What's the Story?: Spirituality and Writing

What is spirituality? As in other papers (Gearon, 1995, cf Wright, 1996; Gearon, 1996, 1997), I maintain here that spirituality may be defined as our relationship with ultimate reality. Spirituality is thus inevitably, by this definition, always metaphysical (Gearon, 1995, again, cf. Wright, 1996, but also Wright, 1997). I want to develop this theme here by contending that such notions of ultimate reality are determined, themselves defined, by texts, that spirituality today, in literate societies, is defined by writing.

Developing this intentionally provocative idea of spirituality's ultimate definition and determination by writing, particularly through notions of narrative and text, this paper provides a critical examination of the place of the literary form in contemporary debate on spirituality in education. Marking out the contentious territory of various interdisciplinary boundaries – some more disputed than others – an attempt is made to parallel the problems centring on our understanding of spirituality with problems associated with the interpretation of texts. By way of an open conclusion, designed as with the main body of the paper to stimulate debate, these albeit brief considerations will be set within the more specific concerns of ‘Engaging the Curriculum – A Theological Programme’, (Thatcher, 1995; Markham, 1996, 1997, 1997a; Gearon, 1997a, 1997b, and, forthcoming, 1998, 1998a), a major project to promote an interdisciplinary awareness of spiritual and theological issues in the curriculum in a genuinely international context. (The bulletin and now journal of the project is, beyond the UK, circulated in Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, the Philippines, the United States, amongst other countries.)     

Moving with the in-crowd: Cooperation and interpersonal entrainment in in- vs. out- groups

Current Psychology - Interpersonal entrainment or moving together in time, has been shown to cultivate pro-social behaviours amongst those who take part. Converging evidence suggests that its...     

Money Doesn't Talk, It Swears: How Economic Stress and Resistance Resources Impact Inner-City Women's Depressive Mood

We examined the differential impact of chronic versus acute economic stress on depressive mood among a sample of 1241 low-income, single, European and African American women. Based on Hobfoll's (1988, 1989) conservation of resources (COR) theory, we predicted that acute resource loss would be more distressing than chronic economic lack. That is, although chronically impoverished conditions are stressful, the attendant resource losses created will be more distressing. We further predicted that mastery and social support would be more beneficial in offsetting the negative consequences of acute resource loss than the negative consequences of chronic economic lack, because acute loss creates identifiable demands that resources may address. Hence, we hypothesized that mastery and social support would show stress buffering effects only for material loss, not chronic lack. The findings generally supported the hypotheses, but mastery buffered only European American women's resource loss and social support buffered only African American women's resource loss. The findings are discussed in light of implications for prevention within theoretical and cultural contexts.     

Historical Examination of United States Intentional Mass School Shootings in the 20<Superscript>th</Superscript> and 21<Superscript>st</Superscript> Centuries: Implications for Students,Schools, and Society

The deadliest U.S. school shooting to date, occurring on February 14, 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida serves as a powerful reminder that school violence is ever present. Addressing school violence, however, has been an elusive endeavor. The purpose of this review is to provide a historical examination of United States intentional mass school shootings in the 20^th and 21^st centuries. In addition, implications for students, schools, and society are discussed in light of policy and legislative initiatives as well as school-based prevention and intervention tiered models of support, such as positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS).     

Firearm Violence across the Lifespan: Relevance and Theoretical Impact on Child and Adolescent Educational Prospects

Firearm violence in United States has been a persistent concern for decades particularly in light of mass shootings. Firearm violence is increasingly viewed as a public health crisis, and results in a heavy financial burden to society. In light of the continuous challenges associated with firearm violence, limited research in the area, it is necessary to examine current trends regarding firearm deaths and injuries. Extant data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Web-based Inquiry Statistics Query and Reporting System fatal and nonfatal injury reports were used for this study. Available data were examined in light of age groups across the life span, region, gender, and minority status for both fatalities and injuries related to firearms. Strategies for reducing firearm fatalities, particularly among children and youth, are also discussed.     

Word length and phonological similarity effects in simple,complex, and delayed serial recall tasks: Implications for working memory

Some current models of working memory argue that a passive short-term store is not involved in more dynamic working memory tasks. Other models argue that standard short-term memory and working memory tasks rely on common storage facilities. We examine these issues by exploring two signature effects of passive short-term storage in simple span, complex span, and Brown-Peterson tasks. The finding that all three tasks show word length and phonological similarity effects suggests that common processes or storage mechanisms are involved in all tasks. The implications for models of working memory are discussed.     

Factors Underpinning Football Officiating Excellence: Perceptions of English Premier League Referees

The purpose of the present study was to identify factors perceived to underpin football officiating excellence. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data from 15 English Premier League referees. Through inductive content analysis, emerging themes were identified and comprised a variety of physical, environmental, and psychological factors: (a) mental toughness attributes, (b) support networks and services, (c) effective game management qualities, (d) multifaceted pre-match preparation, (e) performance-level enhancement, (f) opportunities to thrive, (g) personal characteristics, and (h) superior physical components. Findings acknowledge theoretical and applied implications for sport psychology professionals operating in elite football officiating.     

Child Pornography Offending Seen Through Three Theoretical Lenses

Understanding the complex issues surrounding child pornography offending is still in its infancy, and questions regarding the etiological underpinnings of sexually deviant interests and behaviors for these offenders remain both salient and unanswered. This article considers these questions through the lenses of three psychological theories of behavior: (1) social learning theory, (2) courtship disorder theory, and (3) behavioral economics. The development and maintenance of child pornography offending, as well as the potential for off-line escalation of those behaviors, from each theoretical perspective is discussed and the implications for theoretically grounded clinical practice is explored.