A quantitative study explored the values profile of teen self-identifying Buddhists growing up in Britain and the degree to which religious affiliation, sex, age, social class and convert or heritage religious style linked with features of their Buddhist identity and values. A variety of attitude statements including those concerning personal well-being, psychological type, discrimination, the media, friends, work, school, Religious Education, family, substance use, collectivism, tradition and religion, were rated for levels of agreement using postal and online surveys of 417 self-identifying Buddhists aged between 13 and 20. Likely antecedents of Buddhist identity were found to include parenting style, spiritual teachers, temple training and ethos, shrines and religious practice in the home, collectivism, cleavage against assimilation and intuitive psychological type. Teen years saw a decline and relativising of Buddhist values except for inspiration towards engaged Buddhism and spending time in the monastic order. Likely consequences of Buddhist identity were found to include impact on lifestyle, commitments and personality. Being Buddhist and male was different from being Buddhist and female in that males were more extraverted and ordination-oriented in their faith aspirations and less concerned about their children growing up Buddhist. Lower class Buddhists were more likely to be collectivist and traditional. Middle class Buddhists were more vertical individualist and interested in a monastic vocation. In terms of religious style, heritage Buddhists were found to be more extrinsic and traditional in their religiosity than convert Buddhists for whom religiosity was more intrinsic and reform orientated. This dissertation offers quantitative evidence for individual differences between convert and heritage Buddhist styles of religiosity and commends emphasising religious practice rather than beliefs, scripture and spirituality when portraying Buddhism in school Religious Education.

Like all young people, Thai adolescents may experience mental health problems. The Thai secondary school system provides meditation education as part of the National Education Curriculum and as such may potentially play a pivotal role in promoting adolescent’s mental well-being. The aim of this study was: to explore (a) the provision of meditation for students in Thai secondary schools; and (b) teachers’ and students’ perceptions of meditation education and its role in promoting mental well-being of adolescents. A qualitative multiple case study design was employed. Purposive sampling was undertaken to select four schools (two urban, two rural) in the Khonkaen province. Informants were teachers and students who participated in the school based meditation courses. In total, 21 interviews with teachers and eight focus group interviews with adolescent students were conducted, and analysed using Framework approach. Cross-case analysis was undertaken to elicit differences and similarities between rural and urban schools, younger and older students and teachers and students. The results revealed compulsory meditation education was provided during Buddhism classes in both lower and upper school levels. Meditation was also integrated into other subjects to encourage students to practice meditation skills, increase students’ concentration and manage potentially unruly students. Extracurricular activities, not part of the National Education Curriculum, were also provided with the aim of improving students’ morality but provision varied across cases. In general, teachers and students, across all cases, had consistently similar perceptions on the meditation education provided. Meditation education was perceived to have a positive impact on students’ mental well-being, reduced stress, enhanced self-awareness, improved emotional control, enhanced decision making as well as improved interpersonal relationships. Negative aspects from prolonged practice such as physical discomfort or pain and boredom were identified. Recommendations for future research, including exploring the transferability of findings and teacher training needs, are reported.

We live in a time of Globalization, where we find ourselves rubbing shoulders and working together in one place with all kinds of people belonging to different races and different creeds. We live in a world which now finds itself immersed in deep global conflicts (terrorism, suicide bombings, political retaliations) which many attribute to religious fanaticism. Thus we can only continue to live peacefully if we maintain that respect for each others beliefs. This is the global dimension this paper wishes to bring forth.In our present situation, if many of us expatriates (in Cambodia) live far from our own native land and we live with people of another culture, understanding their milieu will certainly help us understand the people of that place. And since religion is tied up to a particular language and culture, particularly here in Cambodia, it would be worthwhile to study the different religious influences brought about through the centuries upon Cambodian culture. Hence the social dimension of the paper.The third dimension would be a practical one. Understanding the differences between religions, we could focus more on the bridges that unite rather than the walls that separate us. In this way we realize that being different does not lessen our humanity but rather enriches it.The paper will present a historical overview of the religious history of Cambodia. The literary survey used in this paper will then attempt to list and describe some particular influences of each of these religions (Animism, Brahmanism, Buddhism) to the Cambodian way of living at the present. Then the paper will try to infer some insights on the observations made focusing on how to build bridges for dialogue between Christians and Khmer Buddhists. The paper searches into the intertwining of Animism, Brahmanism and Buddhism into what is now uniquely Cambodia’s national religion and how this would impact other religions now entering Cambodia specifically Christianity.

The spectroscopic and photometric observations of the optical counterparts to the Be/X-ray binary systems GRO J2058+42 and V0332+53 (BQ Cam), taken with RTT150 (Russian-Turkish 1.5 meter Telescope), are presented in this study. The distance, color and the reddening estimates for both sources, obtained via photometric observations, are consistent with the previous results. The results of our spectroscopic observations performed between May 2006 and June 2008 for optical counterpart to GRO J2058+42 indicate that the double-peaked emission line profile turns into a single-peaked emission after the last outburst of the system. Furthermore, the spectra of the source show clear evidence for the changes in the ratio of the double peaks of H alpha emission line indicative of the precession of the high-density regions confined in the disk. Unlike the spectra of counterpart to GRO J2058+42, the spectra of BQ Cam, taken between September 2006 and December 2007, exhibit single-peaked H alpha and HeI (Lambda 7065 Angstrom) emission lines. In addition, the equivalent width values of H alpha emission lines, shifts from the the laboratory wavelengths for H alpha and HeI emission lines and the variation in optical brightness of BQ Cam show a close correlation.

The present work addresses the notions of poverty and poverty relief in Buddhist social and economic ethics, comparing them to current approaches to conceptualizing poverty used in the development community. Given the Buddhist preoccupation with ceasing suffering and removing its causes, and the key Buddhist principle of Right Livelihood that is found in the Ennobling Eightfold Path to enlightenment taught by the Buddha, economic ethics appear to be central to the Buddhist path and a concern for the suffering caused by extreme poverty therefore ought to be a key point of concern in Buddhist ethics. Buddhist ethics has developed into a field of study all its own over the last few decades, addressing issues in applied ethics from bioethics to human rights and environmental concerns, but little has been written by virtually any standard on the important topic of poverty relief. The present work makes a step toward filling that gap by examining relevant passages in the Pāli Canon as well as popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras to demonstrate that a concern for deprivation or non-voluntary impoverishment is evident in key Buddhist doctrines and teachings from the earliest recorded history of the Buddhist tradition. The thesis further discusses the duties to relieve poverty outlined in Buddhist social ethics as well as the development of Buddhist economics and its critique of dominant mainstream economics. It also offers a comparison of Buddhist conceptions of poverty with contemporary notions of poverty, such as the capabilities approach to poverty developed by Amartya Sen and currently in use by the UNDP. In both of these cases poverty is portrayed in a comprehensive and multi-dimmensional manner which views income as only one aspect of poverty. Additionally, this dissertation examines the contemporary Socially Engaged Buddhist movement and identifies historical and contemporary examples of Buddhist poverty relief efforts.

The main aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between parenting styles, as used by the pre-school parent and the social behaviour of the five-year old. Specific attention was given to three main parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian and permissive. The eight developmental perspectives applicable for the five-year old were also discussed. The research was conducted according to the quantitative approach. The Parental Styles Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) was completed and returned by a sample of 30 parents (N=30) from Evergreen Pre-primary in Gauteng. The representative sample of five-year olds being observed by the teacher were 24 pupils (N=24). The teacher rated the five-year olds' behaviour using the Behavioural Questionnaire (BQ). These results indicated primarily that the Authoritative Parenting Style was most used by the parents of the five-year old group and that this Parenting Style tends to lead to more acceptable social behaviour among the five-year olds. / Social Work / M. Diac.(Play Therapy)

The main aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between parenting styles, as used by the pre-school parent and the social behaviour of the five-year old. Specific attention was given to three main parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian and permissive. The eight developmental perspectives applicable for the five-year old were also discussed. The research was conducted according to the quantitative approach. The Parental Styles Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) was completed and returned by a sample of 30 parents (N=30) from Evergreen Pre-primary in Gauteng. The representative sample of five-year olds being observed by the teacher were 24 pupils (N=24). The teacher rated the five-year olds' behaviour using the Behavioural Questionnaire (BQ). These results indicated primarily that the Authoritative Parenting Style was most used by the parents of the five-year old group and that this Parenting Style tends to lead to more acceptable social behaviour among the five-year olds. / Social Work / M. Diac.(Play Therapy)