Christianity, paranormal belief and personality: a study among 13- to 16-year-old pupils in England and Wales

Studies concerning the changing landscapes of religiosity and spirituality in the lives of young people in England and Wales draw attention to decline in traditional religiosity and to growth in alternative spiritualities. The present study examined whether such alternative spiritualities occupy the same personality space as traditional religiosity. A sample of 2,950 13- to 16-year-old pupils attending 11 secondary schools in England and Wales completed the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity and an index of paranormal belief, alongside the abbreviated-form Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised. The data demonstrated that these two forms of belief were related in different ways to Eysenck's dimensional model of personality space. While attitude toward Christianity occupied the space defined by low psychoticism scores (tendermindedness) and high lie scale scores (social conformity), paranormal belief was related to high psychoticism scores (toughmindedness) and was independent of lie scale scores. These findings support the view that alternative spiritualities may be associated with different personalities

Evaluating the feasibility and effectiveness of a critical care discharge information pack for patients and their families: a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of an information pack, based on selfregulation theory, designed to support patients and their families immediately before, during and after discharge from an intensive care unit (ICU). Design and setting: Prospective assessor-blinded pilot cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT; in conjunction with a questionnaire survey of trial participants’ experience) in 2 ICUs in England. Participants: Patients (+/− a family member) who had spent at least 72 h in an ICU, declared medically fit for discharge to a general ward. Randomisation: Cluster randomisation (by day of discharge decision) was used to allocate participants to 1 of 3 study groups. Intervention: A user-centred critical care discharge information pack (UCCDIP) containing 2 booklets; 1 for the patient (which included a personalised discharge summary) and 1 for the family, given prior to discharge to the ward. Primary outcome: Psychological well-being measured using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scores (HADS), assessed at 5±1 days postunit discharge and 28 days/hospital discharge. Statistical significance ( p≤0.05) was determined using χ2 and Kruskal-Wallis (H). Results: 158 patients were allocated to: intervention (UCCDIP; n=51), control 1: ad hoc verbal information (n=59), control 2: booklet published by ICUsteps (n=48). There were no statistically significant differences in the primary outcome. The a priori enrolment goal was not reached and attrition was high. Using HADS as a primary outcome measure, an estimated sample size of 286 is required to power a definitive trial. Conclusions: Findings from this pilot RCT provide important preliminary data regarding the circumstances under which an intervention based on the principles of UCCDIP could be effective, and the sample size required to demonstrate this. Trial registration number: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN47262088; results

The spiritual revolution and suicidal ideation: an empirical enquiry among 13- to 15-year-old adolescents in England and Wales

The association between conventional religiosity and suicide inhibition has been well explored and documented since the pioneering work of Durkheim. Commentators like Heelas and Woodhead point to ways in which conventional religiosity is giving way in England and Wales to a range of alternative spiritualities, including renewed interest in paranormal phenomena. Taking a sample of 3095 13- to 15-year-old adolescents, the present study examines the association between suicidal ideation and both conventional religiosity and paranormal beliefs, after controlling for individual differences in sex, age and personality (extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism). The data demonstrate that, while conventional religiosity is slightly associated with lower levels of suicidal ideation, paranormal beliefs are strongly associated with higher levels of suicidal ideation

The teenage religion and values survey in England and Wales : an overview

The Teenage Religion and Values Survey was conducted throughout the 1990s among young people between the ages of 13 and 15 years. A total of 33,982 young people took part in the survey. As the next phase of this research begins for the twenty-first century this paper looks back at the survey conducted in the 1990s and considers two aspects of the research. First, this paper considers the methodology behind designing such a survey. Second, this paper considers some of the insights generated by the survey under five headings: personality, spiritual health, religious affiliation, belonging without believing, and church leaving

Personality, conventional Christian belief and unconventional paranormal belief : a study among teenagers

A sample of 10,851 pupils (5493 males and 5358 females) attending Year 9 classes (13- to 14-year-olds) and a sample of 9494 pupils (4787 males and 4707 females) attending Year 10 classes (14- to 15-year-olds) in non-denominational state-maintained secondary schools in England and Wales completed questions concerned with conventional Christian belief and unconventional paranormal belief, alongside the short-form Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. The data demonstrated that conventional Christian belief and unconventional paranormal belief occupy different locations in relation to the Eysenckian model of personality in respect of the psychoticism scale and the lie scale. While conventional Christian belief is associated with lower psychoticism scores and higher lie scale scores (greater social conformity), unconventional paranormal belief is associated with higher psychoticism scores and lower lie scale scores (lower social conformity)

The Paranormal is (Still) Normal: The Sociological Implications of a Survey of Paranormal Experiences in Great Britain

Historically, there has been limited sociological interest in the paranormal and no systematic study of reported paranormal experiences. There are also few medium-to-large-scale survey results with nationally representative populations focusing on paranormal experiences. This paper provides details of an exploratory survey conducted in 2009 with a nationally representative sample of 4,096 adults aged 16 years and over across Great Britain. Our findings show that 37% of British adults report at least one paranormal experience and that women, those who are middle-aged or individuals resident in the South West are more likely to report such experiences. These results establish incidence levels of reported paranormal experiences in contemporary Britain. We argue also that they merit a more sustained sociological consideration of the paranormal. In this respect we renew and update the robust justification and call for serious research positioning the paranormal as a social phenomenon, originally proposed well over thirty years ago by Greeley (1975)

More than sense of place? Exploring the emotional dimension of rural tourism experiences

It is widely suggested that participation in rural tourism is underpinned by a sense of rural place or “rurality”. However, although nature and the countryside have long been recognised as a source of spiritual or emotional fulfilment, few have explored the extent to which tourism, itself often claimed to be a sacred experience, offers an emotional/spiritual dimension in the rural context. This paper addresses that literature gap. Using in-depth interviews with rural tourists in the English Lake District, it explores the extent to which, within respondents’ individual understanding of spirituality, a relationship exists between sense of place and deeper, emotional experiences and, especially, whether participation in rural tourism may induce spiritual or emotional responses. The research revealed that all respondents felt a strong attachment to the Lake District; similarly, and irrespective of their openness to spirituality, engaging in rural tourism activities resulted in highly emotive experiences for all respondents, the description/interpretation of such experiences being determined by individual “beliefs”. However, sense of place was not a prerequisite to emotional or spiritual experiences. Being in and engaging with the landscape � effectively becoming part of it � especially through physical activity is fundamental to emotional responses

The employee as 'Dish of the Day’:human resource management and the ethics of consumption

This article examines the ethical implications of the growing integration of consumption into the heart of the employment relationship. Human resource management (HRM) practices increasingly draw upon the values and practices of consumption, constructing employees as the ‘consumers’ of ‘cafeteria-style’ benefits and development opportunities. However, at the same time employees are expected to market themselves as items to be consumed on a corporate menu. In relation to this simultaneous position of consumer/consumed, the employee is expected to actively engage in the commodification of themselves, performing an appropriate organizational identity as a necessary part of being a successful employee. This article argues that the relationship between HRM and the simultaneously consuming/consumed employee affects the conditions of possibility for ethical relations within organizational life. It is argued that the underlying ‘ethos’ for the integration of consumption values into HRM practices encourages a self-reflecting, self-absorbed subject, drawing upon a narrow view of individualised autonomy and choice. Referring to Levinas’ perspective that the primary ethical relation is that of responsibility and openness to the Other, it is concluded that these HRM practices affect the possibility for ethical being

Activating Farmers : Uses of entrepreneurship discourse in the rhetoric of policy implementers

Peer reviewe

Cultural Capital and Attitudes Toward Homosexuals: Exploring the Relation Between Lifestyles and Homonegativity

This article explores the potential of cultural capital as explanatory factor in understanding homonegativity. Building on recent findings suggesting the need for a cultural component in understanding homonegativity, this article explores the relation between lifestyles (the measurable expression of cultural capital) and homonegativity. Using the “Social-Cultural Changes in Flanders 2006” survey (a population-wide survey in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium), we observed that homonegativity is lowest in lifestyle clusters where cultural capital is higher. This effect, furthermore, is maintained even after controlling for other homonegativity correlates. These results suggest that cultural capital, expressed by lifestyles, is a valuable addition to the understanding of homonegativity