Community-Based Theater and Adults with Psychiatric Disabilities: Social Activism,Performance and Community Engagement

The present study is an in‐depth qualitative inquiry with an established theater troupe composed of adults living with psychiatric disabilities known as The Stars of Light. A grounded theory methodology is used to describe dimensions of social activism and characteristics of theater as a medium of engagement at the individual, setting/troupe, and community levels of analysis. Analysis of a broad scope of interview data, performance content, community contacts, and historical data from the troupe’s 19‐year history led to the identification of eight emergent theoretical concepts formulated from 17 supporting associated themes. The theoretical concepts characterize the impacts of community‐based theater in the lives of participants, and theater troupe processes that contribute to community education and positive social change for adults living with psychiatric disabilities. Advantages, limitations, and future directions for research and action in community‐based theater settings are discussed within the context of present research findings.     

English,Christian or Muslim Law: Deconstructing Some Myths

Archbishop Rowan Williams's 2008 lecture, “Civil and Religious Law in England: A Religious Perspective,” has become an historic reference point for discussions about relationships between Islam, religious law and English law. One of the Archbishop's heart-felt pleas was for “deconstruction” of myths about both Islam and the Enlightenment. Continued stereotypes perpetuated by the “Trojan Horse” debate over Birmingham schools and the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo event suggest the plea went unheard. This article aims to address factors that prevent objective assessment of the relationship between English law, religious laws, Islam and other faiths. It is hoped that this will help the deconstruction of myths by examining what the law says, the claims religious communities make and whether further change is needed. The relationship of religious laws, norms and courts to secular legal systems is a pertinent topic for Christian–Muslim dialogue to which it is hoped that this article might contribute. Amongst issues considered are the scope for more formal recognition or monitoring of religious laws that have an impact on the lives of some UK citizens, and arguments for recognition on the basis that a democracy should reflect all parties to its citizenship and protection of the most vulnerable. As calls for further recognition of religious laws arise, the deconstruction of myths can only smooth the way for their objective assessment.     

‘Should I Circumcise My Daughter?’ Exploring Diversity and Ambivalence in Egyptian Parents' Social Representations of Female Circumcision

Female circumcision is still practiced in different parts of Egypt, impacting women's health and well‐being. Existing studies often portray parents' representations of the practice as positive and homogeneous, with little attention paid to the true diversity of views within a community. This study draws on social representations theory to highlight such nuances, while identifying the psychosocial factors that shape parents' decisions to circumcise or not circumcise their daughters. In‐depth interviews with 11 mothers and five fathers were conducted in rural communities in the Al Qalyoubeya and Benisweif governorates. Thematic analysis revealed the co‐existence of positive, negative and ambivalent representations of female circumcision amongst parents and within the individuals themselves. Although some parents positively represent female circumcision as ensuring the daughter's chastity, safeguarding her femininity and preserving community identity, they feel distress about its potential harms, such as pain, bleeding and terrifying experience on the daughter. Fathers further acknowledge its negative impact on marital sexual relationships. In some cases, parents challenge the ritual and refuse to circumcise their daughters. In light of a theory of change that emphasises the role of community dialogue in renegotiating health‐damaging social practices, along with evidence of diverse views amongst parents, this study argues that sensitively facilitated ‘community conversations’ might provide parents with opportunities to debate their opposing views and allow for the construction of health‐enabling social representations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Baseline Response Levels are a Nuisance in Infant Contingency Learning

The impact of differences in level of baseline responding on contingency learning in the first year was examined by considering the response acquisition of infants classified into baseline response quartiles. Whereas the three lower baseline groups showed the predicted increment in responding to a contingency, the highest baseline responders did not. Instead, they responded less in the contingency period relative to baseline. In extinction, the four baseline quartile groups failed to differ. The findings are considered in the context of the law of initial value, and some potential reasons for the effect of baseline responding on contingency learning are discussed. These studies show that variability in baseline responding may compromise our understanding of contingency detection especially for infants with high baseline response levels. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self-Relevance as a Moderator of Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification

We examined the influence of self-esteem on reactions to favorable or unfavorable feedback. We also varied the relevance of this information for participants' self-image—the information was either low or high in self-relevance. When asked how important it was to personally perform well, low self-esteem persons were more likely to engage in self-enhancement in the low than in the high self-relevant context. This finding supports predictions derived from Swann and Schroeder's (1995) analysis. Furthermore, low self-esteem participants engaged in self-enhancement strategies to a greater extent than high self-esteem participants in the low self-relevant condition, whereas an opposite pattern was obtained in the high self-relevant condition. Our analysis bridges the gap between two opposing schools of thought—one that believes that low self-esteem persons will evidence especially strong self-enhancement tendencies and the other that believes that it is high not low self-esteem persons that will demonstrate especially strong self-enhancement tendencies. We discuss the importance of self-relevance for determining when self-enhancement and self-verification will and will not occur.