Rivier University

Abstract Responding to the question in the title of his book, Animals in Heaven? A Catholic Pastoral Response to Questions About Animals, Terry Martin appeals to the congruence between the beliefs and intuitions of ordinary Catholics (i.e., the sensus fidelium) concerning animals and what the Bible and the writings of saints, doctors, and fathers of the Church tell us about animals: that God wills not only the immediate but also the ultimate and final good of all earthly creatures. However, the presently limited official teaching of the Catholic Church, as found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, continues to accept as definitive the anthropocentric position of Thomas Aquinas regarding animals. The question of animals is a prime example of the difference between dogma and theology, and pastoral theology in particular. Martin points out the weaknesses of the current official doctrine and expresses the hope that the voice of the laity advocating for animals, as intimated in the works of some contemporary theologians as well as in recent papal pronouncements and documents, will eventually prevail. In 15 concise yet full chapters, Martin explains how the faith of Catholics and Christians can help them understand animals, why they are here, what to learn from them, and how to relate to them ethically and compassionately. Martin clearly and refreshingly puts to rest any notion that caring for animals, expressing concern for their well-being, and believing that animals have a place in God's plan for “a new heaven and a new earth” is anything less than “completely Catholic or Christian.”

The effects of rarefaction and nonequilibrium processes on hypersonic rarefied-gas flows over blunt bodies are studied by the Direct Simulation Monte-Carlo technique (DSMC) and by solving the full Navier–Stokes equations and the equations of a thin viscous shock layer (TVSL) under the conditions of wind-tunnel experiments and hypersonic-vehicle flights in the Earth atmosphere at altitudes from 60 to 110 km. The nonequilibrium, equilibrium and “frozen” flow regimes are examined for various physical and chemical processes in air and hydrogen. The influence of similarity parameters (Reynolds number, temperature factor, catalysis parameters, and gas injection rates) on the flow structure near the blunt bodies (a sphere and a cylinder) and on their heat transfer characteristics in hypersonic streams of ionizing air is studied.

This study investigates the dynamic interrelationships between poverty, unemployment, and economic growth in Nigeria from 1980 to 2023. Utilizing a comprehensive econometric approach, including unit root and cointegration tests, and an error correction mechanism (ECM), the research examines how poverty and unemployment influence economic growth and how these variables interact in both the short run and long run. The findings reveal that, in the long-run equilibrium there is relationship between poverty, unemployment, and economic growth. In the short run, the findings reveal that poverty and unemployment have negative and significant impact on economic growth in Nigeria. The study concludes that while poverty reduction is crucial, it must be coupled with strategic interventions in unemployment to foster sustained economic growth. The study therefore recommends that government and private sector collaboration should focus on developing industries with high employment potential and investing in vocational training and skills development to match the needs of the labour market.

This paper is intended as a tribute to the late James Moor. An esteemed Dartmouth professor, who published in many areas of philosophy, including logic, Moor is perhaps best remembered today for his pioneering work in the field of computer ethics. His seminal (and award-winning) article, “What Is Computer Ethics?” (Metaphilosophy, 1985) was highly influential both in defining and shaping the then nascent field of computer ethics. Many other computer-ethics-related papers followed over the next quarter century, in which Moor examined a range of topics – from moral responsibility to autonomy to privacy in the context of computing and emerging technologies, including nanotechnology and AI. And while the insights and frameworks put forth in many of his published works have received the acclaim they deserve, Moor’s contribution to the privacy literature remains, in my view, underappreciated. In trying to show why his privacy theory deserves much more attention than received to date, I also briefly describe the evolution of Moor’s position on privacy – from his earlier publications on that topic to a comprehensive and systematic privacy framework. I then suggest that a further exploration of his privacy theory would benefit researchers working in technology ethics in general, and AI ethics in particular. Finally, I encourage privacy scholars to take a closer look at Moor’s privacy framework to see whether they might be able to tease out and disclose some potential insights and features that may still be embedded in that robust theory of privacy.