This study deals with the problem of moral development discontinuity prevalent in today's multicultural societies. Black adolescents are confronted by many obstacles in their situatedness in the home, school and society. It has been revealed that the black adolescent in the multicultural situation is exploited, dehumanised and exposed to impersonal situations when he should be offered moral guidance and challenging moral dilemmas in order to develop his moral sense, however he is consequently reduced to an object that is tossed to and fro by his fellow human beings. The black adolescent, it has been shown, needs his fellow human beings, as transmitters of moral values to help him to achieve a moral-self. This study examines the three multicultural situations, the home, the school and the society and shows that morals are not inherited but acquired through mutual contact. The acquisition of morals manifests itself under conditions characterised by respect, modelling, imitation, indoctrination, reward and punishment, conformity, loyalty, communication, exemplification, socialisation, experience and learning as determined by the home, school and society. It was also found that in their acquisition of morals in a multicultural society, black adolescents experience confusion brought about by the cultural differences of their society. \\!hat they previously regarded as the right thing to do in their cultural background receives negative responses in the multicultural situation. It was further found that black adolescents in a multicultural situation are not provided with sufficient opportunities to participate meaningfully in moulding their new moral environment. The multicultural environment is cold and unfriendly, as a result black adolescents are barred from expanding and anchoring themselves in their new situation to face the challenges confronting them with confidence. The empirical research revealed that in the home parents are too busy with their professional upgrading and the positions they hold at work to bother about the moral upbringing of their children. In school teachers emphasise scholastic achievement above moral development. The society does not provide black adolescents with moral role models to imitate. Society has become to technocratic, with devices such as the TV, radio, Internet and video games, to guide black adolescents in their moral intemalisation. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Moral formation is a crucial aspect of the training that young Christian leaders have to be exposed to during their education. A holistic focus was adopted to analyse the nuances of the moral self and give moral formation the focus it requires. Three major areas of the moral self namely knowledge, emotion and socialization have been investigated. The study was exploratory in nature and made use of a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews. The data was analysed with a constructivist framework using content analysis. Findings mainly related to the three areas under focus with the impact of emotions being the most prominent. The influence of the Holy Spirit was also a key finding as charismatic emerging adults depended on his guidance during moral decision making. The data also reflected the significant interaction and overlap of the three areas exercising an influence on emerging adults’ moral decision making. / Practical Theology / M.Th. (Practical Theology)

This dissertation describes the credibility judgment process using social psychological theories of dual-processing, which state that information processing outcomes are the result of an interaction “between a fast, associative information- processing mode based on low-effort heuristics, and a slow, rule-based information processing mode based on high-effort systematic reasoning” (Chaiken & Trope, 1999, p. ix). Further, this interaction is illustrated by describing credibility judgments as a choice between examining easily identified peripheral cues (the messenger) and content (the message), leading to different evaluations in different settings. The focus here is on the domain of the Web, where ambiguous authorship, peer- produced content, and the lack of gatekeepers create an environment where credibility judgments are a necessary routine in triaging information. It reviews the relevant literature on existing credibility frameworks and the component factors that affect credibility judgments. The online encyclopedia (instantiated as Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica) is then proposed as a canonical form to examine the credibility judgment process. The two main claims advanced here are (1) that information sources are composed of both message (the content) and messenger (the way the message is delivered), and that the messenger impacts perceived credibility; and (2) that perceived credibility is tempered by information need (individual engagement). These claims were framed by the models proposed by Wathen & Burkell (2002) and Chaiken (1980) to forward a composite dual process theory of credibility judgments, which was tested by two experimental studies. The independent variables of interest were: media format (print or electronic); reputation of source (Wikipedia or Britannica); and the participant’s individual involvement in the research task (high or low). The results of these studies encourage a more nuanced understanding of the credibility judgment process by framing it as a dual-process model, and showing that certain mediating variables can affect the relative use of low-effort evaluation and high- effort reasoning when forming a perception of credibility. Finally, the results support the importance of messenger effects on perceived credibility, implying that credibility judgments, especially in the online environment, and especially in cases of low individual engagement, are based on peripheral cues rather than an informed evaluation of content. / text

本文目的乃是欲從大理院之民事判決例中，嘗試去探究大理院的民事法源，去了解大理院所建立的民事法規範的淵源到底是從何而來？其審判究竟根據什麼樣的法源？大理院對這些法源的態度為何？法源衝突時，規範的效力問題又該如何解決？根據本文考察，大理院之民事法源，在成文法方面，除了約法之外，主要依照《大清現行律》民事有效部分作為其審判依據，在運用層面上導入了歐陸法學概念用來解釋《大清現行律》，促使中西法律文化的融合。此外，前清其它有效法律與民國時期民事特別立法也都被大理院以之為法源。關於條約，大理院則認為其具有法源地位，得直接適用而不需再經由國內立法程序。至於大清民律草案，在民國初年並非有效的成文法律，大理院將其定性為「條理」而加以適用，但是在適用上的判語則相當岐異，為其弊端。同時，大理院時期已經能運用外國立法例與一般法律原則來加強判決理由與調整當事人利益的分配。當然，大理院處於新舊交融的時代，一些傳統義理道德的觀念仍在大理院判例中找得著其痕跡。而對於判例，大理院則是承認其法源性，具有法規範效力，並且對其相當重視，形成獨特的地位，兼具羅馬法系與普通法系的特徵。 / This study is try to find the source of civil law during early republican china(1912-1928), and to apprehend how these kinds of source of civil law be shaped by the judges on the civil adjudications of Dali Yuan(Supreme Court). Besides, the focus is also on what these sources of law are and how Dali Yuan resolve the issue while these sources conflict. First, the statutory sources of civil law include the provisional constitution, treaties, Ching Empire Current Penal Code, and some civil regulations. Ching Empire Current Penal Code is the most important legal basis on the trial. Dali Yuan uses European legal concepts to interpret Ching Empire Current Penal Code and this give Penal Code a new life. Besides, Dali Yuan considers the treaty could be directly applied and not need to be by the way of internal legislative process. In this period, Civil Code Draft is still not valid, so that Dali Yuan takes Draft as principle of law to be applied. Moreover, foreign statutes sometimes can be found in the judgment to strengthen the reason. Of course, on the era of variance, sometimes traditional idea still exists in the judge mind. The precedent play an important role before the Civil Code is put in force. The precedents of Dali Yuan can be considered as source of law. The legal system during this period can be called the amalgamation of Roman law and common law.

Cette thèse contribue à une théorie générale de la conception du projet. S’inscrivant dans une demande marquée par les enjeux du développement durable, l’objectif principal de cette recherche est la contribution d’un modèle théorique de la conception permettant de mieux situer l’utilisation des outils et des normes d’évaluation de la durabilité d’un projet. Les principes fondamentaux de ces instruments normatifs sont analysés selon quatre dimensions : ontologique, méthodologique, épistémologique et téléologique. Les indicateurs de certains effets contre-productifs reliés, en particulier, à la mise en compte de ces normes confirment la nécessité d’une théorie du jugement qualitatif. Notre hypothèse principale prend appui sur le cadre conceptuel offert par la notion de « principe de précaution » dont les premières formulations remontent du début des années 1970, et qui avaient précisément pour objectif de remédier aux défaillances des outils et méthodes d’évaluation scientifique traditionnelles. La thèse est divisée en cinq parties. Commençant par une revue historique des modèles classiques des théories de la conception (design thinking) elle se concentre sur l’évolution des modalités de prise en compte de la durabilité. Dans cette perspective, on constate que les théories de la « conception verte » (green design) datant du début des années 1960 ou encore, les théories de la « conception écologique » (ecological design) datant des années 1970 et 1980, ont finalement convergé avec les récentes théories de la «conception durable» (sustainable design) à partir du début des années 1990. Les différentes approches du « principe de précaution » sont ensuite examinées sous l’angle de la question de la durabilité du projet. Les standards d’évaluation des risques sont comparés aux approches utilisant le principe de précaution, révélant certaines limites lors de la conception d’un projet. Un premier modèle théorique de la conception intégrant les principales dimensions du principe de précaution est ainsi esquissé. Ce modèle propose une vision globale permettant de juger un projet intégrant des principes de développement durable et se présente comme une alternative aux approches traditionnelles d’évaluation des risques, à la fois déterministes et instrumentales. L’hypothèse du principe de précaution est dès lors proposée et examinée dans le contexte spécifique du projet architectural. Cette exploration débute par une présentation de la notion classique de «prudence» telle qu’elle fut historiquement utilisée pour guider le jugement architectural. Qu’en est-il par conséquent des défis présentés par le jugement des projets d’architecture dans la montée en puissance des méthodes d’évaluation standardisées (ex. Leadership Energy and Environmental Design; LEED) ? La thèse propose une réinterprétation de la théorie de la conception telle que proposée par Donald A. Schön comme une façon de prendre en compte les outils d’évaluation tels que LEED. Cet exercice révèle cependant un obstacle épistémologique qui devra être pris en compte dans une reformulation du modèle. En accord avec l’épistémologie constructiviste, un nouveau modèle théorique est alors confronté à l’étude et l’illustration de trois concours d'architecture canadienne contemporains ayant adopté la méthode d'évaluation de la durabilité normalisée par LEED. Une série préliminaire de «tensions» est identifiée dans le processus de la conception et du jugement des projets. Ces tensions sont ensuite catégorisées dans leurs homologues conceptuels, construits à l’intersection du principe de précaution et des théories de la conception. Ces tensions se divisent en quatre catégories : (1) conceptualisation - analogique/logique; (2) incertitude - épistémologique/méthodologique; (3) comparabilité - interprétation/analytique, et (4) proposition - universalité/ pertinence contextuelle. Ces tensions conceptuelles sont considérées comme autant de vecteurs entrant en corrélation avec le modèle théorique qu’elles contribuent à enrichir sans pour autant constituer des validations au sens positiviste du terme. Ces confrontations au réel permettent de mieux définir l’obstacle épistémologique identifié précédemment. Cette thèse met donc en évidence les impacts généralement sous-estimés, des normalisations environnementales sur le processus de conception et de jugement des projets. Elle prend pour exemple, de façon non restrictive, l’examen de concours d'architecture canadiens pour bâtiments publics. La conclusion souligne la nécessité d'une nouvelle forme de « prudence réflexive » ainsi qu’une utilisation plus critique des outils actuels d’évaluation de la durabilité. Elle appelle une instrumentalisation fondée sur l'intégration globale, plutôt que sur l'opposition des approches environnementales. / This thesis is a contribution to the general theory of design thinking. In the prevalent demand for a sustainable development, the main objective of this research is the construction of a theoretical model of design thinking that contextualizes standard sustainability evaluation tools. The basis of these normative tools is analyzed in four dimensions: ontological, methodological, epistemological and teleological. Indications of potential counter-productive effects of these norms for design thinking confirm the need for a theory of qualitative judgment. Our central hypothesis revolves around the benefits of the underlying conceptual framework of the ‘precautionary principle’ for design thinking, the first formulations of which goes back to the early seventies in Germany, and was in fact created as a way to address the failures of traditional scientific evaluation tools or methods. The thesis comprises five parts. Beginning with a historical perspective, a review of classical models of design thinking, specifically focuses on the evolving approaches for addressing sustainable development. Theories of “green design” coming from the early sixties, theories of ecological design of the seventies and eighties are finally converging on the developing theories of “sustainable design” formulated in the early nineties. The underlying theories of the precautionary principle are then reviewed and explored for the specific context of design within the perspective of sustainability. Current methods of standard risk assessment methods are compared to a precautionary approach, revealing their conceptual limits for design thinking. A preliminary theoretical model for design thinking is then constructed adopting the theories underlying the precautionary principle. This model represents a global vision for judging the design project in a context of sustainability, rather than on traditional approaches for risk assessment, which are purposive and instrumental. The precautionary principle is further explored for the specific context of architectural design. This exploration begins with a historical perspective of the classical notion of ‘prudence’ for guiding architectural judgment. In light of the contemporary issues related to sustainability, we then examine the challenges of judging architectural projects given the increasing international prominence of such standard evaluation methods (i.e. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, LEED). The thesis proposes a reinterpretation of design thinking as proposed by Donald A. Schön is introduced such that the use of tools, like LEED can be contextualized. This exercise reveals an epistemological barrier, which shall be taken into consideration when reformulating the theoretical model. In accordance with a constructivist epistemology, a new theoretical model is therefore confronted to the study and illustration of three contemporary Canadian architectural competitions adopting the standard evaluation method LEED. A preliminary set of ‘tensions’ identified in the judgment process and design thinking is further categorized into their conceptual counterparts. These are: (1) analogical/logical conceptualization; (2) epistemological/methodological uncertainty; (3) interpretive/analytic comparability; and (4) universal/contextual relevance of the proposal. These conceptual tensions are considered as vectors that come into correlation with the theoretical model, enriching it, yet without validating it, in the positivist sense of the word. These confrontations with the real, help better define the epistemological barrier identified above. This thesis therefore highlights the often underestimated impact of environmental standards on the judgment process and design thinking, with particular, albeit non restrictive, reference to contemporary Canadian architectural competitions for public buildings. It concludes by stressing the need for a new form of “reflective prudence” in design thinking along with a more critical use of current evaluation tools for sustainability founded on a global integration rather than on the opposition of environmental approaches.

Il semble y avoir des attentes réciproques non comblées en formation initiale à l’enseignement des mathématiques. Cherchant à comprendre la genèse de ces attentes, nous nous sommes intéressée à la vision que les étudiants nourrissent des phénomènes d’enseignement. Ayant postulé que les étudiants ont une vision déterministe de ces phénomènes, et considérant que leur anticipation oriente leur projet de formation, nous nous sommes attaquée au problème de la rencontre des projets des étudiants et des formateurs. Deux objectifs généraux ont été formulés : le premier concerne la description des projets de formation des étudiants tandis que le second concerne l’expérimentation d’une séquence de situations susceptible de faire évoluer leurs projets. Cette recherche a été menée auprès de 58 étudiants du baccalauréat en enseignement en adaptation scolaire et sociale d’une même université, lesquels entamaient leur formation initiale à l’enseignement des mathématiques. Afin d’explorer les projets qu’ils nourrissent a priori, tous les étudiants ont complété un questionnaire individuel sur leur vision des mathématiques et de leur enseignement et ont participé à une première discussion de groupe sur le sujet. Une séquence de situations probabilistes leur a ensuite été présentée afin d’induire une complexification de leur projet. Enfin, cette expérimentation a été suivie d’une seconde discussion de groupe et complétée par la réalisation de huit entretiens individuels. Il a été mis en évidence que la majorité des étudiants rencontrés souhaitent avant tout évoluer en tant qu’enseignant, en développant leur capacité à enseigner et à faire apprendre ou comprendre les mathématiques. Bien que certaines visées se situent dans une perspective transmissive, celles-ci ne semblent pas représentatives de l’ensemble des projets "visée". De plus, même si la plupart des étudiants rencontrés projettent de développer des connaissances relatives aux techniques et aux méthodes d’enseignement, la sensibilité à la complexité dont certains projets témoignent ne permet plus de réduire les attentes des étudiants à l’endroit de leur formation à la simple constitution d’un répertoire de techniques d’enseignement réputées efficaces. En ce qui a trait aux modes d’anticipation relevés a priori, nos résultats mettent en relief des anticipations se rattachant d’abord à un mode adaptatif, puis à un mode prévisionnel. Aucune anticipation se rattachant à un mode prospectif n’a été recensée a priori. La séquence a permis aux étudiants de s’engager dans une dialectique d’action, de formulation et de validation, elle les a incités à recourir à une approche stochastique ainsi qu’à porter un jugement de probabilité qui prenne en compte la complexité de la situation. A posteriori, nous avons observé que les projets "visée" de certains étudiants se sont complexifiés. Nous avons également noté un élargissement de la majorité des projets, lesquels considèrent désormais les autres sommets du triangle didactique. Enfin, des anticipations se rattachant à tous les modes d’anticipation ont été relevées. Des anticipations réalisées grâce à un mode prospectif permettent d’identifier des zones d’incertitude et de liberté sur lesquelles il est possible d’agir afin d’accroître la sensibilité à la complexité des situations professionnelles à l’intérieur desquelles les futurs enseignants devront se situer. / There seems to be unfulfilled reciprocal expectations in mathematical education and initial preparation of teachers. While trying to understand the genesis of their expectations, we were interested in the vision that future teachers have of the educational phenomena. Having postulated that these students have a deterministic view of these phenomena and considering that their anticipation guides their training project, we addressed the problem of the encounter of student and educator projects. Two general objectives were formulated: the first aims at describing student training projects while the second addresses the development of a sequence of situations to help enrich their initial projects. This research was conducted among 58 undergraduate students in special education at a single university. They were beginning their initial training in teaching mathematics. In order to explore their initial projects, all students completed a questionnaire to inform on their personal vision of mathematics and its teaching. They also participated in an initial group discussion on the subject. A sequence of probabilistic situations was then presented to induce enrichment of their project. Finally, this experiment was followed by a second group discussion and completed with eight interviews. It was highlighted that the majority of the students met want to evolve primarily as a teacher, developing their ability to teach and stimulate learning and understanding of mathematics. Although some project goals fall into a transmissive perspective, these do not seem representative of the overall goals of the projects. Moreover, although most students want to develop knowledge of techniques and teaching methods, the sensitivity to complexity shown in some projects does not allow to reduce students' expectations regarding their training to the building of a repertoire of teaching techniques deemed effective. Regarding modes of anticipation identified initially, our results highlight anticipations connected with first an adaptive mode and then a forecast mode. We found no initial anticipation connected with a prospective mode. The sequence has allowed students to engage in a dialectic of action, formulation and validation, it prompted them to use a stochastic approach and to make probability judgment that takes into account the complexity of the situation. Afterwards, we observed that the projects of some students had become more complex. We also noted a widening of the majority of projects which opened to considering other vertices of the didactic triangle. Finally, anticipations relating to all modes of anticipation were identified. Anticipations made through a prospective mode helped identify areas of uncertainty and freedom upon which it appears possible to act, to increase sensitivity to the complexity of the educational situations and the act of teaching.

Este trabalho propôs-se a estudar, mediante abordagem crítica e multidisciplinar, questões processuais que surgem na impugnação de deliberações de assembleias de sociedades por ações, procurando não só comprovar a ideia de que o direito processual civil deve responder a especificidades vindas do direito material, mas tecer conclusões a respeito de qual maneira o processo civil, neste âmbito específico do direito material, atende a essas peculiaridades. Por entendermos que existe um fio condutor lógico que une conteúdo do provimento, objeto do provimento e limites objetivos e subjetivos da coisa julgada, foram eleitas algumas questões processuais como objeto principal da pesquisa, sintetizadas nas seguintes indagações: (i) qual o conteúdo do provimento jurisdicional que desconstitui deliberações de assembleias gerais de sociedades por ações?; (ii) quais os limites objetivos desse provimento e da coisa julgada que sobre ele incide?; e (iii) quais os limites subjetivos desse mesmo provimento e da coisa julgada que o acoberta? O escopo principal desta dissertação, assim, foi responder a essas perguntas, embora, para que se atingisse esse intuito, outras indagações também tenham sido respondidas. / This work aims at studying, through a critical and multidisciplinary approach, procedural matters arising out of claims that request the annulment of shareholder meetings resolutions, seeking not only to evidence the idea that the civil procedural law should correspond to specific issues of the substantive law, but also draw conclusions on how the civil procedure, within the specific ambit of the substantive law, answers to these peculiarities. Since we understand there is a logical guiding thread that links the judgment, its subject matter and the objective and subjective limits of the judgement and of the res judicata, we have chosen a few procedural issues as main object of our research, summarized in the following questions: (i) what is the content of the judgement that annuls the shareholder meetings deliberations?; (ii) what are the objective limits of this judgement and of the res judicata, which affect such deliberations?; and (iii) what are the subjective limits of this same judgement and of the res judicata, which restrict their interference in said deliberations? The main scope of this dissertation was, therefore, to answer these questions, although, in doing so, other questions have ended being answered.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:29:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Guilherme Strenger.pdf: 560594 bytes, checksum: d1f24191ad2a70b312f13e934462bf6e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-05-13 / The aim of this study is to develop a constitutional analysis of article 285-A, which added to the Civil Process Code the possibility for the judge to judge a lawsuit for its merit, denying the request, without quoting the defendant. The analysis of constitutional principles, especially regarding the process of law, as well as of the contradictory and the reasonable duration of the process shall provide better understanding on the modern process science, which obeys the Constitution. The interpretation of the 285-A article is needed, followed by the new legislative alterations, mainly on Laws 11.232/06 and 11.276/06, given the fact that they bring forth the new mentality of the process legislator, influenced by Constitutional Amendment nº 45 / O presente tema tem como finalidade a análise constitucional do artigo 285-A, que adicionou ao Código de Processo Civil a possibilidade de o juiz julgar uma ação improcedente, apreciando o mérito, sem citar o réu. A análise de princípios constitucionais, em especial do devido processo legal, do contraditório e da razoável duração do processo, dará suporte para melhor compreensão do cientificismo processual moderno, pautado pela obediência à Constituição. A interpretação do artigo 285-A se faz necessária, acompanhada das novas alterações legislativas, principalmente das Leis 11.232/06 e 11.276/06, que traduzem a nova mentalidade do legislador processual, influenciado pela Emenda Constitucional nº. 45

Moral formation is a crucial aspect of the training that young Christian leaders have to be exposed to during their education. A holistic focus was adopted to analyse the nuances of the moral self and give moral formation the focus it requires. Three major areas of the moral self namely knowledge, emotion and socialization have been investigated. The study was exploratory in nature and made use of a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews. The data was analysed with a constructivist framework using content analysis. Findings mainly related to the three areas under focus with the impact of emotions being the most prominent. The influence of the Holy Spirit was also a key finding as charismatic emerging adults depended on his guidance during moral decision making. The data also reflected the significant interaction and overlap of the three areas exercising an influence on emerging adults’ moral decision making. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Practical Theology)

Le 4 novembre 1847, Mgr de Bruillard, évêque de Grenoble, institue une commission d'enquête destinée à préparer le jugement doctrinal qu'il doit porter sur l'apparition alléguée de la Vierge Marie à La Salette le 19 septembre 1846. S'il ne fait en cela que reprendre les règles classiques de l'Eglise en matière de discernement des esprits, il innove en définissant de façon rigoureuse le cadre canonique dans lequel doit s'exercer ce discernement, selon une procédure calquée pour partie sur celle préconisée en matière de canonisations par le De servorum Dei beatificatione et de beatorum canonizatione (1734-1738) de Prospero Lambertini, futur pape Benoît XIV. Pour exemplaire que se veuille cette procédure – adoptée par un nombre croissant d'évêques concernés par des faits d'apparitions dans leurs diocèses –, pour efficace qu'elle se révèle, elle se heurte rapidement à divers obstacles montrant ses limites, obstacles dont les moindres ne sont pas, au XXe siècle jusqu'au concile Vatican II, les interventions de plus en plus fréquentes du Saint Office auprès des évêques. Après Vatican II, une plus grande latitude sera laissée aux évêques, mais les répercussions au niveau mondial de certaines mariophanies amèneront la Congrégation pour la doctrine de la foi à édicter en 1978 des Normes générales, véritable feuille de route destinée aux évêques. Ces Normes seront néanmoins rendues bientôt inapplicables à cause de l'émergence de nouveaux types de mariophanies, dont la matrice est le “phénomène Medjugorje” (1981) : qualifiée d'apparition de rupture, cette mariophanie pose, par ses implications non seulement religieuses, mais également sociétales et même politiques, la question de la réaction de l'institution ecclésiale face à des faits et des attitudes qui, tout en se réclamant de l'Église, prétendent se soustraire pour partie à son jugement sous le prétexte d'une plus libre et immédiate insertion dans l'histoire actuelle des hommes, et où l'efficacité temporelle du phénomène le dispute à son authenticité spirituelle et à sa fonction ecclésiale, au risque de constituer le principal critère de jugement de la mariophanie. / On the 4th of November 1847, Msgr de Bruillard, the Bishop of Grenoble, sets up a commis-sion of inquiry aimed at clearing the way for the doctrinal judgment he will have to pass on the alleged apparition of the Virgin Mary at La Salette on the 19th of September 1846. In doing so is merely applying once again the usual rules of the Church in matters pertaining to the discernment of spirits, but he actually does innovate by rigorously definiting the canonical framework within which this judgment must be exercised, following – in matters regarding the question of canonization – a procedure which, to some extent, faithfully reflected the one already favoured by the De servorum Dei beatificatione et de beatorum canonizatione (1734-1738) by Prospero Lambertini (the future pope Benedict XIV). Even though it aims to serve as a model (adopted by a growing number of bishops having to come to terms with events of apparitions in their dioceses), and however efficient it proves to be, this type of procedure soon meets with a variety of obstacles exposing its own limitations : among these obstacles one could not minimize the increasingly frequent interference of the Holy Office in its dealings with the bishops, before the Second Vatican Council. After the Council, the bishops are given more leeway, but the repercussions – on a world scale – of certain mariophanies will induce the Congregation for the Doctrine of the faith to edict in 1978 a set of general Norms, offering the bishops the guiding lines of a roadmap. Nevertheless, these norms will soon become inapplicable, in the face of newly emerging types of mariophanies, whose primary source is the 'Medjugorje case' (1981). Because of its implications – not just religious, but political and societal as well – this mariophany has been dubbed the breaking point apparition, raising the question of how the ecclesiastical Institution should respond to facts and attitudes which, while pretending to speak in the name of the Church, claim the right to disregard part of her decisions, by using as an excuse the need for a more open-minded and a more immediate involvement in the history of mankind – as it appears nowadays ; so much so that, conflicting with the judgments on the authenticity of the case and its relevance for the Church, the claimed fruitfulness of the event runs the risk og beeing viewed as the principal criterion for a judgment on the phenomenon itself.