Contested Prayers and Powerful Blessings: Women’s ‘Unofficial’ Life in the Community

2021 ◽  
pp. 123-176
Author(s):  
Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz
Keyword(s):  
Small Groups ◽  
Opportunity To Learn ◽  
Active Participation ◽  
High Point ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Spiritual Self ◽  
Religious Lives ◽  
Modern Orthodox

This chapter deals with unofficial communal activity. A wide range of informal communal activities provides women with opportunities for religious or spiritual self-expression and for creating ritual contexts that function as substitutes for the communal rituals closed to them. It is here that they show most creativity and originality, often adapting or even inventing rituals. In Israel, the related practice of women praying in the standard synagogue service but then conducting a separate women-only Torah reading has taken root in several places. Until recently, the only regular prayer service for women in London was in Stanmore under the auspices of Stanmore and Canons Park United Synagogue. Many women feel that these services constitute the high point of their religious lives, offering an opportunity for quiet reflection and participation. This also allowed women the opportunity to learn more about the service and individual prayers, the sense of active participation. Recently, a new trend has emerged within the British Orthodox community. Small groups of highly educated professionals in their thirties and forties from the Modern Orthodox sector of the community, have begun to hold services known as partnership minyanim, in which women lead non-obligatory parts of the service, as well as reading the Torah and haftarah and being called up to recite the Torah blessings. Women also give sermons at these services, and recite Kaddish if they are mourners. Consideration of these non-official communal rituals provides further support for the threefold division of Orthodox women into haredi, Modern Orthodox, and traditionalist groups.

scholarly journals Electric signal synchronization as a behavioural strategy to generate social attention in small groups of mormyrid weakly electric fish and a mobile fish robot

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Worm ◽  
Tim Landgraf ◽  
Gerhard von der Emde
Keyword(s):  
Small Groups ◽  
Electric Fish ◽  
Social Attention ◽  
Weakly Electric Fish ◽  
Electric Signal ◽  
Fish Robot ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Signal Synchronization ◽  
Weakly Electric ◽  
Attention Hypothesis

AbstractAfrican weakly electric fish communicate at night by constantly emitting and perceiving brief electrical signals (electric organ discharges, EOD) at variable inter-discharge intervals (IDI). While the waveform of single EODs contains information about the sender’s identity, the variable IDI patterns convey information about its current motivational and behavioural state. Pairs of fish can synchronize their EODs to each other via echo responses, and we have previously formulated a ‘social attention hypothesis’ stating that fish use echo responses to address specific individuals and establish brief dyadic communication frameworks within a group. Here, we employed a mobile fish robot to investigate the behaviour of small groups of up to four Mormyrus rume and characterized the social situations during which synchronizations occurred. An EOD-emitting robot reliably evoked social following behaviour, which was strongest in smaller groups and declined with increasing group size. We did not find significant differences in motor behaviour of M. rume with either an interactive playback (echo response) or a random control playback by the robot. Still, the robot reliably elicited mutual synchronizations with other fish. Synchronizations mostly occurred during relatively close social interactions, usually when the fish that initiated synchronization approached either the robot or another fish from a distance. The results support our social attention hypothesis and suggest that electric signal synchronization might facilitate the exchange of social information during a wide range of social behaviours from aggressive territorial displays to shoaling and even cooperative hunting in some mormyrids.

The Structure of the Column in Stylidium

1989 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Findlay ◽  
GP Findlay
Keyword(s):  
Internal Structure ◽  
Small Groups ◽  
Central Layer ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Single Column ◽  
Cellulose Fibrils ◽  
Shape And Size ◽  
Fast Firing

In the genus Stylidium, the style and filaments of the flower are fused into a single column. In most species the column, when stimulated mechanically, undergoes a fast firing movement followed by a slow resetting movement. This movement is produced by changes in shape of a normally curved region of the column, the bend. In a wide range of species, the bend has a specialised anatomy and consists essentially of a longitudinal central layer of cells with two distinctive multi-celled layers of thick-walled cells on either side. The thick-walled cells are rich in cytoplasm with amyloplasts and vacuoles of varying sizes, and have non-lignified walls whose cellulose fibrils are arranged approximately transversely. Within the bend, the phloem occurs as discrete small groups of cells separated by some distance from the xylem. In species from the subgenus Centridium both the morphology and the internal structure of the bend differ somewhat from those in most species of Stylidium, and in two species of Stylidium with nonmoving columns, the characteristic cellular anatomy of the bend is entirely absent. The specialised anatomy of the cells and tissues in the bend are clearly associated with the movement of the column. Changes of shape and size of these cells are almost certainly responsible for the change in shape of the bend.

scholarly journals From Virtual Field Trip to Geologically-Reasoned Decisions in Yosemite Valley

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas C. Barth ◽  
Greg M. Stock ◽  
Kinnari Atit
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Information ◽  
Opportunity To Learn ◽  
Field Trip ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Spatial Skills ◽  
Yosemite Valley ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Virtual Field ◽  
Virtual Field Trip

Abstract. This study highlights a Geology of Yosemite Valley virtual field trip (VFT) and companion exercises produced as a four-part module to substitute for physical field experiences. The VFT is created as an Earth project in Google Earth Web, a versatile format that allows access through a web browser or Google Earth app with the sharing of an internet address. Many dynamic resources can be used for VFT stops through use of the Google Earth Engine (global satellite imagery draped on topography, 360° street-level imagery, user-submitted 360° photospheres). Images, figures, videos, and narration can be embedded into VFT stops. Hyperlinks allow for a wide range of external resources to be incorporated; optional background resources help reduce the knowledge gap between general public and upper-division students, ensuring VFTs can be broadly accessible. Like many in-person field trips, there is a script with learning goals for each stop, but also an opportunity to learn through exploration as the viewer can dynamically change their vantage at each stop (i.e. guided discovery learning). This interactive VFT format scaffolds students’ spatial skills and encourages attention to be focused on a stop’s critical spatial information. The progression from VFT to mapping exercise to geologically-reasoned decision-making results in high quality student work; students find it engaging, enjoyable, and educational.

scholarly journals Assortative Mating, Income Inequality, and Place

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Avril Macfarlane
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Household Income ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Educational Assortative Mating ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
The Relationship

<p>There is a growing concern internationally about levels of income inequality, and the negative effect this has on the functioning of societies both in terms of productivity and social harmony. An unexpected contributor to inequality is assortative mating - the phenomenon of “like marrying like”. Educational attainment is highly correlated with income; when two highly educated people partner and form a household they are more likely to appear at the top of the household income distribution, while couples with only primary or incomplete secondary education appear at the bottom. Therefore the greater the propensity to mate assortatively the more unequal the distribution of household income becomes.   I ask two questions of the relationship between educational assortative mating and household income inequality. Firstly, how do countries (in Europe) differ in their degree of educational assortative mating? Secondly, what is the evidence that such differences are reflected in indicators of household income inequality?   My study differs from the prevailing approaches to this question by taking a geographical approach. Instead of comparing a single country over time and monitoring the correspondence between assortative mating and income inequality, I compare a wide range of countries, using a uniform instrument, at one point in time. In order to do so I draw on the unit records of 29 countries from the European Social Survey administered in 2012.   From these unit record data I have been able to identify two important patterns. Firstly, there is a clear presence of educational assortative mating in each country. However, the degree differs and it does so primarily as a reflection of the overall level of education in the country. Rising levels of education lower the returns for education, in turn making assortative mating comparatively less attractive. As a result, the level of assortative mating, compared to what would be expected under random conditions, is lower in highly educated nations. The lowered level of assortative mating in highly educated nations reduces the barriers to social mobility through marriage for those without university educations. Consequently, household income inequality is seen to be intrinsically related to assortative mating, although the outcomes can be mitigated by redistribution policies.</p>

scholarly journals Assortative Mating, Income Inequality, and Place

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Avril Macfarlane
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Household Income ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Educational Assortative Mating ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
The Relationship

<p>There is a growing concern internationally about levels of income inequality, and the negative effect this has on the functioning of societies both in terms of productivity and social harmony. An unexpected contributor to inequality is assortative mating - the phenomenon of “like marrying like”. Educational attainment is highly correlated with income; when two highly educated people partner and form a household they are more likely to appear at the top of the household income distribution, while couples with only primary or incomplete secondary education appear at the bottom. Therefore the greater the propensity to mate assortatively the more unequal the distribution of household income becomes.   I ask two questions of the relationship between educational assortative mating and household income inequality. Firstly, how do countries (in Europe) differ in their degree of educational assortative mating? Secondly, what is the evidence that such differences are reflected in indicators of household income inequality?   My study differs from the prevailing approaches to this question by taking a geographical approach. Instead of comparing a single country over time and monitoring the correspondence between assortative mating and income inequality, I compare a wide range of countries, using a uniform instrument, at one point in time. In order to do so I draw on the unit records of 29 countries from the European Social Survey administered in 2012.   From these unit record data I have been able to identify two important patterns. Firstly, there is a clear presence of educational assortative mating in each country. However, the degree differs and it does so primarily as a reflection of the overall level of education in the country. Rising levels of education lower the returns for education, in turn making assortative mating comparatively less attractive. As a result, the level of assortative mating, compared to what would be expected under random conditions, is lower in highly educated nations. The lowered level of assortative mating in highly educated nations reduces the barriers to social mobility through marriage for those without university educations. Consequently, household income inequality is seen to be intrinsically related to assortative mating, although the outcomes can be mitigated by redistribution policies.</p>

Rural communes and Soviet farms on the eve and during the peasant rebellion of 1920–1921

2020 ◽  
pp. 221-226
Author(s):  
Vladimir B. Bezgin
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Rural Population ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Active Participation ◽  
The State ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
First Time ◽  
Collective Farms

We examine the state of communes and farms, the attitude of the rural population to their organization and activities, as well as the state of collective farms on the eve and during the Tambov rebellion of 1920–1921. The relevance of the topic is determined by the need for a scien-tific understanding of the problem of insurrection in the Civil War and its manifestation in the form of a peasant rebellion led by A.S. Antonov. The purpose of the study is to establish the fate of collective farms during the armed protest of the Tambov peasants. The work was carried out on the basis of a wide range of archival sources, some of which are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The analysis of the problem is carried out taking into account the achievements of modern historiography of the issue and the use of scientific tools of advanced methodological approaches. We apply the entire arsenal of methods of historical research based on the principles of historicism, objectivity and consistency. It is established that the armed raids of rebel detachments on agricultural communes, Soviet farms were due to the need of the partisans for food, horses, forage, and the active participation of the local population in them stemmed from their view of the land and property of collective farms as rightfully belonging to them.

Studying Jewish Women

2021 ◽  
pp. 10-36
Author(s):  
Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Orthodox Jews ◽  
Orthodox Judaism ◽  
Jewish Women ◽  
Religious Activities ◽  
Torah Study ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Religious Lives ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter explores the problems of studying Orthodox Jewish women, in particular the 'double invisibility' they experience, first from the perspective of male Orthodox Jews, and, second, in the lack of knowledge about them in the non-Jewish world. Orthodox women engage in a wide range of communal and domestic religious activities, in spite of their exclusion from an active role in worship in synagogue and from some areas of Torah study. Activities defined by Orthodoxy as the supreme religious privileges of women, such as keeping a kosher kitchen, preparing food for sabbath and festivals, and nurturing and educating children, remain largely invisible to Orthodox men. Standard descriptions of women's practices in the domestic and individual spheres omit many widespread customs and practices, often characterized as 'superstitions' although they form an integral and meaningful part of many women's religious lives. A major problem in studying women's religious lives and the ways in which they differ from and intersect with those of men is imagining how women fit into one's overall picture of Jewish religious activity. Neither the 'separate but equal' apologetic nor the simplistic identification of 'oppressed and oppressors' made by some feminists provides an adequate way of thinking about the relationship between male and female lived experience of Judaism. Given that Orthodox Judaism is undeniably patriarchal, it may reasonably be asked whether women have any access to power or agency within the religious life of the community, particularly in matters of ritual and correct practice.

scholarly journals Scottish Trainees' Day

1981 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 215-215
Author(s):  
Jim Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
Small Groups ◽  
Plenary Session ◽  
Royal Hospital ◽  
Wide Range

The first Scottish Trainees' Day was held at the Gartnavel Royal Hospital, Glasgow, on 26 June. It was organized by two Scottish representatives of the Collegiate Trainees Committee, and about 40 trainees attended and heard talks given by Professor Gerald Timbury, Dr Angus McKay, Dr John Cox, Dr S. P. Sashidharan, Dr Richard Williams and Dr Sue Philips, Secretary of the Collegiate Trainees Committee. In the afternoon the meeting broke into small groups to facilitate the expression of views over a wide range of issues. The plenary session at the end of the afternoon brought together the main themes discussed in the small groups and these are summarized below.

Trait Perception Accuracy and Acquaintance Within Groups: Tracking Accuracy Development

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 716-728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill A. Brown ◽  
Frank Bernieri
Keyword(s):  
Small Groups ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Tracking Accuracy ◽  
Best Friends ◽  
Big Five Traits ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Zero Acquaintance ◽  
Trait Rating

Previous work on trait perception has evaluated accuracy at discrete stages of relationships (e.g., strangers, best friends). A relatively limited body of literature has investigated changes in accuracy as acquaintance within a dyad or group increases. Small groups of initially unacquainted individuals spent more than 30 hr participating in a wide range of activities designed to represent common interpersonal contexts (e.g., eating, traveling). We calculated how accurately each participant judged others in their group on the big five traits across three distinct points within the acquaintance process: zero acquaintance, after a getting-to-know-you conversation, and after 10 weeks of interaction and activity. Judgments of all five traits exhibited accuracy above chance levels after 10 weeks. An examination of the trait rating stability revealed that much of the revision in judgments occurred not over the course of the 10-week relationship as suspected, but between zero acquaintance and the getting-to-know-you conversation.

scholarly journals Amaranthine: Humanoid Robot Kinematics

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (01n04) ◽  
pp. 2040015
Author(s):  
Shefalika Asthana ◽  
Srikanth R. Karna ◽  
Irine Ann Shelby
Keyword(s):  
Small Groups ◽  
Humanoid Robot ◽  
Humanoid Robots ◽  
Service Robots ◽  
Robot Kinematics ◽  
Heavy Duty ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
3D Printed ◽  
Application Specific

Humanoid robots are employed in a wide range of fields to replicate human actions. This paper presents the mechanism, configuration, mathematical modeling, and workspace of a 3D printed humanoid robot – Amaranthine. It also discusses the potential scope of humanoid robots in the present day and future. Robots can be programmed for automation as per the demand of the task or operations to be performed. Humanoid robots, while being one of the small groups of service robots in the current market, have the greatest potential to become the industrial tool of the future. Introducing a Humanoid Robot-like Amaranthine holds huge scope majorly in the fields of medical assistance, teaching aid, large industries where heavy-duty operations require application-specific software, etc. Amaranthine was 3D printed and assembled at the RISC Lab of University of Bridgeport.

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