This project explores the Ktunaxa Nation's creation stories in order to understand the significance of these narratives in the formation and maintenance of the Ktunaxa culture. These stories inform and support the Ktunaxa ways of knowing, their worldviews, their history pre- and post-contact, and their connection to the geography of the Ktunaxa territory. Performance theory has been used to identify the ways in which the stories were shared during the filming of this project, and narrative inquiry has been used to draw out the creation story's central themes and how they relate to the ethnophilosophy of the Ktunaxa people --the interdependence of humans with all of creation; lessons from the animals including Skincu¢ the Coyote; the trauma of residential schools and the impact that has had on the culture and stories of the Ktunaxa; the landforms within the territory; and the responsibilities of all human beings according to these teachings. The research reflections identify truths that emerged through the ceremony of storytelling--rules to live by, ways to approach those within and outside the culture, lessons about being part of a community, and how to pattern the people and the culture off of the surrounding wildlife and geography. These lessons and stories relate to and support the culture of the Ktunaxa, past and present, by providing a connection to the Ktunaxa landscape and all that is within it, and anchors the culture with stories of that place that have been told for many thousands of years. Finally, this project discusses how Aboriginal worldviews contribute to and nourish the field of communication studies.

What is the structure of society? Many thinkers have pondered the regularities. Way of life theory (WOLT) shows the relationship of every rational, social issue to every other rational, social issue. ¶ From two dichotomised, theoretical dimensions called grid and group, Mary Douglas deduced four ways of life usually called individualism, hierarchy, egalitarianism, and fatalism. WOLT shows the same four ideal types may be deduced from any significant pair of social issues, including competition, cooperation, coercion, freedom, justice, self-identity, nature, human nature, and more. Since four types may be divided pair-wise in three ways, there are three, not two, dimensions or axes. ¶ WOLT also deduces Douglas’s fifth type (the hermit) and resolves the long-standing logical anomalies of grid-group theory. ¶ In all, seven social theorists have independently deduced four types from various dimension pairs. Mistakes aside, they find the same four theoretical types. Evidently, the four types are natural kinds. Between them these theorists use three axes. ¶ Numerous intuitive theorists from across social science have developed types without dimensions, and dimensions without types. Though incomplete, they show no significant disagreement. ¶ It appears that every issue that must be taken into account to live socially fits the three axes. There is no flexibility: each issue fits the axes one way. Geometrically, three dichot¬omised dimensions yield eight types, however four of them are not viable and do not arise. Given just four valid points, the number of dimensions is necessarily limited to three. The axes generate thousands of predictions. ¶ Since deduction yields the same four types whatever issues are placed on the dimensions, the four types are, like objects of natural science, independent of any theorist. In turn, these four types control which issues fit and how they fit, delimiting the scope and refining the meaning of the issues—which places the issues, too, beyond any theorist’s determination. ¶ As in natural science, the sphere of application is set by the deductive theory, not by a theorist’s pronouncement: what fits, fits. The domain appears to cover matters which people must take a position on to live socially. Emotional and internal personal issues will not fit. ¶ WOLT sharpens meaning, formalises structure and extends connections in areas as diverse as equality, liberalism, game theory, corporate culture, national culture, political right and left, religion, and working-class health. ¶ Like a natural science theory, WOLT is relational, not only taxonomic. As in natural science, no person, organisation, or social situation will conform exactly to its ideal types. It is falsifiable by deducing, or finding empirically, rival social types or a social phenomenon that will not fit. Empirical testing of the theory as a whole is awkward owing to its structure and to parochial effects. Three data sets failed to refute it. ¶ WOLT reveals how every social issue relates to every other social issue, providing a tool for analysing worldview, social structure, and social behaviour.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Uma cosmovisão assenta-se num sistema de crenças que está presente na realidade social na forma como homens e mulheres tecem leituras sobre a vida. Isto indica que, as cosmovisões dizem dos sujeitos e neste dizer pode-se perceber a multiplicidade de vozes que se encontram, confrontam, complementam e desdizem sobre o sentido atribuído à vida. Tendo isso em vista, faz-se necessário investigar como estes sentidos ganham vida no contexto da escola, a partir do que é proposto nos projetos político-pedagógicos, com o fim de verificar a presença das cosmovisões nas práticas efetivadas, compreendendo a presença da (in) visibilidade das marcas discursivas construídas, no contexto de cinco escolas, de natureza pública e privada, a partir da veia de atuação: laica e confessional, a qual se torna defensora de uma proposta de formação humana. A problemática a ser perseguida tem como questão norteadora e central a seguinte reflexão: Como é possível identificar as cosmovisões que estão subjacentes aos projetos político-pedagógicos, a partir das fundamentações que delineiam as propostas de formação humana defendidas? Para este propósito de construção discursiva elegeu-se referenciais teóricos que se situam no contexto de discussão da questão levantada, a fim de apontar argumentos e conceitos basilares presentes nas cosmovisões investigadas; identificar as lentes de interpretação das cosmovisões eleitas, na tentativa de apontar a (in) visibilidade do processo educativo na construção das marcas discursivas voltadas à formação humana; analisar os projetos político-pedagógicos, a partir da análise discursiva da formação humana e a forma como explicitam o sistema de crenças no ato de ensinar e de aprender; e delinear possibilidades de aproximações entre as cosmovisões, à medida que provocam o confronto e apontam as lacunas existentes no ato de formação humana, evidenciados no currículo vivido e prescrito. O eixo teórico-metodológico da pesquisa é o da análise do discurso que tem como intenção compreender como os significados são construídos na realidade social. Há de se ressaltar que nem sempre os sentidos dados às ações educativas correspondem aos discursos defendidos nos documentos da escola, o que indica a presença de uma polissemia de sentidos, os quais podem ser manifestos pelos posicionamentos assumidos por homens e mulheres que carregam em si mesmos a sua própria cosmovisão. / A worldview is seated within a system of beliefs which is present in social reality in the way men and women weave readings about life. This indicates that the worldviews talk about the subjects and in this discourse one can perceive the multiplicity of voices which find each other, confront themselves, complement themselves and unsay things the meanings attributed to life. With this in view, it is necessary to investigate how these meanings gain life in the school context, based on what is proposed in the political-pedagogical projects, with the goal of verifying the presence of the worldviews in the practices carried out, understanding the presence of the (in) visibility of the constructed discursive marks in the context of five schools, public and private, based on the line of action: lay and confessional which become a defender of a human education proposal. The problem to be analyzed has as its guiding and central issue the following reflection: How is it possible to identify the worldviews which are underlying the political-pedagogical projects based on the foundations which delineate the proposals defended of human education? For this proposal discursive construction theoretical referentials were chosen which are situated in the context of the issues raised so as to point out arguments and foundational concepts present in the investigated worldviews; identify the interpretational lenses of the chosen worldviews in the attempt to point out the (in) visibility of the educational process in the construction of the discursive marks aimed at human education; analyze the political-pedagogical projects based on the discursive analysis of human formation and the way in which they explain the system of beliefs in the act of teaching and of learning; and delineate possibilities of approximations between the worldviews as they provoke confrontation and point to existing gaps in the act of human education, evidenced within the lived out and prescribed curriculum. The theoretical-methodological axis of the research is the discourse analysis which has as its goal to understand how the meanings are constructed in social reality. One must point out that the meanings given to the education actions do not always correspond to the discourses defended in the documents of the school, which indicates the presence of a polissemy of meaning which can be manifest by the positions assumed by the men and women who carry within themselves their own worldview.

Non-religious worldviews in the Religious Education classroom in Swedish upper secondary schools. What role does it play and how is the curriculum interpreted by writers of course books in Religious Education, these are questions that this study aims to answer. The study is an analysis of course books in RE to see how they portrait non-religious worldviews. Since the Swedish National Agency for Education has published a curriculum with areas that are problematically difficult to interpret. What place non-religious worldviews have in is one of these ambiguous areas. The study aims to answer the main question: How is non-religious worldviews portraited in course books for the upper secondary school course religious education and how is it compared to how religious worldviews are portraited. Ten course books are chosen and studied. The study shows that non-religious worldviews get very little space in the books and the main focus lays on religious worldviews, more specifically the ones more known as the world religions. This creates a problem since the education is supposed to be on the same terms and conditions for every pupil. If different course books have different content the education will not be the same depending on which book is chosen. A conclusion is drawn that the Swedish National Agency for Education should be clearer in their curriculum to avoid situations like this one.

In this thesis, I develop a method that will help you, understand, and solve deep disagreements. In forming my method I draw on Zen Buddhist philosophy. In chapter one my understanding of deep disagreement is presented. Deep disagreements is seen as being caused by underlying metaphysical fundamental beliefs and/or worldviews. My method hinges on three concepts, interconnected, conventional centric, and ultimate reality. In the process of explaining these concepts important Zen Buddhist ideas are explored. By exploring which of these three categories a view or argument engages with you will be able to avoid deep disagreements because the types of beliefs that cause deep disagreements are made transparent. In the second chapter, I first analyze an argument against theism and for naturalism and show that there is a deep disagreement at play in that argument. In using my method you can see that the conflict is not a conflict. I then analyze animism and show that animism does not need to be in opposition to naturalism and that both can coexist. In the third chapter, a meta-analysis is made. The main advantage of my method is that it tries to understand and place all types of views into a bigger picture. This makes my method unifying. I also show that there is a wide range of areas in which this method could be used. It could be used in many situation of disagreement.

No description available.

<p>In early modern Sweden, intentional blasphemy was regarded as one of the most serious crimes one could commit. Blasphemy was termed “Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae” – “a crime against Our Heavenly Majesty” and was subject to the death penalty. From the 1680´s it was possible to be pardoned from death sentences already delivered by the courts of appeal by applying to the “Judiciary Inspection”, (Sw. Justitierevisionen) In early modern times the definition of blasphemy was influenced by the medieval scholastic view according to which God was perfect. The sourcematerial for the present thesis are 110 petitions for mercy in cases of blasphemy that came up before the council during the period 1680-1789. The cases studied can be divided into the following categories: Blasphemy against God, blasphemy against the sacraments, deliberate assignations wiht the Devil and “other blasphemies”. There was no Church law in Sweden before 1686 and a common law for the whole country did not exist before 1734. The Bible´s ten Commandments where added as an appendix to the already existing medieval laws, reiterated in 1608. An individual found guilty of blasphemy underwent both secular and church punishment. At least nine individuals (we lack information about some cases due to material that has been lost) where not pardoned by the council. The secular punishments included death by beheading or burning at stake, when the sentence was reduced some kind of corporal punishment – running the sauntlet, flogging, imprisonment on a diet of bread and water or a life time of labor. Church punishment was public shaming and meant that the accused had to sit on a special chair in church during the services and publicly ask God and the members of the congregation for forgiveness. This kind of punishment was meted out in Sweden until the late 18th century.Blasphemy is a complicated act that should be defined according to the norms of the society in which it occurs. There are two processes that have to be taken into considerations when studing the crime of blasphemy in early modern Sweden – the centralization of the government and the unification of the church according to the Lutheran creed.In the early modern society people lived in what has been called a “religious culture”, where religion was self-evident, collective concern. Within this context atheism, in the modern meaning of the word, was supposedly unimaginable.The theoretical framework of the study is inspired by Peter Burke’s theories of the reformation of popular culture. Measurements taken by the elite have usually been regarded as active and aggressive, while popular culture has been regarded a homogeneous passive mass that adjustes itself to demands from above. One of the primary aims of this thesis is to study how verbal statements, actions and attitudes reflected popular conceptions that could either be close to or far distant from the learned ideas of the elite. By dividing popular attitudes discerned in the cases studied into four groups corresponding to a kind of mental strata, a more varied image of popular culture is achieved. Blasphemy in early modern Sweden was a crime committed mainly by men, especially when it comes to expressing ideas about the Devil or attempting to contact him. Very few women were accused of blasphemy; of 117 individuals accused, only nine were women.</p>

<p>This study investigated the effect of an Argumentation Instructional Model (AIM) on the preservice teachers&lsquo / ability to implement a Science-IK Curriculum in selected South African schools. I examined what instructional practices the pre-service teachers engage in when they introduce scientific explanation and whether those practices influence learners&lsquo / ability to construct scientific explanations during a natural science unit of a South African school curriculum. My study began with a pilot study of 16 pre-service science teachers who completed a B.Ed university module, Science for Teaching, which included an IK component. Data collection for main study took place from 2010 to 2011, and used questionnaires, face-to-face and reflective interview protocols, case studies, lesson plans and classroom observation schedules. I took videos and audios of each of the pre-service teacher&lsquo / s enactment of the focal lesson on argumentation and then coded the videotape for different instructional practices. The study investigated firstly, what currently informed teachers&lsquo / thinking, knowledge and action of IK. Secondly, the research questioned how teachers interpreted and implemented IK in the science classroom. A sample of the three pre-service teachers were followed into their classrooms to investigate how they specifically implemented Learning Outcome Three using argumentation instruction as a mode of instruction and what approaches relevant to the inclusion of IK were developed. The study found that the three pre-service teachers used three very different approaches through which IK was brought in the science curriculum. An assimilationist approach, that brings IK into science by seeking how best IK fits into science. A segregationist approach that holds IK side-by-side with scientific knowledge. Lastly, an integrationist approach makes connections between IK and science. The approaches developed by the pre-service teachers were found to be informed by their biographies, values, cultural backgrounds and worldviews. Meticulously, the study explored how shifts were being made from a theoretical phase at the university where the pre-service teachers engaged IK to an actual phase of implementation in their school science classrooms. Finally, I attempted to explain why the pre-service teachers interpreted and implemented IK in the way they did.</p>

<p>This study investigated the effect of an Argumentation Instructional Model (AIM) on the preservice teachers&lsquo / ability to implement a Science-IK Curriculum in selected South African schools. I examined what instructional practices the pre-service teachers engage in when they introduce scientific explanation and whether those practices influence learners&lsquo / ability to construct scientific explanations during a natural science unit of a South African school curriculum. My study began with a pilot study of 16 pre-service science teachers who completed a B.Ed university module, Science for Teaching, which included an IK component. Data collection for main study took place from 2010 to 2011, and used questionnaires, face-to-face and reflective interview protocols, case studies, lesson plans and classroom observation schedules. I took videos and audios of each of the pre-service teacher&lsquo / s enactment of the focal lesson on argumentation and then coded the videotape for different instructional practices. The study investigated firstly, what currently informed teachers&lsquo / thinking, knowledge and action of IK. Secondly, the research questioned how teachers interpreted and implemented IK in the science classroom. A sample of the three pre-service teachers were followed into their classrooms to investigate how they specifically implemented Learning Outcome Three using argumentation instruction as a mode of instruction and what approaches relevant to the inclusion of IK were developed. The study found that the three pre-service teachers used three very different approaches through which IK was brought in the science curriculum. An assimilationist approach, that brings IK into science by seeking how best IK fits into science. A segregationist approach that holds IK side-by-side with scientific knowledge. Lastly, an integrationist approach makes connections between IK and science. The approaches developed by the pre-service teachers were found to be informed by their biographies, values, cultural backgrounds and worldviews. Meticulously, the study explored how shifts were being made from a theoretical phase at the university where the pre-service teachers engaged IK to an actual phase of implementation in their school science classrooms. Finally, I attempted to explain why the pre-service teachers interpreted and implemented IK in the way they did.</p>

The present study investigated the construct of characterising societies as being either individualistic or collectivist as topics of research in the field of cross cultural tolerance. Using scenarios to describe behaviours typically encountered in New Zealand society, participants from individualist and collectivist cultures were asked to rate behaviours as to how much they understood and accepted the actions described. The participants’ responses were also analysed using attitude measures to seek if similarity in attitudes was a more informative approach to determine why one individual does or does not accept certain behaviours. The study found that although there were general cultural differences between the two groups, individual attitudes went further in explaining possible reasons why acceptance and tolerance of other's behaviours may occur. The findings were then discussed in terms of how they were relevant to both biculturalism and multiculturalism in New Zealand.