Objectives: Foster personal and professional development through implementing a 1st-professional year course focused on increasing student self-awareness related to themselves, their chosen profession, and their future careers. Method: Eighty-nine students enrolled in a required 2-credit hour Contemporary Practice of Pharmacy I course during the Fall 2013 semester. Course content aligned closely with the CAPE 2013 Self-Awareness subdomain. Topics included, but were not limited to: effective learning strategies, achievement motivation, finance and time management, professional communication and etiquette, career exploration, and professional history and visioning. Formative and summative evaluations, e-portfolio entries, and submitted assessments and reflections were used to evaluate inaugural course outcomes. Results: Early course self-reflections and self-assessments revealed students particularly appreciated increasing their self-awareness related to strengths, learning strategies, and financial management. However, mid-semester formative evaluations revealed that 75% of students perceived little benefit from the class secondary to previous exposure to course topics. Purposeful activities were used to stress differences between topic exposure and reflection upon and integration of content into one’s self-schema. Summative course evaluations were subsequently positive (median 4 or 5 on 5-point Likert scale for all items), and e-portfolio submissions and course self-reflections indicated self-reported professional and personal growth in multiple domains. Implications: Students benefitted from multiple, purposeful, authentic opportunities to develop personal and professional self-awareness through participation in the course. However, incorporation of perceivably familiar personal and professional development topics in pharmacy curricula may be met with student reservation. Integration of self-awareness opportunities throughout the curriculum may foster student buy-in regarding perceivably familiar topics.

The paradox of living is that the best way to care for yourself is through positive connections with others, through making a contribution to the whole, and through loving as much as you can from wherever you are at a moment in time. Using mindfulness, personality priorities, and awareness exercises, the workshop focuses on living life more fully.

The present study focused on the social workers perspectives regarding the integration of religion and spirituality in therapy. Understanding these components will expand the knowledge of social workers and it will enhance the therapeutic relationship among clients and clinicians. It also allows social workers to provide a comprehensive service to a multicultural and diverse population. In order to provide a holistic approach, social workers need to address the issues of clients through a biopsychosocial perspective that includes religion and spirituality. For the most part, religious and spiritual people use these components in their daily lives to cope with unanswerable questions of life. Then, social workers may utilize these concepts as coping mechanisms when treating clients. Eight participants provided their professional experiences regarding the integration of religion and spirituality in therapy and its effectiveness. Participants for this study average 17.6 years of experience. Participants have extensive experience in providing individual counseling and group therapy. Participants are from various educational background, ethnicity, age and gender.

Varying theories have been presented about the relationship of emotional intelligence to transformational leadership. The present study examines the extent to which a self report measure of emotional intelligence, based upon an ability model, can predict each of the four components of transformational leadership. This study further considers the extent to which the quality of a leader-follower dyad's Leader-Member Exchange relationship can moderate the relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership. Study results demonstrate that emotional intelligence is related to several components of transformational leadership, and that both the quality of the Leader-Member Exchange relationship and the tenure of the follower can moderate the relationship between emotional intelligence and some of the components of transformational leadership.

The present study examines the extent to which emotional intelligence is related to transformational leadership within mentoring relationships. One hundred and twelve faculty members responsible for mentoring doctoral students completed the Schutte Self Report Inventory of Emotional intelligence, as well as measures of empathy, self awareness, and self confidence. Transformational leadership ratings for each professor were provided by the doctoral student(s) who were advised by him or her. Study results indicate that emotional intelligence can predict several aspects of transformational leadership, including charisma and inspirational motivation. The predictive power of emotional intelligence was, in several cases, explained by the personality construct of empathy.

A qualitative descriptive approach was undertaken to explore the leadership experience of seven first line nurse managers working in the Cook Islands. For the purposes of this study first line nurse managers are those nurses working as a charge nurse in a hospital, nursing supervisors, chief public health nurse, and nurses working autonomously in the outer islands of the Cook Islands. Nurses in these roles are in key positions to influence the practice of others and set the standard of practice and culture of a unit. The participants were recruited if they were currently employed in any of these positions. The seven participants were all Cook Islands women who received their undergraduate nursing education in the Cook Islands. The purpose of the study was to describe their leadership experience, to raise an awareness of their role, and to make recommendations to support and improve the preparation of nurses for leadership roles in the Cook Islands. Through face-to-face interviews, the participants' stories were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Six of the seven transcripts required translation from Cook Islands Maori to English and this was conducted by the researcher who is fluent in both languages. Content and thematic analysis of the data revealed a spiritual, emotive and intuitive theme in the participants' leadership experience. The findings of the study revealed the self confidence of these nurses to manage in this role despite being challenged by management issues and the lack of preparedness for the role. The supportive network established within their staff, their family and the people around them has provided the impetus to continue to 'serve' their people. The findings also revealed that these nurses recognised the need to continue to learn and develop themselves and their staff. The findings of this study have significance for nurses aspiring to be nurse leaders in the Cook Islands or other Pacific Islands and rural communities. A key stakeholder in this study is the Cook Islands Ministry of Health, as insights and awareness gained can contribute to an appropriate preparation and support programme for nurses working in its organisation.

This thesis contends that trainee counsellors are disempowered when they are expected to conform to the patterns provided by the trainer or agency. Empowerment results from the encouragement of the trainee to develop his/her own eclectic approach to their counselling, and this is only possible if a range of elective training programs are made available. This thesis also contends that no one agency or trainer is in a position to provide such a range of counselling approaches, and trainees should be motivated to use the service of other agencies, as well as being involved in independent studies. This inquiry proposes that one of the most effective foundations for the development of effective counsellors is the active encouragement of the trainee's self-awareness and the exploration of the trainee's inner life. If the success or failure of counselling depend on the ability of the counsellor to create an environment in which the client can explore his/her own issues, then it requires counsellors who have been empowered to make this discovery for themselves. This thesis also shows the author's own transformational journey, from a directed learner to a self-directed learner, and this paradigm shift in his own life has become the motivating force for empowering others to move into a position where they can exercise their own choices, and be empowered through participatory and transformative learning approaches. / Master of Science (Hons)

In North America, to become an architect, students must acquire a wide range of knowledge, create designs in studio, and spend some time working in an architecture firm. There are various lessons that they need to learn, and techniques that they develop through their education that combine to give them the necessary skills to write their professional exams. However, the education of an architect is not a process that is simple or straight-forward, and there are a series of other elements that, combined with this basic knowledge, ultimately create contemporary architects. Qualities like individual development, experience, emotional response, personal attitudes, and behaviours are not elements that are going to show up in any architecture school’s brochure, but their effect on the student is just as important as the knowledge that he or she will require to practice. To date, pedagogical inquiry into architecture seems to take two views: either looking at educational techniques and courses; or focusing on the detrimental symptoms of the less-tangible elements mentioned above. This thesis will bridge these two areas by researching the educational process and combining this knowledge with the important but more subjective areas of individual development. Through this study a clearer understanding of the profession will emerge, creating an opportunity for it to improve in the future.

In North America, to become an architect, students must acquire a wide range of knowledge, create designs in studio, and spend some time working in an architecture firm. There are various lessons that they need to learn, and techniques that they develop through their education that combine to give them the necessary skills to write their professional exams. However, the education of an architect is not a process that is simple or straight-forward, and there are a series of other elements that, combined with this basic knowledge, ultimately create contemporary architects. Qualities like individual development, experience, emotional response, personal attitudes, and behaviours are not elements that are going to show up in any architecture school’s brochure, but their effect on the student is just as important as the knowledge that he or she will require to practice. To date, pedagogical inquiry into architecture seems to take two views: either looking at educational techniques and courses; or focusing on the detrimental symptoms of the less-tangible elements mentioned above. This thesis will bridge these two areas by researching the educational process and combining this knowledge with the important but more subjective areas of individual development. Through this study a clearer understanding of the profession will emerge, creating an opportunity for it to improve in the future.

The impact of self awareness during sexual activity has been widely discussed. However, research has been largely focused on the effects of performance anxiety in male erectile functioning. Based on research linking sexual difficulties to lower levels of body image, it has been suggested that physical appearance concerns may have a similar influence on sexual functioning in women as does men's self-awareness about erectile functioning. On the other hand, research has also shown that in some cases self awareness can improve sexual functioning among women. The role that physical appearance or awareness of one's body specifically may play in female sexual response has received little empirical attention. The aim of the current study was to examine the impact of body image on sexual arousal response to erotica among 48 women with Female Sexual Arousal Disorder (FSAD). Women were randomized to one of two Body Image conditions: Positive Body Image or Negative Body Image. Each woman participated in two sessions: Experimental and Control. In the experimental sessions, participants were asked to adopt and attend to their positive or negative body parts, and a full-length mirror was placed in front of them. Self-reported mental arousal, perceptions of physical arousal, body awareness, body image, anxiety, and cognitive distraction were assessed. Results showed that in the negative and positive experimental sessions, women experienced increased mental and perceptions of physical sexual arousal compared to the control session. Findings were mainly accounted for by levels of body image and body awareness. There were no differences in anxiety or cognitive distraction. Findings suggest that body image and body awareness, whether positive or negative, can result in increased subjective sexual arousal response. / text