As we move further into the 21st century, social observers are increasingly aware of the individual yet collective forms of spiritual practices emerging globally. In this study, I focus on two specific practices, yoga and Buddhism, as framed in the teachings of Master Thich Nhat Hanh, which have significant impacts on individuals in the late modern city of Hong Kong. This research investigates the implications these practices pose for self-identity in late modernity. Using semi-structured, face-to-face, in-depth interviews of forty individuals who have been engaging in these practices in Hong Kong during 2008-2009, I investigate the self-identity of these individuals using Anthony Giddens’ theoretical framework of selfhood. I propose the following questions: (1) How do these individuals respond to the conditions of late modernity in Hong Kong? (2) How do these individuals experience Giddens’ four dilemmas of late modernity (unification versus fragmentation, powerlessness versus appropriation, authority versus uncertainty, personalization versus fragmentation) and in what ways do they cope with these dilemmas? (3) How do these individuals engagement with these practices interact with their life trajectories and manifest the main features of Giddens’ reflexive project (lifestyles and life plans, the pure relationship, the body and self-actualization)? Several findings have emerged from the data that empirically affirm Giddens’ self-reflexivity framework: (1) the self-identity of individuals engaging in yoga and/or Master Thick Nhat Hanh’s teachings is reflexively understood in terms of their personal biographies; (2) from each distinctive biography, individuals use these practices to find a balance of the four dilemmas outlined in Giddens’ theoretical framework, namely, unification versus fragmentation, powerlessness versus appropriation, authority versus uncertainty and personalization versus commoditication; (3) three trajectories emerge from the data: the “healing self”; the “health/exercise self”; and the “lifestyle/re-emerging self.” These patterns show how individuals manage threats to selfhood in a late modern society while finding ways to achieve personal development and increased self-awareness. By empirically testing the applicability of Giddens’ theory through the study of these two mind/body practices in Hong Kong, this research has contributed to the field of modern sociology by: (1) offering an in-depth and systematic qualitative inquiry into practices of spirituality that are undertaken on both the individual and global level, (2) addressing the prevailing research gap by empirically supporting and expanding the utility of Giddens’ self-reflexive project and (3) presenting an accessible analysis of the concepts informing the idea of self-identity and how conditions of late modernity influence this process. / published_or_final_version / Sociology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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This dissertation researched and reported on how technology was used to facilitate and inform reflective teaching practices. It also identified the characteristics of benefits and barriers in using technology for teaching and reflection.The study, descriptive in nature, was designed to determine the reflective practices of instructors and how emerging technologies could be used to enhance that reflection. To obtain this information, a Grounded Theory approach was used.Data were gathered and evaluated from a national survey of instructors on their teaching practices, technology used in teaching, how they reflected on their teaching, how they used technology to reflect on their teaching, and barriers to using technology for teaching and reflection.Seventy-three completed survey responses were received and coded into code families. These individual codes and code families were then analyzed to determine themes on how instructors used technology for more effective reflection on their teaching.The findings identified a number of themes related to (a) reflective teaching practices, (b) how instructors used technology to reflect on teaching, (c) the characteristics of learning technologies that supported reflective teaching practices, and (d) the barriers to using these technologies. The themes showed examples of how reflecting with technology supports effective teaching and learning.

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