A theology of daughterhood: the challenges of modern biology to theology today

Thanks to the benefits of modern medical science, the average life-span in European populations is gradually increasing. This longevity has resulted, in turn, in the number of older citizens increasing as a percentage of the overall population. Reflecting on these biological, statistical and generational facts, John Starr develops a theology of daughterhood drawing on the varied relationships of daughters to parents as this is found in the biblical sources. His preliminary study in this area is a first step towards developing a theological view of the contemporary social transformation of the role of daughters towards that of carers. (This paper was selected as the winning entry in the 2015 Fraser Essay Prize competition.)Publisher PD

Lower Ankle-Brachial Index Is Related to Worse Cognitive Performance in Old Age

Objective: We aimed to study the associations between peripheral artery disease (PAD) and ankle-brachial index (ABI) and performance in a range of cognitive domains in nondemented elderly persons. Methods: Data were collected within the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 and 1936 studies. These are two narrow-age cohorts at age 87 (n = 170) and 73 (n = 748) years. ABI was analyzed as a dichotomous (PAD vs. no PAD) and a continuous measure. PAD was defined as having an ABI less than 0.90. Measures of nonverbal reasoning, verbal declarative memory, verbal fluency, working memory, and processing speed were administered. Both samples were screened for dementia. Results: We observed no significant differences in cognitive performance between persons with or without PAD. However, higher ABI was associated with better general cognition (β = .23, p = .02, R(2) change = .05) and processing speed (β = .29, p < .01, R(2) change = .08) in the older cohort and better processing speed (β = .12, p < .01, R(2) change = .01) in the younger cohort. This was after controlling for age, sex, and childhood mental ability and excluding persons with abnormally high ABI (>1.40) and a history of cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease. Conclusion: Lower ABI is associated with worse cognitive performance in old age, especially in the oldest old (>85 years), possibly because of long-term exposure to atherosclerotic disease. Interventions targeting PAD in persons free of manifest cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease may reduce the incidence of cognitive impairment and dementia

Our Wicked Problem

The Coronavirus is more than a health problem. It is a “wicked” problem disrupting work, education, travel, politics, financial indicators, and more. This label came about in 1973 to help describe a special class of situations that are volatile, uncertain and ambiguous, often difficult to recognize, and difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements. There is no clear problem definition due to interdependencies so the problem cannot be fully understood until after the solution comes about

Disruptive Effects of the Coronavirus – Errors of Commission and of Omission?

It is increasingly evident that the coronavirus disease, COVID-19, is more than a health problem; it is and will continue to adversely affect work and workplaces, education, families and social engagements, political and environmental dimensions, and financial indicators. Apart from its health ramifications, the crisis is revealing serious challenges in the global supply chain. Those difficulties are, at least in part, consequences of unwise, short-sighted business decisions made over the course of decades to outsource and downsize

An analysis of the relationship between city typology, interactivity and advertising message strategies of American municipal web sites

This study became to first to scientifically explore the relationship between city typology and the use of advertising message strategy and interactivity within municipal web sites. The study used Taylor’s six-segment strategy wheel to analyze message strategies and previous scales of interactivity to analyze structural interactivity. Medium-size cities and cities within the South and West geographic regions more likely used sensory strategies within their web sites. Cities with racially diverse populations more likely used sensory strategies within their web sites as well. Large cities and central cities, both with large populations, used the most interactive strategies within their sites compared to their respective classifications. Cities within the mountain geographic division used the most interactive features among geographic locations and more racially diverse cities used more interactive features than predominantly Caucasian or minority populations. Thus, both message strategy and interactivity proved to share relationships with city typology

The Fort Hays Rating and Dating Complex

It was the purpose of the present study to cast some light on the question as to whether or not certain types of dating behavior are related to marriage orientation. This researcher has made the assumption that as college students advance from the freshman to the senior class, they become more marriage oriented in their dating patterns. The figures obtained from the registrar’s office for the present study tended to support the above generalization. An examination of the married students enrolled, however, revealed a marked degree of marriage orientation present from the freshman through the senior class. The preceding statement was supported by the proportion of married students at each class level. The researcher, therefore, desired to study the problem of marriage orientation at each of the undergraduate class levels at Fort Hays Kansas State College