Agency and non-verbal communication in religious education: A case study from a Godly play classroom

Contemporary thinking in relation to the social constructions of childhood places an emphasis on the concept of agency – the ability of children to understand their own world and to act upon it. Children are not merely individuals but also active participants in a wide range of meaningful social interactions. Agency may not always involve the child’s literal voice. It could entail non-verbal communication through play and through acting upon the world. This paper examines, through a case study from a Godly Play classroom, the way in which agency may be exercised through a child’s non-verbal communication in religious education. It argues that the concept of agency for children in religious education, although often neglected or assumed, is critical if children are to make meaning from the faith tradition, and if they are to be enabled to confront existential issues and concerns

A game to be played: Play and authority in religious education

This paper argues for the centrality and necessity of play in religious education for both children and adults as a means to learn and teach the art of using the Christian language system to create existential meaning. Play involves games which, in some form or other require structure and rules. In religious education these rules and structures provide the scaffolding needed for mastering and using the art of the Christian language system. This paper proceeds by describing play and games generally, noting the necessity of guiding rules and structure. It then explores the two fundamental types of games which may be involved in the Church and in religious education. The suggestion of “playful orthodoxy” as a way forward in religious education is then posited. Such a notion recognizes both the playful and discovering nature of the participant as well as the need to teach for closure and orthodoxy. In this way both the opening and closing tendencies of the creative process are honoured and the tradition taught is grounded but creative. The paper concludes by suggesting some ways in which religious education can be centred around play

Phase transition in the Ising model on a small-world network with distance-dependent interactions

We study the collective behavior of an Ising system on a small-world network with the interaction $J(r) \propto r^{-\alpha}$, where $r$ represents the Euclidean distance between two nodes. In the case of $\alpha = 0$ corresponding to the uniform interaction, the system is known to possess a phase transition of the mean-field nature, while the system with the short-range interaction $(\alpha\to\infty)$ does not exhibit long-range order at any finite temperature. Monte Carlo simulations are performed at various values of $\alpha$, and the critical value $\alpha_c$ beyond which the long-range order does not emerge is estimated to be zero. Thus concluded is the absence of a phase transition in the system with the algebraically decaying interaction $r^{-\alpha}$ for any nonzero positive value of $\alpha$

Book Reviews

Book Reviews by Brendan F. Brown, Laurance M. Hyde, Francis W. Johnston, W. T. Lovins, and Robert B. Vining

The impact of an assistive pole, seat configuration and strength in Paralympic seated throwing

Purpose: To quantify the influence of the assistive pole, seat configuration, and upper-body and trunk strength on seated-throwing performance in athletes with a spinal-cord injury (SCI). Methods: Ten Paralympic athletes competing in wheelchair rugby, basketball, or athletics (seated throws) participated in 2 randomized sessions: seated throwing and strength tests. Participants threw a club from a custom-built throwing chair, with and without a pole. 3D kinematic data were collected (150 Hz) for both conditions using standardized and self-selected seat configurations. Dominant and nondominant grip strength were measured using a dynamometer, and upper-body and trunk strength were measured using isometric contractions against a load cell. Results: Seated throwing with an assistive pole resulted in significantly higher hand speed at release than throwing without a pole (pole = 6.0 ± 1.5 m/s, no pole = 5.3 ± 1.5 m/s; P = .02). There was no significant difference in hand speed at release between standardized and self-selected seating configurations during seated throwing with or without an assistive pole. Grip strength (r = .59–.77), push/pull synergy (r = .81–.84), and trunk-flexion (r = .50–.58) strength measures showed large and significant correlations with hand speed at release during seated throwing with and without an assistive pole. Conclusions: This study has demonstrated the importance of the pole for SCI athletes in seated throwing and defined the relationship between strength and seated-throwing performance, allowing us to better understand the activity of seated throws and provide measures for assessing strength that may be valid for evidence-based classification

Teagasc submission made in response to the Consultation Paper on Interim Review of Ireland’s Nitrates Derogation 2019

Teagasc SubmissionSubmission to governmentThis submission was made in response to the consultation process run jointly by the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (DHPCLG) and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) inviting views and comments on proposals for the Interim Review of Ireland’s Nitrates Derogation Programme in 2019. It has been prepared by Teagasc’s Water Quality Working Group in consultation with the Gaseous Emissions Working Group. These working groups have members drawn from both the Knowledge Transfer and Research Directorates of Teagasc. It was prepared following consultation with colleagues across Teagasc using their collective knowledge and expertise in agri-environmental science and practice and the implementation of the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) and Nitrates Derogation Regulations.https://www.teagasc.ie/publications/2019/teagasc-submission-made-in-response-to-the-consultation-paper-on-interim-review-of-irelands-nitrates-derogation-2019.ph

Do regional brain volumes and major depressive disorder share genetic architecture?:A study of Generation Scotland (<i>n</i>=19,762), UK Biobank (<i>n</i>=24,048) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (<i>n</i>=5,766)

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a heritable and highly debilitating condition. It is commonly associated with subcortical volumetric abnormalities, the most replicated of these being reduced hippocampal volume. Using the most recent published data from Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-analysis (ENIGMA) consortium's genome-wide association study of regional brain volume, we sought to test whether there is shared genetic architecture between seven subcortical brain volumes and intracranial volume (ICV) and MDD. We explored this using linkage disequilibrium score regression, polygenic risk scoring (PRS) techniques, Mendelian randomisation (MR) analysis and BUHMBOX. Utilising summary statistics from ENIGMA and Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, we demonstrated that hippocampal volume was positively genetically correlated with MDD (rG=0.46, P=0.02), although this did not survive multiple comparison testing. None of the other six brain regions studied were genetically correlated and amygdala volume heritability was too low for analysis. Using PRS analysis, no regional volumetric PRS demonstrated a significant association with MDD or recurrent MDD. MR analysis in hippocampal volume and MDD identified no causal association, however, BUHMBOX analysis identified genetic subgrouping in GS:SFHS MDD cases only (P=0.00281). In this study, we provide some evidence that hippocampal volume and MDD may share genetic architecture in a subgroup of individuals, albeit the genetic correlation did not survive multiple testing correction and genetic subgroup heterogeneity was not replicated. In contrast, we found no evidence to support a shared genetic architecture between MDD and other regional subcortical volumes or ICV

Global patterns in endemicity and vulnerability of soil fungi

Fungi are highly diverse organisms, which provide multiple ecosystem services. However, compared with charismatic animals and plants, the distribution patterns and conservation needs of fungi have been little explored. Here, we examined endemicity patterns, global change vulnerability and conservation priority areas for functional groups of soil fungi based on six global surveys using a high-resolution, long-read metabarcoding approach. We found that the endemicity of all fungi and most functional groups peaks in tropical habitats, including Amazonia, Yucatan, West-Central Africa, Sri Lanka, and New Caledonia, with a negligible island effect compared with plants and animals. We also found that fungi are predominantly vulnerable to drought, heat and land-cover change, particularly in dry tropical regions with high human population density. Fungal conservation areas of highest priority include herbaceous wetlands, tropical forests, and woodlands. We stress that more attention should be focused on the conservation of fungi, especially root symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi in tropical regions as well as unicellular early-diverging groups and macrofungi in general. Given the low overlap between the endemicity of fungi and macroorganisms, but high conservation needs in both groups, detailed analyses on distribution and conservation requirements are warranted for other microorganisms and soil organisms

Global patterns in endemicity and vulnerability of soil fungi

Fungi are highly diverse organisms, which provide multiple ecosystem services. However, compared with charismatic animals and plants, the distribution patterns and conservation needs of fungi have been little explored. Here, we examined endemicity patterns, global change vulnerability and conservation priority areas for functional groups of soil fungi based on six global surveys using a high-resolution, long-read metabarcoding approach. We found that the endemicity of all fungi and most functional groups peaks in tropical habitats, including Amazonia, Yucatan, West-Central Africa, Sri Lanka, and New Caledonia, with a negligible island effect compared with plants and animals. We also found that fungi are predominantly vulnerable to drought, heat and land-cover change, particularly in dry tropical regions with high human population density. Fungal conservation areas of highest priority include herbaceous wetlands, tropical forests, and woodlands. We stress that more attention should be focused on the conservation of fungi, especially root symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi in tropical regions as well as unicellular early-diverging groups and macrofungi in general. Given the low overlap between the endemicity of fungi and macroorganisms, but high conservation needs in both groups, detailed analyses on distribution and conservation requirements are warranted for other microorganisms and soil organisms