Un estado abrahamico para dos pueblos hermanos

Generalmente se asocia los Estados modernos con la separación entre política y religión, la objetivación del poder y la elección racional, dejando de lado lo simbólico y lo identitario. La existencia del Estado de Israel es un ejemplo paradójico de una democracia fundamentada en el judaísmo, que ignora el principio de las minorías que habitan en dicho territorio, producto de la historia de la colonización de Palestina lo que ha acarreado conflictos internos y con los países vecinos. Ante los constantes fracasos por dirimir el conflicto, esta disertación otorga una relevancia superior al papel que pueden desempeñar la religión, los símbolos y estudia las funciones que cumplen las instituciones religiosas con el objetivo de establecer si la construcción del Estado abrahámico puede poner fin a la disputa entre dos pueblos hermanos, motivada por controlar una Tierra Prometida.

Iglesias y partidos políticos: la estrategia electoral del MIRA en las elecciones al Senado del 2006 y el 2010 en Bogotá

La relación entre la política y la religión ha sido un fenómeno constante en la historia de Colombia, pero gracias a la pluralización religiosa manifestada en la Constitución Política de 1991 se abrió el panorama político para la participación política de congregaciones confesionales, diferentes a la católica. En este contexto de participación pluralista surgió la presente investigación que tiene como propósito la caracterización de la relación entre la Iglesia de Dios Ministerial de Jesucristo Internacional y el Movimiento Político MIRA a partir de la eficiencia electoral obtenida en las elecciones al Senado del 2006 y el 2010 en Bogotá. Dando como resultado una indiscutible relación entre la localización de una sede de la IDMJI y la concentración electoral por el MIRA en las localidades de Bogotá.

La incidencia del Movimiento Islámico de Uzbekistán en el establecimiento de una agenda de seguridad uzbeka en Asia Central 1991-2012

El interés del presente estudio de caso es analizar la estrategia de securitización implementada por el Presidente de la Republica de Uzbekistán Islam Karimov sobre el Movimiento Islámico de Uzbekistán. Se describe y se explica cómo desde las lógicas históricas y étnicas acontecidas en Asia Central, se pueden comprender los alcances internacionales de la confrontación antagónica ejercida entre uzbekos al apoyar ideas de corte secular e islamista. Así, siguiendo los parámetros establecidos por Barry Buzan con respecto a la securitización, se puede llegar a identificar la creación de una agenda de seguridad uzbeka en la región de Asia Central, cuyos logros permitieron disminuir el riesgo de la amenaza insurgente.

Catholic worker movement: un análisis desde la acción política no violenta y la lógica transnacional de los movimientos sociales

El Catholic Worker Movement se ha caracterizado por enmarcarse en las dinámicas de movilización social y acción política no violenta, que respondían, desde su creación en 1933, a un conjunto de problemáticas sociales y económicas sobre las cuales la sociedad civil se interesó y dio inicio a su actividad en escenarios de la política doméstica de Estados Unidos. Pese a ser un movimiento que surgió en un contexto nacional con fundamentación religiosa, el CWM alcanzó el desarrollo de lógicas transnacionales que contribuyeron a la defensa de su causa y a la reivindicación de valores y principios que motivarían posteriormente a la búsqueda de recursos para reforzar su lucha. Así, el proceso de evolución del movimiento tomó dirección en torno a fenómenos como la difusión, la adquisición de repertorios de acción colectiva correspondientes a la no violencia, y al aprovechamiento de factores exógenos y endógenos representados en distintas formas de oportunidad política y capacidad organizativa.

El arte de la conversión: modelos educativos del Colegio de San Andrés de Quito (Dossier: Historia del Arte)

El ensayo analiza el papel que desempeño el Colegio de San Andrés de Quito en la conversión de los indígenas durante el siglo XVI y el florecimiento de un centro importante de producción artística. El artículo propone que la designación actual del colegio, como una escuela de arte, puede ser una consecuencia tardía de la inestable relación entre arte y religión, tal como fue cultivada dentro de la institución franciscana. Se trató, por lo tanto, de una superposición del valor religioso sobre el artístico, mediante el cual se adoctrinaba a los estudiantes. El artículo enfatiza en la aprobación de destrezas artísticas por parte de los indígenas, quienes adquirieron dominio sobre estas artes, las mercadearon y provocaron una inesperada tensión en las concepciones franciscanas acerca de la religión y el uso del arte.

El "espíritu nacional" del Ecuador católico: política y religión (Estudios)

Supported by newspaper, collected letters and other documents, this article explores the relationships between politics and religion, taking into account the proposal of “politicized religion” contextually bound to the times of Gabriel García Moreno in Ecuador. It seeks to deepen understanding concerning the use of spirituality, representations and religious institutions for purposes of strengthening the State and its legitimacy of power. At the same time, it goes beyond the limits of this plane in order to advance the construction of a model of a Catholic nation based on an opposition to impiety.

To what extent do pupils perceive science to be inconsistent with religious faith? An exploratory survey of 13-14 year-old English pupils

Scientists hold a wide range of beliefs on matters of religion, although popular media coverage in the UK commonly suggests that atheism is a core commitment for scientists. Considering the relationship between religion and science is a recommended topic in the English National Curriculum for lower secondary pupils (11-14 year-olds), and it is expected that different perspectives will be considered. However it is well established that many pupils may have difficulty accessing sophisticated ideas about the nature of science, and previous research suggests some may identify science with scientism. To explore pupil impressions of the relationship between science and religion, 13-14 year old pupils were surveyed in one class from each of four English secondary schools, by asking them to rate a set of statements about the relationship between science and religion, and scientific and religious perspectives on the origins of the world, and of life on earth, on the value of prayer and on the status of miracles. The survey revealed diverse views on these issues, reflecting the wider society. However it was found that a considerable proportion of the pupils in the sample considered religious beliefs and scientific perspectives to be opposed. The basis and potential consequences of such views are considered, and the need for more attention to this area of student thinking is highlighted.

Transcriptome analysis for discovering candidate genes involve in embryogenesis in coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) through 454 pyrosequencing

Coconut, Cocos nucifera L. is a major plantation crop, which ensures income for millions of people in the tropical region. Detailed molecular studies on zygotic embryo development would provide valuable clues for the identification of molecular markers to improve somatic embryogenesis. Since there is no ongoing genome project for this species, coconut expressed sequence tags (EST) would be an interesting technique to identify important coconut embryo specific genes as well as other functional genes in different biochemical pathways. The goal of this study was to analyse the ESTs by examining the transcriptome data of the different embryo tissue types together with one somatic tissue. Here, four cDNA libraries from immature embryo, mature embryo, microspore derived embryo and mature leaves were constructed. cDNA was sequenced by the Roche-454 GS-FLX system and assembled into 32621 putative unigenes and 155017 singletons. Of these unigenes, 18651 had significant sequence similarities to non-redundant protein database, from which 16153 were assigned to one or more gene ontology categories. Homologue genes, which are responsible for embryo development such as chitinase, beta-1,3-glucanase, ATP synthase CF0 subunit, thaumatin-like protein and metallothionein-like protein were identified among the embryo EST collection. Of the unigenes, 6694 were mapped into 139 KEGG pathways including carbohydrate metabolism, energy metabolism, lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism and nucleotide metabolism. This collection of 454-derived EST data generated from different tissue types provides a significant resource for genome wide studies and gene discovery of coconut, a non-model species.

‘Rapt up with joy’: children’s emotional responses to death in early modern England

The chapter is an investigation of the child’s emotional response to death in early modern England. While much valuable scholarship has been produced on parents’ responses to the deaths of children, the reactions of the young themselves have rarely been explored. Drawing on a range of printed and archival sources, I argue that children expressed diverse and conflicting emotions, from fear and anxiety, to excitement and ecstasy. By exploring the emotional experiences of Protestants, the chapter contributes to the bourgeoning literature on emotion and religion, and contests earlier depictions of reformed Protestantism as an inherently intellectual, rather than an affective, faith. This study also suggests that we revise the way we classify the emotions, resisting the intuitive urge to categorise them as ‘positive’ or ‘negative’. The fear of hell, for example, though profoundly unpleasant, was regarded as a rational, commendable response, which demonstrated the work of the Holy Spirit in the soul, and was a prerequisite for the attainment of a joyful assurance of heaven. An underlying question is to what extent children’s responses to death differed from those of adults. I propose that although their reactions were broadly similar, the precise preoccupations of dying children were different. Through highlighting these distinctive features, we can come to a closer idea of what it was like to be a child in the early modern period.

Functionally conserved cis-regulatory elements of COL18A1 identified through zebrafish transgenesis

Type XVIII collagen is a component of basement membranes, and expressed prominently in the eye, blood vessels, liver, and the central nervous system. Homozygous mutations in COL18A1 lead to Knobloch Syndrome, characterized by ocular defects and occipital encephalocele. However, relatively little has been described on the role of type XVIII collagen in development, and nothing is known about the regulation of its tissue-specific expression pattern. We have used zebrafish transgenesis to identify and characterize cis-regulatory sequences controlling expression of the human gene. Candidate enhancers were selected from non-coding sequence associated with COL18A1 based on sequence conservation among mammals. Although these displayed no overt conservation with orthologous zebrafish sequences, four regions nonetheless acted as tissue-specific transcriptional enhancers in the zebrafish embryo, and together recapitulated the major aspects of col18a1 expression. Additional post-hoc computational analysis on positive enhancer sequences revealed alignments between mammalian and teleost sequences, which we hypothesize predict the corresponding zebrafish enhancers; for one of these, we demonstrate functional overlap with the orthologous human enhancer sequence. Our results provide important insight into the biological function and regulation of COL18A1, and point to additional sequences that may contribute to complex diseases involving COL18A1. More generally, we show that combining functional data with targeted analyses for phylogenetic conservation can reveal conserved cis-regulatory elements in the large number of cases where computational alignment alone falls short. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Utmaningen från andra berättelser : En studie om moraliskt omdöme, utvidgat tänkande och kritiskt reflekterande berättelser i dialogbaserad feministisk etik

The present study has a threefold aim: First, the theoretical aim is to give a contribution to refinement of the theory of dialogue based feminist ethics, concerning the understanding of judgment and narration within such an ethics.  The study also has an empirical aim, defined as to clarify what kind of knowledge, relevant to the moral judgment of an engaged outsider actor, can be received from dialogical interpretation and analysis of a limited selection of critically reflecting life stories. Third, a methodological aim is defined as to develop an approach to interpretation and analysis of reflecting life stories, which renders the storyteller visible as a reflecting moral subject, and makes the story accessible as a source of knowledge for the moral judgment of an engaged outsider actor. The thesis combines philosophical reflection and argumentation, with a narrative-hermeneutic method for interpretation of life stories, relating the two to each other in a hermeneutic process.  The theoretical reflection draws on Seyla Benhabibs theory of communicative ethics. A dialogue based model for moral justification and a likewise dialogue based model for political legitimacy are at the heart of this universalistic theory, although in combination with a conception of a narratively and hermeneutically constituted context sensitive moral judgment, based on Hannah Arendt’s concept “enlarged thought”. In the reflection, this model is related to other feminist theorizing within the tradition of dialogue based feminist ethics, as found in the works of Iris M. Young, Georgia Warnke and Shari Stone-Mediatore. The empirical study draws on three critically reflecting life stories from Israeli-Palestinian women activists for a just peace. The methodology for interpretation and analysis that is worked out combines dialogical interpretation as presented in Arthur W. Frank’s socio-narratology with a method for structural analysis derived from Shari Stone-Mediatores theory of storytelling as an expression of political resistance struggle. The results show that some stories drawing on marginalized experiences have a potential­ to stimulate further public debate through their capacity to enable a stereoscopic seeing, elucidating a tension between ideologically structured discourse and non-linguistic experience; implying that narrative-hermeneutic competence should be considered crucial for public debate.  

The role of TaABF1 in abscisic acid-mediated suppression of -amylase gene expression in cereal grains

The phytohormones gibberellin (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA) regulate important developments events in germinating seeds. Specifically, GA induces the expression of hyrolase genes, like the α-amylase gene Amy32b, which mobilizes starch reserves to be used by the embryo, and ABA suppresses this induction. Recent advancements identified ABA and GA receptors and key components in the signaling pathways, however, the mechanism of crosstalk between the hormones remains largely unknown. To further elucidate the mechanism of ABA suppression of GA-induced genes, we focused on the transcription factor TaABF1, a member of the ABA response element binding factor family. TaABF1 has been shown to physically interact with the SnRK2 kinase PKABA1 and overexpression of TaABF1 or PKABA1 can suppress Amy32b. We carried out particle bombardment experiments to investigate how TaABF1 suppresses Amy32b and how TaABF1 is activated by ABA. The role of TaABF1 in ABA-mediated suppression of Amy32b is more complicated than hypothesized. Unlike PKABA1, overexpression of TaABF1 did not cause a decrease of GAMyb expression and in fact resulted in an increase of GAMyb expression. When TaABF1 and GAMyb were simultaneously overexpressed in aleurone, the GAMyb induction of Amy32b was unaffected, indicating that the target of TaABF1 action must be upstream of GAMyb. Furthermore, TaABF1 and ABA demonstrated an additive effect on the suppression of Amy32b. Based on our findings, we propose a model in which PKABA1 activates two separate targets, one being TaABF1 which then modifies an unknown target upstream of GAMyb and the other being an unknown transcription factor that suppresses GAMyb transcription.