bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Psychological Aspects of the Filling of the Holy Spirit: A Preliminary Model of Post-Redemptive Personality Functioning
Authors: Ingram John A.
Published: February 2018

A preliminary model is presented describing applications of the filling of the Holy Spirit to psychological aspects of Christian living. Anthropological deficits in secular psychology and evangelical systems are described. Related topics include expectancy, defense mechanisms, self-image, and cognitive appraisal. The concept of “biblical humanism” is applied to new creations in Christ as a function of the ongoing filling of the Holy Spirit. Although many Christian clients have considerable spiritual resources, their ability to organize and access them effectively can be seriously impaired unless they are able to apply the integrative, dynamic resource of the Holy Spirit actively to their life development and stress challenges on a continuous basis. Truly Christian counseling must ultimately include addressing the activities of the Holy Spirit in Christian living at some level.
The MMPI as a Predictive Tool for Missionary Candidates
Authors: Schubert Esther , Gantner Keith
Published: February 2018

The missionary community has needed a method for inexpensive effective candidate screening. Previous experience (Schubert, 1992, 1993) has suggested certain Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scales and background information of the candidate to be helpful in this regard. The MMPI has been used as a tool in selection with missionary and tentmaker candidates with varying levels of success. This double-blind study matches predictive MMPI interpretations with long-term missionary performance in 129 missionary units (one single missionary or one married couple per unit). MMPI test interpretations were 69% accurate in prediction of performance. Other effects were significant with regard to the age of the individuals. Gender and general location (home mission versus overseas mission) were not statistically significant. “Yes” predictions were accurate 77% of the time; “no” 71%; and the “maybe” prediction divided into 58% successes and 42% failures. This preliminary research indicates that the MMPI is inadequate as a sole evaluation of missionary candidates yet has a high potential for use with some other basic tools. A prospective study is in progress utilizing the MMPI, a Life History Questionnaire, and an autobiography.
“Where are the Nine?”
Authors: Sorenson Randall Lehmann
Published: February 2018

Jesus’ questions as recorded in the Gospels offer a prophetic challenge for Christian therapists who seek to integrate their faith with their clinical practice. One of my favorites is Jesus’ question in Luke 17 to the one leper who returned after all ten had been healed: “Where are the nine?” John Bunyan (1678/1969) in his classic The Pilgrim's Progresshad his protagonist, an Everyman he named “Christian,” traverse an allegorical odyssey en route to the Celestial City past adversarial characters with names like “Ignorance,” “Pliable,” and “Obstinate.” Taking inspiration from Bunyan, I propose putting the lepers in Luke to similarly imaginative use, recasting them for my purposes here as ten invented characters who represent different but common responses to the notion that integration is something indivisbly, irreducibly, and fundamentally personal. It is my thesis that we run from this notion just as the lepers ran from Christ. I have divided the lepers into four “colonies”: three of three lepers each, and the tenth as a colony of one. In this article I address the first two colonies, which I have named “No Need” and “No Good.”
Kleinian Psychodynamics and Religious Aspects of Hatred as a Defense Mechanism
Authors: Vitz Paul C. , Mango Philip
Published: February 2018

Hatred is placed in the theoretical framework of object relations, e.g., splitting, as developed by Melanie Klein and Otto Kernberg; it is also interpreted in a general religious context as a major barrier to forgiveness and to psychological health. Within the therapy process of the adult client, an important aspect of hatred is that it is a willed choice, i.e., the self acting as agent (Meissner, 1993). Hatred's extreme resistance to change is explained as due to its function as a defense against narcissistic injury. Defenses supported by hatred are described, for example, hatred defends one against the source memory and thus against a depressing, humiliating or inadequate past; hatred protects one from the risks of intimate relationships; it creates the benefits of the sick role and of self-pity; it defends one's unrealistic ego-ideals and moral pride; and it permits the pleasures of moral superiority.
Integration in the Therapy Room: An Overview of the Literature
Authors: Hall M. Elizabeth Lewis , Hall Todd W.
Published: February 2018

Clinical integration refers to the incorporation of religious or spiritual beliefs, values, and methods into the process of psychotherapy that results in a different way of being as a therapist, understanding the client, and/or doing therapy. Two goals are pursued in this article: (a) to provide an overview of what has been done in clinical integration over the past 25 years; and (b) to point the reader to resources in each of the areas addressed in this article. First, the foundations for clinical integration that have been laid over the years are outlined. These include pragmatic, ethical, empirical, and personal reasons for engaging in clinical integration. Following this, an overview of the spectrum of clinical integration is described. The incorporation of religious values and beliefs, religious content in traditional psychological frameworks, and spiritually-derived goals and techniques are discussed. Finally, some ethical considerations in pursuing clinical integration are outlined.
Consecrated Counseling: Reflections on the Distinctives of Christian Counseling
Authors: Bufford Rodger K.
Published: February 2018

Authors seeking to clarify the distinctives of Christian counseling have chiefly emphasized (a) the context of counseling—church and parachurch settings, (b) the context or intervention techniques and the topics addressed in counseling, (c) the motivations or goals of counseling—conversion, discipleship, and service, and (d) counselor characteristics—assumptions/world view, personal relationship with God, and ecclesiastical role (e.g., pastoral). Viewed superficially there seems little agreement. Considering factors that are implied, but not emphasized, significantly increases agreement among authors. Clear identification of the distinctives of Christian counseling has been complicated by the failure to distinguish between spiritual counseling and mental health counseling. Christian counseling (a) requires deep personal faith, (b) is done with excellence, (c) reflects a Christian worl dview, (d) is guided by Christian values, (e) actively seeks God's presence and work, and (f) uses spiritual resources and interventions within ethical guidelines. Such consecrated counseling is primarily concerned with the person of the therapist, is consistent with many theoretical models and techniques, and can be adapted to the great variety of human needs.
Soul and System: The Integrative Possibilities of Family Therapy
Authors: Watson William H.
Published: February 2018

This article presents a review of the interface of family systems theory and therapy with religious, spiritual, or faith perspectives, with particular emphasis on Christian theology and Scripture. A brief review of the literature shows the relative paucity of work in this area to date. It is argued that family therapy is a particularly fertile ground for the integration of theological, religious, and spiritual considerations. Three points of intersection between family systems theory and biblical concepts—context, legacy, and body life—are discussed to illustrate the considerable promise of family systems theory for future integrative work. Implications for practice are discussed within a framework outlining three means of including religion or spirituality in the clinical work of family therapy—as resource, as culture, or as context. Borrowing from the family systems theory emphasis on epistemology, a definition of “second-order integration” is suggested, which may help to clarify the field's “thinking about thinking” about integration.
The “Silence” of Women in Integration: Exploratory Qualitative Research
Authors: Patelis Athena R. , Sorenson Randall Lehmann
Published: February 2018

Whether the result of biology, the result of culture, or the interaction of both, modern research on gender concurs: men and women are different. This deceptively simple finding raises a series of interesting questions for work in the integration of psychology and theology. Do women think of integration differently than men? Does the impact of being a mother affect how women imagine integration? And is traditional integrative literature congenial with women's perceptions? If not, why aren't there more women writing on integration in ways that highlight their unique contributions? How are we to account for women's apparent silence when it comes to integration? The present study investigated these questions via exploratory qualitative research.
The relationship among Spirituality, Religious Ideology, and Personality
Authors: Tloczynski Joseph , Knoll Christa , Fitch Andrew
Published: February 2018

An initial pool of 145 undergraduates was administered the Spiritual Orientation Inventory (SOI), Dimensions of Religious Ideology Scale (DRIS), Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). The SOI and DRIS examine the manner in which individuals address issues of ultimate meaning and concern in their lives. The POI measures healthy personality characteristics associated with self-actualization, while the MMPI-2 measures maladaptive personality characteristics associated with pathology. On the basis of SOI and DRIS scores five groups of subjects were formed: High Spirituality, High Religious Ideology, High Combined, Moderate Combined, and Low Combined. The High Spirituality Group was found to score significantly higher than the Low Combined Group for six scales of the POI. Significant differences between groups were also found for the Type A scale of the MMPI-2.
The Personal Functioning of Pastors: A Review of Empirical Research with Implications for the Care of Pastors
Authors: Hall Todd W.
Published: February 2018

The present article surveys the available empirical research on the personal (psychological/spiritual) functioning of pastors. The literature is divided into six major areas: emotional well-being, stress and coping, marital/divorce adjustment, family adjustment, burnout, and impairment. The research in each area is critically reviewed and summarized, and directions for future research are suggested. The primary conclusion is that interpersonal/relational deficits are associated with the vast majority of psychological problems faced by pastors, and thus need to be addressed, particularly at an early stage of the pastor's career.
Professional Training in Religious Institutions: Articulating Models and Outcomes
Authors: Johnson W. Brad , Campbell Clark D. , Dykstra Michelle L.
Published: February 2018

This article calls for reconsideration and evaluation of training models among explicitly religious doctoral training programs. In light of recent modifications to the American Psychological Association (APA) accreditation criteria (APA, 1995), the authors consider the range of relevant training missions for religious institutions as well as implications for subsequent components of the curriculum. Recommendations are offered regarding mission congruent student outcomes, and programs are encouraged to utilize outcome data in ongoing consideration of the programs’ rationale and structure. The article concludes with brief consideration of the wisdom of creating a religious organization to act in collaboration with APA in evaluating the uniquely religious missions and outcomes of such programs.
Integration Training in the Seminary Crucible
Authors: Beck James R. , Banks James W.
Published: February 2018

Training mental health professionals in the seminary context provides the educator with several important challenges. Students must first be trained in addressing four specific audiences, each of which will have different expectations of the graduate. Students must also be given skill acquisition in four specific areas that are central to the seminary environment: a good working knowledge of hermeneutics, sound theological reasoning, ability to use psychological literature well, and an awareness of the vast sweep of church history. Seminary graduates who enter the Christian mental health professions with this type of educational background can thus make some unique and focused contributions to the ongoing integration enterprise.
Market and Mission
Authors: Pike Patricia L. , McMinn Mark R. , Campbell Clark D.
Published: February 2018

The focus of this article is how the market forces in the field of professional psychology affect the Christian training programs. After a brief review of some of the changes in the field over the past three decades, current national and Christian community trends are presented. Although market forces affect the manner in which the Christian training programs move forward, they do not change the mission of these programs. The mission has not been accomplished. Therefore, the task of training Christian professional psychologists continues.
“Holding On” to the Theology-Psychology Relationship: The Underlying Fiduciary Structures of Interdisciplinary Method
Authors: Shults F. Leron
Published: February 2018

This article explores the personal dimension of interdisciplinary method. How do we as individuals hold on to the content of our disciplines and the relation between them? Many recent attempts at relating psychology and theology have missed the “hidden curriculum” of the interdisciplinary “assignment.” The ability to hold on to the psychology-theology relationship (in a way that does not capitulate to a deconstructivist relativism or regress to a foundationalist absolutism) depends on a sufficiently complex structure of consciousness within the individual that is capable of upholding inherently relational concepts. Based on the developmental framework of Robert Kegan's “subject-object” theory (1994), the model proposed here offers a classification of three underlying fiduciary structures, (“traditionalist,” “modernist,” and “post-modernist”) and explores the way they shape interdisciplinary method through several case studies. As Christians, we affirm that relationality itself is ultimately revealed and transformed by the Spirit of Christ, opening up to us new insights into our relational existence.
The importance and the Difficulty of Doing Research with a Missionary Population
Authors: Jensma Jeanne L. , Pike Patricia L. , Duerksen Cheryl L. , Strauss Gary H.
Published: February 2018

In a recent study, 50 mission boards were contacted and over 300 first-term missionary appointees were asked to participate in research on the predictive validity of the Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory. The research took place in two phases: one before the missionaries left for their respective fields and the second after approximately six months on the field. Fifty missionaries agreed to participate in the study and met the qualifications for doing so. By the end of the second phase of the research, however, only 14 missionaries had completed the study with no missing inventories. This research note highlights both the importance of doing research among missionaries and the difficulties encountered in the process.
Why We Don't Forgive: A Biblical and Object Relations Theoretical Model for Understanding Failures in the Forgiveness Process
Authors: Pingleton Jared P.
Published: February 2018

Very little has been written about why individuals often do not forgive or why their efforts to do so may not be successful. The existing literature concerning psychological concepts of forgiveness generally presumes them to be universally applicable without regard to individual differences in the forgiver's developmental maturity level, personality structure, or psychopathological state. This article expands and elaborates the author's earlier psychologically and theologically integrated model of forgiveness (Pingleton, 1989) to offer a psychodynamic understanding of how and why individuals may become pathologically resistant to or fixated in the forgiveness process. Accordingly, a paradigmatic depiction of relevant biblical principles and Object Relations developmental theory is introduced, from which diagnostic and psychotherapeutic implications for conceptualizing forgiveness failures are drawn.
Are Christian Martyrs Abuse Victims, Neurotics, or Suicidal? Comments on the Psychological Study of Christian Martyrdom
Authors: Tam Ekman P. C.
Published: February 2018

In Christian tradition the martyr, man or woman, was honored for holding the faith as being of higher value than life itself. However, in the field of psychology, martyrs may not be seen as models for modern people. Some psychologically oriented studies on Christian martyrdom suggest that the underlying motivations of early martyrs are more complicated than previously thought. Some authors argue that early martyrs were people with psychological problems, and that they might be abuse victims, neurotics, or suicidal. But how true is this picture? This article critically reviews literature on Christian martyrdom, comments on approaches and presuppositions, and suggests that research methodology on martyrdom should (a) consider psychology in context, (b) incorporate psychology of meaning, and (c) adopt a new model of psychology of religion. Christian scholars are urged to do research on this topic so as to retrieve the legacy of Christian faith.
Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation, and the Restoration of the Soul
Authors: Willard Dallas
Published: February 2018

After clarifying background assumptions, I proceed to a description of the soul as the source and coordinating principle of the individual life, referring to classical and biblical sources. The soul is presented as distinct from the person, but the entity that makes the person and life one person and life. The psychological reality of sin is seen in the incapacitation of the soul to coordinate the whole person, internally and externally. The gospel word and the Spirit of God bring new life to persons “dead in sin,” and make it possible for them to become active in spiritual growth by utilizing disciplines such as solitude, silence, fasting, and scripture memorization. The effect of these on progression toward wholeness is discussed, and the importance of psychological research and teaching on spiritual formation through spiritual disciplines is emphasized.
Wilderness Wanderings and Promised Integration: The Quest for Clarity
Authors: Faw Harold W.
Published: February 2018

Integration of faith and learning is a central thrust of Christian higher education. However, confusion over the scope and meaning of this concept continues to plague us all. This article considers recent definitions of integration and explores several related concepts. Within a somewhat narrowed understanding of integration, three clusters of meaning based on Nelson (1987) are presented and explored. Their relevance for the integration of psychology and theology is assessed by comparing existing models with this framework and summarizing one example of integrative work representing each cluster. Essentials for effective integration are briefly discussed.
Sacred Objects as Vital Objects: Transitional Objects Reconsidered
Authors: Lamothe Ryan
Published: February 2018

In this essay I argue that the concept of transitional objects in Winnicott's psychoanalytic developmental theory and Rizzuto's perspective regarding God representations in human life, though helpful, is inadequate for understanding and explaining the complex roles, functions, and characteristics of sacred objects and practices in adult life. Transitional objects of infancy and early childhood, which represent a movement from merger to shared existence, from primary process to secondary process thinking, from fantasy to reality, are idiosyncratic and are substantially different from the sacred objects many adults share. I argue that an expanded depiction of Winnicott's concept, transitional object, provides an understanding of the vital role or functions of sacred objects in everyday existence and in interpersonal relations. I suggest that sacred objects and practices in adult life may be conceptualized as vital objects or phenomena when they (a) furnish believers with an unconscious belief in omnipotence for the sake of the construction and organization of subjective and intersubjective experiences and reality; (b) provide a subjective and intersubjective sense of identity, continuity, and cohesion; (e) serve as opportunities for spontaneity and creativity; (d) supply comfort and security for persons and communities during periods of anxiety.
Psychological Trauma: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Spirituality
Authors: Wilson John P. , Moran Thomas A.
Published: February 2018

Traumatic life events impact the body, self-structure, and soul of the survivor. Accordingly, the authors submit that overwhelmingly traumatic events adversely affect not only the psychological dimension of the self but also the faith systems and spirituality which give meaning to one's life. This article examines the effect of severe trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on human spirituality and faith. The psychological trauma caused by natural disasters, accidental disasters, disasters of human origin, and violence often leaves the spiritual domain in disarray. The article offers practical considerations for mental health practitioners and pastoral counselors from whom the victims of severe trauma seek help. Since various religions and belief systems can facilitate recovery from significant psychological trauma and PTSD, the authors encourage those who respond to victims of trauma to develop a holistic model of treatment designed to revitalize, transform, and heal their clients.
Expanding Davanloo's Interpretive Triangles to Explicate the Client's Introjected Image of God
Authors: Strength Janice Morgan
Published: February 2018

One of the difficulties for a psychotherapist who desires to integrate Christian faith with psychological theory is making the transition from theoretical models to practical applications in the clinical setting. In this article I focus on interpretation techniques that will enable the client to more clearly understand his or her introjected image of God. I briefly summarize the literature on theoretical knowledge regarding the introjected image of God and then review Davanloo's triangles for formulating interpretations of a client's resistance and transference. Taking the literature on the introjected image of God and Davanloo's interpretive triangles into consideration, a model is proposed that aids in incorporating interpretation of transference and resistance that a client has in relationship to God into the therapeutic work.
Group Therapies for Homosexuals Seeking Change
Authors: Yarhouse Mark A.
Published: February 2018

The purpose of this article is to review the literature on group therapies for homosexuals who report distress concerning their experience of same-sex attraction. There are a number of methodological limitations to the research published between the 1950s and 1970s, and it is misleading to present this research as decisive evidence that sexual orientation can be changed. In addition, various contemporary professional and religion-based paraprofessional groups have been designed to bring about change of orientation, but few provide outcome data to support their claims of successful change. Psychologists should not dismiss these studies and programs as irrelevant to those who experience same-sex attraction and seek change, but they are challenged to design interventions and collaborate with existing programs to demonstrate efficacy and to clarify precisely what various interventions, programs, and support groups can accomplish.
Religious Coping Reconsidered, Part One: An Integrated Approach
Authors: Ganzevoort R. Ruard
Published: February 2018

In two articles, the author highlights the need for a multidimensional approach toward religious coping. Not only should the interaction of religion and coping be seen as a bidirectional influence, the interactions with dimensions of identity and social context should be taken into account. Furthermore, the author claims that each of these dimensions should be conceptualized as a process. Implications for theory and research are discussed. Besides this multidimensional approach, the author advocates a narrative reformulation of religious coping theories and tries to show the usefulness of a narrative approach. The first article in the two-part series proposes a multidimensional approach based on a review of literature on religious coping, with a focus on the work of K. I. Pargament. Shortcomings of present approaches are discussed. Then 4 central dimensions of religious coping are described: crisis and coping, religion, identity, and context. A multidimensional framework is construed, in which the interactions among the 4 dimensions are highlighted. Hypotheses and questions for further research are formulated. The aim of this article is to evaluate the present situation in religious coping research and theory and to contribute to a more integrative approach.
Clergy Sexual Malfeasance: Restoration, Ethics, and Process
Authors: Davies Mark G.
Published: February 2018

Churches and denominations are being forced to respond to clergy sexual malfeasance. Often the response formulated is insufficient, due to an inadequate understanding of the problem. This article identifies clergy sexual malfeasance as not only a personal moral issue, but also a professional ethical issue. Ethical concerns with regards to the restoration of a fallen pastor are outlined. As well, a process of restoration is suggested.
Religious Doubting in Parochial School Adolescents
Authors: Kooistra William P. , Pargament Kenneth I.
Published: February 2018

High school juniors (N = 267) from Catholic and Protestant parochial schools were surveyed in regard to their doubting of core tenets of Christianity. Various indices were used to investigate the relationships between religious doubting and three constructs—adverse life events, family environment, and emotional distress. For the sample as a whole, support was mixed and generally weak for the hypotheses that religious doubt would correlate positively with adverse life events, conflictual family patterns, and emotional distress. However, although no denominational differences were predicted, separate analyses for the Catholic and Protestant students revealed that the latter group evidenced a pattern of consistently higher and statistically significant correlations for the predicted relationships. The authors conclude that religious doubting among adolescents may be most highly associated with adverse life events, conflictual family patterns, and emotional distress in subcultures in which religious values are well-integrated into the familial-cultural identity.
Critical Incident Intervention with Missionaries: A Comprehensive Approach
Authors: Jensma Jeanne L.
Published: February 2018

When people are exposed to, or involved in, traumatic occurrences, they are at risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to follow in the wake. This involves more than psychological discomfort; it involves a host of physiological, mental, emotional, and spiritual sequelae. The results of trauma can be so debilitating that a missionary might be unable to continue to minister. The effects can last a lifetime. Given the relatively high level of risk for missionaries to experience critical incidents and the possible aftereffects, it is important for churches and mission boards to have an adequate and comprehensive approach to member care in ministering to missionaries when they encounter critical incidents. A comprehensive plan would include critical incident stress debriefing as soon as possible after an incident, one-to-one counseling—preferably with a therapist trained in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)—for those individuals experiencing complex PTSD, debriefing for the debriefers, and a post-critical incident seminar at least 3 months after the incident.
The Nature of Causality and the Design of Integration Research
Authors: Timpe Randie L.
Published: February 2018

Efforts to integrate psychological and theological insights hinge on conceptions of causality, which are frequently implicit and unexamined. Aristotle postulated four forms of causality, subsequent to which psychology and theology selected competing forms. Scientific efforts in psychology follow largely from efficient cause views, whereas theology utilizes conceptions traditionally of final cause format. In addition to simple but powerful linear models, psychologists employ interactive and feedback models that overcome the deficiencies of the linear sequence. The nature of the linear, interactive, and feedback models restructure integration efforts to link psychology and theology in research and model building activities. The postmodern emphases in contemporary psychology and theology reflect dissatisfactions with traditional causal notions which, too, re-engineer integration.
Faith as a Vital Concern in Human Development: Structuring Subjectivity and Intersubjectivity
Authors: Lamothe Ryan
Published: February 2018

This essay proposes that faith, understood as reciprocal performances and experiences of trust-distrust and loyalty and disloyalty, structures subjectivity and inter-subjectivity. Relying on Winnicott's (1971, 1989) developmental view, it is asserted that parents’ diverse and changing performances of trust and loyalty provide the child with (a) the needed confidence to organize me and not-me representations into a relatively secure sense of subjective and (later) intersubjective identity and continuity, and (b) the capacities for and experiences of spontaneity, awe, and freedom. The difficulties encountered during phases of transition are due to changing perceptions and experiences of trust and loyalty in relation to significant others. Further, it is contended that religious narratives and rituals may be conceptualized as performances of faith rather than transitional objects, as Winnicott believed. When religious performances are good enough, when they contribute to reciprocal experiences of trust and fidelity, they structure a person's subjective and intersubjective sense of identity, continuity, and cohesion while, at the same time, facilitating capacities for and experiences of spontaneity, awe, and freedom; in short, faith is a vital concern.
The Psychodynamic Treatment of Resistance with a Religious Patient from the Perspective of Intersubjectivity Theory
Authors: Baker Mark W.
Published: February 2018

The analysis of resistances with religious patients from the perspective of intersubjectivity theory offers insights into the resolution of therapeutic impasses by focusing attention on intersubjective conjunctions and disjunctions (Stolorow, Brandchaft, & Atwood, 1987). Understanding resistance as an aspect of the intersubjective field between therapist and patient, which is co-determined by both participants, greatly assists in the treatment of difficult patients. Resistance analysis in the case of a patient using religious references as resistance is presented from an intersubjective perspective on psychodynamic treatment.
Jesus as Object: Christian Conversion as Interpreted through the Perspective of Fairbairn's Object Relations Theory
Authors: Paul Lynn K.
Published: February 2018

This article uses Fairbairn's object relations theory as a framework for understanding the process of Christian conversion. The basic principles of Fairbairn's object relations theory and identity development are outlined, followed by a review of previous applications of object relations theory to religion. Finally, the process of Christian conversion is described in terms of object relationship with Jesus, and this description is compared with various New Testament explanations of conversion. The application of object relations theory to human relationship with Jesus illuminates the foundational role Christ plays in the identity development
Service Quality Measurement at Brand Factory: An Empirical Study
Authors: Monica M.  , Ramanaiah G.
Published: February 2018

Service quality is an important factor that contributes to the customer loyalty and business success as evident from the extant literature. In the light of fierce competition, business firms can adopt service quality as a key differentiator and a key element of business strategy and retailing is no exception to this. This study was intended to measure the service quality at Brand Factory, future groups using SERVQUAL model. The descriptive design was used with the sample size of 100 customers in the Bangalore City to examine the gap between the expectation of the customers and perception with regards to service quality. The gap score for each dimension is calculated by subtracting the expectation score from the perception score. A negative gap score indicates that the actual service (the perceived score) was less than what was expected (the expectation score). Gap score is an indication of the level of quality of their service provision, and highlights areas requiring improvement. The findings show that the service quality at Brand Factory is satisfactory.
Antinomies of culture and critique of modernity
Authors: Jianyin Sun
Published: February 2018

The critique of modernity was one of the important themes in philosophy in the 20th century. Theorists focused on the spiritual characteristics of modernity by which they tried to find a solution to the crisis of modernity, a solution beyond economics and politics. György Márkus, one of the members of the Budapest School, focused on the culture of modernity for 30 years. He presented a critical theory of modern culture. His theory had a clear logic and offered a compelling view. At the core of his theory of cultural modernity was the idea of the ‘antinomies of culture’. These antinomies are of vital importance since the struggle and tension between the poles of culture provides, on his view, the energies and orientation required for the development of cultural modernity. In this essay, I will try to analyse the reality of cultural modernity in China employing Márkus’s ideas and evaluating the significance of his theory.
The Birthday Party and The Scientists
Authors: Stratton Jon
Published: February 2018

This article compares two of the groups generally regarded by critics as the most important in Australia in the post-punk period, The Birthday Party and The Scientists. While they had much in common – each was governed by the vision of one man, Nick Cave for The Birthday Party and Kim Salmon for The Scientists, both had record deals in Australia and both went to London – The Birthday Party became a cult success while The Scientists are only now, 30 years after their heyday, receiving the popular credit due them as a foundational noise group. There were important differences between the groups. The Birthday Party came from Melbourne and their members were middle-class. The Scientists came from Perth, at that time a small city remote from the cultural centres of Australia, and Salmon and his associates were working-class. The Birthday Party was self-consciously in a High Art tradition of nihilism going back to Dada while The Scientists’ music was an existential critique of the values of the middle-class suburbia that dominated Perth.
The Architecture of Ethnographic Knowledge: Narrowing Down Data and Contexts in Search of Sociological Cases
Authors: Deener Andrew
Published: February 2018

Building ethnographic knowledge is a tacit epistemic process involving two steps: narrowing down the framework through which ethnographers hold constant empirical units as social relationships of the same kind, and paring down the boundaries of time and space to contextualize the data as levels of analysis. This article explicates the workings of and relationships between these hermeneutic and phenomenological processes as the underlying architecture of ethnographic knowledge. It shows that narrowing down data and contexts is fundamental to moving beyond the substantive contribution to the development of sociological cases. In this regard, case development is paradoxical: Narrowing down is necessary for generalizing up.
Short-term induction of vitellogenesis in the immature male yellowfin seabream (Acanthopagrus latus) exposed to bisphenol A and 17β-estradiol
Authors: Negintaji Ahmad , Safahieh Alireza , Zolgharnein Hossein , Matroodi Soheila
Published: February 2018

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a known environmental endocrine-disrupting chemical that is widely used in plastics manufacturing. BPA enters in the aquatic environment mainly through urban and industrial sewage effluents, thereby posing a potential threat to organisms living in these ecosystems. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of BPA on VTG production with direct (sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyarylamide gel electrophoresis) and indirect (alkali-labile phosphate (ALP), total plasma calcium and protein) methods in immature male yellowfin seabream ( Acanthopagrus latus) as a marine fish model. Fish were randomly distributed into seven groups that were administered 1, 10, 50, and 100 µg g−1 week−1 of BPA and 2 µg g−1week−1 of 17β-estradiol (E2) over a period of 2 weeks. Solvent controls received olive oil, whereas controls were not injected. The fish were sampled on days 0, 7, and 14, and their blood plasma and liver were obtained. The results showed that the hepatosomatic index of all treated fish was elevated in comparison with controls. Direct and indirect indicators showed that fish VTG protein was induced by BPA and E2 exposure. The protein was found to have two bands with molecular weights around 210 and 190 KDa. ALP, total plasma calcium and protein levels were increased in dose- and time-dependent manners. The results of this study demonstrated that short-term exposure of yellowfin seabream to BPA induced adverse effects in the reproductive system of hermaphrodite fish.
Making change happen: Policy dynamics in the adoption of major reforms in Lithuania
Authors: Nakrošis Vitalis , Vilpišauskas Ramūnas , Barcevičius Egidijus
Published: February 2018

Previous studies of policy reforms that were undertaken during the recent global financial crisis mostly focused on fiscal consolidation, with much less attention paid to other structural reforms. Although the impact of such external shocks as crisis or change of government on systemic change is widely acknowledged, little agreement exists on which intervening factors can best account for successes or failures of reform commitments. In this article, we propose an innovative explanation that focuses on the variables of political attention and change leadership, and which analyses temporal political and policy dynamics of reform decision making. We conduct a comparative analysis of the four performance priorities of the 2008–2012 Lithuanian Government led by Prime Minister A. Kubilius. The article concludes that a combination of persistent high political attention to policy reforms and strong reform leadership aimed at mobilising coalition support are essential factors in fulfilling reform commitments.
Poverty no longer compounded daily: SDI’s efforts to address the poverty penalty built into housing microfinance
Authors: Bolnick Joel
Published: February 2018

The network of slum dweller federations known as SDI has innovated a form of local financing derived from the collective savings of urban poor groups. This addresses three shortcomings of conventional microfinance: its inability to reach very low-income people, its limited role in community mobilization for longer-term social change, and its constraints in terms of leveraging subsidies from the state and the market. SDI’s national and international urban poor funds have been used, among other purposes, for providing basic services and upgrading homes in informal settlements. Further, SDI’s model of federating urban poor communities and their funds at city, national and international levels has enabled mature federations, capable of financially sustainable projects, to cross-subsidize learning and precedent-setting projects in which full cost recovery is not feasible. This produces an outcome whereby the combined portfolios of all the national funds are able to match financial outflows with inflows. At the same time, the federations that co-manage these funds and the projects that they finance are able to escalate the production of social capital amongst the urban poor and to generate impact through changed relationships with government.
Psychiatry in Portugal: Key actors and conceptual history (1884–1924)
Authors: Morgado Pereira José
Published: February 2018

The aim of this article is the study of psychiatry in Portugal between 1884 and 1924, the period when it became institutionalized, and when works that marked its scientific evolution were published. This paper summarizes the various historiographical approaches, and its approach to the subject is closest to the conceptual history carried out by German Berrios in Cambridge. The study attempts to correlate the key actors and their works with the history of different scientific ideas, its differences, and the influences of foreign authors. The diseases, syndromes, symptoms and pathologizations in this historical period were also studied, justifying a constructionist perspective. Finally, the various therapies are discussed, from institutional to pharmacological and psychotherapeutical.
Fuck patriarchy! An analysis of digital mainstream media discussion of the #freethenipple activities in Iceland in March 2015
Authors: Rúdólfsdóttir Annadís G , Jóhannsdóttir Ásta
Published: February 2018

This article contributes to recent research on young women’s emerging feminist movements or feminist counter-publics in the digital age. The focus is on the #freethenipple protests in Iceland in 2015 organised by young women and the ensuing debates in mainstream digital news media and popular ezines. A feminist, post-structuralist perspective is adopted to analyse the discursive context in which the debates and discussions about the protest are embedded, but we are also informed by recent theories about role of affect in triggering and sustaining political movements. The data corpus consists of 60 texts from the digital public domain published during and after the protests. The young women’s political movement is construed as a revolution centring on reclaiming the body from the oppressive structures of patriarchy which, through shame and pornification, have taken their bodies and their ability to choose, in a post-feminist context, from them. Public representations of the protest are mostly supportive and many older feminists are affectively pulled by the young women’s rhetoric about how patriarchy has blighted their lives. We argue that the young women manage to claim space as agents of change but highlight the importance of the support or affective sustenance they received from older feminists.
Old jokes, new media – Online sexism and constructions of gender in Internet memes
Authors: Drakett Jessica , Rickett Bridgette , Day Katy , Milnes Kate
Published: February 2018

The Internet is a space where the harassment of women and marginalised groups online has attracted the attention of both academic and popular press. Feminist research has found that instances of online sexism and harassment are often reframed as “acceptable” by constructing them as a form of humour. Following this earlier research, this present paper explores a uniquely technologically-bound type of humour by adopting a feminist, social-constructionist approach to examine the content of popular Internet memes. Using thematic analysis on a sample of 240 image macro Internet memes (those featuring an image with a text caption overlaid), we identified two broad, overarching themes – Technological Privilege and Others. Within the analysis presented here, complex and troubling constructions of gendered identity in online humour are explored, illustrating the potential for the othering and exclusion of women through humour in technological spaces. We argue that this new iteration of heteronormative, hegemonic masculinity in online sexism, couched in “irony” and “joking”, serves to police, regulate and create rightful occupants and owners of such spaces.
Human Development in Gujarat: Evidence from 2011 Population Census
Authors: Chaurasia Aalok Ranjan
Published: February 2018

This article uses the data available from the 2011 population census to construct the human development index (HDI) right up to the village and municipal ward level in Gujarat. The analysis reveals that the human progress in the state and in its constituent districts, sub-districts, towns and villages has largely been average to low, and strong residence and social class inequalities in human development continue to persist. The human development scenario is contrastingly different in rural and urban areas of the state. There is, however, a substantial proportion of municipal wards within towns where human development appears to be low or very low. The analysis also suggests very strong residence and social class effects on human development in the state. It also appears that human progress in the state has stagnated at average levels during the last decade. Despite the fact that there is still substantial scope for human progress. There is a need to reinvigorate human development efforts in the state.
Unilateral Option Arbitration clauses: An unequivocal choice for arbitration under the ECHR?
Authors: van Zelst Bas
Published: February 2018

Unilateral option arbitration clauses (UAC) are clauses under which the parties bound by it are restricted to bringing proceedings in a particular jurisdiction, while at the same time providing one or more parties the option to elect that a dispute be referred to arbitration. The latter right is unilateral in that it may only be invoked by the beneficiary party or parties that are designated in the UAC. This article submits that the concept of a UAC is compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). More particularly it argues that UACs meet the requirements – developed through the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) – that the waiver of the right to access to an impartial and independent court established by law is agreed upon freely and unequivocally. It is concluded that there is nothing in the ECtHR’s case law to suggest that a UAC conferring the choice for arbitration or litigation only to the beneficiary of the UAC would be contrary to these requirements.