Tools from evolutionary biology shed new light on the diversification of languages

Computational methods have revolutionized evolutionary biology. In this paper we explore the impact these methods are now having on our understanding of the forces that both affect the diversification of human languages and shape human cognition. We show how these methods can illuminate problems ranging from the nature of constraints on linguistic variation to the role that social processes play in determining the rate of linguistic change. Throughout the paper we argue that the cognitive sciences should move away from an idealized model of human cognition, to a more biologically realistic model where variation is central.     

Effect of Body Image on Tunisian Women’s Sexual Functioning

The objective of this study was to identify the perception of body image by Tunisian women and their spouses and to examine its impact on female sexuality. Our study involved 300 Tunisian women who had been married for at least 1 year and consulted in primary care medicine during the months of June and July 2016. Each participant completed a questionnaire covering four areas: women’s perception of their body, the perception of the spouses of the latter as it was reported by the participants, sexual activity, and the impact of body perception on sexual activity. The participants were satisfied with their bodies in 51% of cases. This satisfaction was associated with perceiving the body as physically attractive (p?=?0.007), young (p?=?0.047) and as a source of confidence (p?<?0.001). Compared to women dissatisfied with their bodies, those satisfied declared satisfaction of sexual desire (p?=?0.005), reaching orgasm (p?=?0.001), taking the initiative in sexual activity (p?=?0.003) and preparation for sex (p?=?0.006). Perceived satisfaction of the partner with the female body was related to a more positive sexuality in women, specifically to women’s sexual satisfaction (p?=?0.018), women taking sexual initiative (p?=?0.014) and preparation for sex (p?=?0.001). Our study indicates the important impact of a positive perception of the body image of Tunisian women by themselves and by their spouses on their sexuality. It would be interesting to consider these aspects in the management of female sexual disorders.     

Counseling in Iran: History,Current Status,and Future Trends

As a growing profession, counseling in Iran was first established within the Iranian educational system. Counselors in Iran have provided mental health services during natural disasters and war. The counseling profession in Iran currently faces challenges in addressing the needs of women; ethnic minorities; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. In this article, the authors focus on the historical background, current trends, and future challenges of the counseling profession in Iran.     

Neurocognitive dysfunction in children with sleep disorders

It is well known that adults with sleep disturbances frequently exhibit a wide range of neurocognitive decrements, and that these deficits are potentially reversible with effective treatment. However, the consequences of respiratory sleep disturbances on neurocognitive function in children have only recently been evaluated, and suggest a strong causal association between the episodic hypoxia and sleep fragmentation that characterize the disease and the emergence of reduced memory, attention and intelligence as well as a link to problematic and hyperactive behaviours and mood disturbances. This article takes a critical look at the current literature on these issues, reviews the major findings and discusses such findings in conjunction with those derived from pertinent animal models.     

Notes on the ‘Nova Era’: Rio de Janeiro and Environs

Wilfred Cantwell Smith, On Understanding Islam, selected studies, The Hague, Mouton, 1981, 351 pages. DM 105

Edward Mortimer, Faith and power: The politics of Islam, London, Faber &; Faber (1982), 407 pp., £10.50

David Westerlund, From socialism to Islam? Notes on Islam as a political factor in contemporary Africa, Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, Research Report no. 61, Uppsala (1982), 62 pp. Skr 20

W. L. Brenneman, S. O. Yarian, and A. M. Olson, The seeing eye: Hermeneutical phenomenology in the study of religion, Pennsylvania State University Press (1982) x+177 pp. £8.10     

Children and Spirituality in the Context of a Traditional Festival: Halloween

This paper examines some of the contemporary cultural practices associated with the traditional festival of Halloween as it is celebrated by children in Britain and the United States. Using ethnographic evidence from a variety of sources, the authors seek to explore the range of activities which constitute the modern Halloween, particularly as it is mediated to children through the forms of consumer culture. The paper analyses the changing social, historical and religious patterns which have displaced the celebration of Halloween onto children, and offers an account of them which points to the persistence of a coherent spirituality—what the authors term a ‘spirituality of boundaries‘—to be found in the symbolism of the festival and its interaction with the lives and representation of children.