‘A sort of whirlwind’: mapping the changing geography of Presbyterian religious observance in Ireland

Since the European Reformation and the colonisations of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Ireland has evolved a distinctive religious geography which had profound implications for its political development in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, leading ultimately to the division of the island along explicitly religio–territorial lines in 1921. Troubled Geographies, a major project funded under the auspices of the Arts and Humanities Research Council's ‘Religion and Society’ programme was the first attempt to seek to understand patterns of change in the island's complex geography of religious settlement in the period since the Great Famine of the mid-nineteenth century up to the most recent published censuses for both Northern Ireland and the Republic. This paper will present findings from a smaller spin-off project funded by the British Academy, which digitised records of attendance at Presbyterian churches across the island over the last 150 years, enabling us to assess how patterns of practice were affected by the momentous events of the period, including partition, civil war, two world wars, the vicissitudes of the global economy and the Troubles of the more recent past. In addition, the use of new quantitative materials such as those in the Presbyterian records enables us to reflect on how patterns of substantive religious practice reflect those on nominal religious affiliation available from successive censuses from either side of the border.     

Transnational politics at the edges of sovereignty: social movements,crossings and the state at the US–Mexico border

This article documents the history of border crossings among a group of social movement activists located in southern Arizona. By comparing two types of US–Mexico border crossings separated ten years apart, the article explores how political groups become ‘transnationalized’ and in relation to what kinds of ‘states’. By contrasting the shift from a state‐centric movement to a transnational coalition, the case study analyses why, in the later period, political activists were no longer able to identify the same kind of state. In chronicling the disappearance of one kind of state formation and the emergence of a transnational one, this research argues that globalization—rather than simply reflecting a decline of the nation state—is a process entailing not only new forms of transnational political activism but also new forms of the state.     

Negotiated Project Engagements: Learning from Experience

How far is it possible to capture the lessons tobe drawn from successive projects that involveintervention by social scientists within or betweenorganizations, whether acting as researchers, asconsultants, as agents of change, or in some combination ofthese roles? This paper outlines the way in which aframework was developed, by staff and associates of TheTavistock Institute, for examining the varied and often subtle influences of successive“negotiated project engagements” on thedevelopment of wider personal, institutional, anddisciplinary programs. This framework is designed totake into account the contrasting perspectives of the investigatorsthemselves, of their organizational hosts, and of anyexternal sponsors whose primary concern will normally bewith project outcomes at a more generalized level. As an illustration, particular reference ismade to the experience of a pioneering project concernedwith policy-making in city government. This project wasundertaken to advance the understanding and practice of public planning, while also exploring thepotential for synergy between the perspectives ofoperational research and applied social science. Thepaper concludes with some speculations about thepotential for further developing this kind of frameworkin supporting experiential learning.     

Should S Get More Press?

This note discusses a problem appropriate for a beginning mathematical statistics course. Four estimators of the standard deviation of a normal data source are compared using mean square error. Both the uniformly minimum variance unbiased estimator and the usual estimator are found to be inadmissible.     

The Role of Housing Managers in the Implementation of Community Care

This article will outline the response of housing management to the implementation of community care policy in the North East. It will locate housing's role within the broader development of community care policy, and briefly review the reasons for housing's relatively late arrival as a key partner, alongside social services and health, in the planning and delivery of services. Using information gathered from interviews with housing professionals, part-time housing students, voluntary organizations, and workers within health and social services, it outlines and evaluates five main factors which appear to be affecting the successful integration of housing management into the process of planning and delivering community care services in the North East.     

Vulnerability to Violence: A Contextually-Sensitive, Developmental Perspective on African American Adolescents

Spencer's Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST) is presented as a theoretical framework to analyze potential effects of being a victim or co-victim of a violent crime. Data are presented from a sample of African American adolescents residing in a Southeastern metropolitan area. Victims (n = 20) and non-victims (n = 332) are compared on their self-reporting of clinical symptoms normally associated with violent or traumatic experience during middle childhood and early adolescence. Results suggest that observed symptomatology may not be solely attributable to actual victimization. Discussion includes possible mechanisms by which factors such as cognitive developmental status, physical and social context, and previous victimization of the adolescent or a family member of the adolescent can influence symptomatology.     

A necessary dialogue: a South African case study exploring the role of national HRD in HIV/AIDS non-government organizations

This article makes the case for a coordinated and multi-faceted national level response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in South Africa from the field of human resource development (HRD), arguing that national policy debate on this issue must include the development of human resources in HIV/AIDS non-governmental organizations (NGOs). An exploration of potential connections between HIV/AIDS and HRD was conducted with a qualitative case study in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Through this study, four major thematic categories emerged in connection to the work of NGOs involved in the management of HIV/AIDS, government policy, and the emerging theory and practice of national human resource development (NHRD). In addition, findings pointed to the need for HRD research to be conducted in HIV/AIDS related NGOs given their front-line roles in both policy and practice. Initial suggestions for dialogue between NGOs involved with managing HIV/AIDS and the HRD research and practice community are made along with recommendations for stronger linkages between NHRD and HIV/AIDs.     

Permanently ‘in process’: the intersection of migration,work identity and the reality of human resource development in the South African context

This article explores the experiences of skilled Zimbabweans who migrate, only to experience de-skilling upon securing employment in South Africa (SA). This is due to various factors such as insufficient bridging social capital and xenophobia and is exacerbated by the inability of the Human Resource Development Strategy for South Africa (HRD-SA) to cater for their employment needs. The article is based on qualitative research conducted within a phenomenological paradigm with Zimbabwean migrant women residing in Port Elizabeth, SA. The Zimbabwean context is discussed, as well as the mixed migration methods utilized and the subsequent negative effect that deskilling and under-employment have on the self-identity. It is argued that work constitutes an important signifier of identity, yet the HRD-SA and practice excludes migrants from achieving their potential, thus resulting in brain waste and downward status mobility. In the final section implications for HRD practice are discussed and recommendations made.     

Age-related patterns of DHEAS among Turkana males of northern Kenya

This paper is based on presentation given at the 2nd World Congress on the Aging Male, Geneva, Switzerland, February 2000     

A Case Study of a Maltreated Thirteen-Year-Old Boy: Using Attachment Theory to Inform Treatment in a Residential Program

This paper presents therapeutic interventions from an attachment perspective with a thirteen-year-old boy with a history of maltreatment, living in a residential treatment facility. Attachment theory holds that accumulated memories of experiences with caregivers become organized into representational structures called internal working models. The guiding principles of the therapy begin with the critical role played by the individual therapist as an attachment figure. The central purposes of the therapy are conceived as promoting the restructuring of the internal working models of others to reflect expectations of trustworthiness and reliability, and models of the self as worthy to receive care. The approach described is contrasted with common approaches to residential treatment that rely on environmental behavioral contingencies, modeled on social learning theory.