God in the Dock: From Theory to Experience, the Odyssey of the Theodicy of C.S. Lewis

Problems, for us as humans, can be seen to as a moving target. There are two concerns that immediately come to the forefront. Those concerns are as follows: who defines the problem and how do they define the problem. Answering these two questions provides the direction for answering the next concern. And that concern then turns to how does one solve the problem? For solving a problem involves defining if there is a problem and can it be solved. Quite possibly the most confounding and complex problem to face humanity as a whole and Christianity specifically is the problem of evil. Is this a problem? Is there more than one problem of evil? Can it or they be solved? How does one solve it? These are all questions that the Christian apologist must grapple with in defending the faith. One such apologist was none other than C.S. Lewis. Lewis was an Oxford don, poet, writer, and Christian apologist. Without a doubt his most famous works are The Chronicles of Narnia children’s novels. However, Lewis was quite a prolific writer, especially in the world of apologetics. Lewis was not shy in addressing the question and problem of evil. However, it is this writer’s assertion that, even though Lewis addressed this topic from a firm foundation that the Christian faith only has the answer to all aspects of the problem of evil, his plan of attack, if you will, would evolve over the course of time and three books. Lewis would begin his apologetic, his theodicy, concerning the problem of evil with his book The Problem of Pain. This book examines the problem from a philosophical point of view. His next work concerning this problem that we will examine is Mere Christianity. This book comes at the problem from the angle of practical application of dealing with evil. The third book we will examine is his very personal book, A Grief Observed. This book handles the problem from an experiential angle. C.S. Lewis is a person, writer, thinker, and apologist, that has been written about extensively. His life and his works have all been thoroughly examined over the years, and adding one more paper to the pile seems, on the surface, to be pointless. However, it is the assertion of this writer that nowhere have these three books been laid side by side and examined as an evolutionary trilogy of C.S. Lewis’ theodicy. To give a full examination of and explanation of this writer’s assertion concerning Lewis’ theodicy, this paper will begin with Chapter One dealing with the problem of evil itself, as well as various methods of explaining a solution to the problem. Chapter Two will be a biographical sketch of Lewis’ life and career. Chapter Three will be our examination of The Problem of Pain. Chapter Four will examine Mere Christianity. Chapter Five will be looking at A Grief Observed. Chapter Six will be the synthesis of these three books to give a clearer picture of Lewis’ theodicy. It is the assertion of this paper that Lewis’ theodicy was not merely found in one or more of his books. His theodicy is found in compiling these books and overlaying them with his life. His theodicy is found in his understanding of the presence of evil in this world, some purposes for evil in this world, the participation of God in the evil of this world through the death of Christ on the cross, and the ultimate power over evil being a relationship with God through the evil that is faced in this world

Trusting IT Artifacts: How Trust Affects our Use of Technology

Despite recent interest in the role of trust in Information Systems, the potential of IS to foster trust in business relationships remains largely untapped. In order to better realize this potential, this dissertation examines three areas of IS trust research for which research is particularly limited: (1) the IT artifact as a target of trust, (2) IS-based source credibility as an antecedent of trust, and (3) the effect of anonymity on trust in online environments. The objective of this dissertation is to examine the effects of IS on trust in each of these areas. To do so, a multi-paper dissertation format is adopted in which each area examined constitutes a distinct, though complimentary, study. Together, these studies further research on how IS can enhance trust in business relationships

The Effects of Identifiability, Trust, and Deception on Information Sharing Behaviors in an Anonymous System

Sharing sensitive information can help organizations better understand risks in the environment in which they operate. However, the lack of a trusted, anonymous method for collecting and distributing sensitive information, together with substantial risks associated with disclosing such information, has limited the extent of information sharing among organizations. This research examines the potential of Trusted Query Network (TQN), a methodology for anonymously distributing information among trusted parties. Specifically, this research examines users\u27 perceptions of trust towards the anonymity of the TQN system and the effect of identifiability on users\u27 tendency to be deceptive. A free simulation experiment is proposed to test a theoretical model that explains how trust, identifiability, and deception affect users\u27 information sharing behaviors in an anonymous system

Examining Trust in Information Technology Artifacts : The Effects of System Quality and Culture.

The topic of trust in information technology (IT) artifacts has piqued interest among researchers, but studies of this form of trust are not definitive regarding which factors contribute to it the most. Our study empirically tests a model of trust in IT artifacts that increases our understanding in two ways. First, it sets forth two previously unexamined system quality constructs-navigational structure and visual appeal. We found that both of these system quality constructs significantly predict the extent to which users place trust in mobile commerce technologies. Second, our study considers the effect of culture by comparing the trust of French and American potential users in m- commerce technologies. We found that not only does culture directly affect user trust in IT artifacts but it also moderates the extent to which navigational structure affects this form of trust. These findings show that system quality and culture significantly affect trust in the IT artifact and point to rich possibilities for future research in these areas.Commerce mobile; Systems use; System quality; Navigational structure; Mobile commerce; M-commerce portals;

Is Your Susceptibility to Phishing Dependent on Your Memory?

Phishing has become a major attack vector for hackers and cost victims $687 million in the first half of 2012 alone. Additionally, despite technical solutions to defend against this threat, reports show that phishing attacks are increasing. There is therefore a pressing need to understand why users continue to fall victim to phishing, and how such attacks can be prevented. In this research-in-progress paper, we argue that the cognitive neuroscience of memory provides a useful lens through which to study the problem of phishing. A commonly reported finding from the field of memory is the eye movement-based memory effect, the phenomenon of people paying less visual attention to images that have been previously viewed. We aim to show in this paper that this effect holds in the context of email processing, and that the eye movement-based memory effect is a significant contributing factor to users’ susceptibility to phishing. We propose an experimental design that uses a memory task involving simulated phishing emails, and measures users’ behavioral responses and eye tracking data in response to our phishing manipulations. We further propose to show how training can be designed to help users overcome the eye movement-based memory effect and become less prone to phishing attacks

Mental, and Behavioral Health Disaster Preparedness and Response: What Have We Learned and How Prepared Is North Carolina?

Natural and man-made disasters expose vulnerabilities within a community. As a nation we have experienced this is in recent years with hurricanes Floyd and Fran in North Carolina in 1996 and 1999 and the devastating hurricanes Katrina and Rita that ravaged Alabama, Louisiana, and parts of Texas in 2005. The capacity with which local communities, alongside state and federal governments are able to respond to these tragedies can dictate individuals' access to resources, evacuation strategies, and in some instances, mean the difference between life and death. The focus of disaster response and relief has traditionally been one concentrated on the physical health of a population and the physical structure of an affected area. It is vital to ensure that challenges faced by those currently engaged in mental and behavioral health treatment also are considered in preparation stages prior to a disaster. Even with federal and state policies in place, there continue to be gaps in disaster preparation and relief efforts, especially in ensuring access to ongoing behavioral and mental health treatment. Individuals involved in behavioral health and mental treatment prior to a disaster have been found to be more vulnerable than others in the community, to suffer longer during and after a disaster, and to be less likely to receive needed services such as medication management and targeted therapeutic services. (North, pg. 423) In general, the idea of behavioral health focuses more on substance abuse while mental health for example follows a diagnosis of bipolar or schizo-affective disorder by a psychiatrist or other licensed therapist. This paper will outline three major areas that need to be addressed in order to more effectively prepare for and respond to the mental health needs of individuals during disasters in the future. The first is interoperability, or our ability to communicate effectively during and after a disaster. Next is addressing state-to-state legal issues around allowing licensed health professionals from surrounding states to come into and assist a different state during a disaster. Limiting this ability to act in a timely fashion can impede the transmission of critical services and resources to the most vulnerable populations. Last is documentation failure. At this time there is no centralized back-up database for patient information on those being seen by a behavioral health or mental health specialist; this means that when a database is destroyed in a disaster, so are all of a patient's records. For a patient this means that when they travel across state lines searching for therapeutic or medical assistance, the providers will have no way of knowing any historical medical background other than what the patient tells them. . Many states, including North Carolina, do not have adequate mental or behavioral health infrastructure to be prepared for a disaster like Hurricane Katrina. History has shown that such disasters will continue to occur. This paper seeks to answer the questions of what have we learned about mental and behavioral health disaster preparedness and response, and is North Carolina prepared for a large-scale disaster.Master of Public Healt

The Differential Role of Alternative Data in SME-Focused Fintech Lending

The rapid emergence of risk management Fintech has led to increasing use of alternative data in personal and business financing. Yet there are significant risks and concerns resulting from using alternative data. We therefore seek to examine the differential role of alternative data in SME-focused Fintech lending. We compare the credit evaluation and fraud detection contexts and examine the circumstances under which alternative data are useful for both contexts. Our goal is to find a parsimonious set of traditional and alternative data types that can help facilitate risk management in SME-focused Fintech lending. In this short paper, we report some preliminary results and findings from the first phase of our data collection and analysis. We then discuss the potential contributions and future plans of the study