Catholic pastoral care as a response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Southern Africa

Recent estimates suggest that more than 10% of Southern Africa is HIV+. This article is based on a research study of sixty four pastoral care projects focussing on the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Southern Africa. The projects, which fall under the auspices of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference AIDS office, focus on both education for HIV prevention and the pastoral care of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). The article recounts the results achieved by these projects over the last two years, discussing their strengths and weaknesses, and proposes some recommendations for further action. The author discusses the pastoral and theological dimensions of these pastoral services indicating the importance of socio-cultural mediation in pastoral responses.     

Civic religion in England: Traditions and transformations

As the religious diversity of English towns and cities has grown over the past thirty years due to the establishment in some places of sizeable communities of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, as well as other faiths, there have been important changes to local public religion. Traditional civic ceremonies, such as Remembrance Sunday, as well as new forms of civic celebration and commemoration, are now increasingly taking account of the diversity of faiths represented in Britain. This paper examines the consequences of religious diversity for English civic religion by looking at some of the traditions of civic ceremonies in England and at the way in which they have been transformed by the changing religious landscape of towns and cities. The paper also explores some of the dilemmas and questions that have emerged both for the Church of England as well as for the other faith communities when it comes to the design and delivery of civic ceremonies.     

Subjectivity and Orientation in Levinas and Kant

Continental Philosophy Review - This essay presents an argument for reconceptualizing subjectivity as orientational rather than foundational in nature. My focus is on the work of Emmanuel Levinas...     

The Role of Self-Awareness and Self-Monitoring in Charismatic Relationships

In this paper, a hypothesis from a theory of charismatic relationships is examined that incorporates follower's level of self-monitoring and state of self-awareness. It is argued that changes in the state of self-awareness affect the characteristics of the short-term charismatic relationship between leader and follower, but only for high self-monitoring followers. Providing support for the hypothesis was a repeated-measures study. Participants ( N = 78) viewed video vignettes of charismatic leaders presenting different messages, in either a high or low self-awareness condition. When high in self-awareness, participants with a high self-monitoring orientation were more likely than when in a state of low self-awareness to internalize only those messages congruent with their values and beliefs.     

Gangsta’ Rap and a Murder in Bakersfield1

The present study explores the biasing effects of gangsta’ rap lyrics on subject perceptions of a murder trial defendant's personality. The lyrics were those actually authored by a defendant in a murder trial on which the present author was a psychological consultant for the defense. Results strongly indicate that the defendant was seen as more likely to have committed a murder than had he not been presented as authoring such lyrics. Surprisingly, results also show that the writing of such rap lyrics was more damning in terms of adjudged personality characteristics than was the fact of being charged with murder.     

The Questioning Process in Maudsley Family-Based Treatment. Part 1: Deviation Amplification

Maudsley family based treatment (FBT) continues to demonstrate promising evidence in the treatment of adolescent presentations of anorexia nervosa. In the earlier stages of this treatment modality, the process of empowering families, and in particular, helping parent to follow their natural instincts in making united decisions around re-feeding their child is critical. This paper aims to provide FBT practitioners with structured interviewing guidelines around the amplification of familial interactions around food, drawing on existing familial strengths and therefore empowering parents and families in their process of change. The questioning skills outlined are discussed in light of the theoretical tenets of the Maudsley FBT model.     

Dating Violence Prevention Programming: Directions for Future Interventions

Dating violence among college students is a widespread and destructive problem. The field of dating violence has seen a substantial rise in research over the past several years, which has improved our understanding of factors that increase risk for perpetration. Unfortunately, there has been less attention paid to dating violence prevention programming, and existing programs have been marred with methodological weaknesses and a lack of demonstrated effectiveness in reducing aggression. In hopes of sparking new research on dating violence prevention programs, the current review examines possible new avenues for dating violence prevention programming among college students. We discuss clinical interventions that have shown to be effective in reducing a number of problematic behaviors, including motivational interventions, dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness, and bystander interventions, and how they could be applied to dating violence prevention. We also discuss methodological issues to consider when implementing dating violence prevention programs.     

Maternal Expressive Style and Children's Emotional Development

Maternal expressive styles, based on a combination of positive and negative expressive patterns, were identified at two points in time and related to multiple aspects of preschool children's emotional development. Mother–child pairs from 260 families participated when the children were 3 years old, and 240 participated again at aged 4 years. Expressive styles were identified at age 3 using cluster analysis, replicated at age 4 and examined in relation to children's emotional understanding, expressiveness and regulation. Three expressive styles were identified: high positive/low negative, very low positive/average negative and average positive/very high negative. Cluster membership was stable in 63% of families from age 3 to 4 years; no systematic patterns of change were evident in the remaining families. Expressive style was related to aspects of children's emotional expression at 3 years and to emotion expression and regulation at 4 years. Children's expressiveness and regulation at age 3 were also related to changes in mothers' expressive styles over 1 year. Identifying mothers' expressive styles provides a unique way to understand the potential role of the emotional climates in which preschool‐aged children learn to express and regulate their own emotions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.