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Diploma thesis deals with the possibility of consumer dispute resolution outside the courts and its emphasis on functional approaches in the Czech Republic. Is described the Project of the Ministry of Industry and Trade for Ensuring Out of Court Settlement of Consumer Disputes which presents new opportunities for Czech consumers. The analytical part of the work represents an analysis of the functioning of the two-year pilot phase of Project, an evaluation its results on the basis of statistical data on the number of complaints, on the basis of results of ADR questionnaire and on the basis of results of questionnaire surfy aimed to general awareness about the Project. Obtained data are evaluated and suggested solutions to improve the operation of the Project.

The main purpose of this research is to evaluate authentic movement as an effective approach to liberative religious education. Authentic movement is a field of modern dance that focuses on emotional movement and its ability to open access to the human unconsciousness, especially as understood in Carl Jung’s psychological perspective. Through authentic movement, a person is able to glimpse one’s inner self and one’s sense of the Divine, and also to release suppressed feelings, including those feelings evoked by the pressures of social expectations and stereotypes. Authentic movement thus engages persons in a process of religious education that can liberate them toward greater integration with their inner selves and religious experience.

Given increasing interest in the therapeutic benefits of mindfulness, limitations of its treatment utility are frequently questioned. As such, the purpose of the study was to examine the effects of mindfulness on a subsequent self-control task in a sample of college students. A total of 67 participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a control condition, an experimental mindfulness-only condition or a comparison expectancy-plus-mindfulness condition to investigate the utility of mindfulness practice when motivated by an outcome of increased self-control. Results did not indicate a difference in persistence on a difficult task between conditions, regardless of the manipulation. Conceptual and experimental limitations of current study’s findings, as well as future directions, are discussed.

Title of thesis: Clinical Effectiveness of the Schultz Autogenic Training on the Electrical Activity of the Brain Objectives: The thesis aims to analyze the impact of Schultz autogenic training on brain activity evaluated using EEG Course of action: To obtain the data, an experimental group containing 11 participants aged 20-30, disregarding gender, was created. Participants practiced Schultz autogenic training using the identical audio record once a day during the course of nine weeks. Upon completion of the training, all participants were subjected to one-off measurement by the Nicolet EEG instrument. Brain activity was measured before, during and after the training. Obtained EEG data were processed with NeuroGuide software using coherence analysis and fast Fourier transform. Coherence analysis provided charts mapping the electrical activity of Brodmann areas during the course of all three stages and fast Fourier transform yielded data of performance ratio between theta and alpha frequencies, so called T/A index. Performance ratio of the T/A index was subject to Student's paired t-test in order to draw final conclusion. T/A results show changes in the representation of alpha and theta waves during all measurements. Results: The results of the thesis were used to verify the veracity of stated...

Swedish executives are in the pursuit of self-improvement. During the last two decades, extreme athleticism, practices like meditation and visiting retreats have been an increasingly common context within this pursuit, despite being costly in terms of time or simply being perceived as extreme. In an attempt to further understand these pursuits, the study seeks to answer the research question: How are the leader’s pursuit of self-improvement influencing leadership and what does it signal? The theoretical point of departure is previous research on athleticism and mindfulness amongst executives, through the perspective of signaling theory and charismatic leadership theory. The study is qualitative in nature with an abductive approach and consists of interviews with ten executives as well as a discourse of Swedish printed press. The data have been coded using the Gioia-methodology. The empirical findings consist of nine aggregated dimensions explaining executive behavior. How they began with their practice, what health benefits they achieved, what attributes were strengthened, the positive effect on leadership, the costs of their practice, how identity is involved, their own awareness of their practice, how they believed it influenced leadership, and what their leadership aspirations were. After analysis of the pursuits, it is concluded that the pursuits signal certain underlying qualities and attributes, an identity, and competence to lead oneself and others. Through actions inspired by their pursuits, signaling is reinforced and become signals of the organization as well as the individual leader and his or her leadership.

Lágin (pron. laoyin)  is an old Icelandic word I came across in my great grandfather’s writings. Lágin translates to a dip in the landscape but in regards to my project, Lágin is the name of a writers retreat I've designed by the farmstead Hali in Suðursveit, Iceland. The retreat partly builds on the legacy and philosophy of my great grandfather, Þórbergur Þórðarson. Born in 1888 and died in 1974, he is one of Iceland’s most beloved authors and poets. In addition to that source material, I reference the unique architectural heritage of Iceland for much of the project’s atmosphere, material pallette and architectural logic. Lágin allows for 10 guests while housing a staff of two. One staff member to organize the operation and lead the guests in their yoga, meditation and exercise rituals. The other staff member tends to the retreats’ vegetable garden, cooks meals and handles general daily functions. An established resident writer will periodically stay at Sléttaleiti, a nearby house owned by the Writers’ Union of Iceland. That writer will come by Lágin for organized meet ups with the guests to guide and progress on their work through private conversation.

Recently the magnitude of the mental health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been emerging. Reports of anxiety or depression related to COVID-19 have been on the rise globally. Individuals have been living in a perpetual state of the unknown for over two years. Fear of the virus, sickness of oneself or family/friends and social isolation have taken a toll. According to the WHO, anxiety and depression have gone up 25% in the last year (2022). The effects of a rising mental health crisis will be drastic on top of the deaths and sickness related to COVID-19. While governments have recognized the importance of funding mental health services, the follow through is often lacking or the potential solutions are heavily geared towards pharmaceutical medications. This thesis is two pronged, including a review of the relevant literature with regard to COVID-19, mental health and yoga, as well as the findings of a six-week Eco-Yoga Therapy Program for Mental Health related to COVID-19. case report argues for an integrative solution focused on promoting health and wellness including both yoga therapy and nature or eco therapy. A six week program was designed for those experiencing anxiety or depression related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The thesis reports on the findings of the case series of three post-Covid females of different nationalities living in Spain, Belize and New Zealand, with co-morbidities including high blood pressure (HBP), hypothyroidism and post-partum. The clients successfully completed an integrative program based on yoga and eco-therapy. It involved a series of pranayama (breathing), asana (physical postures), dinacharya (lifestyle choices) and dhyana (meditation) techniques, along with practices tailored to each client based on their specific needs. Clients reported improvements in anxiety levels and stress management due to the practices, in particular the asana (physical postures) and pranayama (breathing practices). They felt an increased ability to calm the mind while being in nature. The approach to wellness focuses on our bodies own innate capacity to heal, as opposed to focusing on medical solutions to the virus and treatment once sickness has already manifested. Again, the emphasis is on strengthening the bodies natural immunity through yoga and nature, which reduces inflammation and stimulates the vagus nerve, both of which have been found to improve mental health and decrease the chances of disease.

This literature review examines the default mode network (DMN) and how its role in self related processing and narrative selfhood relates to well-being. The essay explores the DMN in three levels of activity: Firstly in normal function, where mind-wandering is positively correlated with dissatisfaction; Secondly its abnormal function in depression, characterized by excessive activity and rumination; Thirdly in its arguably improved function during mindfulness and meditation, where lower activity is associated with higher well-being, decreased mind-wandering and altered sense of self. The essay shows a relationship between the DMN and well-being, where higher activity correlates with lower well-being.

The demanding work environments of professional nurses often contribute to high levels of stress that impact their professional practice and well-being. Although there is a significant amount of research regarding stress and absenteeism, a gap in the literature exists about the effects of holistic coping strategies on nurses' perceived stress and absenteeism. Based on the biopsychosocial model, the purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate effects of holistic coping strategies on perceived stress and absenteeism in 128 hospital nurses. An online cross-sectional survey design used the Perceived Stress Scale-10 to measure nurses' perceptions of stress. The independent grouping variable was self-reported use of meditation, massage, or exercise. Absenteeism data were collected using nurses' attendance records provided by the hospital nursing administration office. Multiple linear regression analysis and t tests were significant for increased absenteeism with the use of meditation, but showed no change in absenteeism with massage or exercise. There was no significant relationship found between use of massage, meditation, or exercise, and perceived stress. Consideration of these findings may be of interest to hospital administrators in addressing perceived stress and absenteeism in nursing personnel. Positive social change is achieved for society, community, and the individual by preventing burnout and by addressing the financial and attendance issues related to nurse shortages in hospitals.