哥白尼式的革命

在十七到十八世纪，耶稣会士成为中国和欧洲之间的使者。《教育信笺》是关于哲学思考的主题。许多知识分子发现古老的中国，受到震撼。《圣经》里对历史大一统的认识遭到质疑。中国的历史让圣经的编年史受到冲击，历史学家、哲学家和神学家徒劳地试图调和东西方思维对世界起源的分歧。热爱汉学的人士和反对汉学的人士相互辨争。耶稣会士的作品被某些哲学家、例如海德，认为缺乏真实性；但是在另一些人眼里，例如莱布尼兹，则被看作是“我们时代最重大的事件”，因为他们的作品冲击了《圣经》的编年史，甚至是《圣经》本身所提到的民族诞生和惟一语言的真实性。     

Virtopsy,a new imaging horizon in forensic pathology: virtual autopsy by postmortem multislice computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)--a feasibility study

Using postmortem multislice computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 40 forensic cases were examined and findings were verified by subsequent autopsy. Results were classified as follows: (I) cause of death, (II) relevant traumatological and pathological findings, (III) vital reactions, (IV) reconstruction of injuries, (V) visualization. In these 40 forensic cases, 47 partly combined causes of death were diagnosed at autopsy, 26 (55%) causes of death were found independently using only radiological image data. Radiology was superior to autopsy in revealing certain cases of cranial, skeletal, or tissue trauma. Some forensic vital reactions were diagnosed equally well or better using MSCT/MRI. Radiological imaging techniques are particularly beneficial for reconstruction and visualization of forensic cases, including the opportunity to use the data for expert witness reports, teaching, quality control, and telemedical consultation. These preliminary results, based on the concept of "virtopsy," are promising enough to introduce and evaluate these radiological techniques in forensic medicine.     

Financial planning in metropolitan municipalities—lessons for South Africa from selected countries

In South Africa, municipalities are central to government's service delivery efforts to its communities. Because of inadequate revenue collection processes or impoverished communities that are unable to supply necessary operational revenues, both national and provincial government need to transfer funds to the local government to achieve delivery of priority services and economic development infrastructure. This study investigates, through a desktop study, the best financial planning practices for municipalities to implement in order to be financially viable, by reviewing and comparing the legislative and legal frameworks relating to financial planning and the financial planning practices in Australia and New Zealand, whose legislation served as an example for the drafting of current South African legislation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.