Depression is a prominent issue in the African American community. However, there are significant gaps in the literature on the delivery and outcomes of culturally relevant mental health psychotherapy to African Americans. Cultural variables, such as worldview, have been noted to impact an individual's overall psychosocial functioning and have significant implications for mental health service delivery. The purpose of this study was to use archival data to analyze the impact of African-centered therapeutic services on depressive symptoms and on Africentric worldview among African Americans. Archival data on 38 African American adults, recorded from 2012-2015, were obtained from a community mental health agency in the Midwest. Each of the adults received therapy via an African-centered treatment modality. The study was grounded in the cognitive theory of depression and optimal theory. The dependent treatment outcome variables were (a) depressive symptomology, as measured with the depression subscale of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised and (b) Africentric worldview as measured by the Belief Systems Analysis Scale. The dependent variables were measured twice: once in the beginning and once at the end of a year's treatment. A dependent, paired t tests indicated a significant reduction in depressive symptoms but no significant increase in adherence to Africentric worldview. This study has implications for positive social change by: providing increased insight on the need for culturally relevant services to African Americans, which can subsequently lead to culturally relevant social change in the delivery of mental health services to diverse populations.

<p>Bioethics deals with the ethical problems arising from the developments in life sciences and biotechnologies. Western autonomy-based philosophical framework has dominated the approach of mainstream Bioethics. Yet, many of the assumptions implicit in the Western framework that makes claim to universal validity may not be shared by non-western cultures. Moral pluralism poses a challenge to a common bioethics. Pluralism is understood as a descriptive term, which refers to the existence of different outlooks - moral or religious in a given society. It is simply another word for diversity.</p><p>Within most western societies, the principle of autonomy sometimes implies that every person has an atomistic right to self-determination. In most African culture, however, the person is viewed as a relational self, one whom social relationships and inter-dependence rather than individualism provide the basis for moral decisions. </p><p>Through a critical analysis of the <i>Principles of Biomedical Ethics</i> by Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress; the <i>Foundations of Bioethics</i> by H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr.; and the <i>Morality of Pluralism</i> by John Kekes, the author addresses two challenges. The first one concerns the possibility and desirability of a common bioethical framework in a society with a diversity of moral visions. The second deals with what could be the contribution of African thought, philosophy, and culture to such a project. </p><p>By exploring some of the worldviews of the Igbo of South-eastern Nigeria, the author shows that different cultures have different significances in bioethical analysis. He argues that an acceptable bioethical framework should be sensitive to the cultural realities of the people where it is employed and contextual in its application. At the same time, it should take account of the common morality feature of human experience. He formulates three prima facie common morality principles as meeting the challenge of Bioethics within the African context.</p>

The purpose of this descriptive quantitative study was to analyze and compare the integration of faith and learning occurring in Christian schools accredited by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and classical Christian schools accredited by the Association of Classical and Christian Schools (ACCS). ACSI represents the larger Christian school movement while ACCS represents the larger classical Christian school movement. The biblical metanarrative of the Christian faith - creation, fall, redemption, and consummation - set the biblical and theological framework for the integration of faith and learning in this study. A precedent literature review pointed to a gap in the literature base regarding the integration of faith and learning occurring between ACSI and ACCS schools. Essentially, the study sought to describe the degree to which accredited K-12 ACSI and ACCS schools integrate faith and learning and then compare the level of integration of faith and learning between ACSI and ACCS accredited schools. The research design for the study was a one-phase quantitative study utilizing both descriptive and inferential statistics. The research instrument was originally developed and used by Raquel Bouvert de Korniejczuk and later modified by Mark Eckel to determine the level of integration of faith and learning teachers are practicing in ACSI and ACCS schools. Overall, the data indicated teachers were practicing a high level of integration of faith and learning in their pedagogy in both ACSI and ACCS accredited schools. The data indicated that as the years taught at Christian schools and classical Christian schools increased the level of integration of faith and learning increased. Gender was not a factor in the level of integration of faith and learning. Teachers that did not attend a Christian school growing up self-reported a higher level of integration of faith and learning than teachers who did attend a Christian school growing up. Teachers, both in Christian schools and classical Christian schools, receiving training in the area of the integration of faith and learning indicated a higher overall level of integration of faith and learning. KEYWORDS: Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), Association of Classical and Christian Schools (ACCS), biblical worldview, Christian education, Christian school, classical Christian school, integration of faith and learning, Trivium

This paper explores the emic use of ”Internet trolls" and trolling behaviour in one specific Internet community. The findings are compared with, and put in relations to the conventional definition of Internet-trolls as individuals who deliberately, typically anonymously, antagonize other users of online common spaces. A forum dealing with matters of relationship issues in the Swedish online community Message Board of Familjeliv.se, was the subject of field-work that provided the basic empirical material for the research; three comparable threads on the subject of infidelity. These could all be said to contain suspected trolling, and such suspicions were also ascribed participants throughout the discussions. The analysis was undertaken mainly in terms of quality of narrative, performance and interaction. A comparative method and a genre analysis out of a holistic and functionalistic perspective is used to shed some light on how forum participants organize themselves and steer narratives towards desired outcomes. Author performances, both initially and throughout conversational threads, are explored through holistic analysis. It is concluded that a broad emic view on trolls and trolling behaviour exists within the Internet community, and that the understanding of trolls can differ between users, forums and within conversational threads. The results are put in relations to and are compared to how trolls are described in Swedish folklore tradition. Parallels are also drawn to fear of and belief in evil. The analytical concepts ”actual” and ”virtual” worlds, as defined by the anthropologist Tom Boellstorff (2008:18f), are used in this analysis to illustrate how trolling behaviour can be perceived when borders between differing worldviews are crossed and/or when the majority of the active participants of a thread consider a statement incompatible with the dominating interpretation of a given narrative.

Цель диссертационного исследования - реконструкция фрагмента картины мира и выявление изменений в ней на основе лексикографически зафиксированных количественных и качественных данных, имеющих место в классе существительных со значением лица в отдельных тематических группах на рубеже XX и XXI веков. В I главе реферируется научная литература, подробно описывается методология, методы исследования, а также дается характеристика основных понятий, используемых в качестве научного аппарата исследования. Во II главе анализируются существительные, называющие лица по принадлежности к миру религии. III глава посвящена анализу спектра политической жизни в гипертексте словаря. В IV главе анализируется экономическая лексика. / Disertacinio darbo tikslas – rekonstruoti pasaulėvaizdžio fragmentą ir atskleisti jame įvykusius pokyčius, remiantis leksikografiškai užfiksuotais kokybiniais bei kiekybiniais duomenimis apie asmenį įvardijančius daiktavardžius atskirose teminėse grupėse XX ir XXI amžių sandūroje. Pirmojoje dalyje pristatomi teoriniai tyrimo pagrindai, išsamiai aptariama metodologija bei tyrimo metodai, taip pat apibūdinamos pagrindinės sąvokos, kurios pasitelktos kaip mokslinis tyrimo aparatas. Antroje darbo dalyje nagrinėjami religinius asmenis žymintys daiktavardžiai, kulto tarnautojų įvardijimai ir anapusiniam pasauliui priklausančių arba su juo susijusių asmenų pavadinimai. Trečioje disertacijos dalyje analizuojamas šiuolaikinio politinio gyvenimo spektras žodyno hipertekste. Ketvirtojoje dalyje analizuojama ekonominė leksika ir rusų kalbos vartotojų pasaulėvaizdis. / The objective of the PhD Thesis is to reconstruct a fragment of the worldview and to reveal the changes related thereto based on qualitative and quantitative data on nouns identifying a person in individual thematic groups at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries recorded lexicographically. Part One describes the theoretical basis of the research, provides a detailed overview of the methodology and the research methods, and defines the key concepts that are used as a scientific research tool. Part Two analyses nouns used to denominate religion-related persons, the titles of the cult servants and the names of persons who belong to the other world or are related thereto. Part Three of the Thesis analyses the spectrum of the modern political world in the hypertext of the vocabulary. Part Four analyses economic lexic and the worldview.

Disertacinio darbo tikslas – rekonstruoti pasaulėvaizdžio fragmentą ir atskleisti jame įvykusius pokyčius, remiantis leksikografiškai užfiksuotais kokybiniais bei kiekybiniais duomenimis apie asmenį įvardijančius daiktavardžius atskirose teminėse grupėse XX ir XXI amžių sandūroje. Pirmojoje dalyje pristatomi teoriniai tyrimo pagrindai, išsamiai aptariama metodologija bei tyrimo metodai, taip pat apibūdinamos pagrindinės sąvokos, kurios pasitelktos kaip mokslinis tyrimo aparatas. Antroje darbo dalyje nagrinėjami religinius asmenis žymintys daiktavardžiai, kulto tarnautojų įvardijimai ir anapusiniam pasauliui priklausančių arba su juo susijusių asmenų pavadinimai. Trečioje disertacijos dalyje analizuojamas šiuolaikinio politinio gyvenimo spektras žodyno hipertekste. Ketvirtojoje dalyje analizuojama ekonominė leksika ir rusų kalbos vartotojų pasaulėvaizdis. / The objective of the PhD Thesis is to reconstruct a fragment of the worldview and to reveal the changes related thereto based on qualitative and quantitative data on nouns identifying a person in individual thematic groups at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries recorded lexicographically. Part One describes the theoretical basis of the research, provides a detailed overview of the methodology and the research methods, and defines the key concepts that are used as a scientific research tool. Part Two analyses nouns used to denominate religion-related persons, the titles of the cult servants and the names of persons who belong to the other world or are related thereto. Part Three of the Thesis analyses the spectrum of the modern political world in the hypertext of the vocabulary. Part Four analyses economic lexic and the worldview. / Цель диссертационного исследования - реконструкция фрагмента картины мира и выявление изменений в ней на основе лексикографически зафиксированных количественных и качественных данных, имеющих место в классе существительных со значением лица в отдельных тематических группах на рубеже XX и XXI веков. В I главе реферируется научная литература, подробно описывается методология, методы исследования, а также дается характеристика основных понятий, используемых в качестве научного аппарата исследования. Во II главе анализируются существительные, называющие лица по принадлежности к миру религии. III глава посвящена анализу спектра политической жизни в гипертексте словаря. В IV главе анализируется экономическая лексика.

Communication across the curriculum (CXC) programs are becoming increasingly common as institutions of higher learning recognize the need for improving communication skills in college students. Consequently, the University of Kentucky (UK) is piloting Presentation U, a multimodal communication across the curriculum (MCXC) program. This study examines the degree to which the Faculty Fellows program succeeds in helping faculty across the university integrate effective communication instruction and assignments into their courses. For this study, all faculty members participating in cohort #2 of the program responded to surveys and wrote reflection papers regarding their experiences. Their responses were analyzed and conclusions drawn. The study, grounded in the adult theory of transformative learning, found evidence of worldview transformation among faculty fellows as a result of their participation in the program.

This thesis examines conflict transformation in public policy in the case of the British Columbia Farm Assessment Review public process in the Capital Regional District from December 2007 to July 2009. The research addresses three questions: 1) Were transformative approaches applied to public policy in the Farm Assessment Review (FAR) case? If so, how were those transformative approaches applied? 2) How did worldview conflicts arise in the FAR case? and 3) What were the effects of the FAR public process in terms of transformative capacity? Data were collected from newspaper articles, press releases, public reports, semi-structured interviews, and personal observations. The data were analyzed through directed content analysis and interpreted through the lens of social constructionism. The study found that the process had few transformative qualities and did not accommodate the worldview differences that were detected and recognized by the parties. Few transformational changes could be found in the data.

This thesis uses worldview conflict theory to examine an unsuccessful lobbying campaign of the Coalition for Change for Caregivers and Temporary Foreign Workers. Using Nudler (1990, 1993), Blechman, Crocker, Docherty, and Garon (2000) and Docherty (1996, 2001), a worldview conflict analysis was developed and applied to the campaign. This research addresses two questions: 1) Is communication between the parties being impeded by the negotiation of reality? 2) Could the application of a worldview conflict analysis show the parties a way to communicate without negotiating reality? Data collected from publically available documents (Coalition, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and Minister of Human Resources and Skill Development Canada) were analyzed using content analysis, Lakoff and Johnson's (1980) metaphor analysis, and worldview conflict analysis. Similarities between the parties’ worldviews (regarding what is valuable, construction and structure of the world, and enforcement of ethic) indicated ways they could communicate without negotiating reality. / Graduate

334 f. / Submitted by Maria Auxiliadora Lopes (silopes@ufba.br) on 2013-09-23T17:28:46Z No. of bitstreams: 1 José Antonio C. Leão.pdf: 6192633 bytes, checksum: d1377bdd5c134464969bb0134aa0a3b5 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Auxiliadora Lopes(silopes@ufba.br) on 2013-09-23T17:34:49Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 José Antonio C. Leão.pdf: 6192633 bytes, checksum: d1377bdd5c134464969bb0134aa0a3b5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-09-23T17:34:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 José Antonio C. Leão.pdf: 6192633 bytes, checksum: d1377bdd5c134464969bb0134aa0a3b5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Este estudo se dispõe à compreensão de processos educativos simbólicos como saberes configurados no corpo de brincantes do afro-carnaval, com o olhar descritivo-interpretativo de conhecimento cultural. Como objeto de estudo tomo como referência os Caboclos de Lança, personagem brincante do folguedo do Maracatu Rural em Pernambuco-Brasil. Em sua complexidade este brincante da zona rural que trabalha nos engenhos de cana de açúcar, hoje também envolvidos no universo da zona urbana das cidades, escapam das regulações do espaço segundo leis gerais (BHABHA, 1998). A esse universo, venho a interpretá-lo segundo as interações contemporâneas de pessoas oriundas de diferentes nacionalidades em grandes metrópoles mundiais. Numa perspectiva sistêmica, utilizo a abordagem qualitativa e teórica na antropologia interpretativa de base metodológica de inspiração etnográfica (GEERTZ, 1998). A pesquisa está delimitada por observações nos brincantes quanto à construção de seus saberes, configurados no corpo como suas escrituras narrativas. Para tanto, ao justificar este estudo de contribuição para o campo da educação, aponto o interagir com esses atores sociais, que apresenta como eles dialogam na diversidade no ambiente onde percorrem, construindo história de vida que inclui cosmovisão de ancestralidade africana como lugar de aprendizado, configurado em estratégias de metáforas: ―corporificadas‖, de ―persistência cultural‖, do ―diálogo vivo‖. Para o estudo destas estratégias, abordo os seguintes conceitos centrais: de Cosmovisão, como a maneira de uma pessoa olhar ou interpretar uma realidade, uma visão de vida, um paradigma que tenta decifrar a estética do sagrado; de Ancestralidade, como identificação dos sujeitos ao percorrerem diferentes lugares, incorporando em suas trajetórias de vida percursos que se aproximam da perspectiva do experienciar, configurando ações também herdadas por seus antepassados; e de Saber brincante, como saberes camuflados de dimensão educativa, lúdica, comunicativa, em formas diferentes de pensar e agir ao lidar com as convenções sociais. / Salvador