Oral Presentations
A - Community and International Development
A-1 The Seventh-day Adventist church’s response to disasters in the Indian Ocean
Kern Agard1 and Joel Raveloharimisy, Community and International Development Program, 1Master’s Student
The purpose of this paper is to assess the organizational capacity of the Seventh-day Adventist church in the Indian Ocean to respond to natural emergencies and reach their local constituents, specifically in the islands of Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion, Comoros, and Seychelles. When it comes to emergencies, churches in rural areas are in a position poised to respond – where it may take up to 72 hours for emergency aid to arrive in these remote, rural areas. These local churches with their large buildings and service- oriented populations, are ideally positioned to respond to the immediate needs of persons during emergencies by properly planning and preparing for such emergencies. We use qualitative research methods to examine the church’s current practices in relation to the specific humanitarian principles of competence, co-ordination, effectiveness, and efficiency in response to natural emergencies. We argue that this organization’s response to emergencies lacks the necessary capacity, knowledge, and experience, thereby leaving an opportunity to improve its current method. Thus, this research proposes capacity building for church leaders so that they will be better able to respond to emergencies.
A-2 The Role of Faith-Based Organizations in Development: ADRA’s Contribution
Alexandra Raney1 and Joel Raveloharimisy, Community and International Development Program, 1Master’s Student
The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in the field of development and humanitarian action using faith-based typologies from the literature. Mixed methods research is used to conduct a case study of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), evaluating its mission, mandate, organizational structure, and activities conducted in more than 125 countries. We argue that ADRA’s contribution to the humanitarian field is heavily influenced by its core principles but also by its ability to secure internal and external funding. The paper concludes with recommendations for FBOs as we move toward the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, while improving delivery for beneficiaries, and upholding human rights and their core values.
A-3 Factors Contributing to Women’s Leadership Roles in Politics: Madagascar
Ave Altius1 and Joel Raveloharimisy, Community and International Development Program, 1Master’s Student
The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons behind women’s participation in politics, focusing on the case of Madagascar. The particular focus is on leadership roles of women in politics – as heads of state, government and political parties. The research uses qualitative methods to collect data. Among others, three major reasons for women’s political participation have been found across the literature: gender quotas; kinship ties to leadership, and societal upheaval and revolution. However, upon examination of the special case of Madagascar, reasons were found that explained women’s participation and leadership in politics that were not generally found in the literature. The historical legacy of Madagascar, and women’s social and political activism were found to be the guiding forces to women’s participation in politics. The findings might have wider implications in explaining women’s access to political leadership roles.
A-4 What are the Factors that make the poor to seek help from Civil Societies over Public Institutions?
Ezra Kenyana1 and Joel Raveloharimisy, Community and International Development Program, 1Master’s Student
The literature suggests that legitimacy, legality, efficiency, effectiveness, and accessibility are key factors that motivate people to seek help from organizations to address their needs. We use these factors to determine why the poor choose civil society institutions over public institutions in Madagascar. We argue that the poor seek help from civil societies instead of public institutions because of the failure of public institutions to be legitimate, legal, efficient, effective, and accessible in comparison to civil society institutions. Data collected from Madagascar is analyzed using mixed research methods. We conclude the paper with a discussion about public institutional reform and capacity building of civil societies.
B - Biology and Ecology
B-1 Rocky story of change: The Pleistocene deposits of Protection Island
James L. Hayward,1 Shandelle M. Henson,2 Roy E. Jenson,3 and Robert Cushman4
1Department of Biology, Andrews University, 2Department of Mathematics, Andrews University, 3Hart Crowser, Inc., Seattle, 4Department of Biological Sciences, Walla Walla University
Protection Island, located at the east end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, is the largest marine bird and mammal breeding site in the state of Washington. Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge was the only such refuge set aside during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Marine birds and mammals are strongly attracted to this island as a result of unique geological features that provide suitable breeding habitat. No detailed study of its geological features has been undertaken or published, however, despite the fact one of the region’s best exposures of Pleistocene sediments occurs here. Our research team set out to characterize Protection Island’s unique geological features and history. Using standard geological mapping, sampling, palynological, and dating techniques, we are uncovering the island’s past. This past includes at least two glacial advances and interglacial periods characterized by extensive peat bed formation and wooly mammoth, giant beaver, and wild horse occupancy. More recently the island was inundated by a shallow marine bay which supported an extensive clam bed. Today, having risen from the sea, Protection Island serves as Washington’s premiere breeding site for more than 80,000 marine birds and mammals.
B-2 Changing sea surface temperature alters timescale of reproductive synchrony in seabird colony
Shandelle M. Henson1 and James L. Hayward,2 1Department of Mathematics, Andrews University, 2Department of Biology, Andrews University
On a yearly timescale, colonial birds breed approximately synchronously in an annual pulse within a time window set by photoperiod. If a nesting colony is sufficiently dense, higher frequency reproductive oscillations on a daily timescale can form within the annual pulse due to synchronized ovulation cycles. Tight annual pulses do not afford sufficient time for ovulation cycles to synchronize. Data from a colony of Glaucous-winged Gulls support the hypothesis that the degree of yearly synchrony is inversely related to the degree of ovulation synchrony. Yearly synchrony may be advantageous due to predator satiation (Fraser Darling effect); similarly, ovulation synchrony may be advantageous due to cannibal satiation during El Nino years with high cannibalism rates. This suggests a tradeoff between strategies of synchronous reproduction on two timescales.
B-3 Combinational effects in weed suppression by deleterious rhizobacteria
Athena Smith1 and Robert Zdor, Department of Biology, 1Undegraduate Student
The ability of weed deleterious rhizobacteria to reduce plant growth is dependent on the production of bacterial factors such as cyanide and plant hormones. Bacteria utilize amino acids to produce these factors: tryptophan for indole acetic acid production and glycine for cyanide production. The goal of this project is to manipulate rhizosphere conditions to favor the action of rhizobacteria in suppressing weeds. This work will test for the effect of combined strains in the presence of various amino acid amendments on velvetleaf growth in soil. Specifically a cyanogenic strain Pseudomonas putida (ATH-1RI/9) will be combined with Rhizobium rubi AT3-4RS/6 (which produces an IAA-like compound). The goal is to assess if combinations of bacteria (with & without amino acids) perform better in reducing weed growth than the use of single bacterial strains.
B-4 Greenhouse Emissions from Tofu Production
Alfred Mejia,1 K. Jaceldo,2 J. SabateĢ,2 H. Harwatt,2 Soret Samuel,3 K. Sranacharoenpong2
1Department of Public Health, Nutrition and Wellness, Andrews University, 2Department of Nutrition, Healthy Lifestyle, and Disease Prevention, Loma Linda University, 3Department of Community Resilience, Loma Linda University
Background: Tofu is perceived as healthy and ecofriendly protein-rich food, but little is known about the carbon footprint generated by this soy product. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) generated by the production of tofu. Methods: We performed a life cycle assessment (LCA) to calculate the greenhouse gases emissions (GHG) generated by tofu using SimaPro 7. Our LCA calculations include materials and energy inputs required to produce tofu: whole soybeans, water, electricity, natural gas, transportation and packaging materials. The functional unit: 1 kg of tofu. The boundary is from cradle to factory gate. Results: The total GHG emissions per one kilogram of tofu produced are 893 g of CO2eq. Monte Carlo simulations shows that the CO2eq estimation is robust. The GHG emissions are mainly generated by whole soybeans (50%), natural gas (27%), packaging (13%), transportation (6%) and electricity (4%). Conclusion: Tofu is a protein rich food that generates relatively low GHG emissions when compared to protein-rich animal foods. Tofu generates 22 to 34 times less greenhouse gas emissions than beef products. Thus, tofu is a suitable food to consume by people who intend to reduce their carbon footprint by dietary choices.
C - Health, Leadership, and Education
C-1 Nutrition, exercise type, exercise intensity and stress and predictive relationship with premenstrual symptoms
Lori Maria Walton, Roan Asumbrado,1Lindsey Machamer,1and Mary Anne Behrens,1 Department of Physical Therapy, 1Graduate Student
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a predictive relationship between (1) exercise type and intensity on the Veteran Specific Activity Questionnaire(VSAQ), (2) nutrition, measured by the Rapid Eating Assessment for Patients (REAP), (3) stress (VAS) and premenstrual symptoms (PMS) as measured by the PSST (Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool). Methods: This was a prospective correlation study of seventy-six females (n=76), with active menstruation history. Each subject who volunteered to be in the study and signed a written consent prior to participation, completed VSAQ, REAP, VAS, and a health questionnaire. Results: Multiple linear regression found a significant, but weak, predictive relationship between stress and diagnostic PMS symptoms on the PSST (r = .466, df=75, p= .027). Exercise type, exercise intensity (VSAQ) and nutrition (REAP) did not show a significant predictive relationship with the symptoms of PMS. However, ninety-eight percent (98.7%) of subjects reported one or more symptoms of PMS. Discussion: This study found a high incidence of PMS and a positive predictive relationship between stress and PMS. However, no significant relationship between exercise intensity, type, and nutrition and PMS was found. Future research should focus on the role of stress in premenstrual symptoms.
C-2 Disenfranchised Grief: The Unwed Widow
Brenda Markert-Green, DMFT, Department of School Psychology and Counseling, La Sierra University and Graduate Student in the Department of Graduate Psychology and Counseling, Andrews University
Disenfranchised loss has been described as a loss that is unrecognized by society, with those suffering from it prevented from grieving through acceptable and societally sanctioned ways. This needs assessment examined the effects of losing an unmarried partner to death, and whether the surviving individual suffered from disenfranchisement due to their non-marital status. The purpose in examining unmarried partnership lay in the lack of research in the field on how partners deal with loss and mourning when that loss lies outside of the parameters of what is societally considered a significant loss. Individual interviews were utilized with phenomenology as the methodological framework employed in order to ensure that the foundation of the research was based on the direct experiences of unmarried individuals whose partner has died, and to allow for the assessment of the needs of this population of grievers. The assumptions of this study were that individuals who experience the premarital loss of a partner suffer from disenfranchised loss, and that they are prevented from mourning in ways that are societally recognized and sanctioned. It was the assumption of this researcher that the surviving ex-partner would have unique needs associated with this loss, and that the grief and mourning process would not follow the same path as the path for an individual for whom society recognizes the loss as significant and needing to be mourned. The final assumption of this researcher was that those responding to the advertisement for participants in this study would include individuals for whom the loss has either not been supported, and/or who have not resolved their loss in accordance with societal expectations. The results of the research verified this population to be disenfranchised in their grief process, and identified three subpopulations: The Relieved, The Unreceptive, and The Unacknowledged. The results of this research provides for the creation of treatment programs specific to the needs of those who experience disenfranchisement in the grief recovery process.
C-3 A System of Discipline: A Review of Classroom Management Models and Strategies
Ellen Rodrigues, PhD candidate, Department of Teaching, Learning & Curriculum
An orderly classroom environment where teachers have the ability to manage and discipline students to engage cooperatively maximizes academic achievement. Teachers’ inability to manage disruptive behaviors is a source of frustration and an obstacle for their maintenance in the profession. Consequently, a systematic and intentional approach, along with careful orchestrated mechanisms must be built to provide ways to deal with unwanted behavioral problems in the classroom. The present paper pursues to review some of the most known models and strategies of classroom management showing how the literature currently has perceived them. The study explores the following models: Assertive Discipline, Model Logic Consequences, Discipline with Dignity, Positive Behavior Support Approach, and the Behavioral Education Program. The literature also proposes procedures and strategies for managing behaviors in the classroom, where classroom rules, praise, and planned ignoring are analyzed.
C-4 Climbing the Rope Ladder to Success
Susan M. Taylor, School of Business
Some women, once they have reached the top of the corporate ladder and have secured that coveted corner office, are willing to help other women on their climb. This is the “sisterhood” people often talk about. However, there are other women who will sabotage their “sisters” by pulling up that rope ladder, thus preventing their climb. This type of bullying is prevalent in the workplace. Women are targeted at a higher rate by female bullies (71%) than by male bullies (46%). Women tend to be crueler to other women. This workplace problem persists because there are few anti-bullying ethics and laws in practice. But, it goes deeper than that, not only do managers unwittingly encourage bullying, but women are socialized to bully other women. There is only one effective way to deal with workplace women on women bullying: treat it like a business problem.
D - Biblical Studies
D-1 The Law in James
Erhard Gallos, Department of Religion and Biblical Languages
In James 1:25 and 2:12 the author of the Epistle talks about the law as “the law of freedom” or as most translators put it “the law of liberty” (“But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.” [I: 15] “So speak and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.” [2: 12]). While in James 2:12 the law is described as “the royal law” (“If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law, according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well.”). Thus far, James has described the law as “perfect law” (1 :25), “kingly law” (2:8), and “law of freedom” (2: 12). Has he done this because there are three different laws he refers to? What is the function of the adjective “royal” in the phrase “royal law” or the adjective perfect in the phrase “perfect law?” Does the term law need to be understood from the background of the Old Testament, Stoicism, Hellenistic Judaism, or early Christianity itself?
D-2 Typology and Adventist Eschatological Identity: Friend or Foe?
Erick Mendieta, PhD Student, Department of Old Testament
For Seventh-day Adventists, the significance of typology is not only a matter of historical research. Davidson has rightly argued that “the historic Adventist interpretation of the sanctuary...stands or falls depending upon the validity of its hermeneutic method.” This study has tried to show that typology in Adventism has proven to be a defining force in our theology, our thinking and even, at times, our practices. Since its first appearing in early Adventism, typology has provided assistance to our understanding of Scripture, but also has been the source of much misunderstanding. The need to explore its nature, characteristics, and application has been an ongoing concern for Adventism and it must continue to be so.
D-3 The “Day of the Lord” in Jubilees 3:9: A Textual Analysis in the Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Ronald Rojas, PhD Student, Department of Old Testament
According to the book of Jubilees, on the eighth day of the creation of the world, God commanded Adam not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. This eighth day is identified as the “day of the Lord”(Jub 3:9). While there is no doubt among the scholars that the eighth day (Sunday) was considered the “day of the Lord” among the Christians, the available evidences only go back to the second century A.D. Since the book of Jubilees was written in the second century B.C., that is, before the birth of Christianity, Jub 3:9 has the earliest occurrence of the phrase “day of the Lord.” Consequently, it represents a challenge to those who still held that the reference to the “day of the Lord” as Sunday comes very late into Christianity. However, a comparison of the Greek, Hebrew, and Ethiopic version of the book of Jubilees suggests that the phrase “the day of the Lord” in the Greek version is a Christian gloss rather than part of the original text.
D-4 Creation and Covenant: A Hermeneutical Analysis on the Correlation of the Seventh Day and the Biblical Sabbath
Sergio L. Silva, PhD Candidate, Department of Theology and Christian Philosophy
This paper is an attempt to engage new covenant Christian into a dialogue about the theological foundation of the Sabbath. In particular, it addresses the claim that the Sabbath in the Decalogue is not theologically founded in the seventh day of the creation week, and that its observance is only required from the people of Israel. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this research evaluates the legitimacy of these claims in light of the biblical metanarrative. The aftermath of this research might impact the way Seventh-day Adventists and other Evangelicals interpret the Sabbath of the Decalogue.
E - Theology and Missiology
E-1 Open Your Hands: Poverty and Cross-Cultural Youth Missions
Glenn Russell, Department of Religion & Biblical Languages
Responding to poverty is an issue of proximity and attention. The poor get our attention when we are so close we can’t avoid them. Cross-cultural mission trips expose youth to the harsh realities of poverty for the first time. Over 50% of the world’s population lives on less than $2.50 a day. Most mission participants come from middle class backgrounds. Research documents how mission trip participants wrestle with practical and existential questions: What does the Bible say about the poor? How can we help without hurting? This presentation addresses the challenges and growth opportunities when mission trip participants minister to the poverty. The presentation also presents essential biblical and missiological principles to assist cross-cultural teams encountering poverty.
E-2 The priesthood of Christ and the priesthood of all believers: connections between priestly Christology and Ecclesiology
Adriani Milli Rodrigues, PhD Candidate, Department of Theology and Christian Philosophy
The idea that the priesthood of all believers derives from the priesthood of Christ is affirmed by Catholic and Protestant theologians, even though they tend to understand the Christological priesthood and the ecclesiological priesthood in different ways. Essentially, this idea implies that Christology is foundational for ecclesiology, particularly from the perspective of the priestly work of Christ. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the connection between the priesthood of all believers and the priesthood of Christ as proposed by Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Gerald O’Collins. This analysis takes into account their notion of the priesthood of Christ, their understanding of the priesthood of all believers, and how they articulate the connection between the priesthood of Christ and the priesthood of all believers. Particular attention is given to their use of biblical data to support this connection. The main thesis of this study is that the affirmation of a relationship between the priesthood of all believers and the priesthood of Christ is theologically legitimate. However, the proposals analyzed in this paper reveal the need of a more sustained study of the biblical data for a proper definition of the nature of that relationship.
E-3 The Subordination of the Son and the Submission of Women
Paul Petersen, Department of Religion & Biblical Languages
In the last decade part of the discussion of the Trinity the doctrine of the Trinity by way of the social analogy has been applied to the relationship between male and female particularly in marriage and church. The presentation summarizes the discussion in both the Anglican Church in Australia and among evangelicals in US. It will illustrate the issue by references to recent Adventist examples, and it will provide a biblical and theological assessment.
F - Theology and Literature
F-1 God’s Moral Government of Love: The Theological Background of the Civil War
Nicholas P. Miller, Department of Church History
The role of religion in the lead up to the U.S. Civil War is a contested topic, with many pointing to a secularized rights movement is being the primary motive for abolition. But this paper will show that the “arminianization” of American theology that led to the Second Great Awakening was not primarily a result of the secular enlightenment, but rather was largely a Biblically-conservative development flowing from roots deep within the Protestant theological heritage, going back to Arminius, and even earlier. Rather than a failure of Evangelical thought, as proposed by some, the Civil War represents the culmination of the moral teaching of this tradition. Rare is it in the history of the world where a nation has undertaken the sacrifice and suffering of a major war over the question of the moral treatment of an internal minority. But conceptions of God as a moral governor, who sits in judgment on the moral behavior of both people and nations, helped provide the popular impetus to support an extend a costly war effort in pursuit of a moral cause.
F-2 Heroes, Villains, and Balkans: Intertextual Masculinities in Ralph Fiennes’s Coriolanus
L. Monique Pittman, Department of English
Filmed Shakespeare often reinvents the poet’s drama by appropriating popular representational devices. One technique, intertextual referencing by means of casting or setting selection, provides a crucial but ontologically unstable means by which the adaptor of Shakespeare heightens relevance and increases appeal. Ralph Fiennes’s 2011 adaptation of Coriolanus (1607/08) instantiates the vexed layers of association generated by means of such intertextuality. By casting himself as the titular general and Gerard Butler as his nemesis Aufidius, Fiennes shorthands filmic intertexts—the Harry Potter oeuvre and 300—that shape a viewer’s access to the Roman play. On the one hand, these intertexts access film idiom to expose mythologies of masculinity grounded in violence as self- defining and self-annihilating. However, complicating the movie’s critique of masculine identity is Fiennes’s choice to film in Serbia and Montenegro as well as to utilize found news footage from the 1990s Yugoslav Wars. Fiennes’s recontextualization of the Roman- Volsce conflict accesses a raft of stereotypes of the Balkan male as violent and uncontrollable that yoke an entire European region to the patterns of self-destruction manifested by Coriolanus and Aufidius. Thus, Fiennes’s filmic and historical intertexts inadvertently impress the seal of Shakespearean approval on dubious European stereotypes of the Balkan Other.