Design-build bridge contracts often include long-term service life requirements, but there are no clear technical guidelines or standardized methods to achieve or verify these goals. While durability practices are commonly applied, they lack quantitative validation. With many aging bridges and limited financial resources, accurately estimating remaining service life is essential for prioritizing repair and rehabilitation needs. This research reviews current practices and recent advancements in bridge service life prediction, providing practical guidance for evaluating and extending the lifespan of both existing and new structures. The findings support more efficient use of maintenance funds, better understanding of deterioration models and inspection methods, and informed strategies to ensure long-term structural performance.
Death and dying as a global phenomenon have remained one of the most feared issues of human life. Mourning traditions, including taboos, prohibitions and rituals, among others, normally accompany African indigenous funerals. This is because death is viewed as the greatest enemy of man (sic) to the extent that remedial plans need to be put in place to avoid its recurrence in that family, clan, or community. Most African tribes have practised sexual abstinence, though in a varying manner, whenever death occurs. The focus of this paper is to find out what happens regarding sexual abstinence if one wife of a polygamist man passes away. An interrogation of how burial traditions are applied at the expense of a polygamist’s other wives is pursued to understand the philosophy of sexuality in relation to HIV and AIDS. Men seem to be exempted from sexual abstinence during grieving periods to carry on with their multiple sexual relationships while disregarding the possibility of spreading HIV/AIDS with their other multiple partners. This paper utilises qualitative data to unpack if and how historical epistemology on sexuality among the Tsonga fuels gender imbalances that create a fertile ground for HIV in women. These gender imbalances are observed when the tradition of sexual abstinence is practiced amongst the Tsonga-speaking people residing in the Collins Chabane Municipality in the Limpopo province, South Africa. The paper will also delve into the views of both traditional religions and practical theology (Christian religion) to challenge the African historical epistemologies on sexuality within a changing society.
CUCKOOS IN OUR NEST: Truth and Lies About Being Human by Iain Provan. Cascade Books, 2023. 258 pages. Paperback; $27.00. ISBN: 9781666768701. *According to Provan, retired professor of biblical studies at Regent College, Vancouver, today's most pressing question for Christians is "What is a human being?" He is particularly concerned about contemporary unbiblical responses to this question that have compromised our views. Like the cuckoo (a parasite and an assassin), that sneaks its egg into the nest of another bird that then raises the chicks, these concepts have infiltrated our faith communities. Christians need to be aware of these "cuckoos" and to reflect seriously on what it means to be human. *Provan addresses this problem in fifty short accessible chapters, and offers study guide questions on his website "The Cuckoos Consultancy." His audience is primarily Bible-believing Christians; for more-academic treatments of the topic, he refers readers to his previous books, especially Seeking What Is Right (2020), Seriously Dangerous Religion (2014), and Convenient Myths (2013). As a lecturer on theological anthropology, I did not find anything startlingly new in Cuckoos in our Nest, or anything I strongly disagreed with. However, Provan does offer a fresh framing of concerns for the contemporary church and much information for those not familiar with the situations and questions. *The first section of the book, "Finding Out," addresses how we can acquire reliable knowledge about the human person. In a world of dis- and misinformation, finding truth is challenging. Provan respects the process and products of science while acknowledging its imperfections. He notes the need to trust experts and to practice humility; both are uncommon in our world today. The critical question is "Whom shall I admit to my circle of trust, and why?" (p. 12). *The second section is a summary of Christian "Fundamentals" that sets the stage for later arguments. Provan tackles fourteen diverse topics in chapters ranging from "In the Beginning," "Animated Bodies," and "Whole Persons," to "Saved," "Hopeful," and "Confessing." He relies much on creation narratives, with a notable emphasis on embodiment. As bearers of the divine image, humans are whole beings, personal and material--"divinely animated matter" (p. 43)--having great value, dignity and beauty. We are called to be rulers and priests over creation, caring for and developing it. We are also called to be in relationship with God--faith involving more than just belief but total trust, love and obedience, right thinking, and right living. And we are called to live in community with our neighbors, caring for them. Provan is clear that the created order affirms the sanctity of life, gender binaries, and the rightful place of sexual intimacy within marriage--a covenant bond between man and woman. In dealing with our fallenness, he interprets idolatry broadly, noting that worship of self is common. He insists that we need to "embrace Christian truth as a whole" and "embrace it as whole persons" (p. 84). *In the third section, "Furthermore," Provan examines some implications of the Christian view he outlined in Part 2, including fifteen diverse areas of life in chapters such as "Worship," "Rights," "Life," "Death," "Gender," "Children," "Church," "Work," "Creation Care," and "Politics." As embodied beings, we worship with our whole selves and lives, reciting Christian doctrine through singing and meeting together in person. Churches need to practice hospitality but with clear boundaries based on sound doctrine. Being made in God's image, all persons have the right to life, a gift that begins in the womb, does not depend on capacities, and can only be taken away by God. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit so their form should not be arbitrarily changed. *As per the creation mandate, work encompasses all areas of life, including care for creation and political engagement, and is done for the purpose of glorifying God. This may lead to material gains, which are not unbiblical, but wealth should be distributed wisely. With respect to loving one another, biblical love is not sentimental but enables us to "see things as they actually are" (p. 138) and act accordingly. Having compassion on others involves seeing them as image bearers rather than as helpless victims. As priests over creation, we are called to understand our fallen cultures while "very deliberately and counter-culturally" working out "the implications of our Christian anthropology in our lives" (p. 147). *Provan gets to the crux of his argument in the fourth part of the book, titled "Foreign Bodies" (chapters 36 to 50), that names the "cuckoos." These often follow contemporary ideologies that are rooted in traditional philosophies, are incompatible with the biblical story, and are often incomplete and incoherent. Some relate to the acquisition of knowledge; others offer competing "religions." For example, the Science Cuckoo (scientism) claims that science explains everything. The Look Inside Yourself Cuckoo, that follows notions from Romanticism, idealizes nature and encourages people to rely solely on gut feelings. The Freedom to Choose Cuckoo, following Nietzsche and others, emphasizes individualism. Ironically, many people demand their freedom but object to that of others when it affects them. Provan also points out much confusion in contemporary culture; for example, people may follow science for some things but favor feelings or choice when they don't like the science. *The God Cuckoo refers to deism, now popular as moralistic therapeutic deism, a religion that offers only comfort and convenience. The Platonic Cuckoo follows Gnosticism in devaluing the material (thus sometimes coexisting with Romanticism and individualism). The Innocence Cuckoo, also influenced by Romanticism, looks back to a state of precivilizational bliss (in fact, ancient cultures were often violent and did not live in harmony with their environment); we are all basically good and can trust our feelings. The Information Cuckoo values narrow and practical education only, devaluing wisdom. Provan insists that good education has a strong social component and, therefore, should never be virtual. *Closer to home, the Worship Cuckoo distorts church liturgies. There is minimal scriptural content in sermons and songs, and singing is more of a concert than a communal activity: "one finds oneself singing, more than once, a composition that did not have very much to say to begin with" (p. 196). The Justice Cuckoo, sometimes emphasizing individual rights, sometimes nature, sometimes utilitarianism, flounders because it has no grounding. Similarly, the Revolution Cuckoo overvalues social justice and group identity, and neglects individual responsibility. *Provan is creative and overall concurs with much broadly conservative thinking on contemporary disagreements. At times he is a bit dogmatic and too general; I would prefer a more nuanced approach with further detail and illustrations. For example, what does "unbiblical" mean? What happens when individual rights to life are in conflict? Should children obey abusive parents? I was also disappointed that a biblical scholar seldom addressed the complexities of interpretation. Provan also paid little attention to spiritual experience, common to contemplative and charismatic streams of Christianity. To be fair, he acknowledges the downside of short chapters; however, I wonder if he simply tried to include too much, sacrificing depth for breadth. *Nevertheless, Cuckoos in Our Nest offers an excellent introduction and overview of important questions that all Christians need to contemplate. I recommend it to those unfamiliar with or overwhelmed by contemporary cultural problems; it is also a good resource for students and Bible-study groups. *Reviewed by E. Janet Warren (MD, PhD), lecturer at Tyndale University and independent scholar in theology, Hamilton, ON.
Rachel Woods-Robinson, Amila Abeynayaka, Mik Carbajales-Dale
et al.
Public and private interest in life cycle assessment (LCA) has grown as environmental disclosure norms tighten, driving demand for decision-relevant assessment early in technological development cycles. Early-stage LCA has the potential to guide design choices, steer innovation, and mitigate lock-in of adverse environmental impacts. However, many aspects of early-stage LCA practice remain unsettled. We convened experts in a series of Faraday Discussion-style workshops to address recurring debates across six key topics for emerging technologies: appropriate use of LCA, uncertainty, comparison with incumbents, standardization, scale-up, and stakeholder engagement. For each issue, we present a declarative resolution, summarize key arguments for and against it, identify points of consensus, and provide recommendations. Across topics, the research network converged on practical priorities including framing studies to the decision context; setting minimum reporting expectations for data and study quality; and explicitly stating limits of transferability for scenario-based uncertainty assessment or analytically scaled-up projections. Disagreements persisted on when to formalize standards and how extensively uncertainty can/should be treated for low-maturity technologies. Supplementing the workshop findings with examples and context from relevant literature, we synthesize outcomes into a set of shared challenges and research priorities to strengthen transparent, evidence-based, and context-informed approaches for early-stage LCA.
Christian Appel, Margaux Schmeltz, Irene Rodriguez-Fernandez
et al.
Small Angle-X-ray Scattering Tensor Tomography (SAS-TT) is a relatively new, but powerful technique for studying the multiscale architecture of hierarchical structures, which is of particular interest for life science applications. Currently, the technique is very demanding on synchrotron beamtime, which limits its applications, especially for cases requiring a statistically relevant amount of sample. This study reports the first SAS-TT measurement at a macromolecular X-ray crystallography beamline, PX-I at the SLS, with an improvement in data acquisition time from 96 h/Mvoxel in the pilot experiments to 6 h/Mvoxel, defining a new standard for fast SAS-TT and allowing the measurement of a full tomogram in 1.2 hours. Measurements were performed on the long and lenticular process of the incus bone, one of the three human auditory ossicles. The main orientation and degree of alignment of the mineralised collagen fibrils are characterised, as well as the size and shape of the mineral particles which show relevant variations in different tissue locations. The study reveals three distinct regions of high fibril alignment, most likely important pathways of sound throughout the ossicular chain, and highlights the potential of the technique to aid in future developments in middle ear reconstructive surgery.
Religion is a human guide in living life. Religion regulates all aspects of life so that humans will always be good people to God and to fellow human beings. They are included in the selection of food consumed daily both in Buddhist Maitreya and Adventist Christianity. Each religion has regulations on how to choose food and become a vegetarian for each adherent. This study aims to discover the vegetarian tradition in Maitreya Buddhism and Adventist Christianity, along with the agreements and differences between the two religions. The research model used is qualitative research. While the method used is a comparative method. The comparative method is a method used to compare two data sources to find agreement and differences. The formulation of the thoughts in this study is the theory put forward by Joachim Wach regarding three religious expressions (theoretical, practical, and sociological). Based on research and discussion, it is known that the vegetarian tradition in Buddhist Maitreya and Adventist Christianity has agreements and differences. The similarity lies in how Maitreya Buddhism and Adventist Christianity both have theoretical doctrines about what they will get in the afterlife if they become vegetarians so that their adherence to religion can be seen from their lifestyle as vegetarians. While the difference lies in the selection of food, they consume daily. Maitreya Buddhists tend to avoid all forms of meat, while Adventist Christians still eat fish and tolerate meat when they are sick.
Although many solar systems have been discovered, only one example of life is known. Thus, terrestrial life represents merely one data point. Consequently, extrapolating from terrestrial life to life elsewhere in the galaxy and beyond is often seen as a limitation in the search for different forms of life. Essentially, attempting to extrapolate from terrestrial life to life elsewhere implies that terrestrial life is representative of all life, reflecting a geocentric viewpoint. However, in accordance with the Copernican principle, the opposite holds true. Asserting that terrestrial life must differ from other forms of life in the universe is, in fact, the geocentric viewpoint. For if life elsewhere is not like terrestrial life, then it is ipso facto different life; more precisely, if terrestrial life does not represent general life, then that life must represent special life, which the principle states it is not. This study employs the Copernican principle as a probability assessment, addressing critiques rooted in the implicit assumption of the existence of different extraterrestrial forms of life. If various fundamental forms of life indeed exist, then differences in the probabilities of their emergence can be expected, forming a probability scale. This holds significance because it not only allows for insights into the characteristics of the majority of life elsewhere but also facilitates the establishment of boundaries for categories of life as we do not know it. Thus, the Copernican-Darwinian principle provides a valuable tool for astrobiology and the search for life in the galaxy and beyond.
The search for life elsewhere in the universe is one of the central aims of science in the 21st century. While most of this work is aimed at planets orbiting other stars, the search for life in our own Solar System is an important part of this endeavour. Venus is often thought to have too harsh an environment for life, but it may have been a more hospitable place in the distant past. If life evolved there in the past then the cloud decks of Venus are the only remaining niche where life as we know it might survive today. The discovery of the molecule phosphine, PH$_3$, in these clouds has reinvigorated research looking into the possibility of life in the clouds. In this review we examine the background to studies of the possibility of life on Venus, discuss the discovery of phosphine, review conflicting and confirming observations and analyses, and then look forward to future observations and space missions that will hopefully provide definitive answers as to the origin of phosphine on Venus and to the question of whether life might exist there.
In life, identity is based on many things. In death, people tend to be identified more on the basis of religion: separate cemeteries for Jews, Buddhists and the Plymouth Brethren, separate quarters for Muslims, Yezidis, Bahá’í and Orthodox Christians. However, it is not true that cemeteries are only a place for religious division. They are also public spaces and, as such, places where people from all walks of life go. Cemeteries are places where religious preferences and customs are negotiated in a very special way. In this article, practical and theological aspects of cemeteries are discussed from an inter-religious point of view. What areas of conflict are there? How do people of different faiths reflect on each other and the option of cohabiting in death? To what extent are the preferences of different religious groups met in Swedish cemeteries? To some extent, these practical and theological questions pertaining to cemeteries may serve as a lens that sharpens our eyes to challenges of religious freedom and our chance to live (and die) together.
Relevance of the topic. The article is devoted to the meanings and practises of the body in Christian culture and the issue of preserving and continuing this tradition in contemporary culture. Since it is about the semantic contexts of the body, the article uses the phenomenological method in combination with hermeneutic analysis. The authors consistently deploy several logical lines. The first line is related to the description of such a direction as hesychasm, its practises and attitude to the body. At the same time, the ethical potential of hesychasm and the pathos of physicality as an instrument of morality are emphasised. The second line revolves around the practical attitude to the body in modern culture: the preservation of the Christian tradition, the natural characteristics of the body, and understanding the meaning of the body. The third line is connected with the loss of the “sanctity” of the body and the unawareness of this loss on the part of the common citizen and, as a result, the erosion of the ethical and natural meaning of the body. According to the authors, history will show how terrible these changes in meaning can be. The “distortion” of the meaning of the body in modern cultures makes it possible to emphasise the emergence of the phenomenon of unconsciousness of paradoxical events, the enormity of the consequences of which few people still understand. The problem. Today, the events that unfold around the topic of the corporeal directly and indirectly touch on the topic of human relations and, as a result, there is a need to once again talk about the role and significance of the body in the Christian tradition and about the consequences of ignoring the biblical commandments in modern everyday life. The purpose. To clarify the meanings of the corporeal, based on the tradition of hesychasm. Research object. The role and significance of the body in the Christian tradition and about the consequences of ignoring the biblical commandments in modern everyday life. Results. In the article, it was shown that the body and its meaning have a special ethical pathos because its understanding was formed under the enormous influence of Christianity, which laid the foundations for the formation of the context of the general civilisational development of mankind. Modern culture “distorts” the meaning of the body, and the actual material of sports competitions makes it possible to record the phenomenon of unawareness in most people that there is a departure from universal values (this is what is called a crisis of culture). History moves in such a way that sometimes it is impossible to trace the trajectories of its development. And yet, despite the incomprehensible lines of development, does the question of the relationship with the Absolute remain relevant for a man? If the Christian meanings of the body fade into the background of life, then what other religion will be able to promote the ideas of ethics and morality? Keywords. Hesychasm, Christian tradition, meanings of the body, transgender, sports competitions, the pathos of the body, contemporary culture.
The ethical reflection on cancer stresses that addressing the global cancer pandemic is hampered by the existing inequities and disparities in providing healthcare to citizens across the planet, which are further exacerbated by the global pandemic caused by COVID-19. Thinking about the future requires to consider the social, cultural, political, and religious contexts where inequities limit efforts aimed at preventing, diagnosing, and providing care. Ethically, a multilayered approach that strives to promote research, prevention, and therapies, and that engages individuals, institutions, and populations in collaborative efforts is promising and generates realistic hopes.
Tobias Fissler, Christian Lorentzen, Michael Mayer
One of the main tasks of actuaries and data scientists is to build good predictive models for certain phenomena such as the claim size or the number of claims in insurance. These models ideally exploit given feature information to enhance the accuracy of prediction. This user guide revisits and clarifies statistical techniques to assess the calibration or adequacy of a model on the one hand, and to compare and rank different models on the other hand. In doing so, it emphasises the importance of specifying the prediction target functional at hand a priori (e.g. the mean or a quantile) and of choosing the scoring function in model comparison in line with this target functional. Guidance for the practical choice of the scoring function is provided. Striving to bridge the gap between science and daily practice in application, it focuses mainly on the pedagogical presentation of existing results and of best practice. The results are accompanied and illustrated by two real data case studies on workers' compensation and customer churn.
The current stage of development of our state is characterized by a return to the Christian worldview after many years of forced atheism. Therefore, in many cities and villages of Ukraine, temples and monasteries are being revived, religious buildings and monuments are being intensively repaired, reconstructed and built, and places of pilgrimage are being arranged, and so on. At the same time, there are significant socio-economic changes, in particular, new market conditions, land, medical and educational reforms, decentralization of public administration, etc. These facts emphasize the high spiritual and material dynamism of today's life. Its complexity is increasing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the armed conflict with Russia and other common points. In addition, everyone usually has personal problems. The Orthodox Christian religion has always proclaimed love for one's neighbor as a great moral value. Various human activities, including the above, are characterized by the widespread use of information technologies. In many cases, one of the foundations of which is computer graphics. The advantage of geometric models compared to analytical ones is their simplicity, clarity, ease of use. The development of new mathematical tools, which are aimed at the effective practical implementation of spiritual activities among the population, is a godly task. On this basis, the selected topic can be considered quite relevant. The main purpose of this publication is to highlight the proposed methodology for the automated reproduction of organizational cluster structures in Orthodoxy. The obtained scientific applied achievements represent a developed approach to modeling church management and related religious territorial Christian communities in the form of dioceses and parishes. On the basis of the given strategy new complex geometrical models for optimization of activity of orthodox churches are constructed. This concerns the more rational placement of temples and chapels, the definition of the proper boundaries of parishes and dioceses, the determination of the need for their unification or liquidation, the establishment of new ones, and so on. The paper outlines the prospects for the necessary further research.
The disruptions of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the year 2020 reshaped all aspects of life, including religious practices and rituals. As more religious activities shifted to digital space during the lockdown periods, there was a growing need to examine the link between religion and digital media. Using the model of the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa (UPCSA), this article draws on the notion of transversal rationality and concepts of rationality, cognitive, evaluative and pragmatic to posit that COVID-19 has configured traditional missional and liturgical spaces in ways that locate the agency of the marginalised at the centre. The article highlights how COVID-19 configured Christian mission as it disrupted power dynamics through religious digital spaces, which emerged as a new way of reimaging a missional church. These new digital spaces mediate between interaction and ‘telepresence’, embodied in the representations of the sacred available through online religious systems in practices where users are no longer ordinary believers – but religious participants who have power and freedom to choose. Although this is not a new phenomenon, the article concludes that such spaces created by COVID-19 shifts in power dynamics present opportunities for ordinary members to reinvent new meanings on what it means to be present or absent, to name, narrate and reinterpret the divine and forge new meanings towards participating in the mission of God. Contribution: Although this is not a new phenomenon, this article represents a systematic and practical reflection within a paradigm in which the intersection of philosophy, religious studies, social sciences, humanities and natural sciences generate an interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary contested discourse.
In this paper, the author reviews spiritual movements of 4th and 5th centuries in connection with great ascetic Church Fathers. Special attention was dedicated to individuals and movements that decisively shaped Eastern Christian way of thinking, such as Origen of Alexandria and Origenist movement, Gnosticism, Evagrius Ponticus, Saint Macarius the Great, and Saint Diadochos of Photiki. Some of these movements, such as early heretical Gnostic movement, were repressed in the very beginning, while the others survived through the centuries and later reemerged, somewhat changed, in late Middle Ages. Especially strong was Origenist movement among Eastern monks, mostly due to Evagrius Ponticus and his ascetic thought. Even Saint Gregory of Nyssa, who is considered to be one of the pillars of Orthodox theology, was influenced by Origen, as evidenced by his teaching of apokatastasis (universal salvation, although Gregory was more in line with the theory of recapitulation as formulated by Irenaeus of Lyuons). Another important movement was anthropomorphism, whose representatives ascribed human features to God. They were especially numerous in Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. Although many of mentioned movements, or at least some of their ideas, survived well into Middle Ages, the reaction of Church Fathers during 4th and 5th centuries against them has strongly contributed to the final victory of Orthodoxy. Nevertheless, it would be wrong to assume that the ideas of these non-Orthodox movements did not influence Eastern Christian way of thinking, especially in ascetic theology. The author, therefore, examines these movements and their influence on the development of Orthodox theological thought.