Nonbelief: An Islamic Perspective

Psychology of religion research is typically conducted with Protestant populations living in the West. Only recently has non-belief in God become a central topic in the field. And while it remains an open question whether or not the research assumptions and theoretical frameworks designed for Western populations of Protestants can be applied to non-believers, exploring non-belief in the Islamic context may pose additional problems. For example, do Western concepts and terms such as “church attendance” or “atheist” have equivalent meaning in the Muslim world? Are there any structural differences within Islam and Christianity that may contribute to the uneven number of self-reported non-believers within these cultures? In this article, we argue that a cultural psychological approach can provide a useful perspective for researching non-belief in the Muslim cultural context

Deploying traditional and smartphone app survey methods in measuring door-to-door travel satisfaction in eight European cities

This study describes the lessons learned from designing, deploying and analysing the results from different travel satisfaction survey tools which measures the travellers' door-to-door travel satisfaction. The travel satisfaction measurement survey tools tested consisted of two types of smartphone applications (a satellite navigation app and a game app), an on-line survey, a paper-based semi-structured questionnaire and a focus group questionnaire. Each of the measurement tools comprised the same set of basic questions, but in different formats, aimed at exploring the pros and cons of each tool among different groups of travellers. The data collection was carried out at eight different European cities and five FIA motorist networks. 5,275 valid responses were gathered from the survey. Further analysis results show that different survey methods performed better in different sites. The satisfaction that was gathered via main trip leg does not necessarily correspond with overall satisfaction of the door-to-door journey. The results of this study highlight the need for more inclusive, complete, door-to-door, travel survey measurements

The puzzle of double referendums in the European Union

If voters are asked to vote twice on the same issue in a single year, why might they initially reject the proposal but then vote to approve it the second time? This has happened three times in EU referendums (Denmark on the Maastricht Treaty in 1992–93 and Ireland on the Nice Treaty in 2001–02 and the Lisbon Treaty in 2008–09). No work has yet compared all six of these referendum campaigns. I focus on the campaign strategies of the Yes and No sides and investigate whether campaigners act differently in the second campaigns. Based on fieldwork in Denmark and Ireland, 38 in-depth interviews with campaigners and public opinion data, I show that the Yes campaigners learned from their mistakes and changed their campaign strategies in the second rounds. Not only did they secure guarantees from the EU to neutralize the No side's arguments; they also used more emotional campaign arguments in the second campaigns

Mobile gaming: Industry challenges and policy implications

Mobile games are a prime example of a successful mobile application and demonstrate the increasing range of platforms for the media and entertainment industries. Against this convergent background, this paper introduces the basic features of the mobile gaming market and its industrial ecosystem together with its main actors and activities. The focus of the paper lies in the challenges ahead for the evolution of mobile applications into a potentially dominant game platform and the possible disruptions along this road. The deep personal relationships between users and their mobile devices are considered to further explore the link between mobile games, players’ strategies and pending techno-economic developments. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of some policy options to assist with the development of this domain

Gray matter abnormalities in the inhibitory circuitry of young binge drinkers: a voxel-based morphometry study

Binge drinking (BD) is defined as a pattern of high alcohol intake in a short time followed by periods of abstinence. This behavior is very common in adolescence, a developmental stage characterized by the maturation of the prefrontal and striatal networks, important circuits underlying the capacity to control and regulate the behavior. In this study, we conducted a voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis, using a region of interest (ROI) analysis of brain regions associated with inhibitory control and self-regulatory processes, in a group of 36 young college students, 20 binge drinkers (BDs) and 16 alcohol abstinent controls (AAC). Results showed increased gray matter (GM) densities in the left middle frontal gyrus in BDs, when compared with alcohol abstinent controls. Additionally, a ROI-based Pearson analysis documented positive correlations between the left middle frontal gyrus GM densities and the self-control subscale of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS), in the BD group. These findings highlight abnormalities in core brain regions associated with self-regulatory processes in the BD group.This work was conducted at Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/01662/2013), University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653). SS was supported by the SFRH/BD/88628/2012, Doctoral Fellowship of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, co-financed by POPH/FSE through QREN. AC was supported by the SFRH/BPD/91440/2012, Post-Doctoral Fellowship of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Predicting Online and Offline Civic Participation among Young Czech Roma: The Roles of Resources, Community Perceptions and Social Norms

Roma in the Czech Republic represent a large ethnic minority that faces intolerance and social exclusion. This study aims to describe factors that boost civic participation among Roma adolescents and emerging adults. Specifically, it asks whether different factors apply to Roma and members of the majority, and whether different factors boost offline and online participation. Survey data were analysed from Roma (n = 157) and majority (n = 573) participants between the ages of 15 and 28. Hierarchical regression models suggested that certain factors (a sense of collective influence and peer participatory norm) predict all forms of civic participation, regardless of ethnicity. For Roma youth, in contrast with the majority, offline participation was associated with a perceived lack of opportunities and unmet needs in their communities, which suggests that their offline civic participation might be a reaction to perceived communal problems. Finally, a lack of education was identified as a major explanation for lower rates of online participation among Roma

Trust and food modernity in Vietnam

The authors detail the deep transformation of the Vietnamese food system during the last decades, in relation with the industrialization of food production and the extension of the food market chains. The consequences are a growing food anxiety among consumers and an evolution in the process of trust building: the urban consumers still rely on their own know-how to keep their home as a safe place to eat as well as on their day-to-day personal relations with their usual retailers. But trust building has also evolved to include the trust in some stakeholders such as supermarkets rather than in public control. This diversity in the ways of building trust in food can be seen as a characteristic of modernity in emerging Asian economies

Sustainable travel behaviour and the widespread impacts on the local economy

Statistics show that unsustainable travel behaviour and global greenhouse gas emissions are growing and due to the perceived indispensable nature of personal travel, shifts to more sustainable modes remain a challenge. Automobility supports sustained local economic growth but also raises issues around safety, health, road fatalities, traffic and congestion, and detrimental environmental impacts. This article addresses the issue of sustainable mobility by investigating how to increase sustainable travel choices and, where this is not possible, ensure existing travel choices and patterns are as environmentally friendly as possible. Existing soft initiatives aimed at increasing sustainable travel behaviour fail to fully acknowledge that travel decisions are made at the individual level and that tailored strategies would be more effective at targeting distinct behavioural patterns. Influencing changes in travel behaviour at the local level demonstrates significant potential where individual behaviour can be influenced if appropriate support at the system level is in place and complies with the needs of individuals. This article demonstrates that, in doing so, this will simultaneously address other areas, such as accessibility, employability, health and sustainable growth, crucial to the establishment and survival of automobility by both supporting local economic growth and achieving reductions in carbon emissions

New psychoactive substances (NPS) on cryptomarket fora: An exploratory study of characteristics of forum activity between NPS buyers and vendors

Background The continual diversification of new psychoactive substances (NPS) circumventing legislation creates a public health and law enforcement challenge, and one particularly challenged by availability on Hidden Web cryptomarkets. Methods This is the first study of its kind which aimed to explore and characterise cryptomarket forum members’ views and perspectives on NPS vendors and products within the context of Hidden Web community dynamics. An internal site search was conducted on two cryptomarkets popular with NPS vendors and hosting fora; Alphabay and Valhalla, using the search terms of 40 popular NPS in the seven categories of stimulant/cathinone; GABA activating; hallucinogen, dissociative, cannabinoid, opioid and other/unspecified/uncategorised NPS. 852 identified threads relating to the discussion of these NPS were generated. Following exclusion of duplicates, 138 threads remained. The Empirical Phenomenological Psychological method of data analysis was applied. Four themes and 32 categories emerged. Results 120 vendors selling NPS were visible on Alphabay, and 21 on Valhalla. Themes were ‘NPS Cryptomarkets and Crypto-community interest in NPS’ ‘Motives for NPS use’ ‘Indigenous Crypto Community Harm Reduction’ and ‘Cryptomarket Characteristics underpinning NPS trafficking’, with two higher levels of abstraction centring on ‘NPS vendor reputation’ and ‘NPS transactioning for personal use’. NPS cryptomarket characteristics centred on generation of trust, honesty and excellent service. Users appeared well informed, with harm reduction and vendor information exchange central to NPS market dynamics. GABA activating substances appeared most popular in terms of buyer interest on cryptomarkets. Interest in sourcing ‘old favorite’ stimulant and dissociative NPS was evident, alongside the sequential and concurrent poly use of NPS, and use of NPS with illicit drugs such as MDMA. Conclusion Continued monitoring of new trends in NPS within Surface Web and cryptomarkets are warranted. A particular focus on the rising market in prescribed benzodiazepine and Z-hypnotic drugs should be included. © 2016 Elsevier B.V

The take up of business support by minority ethnic enterprises: the experience of South Asian businesses in England

This research contributes to a greater understanding of minority ethnic business (MEB) needs and practices and helps identify the support needs of minority ethnic firms in relation to existing support provision. The aims are, therefore, to examine the take-up of support by minority ethnic enterprises focusing mainly on the South Asian community with some representation from the African-Caribbean and Korean communities. Fifty minority ethnic businesses across South West London were contacted and semi-structured interviews took place with the owner/owner managers. The findings suggest that policy makers need to appreciate the diversity of MEBs and policies aimed at these businesses should reflect that diversity