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.

Developing and validating a questionnaire to measure spirituality : a psychometric process

The purpose of the paper is to describe the processes undertaken to evaluate the psychometric properties of a questionnaire developed to measure spirituality and examine the relationship between spirituality and coping in young adults with diabetes.

The specific validation processes used were: content and face validity, construct validity using factor analysis, reliability and internal consistency using test-retest reliability and Cronbach’s alpha correlation coefficient.

The exploratory factor analysis revealed four factors: self-awareness, the importance of spiritual beliefs, spiritual practices, and spiritual needs. The items on the Spirituality Questionnaire (SQ) revealed factor loading ≥ 0.5. Reliability processes indicated that the SQ is reliable: Cronbach’s alpha 0.94 for the global SQ and between 0.80-0.91 for the four subscales. Test-retest statistic examination revealed stability of the responses at two time points 10 weeks apart.

The final questionnaire consists of 29 items and the psychometrics indicated that it is valid and reliable.

Spirituality and coping in young adults with diabetes : a cross-sectional study

Aim: Spirituality is an important aspect of wellbeing in people with diabetes. The current study aimed to explore how young adults with diabetes define spirituality, and the relationship between spirituality and coping in young adults with diabetes.

Methods: An exploratory study was conducted in 100 young adults with diabetes aged 18–30 years. Participants completed the Coping Questionnaire for Young Adults with Diabetes and the Spirituality Questionnaire.

Results: Young adults with diabetes defined spirituality as a sense of finding inner self and meaning in life, which is enriched by connections with other people and the universal whole. There was no significant difference in spirituality between religious and non-religious young adults with diabetes. People with a shorter duration of diabetes had higher scores on spiritual needs and engaged in more spiritual practices. Coping was correlated with spirituality (p<0.002) and self-awareness (p<0.000). Lower levels of glycosylated haemoglobin were associated with overall spirituality (p<0.04) and self-awareness (p<0.01).

Conclusions: Young adults with diabetes defined spirituality as a sense of being in touch with the inner self, meaning in life, and connecting with people, nature and a higher being. Spirituality is important to young adults with diabetes and helps them cope with stressful situations.

Spirituality and coping in young adults with diabetes

This exploratory study with a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods addressed an important aspect of life that could help young adults with diabetes cope with stressful situations and manage their diabetes. The study aimed to explore young adults with diabetes' spirituality and how spirituality that focuses on inner-self and transformation can enhance their coping and diabetes management. The findings can also help health professionals integrate spirituality into diabetes care.

Cross cultural perspectives of teachers : a study in three countries

In a shrinking world where globalization has blurred the boundaries across nation states and cultural divides, limitations on intercultural communication can readily give rise to glib generalizations and lack of understanding of diversity. Acknowledging the key role of teachers in shaping the views of future generations, this paper reports on the first stage of a research study on the intercultural understanding of teachers in Australia, Japan, and Thailand. Overall, the teacher participants had diverse cross-cultural experience, differing both in extent and nature of the contact. The methodology used a common survey instrument, except for its language of presentation. However, instead of using a traditional comparative approach to contrast responses of the three target groups, the study asked teachers to provide their perceptions of prevailing world views of people in their own AND the other two countries. The reciprocal nature of the observations provides a powerful methodology to explore perceived intercultural similarities and differences. The article also considers problems associated with response set in investigations of this kind. Three scales are considered — change through intervention, symbolic inner self, and independent thought and action — and the data reveal some similarities but also some striking differences in perceptions across countries. The differences signal a lack of intercultural understanding which is being explored further in a second, qualitative stage of the research. The findings indicate the need for increasing shared programs, exchanges and other opportunities for reciprocal relations that foster genuine dialogue, partnership and intercultural understanding between countries.

Encuentro con Carlos Alonso : el artista y el hombre : un acto de transmisión

Este artículo propone un encuentro con el artista plástico Carlos Alonso, su vida y su obra, como un acto de transmisión. A través de una entrevista en profundidad y de un trabajo previo con su historia, se produce un encuentro intergeneracional que transmite una forma de ser y de hacer plasmada en su arte. El legado de una historia de vida profundamente enraizada con la historia del siglo XX en Argentina, de la relación con sus maestros y con el arte como concepto universal, resignificado desde su subjetividad y desde su práctica social. En este marco, se recorren algunos modos en que esta transmisión se manifiesta: transmisión y herencia; transmisión como imaginario de futuro; transmisión como manifestación del deseo. La transmisión se ha constituido en uno de los temas de la agenda de la pedagogía actual. Pensar nuestras prácticas pedagógicas en clave de transmisión conlleva un desafío y una necesidad. Un desafío en términos de intencionalidad, del acento que ponemos en la direccionalidad de las mismas. Y una necesidad en términos de compromiso con los niños, los jóvenes y con las generaciones futuras. Compromiso que conlleva el intento de humanización, de que el otro se constituya como sujeto de una cultura, y que no podemos abandonar porque dejaríamos a los que vienen siendo nadie.

Autoficción de un gozador de placeres efímeros

En este trabajo, la trilogía de Manuel Vicent, formada por Contra Paraíso, Tranvía a la Malvarrosa y Jardín de Villa Valeria, es descrita y analizada en su conjunto como una 'autoficción biográfica'. Estos libros se presentan como novelas, pero guardan una probada relación con la biografía del autor. En consecuencia, basculan de manera inestable y ambigua entre el pacto ficticio y el pacto autobiográfico. El autor afronta el doble desafío de reivindicar para su obra el carácter de creación literaria y de revisar al mismo tiempo el pasado personal y colectivo como una huella impresa en las profundidades del yo. Además muestra la génesis de su aprendizaje y formación como escritor

Autoficción de un gozador de placeres efímeros

En este trabajo, la trilogía de Manuel Vicent, formada por Contra Paraíso, Tranvía a la Malvarrosa y Jardín de Villa Valeria, es descrita y analizada en su conjunto como una 'autoficción biográfica'. Estos libros se presentan como novelas, pero guardan una probada relación con la biografía del autor. En consecuencia, basculan de manera inestable y ambigua entre el pacto ficticio y el pacto autobiográfico. El autor afronta el doble desafío de reivindicar para su obra el carácter de creación literaria y de revisar al mismo tiempo el pasado personal y colectivo como una huella impresa en las profundidades del yo. Además muestra la génesis de su aprendizaje y formación como escritor

Autoficción de un gozador de placeres efímeros

En este trabajo, la trilogía de Manuel Vicent, formada por Contra Paraíso, Tranvía a la Malvarrosa y Jardín de Villa Valeria, es descrita y analizada en su conjunto como una 'autoficción biográfica'. Estos libros se presentan como novelas, pero guardan una probada relación con la biografía del autor. En consecuencia, basculan de manera inestable y ambigua entre el pacto ficticio y el pacto autobiográfico. El autor afronta el doble desafío de reivindicar para su obra el carácter de creación literaria y de revisar al mismo tiempo el pasado personal y colectivo como una huella impresa en las profundidades del yo. Además muestra la génesis de su aprendizaje y formación como escritor

‘You, my body, and my mind, one of these will go’: Madness as Disguise in Samuel Beckett's Murphy and Endgame

ithin the wide topic of disguise in literature, we could signal a subcurrent which can be found in a number of literary texts: the idea of madness as a disguise, i.e. the creation or invention of a ‘false self’ as a mask which is presented to the world and which conceals the real self. In The Divided Self (1960), R. D. Laing deals with the “personality, false self, mask, front or persona that (...) [schizophrenic] wear” (73). Using as a basis Laing’s theories on schizophrenia and the creation of a false-self system, we will analyze two works by Samuel Beckett: Murphy and Endgame, where we find the uses of madness as disguise in a series of ways: through the usage of ‘disguised’ language (what we could refer to as schizophrenese) which acts as a mask for real meaning; through odd ‘schizophrenic’ behaviour on the part of the characters (which screens real intentions), and, mainly, through the creation of a ‘false self’ which acts as a disguise and barrier between the inner self and the real world. These two works by Samuel Beckett, where real intentions and meanings are continuously concealed and disguised in a desperate attempt to preserve the inner self, lend themselves to an analysis of madness as disguise, precisely the one we attempt to carry out in our paper.

Amor e criação: A universalidade das cartas portuguesas

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada no ISPA – Instituto Universitário para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Psicologia especialidade de Psicologia Clínica.

Self-Absorption and Focusing Effects in Carrier Relaxation Dynamics under Depletion Conditions

The effect of a one-dimensional field (1) on the self-absorption characteristics and (2) when we have a finite numerical aperture for the objective lens that focuses the laser beam on the solid are considered here. Self-absorption, in particular its manifestation as an inner filter for the emitted signal, has been observed in luminescence experiments. Models for this effect exist and have been analyzed, but only in the absence of space charge. Using our previous results on minority carrier relaxation in the presence of a field, we obtain expressions incorporating inner filter effects. Focusing of a light beam on the sample, by an objective lens, results in a three-dimensional source and consequently a three-dimensional continuity equation to be solved for the minority carrier concentration. Assuming a one-dimensional electric field and employing Fourier-Bessel transforms, we recast the problem of carrier relaxation and solve the same via an identity that relates it to solutions obtained in the absence of focusing effects. The inner filter effect as well as focusing introduces new time scales in the problem of carrier relaxation. The interplay between the electric field and the parameters which characterize these effects and the consequent modulation of the intensity and time scales of carrier decay signals are analyzed and discussed.