Psychological type profile of Methodist circuit ministers in Britain : similarities to and differences from Anglican clergy

Psychological type theory is employed to profile similarities and differences between Methodist ministers in Britain and the Church of England clergy profiled in an earlier study by Francis, Craig, Whinney, Tilley and Slater (2007). New data were provided by 693 male and 311 female Methodist ministers who completed the Francis Psychological Type Scales. These data demonstrated that both male and female Methodist ministers were less likely to prefer intuition, and more likely to prefer sensing, compared to their Anglican colleagues. Also, male Methodist ministers were more likely to prefer feeling and less likely to prefer thinking in comparison with their Anglican colleagues. In other respects, the Methodist ministers and the Anglican clergy recorded similar profiles. These findings are interpreted to illuminate characteristics of strength and weakness in Methodist and Anglican ministry in England and to highlight potential challenges in effecting cooperation between the two denominations

Religious orientation, mental health and culture : conceptual and empirical perspectives

This special edition of Mental Health, Religion and Culture brings together thirteen original empirical studies that employ theories and measures based on the notion of ‘religious orientation’. As originally conceived, Allport’s notion of religious orientation distinguished between the two motivational styles of intrinsic religiosity and extrinsic religiosity. Subsequent work distinguished between extrinsic-personal and extrinsic social motivations, and added the third orientation styled as quest religiosity. The first set of seven studies draws on a variety of measures of religious orientation developed since the mid-1960s, including single-item measures. The second set of six studies draws on the New Indices of Religious Orientation proposed by Francis in 2007. Collectively these studies confirm the continuing vitality of the notion of religious orientation for informing empirical research within the psychology of religion and strengthen the foundation for future work in this area

Introducing the modified paranormal belief scale: distinguishing between classic paranormal beliefs, religious paranormal beliefs and conventional religiosity among undergraduates in Northern Ireland and Wales

Previous empirical studies concerned with the association between paranormal beliefs and conventional religiosity have produced conflicting evidence. Drawing on Rice's (2003) distinction between classic paranormal beliefs and religious paranormal beliefs, the present study proposed a modified form of the Tobacyk Revised Paranormal Belief Scale to produce separate scores for these two forms of paranormal belief, styled 'religious paranormal beliefs' and 'classic paranormal beliefs'. Data provided by a sample of 143 undergraduate students in Northern Ireland and Wales, who completed the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity alongside the Tobacyk Revised Paranormal Belief Scale, demonstrated that conventional religiosity is positively correlated with religious paranormal beliefs, but independent of classic paranormal beliefs. These findings provide a clear framework within which previous conflicting evidence can be interpreted. It is recommended that future research should distinguish clearly between these two forms of paranormal beliefs and that the Tobacyk Revised Paranormal Beliefs Scale should be routinely modified to detach the four religious paranormal belief items from the total scale score

The association between church attendance and psychological health in Northern Ireland : a national representative survey among adults allowing for sex differences and denominational difference

This study extends previous research concerning the association between religion and psychological health in six ways: (1) by focusing clearly on religious attendance (church attendance); (2) by employing a robust measure of psychological distress (GHQ-12); (3) by studying a highly religious culture (Northern Ireland); (4) by taking sex differences into account (male or female); (5) by taking denominational differences into account (Catholic or Protestant); (6) and by obtaining a national representative sample (N = 4,281 adults aged 16 and above). Results from a 2 (sex) by 2 (denomination) ANCOVA demonstrated that Catholics recorded significantly lower levels of psychological health compared to Protestants, and that females showed significantly lower levels of psychological health compared to males. In addition, females reported higher frequency of religious service attendance than males, and Catholics reported higher attendance rates than Protestants. A significant positive association was found between frequency of religious attendance and GHQ-12 scores, and this association was moderated by sex and denomination. In conclusion, the results suggest that there may be sex and denominational differences in further understanding the relationship between frequency of religious attendance and psychological health

In Situ Nanomechanical Measurements of Interfacial Strength in Membrane-Embedded Chemically Functionalized Si Microwires for Flexible Solar Cells

Arrays of vertically aligned Si microwires embedded in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) have emerged as a promising candidate for use in solar energy conversion devices. Such structures are lightweight and concurrently demonstrate competitive efficiency and mechanical flexibility. To ensure reliable functioning under bending and flexing, strong interfacial adhesion between the nanowire and the matrix is needed. In situ uniaxial tensile tests of individual, chemically functionalized, Si microwires embedded in a compliant PDMS matrix reveal that chemical functionality on Si microwire surfaces is directly correlated with interfacial adhesion strength. Chemical functionalization can therefore serve as an effective methodology for accessing a wide range of interfacial adhesion between the rigid constituents and the soft polymer matrix; the adhesion can be quantified by measuring the mechanical strength of such systems

Religious affect and self-esteem : an empirical enquiry among 10-to 12-year-old participants

Within contemporary psychology of religion, there has been sustained interest in examining the relationship between measures of religiosity and those measures conceptualised and operationalised from the area of positive psychology. For example, previous research that has examined the relationship between religiosity and self-esteem has provided mixed results. This lack of clarity is likely to be partly attributable to the variety of measures and samples that have been employed. To systematically examine this matter, one research initiative has employed one particular conceptualisation and operationalisation of religious affect, the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity, alongside a few selected measures of self -esteem. To extend this research initiative, a sample of 522 participants in a summer holiday programme for adolescents (247 males and 275 females) aged between 10 and 12 years completed the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity alongside the Rosenberg Self -esteem Scale. The data demonstrated a small significant positive correlation between religious affect and self -esteem, after controlling for sex and age differences (r = .14, p < .01). This finding is consistent with previous research that has examined the relationship between this particular conceptualisation and operationalisation of religious affect with other measures of self -esteem. More generally, this finding is consistent with the wider research literature that has examine d the relationship between with Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity and other measures from the area of positive psychology

Internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the Astley-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Theistic Faith among religiously unaffiliated Christian and Muslim youth in the UK.

This study examines the psychometric properties of the Astley-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Theistic Faith among a sample of 10,678 13- to 15-year-old students from across the United Kingdom, exploring the performance of the scale independently among three groups: religiously unaffiliated students (N = 3,711), Christian students (N = 6,649), and Muslim students (N = 318). The data support the internal consistency reliability and the construct validity of this instrument among all three groups and commend it for application in further studies

Utilizing an entomopathogenic fungus, Beauveria bassiana, for season-long suppression of larval populations of the European corn borer

The European corn borer (ECB) is the second most significant insect pest of field corn. Though its impact is variable each year, it can cause from $100 to$250 million in crop losses annually in Iowa alone. Presently, growers use chemical insecticides to suppress populations of this insect. But sometimes this approach does not provide adequate protection from this pest, in part because the ECB\u27s tunneling damage within the corn stalk is usually recognized too late (see Figs. 1 and 2). Moreover, because chemical insecticides are not only expensive but potentially threatening to groundwater quality, corn growers need an environmentally compatible management alternative