27s own ethnicity/race may be more resistant to extinction. Because activation of the medial prefrontal cortex has been associated with facilitating fear reduction during exposure therapy, we expect that targeting activation of this region with a stimulation technique called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may improve outcomes from exposure therapy for social anxiety. The present study will therefore test the hypotheses that (1) fear responding at baseline will be greater toward an audience that does not match (vs matches) the participant\u27s own ethnicity, (2) pairing exposure therapy with active (vs sham) tDCS will facilitate alleviation of social anxiety symptoms, and (3) pairing exposure therapy with active (vs sham) tDCS facilitates extinction of fear response toward individuals who differ from the participant\u27s own ethnicity. Materials & Methods: We are recruiting Latino and non-Latino/Caucasian undergraduates with a fear of public speaking, the most commonly feared situation among individuals with social anxiety. Participants (N = 128) will receive either active/anodal (n = 64) or sham (n = 64) tDCS stimulation targeting the mPFC during an exposure therapy session delivered through virtual reality (VR). During exposure therapy, participants will complete six, 3-minute public speaking trials, alternating in a randomized order between audiences that are 75% matched to the participant\u27s ethnicity and 75% unmatched to the participant\u27s ethnicity. At one-month follow up, participants will complete two behavioral avoidance tests (BATs) parallel to therapy procedures, with one ethnic-matched trial and one ethnic-unmatched trial. Fear response during each BAT will be assessed behaviorally (duration of speech), physiologically (heart rate variability and electrodermal response), and subjectively (peak fear rating, on a 0 to 100 scale). At baseline and one-month follow-up, participants will also complete a battery of social anxiety questionnaires. Results: We will present methods and preliminary findings from the study. Results will include a preliminary examination of whether fear responding is greater toward individuals who differ from (vs match) the participant\u27s own ethnicity, whether pairing exposure therapy with active (vs sham) tDCS facilitates alleviation of social anxiety symptoms overall, and whether pairing exposure therapy with active (vs sham) tDCS facilitates alleviation of social anxiety responding toward individuals who differ from (vs match) the participant\u27s own ethnicity. Discussion/Conclusion: Findings point to key strategies to improve outcomes from exposure therapy for social anxiety, and could also have implications for improving response to exposure-based therapies for other anxiety disorders. Furthermore, if tDCS facilitates reductions in fear response toward ethnic/racial out-groups, minority/Latino individuals may experience better generalization of treatment effects for daily-life scenarios (in which they are surrounded by outgroup members), and ethnic/racial majority individuals will be better able to contribute to an inclusive social environment

Annual Survey of Virginia Law: Property

This year, the courts decided many property law issues of interest to the general practitioner. Section I discusses cases from the federal district and circuit courts, as well as the Virginia Supreme Court and the Virginia Court of Appeals. The 1987 session of the General Assembly resulted in several changes affecting property laws in Virginia. Section II lists the most significant statutes

Property

This year, the courts decided many property law issues of interest to the general practitioner. Section I discusses cases from the federal district and circuit courts, as well as the Virginia Supreme Court and the Virginia Court of Appeals. The 1987 session of the General Assembly resulted in several changes affecting property laws in Virginia. Section II lists the most significant statutes

Constitutional Law - Attorney\u27s Loyalty Fitness

One may reasonably conclude that a state may escape invalidation of a statute which apparently exceeds permissible Bill of Rights limits if the state shows that the statute does not operatively mean what it appears to say, but rather requires only an allegiance to the Constitution, and secondly, that a state may properly make inquiries to determine the oath affirmant\u27s sincerity and good faith

Guaranteeing Solar Access in Virginia

This article will address in order: the mechanics of a solar energy system; the problem of solar access; the traditional public and private remedies available at common law; Virginia\u27s legislative response to the problem of assuring solar access; and some suggestions for the resolution of anticipated solar access conflicts in Virginia

Title Examination in Virginia

The purpose of this article is to provide an understanding of the basic procedures of title examination. The emphasis is on the mechanics and practical considerations involved in a search of title. Although the focus of any legal work is the law, this article is not meant to be a legal treatise. It is rather a practical how to guide. The author hopes, however, that this writing will not only acquaint the reader with the basic techniques of title examination but will also assist the title examiner in solving the related problems which arise when some of the more common title objections are discovered