Opportunities and challenges in the analysis of the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN)

The development of the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN) has no doubt contributed to prompting a renewed interest in children’s narratives. This carefully controlled test of narrative abilities elicits a rich set of measures spanning multiple linguistic domains and their interaction, including lexis, morphosyntax, discourse-pragmatics, as well as various aspects of narrative structure, communicative competence, and language use (such as code-switching). It is particularly well suited to the study of discourse cohesion, referential adequacy and informativeness, and of course to the study of narrative structure and richness, and the acquisition of a more formal or literary register. In this commentary article, I reflect on the five empirical papers included in the special issue. I focus on methodological challenges for the analysis of narratives and identify outstanding questions.

Tracing the History of the Discipline of Psychology of Religion, Major Developments and Methodological Differences Utilised By Scholars in America and Europe

The psychology of religion has stemmed from mainstream psychology. Due to the increased interest by psychologists to study religion from a scientific perspective, gave rise to the study of religion from a psychological point of view. This essay endeavours to establish the history of psychology of religion; the major historical developments and methodological approaches used by the American and European scholars. The essay acknowledges the interesting journey the field of psychology of religion and spiritualties has taken from a philosophical conception to psychology. It highlights the methodological challenges it has and still faces from the American and European perspectives. The psychology of religion is both an interesting and challenging field, which has undergone a lot of changes, denials and shortcomings because of the nature of religion and spiritualties. However, this article establishes that a tremendous job has been done in both American and European efforts.

Naufragés japonais et leur rôle dans les relations nippo-occidentales: Défis d’une étude globale

Between 1633 and 1639, the Tokugawa shogunate had published a series of edicts, expelling all Westerners except the Dutch from the country, curtailing international commerce and missionary activities, as well as forbidding the Japanese from ever leaving their homeland. The Edo government maintained its isolationist course with varying degrees of success for more than two hundred years, finally caving in under foreign pressure in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Although the border control was exceptionally strict, small merchant craft and fisherman boats were still navigating between the islands of Japan. The sailors could rarely find a way back home after a shipwreck. Saved by passing whalers or washed ashore in a distant land, some of them survived their ordeal and ended up in the West where they were often employed as guides, interpreters and language teachers. Several countries sent diplomatic missions to Japan, using repatriation of castaways as a pretext to open negotiations with the shogunate. In this article, we will try to deconstruct the history of the relations between Japan and the Western powers through the eyes of these castaways and identify several methodological challenges that such a research entails.

Air quality and mental health: evidence, challenges and future directions

Poor air quality is associated with poor health. Little attention is given to the complex array of environmental exposures and air pollutants that impact mental health during the life course. By gathering expertise across the air pollution and mental health fields, we summarise the findings of a rapid scoping discussion, to identify knowledge gaps and methodological challenges.. We summarise the key scientific findings, and identify knowledge gaps and methodological challenges. We propose future research priorities and the optimal methods to address them. There is emerging evidence of associations between poor air quality, both indoors and outdoors, and poor mental health and specific mental disorders. Evidence of critical periods in exposures among children and adolescents highlights the need for for more longitudinal data as the basis of early prevention policies. Particulate matter, including bioaerosols, are implicated, but form part of a complex exposome influenced by; geography, deprivation, socio-economic conditions, and biological and individual vulnerabilities. Critical knowledge gaps need to be addressed so that dedicated actions can be taken to design interventions for mitigation and prevention, reflecting ever-changing sources of air pollution. In the interim, the existing evidence base can help motivate the efforts of researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, industry, community groups, and campaigners to raise awareness and take informed action. Such work necessarily requires collaboration between a wide range of specialists. There are knowledge gaps and a need for a more substantial evidence base, for example, around bioaerosols exposure, indoor and outdoor pollution, and the mental health impacts over the life course.