Both male ornamentation and male combat result in increased male mortality. Because population sizes are limited by a carrying capacity, increased age-specific adult male mortality will result in decreased age-specific adult female mortality, as well as decreased juvenile mortality. As intersexual competition is one form of intraspecific competition, through choosing to mate with ornamented and/or combative males, females in polygamous systems reduce intraspecific competition. Because average male fitness must exactly equal average female fitness, male fitness will paradoxically rise with increasing (...) male mortality. This theory also offers new perspectives on peripheral problems to sexual theory, such as mate location, resource guarding, leks, harems, and others. (shrink)

Is globalization a product or a process? This paper is given a foundation by a worry and a fillip by a desire. The worry is the obvious unphilosophical grasp of the phenomenon of globalization that led to it being engaged in political and moral terms. The desire is to release globalization from its conception as a product, packaged and exported by some people or some cultures in order to continue an agenda of domination. The paper argues that globalization is a (...) process brought about by inevitable interaction and that blaming or praising any person for being part of it, is sheer misunderstanding. That the process of globalization generates certain states within our world does not justify the conclusion by some analysts that these are created into finished, exportable products. It further posits that we need to literally and literarily depersonalize globalization if we will not continue to dissipate energy in an attempt to pull the rug that we not only laid and are standing on, but one we cannot but stand on. The paper equally debunks the link of slavery, colonialism and imperialism with globalization especially within the African context; and concludes by arguing that the reason for the politicization and ideologization of the concept of globalization is because of weakness and fear that their maladministration will continually be exposed to the global community. Keywords: Globalization, Morality, Political, Africa, Process. (shrink)

Many non-heteronormative Malaysian men find themselves on the receiving end of political, socio-cultural, and religious condemnations of their sexual identifyings and expressions. Their lived realities are often considered invalid, including from religious and theological perspectives. This article is a queer socio-theological project that examines the lived realities of six non-heteronormative Malaysian men who speak up and talk back on their sexualities and spiritual sensibilities. Using a Constructivist Grounded Theory Methodology, and aided by the theological musings of Marcella Althaus-Reid and a (...) document of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences as analytical frameworks, this article analyzes and theologizes the complex processes of transcendent/desire, or negotiations of the “Profoundly More” and sexuality in the narratives of these men. This article suggests that transcendent/desire can be imaginatively assembled in three interrelated forms: as embodied connections with the transcendent; as a vocation; and as an imperative to flourish. (shrink)

A review of [Existence and Consolation: Reinventing Ontology, Gnosis and Values in African Philosophy]. Author: Ada Agada Editor: Jonathan O. Chimakonam Publisher: Paragon House and 3rd Logic Option Number of Pages: 368 Reviewer: Joseph N. AGBO Senior Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki.

One of the questions that philosophers discuss is: How can we avoid, or at least reduce, errors when explaining the world? The skeptical answer to this question is: We cannot avoid errors since no statement is certain or even definitely plausible, but we can eliminate some past errors. This book advocates the skeptical position and discusses its practical applications in science, ethics, aesthetics, and politics. It brings philosophy down to earth and comprises an outline of a skeptical guide to the (...) real world. (shrink)

Seit einem halben Jahrhundert prüfen die Logiker der Sozialwissenschaften die Kausalerklärung auf ihre Anwendbarkeit und auf ihre Tragweite im Bereiche der sogenannten Geisteswissenschaften. Die vorliegende Untersuchung gehört diesem Problemkreis an. Die darin formulierten Argumente unterstützen die These, daß im Strukturalismus eine Möglichkeit zur Ablösung der Kausalanalyse zu sehen ist, und zwar unter der Bedingung, daß der Strukturalismus in der Lage ist, ein Erklärungsschema abzugeben, das den Forderungen der "DN-Erklärung" von Hempel genügt. Im ersten Teil werden die verschiedenen Gründe der Verteidiger (...) und die zahlreichen Einwände der Gegner der Kausalerklärung kurz zusammengefaßt, in der Absicht, darzulegen, weshalb der Gebrauch des Ursache-Begriffs zum Problem geworden, ja selbst in Mißgunst gefallen ist. Der zweite Teil stellt einen beispielhaften Fall von Strukturanalyse dar. Es geht bei dieser Darstellung um eine Neuformulierung des Entwurfs von Lévi-Strauss zu einer allgemeinen Theorie der Verwandtschaftssysteme und damit zur Strukturforschung über jegliche soziale Phänomene. Im dritten Teil wird danna das Strukturschema von Lévi-Strauss in Bezug auf die Hempelschen Erklärungskriterien überprüft, um festzulegen, ob dabei eine den theoretischen Problemen und festgestellten Fakten adäquate Erklärung herauskommt, und ob die Strukturanalyse in die "Tiefe" der Wirklichkeit vordringt, wo Kausalerklärung nicht mehr angebracht ist. (shrink)

Stanislas Breton's _A Radical Philosophy of Saint Paul_, which focuses on the political implications of the apostle's writings, was an instrumental text in Continental philosophy's contemporary "turn to religion." Reading Paul's work against modern thought and history, Breton helped launch a reassessment of Marxism, introduce secular interpretations of biblical and theological traditions, develop "radical negativity" as a critical category, and rework modern political ideas through a theoretical lens. Newly translated and critically situated, this edition takes a fresh approach to Breton's (...) classic work, reacquainting readers with the remarkable ways in which an ancient apostle can reset our understanding of the political. Breton begins with Paul's biography and the texts of his conversion, which challenge common conceptions of identity. He broaches the question of allegory and divine predestination, introduces the idea of subjectivity as an effect of power, and confronts Paul's critique of Law, which leads to an exploration of the logics and limits of agency and power. Breton develops these and other insights in relation to Paul's subversive reflections on the crucified messiah, which challenge meaning and reason and upend our current world order. Neither a coherent theologian nor a stable humanist, Breton's Paul becomes a fascinating figure of excess and madness, experiencing a kind of being that transcends philosophy, secularity, and religion. (shrink)

Flavonoids are a class of low molecular weight phenolic compounds that is widely distributed in the plant kingdom. They exhibit a diverse spectrum of biological functions and play an important role in the interaction between plants and their environment. Flavonoids not only protect the plant from the harmful effects of UV irradiation but also play a crucial role in the sexual reproduction process. A special class of flavonoid polymers, the tannins, plays a structural role in the plant. Yet other classes (...) of flavonoids, flavonols and anthocyanins, have been implicated in the attraction of pollinators. Certain flavonoids participate in the interaction between plants and other organisms such as symbiotic bacteria and parasites. This raises the intriguing question as to how these different compounds arose and evolved. Based on taxonomy and molecular analysis of gene expression patterns it is possible to deduce a putative sequence of acquisition of the different branches of the biosynthetic pathway and their regulators. (shrink)

ḥeleḳ 1. Mitsṿot 1-41 -- ḥeleḳ 2. Mitsṿot 42-114.

Over the course of the last four decades, William Leon McBride has distinguished himself as one of the most esteemed and accomplished philosophers of his generation. This volume—which celebrates the occasion of his seventy-fifth birthday—includes contributions from colleagues, friends, and formers students and pays tribute to McBride’s considerable achievements as a teacher, mentor, and scholar.

The rapidly changing field of genetics affects society through advances in health-care and through implications of genetic research. This study addresses the impacts of new genetic discoveries and technologies on different segments of today's society. The book begins with a chapter on genetic complexity, and subsequent chapters discuss moral and ethical questions arising from today's genetics from the perspectives of health care professionals, the media, the general public, special interest groups and commercial interests.

Ḥeleḳ Rishon, kerekh 1. Teshuvot ha-shayakhot le-Miḳra Midrash ṿe-deʻot ṿe-tsoraf la-hen Sefer Minḥat ḳenaʼot le-R. Aba Mari de-Lunil [Haḳdamah-pereḳ 37] -- Ḥeleḳ Rishon, kerekh 2. Miḳra Midrash ṿe-deʻot Teshuvot ha-shayakhot le-Miḳra Midrash ṿe-deʻot ṿe-tsoraf la-hen Sefer Minḥat ḳenaʼot le-R. Aba Mari de-Lunil [pereḳ 38-pereḳ 127] -- Ḥeleḳ sheni. Teshuvot ha-shayakhot le-Masekhet Berakhot ṿe-Seder Zeraʻim -- Ḥeleḳ shelishi. Teshuvot ha-shayakhot le-Masekhet Shabat ṿe-ʻEruvin.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Ethics and Morality Edited by Elliot N. Dorff and Jonathan K. CraneLouis E. NewmanThe Oxford Handbook of Jewish Ethics and Morality EDITED BY ELLIOT N. DORFF AND JONATHAN K. CRANE New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. 499 pp. $150The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Ethics and Morality addresses what has long been a major lacuna in the field of Jewish studies. No one who (...) studies the history of Judaism would deny that ethics has always occupied a central place in Jewish thought and practice. Yet the scope and range of Jewish ethical reflection, the variety of ethical theories that have animated this tradition, and the diversity of ethical viewpoints represented by major thinkers across the centuries remain far less widely understood than they should be. With the publication of this outstanding and highly readable collection of essays, however, Elliot Dorff and Jonathan Crane have given us the most definitive and encyclopedic presentation of Jewish ethics ever assembled.This latest addition to the Oxford Handbook series encompasses twenty-nine essays that span the history of Jewish ethics from biblical times to the present, but that also introduce readers to its applied and theoretical dimensions as well as the practitioners and scholars who collectively define the field of Jewish ethics. Part 1, “Jewish Ethical Theories,” which is more accurately a comprehensive history of Jewish ethics, includes insightful pieces on biblical, rabbinic, and medieval ethics, but also pieces on key figures in the modern period from Baruch Spinoza to Martin Buber, Abraham Isaac Kook, and Joseph B. Soloveitchik, among others. This section also includes important explications of the ethics of the various modern movements of Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist) as well as essays on specific events and theoretical perspectives that have shaped Jewish ethical discourse in the postwar period—the Holocaust, feminism, and postmodernism. What emerges from these short but remarkably focused and accessible essays is a rich tapestry in which the wide array of genres and methods that characterize the ethics of Judaism are on full display.The second half of the volume is devoted to applied ethics, and here again the diversity of Jewish ethics is showcased. The topics covered include bioethics, the ethics of speech, sexuality, business, the treatment of animals and the environment, politics (both in America and in Israel), criminal justice, and war. The topic of bioethics is wisely subdivided so that we find separate treatments of beginning and end of life, of access to health care, and of genetic technologies. [End Page 219] While some of these essays rehearse positions that will be familiar to those within the tradition, each is an original contribution designed to present the spectrum of positions on that issue that have been articulated by contemporary Jewish ethicists. Accordingly, this volume will now become the first place to look for broad, representative presentations on the most commonly discussed ethical issues of our time.The value of the whole collection is further enhanced by the editors’ introductions, which place the individual essays in context and explain their editorial decisions in selecting and arranging the contributions as they have. Each essay is accompanied by a substantial list of suggestions for further reading that will be valuable to readers in their own right. The entire volume is rounded out with a subject index and a list of references to classical Jewish literature. One could simply not ask for a more carefully constructed or broadly useful handbook on this subject.In any edited collection of this nature, the quality of the individual contributions will vary to some extent. In this instance, the overall quality is extremely high, which is a tribute both to the individual contributors and to the editorial guidance provided by Dorff and Crane. Still, one cannot help but notice that some essays in the second section of the book are more descriptive (e.g., Daniel Sinclair’s essay on end-of-life issues) while others are more ideologically driven (e.g., Arthur Waskow’s essay on environmental ethics). Similarly, while the essays average approximately fifteen to twenty pages each, a few are shorter and more cursory (e.g., Aaron Mackler’s essay on... (shrink)

Background Fifteen years have passed since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong. At that time, there were reports of heroic acts among professionals who cared for these patients, whose bravery and professionalism were highly praised. However, there are concerns about changes in new generation of nursing professionals. Objective We aimed to examine the attitude of nursing students, should they be faced with severe acute respiratory syndrome patients during their future work. Research design A questionnaire survey was (...) carried out to examine the attitude among final-year nursing students to three ethical areas, namely, duty of care, resource allocation, and collateral damage. Ethical considerations This study was carried out in accordance with the requirements and recommendations of the Central Research and Ethics Committee, School of Health Sciences at Caritas Institute of Higher Education. Findings Complete responses from 102 subjects were analyzed. The overwhelming majority (96.1%) did not agree to participate in the intubation of severe acute respiratory syndrome patients if protective measures, that is, N95 mask and gown, were not available. If there were insufficient N95 masks for all the medical, nursing, and allied health workers in the hospital (resource allocation), 37.3% felt that the distribution of N95 masks should be by casting lot, while the rest disagreed. When asked about collateral damage, more than three-quarters (77.5%) said that severe acute respiratory syndrome patients should be admitted to intensive care unit. There was sex difference in nursing students’ attitude toward severe acute respiratory syndrome care during pregnancy and influence of age in understanding intensive care unit care for these patients. Interestingly, 94.1% felt that there should be a separate intensive care unit for severe acute respiratory syndrome patients. Conclusion As infection control practice and isolation facilities improved over the years, relevant knowledge and nursing ethical issues related to infectious diseases should become part of nursing education and training programs, especially in preparation for outbreaks of infectious diseases or distress. (shrink)