Suchergebnisse

This collection of essays draws together the research of fourteen international scholars to examine how the co-operative business model functions in practice within diverse cultural and social contexts. It includes case studies of co-operatives and credit unions operating in different national settings across Britain, continental Europe, Australasia and the Americas. Together the essays show how the concept of democratic co-operation, applied to enterprise in commercial markets, developed into the basis of a truly global movement. The Co-operative Model in Practice will be of interest to students and scholars in economics, business studies, sustainable development, history, and organisational theory and behaviour. It also serves as a valuable resource for policy-makers seeking alternative models for organising enterprise and society.

In the light of the recent Scottish Executive Health Department (SEHD) Guidelines, the author examines the validity of the late Tom Scott's "peripheral stance" of institutional chaplaincy, with specific reference to contemporary healthcare chaplaincy. Scott's views are discussed in the context of the premise of secularisation. By drawing on Gill's critique of Hauerwas, the author cites recent events in the aftermath of the Alder Hey inquiry to claim that healthcare chaplaincy can be defined as a central activity: one that is socially significant and capable of influencing society. By redefining chaplaincy as a form of "community church" (Moltmann), the author concludes that the question of the precise locus of chaplaincy is transcended by adopting a "double strategy" that enables chaplaincy to maintain an authentic Christian presence but at the heart of the hospital community.

The author argues that "spiritual" approaches in healthcare are based on a Cartesian dualist outlook that is outdated in a Maxwellian-Einsteinian cosmology. A review of the history of medicine exacerbates the dichotomy between the physical and spiritual aspects of human nature. Thus modern healing has ceased to be seen as religious. An examination of scientific method suggests that modern science is more congenial to Christian theology than is supposed by Bradshaw and other proponents of spiritual care. Torrance's doctrine of man is used as an example of how a modern scientific method allows us to regain a proper understanding of the mystery and uniqueness of humanity. The author argues that Torrance's reconstructed natural theology of man allows healthcare professionals to view each other as complimentary, thus allowing a return to true holistic healthcare.