The spirit of palliative practice:A qualitative inquiry into the spiritual journey of palliative care physicians

Objective: Much is known about the important role of spirituality in the delivery of multidimensional care for patients at the end of life. Establishing a strong physician-patient relationship in a palliative context requires physicians to have the self-awareness essential to establishing shared meaning and relationships with their patients. However, little is known about this phenomenon and therefore, this study seeks a greater understanding of physician spirituality and how caring for the terminally ill influences this inner aspect. Method: A qualitative descriptive study was used involving face-to-face interviews with six practicing palliative care physicians. Results: Conceptualized as a separate entity from religion, spirituality was described by participants as a notion relating to meaning, personal discovery, self-reflection, support, connectedness, and guidance. Spirituality and the delivery of care for the terminally ill appeared to be interrelated in a dynamic relationship where a physician's spiritual growth occurred as a result of patient interaction and that spiritual growth, in turn, was essential for providing compassionate care for the palliative patient. Spirituality also served as an influential force for physicians to engage in self-care practices. Significance of results: With spirituality as a pervasive force not only in the lives of palliative care patients, but also in those of healthcare providers, it may prove to be beneficial to use this information to guide future practice in training and education for palliative physicians in both the spiritual care of patients and in practitioner self care. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010.

Cities and The Spirit Level: Reasserting the Public Interest in Planning Governance

Urban planning in Europe has its roots in social reform movements for reform of the 18th and 19th centuries and in the UK evolved into the state-backed comprehensive planning system established as a pillar of the welfare state in 1947. This new planning system played a key role in meeting key social needs of the early post-war period, through, for example, an ambitious new town programme. However, from the late 1970s onwards the main priorities of the planning system have shifted as the UK state has withdrawn support for welfare and reasserted market values. One consequence of this has been an increased inequality in access to many of the resources that planning seeks to regulate, including affordable housing, local services and environmental quality.
Drawing on evidence from recent literature on equality, including Wilkinson and Pickett’s The Spirit Level this paper will question the role of planning in an era of post-politics and a neo-liberal state. It will review some of the consequences for the governance and practice of planning and question what this means for the core values of the planning profession. Finally, the paper will discuss the rise of the Healthy Urban Planning Movement in the US and Europe and ask whether this provides any potential for reasserting the public interest in planning process.

The Spirit of the Border due date card

This is a due date card for the book titled The Spirit of the Boarder, with stamped dates from 1940-1941.

A consumer research project as the basis for the development of a marketing plan for a new spirit brand producing gin in Germany

This work project is about developing a marketing plan for a new gin brand in Germany. It is based on consumer and market research, including Portugal as a trend market for the qualitative research. For the undertaking it is seen as fundamental to understand the industry as well as the consumer needs, attitudes and preferences. Furthermore, it is important to consider the estimation of opinion leaders and trendsetters in the industry. In this context it turned out that barkeepers have a key-influencing role for the stimulation of demand. Based on the insights from this research as well as on the gained market knowledge, the marketing plan was developed. The goal is to convince other brand users to switch brands.

What nourishes the spirit of adolescents in the classroom? : a qualitative study into the gateways of adolescents' souls /

This thesis investigated the question, "What nourishes the adolescent spirit in the classroom?" Action research was conducted by the teacher of 16 grade 8 participants. By undergoing Kessler's (2000) "Passages Program," the students participated in 6 sessions which exposed them to a holistic intrapersonal curriculum. Student journal responses were documented after each session. The action researcher also kept journal reflections after each session. Upon completion of the 6 sessions, a postinterview was conducted which posed the research question. The research found that the adolescent spirit gets nourished through encouragement by the teacher, peers, and parents. This increases their competency, which increases their confidence, and ultimately their self-esteem goes up, which affects their selfconcept. In addition, the role of the teacher permeates every aspect of what nourishes the adolescent spirit in the classroom. In addition to the encouragement of the student, how a teacher teaches plays a vital role. A holistic approach to teaching provided the best atmosphere for the adolescent. It promoted creativity and choice, which stimulated the spirit of the adolescent. By working from a holistic philosophy, the teacher/action researcher created an environment conducive to teaching the whole person, which ultimately nourished the participants' spirit. The research highlighted that in order for this type of environment to exist the teacher needs to make a conscious and deliberate effort to look within and develop their inner self before they can begin to promote this type of classroom for the adolescents they teach. When teachers and students develop an inner life together, they can begin to work in harmony to achieve an atmosphere where the teaching and learning environment becomes one seamless transaction. Only then can one's whole potential be realized.

The seasons of Zarathustra and their correspondence to the metamorphoses of the spirit

Nietzsche employed metaphors frequently throughout his works. This is especially true in Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Although this is often aesthetically pleasing, it can be very difficult for the reader to understand the nuances and interconnections with the various metaphors. This is generally considered one of the main drawbacks of Thus Spoke Zarathustra. While it is beautifully written in a style that is incomparable today, much of what it is attempting to communicate is lost on the reader. This thesis explores the connection between the metamorphoses of the spirit and the seasons in Thus'Spoke Zarathustra, with the camel spirit corresponding to autumn, the lion spirit with winter, the child spirit with spring, and finally the Overman with summer. Although the Overman is not included among the three metamorphoses of the spirit, it will be argued that the Overman is a separate metamorphosis and must not be conflated with the child spirit despite their similarities. While Thus Spoke Zarathustra will be the primary text used, Nietzsche's other works will be employed to demonstrate that this connection between the metamorphoses of the spirit and the seasons runs through much of his thought. By demonstrating how the seasons are used in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, a deeper understanding of the work will be revealed. Further, this thesis will demonstrate that it is an intentional connection, and not merely coincidental or something that has been constructed and imposed upon the work. Bringing this correspondence between the metamorphoses of the spirit and the seasons to light will result in the need to rethink particular notions of Nietzsche's philosophy. The most apparent involves the Overman and the process of overcoming. Although the Overman has often been viewed as "the end" in the cycle of metamorphoses, it will be argued that this is not the case. The typical interpretation of the metamorphoses of the spirit regard it as a linear progression; however, it will be shown that the metamorphoses of the spirit is cyclical with the camel, lion, and child spirits endlessly repeating, much like the seasons.