An anatomy of change : profiling cohort difference in beliefs and attitudes among Anglicans in England

Conservatism in theological belief, moral values and attitude toward ecclesiastical practices was measured in a sample of 5967 ordained and lay Anglicans in the Church of England. Average scores were compared between those who classed themselves as Anglo-catholic, broad church or evangelical, and by six different age cohorts. Overall, most measures of conservatism showed decline among more recent cohorts, but there were marked differences between traditions. Younger evangelicals showed little or no decline in theological or moral conservatism, and, in the case of Bible beliefs, were more conservative than their older counterparts. In ecclesiastical variables, however, Anglo-catholics were often more conservative and younger evangelicals showed less conservatism than other traditions or older evangelicals. The findings suggest that the divide between traditions is increasing among younger generations mainly because those in Anglo-catholic and broad-church traditions are becoming more liberal on theological or moral matters, whereas evangelicals are maintaining traditional conservative views of theology and morality but becoming less traditional in matters ecclesiastical

Social transmission of Pavlovian fear: fear-conditioning by-proxy in related female rats

Pairing a previously neutral conditioned stimulus (CS; e.g., a tone) to an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US; e.g., a foot-shock) leads to associative learning such that the tone alone will elicit a conditioned response (e.g., freezing). Individuals can also acquire fear from a social context, such as through observing the fear expression of a conspecific. In the current study, we examined the influence of kinship/familiarity on social transmission of fear in female rats. Rats were housed in triads with either sisters or non-related females. One rat from each cage was fear conditioned to a tone CS+ shock US. On day two, the conditioned rat was returned to the chamber accompanied by one of her cage mates. Both rats were allowed to behave freely, while the tone was played in the absence of the foot-shock. The previously untrained rat is referred to as the fear-conditioned by-proxy (FCbP) animal, as she would freeze based on observations of her cage-mate’s response rather than due to direct personal experience with the foot-shock. The third rat served as a cage-mate control. The third day, long-term memory tests to the CS were performed. Consistent with our previous application of this paradigm in male rats (Bruchey et al. in Behav Brain Res 214(1):80–84, 2010), our results revealed that social interactions between the fear conditioned and FCbP rats on day two contribute to freezing displayed by the FCbP rats on day three. In this experiment, prosocial behavior occurring at the termination of the cue on day two was significantly greater between sisters than their non-sister counterparts, and this behavior resulted in increased freezing on day three. Our results suggest that familiarity and/or kinship influences the social transmission of fear in female rats

Advances in reproductive biology and seed production systems of Eucalyptus: The case of Eucalyptus globulus

Eucalyptus globulus is the main eucalypt species grown in Australian plantations. The focus on seedling deployment systems, coupled with exploitation of large, open-pollinated base populations for breeding purposes over the last two decades, has required a detailed understanding of the reproductive biology of this species. We review our research on the reproductive biology of E. globulus, with a focus on it’s breeding system and advances made in seed production systems. While most improved seed is still obtained from open-pollinated seedling or grafted seed orchards, the development of the one-stop/single-visit pollination procedure has revolutionised the breeding and deployment of this species. The reduced costs of controlled pollination has meant full pedigree-control can now be maintained in large advanced generation breeding populations and E. globulus is one of the few eucalypt species where large-scale production of manually pollinated seed for family forestry is being undertaken

Personalized feedback based on a drink-pouring exercise may improve knowledge of, and adherence to, government guidelines for alcohol consumption

Background Although most people are aware of government guidelines for alcohol consumption, few have accurate knowledge of these and fewer still use these guidelines to monitor their drinking. Most people also lack accurate knowledge of the alcohol content of the drinks they consume. The aim of the study reported here was to examine whether or not personalized feedback on alcohol consumption based on performance in a drink-pouring task and self-reported alcohol intake would improve university students’ knowledge of alcohol consumption guidelines and reduce their alcohol intake. Methods A quasi-randomized control trial with a 2-month follow-up was conducted with 200 students aged 18 to 37 in the south of England. Participants were allocated to a “pour + feedback” group that completed a drink-pouring task and received personalized feedback, a “pour only” group that completed the drink-pouring task but did not receive feedback, and a control group. Results At follow-up, participants in the “pour + feedback” group had significantly better knowledge of government guidelines, and significantly lower weekly alcohol intake when compared to the “control” and “pour only” groups. Conclusions Further refinement of the drink-pouring intervention and feedback is reported in this paper, and assessment of their impact in various populations may lead to better understanding of which elements of personalized feedback have the greatest influence on young people's alcohol use

“We can all just get on a bus and go” : Rethinking independent mobility in the context of the universal provision of free bus travel to young Londoners

This paper uses qualitative data from interviews with 118 young Londoners (age 12-18) to examine how the universal provision of free bus travel has affected young people’s independent mobility. Drawing on Sen’s ‘capabilities approach’, we argue that free bus travel enhanced young Londoners’ capability to shape their daily mobility, both directly by increasing financial access and indirectly by facilitating the acquisition of the necessary skills, travelling companions and confidence. These capabilities in turn extended both opportunity freedoms (e.g. facilitating non-“necessary” recreational and social trips) and process freedoms (e.g. feeling more independent by decreasing reliance on parents). Moreover, the universal nature of the entitlement rendered buses a socially inclusive way for groups to travel and spend time together, thereby enhancing group-level capabilities. We believe this attention to individual and group capabilities for self-determination provides the basis for a broader and more child-centred view of ‘independent mobility’ than the typical research focus upon ‘travelling without an adult’ and acquiring parental permissions.Peer reviewe

Power, Ideology, and Global Development: On the Origins, Evolution and Achievements of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNCTAD was created in 1964 as a forum for strategic thinking about international trade and development issues and for identifying mutually beneficial opportunities for policy coordination and international co-operation with the participation of both developing and industrialized countries. The history of UNCTAD, with its successes and failures, therefore, is closely intertwined with the history of ideas on trade and development and the interplay of political power and ideological manipulation in international trade and development policy making. This paper focuses on the intellectual traditions in economics which underpinned the formation of UNCTAD and examines the way such intellectual traditions have informed – both in method and substance – the subsequent thinking and research output by the institution and helped define its objectives. It compares UNCTAD’s methods and research output on a number of international development issues with the positions taken by other international institutions. These findings are used to reflect on the ideological element in development economics thinking

Autonomy, special offers and routines: a Q methodological study of industry-driven marketing influences on young people's drinking behaviour

AIM: To identify shared patterns of views in young people relating to the influence of industry-driven alcohol marketing (price, promotion, product and place of purchase/consumption) on their reported drinking behaviour. DESIGN: Q methodology harnessed qualitative and quantitative data to generate distinct clusters of opinions as follows: 39 opinion statements were derived from earlier in-depth qualitative interviews with 31 young people; by-person factor analysis was carried out on 28 participants' (six previous interviewees and 22 new recruits) rank orderings of these statements (most-to-least agreement); interpretation of the factor arrays was aided by 10-15-minute debriefing interviews held immediately following each Q-sort. SETTING: Northeast England PARTICIPANTS: Young people aged 14-17 years purposively recruited from high schools, higher education colleges, youth centres and youth offending teams. FINDINGS: Centroid factor extraction and varimax rotation of factors generated three distinct accounts: factor one ('autonomous, sophisticated consumers') illustrated a self-defined sense of individuality and autonomy in alcohol choices; factor two ('price-driven consumers') appeared price-led, choosing to drink what was most accessible or cheapest; and factor three ('context-focused consumers') described drinking practices where products were chosen to serve specific functions such as being easy to carry while dancing. CONCLUSIONS: Considering young people's views on alcohol marketing, different perspectives can be identified. These include perceived imperviousness to maketing, responsiveness to price and affordability and responsiveness to marketing focusing on youth lifestyles