The patient has a general sense that something terrible may occur if a particular ritual is not performed, and the failure to perform a ritual may lead immediately to severe anxiety or a very uncomfortable, nagging feeling of incompleteness. In addition to checking and washing rituals, patients with OCD often present with persistent intrusive thoughts, extreme slowness or thoroughness, or doubt...

Today it is commonplace for historical Jesus scholars to emphasize Jesus’ Jewishness. at the same time most new Testament scholars deny that he cared about the Jewish purity system, which was a central aspect of early Judaism. This article examines how such a reconstruction of the historical Jesus would influence his Jewishness, arguing that it indeed would make such a Jesus figure ‘less Jewish...

This paper presents an ethnographic account of the implementation of Lean service redesign methodologies in one UK NHS hospital operating department. It is suggested that this popular management 'technology', with its emphasis on creating value streams and reducing waste, has the potential to transform the social organisation of healthcare work. The paper locates Lean healthcare within wider de...

Opponents of male circumcision have increasingly used human rights positions to articulate their viewpoint. We characterize the meaning of the term "human rights." We discuss these human rights arguments with special attention to the claims of rights to an open future and to bodily integrity. We offer a three-part test under which a parental decision might be considered an unacceptable violatio...

The astonishing acoustical quality of Hagia Sophia lives in harmony with its architectural and engineering magnificence. The baldness of its imperial creator and the technical savvy of architects and builders present today an unmatched structure that survived almost 1500 years, since 537. A description of Hagia Sophia, written in 544 by Prokopios [1] illustrates the awe with which Hagia Sophia ...

Isa bey tekke does not exist any more in Sarajevo. This valuable cultural heritage object was completely destroyed and a gasoline station was built in its place. Virtual reconstruction has recovered the appearance of the building, but not what was happening inside. The Mevlevi dervish ritual was presented using interactive computer animation. The goal of this paper is to explore the perception ...

Numerous studies have examined exposures to indoor combustion products such as secondhand smoke and emissions from burning of solid fuels. However, only a few have examined incense burning as a potential health threat, even though incense is commonly used for religious and ritual purposes in China, Taiwan, Singapore, India, and Middle Eastern nations. In this issue of EHP, investigators report ...

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/about/terms.html. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your perso...