Search Results (14)

The rising popularity of machine learning has resulted in quality data becoming increasingly valuable. However, in some cases, the data are too sparse to effectively train an algorithm or the data cannot be disclosed to unaffiliated researchers due to privacy concerns. The sparsity of data may also affect various data analyses that require a certain volume of data to be accurate. One possible solution to the aforementioned problems is data generation. However, to be a viable solution, data generation must simulate real-life data well. To this end, this paper tests whether a previously presented iterative data generation method that generates synthetic data sets based on the attribute distributions and correlations of a real-life data set can faithfully reproduce a clustered data set. The approach is shown to be ineffective for the proposed application, and consequently, a new method is introduced that might preserve the clusters present in the real-life data set. The new method is demonstrated to not only preserve the clusters within the synthetic data set, but also improve the similarity of the attribute correlations of the synthetic data set and the real-life data set. Full article

This interpretive phenomenological study explores the perspectives of in-service, K-12 teachers in a graduate teacher education program on using goal setting to promote culturally responsive practices. The participants set two goals, documented their growth, and rated course instructional strategies that contributed to their learning. Data were collected through written reflections and responses to an anonymous midterm questionnaire in an online forum. Additional data came from the participants’ final reflections, the principal researcher’s reflective teaching notes, and end-of-semester reflections gathered by an unaffiliated critical friend after grades were posted. Coded data revealed that: 1. In-service teachers created goals that were relevant to specific areas of growth in professional learning and development in culturally responsive teaching practices and understanding diverse learners, 2. Goal setting, as a self-regulated learning strategy, serves to empower teachers toward teaching for promoting culturally responsive teaching practices, 3. Instructional supports and activities enhance personal development in becoming culturally responsive teachers, 4. Teacher educators’ reflection-on-action supports professional development. Full article

The landscape of journalism is rapidly evolving, with bundled subscription offerings from the New York Times, Apple and Schibsted becoming increasingly important. These offerings allow consumers to access a wide variety of content in multiple formats, representing a significant shift in how news and information are consumed. However, the impact of these offerings on publishers’ revenues remains underexplored in journalism and media research. The results suggest that bundled offers generate higher revenues for publishers than individual offers. This supports the introduction of internal “all-access” bundles within the European journalism sector, as well as external collaborations between unaffiliated publishers. However, the relatively small differences in revenues suggest that there is limited strong evidence to support the adoption of a centralized, cross-publisher “Spotify for News” model. Full article

In 1992, an evolutionary model for the endogenous regulation of parasite-defense grooming was first proposed for African antelope by Ben and Lynette Hart. Known as the programmed grooming model, it hypothesized that a central control mechanism periodically evokes grooming so as to remove ectoparasites before they blood feed. The programmed grooming model contrasts with a stimulus-driven mechanism, in which grooming is stimulated by direct peripheral irritation from ectoparasite bites. In the 30+ years since the seminal 1992 paper, 26 studies have provided robust support for the programmed grooming model in ungulate hosts and ticks. In addition, multiple studies from unaffiliated investigators have evaluated the predictions of the model in different host systems (including rodents and primates) and in a variety of other ectoparasites (fleas, lice, and keds). I conducted a tricennial review of these studies to assess the current evidence and arrived at the following three conclusions: (1) tests of the programmed grooming predictions should use a similar methodology to the well-established protocol, so that the results are comparable and can be properly assessed; (2) the predictions used to test the model should be tailored to the biology of the host taxa under investigation; and (3) the predictions should likewise be tailored to the biology of the ectoparasites involved, bearing in mind that grooming has varying degrees of effectiveness, depending on the parasite. Further research is warranted to enhance our understanding of the role of grooming in maintaining the health of wild animals in the face of parasite attacks. Full article

This article calls for an examination of the spirituality of Jesus in light of the unique historical and theological distinctives of the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement. Although the topic of spirituality is wide and deep, this study will approach it as personally transformative Christian experiences and practices that enrich one’s life and the lives of others. By drawing from the research of statisticians and social scientists, I will discuss notable ways in which the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement has the potential to make the spirituality of Jesus accessible to the unchurched and the unaffiliated (nones) in the United States. The results of my research reveal that, although such persons do not regularly attend church, they are, in part, open to religious experiences and desire a deeper spirituality. A such, this paper shows that the experience-based, supernaturally empowered, every-member-is-a-minister nature of the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement may indeed appeal to and meet the needs of certain unchurched and the unaffiliated persons. Furthermore, this paper will conclude by presenting suggestions for reform that may enhance this movement’s ability to reach the unchurched and unaffiliated in days to come. In the final analysis, this paper provides a historical foundation and theoretical framework from which Pentecostal-Charismatic influences upon such groups can be further assessed. Full article

This article aims to characterize the socioeconomic and demographic profile of the population without religious affiliation in Argentina as well as their beliefs, practices, and attitudes toward a range of issues related to public and private life. This is a social conglomerate that has grown exponentially in the region and worldwide, but it has been little explored by the social sciences of religion in Latin America. The research was based on the Second National Survey on Religious Beliefs and Attitudes in Argentina, which was carried out in 2019. The study universe was made up of the population of the Argentine Republic aged 18 years or more, living in localities or urban agglomerations with at least 5000 inhabitants. A total of 2421 cases were selected through a multistage sampling. The analysis of the data reveals that it would be inaccurate to say that the religiously unaffiliated do not convey religious beliefs. Almost three out of 10 (most of those who responded do not belong to any religion but neither defined themselves as agnostics or atheists) believe in God and in Jesus Christ. Given that they are the most numerous sub-group and with the highest growth rate within the religiously unaffiliated, it would be unwise to consider this fringe of the Argentine citizenry as a-religious. Nor can we unify them under the category of disaffiliates. Although six out of 10 have a history identified with some religion (and in those cases, it is indeed possible to observe a process of religious disaffiliation), the remaining 40% show paths defined by the alienation from the institutionalized religious spaces since their earliest age. Full article

Spiritual struggles are a distinct problem which have implications for psychological, social, emotional and physical health. They are not unique to religious persons; instead both the religiously unaffiliated (Nones) and those who call themselves “Spiritual but not Religious,” (SBNR) have struggles with existential issues common to all humans, and which can be identified as “spiritual”. Nones are a very diverse group and different types of Nones struggle differently. This qualitative study, based on interviews in North America with over 100 Nones, particularly SBNRs, explains the types of spiritual struggles, with many examples and illustrative quotes. Nones’ key struggles are in the areas of Self and Self-in-Relation. This is a vastly under-researched topic which will only grow in importance, given the rapid and continuing rise of the None population. The topic is of concern to social scientists, but is equally important for psychologists, counselors, medical personnel, chaplains and others in the helping professions given that Nones will come to them for assistance. Full article

Community engagement is a vital aspect of addressing environmental contamination and remediation. In the United States, the Superfund Research Program (SRP) forms groups of academic researchers from the social and physical sciences into Community Engagement Cores (CECs) and Research Translation Cores (RTCs), which focus on various aspects of informing and working with communities during and through the resolution of environmental crises. While this work typically involves engaging directly with members of affected communities, no two situations are the same. In some cases, alternative approaches to community engagement can be more appropriate for community improvement than traditional approaches. In particular, when research teams become involved in contamination crises at a late point in the process, their contributions can be better directed at supporting and reinforcing the work of institutional stakeholders charged with remediating pollution. Relevant factors include issue fatigue among a local population, and contamination that is due to a major employer. Supported by literature and experience, we offer several propositions that we believe lay out conditions that warrant such an approach by academic teams, rather than their direct engagement with unaffiliated individuals in communities. Full article

Research has found that intergenerational transmission of religiosity results in higher family functioning and improved family relationships. Yet the Pew Research Center found that 44% of Americans reported that they had left the religious affiliation of their childhood. And 78% of the expanding group of those who identify as religiously unaffiliated (“Nones”) reported that they were raised in “highly religious families.” We suggest that this may be, in part, associated with religious parents exercising excessive firmness with inadequate flexibility (rigidity). We used a multiphase, systematic, team-based process to code 8000+ pages of in-depth interviews from 198 Christian, Jewish, and Muslim families from 17 states in all 8 major religio-cultural regions of the United States. We framed firmness as mainly about loyalty to God and God’s purposes, and flexibility as mainly about loyalty to family members and their needs and circumstances. The reported findings provided a range of examples illustrating (a) religious firmness, (b) religious flexibility, as well as (c) efforts to balance and combine firmness and flexibility. We discuss conceptual and practical implications of treating firmness and flexibility as complementary loyalties in intergenerational faith transmission. Full article

Few studies examine how firms make strategic decisions over time. In this study, we test whether a firm undertakes corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities as a function of its life-cycle stage. Drawing on prior CSR research that finds ethical concerns and opportunistic behavior to be two key motivations that underpin CSR activities, we hypothesize that firms in their growth stage are positively associated with CSR, while firms in stage of decline are less likely to invest in CSR. The empirical findings of our study—derived by leveraging a sample of South Korean listed firms—are consistent with these predictions. We further find that in the growth stage, group-affiliated firms are more engaged in CSR than are unaffiliated firms. Given that affiliated firms can share the resources of other group-member firms, this evidence supports the slack resource hypothesis. Overall, our results indicate that firms have different CSR strategies, depending on their life-cycle stage. Full article

Using pooled data from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG 2006–2010), we examine the effects of denominational affiliation, worship service attendance, and religious salience on remarriage timing. Survival analyses indicate that both men and women affiliated with conservative Protestant faith traditions are significantly more likely than their unaffiliated and Catholic counterparts to remarry at an accelerated pace following divorce. Results further show that, net of religious affiliation and socio-demographic characteristics, worship service attendance accelerates remarriage timing, whereas the effects of religious salience are weaker or unobserved. These results are largely consistent with prior research on denominational variations in the timing of first marriage and underscore the robust influence of religion on the institution of marriage. Full article

This paper aims to explore the apparently rising trend of unaffiliated researchers. It does so by analyzing a set of scholarly publications where the authors state “independent researcher” in place of their affiliation. Some of the characteristics of this set are explained along with directions on how to expand research on this topic. Full article

Previous studies have revealed denominational subculture variations in marriage timing in the U.S. with conservative Protestants marrying at a much younger age than Catholics and the unaffiliated. However, the effects of other religious factors, such as worship service attendance and religious salience, remain overlooked. Informed by a theoretical framework that integrates the denominational subculture variation thesis and the gendered religiosity thesis, this study replicates, updates, and extends previous research by examining the effects of religiosity on the timing of first marriage among 10,403 men and 12,279 women using pooled cross-sectional data from the National Survey of Family Growth, 2006–2010. Our survival regression models indicate that: (1) consistent with previous research, Protestants in general, and conservative Protestants in particular, marry earlier than the religiously unaffiliated; (2) irrespective of denominational affiliation, increased frequency of worship service attendance decreases age at first marriage for both men and women, whereas religious salience is associated with earlier marriage only for women; (3) among Catholics, as worship service attendance increases, the waiting time to first marriage decreases; and (4) among Protestants, however, worship service attendance decreases age at first marriage for men who are affiliated with mainline and non-denominational Protestant churches, while for women the decrease in age at first marriage associated with worship service attendance is found for those who report a conservative Protestant affiliation. The complex intersections of denominational affiliation, frequency of worship service attendance, religious salience, and gender are discussed. Results suggest that religion continues to exert influences on marriage timing among recent birth cohorts of young Americans. Full article

Research on racial residential segregation has paid little attention to the role that social institutions play in either isolating or integrating racial and ethnic groups in American communities. Scholars have argued that racial segregation within American religion may contribute to and consolidate racial division elsewhere in social life. However, no previous study has employed national survey data to examine the relationship between religious affiliation and the preferences people have about the racial and ethnic composition of their neighborhoods. Using data from the “Multi-Ethnic United States” module on the 2000 General Social Survey, this study finds that white evangelical Protestants have a significantly stronger preference for same-race neighbors than do Catholics, Jews, adherents of “other” faiths, and the unaffiliated. Group differences in preferences are largely accounted for by socio-demographic characteristics. Negative racial stereotyping and social isolation from minorities, both topics of interest in recent research on evangelical Protestants and race, fail to explain group differences in preferences. Full article