Religion,resources, and work-family balance

It is increasingly recognised that work and family roles are interconnected. This is one reason why researchers and practitioners are working to understand and facilitate balance between work and nonwork roles. Most existing literature defines inter-role balance by emphasising work and family roles alone; unfortunately, this narrow focus prevents us from recognising individuals’ engagements in many other roles that may also influence one's balance. The present study expands our thinking about work-family balance by presenting and testing a model that incorporates involvement in a third role, organised religion. Specifically, we examine religious involvement, among Hindus living in the United States (N?=?105), as a predictor of resource gain and loss, and its effect on perceptions of work-family balance. Working within a Conversation of Resources framework, it was then expected that this resource gain/loss would influence coping strategies and perceptions of bi-directional work-family conflict and facilitation (indicators of work-family balance).     

The Contribution of Common Principles of Canon Law to Ecclesial Communion in Anglicanism

An important recent development in worldwide Anglicanism is the emergence over recent years of a project to articulate the principles of canon law common to the churches of the Anglican Communion. This project seeks to express the juridical character of Anglicanism from a global perspective, not only to underscore the many fundamental values that Anglicans share in terms of their polity, ministry, doctrine, liturgy, rites and property, going to the very roots of Anglican identity but, also, as a concrete resource for other churches in ecumenical dialogue with Anglicans. This article traces the development of the so-called ius commune project, describes the methodological challenges which it faces and, the process of producing a draft. It also seeks to compare the project with the juridical experiences of other international ecclesial communities and, briefly, to place the project in the context of the debate about the adoption of an Anglican Covenant, an initiative proposed by the Lambeth Commission in 2004.     

Influence of Levels of Abstractness on Reasoning Ability

Judgment by students of faculty effectiveness have relied, for the most part, on subjectively expressed responses to a series of “effectiveness traits” (cues). Simple averaging schemes have summarized the aggregate judgments, often resulting in (a) treating all cues as if they were of equal importance, and (b) inattention to the effects or measurement of individual differences of judges.

Multiple regression was used in this study to derive (empirically) individual cue utilization patterns (i.e., weights) for 10 effectiveness traits. Ss were compared to their subjectively expressed judgment scheme. Results indicate that Ss were moderately successful in expressing their actual cue utilization patterns; however, different judgment schemes were clearly observed.     

What We Know Now About Bias and Intergroup Conflict, the Problem of the Century

After nearly a century's study, what do psychologists now know about intergroup bias and conflict? Most people reveal unconscious, subtle biases, which are relatively automatic, cool, indirect, ambiguous, and ambivalent. Subtle biases underlie ordinary discrimination: comfort with one's own in–group, plus exclusion and avoidance of out–groups. Such biases result from internal conflict between cultural ideals and cultural biases. A small minority of people, extremists, do harbor blatant biases that are more conscious, hot, direct, and unambiguous. Blatant biases underlie aggression, including hate crimes. Such biases result from perceived intergroup conflict over economics and values, in a world perceived to be hierarchical and dangerous. Reduction of both subtle and blatant bias results from education, economic opportunity, and constructive intergroup contact.     

Can We Really Have It All? The Attainment of Work and Family Values

We discuss the role values and value attainment play in the complex and dynamic process of balancing work and family demands. We contend that an individual experiences conflict between work and family demands because of value incongruence between that individual and a pivotal family member (i.e., lack of value similarity) or because of the incongruent values between that individual and the organization (i.e., lack of value congruence). We further argue that work-family conflict leads to job and life dissatisfaction for individuals because this conflict frustrates the attainment of important work and family values. We develop and propose a conceptual model, capturing both work and family values as they relate to work-family conflict, value attainment, and outcomes.     

Getting scientists to think about what they are doing

Research scientists are trained to produce specialised bricks of knowledge, but not to look at the whole building. Increasing public concern about the social role of science is forcing science students to think about what they are actually learning to do. What sort of knowledge will they be producing, and how will it be used? Science education now requires serious consideration of these philosophical and ethical questions. But the many different forms of knowledge produced by modern science cannot be covered by any single philosophical principle. Sociology and cognitive psychology are also needed to understand what the sciences have in common and the significance of what they generate. Again, traditional modes of ethical analysis cannot deal adequately with the values, norms and interests activated by present-day technoscience without reference to its sociological, political and economic dimensions. What science education now requires is ‘metascience’, a discipline that extends beyond conventional philosophy and ethics to include the social and humanistic aspects of the scientific enterprise. For example, students need to learn about the practices, institutions, career choices, and societal responsibilities of research scientists, and to rehearse in advance some of the moral dilemmas that they are likely to meet. They need also to realise that science is changing rapidly, not only in its research techniques and organisational structures but also in its relationships with society at large.     

Plato's Criticism of the ``Democratic Man' in the Republic

The article discusses two puzzles about Plato's account of the democratic person: (1) unlike his account of the democratic city, his characterization of a democratic person is markedly incorrect. (2) His criticism of a person so characterized is criticism of a straw man. The article argues that the first puzzle is resolved if we see it as a result of Plato's assumption that a democratic person is a person whose soul is isomorphic to a democratic constitution. Such a person has a desire satisfaction theory of good and adopts liberty and equality of desires as a basis for action. The article then argues that Plato's criticism brings up two problems endemic to desire satisfaction theories of good, the problem of bad desires and the problem of conflicts of desires. The criticism is that the democratic person's way of dealing with these problems, by applying the social principles of liberty and equality to his desires, is irrational.     

Paul Tillich's Perspectives on Ways of Relating Science and Religion

Where do Paul Tillich's views of the relationship between religion and science fit in Ian Barbour's four classifications of conflict, independence, dialogue, and integration? At different levels of analysis, he fits in all of them. In concrete religions and sciences, some conflict is evident, but religion and science can be thought of as having parallel perspectives, languages, and objectives. Tillich's method of correlation itself is a form of dialogue. His theology of nature in “Life and the Spirit” (Part 4 of his Systematic Theology) fits the integration type. His strong “Two Types of Philosophy of Religion” (in Theology of Culture) is a latent natural theology. His system of the sciences is a form of synthesis, a type of integration.     

论张积中的三教观

自魏晋以来,儒释道三家思想并存发展成为了中国文化的显著特征之一。清末太谷学派作为流传于民间的一个学术派别,其三教观一直存在诸多争议。学派北宗传人张积中在山东肥城黄崖山聚徒讲学近十年,门人弟子遍及山左,现存遗著十九种,为太谷二传弟子中著述最多者。从张积中的三教观来看,他并非倡导三教合一,其三教观的核心是以弘扬儒家文化为基本理念,同时汲取佛道思想来完善其理论体系的太谷圣功之学,当属宋明新儒家思想在民间进行儒学传播的新尝试。     

Trait emotional intelligence profiles of students from different university faculties

This study investigated the trait emotional intelligence (trait EI or trait emotional self‐efficacy) profiles of 512 students from five university faculties: technical studies, natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities. Using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire, it was hypothesised that (a) social sciences would score higher than technical studies in Emotionality, (b) arts would score higher than technical studies in Emotionality, (c) arts would score lower than technical studies in Self‐control, and (d) there would be an interaction between gender and faculty, whereby female students would score higher than male students within the social sciences only. Several other exploratory comparisons were also performed. Results supported hypotheses (a), (b), and (d), but not hypothesis (c), although the differences were in the predicted direction.