Pe. Alberto Antoniazzi revelou-se um teólogo preocupado fundamentalmente com a presença da Igreja no mundo de hoje e, de modo especial, na cidade. Desenvolveu uma eclesiologia centrada na missão da Igreja no sentido de Povo de Deus que abraça tanto o clero como os leigos. Além de uma prática de professor e formador do clero, contribuiu com reflexões sobre o ministério ordenado, compulsando as fontes neotestamentárias e a longa tradição histórica da Igreja. E deteve-se, outrossim, na relevância (...) da atuação do fiel cristão tanto no âmbito interno da Igreja quanto na sociedade. Palabras clave: Clero; Ministérios; Leigo; Igreja local; Evangelização; Cultura urbana. ABSTRACT Fr. Alberto Antoniazzi was a theologian deeply concerned with the presence of the church in today’s world, specially in cities. He developed an ecclesiology based on the church’s mission in the sense of God’s people, embracing both the clergy and the laity. Besides his practice as a professor engaged in the clergy qualification, he also contributed reflections on ões sobre o ministério ordenado, compulsando as fontes neotestamentárias e a longa tradição histórica da Igreja. The relevance of Christian believers’ performance within the church and in society was another focus of attention. Key words: Clergy; Ministries; Laity; Local Church; Evangelization; Urban culture. (shrink)

ANDES, Stephen J.C.; YOUNG, Julia. Local Church, Global Church: Catholic Activism in Latin America from Rerum Novarum to Vatican II. Washington, DC, The Catholic University of America Press, 201 O livro em questão insere-se em uma perspectiva analítica, tentando mostrar o jogo de adaptação e de continuidade ao trabalho no continente americano. Apesar do reconhecimento das mudanças notáveis introduzidas pelo Vaticano II, a tese é que, ao contrário do que é sugerido por uma certa literatura de historiografia e teologia (...) latino-americana, o ativismo católico dos anos 60 e 80 teve suas origens no período anterior, tendo, em parte, como ponto de partida a encíclica Rerum Novarum. (shrink)

Resumo As festas, durante o século XVIII, desempenhavam um importante papel no cotidiano das associações de leigos e religiosas. As ordens terceiras franciscanas organizavam distintas celebrações no intuito de promover a instituição no campo religioso local, difundir suas devoções e, ao mesmo tempo, ampliar o seu recrutamento. Este artigo analisa alguns elementos constituintes das celebrações realizadas pelas ordens terceiras de São Francisco em diferentes cidades do império português (Braga e São Paulo), visando compreender o significado e a valorização atribuídos (...) às celebrações no interior das igrejas por essas agremiações. Para realizar esse estudo foram utilizados, principalmente, os livros contábeis das instituições com o objetivo de vislumbrar o investimento nas celebrações e as suas características particulares. A partir das informações compulsadas constata-se um dispêndio avultado com as cerimônias e com a manutenção do culto pelas ordens terceiras franciscanas, evidenciando a importância dedicada por essas associações às celebrações e às festas executadas em seus templos. Palavras-chave: ordem terceira de São Francisco; festa; império português.The festivals, during the eighteenth century, played an important role in the daily religious and lay associations. The Third Orders of St. Francis organized distinct celebrations in order to promote the institution in the local religious field, spread their devotions, and at the same time broaden their recruitment. This article examines some elements of the celebrations held by the Third Orders of St. Francis in different cities of the Portuguese empire (Braga and São Paulo), aiming to understand the meaning and value attributed to the celebrations inside the churches by these associations. To perform this study were primarily used the accounting books of the institutions in order to glimpse the investment in the celebrations and their characteristics. From the gathered information we find a compulsive spending with the ceremonies and the maintenance of worship by the Third Orders of St. Francis, indicating the importance given by these associations to celebrations and festivals performed in their temples. Keywords : Third Order of St. Francis; festival; Portuguese Empire. (shrink)

The rite of the Mass has undergone changes that have transformed the way the faithful participated in the celebrations. On the occasion of the Second Vatican Council, there were changes which were intended to bring about a more active participation of the assembly in the liturgical act. The distance between the canticle and the liturgical rite calls for an investigation, for it is necessary that we know the reason for this happening even today. There is evidence that many chants sung (...) in celebrations are discordant with the liturgical time, and the lack of a correct understanding of the teachings of the Church may be the reason for this, since there are several ecclesial documents on the subject. The present work intends to demonstrate, through the analysis of Church documents and the ideas of renowned authors, specialists in liturgy, the importance of music having a liturgical objective. This article is a bibliographical research, which through the analysis of Church documents mainly, seeks to highlight the importance of liturgy linked to music. Since the Motu Proprio Tra le Sollecitudini, the Church has been regulating how to perform the song to achieve a true liturgical action in the Eucharistic celebration. It should not be forgotten, however, that the participation of the assembly in the Latin Mass was restricted, and there was no possibility of innovation in singing. With the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, the lay participation was expanded, as well as the introduction of the vernacular in the celebrations. Subsequent Church documents have ratified the expansion of secular participation and the local language has made it possible to include new chants in celebrations, including popular ones, which were previously banned. In the Latin mass, the liturgy was more restricted to the clergy; With the council reform, the laity gained more space. Today, the Church's challenge is to preserve the liturgical meaning of singing, respecting popular cultures, but further deepening the lay liturgical-musical formation. (shrink)

Neste Ano Internacional da Biodiversidade, reflito sobre as responsabilidades crescentes das entidades religiosas no contexto atual da Crise Ambiental. Faço uma retrospectiva sobre a origem evolutiva das religiões no contexto da evolução cultural do homem. Em seguida, menciono algumas dimensões ecológicas do pensamento religioso, significativas para os problemas ambientais. Paradigmas religiosos se originam de forma semelhante aos das ciências. As doutrinas sociais das igrejas, especialmente a igreja católica, estabelecem compromissos com os excluídos e promovem o desenvolvimento integral da pessoa (...) humana, buscando justiça social e econômica. Isto tem implicações para o equilíbrio ecológico e para o futuro da humanidade. Sugiro que as igrejas atuem mais intensamente, de forma integrada com a ciência, na intermediação política em prol da solução dos problemas ambientais. A moral religiosa ajudaria a reverter os ganhos econômicos advindos da utilização sustentável da biodiversidade genética para as culturas locais. Também antevejo um papel maior na conscientização das comunidades sobre os benefícios de uma vida equilibrada com a natureza e de uma exploração racional dos recursos naturais. A preservação da biodiversidade constitui uma questão moral de cuja conscientização e regulamentação legal urgentíssima dependemos para a sobrevivência dos ecossistemas naturais e da própria espécie humana. Palavras-chave: Evolução Cultural; Religião; Crise da Biodiversidade; Política Ambiental; Papel da Igreja.In this International Year for the Conservation of Biodiversity, I reflect on the increasing responsibilities of religious entities towards solving the present Environmental Crisis. I provide a retrospect on the debate over the origin of religions in the context of the cultural evolution of man. I then mention some ecological dimensions of religious thinking, which are particularly significant for approaching environmental problems. Religious paradigms originate in ways that are similar to those in science. The social doctrines of churches establish compromises for excluded groups and promote the unabridged development of the human individual, which includes social and economic justice. This has implications for the ecological balance of nature and for the future of humanity. I suggest that the Church should act more intensely, integrated with science, in the political intermediation that searches for solutions for our environmental problems. Religious morality could help to restore the economical benefits resulting from the sustainable use of genetic biodiversity to local cultures. I also foresee a larger role of the church in promoting human perceptions regarding the benefits involved in obtaining a more sustainable relationship with nature and in promoting a more rational exploitation of natural resources. The conservation of biodiversity represents a moral matter demanding urgent legislation for the survival of natural ecosystems and, ultimately, of the human species. Key words : Cultural Evolution; Religion; Biodiversity Crisis; Environmental Crisis; Role of Church. (shrink)

A Amazônia é detentora de inúmeras grandezas. Vastos territórios, variedades de espécies animais e vegetais, e complexidades culturais. A Igreja tem se envolvido e assumido a reflexão sobre a Amazônia propondo uma consciência abrangente entre a criação natural e cultural, portanto, que inclua a pessoa humana e suas expressões sócio culturais. Essa breve pesquisa é apresentada a partir do olhar sobre três diversidades presentes na região: naturais, culturais, eclesiais. Contempla dois aspectos das ações eclesiais locais e aponta três elementos (...) relevantes na articulação da teologia amazônica. Nesse vasto e complexo mundo de possibilidade conclui que a presença divina nesse paraíso humano é plural. Por isso a reflexão teológica exige considerar o ardor eclesial peculiar que harmonize os aspectos teórico e prático, religioso e social, oficial e alternativo, eterno e temporal. (shrink)

Carl Gustav Carus nasceu, em 3 de janeiro de 1789, na cidade de Leipzig. Seupai, August Gottlob Carus, veio de uma família de comerciantes dedicada àtinturaria. Para receber uma melhor educação, o pai de Carus decidiu enviá-lo à casados avós maternos. Ali, ele receberia, até os 12 anos de idade, aulas domiciliares, bemcomo passou a admirar o seu tio, Daniel Jäger, naturalista que havia estudadoquímica na França durante o efervescente período da Revolução Francesa. A paixãopela química e ciências humanas foi (...) o legado do tio. Em suas memórias -Lebenserinnerungen und Denkwürdigkeiten -, publicadas em 1865, Carus relembra dostempos felizes da infância em Leipzig, onde mantinha seus olhos atentos aocotidiano da cidade, à igreja gótica local, ao mercado medieval, aos jardins e aotribunal. (shrink)

Patrimônio de Fé e Religiosidade: os Bens Culturais inseridos na Festa do Senhor dos Passos em São Cristóvão, Sergipe, Brasil. (Heritage of Faith and Religiosity: Cultural Objects inserted on the Festival of Senhor dos Passos in São Cristóvão) - DOI: 10.5752/P.2175-5841.2013v11n31p1018 O conceito de Bens Culturais de uma localidade vem passando por novos paradigmas quanto à abrangência e relevância. Nesse âmbito, além do Patrimônio Material de ruas, praças, igrejas, objetos artísticos e históricos, o discurso e ações dos órgãos oficiais e (...) da comunidade, devem também se pautar pela valorização das produções imateriais da cultura. Esses elementos envolvem os sujeitos e os sons produzidos por eles, seus ofícios, memórias, festas e religiosidade. Nesse sentido, o presente artigo visa analisar os Bens Culturais que compõem o cenário da celebração do Senhor dos Passos e descrever os seus valores histórico, religioso e artístico. A metodologia utilizada foi: pesquisa bibliográfica, documental e de campo. Após as três etapas da pesquisa e observação no local, constatado que a Festa do Senhor dos Passos em São Cristóvão possui elementos patrimoniais conectados que a transforma em um evento vinculado à identidade cultural-religiosa da região. Alguns desses elementos já são tombados nos níveis estadual, nacional e mundial, enquanto que outros, embora não reconhecidos pelos órgãos oficiais de salvaguarda do Patrimônio, são valorizados pela comunidade no que concerne a afetividade, memória, dádiva e pertencimento: Patrimônios de Fé, Religiosidade e Culto em Sergipe. Palavras-chave : Patrimônio Cultural. Festa. Religiosidade. Senhor dos Passos. São Cristóvão (Sergipe).The concept of cultural property that belongs to one locality has been going through new paradigms regarding the scope and relevance. In this context, in addition to material assets (streets, squares, churches and historical-artistic objects) the speech and actions of official bodies and the community, should also be guided by the appreciation of intangible productions. Such elements involve the subjects and the sounds produced by them, their crafts, memories, parties and religiosity. In this way, this article aims at analyzing the aspects that make up the scene of the festivities of Senhor dos Passos as a Cultural object and describes its historical, religious and artistic values. The methodology used was the bibliographic, documental and field research. After the three stages of research and on-site observation, it was found that the Festival of Senhor dos Passos in São Cristóvão owns connected heritage elements which turn it into an event linked to the religious-cultural identity of the region. Some of these elements are already safeguarded statewide and at national and global levels, while others, though not recognized by the official bodies of safeguarding of heritage are valued by the local community by affection, memory, donation and belongingness: Heritage of Faith, Religiosity and cult in Sergipe. Keywords : Cultural Heritage. Festivity. Religiosity. Senhor dos Passos. São Cristóvão (Sergipe). (shrink)

A 27 de Outubro comemora a Igreja os santos Vicente, Sabina e Cristeta. Conhecidos como os Mártires de Évora, a eles foi erguida no século XV na cidade alentejana, no local onde se dizia terem nascido, uma ermida, ampliada no século seguinte já à conta do Município, que ainda hoje mantém a propriedade. Era-lhes também dedicada, na nave direita da Sé de Évora, uma das capelas laterais desaparecidas após a intervenção da Direcção-geral dos Monumentos Nacionais na década de (...) 40 do século XX.A naturalidade dos santos irmãos, embora assumida pelos eborenses, sobretudo após as argumentações de André de Resende, mantém-se de difícil comprovação, sendo por muitos autores atribuída não à cidade alentejana, mas a Talavera de la Reina (Toledo). Martirizados no século IV na cidade espanhola de Ávila, São Vicente e suas irmãs aí foram sepultados e em sua honra construída uma grande basílica, expressão do reconhecimento e devoção aos chamados Santos de Ávila. Da descrição legendária das suas vidas e martírios decorre a respectiva iconografia. Tudo aconteceu em tempo do governador Daciano, enviado à Península Ibérica pelo imperador Diocleciano, que promoveu uma intensa perseguição aos cristãos. O jovem Vicente, que poderia servir de incentivo aos pagãos pelo seu comportamento cristão exemplar, foi chamado à presença de Daciano que o pretendeu convencer a sacrificar a Júpiter. Perante a recusa, mandou conduzi-lo a uma das praças da cidade e obrigá-lo a executar o sacrifício ou a ser morto. Colocado sobre o altar de pedra, esta tornou-se mole ficando impressas as suas pegadas, prodígio que deixou todos os presentes admirados e convencidos de que o Deus de Vicente era o verdadeiro. Tal facto levou Daciano a suspender temporariamente a condenação, tendo mandado o jovem para a prisão, onde foi visitado por suas irmãs Sabina e Cristeta. Convencido por elas a fugir, foram os três perseguidos e apanhados em Ávila, sendo sujeitos a vários suplícios e finalmente partidas as suas cabeças com paus e pedras. Os seus corpos foram deixados ao abandono para pasto dos animais; todavia apareceu uma enorme serpente que os protegia e que se enroscou à volta de um judeu rico da cidade que pretendia desprezar os santos despojos e que só se viu livre da serpente quando prometeu converter-se ao cristianismo. Os mártires acabaram por ser sepultados pelos cristãos, espalhando-se rapidamente a sua devoção.O repertório iconográfico, muito reduzido no que concerne a arquidiocese de Évora, confina--se praticamente à igreja de São Vicente, onde se encontra a pedra na qual supostamente terá deixado as marcas dos seus pés; alguns painéis do retábulo-mor representam “São Vicente conduzido perante o altar de Júpiter”, “São Vicente na prisão e a visita de suas irmãs”, “o martírio de São Vicente”, e “o judeu impedido pela serpente de ultrajar os corpos dos três santos”. A representação escultórica segue muito de perto a de Ávila. Todos trazem a palma do martírio, São Vicente um livro aberto ou semicerrado. As irmãs Sabina e Cristeta apresentam uma iconografia pouco definida, sendo por vezes necessário, quando não estão inseridas no contexto duma cena conhecida, que o nome lhes seja sotoposto para fácil identificação. (shrink)

A partir do final do século passado, na esteira das preocupações e debates sobre a biodiversidade, chega-se à afirmação da importância da Amazônia. No bojo dessa dinâmica, colocam-se também as pressões internacionais e as políticas estatais para a região e para as populações tradicionais, nela concentradas. Até então alijadas dos interesses políticos do Estado, estas populações passam agora a ser vistas como detentoras de culturas, de saberes "locais", cruciais diante da necessidade "global" de conservação da biodiversidade. Em estreita mescla com (...) os saberes tradicionais, expressam-se inumeráveis formas de religiosidade, dentre as quais se destacam a "encantaria" e a pajelança. Em relação à Amazônia brasileira, esse lugar central ocupado pela religiosidade é tratado via três eixos: presença da Igreja Católica e de outras organizações religiosas em seus processos organizativos; politização da natureza e da religiosidade associada à emergência de múltiplas identidades coletivas; importância da "encantaria" e da pajelança ecológica para a conservação da biodiversidade. Palavras-chave: biodiversiade; religiosidade; Amazônia; encantaria; políticas estatais.From the end of the last century, at the base of the concerns and debates on biodiversity, one comes to asserting the importance of the Amazon. Amid this dynamic, there are also international pressure and public policies for the region and its traditional people. It is known that such populations have Ordinarily being shut out from the political interests of the state. However, these traditional population is beginning to be understood as having cultures, there is to say, "local" knowledge, given the crucial need for "global " biodiversity conservation. Closely intertwined with traditional knowledge, innumerable forms of religiosity is expressed, among which is highlighted the so called "encantaria" and "pajelança". Regarding the Brazilian Amazon, this central place occupied by religiosity is handled via three routes: the presence of the Catholic Church and other religious organizations in their organizational processes; politicization of nature and of religiosity associated with the emergence of multiple collective identities; the importance of the so called "encantaria" and of the ecological "pajelança" (shamanism) towards conservation of biodiversity. Key words: biodiversity; religiosity; Amazon; encantaria; public policies. (shrink)

Resumo Os “Borboletas Azuis” de Campina Grande/PB alcançaram destaque nacional devido à propagação de uma profecia que afirmava a ocorrência de um dilúvio para o dia 13 de maio de 1980. O movimento é uma contestação às transformações da Igreja Católica Romana a partir do Concílio Vaticano II, onde foram tomadas medidas em favor de liturgias mais adequadas às culturas locais e em idioma próprio, assim como mudanças significativas nos textos e na linguagem utilizados na missa e na administração (...) dos sacramentos. A proposta do movimento é resgatar o modelo do cristianismo primitivo, em sua espera messiânica de instauração de uma nova “idade de ouro”. A identidade religiosa do movimento se constitui numa ‘bricolagem’ do cristianismo com o espiritismo, sendo sua excentricidade o motivo para os conflitos com a Igreja Católica e a imprensa local. O presente estudo analisa a trajetória dos “Borboletas Azuis” caracterizando-o como movimento messiânico-milenarista, tomando como perspectiva teórica os estudos da religião realizados por Delumeau, Queiroz, Negrão, Giddens, Weber e Andrade. Nossa metodologia consistiu a realização de entrevistas com remanescentes do movimento e análise de reportagens de jornais e documentos produzidos pela liderança. Palavras-chave: Messianismo; Milenarismo; Luta Simbólica.The "Borboletas Azuis" of Campina Grande city / PB achieved national prominence due to the spread of a prophecy that to asserted a deluge, for the day 23 de may of 1980. The movement is a challenge to the Roman Catholic Church of Vatican II, from where measures have been taken in favor of liturgies more appropriate to local culture and language, as well as significant changes in the texts and languages used in the Mass and in the administration of the sacraments. The Borboletas Azuis proposes a revival of the model of primitive Christianity, in its messianic hopes to introduce a new "golden age". The religious identity of the movement is constituted of ‘bricolage’ of Christianity with spiritism. Because of its "eccentricities", ended generating a huge controversy that culminated in a double conflict: one with the Catholic Church and other with the local press. This study analyzes the imaginary of the "Borboletas Azuis”, adopting a theoretical perspective inspired on studies about religion done by Delumeau, Queiroz, Negrão, Giddens, Weber e Andrade . The methodology we used consisted in open interviews carried out with remaining believers and the analysis of local press articles and documents produced by their leaders. Keywords : Messianism; Millenarism; Symbolic Fight. (shrink)

Surrogacy is an increasingly frequent form of family building and allows individuals to become parents despite an infertility diagnosis or a biological impossibility. Positive outcomes for both the surrogacy child and the surrogate mother have been reported, including in cases of same-sex male couples and single persons. There is an on-going debate because remuneration does not necessarily involve undue inducement of the surrogate or transformation of the child into a commodity. The right to regret and the doctors’ autonomy are also (...) addressed in this paper. Nevertheless, literature on surrogacy is scarce, and most of the existing studies have important methodological limitations, so further investigation is much needed. We believe that counselling should be granted for both intended parents and surrogate, in order to prevent the majority of problems. We also agree that parental vetting should be possible, focusing the doctor’s responsibility also in the future child. (shrink)

Scientific realism and anti-realism are most frequently discussed as global theses: theses that apply equally well across the board to all the various sciences. Against this status quo I defend the localist alternative, a methodological stance on scientific realism that approaches debates on realism at the level of individual sciences, rather than at science itself. After identifying the localist view, I provide a number of arguments in its defense, drawing on the diversity and disunity found in the sciences, as well (...) as problems with other approaches (such as basing realism debates on the aim of science). I also show how the view is already at work, explicitly or implicitly, in the work of several philosophers of science. After meeting the objections that localism collapses either into globalism or hyperlocalism, I conclude by sketching what sorts of impacts localism can have in the philosophy of science. (shrink)

Bell’s inequality is an empirical constrain on theories with hidden variables, which EPR argued are needed to explain observed perfect correlations if keeping locality. One way to deal with the empirical violation of Bell’s inequality is by openly embracing nonlocality, in a theory like the pilot-wave theory. Nonetheless, recent proposals have revived the possibility that one can avoid nonlocality by resorting to superdeterministic theories. These are local hidden variables theories which violate statistical independence which is one assumption of Bell’s (...) inequality. In this paper I compare and contrast these two hidden variable strategies: the pilot-wave theory and superdeterminism. I show that even if the former is nonlocal and the other is not, both are contextual. Nonetheless, in contrast with the pilot-wave theory, superdeterminist contextuality makes it impossible to test the theory (which therefore becomes unfalsifiable and unconfirmable) and renders the theory uninformative (measurement results tell us nothing about the system). It is questionable therefore whether a theory with these features is worth its costs. (shrink)

Local Recurrency Theory (LR) holds that recurrent loops of neural activity localized to the visual cortex are necessary and sufficient for visual consciousness (if certain background conditions obtain). LR’s popularity has recently waned in favor of theories holding that higher-level types of processing are necessary for consciousness (for example, the Global Neuronal Workspace Theory and Higher-order Theory). This has been in part because of empirical evidence thought to disconfirm LR. However, these competing theories now face challenges of their own, (...) often coming in the form of evidence showing that higher-level brain areas (that is, in the prefrontal cortex) are probably not essential for consciousness. Given growing challenges to LR's competitors, it would be timely to re-assess the prospects for LR. This article carries out such an investigation, first laying out the theory precisely, then going on to survey the evidence presented against it. What will be found is that none of the evidence necessarily undermines LR, but instead just fosters its theoretical enrichment. The overall conclusion: LR remains among our most promising neuroscientific theories of visual consciousness. (shrink)

The concept of inclusive innovation has become widely embraced in the agricultural domain and promises to overcome traditional innovation paradigms by emphasizing more balanced, sustainable, and just human-environmental relations. Indigenous and local knowledge play an increasingly important role in debates about inclusive innovation, highlighting the diversity of relevant actors and marginalized perspectives. At the same time, the positioning of Indigenous and local knowledge in innovation processes remains ambiguous and contested. This article addresses this positioning in the context of (...) inclusive agricultural innovations by reviewing 65 publications through iterative inductive coding. The qualitative review generates a conceptual framework that distinguishes five different modes relating innovation processes to Indigenous and local knowledge. These modes differ in locating innovations in endogenous, exogenous, or hybrid knowledge production. Furthermore, they also differ in their conceptualizations of Indigenous and local knowledge as dynamic or static. The resulting matrix provides resources for navigating the complex epistemic and political relations between knowledge systems in the agricultural domain. (shrink)

Last year the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released its report on the unprecedented amassing of biodata by the People’s Republic of China, the profit to be had through accumulati...

Local expressivism is the idea that some kinds of sentences express mental states other than beliefs. Global expressivism is the idea that all sentences are similarly expressive (of attitudes) instead of representational. They appear to disagree, but due to the vagueness of these big-picture ideas, the disagreement between them has not yet been clearly pinned down and has been suspected to be empty. This paper fixes this problem and shows not only how and where they disagree, but also that (...) their disagreement is more profound than it has usually been conceived as. I first show that local and global expressivism have very different conceptual origins and thus that we should not think of them as carrying the same project to different extents. I then show their disagreement: global expressivists think that the meaning of all kinds of sentences is primarily inferential, and the meaningfulness of language is to be primarily explained by our trying to agree with our peers, while local expressivists think that the meaning of some kinds of sentences is primarily representational, and the meaningfulness of language is to be primarily explained by our trying to agree with the environment. An important upshot of this reframing of the debate is that global expressivists’ arguments to convince local expressivists are not successful. (shrink)

Evans & Levinson (E&L) claim Kiowa number as a prime example of the semantically unexpected, threatening both Universal Grammar and Linguistic Universals. This commentary, besides correcting factual errors, shows that the primitives required for Kiowa also explain two unrelated semantically unexpected patterns and derive two robust Linguistic Universals. Consequently, such apparent exceptionality argues strongly for Universal Grammar and against E&L.

Recent frameworks, models, and reports highlight the critical need to address social determinants of health for achieving health equity in the United States and around the globe. In the United States, data play an important role in better understanding community‐level and population‐level disparities particularly for local health departments. However, data‐driven decision‐making—the use of data for public health activities such as program implementation, policy development, and resource allocation—is often presented theoretically or through case studies in the literature. We sought to (...) develop a preliminary model that identifies the factors that contribute to data‐driven decision‐making in US local health departments and describe relationships between them. Guided by implementation science literature, we examined organizational‐level capacity and individual‐level factors contributing to using data for decision‐making related to social determinants of health and the reduction of county‐level disparities. This model has the potential to improve implementation of public health interventions and programs aimed at upstream structural factors, by elucidating the factors critical to incorporating data in decision‐making. (shrink)

The business practices of multinational corporations raise many provocative moral issues and offer a touchstone for some fundamental ethical concepts. This essay identifies a wide range of problems but centers on the matter of consistency in corporate policy between foreign and domestic practices and the kind of generality of standards that is required to achieve consistency. Two considerations are singled out for illustrative discussion: wage scales and bribes. Proposals are offered for achieving consistency and generality in each case, the principle (...) of contextual generality for the first and the notion of structural universals for the second. (shrink)

This paper argues that realism issue in the social sciences is not one that can be decided by general philosophical arguments that evaluate entire domains at once. The realism issue is instead many different empirical issues. To defend these claims, I sort issues that are often run together, explicate and criticize several standard realist and antirealist arguments about the social sciences, and use the example of the productive/nonproductive distinction to illustrate the approach to realism questions that I favor.

Cultural Context of Multilevel Collective Social Actions: Framing, Reflection, Resonance and the Impact of Global and Local Anti-Poverty Movements In political science as well as in other social sciences much attention has been paid during recent years to the rapid growth of national and transnational activist networks and their increasing impact on domestic and world politics. Together with the proliferation of literature on the topic, concepts of collective action frames, framing processes, mobilizing ideas and meanings and their cultural resonance (...) have gained considerable currency. However, less has been written about the possibilities of and the constraints on the circulation of collective action frames or about the connection between the cultural adaptation of frames and the results of actual collective struggles. The paper explores this understudied issue both theoretically and empirically. After identifying possible links between collective action framing processes and the representational practices of particular cultures based on a review of existing theoretical approaches, the functional consequences are demonstrated by the example of the Global Call for Action against Poverty international campaign and the Czech national variant. (shrink)

Given a topological Ramsey space math formula, we extend the notion of semiselective coideal to sets math formula and study conditions for math formula that will enable us to make the structure math formula a Ramsey space and also study forcing notions related to math formula which will satisfy abstract versions of interesting properties of the corresponding forcing notions in the realm of Ellentuck's space. This extends results from to the most general context of topological Ramsey spaces. As applications, we (...) prove that for every topological Ramsey space math formula, under suitable large cardinal hypotheses every semiselective ultrafilter math formula is generic over math formula; and that given a semiselective coideal math formula, every definable subset of math formula is math formula-Ramsey. This generalizes the corresponding results for the case when math formula is equal to Ellentuck's space. (shrink)