This study employs qualitative methods to: (1) compare and contrast public conversations about a complex social phenomenon with my experience of that phenomenon, and (2) explore the nature of those public conversations and their impact on planetary transformation. This study is divided into two parts. Part One of this dissertation compares my personal experience with Landmark Education Corporation, a private personal development company, with how it is characterized in public conversations. The public conversations chosen for analysis include: (1) an episode of the television show, Law and Order: Criminal Intent (Balcer, et al., 2003), (2) a Time Magazine article about Landmark Education Corporation (Faltermayer, 1998 March 16), and (3) psychological research on large group awareness trainings, of which Landmark Education courses are one example. Each of these public conversations contrasts significantly with my personal experience and therefore fails to account for what I see as the potential for work like Landmark's to transform the conversations that constitute our society, and ultimately, life on our planet. To help account for the value I see in Landmark's courses, Part Two of the dissertation examines the communication of Landmark participants to ascertain whether their communication in fact poses the possibility of global transformation through open, compassionate, reciprocal communication practices learned in Landmark courses. It draws from qualitative interviews, a focus group, and a focus group observation interview. Based on the results of this research, I argue that the communication of Landmark participants has the power to transform society, and that the public conversations about Landmark Education examined here are a drag on global transformation. Most broadly, I respond to the following question: When we examine particular public discourses about unusual social phenomena, what can we learn about the relationship between these discourses and the social phenomena aimed at transforming them?

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Master of Science / Department of Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design / Kim Hiller Connell / Acculturation can be a difficult process for many immigrants, and because there is a large number of Iranian immigrants living in the United States (over one million), the focus of this study is to understand how women cope with moving from a country with conservative standards to a more liberal country and the role dress plays in their acculturation process. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to: 1) explore Iranian dress standards and the effect these standards have on Iranian-American women’s lives; 2) gain understanding of the role of dress in women’s transition from Iranians to Iranian-Americans; 3) apply Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs motivational model to the women's acculturation process; and 4) compare two distinct generations of women—women born before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and women born after the Revolution. This study utilized a qualitative approach and collected data through semi-structured interviews with 11 women. The women did not express any traumatic psychological effects caused by the conservative dress standards in Iran. The main impact of the dress standards was the physical discomfort caused by wearing the hijab in hot weather. Dress played a significant role in the women's transitions process. More freedom in dress in the United States has allowed the women to express themselves much more than when they lived in Iran, leading to higher self-esteem and confidence levels. The women expressed a desire to sustain their Iranian heritage, and both generations shared similar perceptions of American dress standards prior to immigrating to the United States. Differences included higher consumption levels by the younger generation and their higher knowledge about the fashion industry and trends. The findings can be useful for Iranian women as they transition to an Iranian-American lifestyle. Additionally, it can also be beneficial to women from other countries who share similar experiences. Furthermore, the results may assist in aiding different organizations which help Iranian women integrate into the U.S. culture. Finally, retailers with target markets similar to the women of this study can use the findings to better understand the habits, needs, motives, and overall consumer behaviors of their clientele.

Uppsatsens syfte var att undersöka området personlig utveckling samt personlig avveckling utifrån Sri Nisargadatta Maharajs lära och Abraham Maslows idéer. Frågeställningarna på området var: Är personlig utveckling och personlig avveckling motsatta eller identiska företeelser? Vilka likheter och skillnader finns hos Maharaj och hos Maslow? Vad har språket och dess användning för roll vid en jämförelse av dessa personers texter? De avgränsningar som gjordes för att undersöka området var att välja rörelserna humanistisk psykologi och advaita vedanta eftersom de upplevdes representera detta område på ett centralt sätt. Vidare avgränsades undersökningens metodval till diskursanalys med fokus på hur självförverkligande framställs diskursivt hos Abraham Maslow och Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. Metoden var diskursanalys med stöd av metodboken Diskursanalys, och materialet koncentrerades till att omfatta Sri Nisargadatta Maharajs verk I am that: talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj samt Abraham Maslows två verk Motivation and personality samt Toward a psychology of being. Den teori som anlades var fenomenologiskt perspektiv. Undersökningen visade att personliga omständigheter, tradition, olika perspektiv men även språkanvändning kan påverka hur man ser på och talar om kategorierna personlig utveckling respektive personlig avveckling. Slutsatsen efter undersökningen är att oavsett vilka termer man använder kommer både personlig utveckling och personlig avveckling vara aktuellt överallt där de grundläggande behoven för människan är tryggade: hur är upp till henne själv.

This study analysis the concept of human needs form a systematic theological perspective. The definition of human needsis formulated to include the element of deficiency as well as the element of potential The study is divided in three parts according to the author’s definition of the task of systematic theology as coherent articulation of the Christian faith, the apologetic defense of the Christian faith against competing truth claims and the establishment of guidelines for the practical work of the church. According to this definition of the task of systematic theology, the study is divided into three parts. Part one analyses some of the classical loci of dogmatics for their implications for a Christian perspective on human needs. The doctrines of God, creation, Christ and salvation, the Spirit and the church as well as the doctrine of sin are analysed here. Special attention is paid to theological anthropology by analyzing the contributions of Karl Barth and Wolfhart Pannenberg in this regard. Part two analyses the origins and factual basis for the popular claims that a hierarchy of needs exist and that people have infinite needs. Serious deficiencies are found in Maslow’s theory of the pre-potency of needs. The contribution of Max-Neref, especially his distinction between needs and satisfies, facilitates a more nuanced understanding of the subject. As a conclusion to this part the results of part one and two are used to give a short outline of a Christian perspective on human needs. Humans need God as the basic ground and purpose of their existence. The presence of God is both mediated and presupposed by the fundamental need for other people. All human needs have a material basis. Human needs should be thought of as a network and not as a hierarchy. Here the symbolic needs facilitates the integration of the person while the material needs maintain the basis on which integration takes place People do not have infinite needs but needs the Infinite One. The third part provides clarity of what the concepts holistic and relevant mean for Christian ministry. / Thesis (DD (Dogmatics and Christian Ethics))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Dogmatics and Christian Ethics / unrestricted

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T19:20:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernanda Manzoli Marques de Oliveira.pdf: 809421 bytes, checksum: 594a8d31c25535d4ed211f0589417444 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-11-04 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / This research was developed in the field of Psychology of Religion and sought to investigate the theoretical foundations of Humanistic Psychology and Transpersonal Psychology and their conceptions and considerations on the concept of spirituality. The humanistic school, a precursor of transpersonal psychology, presented a theory of spirituality fitted full of references to the transcendent, the urge to self-realization and self-actualization, to metaneeds and to peak experiences. However, it was up to the task of transpersonal psychology extend this framework further. This school studies altered states of consciousness and its applications, becoming the first psychological approach to expressly assume that humans have a spiritual dimension. Introduce new concepts like cosmic consciousness, ultimate values, mystical experience, sacredness of life, experience of Unity, responsiveness and maximum sensory awareness. Express a spirituality devoid of organized religion and an anthropological concept of searching for meaning, self-transcendence, supreme values and the search for unity with the cosmos / A presente pesquisa se desenvolveu no campo da Psicologia da Religião e buscou investigar nas bases teóricas da Psicologia Humanista e da Psicologia Transpessoal, as suas concepções e considerações sobre o conceito de espiritualidade. A escola humanista, a precursora da Psicologia Transpessoal, apresentou uma teoria munida de espiritualidade, repleta de referências ao transcendente, ao impulso de autorrealização e autoatualização, às metanecessidadese e às experiências culminantes. Entretanto, coube à Psicologia Transpessoal, a tarefa de ampliar ainda mais este quadro. Trata-se de a escola que estuda os estados alterados de consciência e suas aplicações e concretizando-se como a primeira abordagem psicológica a assumir expressamente que o ser humano possui uma dimensão espiritual. Introduz novos conceitos como consciência cósmica, valores últimos, experiência mística, sacralização da vida, experiência de unidade, responsividade e consciência sensorial máxima. Expressa uma espiritualidade destituída de religião organizada e com uma concepção antropológica de busca de sentido, de autotranscendência, de valores supremos e de busca pela unidade com o cosmo