Psychological type and attitude towards Celtic Christianity among committed Churchgoers in the United Kingdom: an empirical study

This article takes the burgeoning interest in Celtic Christianity as a key example of the way in which churches may be responding to the changing spiritual and religious landscape in the United Kingdom today and examines the power of psychological type theory to account for variation in the attitude of committed churchgoers to this innovation. Data provided by a sample of 248 Anglican clergy and lay church officers (who completed the Francis Psychological Type Scales together with the Attitude toward Celtic Christianity Scale) demonstrated that intuitive types, feeling types, and perceiving types reported a more positive attitude towards Celtic Christianity than sensing types, thinking types, and judging types. These findings are interpreted to analyse the appeal of Celtic Christianity and to suggest why some committed churchgoers may find this innovation less attractive

The Effects of Sanction Intensity on Criminal Conduct: A Randomized Low-Intensity Probation Experiment

Probation is a well-established part of our criminal justice toolkit, but we know surprisingly little about the circumstances under which it is effective. Attempts to increase supervision intensity for crime- and cost-saving purposes have yielded mixed results at best. This dissertation examines the theory and scientific evidence on the effectiveness of probation, and the impact of changing the intensity of probation sanctions on recidivism. First, we conduct a rigorous search and synthesis of the existing literature on intensive probation programs. We utilize meta-analysis to identify the circumstances under which such programs might be effective. We find no evidence that probationers in these programs fare better than their counterparts under traditional supervision. We call for further research into supervision approaches that emphasize behavioral management over contact frequency and caseload size. Second, we employ a range of statistical procedures to examine the viability of saving resources by reducing supervision for low-risk offenders. In a randomized controlled trial comparing low-intensity probation to traditional practice, we find no evidence that reducing supervision increases recidivism. We find that low-risk probationers are heterogeneous in their characteristics but homogeneous in their propensity to reoffend. They appear to respond well regardless of the intensity of the sanction. Finally, we use epidemiological methods to evaluate the low-risk prediction model used in the experiment. We find that the model successfully identifies offenders who are unlikely to commit serious offenses, and is therefore a useful tool for diverting probationers to low-intensity supervision. In turn, low-intensity supervision is not associated with changes in offending severity. Chapters 2 and 3 both conclude that low-intensity supervision is a safe strategy that works very well for a probation agency’s lowest-level offenders. This dissertation contributes to knowledge by changing perceptions of the characteristics of offenders and resource allocation in criminal justice supervision. We find that ‘more’ does not always mean ‘better,’ and there is no need to distribute expensive services equally. In a given probation population, the majority of offenders will respond well no matter how little supervision they receive, so it makes sense to focus our attention on the minority that will not

A ‘Rupture Backwards’: The Re-emergence of Shamanic Sensibilities Amongst the Russian Avant-Garde from 1900-1933.

This PhD examines the re-emergence of shamanic sensibilities amongst the Russian avant-garde in the period 1900-1933, focusing on the artists Larionov, Goncharova, Malevich, Filonov and Kandinsky. It considers how these pioneering artists, having anticipated Jung’s crisis of psychic dislocation, were perhaps inspired by the ideology, iconography, ritualistic practice and mystical symbolism inherent in shamanism and other associated phenomena. Shamanism was chosen as the theme as it was Jung’s quintessential metaphor for the process towards psychic reunification. The thesis analyses how the artists utilised parallel conceptions in their work in order to attempt to bring about the reunification of the consciousness, both on a visual level in their pictorial imagery, and on a more subtle level through referencing psychological or philosophical principles which may lead to the manifestation of an experience arguably similar to those common in the practice of ‘primitive’ cultures. The thesis attempts to take the reader on a metaphorical shamanic journey, through focusing on four aspects which parallel those found in shamanic practice in the stages that they occur to the neophyte. Firstly, it considers the concept of dvoeverie, a painterly principle relying on the conflation of pagan and religious imagery, and how its artistic expression might equate to Jungian archetypal expression. Secondly, it discusses how the avant-garde re-defined the role of the artist so that the artistic figure might parallel Jung’s metaphorical shaman, and how they began assuming an archetypal role. Thirdly, it examines how these artists began to express a sense of escapism, in an attempt to express Jungian collective archetypes metaphorically expressed in the ‘soul-journey’, through referencing ecstatic and mystical practises frequently utilised to facilitate ritual, through creating a sense of transcendent voyage, and through visually attempting to express the experience of cosmic noumena. Finally, the journey culminates in the examination of how the avant-garde adopted the ultimate Jungian telos of cosmic psychic healing. Throughout this discussion, the thesis attempts to understand why these artists might have been inspired by shamanic and mystical philosophies, through interpreting their practise using a Jungian framework, arguing that it was the artists’ perception of Jung’s crisis of psychic dislocation that inspired the re-emergence of shamanic sensibilities to provide a visual metaphor for the expression of their overall social and ameliorative aims

Sexuality — The Missing Link in Women' Health

Summary This article outlines some of the ways in which women are particularly vulnerable to risk in relation to their sexuality, and suggests how primary health care programme could begin to address the impact of sexuality on health in a holistic and gender specific way. The article discusses the cultural and economic determinants of sexual expression and explores how these influence people's options for practising safer sex. Personal values around sexuality have a particularly profound influence on programme design and implementation. The first steps in any programme would be an exploration of how sexuality relates to health in different groups, followed by training which enables staff to address this area comfortably without imposing their own values. A genuinely participatory programme would acknowledge sexual diversity and respond to a range of needs. It would aim to empower people to make their own informed decisions, explore their values and practise skills. Often a development approach will be needed which involves activities outside the normal remit of the health sector. Integrating sexuality into PHC in this could have far?reaching consequences. At the very least, it would highlight the way in which existing power relations between men and women, generations and people with different sexual orientations have severely detrimental effects on the health of the whole community. Resumé La sexualité — l'aspect négligé de la santé des femmes Les auteurs passent en revue certains des éléments qui rendent les femmes particulièrement vulnérables au risque et qui ont trait à leur sexualité, et suggèrent différentes approches holistiques et spécifiques aux femmes que peuvent adopter les programmes de soins de santé primaires dans un premier temps. Les déterminants culturels et économiques de l'expression sexuelle sont examinés ainsi que leur influence sur le choix des individus d'avoir des rapports protégés. Les valeurs personnelles sur la sexualité ont une profonde influence sur l'élaboration et la mise en oeuvre des programmes. La première démarche dans tout programme devrait être d'explorer la relation entre sexualité et santé, dans les différents groupes, approche qui serait suivie d'une formation pour permettre aux personnels d'aborder ce domaine débarrassé de tout préjugé et sans imposer leurs propres valeurs. Un programme vraiment participatif ne manquerait pas de reconnaitre la diversité sur le plan sexuel et de répondre à toute une gamme de besoins. Ce programme chercherait à offrir aux individus les moyens de décider en toute connaissance de cause, d'explorer leurs propres valeurs, et de faire valoir leurs compétences. Il sera souvent demandé de mettre en oeuvre des activités qui dépassent le cadre usuel de la santé. Intégrer la sexualité dans les soins de santé peut avoir des conséquences de longue portée. Tout au moins cette démarche soulignerait la manière dont les rapports de force entre hommes et femmes, entre générations et individus d'orientations sexuelles diverses ont des effets néfastes sur la santé de la communauté prise dans son ensemble. Resumen Sexualidad: El eslabón perdido en la salud femenina El artículo delinea alguna de las formas en que las mujeres son particularmente vulnerables al riesgo en relación a su sexualidad, y sugiere cómo programas de atención sanitaria básica pueden empezar a encarar el impacto de la sexualidad de una manera holística y específica. Se discuten aquí los determinantes culturales y económicos de expresión sexual, y se explora de qué forma éstos influyen en las opciones de la gente para practicar el sexo seguro. Los valores personales que rodean a la sexualidad tienen una incidencia muy profunda en el diseño e implementación de programas. Los primeros pasos en un programa serían la exploración de la relación entre sexualidad y salud en diferentes grupos, seguida de adiestramiento que permita al personal desenvolverse cómodamente en esta área sin imponer sus propios valores. Un programa genuinamente participatorio reconocería la diversidad sexual y respondería a toda una gama de necesidades. Tendría como objetivo que la gente pudiera hacer sus propias decisiones informadas, explorar sus valores y practicar sus habilidades. A menudo un enfoque desarrollista puede ser necesario, e incluir actividades fuera del cometido normal del sector de salud. Integrar la sexualidad dentro de la atención sanitaria básica puede tener consecuencia trascendentales. Sin ir mas lejos, ilustraría los efectos severamente perjudiciales para la salud de toda la comunidad ocasionados por las actuales relaciones de poder entre el hombre y la mujer, generaciones y personas de diferentes orientaciones sexuales

Sex allocation theory reveals a hidden cost of neonicotinoid exposure in a parasitoid wasp

P.R.W. was funded by the University of Stirling, C.V.B. and S.M.G. were funded by Nuffield Research Placements and N.C., J.G. and D.M.S. were funded by NERC (NE/J024481/1).Sex allocation theory has proved to be one the most successful theories in evolutionary ecology. However, its role in more applied aspects of ecology has been limited. Here we show how sex allocation theory helps uncover an otherwise hidden cost of neonicotinoid exposure in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis. Female N. vitripennis allocate the sex of their offspring in line with Local Mate Competition (LMC) theory. Neonicotinoids are an economically important class of insecticides, but their deployment remains controversial, with evidence linking them to the decline of beneficial species. We demonstrate for the first time to our knowledge, that neonicotinoids disrupt the crucial reproductive behaviour of facultative sex allocation at sub-lethal, field-relevant doses in N. vitripennis. The quantitative predictions we can make from LMC theory show that females exposed to neonicotinoids are less able to allocate sex optimally and that this failure imposes a significant fitness cost. Our work highlights that understanding the ecological consequences of neonicotinoid deployment requires not just measures of mortality or even fecundity reduction among non-target species, but also measures that capture broader fitness costs, in this case offspring sex allocation. Our work also highlights new avenues for exploring how females obtain information when allocating sex under LMC.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Information Literacy Debated at University of Malaya

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