Adam's place in nature: Respect or domination?

The creation story in Genesis speaks of humankind being given dominion over nature. Does this support the view that nature has solely instrumental value, and is of worth only insofar as it serves the necessities and conveniences of the human species? Does dominion amount to unfettered domination here? An interpretation of the story is advanced employing procedures of practical criticism. Three central images are focussed on: Adam's being given dominion over the other creatures, his naming of them, and his being made in God's likeness. It is argued that these images, in their qualification and enrichment of each other, develop the idea that animals are of worth independently of their usefulness to us. Other key parts of the Bible, that at first may seem to promote unfettered domination, are shown to be more properly read as supporting an animal-benign religious ethics.     

IDENTIFYING AND MEASURING POTENTIAL CONFLICT IN WATER INSTITUTIONS1

ABSTRACT: Scarcity combined with differences in values, beliefs, and attitudes can lead to behavior differences and conflicts over water. This paper develops an index for measuring potential conflict using survey information about water attitudes and beliefs of individuals in three groups in a Florida case study. The index helps in assessing the current capability of the institution to reduce conflict. The results suggest that the current institution is effective, but changes may help to streamline the consumptive-use permitting process, to improve educational programs, and to seek improved institutional arrangements to reduce future conflict over economic uses of water.     

南岳旅游客源市场开拓存在的问题及营销策略

客源是旅游业发展的原动力,客源市场分析准确与否,直接决定着旅游投资资金的可行性和安全性．而要把握好旅游客源市场,必须进行深入细致的市场调查与分析．南岳作为全国五大名山之一,近年来虽然旅游环境不断优化,产业素质明显增强,产业规模迅速扩大．但与国内各大知名旅游景区相比,南岳还有很大的差距,许多方面还存在着严重的不足,特别是在旅游市场开拓方面还有巨大的潜力需要发掘,为此,从客源市场特征反映的角度对南岳旅游做出一番有益的探讨,旨在为南岳的旅游发展提出建设性的措施．表4,参3．     

Beliefs about the environment: moving from the egocentric towards the ecocentric perspective

Our behaviour towards the environment depends on our beliefs about the environment. Beliefs, however, are a subject of change, particularly during important life transitions such as the transition to adolescence, because this is a period when an individual develops the ability of complex and abstract reasoning. Understanding this transition is therefore crucial for understanding and predicting the attitudes and courses of action in terms of sustainable development later in life. Due to many methodological constraints, the number of empirical studies examining these issues is very limited; the current study aimed to collect empirical data to explore the origins of our beliefs about the environment-related issues. We devised a picture association test and used it to compare children’s and adolescents’ beliefs about our environment in the context of the means of transportation. A large sample of 2264 participants aged 6–18 years took part in the study. The data supported the claim that children’s beliefs about environment share egocentric properties. The findings represent an important puzzle into the whole picture of children’s thinking and offer us great insight into the origins of beliefs about environment-related questions in adults. Educational implications are addressed.