The medieval papacy and holy war: General crusading letters and papal authority, 1145-1213

Chapter in an edited collection on the twelfth-century papacy and its authorisation of crusades to the Near East.

How students view the boundaries between their science and religious education concerning the origins of life and the universe

Internationally in secondary schools, lessons are typically taught by subject specialists, raising the question of how to accommodate teaching which bridges the sciences and humanities. This is the first study to look at how students make sense of the teaching they receive in two subjects (science and religious education) when one subject’s curriculum explicitly refers to cross-disciplinary study and the other does not. Interviews with 61 students in seven schools in England suggested that students perceive a permeable boundary between science and their learning in science lessons and also a permeable boundary between religion and their learning in RE lessons, yet perceive a firm boundary between science lessons and RE lessons. We concluded that it is unreasonable to expect students to transfer instruction about cross-disciplinary perspectives across such impermeable subject boundaries. Finally we consider the implications of these findings for the successful management of cross-disciplinary education.

Interviewing children and young people with learning disabilities: guidelines for researchers and multi-professional practice

We argue that it is important for researchers and service providers to not only recognize the rights of children and young people with learning disabilities to have a ‘voice’, but also to work actively towards eliciting views from all. A set of guidelines for critical self-evaluation by those engaged in systematically collecting the views of children and young people with learning disabilities is proposed. The guidelines are based on a series of questions concerning: research aims and ethics (encompassing access/gatekeepers; consent/assent; confidentiality/anonymity/secrecy, recognition, feedback and ownership; and social responsibility) sampling, design and communication

Women's work choices in Kenya: the role of social institutions and household gender attitudes

This study considers the factors that influence women’s work behavior in Kenya. In particular, it examines whether gender attitudes and certain types of social institutions influence the probability of employment or type of employment for women. Using data from the Demographic and Health Survey of 2008–9, we find that religion and ethnicity are significant determinants of women’s employment in Kenya. While personal experience of female genital mutilation is insignificant, spousal age and education differences, as well as marital status (which reflect attitudes both in women’s natal and marital families), are significant determinants of women’s employment choices.

Vem är samen? : En läromedelsanalys av hur samisk kultur och identitet presenteras i Undervisningsmaterial i historia och religion

The aim of this essay is to study how the Sami are presented in four textbooks about religion and history that are used in the schools of the majority culture of Sweden today and one book of ideas asto how a textbook could look like from a Sami's perspective. Its aim is not only to study how the Sami are presented but also to discuss how students who read these books could interpret what it means to be a Sami and what their culture is about. It is also meant to discuss how the Sami identitycould be formed. In order to be able to discuss this the essay uses three different kinds of theories about identity and culture. The analysis showed that there is little information about Sami culture, identity, religion and historypresented in the four textbooks used in schools of the majority culture and that these books seem to want students to think that the Sami are troublemakers but are and should be assimilated into the majority culture.

Movies, Mind and Meaning : Studying Audience and Favourite Films

Construction of identity and meaning is becoming increasingly important in both media studies and religion scholarship. (Lövheim, 2004) Meaning construction outside traditional religion has become more interesting for religious studies and what individuals in the audience do with all messages circulated through media in everyday life has attended increasing interest within media studies (Stout and Buddenbaum, 2001). Motion pictures, soap operas and advertising are all examples of media contents which generate ideas among its audience which to a various degree are used as resources within the construction of identity (Jansson, 2001). The investigation of what modern humankind’s world views look like and what components they are composed of, in this context seems to be an important topic of investigation (Holm and Björkqvist, 1996). The ways in which the development of media has effected the daily lives of individuals is interest as is the nature of the self and the ways in which the process of self-formation is affected by the profusion of mediated materials (Thompson, 1995). Film and religion are my interest within this larger frame. The topic is not exactly new but the combination of film and religion has during the last ten years resulted in a rapidly growing number of books by scholars interested in this field (Lyden, 2003). One growing focus is on the role that films can and do play within the emerging and developing valuesystem of people in the West today (Marsh, 2004). The British theologian Clive Marsh’s point of departure is very similar to my own. Viewers bring to a film life-experience, immediate concerns and worldviews and the exploration of this interplay between movies and the interpreting process of meaning making is the very focus in this paper. Theoretically, the semeiological model of Alf Linderman is combined with cultural cognitive approaches used by a number of Scandinavian media scholars developing perspectives in audience theory (Linderman, 1996, Höijer and Werner, 1998). 13 individuals, their favourite movie and what it means to them in their life My aim is to examine how individuals comprehend film and what the meaning process look like. In this paper I present the outcome of 13 interviews with young people about their favourite film. I suggest how it is possible to interpret how they interrelate film comprehension with their personal beliefs and their culturally constructed worldview from a sociocognitive point of view. Examples of films chosen range from Disneys Lion King (1994), sciencefiction and fantasy successes like The Matrix (1999) and Lord of the Rings (2001) or the next best movie ever according to www.IMdb.com The Shawshank Redemption (1994) as well as the Swedish blockbuster Så som i himmelen (2004), aka “As in Heaven”.

Gay and Lesbian Life at Colby 1969-1974

The history of a gay and lesbian student community at Colby seems to point to the difficulty of visibility. For students who were able to find others like themselves, their group of lesbian and gay friends had to remain underground. For students who were grappling with their newly found, socially stigmatized sexuality, the experience was isolating if they did not know where to find others like themselves. This paper seeks to address the social forces that kept sexually variant students from expressing their sexual identities openly on campus. Part of this difficulty is attributable to the compulsory heterosexuality assumed by general American society at the time, manifested in the silence or outright hostility directed against homosexuals. Naturally, Colby students replicated this assumption. Some of the students we interviewed seemed to internalize compulsory heterosexuality, while it was forced upon others. Religion and psychology were two methods of enforcing heterosexuality that were relevant to the people we interviewed. Another significant obstacle to visibility was Colby's location and the nature of Colby's student body. Waterville, unlike more urban cities, did not have a history of gay life, and thus an established gay community or gay identity into which one could be socialized. Colby, as a small, homogeneous and isolated space, posed difficulties in establishing a gay community as the population to draw from was small and regulated.

Spirituality: Do teachers and students hold the same opinion?

Background:  Few studies have investigated potential differences between the opinions of educators and undergraduates regarding spirituality in patient care. Understanding these differences, could lead to better strategies for educational proposes. Purpose:  To compare the opinions of medical teachers (MTs) and medical students (MSs) regarding spirituality training in a Brazilian medical school. Methods:  A cross-sectional study was conducted. MTs and MSs filled out a questionnaire containing the Duke Religion Index, and questions regarding spirituality in clinical practice and at medical school. A comparison between early-curriculum MSs, late curriculum MSs and MTs was carried out. Chi-square (categorical) and Mann-Whitney (continuous/ordinal) tests were used. Results:  A total of 475 MSs and 44 MTs were evaluated. Results showed that MSs did not address spirituality as frequently as MTs (p<0.001), and that most participants did not feel prepared to address this issue, and believe that Brazilian medical schools are not giving all the required information in this field. Nevertheless, they believe MSs should be prepared to discuss these issues. Late-curriculum MSs believed that spirituality plays a more positive role in patient health (p=0.027), and were more prone to address this issue than early-curriculum MSs (p=0.023). Conclusion:  These findings revealed some of the challenges faced by spirituality medical training in Brazil, and differences between MTs and MSs regarding this issue. Further studies are needed to replicate these findings in other countries. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2013.

Arte e ética em The Bell de Iris Murdoch

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Valores priorizados por estudantes universitários de um curso de psicologia de uma universidade pública

Most research on the psychology of morality defines moral as the rules and values whose purpose is to regulate interpersonal relations. In this study, although I have considered such premise valid, I have also taken into account aspects related to the self. Thus, aiming at verifying whether university students are guided by values which are public, private and/or linked to glory, I have analyzed the values prioritized by them. Informants were 170 first-year psychology undergraduates in a public university located in western São Paulo state, male and female, with an average age of 20 years. To collect the data, I applied a questionnaire concerning factual factors (age, sex and religion) and the values cherished by the undergraduates. The results – analyzed according to the psychology of virtues – have shown that approximately 70% of the valid answers given by students pointed friendship (32%) and intelligence (35%) as the most prioritized values. Public values were hardly mentioned. Concerning the forms of glory, although the percentage for money and fame was not significant, when the informants justified the choice of friendship and intelligence, they conceived such values as a means to obtain money and fame. I have concluded that these individuals give little importance to the values related to duties (which are public) and to some form of individual harmony.

Perception of brazilian citizens about Darwinism and the (Non) Influence of God in the evolutionary process

The current context is unique in relation to the teaching of evolution in Brazil and the population's perception of evolution. On the one hand, it is said often about Darwinism in various media, especially due to the relatively recent commemoration of the two hundred years of the birth of Charles Darwin and one hundred and fifty years of the launch of the book The Origin of Species. On the other hand, it is clear, in recent years, a timid movement, more worryingly, in favor of equitable approach of creationist and evolutionist theories in the classroom. This article is a part of a research whose goal is to raise the design that Brazilian respondents have about the Darwinian view (which disregards the divine influence in the evolution of the species). The instrument used for data collection is a questionnaire, type Likert scale, which consists of a series of statements in which respondents must express their degree of agreement or disagreement with each statement. In this study, we present the results of the statement. "The thought of Darwin, which does not consider God as a participant in the process of evolution, is...". Analysis correlated with data on religion and education of the respondents are also held. The results point to a tendency of respondents not to accept the Darwinian view that disregards God's interference in the evolutionary process. The data also show that respondents' choices are influenced by religion and education. The frequency of responses that tend to accept the Darwinian view (which disregards the divine participation in the evolution of the species) is higher among respondents with higher levels of education. Adherents to religions "evangelical" tend to deny this view more often than followers of other religions. Given the potential risks of inserting creationist approaches in school education, it is necessary a discussion of the possible impacts of this rejection of Darwin's thinking (which does not consider God as a participant in the evolutionary process), indicated here, in the teaching of evolution. This work was supported by FAPEMIG.

Práticas corporais e cristianismo: relações e preceitos

This study, qualitative, aimed to try to understand relations and premises involving bodily practices and Christianity. The study was conducted by means of literature, focusing the themes of religion and the body along with issues involving Christian ethics, through its principles and values, which must be practiced, not only within the church, but even within the society, in sports, in schools. Based on the literature review, it can be seen that the body practices have a direct relationship with the Christian religion, in the aspects involving the ethics of their practices, experiences, thoughts, attitudes, principles and values, in addition to cultural training and body of students from different schools, in which the physical education professional is directly involved with the bodily practices. As conclusions, it was noted the probability of a harmonious and fundamental relationship between religion and bodily practices, along with a productive association between Christianity and society, helping the individual in its ethical and social formation. We suggest new approaches to the formation of the professional of Physical Education, in order take into consideration these aspects involving religiosity

Cognitive, Mood, and Electroencephalographic Effects of Noninvasive Cortical Stimulation With Weak Electrical Currents

Objectives: The use of noninvasive cortical electrical stimulation with weak currents has significantly increased in basic and clinical human studies. Initial, preliminary studies with this technique have shown encouraging results; however, the safety and tolerability of this method of brain stimulation have not been sufficiently explored yet. The purpose of our study was to assess the effects of direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) stimulation at different intensities in order to measure their effects on cognition, mood, and electroencephalogram. Methods: Eighty-two healthy, right-handed subjects received active and sham stimulation in a randomized order. We conducted 164 ninety-minute sessions of electrical stimulation in 4 different protocols to assess safety of (1) anodal DC of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC); (2) cathodal DC of the DLPFC; (3) intermittent anodal DC of the DLPFC and; (4) AC on the zygomatic process. We used weak currents of 1 to 2 mA (for DC experiments) or 0.1 to 0.2 mA (for AC experiment). Results: We found no significant changes in electroencephalogram, cognition, mood, and pain between groups and a low prevalence of mild adverse effects (0.11% and 0.08% in the active and sham stimulation groups, respectively), mainly, sleepiness and mild headache that were equally distributed between groups. Conclusions: Here, we show no neurophysiological or behavioral signs that transcranial DC stimulation or AC stimulation with weak currents induce deleterious changes when comparing active and sham groups. This study provides therefore additional information for researchers and ethics committees, adding important results to the safety pool of studies assessing the effects of cortical stimulation using weak electrical currents. Further studies in patients with neuropsychiatric disorders are warranted.

Validation of the Duke Religion Index: DUREL (Portuguese Version)

The purpose of the current study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Duke Religion Index (PDUREL) in a community setting. PDUREL was translated and adapted for administration to 383 individuals from a population-based study of low-income community-dwelling adults. The PDUREL intrinsic subscale and total scores demonstrated high internal consistency (alphas ranging from 0.733 for the total scale score to 0.758 for the intrinsic subscale). Correlations among the DUREL subscales were also examined for evidence of discriminant validity. Correlations were ranging from 0.36 to 0.46, indicating significant overlap between the scales without marked redundancy. PDUREL is a reliable and valid scale. The availability of a comprehensive, but brief measure of religiousness can help to study the role of religiousness in health by researchers from countries that speak the Portuguese language.