Violence in the name of god? A framing processes approach to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria

Since summer 2014, the insurgent group ‘Islamic State in Iraq and Syria’ (ISIS) has become a major concern for international politics and global security due to its rapid territorial gains, violent operations and the propagation of Salafi-jihadist ideology. This study aims to enhance the academic understanding of ISIS by demystifying the ideological reasoning behind its use of violence. It therefore investigates the link between structural factors that served ISIS’s evolution, its ideological outlook and the significance of this ideology to legitimize violent action. As its theoretical basis, the study employs framing processes within the study of social movements. Methodologically, discursive frame analysis serves to explore the relation of ISIS’s ideology to structural events and experiences to better understand how the group justifies violence. Therefore, the study draws on audio speeches and issues of the magazines Dabiq and Dar al-Islam published by ISIS, which are examined on the rhetoric of othering, collective identity and justifying violence. It is argued that ISIS constructs a collective action frame which creates a social reality that bestows the group with a rationale for action. ISIS’s ideology, based on Islamic symbolism, presents an interpretative lens which assigns meaning to the structural environment of ISIS’s emergence. In this context, violence is justified as a necessity to defend Islam and as an obligation for the true Muslim believer. The discussion concludes that ISIS’s ideology legitimizes the very existence of the group and conceals its mundane struggle for power, territory and wealth through reference to divine authority.     

Multiple Co-occurring Behaviours among Gamblers in Treatment: Implications and Assessment

A substantial portion of gamblers in treatment may have co-occurring mental health disorders including substance use disorders, especially alcohol dependency, personality disorders, affective disorders, anxiety disorders and impulse control disorders. Co-occurring mental health disorders affect treatment seeking, the treatment process and its outcome, quality of life and functioning in many mental health disorders. Participants in this study were 78 adults enrolled in state-supported out-patient services for pathological gambling and current Gamblers Anonymous attendees. The majority of participants (76.6%) had co-occurring behaviours; 55.8% had multiple co-occurring behaviours. Participants with multiple co-occurring behaviours were more likely to report that a co-occurring behaviour increased the severity of their gambling symptoms. A dose/response relationship between number of co-occurring behaviours and severity of gambling problems was found. Co-occurring behaviours can interact with gambling behaviour. Brief, validated screening instruments are available for screening and diagnosing co-occurring behaviours among gamblers presenting for treatment.     

Taxonomy of outsourcing decision models

This article proposes a taxonomy of outsourcing decision models. The proposed taxonomy may assist practitioners in their decision-making and researchers in the identification, evaluation and classification of decision models. Further, this article also provides an overview and evaluation of existing outsourcing decision models, and assesses them for their applicability to the outsourcing decision process. In particular, this article finds that the outsourcing decision models proposed in the literature have limitations in their applicability to the outsourcing decision process.     

Effects of a multimodal exercise program in pedal dexterity and balance: study with Portuguese older adults of different contexts

This study investigated the effects of a multimodal exercise program (MEP) on pedal dexterity and balance in two groups of older adult participants (65–92 years of age) from a psychiatric hospital center (HC), a residential care home (RCH), and a daily living center (DLC). The experimental group (EG) trained three times per week for 12 months, and the control group (CG) maintained their normal activities. The Mini-Mental State Examination and the Modified Baecke Questionnaire, as well as the Pedal Dexterity and the Tinetti tests, were applied to all subjects before and after the experimental protocol. Furthermore, the foot preference was controlled using the Lateral Preference Questionnaire proposed by Coren [10]. In the EG, the results from the Pedal Dexterity test showed that both males and females from the RCH and DLC improved their performances after the MEP. In the HC, the males slightly decreased their performance with both feet, contrarily to females. Both males and females from the CG decreased their pedal dexterity performance, namely, with the non-preferred foot. Concerning the Tinetti test, the EG of both males and females from the HC, the RCH (males were better than females regarding the gender factor), and the DLC improved their balance after the MEP. In the CG, no significant effects or interactions were found for any of the context groups.     

Zur Rolle lebensweltlicher Mehrsprachigkeit für das Lernen im Fachunterricht – ein Beispiel aus einer Videostudie der Sekundarstufe II

In this article an exemplary analysis focussing on the role of multilingual communication in upper secondary education at a German school will be presented. In the analysis, we focus on the language choice of two pupils who, during partner work on the analysis of a historical speech in History class, use both the German and Russian language. We reconstruct extracts of their task solving process in the context of a functional-pragmatic discourse analysis. The excerpts of the partner work presented in the text show approaches of multidimensional reflection processes in working with the text, during which it comes to a functional use of both languages. The relevance of our reconstruction of student-student interaction during task solving will become evident through the embedment of the results in the controversial discussion on multilingual communication in mainstream classrooms.     

Family Functioning and Its Relation to Parental Discipline

The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales (FACES) are one of the most used instruments in the study of family relations, assessing relevant dimensions of family functioning. This study aims to examine the relationship between cohesion, communication and family satisfaction, measured by FACES IV, and the dimensions of discipline inventory (DDI). The sample consisted of 380 subjects (190 adolescents and 190 parents). Fathers are the main users of physical discipline and boys are the main targets of most discipline practices. Regarding the association of the DDI and FACES, families with a balanced cohesion use less punitive discipline, families with enmeshed cohesion and families with disengaged cohesion have higher and less use of the analyzed disciplinary practices respectively. Considering the results, it may be useful to work together with families to promote the use of positive disciplinary methods and work their communication skills in order to improve cohesion and consequently family satisfaction.     

Predictors of parenting stress in portuguese adolescents' adoptive parents

Parenting stress is related to the characteristics of both the child and the parents, as well as to parent–child interactions. In adoptive families, parenting stress has been identified as an indicator of the family's adjustment to adoption. The stress experienced by parents of adopted adolescents deserves special consideration, as adolescence is a critical period in the adoptees' developmental pathway. The present study aims to identify the adoptee, parents and family related predictors of the adoptive parents' parenting stress, exploring direct and indirect effects. Fifty Portuguese adolescents' adoptive parents participated in this study. Parenting stress was measured by the Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to evaluate the adoptees' (mal)adjustment, according to the parents' perspective. Variables related to the parents' experience of adoption were assessed resorting to the Parent's Interview about the Adoption Process. Results showed that parents' satisfaction and adoptees' adjustment were sequential mediators of the relationship between the parents' experience of family life and parenting stress. These findings provide new insights into adoption research in parenting stress, highlighting the importance of adoption‐related variables such as the parents' adoption experience within the family and family relationships.     

Addressing issues of face validity in the application of a clinical guideline

In 1995, a statewide project to improve the practice of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the Medicare population was started in Louisiana. A retrospective baseline study found high concurrent utilization of lithium and benzodiazepines, medications considered detrimental to ECT by the second American Psychiatric Association Task Force on ECT. Resistance to a clinical guideline because of lack of face validity by clinicians was used as an opportunity to involve clinicians in using data to evaluate their clinical practices. Results of the first two quarters of the project demonstrated that the strategy was successful.     

The entry of women in predominantly male professions: when training supports the search of alternative ways of organizing work time

Following a research carried out on the integration of women in professional areas predominantly for men, this paper intends to present and debate the project of a training course which aims the transformation of the organization of work schedules in order to improve the well-being of the workers involved. The conception of training courses with this type of objective involves the confrontation and debate between the "invested skills" of the trainers and the "constituted skills" of the trainees. But will this paradigm remain intact when applied to training courses permeated by the gender dimension? That is what one will try to realize with the effective implementation of a training course, whose reflection will allow, ultimately, to enrich our understanding on gender, work, health and training.