Retrieving the Hidden Meaning: Jain Commentarial Techniques and the Art of Memory

One of the peculiar characteristics of the vast body of Jain commentarial literature is the primacy given to artha, meaning, over sūtra, the root text itself. It is the task of the commentator—or, in a pedagogical context, the teacher—to retrieve and explain a text’s true, hidden meaning, which often appears to stretch and even contradict its apparent meaning. This article examines the interpretive processes in one of the most important Jain commentaries on monastic discipline, the Bṛhatkalpabhāṣya attributed to the sixth-century CE Śvetāmbara Jain exegete Saṅghadāsa. An examination of passages where the commentator claims to uncover the real—but sometimes less-than-apparent—meaning of monastic rules enables us to detect the interpretive moves involved and the underlying assumptions about the nature of text and the work of commentary. I argue that this commentarial tradition presupposes particular practices of memory, and a degree of internalizing the traditional hermeneutical methods, on the part of a monastic practitioner who wants to understand the text correctly and live according to its true meaning.     

Connecting governance and the front lines: How work pressure and autonomy matter for coping in different performance regimes

How frontline employees cope with perceived work pressure may be of direct influence on policy outcomes. This study contributes to the street‐level bureaucracy literature in several ways. First, we study both passive client‐oriented and active system‐oriented coping. Second, we analyse how these coping behaviours relate to work pressure and work autonomy. Finally, this article analyses whether these relationships are conditioned by the performance regime. Using a unique set‐up of hospital employees (n = 979) working in external and internal performance regimes, we find a higher level of system‐oriented active coping than client‐oriented passive coping. Moreover, we find that autonomy matters for system‐oriented coping and work pressure for client‐oriented coping, and that these relationships are context‐dependent.     

International Missions as a Way to Improve Civil–Military Relations: The Spanish Case (1989–2015)

At the end of the twentieth century (after a long history of coups d’état, a military uprising, a civil war, and a four-decade dictatorship) the Spanish public had serious doubts about the democratic nature of the armed forces. In 1989, the Spanish armed forces first took part in an international mission. Now, after 25 years of continuous active participation in overseas missions, public opinion polls rank the armed forces as the second most trusted institution in the country. International missions have contributed to (1) modernizing the Spanish armed forces; (2) changing the mentality of the Spanish military; and (3) improving Spanish society’s perception of the armed forces’ role. All in all, the armed forces’ performance abroad has helped improve domestic civil–military relations.     

The affirmative action controversy

This article presents the main arguments used in debates on affirmative action. A distinction is made between individual and social justice and utilitarian arguments. The claim put forward is that debates on affirmative action tend to become locked within a discrimination-non-discrimination controversy. This perpetuates the defensive position of affirmative action advocates. I identify three strategies to break with this dominant controversy. First, a shift in focus from non-discrimination to a "right to be treated as an equal" opens the way for affirmative action. Second, a stressing of the special contribution of women in male-dominated fields transfers the focus from discrimination to the benefits of including women. Third, I argue for transferring the "burden of proof" from those advocating equality to those defending the status quo - the question should not be "why women?" but "why not women?".     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Forum Internum</Emphasis> Revisited: Considering the Absolute Core of Freedom of Belief and Opinion in Terms of Negative Liberty,Authenticity, and Capability

Human rights theory generally conceptualizes freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief as well as freedom of opinion and expression, as offering absolute protection in what is called the forum internum. At a minimum, this is taken to mean the right to maintain thoughts in one’s own mind, whatever they may be and independently of how others may feel about them. However, if we adopt this stance, it seems to imply that there exists an absolute right to hold psychotic delusions. This article takes the position that this conclusion is ethically problematic from the perspective of psychiatric treatment and the rights of persons with psychosis. The article reflects on this particular challenge and sets forth an understanding of freedom in the forum internum that might apply to situations where for various reasons it is not, necessarily accurate to maintain that persons have an absolute right to their own thoughts. For the purpose of proposing such an understanding, the article engages with current debates within human rights theory and political philosophy and analyzes discussions about psychotic delusions and the way in which involuntary treatment is justified. Based on this analysis, this article in turn conceptualizes freedom in the forum internum as ‘negative liberty’, ‘authenticity’, and ‘capability’. This article suggests that when forum internum is redefined as encompassing a right to certain internal capabilities, the right remains meaningful for persons with psychotic delusions as well.     

Adolescent Emotional Distress: The Role of Family Obligations and School Connectedness

The current study draws upon ecodevelopmental theory to identify protective and risk factors that may influence emotional distress during adolescence. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to examine the relationship among family obligations, school connectedness and emotional distress of 4,198 (51% female) middle and high school students who were primarily (59%) European American. The overall model explained 21.1% of the variance in student emotional distress. A significant interaction effect was found indicating that school connectedness moderated the relationship between family obligations and emotional distress. Specifically, for students with low to moderate levels of family obligations, a stronger sense of school connectedness was associated with lower emotional distress. The buffering effect of school connectedness was weakened as the level of family obligations increased and completely disappeared for students who experienced high levels of family obligations. The creation of a program that takes a holistic approach, in order to curtail the levels of highly emotionally distressed adolescents, must continue to address the ever changing demands that adolescents encounter and prepare youth to deal with functioning within multiple contexts and do so while maintaining emotional well-being.     

Master of the Game: The Relationship between the United States and Iran Revisited, 1969-1972

ABSTRACT

How and why did the Richard Nixon Administration end up with an Iran policy more in line with the preferences of the Shah of Iran than of the United States? At its onset, the Administration did not have a clearly defined or formalised Persian Gulf policy. Attempts to create over-arching guidelines regarding American conduct toward Iran were of little consequence, as the pro-Iranian inclinations of leading decision-makers led to day-to-day decisions that strongly favoured the Shah. This limited room for manoeuvre amounted to little more than acceptance of what was already established procedure. The Shah’s strenuous lobbying of American decision-makers, using their common Cold War considerations to his advantage and the effective sidelining of critical voices within the Nixon Administration, explain this outcome.     

Health and social care services for women offenders: current provision and a future model of care

Secure provision for women in both the Criminal Justice System and the Health Service has evolved in the last decade, in line with emerging gender-specific policy. Notable gains have been the approach to self-harm in prison and a reduction in the inappropriately high levels of secure hospital care. Although treatment pilots in UK settings are in progress, much practice remains poorly described and insufficiently evaluated. Recent strategic initiatives by both the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health, as well as the commissioning changes that have followed the Health and Social Care Act 2012, provide a basis for reconsideration and a further paradigm shift. Suggestions for a reinvigorated model of gender-sensitive provision are made, relying on principles of resilience and autonomy.