The Contraceptive Confidence Idea: An Empirical Investigation

In this paper the hypothesis that ‘contraceptive confidence’ promotes accelerated childbearing is presented and examined. Methodological difficulties in investigating the question empirically are discussed. Because of the absence of a direct measure, a proxy indicator of ‘contraceptive confidence’ is used in multivariate analyses of maternity history data. These give results consistent with the existence of a contraceptive confidence effect. Evidence is also presented (a) of shorter second birth intervals among women who were in higher status occupations before marriage and (b) of an inverse association between educational qualifications and length of intervals after the first. These findings are construed as supporting the basic thesis regarding contraceptive confidence. The contraceptive confidence idea is discussed in the context of related work on an acceleration effect associated with women's labour-force participation. Several difficulties in interpreting the findings are considered and some implications are discussed.     

Becoming Missionaries: Gender,Space and Subjectivities in Chinese Christian Communities in the UK

In recent years, single young women and married couples migrating from mainland China have constituted a prominent group engaging in ministry careers among Chinese Christian communities in the UK. By investigating how they construct meaning out of their career choices that were entangled in the binaries and contradictions of the past/present, home/diaspora, public/private, men/women and family/self, this study explores the complexity of gender, Christianity and space in a (late) socialist Chinese case, thereby revealing the paradoxical subjectivities of these Chinese ministers. The idea is advanced that apart from a structural demand for clergies from mainland China, the complex interaction between traditional, (late) socialist and Christian gender ideologies has also affected their choices. The interaction works as a ‘transformative mechanism’ which creates a new moral order in terms of gender relations, family relations and work ethics. The new order incurs a patriarchal backlash against women in this group as well as empowering them. This research explores an interesting relationship between feminism, socialism and Christianity.     

基督教会与近代上海的特殊教育

特殊教育是近代文明发生的结晶,是弥补人类自身缺陷的伟大活动。基督教会是创办上海近代特殊教育的先导,沪地又是近代中国特殊教育事业发展的重镇,其中,上海盲童学校堪称特殊教育界的典范。1920年代前后,随着收回教育权运动等的开展,特殊教育出现转型,由西人兴办渐次转变为国人自办,宗教因素也日益淡化,世俗色彩日趋增强。但旧中国特殊教育事业的根本转型和蓬勃发展仍有待新社会。     

中国蒙学西化教育模式构想探源

中国传统蒙学西化教育模式源于鸦片战争前来华传教士的构想,但国内学术界对其有关中国蒙学教育改革思路的探索至今未进行过研究.本文以来华传教士创办的英文期刊<中国丛报>为中心就此课题进行论述,分析这一时期传教士对中国传统蒙学教育的观点与由此开始的改革之路探索及其对中国近现代教育的影响.     

The concept of adequate causation and Max Weber's comparative sociology of religion

Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, studied in isolation, shows mainly an elective affinity or an adequacy on the level of meaning between the Protestant ethic and the 'spirit' of capitalism. Here it is suggested that Weber's subsequent essays on 'The Economic Ethics of World Religions' are the result of his opinion that adequacy on the level of meaning needs and can be verified by causal adequacy. After some introductory remarks, particularly on elective affinity, the paper tries to develop the concept of adequate causation and the related concept of objective possibility on the basis of the work of v. Kries on whom Weber heavily relied. In the second part, this concept is used to show how the study of the economic ethics of India, China, Rome and orthodox Russia can support the thesis that the 'spirit' of capitalism, although it may not have been caused by the Protestant ethic, was perhaps adequately caused by it.     

韦伯与舍勒之争：经济时代的伦理精神之源

韦伯和舍勒共同关注了所谓“资本主义精神”问题,二人都认为它有一种形而上的根源性动力,这种动力,韦伯认为是由新教伦理的滋养和孵化所提供的,而舍勒则认为是由一种长期积累的怨恨情绪的爆发所提供的。这种争论,在这个经济时代,对于如何培养我国国民的经济伦理精神有很大的启发和借鉴作用。     

Why the Focus of Clerical Child Sexual Abuse has Largely Remained on the Catholic Church amongst Other Non-Catholic Christian Denominations and Religions

ABSTRACT

The current study considers reasons for the consistent focus of academic research and mainstream media on clerical child sexual abuse (cCSA) largely within the Roman Catholic Church, seeming to ignore cCSA in other Christian denominations and religions. This study includes an analysis of traditional mainstream media and case reports on cCSA in non-Catholic churches and other religious faiths. The authors highlight the inadequacy of research and identify a wide range of gaps in this so far neglected area. Commonalities of cCSA and institutional responses are identified across denominations and religions, and reasons for the apparent over focus on the Catholic Church are discussed. The mains potential reasons identified were: (a) the centralized nature of the Church’s universal organizational stature and management structure; (b) the anti-Catholic political and media bias in Protestant-dominated developed countries; (c) secular legal systems with access to powerful lawyers and insurance companies to locate responsibility at organizational level in order to seek compensation and finally; (d) the organized institutional power exercisable by respective bishops to silence victims. Future research needs to move beyond analysis of existing academic literature, press, and case review reports to comparative empirical studies across denominations and religions.     

Religion and Spirituality as Defined by Older Adults

ABSTRACT

This exploratory qualitative study examined the intrinsic definitions of spirituality and religion across three different religious or ethnic groups of older adults – Jewish, African American Protestants and Caucasian Protestants. The study explores how older adults from these various backgrounds self-identify with the terms religion and spirituality. Because both African-Americans and Jewish older adults are underrepresented in the research on spirituality and religion, their inclusion lends insights to this topic and helps to anchor the findings in a cross-cultural context. Focus groups were employed to understand how these groups characterize their relationship to spirituality and religion. Social work professionals can utilize these findings to work more effectively with the diverse and complex issues of older adults.     

Social Service Outreach Programs Using Elderly Korean Immigrants' Church Ties

ABSTRACT

This study examined how Protestant Korean-American churches and their pastors can serve as ties between Korean seniors and agencies that offer social services. Working in partnership with the North Central Texas Area Agency on Aging (NCTAAA) and 2-1-1 services at United Way, the researcher asked 53 Korean pastors in two counties in North Central Texas to participate in the study. Each was asked about his willingness to host an outreach program. Thirty telephone surveys and 11 face-to-face interviews inquired about current services and pastor willingness to serve as gatekeepers for seniors. Translation and transportation were the top social service needs. All pastors in the study agreed that their churches should be a vehicle to provide social service information to seniors. Indeed, five churches accommodated program outreach offered by the NCTAAA and 2-1-1 services. The host churches tended to have highly structured, regularly scheduled programs (e.g., ethnic senior schools) already in place. A total of 405 Korean seniors participated in the outreach events, and 28 seniors were assisted in benefit counseling by telephone. Altogether, the results suggest that social service agencies can use the church ties of Korean seniors for program outreach.     

韦伯的文化偏见与新教伦理的后现代回救

韦伯《新教伦理与资本主义精神》问世以来,东西方著述家从各自不同的学术旨趣出发,亦对新教伦理及其与资本主义精神的内在关联性作出了不同的学科解读,但都未能走出韦伯所依循的西方世界现代性及其道德谋划的叙事背景。文章以韦伯新教伦理为价值原点,窥思信息主义技术范式对新教伦理在形式上的质疑和质料上的强化,回应韦伯的文化偏见,在后现代语境下找寻新教伦理与儒家伦理精神的共鸣声和契合点。