Old Rivals Merge; New Divisions Emerge

British Gods ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 70-94
Author(s):  
Steve Bruce
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Change ◽  
Gay Rights ◽  
National Level ◽  
Church Organization ◽  
Local Congregations

Although there have been few denominational mergers at the national level, there has been a great deal of facility-sharing and even merger of local congregations. Such rationalization has been driven by the need to replace or renovate crumbling churches and chapels coinciding with declining numbers of members to fund such work. While secularization has created a need for rationalization, it has also made it possible by reducing knowledge of, and interest in, the classic theological divisions that produced Britain’s current churches, sects, and denominations. As old arguments about baptism, church organization, liturgy, the nature of communion, and what is required for salvation have faded, new divisions have emerged. Apparently trivial disputes about church seating and music styles point to the bigger issue of whether churches should accommodate or resist social and cultural change. Gay rights and the roles of women have been particularly contentious.

Congregationalists

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Orchard
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Local Congregations ◽  
The Church ◽  
At Home

Like Presbyterians, Congregationalists drew on a broadly Calvinist heritage, which found expression in both the Westminster Confession and the Savoy Declaration. While Presbyterians emphasized the importance of the Presbytery for governing the church, Congregationalists were independently minded and tended to privilege the community of gathered believers itself. However, in practice Congregationalism was more of an ethos and philosophy than a reflection of how all local congregations operated and the boundaries between different strands of dissent could be porous. Disputes and divisions between Dissenters at a local and national level gradually led to the need for increased denominational infrastructure and organization, although the Congregational Union of England and Wales was not founded until 1831. Associations of local ministers became, following the growth of revivalism, springboards for mission at home and abroad.

Corporal Punishment: Law Reform Lessons for Australia from South Africa and New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laetitia-Ann Greeff
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Corporal Punishment ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
National Level ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
In Loco Parentis ◽  
A Charge ◽  
The Impact

This article compares the law reform methods employed by South Africa and New Zealand to eliminate the defence of ‘moderate and reasonable chastisement’ to a charge of common assault, to determine the best possible law reform strategy for Australian jurisdictions, within the context of its federal system of governance. South Africa and New Zealand banned corporal punishment on a national level, with South Africa prohibiting the use of corporal punishment by way of the judicial condemnation of the Constitutional Court in 2019, and New Zealand’s legislation to ban corporal punishment through Parliamentary processes in 2007. Corporal punishment in the home is still legal in Australia if administered by parents or those in loco parentis. This article focuses on the three Australian States that have enacted human rights legislation—Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Queensland—and the impact of this legislation on judicial law reform. In this regard, the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty is discussed in terms of its ability to limit public interest litigation’s viability to strike down inconsistent legislation. The article suggests that all three countries can learn from one another concerning the successes and/or failures of law reform. Furthermore, the article concludes by acknowledging that even though formal abolition is the norm in South Africa and New Zealand, corporal punishment remains widespread. Parents and those in loco parentis must be supported by continual education initiatives to bring about requisite social and cultural change.

New perspectives in the Italian property market: the funeral sector

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 579-596
Author(s):  
Marzia Morena ◽  
Tommaso Truppi ◽  
Verdiana Ierecitano ◽  
Gianluca Lorusso
Keyword(s):  
Real Estate ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
National Level ◽  
Specific Property ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Property Market ◽  
Market Strategy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Adequate Knowledge

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate a particular type of property market, that of funeral homes, of which little is known, despite the fact that it is an expanding market, reflecting a social and cultural change in Italy. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative analysis of the funeral property market was carried out. Information and data were collected from funeral companies, with reference to their market strategy, and from institutional investors, in order to gauge their knowledge of that specific sector and their willingness to invest in this specific property type. The instruments used were questionnaires, telephone interviews and on-site visits. Findings The results of this study suggest that Italian funeral companies identified a new property market, responding to the demands of a changing social context, especially in Northern Italy. Limited experience in the management of this asset and the lack of a clear and uniform legislative regulation at the national level appear to be among the main difficulties. From the investors’ point of view, the main problems in investing in this property were the lack of adequate knowledge in the sector and moral qualms about the specific type of assets. Research limitations/implications The small sample restricts generalization beyond the companies that participated in the research. Furthermore, the research only focused on the private sector related to niche market strategy and property investments. Practical implications The paper could raise awareness of a specific and not well-known property market among the real estate operators. Originality/value The originality of the analysis lies in investigating a relevant phenomenon from the social point of view that has been little or not at all addressed from the point of view of real estate, particularly in Italy.

Conclusions

2019 ◽  
pp. 145-152
Author(s):  
Vera Lomazzi ◽  
Isabella Crespi
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
National Level ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Equality Rights ◽  
Political Debates ◽  
The One ◽  
Transnational Strategy ◽  
Political Economic

This chapter points out strength and weak elements of the gender mainstreaming strategy. On the one hand it represents one of the few attempts of installing a transnational strategy for gender equality proposing shared values and standards.Such a strategy boosted the development of a formal recognition of gender equality rights in institutions, workplaces and individual opinions. However, itentailsalso controversial aspects. For example, it still faces missteps in the conceptualisation of gender equality, with relevant consequences in the achievement of results. Furthermore, gender-equality policies have been marginalised progressively in the past decade as a result of political and institutional choices implemented at the European level and today risk being even more overlooked by the political debates at the national level. The future of gender equality depends by the awareness that establishing a legal basis for it is only the first step of a broader process that, to be effective, needs to promote a substantial cultural change within political, economic and social institutions, as well as public opinion.

scholarly journals Impacts of a humanitarian engineering education pathway on student learning and graduate outcomes

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Jeremy Smith
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
National Level ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Career Opportunities ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
Humanitarian Engineering ◽  
Learning Projects

This study explores student outcomes from engagement with a humanitarian engineering pathway embedded in the core of an undergraduate engineering degree program.  The pathway provides multiple engagements with humanitarian engineering including assignment topics, study abroad experiences and service-learning projects.  A mixed-method study over 18 months collected survey data from education initiatives concurrently with graduate interviews to identify outcomes from student engagement.  A set of seven outcome themes were identified including additional motivations for study, the development of professional skills, and an enhanced perception of employability.  The research demonstrates the contribution of humanitarian engineering to the development of contemporary engineers as well as to support greater diversity and cultural change in engineering.  However, challenges were identified particularly for work experience and career opportunities.  The research proposes future works evaluating outcomes from multiple universities to develop a more complete picture of the impacts of humanitarian engineering at a national level.

Extending Rights to Marginalized Minorities: Same-Sex Relationship Recognition in Mexico and the United States

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Beer ◽  
Victor D. Cruz-Aceves
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Gay Rights ◽  
National Level ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
The United States ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Bisexual And Transgender ◽  
Legal Equality ◽  
Lgbt People ◽  
Subnational Analysis

What explains the extension of greater rights to traditionally marginalized minorities? This article compares the extension of legal equality to lebian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Mexico and the United States with a focus on the legal recognition of same-sex relationships. A national-level comparison of gay rights in Mexico and the United States presents a theoretical puzzle: most theories predict that the United States would have more egalitarian policies than Mexico, but in fact, Mexico has provided greater legal equality for LGBT people for a longer time than the United States. A subnational analysis of equal relationship rights in the United States and Mexico provides evidence to support social movement and partisan theories of minority rights. We find that religion plays a different role in Mexico than in the United States. The different findings at the national and subnational levels suggest the importance of subnational comparative analysis in heterogeneous federal systems.

Information and Communication Technology and Cultural Change

2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 222-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Hansen ◽  
Tom Postmes ◽  
Nikita van der Vinne ◽  
Wendy van Thiel
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Self Construal ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ict For Development ◽  
Practical Implications

This paper studies whether and how information and communication technology (ICT) changes self-construal and cultural values in a developing country. Ethiopian children were given laptops in the context of an ICT for development scheme. We compared children who used laptops (n = 69) with a control group without laptops (n = 76) and a second control group of children whose laptop had broken down (n = 24). Results confirmed that after 1 year of laptop usage, the children’s self-concept had become more independent and children endorsed individualist values more strongly. Interestingly, the impact of laptop usage on cultural values was mediated by self-construal (moderated mediation). Importantly, modernization did not “crowd out” traditional culture: ICT usage was not associated with a reduction in traditional expressions (interdependent self-construal, collectivist values). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

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