Art, health and faith.. These three topics are the main elements of the thesis. I am interested in the point when faith and art meet and offer to a person support certainty or hope. In the thesis I deal with the phenomenon of searching places of pilgrimage, which spiritually fulfilled people and in time those places have become the reflection of culture and mentality of a nation. Exactly in these places happened miraculous recoveries the most often and because of it, the people started believing in strength and magic. The thesis examines if even today we visit cultural and artistic events with the same ambition and energy as the original pilgrims. The basic element of my final part is the video of my personal places of pilgrimage which I visited within the last year. The second part deals with my newly founded online gallery which maps modern forms of pilgrimage. The whole installation is supported by the third part which is my pilgrim coat which I customized during my last travels to suit my needs.

No description available.

Health can be described as both a product and a process of life, and is necessary for human wellbeing, overall quality of life and productivity. While health is generally desirable, many factors affect health and health outcomes of individuals and populations the world over. Virtually all individuals will be faced with one health problem or another during their lifetime, that requires some form of health care intervention. Whatever their reasons for seeking care, all health care consumers share a common interest – a desire to get better. In a pluralistic health care environment where different avenues exist for seeking and receiving health care, differential choice of care may be influenced by sociodemographic and related factors. To the extent that the available avenues for seeking and receiving health care do not offer the same opportunities for improving health, significantly different health outcomes may be realized for comparable conditions for which different types and volume of health care are sought and received. Understanding the factors that influence health-seeking behaviors among various populations may therefore, be an important first step in designing intervention programs that nudge health consumers toward better health-seeking behaviors with the goal to improving health and health outcomes among these populations. The purpose of this research was to develop a research instrument for studying health-seeking behaviors based on the Health Belief Model, and to use the instrument to study the factors that influence/predict health-seeking behaviors among Ghanaians. Using a convenience sample of 504 participants recruited from the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Volta and Northern Regions, analyses of the data showed that different sociodemographic characteristics such as age group, gender and health insurance status as well as selected modified constructs of the Health Belief Model such as Perceived Barriers to mainstream care, variously and collectively influence health-seeking behaviors at government and private health facilities, self-medication with herbal and pharmaceutical drugs, faith healing and care from traditional/herbal practitioners. Based on the findings of this study, the author concludes that health-seeking behaviors in Ghana are influenced by a multiplicity of factors including sociodemographic characteristics. Subsequently, recommendations for a more extensive study with a complementary qualitative enquiry are made in order to gain a more wholistic insight of the drivers of health-seeking behaviors in Ghana.

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to examine how music teachers at Jewish day schools integrate both general music skills and repertoire with Jewish repertoire and themes in their curriculum. Research questions included: (1) How do music teachers at Jewish day schools integrate general music skills and repertoire with Jewish repertoire and themes? (2) What challenges do teachers face when implementing their curriculum in the Jewish day school environment? (3) How do teachers describe their decisions to integrate? (4) How do their beliefs and values impact integration? And (5) How do teachers understand their role as music educators in a Jewish day school? Research on music education in Jewish day schools is a rarity, and as of the completion of this study, no apparent research yet examined the integration of general and Jewish music. For this study, I selected three general music teachers at the lower school or elementary level from two Jewish day schools in the Northeastern United States that represented different Jewish communities. Data collection consisted of three semi-structured interviews, three-four observations of general music classes for kindergarten through fifth grade, and artifacts.Data analysis revealed the following findings, organized by the five research questions. Participants integrated general and Jewish music through music basics and deliberate curricular decisions. They faced the challenges of time, tensions between values and practical considerations, and on some occasions, support. Participants made decisions about integration by taking the repertoire-first or concept-first approach, and then checked to make sure that their lessons were multicentric. Participants’ beliefs and values fit the overarching theme of “feet in two different worlds.” Two participants, Shira and Tamar, derived their beliefs and values from the general music world, the Jewish music world, and from a combination of the two. One teacher, Kate, who is not Jewish, derived her beliefs and values from the general music world and showed a belief in being open to Jewish music. Shira saw her role as “The Connector,” Tamar viewed her role as “The Advocate/Connector,” and Kate viewed her role as “The Facilitator.” This research strives to shed light on the practicalities and thought processes involved in integrating Jewish and general music that will transfer to other Jewish day schools, other Jewish educational institutions, and other faith-based schools. / Music Education

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The aim of this study is to investigate how Todor Enchev sustained and negotiated his humanity, faith, and freedom of conscience in prison, labour, and concentration camps in late 1940’s-1950’s Bulgaria. Through a hermeneutic study, this investigation analyses Enchev’s book From Spiritual Death to Eternal Life (1998). Having been imprisoned first as a teenager for his vocal political beliefs against the communist regime in Bulgaria and thereafter for his newfound Christian faith, this study examines his narrative. This study concludes that Enchev was ultimately sustained by a vision of a greater eternal dimension and new humanity, while viewing his current suffering as a mission set before him. This vision changed his self-awareness and allowed him to persevere. His focus remained on the communication, for him, between the eternal dimension of heaven and the earthly dimension of his present. This was expressed through his behaviour and attitude towards others in the camps, a period he referred to as a ‘spiritual university’. Through this, Enchev was able to identify as a contemporary disciple and martyr, giving him a sense of duty, which gave meaning to his time in the camps and beyond.

This is an original collection of poems, with an accompanying afterword that discusses poetics, grief, history, tradition, biography, ambulation, process, note-taking, note-keeping, experience, love, and thanks.

No description available.