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Women Priests, Symbolic Violence, and Symbolic Resistance
No full textBased on semi-structured interviews with women priests in the Church of England, this book explores the possibilities and limitations of Bourdieu's concept of symbolic violence in the context of the gendered structure of the Church. The book focuses on how women priests are framed as differently human by the institutional practices and the structure and examines how the discourses of the institutional Church work to silence women's protest. Symbolic violence is delivered through the interpersonal as well as the structure, though women priests have found ways of resisting such violence and rebelling against their differentiation
A survey of provinces in the Anglican Communion that have allowed same-sex blessings or same-sex marriages
Get PDFIn October 2022, the Church of England commissioned a study of the likely impacts allowing the blessing or marriage of same-sex couples in church. This paper reports on a survey of key informers (bishops or chief executives officers) in dioceses in the seven provinces of the Anglican Communion that had at that time allowed either same-sex blessings (SSB) or same-sex marriages (SSM). Of 183 provinces or dioceses contacted, 62 (31%) replied to an online survey of which 74% had decided to allow SSB and 55% to allow SSM. While all provinces reported some losses of clergy or congregations, these were not as great as some had expected. Smaller provinces that had spaces and time for those of differing opinions to meet together tended to report more positive outcomes than those where processes were dominated by synodical debates. Quantitative analysis using two scales of internal (church-facing) and external (society-facing) impact showed that dioceses that allowed SSM rather than just SSB reported more positive external impact. Those that had allowed SSM reported better internal and external impact compared with those who allowed only SSB or neither. Open answers offered critical reflections highlighting important lessons learnt in the process of making decisions
Genetically Engineered Microorganisms: A Promising Frontier for PFAS Bioremediation
Get PDFPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent environmental pollutants widely used in industrial applications due to their exceptional chemical stability. However, their presence in wastewater poses significant environmental and health risks, necessitating innovative remediation strategies. Traditional treatment methods are inadequate for breaking strong carbon-fluorine bonds and present substantial process safety risks including high-temperature operations (800-1200°C), explosive potential, and toxic gas emissions. This has led to increased interest in genetically engineered microorganisms (GEMs), which offer inherently safer operating conditions with ambient temperatures (20-40°C), atmospheric pressure, and reduced explosion risks. This review explores GEMs' potential for PFAS degradation, focusing on genetic engineering technologies such as CRISPR, synthetic biology, and metabolic pathway engineering. The review highlights target enzyme optimization, including dehalogenases and oxygenases, showing promise for cleaving PFAS bonds. Process safety advantages include elimination of high-pressure vessels, reduced fire hazards, and containment of byproducts within controlled biological systems. Strategies for enhancing microbial efficiency, including metabolic flux analysis and co-metabolism, are discussed alongside scaling challenges from laboratory to pilot applications. Key considerations include environmental concerns, microbial containment, reactor safety design, and accident prevention protocols to balance technological benefits with ecological safety. Comparative analysis demonstrates GEMs' superior safety profile versus conventional treatments. Future directions emphasize integrating GEMs into existing wastewater treatment systems and advancing bioreactor designs. Research gaps, including long-term ecological impacts and economic scalability, are critical areas requiring study. With responsible deployment, GEMs provide sustainable solution for mitigating PFAS environmental impact
Introducing the Emotions‐Affect Systems Elicitation (EASEL‐3) Index: A New Tool for Measuring Affect Regulation Systems' Activation
No full textObjective
Although emotions pervade and influence individual and interpersonal functioning and well-being, their nature and taxonomy remain a bone of contention. The ‘three-circle’ model, comprising three dynamically interacting affect regulation systems (i.e., threat, drive, and soothing), provides a useful framework for aggregating emotions and understanding emotion (dys)regulation while closely supporting therapeutic intervention. Imbalances in the activation and (inter)action of these affect regulation systems have been implicated in a wide range of physical and mental disorders; however, there are currently no tools for quantifying each system's activation. The aim of this study was to develop a novel index of the three affect regulation systems: threat, drive and soothing.
Method
Three independent expert panels, composed of researchers in the ‘three-circle’ model, researchers in the field of affective science, and clinicians (N = 70), estimated the degree of activation of each affect regulation system induced by discrete emotions.
Results
Overall, agreement among experts was high regarding the emotions that mapped primarily onto each affect regulation system and the degree of the corresponding activation. These results constitute the basis for the Emotions-Affect Systems ELicitation Index (EASEL-3) index, which provides a continuous score of the estimated activation of the three systems.
Conclusion and Discussion
Although in need of field testing, the EASEL-3 index may prove valuable in research and clinical settings, opening new avenues on the measurement of the affect regulation systems, their correlates and associated outcomes, helping characterize and compare activation patterns across clinical populations and contexts, and informing the assessment and personalization of interventions
Does the integration of AI-driven robotics into mathematics education serve as a form of reterritorialization of an educator's professional identity?
Get PDFThe integration of AI-driven robotics into mathematics education has emerged as a transformative force, reshaping traditional pedagogical practices and redefining educators' professional identities. Drawing on Deluzian theory, this article explores the concept of reterritorialization within the context of AI technology's incorporation into mathematics teaching. Through a systematic selection of 9 case studies, the article highlights the duality of educators’ professional identity (EPI) that educators experience: one that embraces innovative pedagogical methodologies and another that grapples with challenges posed by technological demands. The findings reveal that while AI-driven robotics can enhance student engagement and learning outcomes, they also impose constraints that may lead to feelings of inadequacy among educators
Finding Their Voice: How Children Experience Philosophical Dialogue as a Path to Liberation
Get PDFPhilosophy for Children (P4C) is an educational approach centred on dialogue and Socratic discussion. Communities of Enquiries are used as a core strategy to explore questions developed by the children. The teacher's role is to facilitate a collaborative, critical, caring and creative dialogue through a staged response to the question. This study seeks to examine how children conceptualise this dialogue. Sixty 9-10 year olds from a UK school undertook P4C over a fifteen-week period. The children were then interviewed in small groups. Initially using Batkin's work on dialogism, a phenomenographic approach was used to capture the ‘essences’ of the dialogue. Not only did analysis identify that these were conceptualised as largely dialogic, using the work of Freire, 3 broader themes were identified indicating that philosophical dialogue was liberating. This supports the view that P4C is concerned with social justice where everybody has an equally valid participating voice
Tracking the long-term outcomes of a supported employment internship programme for autistic adults without a learning disability
Get PDFSupported employment initiatives with work experience (e.g. internships) can increase employment rates for autistic people. However, such initiatives (a) are often not evidence-based, (b) focus on quantitative outcomes such as employment rates and (c) examine group-level changes without considering individual variability. Considering the effects that (un)employment can have on autistic people's well-being, it is important to examine the wider impact of supported employment initiatives. This study evaluated the long-term employment and wider outcomes of autistic adults who engaged with a supported employment internship initiative at group and individual levels. Autistic adults without a learning disability (N = 27, ‘interns’; Mage = 23.3) involved in internships across seven organisations, participated in the study. Interns reported on (a) employment-related characteristics, (b) daily living skills, (c) general self-efficacy, (d) quality of life and (e) mental health pre-internship at six and 12–24 months post-internship. The overall employment rate increased from 25.93% to 55.56% from pre- to 12–24 months post-internship, and income and number of hours worked also increased. There were improvements in daily living skills, but other wider outcome measures did not change significantly at a group level, despite individual variability. This evidence has important implications for supporting long-term outcomes for autistic people
‘It is a grey area in sport, not just in school’: A figurational analysis of banter in secondary Physical Education in England
Get PDFThis article provides a figurational sociological analysis of how secondary school pupils and teachers perceived, manifested and determined (in)appropriate banter in Physical Education (PE). Generated through lesson observations, pupil focus groups and teacher interviews, ethnographic data is thematically analysed and interpreted through Elias’s (1978, 2012) concepts of figuration and individual civilising process. Banter was increasingly normalised and legitimised amongst most older pupils, who often enjoyed banter’s motivating and competitive functions. Such productive functions were deemed appropriate, whilst judgements on inappropriate banter were fluid, relationally dependent and emotion laden. Within a PE figuration centred on sociality, competitiveness and performance-related commentary, to successfully understand, engage in and navigate (in)appropriate banter, older pupils embodied cognitive foresight, social awareness and emotional intelligence. Given these qualities, social constructions of appropriateness, and policy-based concerns regarding inappropriateness, we recommend educators/pupils and coaches/players develop a localised shared understanding of appropriate banter and agreed mechanism to report inappropriate banter