The \u27Desert\u27 Society in Languedoc (1686-1704) as Popular Culture and the Roots of French Quakerism

The \u27Desert\u27 society in Cevennes, Languedoc, was an offshoot of the persecution of French Protestants by Louis XIV. The clandestine assemblies that met in the ravines gave rise to lay ministry, as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) had forced professional ministers to flee abroad. At first, Predicants replaced ministers, then Prophets and Prophetesses in turn replaced the killed Predicants. The \u27Desert\u27 society gave birth to a popular culture. At the end of the seventeenth century, the Protestants\u27 resistance was peaceful, but as persecutions grew, the Camisard war broke out in 1702. But a minority of Prophets refused violence, even in self-defence, as a solution to the Protestants\u27 problems. They gathered in the Vaunage valley, around Congenies, near Nimes. Their spiritual descendants met British Friends in 1785, and joined the Religious Society of Friends in 1788. They also belonged to the popular culture of the \u27Desert\u27 society

The Nantucket Quakers\u27 Message as an Alternative to Benjamin Franklin\u27s Message to the French Revolution

Benjamin Franklin lived in France from 1778 to 1785. He was successful in drawing the country into the American Independence war against Britain in 1778. He became the idol of future French revolutionaries, and remained so even after his death in 1790. The French revolutionaries also admired American Quakers, but they mistook Benjamin Franklin for a Quaker, which he was not. From 1786, American Quakers from Nantucket settled down in Dunkerque, in France. In February 1791, together with Jean de Marsillac, a French Quaker from Congenies, they brought a petition in favour of a non-violent revolution. But Mirabeau, who was President of the National Assembly, was a great admirer of Benjamin Franklin. He did not take the Quakers\u27 petition seriously, and historians afterwards forgot about this message. Benjamin Franklin indirectly originated from Nantucket through his mother Abiah Folger. He was a relative of many Nantucket Quakers who went to Dunkerque. So, the two messages brought to France during the French revolution came from Nantucket, directly or indirectly. They are complementary to each other, but the second one still remains to be discovered

Crossing Boundaries: A Variety of Perspectives on Preschool Stories

Special editio

Educational drama in the teaching of education for sustainability

In this paper, I describe part of my research project that examines the use of Educational Drama in Education for Sustainability in the upper stages of the primary school (10- and 11-year-olds). Central to the research is a small-scale qualitative research study. Here, I describe the educational focus of the study and outline the methodology. Central to the study was a series of drama lessons (taught by me) based on environmental themes. The lessons link with some of the key aims in Education for Sustainability - to help young people to develop awareness, knowledge and concepts, to encourage positive attitudes and personal lifestyle decisions and to help them to acquire action skills in and for the environment. The locus is within the Scottish education system. A number of key data were generated during the teaching and evaluation of the lessons. These take the form of field notes, children's evaluations of their work and learning, observation schedules, taped interviews with participants and observers and videotapes of the lessons. The analysis of the data is ongoing, but already there is substantial evidence to suggest that the drama was instrumental in helping the children to achieve the learning outcomes set for the lessons. Some of that evidence is presented here. I suggest that the active, participative learning central to drama is particularly useful for allowing children to develop skills in communication, collaboration and expressing ideas and opinions. Also, the immersion in the imagined context and narrative, integral to the 'stories' in the drama, allows the children to feel sympathy for and empathy with people who are affected by environmental issues and problems. In giving the children a context for research and in helping them to plan solutions and to suggest alternatives, the drama allows the participants opportunities to rehearse active citizenship and facilitates learning in Education for Sustainability

Use of Standardized Assessments and Online Resources in Stroke Rehabilitation

Background: The extent to which movement-related standardized assessments and online resources are used in stroke rehabilitation is unclear in the United States. Method: The researchers used a cross-sectional descriptive survey that examined (a) therapists use of movement-related standardized assessments, (b) factors influencing learning of new assessments, and (c) use of frequency of online resources by occupational therapists and physical therapists in the United States. Results: Of 151 respondents (46.4% occupational therapists, 53.6% physical therapists), the most frequently used movement-related assessments by occupational and physical therapists were the Berg and Fugl-Meyer Assessment, respectively. More physical therapists use motor-related standardized assessments regularly than occupational therapists, and physical therapists showed more consensus among standardized assessments. Both professions cited quality of patient care for motivating them to integrate outcome measures into practice. Most therapists in stroke rehabilitation used online resources to access movement-related standardized assessment content at least 25% of the time. The Rehabilitation Measures Database was the most frequently used website. Conclusion: Both occupational and physical therapists use online resources for movement-related standardized assessments on a regular basis. However, occupational therapists do not use standardized assessments as frequently as physical therapists. A systematic study of factors that impact the integration of standardized assessments is needed to further identify barriers and inform clinical practice change

Cotton Price Policy and New Cereal Technology in the Malian Cotton Zone

During the last decade, cotton production and area have been declining as a result of depleting soil nutrients and low cotton prices in the cotton zone of Mali. This paper shows that the Malian government’s 2011 policy to increase the farm gate cotton price as a response to world cotton price increase enhances farm income but has less impact on cotton than on maize production. A complementary policy of introducing new sorghum technologies would have an equal impact on farmers’ incomes in the cotton zone of Mali.Cotton prices, improved sorghum technology, discrete stochastic programming, Mali, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, International Development, Production Economics, Risk and Uncertainty,