Way Of Life Research Articles

Infinite reality: avatars, eternal life, new worlds, and the dawn of the virtual revolution

How do The Matrix, Avatar, and Tron reveal the future of existence? can our brains recognize where ends and begins? What would it mean to live eternally in a digital universe? Where will technology lead us in five, fifty, and five hundred years? Two innovative scientists explore the mystery and reality of the virtual and examine the profound potential of emerging digital technologies Welcome to the future . . . The coming explosion of immersive digital technology, combined with recent progress in unlocking how the mind works, will soon revolutionize our lives in ways only science fiction has imagined. In Infinite Reality, Jeremy Bailenson (Stanford University) and Jim Blascovich (University of California, Santa Barbara)two of virtual reality's pioneering authorities whose pathbreaking research has mapped how our brain behaves in digital worldstake us on a mind-bending journey through the virtual universe. Infinite Reality explores what emerging computer technologies and their radical applications will mean for the future of human life and society. Along the way, Bailenson and Blascovich examine the timeless philosophical questions of the self and that arise through the digital experience; explain how virtual reality's latest and future formsincluding immersive video games and social-networking siteswill soon be seamlessly integrated into our lives; show the many surprising practical applications of virtual reality, from education and medicine to sex and warfare; and probe further-off possibilities like total personality downloads that would allow your great-great-grandchildren to have a conversation with you a century or more after your death. Equally fascinating, farsighted, and profound, Infinite Reality is an essential guide to our virtual future, where the experience of being human will be deeply transformed.

Tipping Points and the Human World: Living with Change and Thinking about the Future

The term "tipping point" has become increasingly popular in scientific and media usage to refer to the world in which we live, to describe the probable effects of the processes arising from the consequences of the ways we live with and transform the world, to describe our relationships with the environment, and the effects of our actions. Through this shift in scientific thinking, climate is talked about and represented as having the power to influence our lives in ways we have never before experienced or imagined, suggesting something transformative, disruptive, and decentering. Yet, in doing so, the complexity of the human world is explained in terms of scientific models that suggest a return to climatic determinism that simplifies our understanding of human-environment relations. How is anthropology to contribute to this discussion and to research and policy action on climate change? This article reflects on this and other questions as a way of contributing to the discussion of tipping points: are tipping points and thresholds metaphors, are they to be understood within contexts of speculative forecast, or are they descriptions of real events and indications of future change? What do we mean when we use these terms to imagine, describe, and represent the world? What relevance do they have for anticipatory knowledge and anticipatory practice? Indeed, how does anticipation guide us through a world of shifting conditions and sudden surprises and influence ways we orient ourselves toward the future?

Can Information and Communications Technology Enhance Social Quality?

Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) open up the possibility of new forms of relationship and engagement, which form part of the sociality of modern society, leading some to characterize this as a transition to an "information society", a "network society", or a "third industrial revolution". This has implications for Social Quality, especially in terms of social cohesion, social inclusion and social empowerment. Drawing upon recent research we find that ICTs have added new dimensions to social life in ways that go beyond the original formulations of the digital divide. Conversely, Social Quality can also add important insights into our understanding of the relationship between society and technology. The article argues that discussions of Social Quality should take these dimensions into account.

Subjectivity handling of ratings for Trust and Reputation systems: an Abductive Reasoning Approach

The Internet form a globally distributed network that provides a ubiquitous medium for interaction, the exchange of ideas, and commerce. The web is pervading our everyday lives in ways that were unimaginable even ten years ago. The evolving use of the web requires robust and efficient trust and reputation management mechanisms. During the past decade, online trust and reputation systems have provided cogent answers to emerging challenges in the global computing infrastructures relating to computer and network security, electronic commerce, virtual enterprises, social networks and cloud computing. The goal of these systems in such global computing infrastructures is to allow entities to reason about the trustworthiness of other entities and to make autonomous decisions on the basis of trust. This requires the development of computational trust models that enable entities to reason about trust and to verify the properties of a particular interaction. The robustness of these mechanisms, which is one of the critical factors for the success of this technology, is currently not being sufficiently addressed. The global computing infrastructure is highly dynamic with continuously appearing and disappearing entities and services. It is vital that the associated computational trust model is able to incorporate this dynamism and that equally flexible legislative and regulatory frameworks emerge. In this thesis, we present an overview of the characteristics of the existing characteristics of the existing online trust and reputation models and systems through a multidimensional framework, which can serve as a basis to understand the current state of the art in the area. The critical open challenges that limit the effectiveness of today’s trust and reputation systems are discussed by providing a comprehensive literature review. Furthermore, we present a set of our contributions as a way to address some of these challenges and propose prospectives for online trust and reputation systems.

Mission (Un)Popular (review)

Reviewed by: Mission (Un)Popular Karen Coats Humphrey, Anna. Mission (Un)Popular. Disney Hyperion, 2011. 401p. ISBN 978-1-4231-2301-9 $16.99 R Gr. 6–9. Margot Button has a hard time thinking before she speaks, so she always seems to be saying the wrong thing. She also has a hard time dealing with the mean girl at her school, Sarah J., but she has a really good best friend, Erika. After a dare issued by the cool kids and taken up by Margot’s impulsive agreement goes horribly awry, however, Erika’s parents decide Margot is a bad influence and send Erika to Catholic school, leaving Margot to face Sarah J. alone in seventh grade. A new girl, Em, appears on the scene and, in quick succession, befriends Margot, alienates Erika, and encourages Margot into open warfare with Sarah J. Behind Em’s charisma, generosity (to Margot, at least), and persuasive abilities, though, is a quality Margot doesn’t quite trust, but she doesn’t heed her instincts until it’s too late. Although this narrative features a common enough plotline in today’s bully lit, the story goes into more depth than most offerings of this type, highlighting Margot’s ambivalences toward the various people in her life in ways that fully flesh out her character. Unlike many girl characters dealing with insecurities and bullies, Margot doesn’t lapse into hyperbole and exclamation points; rather she emerges as thoughtful, self-reflective, and often confused, thus effectively capturing the nuanced experience of seventh grade in a credible and compelling way. Junior-high girls whose mouths sometimes get them into trouble, who suffer from bad hair and eyebrow days, and whose crushes are at odds with those who crush on them—in other words, all junior-high girls—will find much to relate to in Margot. [End Page 84] Copyright © 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Fly away: the great African American cultural migrations

The Great Migration-the mass exodus of blacks from the rural South to the urban North and West in the twentieth century-shaped American culture and life in ways still evident today. Peter M. Rutkoff and William B. Scott trace the ideas that inspired African Americans to abandon the South for freedom and opportunity elsewhere. Black Southerners fled the Low Country of South Carolina, the mines and mills of Birmingham, Alabama, the farms of the Mississippi Delta, and the urban wards of Houston, Texas, for new opportunities in New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Los Angeles. They took with them the South's rich tradition of religion, language, music, and art, recreating and preserving their Southern identity in the churches, newspapers, jazz clubs, and neighborhoods of America's largest cities. Rutkoff and Scott's sweeping study explores the development and adaptation of African American culture, from its West African roots to its profound and lasting impact on mainstream America. Broad in scope and original in its interpretation, Fly Away illuminates the origins, development, and transformation of national culture during an important chapter in twentieth-century American history.

Pursuing Power and Light: Technology and Physics from James Watt to Albert EinsteinPursuing Power and Light: Technology and Physics from James Watt to Albert Einstein, Bruce J. Hunt, Johns Hopkins U. Press, Baltimore, MD, 2010. $45.00 (182 pp.). ISBN 978-0-8018-9358-2

In the nineteenth century, science and technology developed a close and continuing relationship. The most important advancements in physics-the science of energy and the theory of the electromagnetic field-were deeply rooted in the new technologies of the steam engine, the telegraph, and electric power and light. Bruce J. Hunt here explores how the leading technologies of the industrial age helped reshape modern physics. This period marked a watershed in how human beings exerted power over the world around them. Sweeping changes in manufacturing, transportation, and communications transformed the economy, society, and daily life in ways never before imagined. At the same time, physical scientists made great strides in the study of energy, atoms, and electromagnetism. Hunt shows how technology informed science and vice versa, examining the interaction between steam technology and the formulation of the laws of thermodynamics, for example, and that between telegraphy and the rise of electrical science. Hunt's groundbreaking introduction to the history of physics points to the shift to atomic and quantum physics. It closes with a brief look at Albert Einstein's work at the Swiss patent office and the part it played in his formulation of relativity theory. Hunt translates his often-demanding material into engaging and accessible language suitable for undergraduate students of the history of science and technology.

Navigating complex lives: a longitudinal, comparative perspective on young people's trajectories

Drawing on a sociological analysis that brings the prevailing social and economic policies into the frame of this analysis, this article focuses on the relationship between the social conditions faced by young people in the 1990s and early 2000s, the opportunities and constraints that these conditions presented to them, and patterns of mental health. The article presents an analysis of selected data from two longitudinal cohort studies. One is the Paths on Life's Way cohort study by Andres, based in British Columbia, Canada, and the other is the Life-Patterns cohort by Wyn, based in Victoria, Australia. These cohort studies have tracked the lives of young people who entered the labour market in the early 1990s. The longitudinal analysis is based on the data available for 733 participants in the Canadian study in 2003, and 625 participants in the Australian study in 2004, which remains representative of the larger original samples. The data were collected through a mixed-method approach of surveys and interviews. As part of the study, education and employment policies in Australia and Canada during the 1990 s were also analysed. The data reveal that it took 14 years from the time of leaving secondary school for the majority of Australians and Canadians to find a degree of employment security. Young Australians had lower rates of marriage and fertility, and assessed their mental health as being worse than their Canadian peers. Education and labour market policies aimed to increase human capital to ensure global competitiveness and to increase the flexibility of labour for employers. Social policies matter. In both countries, the creation of higher levels of human capital through increasing young people's participation in education, combined with labour market policies that increased job uncertainty and labour market precariousness meant that young people found it difficult to achieve their goals of modest affluence and security. The policies had an impact on young people's marriage rates and fertility, particularly for the Australians. These social conditions also had the effect of increasing young people's assessments of their mental health as poor. Greater attention needs to be paid to the impact of social policies on areas that lie outside their immediate domain. Addressing young people's mental health requires an awareness of the inter-connections across policy areas, and the recognition that mental health is an outcome of social conditions.

Pistoale balcanice cu cremene din colecţia Muzeului Banatului Timișoara / Flint Balkan Pistols from the Collection of Banat Museum in Timișoara

Pistoale balcanice cu cremene din colecţia Muzeului Banatului Timișoara / Flint Balkan Pistols from the Collection of Banat Museum in Timișoara

Revaluating genetic causation: Biology, economy, and kinship in Dakar, Senegal

In this article, I call for enlarging the conceptual terrain for viewing local biological expressions of illness. To date, a specific DNA sequence pattern, called “the Senegalese sickle cell haplotype,” has enjoyed extraordinary purchase on explanations for why Senegalese people may live with a “milder” form of sickle cell anemia when compared with other African populations. I argue, however, that “mild sickle cell” in Senegal emerges as a lived construct through a constitutive bond of biology, economy, and kinship. I show how patients’ enactments of biological difference are situated within larger informal economies and North–South donor priorities for health. In the absence of state funding to address patients’ needs, Senegalese sicklers create networks of care, health, and normalcy by drawing on Wolof idioms of “shared blood” that come to life in ways beyond metaphor. Their biosocial kinships result in therapeutic economies that restructure valuations of sickle cell despite serious medical constraints in this global context.

Pursuing power and light: technology and physics from James Watt to Albert Einstein

In the nineteenth century, science and technology developed a close and continuing relationship. The most important advancements in physics-the science of energy and the theory of the electromagnetic field-were deeply rooted in the new technologies of the steam engine, the telegraph, and electric power and light. Bruce J. Hunt here explores how the leading technologies of the industrial age helped reshape modern physics. This period marked a watershed in how human beings exerted power over the world around them. Sweeping changes in manufacturing, transportation, and communications transformed the economy, society, and daily life in ways never before imagined. At the same time, physical scientists made great strides in the study of energy, atoms, and electromagnetism. Hunt shows how technology informed science and vice versa, examining the interaction between steam technology and the formulation of the laws of thermodynamics, for example, and that between telegraphy and the rise of electrical science. Hunt's groundbreaking introduction to the history of physics points to the shift to atomic and quantum physics. It closes with a brief look at Albert Einstein's work at the Swiss patent office and the part it played in his formulation of relativity theory. Hunt translates his often-demanding material into engaging and accessible language suitable for undergraduate students of the history of science and technology.

The meaning of property: freedom, community, and the legal imagination

In his latest book, Jedediah Purdy takes up a question of deep and lasting importance: why is property ownership a value to society? His answer returns us to the foundations of American society and enables us to interpret the writings of the patron saint of liberal economics, Adam Smith, in a wholly new light. Unlike Milton Friedman and other free-market scholars, who consider property a key to efficient markets, Purdy draws upon Smith's theories to argue that the virtues of wealth are social rather than economic. In Purdy's view, ownership does much more than shield one from government interference. Property shapes social life in ways that bring us closer to, or take us farther from, the ideal of a community of free and equal members. This view of property is neither libertarian nor communitarian but treats the community as the precondition of individual freedom. This view informed U.S. law in the early days of the republic, Purdy writes, and it is one that we need to restore today. Touching upon some of the most charged issues in American politics and law, including slavery, inheritance, international development, and climate change, The Meaning of Property offers a compelling new view of property and freedom and enriches our understanding of democratic society.

Defying aches and revaluating daily doing: Occupational perspectives on adjusting to chronic pain

The aim of this study was to investigate how people with chronic pain experience their daily doing, with a special focus on possible adjustment to pain and altered life conditions in order to cope with pain and maintain well-being. In-depth interviews were guided by themes concerning daily occupation, ways to maintain well-being, and future expectations. Using qualitative content analysis a core concept “Reappraising daily doing” was arrived at, containing the categories of altering doing processes and altering values, each in turn containing four subcategories. The findings showed that along with the grief of having to abandon jobs and former social networks, the participants coped with their everyday lives in ways that opened up the use of imagination and improvisation and the valuing of non-material and altruistic behaviour. An occupation was generally given up when aches (participants' term) became worse, except for when the occupations were so enjoyed that the pain was put out of focus. Using the concept of Occupational Value to enhance coping ability seems a reasonable strategy for occupational therapists when assisting clients in finding or maintaining meaningful daily doing and effective coping strategies for experiencing well-being. This could in turn limit the use of health care resources, which is extensive.

Effecting change through dialogue: Habermas’ theory of communicative action as a tool in medical lifestyle interventions

Adjustments of everyday life in order to prevent disease or treat illness afflict partly unconscious preferences and cultural expectations that are often difficult to change. How should one, in medical contexts, talk with patients about everyday life in ways that might penetrate this blurred complexity, and help people find goals and make decisions that are both compatible with a good life and possible to accomplish? In this article we pursue the question by discussing how Habermas' theory of communicative action can be implemented in decision-making processes in general practice. The theory of deliberative decision-making offers practical guidelines for what to talk about and how to do it. For a decision to be rooted in patients' everyday life it has to take into consideration the patient's practical circumstances, emotions and preferences, and what he or she perceives as ethically right behaviour towards other people. The aim is a balanced conversation, demonstrating respect, consistency and sincerity, as well as offering information and clarifying reasons. Verbalising reasons for one's preferences may increase awareness of values and norms, which can then be reflected upon, producing decisions rooted in what the patient perceives as good and right behaviour. The asymmetry of medical encounters is both a resource and a challenge, demanding patient-centred medical leadership, characterised by empathy and ability to take the patient's perspective. The implementation and adjustments of Habermas' theory in general practice is illustrated by a case story. Finally, applications of the theory are discussed.

Discourses on Women's Empowerment in Ghana

Successive post-independence governments have embraced women's empowerment in one form or another, either because of their own ideological positioning, or because of demands by their ‘donor friends/partners’ and/or organized domestic groups and NGOs. What has emerged is a varied landscape on women's rights and empowerment work comprising the state bureaucracy, multilateral and bilateral agencies, NGOs, and women's rights organizations, with their accompanying discourses. In the Ghanaian context, Nana Akua Anyidoho and Takyiwaa Manuh look at what the discourses of empowerment highlight, ignore or occlude, the convergences and divergences among them, and how they speak to or accord with the lived realities of the majority of Ghanaian women. Given that the policy landscape in Ghana is highly influenced by donors, they ask which discourses dominate, and how are they used for improving women's lives in ways that are meaningful to them.

Traumatic Event Exposure and Behavioral Health Disorders among Incarcerated Females Self-Referred to Treatment

At least half of the women inside prison have mental health problems, have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional abuse during their formative years and often in adulthood, and have addiction problems. Only a minority of these women receive treatment for their behavioral health problems associated with trauma while incarcerated, even though these problems are risk factors for returning to prison after release. This study focuses on the traumatic experiences and behavioral health problems of a group of female inmates who volunteered in August 2009, to be screened for admission into an integrated trauma-reentry program implemented at an adult female correctional facility. Of the 278 women who self-referred for screening, 196 preliminarily met the time eligibility criterion of residing at the prison for eight to 24 more months. Half of these women (n = 97) were actually time-eligible for screening and agreed to be screened. Of this sample of treatment-seeking soon-to-be-released female prisoners, the vast majority (93%) reported significant and complex histories of traumatic event exposure and high rates of either posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or sub-threshold PTSD, past alcohol and other substance abuse or dependence, other axis I psychiatric disorders, and subjective distress. Identifying trauma exposure histories and associated behavioral health problems within this population and providing effective interventions holds potential promise for preparing incarcerated women to manage their post-release lives in ways that will keep them safe, healthy, and in the community.

What is a “good outcome” in psychotherapy? A qualitative exploration of former patients' point of view

The aim of this study was to explore how former psychotherapy patients characterize “good outcome” after having completed treatment that they described as successful, in the sense that therapy had changed their lives in ways that made a difference. Semistructured qualitative depth interviews were conducted with 10 former psychotherapy patients. A hermeneutical-phenomenological approach was used to analyse interview transcripts. The former patients' descriptions of good outcome clustered around four themes: establishing new ways of relating to others; less symptomatic distress, or changes in behavioural patterns contributing to suffering; better self-understanding and insight; and accepting and valuing oneself. Interrelationships between the four components of good outcome, along with limitations and implications of the study, are discussed.

Watchmen and philosophy: a Rorschach test

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: They Left It Entirely in My Hands. Introduction: A Rorschach Test. PART ONE: THE POLITICS OF POWER: WHO WATCHES THE WATCHMEN? 1 The Superman Exists, and He's American: Morality in the Face of Absolute Power ( Christopher Robichaud ). 2 Can We Steer This Rudderless World? Kant, Rorschach, Retributivism, and Honor ( Jacob M. Held ). 3 Super-Vigilantes and the Keene Act ( Tony Spanakos ). 4 Superheroes and Supermen: Finding Nietzsche's Ubermensch in Watchmen ( J. Keeping ). PART TWO: THE VEIDT PLAN: WATCHMEN AND ETHICS. 5 Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes ( J. Robert Loftis ). 6 The Virtues of Nite Owl's Potbelly ( Mark D. White ). 7 Rorschach: When Telling the Truth Is Wrong ( Alex Nuttall ). PART THREE: THE METAPHYSICS OF DR. MANHATTAN. 8 Dr. Manhattan, I Presume? ( James DiGiovanna ). 9 A Timely Encounter: Dr. Manhattan and Henri Bergson ( Christopher M. Drohan ). 10 Free Will and Foreknowledge: Does Jon Really Know What Laurie Will Do Next, and Can She Do Otherwise? ( Arthur Ward ). 11 I'm Just a Puppet Who Can See the Strings: Dr. Manhattan as a Stoic Sage ( Andrew Terjesen ). PART FOUR: THIS IS NOT YOUR FATHER'S COMIC BOOK. 12 Why Don't You Go Read a Book or Something? Watchmen as Literature ( Aaron Meskin ). 13 Watchwomen ( Sarah Donovan and Nick Richardson ). 14 Hooded Justice and Captain Metropolis: The Ambiguously Gay Duo ( Robert Arp ). 15 What's So Goddamned Funny? The Comedian and Rorschach on Life's Way ( Taneli Kukkonen ). CONTRIBUTORS: Who Writes about the Watchmen? I N DEX: After the Masquerade.

The lived experience of moving forward for clients with spinal cord injury: a Parse research method study

Most people with spinal cord injuries take a long time to recover and return to their previous life activities. Moving forward is connected with the choices people make about what is important, what to do, and how to live life in ways they value. Parse's Theory of Humanbecoming is a human science theory, and its overall aims are to improve the quality of life for clients and their families. The Parse research method was used to explore the lived experience of moving forward for 15 clients with spinal cord injuries recruited from two Spinal Injury Associations in Taiwan in 2007. Data were collected and analysed through the processes of participant selection, dialogical engagement, extraction-synthesis and heuristic interpretation, as proposed by Parse. The core concepts found were confronting difficulties, going on and finding self-value and confidence, and co-creating successes amid opportunities and restrictions. Thus, the structure of the lived experience of moving forward is confronting difficulties, going on and finding self-value and confidence to affirm one's self while co-creating successes amid opportunities and restrictions. This study contributes to nursing theory-guided knowledge development from a humanbecoming perspective on the experience of moving forward among clients with spinal cord injury, and informs rehabilitation nurses who use the Humanbecoming theory as a guide to practice to promote moving forward.

How Experience Gets Under the Skin to Create Gradients in Developmental Health

Social environments and experiences get under the skin early in life in ways that affect the course of human development. Because most factors associated with early child development are a function of socio-economic status, differences in early child development form a socio-economic gradient. We are now learning how, when, and by what means early experiences influence key biological systems over the long term to produce gradients: a process known as biological embedding. Opportunities for biological embedding are tethered closely to sensitive periods in the development of neural circuitry. Epigenetic regulation is the best example of operating principles relevant to biological embedding. We are now in a position to ask how early childhood environments work together with genetic variation and epigenetic regulation to generate socially partitioned developmental trajectories with impact on health across the life course.