<p> Multidisciplinary research and philosophical discourse have long explored the complex relationship between the objective environment and subjective human perception. No two humans perceive, experience, and form attitudes about the same phenomenon in exactly the same way. Individual demographics (sex, age) and group identity (culture, religion, ethnicity, political ideology) have been shown to have a profound effect on perception of phenomena; research has also focused on the effect of the physical environment itself. Differences in perception, experience, and resulting behavior have great implications for governance, particularly in regards to planning and development. Recognizing these differences, modern urban planning increasingly seeks to include varying degrees of public participation in the planning process, in order to promote inclusiveness and citizen empowerment. The inclusion of measurement and analysis tools, such as survey questionnaires and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), enable policymakers, planners, and researchers to support their findings and formulate planning strategy by utilizing objective, quantitative data. While previous research has explored perception differences between the sexes, between residents of different cities, and within specific religious groups, there has been little exploration or quantitative measurement of differences in environmental perceptions and attitudes among the diverse, multicultural residents of Jerusalem, a divided city with myriad planning, development, and equality issues.</p><p> In the summer of 2012, 225 Jerusalemites of varying religious, demographic, and social backgrounds completed a questionnaire survey that was designed to quantify their individual environmental perceptions, opinions of the city&rsquo;s growth, and priorities for urban development. While the results indicated great differences between the urban experiences and perceptions of Israeli and Palestinian Jerusalemites, it was also found that these populations&mdash;commonly characterized as enemies by popular media and their respective political establishments&mdash;shared many issues in their day-to-day lives, particularly transportation accessibility, utility provision, unemployment, and housing availability. The majority of respondents indicated that cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians is necessary to solve such issues. These shared issues, experienced in spaces that are socially and physically segregated as a result of past and ongoing governmental action and cultural divisions, may act as the foundation for cooperative, inclusive solutions that seek to improve the lives and urban experiences of all Jerusalem residents.</p>

<p> An ever-increasing number of international counselor education students are faced with the challenge of meaningfully incorporating and translating international training experiences to counseling settings in their home countries. There has been limited research on the returning process of international counseling students and specifically on their &lsquo;adaptation and re-integration&rsquo; experiences in the home counseling context. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the challenges, and experiences of current doctoral level Turkish counselors-in-training (TCITs) who are studying in the United States (U.S.) and Turkish counselor educators (TCEs) who previously trained in the U.S. and are presently teaching and practicing in Turkey. </p><p> A panel of eighteen (18) experts, including both TCITs and TCEs, participated in the study. Participants responded to two rounds of questions based on a modified Delphi method procedure. The questions addressed knowledge, skills and awareness of core counselor education competencies and the transferability, applicability and usefulness of content as experienced in U.S. settings to counseling contexts in Turkey. The initial round of questions focused on perception of five main essential counseling areas: (a) multicultural constructs, (b) theoretical approaches, (c) developmental growth/wellness, (d) organization/professional development, and (e) counseling practice/teaching/research. Thematic content analysis using open coding generated 37 themes which were used to formulate the questions for round two. A second round involved exploration of consensus on qualitative themes emerged from round 1 responses. </p><p> The findings of the study indicated that both groups of panel experts, particularly, identified the following most important themes regarding to Turkish counseling context: multiculturalism, counseling profession, supervision, counseling theories and basic skills, ethics, counseling training and clinic, and bureaucratic issues. </p><p> The results of this present study, which emerged from the discussion based on the direction of the modified Delphi method, addressed several implications and recommendations for both counselor educators, who prepare international students and international counselors-in-training.</p>

<p> This study explored female refugees&rsquo; perceptions and life experiences at the Za&rsquo;atari Camp in Jordan. While the study explored challenges and difficulties refugee women have endured while living in the camp, emphasis was placed on how they faced these challenges, coping mechanisms used for overcoming and enduring such circumstances, and what new life roles they had to assume. Utilizing Schweitzer, Greenslade, and Kagee&rsquo;s (2007) model, this study explored, through qualitative phenomenological methods, the tenacity, resilience, and strength that empowered refugee women throughout their experiences in the camp. In-depth interviews were the main method of data collection. Forty-three face-to-face interviews were conducted on camp premises during the summer of 2015. The data was analyzed according to the Interpretive Phenomenological Analytic (IPA) guidelines.</p><p> The findings of this study revealed the female refugees of the Za&rsquo;atari Camp were not passive in dealing with their adversities. They showed resilience, tenacity, and resourcefulness when coping with life in the settlement. Their resilience is seen through their determination to provide for their families and normalize their lives inside the camp. Additionally, female refugees employed different coping mechanisms for maintaining their psychological well-being such as religiosity, seeking social support and networking, and self-empowerment. </p><p> The findings also indicated children&rsquo;s education in the camp continues to be an area of concern for a majority of refugees despite their understanding of the importance of education for their children&rsquo;s survival. Due to the widespread notion the camp&rsquo;s education was not accredited in Syria, and their beliefs of the temporariness of their encampment, children were left to their own accord in deciding whether to attend school or not.</p><p> The results of this study challenged the &ldquo;Dependency Syndrome&rdquo; myth which postulate refugees tend to become dependent on humanitarian aid and unable to fend for themselves. On the contrary, many become strong, independent and assertive. In the end, they came to see themselves differently which brought a new level of understanding of themselves and their abilities.</p>

<p> Cooperation between members of subordinate and dominant national groups under conditions of alien rule is routine: rulers demand it, and the ruled&mdash;willingly or unwillingly&mdash;supply it. Yet the boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable cooperation&mdash;what I term interactional norms&mdash;vary. Scholars have yet to explain how and why cooperation varies under military occupation, colonial rule, or other cases of asymmetric power relations between distinct identity groups. This study fills that gap by assessing fluctuations in Palestinian cooperation with Israel from 1967&ndash;2016, building a theory of <i> Purpose-Driven Boundary Maintenance.</i> It process-traces a causal story, beginning with leadership dynamics, working through social purpose, and noting distinct and probable outcomes around interactional norms. Social purpose&mdash;<i> the shared goals of a group that create obligations to behave in ways that aim at achieving collective goals</i>&mdash;is considered a necessary condition for realizing clear interactional boundaries for subordinate groups under alien rule. Social purpose is triggered with cohesive leadership, producing sharp interactional norms and encouraging norm-compliance. When national strategy aims toward diplomacy, interactional norms will be positive (promoting cooperative relations with the dominant group), and compliance will be high. When national strategy aims at resistance, interactional norms will be negative (prohibiting certain interactions with the dominant group), and compliance will be moderate. Fragmented leadership, on the other hand, fails to trigger social purpose, resulting in social anomie. Where compliance exists, it is sporadic and isolated from a cohesive national strategy. This study draws on 2 years of fieldwork and process-traces changes in Palestinian interactional norms from 1967&ndash;2016, highlighting critical junctures and explaining shifts in five major phases of contestation: (1) The beginning of occupation&mdash;1967&ndash;1987 (2) the first intifada&mdash;1987&ndash;1993 (2) the Oslo years&mdash;1994&ndash;2000 (3) the second intifada&mdash;2000&ndash;2006 (4) and the post-inqisam years&mdash;2006&ndash;2014. </p>

<p> The purpose of the current study was to explore preschool teachers&rsquo; subjective beliefs toward developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) and developmentally inappropriate practices (DIP), as identified by the National Association of the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, an investigation was conducted on what might account for cultural influences regarding teachers&rsquo; beliefs toward DAPs and DIPs. </p><p> Q-methodology, as a mixed-method approach, was utilized to collect, analyze, and interpret the data in a two-phase, sequential explanatory design. In the first phase, 37 preschool teachers subjectively sorted 50 cards representing DAP and DIP items in terms of what they considered the most appropriate and the most inappropriate practices in the preschool classroom. Q-technique principal component analysis with Varimax rotation was used to analyze the numerical data. The second phase involved conducting follow-up focus-group interviews for further explanation and exploration of the cultural influences on Saudi preschool teachers&rsquo; beliefs regarding DAPs. </p><p> The results of the Q-methodology suggested that there were four main perspectives regarding DAP beliefs among Saudi participants: Perspective A: a developmentally oriented approach to children&rsquo;s learning; Perspective B: a socially oriented approach to children&rsquo;s learning; Perspective C: a holistic approach to children&rsquo;s learning; and Perspective D: a child-centered approach to children&rsquo;s learning. Six participants were associated with Perspective A, eight with Perspective B, three with Perspective C, and seven with Perspective D. All four perspectives identified in the study coincided with different aspects of DAPs. </p><p> For further explanations, 11 participants were purposefully selected to participate in follow-up focus-group interviews. The interviews provided explanations regarding participants&rsquo; subjective beliefs in light of any cultural influences. Thematic analysis following the interviews revealed themes on two levels: cross-perspective themes and within-perspective themes. Although within-perspective themes varied by each perspective, cross-perspective themes included a) denying teaching preschoolers academics, b) modifying the curriculum to suit children&rsquo;s needs, c) promoting social activities, and d) respecting families but not involving them in classroom activities. Findings from this study contributed to the knowledge base on the applicability of different aspects of DAP in religious and conservative society. Furthermore, methodological notes, recommendations for future research, and implications for practice were addressed.</p>

<p> The process of reading embodies many factors that affect an ESL student&rsquo;s second language acquisition. This study investigates the present situations of current or former ESL students from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and their attitudes toward reading in an ESL classroom. The investigation focuses on reading in a social context and the effects of a background with reading as a child. It examines Saudi ELLs attitudes towards reading in an ESL classroom. The background and motivation towards reading in the United States and KSA are examined. The analysis discovers motivation aspects and current knowledge of Saudi students in ESL. A survey was disseminated to determine Saudi student&rsquo;s experiences with reading in ESL. This study investigates how attitudes and cultural aspects influence ESL reading performance and why it is important when teaching Saudi ESL students. This research is important because it directly affects our students and their future as students out of an ESL classroom. In order to provide the best education for our students, we need to be aware of what current attitudes and background history our students have on reading in English and in an ESL classroom.</p>

No description available.

The purpose of this thesis is to illustrate the situation of the Kurdish minority in Turkey within the theoretical parameters of political integration. The problem: are the Kurds in Turkey politically integrated? Within the definition of political development generally, and of political integration specifically, are found problem areas inherent to a modernizing polity. These problem areas of identity, legitimacy, penetration, participation~ and distribution are the basis of analysis in determining the extent of political integration for the Kurds in Turkey. When these five problem areas are adequately dealt with in order to achieve the goals of equality, capacity and differentiation, political integration is achieved.

No description available.

An ethnographic account of Coptic Orthodox Christians in Egypt, Cultivating Mystery argues that an anthropological study of miracles can help to explain the social world of a religious minority that perceives itself as beleaguered in the midst of a Muslim nation. Miracle accounts are one way by which a religious community constructs itself along moral lines and maintains, contests, and negotiates the social boundaries between self and other. An emphasis on materiality is intended to make a critical intervention in ongoing debates about belief by illuminating how religiously charged objects and language are constitutive of the relationship between inter-religious politics and faith as embodied practice. / The dynamic of miracles and materiality is further complicated by the mystery that emerges and is cultivated in this intersection. I employ the concept of mystery as an umbrella term for encounters with things not seen, or seen but not quite understood, encounters that seem always to elude capture in semiotic form, and yet can only be captured in semiotic form. A revelation is made in material form, yet the revelation itself conceals something from the religious practitioner. Gestures toward a largely invisible world, made by signs of the miraculous, are used to create relationships between heavenly beings and those on earth. These relationships, in turn, are taken by pious Copts as reflecting their moral superiority in the context of Muslim Egypt. / After introducing the concepts of mystery, materiality, and miracles in Chapter One, Part I of the dissertation examines the historical background that frames the current investment in the miraculous that one today finds among Copts. Chapter Two discusses the figure of Baba (Pope) Kyrillos VI (pope 1959-1971) who is widely considered a saintly man by contemporary Copts, and the current Coptic Pope, Shenouda III (1971-present) with a particular emphasis on the changing Church-State relationship over the last four decades. Chapter Three offers an analysis of the 1968 apparition of the Virgin Mary in a neighborhood of Cairo highlighting how the current political atmosphere, especially in terms of Muslim-Christian tensions, is imposed on a retrospective view of the apparition. / Part II explores the materiality of difference and piety. Chapter Four examines the increasing Coptic mobility around Egypt to Coptic holy sites and the ways in which the places visited and the very materiality of these places shape a particular mode of moral being all the while discreetly cultivating, on the one hand, a sense of mystery in encounters with the relics of holiness (such as the bones of saints), and, on the other hand, a sense of difference from the Muslim Other. Chapter Five expands on the previous chapter by specifically looking at two Coptic interlocutors' encounters with saints and the Devil through material objects. Of particular concern are the signs that for some Copts are taken to be indications of their piety. / Part III consists of one chapter (Chapter Six), which is a theoretical reflection on the relationship between faith and skepticism wherein I argue that not only are these facets of religious practice two sides of the same coin, but that it is perhaps in the space between them, between one's simultaneous embrace of the tenets of her religion and the skepticism that creeps up behind her, where mystery resides. To invoke, with a twist, a popular Biblical passage, faith without skepticism is dead.