Search Results (1,506)

This study explores legitimising beliefs about intimate partner violence (IPV) among Portuguese forensic cases. Using the ECVC scale, data from 45 assessed individuals revealed that IPV offenders—particularly men, those with lower education levels, and certain occupational groups—endorse beliefs that justify, minimise, or excuse violence. The most prevalent were trivialising minor violence and protecting family privacy. These findings align with the literature on the influence of patriarchal norms and social inequalities in sustaining IPV. These results highlight the importance of addressing underlying gender ideologies in prevention and intervention efforts, especially in forensic and justice-related psychological practice. Full article

Despite their presence in the Church, women are often underrepresented in leadership roles. In particular, young people, especially young women, are becoming increasingly distant from the Church. They are less engaged, and fewer young women are opting for a life of consecration. However, according to Christian teachings, the involvement of all members is vital to the Christian community. This qualitative study relies on semi-structured interviews (N = 20) and explores the engagement of young Catholic women in Lebanon, focusing on two key concepts: vocation and sense of belonging to the Church. It examines how perceptions of vocation are associated with belonging to the Church. Findings indicate that social and ideological shifts, namely the rise in individualism and women’s empowerment and the decline of religious education in families, among others, have contributed to a decline in young women’s sense of vocation and belonging to the Church. The research also proposes a framework explaining the complex relationship between social change and the decline of vocation and belonging among women. The findings have implications for the Church and society, notably the need to bridge the existing gap between society and the Church and provide decision-making opportunities for women in the Church. Full article

Our goal was to identify and understand perspectives of different stakeholders in the field of climate policy and test a process of co-creative policy development to support the implementation of climate protection measures. As the severity of climate change grows globally, perceptions of climate science and climate-based policy have become increasingly polarized. The one-solution consensus or compromise that has encapsulated environmental policymaking has proven insufficient or unable to address accurately or efficiently the climate issue. Because climate change is often described as a wicked problem (multiple causes, widespread impacts, uncertain outcomes, and an array of potential solutions), a clumsy solution that incorporates ideas and actions representative of varied and divergent worldviews is best suited to address it. This study used the Theory of Plural Rationality, which uses a two-dimensional spectrum to identify four interdependent worldviews as well as a fifth autonomous perspective to define the differing perspectives in the field of climate policy in Austria. Stakeholder inputs regarding general worldviews, climate change, and climate policy were evaluated to identify agreeable actions representative of the multiple perspectives. Thus, we developed and tested a co-creative process for developing clumsy solutions. This study concludes that while an ideological consensus is unlikely, agreement is more likely to occur on the practical level of concrete actions (albeit perhaps for different reasons). Findings suggested that creating an ecological tax reform was an acceptable policy action to diverse stakeholders. Furthermore, the study illuminated that the government is perceived to have the most potential influence on climate protection policy and acts as a key “broker”, or linkage, between other approaches that are perceived to be more actualized but less impactful. Full article

The 1958 autonomous episcopal elections and consecrations in China represent a significant episode in the history of the Chinese Catholic Church. One of the central issues at stake was the violation of canonical norms regarding episcopal consecrations; therefore, the Code of Canon Law became a subject of internal debate within the Chinese Catholic Church. This study examines how Chinese Catholic discourse on Canon Law evolved between November 1957 and December 1958, during the early implementation of the policy of self-election (自选) and self-consecration (自圣) of bishops promoted by the Chinese Government. Drawing on Chinese-language sources—most notably articles from Guangyang 广扬, the journal of the Catholic Patriotic Association of Tianjin, and the proceedings of local assemblies held in some dioceses such as Rehe—this study documents how prevailing attitudes toward the Code of Canon Law shifted over the course of these months, from a moderately conciliatory stance to a more radical one. Already dominant in study sessions and political-ideological campaigns of mid-1958, these radical positions appear to have become preponderant toward the end of the year, especially in the wake of Pope Pius XII’s 1958 encyclical Ad Apostolorum Principis, which condemned the autonomous election and consecration of bishops without papal mandate. Full article

This article examines the rhetorical affordances of political claims to victimhood by US president Donald Trump during his first and second terms in office. By applying Critical Discourse Analysis to victimhood claims tactically deployed in the discursive performances of the US president, this analysis demonstrates the versatility and multi-functionality of victimhood claims as a political communication strategy in different contexts, which may account for, at least partly, the appeal of far-right populist leaders to national electorates. The analysis calls attention to a novel argumentative pattern, attested in Trump’s empowered victimhood rhetoric upon his inauguration as second-term president of the USA. This pattern consists of constructing prolonged economic injury inflicted on the nation and announcing retribution against the constructed victimizer(s). This emancipated performative style of claiming victimized nationhood is used to justify and forewarn the implementation of illiberal and coercive politics, in this case, the waging of a global trade war by the US president. Focusing on Trump as an original case study of the construction of ‘economic victimhood’ to justify aggressive economic policy, this paper aims to advance our understanding of the rhetorically complex and continuously evolving victimhood rhetoric of authoritarian populists, as well as the leverages accrued thereof, and adds to a growing body of the literature on the discursive–ideological shifts triggered by authoritarian populism. Full article

STEM ideologies provoke environmental destruction from which deaf, disabled, and Indigenous people are uniquely targeted. Our analysis counteracts harms caused by governmental, industrial, and educational agents who weaponize STEM ideologies against downstream people, animals, plants, environments, and biogeochemical entities. We explore two research questions via a theoretical framework about biocultural deaf gains and deaf/Indigenous languacultures to center the arts in STEAM. As a result, we synthesized a conceptual framework called Deaf and Indigenous Curricula and Eco-pedagogies (DICE), which are multimodal, multilingual approaches to STEAM education emphasizing place-based ecology and the arts, including knowledge emanating from Indigenous Deaf Cultures, Indigenous sign languages, and epistemologists who are deaf, disabled, women, and Indigenous (singly or in combination). DICE is designed to reinvigorate communities and ecologies at risk of destruction from colonialism and runnamok capitalism. Within and across Indigenous and Deaf lifeworlds, our model explores: collaboration, mutualism, and symbiosis. These are situated in examples drawn from the research, abductive reasoning, our life histories, and the creative works of Deaf Indigenous scientists and artists. In sum, alongside uprising Indigenous voices, deaf hands shall rise in solidarity to aid Earth’s defense. Full article

This study examines L2 Korean learners’ self-reports of their socialization into discourses around the use of two categories of non-honorific (banmal) and honorific (jondaenmal) language. L2 Korean learners (n = 49) of varying proficiency levels completed a questionnaire aimed at capturing their beliefs, attitudes, and practices regarding learning and using banmal. A subset of questionnaire participants (n = 11) were interviewed, and transcripts were analyzed using discourse analysis to understand how banmal is positioned discursively in participants’ self-reported accounts of learning and using L2 Korean. Findings revealed three dominant discourses in learners’ self-reported accounts of their socialization into learning and using banmal: (1) jondaenmal is more important to them than banmal, (2) banmal does not belong in formal learning contexts such as classrooms, and (3) banmal instruction should be delayed until the intermediate or advanced level. Additionally, these discourses were connected to two overarching, at times contradictory, affective responses from participants. While they reported heightened anxiety over when to use banmal, they also described how using it instilled confidence in their sociopragmatic abilities. These findings highlight the connection between the affective experiences of learners and prevailing discourses on particular linguistic forms. Finally, we suggest the need for more integrated approaches to teaching speech styles in L2 Korean classrooms. Full article

The systematic attacks against the civilian population in Gaza, including educational institutions, constitute war crimes that violate the right to education and affect not only children but also an entire culture’s ability to recover post-conflict and maintain its identity. This document review analysed the reports issued by Nations agencies to identify the types of violence that occur in educational contexts, the victims of such violence, the impact on the rights to and within education, and the educational measures implemented in response. A thematic analysis guided by Karma Nabulsi’s concept of “scholasticide”, Rita Segato’s “pedagogy of cruelty”, and Sara Ahmed’s “witness” was conducted. The findings reveal that the attacks on educational spaces can be interpreted as ideological strategies against the Palestinian culture due to their critical role in cultural resilience and the recovery of the Palestinian people. The reports highlight significant limitations in recognising education as a priority dimension within the framework of international humanitarian aid. Finally, the analysed documents show that children in Gaza experience feelings of abandonment based on the inaction of the international community to guarantee their right to be free from all kinds of violence. Full article

This pilot study seeks to answer the following question: How does the ongoing security crisis in Ecuador shape public support for democracy and approval of the incumbent government? Using a panel design with monthly surveys of 84 university students between June and November, perceptions of the armed forces, police, political parties, parliament, and ideological self-placement were assessed. The analysis shows that trust in the armed forces and the police significantly increases the probability of approving of the government, although only trust in the police is positively associated with the approval of democracy. For political institutions, only trust in parliament had a significant impact on both the dependent variables. Trust in political parties was not statistically significant. These findings suggest that, in crisis contexts, security institutions reinforce the legitimacy of the executive, while the legislative branch can become a key agent of democratic stability. Constant monitoring of institutional confidence is recommended, considering the risk of autocratization in presidential regimes in scenarios of prolonged conflict. Full article

After the end of the Second World War, Hungary, like other war-torn countries, was left with countless orphaned children. The collapsed state structures were unable to care for them, so only various private or church initiatives—such as Gaudopolis, a children’s home set up by the Lutheran pastor Gábor Szehló—provided a means of survival. However, in East-Central Europe—including Hungary, Poland and Romania—where the Soviet Union had a sphere of influence, the emerging Soviet-style system was aimed at the political re-education of society. Ideological goals categorically excluded the possibility of churches being involved in the care and education of youth beyond the existing legal framework. Any person who engaged in such activities was cracked down upon. This study examines the role and responsibility of church persons in the care and upbringing of orphaned children through the fate of the Roman Catholic priest István Regőczi. In the decades of communist dictatorship, István Regőczi repeatedly reorganised orphanages, where he carried out youth education activities based on principles similar to scouting. The values he imparted to the children—such as the Christian religion, family protection, mutual help and social solidarity—were all values of Christian socialism. However, the communist dictatorship—promoting its own political ideology, Marxism—sought to take control of the upbringing and education of children by nationalising all institutions involved in this activity. Anyone who resisted this—as István Regőczi did—was made impossible in the people’s democracy of the 1950s and 1960s, and his child-saving, educating and teaching activities were prevented, even if the courts sentenced him to longer or shorter prison sentences for the crimes of illegal youth organisation, incitement and the abuse of freedom of association. This study, comparing what is described in István Regőczi’s memoirs with the surviving archival sources, shows how during these terrible decades it was possible to save orphaned, needy children and raise them in a Christian spirit, even against the will of the authorities. Full article

This purpose of this article is twofold. Firstly, I present an overview of the Egyptian concepts of the ba and ka, as well as the attestations of npš extant in the Iron Age Levant. This brief investigation is meant to illustrate the second point, which is the utility of Egyptian evidence for the study of Levantine culture and religion. In addition, this article may stand as a starting point for further investigation of the npš through Egyptian comparative evidence, going beyond iconographic, archaeological, and textual comparison to include comparison of concepts and ideologies. Full article

This article examines tropes of (proto)colonialism in medieval European culture and Raymonda (Раймoнда), a ballet that premiered in St. Petersburg in 1898 and is set during the Fifth Crusade (1217–1221). Juxtaposing premodern travel accounts with a postmedieval dance creation, this study illuminates how religious otherness, imperial ambitions, and feminine resistance frame representations of dance spectacle and spectatorship. Following a synopsis of the ballet, the subsequent section considers Raymonda’s Muslim characters vis-à-vis medieval texts and images. Here, I incorporate Crusades-era sources, travel literature, and their accompanying iconography alongside the characterizations and aesthetics that pervade Raymonda. These comparisons apprehend the racializing and (proto)colonial thrust of crusader ideology and Russian imperialism. The final section historicizes Raymonda through medieval lyric and gestures toward an Afro-Islamicate ancestry of lyricism and ballet medievalism. Therefore, while traditional versions of Raymonda project Islamophobia, I posit that a rigorous examination of the Middle Ages imbues this ballet with profundity and intercultural nuance. Ultimately, this article demonstrates how a combined study of premodern travel and postmedieval dance may help scholars challenge the Eurocentrism, colonialism, and Whiteness that pervade medieval studies and the art of ballet. Full article

Language ideologies about gendered linguistic behaviour are crucial in shaping expectations and metapragmatic judgements on politeness. This study focused on how gender and language ideologies reinforce normative assumptions about the relationship between gender and (im)politeness and at the same time influence individuals’ perception of (im)politeness. Based on data collected from 251 respondents through online questionnaires administered between July 2024 and January 2025, the study investigated whether certain linguistic choices tend to be stereotypically associated with a particular gender and if the same utterance is evaluated differently depending on whether it is attributed to a man or a woman. Participants’ responses revealed systematic associations between linguistic forms and perceived gender, indicating that direct requests were more often linked to male speakers, while indirect or mitigated forms were associated with female speakers. Findings also showed that in 17 out of 19 cases, the same utterance was rated as more polite when attributed to a woman, suggesting that among Russian-speaking participants politeness was not only expected from women but also more readily perceived in their speech, reinforcing existing gender ideologies and stereotypes. Full article

Particularly in the post-October 7 period, the use of the word or utterance “Jew,” or “Jewish,” is (once more) a pertinent example for understanding conflict, geopolitics, and the relation between religion and politics. Based on my ongoing ethnographic work, which explores how this is experienced in the Greek university world, I provide here a mode of understanding dominant ideological and/or intellectual origins of people’s stances in the academic workplace when they use, or encounter, the “Jewish” signifier. I do not provide ethnographic material as much as I provide a context for understanding the ethnography of a specific academic–intellectual universe. As a particular public sphere, the academic workplace has its own attitudes and strategies for handling ideological and politico-philosophical differences within itself. This condition, I suggest, can accommodate a felt predicament among interlocutors, colleagues, and other interrelated actors, as has been the case particularly during the last couple of years. The conflict in the Middle East brings the geopolitical into the classroom and onto campus in ways that may reconfigure and unsettle power relations and sentiment in the community. I trace the origins of this predicament through a synoptic genealogical trajectory from the 1960s to the present. Full article

This study examines the transformation of literary translation practices in Georgia from the Soviet era to the post-Soviet and neoliberal periods, using postcolonial translation theory as the main analytical lens. Translation is treated not merely as a linguistic transfer but as a process shaped by ideological control, cultural representation, and global power hierarchies. In the Soviet era, censorship policies rooted in socialist realism imposed direct ideological interventions; children’s literature such as Maya the Bee and Bambi exemplified how religious or individualist themes were replaced with collectivist narratives. In the post-Soviet period, overt censorship has largely disappeared; however, structural factors—including the absence of a coherent national translation policy, economic precarity, and dependence on Western funding—have become decisive in shaping translation choices. The shift from Russian to English as the dominant source language has introduced new symbolic hierarchies, privileging Anglophone literature while marginalizing regional and non-Western voices. Drawing on the Georgian Book Market Research 2013–2015 alongside archival materials, paratextual analysis, and contemporary case studies, including the Georgian translation of André Aciman’s Call Me By Your Name, the study shows how translators negotiate between market expectations, cultural taboos, and ethical responsibility. It argues that translation in Georgia remains a contested site of cultural negotiation and epistemic justice. Full article