The Emerging Church Movement: A Sociological Assessment

With so many voices, groups, and organizations participating in the Emerging Church Movement (ECM), few are willing to “define” it, though authors have offered various definitions. Emerging Christians themselves do not offer systematic or coherent definitions, which contributes to frustration in isolating it as a coherent group – especially for sociologists who strive to define and categorize. In presenting our understanding of this movement, we categorize Emerging Christianity as an orientation rather than an identity, and focus on the diverse practices within what we describe as “pluralist congregations” (often called “gatherings,” “collectives” or “communities” by Emerging Christians themselves). This leads us to define the ECM as a creative, entrepreneurial religious movement that strives to achieve social legitimacy and spiritual vitality by actively disassociating from its roots in conservative, evangelical Christianity. Our findings are extensively developed in The Deconstructed Church: Understanding Emerging Christianity (Marti and Ganiel 2014).

Expert players accurately detect an opponent's movement intentions through sound alone

Sounds offer a rich source of information about events taking place in our physical and social environment. However, outside the domains of speech and music, little is known about whether humans can recognize and act upon the intentions of another agent’s actions detected through auditory information alone. In this study we assessed whether intention can be inferred from the sound an action makes, and in turn, whether this information can be used to prospectively guide movement. In two experiments experienced and novice basketball players had to virtually intercept an attacker by listening to audio recordings of that player’s movements. In the first experiment participants had to move a slider, while in the second one their body, to block the perceived passage of the attacker as they would in a real basketball game. Combinations of deceptive and non-deceptive movements were used to see if novice and/or experienced listeners could perceive the attacker’s intentions through sound alone. We showed that basketball players were able to more accurately predict final running direction compared to non-players, particularly in the second experiment when the interceptive action was more basketball specific. We suggest that athletes present better action anticipation by being able to pick up and use the relevant kinematic features of deceptive movement from event-related sounds alone. This result suggests that action intention can be perceived through the sound a movement makes and that the ability to determine another person’s action intention from the information conveyed through sound is honed through practice.

Responsabilidade social: visões e perspectivas de empresários do segmento industrial do Rio Grande do Norte

The theme Corporate Social Responsibility is relatively recent both in the academic field and in the business practice. Because of the lack of socialization of experiences and precision of concepts, there are gaps regarding the understanding of the subject and, also, how to conduct operations. This study just seeks to investigate such matter, focusing applications of social responsibility in business. It takes, as empirical field, winners of the PSQT - SESI Prize of Quality at Work in Rio Grande do Norte (2002-2007) in order to systematize the various approaches on the issue, aiming to reveal subjective visions and perspectives of the theme. It is characterized as a qualitative study, carried out by structured interview. The universe was composed by 15 companies. It was used analysis of content categorical as an axis for the interpretation of the information. Three approaches guided the analysis: Business Ethics, (normative); Business & Society (contractual); Social Issues Management (strategic). The findings are related in three ways: 1) reasons for the CSR practice; 2) the results obtained; 3) the means of CSR. It was found that the award participation occurs, mostly, linked to SESI invitations, so, as an articulated movement of industrial corporations in Brazil it occurs, also, because of the organizational commitment with the society and the possibility of internal and social growths and because of the importance attributed to the report as an instrument of consultancy. There are no indicators to check impacts of organizational interventions, in spite of the existence of planning for the actions. Social responsibility appears as a tool to reinforce the organizational image and to increase satisfaction of the employees. There is a tendency of large and medium firms to a contractual commitment while the small and the micros firms are on strategic or normative level. The analysis of the perspectives of social responsibility future revealed trends towards for strategic approach

Terrenos de marinha: terras públicas com função social? um estudo da orla marítima de natal

This work has as its theme the social function of terrenos de marinha. Theresearch universe is the terrenos de marinha of Natal coastline, focusing on thefulfillment of its social function. Prescribed by law since the colonial period with thepurpose of protecting the coast and free movement of people and goods, theywere swathes of land not available to private use by individuals. With the transitionfrom the allotments system to the purchase and sale, regard to land access,crystallized with the creation of the Land Law in the nineteenth century, the land isheld as merchandise and terrenos de marinha, following this logic, also acquireexchange value and become capable of enjoyment by private individuals, with thecondition of tax payments to the state. This is seen until the twentieth century,when in 1988, primarily because of the Federal Constitution promulgation, begins anew cycle when is possible to use on terrenos de marinha the principle of thesocial function of property. From this perspective this study aims to identify thesocial function of terrenos de marinha in Natal, focusing on the public destinationand the use value of the city coastline. To this end, it was made a data collection inthe on-line information system of the Federal Heritage Department of Rio Grandedo Norte (SPU / RN) and in the terrenos de marinha areas, in order to find out ifthey had public or private use, or if they were empty lots, as well as if thepopulation access to the shore exist. Interviews with managers of the SPU weremade. The empirical study showed that the social function of terrenos de marinhain the city of Natal still didn´t happen, considering the constant existence of vacantlots in their areas, the lack of access in significant portions of the coastline and thereduced areas directed to common use along the coastline, minimizing its potentialof enjoyment by the population. It concludes by pointing to the existence of a newtransition phase on the terrenos de marinha, in witch, gradually, come up lawprovisions in the legal system and public policies to expand the purely taxcollection function attributed to this land for two centuries. In this direction, thesocial function of terrenos de marinha is embodied in concomitant adjustment ofthe tax collection function and the rescue of coastline use value, national heritageand a place for sociability and social relations development

Responsabilidade social: visões e perspectivas de empresários do segmento industrial do Rio Grande do Norte

The theme Corporate Social Responsibility is relatively recent both in the academic field and in the business practice. Because of the lack of socialization of experiences and precision of concepts, there are gaps regarding the understanding of the subject and, also, how to conduct operations. This study just seeks to investigate such matter, focusing applications of social responsibility in business. It takes, as empirical field, winners of the PSQT - SESI Prize of Quality at Work in Rio Grande do Norte (2002-2007) in order to systematize the various approaches on the issue, aiming to reveal subjective visions and perspectives of the theme. It is characterized as a qualitative study, carried out by structured interview. The universe was composed by 15 companies. It was used analysis of content categorical as an axis for the interpretation of the information. Three approaches guided the analysis: Business Ethics, (normative); Business & Society (contractual); Social Issues Management (strategic). The findings are related in three ways: 1) reasons for the CSR practice; 2) the results obtained; 3) the means of CSR. It was found that the award participation occurs, mostly, linked to SESI invitations, so, as an articulated movement of industrial corporations in Brazil it occurs, also, because of the organizational commitment with the society and the possibility of internal and social growths and because of the importance attributed to the report as an instrument of consultancy. There are no indicators to check impacts of organizational interventions, in spite of the existence of planning for the actions. Social responsibility appears as a tool to reinforce the organizational image and to increase satisfaction of the employees. There is a tendency of large and medium firms to a contractual commitment while the small and the micros firms are on strategic or normative level. The analysis of the perspectives of social responsibility future revealed trends towards for strategic approach

A VOICE OF THEIR OWN: MUSIC AND SOCIAL COHESION IN TURKISH ALEVI LIFE

This dissertation examines the role that music has played in the expression of identity and revitalization of culture of the Alevis in Turkey, since the start of their sociocultural revival movement in the late 1980s. Music is central to Alevi claims of ethnic and religious difference—singing and playing the bağlama (Turkish folk lute) constitutes an expressive practice in worship and everyday life. Based on research conducted from 2012 to 2014, I investigate and present Alevi music through the lens of discourses on the construction of identity as a social and musical process. Alevi musicians perform a revived repertoire of the ritual music and folk songs of Anatolian bards and dervish-lodge poets that developed over several centuries. Contemporary media and performance contexts have blurred former distinctions between sacred and secular, yet have provided new avenues to build community in an urban setting. I compare music performances in the worship services of urban and small-town areas, and other community events such as devotional meetings, concerts, clubs, and broadcast and social media to illustrate the ways that participation—both performing and listening—reinforces identity and solidarity. I also examine the influence of these different contexts on performers’ musical choices, and the power of music to evoke a range of responses and emotional feelings in the participants. Through my investigation I argue that the Alevi music repertoire is not only a cultural practice but also a symbol of power and collective action in their struggle for human rights and self-determination. As Alevis have faced a redefined Turkish nationalism that incorporates Sunni Muslim piety, this music has gained even greater potency in their resistance to misrecognition as a folkloric, rather than a living, tradition.

More Than A Movement: Unpacking Contemporary Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts in Washington, D.C.

Trafficking in persons has attracted seemingly boundless attention over the last two decades and the work aimed at fighting it is best understood when this cause is contextualized against the backdrop of other social forces—economic, social, and cultural—shaping contemporary nonprofit activities. This project argues that the paid and volunteer labor that takes place in metro Washington, D.C., to combat trafficking in persons can be understood as both a movement and an industry. In addition to arguing that anti-trafficking work is part of a nonprofit industrial complex that situates activist and advocacy work firmly inside state and economic institutions, this project is concerned with the ways in which trafficking work and workers conduct their business collectively. As an organizational study, it identifies the key players in the D.C. region focused on this issue and traces their interactions, collaborations, and cooperation. Significantly, this project suggests that despite variations in objectives, methods, priorities, and characterizations of trafficking, thirty organizations in metro D.C. working on this issue “get along” because they are bound by the benign common goal of raising awareness. Awareness, in this context, is best understood as both a cultural anchor facilitating cohesion and as a social currency allowing groups to opt into joint efforts. The dissertation concludes that organizations centralize awareness in their collective activities over more drastic priorities around which consensus would need to be gained. This is a lost opportunity for making sense of the ways that individual bodies—men, women, and children—experience not just trafficking, but the world around them.

Migration, prospecting, dispersal? What host movement matters for infectious agent circulation?

Spatial disease ecology is emerging as a new field that requires the integration of complementary approaches to address how the distribution and movements of hosts and parasites may condition the dynamics of their interactions. In this context, migration, the seasonal movement of animals to different zones of their distribution, is assumed to play a key role in the broad scale circulation of parasites and pathogens. Nevertheless, migration is not the only type of host movement that can influence the spatial ecology, evolution, and epidemiology of infectious diseases. Dispersal, the movement of individuals between the location where they were born or bred to a location where they breed, has attracted attention as another important type of movement for the spatial dynamics of infectious diseases. Host dispersal has notably been identified as a key factor for the evolution of host-parasite interactions as it implies gene flow among local host populations and thus can alter patterns of coevolution with infectious agents across spatial scales. However, not all movements between host populations lead to dispersal per se. One type of host movement that has been neglected, but that may also play a role in parasite spread is prospecting, i.e., movements targeted at selecting and securing new habitat for future breeding. Prospecting movements, which have been studied in detail in certain social species, could result in the dispersal of infectious agents among different host populations without necessarily involving host dispersal. In this article, we outline how these various types of host movements might influence the circulation of infectious disease agents and discuss methodological approaches that could be used to assess their importance. We specifically focus on examples from work on colonial seabirds, ticks, and tick-borne infectious agents. These are convenient biological models because they are strongly spatially structured and involve relatively simple communities of interacting species. Overall, this review emphasizes that explicit consideration of the behavioral and population ecology of hosts and parasites is required to disentangle the relative roles of different types of movement for the spread of infectious diseases.

Charging The Net: Social Activism in Women's Professional Tennis

This dissertation is an analysis of social activism within women’s professional tennis. In the 46 years since the women known as the Original 9 began protesting against the pay inequality between men’s and women’s tennis, subsequent cohorts of women have brought different issues and concerns to women’s tennis, expanding its scope and efforts.  Using qualitative research, including interviews with former players and press conference participation at tournaments to access current players, this study shows the lineage of social activism within women’s tennis and the issues, expressions, risks and effects of each cohort. Intersectionality theoretically frames this study, and analyses of performativity appears regularly. Each generational cohort is a chapter of this study. The Original 9 of the Movement Cohort fought for equal prize money. The Bridge Cohort, the era of Evert and Navratilova, continued the Movement Cohort’s push for equal prize money; however, they also ushered in identity politics (including gender, sexuality, and nationality, but with the notable exception of race). The Professional Cohort, the current era, followed the Bridge Cohort and is characterized by its focus on corporatization and mass-marketing. As such, there is a focus among the players on individualism which can seem like a lack of social activism is occurring. However, race, neglected during the Bridge Cohort, emerged during the Professional Cohort. The individualism of this cohort made space for Blackness to show unapologetically, though, within certain constraints. Finally, a few players are working on social justice issues in society at large, as well as trying to institute change within women’s tennis. These players make up the Post-Professional Cohort (or, as Pam Shriver from the Bridge Cohort calls them, “Bridge Throwbacks”).  This study shows the evolution of social activism within women’s tennis, as it reflects larger social change. Though bound together as one unified body, the social activism engaged in by each generation focused on different issues, making each generational cohort distinct from the whole of women’s professional tennis.

Reabilitação psicomotora em contexto da saúde mental de adultos no centro de atividades ocupacionais, Casa do Sol do Centro de Apoio Social do Pisão, Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Cascais

O presente relatório refere-se às atividades, do estágio inserido no Ramo de Aprofundamento de Competências Profissionais do Segundo Ciclo, desenvolvidas no âmbito da Reabilitação Psicomotora em Saúde Mental. Estas práticas de estágio foram realizadas no Centro de Atividades Ocupacionais (CAO) – Casa Do Sol e no Centro de Apoio Social do Pisão (CASP). A Intervenção no CAO e no CASP foi dirigida a indivíduos adultos com perturbação psiquiátrica, de ambos os sexos, residentes e/ou utentes destes centros. Esta intervenção foi constituída pelas seguintes quatro etapas: 1ª Observação informal das aulas de expressão corporal, dos momentos de refeições, dos ateliês de carpintaria, jardinagem, artes plásticas e culinária; 2ª Reabilitação / Intervenção psicomotora (duração aproximada de 6 meses); 3ª Avaliação formal de alguns casos utilizando instrumentos de avaliação nomeadamente a Bateria Psicomotora de Vítor da Fonseca (BPM) e a Escala do Comportamento Adaptativo Verão Portuguesa de Sofia Santos e Pedro Morato (ECAP). 4ª Elaboração e Ajustamento do Plano Terapêutico.

Terrenos de marinha: terras públicas com função social? um estudo da orla marítima de natal

This work has as its theme the social function of terrenos de marinha. Theresearch universe is the terrenos de marinha of Natal coastline, focusing on thefulfillment of its social function. Prescribed by law since the colonial period with thepurpose of protecting the coast and free movement of people and goods, theywere swathes of land not available to private use by individuals. With the transitionfrom the allotments system to the purchase and sale, regard to land access,crystallized with the creation of the Land Law in the nineteenth century, the land isheld as merchandise and terrenos de marinha, following this logic, also acquireexchange value and become capable of enjoyment by private individuals, with thecondition of tax payments to the state. This is seen until the twentieth century,when in 1988, primarily because of the Federal Constitution promulgation, begins anew cycle when is possible to use on terrenos de marinha the principle of thesocial function of property. From this perspective this study aims to identify thesocial function of terrenos de marinha in Natal, focusing on the public destinationand the use value of the city coastline. To this end, it was made a data collection inthe on-line information system of the Federal Heritage Department of Rio Grandedo Norte (SPU / RN) and in the terrenos de marinha areas, in order to find out ifthey had public or private use, or if they were empty lots, as well as if thepopulation access to the shore exist. Interviews with managers of the SPU weremade. The empirical study showed that the social function of terrenos de marinhain the city of Natal still didn´t happen, considering the constant existence of vacantlots in their areas, the lack of access in significant portions of the coastline and thereduced areas directed to common use along the coastline, minimizing its potentialof enjoyment by the population. It concludes by pointing to the existence of a newtransition phase on the terrenos de marinha, in witch, gradually, come up lawprovisions in the legal system and public policies to expand the purely taxcollection function attributed to this land for two centuries. In this direction, thesocial function of terrenos de marinha is embodied in concomitant adjustment ofthe tax collection function and the rescue of coastline use value, national heritageand a place for sociability and social relations development

Ontologia do espaço : critica da critica da entificação social do ser enquanto pressuposto a uma teoria espacial interpenetrada a “ontologia do ser social”, de Gyorgy Lukacs

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Humanas, Departamento de Geografia, Programa de Pós Graduação em Geografia, 2015.

Assistência social : os limites à efetivação do direito

A Assistência Social brasileira, reconhecida legalmente como direito social pela Constituição de 1988, enfrentou e enfrenta restrições e limites para ser consolidada como política social. Este texto problematiza e tenta apresentar algumas respostas a essa dificuldade, tendo como referencial a complexa e conflituosa relação entre assistência e trabalho nas sociedades capitalistas. Como impacto dessa relação opera-se um movimento de retrocesso nos direitos conquistados, com crescente focalização dos benefícios, programas, projetos e serviços e redução dos recursos destinados à área assistencial. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT

La influencia del discurso sobre cambio social en la agenda de los medios. El caso de la Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca

Los movimientos sociales son uno de los motores del cambio social. Organizaciones como la Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca (PAH) denuncian injusticias y cuestionan la construcción de significados sociales a través del discurso. Impulsan estrategias de automediación para, especialmente a través de las redes sociales, influir en la agenda mediática y el debate público. Mediante un análisis crítico del discurso cualitativo, nuestro objetivo es conocer si la PAH introduce sus temas y encuadres en la agenda mediática. Los resultados demuestran que este movimiento activista logra condicionar de qué se habla y también cómo se habla, obteniendo una cobertura favorable.

The Anuvrat Movement: Theory and Practice

The slogan: “Self-restraint is life,” forms the philosophical ideal behind the Anuvrat Movement. The purpose of my thesis is to evaluate the Anuvrat Movement introduced by Acharya Tulsi as a non-sectarian, ethical-spiritual movement. The study considered in some detail the historical context within which the movement emerged. The thesis provides a much-needed analysis of the 11 vows formulated by Tulsi in the model of the traditional vows in Jainism. It explored the question whether these vows are relevant and effective in the contemporary Indian society, and whether Tulsi’s movement can cross the geographical boundaries of the Indian sub-continent to be a part of larger global initiatives. The study explored the social significance of the concepts of nonviolence, social justice and sustainability in the wider global community. The study suggests a positive association between the exemplary charismatic role of a leader and the popularity and longevity of social movements in India.