Dominican University

This essay argues against the tendency to conceptualize illness--particularly chronic, mysterious, or treatmentresistant illness--as a form of the demonic.While such framing may offer psychological comfort by providing a coherent narrative for suffering, it carries a profound danger: it relieves us of the responsibility to understand, fight, and ultimately prevent disease.The parallel to historical explanation is instructive.When we invoke the demonic to explain phenomena like Hitler and Nazism, we foreclose the possibility of understanding the social, economic, and psychological conditions that made such horrors possible.By rendering evil supernatural and inexplicable, we abandon the task of prevention.This essay develops the thesis that submission to demonic explanations--whether of illness or of historical atrocity--constitutes a moral and intellectual failure.We must resist such explanations precisely because they feel satisfying; their satisfaction is the measure of our abdication.

The article aimed to investigate how the positive attributes of transformational leadership (TFL) could replace the negative impacts of micromanagement in private universities in Nigeria. Micromanagement has been observed to negatively affect the productivity, morale, job satisfaction, innovation and self-efficacy of employees of private universities. The systematic literature review was employed to answer the research questions through which findings from studies on micromanagement and TFL were synthesised and analysed. Results show that micromanagement has been applied in private universities in Nigeria and is less effective and productive than TFL in the educational sector. The research charged leaders and founders of private universities in Nigeria to apply less micromanagement and more of the attributes of TFL in the administration of these institutions. The article also recommended that the Nigerian Government establish policies that could address excessive micromanagement by top leaders of private universities in the country.

Positive youth development (PYD) falls short in navigating multilevel factors triggering systemic inequalities among marginalized youth. To fill this gap, we aimed to develop an empirically driven social-justice-oriented PYD framework to address systemic barriers for ethnic minority youth in Hong Kong. We conducted an exploratory sequential mixed-methods research design. In our study, ethnic minority young people were the primary respondents, along with secondary informants as the ethnic majority and co-ethnic in Hong Kong. Our proposed framework on social-justice-oriented PYD for ethnic minorities comprises 1) Caring + Character; 2) Competence + Confidence; 3) Connection; and resulting in 4) Contribution. This study provides social-justice-oriented PYD implications.

Hyperkalemia, defined as a serum potassium level greater than 5.0 mEq/L, disrupts electrolyte balance and may cause neuromuscular symptoms, including palpitations, fatigue, or weakness. Severe cases exceeding 6.5 mEq/L can lead to life-threatening arrhythmias and cardiac arrest if left untreated. We present a 92-year-old female with stage 4 chronic kidney disease, diastolic heart failure, and a chronic right leg ulcer who arrived at the emergency department with lethargy and intermittent confusion following a fall. Laboratory results revealed a potassium level of 9.7 mEq/L, an estimated creatinine clearance of 9.4 mL/minute, a renal function index of 10.5, a bicarbonate level of 10.9 mEq/L, and a pH of 7.19. ECG demonstrated sinus bradycardia at 40 bpm, low-amplitude P waves, mild PR prolongation, and tall, narrow, symmetric T waves, most prominent in V2-V3 and multiple limb leads. The patient underwent emergent hemodialysis, which normalized her potassium level to 4.3 mEq/L within 24 hours. A repeat ECG showed resolution of abnormalities and restoration of a sinus rhythm at 95 bpm. This case highlights the life-saving importance of rapid ECG recognition, immediate laboratory confirmation, and prompt initiation of therapy in the management of severe hyperkalemia.

This essay develops a revolutionary post-Holocaust theological framework that moves beyond the intellectual limitations of traditional responses to Auschwitz toward what I term an "anti-theology of embodied absence."While engaging critically with major post-Holocaust thinkers-Jonas, Levinas, Celan, Levi, Rubenstein, and Fackenheim-this work demonstrates that their intellectual approaches, however sophisticated, remain trapped within theological categories that the Holocaust has rendered fundamentally problematic.Drawing on suppressed currents within Jewish mystical tradition, particularly the radical theology found in Rabbi Jonathan Eybeschutz's "Va-avo ha-Yom el ha-'Ayin," this study shows how Jewish tradition itself contains resources for transcending conventional theological discourse.However, the Holocaust presents qualitatively different challenges that require evolution beyond even the most radical historical precedents toward forms of spiritual practice that can engage ultimate reality without requiring theological explanation.The methodology is experiential rather than textual, grounding theological insight in embodied experiencespersonal loss, observing dancers unknowingly performing on sacred ground, inheriting epigenetic imperfection from a Holocaust survivor father.This "somatic hermeneutics" reveals that authentic divine encounter occurs not through intellectual resolution of theological paradox but through sustained embodied presence to the dialectical tensions that constitute human existence after Auschwitz.The work articulates practical frameworks for post-Holocaust Jewish life, including liturgical practice that operates through "dialectical davening," community formation based on "interrogative solidarity," and spiritual pedagogy that cultivates comfort with theological uncertainty.Medical practice emerges as a paradigmatic space for "dialectical presence" where healer and patient encounter mystery together without requiring intellectual mastery.This anti-theology concludes not with systematic doctrine but with invitation to embodied practice that can sustain authentic Jewish spiritual life while remaining fully present to irreparable historical trauma.The approach demonstrates how genuine theological innovation emerges not from abandoning Jewish tradition but from engaging tradition's most radical possibilities in response to unprecedented spiritual challenges, providing therapeutic resources for communities seeking authentic Jewish existence in a post-Holocaust world.

Research has investigated and discovered quite a bit about the process of learning and the factors and dynamics that impact it. In How do we learn, Hector Ruiz Martin has synthesized important scientific evidence about the cognitive and social-emotional processes and how it can be utilized to inform teaching and creating conducive learning environments.

ABSTRACT This study investigates instructor activities that 158 adolescent mentors of community children found meaningful in the context of their under-resourced urban communities. Theoretical frameworks draw from trauma theory, self-psychology, and community cultural wealth. Data include field notes, peer-to-peer programme evaluation interviews, exit interviews, focus groups, and notes from clinical seminars for instructors. Mentors found instructor support vital for developing their empathy, especially with mentees behaving counter to expectations. Mentors also valued instructors’ authentic, supportive responses to stressors and feedback about the mentors’ positive impacts with mentees. As constructive social networks were formed, the programme deepened the social capital form of community cultural wealth. From a self-psychology perspective, deepening mentor’s empathy occurred through iterative processes of instructor support and advice, experiences interacting with mentees and evaluating mentees’ responsiveness, and instructors’ affirmation of mentors’ competence and importance to mentees. Adolescents’ perspectives offer rich insights for optimising social service provision, especially for marginalised youth.

This article examines the question of whether living beings possess an innate, unchangeable nature or have the capacity for fundamental transformation—a question with profound implications for treating addiction-related physical illness. By integrating diverse perspectives from religious and philosophical traditions, mystical thought, modern neuroscience, genetics, and clinical approaches to addiction, this paper develops a comprehensive framework for understanding both the constraints and possibilities for transformation in the context of addiction recovery. The analysis synthesizes insights from Kabbalistic mysticism, Hasidism and Mussar traditions, Simone Weil's philosophy, Thomas Aquinas's theological framework, Eastern contemplative approaches, Twelve-Step recovery principles, modern neuroscience, epigenetics, and trauma-informed healing perspectives. This integrated approach suggests that a multilevel healing model addressing physical, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions offers the most comprehensive foundation for treating physical illnesses related to addiction—one that acknowledges the reality of biological constraints while embracing the remarkable capacity for neuroplasticity and transformative change.