The sixteenth century Bavarian Anabaptist, Balthasar Hubmaier (ca. 1480-1528), has had a disputed role in Anabaptist historiography ever since his martyrdom in March, 1528. On the one hand he is known as the most erudite and prolific writer of the early Anabaptists, and on the other he has been separated from the original Zurich Brethren by his rejection of two major principles, total separation from the world and absolute non-resistance, that were supposedly held unanimously by the Zurich Brethren. Today Hubmaier’s reputation for militancy has been endorsed by most writers, but this militancy is not expressed in any of his writings except On the Sword, the last tract written before his death. Using the well-documented biography of Hubmaier by Bergsten and his own writings collected and translated by Pipkin and Yoder, the thesis explores the question of the extent to which Hubmaier was willing to advocate the use of lethal force by government or against government. It is found that only one source, Johann Faber, accused Hubmaier of inciting peasant revolt , and that witness would seem dubious by any modern standard. Arguments that Hubmaier was ostracized by the Zurich Brethren are found to be conjectural and dependent upon anachronism. Thus in the critical years 1524-26, Hubmaier was a veritable Swiss Brethren. On the Sword indicates a major change in Hubmaier’s thinking, and the reasons for that change are explored.

The popular conception of John Calvin today is as a divisive figure within Christianity, who vehemently opposed some beliefs while demanding rigid acceptance of others. In this thesis, I intend to investigate the accuracy of that conception by exploring how Calvin approached ecumenicalism theologically and practically. This will cover Calvin's understanding of the Church, his cooperation and disagreements with other Christians, and evaluate what Calvin might contribute to an ecclesiology useful for the Church today. Calvin has gained a poor reputation in modern times both for participation in historical events, including the execution of Servetus, and also for the association of Calvin with the Calvinism that arose after his death in the Netherlands and then in the United States. Calvin is associated with a strong anti-secularism, rigid doctrine (particularly arising out of five point Calvinism), exclusive claims with strictly delineated in and out groups, and ultimately with conservative Christians who are frequently perceived as theocratic far right-wingers. These perceptions stand somewhat, although not fully, in contrast to the very human John Calvin, whose work was frequently designed to build up the Christian Church.

The sixteenth century Bavarian Anabaptist, Balthasar Hubmaier (ca. 1480-1528), has had a disputed role in Anabaptist historiography ever since his martyrdom in March, 1528. On the one hand he is known as the most erudite and prolific writer of the early Anabaptists, and on the other he has been separated from the original Zurich Brethren by his rejection of two major principles, total separation from the world and absolute non-resistance, that were supposedly held unanimously by the Zurich Brethren. Today Hubmaier’s reputation for militancy has been endorsed by most writers, but this militancy is not expressed in any of his writings except On the Sword, the last tract written before his death. Using the well-documented biography of Hubmaier by Bergsten and his own writings collected and translated by Pipkin and Yoder, the thesis explores the question of the extent to which Hubmaier was willing to advocate the use of lethal force by government or against government. It is found that only one source, Johann Faber, accused Hubmaier of inciting peasant revolt , and that witness would seem dubious by any modern standard. Arguments that Hubmaier was ostracized by the Zurich Brethren are found to be conjectural and dependent upon anachronism. Thus in the critical years 1524-26, Hubmaier was a veritable Swiss Brethren. On the Sword indicates a major change in Hubmaier’s thinking, and the reasons for that change are explored.

Brundin (2004, S. 63) sagt, dass sich die Reformation „um einen Kampf handelte, der Auswirkungen auf die ganze gesellschaftliche Struktur hatte.“ Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die Absichten hinter, die linguistischen Methoden und die sozialen Auswirkungen der Bibelübersetzung Luthers festzustellen, und dadurch die Aussage Brundins zu bestätigen bzw. widerlegen. Es wurde gefunden, dass Martin Luther die Bibelübersetzung und die Reformation in enger Zusammenarbeit mit seinen Kollegen an der Leucorea Universität und unter Führung des sächsischen Kurfürsten, Friedrich III., durchgeführt hat. Dabei haben die verwendeten linguistischen Methoden eine Schlüsselrolle gespielt, und viele heute bekannten wissenschaftlichen Theorien sind praktisch umgesetzt worden. Dazu gehören die Sapir-Whorf-Hypothese, die Defizit- bzw. die Differenzhypothese und die Diskurstheorie. Die Reformation hat eine gewaltige Machtverschiebung zur Folge, wo der Klerus dem Adel viele Rechte abgeben müsste, und die neu erzeugte Sprache der Lutherbibel hat zu einer deutschen Einheitssprache und die Erstehung eines deutschen Nationalstaates geführt. Als Schlussergebnis kann die Aussage Brundins klar bestätigt werden.

Abstract Taiwan is surrounded by the ocean with enriched marine eco-diversity and coastal terrains, making it a land of abundant fishery resources. Yet, after Taiwan was returned to ROC in 1945, the abuse of inshore fishery due to economical development resulted in overfishing. Under the development of industrialization, marine pollution and the use of destructive fishing gear have also caused a great damage to the ecological and biological diversities along the inshore to the drastic decrease in fisheries. Thus, how the government may find a balance between sustainability in fishery resources and economical development in local fishing communities is the major interest of this study. The present research conducts the work through the collection of annual fishing statistics and the questionnaire survey of local fishermen and government administrators. This study analyzes the changing trends of inshore fishery in Taiwan and investigates the effectiveness of current fishery regulations and the policy of fishing transformation along the inshore in Taiwan. The fisheries administration is currently adapting several fishery regulatory measures which include fishery licenses, replacement of boats and fishing vessels, and suspension of fishing activities / fishing moratorium for the management of fishery resources. Yet the fishery resources are still shrinking each year. It is obvious that those measures are ineffective on slowing down the speedy drop of fishery resources. The survey results showed that the effective administrative efforts should involve the regulation policy on fishing gears, fishing methods, fishing zones, and fishing seasons. A top-down fishery management system should be integrated with the bottom-up fishermen¡¦s autonomy, in order to establish a feasible coordination system between fishermen and the administration. In the long term, in addition to the management of some target fishes, it is important to integrate the fishery policy and management with the sustainable management of the living environment and ecosystem. These should include the assigning fishery preservation areas and the protection of the marine habitats to ensure biological diversity and to maintain the sustainable fishery resources. To reduce the fishing impact on fishery resources involving buy out the additional fishing boats, the government should actively help fishermen on their career reform. The government should also encourage the conversion of overcapacity fishing boats to the entertainment fishery. Yet through questionnaires and interviews, this study has found that most fishermen are reluctant to change their career owing to the lack of specialties and the high cost of boat remodeling. This study suggests that marine tourist vessels and whale-watching boats should be categorized as entertainment boats under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Communication. Yet, small fishing-entertainment boats are mainly for marine fishing, or watching traditional fishing / net caging operations, and tourist diving that all operate during the off-seasons. For this, the government should provide various fishing trainings, improve the harbor facilities for entertainment fishery, and cultivate all citizens¡¦ feelings of love for the ocean to promote the marine tour vacationing and the entertainment fishery. In the coastal 200 nautical miles exclusive fisheries zone, involving fishery habitat and reproduction ground, is the sovereign right control area of every coastal country. Thus, the government is entitled to decide the optimum fishery utilization independently as the basis of the fishery development for the food security, environment and resources conservation, and fishing community social stability. The present work concludes that government should plan and establish strategies for an effective management on the inshore fishery to ensure a sustainable fishery development.

Milton writes in Areopagitica of the "true warfaring Christian" who can "apprehend and consider vice with all her baits and seeming pleasures, and yet abstain, and yet distinguish, and yet prefer that which is truly better." Though many reformers saw both human nature and the faculty of reason as depraved after the fall, Milton and other radical writers in the period emphasized the role that reason can and should play in the experience of spiritual warfare. The dissertation therefore begins by considering the theological contexts within which writers of the English Reformation understood evil and human encounters with evil, especially in the form of temptations, but also in the form of disturbing dreams and satanic presences. It then considers some epistemological problems as related to the experience of such conflicts: reason, especially right reason; knowledge, conscience and memory; and free will. Focusing on the texts of John Milton, Aemilia Lanyer, Richard Norwood, and John Bunyan, this study shows that these radical religious writers refuse to conform to the general tendency in Reformation theology to discount the use of reason. Eve's dream in Milton's Paradise Lost reveals the proper use of right reason in spiritual warfare, while the actual temptation scenes in Paradise Lost and Lanyer's Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum point to a fundamental failure of reason in the fall. Norwood's Confessions, Milton's Comus, and Milton's Samson Agonistes portray the triumphs of human reason over evil and temptation, though there remains an awareness of the constraints placed upon reason by their fallen nature such that reason needs the aid of divine grace to function as right reason. Milton's Paradise Regained and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress point to the extraordinary victories gained by Christ and Christian through the use of right reason and memory to direct the will toward the highest goods. These texts offer a counter-voice to those who would dismiss the possibilities of the powers of right reason. Despite the awareness of the inherent limits of fallen reason, these radical reformists generally find reason an indispensable tool in spiritual battles that helps direct their wills to the highest good.

The Finnish electoral system was introduced in 1906 and elections were held the following year. Since 1906, all women and men have been eligible to vote and to be nominated in elections. The age of eligibility has been successively lowered from 24 in 1906 to 21 in 1944, to 20 in 1969 and to 18 in 1972. The Finnish parliament (Eduskunta) consists of 200 MPs elected from 15 districts. Except the Åland Island district elects a single member, the other 14 districts are all multi-member (the district magnitude is determined by the population size). Basically, the Finnish electoral system is a list system of proportional representation with multi-member constituencies. The allocation of seats to parties (including party alliance) is following the d'Hondt method. The Finnish electoral system has undergone some transformations since it was originally introduced in 1906. As it works today, general elections are held every four years (there is a provision for premature dissolutions of parliament¡Va presidential prerogative). There is no predetermined order of the candidates within each list. The names of the candidates are normally printed on large sheets of paper, where each candidate has a number, and the names may be organized within each list for example in alphabetical order. The ballot paper is a small slip of paper, where the voter has to write the number of the candidate for whom he or she is voting. The individual votes thus received by different candidates within each list (normally each list corresponds to one party or a coalition of several smaller parties) will determine their final order. In other words, the voter has the duty to vote for a single candidate, and the electoral campaign is very much oriented accordingly, as a competition between individuals, although the voters presumably are also aware of the party affiliation of the candidates and of the fact that their votes will benefit not only the individual candidate but also the party in question. When the votes have been counted and the order of the candidates within each list thus has been established, the final allocation of seats to the lists is carried out by the election board on the basis of comparison numbers, using the d'Hondt method. At the allocation stage, the individual votes of candidates are no longer relevant, as the order has already been established, and the lists compete with each other on the basis of the total votes received for each list. Therefore, the election is not exclusively a competition between parties; it is also a competition between single candidates on the party list. Because of the deadlock at present on Taiwan's electoral reformation, I personally think that Finland's electoral system will probably be a good solution to the problems of electoral system in Taiwan, and should be included in the discussion of improving our electoral system. Hence, I recommend that Finland's model will probably be suitable to Taiwan and deserve more attention in the current discussion on Taiwan's electoral reformation.

Fairness and justice are important goals and cores values for pursuing an effective taxation system. However, for certain economic and social purposes, our nation implements extensive and long period tax deductions causing constant doubt of the equality of taxation. The tax deduction policies may be equitable to the past, but with the change of the environment, should the government carefully examine whether the result of the tax deductions has affected the fairness, justice and fiscal of the nation. If these deductions have already impaired the welfare of the nation, it is necessary to revise the taxation system and reconstruct the public value. The Legislative Yuan has passed ¡§Fundamental Regulations of Income Tax¡¨ also named ¡§Alternative Minimum Taxation, AMT¡¨ by the end of 2005. It is the first tax regulations passed by the Legislative Yuan in the last two decades. These regulations limit the deductions and compensate the deficiency of unfairness. Thus, this research will focus on taxpayers¡¦ recognition and support of the tax reform after the regulations are executed. Should people promote more tax reforms if outdated deductions exist? Therefore, by combining the questionnaires with the empirical analysis, gathering related discoveries and opinions, this research leads to a practical suggestion and provides a reference with the tax authorities to amend the tax deduction policies. According to the result, the tax experts and professionals agree that AMT meets the needs of tax equality and justice. Besides, nearly 60% of the interviewees think AMT is beneficial to our nation¡¦s finance. However, people recognize that negative effects and problems with the implementation of AMT should be overcome. People also highly expect to modify the outdated tax deductions. In conclusion, our research provides the following suggestions: 1. To thoroughly review and revise the outdated tax deductions promptly. 2. To review and amend the extent of the income tax deductions. 3. The review of investment tax credit is the main purpose of our tax reforms. 4. To prevent the incentive of tax evasion and discuss regularly about the existence or abolition of the AMT.

Zugl. geringfügig überarb. Fassung von: Passau, Univ., Habil.-Schr., 2007/2008

In recent years, the need for high performance power sources has increased dramatically with the proliferation of ultra-compact electronic systems for mobile communication, man-portable and versatile military equipment, and electric vehicles. Volume- and mass- based power density are two of the most important performance metrics for portable power sources, including hydrogen generating fuel reforming systems (onboard) for hydrogen fuel cells. Two innovative multifunctional reactor concepts, CO2/H2 Active Membrane Piston (CHAMP) and Direct Droplet Impingement Reactor (DDIR), are combined for the purpose of hydrogen generating fuel reforming system (onboard) for fuel cells. In CHAMP-DDIR, a liquid fuel mixture is pulse-injected onto the heated catalyst surface for rapid flash volatilization and on-the-spot reaction, and a hydrogen selective membrane is collocated with the catalyst to reduce the diffusion distance for hydrogen transport from the reaction zone to the separation site. CHAMP-DDIR allows dynamic variation of the reactor volume to optimally control the residence time and reactor conditions, such as pressure and temperature, thus improving both the reaction and separation processes. A comprehensive CHAMP-DDIR model, which couples key physical processes including 1) catalytic chemical reactions, 2) hydrogen separation/permeation at membrane, 3) liquid fuel evaporation, and 4) heat and mass transport, has been developed to investigate the behavior of this novel reactor system, aiming at maximizing the volumetric power density of hydrogen generation from methanol/water liquid fuel. The relationships between system design parameters and the rate-limiting process(es), i.e., reaction, permeation, and transport, which govern reactor output, have identified. Experimental characterization of the prototype reactor has been performed for laboratory demonstration of the concept and model validation. Both model predictions and experiments successfully demonstrate the unique practical performance improvements of CHAMP-DDIR through combining time-modulated fuel introduction and the active change of reactor volume/pressure. This work has led to a number of fundamental insights and development of engineering guidelines for design and operation of CHAMP-DDIR class of reactors, which can be extended to a broad range of fuels and diverse practical applications.