Early Commentators Research Articles

Teachers' Perspectives on Promoting Physical Activity in Early Childhood Education: A Pilot Study in Indonesia

Teachers have a vital role in children's development. This study aims to collect the perspectives of early childhood education teachers on 1) the importance of their roles and responsibilities in promoting physical activity; 2) their understanding of various physical activities; and 3) their interest in physical activity training. An online survey was employed to obtain a quantitative description of the data and open-ended questions to obtain feedback in the form of early childhood education teacher comments to obtain comprehensive data results. 22 early childhood education teachers were involved in this study. The results showed that most early childhood education teachers revealed the importance of promoting physical activities in early childhood (67.3% to 91.8%), and their understanding of physical activities in early childhood education was between 57.3% - 82.7%. They had the lowest score on the implementation of aquatic activities at schools. Most of the candidates (77.3% - 90.9%) showed an interest in participating in further physical activity training. These findings serve as initial data to develop an appropriate physical education model for early childhood in Indonesia. Overall, early childhood education teachers are very interested in participating in physical activity training that can increase their role in promoting child development.

Religious Vitality in Victorian London by W. M. Jacob

Reviewed by: Religious Vitality in Victorian London by W. M. Jacob Mark D. Chapman Religious Vitality in Victorian London BY W. M. JACOB Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021. xi + 348 pages. Hardback: £75. ISBN: 9780192897404. In this wide-ranging and comprehensive survey of religious life in London in the last sixty years or so of the nineteenth century, William Jacob offers a reliable guide to how the different churches and other religious groups addressed the social and political changes accompanying the unprecedented expansion of the world’s largest city. It was a time marked by rapid population growth and movement towards the suburbs as well as the period of the expansion of the British Empire. Jacob challenges the assumptions of some earlier commentators who regarded urbanization as marked by religious decline: there was instead a widespread “diffusive Christianity” that touched communities across the capital even though it [End Page 85] was not necessarily accompanied by church attendance (47). The impact of the churches in various types of philanthropy from parish visiting to various forms of welfare meant that religious communities continued to exert a huge influence on society: there is very little evidence of secularization before the end of the century. Religion remained big business and even functioned as a tourist attraction with people travelling from far and wide to hear famous preachers or to visit churches offering liturgy in the latest style. Through mastery of the primary sources, as well as virtually everything that has been published on the subject, Jacob tells a complex story with many twists and turns. After two chapters of context setting where he locates the growth of London alongside its place at the heart of a massive multi-national trading empire, he goes on to discuss the various religious groups beginning with the Church of England, which, unlike in many of the other large cities in England, continued to dominate the religious landscape throughout the century. Under the hyper-active Bishop Charles Blomfield and his successor A. C. Tait, there was rapid church expansion with many new buildings and division of parishes, along with new endowments and organizations devoted to various forms of domestic mission and education. One of the wealthiest women in England, Angela Burdett-Coutts, of the banking family, donated vast sums for building churches across the city, as well as providing resources for stipends. At the same time, the increasing pluralization of religious communities meant that some of the trappings of establishment were challenged with the result that the voluntary principle became central for the Church of England: there were many societies promoting voluntary activities, which enabled the middle-classes, including many women, to be involved in forms of ministry, especially among the poor. Alongside this, however, was the perennial problem of churchmanship, which led to competition between varieties of Anglicanism. Large amounts of energy were expended on anti-ritualist campaigns and opposition to what was often perceived as scarcely disguised “Romanism.” Despite this division, however, Jacob concludes that there was a spiritual mobilization in London that allowed the church to engage with all strata of society far more effectively than in other large cities across Europe. Its effects were felt in education, the so-called “settlements” where the wealthy lived among the poor, as well as the large number of parish-based societies that were able to penetrate the lives of the working classes. Chapter five addresses nonconformity in all its complexity. While there was an expansion of nonconformity it remained relatively small with the “old dissent,” especially Congregationalism, stronger than the various varieties of Methodism, which had emerged in the late eighteenth century. While there were some “mega-chapels” such as Charles Spurgeon’s at Elephant and Castle that attracted large congregations, these often declined after the charismatic minister left. It was often difficult to attract funds to ensure continuity of ministry, although there were many wealthy nonconformist benefactors who helped denominations erect churches to [End Page 86] rival those of their Anglican competitors. While some chapels engaged with the poor, particularly in response to the campaigns by the nonconformist journalist W. T. Stead, there was often a reluctance to engage with projects for widespread social improvement. The independent...

Zastrzyk z kurary, czyli „Dzieje grzechu” jako powieść metapopularna

Literary works of Stefan Żeromski have been eloquently and fruitfully analyzed in search of schemes and conventions typical for popular literature and culture of the late 19th and early 20th century. However, these ingenious interpretations did not emphasize a crucial aspect of Żeromski’s attitude toward popular fiction, which may be described as metaconscious. Dzieje grzechu [The History of Sin] is a novel in which Stefan Żeromski most unashamedly and outspokenly used various advantages and possibilities offered to him by the realm of popular culture. Yet, in this case being both outspoken and unashamed is not equivocal with a lack of literary self-awareness, as some earlier commentators suggested. Therefore, a central point for my interpretation is a famous scene of homicide committed by the novel’s protagonist, Ewa Pobratyńska, on her lover during their erotic act. This scene, so long and so often dismissed by reviewers and researchers as exaggerated, sordid, cruel, and a sign of the writer’s declining taste, is in fact a verbatim quotation from the late 19th-century penny dreadful as a specific literary convention. When Ewa’s two relentless partners in crime first present her that project, she herself exposes its trivial sources, calling it a “rank idea” taken directly from a vulgar romance. In this way, Dzieje grzechu unmasks fictional and popular elements of its own construction. Yet, it avoids becoming a sheer pastiche, remaining a multidimensional text of several facets and perspectives.

Honor by Thrity Umrigar

Reviewed by: Honor by Thrity Umrigar Jaid Wehrenberg Thrity Umrigar. Honor. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 2022. 336 p. Thrity Umrigar's Honor explores the consequences of impossible love in the midst of honor killings and a divided India. A journalist herself, Umrigar provides a unique perspective of India through two protagonists: Smita Agarwal, a reluctant Indian American journalist sent to capture the story, and Meena, whose forbidden love resulted in her husband's murder at the hands of her own brothers. Umrigar's past as an immigrant from India undoubtedly provides authority for this difficult yet important work. In an unlikely triumph, Umrigar unites the romance genre, complete with an enemies-to-lovers trope, with the voiceless victims of honor killings. Unflinching in its portrayal of the complicated race relations of Muslims and Hindus, the novel uses the framework of romance to expose Old India's presence in New India's reality. Honor tells two parallel love stories, one doomed and one privileged, while simultaneously exploring a love-hate relationship with India as a complicated and complex mother country. Smita, whose specialty involves women's issues in foreign countries, has a troubled and mysterious history with India that is teased and eventually revealed towards the novels' close. Meena, a Hindu woman who is suing her [End Page 354] brothers for the death of her Muslim husband, is the subject of the seasoned journalist's endeavors. Smita is hesitant to form an attachment with Meena. However, Smita's own trauma with India makes her usual cold objectivity impossible. Although the stories of women killed for honor are numerous, they often feature the men who kill women to preserve their own reputation and honor. Most of Meena's story, told in italicized sections in her own voice, is the tender love story between her and her lover. The honor present in their love restores meaning to the term and results in the naming of their child. Not flinching away from Meena's horrific treatment, Umrigar tactfully tells her story as a victim without victimizing her. Meena's final act of bravery to protect her daughter and cruel mother-in-law demonstrates the active rather than passive position she plays. Meena's choice to sue her brothers draws media attention, and subsequently, the interaction with Smita and the progression of the plot. Honor killings in India are well documented, yet Umrigar's positioning of Meena solidifies the importance of her work. Meena and Smita take center stage, but India's presence is never absent. Smita's disgust towards India is personified in her developing relationship with Mohan. Mohan, a kind and proud son of gold miners, often argues that India is a beautiful place. Smita's frequent biting remarks against India are met with well-argued rebuttals by Mohan, causing readers to side with Mohan's seemingly more understanding approach. However, the author cleverly forces readers and Mohan to confront the realities of India through both women's stories. Meena's treatment by the chief of her village and her brothers begins to unravel Mohan. Later, Smita reveals her backstory, partly for her own relief, but also so that Mohan could finally see some of her own repulsion with India. Smita's family is forced to convert to Hinduism after a mob drags her and her brother, young children at the time, into the street and sexually assaults both of them while their neighbors do nothing. Smita's earlier comments about India no longer ring as harsh, and Mohan's defenses of India suddenly sound weak and uninformed. Rather than demonize and condemn India, however, Smita's confession and solace in Mohan allows her to appreciate India again. Mohan represents all of the best of India, and in his loving embrace, Smita can begin to form healthy attachments again. Honor does exactly what it sets out to do: restore honor not [End Page 355] just to victims of honor killings, but to India. By describing India as a home, a place where food and people are united under the dust that permeates everywhere, Umrigar allows readers, through Smita's own reunification with India, to see what Mohan and others see: the possibility of...

From the Gilded Age to the Digital Age: The evolution of ICRC legal commentaries

AbstractLegal commentaries are a type of secondary source that provides clarity about the meaning of treaty provisions so they can be appropriately interpreted and applied by practitioners. Since 1870, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has produced such commentaries on each successive international humanitarian law (IHL) treaty or update to an existing treaty. Over time, who drafts these commentaries and the methodology behind them has evolved, from early commentaries written by a single jurist who had participated in the drafting of the treaty to multi-authored works based on extensive research and the methodology found in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. The ICRC Commentaries have always been geared towards those tasked with applying IHL, but this audience has expanded over time, giving them a more global reach, and their reception has evolved accordingly. The most recent iteration of the ICRC Commentaries on the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols is currently being produced, with some changes in methodology to guarantee that they remain a practical tool for the interpretation and application of those instruments.

Introduction to the Tafsir of Tabari. Translation from Arabic and Commentary. Part 2

This publication presents the second part of the commented translation into Russian of the Introduction (muqaddima) to the tafasir “Jami‘ al-bayan fī ta’wil al-Qur’an” [The Comprehensive Exposition of the interpretation of the Qur’an] by Muhammad ibn Jarir at-Tabari (839–923). It contains sections dedicated to tafsir. The fi rst of them enumerates three aspects (wujūh) of the interpretation of the Qur’an — (1) the part, which only God knowns — eschatological ayats; (2) the part, whose interpretation is possible only with the support of prophetic traditions — ayats of the Law; and (3) the part, which might be understood by everyone who knows the language of the Qur’an. In the two following sections, groups of traditions about the admissibility and inadmissibility of exegesis are compared. On bases of their analysis, the theologian approves the legitimacy of tafsir. The last section lists the “praiseworthy” and “reprehensible” early commentators on the Holy Scriptures of Islam.

Whispering in Early China

The word ouyu occurs with some frequency in early Chinese literature, signifying “to whisper” or “to murmur.” It is frequently associated with expressing dissatisfaction in a furtive manner and with behaving in an undisciplined or indecorous way. In this article, I cover all significant instances of this word that occur in Song and pre-Song sources and find them to be about whispering for different reasons, in different contexts and with different consequences. According to the Shiji, the First Emperor of the Qin banned ouyu about the Documents and the Odes (ouyu Shi Shu). This is the earliest attested use of the term and the passage is usually interpreted to mean that the First Emperor prohibited people from congregating to criticise his government by reference to past lore as narrated in the Documents and the Odes. This would make it the only instance in the available literature where ouyu is about anything. I argue that the commonly accepted interpretation rests on a misinterpretation of the early commentaries and suggest that the characters Shi Shu may be the result of a corruption in Shiji. What the Qin emperor outlawed was the activity of whispering as such – if people talked conspiratorially in a subdued voice, the regime saw this as proof that they harboured rebellious intentions and therefore deserved public execution, with no further evidence needed. In the last section, I discuss some literary senses of ou. I have previously argued that some of these are helpful to understanding the Qin Burning of the Books; I now dismiss them as irrelevant, since the widely attested use of ouyu as “to whisper” fully explains the Qin regime’s efforts to quell criticism of its rule, as well as all later uses of the word in similar contexts.

Natural Inseparability in Aristotle,MetaphysicsE.1, 1026a14

AbstractAt Aristotle,MetaphysicsE.1, 1026a14, Schwegler’s conjectural emendation of the manuscript reading ἀχώριστα to χωριστά has been widely adopted. The objects of physical science are therefore here ‘separate’, or ‘independently existent’. By contrast, the manuscripts make them ‘not separate’, construed by earlier commentators as dependent on matter. In this paper, I offer a new defense of the manuscript reading. I review past defenses based on the internal consistency of the chapter, explore where they have left supporters of the emendation unpersuaded, and attempt to strengthen their appeal. I challenge Schwegler’s central case, developed by Ross and others, that the construction μὲν ἀλλ’ οὐκ demands an implausible ‘logical antithesis’ between inseparability and mobility. This is arguably the fundamental obstacle to the manuscript reading, and counterexamples have not to date convinced emenders. I offer a new, systematic review of Aristotle’s use of the phrase, including relevant cases from theRhetoric, to show how its usual meaning in Aristotle supports the transmitted text; I also reply to possible objections. Finally, I explore the implications of this defense for the classification of the sciences in E.1.

The Earliest Commentary on the Prophecy of Habakkuk

The Earliest Commentary on the Prophecy of Habakkuk

The Mexican Revolution's Wake: The Making of a Political System, 1920–1929

The Mexican Revolution's Wake: The Making of a Political System, 1920–1929

The Parable of the Disappearing Gladiators: Interpreting a Late Antique Cultural Reference in Genesis Rabba’s Exposition of the Cain and Abel Narrative

Abstract According to the mashal (parable) attributed to Shimʿon ben Yoḥai in Gen. Rab. 22:9, the murder of Abel (Gen 4:8–10) may be likened to a gladiator’s death in the arena. This article argues that the parable assumes the audience’s familiarity with gladiatorial shows, which came to an end in the early fifth century CE. Tracing the transmission of the mashal in Tanḥuma ha-Nidpas (Bereshit 9) and the earliest commentaries on Genesis Rabba, it further argues that the gladiatorial allusion was not understood after the demise of the games, and that the Tanḥuma’s version is a later reformulation. The preservation of the imagery in the earliest extant manuscripts of Genesis Rabba, despite the fact that it was not well-understood when they were produced, demonstrates the conservation of a reference to a late antique public institution in medieval copies and thus contributes to the knowledge of Genesis Rabba’s textual history.

Explaining the relation between early mind-mindedness and children's mentalizing abilities: The development of an observational preschool assessment.

The aim of this research was to develop a new observation-based measure for assessing caregivers' mind-mindedness in the preschool years and investigate whether this measure could explain the link between mothers' early appropriate mind-related comments and children's later mentalizing abilities. The new measure was developed using a sample of mothers and 44-month-olds (N = 171), characterizing mind-mindedness in terms of (a) solicited child involvement, (b) adaptive communication, and (c) internal state talk. These indices were positively related to established assessments of mind-mindedness at 8, 44, and 61 months. Positive associations were also observed with children's later mentalizing abilities. The new measure of mind-mindedness did not, however, mediate the relation between mind-mindedness in the first year of life and children's mentalizing abilities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

PH Roundtable: Genetics and Pulmonary Hypertension

PH Roundtable: Genetics and Pulmonary Hypertension

Store robberies for tobacco products: Perceived causes and potential solutions

Robberies of New Zealand convenience stores for tobacco products spiked between 2016 and 2017. According to media reports, many robberies involved the use of weapons and resulted in injury to retailers. We conducted a content analysis of all online media articles containing commentary about these robberies, published between 2014 and 2019, to identify the perceived causes of the increase in robberies for tobacco and remedies implemented or demanded. The commentators in the articles were categorized into three groups of stakeholders: elites, grassroots, and interest groups. Overall, there was a mismatch between perceiving the primary cause to be socially and economically determined and suggesting solutions that were mostly situational shop level changes or tertiary prevention strategies, such as more and harsher policing. A further mismatch was that existing policing policy was not adapted to balance the perverse consequences of the tobacco excise tax increases. Early commentators tended to deflect blame away from their own sector. Later commentary converged to agree that the high tobacco excise tax was a critical causal factor.

Review: The Golden Calf between Bible and Qur’an: Scripture, Polemic, and Exegesis from Late Antiquity to Islam, by Michael Pregill

Review: <i>The Golden Calf between Bible and Qur’an: Scripture, Polemic, and Exegesis from Late Antiquity to Islam</i>, by Michael Pregill

“Nous alone enters from outside” - Aristotelian embryology and early Christian philosophy

In a work entitled On the Generation of Animals, Aristotle remarks that “intellect (nous) alone enters from outside (thurathen)”. Interpretations of this passage as dualistic dominate the history of ideas and allow for a joining together of Platonic and Aristotelian doctrine on the soul. This, however, pulls against the well-known Aristotelian position that soul and body are intertwined and interdependent. The most influential interpretations thereby misrepresent Aristotle’s view on soul and lack any real engagement with his embryology. This paper seeks to extract the account of intellect (nous) in Aristotelian embryology from this interpretative background and place it within the context of his mature biological thought. A clear account of the actual import of this statement in its relevant context is given before explaining how it has been misunderstood by various interpretative traditions. The paper finishes by touching on how early commentary by Christian writers, freed as it was from the imperative to synthesise Greek philosophy, differed from those that came after. While realising that Aristotle’s position would not aid them in their explanations of the soul’s survival after death, their engagement with Aristotle’s science allowed for other aspects of theology concerning the fittingness of soul to body.

Rewriting Maimonides: Early Commentaries on the ‘Guide of the Perplexed’; Maimonides’ ‘Guide of the Perplexed’ in Translation: A History from the Thirteenth Century to the TwentiethDe SouzaIgor H.Rewriting Maimonides: Early Commentaries on the ‘Guide of the Perplexed’De GruyterBerlin, 2018, viii, 312, £84.50ISBN 978-3-11055-756-5SternJosefRobinsonJames T.ShemeshYonatanMaimonides’ ‘Guide of the Perplexed’ in Translation: A History from the Thirteenth Century to the TwentiethUniversity of

Rewriting Maimonides: Early Commentaries on the ‘Guide of the Perplexed’; Maimonides’ ‘Guide of the Perplexed’ in Translation: A History from the Thirteenth Century to the TwentiethDe SouzaIgor H.Rewriting Maimonides: Early Commentaries on the ‘Guide of the Perplexed’De GruyterBerlin, 2018, viii, 312, £84.50ISBN 978-3-11055-756-5SternJosefRobinsonJames T.ShemeshYonatanMaimonides’ ‘Guide of the Perplexed’ in Translation: A History from the Thirteenth Century to the TwentiethUniversity of

Hikam Abu Madyan's Early Commentaries: A Review] Syarahan Awal Hikam Abu Madyan: Satu Sorotan

Syarahan-syarahan Hikam Abu Madyan ialah karya yang mengandungi panduan perjalanan kerohanian ahli Tasawuf. Syarahan ini telah dilakukan terhadap Hikam Abu Madyan yang telah dikarang oleh Syeikh Shu`ayb al-Maghribi. Namun begitu kajian tentangnya masih belum banyak dilakukan. Oleh itu, kajian ini bertujuan menjelaskan biografi pengarang Hikam Abu Madyan, penisbahan karya ini kepada beliau dan karya-karya dalam kategori syarah bagi Hikam Abu Madyan ini. Pengkaji akan menfokuskan kepada 4 syarahan awal yang didapati terhadapnya. Pertama Sharh Hikam al-Ghawthiyyah oleh Syeikh Ahmad bin Ibrahim Ibn `Allān al-Siddīqī al-Makkī, kedua, al-Bayān Wa al-Mazīd al-Mushtamil `Alā Ma`ānī al-Tanzīh Wa Haqā’iq al-Tawhīd `Alā ‘Uns al-Wahīd Wa Nuzhah al-Murīd oleh Syeikh Ahmad bin Abdul Qadir bin Umar al-Daw`anī al-Hadramī, ketiga, Kanz al-Minan `Alā Hikam ‘Abi Madyan oleh Syeikh Daud bin Abdullah al-Faṭānī al-Jāwī, dan keempat, al-Mawād al-Ghaythiyyah Sharh al-Hikam al-Ghawthiyyah oleh Syeikh Ahmad bin Mustafa al-`Alāwī. Kajian ini berasaskan data-data yang dikumpul melalui kaedah analisis dokumen. Data-data ini kemudiannya dianalisis menggunakan kaedah induktif, deduktif dan komparatif. Pengkaji mendapati syarahan Hikam Abu Madyan merupakan sebuah karya tasawuf yang sesuai untuk diketengahkan sebagai rujukan para ulama dan masyarakat. Penghasilan syarahan ini menunjukkan kecaknaan para ulama dalam menjelaskan kandungan Hikam Abu Madyan. Kajian ini penting sebagai pengenalan kepada Hikam Abu Madyan dan kitab-kitab syarahan awal terhadapnya.

The Waters above the Firmament: An Exemplary Case of Faith-Reason Conflict

The Waters above the Firmament: An Exemplary Case of Faith-Reason Conflict

The Earliest Commentary on the Prophecy of Habakkuk, by Timothy H. Lim

The Earliest Commentary on the Prophecy of Habakkuk, by Timothy H. Lim