#edu exp

[viveksvlogs]

Affordable Countries to Study MBBS Abroad

In recent years, thousands of Indian students have found it increasingly difficult to secure a seat in India’s medical colleges due to limited availability and high competition. For many, the solution lies in pursuing MBBS abroad for Indian students—a path that offers world-class education, modern infrastructure, and lower tuition fees.

If you're planning to study MBBS abroad, choosing an affordable country is key to keeping your medical education within budget. In this guide, we’ll explore the most cost-effective countries and explain why working with the best consultancy for MBBS abroad ensures a smooth and successful journey.

Why Indian Students Choose to Study MBBS Abroad

Due to the high cost of private medical colleges in India and the scarcity of government seats, more students are turning to MBBS in abroad for Indian students. Abroad universities offer:

Globally recognized degrees

English-medium education

No donation or capitation fees

Affordable tuition and living costs

Choosing the best consultancy for MBBS abroad helps you find the right country, university, and course that fits your career goals.

Top 5 Affordable Countries to Study MBBS Abroad

1. Georgia

Georgia is one of the most popular destinations for MBBS abroad for Indian students due to its low tuition fees and globally recognized medical programs. The total cost of MBBS in Georgia ranges from ₹20–₹30 lakhs.

Choosing to study MBBS abroad in Georgia also offers an English-medium curriculum, modern hospitals for clinical practice, and high safety standards.

2. Russia

Russia has been a trusted choice for MBBS in abroad for Indian students for decades. It offers subsidized tuition and strong infrastructure. MBBS here can cost as low as ₹15–₹25 lakhs in total.

To avoid scams and ensure admission to NMC-approved universities, it’s best to go through the best consultancy for MBBS abroad.

3. Philippines

The Philippines provides American-style education and English as the medium of instruction, making it a top destination for MBBS abroad for Indian students. The total cost ranges from ₹22–₹30 lakhs.

A reputable consultancy can guide you on how to complete the pre-med and MD course structure, making your decision to study MBBS abroad smoother.

4. Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is becoming increasingly popular for its affordability and Indian-friendly environment. The cost of MBBS in abroad for Indian students in Kazakhstan is among the lowest, typically between ₹15–₹22 lakhs.

Consulting the best consultancy for MBBS abroad can help you shortlist the top medical universities in Kazakhstan.

5. Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan offers high-quality medical education at reasonable fees and is gaining recognition among Indian students. It’s an emerging destination to study MBBS abroad without financial strain.

Work with professionals from the best consultancy for MBBS abroad to understand eligibility, visa processing, and university rankings.

Key Advantages of Studying MBBS Abroad

Whether you are planning to study MBBS abroad in Georgia, Russia, or Kazakhstan, here are some key benefits:

Lower tuition than Indian private colleges

Globally accepted degrees (WHO, NMC approved)

Excellent infrastructure and faculty

Easy admission without entrance exams (except NEET)

To maximize these benefits, partner with the best consultancy for MBBS abroad for full-service support—from university selection to pre-departure orientation.

Why Choose Bright Edu Group?

At Bright Edu Group, we are proud to be a trusted name for MBBS abroad for Indian students. With years of experience and strong partnerships with reputed universities, we are known as the best consultancy for MBBS abroad for a reason.

We help students:

Select NMC-approved universities

Complete hassle-free applications and visa processes

Get personalized counselling for career planning

Settle comfortably in their new academic environments

If you’re exploring options for MBBS in abroad for Indian students, our expert team will ensure you’re never alone in the process.

Conclusion

Choosing to study MBBS abroad can be a life-changing decision for Indian students who dream of becoming doctors. With affordable countries like Georgia, Russia, and the Philippines offering high-quality medical education, this path is both smart and cost-effective.

However, navigating foreign admissions and legal procedures can be challenging. That’s why working with the best consultancy for MBBS abroad is essential.

Ready to begin your MBBS journey abroad? Connect with Bright Edu Group today – your expert partner for MBBS abroad for Indian students success.

[prepare-ielts-exam]

How can I Prepare Notes for the IELTS Part 2 Speaking Portion?

When it comes to the IELTS speaking test, particularly in Part 2, where you are given a topic to talk about for two minutes, it's crucial to have a solid strategy. One aspect that often gets overlooked is how to prepare your notes during the one-minute preparation time. In this article, we will delve into the art of note preparation for IELTS Speaking Part 2, providing you with valuable insights and techniques to ace this critical section of the test.

The Importance of IELTS Speaking Part 2

Before we jump into note preparation, let's understand why Speaking Part 2 matters. This section is designed to assess your ability to speak coherently and fluently, and it contributes significantly to your speaking score. It's your chance to showcase your language proficiency and communication skills.

Understanding the Task

In IELTS Speaking Part 2 topics, you will receive a task card with a topic and a set of prompts. You have one minute to prepare your response. This preparation time is your golden opportunity to structure your thoughts and gather key points that you will discuss during your two-minute speech.

Step 1: Grasp the Topic

The first step in effective note preparation is to understand the topic fully. Read the task card carefully, and make sure you grasp what it's asking. Pay attention to any specific instructions or questions provided.

Step 2: Identify the Main Points

Once you understand the topic, identify the main points or ideas you want to cover in your response. These points will serve as the backbone of your two-minute speech. Consider what aspects of the topic you can discuss to showcase your language skills.

Step 3: Use Abbreviations and Symbols

Given the limited time for note preparation, it's essential to use abbreviations and symbols to jot down your ideas quickly. For example:

- "Edu" for Education

- "Exp" for Experience

- "+" for Positive aspects

- "-" for Negative aspects

- "!" for Important point

These shortcuts will help you jot down your ideas efficiently and save valuable seconds.

Step 4: Create an Outline

Organise your notes in a logical sequence. You might want to start with an introduction, followed by the main points, and conclude with a summary or final thoughts. This structure will ensure that your speech flows smoothly and coherently.

Step 5: Practice with Sample Topics

To hone your note preparation skills, practice with sample IELTS Speaking Part 2 topics. Take a timer, set it for one minute, and simulate the test conditions. Challenge yourself to create concise and effective notes within the time limit.

Step 6: Focus on Key Vocabulary

While preparing your notes, pay attention to using key vocabulary related to the topic. This not only demonstrates your language proficiency but also enriches your response. For instance, if the topic is "Describe a memorable trip," include words like "adventure," "breathtaking," or "culture."

Step 7: Rehearse Your Response

Once you've prepared your notes, take a moment to rehearse your response mentally. Imagine yourself speaking for two minutes based on the notes you've created. This practice will help you feel more confident during the actual test.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Now that we've covered the steps to effective note preparation, let's discuss some common mistakes that test-takers often make:

Overloading with Information

One of the most significant pitfalls is trying to include too much information in your notes. Remember, you have only two minutes to speak. Focus on a few key points and elaborate on them effectively.

Writing Full Sentences

Avoid writing full sentences in your notes. It's time-consuming and defeats the purpose of quick note preparation. Stick to keywords, abbreviations, and symbols.

Lack of Structure

Ensure your notes have a clear structure. Without it, your speech may come across as disorganised and difficult to follow. A structured approach makes it easier for you to stay on track during the actual speaking test.

Not Using the Preparation Time

Perhaps the biggest mistake is not using the one-minute preparation time effectively. Some test-takers remain silent during this crucial minute, wasting an opportunity to structure their response.

In Conclusion

Effective note preparation is a vital component of success in IELTS Speaking Part 2. By understanding the task, using abbreviations, creating a structured outline, and practising with sample topics, you can enhance your performance. Avoid common mistakes and make the most of your one-minute preparation time to deliver a coherent and fluent two-minute speech. With practice and the right approach, you can master this aspect of the IELTS speaking test and boost your overall score.So, are you ready to tackle IELTS Speaking Part 2 topics with confidence? Start practising your note preparation today, and you'll be well-prepared to impress the examiners with your linguistic prowess.

[a-gay-disaster]

bout be a certified memeoligist for less than $30 YEET amirite

[kirsctein]

ya gal just got a job for 7 weeks starting next month and received an invitation to the second round of interviews for the translation job ✌️✌️

[knifefightscene]

hi i was wondering since u are an econ major how or what u think about the idea that you can’t raise wages bc that will lead to jobs requiring more from potential employees (edu., exp., etc) ? like ofc min wage should be higher than it is now but i remember learning (in a basic econ class) that u can’t really raise it w/o raising the requirements of the applicants so as some1 with more knowledge what are ur thoughts? 😅

I don’t think i have more knowledge because I’m still a first year but basically in microeconomics we learn that the more you have of something, the less satisfaction it gives you. And they talk about examples like eating pizzas but what’s about money? Can you have too much money? Is hoarding money a real thing? When i signed up for econ I didn’t expect to be even more anti capitalism as it goes but now i am. I think that economics development without taking into account which factors this, is dangerous. Nobody likes to talk about how underpaying working class prisoners, working class people fr 3rd world countries is the main reason leads to economics development in 1st world country. So like i think everyone is focus too much abt economics efficiency without caring about quality of lives. Which means one’s wealth is traded with another’s. With the economics on the rise, food production made enough to feed 10 billions yet we still have starving people, tons of vacant houses and still homeless people exist. Government tries to “solve” homelessness by throwing them in prisons. There’s this obsession with economics development and no consideration to ethnics. With all the technology we have right now, people should get to work less since we’re already making more progress than we would’ve fifty years ago. But employers see working robots as “innovative” bc they don’t have to pay these robots. Buy them pay to fix them and they’re done. So yeah, if you raise hourly wage, which means production cost will rise, which makes the company in turn raise the price of the product. But if it’s unnecessary products or luxury items, people would just stop buying them and going for cheaper products. That’s the thing with mass production to make sure the production cost is as low as possible. With the obsession that money = success and there isn’t too much money, companies will abandon ethnics in favor of profit. If they cannot raise the price of the product itself, they still have to figure ways to lower production cost. So i think if yes you can raise wage without asking more fr employees but the entire obsession around profit has made it an upper class war in who is the most successful, who paid the least and got out the most.

[sophie-strassmann]

The Value of Language Diversity

The Skinny

For the past four years, I have worked on linguistic diversity research. It began in labour economics, where I developed the idea of using carbon tax-like mechanisms to correct for language market inefficiencies at Building 21 at McGill University. Throughout the fellowship, it turned into a labour economics problem. Here is the model, which I developed during that time during the summer of 2018 right after finishing my first year at McGill.

First Principles vs. My Model

Remember your classic human capital model from undergrad?

Labour Income = 𝛂 + 𝛃₁EDU + 𝛃₂EXP +  𝛃₃EXP² + MATRIX+ 𝜺

Intercept 𝛂

Education level EDU

Where experience is estimated:

EXP =  AGE - EDU - 5

Matrix of dummy variables MATRIX

Labour income, wages, is usually in log form (i.e. ln(w) )

Now that’s all fine and good, but what about languages?

Labour Income = 𝛂 + 𝛃₁EDU + 𝛃₂EXP +  𝛃₃EXP² + 𝛄₁DIST₁ + MATRIX + 𝜺

Where DIST outcomes are measured in three different ways (three different models); triangulation

Lexicostatistical Distances (Weber p35) - based on cognates

Cladistic Distances (Weber p40) - based on linguistic trees

Learning Score Distances (Weber p 46) - based on experimental data from immigrants

Some variants I have thought of:

Markets with low turnover

Complementary effects with education 

Immigrants only vs. general population vs. non-immigrants

Controls by area of the world (East Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.)

Linguistic Fractionalization Indices (Weber 2011)

Citizenship to destination country

Areas with similar concentration of same-language speakers

Areas with low vs. high concentration of same-language speakers

and much more...

Canadian vs. US vs. developing country as basis

Economic Theory

The main theory behind language contributions to the economy is that trade is harder when there are more languages. There are some key sources out there which have developed both multidisciplinary and economic theories around the precise nature of these barriers (Crystal 2003). There is also an international economic theory of trade gravity applied to language exchange that trade volume decreases as a function of linguistic distance (Weber 2011).

Theory from Crystal (2003) 

Crystal’s work (and Weber’s work) which serves as the theoretical basis for mine is a formal inquiry into the political, economic, social, and demographic factors leading to the rise of English as a lingua franca.

It states that languages dominate daily life across time through institutions whether informally or formally given official status by…

What is used for governmental procedures (ex: Persian used in courts of India; daily language is Hindi)

What is taught in schools (ex French in Quebec)

And personal choice…

Who speaks which language; economic, technological, military, and cultural power

In other words, centers of cultural and scientific activity (ex Persian Empire, Rome, UK then US)

My emphasis on personal choice portion.

My Personal Contribution

However, when would more languages make trade easier? This would be when you have bilingual individuals speaking the language needed to conduct trade as well as fluency in an additional language. The farther from English, the better. Why? Well isn’t it obvious? Languages and the cultural attachments they represent bound you to specific perspectives inherent in their structure. Being able to access more different perspectives, ceteris paribus, makes you a problem-solving asset.

It has already been demonstrated that language tenses have impacts on savings behaviours which accumulate over individuals over decades to help explain the differences in GDP savings. That is a single component of one language, but imagine what would happen if we accounted for the effects on human capital by being able to access the unique perspectives and lessons of a language across two different languages at the same time? A good economist would say that a rational utility maximizing agent would pick the best of both frameworks for whatever problem besets the individual. 

Are top departments productive because they are diverse or are they diverse because they can access the top of the top? My framework supports the notion that it’s both.

Isolating Causality

One common concern is that people from different countries will speak different languages, but different countries also have different economies, and so the quality of training will bias the estimate of distance as a function of wage. This is a fair point which has been known to impact wages, so we can add a lot of dummy variables (i.e. industrialized y/n agrarian y/n) or we could cluster by region (South America, Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, etc.). 

Taking a US or Canada census/sample of immigrants would be helpful for ensuring they are at least likely to be competent in their language of origin. A dataset like the NAAL and NALS which gather language competency data from the workers themselves to remove the self-reporting bias is another approach I considered which was used in prior work (Fry & Lowell 2003).

How Is This Any Different?

What prior work in labour omits is really the distance index. My entire angle my main driving point, the flesh of what makes this mine, is the use of distance in bilingualism to predict an upward pressure on wages which has nothing to do with direct experience or training and nothing to do with returns from social networking. Call it implicit human capital? Or perhaps the less elegant concept from Biology that diverse species are more resilient to the test of time than homogenous gene pools for their ability to leverage strengths in mutations when needed.

Chiswick used language distances a bit in some papers of his, as did Weber for international trade, but none to my knowledge, after reading literature in this area for over four years, have done so as its own inherent example of diversification of human capital measurably valued by employers themselves in productivity delivered through wages. 

Beyond that... the standard error corrections, the dummy variable choices are all bells and whistles to be crafted and tested and reassessed and retested. 

References

Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language (Canto classics, Ser. Canto classics). Cambridge University Press. Retrieved October 16, 2021, from [Crossref]

Fry, R., & Lowell, B. L. (2003). The value of bilingualism in the US labor market. ILR Review, 57(1), 128-140.

Ginsburgh, V., & Weber, S. (2011). How many languages do we need?. Princeton University Press.

[host24space]

ISS061m262961553 EXP 61 EDU USUHS Morgan 2019 1023 1263265 1 NASA astronaut speaks to students at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

[rnomics]

Hepatocellular carcinoma-derived exosomal #miRNA-21 contributes to tumor progression by converting hepatocyte stellate cells to #cancer-associated fibroblasts.

Related Articles Hepatocellular carcinoma-derived exosomal #miRNA-21 contributes to tumor progression by converting hepatocyte stellate cells to #cancer-associated fibroblasts. J Exp Clin #cancer Res. 2018 Dec 27;37(1):324 Authors: Zhou Y, Ren H, Dai B, Li J, Shang L, Huang J, Shi X Abstract BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a global challenge due to its high morbidity and mortality rates as well as poor response to treatment. The communication between tumor-derived elements and stroma plays a critical role in facilitating #cancer progression of HCC. Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles (EVs) that are released from the cells upon fusion of multivesicular bodies with the plasma membrane. There is emerging evidence indicating that exosomes play a central role in cell-to-cell communication. Much attention has been paid to exosomes since they are found to transport bioactive proteins, messenger #RNA (#mRNAs) and #microRNA (#miRNAs) that can be transferred in active form to adjacent cells or to distant organs. However, the mechanisms underlying such #cancer progression remain largely unexplored. METHODS: Exosomes were isolated by differential ultracentrifugation from conditioned medium of HCC cells and identified by electron microscopy and Western blotting analysis. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) were treated with different concentrations of exosomes, and the activation of HSCs was analyzed by Western blotting analysis, wound healing, migration assay, Edu assay, CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry. Moreover, the different #miRNA levels of exosomes were tested by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-PCR). The angiogenic ability of activated HSCs was analyzed by qRT-PCR, CCK-8 assay and tube formation assay. In addition, the abnormal lipid metabolism of activated HSCs was analyzed by Western blotting analysis and Oil Red staining. Finally, the relationship between serum exosomal #miRNA-21 and prognosis of HCC patients was evaluated. RESULTS: We showed that HCC cells exhibited a great capacity to convert normal HSCs to #cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Moreover, our data revealed that HCC cells secreted exosomal #miRNA-21 that directly targeted PTEN, leading to activation of PDK1/AKT signaling in HSCs. Activated CAFs further promoted #cancer progression by secreting angiogenic cytokines, including VEGF, MMP2, MMP9, bFGF and TGF-β. Clinical data indicated that high level of serum exosomal #miRNA-21 was correlated with greater activation of CAFs and higher vessel density in HCC patients. CONCLUSIONS: Intercellular crosstalk between tumor cells and HSCs was mediated by tumor-derived exosomes that controlled progression of HCC. Our findings provided potential targets for prevention and treatment of live #cancer. PMID: 30591064 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] http://bit.ly/2Hidg22

[a-gay-disaster]

so i finally pulled myself together and tried to enroll in one of those online classes i’d bookmarked and...i can only access the 7-day free trial 🙃

[pt-tiagosantos]

Inscrições abertas para Fusões no Cinema

É a 23 e 24 de Novem­bro, em São João da Madeira que os Cami­nhos do Cinema Por­tu­guês e a Uni­ver­si­dade Aberta, pro­mo­vem a 5.ª edi­ção do Sim­pó­sio ​“Fusões no Cinema”. As ins­cri­ções para comu­ni­ca­ções estão aber­tas até 15 de setem­bro, sendo que o público tem ins­cri­ção gra­tuita. 

É a 23 e 24 de Novem­bro, em São João da Madeira que os Cami­nhos do Cinema Por­tu­guês e a Uni­ver­si­dade Aberta, pro­mo­vem a 5.ª edi­ção do Sim­pó­sio ​“Fusões no Cinema”.

Um espaço den­tro do fes­ti­val dedi­cado à apre­sen­ta­ção e tra­ta­mento cien­tí­fico do cinema ao longo de qua­tro linhas de inves­ti­ga­ção;

A Fusão das Artes no Cinema, isto é as rela­ções entre as dife­ren­tes artes e o cinema;

Cinema e Tec­no­lo­gia, debru­çada sobre a evo­lu­ção tec­no­ló­gica e o seu impacto na indús­tria do Cinema;

Cinema, Inves­ti­ga­ção e Edu­ca­ção, abor­dando o cinema e a sua aná­lise como objec­tos peda­gó­gi­cos

Cinema e Tele­vi­são com uma abor­da­gem geral sobre o pano­rama audi­o­vi­sual e os seus meios de dis­tri­bui­ção.

Este é um espaço de encon­tros entre aca­dé­mi­cos repu­ta­dos na inves­ti­ga­ção da sétima arte com jovens inves­ti­ga­do­res, pro­fes­so­res, rea­li­za­do­res, argu­men­tis­tas e téc­ni­cos, que neste evento apre­sen­tam, deba­tem e tro­cam expe­ri­ên­cias e pers­pec­ti­vas sobre o que é e o que será o cinema. Con­fir­mam-se até ao momento como ora­do­res con­vi­da­dos Jane Mary Pereira de Almeida e Cláu­dia Har­dagh da Uni­ver­si­dade Pres­bi­te­ri­ana Mac­ken­zie (São Paulo, Bra­sil) e Gló­ria Fer­reira (Agru­pa­mento de Esco­las de Ansião).

Con­vi­dam-se todos os inte­res­sa­dos a par­ti­ci­par no Sim­pó­sio, podendo apre­sen­tar comu­ni­ca­ção ou assis­tir às con­fe­rên­cias e ses­sões de cinema. A recep­ção de pro­pos­tas de comu­ni­ca­ção decorre até 15 de Setem­bro. Mais infor­ma­ções estão dis­po­ní­veis em https://​cami​nhos​.info/​s​i​m​posio

[iyinews]

ultima | Edu Expósito admite que el reinicio de la liga «va a ser muy exigente» ÚLTIMA HORA

Edu Exposito afirma que «va a ser todo nuevo para todos y cuanto antes nos adaptemos, mejor» source https://iyinews.xyz/ultima-edu-exp-sito-admite-que-el-reinicio-de-la-liga-va-a-ser-muy-exigente-ltima-hora/5245/

[mechanicalrocks-blog]

Okaya Power Hiring | Service Executive | Diploma/B.Tech/B.E in Electronics/Electrical/Mechanical |

Okaya Power Hiring | Service Executive | Diploma/B.Tech/B.E in Electronics/Electrical/Mechanical | #jobs #jobsearch #career #mechanicaljobs #mechanicalEngineering

Position – Service Executive Okaya Power Pvt Ltd Exp. – 2 to 5 years Salary – ₹ 2,50,000 to 3,50,000 P.A.

Job description

Post – 10 Edu – Diploma/B.Tech (Electronics / Electrical / Mechanical) Skill:- Good com skills, Good IQ, Good Excel JD:- Service Deliverable in TAT, Customer Satisfaction, Quality of Service, Service Excellence, Cost Optimization, Field Team Handle

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Company…

[edutechguys]

RT @naomiharm: This ebook is dedicated to all k12 edu's/parents who are designing/delivering learning content, during our global #COVID19 health crises. It's created as a FREE resource to provide learning exp's to engage All Ss. New content added daily! #RemoteLearning https://t.co/xrubXpV0XK https://t.co/hNjqZhA1lx

This ebook is dedicated to all k12 edu's/parents who are designing/delivering learning content, during our global #COVID19 health crises. It's created as a FREE resource to provide learning exp's to engage All Ss. New content added daily! #RemoteLearninghttps://t.co/xrubXpV0XK pic.twitter.com/hNjqZhA1lx

— Ɲɑօʍí Ӈɑɾʍ (@naomiharm) March 18, 2020

via Twitter https://twitter.com/edutechguys March 18, 2020 at 08:30PM

[anti-kawaiist]

Gendering God

This study examines the hypothesis that women and men relate differently to a male god-figure and a female god-figure The participants (281 undergraduates at a large West Coast university in the United States, and 154 undergraduates at a large Mid­western university in the United States, who participated for course credit) wrote fic­tional stories about an encounter with either a female god or a male god. The stories (N = 435) were then content analyzed for differences in story characteristics as a result of the gender of god. The results indicate significant differences due to both the gender of god and to the gender of the participant. Results indicate that participants writing about a female god were skeptical, but more likely to expenence reassurance and comfort. Men were more likely to write action-oriented stories, whereas women wrote feelings-oriented stories.

The god-concept (who or what one believes God' to be) is a topic that interests a va- riety of people, including psychologists (Benson & Spilka, 1973; Heller, 1986;

Requests for reprints should be sent to Rachel Ann Foster, Department of Psychology, Central Mich­igan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 E-mail rachel foster-lifson@cmich edu

'The term "god" will be used for deities regardless of attributed gender Also, when the word "god" is used as a proper noun, it will be capitalized

94 FOSTER AND BABCOCK

Mollenkott, 1984; Randour & Bondanza, 1986; Rizzutto, 1974), theologians (e.g., Daly, 1979; Goldenberg, 1979), and the general public. The god-concept has been distinguished from a god-image, with the former referring to a person's definition of God and the latter representing the person's feeling of what God might be like (Kunkel, Cook, Meshel, Daughtry, & Hauenstein, 1999; Lawrence, 1997). In addi­tion, some authors have referred to a representation of God, which would be evoked because God cannot be directly seen, and thus one bases the representation on expe­rience with humans (e.g., Vergote, 1980). Still others have suggested that individu­als have many concepts of God, and these might be evoked when attempting to ex­plain phenomena that seem otherwise inexplicable (Hood, Spilka, Hunsberger, & Gorsuch, 1996, p. 393). In this study, the concept of God refers to a schema that one uses to organize a variety of feelings, images, definitions, and representations of God. Although there is variety in the methodology and focus ofresearch investigat­ing the god-concept, most share a striking commonality: They include the implicit and sometimes explicit assumption that God is male. However, when studying the god-concept, the question of gender can be considered in two ways: (a) the attrib­uted gender of the god-concept and (b) the gender of the participant.

Regarding the gender of the participant, researchers have noted that women are significantly different from men in their experience of religion on several dimen­sions. Argyle and Beit-Hallahmi (1975, p. 71) surveyed the literature and con­cluded that "women are more religious on every criterion," including church membership, church attendance, and frequency of prayer. In addition, women were more likely to have conservative religious beliefs. The research on the god-concept also reveals gender differences. Women are more likely than men to see God as a healer (Nelson, Cheek, & Au, 1985), nurturant (Roberts, 1989), and majestic (Hammersla, Andrews-Qualls, & Frease, 1986). Men are more likely than women to see God as a "powerful king" (Weatherby, 1990), and vindictive (Hammersla et al., 1986). Women are also more likely to believe in an afterlife than are men (Hood et al., 1996). In some cultures (e.g., Zaire and Belgium), there are sex differences in the views of God's paternal and maternal characteristics (Tamayo, 1980).

Heller's (1986) study of children's god-concepts also revealed gender differ­ences. He found that boys tended to describe a "thinking and knowledgeable God" (p. 57), whereas girls were more likely to describe a god that was "more inti­macy-oriented than power-oriented" (p. 71). It is worth noting that Heller's study was different from many studies in that it included free response techniques (i.e., drawing pictures of God and writing a letter to God) as well as asking specific questions. Among the common themes that emerged were such concepts as "thera­pist God," a concern with one's guilt and purity, a concern with forgiveness from God, and God's nurturance.

Feminist approaches to the study of the god-concept focus on the androcentric nature of the Western god-concept. Many individuals' characterization of God as

PERCEPTIONS OF GOD 95

masculine has been remarked upon by feminist writers (Daly, 1979; Goldenberg, 1979; Reuther, 1979), and documented empirically (Foster & Keating, 1992). Femi­nist theologians hypothesized that the culture's male god-concept is detrimental to women in several ways. For example, the male god-concept can have an impact on general status of women in relation to men. The primary thesis of this position is that (a) God is commonly conceived of as male; (b) men, as a result, become associated with God; and (c) therefore, women are relegated to inferior status.

One method of examining the nature of the god-concept is to view it with much the same framework as used in the cognitive approach to the study of self-concept. The god-concept, according to this approach, is a collection of god-schema. A schema is a cognitive structure, derived from past experience, that organizes and directs cognitive processing. Accordingly, god-schemata are cognitive structures about who or what God is, derived from past experience, that organize and guide the processing of god-related information.

The working god-concept, analogous to the working self-concept, consists of "core god-schemata," and those god-schemata are activated as a result of the im­mediate social circumstances. Not all god-schemata will be activated at any one time; only a subset will be activated. This is the crucial concept. Herein lies the key to ethical, systematic experimentation in the psychology of religion. People have numerous god-schemata. These god-schemata can be systematically activated. Once activated, the god-schemata influence information processing. The implica­tions of this are that the activation of specific god-schemata can be systematically manipulated.

The goal of this study was to systematically activate a male or a female god-con­cept and to determine if there are gender differences in the way that the god-concept is described. To activate the designated god-schema, the participants were asked to write a fictional story about meeting God in the form of either a man or a woman.

The fictional story method of schema-activation was chosen for several specific reasons. It was necessary to bypass pejorative responses to the notion of God as a woman. In addition, as outlined by the theoretical framework, it was necessary for the participants to relate themselves to God in some way. Finally, a task that was engaging to the participants was required.

There is an additional, major benefit to the use of the fictional story method of schema activation. The stories themselves provide much rich data and insight into the content of various god-schemata. Not only do the stories provide a way to ex­amine the cultural as well as some people's personal god-concepts in more depth, the story methodology also allows systematic comparison of differences of god as a woman and god as a man. Interesting questions related to this might be, for exam­ple, does God as a man have a fundamentally different physical characterization than God as a woman? Does God as a man and God as a woman have different demeanors? Do participants relate differently to God as a man and God as a woman?

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This study is designed to test the hypotheses that (a) women have more nurturant god-concepts than do men, (b) participants will find a female god more nurturant than a male god, (c) women have a greater sense of "connectedness" with a female god than with a male god, and (d) participants will respond differ­ently to a male god and a female god

METHOD

Participants

The participants were 456 undergraduate students at two large universities (one on the West Coast of the United States, n= 290 and one in the Midwest of the United States, n = 166), who participated for course credit Twenty-one participants were excluded from the analysis because of failure to follow directions Of the remaining 435 participants who participated, 238 were women (55%) and 197 were men (45%) Participants ranged in age from 17 to 64, with a mean age of 19 27 The ma­jority of participants were White students (71%, N= 308), with 117 Asian students (27%) and 10 participants who were neither White nor Asian Participation in the experiment was limited to only native English speakers to minimize intercultural differences The participants were tested in groups of 2 to 25 at a time

Procedure

Participants received a packet containing the story sheet and blank lined paper, sev­eral personality inventones,2 and a demographics questionnaire The story sheet in­structed the participants as follows

Write a fictional story with the plot given below Take a few minutes to think about the story first The entire exercise should take 30 minutes Feel free to be as creative as you like Plot one day God appears to you as a man [woman] about your age What happens? Describe God What do you talk about?

Approximately half of the participants (N= 227, 52%) were told to write about meeting God in the form of a woman, and the remainder (N = 208, 48%) was told to write about meeting God in the form of a man

The instructions specified that God should be the age of the participants (a novel idea for some participants) for two purposes First, it was hoped that asking

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participants to think of God as young might deflect some of the attention from God's gender. Second, including a young god in the plot served as a control in that it offered participants in both conditions (God as male and God as female) at least one element to which to respond with surprise.

RESULTS

The story protocols were handwritten and ranged in length from one-half page to four and one-half pages, with a mean length of 2.2 pages. Each story protocol was analyzed by two independent judges. The judges were to determine whether the stories contained any of 12 elements. The 12 elements were generated based on a pilot study in which students were asked to write stories as outlined for this study. The stories were examined for themes that arose multiple times, and these themes became the elements examined in this project. The independent judges were trained by the researchers to identify the elements within the stories. The judges were not blind to conditions as it was apparent in the stories when God had been described as being female or male and young or old. Disagreements between the judges were re­solved by a third independent judge (the first author). The raters' judgments were dichotomous: Each question required a yes or no answer. Interrater reliability was measured in terms of straight percentage of agreement (93% for all 12 questions) and Cohen's Kappa (ranging from .49 to .81).

The twelve elements were as follows:

1.    Did the participant discuss her or his personal problems with God?

2.    Did the participant seek or receive personal guidance from God?

3.    Did the story include unconditional love from God?

4.    Did the participant experience feelings of being loved, peacefulness, or a sense of calmness as a result of the encounter with God?

5.    Did the participant receive assurances from God that he or she is a good and worthy person?

6.    Did the participant compare herself or himself to God?

7.    Did the writer express surprise at God's gender?

8.    Did the participant express surprise at God's age?

9.    Did the participant express physical/sexual attraction toward God?

10. Did the story include performance of a miracle?

11. Did the participant question the ways of the world?

12. Did the participant receive a mission or sense of purpose from God during the encounter?

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participant as independent variables. Logistic regression analyses use a chi-square goodness-of-fit method to test different models consisting of all possible combina­tions of independent variables and interactions. By isolating factors whose re­moval significantly improves prediction, the model that best "fits" the data is identified (Dixon, 1985).

The protocols were analyzed for elements one through five to test the hypothe­ses that (a) women have more nurturant god-concepts than men and (b) partici­pants Dnd a female god more nurturant than a male god.

The first element. The first element ("Did the participant discuss her or his personal problems with God?") had an interrater reliability of 93% (K = .68) and was present in 48 (11%) of the protocols. Women were twice as likely (15%) to dis­cuss their personal problems than were men (7%; x2 [1, N= 435] = 7.54, p < .01). Examples of responses include: "I get extremely sad and ask if she'll give me the power to overcome the bad parts of myself' and "Then I asked about my life and what he thought it would be best to do in the future. ..."

The second element. The second element ("Did the participant seek or re­ceive personal guidance from God?") had an interrater reliability of 84% (K = .60), and was present in 24% of the protocols. This element is closely related to the last, and a linear regression indicates they are moderately correlated (r = .29, p < .0001). Not surprisingly, then, women were almost twice as likely (30%) to seek or receive personal guidance during the encounter than were men (16%; X2 [1, N= 435] = 11.33, p < .001). Example responses include: "She had been looking down on my [sic], watching everything that I've done. She has seen all of the pain and tragedies that I've been through, so she thought that all's [sic] I needed was a friend to talk to and spill my thoughts out to. So we talked about my problems ..." and "I ask God how he feels about the dietary laws. I need some guidance to get me back on the track because it is hard to go back to separating meat & milk, not having pork or lard, etc. ..."

The third element. The third element ("Did the story include unconditional love from God?") had an interrater reliability of 97% (K — .72), and was present in 4% of the stories. Because expected cell frequencies should be a minimum of five (Tabachnik & Fidell, 1989), further analyses are not reported. However, it should be noted that women were more than twice as likely (5%) to include this element than were men (2%). Sample responses include: "He affirms what is already known. That he loves me and all the people of the earth no matter what they have

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done or not done." And, "there is such a huge sensation of unconditional love—of total acceptance."

The fourth element. The fourth element ("Did the participant experience feelings of being loved, peacefulness, or a sense of calmness as a result of the en­counter with God?") had an interrater reliability of 90% (K = .68), and was present in 21% of the stories. Women were twice as likely to include this element (27%) than were men (13%; x2 [1, N = 435] = 12.36, p < .001), and participants in the fe­male-god condition were somewhat more likely (24%) to include this element than were participants in the male-god condition (16%; x2 [1, N= 435] = 3.58, p < .06). Sample responses include: "It was truly apparent how much love and compassion she felt for me, the love seemed very much like my mom's love for me."

The fifth element. The fifth element ("Did the participant receive assurances from God that she or he is a good and worthy person or receive forgiveness?") had an interrater reliability of 97% (K = .78). Once again, women were twice as likely to in­clude this element (10%) than were men (5%; x2 [1, N= 435] = 4.04, p < .05). Re­sponses included such comments as: "I immediately began to cry for repentance. I begged for forgiveness. Then I felt a great comfort come over me again," and "I asked her if she thought I was a good person, as a whole, despite all the terrible 'sins' I have committed so far in my life. She said yes—I am a good person."

In summary, the analyses suggest that participants do not view a female god as more nurturant than a male god, but women seem to have a more nurturant view of god than do men.

The sixth element. The sixth element ("Did the participant compare her­self or himself to God?") was used to test the hypothesis that women have a greater sense of connectedness with a female god than with a male god. This ele­ment had an interrater reliability of 95% (K = .49), but was identified in only 12 of the 435 (3%) analyzed protocols. Therefore, this element was not analyzed further. However, it should be noted that although 5% (6/124) of the women compared themselves to the female god, and 6% (6/94) of the men compared themselves to the male god, there were no cross-gender comparisons. In other words, women did not compare themselves to the male god, and men did not compare themselves to the female god. Comparisons of self to God took the form of noting that God was, on some dimension "a lot like me." For example, responses included: "You [God] are no different from me," and "I sat there ad­miring this girl who amazed and attracted me. I wanted to be like her. To talk the

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way she did, to look like her ... I wished I was like her ... then I realized that she was me.

In order to test the hypothesis that participants will respond differently to a fe­male god than to a male god, the protocols were analyzed for elements seven through ten.

The seventh element. The seventh element ("Did the participant express surprise at God's gender?") had an interrater reliability of 95% (K = .81), and was identified in 55 (13%) of the protocols. None of the participants expressed surprise that God was male, but fully 25% of those in the female-god condition expressed surprise that God was female (x2 [1, N= 435] = 77.81, p < .0001). An example of surprise at God's gender is found in following comments: "God is a woman. All my life I have been conditioned to regard God as a man so this takes me by surprise. God is a woman of great beauty." And, "I was shocked when God appeared to me as a young woman like myself. I always pictured God as the loving father-figure type."

The eighth element. The eighth element ("Did the participant express sur­prise at God's age?") was included, in part, as a comparison item for surprise at God's gender. This item had an interrater reliability of 95%, and a total of 15 partici­pants expressed such surprise. Once again, because the expected cell frequencies were less than five per cell, results are not reported. However, it should be noted that although encountering the female god evoked an expression of surprise in 25% of the participants, encountering a young god evoked an expression of surprise in only 4% of the participants (regardless of the gender of god). This suggests that God as a woman is more surprising than a young god. An example of surprise at God's gender is found in the story written by a Christian woman who wrote, "I never pic­tured God would be my age though."

The ninth element. The ninth element ("Did the writer express physi­cal/sexual attraction toward god?") had an interrater reliability of 96% (K = .69) and was identified in 31 (7%) of the protocols. Not surprisingly, men were more likely to express attraction toward the female god, whereas women were more likely to express attraction toward the male god (x2[1, N= 435] = 13.00, p < .0005). Further analyses indicated that 6% of the women in the male-god condition ex­pressed attraction compared to 19% of the men in the female-god condition (com­paring these two conditions yields a x2 [1,N= 435] = 7.77, p < .01). Some of the par­ticipants were overtly sexual in their attraction. For example, comments included:

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"[God had] an incredibly gorgeous face, and big [breasts] on a long slender body. She was by far the most perfect woman in existence." In other instances, the attrac­tion was expressed more mildly; for example: "[God] was pretty cute and he looked like the all-american [sic] man. I thought he might be fun to go out with sometime."

The tenth element. The tenth element ("Did the story include the perfor­mance of a miracle?" including such things as magical location changes, flying, or telepathic communication) had an interrater reliability of 92% (K = .84), and was present in 37% of the stories. Participants were more likely to require a miracle as proof of divinity from the female god (41%) than from the male god (30%; x2 [1, N = 435] = 4.02, p < .05), and men were more likely to include a miracle (42%) than were women (32%; x2 [1, N= 435] = 4.85, p < .05).

In summary, it seems that participants did respond differently to a male god than to a female god, in that there was more surprise, more physical attraction, and more proof needed when God was female.

Two unexpected elements (11 and 12) surfaced during pretesting that revealed interesting gender differences. The eleventh element ("Did the participant ques­tion the ways of the world?" including such problems as existence of pain, death, and hunger) had an interrater reliability of 86% (K = .52), and was identified in 81 (19%) of the protocols. Participants were somewhat more likely to question the fe­male-god (22%) about problems in the world than the male-god (15%; x2 [1, N = 435] = 3.08, p < .10). Responses included: "I would want to know why we have so many starving people? Why is aids so widespread" and "I would ask her why she does nothing about the human suffering that takes place all throughout the world."

The twelfth element. ("Did the participant receive a mission or sense of purpose from God during the encounter?") had an interrater reliability of 86% (K .76), and was present in 10% of the stories. In this case, men were somewhat more likely to include a mission theme (12%) than were women (7%; x2 [1, N= 435] = 3.52, p < .07). Sample responses included: "She told me that I needed to go out into the world and tell everyone about God" and "We spoke for what seemed like min­utes but was actually hours. I was not as confused as I was the day before and my life seemed to have a purpose."

DISCUSSION

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male-god than women were to a male-god. Men were also more likely to include a miracle in their stories, and include a mission or purpose theme. Women, on the other hand, were more likely to discuss their personal problems with God, to seek or receive guidance from God, to experience feelings ofpeace, love, or calmness from the encounter, and to receive forgiveness or assurances that they are good and wor­thy persons.

The stories written by the men, then, could be characterized as including action elements (miracles, missions, and sense of purpose), whereas the women wrote stories characterized as feelings oriented (discussing problems, feeling loved or peacefulness, reassurances of their self-worth). Although the gender differences described may have implications for understanding a person's schema of God, it should be noted that, in general, the rate of responses to the items was low. That is, for the most part, men and women responded in a similar fashion. However, when there was a difference in responses, it was clear that men and women viewed God in different ways. These results seem consistent with previous studies that found that women view God as more supportive (healer, see Nelson et al., 1985; nurturant, see Roberts, 1989) than do men. In addition, recall that Heller (1986) found that girls also described a god who was more intimacy oriented than did boys.

A second major goal of this study was to determine if participants had different perceptions of a male god than a female god. Although participants of both gen­ders commonly expressed surprise when God was female, no participant was sur­prised that God was male. Related to this, participants were much more likely to require proof of God's divinity in the form of a miracle when she was female than when he was male. They were also more likely to question the ways of the world with a female deity, and to talk about experiencing peace, love, and calmness as a result of the encounter.

The stories about the female-god then, not surprisingly, were characterized by skepticism and surprise. However, they also included a seeking for answers and a soothing of the spirit (feeling loved, calmness, or peacefulness). These data are consistent with the hypothesis that both women and men see a female god-concept as more nurturant than a male god-concept (Clanton, 1990; Mollenkott, 1989). Again, the above results should be interpreted cautiously due to the relatively low numbers of participants who included these elements within their stories.

An important question when studying gender differences in images or concepts of God is whether a separate theory should be utilized to describe women's versus men's views of God. The results suggest that there are, indeed, significant gender differences in the concept of God as defined in this study. However, because of the limited number of responses on which most of these differences are based, it would be premature to recommend separate theories.

Although these results are intriguing, there are several limitations of this study that should be considered. First, as is common with free-response data, the

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elements examined were found in a minority of cases. Some were found in only 3% of the stories (e.g., compares self to God, unconditional love from God) to a maximum of 36% (performance of a miracle). An objective follow-up study in which elements are presented to the participant (Do you compare yourself to God? If you met God, would you question the ways of the world?) might be in­formative. A perhaps more important follow up would be to expand the partici­pant base to include people of different age groups, different ethnicities, and different religions to determine whether the results could be replicated with dif­ferent populations.

The major drawback to this study, however, is the mildness of the stimulus. Imagining God as a woman or a man for 30 min is pallid compared to 20 or more years of believing God to be a woman or a man. This is a problem unlikely to be solved. It would be highly unethical to manipulate religious beliefs. Taking advan­tage of naturally occurring differences, as encouraged by Batson (1977), is not possible in this case. It is likely that those persons who believe God to be female also differ from those who believe God to be male in some systematic ways. Therefore, the methodology used in this study is a compromise. However, even with the limitations, the results of this study are an important first step in empiri­cally examining the effect of gender on relationships with God.