University of Redlands

James V. Spickard; Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice, by Catherine Bell. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992, x + 270 pp. $15.95 (paper), Sociology of Religion

We are prone to gross error, even in favorable circumstances of extended reflection, about our own ongoing conscious experience, our current phenomenology. Even in this apparently privileged domain, our self-knowledge is faulty and untrustworthy. We are not simply fallible at the margins but broadly inept. Examples highlighted in this essay include: emotional experience (for example, is it entirely bodily; does joy have a common, distinctive phenomenological core?), peripheral vision (how broad and stable is the region of visual clarity?), and the phenomenology of thought (does it have a distinctive phenomenology, beyond just imagery and feelings?). Cartesian skeptical scenarios undermine knowledge of ongoing conscious experience as well as knowledge of the outside world. Infallible judgments about ongoing mental states are simply banal cases of self-fulfillment. Philosophical foundationalism supposing that we infer an external world from secure knowledge of our own consciousness is almost exactly backward.

We obtained original individual data from 15 studies of magnetic fields or wire codes and childhood leukemia, and we estimated magnetic field exposure for subjects with sufficient data to do so. Summary estimates from 12 studies that supplied magnetic field measures exhibited little or no association of magnetic fields with leukemia when comparing 0.1-0.2 and 0.2-0.3 microtesla (microT) categories with the 0-0.1 microT category, but the Mantel-Haenszel summary odds ratio comparing >0.3 microT to 0-0.1 microT was 1.7 (95% confidence limits = 1.2, 2.3). Similar results were obtained using covariate adjustment and spline regression. The study-specific relations appeared consistent despite the numerous methodologic differences among the studies. The association of wire codes with leukemia varied considerably across studies, with odds ratio estimates for very high current vs low current configurations ranging from 0.7 to 3.0 (homogeneity P = 0.005). Based on a survey of household magnetic fields, an estimate of the U.S. population attributable fraction of childhood leukemia associated with residential exposure is 3% (95% confidence limits = -2%, 8%). Our results contradict the idea that the magnetic field association with leukemia is less consistent than the wire code association with leukemia, although analysis of the four studies with both measures indicates that the wire code association is not explained by measured fields. The results also suggest that appreciable magnetic field effects, if any, may be concentrated among relatively high and uncommon exposures, and that studies of highly exposed populations would be needed to clarify the relation of magnetic fields to childhood leukemia.

BACKGROUND: College students experience high levels of stress. Mindfulness meditation delivered via a mobile app may be an appealing, efficacious way to reduce stress in college students. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to test the initial efficacy and sustained effects of an 8-week mindfulness meditation mobile app-Calm-compared to a wait-list control on stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion in college students with elevated stress. We also explored the intervention's effect on health behaviors (ie, sleep disturbance, alcohol consumption [binge drinking], physical activity, and healthy eating [fruit and vegetable consumption]) and the feasibility and acceptability of the app. METHODS: This study was a randomized, wait-list, control trial with assessments at baseline, postintervention (8 weeks), and at follow-up (12 weeks). Participants were eligible if they were current full-time undergraduate students and (1) at least 18 years of age, (2) scored ≥14 points on the Perceived Stress Scale, (3) owned a smartphone, (4) were willing to download the Calm app, (5) were willing to be randomized, and (7) were able to read and understand English. Participants were asked to meditate using Calm at least 10 minutes per day. A P value ≤.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 88 participants were included in the analysis. The mean age (SD) was 20.41 (2.31) years for the intervention group and 21.85 (6.3) years for the control group. There were significant differences in all outcomes (stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion) between the intervention and control groups after adjustment for covariates postintervention (all P<.04). These effects persisted at follow-up (all P<.03), except for the nonreacting subscale of mindfulness (P=.08). There was a significant interaction between group and time factors in perceived stress (P=.002), mindfulness (P<.001), and self-compassion (P<.001). Bonferroni posthoc tests showed significant within-group mean differences for perceived stress in the intervention group (P<.001), while there were no significant within-group mean differences in the control group (all P>.19). Similar results were found for mindfulness and self-compassion. Effect sizes ranged from moderate (0.59) to large (1.24) across all outcomes. A significant group×time interaction in models of sleep disturbance was found, but no significant effects were found for other health behaviors. The majority of students in the intervention group reported that Calm was helpful to reduce stress and stated they would use Calm in the future. The majority were satisfied using Calm and likely to recommend it to other college students. The intervention group participated in meditation for an average of 38 minutes/week during the intervention and 20 minutes/week during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Calm is an effective modality to deliver mindfulness meditation in order to reduce stress and improve mindfulness and self-compassion in stressed college students. Our findings provide important information that can be applied to the design of future studies or mental health resources in university programs. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03891810; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03891810.

The first large-scale, nationwide academic achievement testing program using Stanford Achievement Test (Stanford) for deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the United States started in 1969. Over the past three decades, the Stanford has served as a benchmark in the field of deaf education for assessing student academic achievement. However, the validity and reliability of using the Stanford for this special student population still require extensive scrutiny. Recent shifts in educational policy environment, which require that schools enable all children to achieve proficiency through accountability testing, warrants a close examination of the adequacy and relevance of the current large-scale testing of deaf and hard-of-hearing students. This study has three objectives: (a) it will summarize the historical data over the last three decades to indicate trends in academic achievement for this special population, (b) it will analyze the current federal laws and regulations related to educational testing and special education, thereby identifying gaps between policy and practice in the field, especially identifying the limitations of current testing programs in assessing what deaf and hard-of-hearing students know, and (c) it will offer some insights and suggestions for future testing programs for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

The stories told in organizations offer researchers and organizational development practitioners a natural entry point to understanding and intervening in the culture(s) of an organization. Informed by perspectives of social constructivism, organizational symbolism, and critical theory, examines key studies of organizational story and storytelling, identifies multidisciplinary foundations, and presents challenges to the application of story work in organizations.

, cleaves mucin domains by recognizing a discrete peptide- and glycan-based motif. We exploited StcE's unique properties to improve sequence coverage, glycosite mapping, and glycoform analysis of recombinant human mucins by mass spectrometry. We also found that StcE digests cancer-associated mucins from cultured cells and from ascites fluid derived from patients with ovarian cancer. Finally, using StcE, we discovered that sialic acid-binding Ig-type lectin-7 (Siglec-7), a glycoimmune checkpoint receptor, selectively binds sialomucins as biological ligands, whereas the related receptor Siglec-9 does not. Mucin-selective proteolysis, as exemplified by StcE, is therefore a powerful tool for the study of mucin domain structure and function.

A vivid illustration of shared storytelling, collective centring, and collective sense-making appears in this study of one non-profit organization. Organiza tional members identify two stories that express the collective sense and allow centring on the shared meaning. Sense-making in a structurally closed organ ization is demonstrated. Organizational dynamics and root metaphors are examined and several approaches to the analysis of organizational myth and story are utilized. Dissonance between organizational members and the presid ent is apparent even though the organization is rooted in a unitary reality.

We present an undergraduate-level experiment using a conventional absorption spectrophotometer to measure the wavelength dependence of light scattering from small dielectric spheres suspended in water. The experiment yielded total scattering cross-section values throughout the visible region that were in good agreement with theoretical values predicted by the Rayleigh and Mie theories.

How does the quality of national institutions that enforce the rule of law influence international trade? Anderson and Marcouiller argue that bad institutions located in the importer's country deter international trade because they enable economic predators to steal and extort rents at the importer's border. We complement this research and show how good institutions located in the exporter's country enhance international trade, in particular, trade in complex products whose characteristics are difficult to fully specify in a contract. We argue that both exporter and importer institutions affect international as well as domestic transaction costs in complex and simple product markets. International transaction costs are a part of the costs of trade. Domestic transaction costs affect complex and simple products differently, thereby changing a country's comparative advantage in producing such goods.We find ample empirical evidence for these predictions: countries that have good institutions tend to export more complex products and import more simple products. Furthermore, institutions have a stronger influence on trade via production costs (comparative advantage) than through international transactions costs. International institutions seem to operate as substitutes for domestic institutions, because good domestic institutions are less important for promoting exports in those countries that have signed the New York Convention.

This analysis extrapolates information from previous studies and experiences to bring physical medicine and rehabilitation perspective and intervention to the multidisciplinary treatment of COVID-19. The purpose of pulmonary rehabilitation in COVID-19 patients is to improve symptoms of dyspnea, relieve anxiety, reduce complications, minimize disability, preserve function, and improve quality of life. Pulmonary rehabilitation during the acute management of COVID-19 should be considered when possible and safe and may include nutrition, airway, posture, clearance technique, oxygen supplementation, breathing exercises, stretching, manual therapy, and physical activity. Given the possibility of long-term disability, outpatient posthospitalization pulmonary rehabilitation may be considered in all patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Abstract In this chapter, we focus on two essential concerns for the practice of primary and secondary education: (1) Who are the children for whom school programs are responsible, and (2) How well are the aims of education being accomplished? We review recent reports on the demographics of deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the various K-12 educational settings in the United States and reflect on how this profile has changed over the last three decades. We discuss the academic achievement patterns among deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the context of variations in outcomes among hearing students and present a synthesis of what is known about the link between student characteristics and achievement outcomes among program settings.

Rethinking Secularism CRAIG CALHOUN, MARK JUERGENSMEYER & JONATHAN VAN ANTWERPEN, eds., 2011 Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press 297 pp., £65.00, US$99.00 (hb), £15.99, US$24.95 (pb) ISBN 97...

Importance: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections cause anogenital cancers and warts. The 9-valent HPV vaccine provides protection against 7 high-risk types of HPV responsible for 90% of cervical cancers and 2 other HPV types accounting for 90% of genital warts. Objective: To determine whether HPV type-specific antibody responses would be noninferior among girls and boys aged 9 to 14 years after receiving 2 doses of the 9-valent HPV vaccine compared with adolescent girls and young women aged 16 to 26 years receiving 3 doses. Design, Setting, and Participants: Open-label, noninferiority, immunogenicity trial conducted at 52 ambulatory care sites in 15 countries. The study was initiated on December 16, 2013, with the last participant visit for this report on June 19, 2015. Five cohorts were enrolled: (1) girls aged 9 to 14 years to receive 2 doses 6 months apart (n = 301); (2) boys aged 9 to 14 years to receive 2 doses 6 months apart (n = 301); (3) girls and boys aged 9 to 14 years to receive 2 doses 12 months apart (n = 301); (4) girls aged 9 to 14 years to receive 3 doses over 6 months (n = 301); and (5) a control group of adolescent girls and young women aged 16 to 26 years to receive 3 doses over 6 months (n = 314). Interventions: Two doses of the 9-valent HPV vaccine administered 6 or 12 months apart or 3 doses administered over 6 months. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was prespecified as the antibody response against each HPV type assessed 1 month after the last dose using a competitive immunoassay. Each of the three 2-dose regimens was compared with the standard 3-dose schedule in adolescent girls and young women using a noninferiority margin of 0.67 for the ratio of the antibody geometric mean titers. Results: Of the 1518 participants (753 girls [mean age, 11.4 years]; 451 boys [mean age, 11.5 years]; and 314 adolescent girls and young women [mean age, 21.0 years]), 1474 completed the study and data from 1377 were analyzed. At 4 weeks after the last dose, HPV antibody responses in girls and boys given 2 doses were noninferior to HPV antibody responses in adolescent girls and young women given 3 doses (P < .001 for each HPV type). Compared with adolescent girls and young women who received 3 doses over 6 months, the 1-sided 97.5% CIs for the ratio of HPV antibody geometric mean titers at 1 month after the last dose across the 9 HPV subtypes ranged from 1.36 to ∞ to 2.50 to ∞ for girls who received 2 doses 6 months apart; from 1.37 to ∞ to 2.55 to ∞ for boys who received 2 doses 6 months apart; and from 1.61 to ∞ to 5.36 to ∞ for girls and boys who received 2 doses 12 months apart. Conclusions and Relevance: Among girls and boys aged 9 to 14 years receiving 2-dose regimens of a 9-valent HPV vaccine separated by 6 or 12 months, immunogenicity 4 weeks after the last dose was noninferior to a 3-dose regimen in a cohort of adolescent girls and young women. Further research is needed to assess persistence of antibody responses and effects on clinical outcomes. Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01984697.

James V. Spickard; Predicting Religion: Christian, Secular, and Alternative Futures, Grace Davie, Paul Heelas, and Linda Woodhead (eds.) Aldershot: Ashgate, 200

Psychologists increasingly recognize depression as a serious, albeit often undiagnosed, condition in men. In fact, undiagnosed and untreated depression in men may be one reason why many more men than women commit suicide.However, because of cultural conditioning that discourages expression of depressed mood in men, assessment as well as treatment of depression in men are sometimes difficult. Use of gender-sensitive assessment strategies and interventions will assure that more men will be identified and treated for depression. This article integrates scientific findings related to depression in men with specific gender-sensitive assessment and psychotherapeutic intervention strategies designed to enhance psychologists' skills in working with this significant problem in men.

The purpose of the 4 studies reported here was to develop and provide validation information for a measure of resiliency.

This paper interrogates the ideas of ‘sustained’ and ‘inclusive’ growth that are intrinsic to one of three UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 8 - Decent Work and Growth) adopted by the UN World Tourism Organisation’s (UNWTO) 2030 sustainable tourism agenda. It provides a Marxian-inspired political economy critique of the UNWTO’s embrace of SDG8 and highlights the blind spot within the UNWTO’s inclusive growth-led SDG agenda with respect to questions of equity and social justice. The paper contends that the UNWTO’s SDG-led agenda is contradicted by the logics of growth, competitiveness and profit-making that drive the continued expansion and development of tourism. Rather than addressing the structural injustices that entrench inequalities and reproduce exploitative labour practices, the notion of sustained and inclusive growth reinforces the primacy of capital and market notions of justice and continues to perpetuate a growth driven tourism development model. The paper contributes to a critical theorization of sustainable tourism and offers an informed critique of the current political agenda for sustainable tourism and its potential outcomes.

Trisomic Ts65Dn mice show direct parallels with many phenotypes of Down syndrome (DS), including effects on the structure of cerebellum and hippocampus. A small segment of Hsa21 known as the 'DS critical region' (DSCR) has been held to contain a gene or genes sufficient to cause impairment in learning and memory tasks involving the hippocampus. To test this hypothesis, we developed Ts1Rhr and Ms1Rhr mouse models that are, respectively, trisomic and monosomic for this region. Here, we show that trisomy for the DSCR alone is not sufficient to produce the structural and functional features of hippocampal impairment that are seen in the Ts65Dn mouse and DS. However, when the critical region is returned to normal dosage in trisomic Ms1Rhr/Ts65Dn mice, performance in the Morris water maze is identical to euploid, demonstrating that this region is necessary for the phenotype. Thus, although the prediction of the critical region hypothesis was disproved, novel gene dosage effects were identified, which help to define how trisomy for this segment of the chromosome contributes to phenotypes of DS.

Abstract With increasing awareness of disease as an endangering process, an assessment of which pathogens might pose a problem and their patterns of infection in natural hosts is necessary. This paper examines the exposure of sympatric Ethiopian wolves ( Canis simensis ) and domestic dogs to canine distemper virus (CDV), canine adenovirus (CAV) and canine parvovirus (CPV) in the Bale region, Ethiopia and then relates these data to population trends of wolves. Wolves ( n = 30) sampled between 1989 and 1992 had been exposed to CDV, CAV and CPV, but only CAV might be able to persist in this wolf population. Anecdotal and serological evidence suggested that an epidemic of CDV occurred in the dog population of the Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP) in 1992–93. All park dogs born since this time were seronegative to CDV, although some young dogs in the nearby urban population were seropositive. Despite evidence of CAV infection in wolves, none of the dogs sampled in the park were CAV seropositive, although this virus appeared highly seroprevalent and endemic in urban dogs. All dogs tested for CPV antibodies were seropositive. The BMNP wolf population declined in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with rabies responsible for a dramatic population reduction between 1990 and 1992. Although the population declined further up until 1995, it is not possible to assess whether the concurrent canine distemper epidemic in park dogs also affected wolves. Nevertheless, with evidence of rabies, CDV, CAV and CPV infections in sympatric domestic dogs and Ethiopian wolves, canid diseases clearly pose a significant threat to the future persistence of this Ethiopian wolf population.