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Keith E Rice's Integrated SocioPsychology Blog & Pages

Aligning, integrating and applying the behavioural sciences

Ahmed’

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Comments from letters, emails, evaluation forms, etc. Newest comments at the top; oldest at the bottom. “In 2017 you helped my daughter Olivia achieve a B grade in psychology. I just wanted to tell you that she went on to get a 2:1 in psychology from Bangor University and has now just got her Masters degree from the University of Leeds in Psychological Approaches to Health. She is working in the NHS. Thank you for you help without which she would never have achieved this!” – Lesley Griffin, parent (2022) Thank you for you help without which she would never have achieved this! “Thanks for all your help and support you gave Isabel. She was confident going into her exams which was a massive hurdle “ – Joanne Pendry, parent (2022) “Thank you so much for helping me in sociology, you’ve been great! I was 5 marks off an A!!!! I’d been getting C/D all year! Very happy!” – Holly Jeffrie, tutee (2022) “Thank you for all of your help, don’t think I could have done it without you!” – Sam Gill, tutee (2022) “Thank you very much for all your efforts tutoring Gareth over the last year. Gareth has really enjoyed… Read More

Email from a Muslim Student

It always delights me when ex-students and ex-tutees keep in touch after they have moved on to university (or wherever). One of those I’m most delighted by ongoing contact with is Yasmeen. She is bright, stunningly attractive and has a truly wicked sense of humour. She is also a Muslim of Pakistani heritage. Despite the fact we touched upon terrorism in our discussions for the World Sociology and Crime & Deviance topics, Yasmeen never let on to having any particularly strong political or religious views. Her father did, though. In an ‘Asian’ accent so strong I struggled to understand it at times, he described the Taliban as “very bad men”. He hated what they were doing to his country of birth. So I was intrigued by an email from Yasmeen the other day in which she wrote:- “Islam has a lot to offer in terms of spreading knowledge, living peacefully among others and just encouraging individuals to be good people and do the right thing. “I know things are really fragile now with Muslims, I’m sure you’re well aware of all that’s been happening in the news about Charlie Hebdo, the Sydney Siege, Peshawar Massacre (among other things) – it’s really… Read More

Iran: Jaw, Jaw or War, War?

Early in June the Israeli airforce carried out an exercise – sending 100 F15s and F16s out over the Eastern Mediterranean and Greece – supported by aerial tankers for in-flight refuelling. It was an impressive logistical feat and is being portrayed in the media as a dry run for bombing the Iranians’ principal nuclear facility at Bushehr. Interestingly it was not the Israelis or any of the other Middle Eastern states which ‘leaked’ the story but the Americans – with the spin that the Israelis were demonstrating to Tehran that they do have the capability of getting as far as Bushehr. As the news leaked (June 20), the Israeli government stepped up the war of words with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (struggling to regain domestic credibility after more corruption allegations) saying: “Iran will not be nuclear.” Even more ominously Deputy Prime Minster Shaul Mofaz told journalists a strike on Iran was now “unavoidable”. Arch neocon John Bolton, one-time US ambassador to the United Nations, has gone on record as saying he believes Israeli will strike in between the presidential election in November and the inauguration of the new President. A strike before the election might influence it unduly; if Barack Obama… Read More