High Level Of Ambiguity Research Articles

Fundamentalism and "Fullness of Christianity": Catholicism's Double Challenge

As a socio-cultural phenomenon fundamentalism may be understood as ideological rigidity. Religious worldviews, characteristic of orally transmitted religious traditions, are reshaped as orthodoxies measured by written texts as religious traditions become literate. Ideology is a characteristic of literate religion in so far as literate religion is decontextualized, which means that it requires the justification provided by either the hermeneutics of sacred experts or the new perceptions of converts to overcome the gap between the written and everyday realities. Converts, those new to a religious tradition in its literate form, to overcome high levels of ambiguity use the religious text to establish boundaries between the "nominal" and the "true." Catholicism, which historically combined a great (literate) tradition with a little (nonliterate/folk) tradition, is being restructured by the advent of mass literacy. Biblical fundamentalism among the new readers (converts) in the catholic community is but one form of ideological rigidity, the other being doctrinal fundamentalism. Both threaten the "fullness of Christianity" to which historical catholicism witnesses. Consistent historical criticism of both the biblical and the post-biblical tradition is an antidote to ideological rigidity that encourages the "new readers" to move from text to text towards an ever more open pluralism that will encompass in spirit, if not in material content, the "fullness of Christianity."

Managing crises effectively: an intervention model.

The nature of our work in health care is such that it lends itself to high levels of ambiguity at best and frequently even to the presence of crisis situations. The ability to manage crisis, therefore, is an increasingly vital skill for nurse executives. Creative and productive possibilities can arise from coping well with such serious and unusual events. This article suggests a model for crisis management.

Ambigüidades e Divisão da Autoridade na Estrutura Matricial

Brazilian research institutes are known as matrix structure. This paper analyses the problem of authqrity distribution in 211 researchers of Brazilian research institutes operating in a matrix mode. The study shows that the project manager authority is higher than the functional manager when equipment purchasing and project deadlines are concerned. The functional manager has higher authority when promotion and personnel allocation are concerned. A high level of ambiguity was observed and it was higher in public companies compared to government administration. The study showed that the existence multidisciplinary project depends upon finantial resources coming from contracts with the environment that complement the institute budget.