A many-analysts approach to the relation between religiosity and well-being

The relation between religiosity and well-being is one of the most researched topics in the psychology of religion, yet the directionality and robustness of the effect remains debated. Here, we adopted a many-analysts approach to assess the robustness of this relation based on a new cross-cultural dataset (N=10,535 participants from 24 countries). We recruited 120 analysis teams to investigate (1) whether religious people self-report higher well-being, and (2) whether the relation between religiosity and self-reported well-being depends on perceived cultural norms of religion (i.e., whether it is considered normal and desirable to be religious in a given country). In a two-stage procedure, the teams first created an analysis plan and then executed their planned analysis on the data. For the first research question, all but 3 teams reported positive effect sizes with credible/confidence intervals excluding zero (median reported β=0.120). For the second research question, this was the case for 65% of the teams (median reported β=0.039). While most teams applied (multilevel) linear regression models, there was considerable variability in the choice of items used to construct the independent variables, the dependent variable, and the included covariates

Book Review: Civil Justice, Privatization, and Democracy by Trevor C. W. Farrow

This is a book review of Civil Justice, Privatization, and Democracy by Trevor C. W. Farrow

Civil Justice System and the Public: Learning from Experiences to find Practices that Work

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the Civil Justice System & the Public research project (the “CJSP”) undertaken by the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice and several research partners from 2001 to 2006. The CJSP was an ambitious and complex project, spanning several years and involving a multi-tracked, multi-party evaluation of communication practices in the already complex arena of Canada’s civil justice system. Designed as collaborative action research, this was not a static project: over the course of five years, the project objectives and research processes continuously evolved as the research produced new and better information about various aspects of communication in the civil justice system. Getting the word out about the project, what is often termed “dissemination activity,” began with the project inception, has continued throughout the research process and is ongoing

Evolution, revolution & culture shift: A critical analysis of compulsory ADR in England and Canada

Civil justice reforms in both England and Canada have consistently advocated the need for a litigation “culture shift” away from the traditional adversarial trial process in resolving disputes to settlement through ADR. In seeking to implement this cultural shift, both countries have adopted distinctly diverging approaches to the issue of mandatory ADR. This paper critically analyses the current rules of civil process and associated judicial attitudes toward compulsory ADR in England and in Canada. It argues that the Canadian approach of legislating compulsory ADR provides greater consistency and predictability when it comes to ensuring that litigants undertake ADR efforts. In contrast, the English approach, which formally rejects but impliedly accepts and implements mandatory ADR, creates uncertainty for those who engage with the civil justice process. Drawing on the Canadian practice, this paper proposes ways in which the English court rules may be reformed to better integrate mandatory ADR

Malaria control with genetically manipulated insect vectors.

At a recent workshop, experts discussed the benefits, risks, and research priorities associated with using genetically manipulated insects in the control of vector-borne diseases