Personal Pursuit Research Articles

Ruling Peacefully: Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga and Patrician Reform in Sixteenth-Century Italy (review)

Reviewed by: Ruling Peacefully: Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga and Patrician Reform in Sixteenth-Century Italy William V. Hudon Ruling Peacefully: Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga and Patrician Reform in Sixteenth-Century Italy. By Paul V. Murphy. (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press. 2007. Pp. xxi, 290. $79.95. ISBN 978-0-813-21478-8). Those—like me—who have read and enjoyed Paul V. Murphy's essays in the Sixteenth Century Journal, in several edited volumes, and in this journal now have just what they hoped for: Murphy's thorough analysis covering the whole life of Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga (1505–63). He has made a first-class contribution to the history of sixteenth-century Italy. In six chapters here, Murphy traces the background and career of Gonzaga, placing both fully in context. A handsome, powerful Renaissance patrician, Gonzaga was fluent in the humanist culture prized by his social class. After studies in Bologna, entry into the circle of Reginald Pole, plus further studies in Mantua and Venice, he became the episcopal administrator of Mantua in 1521 and cardinal at the age of 22. He built an enormous library of humanist works, including texts on theology, patristics, canon law, and apologetics, the latter in both Protestant and Catholic voices. Murphy described him as a lifelong learner, for in addition to this book collecting—and presumably, reading—the prelate regularly sought out tutors. Present at the beginnings of what Hubert Jedin and others called "Catholic Reform," Gonzaga worked inconsistently to actualize diocesan reform. One reality that spurred such inconsistency in him and in others like him was personal pursuit of thoroughly unreformed behavior. Since he amassed an awesome portfolio of benefices delivering some 35,000 ducats annually, Gonzaga's reacting badly to nepotism under Paul III was rather like the pot calling the kettle black. Still, his modest reform initiatives in Mantua between 1533 and 1561 gained the good will of [End Page 826] prelates such as Gasparo Contarini and Gian Pietro Carafa. Gonzaga focused his diocesan reform on monastic life and on the improvement of local clergy, and he turned out to be fully capable of showing both severity and pragmatism in handling the failings of his human charges. When considering Gonzaga's connection with the contemporary so-called spirituali, Murphy finds it difficult to pin his subject down. Gonzaga exhibited the theological and religious influence of the group, but not consistently. He disapproved open preaching of Protestant doctrine on grace, but he was slow to discipline those who did. It was in artistic commissions and in work as a regent—beginning in 1540 for Francesco, the seven-year-old son of Federico of Mantua—that Gonzaga's patrician credentials were most apparent. There, Murphy explains, he understood his role perfectly: to maintain the status of his family as a clan of great lords. In his final years, Gonzaga served with Girolamo Seripando as legate to the Council of Trent. Murphy challenges the view of Jedin, arguing that the legates were not the source of problems encountered in the last phase of the council, but skillful diplomats facing an impossible balancing act. For Murphy, here at Trent the patrician and the reformer came together. Gonzaga sought, for instance, a limit on papal authority over the Council without any reduction in divinely instituted papal power. He and Seripando tried, Murphy insists, to preserve conciliar confidence in papal commitment to comprehensive reform. If all this sounds a little familiar, there is good reason. Intrepid scholars such as Giuseppe Alberigo, Eric Cochrane, Paul Grendler, and Adriano Prosperi began dramatic reconsideration of characters like Gonzaga long ago. Quite an edifice has been built upon their foundations by the rest of us fellow travelers, including Murphy. His work is another substantial brick in the wall. Prelates like Gonzaga worked amid competing commitments. The interrelationships they established were varied, multifaceted, and rather fluid. The positions they took and tactics they used were anything but uniform. Individual lives, groups of friends, political entities, and long-lasting institutions filled with contradictions defying customary historical models are the stuff of revision. A powerful, persuasive contribution to necessary revision lies here. William V. Hudon Bloomsburg University Copyright © 2008 The Catholic University of...

Contaminants in Human Milk: Weighing the Risks against the Benefits of Breastfeeding

When it comes to feeding the newborn, human milk is, from an evolutionary perspective, the biological norm, the time-tested standard of care. The health benefits to the infant of breast-feeding have been amply documented; numerous studies strongly indicate significantly decreased risks of infection, allergy, asthma, arthritis, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and various cancers in both childhood and adulthood. Among the more fundamental disadvantages of not being breastfed is a loss of immunologic protection afforded by maternal colostrum, a “pre-milk” fluid secreted only during the first days after delivery, as well as numerous other bioactive factors that help protect the infant through the first two years of life, when the immune and nervous systems are incompletely developed. Nevertheless, given the tendency for persistent organic pollutants (POPs), pesticides, heavy metals, and other contaminants to accumulate in human milk, researchers and parents alike are asking whether the nursling’s exposure to these pollutants might reduce or even override the health benefits.

Musings on America's Birthday

Musings on America's Birthday

School Libraries Play an Active, Transformational Role in Student Learning and Achievement

School Libraries Play an Active, Transformational Role in Student Learning and Achievement

Marketing of Australia to Malaysian Consumers

In many contexts, tourism is a potentially major economic contributor. Promotion is particularly important in international tourism in order to realize its potential and strategic positioning in an effective way. The benefits inherent in the consumption of international tourism services are primarily experiential. Not only does a tourist engage in personal leisure pursuits but also shapes the consumer behaviour of others at the vacation destination (Padgett and Douglas, 1997). Before the actual consumption, the tourist consumer envisions these experiences reasoned upon positive emotions that the destination evokes in his or her mind. Because behaviour is often the result of such perceptions (Lindquist, 1974-1975), the traveller's choice of a given destination depends largely on the favourableness of his or her image of that destination (Goodrich, 1978; Woodside and Lysonski, 1989; Chon, 1991; Baloglu and McCleary, 1999). While manufacturing distributes products to markets, tourism moves markets to destinations (Gunn, 1988). These characteristics of business phenomenon present special challenges and require careful promotional responses. Our study examines the image of Australia as a tourist destination in Malaysia.

The Next Generation and the Pursuit of Happiness

The author first observes that dealing with next-generation issues cannot be done from the perspective of a sort of “top down” teaching, but rather that advisers can encourage members of the next generation to become confident owners (and managers) of their own wealth, so they can proceed with their personal pursuit of a happy life. Thus, once a younger family member has accepted the wealth, he or she needs to develop wealth-related skills that can be grouped into four core categories: basic accounting skills, investment skills, legal skills and skills related to philanthropy. The author suggests that family members can begin with individual “needs analysis” inventory so that the focus can be on the weaker skills. <b>TOPIC:</b>Wealth management

Leisure and Fatherhood in Dual‐Earner Families

This paper explores the relationship between fatherhood in the context of dual‐earner families in the UK. A gender constructivist theoretical framework is first described then applied to data gathered from interviews with 14 dual‐employed couples with dependent children. Leisure is revealed as a key component of men’s role as fathers that sits alongside the much‐discussed notion of breadwinning. The structure, nature and meaning of leisure is shown to be crucially altered by the onset of parenthood. While leisure still retains meanings of autonomy and personal pursuit, it becomes a context for parenting during childrearing. The discourse of ‘leisure‐based parenting’ contrasts sharply with mothers’ discussions of both parenting and leisure. Data from interviews with both partners are used to highlight the different ‘hierarchies’ of employment, family and leisure that co‐exist within families. The paper also outlines the interactions between mothers’ and fathers’ experience of (paid and unpaid) work, family life and leisure that act to construct and reconstruct gendered lifecourse trajectories. The impact of each partner’s leisure orientations on the behaviour of the other is presented as an example of the way gendered leisure mediates the lifestyles of fathers, mothers and families.

Creating a healing community: the role for physicians and nurses.

Most of what is written and said about healing is focused on the individual and their personal pursuit of the experience of being healed. The Healing Community shifts that focus to a larger perspective. Indigenous people have recognized the importance of community for centuries, identifying the worst possible consequence for behavior as banishment or exile from their community, not death. In the holistic view, life and death are seen as being on a continuum that occurs within a community, with all being valued. It is time to release our self-imposed and society endorsed exile from what truly heals our relationship with a greater Power and each other.

Impact of the Surgeon General’s Report: Through the Eyes of Physical Education Teacher Educators

Things change in physical education, but changes are often slow and might go unnoticed. Termed the “chameleon of all curricula” (McKenzie, 2001), physical education has historically played a utilitarian role and has adapted both to meet societal needs and to survive as a profession. The founding fathers of physical education in North America were primarily medical doctors, and their focus on physical fitness and health has held remarkably steadfast over time. This occurred despite attempts to take the profession in different directions, often to the angst of important leaders such as Eleanor Metheney, who stated 40 years ago, “We are back where we started from a hundred years ago, and the tattered old biological banner of physical fitness is again waving triumphantly from our educational battlements.” (Metheney, 1965, p.101). While the “fitness first” banner has been recycled as the main goal of physical education for nearly 150 years, it has rarely been unfurled in the name of public health. Rather, it was waved to engage individuals in the pursuit of personal fitness pursuits or prepare citizenry for battle during wars (e.g., World Wars I and II, Korean Conflict) and establish national pride in sports (e.g., Olympic Games), and fitness (e.g., Kraus-Webber testing) competitions. Physical fitness and physical activity are both associated with health, but it is important to distinguish between them. Physical fitness is an outcome, whereas physical activity is a process—one frequently defined as “any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure” (Caspersen, 1989, p. 425). Physical fitness has historically been considered the pathway to healthful living (Hockey, 1989), and physical education has focused on it, often to the exclusion of physical activity (Freedson & Rowland, 1992), particularly if the activity was of low or moderate intensity. Toward the end of the 20th century the profession began to stress exercise engagement—a subcategory of physical activity that demands activity be performed at an intensity high enough to produce biological changes. Fitness and fitness tests have traditionally been associated with sports excellence (i.e., skill-related fitness; Hunsicker & Reiff, 1966), but in the mid 1970s professional organizations began to emphasize health-related fitness in their testing programs (e.g., Blair, Falls, & Pate, 1983). As a result, most school students in the past 30 years have been assessed using one or more health–fitness batteries

Justice and Personal Pursuits

Justice and Personal Pursuits

Einstein: the passions of a scientist

Einstein continues to captivate, not only for his revolutionary scientific insights but also for his complex personality and personal pursuits. In this unique contribution to the Einstein literature, physicist and acclaimed science writer, Barry Parker draws on the great scientist's letters and personal papers to explore the intellectual and emotional passions that motivated both his work and his life. Parker focuses on five aspects of Einstein's emotional nature that had a profound influence on his life and career. This is an original, insightful look at one of the greatest geniuses of all time who did so much to shape our vision of the world.

Towards an effectiveness model of development centres

Argues that for competence management to be a valuable tool in leveraging individual competencies to dynamic organisational core competencies, more stress should be laid on competence development. More specifically, focuses on the effectiveness of development centres (DC), in terms of personal development and pursuit of the development plan. In this way, attempts to meet the need for more studies on the whole DC process and, more specifically, on its effectiveness. Furthermore, looks to take a first step in integrating fields of coaching, self‐development and line management human resources involvement in DC studies.

High Hopes in a Grim World

Views of the future were explored among emerging adults (aged 21 through 28). In general, they viewed their personal futures optimistically and believed their lives would be as good or better than their parents' lives in aspects such as financial wellbeing, career achievements, personal relationships, and overall quality of life. Interview responses indicated that many participants emphasized personal relationships, especially marriage, as the foundation of their future happiness. However, regarding the future of their generation as a whole, they were pessimistic. A majority of them agreed with the “Generation X” characterization of their generation as cynical and pessimistic. Reasons for this cynicism and pessimism were diverse and included economic prospects as well as societal problems such as crime and environmental destruction. Nevertheless, the participants tended to believe they would succeed in their personal pursuit of happiness even amidst the difficult conditions facing their generation and the world.

CREATIVITY IN EXPERIENTIAL PERSONAL CONSTRUCT PSYCHOTHERAPY

We propose that experiential personal construct psychotherapy demands therapist creativity in engaging clients, beginning with the initial diagnosis and continuing through the entire therapy process. We suggest a number of ways of enhancing therapist creativity in the therapy room. We discuss making time for aloneness, seeking particular kinds of interactions with others, fantasizing, having a passion for one's work, trying on roles, exposing oneself to literature and the arts, leading a balanced life, reducing time pressures, making judgments, focusing on process, and seeing client growth. Finally, we consider creativity in the life of the therapist beyond the therapy room. We explore how the therapist's desire to be a part of lifechanging psychotherapy mandates the personal pursuit of creativity.

Time and Using the Internet

Time has always been a major factor in the way information professionals provide information and function on a daily basis. There always seems to be more things to do or use in the same amount of time. The Internet has added a new twist to the way informa–tion professionals do their jobs and what patrons expect from libraries. The Internet can be used for scholarly and personal information pursuits. Balance is the key for the information professional and the patron. Electronic access does not always mean better. And we have a responsibility to use the Internet in the same way that all sources are used.

Sleep quality and physical and social well-being in North American petrochemical shift workers.

We modified a European questionnaire, the Standard Shiftwork Index, in syntax and length for application to workers of an American continuous operations petrochemical company in southeast Texas. Three groups of male employees--147 day workers, 107 8-hour backward rotating shift workers, and 107 12-hour shift workers--were surveyed for sleep quality, physical well-being, and time for family and personal pursuits. The groups were comparable in terms of travel time to work, marital status, age, number of children at home under the age of 18 years, history (years) of shift work, and proportion of partners working outside the home. Statistically significant group differences were detected in the mean responses between the 8-hour backward and the other groups for the indices of sleep quality, physical well-being (gastrointestinal and cardiovascular complaints), and time for family and personal pursuits. In all cases, the 8-hour backward shift work group fared worst. The differences between the groups are believed to reflect the stress of the respective work shift schedules.

Perceived sources of stress among student nurses.

Questionnaire data was collected from a sample of 306 student nurses from three institutions (university, college of advanced education and hospital) during the second week of the first year of their course, and from 189 students from two of the institutions (university and CAE) at the conclusion of their first year of education. The main sources of stress on both occasions were essentially the same for women and men, and for students from the different institutions. These concerns focussed on study-related issues, the emotional demands of nursing, the use of technical equipment, interpersonal interaction, and lack of time for family and personal pursuits. It was suggested that these concerns could be reduced through the introduction of education in study skills, the provision of the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with technical equipment, and the development of social skills.

Taking Irony Seriously: Rorty's Postmetaphysical Liberalism

Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity By Richard Rorty Cambridge University Press, 1989 In Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity, Richard Rorty unveils his blueprint for a postmetaphysical utopia inhabited by ironists like himself. An inspection of this blueprint reveals, however, that Rorty's liberal ironism turns out to be neither genuinely ironic nor especially liberal. His postmetaphysical aspirations ultimately thwarted by his unironic adherence to a rigid between public and private. In the end, Rorty compromises the irony that would promote human solidarity in order to preserve the sanctity of the private sphere. Mindful that irony and liberalism do not ordinarily mix, Rorty readily concedes that irony of little public (120) and is of no use to qua liberals (95). If, however, we simply honor a firm distinction between public and private, then we can reconcile the competing claims of irony and liberalism (83). Although ironists are at best useless and at worst dangerous [as public figures], they nevertheless can play a constructive role in accommodating [other ironists'] private sense of identity to [their] (68). When irony and liberalism joined (though never intermingled), the result is a public commitment to liberalism by ironists who privately acknowledge the historical contingency of their commitment. By confining irony to the private sphere, thus restricting its corrosive power to the personal pursuit of autonomy, the ironist can also maintain a public commitment to the promotion of human solidarity. Ironists' private quest for autonomy is uniquely informed by an irreverent attitude toward their own vocabulari[ies], a designation Rorty proposes for the collection of terms, concepts, and expressions by means of which we articulate our most basic hopes and values. Because ironists acknowledge that their final vocabulary is arbitrary, contingent, perhaps incoherent, and at any rate subject to interminable

The Role of Law School in Balancing a Lawyer's Personal and Professional Life

A significant conflict in the lives of lawyers is the balancing act between the competing needs for personal and professional fulfillment. Legal education and the realities of law practice have further exacerbated this dilemma. The author examines how legal education adversely affects its students in this regard, and offers suggestions for helping law students to meet the challenge of effectively balancing personal and professional pursuits.

Papua New Guinea 1979: A Regime under Siege

Research Article| January 01 1980 Papua New Guinea 1979: A Regime under Siege Ralph R. Premdas Ralph R. Premdas Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Far Eastern Survey (1951) 20 (1): 94–99. https://doi.org/10.2307/2644011 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Ralph R. Premdas; Papua New Guinea 1979: A Regime under Siege. Far Eastern Survey 10 January 1951; 20 (1): 94–99. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/2644011 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentAsian Survey Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright 1980 The Regents of the University of California Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.