Alexei Krindatch, the Research Coordinator for the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, discusses his new report on the various backgrounds of our Orthodox bishops.

Bobby Maddex interviews Alexei Krindatch, the Research Coordinator of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, about a new report titled "Fast Questions and Fast Answers About the Geography of Orthodoxy in America."

Bobby Maddex once again interviews Alexei Krindatch, the Research Coordinator of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, about the new Assembly study, Fast Questions and Fast Answers About American Orthodox Monasteries.

One of the extremely complicated issues with which Orthodox parents must contend these days is that of homosexuality. How do we talk to our kids about same-sex desires and relationships and how do we do so with the sensitivity, nuance, and frankness that the topic requires? At the request of Carole Buleza, the Director of the Antiochian Department of Christian Education, Bobby Maddex interviews Dr. Philip Mamalakis, an Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, about how to talk about marriage, intimacy, and homosexuality with your children.

In the story of the healing of the paralytic in John 5, we learn about sin from three sources: the paralytic, the opponents of Jesus, and Jesus himself.

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We all have schedules and agendas, and we’re mindful of our own and of those with whom we interact. Using stories from the Gospels and Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, Fr. Pat considers with us God's schedules and hidden agenda.

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How do Christ and the Church teach us to read the Bible? Here are three things you need to know!

"Thoughts" are the imaginings and fantasies that can distract us from God. And they can turn into action after they enter our hearts. So how do we deal with the thoughts that bother us? Instead of fighting them, we can turn away from them.

Vestments are more than decorations: they reveal something important about our relationship with God and the role of our clergy.

“Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16) Adults fear that young people will grow up and stop being Christians. But no one ever fears that a kid will stop rooting for their favorite sports team. Why? We'll look at how the life of a sports fan can challenge the way we share the Faith with others. Because our goal isn't simply to make people loyal to our religion: it's to give them a taste of holiness and inspire them to be saints. If we're going to raise people to be faithful Orthodox Christians, we need to start here. As always, we've prepared a FREE downloadable workbook to help you act on what you'll learn: mailchi.mp/goarch/bethebee154

One of the most challenging and important jobs a parent has is to talk to their children about sexuality in a way that incorporates the various spheres of life – biological, emotional, relational, social, and spiritual. In this episode of Ancient Faith Today, host Kevin Allen speaks with Dr. John T. Chirban, author of How to Talk With Your Kids About Sex, about ways to prepare for this most important parental responsibility.

Kevin's guest is Dn. Michael Hyatt, former Chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers and the host of the AFR podcast "At the Intersection of East and West."

Let it go... 1 Corinthians 9: 2 - 12, Matthew 18: 23 - 35.

SUBSCRIBE There is a developmental stage that no one talks about. The transition from childhood to adulthood can be a challenge for even the most seasoned mamas. How do we successfully interact with our adult children? And what if our best attempt at parenting wasn't good enough?

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A number of people have asked if I would respond to the piece Julie Bindel wrote about The Sex Myth in the Grauniad. Clearly as she took the opportunity to let rip, so too must I?

Maybe, maybe not. Because the truth about Julie Bindel is that she is - shock, horror - actually decent company. You would totally have a drink with her as long as you stayed off the topics of sex work, trafficking, porn, trans issues, gay marriage and... well you get the idea. There are definitely people with whom my politics are more closely aligned whose company I have enjoyed a lot less.

But in the interest of "setting the record straight" (as if such a thing exists) here are my notes on the encounter:

- I approached Julie to ask if she wanted to interview me, in part because I figured she would write about the book anyway. Since I criticise her writing extensively in The Sex Myth it seemed fair to give her a face-to-face.

- She's prettier in person than in her photos. Not that that's relevant, or important, but she is.

- We met three times that week: once for lunch, once for the photos, and again on Sky news. The first words out of her mouth on the air at Sky were "As much as I hate to say this I agree with Brooke." I did a little mental air-punch at that one. (It was also approximately the first thing Claire Perry said when we were on the Today programme. File under: win.)

- The "offal", by the way, was calf's liver and very good it was too. Though I did wish I'd ordered the lamb sweetbreads special instead.

- The dessert was an Eccles cake with cheddar cheese ice cream. Hand on heart, I loved the ice cream. The Eccles cake was not nice. If you have occasion to go to The Gilbert Scott at St Pancras, ask them for a bowl of that ice cream.

- She thought my criticism of Swanee Hunt mentioning her father's political background a bit out of line. My reply to that is if Hunt's still trading on his name and his connections, then she has to expect that. Her extreme privilege (yes, even in supposedly classless America; yes, even when your work is deemed charitable) is a huge hurdle to overcome. Eye of the needle and all that jazz.

- Julie's a big fan of Viz, especially Eight Ace and Sid the Sexist. Who knew? Also she liked Fat Slags better when it was shorter whereas I prefer the longer ones.

- In principle we both agree that sex workers themselves should not be criminalised. After that our thoughts on sex work are mainly opposed. When I put it to her at lunch that the much-talked-about "Swedish model" and Icelandic approaches could never work in the UK, she agreed.

- Julie's piece was filed after we met for lunch on the 17th April, I believe before we had photos on the 20th. The final edits to the book were made on the 25th and approved on the 27th. First edition came off the presses May 1st. (Yes, we cut it fine.) This unfortunately means some of the things from her piece may not be the book.* I'm not sure if it is the writer's or the editor's responsibility to check reviews against the published copy, but someone should have done.

- We both think the Grauniad will cease to exist in printed form soon. Probably most people think that though, so no news there.

- She seemed concerned that I think feminists of her stripe/generation are against sex, and took pains to assure me plenty of sex was going down among the redfems in the 70s and 80s. I said "I bloody well hope so," because what would be the point of rejecting the model of virgin-to-wife-to-mother only to not get laid? However, in my experience, the lesbian-identified feminists when I was at uni in the very early 90s were not so free and easy with the sexual favours. Not that I'm bitter, mind. It wasn't a great place or time to be a woman who slept with both women and men.

- She think my husband looks like a model. As far as independent assessments of attractiveness go, that's about as airtight as they come.

- Her claim that I was 'roundly criticised' by Catherine Hakim for my educational background is a misrepresentation of Hakim's review; you can read it here. My education is in anthropology, maths, forensic science and epidemiology. I've also worked in chemoinformatics and child health research (mainly cancer). If anyone thinks that makes me unqualified to comment on academic research... with all due respect, check yo self.

- The last thing I said to her, when we were leaving Sky news: "Civilised is the new uncivilised."

So there it is. No particular desire or need to fetch a hatchet, because who benefits? (It might also help that I have professional experience of finding common ground with just about anyone for two hours as long as they're buying.) The Grauniad is a known quantity and the "pity" angle of her article frankly unbelievable... you don't bother tearing down someone if you feel actual pity for them. You might even wonder why I bothered. To which I say: lunch? On their dime? Admit it, you so would. And so I did.

It's a pity her piece was, in the end, so misleading. I was told it would be presented as a conversation; it's a rant. She accuses me of accusing her of taking money from the far right: evidence for this claim is undisputed, and considering the libel threats that Eaves For Women put on the book the day of its release,  thus delaying its actual release by weeks while lawyers hemmed and hawed, you would have thought she'd feel free to take it to court if I was actually wrong.

The nuisance suit was dropped very quickly, of course; its fantastical claims included that I had somehow "hacked" the Eaves mainframe... by reporting details of a paper they presented at an international conference, and posted online... well, I guess it got the job done, from their point of view. Ugly but effective.

Helen Lewis, as well, gave a very misleading review. She blasts me for praising a study from Keele University, missing the entire point of why it was praised: because even given the selective inclusion of only a certain kind of sex worker, the results are still positive - which sets it apart from other, negatively skewed, studies. Point well and truly missed. She seems like a smart girl, so I can only imagine she went in with a particular result in mind: namely, punishing me for not saying yes to an interview with her. Hey, I'd already booked Juile... one in-person assassination is enough for my well-being, thanks! Usually reviewers are expected to rise above such petty machinations. (That her review contained some exact wording found in the Eaves libel threat is, I am sure, a complete coincidence.)

But as I say, no hard feelings. They have a point of view that includes taking no prisoners. Apt, I suppose, for a style of feminism that considers the police to be adequate protectors of sex worker safety. Obviously it's a view I disagree with. I'm sure they're both perfectly lovely if you don't disagree with anything they say, ever. But the tenor of so-called debate in this country lately dictates that all differences must be fought to the last. A shame for fact finding, and missing the point of the book.
Right now you're probably thinking I should go to the cinema with Tanya Gold and discover maybe she's not as bad as all that? Hey now, let's not get crazy.

tl;dr - I was expecting a snarling nemesis, what I got was a lesbian Michael Winner... hugely offensive, yet surprisingly charming, bon viveur.

Believe it or not The Sex Myth is not only about columnists, or trafficking, or even feminism: those are only a small part. Most reviews have barely touched on any of the other chapters. It also discusses the medicalisation of female desire and the denial of women's appreciation for erotica, for example. It examines the criticisms of "sex addiction" as a disease. It champions under-reported sexualisation research that is more interested in representing real families than in reflecting a political agenda. It includes citations of all referenced material so you can read them and decide for yourself. My aim is not to force people and certainly not Julie Bindel to think the way I do: it's to open up the discussion in ways we simply are not doing around these topics. It's a call for less panic, not more.

Go get it. Read it. Make up your own mind.



* [Update:  Yes, I have checked this against the email record between me, my editor, and the Orion legal bods; and yes, I have run this blog past them and got the thumbs-up. Proceed to question it at your own risk.]

Clearly one of the best British bands of the last one hundred years, on Friday the Cure are releasing their first new album for 16 years. Regular readers will know that I do the Guardian’s Thursday quiz, but today as...

Today we announced the March 2024 core update. This is designed to improve the quality of Search by showing less content that feels like it was made to attract clicks, and more content that people find useful. We also shared that we have new spam policies to better handle the practices that can negatively impact Google's search results. In this post, we'll go into more detail for creators about both the update and the spam policies.

This post announces the August 2024 core update to Google Search. This update is designed to continue our work to improve the quality of our search results by showing more content that people find genuinely useful and less content that feels like it was made just to perform well on Search.

This post is about the new Google Trends Tutorials YouTube series. In these videos you'll learn how to use Google Trends to analyze patterns in Google Search and Youtube searches, and use them to create interesting content online.

The video game industry (VGI) has evolved considerably, transitioning from a niche market to a substantial sector. The VGI's magnitude and the societal implications tied to video game consumption have naturally piqued the interest of scholars in marketing and consumer behaviour. This research serves a dual purpose: firstly, it consolidates existing VG literature by evaluating articles, concepts, and methodologies, systematically tracing their evolution; secondly, it outlines potential directions and implications for forthcoming research. Within this literature, a predominant focus lies on articles investigating purchase decisions concerning VGs, followed by those exploring the integration of video game consumption into broader social contexts. Notably, a limited number of articles delve into player-game interactions and experiences within gaming worlds. This imbalance can be attributed to the fact that such inquiries are often suited to psychology and multidisciplinary journals, while the marketing discipline has predominantly addressed the VGI from a marketing management standpoint.

Though there have been many approaches to dealing with social problems in recent years, the concepts of social value have yet to be discussed thoroughly. Upon examining these concepts in existing studies and testing them with two case studies, the article shows that there is the possibility that a group's shared wants may not be widely recognised as a social problem, and targeting these unserved populations is a precondition for solving social issues. It is essential to identify hidden social problems by understanding what is still left, the number of people sharing the same want, the severity of the unmet want, and the possible resources for solution generation. Social value in its narrower definition means meeting the satisfaction of the group sharing the same want, while in its broader definition, it means meeting the satisfaction of wider society. Finding workable solutions involves not only the group of people sharing the same want but also others who do not have the same want but who do recognise the importance of acknowledging the want of the subgroup.

This paper aims to share the author's vision on possible research directions for big knowledge-based AI. A renewed definition of big knowledge (BK) and big knowledge systems (BKS) is first introduced. Then the first BKS model, called cloud knowledge social intelligence (CKEI) is provided with a hierarchy of knowledge as a service (KAAS). At last, a new semantics, the big-and-broad step axiomatic structural operational semantics (BBASOS) for applications on BKS is introduced and discussed with a practical distributed BKS model knowledge graph network KGN and a mini example.

This is a five-year study conducted with junior high school students studying in a 1:1-laptop program in order to test the effects of the program on various measures related to the students: their attitudes, motivation, perceived school norms, self-efficacy, and behavioral intention towards learning with laptops, according to the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). These variables were tested at two dimensions: ‘duration of learning’ – the effect of learning in the program on the same students; ‘duration of program in school’ – the effect of the program on different students in different school years. Participants (N=770) answered a questionnaire structured according to motivational and TPB variables. Findings show that attitudes changed over time, but differently for each dimension. For the ‘duration of learning’, attitudes declined between 7th to 9th grade. Structural equation modeling analysis showed that students’ attitudes and self-efficacy explain part of their intention to learn with laptops, therefore ways of maintaining positive attitudes, self-efficacy, and strengthening school norms should be considered. However, for the ‘duration of program in school’, students’ attitudes increased over the years: The attitudes of students who started the program at a later stage were more positive than those who began earlier. This may indicate that students who experience the program at an advanced stage are better prepared, with more realistic expectations. Findings can assist teacher trainers and policymakers with the implementation of similar programs.

Aim/Purpose: In the modern world, simulation has become a new phenomenon in education, which conveys new and innovative ideas of curriculum, instruction, and classroom management. It makes certain of Aristotle’s words when he said that “The things we have to learn before we do them, we must learn by doing them”. One might think that simulation in education is one of these technologies. This study examined preservice and new teachers’ perceptions about the con-cept of conflict and educational conflict management in a simulation workshop conducted at the Academic Arab College’s Simulation Center in Haifa, Israel. Background: Simulation engages learners in “deep learning” and empowers their understanding. In other words, simulation provides an alternative real world experience. As part of our work at the Educational Simulation Center in the Arab Academic College in Haifa, Israel, we examined the performance and contribution of educators who visit the center and participate in educational conflict management simulation workshops. Methodology: A mixed methods study was conducted. A total of 237 participants of preservice teachers from diverse professions were divided into 15 groups to examine the research question: How does the experience of participating in a simulation workshop affect preservice teachers’ perception about the concept of conflict? Contribution: This study seeks to contribute to simulation and conflict management in education. This contribution to the body of literature can help researchers, scholars, students, and education technology professionals to advance simulation research studies. Findings: The study findings indicate that there is a high degree of satisfaction (more than 90%) among preservice teachers in participating in the workshop. It also indicates a positive and significant change in participants’ perceptions of the concept of conflict and the management of conflict situations. Recommendations for Practitioners: In light of the study findings, it is recommended that new teachers be exposed to simulation workshops with a variety of scenarios dealing with different conflict situations. This exposure could contribute to their professional development and conduct in a more efficient and convenient manner in schools.