Might anything be plain good?

Philosophical Studies - G.E. Moore said that rightness was obviously a matter of maximising plain goodness. Peter Geach and Judith Thomson disagree. They have both argued that ‘good’ is...     

Learning from Homeschooling Routines

This study provides a rare opportunity to look inside the homeschool and to observe the routines of homeschooling families from across the United States. With more than 1000 survey participants, and nine parents selected for interviews, the compiled data were analyzed through open coding techniques. Meaningful aspects that arose from the routines of homeschoolers included collaboration with other educational entities, the use of community resources, faith, individualized instruction, and the flexibility of school structure. The findings of this research may provide meaningful information for Christian teachers, parents, and others in our search for the optimal educational environment.     

Wealth differentials in the impact of conditional and unconditional cash transfers on education: findings from a community-randomised controlled trial in Zimbabwe

We investigated (1) how household wealth affected the relationship between conditional cash transfers (CCT) and unconditional cash transfers (UCT) and school attendance, (2) whether CCT and UCT affected educational outcomes (repeating a year of school), (3) if baseline school attendance and transfer conditions affected how much of the transfers participants spent on education and (4) if CCT or UCT reduced child labour in recipient households. Data were analysed from a cluster-randomized controlled trial of CCT and UCT in 4043 households from 2009 to 2010. Recipient households received $18 dollars per month plus $4 per child. CCT were conditioned on above 80% school attendance, a full vaccination record and a birth certificate. In the poorest quintile, the odds ratio of above 80% school attendance at follow-up for those with below 80% school attendance at baseline was 1.06 (p = .67) for UCT vs. CCT. UCT recipients reported spending slightly more (46.1% (45.4–46.7)) of the transfer on school expenses than did CCT recipients (44.8% (44.1–45.5)). Amongst those with baseline school attendance of below 80%, there was no statistically significant difference between CCT and UCT participants in the proportion of the transfer spent on school expenses (p = .63). Amongst those with above 80% baseline school attendance, CCT participants spent 3.5% less (p = .001) on school expenses than UCT participants. UCT participants were no less likely than those in the control group to repeat a grade of school. CCT participants had .69 (.60–.79) lower odds vs. control of repeating the previous school grade. Children in CCT recipient households spent an average of .31 fewer hours in paid work than those in the control group (p < .001) and children in the UCT arm spent an average of .15 fewer hours in paid work each week than those in the control arm (p = .06).     

The joy-maker in the garden: cognitive behavioural therapy in The Secret Garden (1911)

Cogntive Behavioural Therapy appears in the classic children’s novel The Secret Garden (1911) by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This essay demonstrates how “thinking about thinking” helps three central characters (Mary, Colin, and Archie) overcome depression and prolonged grief. They learn to challenge habitual cognitive distortions and socially endorsed absolutist myths such as: 1) I alone am special. 2) What I can see with my eyes is all that is real; there is no supernatural realm. 3) If people must speak of God, they should use the (only) proper name. 4) I must suffer without hope. The essay explains CBT, a form of psychotherapy that began in the 1980s and is used around the world today. It also explains Burnett’s “Beautiful Thought” which is rooted in the New Testament and also in the New Thought Movement of mid-1800s. After an analysis of how CBT appears in the characters and plot of The Secret Garden, the essay provides guidance for how adults can help children to think criticially about beliefs; to be self-reflective; to experience beauty through nature, the arts, and gardening; and to trust in benevolent spiritual forces.     

The arc of the rope swing: humour,poetry, and spirituality in Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

This essay analyzes the classic American children’s novel, Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White, which tells of a sophisticated spider’s rescue of a piglet who is being prepared for slaughter. The ‘arc of the rope swing' refers to a rope swing enjoyed by children in the novel; it is also a metaphor for the way White holds opposing forces in tension. Most noteworthy is the tension between poetic language and humour in the novel; White uses both to convey a sense of ultimate goodness and trust-in-being. Poetic language sets a contemplative tone (‘poetic pauses’) and conveys spiritual themes, including delight, wonder at the beauty of the natural world, ‘divine discontent’ (yearning), memento mori, sorrow and hope. In contrast, White’s ‘gracious humour’ is fast-paced and entertaining; it keeps the novel from being too preachy or solemn. His humour includes 1) wordplay (including the juxtaposition of incongruous words and images; dramatic irony; and puns ), 2) comedic characters (Wilbur as lovable buffoon, Charlotte as incisive wisdom figure) and 3) satire (scorn for human gullibility, arrogance and poor treatment of animals). White sharply satirises human arrogance and demonstrates the value of humility (embodied in Charlotte and Wilbur). The article also contains brief summaries of Charlotte's Web and of White's biography, and it concludes with a substantial set of “talking points” for discussing the novel’s spiritual themes with children.     

Mindfulness-based stress reduction among Emirati Muslim women

Explorations of mindfulness-based psychotherapeutic approaches are relatively scarce outside of Europe and North America. This study examined the effectiveness and the religio-cultural appropriateness/acceptability of a Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programme among Muslim citizens of the United Arab Emirates. Emirati college women (N?=?12) were enrolled in an eight-week, group-based, MBSR programme. After completing the programme, participants attended a focus group exploring their perceptions of MBSR, with a particular emphasis on exploring the cultural appropriateness of this approach. The MBSR programme was favourably evaluated, and not in any way deemed antithetical towards the participants' own theistic or cultural traditions. The results are discussed with reference to identifying bridging concepts to help better contextualise MBSR for people who spontaneously couch their experiences in religious themes, or who explicitly express a desire for faith-affiliated interventions.     

Improving Personal Happiness Through Couple Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Self-directed Couple Enhancement Program

Although personal happiness is highly associated with social relationships, basic questions remain regarding the causal effect of improved social relationships on happiness. The main aim of this study was to test whether emotional and cognitive dimensions of personal happiness can be increased by means of a self-directed relationship enhancement program, which aims to increase relationship-relevant skills such as dyadic coping, communication, and conflict resolution. N = 220 couples were randomly assigned either to an intervention or to a waiting list control group (survey: pre-, post-, 3- and 6-month follow-ups). Multi-group latent change score models reveal that (1) personal happiness can be increased through a couple intervention; (2) change in personal happiness was predicted by an increase in skills and relationship satisfaction through the intervention; (3) the least happy participants benefited most from the intervention. Improving spousal interactions may help people become and stay happier. Participants in this study did not relapse to their set point of personal happiness as could be expected by adaptation theory. Thus, not treating individuals directly, but rather the dynamic system of spousal interactions as a whole, offers a potentially very powerful area for happiness research.     

Anthropocentric Rhetorical Discourse in Popular Science Writing about Human Evolution

Discourse describing evolution in contemporary popular science writing often posits that humans evolved not from an ape, but from a merely ape-like or generalized primate. Contemporary fossil and genetic evidence, though, have revealed what can accurately be described as an extinct ape species as ancestral to the human lineage. The persistence of ambiguous terms in popular science writing may be interpreted as a form of anthropocentric rhetorical discourse. Nonetheless, while such discourse is often justified in terms of increasing the public understanding of science, it may also mitigate (whether consciously intended or not) religion-based resistance to evolutionary theory.