Gender gaps in religiosity among Western populations, such that women are more religious than men, are well documented. Previous explanations for these differences range from biological predispositions of risk aversion to patriarchal gender socialization, but all largely overlook the intersection of social statuses. Drawing on theories of intersectionality, we contribute to the cultural and empirical analysis of gender gaps in religiosity by documenting an interactive effect between gender, education, and political views for predicting religious nonaffiliation and infrequent attendance at religious services among Americans. For highly educated political liberals, gender gaps effectively disappear, such that men and women are almost equally likely to be secular (or religious). The results have implications for the long-standing disputes about the gendered “nature” of religiosity and highlight the importance of multiple intersecting statuses and modalities in shaping aggregate patterns of religiosity and secularity.

Throughout much of Christian history, the church had predominant control over religious ritual and belief. As early as the 1st Century, institutions representing "orthodoxy" were banning, forbidding or destroying the "heretical", separating it from what eventually would become canon and religious practice. The 21st Century provides new ways for spiritual knowledge to spread, bypassing traditional methods. Modern Martin Luthers can nail a manifesto to an internet door while the media's obsession with non-canonical texts provides no shortage of material for movies and television. A multi-media barrage challenges orthodox concepts and scriptural definition, often blurring the line between religion and entertainment. The initial clash between the churches and media has evolved over the last century to a point where the media may now produce beneficial results, educating many who may have either left the church or never joined it.

No description available.

In der Vergangenheit wurde gezeigt, dass Altersbilder von Zahnmedizinern auf deren Bereitschaft älteren Menschen zahnärztliche Dienstleistungen anzubieten Einfluss nehmen können. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war die Beschreibung der Altersbilder von Zahnmedizin-Studierenden und deren Veränderung während der Teilnahme an einer prägraduellen gerostomatologischen Ausbildung. Ein Frage-bogen wurde an 160 (31 % männliche) Zahnmedizin-Studierende der Universität Leipzig im Alter von 19,2 – 30,5 (Mean 21,7; SD + 2,3) Jahren, jeweils vor Beginn (T1) und beim Abschluss (T2) des gerostomatologischen Kurses, ausgehändigt. Es wurde eine Definition vom Jung- und Altsein sowie von Hoffnungen und Befürch-tungen bezüglich des Alterns erbeten. Das „Semantic Aging Differential“ (SAD) wurde verwendet, um die studentischen Altersbilder in drei Kategorien zu messen. Die statistischen Auswertungen beinhalteten durchschnittliche geschlechtsspezi-fische Altersdefinitionen und Mittelwerte des SAD bei T1 und T2. Das Alter wurde mit einem Beginn zwischen 56 und 64 Jahren definiert. Weibliche Studierende betrachteten bei T1 eine Frau bis zu 35,8 Jahre als jung, für männliche Studierende war eine Frau nur bis 33,5 Jahre jung. Männliche Studierende betrachteten Männer ab 60,1 Jahren und Frauen ab 55,7 Jahren als alt. Befürchtungen angesichts des Alterns bezogen sich hauptsächlich auf die Verschlechterung der Gesundheit und den Verlust naher Angehöriger. Hoffnungen auf Erholung, Ruhe und Gelassenheit waren vorrangig. Die SAD-Ergebnisse waren in allen drei Dimensionen nahezu neutral. Es traten geringfügige Veränderungen zwischen T1 und T2 auf. Schlussfolgernd waren die studentischen Altersbilder ausgewogen. Spezifische Barrieren zur Bereitstellung zahnmedizinischer Versorgung für ältere Menschen, ausgehend von negativen Einstellungen oder Ängsten seitens der Zahnmedizin-Studierenden, wurden nicht identifiziert.

This PhD thesis explores the question how citizens react when they are confronted with complex institutional questions related to politics. Specifically, we look at how citizens vote when they are asked for their opinion in a referendum on amending the electoral system of their country. Traditionally, electoral systems have been considered the political playing ground of political elites. It is hence interesting to see what happens when the ‘power of decision’ shifts to citizens, who are supposed to have little interest in, or knowledge about, electoral systems. We observe that citizens partially mimic political elites in their behaviour, by following partisan considerations: citizens judge electoral reforms on the consequences for their favoured parties. Moreover, citizens tend to incorporate values when judging electoral reforms: a particular effect is caused by the left-right-distinction, with left-wing voters being more attracted towards more proportional systems. Finally, we observe that how citizens react to electoral systems is affected by their baseline knowledge on politics. More knowledgeable citizens tend to judge more on substantial grounds, while less knowledgeable citizens rather tend to judge on miscellaneous grounds. We conclude by arguing that citizens can and do form substantial opinions on complex subjects like institutional reforms, but that some baseline knowledge is nonetheless required in order to substantially participate in the democratic decision-making process. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

In the years following the Napoleonic Wars, Sweden was still recovering from the loss of Finland in 1809. The country had set on a path to rebuild itself and reshape its national identity, but the new geopolitical circumstances had not yet established any far-reaching thoughts on neutrality. There is not much information about what Swedish officers thought of Sweden's new position. However, there exists several speeches and texts by officers at the time, preserved in the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences' documentations, which reveal their thoughts on the concept of war and its significance for the Swedish nation. This material could provide an insight into the perceptions of high-ranking Swedish officers and members of the academy about the concept of war, along with their own views on post-Napoleonic Sweden. The purpose of this dissertation is to gain a better understanding of the Swedish officer corps’ perceptions of war from 1815 to 1845. The research question it seeks to answer is what perceptions of war Swedish officers had in the years following the Napoleonic Wars, which will be answered with the premise that attitudes to war among European militaries changed after the wars. The dissertation will apply theoretical frameworks about belief systems and typologies that classify attitudes to war and peace, in addition to using text analysis as a methodological tool, to analyze and interpret the source material. The results reveal that Swedish officers seemed to have a mainly defense-oriented attitude towards war during this period, where they wanted Sweden to avoid war, but not take its peace for granted. They called for certain actions, such as prioritizing the national defense, reforming the defense system, and making Sweden as a nation more ready for war. These results correspond to previous research and show that Swedish officers immediately adopted the war-skeptical attitudes shared by their European counterparts after the Napoleonic Wars.

Yes / A new legal framework has been developed in Great Britain over the last ten years which protects individuals against unfair treatment on the grounds of their religion or belief. This framework regards all the major faith groups, secular belief systems (such as Humanism or Atheism), and non-belief on formally equal terms. There has also been a rapid growth of research interest in religion/belief in contemporary scholarship on equalities. This report provides a critical overview of this extensive research base relating mainly to England, Scotland and Wales up until 2008.

O trabalho é o estudo de um caso crucial (Eckstein) de um município pobre e populoso (Sobral, no Estado nordestino do Ceará) dentro do contexto de um problema de cunho nacional o baixo rendimento sistemático e estrutural dos alunos brasileiros nos testes padronizados nacionais e internacionais, inclusive em relação ao processo escolar mais elementar, que é o processo de alfabetização emerge como um exemplo de sucesso escolar. Todos indicadores educacionais de Sobral mostram uma trajetória consistente e sustentável de melhoria, que descola da dos demais municípios de mesmo porte populacional no Brasil, mas que segue em paralelo ao Estado do Ceará. As perguntas que a pesquisa pretendeu responder são: 1) Como foi que Sobral chegou a alcançar os níveis de desempenho nas provas padronizadas nacionais? Que fatos, políticas públicas ou atores teriam contribuído para que as escolas do Município alcançassem os resultados que justificam o presente estudo? e 2) Seria possível repetir essa experiência em outros municípios do Brasil? Ou seja, é possível sobralizar a educação brasileira?. Os objetivos da investigação foram situar as reformas educacionais do Município no amplo contexto nacional e internacional das reformas do tipo qualidade dos anos 1990/2000, identificando e categorizando os principais fator e componentes de política pública em nível local, estadual e nacional que contribuíram para seu sucesso cotejando-os com teorias existentes e já validadas em outros contextos. Os principais condicionantes das reformas exitosas de Sobral identificados são o conjunto formado por policy, polity e politics: a) um processo de parametrização de expectativas de aprendizagem e de alfabetização (Linhares) que reflete o consenso internacional sobre o tema (policy), b) a adoção institucionalizada de conceitos e práticas de eficácia escolar na gestão pedagógica e escolar da Rede (polity), descritos por Lezotte, Edmonds, Levin e Fullan, e c) um conjunto de lideranças com crenças fortes o suficiente para sustentar uma coalizão longeva (politics), conforme Kingdon, Sabatier e Jenkins, o qual mantém a estabilidade e o aprimoramento contínuo das políticas. Com o primeiro objetivo cumprido e com base nas teorias a eles relacionadas, que, no contexto de Sobral, foram novamente validadas, responde-se a segunda pergunta. Sobralizar ou cearalizar a educação no restante do Brasil depende de ações políticas suficientes para alterar a dinâmica de forças que disputam recursos e poder no âmbito das reformas do tipo qualidade no Brasil (matriz de Wilson e Corrales), com o objetivo de pacificar: a) a polêmica em torno do processo de alfabetização e do estabelecimento de parâmetros ambiciosos de aprendizagem para todos os alunos; b) a profissionalização da instituição escola, fomentando uma cultura de sucesso acadêmico a partir da escola pública e c) o reconhecimento do monitoramento incansável dos processos de aprendizagem para garantir que todos os alunos aprendam de acordo com os parâmetros estabelecidos. / The work is a crucial case study (Eckstein) of a poor and populous Municipality (Sobral, in the Northeastern State of Ceará) within the context of a nationwide problem - the systematic and structural low performance of Brazilian students in national and international standardized tests, including those related to the assessment of the most elementary school process, alphabetization - emerges as an example of school success. All educational indicators in Sobral show a consistent and sustainable improvement track record, which takes off from that of other municipalities of the same population size in Brazil, but which runs parallel to the state of Ceará. The questions that the research intended to answer are: 1) \"How did Sobral reach the levels of performance in national standardized tests? What facts, public policies or actors would have contributed to the municipal schools achieving the results that justify this study? \", and 2)\" Would it be possible to repeat this experience in other municipalities in Brazil? In other words, is it possible to sobralize the Brazilian education? \" The objectives of the research were to situate the educational reforms of the Municipality in the broad national and international context of the quality reforms of 1990/2000, identifying and categorizing the main factors and components of public policy at local, state and national level that contributed to its success by comparing them with existing theories and validated in other contexts. The main determinants of Sobral\'s successful reforms identified are the set of policy, polity and politics: a) a process of parameterization of learning and literacy expectations (Linhares) that reflects the international consensus on the theme (policy), b) the institutionalized adoption of concepts and practices of school effectiveness in the pedagogical and school management of the local Department of Education (polity), described by Lezotte, Edmonds, Levin and Fullan, and c) leaderships with beliefs strong enough to sustain a longstanding political coalition, according to Kingdon, Sabatier and Jenkins, which maintains the stability and the continuous improvement of the policies. With the first objective fulfilled based on pertinent theories, which were, in the context of Sobral, again validated, the second question is answered. \"Sobralizar\" or \"cearalizar\" education in the rest of Brazil depends on political actions sufficient to change the dynamics of forces that compete for resources and power in the scope of reforms of the quality type in Brazil (Wilson and Corrales matrix), in order to pacify: a) the controversy surrounding the literacy process and the establishment of ambitious learning parameters for all students; b) the professionalization of the school institution, fostering a culture of academic success from the public school, and c) recognition of relentless monitoring of learning processes to ensure that all students learn according to established parameters.

Research into the use of information by health care professionals has generally been conducted in countries dominated by the biomedical model. In these contexts, illness is considered to have a scientifically identifiable physical cause, and treatment practices within the formal health care sector are prescribed and managed in accordance with this definition. Yet there are also contexts where other belief systems inform and guide the way that people think about their health. In comparison to the biomedical model, these contexts have contributed very little to our understanding of how health professionals develop their knowledge. This research investigates how primary health care workers (PHCWs) in one such context, Papua New Guinea (PNG), develop their knowledge about the health services they provide. In order to discover and understand the differing views of these PHCWs, 69 semi-structured interviews were conducted in three culturally and geographically diverse regions of PNG. In explaining the diagnostic and treatment practices they use, these participants provided insights into not only how PHCWs engage with information but also how it informs their professional practice. These data were analysed, interpreted and discussed using a framework consisting of four, primary but interconnecting aspects: the context in which information was provided, the interactions with the sources of information, the processes by which information was understood, and the outcomes realized as a result of the information being used. Findings indicated that the majority of participants in this study acknowledged, if not incorporated, information pertaining to biomedicine, Christianity and Indigenous belief systems into their diagnostic and treatment practices. Even when these belief systems clearly contradicted each other, PHCWs did not in general feel the need to make a conscious choice between them. From their comments it would appear that four factors contributed to this ability to incorporate diverse and often conflicting ideas into the way that patients were cared for. First, all of the belief systems were considered legitimate by at least one group of people connected to the community in which the PHCW worked. Second, although varying in degrees of availability and accessibility, members of these groups were able to disseminate information pertaining to the belief system they supported. Third, the PHCW had no particular affiliation with any one of these groups but instead regularly interacted with a range of different people. Lastly, the PHCW worked in situations where health practices were not generally well supervised by their employers and therefore they were relatively free to choose between various diagnostic and treatment practices. The qualitative interpretive approach adopted in this thesis contributes to the field of human information behavior by affirming that conflict is in the eye of the beholder. When a number of belief systems coexist and all are considered legitimate, information about them is freely available, and the recipients actions are neither constrained by their own dogma, nor imposed upon by others, individuals may quite comfortably embrace diverse beliefs. These findings may also contribute to a better understanding of health management practices in developing countries by suggesting that health professionals are not merely personifications of a biomedical model. Instead, the study demonstrates that multiple belief systems can be combined by PHCWs, and that in turn this benefits the formal health care sector through increased treatment options that are both appropriate and effective in such circumstances.

PhD (African Studies) / Centre for African Studies / Sacred sites are the preferred space for ritual performances and identity construction from which the issue of sensitive structures, distinctive features, individual interpretations, and symbol and meaning emanates. The history and importance of Motouleng, Mautse and Mantsopa caves (Eastern Free State, SA) for different religious persuasions, indigenous knowledge and ancestral veneration of Africans and traditional healers, were investigated apropos of the following: namely, how sacred sites are exemplifications of African indigenous religion; why they form locations of cultural and spiritual expression, and why they may be regarded as pertinent nodes of identity construction in a vibrant, changing, South African society. This study explored the way in which interpersonal experiences of the cave dwellers shape their sense of self, and the conflict they encounter in the context of interaction, in which identities are constructed and deconstructed in various ways. African religion, landscape and social identity theories are the basis of all theoretical claims utilised here. An interpretative phenomenological analysis research method was explored, to provide a detailed personal experience and examination of the participant’s life world on various issues pertaining to contestation and identity construction at the sacred space of the Eastern Free State. The existence of these sites poses a number of challenges to cave dwellers, land owners, heritage practitioners, and to continued preservation, management and restoration of the said sites. Crucial to this debate is how these sites may be protected both physically and legally. The study used qualitative findings to discover new ideas on identity construction and adjunct belief systems. The study also used thematic analysis to evaluate the research findings and make predictions on the effects on protest and contestation by cave dwellers around sacred spaces. / NRF