Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MA (AAC))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / Unrestricted

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis "The Christological, soteriological and relevant spiritual topics in the Dostoevsky Work The Brothers Karamazov" applies to the life and literary heritage of the Russian writer Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, especially to his master piece The Brothers Karamazov. The novel summarizes the writer's life ideas which have matured throughout life. In this work, the emphasis is primarily put on finding and describing christological and soteriological features contained in the novel demonstrating the author's inner conviction and faith in Jesus Christ. The thesis also points to some spiritual themes, which are crucial in the literary work, such as human suffering and questions of faith and human freedom. Keywords Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, christology, soteriology, spirituality, faith, freedom

This research project was designed to demonstrate the usefulness of a supportive intervention program for 17 nine to 14 year old siblings of autistic children. Current clinical practice has begun most recently to include the siblings of handicapped children in treatment services as a preventive measure to help maximize families' coping abilities and to increase the chances that they will be strengthened by their unique circumstances. Although research evidence suggests that most siblings are not at risk for serious psychopathology, it seems reasonable to assume that few remain unaffected by living with a handicapped brother or sister. Siblings report that they have increased responsibilities, many unanswered questions, and parents who typically are caught up in the stresses of caring for a handicapped child and have limited time to attend to their needs. It was hypothesized that an intervention program providing information about the handicapping condition, autism, and offering support through participation in a discussion group with other siblings of autistic children would effect improved coping in the participants. Three time-limited interventions (information plus support, information plus activity, and activity control) were compared under controlled conditions. Sibling coping was measured by a) a battery of self-report and parent ratings of behavior and attitudes, b) clinical observations, and c) sibling and parent anecdotal accounts. Descriptive behavioral and attitudinal data on the total sibling sample indicated more deviant individual profiles than would be expected in the normal population. Consistent with previous research and clinical practice with this subject population, children who were identified with problems were those generally thought to be at greatest risk such as older female and younger male siblings who have assumed extensive caretaking responsibilities for the autistic child. Specific group changes following intervention were confounded by individual subject reactions to the various procedures. Qualitative aspects of the siblings' participation were discussed in terms of implications for future clinical intervention and research with this sibling population.

This dissertation analyses narratives of the Mašín brothers and their father, Josef Mašín senior. The Mašín brothers established what they called 'a resistance group' against the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, which between 1951 and 1952 killed three people. The brothers, alongside the other member of the group, Milan Paumer, escaped from the country in 1953, heading for the Western sectors of Berlin. Despite more than 20,000 East German and Soviet troops hunting them, the group reached West Berlin safely. Later, the brothers went to the USA where they joined the U.S. army. The dissertation analyzes a whole range of discourses including newspaper articles, historical papers, books, detective stories, novels, memoirs and also one episode of the Czechoslovak television series, Třicet případů majora Zemana ('Major Zeman's Thirty Cases'), entitled Strach ('Fear'), from 1975. The dissertation is conceptually embedded in cultural studies and critical theory. Drawing on Roland Barthesʼs work on mythologies, Hayden Whiteʼs theory of history and Slavoj Žižekʼs theory of ideology, the dissertation considers the relationship of the Mašín brothersʼ narrative representations with respect to the dominant ideology of the time. The first chapter of the dissertation deals with narratives produced in Communist...

Astrid Lindgren is one of Sweden’s most beloved writers of all time and many of her works include many hard topics, such as for example death. It has not always been as common to include such difficult topics in children's literature as it is today. The change in the sociopolitical attitude during the late 1960s brought in a new level of awareness and aspects of reality in children’s literature which is thought to be noticeable in works by Lindgren. This thesis aspires to explain kinds of representations of death prevalent in Mio's Kingdom and The Brothers Lionheart, and what these representations make visible in relation to the theoretical background based on what literary representation is and how it is constructed mostly by culture.Despite the fact that both books share similar representations of death and those feelings associated with it, the overall perception is that The Brothers Lionheart depicts death as a salvation, something to find hope in and not to be scared of to a greater extent than Mio’s Kingdom does, where death is portrayed as dark and inescapable. Furthermore, this thesis concludes that Lindgren has incorporated the standards of social realism into both of these stories and that they originate from personal experiences.

This research describes organizational level implementation strategies utilized in piloting enhancements to the school-based mentoring program from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Semi-structured interviews (n=15) with lead agency implementers along with conference call meeting notes were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings yield a description of the challenges to implementation and strategies to overcome these challenges, formal implementation strategies engaged in, and the extent to which these align with an implementation framework put forth by Klein, Conn, and Sorra (2001) with supplement from Fixsen, Naoom, Blase, Friedman, and Wallace (2005). Findings from this study indicate that financial resources, management support, implementation climate and select implementation policies and practices are important to attend to during the implementation of a school-based mentoring program. Additionally, organizational readiness for change and organizational climate should be attended to before program implementation. Implementation strategies identified through this research help to define important organizational factors that drive the implementation of school-based mentoring programs.

No description available.

Blood revenge – or katakiuchi – represents one of many defining principles that characterize the Japanese samurai warrior; this one act of honorable violence served as an arena in which warriors could demonstrate those values which have come to embody the word samurai : loyalty, honor, and personal sacrifice. Blood revenge had a long and illustrious history in Japan – first, as the prerogative of the gods in the Kojiki, then as a theoretical debate amongst imperial royalty in the Nihongi, and at last entering into the realm of practice amongst members of the warrior class during Japan’s medieval period. Originally, blood revenge served a judicial function in maintaining order in warrior society, yet was paradoxically illegal in premodern Japan. Throughout the medieval period, the frequency of blood-revenge undertakings likely increased, acquiring social legitimacy despite the practice’s illegal standing; however, under the rule of the Tokugawa bakufu, blood revenge was granted the legitimacy of law as well through the legalization of this practice. The social and cultural influences of blood revenge were so profound that the bakufu decided to harness its benefits in order to allow the samurai class, who now existed in a time of peace, a method through which to express themselves, while simultaneously using this practice as a device of social control. Yet, little is known about the evolution of this practice and its reception between the first official accounting of blood revenge in the Azuma Kagami and the legalization of this practice under bakufu law. In this Master’s Thesis, I endeavor to bridge the gap in modern scholarship between the highly ritualized blood-revenge practices of the Tokugawa period and its origins in medieval Japanese history. To this end, I will explore the evolution of blood revenge practices in the sphere of social, political, legal, and cultural history by analyzing the first literary representation of the pioneering blood revenge incident in Japan – the revenge of the Soga brothers – in the Manabon Soga Monogatari and its later Tokugawa ehon adaptation.