Buscando analisar a natureza da sociedade na qual vivemos, que passa a ter uma dimensão virtual proporcionada por jogos massivos multijogadores de interpretação de personagens baseados na Web, ou Massively Multiplayer On-line Role Playing Games – MMORPGs -, recorremos à teoria de Axel Honneth. O autor identifica o surgimento de um individualismo da auto-realização em sociedades capitalistas modernas, em que os indivíduos demandam condições autônomas de busca por auto-realização para alcançar o que compreendem por “vida boa”. Esse trabalho analisa os motivos que levam os jogadores a optar por participar da “sociedade virtual” dos jogos, partindo da hipótese de que o ambiente social que estes proporcionam possibilita a construção da auto-realização dos jogadores de forma complementar ao ambiente social ao qual o indivíduo pertence de carne-e-osso. Os jogos MMORPGs estariam assim complementando as necessidades individuais de realização social e os ambientes sociais “virtuais“ sendo, portanto, concretos em suas contribuições para tais demandas individuais. O que explica a opção dos jogadores por vivenciar suas relações sociais dentro do jogo. Para investigar a veracidade dessa hipótese, realizou-se uma etnografia virtual no ambiente do jogo Tibia e utilizou-se a técnica de observação participante que nomeamos “Jogando”: assistindo, lendo, escrevendo e participando. Os dados foram coletados através de conversas informais com mais de quinhentos personagens por um período de dezessete meses, num total aproximado de quatro mil horas. Foram analisados conforme a particularidade de cada tipo de relação desenvolvida pelos jogadores: amorosas, jurídicas e de valoração social. Essa pesquisa contribui para a compreensão de diversos fenômenos sociais relacionados a esse tipo de jogo e para auxiliar os diferentes públicos - formadores de opinião, familiares de jogadores, jogadores em potencial, instituições de ensino - a avaliar o ato de jogar. Os dados confirmam nossa hipótese e possibilitam a elaboração de perguntas sobre fenômenos que se reproduzem no ambiente virtual e contradizem os anseios daqueles que acreditam que “um outro mundo é possível”. / In order to analyze the nature of the society we live today, which has a new virtual dimension possible by the Massively Multiplayer On-line Role Playing Games – MMORPGs -, we requested Axel Honneth’s theory. The author identifies the arising of an individualism of self-realization in modern capitalist societies, in which the individuals demand autonomous conditions of search for self-realization to reach what they understand as “good life”. This work analyzes the motives that lead the players to opt to participate in the “virtual society” of the games, starting from the hypothesis that the social environment that these games provide enables the construction of the players’ self-realization in a complementary way to the social environment which the individual belongs in flesh and blood. The MMORPGs are so complementing the individuals’ needs of social realization, and the “virtual” social environments being concrete in their contributions to such individuals’ demands. What explains the players’ option to experience their social relations inside the game. To investigate the veracity of this hypothesis a virtual ethnography was carried out in the Tibia game environment and the technique of participative observation was utilized, which we named “Playing”: watching, reading, writing and participating. The data were collected through informal conversations with more than five hundred characters for a period of seventeen months, in a total of approximately four thousand hours. They were analyzed by the particularity of each type of relation developed by the players: loving, legal and social appraisal. This research contributes to the comprehension of diverse social phenomena related to this kind of game and to assist the different publics – opinion creators, relative of players, potential players, and education institutions – to evaluate the act of to play. The data confirm our hypothesis and make possible the elaboration of questions about phenomena that are reproduced in the virtual environment and contradict the yearnings of those who believe that “another world is possible”.

Buscando analisar a natureza da sociedade na qual vivemos, que passa a ter uma dimensão virtual proporcionada por jogos massivos multijogadores de interpretação de personagens baseados na Web, ou Massively Multiplayer On-line Role Playing Games – MMORPGs -, recorremos à teoria de Axel Honneth. O autor identifica o surgimento de um individualismo da auto-realização em sociedades capitalistas modernas, em que os indivíduos demandam condições autônomas de busca por auto-realização para alcançar o que compreendem por “vida boa”. Esse trabalho analisa os motivos que levam os jogadores a optar por participar da “sociedade virtual” dos jogos, partindo da hipótese de que o ambiente social que estes proporcionam possibilita a construção da auto-realização dos jogadores de forma complementar ao ambiente social ao qual o indivíduo pertence de carne-e-osso. Os jogos MMORPGs estariam assim complementando as necessidades individuais de realização social e os ambientes sociais “virtuais“ sendo, portanto, concretos em suas contribuições para tais demandas individuais. O que explica a opção dos jogadores por vivenciar suas relações sociais dentro do jogo. Para investigar a veracidade dessa hipótese, realizou-se uma etnografia virtual no ambiente do jogo Tibia e utilizou-se a técnica de observação participante que nomeamos “Jogando”: assistindo, lendo, escrevendo e participando. Os dados foram coletados através de conversas informais com mais de quinhentos personagens por um período de dezessete meses, num total aproximado de quatro mil horas. Foram analisados conforme a particularidade de cada tipo de relação desenvolvida pelos jogadores: amorosas, jurídicas e de valoração social. Essa pesquisa contribui para a compreensão de diversos fenômenos sociais relacionados a esse tipo de jogo e para auxiliar os diferentes públicos - formadores de opinião, familiares de jogadores, jogadores em potencial, instituições de ensino - a avaliar o ato de jogar. Os dados confirmam nossa hipótese e possibilitam a elaboração de perguntas sobre fenômenos que se reproduzem no ambiente virtual e contradizem os anseios daqueles que acreditam que “um outro mundo é possível”. / In order to analyze the nature of the society we live today, which has a new virtual dimension possible by the Massively Multiplayer On-line Role Playing Games – MMORPGs -, we requested Axel Honneth’s theory. The author identifies the arising of an individualism of self-realization in modern capitalist societies, in which the individuals demand autonomous conditions of search for self-realization to reach what they understand as “good life”. This work analyzes the motives that lead the players to opt to participate in the “virtual society” of the games, starting from the hypothesis that the social environment that these games provide enables the construction of the players’ self-realization in a complementary way to the social environment which the individual belongs in flesh and blood. The MMORPGs are so complementing the individuals’ needs of social realization, and the “virtual” social environments being concrete in their contributions to such individuals’ demands. What explains the players’ option to experience their social relations inside the game. To investigate the veracity of this hypothesis a virtual ethnography was carried out in the Tibia game environment and the technique of participative observation was utilized, which we named “Playing”: watching, reading, writing and participating. The data were collected through informal conversations with more than five hundred characters for a period of seventeen months, in a total of approximately four thousand hours. They were analyzed by the particularity of each type of relation developed by the players: loving, legal and social appraisal. This research contributes to the comprehension of diverse social phenomena related to this kind of game and to assist the different publics – opinion creators, relative of players, potential players, and education institutions – to evaluate the act of to play. The data confirm our hypothesis and make possible the elaboration of questions about phenomena that are reproduced in the virtual environment and contradict the yearnings of those who believe that “another world is possible”.

The present thesis titled Image self-reification and teacher recognition is developed in the Post-graduation Program in Education (PPGE) of the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), in the Research Field Training, Knowledge and Professional Development. The proposed study has as objective to investigate the theoretical way among the question of self-reification of the teacher image and the possibility of transcendence, to then discuss the recognition in the teacher-student inter-subjectivity. To achieve this goal, we opted for the turning of recognition from the perspective of Axel Honneth (2003), heir to critical reflections of the Frankfurt School, establishing a unique position in relation to the problem of reification. In this research, the study design focuses on qualitative approach, hermeneutical way, that involves the heard from implicated individuals, with reference to the comprehension of Gadamar (1998). The critical theory of Adorno and Habermas is used as a parameter to support in the hermeneutics of the Prometheus myth and the teachers narratives. From the emerging data, it places the problematic question: to what extent the turning of recognition of critical theory, especially in the purposes of recognizing the other and language, can help in overcoming the teacher image self-reification in contemporary days? From the perspective of post-metaphysical thinking, the learning, in the teaching/student dialogue, needs not only the cognitive understanding, as this is often frustrated, but especially the desbarbarization of the teacher image, considering the mutual recognition in language. When this happens, the teacher can get stuck to the reifying language and to the impossibility recognition, forgotten and chained as in the myth of Prometheus. As a result, the need to understand the displacement of the self-reification to the recognition, that is preceded by self-realization, which is identified by Axel Honneth (2003) as the ethical attitude. It is proposed, therefore, to find a positive response to the hypothesis that self-recognition of the teacher image occurs by the linguistic ethos as self-maker habit in teacher-student inter-subjectivity. / A presente tese com o título Autorreificação da Imagem e Reconhecimento Docente é desenvolvida no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação (PPGE) da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), na Linha de Pesquisa Formação, Saberes e Desenvolvimento Profissional. Nesse sentido, tem como objetivo geral investigar o percurso teórico entre o quesito da autorreificação da imagem docente e a possibilidade de transcendência, para então discutir o reconhecimento na intersubjetividade docente-discente. Para atingir esse objetivo, optou-se pelo giro do reconhecimento na perspectiva de Axel Honneth (2003), herdeiro das reflexões críticas da Escola de Frankfurt, o qual estabelece uma posição singular em relação ao problema da reificação. Nessa pesquisa, o desenho metodológico privilegia a abordagem qualitativa, de cunho hermenêutico, que envolve a escuta de sujeitos implicados, tendo como referência a compreensão de Gadamer (1998). A teoria crítica de Adorno e Habermas é utilizada como parâmetro para auxiliar na hermenêutica do mito de Prometeu e de narrativas docentes. A partir desses dados emergentes, situa-se a questão problemática: até que ponto o giro do reconhecimento da teoria crítica, principalmente nos propósitos do reconhecimento do outro e da linguagem, pode contribuir para a superação da autorreificação da imagem docente nos dias contemporâneos? Na perspectiva do pensamento pós-metafísico, o aprendizado, na interlocução docente/discente, necessita não só do entendimento cognitivo, pois esse muitas vezes é frustrado, mas especialmente da desbarbarização da imagem docente, tendo em vista o reconhecimento recíproco na linguagem. Quando isso não acontece, o docente pode ficar preso à linguagem reificante e à impossibilidade de reconhecimento, esquecido e acorrentado como ocorre no mito de Prometeu. Daí, a necessidade de compreender o deslocamento da autorreificação para o reconhecimento, sendo esse último precedido pela autorrealização, a qual é identificada por Axel Honneth (2003) como a atitude ética. Propõe-se, desse modo, encontrar uma resposta positiva à tese de que o autorreconhecimento da imagem docente ocorre pelo ethos linguístico como hábito autorrealizador na intersubjetividade docente-discente.

This thesis elaborates the results of the research I carried out wtihin the year 2009 in a paid course of female tantric initiation. The theme of the thesis was inspired by my previous interest in the Goddess movement. As this movement is not yet concretized in the Czech republic, I have chosen participating in a closed women's group which is very close to it due to a specific combination of religion, philosophy and psychology. My goal was to find out what form the women's spirituality has in the Czech environment and what kind of women are drawn to it. While the first part of the thesis deals with the universal characteristics of the current eclectic spirituality generally described as the New Age movement, the second part is devoted to the research itself. I come to the conclusion that the symbol of the Goddess, the key idea of the thesis, is not perceived only as a religious concept but also as a medium by means of which women define their needs and problems resulting from their femininity. By this particular case, I advert to the very psychotherapeutic dimension of women's spirituality. Keywords: New Age, tantra, The Goddess, body, spirituality, femininity, self-realization, strength, motherhood

Esta investigación tiene como objetivo estudiar la relación entre el bienestar psicológico y la satisfacción marital en adultos de la ciudad de Lima Metropolitana, del mismo modo, en el Perú, se ha encontrado poca evidencia científica sobre la relación de las variables de estudio. Para este trabajo se utilizó un diseño descriptivo correlacional, se evaluó en total 193 personas que se encontraban casados o conviviendo, de los cuales 50.3% fueron mujeres y 49.7% varones. Las edades de la muestra fluctuaron entre los 20 y 50 años. Se utilizó la escala de Bienestar Psicológico para Adultos (BIEPS-A) (Domínguez, 2014) y Satisfacción Marital (ESM) de Pick y Andrade (Vera, 2010); se halló que ambos instrumentos cuentan con validez y confiabilidad. Se concluye que ambas variables correlacionaron de manera significativa y positiva, se identificó qué Vínculos sociales y Autorrealización presentaron una correlación moderada con la Satisfacción Marital; no obstante, la correlación de Autonomía con Satisfacción Marital fue baja. Se interpreta entonces que a mayor percepción de satisfacción marital se tiene una asociación positiva con los vínculos sociales, y la autorrealización. / The objective of the present investigation was to study the relationship between psychological well-being and marital satisfaction in adults in the city of Metropolitan Lima. In the same way, in Peru, little scientific evidence has been found on the relationship between both variables. A correlational descriptive design was used, and a total of 193 people who were married or living together were evaluated, 50.3% were women and 49.7% were men. The ages of the students were 20 to 50 years. We used the scale of Psychological Wellbeing for Adults (BIEPS-A) (Dominguez, 2014) and Marital Satisfaction (ESM) of Pick and Andrade (Vera, 2010). It was found that both instruments have validity and reliability. We conclude that the variables correlated significantly and positively, identified as Social Links and Self-realization presented a moderate correlation with Marital Satisfaction; nevertheless, the correlation of Autonomy with Marital Satisfaction was low. It is interpreted  that a greater perception of satisfaction has a positive association with social bonds, and self-realization. / Tesis

Review of life experiences for personal adaptation is a general tendency in older adults. A positive outcome of life review may be an increase in well-being. To test the hypothesis that reminiscence group activity, structured for life review, could increase well-being, a sample of 30 residents in a retirement community was studied, using a quasiexperimental, pretest-posttest design. Research subjects, average age 78 years, were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. All were pre- and post-tested by four instruments: Life Satisfaction Index Form A, Affect Balance Scale, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, and the OARS Activities of Daily Living Scale. Control subjects received testing only. Experimental subjects participated in small reminiscence groups, structured for life review by the Haight Life Review Experiencing Form (LREF). The reminiscence group activity constituted one complex independent variable. Group activity included opportunity to write in private journals about LREF topics, shared voluntarily. Data from the four dependent variables were analyzed separately, using scale score differences. Neither t-tests, nor one-way analysis of variance of differences in relation to frequency of group attendance revealed any statistically significant findings, although posttest scores showed some nonsignificant improvement. / Master of Science

Text in Afrikaans, abstract in Afrikaans and English / The development of leadership potential in adolescents cannot be approached in a haphazard manner. It ought to occur on the basis of a dynamic development model within a structured space. Such a model should not only prepare adolescents for their current leadership role, but also, and more particularly, its very nature should be more career-oriented. The question of what model will strive to equip adolescents with greater entrepreneurially-orientated leadership knowledge, therefore justifiably calls for closer investigation. In this study, an attempt has been made to find a suitable model to meet these needs. With this in mind, a study of the literature on the phenomenon of successful leadership was undertaken. Various relevant aspects that incorporate organisationally-structured management, were also examined. This enabled the researcher to develop a practice-oriented model from a study of the literature. In the implementation of the research design, use was made of qualitative research methods and techniques in order to collect and analyse relevant data. The study entailed 'action research' in which two independant groups were involved. For this purpose, the research results of the second cycle were concentrated on in order to reach findings and draw conclusions, and to make recommendations. This research ultimately revealed that adolescents have a deep need for entrepreneurially-oriented leadership development content. Individual participants also derived significant benefits from the implementation of the model. Owing to the success achieved with this research study, the management team of the school involved has decided to establish a full-time entrepreneurship centre for its pupils. This study can therefore be regarded as a contribution towards meeting the need for similar models in South African schools, in a practical and viable way. / Die ontwikkeling van adolessente se leierspotensiaal is nie iets wat lukraak aangepak kan word nie. Dit behoort aan die hand van 'n dinamiese ontwikkelingsmodel binne 'n gestruktureerde ruimte te geskied. Sodanige model behoort adolessente nie alleen vir hul huidige leierskaprol voor te berei nie, maar behoort in besonder ook 'n meer beroepsgerigte karakter te openbaar. Daar kan dus tereg gevra word hoe die model behoort te lyk wat daarna streef om adolessente met groter entrepreneursgerigte leierskapskennis toe te rus. In hierdie studie is gepoog om vas te stel of 'n geskikte model gevind kan word wat aan bogenoemde behoefte voldoen. Met die oog hierop, is 'n literatuurstudie oor die verskynsel van suksesvolle leierskap onderneem. Daarbenewens is verskeie toepaslike aspekte waarbinne die bestuurswese hom in 'n organisatoriese struktuur vergestalt, ook van nader beskou. Dit het die navorser in staat gestel om 'n praktykgerigte model vanuit 'n literatuurstudie te ontwikkel. Tydens die implementering van die navorsingsontwerp, is van kwalitatiewe navorsingsmetodes en -tegnieke gebruik gemaak om relevante data in te samel en te analiseer. Die studie het voorts die vorm van aksienavorsing aangeneem waarby twee onafhanklike groepe betrek is. Vir die doeleindes is daar op die navorsingsresultate van die tweede siklus gekonsentreer om bevindinge, gevolgtrekkings en aanbevelings te maak. Hierdie navorsing het uiteindelik getoon dat adolessente 'n groot behoefte aan entrepreneursgerigte leierontwikkelingsinhoude toon, terwyl individuele deelnemers baie baat by die implementering van sodanige model gevind het. Op grond van die sukses wat met hierdie navorsingstudie behaal is, het die bestuurspan van die betrokke skool besluit om 'n voltydse entrepreneurskapsentrum vir sy leerlinge tot stand te bring. Hierdie studie kan derhalwe beskou word as 'n bydrae om die behoefte aan soortgelyke modelle in Suid-Afrikaanse skole op 'n prakties-uitvoerbare wyse te vervul. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Sielkundige Opvoedkunde)

M.A. / The search for identity is an important developmental task during adolescence. During this period teenagers also evaluate their physical identity against existing external standards. Evaluation of the body is often done in comparison with the Western norms of beauty. These norms are however not universally attainable and can lead to negative evaluations of the body’s attractiveness, resulting in both negative evaluations of the body and body dissatisfaction, which creates concern due to the link that exists between body dissatisfaction and dieting. Diet behaviour has also been established as an etiological factor in the development of certain eating disorders. On the other hand positive evaluations of the body’s appearance and abilities are associated with higher levels of life-satisfaction. It is therefore necessary to develop interventions that could enhance female adolescents’ body evaluations, body-esteem and possibly also life-satisfaction albeit indirectly. Interventions that focused on more realistic evaluations of the self and attempted to enhance teenage girls’ self-esteem have already been implemented in the USA and Australia, but with mixed results. Existing research within the South African context that focus on female adolescents’ body evaluations, body-esteem and life-satisfaction are also limited and no studies could be found that investigated all three facets. The aims of this study were to develop and evaluate a psychosocial training programme (PTP), to enhance female adolescents’ body evaluations, body-esteem and life-satisfaction. A group of adolesscent girls (experimental group)(n = 39) participated in the PTP, while the control group (n = 33) looked at magazine photos and then answered questions about these photos. Both groups completed the following measurement scales before and after the completion of the PTP: Body evaluations (Body-Image Self-evaluation Colouring Lens, BISCL) (Gusella, Clark & van Roosmalen, 2003), body-esteem (Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults, BES) vi (Mendelson, White & Mendelson, 1996) and life-sattisfaction (Satisfaction with Life Scale,SWLS) (Diener, Emmons, Larson & Griffen, 1985). Firstly the experimental group’s mean averages on all measuring instruments were calculated before and after the completion of the PTP then compared to get an indication of the significance of differences in mean scores within the group. The programme resulted in statistically meaningful changes on al three the measured fascets. After the PTP the body evaluations of participants in the experimental group were less negative towards the form and function of their bodies (BISCL-v (p= .00) and BISCL-f (p= .00). The change in mean scores on the BES full scale (p= .003) and the subscales appearance (p= .01), attribution (p= .03) and weight (p= .00) indicated that evaluation of body- esteem was also more positive. Participants’ life-satisfaction was significantly higher after they participated in the PTP (p= .03). Effects sizes for the significance of difference in mean scores were also calculated, yielding a large effect on effect body evaluation (0.19 tot 0.20), a medium to large effect on body-esteem (0.12 tot 0.20) and medium effect on life satisfaction (0.11). These effect sizes suggest that the results also have practical significance. Secondly the mean scores of the experimental and control groups prior to and after the PTP were compared. No statistically meaningful difference was noted between the mean values of these two groups in terms of body evaluations, body-esteem or life- satisfaction. This is possibly due to the small sample size and variables such as age and ethnicity. In conclusion the psychosocial training programme shows promise as an intervention to enhance female adolescents’ body evaluations, body-esteem and life-satisfaction.

The novel is one means by which writers can provide examples of the possibilities for women in patriarchal societies to seek greater independence. Sabina Berman (1955- ) and Silvia Molina (1946- ) are modern day Mexican novelists whose writings support the betterment of the female condition in this Latin American society. This study focuses on these two authors and describes and analyzes several of their female protagonists who can be characterized as being in search of their self-identity and self-realization. The novels of interest are La Bobe (2006) and La Mujer que Buceó Dentro del Corazón del Mundo (2010) by Sabina Berman and La Mañana Debe Seguir Gris (1977) and El Amor Que Me Juraste (1998) by Silvia Molina. The theoretical framework used to analyze these novels is based on The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir and on the writings of the Mexican author Rosario Castellanos. These novels provide examples of how women can challenge patriarchal social norms in order to seek their identity as an individual and their self-realization. However, to do this, women must be willing to accept the risks and costs that may accompany this self-searching. By seeking identity women can satisfy their longings and desires, but at the same time this may also produce undesired results. Nevertheless, these novels show that women have the ability to seek their personal identity if they take the initiative to do so.

<p>“What characterizes an acceptable theory of self-realization?” The thrust of the present dissertation is towards seeking an answer to this central problem, which stems from the fundamental human experience that life involves change, and that in a modern society such change is often expected to be towards a realization of potentials and the good life for the individual. </p><p>The dissertation has a three-fold purpose. The first is to clarify the content of five modern theories of self-realization from three academic fields. The theories are those of the psychologist Abraham H. Maslow, the philosophers Charles Taylor and Alan Gewirth, and the theologians Reinhold Niebuhr and Bernard Lonergan. These are methodologically studied by the help of seven analytical questions. The second purpose is to perform a lengthwise comparatative analysis of the five theories, the results of which lead to the third; namely to critically discuss several elements of the reality of human life which have proven to be missing or supressed in much of the material.</p><p>The theoretical framework for the dissertation runs along two axes: one concerns what is developed as a distinction between internalism and relationalism, and the other is to cast a critical light on the lack of attention paid by the the theories of self-realization to experiences which run counter to optimistic ideas of individual development, such as death, loss and dependence. </p><p>The dissertation concludes with an outline for a constructive position based on the necessity of a theory’s closeness to experience, and on the need for reconcilitation of what may seem to be unabridgeble in human life. A theory of self-realization must do more than formulate positive conditions for change. It must also take into consideration conditions that are not directly related to, and sometimes even run contrary to, realization of the self.</p>