Leap Of Faith Research Articles

Art-science collaborations: Generators of new ideas and serendipitous events.

An increasing number of collaborative projects between artists and scientists raises the question regarding their value, particularly when considering the redirection of resources. Here we provide a personal account of our collaborative efforts, as an artist and a scientist. We propose that one of the most significant outcomes is something that cannot be planned for in advance: serendipitous events. Such events lead to fresh perspectives and imaginative ideas, the fairy dust underlying many great works of art and science. The unexpected nature of these desired outcomes requires from us a leap of faith on the one hand, and a deep trust in our 'partner in crime' on the other.

Whistleblowers and their Faith in Journalism

ABSTRACT Reporters, in order to enact their role as watchdogs and to their commitment to uncover corporate or governmental wrongdoing, often must rely on individuals willing to risk their careers and reputations, at times their lives, to expose their employers’ malfeasance. Some whistleblowers turn to the news media to get their messages and stories out. This is often a leap of faith that implies a level of trust in journalists and in their outlet’s adherence to their normative roles. This study explores whistleblowers’ perceptions of the news media as they recall crossing over from the employer’s institutional logic to journalism’s institutional logic. In-depth interviews conducted with 16 U.S. whistleblowers who contacted journalists from the 1970s through the 2010s, find that trust in individual journalists is a consistent theme. Of all norms, participants most valued source protection and accuracy, followed by a reporter’s expertise and willingness to listen. Almost all interviewees lack faith in the impact of today’s press. As austerity measures take hold in newsrooms across the country, this study shines a light, from the source’s perspective, on what will likely be lost if newsrooms neglect beat reporting and overlook the specter of government surveillance and control.

TRANSFORMATIONS OF MOTIVES OF RELIGIOUS DRAMA IN THE LITERATURE OF THE 20TH-21ST CENTURIES: THE PHILOSOPHIC ASPECT

The article studies the transformation of motives of religious drama in the literature of the 20th-21st centuries from the point of view of religious philosophy, namely the neo-Thomism paradigm. The concept of transformation is interpreted as a transition to the use of meaning-generating models close to drama as a kind of literature in the context of the visual turn in the culture of the 20th-21st centuries. The actualization of action as a form-creating means along with the explicit or implicit accentuation of the integrity of the world picture is interpreted as a search for metaphysical grounds for the aesthetic systems of modernism and postmodernism and the poetics of individual authors and their works. The article substantiates the philosophical aspect of the interpretation of religious drama accepted in scientific literature as a metagenre for the literature of the 20th-21st centuries. The study outlines the universal character of generic methods and means of expressiveness of religious drama for literature in the conditions of the visual turn.
 The aesthetics of literature between phenomenological and metaphysical approaches to human action may be inclined to the fluctuation (metaxis) between them, which conditions the stylistic and genre openness of religious drama. In this context, its elements are used both in traditional genres and to rethink the genre and stylistic boundaries of the representation of human action in art in general and in literature in particular. Motives of religious drama (journey, overcoming obstacles, battle, feat as a leap of faith, love, despair, hatred, boredom as existential aspects of the human condition, service, sacrifice) in the works of P. Claudel, H. Chubai and D. Barthelmy are presented with significant differences, but with the preservation of paradigmatic features – symbolism and metaphysics as an indication of the ultimate integrity, unattainable neither rationally nor sensually. The universalism of the motives of religious drama is interpreted as the present ambivalence, which brings together high and low, profane and sacred, parody and grotesque with pathos, etc.

A Leap of Faith: Regenerative Agriculture as a Contested Worldview Rather Than as a Practice Change Issue

Regenerative agriculture (RA) is emerging as one alternative model for agricultural production. However, RA has not matured sufficiently for a clear definition to have emerged, or for claimed benefits to be rigorously tested. Thus, numerous competing discourses have emerged around what RA is, and its potential role in the future of farming, leading to a level of contention about is value. This research aimed to better understand RA as a social phenomenon by using Q methodology to explore and evaluate how common discourses around agricultural sustainability, the goals of farming, and RA resonated with different Australian beef farmers. Three perspectives emerged from the data, labelled as the regenerative, environmentally conscious, and productive perspectives and represented diverse views around the goals of agriculture, the role of RA in the future of Australian agriculture, and comfort level producers have with the term and approach to farming it represents. As RA continues to grow as a movement, worldview, and farming approach, understanding the differences in thinking and worldview of proponents will be important for better understanding the goals of RA, how to reach them and measure their impact, and improve communication around RA. This is important to avoid and resolve unnecessary or destructive tensions between the range of agricultural sustainability discourses.

Internationalization as a Leap of Faith: Arbitration Reforms in China and the Challenges of Implementation

AbstractRecent years have witnessed an increasing trend in Chinese arbitration reform that emulates international norms and practices. This article examines some of these key reform measures and major challenges to their implementation. It explores in both legal and practical terms why most of these reform techniques may remain largely ineffective, showing that engaging in international norms and standards in China can be highly challenging due to their potential illegality, the general lack of institutional capacity to sustain them, and the conflicts of local ideas about the purposes of arbitration. It is thus doubtful whether commitment to satisfying the formal requirements prescribed by the legal reforms would often prevail. When it does, it is questionable whether this form of commitment would become prevalent and how it could proceed in a sustainable and coherent manner from a practical perspective.

Article: EU Air Transport and the EU’s Environmental Agenda Struggle: A Leap of Faith or Can a CBAM Level the Playing Field?

Air transport, like any sector, must become more sustainable to combat climate change and protect the environment. The EU’s Green Deal sets out an ambitious environmental agenda to reach a climate-neutral continent by 2050. The ‘Fit for 55’ (FF55) legislative package provides sectoral measures, including air transport, to reduce emissions by 55% in 2030. When the additional costs required to comply with these environmental measures lead to competitive distortion, airlines and airports established in the EU and bound by the EU’s environmental policy are poised to be negatively affected. More importantly, ticket price increases may lead to ‘carbon leakage’ practices, where the reduction in emissions in one country leads to a rise in another. To mitigate these effects, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is presented as a possible solution. Applying an economic measure designed for the trade in goods, such as a CBAM, to trade in air services is, however, not as simple as it may seem, and its application beyond EU borders is politically sensitive and questionable legally. While the design of a CBAM for aviation is currently on the drawing table, this article maps the different interests at stake and considers the measure in the context of different legal regimes. Sustainability, Environment, EU Green Deal, Fit for 55, Competition, Carbon leakage, Carbon taxation, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

Empiric Treatment in HAP/VAP: “Don’t You Want to Take a Leap of Faith?”

Ventilator-associated pneumonia is a frequent cause of ICU-acquired infections. These infections are associated with high morbidity and mortality. The increase in antibiotic resistance, particularly among Gram-negative bacilli, makes the choice of empiric antibiotic therapy complex for physicians. Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) related infections are associated with a high risk of initial therapeutic inadequacy. It is, therefore, necessary to quickly identify the bacterial species involved and their susceptibility to antibiotics. New diagnostic tools have recently been commercialized to assist in the management of these infections. Moreover, the recent enrichment of the therapeutic arsenal effective on Gram-negative bacilli raises the question of their place in the therapeutic management of these infections. Most national and international guidelines recommend limiting their use to microbiologically documented infections. However, many clinical situations and, in particular, the knowledge of digestive or respiratory carriage by MDROs should lead to the discussion of the use of these new molecules, especially the new combinations with beta-lactamase inhibitors in empirical therapy. In this review, we present the current epidemiological data, particularly in terms of MDRO, as well as the clinical and microbiological elements that may be taken into account in the discussion of empirical antibiotic therapy for patients managed for ventilator-associated pneumonia.

From Provincial China to the Bustle of Shanghai [Pathways

Since implementing multiple economic reforms in 1979, China has achieved unprecedented gross domestic product (GDP) growth, driven by technology with engineering at its heart. Yingbei Yao attributes her choice of a career in engineering to this socioeconomic development in her native land. She was born in the midst of the Chinese economic revolution in Zhenjiang, a small city by the Changjiang River, in the eastern province of Jiangsu, whose inhabitants were steadily improving their standard of living due to the rapidly growing economy. This revolution instilled within her parents the fervent belief in the necessity and benefit of the science of engineering for their country and the future of their daughter. Although Yao (whose first name means brilliant blossom in Mandarin) was good at math and physics in high school, she was not sure if engineering was for her, but nonetheless decided to spread her young wings and took the leap of faith into the discipline.

A Critique of Utilitarian Trust: The Case of the Dutch Insurance Sector

The organizational trust literature relies strongly on the notion of trust and trustworthiness as a calculative cause-and-effect relationship aimed at assessing the advantages and disadvantages between two actors. This utilitarian notion of trust has been critiqued by studies that highlight construct inconsistencies related to utilitarian trust, which, it is argued, is deficient, incomplete and misleading. Our empirical study of the Dutch insurance sector identifies and categorizes three process inconsistencies that help to explain why the calculation of trust in a utilitarian sense is seemingly impossible in practice and is a barrier to the unambiguous assessment of individual needs and individual utility. These process inconsistencies successively concern insufficient information, complex behavioural dynamics, and a convoluted pattern of stakeholder influence to assess utility in trust relationships, specifically within complex socio-economic systems. Our findings contribute to the trust literature by proposing a classification of the previous critiques on utilitarian trust, and by showing that in scenarios of systematic rather than dyadic trust, process inconsistencies may be too strong to endure a ‘leap of faith’, at least with regard to suspension and assessing utilitarian trust in these more complex socio-economic systems.

Does automation trust evolve from a leap of faith? An analysis using a reprogrammed pasteurizer simulation task

Trust is a critical factor that drives successful human-automation interaction in a myriad of modern professional environments. One seminal work on human-automation trust is Muir and Moray (1996) showing that human-machine trust evolves from faith, then dependability, and finally predictability in a simulated supervisory control task. However, our recent work failed to replicate the finding of the original study, calling for further replication efforts. Experiment 1 aimed to fully replicate Muir and Moray (1996) where participants performed a simulated pasteurizer task. Experiment 2 attempted to replicate Experiment 1 using participants who major in Engineering as used in the original study. Both experiments showed that dependability was the best initial predictor of trust, building later to predictability and faith. Two experiments consistently failed to support both the hypothesis proposed by Muir and Moray (1996), that trust develops from predictability to dependability to faith, and their original findings that trust develops initially from faith. The results of the current experiments challenge this widely cited view of how human-machine trust develops. Modern automation designers should be aware that dependability might control initial trust development for general users and incorporate dependability information into their designs.

God�s Model vs. Market Models Part III: Man's Model

Take a leap of faith and reveal without delay the structure of our exchange model, or the model that we believe is the truthful generalization of BSM

Bundestagswahl 2021 – Aufbruch mit begrenztem Risiko

The German federal election 2021 took place under exceptional conditions, and unusual were its course and outcome, too . The election year was marked more than ever by crises, making expected management of future crises a relevant topic . Voting was complicated by the fact that the incumbent chancellor, Angela Merkel, did not run for re-election and that three candidates aspired to the chancellor’s office - both situations a novelty in Germany’s federal elections . Correspondingly high was the volatility: for a long time the CDU/CSU were clearly heading the polls, then in spring the Greens took over the lead, and in the end, quite unexpectedly, the SPD won the election . The decisive factor for the outcome was the search for a leading person or party who was most likely to be trusted to cope with the great challenges . The electorate took a decisive leap of faith in Olaf Scholz, who was experi- enced in dealing with the financial and pandemic crises . During the election campaign, Scholz consistently gained support, reinforced by serious communication failures of his opponents, Annalena Baerbock and Armin Laschet . Citizens were most likely to trust Scholz and his SPD to render the upcoming transformations in Germany socially acceptable - a motive that was more important for the voters than coping with the climate crisis and the Corona pandemic . The election result was closer than any other federal election, with the Greens and the FDP playing a key role in forming the government . In the end it was the decision of the FDP against the lackluster conservative party and in favor of a “traffic light” coalition with the SPD and the Greens - another novelty for a federal government .

Connectomics of human electrophysiology

We present both a scientific overview and conceptual positions concerning the challenges and assets of electrophysiological measurements in the search for the nature and functions of the human connectome. We discuss how the field has been inspired by findings and approaches from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and informed by a small number of significant multimodal empirical studies, which show that the canonical networks that are commonplace in fMRI are in fact rooted in electrophysiological processes. This review is also an opportunity to produce a brief, up-to-date critical survey of current data modalities and analytical methods available for deriving both static and dynamic connectomes from electrophysiology. We review hurdles that challenge the significance and impact of current electrophysiology connectome research. We then encourage the field to take a leap of faith and embrace the wealth of electrophysiological signals, despite their apparent, disconcerting complexity. Our position is that electrophysiology connectomics is poised to inform testable mechanistic models of information integration in hierarchical brain networks, constructed from observable oscillatory and aperiodic signal components and their polyrhythmic interactions.

"A Question of Trust" and "a Leap of Faith"-Study Participants' Perspectives on Consent, Privacy, and Trust in Smart Home Research: Qualitative Study.

BackgroundUbiquitous, smart technology has the potential to assist humans in numerous ways, including with health and social care. COVID-19 has notably hastened the move to remotely delivering many health services. A variety of stakeholders are involved in the process of developing technology. Where stakeholders are research participants, this poses practical and ethical challenges, particularly if the research is conducted in people’s homes. Researchers must observe prima facie ethical obligations linked to participants’ interests in having their autonomy and privacy respected.ObjectiveThis study aims to explore the ethical considerations around consent, privacy, anonymization, and data sharing with participants involved in SPHERE (Sensor Platform for Healthcare in a Residential Environment), a project for developing smart technology for monitoring health behaviors at home. Participants’ unique insights from being part of this unusual experiment offer valuable perspectives on how to properly approach informed consent for similar smart home research in the future.MethodsSemistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with 7 households (16 individual participants) recruited from SPHERE. Purposive sampling was used to invite participants from a range of household types and ages. Interviews were conducted in participants’ homes or on-site at the University of Bristol. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using an inductive thematic approach.ResultsFour themes were identified—motivation for participating; transparency, understanding, and consent; privacy, anonymity, and data use; and trust in research. Motivations to participate in SPHERE stemmed from an altruistic desire to support research directed toward the public good. Participants were satisfied with the consent process despite reporting some difficulties—recalling and understanding the information received, the timing and amount of information provision, and sometimes finding the information to be abstract. Participants were satisfied that privacy was assured and judged that the goals of the research compensated for threats to privacy. Participants trusted SPHERE. The factors that were relevant to developing and maintaining this trust were the trustworthiness of the research team, the provision of necessary information, participants’ control over their participation, and positive prior experiences of research involvement.ConclusionsThis study offers valuable insights into the perspectives of participants in smart home research on important ethical considerations around consent and privacy. The findings may have practical implications for future research regarding the types of information researchers should convey, the extent to which anonymity can be assured, and the long-term duty of care owed to the participants who place trust in researchers not only on the basis of this information but also because of their institutional affiliation. This study highlights important ethical implications. Although autonomy matters, trust appears to matter the most. Therefore, researchers should be alert to the need to foster and maintain trust, particularly as failing to do so might have deleterious effects on future research.

From Impulse to Action—Noah (2014) and Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) as Secular Bible Epics

Several large-scale Bible epics have been produced in the decade after the revival of epic cinema at the turn of the millennium. Yet, while many biblical films of this period were primarily aimed at religious audiences, Darren Aronofsky’s Noah (2014) and Ridley Scott’s Exodus:Gods and Kings (2014) stand out due to their broader epic appeal and religious skepticism. Using Gilles Deleuze’s concepts of the impulse-image and the action-image as framework, this article analyses some of the nuances and complexities of both films. It argues that although both films offer scale and spectacle consistent with older biblical epics, the portrayal of their lead characters as a man determined on destruction (Noah) and religious skeptic and warrior (Exodus) differentiates them from traditional biblical cinema. Additionally, comparing both films helps articulate nuances within Deleuze’s movement-image that are often overlooked. Having proclaimed that modern cinema brings with it a crisis of truth that challenges the certainties of classic American cinema and its clear ideas on morality and belief, Deleuze ultimately calls for a leap of faith to reinstate the possibility of action. The article concludes that Noah and Exodus offer us a bit of both—spiritual uncertainty and a return of classic epic cinema.

Kierkegaard: A Seducer Resorting to Irony, Comic Jest and Humor

Abstract While the role of the comic in Søren Kierkegaard’s thought has been thoroughly studied by diverse scholars, in this paper I will ask whether humor in Kierkegaard’s religious sphere amounts to seduction or to temptation. By “seduction” I will mean a luring that can be viewed as positive or neutral, whereas by “temptation” I mean a negative seduction that takes advantage of the tempted fool, leaving him empty-handed. Irony, comic jest and humor are existential categories in Kierkegaard’s three spheres of existence. Irony and comic jest play a seductive role and can be regarded as neutral or even positive. In the religious sphere, humor can be assessed as temptation. Kierkegaard humorously lures the one who wishes to believe. With humor, one is readying oneself for a leap of faith. The leap may fail; one can fall, crash, and be left empty-handed.

Deep Directional Electromagnetic Technique Improves Well-Drilling Efficiency

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 202265, “Leap of Faith From Conventional to EM Look-Ahead: A Game-Changing Technology To Improve Well Efficiency,” by Muhamad Yanuar Mahardi, Hendarsyah Hendarsyah, and Kharisma Endarmoyo, PT Pertamina, et al., prepared for the 2020 SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, originally scheduled to be held in Perth, Australia, 20–22 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed. The structure in the Matindok block in Central Sulawesi operated by Pertamina has proven producible gas reserves in the Minahaki formation. One of the main challenges in this area is the low resolution of seismic data, leading to a high depth uncertainty. The complete paper describes a technology developed to meet these challenges with the capability to map and detect lithology changes ahead of the bit in real time. Geological Background A first exploration well, PEP-001, was drilled in 2018. The structure has a Miocene carbonate buildup play, and the target reservoir is the M pinnacle carbonate reef. The PEP-001 well was planned to set the 9⅝-in. casing point above the top of the M formation. Offset wells did not show any clear markers in the thick shale above the M formation that could have been used for log correlation. In previously drilled offset wells, correlation was performed convention-ally by examination of cutting samples and on drilling breaks. However, when Well PEP-001 was drilled, no apparent drilling break was observed. By the time cuttings reached the surface, the bit had drilled into 20 m of the M formation. Because the casing covered most of the upper carbonate formation, openhole logging and well-testing data were not acquired to delineate the target formation optimally. The second exploration well, PEP-002, was planned with an objective of setting 9⅝-in. casing approximately 5 m above the top of M to acquire full-interval coverage of coring, openhole wireline logging, and well testing. This information was critical for optimal reservoir delineation to allow for accurate reserves calculation and future development. Conventional correlation methods have proven insufficient for casing point placement. The presence of limestone stringers in offset wells within proximity of the top of M presented an additional challenge. The stringers could have been misinterpreted as the main carbonate body, if interpretation were based solely on cutting samples. Real-Time Electromagnetic (EM) Look-Ahead Technology

Technological growth: a Brazil-World evolution and re-adaptation after COVID-19

The year of 2020 became known as the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic has been changing the socioeconomic structures of the world and the educational institutions in Brazil, halting face-to-face activities as time progressed in response to the social distancing measures. Arising from an early perspective of growth, Brazil had to take a leap of faith in readapting itself to the set conditions. According to the teaching method, technology-mediated learning has gained emphasis and makes room for distinguished human interactions. These teaching practices already existed, but only reached a small scale. Technology had to reshape its manners to comfort the demand and the new health requirements. This article presents and discusses the Brazilian perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for the use of new and readapting technologies for the evolution and survival of the pandemic. The main results imply that the enactment of digital inclusion policies seeking to reduce regional inequalities of internet access is a necessary condition for any online teaching strategy to flourish and that technological innovation is parallel to the time progression of the world’s condition.

Evoking the Leap of Faith online: An Exploration of the inner workings of Trust Signals

Research has so far largely overlooked trust building processes in online contexts. Specifically, while previous research has shed light on relevant signals as antecedents, little attention has been paid to how such signals are actively induced in one-way communication – that is when no prior interaction is given, and reactions cannot be observed immediately. This paper addresses this gap by adopting Goffman’s logic in Presentation of Self (1959). I explore how cues and dramaturgical mechanisms are used to evoke signals which relate to three dimensions of trust: ability, benevolence, or integrity. I analyze 19 campaign videos on the largest reward-based crowdfunding platform – Kickstarter – and extract bundles of visual and verbal cues that are enacted via dramaturgical mechanisms. This leads me to three dramaturgical strategies that foster online trust, in particular the leap of faith. The study contributes to trust literature by offering early evidence into how the leap of faith is created online and by providing insights into the creation of trust signals. It also contributes to crowdfunding literature by a more nuanced understanding of signaling.

Taking a Leap of Faith: A Study of Abruptly Transitioning an Undergraduate Medical Education Program to Distance-Learning Owing to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced universities worldwide to immediately transition to distance-learning. Although numerous studies have investigated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on universities in the Middle East, none have reflected on the process through which medical education programs for health professions underwent this transition. This study aimed to elucidate the rapid transition to distance-learning of an undergraduate medical program at the College of Medicine, Mohammad Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (Dubai, United Arab Emirates), owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. An action research approach constituted the foundation of this collaborative effort that involved investigations, reflections, and improvements of practice, through ongoing cycles of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting. Efforts of transitioning to distance-learning were grouped into four interrelated aspects: supporting faculty members in delivering the program content, managing curriculum changes, engaging with the students to facilitate distance-learning experiences, and conducting web-based assessments. Challenges included the high perceived uncertainty, need for making ad hoc decisions, lack of experiential learning and testing of clinical skills, and blurring of work-life boundaries. Our preliminary findings show the successful generation of a strong existing digital base, future prospects for innovation, and a cohesive team that was key to agility, rapid decision-making, and program implementation.