scholarly journals Christian Pastors and Alleged Child Witches in Kinshasa, DRC

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Priest ◽  
Abel Ngolo ◽  
Timothy Stabell
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Theological Education ◽  
Spiritual Disciplines ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Traditional Healers ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
Transformative Engagement ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Pastoral Leaders

Against earlier predictions, witch accusations are proliferating and flourishing in many modern, urban, and Christian environments. And they are taking new forms. One dramatic change involves who is accused, with children now often the prime suspects when misfortunes occur. Another dramatic change relates to who is consulted when witch suspicions are present. Rather than non-Christian diviners or traditional healers, many now consult Christian pastors and prophets for help in identifying witches and dealing with them. Based on a survey of 713 pastoral leaders in Kinshasa from all major church traditions, and on supplemental qualitative research, this report 1) explores the profile of accused children, 2) identifies what these children are accused of, 3) identifies what sorts of evidence are used to establish the guilt of the accused child, and 4) considers the consequences to the child of being labeled a witch. Furthermore, this report explores what it is that church leaders believe, teach, and practice in relationship to child-witch allegations—considering the role of church tradition and theological education on their patterns of understanding and engagement. Specifically, we identify and examine two broad paradigms widely present in Kinshasa churches—a “witch diagnosis and deliverance paradigm” and a “child protection paradigm.” We consider some grassroots strategies of transformative engagement engaged in by l’Équipe Pastorale auprès des Enfants en Détresse [EPED] leaders, and end by inviting African theological and pastoral leaders into a conversation about the impact of theological understandings, congregational discourses, spiritual disciplines, and pastoral practices on the well-being and flourishing of vulnerable children.

Systemic barriers to effective implementation of child protection reform in Israel

2019 ◽  
pp. 155-168
Author(s):  
Ravit Alfandari
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Organisational Culture ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Effective Delivery ◽  
The Impact

This chapter presents a qualitative study that was conducted to investigate the implementation and outcomes of recent child protection reform in Israel. Using the ‘systems approach’ as conceptual framework allowed to understand the impact of the working conditions on every-day child protection practices. The key finding of the research – that the reform’s aims of strengthening practice and improving the safety and well-being of vulnerable children have not been entirely achieved – is explained by the organisational working environment and culture acting as barriers to the expected change. Findings touch on in particular: heavy workloads and an organisational culture that seeks opportunities to shortcut procedures and processes; inadequate professional supervision and support; insufficient training and qualifications; and lack of strong organisational leadership. It is concluded that organisations’ underlying problems need to be resolved if effective delivery of services for children and families is to be achieved.

The link between coronavirus, anxiety, and religious beliefs in the United States and United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Rigoli
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Stressful Event ◽  
Cultural Implications ◽  
The Impact

Research has shown that stress impacts on people’s religious beliefs. However, several aspects of this effect remain poorly understood, for example regarding the role of prior religiosity and stress-induced anxiety. This paper explores these aspects in the context of the recent coronavirus emergency. The latter has impacted dramatically on many people’s well-being; hence it can be considered a highly stressful event. Through online questionnaires administered to UK and USA citizens professing either Christian faith or no religion, this paper examines the impact of the coronavirus crisis upon common people’s religious beliefs. We found that, following the coronavirus emergency, strong believers reported higher confidence in their religious beliefs while non-believers reported increased scepticism towards religion. Moreover, for strong believers, higher anxiety elicited by the coronavirus threat was associated with increased strengthening of religious beliefs. Conversely, for non-believers, higher anxiety elicited by the coronavirus thereat was associated with increased scepticism towards religious beliefs. These observations are consistent with the notion that stress-induced anxiety enhances support for the ideology already embraced before a stressful event occurs. This study sheds light on the psychological and cultural implications of the coronavirus crisis, which represents one of the most serious health emergencies in recent times.

scholarly journals National movement patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand: the unexplored role of neighbourhood deprivation

2021 ◽  
pp. jech-2020-216108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm Campbell ◽  
Lukas Marek ◽  
Jesse Wiki ◽  
Matthew Hobbs ◽  
Clive E Sabel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Population Mobility ◽  
Neighbourhood Deprivation ◽  
Movement Data ◽  
Spatial Inequalities ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has asked unprecedented questions of governments around the world. Policy responses have disrupted usual patterns of movement in society, locally and globally, with resultant impacts on national economies and human well-being. These interventions have primarily centred on enforcing lockdowns and introducing social distancing recommendations, leading to questions of trust and competency around the role of institutions and the administrative apparatus of state. This study demonstrates the unequal societal impacts in population movement during a national ‘lockdown’.MethodsWe use nationwide mobile phone movement data to quantify the effect of an enforced lockdown on population mobility by neighbourhood deprivation using an ecological study design. We then derive a mobility index using anonymised aggregated population counts for each neighbourhood (2253 Census Statistical Areas; mean population n=2086) of national hourly mobile phone location data (7.45 million records, 1 March 2020–20 July 2020) for New Zealand (NZ).ResultsCurtailing movement has highlighted and exacerbated underlying social and spatial inequalities. Our analysis reveals the unequal movements during ‘lockdown’ by neighbourhood socioeconomic status in NZ.ConclusionIn understanding inequalities in neighbourhood movements, we are contributing critical new evidence to the policy debate about the impact(s) and efficacy of national, regional or local lockdowns which have sparked such controversy.

scholarly journals The Moderating Impact of Attending Services on the Effect of Older Adults’ Discrimination Experiences on Loneliness

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 323-323
Author(s):  
Dahee Kim ◽  
Kyuho Lee
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Perceived Discrimination ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Religious Community ◽  
Religious Activities ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Religious Behaviors ◽  
Religious Services ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Research has shown that perceived discriminations impact physical and mental health in later life. Discrimination experiences could make older adults consider themselves as a social misfit and decrease their social interactions, which finally increases their loneliness. Religious behaviors has been reported as a key factor of a lower sense of isolation. Considering that religious behaviors provide opportunities to engage in more extensive social networks and have supportive social ties with community members, attending religious services might decrease the impact of older adults’ perceived discrimination on loneliness. The current research aims to examine the moderating role of religious services attendance in the association between older adults’ perceived discrimination and loneliness. We used data of 4,488 adults aged 50 to 80 (M=66.27, SD=10.15) from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) collected in 2012 and 2014. Linear regression analysis was performed to investigate whether older adults’ religious service attendance might decrease the impact of their perceived discriminations in daily life on the level of loneliness. The results indicated that more perceived discriminations older adults face on a daily basis were significantly associated with higher levels of loneliness. However, participants who frequently attended religious services showed a lower impact of perceived discriminations on their loneliness. These findings highlight the positive effects of engaging in religious activities on discriminated older adults’ social well-being. These findings also emphasize the role of the religious community as a social resource for socially marginalized older adults.

scholarly journals Alternative Friendships to Improve Men’s Health Status. The Impact of the New Alternative Masculinities’ Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 2188
Author(s):  
Oriol Ríos-González ◽  
Mimar Ramis-Salas ◽  
Juan Carlos Peña-Axt ◽  
Sandra Racionero-Plaza
Keyword(s):  
Physical Health ◽  
Traffic Accidents ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Healthy Behaviors ◽  
Physical Health Problems ◽  
Alternative Masculinities ◽  
The Impact

Background: Men who develop behaviors connected with the model of hegemonic masculinity present several health problems. Previous research has shown the types of problems that men commonly suffer in this regard such as chronic diseases, dietary disorders, and traffic accidents. To combat and overcome this situation, several campaigns, policies and recommendations have been undertaken, and consequently, their influence has been analyzed. However, there have been few investigations into the role of men’s friendship in the reduction of these physical health problems. The findings presented in this article are focused on this issue, illustrating the impact of male friendship on the shaping of healthy behaviors. Methods: Drawing upon a qualitative-based methodology articulated in a case study of the Men in Dialogue association, located in Spain, the study has followed the premises of the communicative approach, a total of 15 structured online open-ended questionnaires have been performed and analyzed. The median age of the participants is 37.5 years. Results: The findings show how men involved in Men in Dialogue are promoting a kind of masculine friendship that is improving men’s emotional well-being and, consequently, their physical health.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Barometer: Social Opinion – What Do the Portuguese Think in This Time of COVID-19?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Ana Rita Pedro ◽  
Ana Gama ◽  
Patrícia Soares ◽  
Marta Moniz ◽  
Pedro A. Laires ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The People ◽  
Huge Impact ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Continue Monitoring

The COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges to the global community, reinforcing the role of public health in society. The main measures to combat it had (and still have) a huge impact on the daily lives of citizens. This investigation aimed to identify and monitor the population’s perceptions about how it faced this period and the impact on health, well-being, and daily life. In this study, we describe the main trends observed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of mental health status, confidence in the capacity of the health services to respond to the pandemic, and the use of health services by participants. The online survey collected responses from 171,947 individuals ≥16 years of age in Portugal, over a period of 15 weeks that started on 21 March 2020. Participants could fill the questionnaire once or weekly, which enabled us to analyse trends and variations in responses. Overall, 81% of the respondents reported having felt agitated, anxious, or sad during the COVID-19 pandemic; 19% did not experience these feelings. During the confinement period, the proportion of participants feeling agitated, anxious, or sad every day/almost every day ranged between 20 and 30%, but since the deconfinement this proportion decreased. Around 30% reported having more difficulty getting to sleep or to sleep all night; 28.4% felt more agitated; 25.5% felt sadder, discouraged, or cried more easily; and 24.7% felt unable to do everything they had to do, women more frequently than men. Overall, 65.8% of the participants reported feeling confident or very confident in the health services’ capacity to respond to the challenges associated with the pandemic, and this confidence increased over time. Concerning the people who needed a consultation, 35.6% had one in person and 20.8% had one remotely, but almost 44% did not have one due to cancellation by the service (27.2%) or their own decision not to go (16.3%). At this unusual time in which we find ourselves and based on our findings, it is essential to continue monitoring how the population is facing the different phases of the pandemic until it officially ends. Analysing the effects of the pandemic from the point of view of citizens allows for anticipating critical trends and can contribute to preventative action.

The Impact of In-group Favoritism on Trade Preferences

2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 827-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana C. Mutz ◽  
Eunji Kim
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Trading Partner ◽  
Relative Advantage ◽  
Trade Policies ◽  
Partner Country ◽  
The Us ◽  
Trade Preferences ◽  
The Impact

AbstractUsing a population-based survey experiment, this study evaluates the role of in-group favoritism in influencing American attitudes toward international trade. By systematically altering which countries gain or lose from a given trade policy (Americans and/or people in trading partner countries), we vary the role that in-group favoritism should play in influencing preferences.Our results provide evidence of two distinct forms of in-group favoritism. The first, and least surprising, is that Americans value the well-being of other Americans more than that of people outside their own country. Rather than maximize total gains, Americans choose policies that maximize in-group well-being. This tendency is exacerbated by a sense of national superiority; Americans favor their national in-group to a greater extent if they perceive Americans to be more deserving.Second, high levels of perceived intergroup competition lead some Americans to prefer trade policies that benefit the in-group and hurt the out-group over policies that help both their own country and the trading partner country. For a policy to elicit support, it is important not only that the US benefits, but also that the trading partner country loses so that the US achieves a greater relative advantage. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding bipartisan public opposition to trade.

Perceived stress and psychological well-being of working mothers during COVID-19: a mediated moderated roles of teleworking and resilience

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vartika Kapoor ◽  
Jaya Yadav ◽  
Lata Bajpai ◽  
Shalini Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Working Mothers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Inverse Association ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe present study examines the mediating role of teleworking and the moderating role of resilience in explaining the relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being of working mothers in India. Conservation of resource theory (COR) is taken to support the present study.Design/methodology/approachThe data of 326 respondents has been collected from working mothers in various sectors of Delhi NCR region of India. Confirmatory factor analysis was used for construct validity, and SPSS Macro Process (Hayes) was used for testing the hypotheses.FindingsThe results of the study found an inverse association between perceived stress and psychological well-being. Teleworking acted as a partial mediator and resilience proved to be a significant moderator for teleworking-well-being relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based at Delhi NCR of India, and future studies may be based on a diverse population within the country to generalize the findings in different cultural and industrial contexts. The present work is based only on the psychological well-being of the working mothers, it can be extended to study the organizational stress for both the genders and other demographic variables.Practical implicationsThe study extends the research on perceived stress and teleworking by empirically testing the association between perceived stress and psychological well-being in the presence of teleworking as a mediating variable. The findings suggest some practical implications for HR managers and OD Practitioners. The organizations must develop a plan to support working mothers by providing flexible working hours and arranging online stress management programs for them.Originality/valueAlthough teleworking is studied previously, there is a scarcity of research examining the impact of teleworking on psychological well-being of working mothers in Asian context. It would help in understanding the process that how teleworking has been stressful for working mothers and also deliberate the role of resilience in the relationship between teleworking and psychological well-being due to perceived stress, as it seems a ray of hope in new normal work situations.

The Impact on Well-Being of Experiences at Cultural Events

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Gorchakova ◽  
Kenneth F. Hyde
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotional Engagement ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Art Galleries ◽  
Special Events ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Favourable Environment ◽  
The Impact

Major international cultural exhibitions, often referred to as touring ‘blockbuster’ exhibitions (TBEs), are arguably among the most stimulating and engaging event experiences. The role of orchestrating an experience that is meaningful and memorable has captured the attention of scholars in the events literature over recent decades. The aims of this paper are to re-conceptualise major international cultural exhibitions as special events, present a framework of the experiences these exhibitions generate for visitors, and explore the roles such experiences play in visitor well-being. The study draws on the findings of qualitative research conducted in Australia and New Zealand. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of art galleries and museums in Melbourne, Canberra, Auckland, and Wellington involved in hosting ‘blockbuster’ exhibitions, as well as representatives of regional cultural, tourism, and events organisations. This paper presents a ‘3Es’ experience realms framework, which comprises the key experiences that a major cultural and arts event generates for visitors: entertainment, enrichment, and emotional engagement. The first realm of the 3Es framework, entertainment, has encountered scepticism in the museum field; however, research findings here corroborate the arguments of those scholars who hold that entertainment may help to engage visitors and facilitate education. Enrichment comprises the creation of a favourable environment for new knowledge to be processed, and the enhancement of knowledge. The third realm is an emotionally engaging experience that results from social interactions, activities, and contemplation of and learning about unique exhibits. The framework demonstrates an interplay of these three major experiential dimensions and visitors’ hedonic and eudaemonic well-being. Exhibition and event organisers can utilise this framework to plan the delivery of memorable experiences for visitors and explore the ways in which their event can be made enjoyable, enriching, and emotionally engaging.

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