Church Attendance,Problems of Measurement,and Interpreting Indicators: A Study of Religious Practice in the United States, 1975–2010

Church attendance is usually measured in surveys by asking a direct question about frequency of churchgoing over a preset period of time, which is typically a year. Different studies have cast doubt over the validity of this indicator as it tends to overestimate actual attendance to a significant degree. The aim of this article is to compare data on church attendance provided by two different types of research conducted in the United States between 1975 and 2010: survey data (GSS) and data obtained from time use surveys (ATUS). This comparison has three main objectives: (1) to confirm the hypothesis that survey data tend to overestimate actual attendance; (2) to show that this overestimation is not constant over time and space, but tends to vary in an erratic and unpredictable way; and (3) to demonstrate that data provided by time use surveys are more reliable than the frequencies of churchgoing provided by traditional surveys when the objective is to identify trends in religiosity in a population.     

Secular or nonreligious? Investigating and interpreting generic ‘not religious’ categories and populations

In research dealing with religious affiliation, generic nonreligious categories – ‘no religion’, ‘not religious’, ‘nonreligious’, ‘nones’ – are frequently used to measure secularity and secularisation processes. Analysis of these categories is, however, problematic because they have not received dedicated methodological attention. Using qualitative research conducted in the UK, this article investigates what nonreligious categories measure and, specifically, whether they indicate non-identification or disaffiliation as assumed or an alternative form of cultural affiliation. Findings suggest that generic nonreligious categories are sometimes used to express substantive positions and public identities, and that these are diverse. These findings flatten distinctions between religious and nonreligious categories as ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ respectively and indicate problems therefore in using nonreligious identification to measure secularity and secularisation. They suggest nonreligious identification is, however, a useful indicator of the advance of nonreligious cultures and the ‘nonreligionisation’ of societies.     

肺微小浸润腺癌及浸润前病变HRCT影像特征

为总结肺微小浸润腺癌(MIA)、原位腺癌(AIS)及不典型腺瘤样增生(AAH)结节的HRCT影像特征,回顾性收集43例术前2周内行HRCT检查、经胸腔镜切除、组织病理学证实的50个肺结节,分析结节大小、成分及内部特征.结果显示所有AAH表现为纯磨玻璃结节(pGGN),且≤1.0cm,空气支气管征未见,空泡征少见;86％AIS表现为pGGN,71％的AIS≤1.0cm,且空泡征常见(相对于AAH);95％的MIA表现为混合磨玻璃结节(mGGN),其余为实性结节,90％的MIA＞1.0cm,空气支气管征常见(相对于AIS).因此结节的大小、成分、空泡征及空气支气管征在一定程度上有助于MIA、AIS及AAH的鉴别.     

Religion in the Israeli Parliament: a typology

Because religion has been a constant source of social divisions and political conflicts, the role of Judaism in Israel is very often studied through the prism of a rigid religious–secular cleavage.Without denying the contentious character of religion in the political and social arenas, I suggest in this study that a closer look at the usages of religion in Israeli politics offers a more nuanced picture of the role of Judaism in Israel. In order to uphold this thesis, I identify the main usages of Judaism in the Israeli Parliament (the Knesset) and scrutinise the extent to which these different mobilisations overlap or crosscut the secular–religious cleavage. This analysis leads to a typology of three usages of religion: religion as a source of authority, religion as a marker of identity and nation, and religion as a source of values. On this basis, I demonstrate that the role of religion in Israel and especially in the Israeli Parliament cannot be reduced to the divide between religious and secular groups. If in its first usage, the religious–secular cleavage indeed predominates, the use of religion as an identity marker does not necessarily lead to a conflict with secular members, while in its final form, religion is mobilised as a resource by members of both groups.     

A Rare Kind of Light at the End of a Rare Kind of Tunnel: Trauma of a Life-Altering,Chronic, Degenerative Disease and Its Redemption

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, degenerative neurological disease that traumatizes and retraumatizes victims. As a result of the absence of a human perpetrator and collectivity of experience, this trauma tends to be highly internalized. The trajectory of the disease ultimately results in absolute disillusionment in all systems that sustain life. While recovery might not be possible in the face of a degenerative, chronic illness, the patient may be able to find redemption by focusing on greater truths and little joys, which in turn could place him or her on a higher plane.     

Influence of Culture on Ethical Decision Making in Psychology

This study focused on the influence of American and Chinese cultures on consequentialism orientation in decision-making within the broader context of psychologists’ academic roles and responsibilities. In addition, this study hypothesized that educational level would affect culturally influenced ethical decision making in both cultures. Based on the American Psychological Association Ethics Code, 20 ethical scenarios in 5 domains in psychology were created and used to examine the influence of culturally ethical beliefs on psychologists’ decision making among 181 participants. The results indicated that significant cultural differences in consequentialism orientation differentiated Chinese and American participants and influenced their resolution of ethical issues.     

Beyond Skills and Structure: Justice Dispositions as Antecedents of Young Citizens' Volunteering and Political Participation

Community involvement is usually attributed to opportunity structures and individuals' ability to be involved. Building on psychological justice research, this paper proposes that justice dispositions add to explaining why young citizens become active in their communities or not. Furthermore, it is argued that justice dispositions help to understand why most studies find only moderate relationships between youth volunteering and forms of political involvement. In a sample of 321 young Swiss volunteers, this study shows justice centrality and belief in a just world to predict the extent of volunteering and political participation, even after controlling for civic skills and opportunity structures. However, scrutinising the motivations to volunteer, self‐oriented motivations (enhancement, social, career and understanding) more strongly affected the level of volunteering than motivations related to justice dispositions (political responsibility and social responsibility). These findings have implications for the attraction and retention of volunteers as well as for the politics of volunteering and community development in general. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

出版视阈中的民国时期中国心理学发展史考察——基于民国时期心理学图书的计量分析

中国科学心理学是在20世纪初复杂的社会背景下通过传入西方心理学而建立和发展起来的.在这一过程中,心理学图书的出版和传播起到了重要作用.文章以《民国时期总书目》中收录的心理学图书为研究对象,通过对心理学图书的年出版量、编著与译著的比较、出版数量的地域差异、分支学科的出版特征等四个方面的出版状况进行计量分析,探讨其形成原因和历史背景,试图从出版视角对民国时期科学心理学在中国的发展做微观的历史考察.