Railroad Brotherhoods

[Excerpt] The traditional pattern of union organization in the railroad industry has been along multiple craft-union lines. As late as 1970 there were more than thirty separate unions representing the approximately 800,000 railway workers of the nation. Historically, the unions have been divided into two groupings: the operating employees, who are involved in the physical movement of trains, and nonoperating employees, an amorphous group composed of workers who fall into numerous classifications

Religious education in two secular multicultural societies. The Turkish and Dutch case compared

In this paper we present in the first section the historical antecedents of the Turkish and Dutch educational system regarding religion(s) in education. In the second section we will outline the different approaches in religious education in both countries. In the third section the focus is on the relationship between state and church. In the fourth section the issue is how in both countries curricula and textbooks for religious education are constructed, checked and approved. Finally, we will summarize the most remarkable points of comparison between the Dutch and the Turkish case regarding religion(s) in education. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd

Ajami scripts in the Senegalese speech community

Wolofal (from Wolof: Wolof language or ethnic group and ‘-al’: causative morpheme) is an Ajami writing (a generic term commonly used to refer to non-Arabic languages written with Arabic scripts) used to transliterate Wolof in Senegal.It results from the early Islamization of the major Muslim ethnic groups in the country, especially the Pulaar, the Wolof and the Mandinka. Although Senegal is considered to be a French-speaking country, ironically over 50% of the Senegalese people are thought to be illiterate in French. French literacy is restricted to the minority educated group mostly found in urban areas. Because the literacy rate in French is very small in the country, especially among older people, Wolofal remains a major means of written communication among people who are illiterate in French and who have attended Qurʾānic schools. It is used by these people to write letters, run their informal businesses and read religious poems and writings. This paper is based upon fieldwork conducted in Senegal in the summer of 2004. It discusses the orthographic system of Wolofal (com-pared to Arabic) and provides a sociolinguistic profile of communities in which it serves as major means of written communication.Published versio

The Health System and the Russian Orthodox Church: Prospects for Development

The article examines the participation and assistance of the Orthodox Church in solving problems that allowed to give a scientific justification for the cooperation of health care and Orthodox religious institutions, to determine their role in the historical context and structure of modern healthcare in Russia. The article presents an algorithm for organizing sisters of mercy, their system of upbringing. Particular attention is given to the possibility of teaching the course "Foundations of Orthodox Culture" in secular educational institutions. Research materials can serve as a basis for the formation of morally sound positions of medical workers and the population on the main problems of medical activity. Based on the study, the authors published a series of articles in which the experience of the work of the Orthodox Church in the charitable sphere has been summarized. This experience can be used to create new charitable institutions, including those who provided medical assistance. In preparing the article, the authors used concrete historical, civilizational, formational and social methods of research that allowed us to uncover facts, phenomena and processes in the interconnection and unity of the past, present and future

The Restoration of Church Orthodox Brotherhoods and Their Missionary Work in Right-Bank Ukraine

The article examines the process of restoring Orthodox church brotherhoods in the 1860s on the territory of the Right-Bank Ukraine, defines the goals and objectives of these organizations, and analyzes the content and consequences of missionary and related educational and charitable work. The subjects of the research are the Orthodox church brotherhoods and their missionary work. The analysis of historiography is carried out and the need for further scientific research in the study of the topic is indicated. The role of brotherhoods in interfaith encounters is clarified, as are the methods aimed at combating Late Protestant confessions. Despite a certain positive effect, the dependence of church brotherhoods on the state and formalism in the organization of their work prevented them from fully realizing the tasks assigned to them. The Russian Orthodox Church in general and the Orthodox brotherhoods failed to stop the development and spread of the evangelical movement in the Ukrainian lands. The Orthodox Church did not take opportunities to renew and reform the church, which opened up in the process of inter-confessional confrontation with heterodox confessions

Eunomics and Administrative Process

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur de svenska tidningarna porträtterade de svenska manliga respektive kvinnliga OS-deltagarna i Sotji 2014. Tidigare studier har visat att en olik porträttering görs mellan herr- och damidrottare. Materialet har jämförts mot tidigare framtagna diskursteman av Judit Bérczes. Utifrån detta har tre diskursteman tagits fram samt ett kort avsnitt som behandlar hur mycket utrymme herrarna respektive damerna får i media. Det första diskurstemat heter ”den ambivalenta framställningen” och behandlar tidningarnas givande av svaghetsegenskaper parallellt med styrkeegenskaper kring en idrottares prestation. Diskurstema nummer två behandlar hur tidningarna framhäver kvinnor som utövar typiskt ”feminina” sporter. Detta tema har jag namngivit ”genuskategorisering”. Mitt tredje diskurstema heter ”den asymmetriska genusbeteckningen” och behandlar tidningarnas tendens till att i en större utsträckning markera om en artikel behandlar damidrott än herridrott. Ett exempel som lyfts fram ur mitt material är termerna ”Damkronorna” kontra ”Tre kronor”. I den avslutande diskussionen förs resonemang kring omförhandling och förändring inom tidningarnas sportdiskurs och huruvida vi går mot ett mer jämställt idrotts-Sverige eller inte

The value question in India: Ethnographic reflections on an ongoing debate

The terms of the debate about anthropological approaches to the value question in India have been set by Dumont, whose theories were based on his ethnographic studies in North and South India, his knowledge of the Sanskrit literature, his synthesis of the comparative ethnography of India, and his studies on the history of European economic thought. His theory of affinity as a value, one element of this general theory, was based on a critique of L�vi-Strauss and was, in turn, critiqued by Trautmann, among others. On the basis of fieldwork done in Central India, I draw attention to an unexamined assumption that all three theorists share, and I also consider its consequences