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Community, word and wonder: discerning key elements in the faith inquiry of Chinese international students
Get PDFThe internationalisation of British universities has led to increased opportunities for cultural, social and religious transnational collaboration and interchange on campus. Amid the growing discourse on international student issues within the academy, including the engagement and apparent interest in Christianity among Mainland Chinese students, research on their actual interaction with Christianity in Britain remains scarce and limited in scope.
This qualitative study involved participant-observation of Christian activities for international students, literature produced by faith-based organisations, and in-depth interviews with 25 ethnically Chinese students, of which 18 were from Mainland China. Analysed using a grounded theory methodology, the data reveals the wider motivating factors behind Chinese students’ involvement in Christian activities organised by multi-ethnic British churches, beyond socio-cultural and linguistic interests. Within the faith inquiry process, students’ emerging beliefs are shaped by participation in Christian community groups, study of Bible texts, and numinous experiences. The iterative and progressive interaction of these elements contributes to a process of ‘ordinary theologising’ involving both the emergence of nascent theological understandings, and the deconstruction of some existing beliefs. Significant influences which shape the process include relational learning within the Christian community, Chinese approaches to religious practice, and encounters with the transcendent.
Using an emergent framework incorporating ‘ordinary theology’ (Astley 2002) and modalities of Chinese religion (Chau 2019), the findings show that Chinese students are active agents in a process of theological construction which has hitherto remained under-examined. Beyond socio-cultural motivations, their nascent theologising – including conversion, for some – leads to clarity of inhabited Christian beliefs, despite internal dissonance and expectations of interpersonal conflict.
The findings of this study are pertinent to understandings of faith exploration and belief change, specifically among international students, and more broadly, within migrant communities. It makes a unique contribution to original knowledge within the field of Practical Theology as an empirical study of biblically-centred activities for inquirers from non-Western, non-Christian backgrounds
Self-determination of peoples in the context of supranational governance
Get PDFGlobalisation has proven to be a strong transformative force in almost all sectors of public life and has also left its mark on international law. The increasing number of supranational organisations being established and their increasing significance as actors that shape international and regional law is proof of this phenomenon. At the same time, self-determination of peoples remains contentious and has in recent history led to new questions emerging in a supranational setting. Catalan independence aspirations within Spain in the European Union (EU), and continued efforts to enable a second Scottish referendum on independence in post-Brexit times show the continued salience of self-determination even in mature democracies. What both cases have in common, is that both regions aspire to either remain in or re-join a supranational organisation, namely the EU. Against this background the lack of research dedicated to reassessing self-determination of peoples as international legal norm in a supranational context is striking. This thesis seeks to address that lacuna, by charting a new trajectory of the principle of self-determination of peoples in relation to supranationalism. It does so by focussing on developments in two regional frameworks: the EU and the African Union (AU). Textual interpretation following the model of Arts. 31 to 33 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969 will be the main tool of this research, with special attention paid to historical and contemporary political considerations that may have influenced the interpretation and application of the right to self-determination in different contexts. The discussion on the evolution of the norm itself is of particular interest, as is UN involvement in generating customary international law and state practice, the work on decolonisation, and the interface between self-determination and other concepts (among others human rights, indigenous peoples’ rights and development). This thesis aims to add to existing literature by bringing the results gained from looking at the above-mentioned elements together, to (re-) evaluate the interpretation of self-determination in international human rights law. Special consideration was also given to how the concepts of ‘nation’ and ‘state’ affect the interpretation of the right to self-determination in international law
Adoption: exploring a neglected doctrine of salvation
Get PDFAdvances in the study of the Christian doctrine of Adoption have provided new insights into its biblical foundation and systematic function as an organising metaphor of salvation. Despite a historical neglect and misunderstanding of the subject, contemporary debates now arise regarding Paul’s cultural source behind his metaphor of adoption, or huiothesia; whether humanity is created with an original relationship of sonship to God prior to the fall; and whether Christ himself was “adopted" by the Father at his resurrection, in order to make believers’ adoption possible. Given that Christian believers often identify as “sons” or “daughters" of God in their spiritual identity, these doctrinal issues become crucial in our understanding of what grounds our spiritual-familial identity, and demand investigation into how adoption functions as an organising framework of salvation and faith using the language and context of family.
Through conducting a critical survey of existing knowledge on the doctrine of adoption, this paper assesses its historical development as a doctrinal concept, considers the cultural background of Paul’s huiothesia metaphor, and explores adoption in a systematic manner, considering its cosmological, soteriological, and eschatological implications. Further it will consider how adoption qualifies as a soteriological concept, and reflect on its place in a Reformed understanding of the ordered experience of salvation, or ordo salutis. In doing so, it presents the case for a synthetic, Roman-Jewish source behind Paul’s concept of huiothesia; argues in favour of the constitutive sonship of created humanity and for the concept of the qualitative, obedient-sonship of Christ, against the concept of his resurrection-adoption to make believers’ adoption possible; and, finally, it presents adoption as a distinct and valuable organising concept of salvation, by showing how it possesses crucial soteriological markers, and suggests a union-with-Christ centric model of the ordo salutis with adoption as a primary benefit of salvation
An exploration of how integrative therapists working with clients presenting with complex trauma use EMDR as part of their practice: a grounded theory study
Get PDFEye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is widely used for treating complex trauma. Although there is a large evidence base around the efficacy of EMDR, there is little practice-based research into how EMDR therapists work with clients. EMDR therapists come from a range of professional backgrounds and basic EMDR training provides limited guidance on how to integrate it into a therapist’s existing practice. This research therefore aimed to explore how Counselling Psychologists and Psychotherapists, who define their practice as ‘integrative’, use EMDR as part of their practice when working with clients presenting with complex trauma.
Two rounds of semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine integratively orientated EMDR therapists who work with clients presenting with complex trauma. Constructivist grounded theory was used to explore how these therapists work with their clients. A theory was constructed from the data, demonstrating the unique and individual nature of the way each therapist works with different clients, but with significant commonalities. Five main categories resulted: ‘Relational Stance’, ‘Working with Developmental History’, ‘Parts Work’, ‘Structure and Process’ and Right-Brain Processes’. The interactions and relationships between the categories demonstrate the fluid, dynamic, co-created and highly individual nature of this way of working and led to the development of the core category ‘Integration – Uniqueness with Commonalities’.
EMDR is a relatively new therapy and the ways in which it is researched, trained and practiced continue to evolve. This research has relevance for clinicians working with complex trauma who want to use EMDR as part of their practice. The resulting theory has been developed to support clinicians to work at an appropriate level of complexity when using EMDR with clients presenting with complex trauma as part of an integrative practice. It could also serve to inform training, practice and further research, particularly given the diverse clinical backgrounds of EMDR therapists
Kulturelle, historische und regionale Unterschiede im wiedervereinigten Deutschland: Angleichung der Produktivitätswerte mittels differenzierter Führungskompetenzen am Beispiel zweier KMU der Lebensmittelbranche
Get PDFThe differences of the reunited Germany with regard to cultural, historical and regional nature were examined under economic aspects and, associated with this, the possibilities for aligning productivity values by means of differentiated leadership competences.
The initial thesis describes a lack of consideration of regional, cultural and historical differences between East and West German employees and thus the failure to adapt leadership to the specifics of East German employees, which contributes to persistent productivity differences between East and West Germany to this day. From this it was deduced that leadership in East and West German companies requires different leadership competences and approaches, adapted to the different employee needs, in order to be able to contribute to an equalisation of the productivity differences.
These differences exist in terms of performance, motivation, communication and behaviour of employees towards colleagues and superiors. It can be concluded from the results of the survey that differences in the human factor between East and West Germany are to be seen as a factor influencing productivity.
It can be seen that East German managers have different leadership skills and use different leadership styles and approaches than West German managers. For example, the eastern leadership style is sometimes described as rather patriarchal. Furthermore, leadership in the East is seen as less success- and performance-oriented and less willing to take risks.
It can be stated that productivity is influenced by various factors (employees, situation, structural aspects, etc.) and that the sole responsibility of an East German leadership style for poorer productivity cannot be established across the board.
For example, a mixture of empathy, sensitivity, collegiality and commitment is described as useful for managing East German employees.
Findings were made regarding the influence of historical-cultural differences on employees, leadership and productivity. Finally, it should be noted that the assumed relationship between adapted leadership and the associated productivity alignment can be confirmed by the statements of the interviewees, but actual proof still needs to be provided.
This work made it possible to develop findings on this comprehensive and complex field of research, which, however, raised additional questions that need to be further investigated. The results of this work form a solid basis for this
Wie junge Kohorten individualisiert alternsgerecht führen
No full textDemographic change and digitalization have had far-reaching effects on personnel management and human resources development. In particular, young managers will have more influence on the working capacity of older employees in the future. This situation raises a number of questions, including: How can the tools for individualized, age-appropriate management (IAM) adapt to an aging workforce and the changing work capacity of employees?
Based on the concept of IAM, perception, attitudes and behavior of young managers in public administration in Switzerland were examined in a both qualitative (n = 11) and a quantitative (n = 189) survey. Within the qualitative substudy, subjective theories of age stereotyping were additionally reconstructed. On the basis of qualitative guided interviews and a quantitative measurement of the countable characteristics, the results section of the survey provides information on the attitudes and leadership behavior of young managers, their perceptions of older employees (age stereotypes) and their abilities as well as their perception of their own aging process (own ability development).
The results show that the attitudes and conduct of the younger managers towards older employees is predominantly positive and benevolent. A systematic connection between ability perception and management behavior or attitude cannot not be proved. Regarding individualized, age-appropriate management, the attitude of the young managers is more positive than their actual behavior. The respondents support the retention of older employees in the work force, yet they hardly ever hire older persons. The younger managers feel responsible for their employees’ health, but here, too, they show little individualized management behavior. Young managers view their own aging process in a more positive light than that of their older employees. On the other hand, a positive perception of both their own skill development as well as that of the employees they manage can be confirmed. The young managers ascribe both positive and negative age stereotypes to their older employees, with the negative ones predominating over the positive ones. Despite a stereotyped judgment of older employees, no negative influence of IAM could be established in this context. Possibly discriminating behavior remains equally unverified.
With the transfer of the results into practice, a greater individualization of management and an even more positive perception of one’s own aging process can be obtained with the young managers. The empirical results provide possibilities for interpretation and points of reference for stereotype research, which can be referred to for further studies
Records of Crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous Linnaeus, 1766, Carnivora, Canidae) in Rondônia, Brazil: range extension, threats and conservation
No full textWe report the first records of Cerdocyon thous on the left bank of the Madeira river, extending its distribution to more than 10 km to the N–W. We carried out a survey of official information present in scientific articles, technical reports, and management plans for conservation units in the state of Rondônia, and accessions to the iNaturalist. Our records show C. thous occurs widely in state, even in busy urban areas such as the area surrounding the international airport of Porto Velho. This highlights the importance of monitoring the fauna present in the urban fragments of Amazonian cities
Speed training practices of Brazilian Olympic sprint and jump coaches: toward a deeper understanding of their choices and insights (part II)
Get PDFThis is the second article in a three-article collection regarding the plyometric, speed, and resistance training practices of Brazilian Olympic sprint and jump coaches. Here, we list and describe six out of the ten speed training methods most commonly employed by these experts to enhance the sprinting capabilities of their athletes. Maximum speed sprinting, form running, resisted sprinting, overspeed running, uphill and downhill running, and sport-specific movement methods are critically examined with reference to their potential application in different sport contexts. In an era when sprint speed is of critical importance across numerous sports, practitioners can employ the methods outlined here to design efficient training programs for their athletes
Interviews with improvisers
No full textAn audio cast series where the author has conversations with improvisers working across performing and interdisciplinary arts. You’ll hear the author talking to dance and theatre artists as well as those arts practitioners who are working with improvisation more broadly. The first series stems from the author's interest in the relationship between voicing and dancing. Their research to date has explored that dynamic in the context of dance or movement-based improvisation. Rather than refusing the voice in dance, the author figures the ‘re-fusing’ voicing and dancing so that they mesh together as part of a tightly knit endeavour
An editorial: Introducing the Special Issue of Decolonial Subversions
Get PDFThis Special Issue of Decolonial Subversions on the theme of decolonising the university and the role of linguistic diversity is motivated by a desire to expand critical conversations on the potential of linguistic inclusion in higher education. The Special Issue is multi-/trans-disciplinary, multilingual and multimodal with contributions from authors living and working in Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia and South Africa. Contributors are teachers, comedy writers, poets, and university researchers. This diversity enriches the Special Issue as a whole, as authors address the issue of decolonising the university and the role of language in the diversification of knowledge in ways that are sensitive to their own histories, contexts and positionality