Secondary school teachers' perspectives on teaching about topics that bridge science and religion

The question of where to locate teaching about the relationships between science and religion has produced a long-running debate. Currently, Science and Religious Education (RE) are statutory subjects in England and are taught in secondary schools by different teachers. This paper reports on an interview study in which 16 teachers gave their perceptions of their roles and responsibilities when teaching topics that bridge science and religion and the extent to which they collaborated with teachers in the other subject area. We found that in this sample, teachers reported very little collaboration between the curriculum areas. Although the science curriculum makes no mention of religion, all the science teachers said that their approaches to such topics were affected by their recognition that some pupils hold religious beliefs. All the RE teachers reported struggling to ensure students know of a range of views about how science and religion relate. The paper concludes with a discussion about implications for curriculum design and teacher training.

The rise of Western rationalism: Paul Feyerabend’s story

I summarise certain aspects of Paul Feyerabend’s account of the development of Western rationalism, show the ways in which that account is supposed to run up against an alternative, that of Karl Popper, and then try to give a preliminary comparison of the two. My interest is primarily in whether what Feyerabend called his ‘story’ constitutes a possible history of our epistemic concepts and their trajectory. I express some grave reservations about that story, and about Feyerabend’s framework, finding Popper’s views less problematic here. However, I also suggest that one important aspect of Feyerabend’s material, his treatment of religious belief, can be given an interpretation which makes it tenable, and perhaps preferable to a Popperian approach.

Alternative diagnostic diagrams and the `forgotten` population of weak line galaxies in the SDSS

A numerous population of weak line galaxies (WLGs) is often left out of statistical studies on emission-line galaxies (ELGs) due to the absence of an adequate classification scheme, since classical diagnostic diagrams, such as [O iii]/H beta versus [N ii]/H alpha (the BPT diagram), require the measurement of at least four emission lines. This paper aims to remedy this situation by transposing the usual divisory lines between star-forming (SF) galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGN) hosts and between Seyferts and LINERs to diagrams that are more economical in terms of line quality requirements. By doing this, we rescue from the classification limbo a substantial number of sources and modify the global census of ELGs. More specifically, (1) we use the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 to constitute a suitable sample of 280 000 ELGs, one-third of which are WLGs. (2) Galaxies with strong emission lines are classified using the widely applied criteria of Kewley et al., Kauffmann et al. and Stasinska et al. to distinguish SF galaxies and AGN hosts and Kewley et al. to distinguish Seyferts from LINERs. (3) We transpose these classification schemes to alternative diagrams keeping [N ii]/H alpha as a horizontal axis, but replacing H beta by a stronger line (H alpha or [O ii]), or substituting the ionization-level sensitive [O iii]/H beta ratio with the equivalent width of H alpha (W(H alpha)). Optimized equations for the transposed divisory lines are provided. (4) We show that nothing significant is lost in the translation, but that the new diagrams allow one to classify up to 50 per cent more ELGs. (5) Introducing WLGs in the census of galaxies in the local Universe increases the proportion of metal-rich SF galaxies and especially LINERs. In the course of this analysis, we were led to make the following points. (i) The Kewley et al. BPT line for galaxy classification is generally ill-used. (ii) Replacing [O iii]/H beta by W(H alpha) in the classification introduces a change in the philosophy of the distinction between LINERs and Seyferts, but not in its results. Because the W(H alpha) versus [N ii]/H alpha diagram can be applied to the largest sample of ELGs without loss of discriminating power between Seyferts and LINERs, we recommend its use in further studies. (iii) The dichotomy between Seyferts and LINERs is washed out by WLGs in the BPT plane, but it subsists in other diagnostic diagrams. This suggests that the right wing in the BPT diagram is indeed populated by at least two classes, tentatively identified with bona fide AGN and `retired` galaxies that have stopped forming stars and are ionized by their old stellar populations.

The Development of Dalton`s Atomic Theory as a Case Study in the History of Science: Reflections for Educators in Chemistry

The inclusion of the history of science in science curricula-and specially, in the curricula of science teachers-is a trend that has been followed in several countries. The reasons advanced for the study of the history of science are manifold. This paper presents a case study in the history of chemistry, on the early developments of John Dalton`s atomic theory. Based on the case study, several questions that are worth discussing in educational contexts are pointed out. It is argued that the kind of history of science that was made in the first decades of the twentieth century (encyclopaedic, continuist, essentially anachronistic) is not appropriate for the development of the competences that are expected from the students of sciences in the present. Science teaching for current days will benefit from the approach that may be termed the ""new historiography of science"".

”He looked at me ... My God. His eyes were eyes to die for.” : A Feminist Theological Reading of Carol Ann Duffy’s The World’s Wife

Most approaches to Duffy’s work have been a feminist reading of poetry, focusing on the portrayal of women within the theoretical framework of feminism. However, little attention has been paid to the religious elements in Duffy’s work, something that Duffy herself has recognized. This essay will therefore focus on the centrality of religion in Duffy’s work, and will argue that her poems constitute an arena where religion is redefined and female experience and theology are reconciled. The poems under focus, “Delilah”, “Salome”, “Pilate’s wife”, “Pope Joan”, “Mrs Lazarous” and “Queen Herod” are examined in two separate sections: their portrayal of love and sexuality, and their portrayal of motherhood respectively, within the theoretical framework of feminist theology.

Thick viewing : empirical examples of condensed moments of narrative impact in fiction film developing theoretical concepts for intensified engagements

Abstract  In a case study about viewing habits in a Swedish audience I sampled 309 questionnaires; interviews with five focus group were conducted together with ten in-depth individual interviews discussing altogether fifteen favorite films exploring specific scenes of idiosyncratic relevance.  The outcome supports claims about viewers as active and playful (cf. Höijer 1998, Frampton 2006, Hoover 2006, Plantinga 2009). In line with mediatization theory I also argue that spiritual meaning making takes place through mediated experiences and I support theories about fiction films as important sources for moral and spiritual reflection (Partridge 2004, Zillman 2005, Lynch 2007, Plantinga 2009). What Hjarvard calls the soft side of mediatization processes (2008) is illustrated showing adults experiencing enchantment through favorite films (Jerslev 2006, Partridge 2008, Klinger 2008, Oliver & Hartmann 2010).  Vernacular meaning making embedded in everyday life and spectators dealing with fiction narratives such as Gladiator, Amelie from Montmartre or Avatar highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of elevated cinematic experiences. The reported impact of specific movies is analyzed through theories where cognition and affect are central aspects of spectators’ engagements with a film (Tan 1996, Caroll 1999, Grodal 2009). Crucially important are theories of meaning-making where viewers’ detailed interpretation of specific scenes are embedded in high-level meaning-making where world view issues and spectators’ moral frameworks are activated (Zillman 2005, Andersson & Andersson 2005, Frampton 2006, Lynch 2007, Avila 2007, Axelson 2008, Plantinga 2009).  Also results from a growing body of empirical oriented research in film studies are relevant with an interest in what happens with the flesh and blood spectator exposed to filmic narratives (Jerslev 2006, Klinger 2008, Barker 2009, Suckfüll 2010, Oliver & Hartmann 2010). Analyzing the qualitative results of my case study, I want to challenge the claim that the viewer has to suspend higher order reflective cognitive structures in order to experience suture (Butler & Palesh 2004). What I find in my empirical examples is responses related to spectators’ highest levels of mental activity, all anchored in the sensual-emotional apparatus (Grodal 2009). My outcome is in line with a growing number of empirical case studies which support conclusions that both thinking and behavior are affected by film watching (Marsh 2007, Sückfull 2010, Oliver & Hartmann 2010, Axelson forthcoming). The presentation contributes to a development of concepts which combines aesthetic, affective and cognitive components in an investigation of spectator’s moves from emotional evaluation of intra-text narration to extra-textual assessments, testing the narrative for larger significance in idiosyncratic ways (Bordwell & Thompson 1997, Marsh 2007, Johnston 2007, Bruun Vaage 2009, Axelson 2011). There are a several profitable concepts suggested to embrace the complex interplay between affects, cognition and emotions when individuals respond to fictional narratives. Robert K. Johnston label it “deepening gaze” (2007: 307) and “transformative viewing” (2007: 305). Philosopher Mitch Avila proposes “high cognition” (2007: 228) and Casper Thybjerg ”higher meaning” (2008: 60). Torben Grodal talks about “feelings of deep meaning” (Grodal 2009: 149). With a nod to Clifford Geertz, Craig Detweiler adopts “thick description” (2007: 47) as do Kutter Callaway altering it to ”thick interpretations” (Callaway 2013: 203).  Frampton states it in a paradox; ”affective intelligence” (Frampton 2006: 166). As a result of the empirical investigation, inspired by Geertz, Detweiler & Callaway, I advocate thick viewing for capturing the viewing process of these specific moments of film experience when profound and intensified emotional interpretations take place. The author As a sociologist of religion, Tomas Axelsons research deals with people’s use of mediated narratives to make sense of reality in a society characterized by individualization, mediatization and pluralized world views.  He explores uses of fiction film as a resource in every day life and he is currently finishing his three year project funded by the Swedish Research Council: Spectator engagement in film and utopian self-reflexivity. Moving Images and Moved Minds. http://www.du.se/sv/AVM/Personal/Tomas-Axelson Bibliography Axelson, T. (Forthcoming 2014). Den rörliga bildens förmåga att beröra.[1] Stockholm: Liber Axelson, T. (In peer review). Vernacular Meaning Making. Examples of narrative impact in fiction film questioning the ’banal’ notion in mediatization theory. Nordicom Review. Nordicom Göteborg. Axelson, T. (2011). Människans behov av fiktion. Den rörliga bildens förmåga att beröra människan på djupet.[2]Kulturella perspektiv. Volume 2. Article retrieved from www.kultmed.umu.se/digitalAssets/74/74304_axelson-22011.pdf Axelson, Tomas (2010) “Narration, Visualization and Mind. Movies in everyday life as a resource for utopian self-reflection.” Paper presentation at CMRC, 7th Conference of Media, Religion & Culture in Toronto, Canada 9 – 13th August 2010. Axelson, Tomas (2008) Movies and Meaning. Studying Audience, Favourite Films and Existential Matters. Particip@tions : Journal of Audience and Reception Studies. Volume 5, (1). Doctoral dissertation summary. ACTA UNIVERSITATIS UPSALIENSIS. Article retrieved from http://www.participations.org/Volume%205/Issue%201%20-%20special/5_01_axelson.htm  [1] English translation: Moving Images and Moved Minds. [2] English translation: Our need for fiction. Deeply Moved by Moving Images. Cultural Perspectives.

Dissonant Voices : Philosophy, Children's Literature, and Perfectionist Education

Dissonant Voices has a twofold aspiration. First, it is a philosophical treatment of everyday pedagogical interactions between children and their elders, between teachers and pupils. More specifically it is an exploration of the possibilities to go on with dissonant voices that interrupt established practices – our attunement – in behaviour, practice and thinking. Voices that are incomprehensible or expressions that are unacceptable, morally or otherwise. The text works on a tension between two inclinations: an inclination to wave off, discourage, or change an expression that is unacceptable or unintelligible; and an inclination to be tolerant and accept the dissonant expression as doing something worthwhile, but different. The second aspiration is a philosophical engagement with children’s literature. Reading children’s literature becomes a form of philosophising, a way to explore the complexity of a range of philosophical issues. This turn to literature marks a dissatisfaction with what philosophy can accomplish through argumentation and what philosophy can do with a particular and limited set of concepts for a subject, such as ethics. It is a way to go beyond philosophising as the founding of theories that justify particular responses. The philosophy of dissonance and children’s literature becomes a way to destabilise justifications of our established practices and ways of interacting. The philosophical investigations of dissonance are meant to make manifest the possibilities and risks of engaging in interactions beyond established agreement or attunements. Thinking of the dissonant voice as an expression beyond established practices calls for improvisation. Such improvisations become a perfectionist education where both the child and the elder, the teacher and the student, search for as yet unattained forms of interaction and take responsibility for every word and action of the interaction. The investigation goes through a number of picture books and novels for children such as Harry Potter, Garmann’s Summer, and books by Shaun Tan, Astrid Lindgren and Dr. Seuss as well narratives by J.R.R. Tolkien, Henrik Ibsen, Jane Austen and Henry David Thoreau. These works of fiction are read in conversation with philosophical works of, and inspired by, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Stanley Cavell, their moral perfectionism and ordinary language philosophy.

Theological Voices. PAC Politics and the Abortion Debate: Abortion Politics and the Reagan Era

This investigation shall focus upon the issue of legalized abortion. I believe the complex controversy surrounding the issue of abortion, demonstrates more clearly than any other single contemporary issue the social, political, moral and religious forces working for change in a post-Reagan America. I shall examine in depth the theology, writings, strategies and activities of those Americans who seek to express themselves and their beliefs in religious, or religiously supported interest groups. The current debate surrounding abortion legislation lends itself to several forms of analysis: religious, political, sociological, etc. I will write from the perspective of a student of religion. I shall focus more upon the religious, moral and theological conviction-s of the abortion activists than upon their constitutional right to free speech or assembly. I shall give more attention to denominational structures and church/state relations than to the structuring of representative districts and democratic theory.

Opening the Windows of the Church to the World: The Creation of Nostra Aetate and Its Impact on the Christian-Jewish relationship

It is important to assert that this study is not a work to inflict guilt on the Catholics or Catholicism for their silence and indifference during the Holocaust. Instead, this study is about the process of moving on from the Catholic Church's past to where the Jewish community's theological existence was finally recognized and the Jewish people were no longer seen as the Others who killed Christ. This was, achieved through a church declaration titled Nostra Aetate (In Our Time). This study records the journey traversed by this declaration, the insurmountable odds it faced in its creation until its promulgation and the impact it has on the Jewish-Christian relationship.

Psychological and biochemical mechanisms of schizoprenia

Schizophrenia is a disease whose physical cause is unknown despite the attempts of several research teams to discover a physical basis for it. Some success has been gained in genetic studies which indicate that schizophrenia is an inherited disability. However, since research tools are at present so sadly inadequate, the value of pursuing a genetic line of reasoning is questionable. To compensate for the lack of biochemical certainties in treating mental illness, psychological theories have been constructed to explain the schizophrenia syndrome. Normal personality is seen as the resultant of environmental and inherited influences. Involved in the formation of personality are the processes of differentiation and integration, maturation of inherited traits, and the learning processes. As personality develops. consciousness of the self, inferiority feelings, and compensatory mechanisms, and the transformation of interests into drives exert a decided influence upon personality growth. Finally, in the mature personality, an integrating philosophy of life, a large variety of interests, and the possibility of self-objectification become evident.

Interview with Dennis Stamper

In his January 12, 2015 interview with Michelle Dubert-Bellrichard, Dennis Stamper shares his memories of being one of the first male, day students from 1969-1972. Stamper details his studies and professors from the Philosophy and Religion Department, as well as the Psychology Department. Stamper includes his perception of the atmosphere at Winthrop during a time of great change in the country, and how that experience coupled with his work in the Wesley Foundation and the influence he received from professors paved the way for he currently lives his life. Stamper concludes his interview detailing his studies and careers after Winthrop. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.

Índia e crescimento: modelos tradicionais e impacto da filosofia hindu

A Índia, com sua notável expansão econômica, cultura e filosofia milenares, é o tema desse trabalho, com dois objetivos: exemplificar diversos aspectos teóricos ligados ao crescimento econômico e aprofundar o estudo de um aspecto institucional pouco difundido na literatura, os impactos das filosofias religiosas. A princípio, são analisadas as reformas econômicas realizadas após a crise do balanço de pagamentos ocorrida em 1991. Diversos estudos teóricos são citados ao longo do texto para contextualizar o efeito das reformas no potencial de crescimento. O setor externo é analisado com profundidade, seguido pela desregulamentação no setor privado, principalmente na atividade industrial e no controle de preços. Estes dois setores foram conjuntamente responsáveis pelo grande salto de produtividade na economia (descrito pelos impactos na produtividade total dos fatores). Alguns aspectos de política monetária e fiscal também são analisados, mas com menor ênfase, visto que as reformas e resultados nesses setores são limitados. A seguir, apresenta-se análise sobre a filosofia Hindu, predominante no país. Introduz-se o tema com breve descrição dos aspectos filosóficos, para seguir com avaliação dos impactos econômicos resultantes. Max Weber e Amartya Sen contradizem-se sobre o sinal do impacto: Weber suportando que a magia hindu impediria o racionalismo; Sen argumentando que o próprio hinduísmo tem histórico de racionalismo heterodoxo, de contestação e criação. Para disseminar dúvidas apresenta-se um modelo econométrico, com base em convergência condicional: impactos diretos e indiretos não se mostram significantes. Levanta-se um debate e um alento a alguns países: um histórico institucional bastante desalentador ao desenvolvimento, baseado em uma filosofia religiosa controversa de nuances pós-vida, pode ser superado com algumas corretas reformas na economia.

A metafísica de Isaac Newton

The general objective of this dissertation is to analyze the metaphysical aspects of "rational mechanics" of Isaac Newton, clarifying, by scientific and philosophical discourse, their main elements, with emphasis to the presence of one entity infinitely rational behind all the phenomena of nature, and to the Newton's insight as certain empiricist which, however, accepts deductions metaphysics; a philosopher-scientist. The specific objectives are detailed below: a) brief presentation of the development of modern science, since the Pre-Socratics, seeking to understand the historical conjecture that enabled the rise of Newtonian mechanics; b) presentation of the elements of scientific methodology and philosophical, aimed at comprehension of certain "Newtonian methodology", understanding how this specific methodology able to present empirical aspects, mathematics, philosophic and religious in communion; c) to understand, from the Newtonian concepts, both concerning man's role in the world as the "notional notions" of mass, space, time and movement, necessary for analysis and understanding of certain metaphysical aspects in the Newtonian physics; d) to present the Newtonian concepts related to the ether, to understand why it necessarily assumes metaphysics characteristics and mediation between the bodies; e) to present and understand the factors that lead the empiricist Newton to assume the religion in his mechanics, as well as, the existence and functions of God in nature, to object to the higher content of his metaphysics; f) to highlight the metaphysical elements of his classical mechanics, that confirm the presence of concepts like God Creator and Preserver of the natural laws; g) at last, to analyze the importance of Newton to the modern metaphysics and the legacy to philosophy of science at sec. XVII to science contemporary