El paradigma del Desarrollo Urbano Sostenible -DUS- como referente del proceso de toma de decisiones legislativas en Colombia. Análisis de la agenda legislativa del Congreso de la República entre 1991 y 2006

Este trabajo contribuye al análisis de la incidencia del paradigma del Desarrollo Urbano Sostenible en el proceso de toma de decisiones legislativas en Colombia, concentrándose en la discusión y definición de la agenda legislativa sobre asuntos urbanos, durante el periodo 1991-2006.

Franquicia GastroPub Torino

Es la construcción de un modelo de franquicia de restaurantes con la temática GastroPub que es una nueva tendencia originaria de europa. Es un restaurante que sirve comida colombiana gourmet, típica pero no común, en un ambiente de pub.

El abismo lógico (Borges y los filósofos de las ideas)

Este libro explora un fenómeno que se repite en algunos textos del escritor argentino Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986). Está compuesto por nueve capítulos, que corresponden al análisis de la reescritura de nueve distintas propuestas filosóficas. Las propuestas están cobijadas bajo la misma doctrina: el idealismo. Es un libro que se escribe para validar la propuesta de un método de lectura que cuenta a la vez con una dosis de ingenio y con planteamientos rigurosos, permitiendo así un tipo de análisis que, siendo sistemático, es también lúdico, conservando de este modo las funciones fundamentales de la literatura. No pocas conjeturas ha habido acerca de las intenciones de Borges o de sus creencias.El texto propone análisis novedosos de los cuentos de Borges y reevalúa y critica algunos análisis existentes elaborados por diferentes comentaristas. El tipo de análisis propuesto se haría extensivo a otros cuentos de Borges y a otros autores. Es un texto que se esfuerza por tomar distancia de las interpretaciones existentes que hay sobre la obra de Borges y de proponer nuevas lecturas siguiendo un cierto rigor interpretativo. Las conclusiones finales sitúan la propuesta del libro en el centro de debates contemporáneos de la literatura como la muerte del autor, los límites de la interpretación y la intertextualidad. La misma propuesta se encarga de establecer su relación y su distancia con los comentaristas reconocidos y se aparta de propuestas interpretativas pasadas de moda. La aproximación al tema, además, vincula el análisis literario con la historia de la filosofía, haciéndolo interesante para un público más amplio.El texto propone análisis novedosos de los cuentos de Borges y reevalúa y critica algunos análisis existentes elaborados por diferentes comentaristas. El tipo de análisis propuesto se haría extensivo a otros cuentos de Borges y a otros autores. Es un texto que se esfuerza por tomar distancia de las interpretaciones existentes que hay sobre la obra de Borges y de proponer nuevas lecturas siguiendo un cierto rigor interpretativo. Las conclusiones finales sitúan la propuesta del libro en el centro de debates contemporáneos de la literatura como la muerte del autor, los límites de la interpretación y la intertextualidad. La misma propuesta se encarga de establecer su relación y su distancia con los comentaristas reconocidos y se aparta de propuestas interpretativas pasadas de moda. La aproximación al tema, además, vincula el análisis literario con la historia de la filosofía, haciéndolo interesante para un público más amplio.

Advent angels : a host of stories, crafts, puzzles and things to do for the days of Advent.

Idóneo para la diversión en los días de Adviento, pues contiene un montón de historias, manualidades, puzzles y juegos para que los niños disfruten con ellos durante este tiempo de preparación a la Navidad.

Animais de porte como chave para o descanso de Deuteronómio 5,12-15; meditações sócio-económicas do uso da ecologia pela situação

Tem-se como objetivo discutir nesse espaço o texto do shabbat de Deuteronômio 5,12-15, sobre ele se sustenta que deva ter surgido como coesão social-textual desenvolvidapelo assentamento dos animais quadrúpedes, bois, jumentos, em Judá nos séculos 8.°e 7.° a.C. O ato de interditar o trabalho (shabbat) visava salvaguardar os animais valiososno Oriente Antigo, e também, o gradual empobrecimento das terras causadaspelo seu peso nas pobres terras de Judá. Uma saída que visava re-estabilizar a relação homem-natureza pela via regulamentar da sociedade judaica.

Igreja de mártires : o martírio como símbolo e condição do ser-cristão

Partindo de alguns dos mais importantes estudos exegético-interpretativos realizados por Erik Peterson (1890-1960), o presente artigo pretende sobretudo demonstrar a importância que o tema do Martírio tem no âmbito tanto da Teologia neo-testamentária como da história da Igreja. Mostra-se, assim, a importância de um texto como Mateus 10, aí onde se narra os termos em que Jesus envia os Apóstolos, e isso para mostrar como, na Igreja, o martírio brota simplesmente do facto de a Mensagem evangélica não se dirigir a uma humanidade abstracta ou considerada de forma neutral, mas, pelo contrário, antes se verifica que o Apóstolo é, por definição, enviado a anunciar o Evangelho do Reino de Deus mesmo em situações em que as estruturas sociais ou as pessoas individuais não estejam dispostas a, sem mais, receber o Kerygma. Daí, por exemplo, a importância de se reconhecer que os Apóstolos são enviados “como ovelhas para o meio de lobos” e, não menos, como, bem feitas as contas, estes sempre tendem a ser mais do que aquelas. Mostra-se também, nomeadamente a partir de uma breve leitura do Livro do Apocalipse, que num tempo, como o nosso, em que o mistério da iniquidade não cessa de se manifestar, nomeadamente mediante a ausência na sociedade humana de uma efectiva vigência da Lei de Deus, a condição de ser chamado a dar testemunho é, por definição, própria a todas as pessoas que, pelo Baptismo, se encontram realmente incorporadas no Mistério de Cristo. Em suma, o artigo mostra como a vida da Igreja está destinada a ser uma vida vivida no contexto da Grande Tribulação e como, assim, até ao fim, tem de permanecer. Acima de tudo, porém,evidencia-se que uma vida de testemunho só pode ser aquela a que, plenamente, se aplicam as Bem aventuranças proclamadas no Sermão da Montanha, pois a Felicidade de que os Evangelhos nos falam é, no final de contas, sempre aquela que nada melhor ilustra do que o testemunho dos Mártires.

Radiometric dating of the Siloam Tunnel, Jerusalem

The historical credibility of texts from the Bible is often debated when compared with Iron Age archaeological finds (refs. 1, 2 and references therein). Modern scientific methods may, in principle, be used to independently date structures that seem to be mentioned in the biblical text, to evaluate its historical authenticity. In reality, however, this approach is extremely difficult because of poor archaeological preservation, uncertainty in identification, scarcity of datable materials, and restricted scientific access into well-identified worship sites. Because of these problems, no well-identified Biblical structure has been radiometrically dated until now. Here we report radiocarbon and U-Th dating of the Siloam Tunnel(3-10), proving its Iron Age II date; we conclude that the Biblical text presents an accurate historic record of the Siloam Tunnel's construction. Being one of the longest ancient water tunnels lacking intermediate shafts(11,12), dating the Siloam Tunnel is a key to determining where and when this technological breakthrough took place. Siloam Tunnel dating also refutes a claim(13) that the tunnel was constructed in the second century BC.

Facebook faith - social networking in a faith based community

This paper views the increasing social networking as an efficient emerging ministry to the moveable generation. Through social network such as Facebook, ministry from a pastoral perspective can become more authentic and meaningful. Ministry is relational. Social Networking sites provide a strong platform to being part in other people’s life. Social networking and living online builds community beyond geographical boarders. Young adults and youths digital identity often reflects their faith, this is supported by research which suggests a practice of more openness to share and expose private issues online. Spiritual and religious views are freely shared, creating sacred spaces in the midst of life practising a holistic faith identity in a secular community. Providing a strong platform for information flow, Social Network is attractive in a postmodern society where inviting people to join in events are perceived as non threatening, making church community events transparent and available to people who do not attend church, inviting spiritual friendships and relationships. Social Networking strengthens relationship in a non hierarchical manner and invites the minister into lives where there previously would have been barriers, engaging in prayer and bible study as well as pastoral care through social networking, thus relationships deepens via social networking making people real. It has been observed that, although community building happens on the net, church affiliation loyalty remains to the local community. Therefore presence ministry though social networks emerges as a core form of ministry, where relations to youth who move from local church to university campuses are kept alive. The asynchronous nature of communication within social networking eases the minister in her work. The minister is able to engage with many individuals at the same time. Before the minister could visit one person at a time, now she visits 5-6 individuals at any given time. Therefore social networking not only increases the quality of the work, but also empowers the minister to be more efficient.

Developing a knowledge management system using an ontological approach in global organisation

This paper introduces an ontology-based knowledge model for knowledge management. This model can facilitate knowledge discovery that provides users with insight for decision making. The users requiring the insight normally play different roles with different requirements in an organisation. To meet the requirements, insights are created by purposely aggregated transnational data. This involves a semantic data integration process. In this paper, we present a knowledge management system which is capable of representing knowledge requirements in a domain context and enabling the semantic data integration through ontology modeling. The knowledge domain context of United Bible Societies is used to illustrate the features of the knowledge management capabilities.

Understanding Foreign Masters : the examples of Rabindranath Tagore and Fyodor Dostoyevskiy

The Indian author Rabindranath Tagore was received like royalty during his visits to the West after winning the Nobel Prize in 1913. Dreams of foreign cultures offered a retreat from a complicated age. In a time when the West appeared to be living under threat of disintegration and when industrialism seemed like a cul-de-sac, he appeared to offer the promise of a return to a lost paradise, a spiritual abode that is superior to the restless Western culture. However, Tagore’s popularity faded rapidly, most notably in England, the main target of his criticism. Soon after Tagore had won the Nobel Prize, the English became indignant at Tagore’s anti-colonial attitude.Tagore visited Sweden in 1921 and 1926 and was given a warm reception. His visits to Sweden can be seen as an episode in a longer chain of events. It brought to life old conceptions of India as the abode of spirituality on earth. Nevertheless, interest in him was a relatively short-lived phenomenon in Sweden. Only a few of his admirers in Sweden appreciated the complexity of Tagore’s achievements. His “anathema of mammonism”, as a Swedish newspaper called it, was not properly received. After a steady stream of translations his popularity flagged towards the end of the 1920s and then almost disappeared entirely. Tagores visits in Sweden gave an indication that India was on the way to liberate itself from its colonial legacy, which consequently contributed to the waning of his popularity in the West. In the long run, his criticism of the drawbacks in the western world became too obvious to maintain permanent interest. The Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevskiy’s Crime and Punishment (1866) has enticed numerous interpretations such as the purely biographical approach. In the nervous main character of the novel, the young student Raskolnikov, one easily recognizes Dostoyevskiy himself. The novel can also be seen as a masterpiece of realistic fiction. It gives a broad picture of Saint Petersburg, a metropolis in decay. Crime and Punishment can also be seen as one of the first examples of a modern psychological novel, since it is focused on the inner drama of its main character, the young student Raskolnikov. His actions seem to be governed by mere coincidences, dreams and the spur of the moment. it seems fruitful to study the novel from a psychoanalytical approach. In his book Raskolnikov: the way of the divided towards unity in Crime and Punishment (1982), a Swedish scholar, Owe Wikström, has followed this line of interpretation all the way to Freud’s disciple C G Jung. In addition to this, the novel functions as an exciting crime story. To a large extent it is Viktor Sjklovskij and other Russian formalists from the 1920s and onwards who have taught the western audience to understand the specific nature of the crime story. The novel could be seen as a story about religious conversion. Like Lasarus in the Bible (whose story attracts a lot of attention in the novel) Raskolnikov is awakened from the dead, and together with Sonja he starts a completely new life. The theme of conversion has a special meaning for Dostoyevskiy. For him the conversion meant an acknowledgement of the specific nature of Russia itself. Crime and punishment mirrors the conflict between traditional Russian values and western influences that has been obvious in Russia throughout the history of the country. The novel reflects a dialogue that still continues in Russian society. The Russian literary historian Mikhail Bakhtin, who is probably the most famous interpreter of the works of Dostoyevskiy, has become famous precisely by emphasizing the importance of dialogues in novels like Crime and Punishment. According to Bakhtin, this novel is characterized by its multitude of voices. Various ideas are confronted with each other, and each one of them is personified by one of the characters in the novel. The author has resigned from his position as the superior monitor of the text, and he leaves it to the reader to decide what interpretation is the correct one..The aim of the present study is thus to analyze the complex reactions in the west to Tagore’s visits in Sweden and to Fyodor Dostoyevskiys novel Crime and Punishment.. This leads to more general conclusions on communication between cultures.

L’infidélité dans le couple : Charles et Emma Bovary dans Madame Bovary de Flaubert et Dinah et Loulou dans Traversée de la Mangrove de Maryse Condé

Ce travail sur l’infidélité dans le couple traite les différentes sources de l’ennui ainsi que leurs conséquences dans la vie du couple. Les différentes opinions de différents auteurs sur la cause de l’infidélité dans le couple sont vues en long et en large. L’éducation féminine du XIXème siècle éclaire sur le handicap qui a entrainé certaines filles dans le malheur car l’éducation de l’époque ne les avait pas bien préparées pour devenir de bonnes épouses. Ce mémoire montre l’image de la religion dans ces deux oeuvres : Madame Bovary et Traversée de la mangrove. La question est de voir comment ces auteurs peignent la religion dans ces oeuvres et pourquoi ils adoptent l’infidélité pour sauver la femme de son ennui. Enfin, la comparaison de ces ennuis est faite afin de voir que dans ces couples, malgré le fait qu’ils appartiennent à des époques différentes, l’ennui dans le couple est le même. Ces auteurs ont procédé aux mêmes stratégies pour sauver le couple de son ennui. La morale critique et religieuse a été utilisée pour aborder ce thème, lorsque nous avons fait une lecture biblique de ces deux oeuvres.

Att bli, att vara och att ha varit - om ingångar i och utgångar ur Jehovas vittnen i Sverige

Summary To become, to be and to have been: about the  Jehovah’s Witnesses The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, in the following text referred to as the Jehovah’s Witnesses or “the organisation”, is a worldwide Christian organisation with about 6.7 million members. The organisation has many times, without any success so far, proclaimed Armageddon when they expect Jehovah to return to Earth. They interpret the Bible in their own, often very literal way, and require their members to live according to these interpretations. Among the consequences of this, members are forbidden to vote, to do military service or to receive blood transfusions. Apart from attending the three weekly meetings, members are expected to be active in missionary work, known as “publishing”. If a member fails to do a certain number of hours’ publishing, he or she risks being deprived of active membership status Sweden in general is considered to be a society where the population is not very religious. The formerly state-governed Lutheran church has lost its influence and the vast majority of ordinary Swedes do not visit church on other occasions than weddings, funerals or christenings. Expressing one’s own religious values has become somewhat of a private matter where publicity is seldom appreciated, which is contrary to the practice of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. This is one of the reasons why the Jehovah’s Witnesses are commonly perceived by average Swedes as a “suspicious” religious organisation. The aim and methods of the study This dissertation seeks to describe and investigate the entering and leaving of a highly structured and hierarchical religious community, exemplified in this case by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. What are the thoughts and aspirations of someone who is considering becoming a Jehovah’s Witness? What are the priorities and what experiences seem important when a person is going through such a process? And when this person has finally reached his or her goal of becoming a member, is it the same motivation that makes him or her stay in the organisation for longer periods of time, possibly for the rest of their lives, or does it change during the process of entering, or does this motivation change its character during the transition from entering to being a regular member? Why do some of the members change their attitude to the Jehovah’s Witnesses from rejoicing to bitterness? And how does this process of exit manifest itself? In what way is it different from the process of entry? The respondents in this study were chosen from both active members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Sweden and those who have left the organisation for personal reasons. Repeated interviews with ten active members of the organisation have been conducted in the course of the study and compared to equal numbers of former members. The interviews have been semi-structured to deal with questions of how a person has come into contact with the organisation; how they retrospectively experienced the process of entry; the reasons for becoming a member. Questions have also been asked about life in the organisation. The group of “exiters” have also been asked about the experience of leaving, why they wanted to leave, and how this process was started and carried out. In addition to this I have analysed a four-year diary describing the time inside and the process of leaving the organisation. This has given me an extra psychological insight into the inner experience of someone who has gone through the whole process. The analysis has been done by categorising the content of the transcribed interviews. An attempt to outline a model of an entry and exit process has been made, based on ideas and interpretations presented in the interviews. The analysis of the diary has involved thorough reading, resulting in a division of it into four different parts, where each part has been given a certain key-word, signifying the author’s emotional state when writing it. A great deal of the information about the Jehovah’s Witnesses has been collected through discussion boards on the Internet, informal talks with members and ex-members, interviews with representatives of the organisations during visits to its different offices (Bethels), such as St. Petersburg, Russia, and Brooklyn, New York, USA. The context Each organisation evolves in its own context with its own norms, roles and stories that would not survive outside it. With this as a starting point, there is a chapter dedicated to the description of the organisation’s history, structure and activities. It has been stated that the organisation’s treatment of its critical members and the strategies for recruiting new members have evolved over the years of its history. At the beginning there was an openness allowing members to be critical. As the structure of the organisation has become more rigid and formalised, the treatment of internal critics has become much less tolerated and exclusion has become a frequent option. As a rule many new members have been attracted to the organisation when (1) the day of Armageddon has been pronounced to be approaching; (2) the members of the organisation have been persecuted or threatened with persecution; and (3) the organisation has discovered a “new market”. The processes for entering and exiting How the entering processes manifest themselves depends on whether the person has been brought up in the organisation or not. A person converting as an adult has to pass six phases before being considered a Jehovah’s Witness by the organisation. These are:  Contact with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Studying the bible with members of the organisation, Questioning, Accepting, Being active as publisher (spreading the belief), Being baptised.  For a person brought up in the organisation, the process to full membership is much shorter:   Upbringing in the organisation, Taking a stand on the belief, Being baptised. The exit process contains of seven phases:   Different levels of doubts, Testing of doubts, Turning points, Different kinds of decisions, Different steps in executing the decisions, Floating, a period of emotional and cognitive consideration of membership and its experiences, Realtive neutrality.   The process in and the process out are both slow and are accompanied with anguish and doubts. When a person is going through the process in or out of the organisation he or she experiences criticism. This is when people around the adept question the decision to continue in the process. The result of the criticism depends on where in the process the person is. If he or she is at the beginning of the process, the criticism will probably make the person insecure and the process will slow down or stop. If the criticism is pronounced in a later phase, the process will probably speed up. The norms of the organisation affect the behaviour of the members. There are techniques for inclusion that both bind members to the organisation and shield them off from the surrounding society. Examples of techniques for inclusion are the “work situation” and “closed doors”. The work situation signifies that members who do as the organisation recommends – doing simple work – often end up in the same branch of industry as many other Jehovah’s Witnesses. This often means that the person has other witnesses as workmates. If the person is unemployed or moves to another town it is easy to find a new job through connections in the organisation. Doubts and exclusions can lead to problems since they entail a risk of losing one’s job. This can also result in problems getting a new job. Jehovah’s Witnesses are not supposed to talk to excluded members, which of course mean difficulties working together. “Closed doors” means that members who do as the organisation recommends – not pursuing higher education, not engaging in civil society, working with a manual or in other way simple job, putting much time into the organisation – will, after a long life in the organisation, have problems starting a new life outside the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The language used in the organisation shows the community among the members, thus the language is one of the most important symbols. A special way of thinking is created through the language. It binds members to the organisation and sometimes it can work as a way to get back into the normative world of the organisation. Randall Collins’s (1990, 2004) thoughts about “emotional energy” have enabled an understanding of the solidarity and unity in the organisation. This also gives an understanding of the way the members treat doubting and critical members. The members who want to exit have to open up the binding/screening off. A possible way to do that is through language, to become aware of the effect the language might have. Another way is to search for emotional energy in another situation. During the exit process, shame might be of some importance. When members become aware of the shame they feel, because they perceive they are “acting a belief”, the exit process might accelerate.

Den moderna frälsaren : En komparativ analys av Harry Potter och Jesus

The books about Harry Potter have been read by people all over the world, but is there some-thing more to them than just the magical adventure novels they first appear to be? Many have discovered the multiple layers of understanding that the author J. K. Rowling has put in her famous books, and since I was curious about a few features in the story that reminded me of certain elements which can be found in the Bible, I decided to find out more. The following essay investigates which specific features in the books about Harry Potter that can be traced to which specific parts of the Bible. The main focus is the comparison between the character Harry Potter and Jesus Christ. I use a comparative analyzing method and secure my theory with quotes from both Harry Potter and the Bible. In the end, I found a wide range of similarities between the two characters, and in my discus-sion, I raised the question whether or not the likenesses were intentional by Rowling. I reached the conclusion that the authors intention is not as important as the reader’s interpreta-tion and what they can learn from it.

The hand of God is over their hands (Q. 48:10) : on the notion of covenant in al-Ṭabarī’s account of Karbalāʾ

This article is an analysis of the story of the killing of Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī at Karbalāʾ in 61/680, as it is presented by Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923). The main argument is that the notion of the divine covenant, which permeates the Qur’an, constitutes a framework through which al-Ṭabarī views this event. The Qur’anic idea of the covenant is read in structural/thematic continuity with the Hebrew Bible account of the covenant between Yahweh and the Hebrew people, which has, in turn, been traced back in its basic form to Late Bronze Era treaties between rulers and their vassals.   The present study focusses on four speeches ascribed to Ḥusayn during the encounter he and his group had with the vanguard of the Kūfan army led by al-Ḥurr. These are analysed in accordance with their use of Qur’anic covenant vocabulary. They are also categorised within the broader framework of the eight standard characteristics of Ancient West Asian and Biblical covenants, as presented by George Mendenhall and Gary Herion, which have recently been developed in a Qur’anic context by Rosalind Ward Gwynne. This article argues that al-Ṭabarī’s Karbalāʾ narrative presents the pact of loyalty to Ḥusayn as a clear extension of the divine covenant.