This research project explores and describes how names and embedded meanings might be utilized as a therapeutic technique in order to mediate social adjustment and interpersonal efficiency. The subjective feeling of success that a person experiences in different areas of life is closely related to the quality of interpersonal relationships that underlie satisfactory interaction with other people. It is the researcher’s opinion that a person’s name almost equals a personal life prophecy and that any name could be a means to mould the client’s life script onto more favourable pathways, because the embedded meaning of a name might contribute to the client’s level of self-knowledge which is necessary for healthy, meaningful relations with others. With the rationale of this research study in mind, the research problem was formulated as follows: How can names and embedded meanings be utilized as a therapeutic technique to mediate social adjustment and interpersonal efficiency? Critical questions that emerged were: What are the underlying psychological constructs that guide the use of names and embedded meanings as a therapeutic technique? How can embedded meanings of names contribute to the different components inherent to sound social adjustment and interpersonal efficiency? Can names and embedded meanings be successfully utilized as a therapeutic technique to enhance social adjustment and interpersonal efficiency? A mixed method approach of qualitative as well as quantitative research was used for the purpose of this study, and interpretivism was the preferred epistemology. A non-experimental mode of inquiry was implemented at the hand of a single case study. Multiple data gathering methods were employed, which included: a well observed intake interview, a pre- and post-test at hand of the Interpersonal Relations Questionnaire, research participant-reflection during a structured interview with a number of stimulus-questions and informal observations and conversations. As enhanced social adjustment, interpersonal efficiency and growth in certain areas were obtained by means of using names and their embedded meanings as a therapeutic technique, the hypothesis of this study could be accepted and supported. / Dissertation (MEd (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Educational Psychology / MEd / unrestricted

Public-meaning originalists contend that judges properly interpret the Constitution only when they discover and apply its “original public meaning”—how the public understood the Constitution at the time it was adopted. Public-meaning originalism is premised on the “fixation thesis”—the meaning of any constitutional text is fixed when it is adopted. Concerns of the present, therefore, cannot affect constitutional meaning. Public meaning originalists acknowledge that the search for the fixed original meaning is not always successful, but it is always ontologically “there” to be found, even if epistemologically we sometimes fail to find it. The fixation thesis underwrites the powerful rhetoric of fidelity originalists deploy against nonoriginalists. Originalists insist that judges who interpret the Constitution using nonoriginalist approaches are “making up” constitutional meaning. But if original public meaning does not exist in the past as a fact which present interpreters can objectively retrieve, public-meaning originalists are equally guilty of “making it up.” The public-meaning enterprise thus rises or falls with its ontological claim that original public meaning is a fact in the past which anyone from the present can recover and apply without altering its objective character. Most public-meaning originalists have ignored the philosophical hermeneutic thesis that any investigation of the past is also shaped by the perspective of the interpreter in the present; the meaning of any text is mutually constituted by past and present. In this view, meaning does not exist in the past as a fact, but is created by the very interpretive effort to find it. Only two public-meaning originalists have defended the fixation thesis against this critique. Keith Whittington rejected it outright in his early work, while Lawrence Solum recently argued its compatibility with fixation. Both arguments fail. “Fixed constitutional meaning” and the other purported objectivities in which public-meaning originalists wrap their theory are no less touched by interpretive subjectivity than the theories new originalists attack. Like all human inquiries into proper action in particular situations, constitutional interpretation is necessarily affected by particularities of the judge, the issue before her, and their relation to constitutional history and contemporary constitutional imperatives. None of this is subject to adjudication by a priori rule or objective method, as public-meaning originalists imagine.No one is “faithfully” interpreting the Constitution in the way public-meaning originalists imagine. Everyone is doing the same interpretive thing, trying to connect the exigencies of the present with a document more than two centuries in force. The fixation thesis is false.

This study explores distinct levels of meaning from images of picture books perceived by 3- to 5-year-old children and investigates how the certain visual perception factors influence children's meaning making and if these factors are correlated. The literature review supports associations among visual perception, information, picture books, meaning, and children. Visual perception serves as the first channel that filters and interprets visual information, and picture books provide visual and verbal experience for children, who constantly search for meaning. Children age 3 to 5 years are potential users of picture books because pictorial information is considered useful to children's learning tasks. Previous research reveals that various factors influence visual perception, and meaning has been mostly associated with its semantic significance in information retrieval. In information science, little research has focused on young children's own way of categorizing information, especially visual information. In order to investigate the distinct levels of meaning perceived by children, the investigation employed both qualitative and quantitative methods including unobtrusive and participant observation, factor analysis, content analysis, and case study. The result of this study contributes to understanding the cognitive process of children related to visual literacy and their interpreting visual information in a digital environment.

No description available.

AbstractDaskalos, Konstantinos & Jellum Ling, Jeppe (2005)Authentic texts or adapted texts – That is the question! The use of authentic and adapted texts in the study of English in two Swedish upper secondary schools and a study of student and teacher attitudes towards these texts. Skolutveckling och ledarskap, Lärarutbildningen 60 p, Malmö HögskolaThe aim of this paper is to find out which attitudes teachers and students have towards authentic and adapted texts used in the teaching of English in two Swedish grammar schools. Furthermore, the paper aims to demonstrate the importance of proper text selection in relation to student motivation.To achieve this, a survey was conducted with second year students in two different schools; on top of this, several interviews were conducted with students as well as an interview with a teacher. This was done to demonstrate the different attitudes towards the textbook and authentic texts and to illustrate the importance of choosing topics that students can relate to.The results show that students preferred to read authentic texts. These texts provided them with interesting topics. The teacher also preferred to use authentic texts and agreed that authentic texts usually created an active classroom, but pointed out that to substitute the textbook entirely with authentic material was unrealistic. Therefore, a combination of the two types of text would be preferable.

No description available.

Cette étude vise à étoffer la base conceptuelle du phénomène de sens au travail permettant ainsi de mieux le comprendre et le saisir et cherche à proposer un modèle théorique pouvant expliquer le processus de construction d’un sens au travail par des infirmières libanaises. Le sens au travail se présente à la fois en tant qu’un processus qui émerge suite aux interactions dynamiques qui s’établissent entre un individu et son contexte de travail et en tant que produit qui s’exprime chez un individu au niveau de la satisfaction, la motivation, l’engagement organisationnel, la performance et la santé au travail. L’étude de ce phénomène constitue une nouvelle voie permettant d’apporter un nouvel éclairage à un contexte de travail, tel que le contexte libanais, qui souffre depuis des années d’un problème de pénurie du personnel infirmier. L’interactionnisme symbolique a constitué le cadre épistémologique et méthodologique de cette étude qui a adopté une approche qualitative par théorisation ancrée. L’étude s’est déroulée dans une région libanaise auprès de neuf infirmières hospitalières exerçant la profession dans des contextes de travail variés. La collecte des données a été faite par le recours à des entrevues individuelles enregistrées sur un support numérique ; les données ont été par la suite transcrites et analysées suivant la méthode constructiviste de Charmaz (2006). Les résultats ont permis de proposer un modèle théorique qui explique le processus de construction d’un sens au travail qui découle des interactions des infirmières libanaises avec les divers éléments du contexte de travail. Ces infirmières ont développé une représentation du contexte de travail marquée par une surcharge de travail, un salaire inadéquat, des opportunités de développement et d’avancement professionnel réduites, un comportement inéquitable des supérieurs et un image publique dévalorisée de l’infirmière. Ce contexte porte atteinte à la satisfaction de trois objectifs recherchés par ces infirmières à travers leur travail et qui sont : 1) prendre soin des patients ; 2) subvenir à ses propres besoins ; et 3) être reconnue en tant que professionnelle. Afin de construire un sens au travail et composer avec ce contexte contraignant, les infirmières se basent sur leurs ressources intrinsèques. La valorisation de l’infirmière et du travail infirmier, la satisfaction de l’effort fourni, l’actualisation de soi et l’avancement professionnel permettent à ces infirmières de protéger et de maintenir un sens au travail. Finalement, il était possible de conceptualiser le sens au travail en tant qu’un phénomène subjectif et multidimensionnel, nourri par l’amour de la profession et se traduisant par un travail qui répond aux attentes des infirmières. Les connaissances qui ont émergé de cette étude pourront aider à mettre en place des stratégies personnelles et contextuelles permettant de favoriser le processus de construction de sens au travail chez les infirmières libanaises afin de réduire le problème de pénurie du personnel infirmier. Des pistes de recherches sont encore avancées et des recommandations pour la formation sont proposées. / This study aims to expand the conceptual basis of the phenomenon of meaning at work and seeks to provide a theoretical model to explain the process of constructing meaning at work by Lebanese nurses. The meaning at work is presented as a process that emerges through the dynamic interactions developed between an individual and his work environment and as a product that is expressed by the individual level of satisfaction, motivation, organizational commitment, performance and health at work. The study of this phenomenon is a new way to shed light to a work context, such as the Lebanese context, suffering for years from a problem of shortage of nurses. Symbolic interactionism was the epistemological and methodological framework of this study based on a qualitative approach using grounded theory. The study was conducted in a region with nine Lebanese hospital nurses practicing the profession in various work contexts. Data collection was done by the use of individual interviews recorded on digital media; data were subsequently transcribed and analysed following the constructivist method developed by Charmaz (2006). The results were used to propose a theoretical model that explains the process of constructing meaningful work that arises from interactions of the Lebanese nurses with the various elements of their work context. These nurses have developed a representation of the work context marked by an excessive workload, an inadequate pay, an reduced opportunities for development and professional advancement, an unfair behaviour of their supervisors and a devalued nurse’s public image. This context affects the satisfaction of these three objectives that emerged threw analysis witch are pursuit by these nurses through their work: 1) to take care for patients; 2) to meet they one needs; and 3) to be recognized as a professional. These nurses construct meaning at work and compose with theses context constraints by using their personal resources. By enhancing the value of the nurse and the value of her work, by getting satisfied threw their effort, by self-actualization and career advancement, these nurses get to protect and maintain meaningful work. Finally, the meaning at work could be conceptualized as a subjective and multidimensional positive phenomenon fuelled by the love of the profession and resulting in work that meets the expectations of nurses. Knowledge that emerged from this study will help develop personal and contextual strategies to foster the process of construction of meaning at work in order to reduce the shortage of nurses. Research avenues and recommendations for education are suggested.

This thesis concerns the changing predispositions and conditions for contemporary meaning-making in school education. From a socio-cultural perspective, multimodal theory formation is used to find suitable tools and concepts for developing teaching and learning. The overall aims are to investigate and conceptualize meaning-making in school in the frame ofmultimodal theory. Firstly, the research questions are concerned with how teachers work with written; paper-based, expository texts, and secondly, with students' meaning-making, working with meaning-offerings from different modes and media. This is followed by questions surrounding the predispositions for a multimodal view in the Swedish curriculum outline. Finally, the consequences for the role of fiction in education, using multimodal theory formation as a framework are addressed. The thesis presents two empirical studies which investigate meaning-making in upper secondary education, followed by critical discussions of the cmTiculum outline and the role of fiction. The empirical data was collected using methods inspired by ethnography in classes taking social sciences and media courses. The analyses were inspired by multimodal research, and the main analytical tools consist of a discourse framework and model inspired by Roz IvaniC, the Leaming Design Sequence developed by Staffon Selander, the wheel of multimodality and the pedagogy of multiliteracies, both developed by the New London Group and Bill Cope and :Mary Kalantzis. The first study focuses on the teachers' perspective in trying to develop students' meaning-making through written, paper-based expository texts. Analyses within the discourse framework and design layer model are used to describe the teachers' practical theory. The wheel ofmultimodality is used to differentiate the meaning-offerings used in class, and the pedagogy of multiliteracies is used to describe and analyze the discussions in groups and with the teacher. Results highlight three major possibilities for working with written, paper-based expository texts: a vvider view on meaning-making, meaning-offerings encompassing several modes and media, and the teacher's modeling ofthe reading through discussion. The second study describes and analyzes meaning-making and design in learning \vith meaning-offerings from different modes and media from the students' perspective. The analytical tools are the wheel of multimodality, the Learning Design Sequence and the further-developed pedagogy of multiliteracies. Results show a similarity in meaning-making regardless of mode and media, staiiing with the visual mode and with the students focusing their efforts on comprehending the meaning-offering. This can be explained by lack of clarity and lack of guidance which are seen as obstacles for learning. The discussions surrounding the curriculum outline and the role of fiction show that, in using a multimodal theory formation frame, the curriculum does not explicitly support a multimodal view on meaning-making and that fiction can not be seen as unique due to neither mode nor media. The results suggest that multimodal theory formation gives access to tools that are useful in developing students' meaning-making according to the predispositions and conditions oftoday, in which reading development is viewed as part of developing meaning-making as a who lei and that meaning-making in school should be based on a non-hierarchical and inclusive view on modes and media to create a readiness and a flexibility to meet demands of a rapidly-changing society. As a consequence, the curriculum outline needs to be reworded and the role of fiction in education needs to be problematized.

El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la relación entre el sentido de vida y las fuentes de sentido de vida durante la cuarentena por el COVID-19. Los participantes fueron 424 voluntarios (53.1% mujeres y 46.9% hombres) con edades entre 18 y 65 años. La investigación es de tipo cuantitativo correlacional. Los instrumentos aplicados fueron una ficha de datos sociodemográficos, el MLQ, instrumento de 10 ítems que mide la presencia y búsqueda de sentido, y el PMP-B, instrumento de 21 ítems que mide siete fuentes de sentido: relaciones, intimidad, logro, autoaceptación, autotranscendencia, trato justo y religión. Los resultados indican que presencia de sentido se relacionó significativamente con autotrascendencia (r=.51) y logro (r=.50). Los participantes hombres presentaron mayores niveles de presencia de sentido en comparación con la mujeres. Asimismo, los adultos mayores de 60 años presentaron mayores puntuaciones en autotrascendencia, trato justo y autoaceptación. Se concluye que el sentido de vida es un factor protector ante la crisis e incertidumbre de la pandemia a través de las fuentes de sentido de vida. En esta coyuntura, autotrascendencia y logro son variables que se asociaron de manera significativa con presencia de sentido. / This study aimed to analyze the relationship between meaning in life and the sources of meaning in life during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine. 424 volunteers participated (53.1% women and 46.9% men) aged between 18 and 65 years. This is a correlational quantitative investigation. The applied instruments were a sociodemographic datasheet, the MLQ, a 10-item instrument that measures the presence and search for meaning, and the PMP-B, a 21-item instrument that measures seven sources of meaning: relationships, intimacy, achievement, self-acceptance, self-transcendence, fair treatment and religion. The results indicate that the presence of meaning is positively and significantly associated with self-transcendence (r = .51) and achievement (r = .50). The male participants presented higher levels of presence of meaning compared to the women. Likewise, adults over 60 years of age had higher scores in self-transcendence, fair treatment and self-acceptance. It is concluded that the meaning of life is a protective factor against the crisis and uncertainty of the pandemic through the sources of meaning of life. At this juncture, self-transcendence and achievement are variables that were significantly associated with the presence of meaning. / Tesis

The purpose of this study was to determine managers' perceptions of the relationship between spirituality and work performance. The sample consisted of twelve senior managers from different organisations. Semi structured interviews were used to gather the data. The data was qualitatively analysed and themes were identified. The findings indicated that spirituality promotes the healthy development of individuals by assisting with their own self-awareness, helping them find inner peace and dealing with stress and depression. Respondents also felt that spirituality enhances teamwork and redefines the concept of success in terms of engaging in competition, having unselfish motives and encouraging honesty. Based on the findings, recommendations were made for practice and for future research. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)