Religious education for spiritual bricoleurs? the perceptions of students in ten Christian-ethos secondary schools in England and Wales

Religious Education (RE) in England and Wales functions within a post-secular culture. In the last fifty years, approaches characterised by academic rigour, impartiality, and professionalism have been prioritised. In this post-secular culture, the notion of bricolage aptly describes how some young people seek meaning, explore the spiritual dimension of life, with fragmented understandings of, experiences and encounters with the religious traditions. This paper draws on data from an empirical research project involving 350 students, to explore why students in ten Christian-ethos secondary schools in England and Wales recognised Religious Education (RE) as a significant contributor to their spiritual development. The analysis is illuminated by employing Roebben's (2009) concept of a narthical learning space (NLS) as the lens with which to examine young people’s experiences. Three aspects of RE are explored: the debating of existential questions; opportunities to theologise and reflect; and encounters with the beliefs, practices, and opinions of others. This article argues that the concept of RE as a narthical learning space alongside the notion of young people as spiritual bricoleurs illuminates how the students in this study interpret the contribution of RE to their spiritual development

Impulse excitation apparatus to measure resonant frequencies, elastic moduli, and internal friction at room and high temperature

This paper presents a new apparatus to measure elastic properties and internal friction of materials. The apparatus excites the test specimen by a light mechanical impact (impulse excitation) and performs a software-based analysis of the resulting vibration. The resonant frequencies f(r) of the test object are determined and, in the case of isotropic and regular shaped specimens, the elastic moduli are calculated. The internal friction value (Q(-1)) is determined for each f(r) as Q(-1)=k/(pi f(r)) with k the exponential decay parameter of the vibration component of frequency f(r). A furnace was designed and equipped with automated impulse excitation and vibration detection devices, thus allowing computer-controlled measurements at temperatures up to 1750 degrees C. The precision of the measured f(r) depends on the size and stiffness of the specimen, and varies from the order of 10(-3) (that is +/-1 Hz at 1 kHz) in soft, high damping materials or light specimens, to values as precise as 10(-5) (that is +/-0.1 Hz at 10 kHz) in larger or stiffer specimens. The highly reproducible Q(-1) measurements are accurate whenever the relation Q(-1)=k/(pi f(r)) holds. The precision of the Q(-1) measurement depends on the suspension or support of the specimen, and on the specimen size. Since external energy losses are relatively smaller for larger specimens, the lower limit of measurable Q(-1) extends from 10(-3) for small specimens (for example <1 g) down to 10(-5) with increasing specimen size. High temperature tests have shown that Q(-1) can be monitored up to values of about 0.1. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.status: publishe