Search results for: feelings

Authors: Rashima Mahajan, Dipali Bansal, Shweta Singh

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Real time non-invasive Brain Computer Interfaces have a significant progressive role in restoring or maintaining a quality life for medically challenged people. This manuscript provides a comprehensive review of emerging research in the field of cognitive/affective computing in context of human neural responses. The perspectives of different emotion assessment modalities like face expressions, speech, text, gestures, and human physiological responses have also been discussed. Focus has been paid to explore the ability of EEG (Electroencephalogram) signals to portray thoughts, feelings, and unspoken words. An automated workflow-based protocol to design an EEG-based real time Brain Computer Interface system for analysis and classification of human emotions elicited by external audio/visual stimuli has been proposed. The front end hardware includes a cost effective and portable Emotive EEG Neuroheadset unit, a personal computer and a set of external stimulators. Primary signal analysis and processing of real time acquired EEG shall be performed using MATLAB based advanced brain mapping toolbox EEGLab/BCILab. This shall be followed by the development of MATLAB based self-defined algorithm to capture and characterize temporal and spectral variations in EEG under emotional stimulations. The extracted hybrid feature set shall be used to classify emotional states using artificial intelligence tools like Artificial Neural Network. The final system would result in an inexpensive, portable and more intuitive Brain Computer Interface in real time scenario to control prosthetic devices by translating different brain states into operative control signals.

Keywords: brain computer interface, electroencephalogram, EEGLab, BCILab, emotive, emotions, interval features, spectral features, artificial neural network, control applications

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Authors: L. Bernabeo, T. Loftus

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Many children often experience phases of picky eating, food aversions and/or avoidance. For families with children who have special needs, these experiences are often exacerbated, which can lead to feelings that negatively impact a caregiver’s relationship with their child. Within the scope of speech language pathology practice, knowledge of both emotional and feeding development is key. This paper will explore the significance of “messy play” within typical feeding development, and the challenges that may arise if a child does not have the opportunity to engage in this type of exploratory play. This paper will consider several contributing factors that can result in a “picky eater.” Further, research has shown that individuals with special needs, including autism, possess a neurological makeup that differs from that of a typical individual. Because autism is a disorder of relating and communicating due to differences in the limbic system, an individual with special needs may respond to a typical feeding experience as if it is a traumatic event. As a result, broadening one’s dietary repertoire may seem to be an insurmountable challenge. This paper suggests that introducing new foods through exploratory play can help broaden and strengthen diets, as well as improve the feeding experience, of individuals with autism. The DIRFloortimeⓇ methodology stresses the importance of following a child's lead. Within this developmental model, there is a special focus on a person’s individual differences, including the unique way they process the world around them, as well as the significance of therapy occurring within the context of a strong and motivating relationship. Using this child-centered approach, we can support our children in expanding their diets, while simultaneously building upon their cognitive and creative development through playful and respectful interactions that include exposure to foods that differ in color, texture, and smell. Further, this paper explores the importance of exploration, self-feeding and messy play on brain development, both in the context of typically developing individuals and those with disordered development.

Keywords: development, feeding, floortime, sensory

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Authors: Jorn Fricke, Frans Melissen

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Citizens in urban areas are prone to increased levels of stress due to urbanization, inadequate and overburdened infrastructure and services, and environmental degradation. Moreover, communities are fragile and subject to shocks and stresses through various social and political processes. A loss of (a sense of) community is often seen as related to increasing political and civic disintegration. Feelings of community can manifest themselves in various ways but underlying all these manifestations is the need for trust between people. One of the main drivers of trust between individuals is (shared) experiences. It is these shared experiences that may play an important role in building resilience, i.e., the ability of a community and its members to adapt to and deal with stresses, as well as ensure the ongoing development of a community. So far, experience design, as a discipline and academic field, has mainly focused on designing products or services. However, people-to-people experiences are the ones that play a pivotal role in building inclusiveness, safety, and resilience in communities. These experiences represent challenging objects of design as they develop in an interactive space of spontaneity, serendipity, and uniqueness that is based on intuition, freedom of expression, and interaction. Therefore, there is a need for research to identify which elements are required in designing the social and physical environment (or ‘experience scape’) to increase the chance for people-to-people experiences to be successful and what elements are required for these experiences to help in building resilience in urban communities that can resist shocks and stresses. By means of a comparative case study approach in urban areas in Germany and the Netherlands, using a range of qualitative research methods such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, participant observation, storytelling techniques, and life stories, this research identifies relevant actors and their roles in creating building blocks of optimal experience scrapes for building resilience in communities.

Keywords: community development, experiences, experience scapes, resilience

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Authors: Sandra Baez, Mariana Pino, Mildred Berrio, Hernando Santamaria-Garcia, Lucas Sedeno, Adolfo Garcia, Sol Fittipaldi, Agustin Ibanez

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Schadenfreude refers to the perceiver’s experience of pleasure at another’s misfortune. This is a multidetermined emotion which can be evoked by hostile feelings and envy. The experience of Schadenfreude engages mechanisms implicated in diverse social cognitive processes. For instance, Schadenfreude involves heightened reward processing, accompanied by increased striatal engagement and it interacts with mentalizing and perspective-taking abilities. Patients with Huntington's disease (HD) exhibit reductions of Schadenfreude experience, suggesting a role of striatal degeneration in such an impairment. However, no study has directly assessed the relationship between regional brain atrophy in HD and reduced Schadenfreude. This study investigated whether gray matter (GM) atrophy in HD patients correlates with ratings of Schadenfreude. First, we compared the performance of 20 HD patients and 23 controls on an experimental task designed to trigger Schadenfreude and envy (another social emotion acting as a control condition). Second, we compared GM volume between groups. Third, we examined brain regions where atrophy might be associated with specific impairments in the patients. Results showed that while both groups showed similar ratings of envy, HD patients reported lower Schadenfreude. The latter pattern was related to atrophy in regions of the reward system (ventral striatum) and the mentalizing network (precuneus and superior parietal lobule). Our results shed light on the intertwining of reward and socioemotional processes in Schadenfreude, while offering novel evidence about their neural correlates. In addition, our results open the door to future studies investigating social emotion processing in other clinical populations characterized by striatal or mentalizing network impairments (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders).

Keywords: envy, Gray matter atrophy, Huntigton's disease, Schadenfreude, social emotions

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Authors: Ahn Christine Myunghee, Sim Wonjin, Cho Kristina, Ahn Mira, Hong Yeju, Kwok Jihae, Lim Sooyeon, Park Hansol

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With a sharp increase in the prevalence rate for mental health issues in Korea, there is a need for specific and effective intervention strategies in counseling and psychotherapy for use with Korean clients. With the cultural emphasis on restraining emotional expression and not disclosing personal and familial problems to outsiders, clients often find it difficult to discuss their emotional issues even to therapists. Exploring a client’s internal psychological processes bypassing this culture-specific mode of therapeutic communication often becomes a challenge in the therapeutic setting. Given this socio-cultural context, the purpose of the current study was to investigate the effectiveness of using dream work to individuals in Korea. The current study conducted one 60-90 minute dream session and analyzed the dream content of 39 Korean young adults to evaluate the effectiveness of the Hill dream model in accessing the intra-psychic materials, determining essential emotional themes, and learning how the individuals interpreted the contents of their dreams. The transcribed data, which included a total of 39 sessions from 39 volunteer university students, were analyzed by the Consensus Qualitative Research (CQR) approach in terms of domains and core ideas. Self-report measures on Dream Salience, Gains from Dream Interpretations and the Session Evaluation Scale were administered before and after each of their dream sessions. The results indicated that dream work appears to be an effective way to understand unconscious motivations, thoughts, and feelings related to a person’s sense of self, and also how these people relate to other people. Current findings need to be replicated with clients referred for counseling and psychotherapy to determine if the dream work is an appropriate and useful intervention in counseling settings. Limitations of the current study and suggestions for future follow-ups are included in the discussion.

Keywords: dream work, dream interpretation, Korean, young adults, CQR

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Authors: Yulin Zhang, Kaixi Dong, Guozhen Zhao

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Background: Different levels of life satisfaction are associated with some individual differences. Understanding the mechanism between them will help to enhance an individual’s well-being. On the one hand, traditional personality such as extraversion has been considered as the most stable and effective factor in predicting life satisfaction to the author’s best knowledge. On the other, individual emotional difference, such as alexithymia (difficulties identifying and describing one’s own feelings), is also closely related to life satisfaction. With the development of positive psychology, positive personalities such as virtues attract wide attention. And according to the broaden-and-build theory, social connectivity may mediate between emotion and life satisfaction. Therefore, the current study aims to explore the mediating role of social connectivity in the effect of positive personality and alexithymia on life satisfaction. Method: This study was conducted with 318 healthy Chinese college students whose age range from 18 to 30. Positive personality (including interpersonal, vitality, and cautiousness) was measured by the Chinese version of Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS). Alexithymia was measured by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), and life satisfaction was measured by Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). And social connectivity was measured by six items which have been used in previous studies. Each scale showed high reliability and validity. The mediating model was examined in Mplus 7.2 within a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework. Findings: The model fitted well and results revealed that both positive personality (95% confidence interval of indirect effect was [0.023, 0.097]) and alexithymia (95% confidence interval of indirect effect was [-0.270, -0.089]) predicted life satisfaction level significantly through social connectivity. Also, only positive personality significantly and directly predicted life satisfaction compared to alexithymia (95% confidence interval of direct effect was [0.109, 0.260]). Conclusion: Alexithymia predicts life satisfaction only through social connectivity, which emphasizes the importance of social bonding in enhancing the well-being of Chinese college students with alexithymia. And the positive personality can predict life satisfaction directly or through social connectivity, which provides implications for enhancing the well-being of Chinese college students by cultivating their virtue and positive psychological quality.

Keywords: alexithymia, life satisfaction, positive personality, social connectivity

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Authors: Karina Lõbus, Silver Muld, Kadri Kööp, Mare Tupits

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Aim: The aim of the research is to describe the experiences and needs of fathers’ of children with cancer in coping with the child's disease. Background: Today, about 80% of children diagnosed with malignancy in developed countries survive. Despite the positive statistics, recovery is not always certain, treatment is often very intensive and long-term. Cancer is affecting an increasing number of the population, which is increasing the demand for quality care, but the nature of expected care is currently unclear. This topic is important for the development of professional practice, as nurses complain that their knowledge to deal with the relatives of a patient with a difficult diagnosis is limited and would therefore like additional information to deal with the situation. Design: Qualitative, empirical, descriptive research. Method: The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed by inductive content analysis method. Interviews were conducted during Autumn 2020. 4 subjects participated in the research. Results and Conclusions: The thesis revealed that fathers had different experiences and needs in dealing with the child's illness. Fathers' experiences of coping with child's diseases encompassed experiences with information, social relationships, healthcare, changes in personal health and experiences regarding the child. Regarding information, the respondents pointed out bad experiences with the availability of information and the ability to convey the necessary information. Experiences regarding social relationships included experiences with relatives and strangers. Regarding healthcare, fathers mentioned experiences related to the child's health and healthcare professionals. In regards to personal health, fathers pointed out negative changes in their mental and physical health. In relation to the child, the subjects revealed experiences regarding changed values, way of life and raising the child. According to the research, fathers’ needs in relation to dealing with child's cancer included material, social, and spiritual needs. In regard to material needs, fathers pointed out the need for state assistance and the needs related to the surrounding environment. The needs concerning social belonging involved needs for a driving force and involvement in the treatment process. Regarding spiritual needs, fathers expressed mixed feelings towards the need for outside and professional help.

Keywords: father, coping, cancer, child, experience, need

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Authors: Andrew Shugyo Daijo Bonnici

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Core-Self Intelligence (CSI) is an absolutely still, non-verbal, non-cerebral intelligence. Our still core-self intelligence is felt at our body's center point of gravity, just an inch below our navel, deep within our lower abdomen. The still sub-quantum depth of core-Self remains untouched by the conditioning influences of family, society, culture, religion, and spiritual views that shape our personalities and ego-self identities. As core-Self intelligence is inborn and unconditioned, it exists within all human beings regardless of age, race, color, creed, mental acuity, or national origin. Our core-self intelligence functions as a wise and compassionate guide that advances our health and well-being, our mental clarity and emotional resiliency, our fearless peace and behavioral wisdom, and our ever-deepening compassion for self and others. Although our core-Self, with its absolutely still non-judgmental intelligence, operates far beneath the functioning of our ego-self identity and our thinking mind, it effectively coexists with our passing thoughts, all of our figuring and thinking, our logical and rational way of knowing, the ebb and flow of our feelings, and the natural or triggered emergence of our emotions. When we allow our whole inner somatic awareness to gently sink into the intelligent center point of gravity within our lower abdomen, the felt arising of our core- Self’s inborn stillness has a serene and relaxing effect on our ego-self and thinking mind. It naturally slows down the speedy passage of our involuntary thoughts, diminishes our ego-self's defensive and reactive functioning, and decreases narcissistic reflections on I, me, and mine. All of these healthy cognitive benefits advance our innate wisdom and compassion, facilitate our personal and interpersonal growth, and liberate the ever-fresh wonder and curiosity of our beginner's heartmind. In conclusion, by studying, exploring, and researching our core-Self intelligence, psychologists and psychotherapists can unlock new avenues for advancing the farther reaches of our mental, emotional, and spiritual health and well-being, our innate behavioral wisdom and boundless empathy, our lucid compassion for self and others, and our unwavering confidence in the still guiding light of our core-Self that exists at the abdominal center point of all human beings.

Keywords: intelligence, transpersonal, beginner’s heartmind, compassionate wisdom

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Authors: Musa Alghamdi

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Although Saudi students’ motivation to learn English language as a foreign language in Saudi Arabia have been investigated by a number of studies; these have appeared almost completely as using the quantitative research paradigm. There is a significant lack of research that explores the Saudi students’ motivation using qualitative methods. It was essential, as an investigator, to be immersed in the community to understand the individuals under study via their actions and words, their thoughts, views and beliefs, and how those individuals credited to activities. Thus, the study aims to explore the Saudi students’ motivation to learn English language as a foreign language in Saudi Arabia employing qualitative methodology via applying ethnography. The study will be carried out in Saudi Arabia. Ethnography qualitative approach will be used in the current study by employing formal and informal interview instruments. Gardner’s motivation theory is used as frameworks for this study to aid the understanding of the research findings. The author, an English language lecturer, will undertake participant observations for 4 months. He will work as teaching-assistant (on an unpaid basis) with EFL lecturers in different discipline department at a Saudi university where students study English language as a minor course. The researcher will start with informal ethnographical interview with students during his existence with the informants in their natural context. Then the researcher will utilize the semi-structural interview. The informal interview will be with 14-16 students, then, he will carry out semi-structural interview with the same informants to go deep in their natural context to find out to what extent the Saudi university students are motivated to learn English as a foreign language. As well as, to find out the reasons that played roles in that. The findings of this study will add new knowledge about what factors motivate universities’ Saudi students to learn English language in Saudi Arabia. Very few chances have given to students to express themselves and to speak about their feelings in a more comfortable way in order to gain a clear image of those factors. The working author as an EFL teacher and lecturer will provide him secure access into EFL teaching and learning setting. It will help him attain richer insights into the nature EFL context in universities what will provide him with richer insights into the reasons behind the weakness of EFL level among Saudi students.

Keywords: motivation, ethnography, Saudi, language

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Authors: Emni Omar Daw Hussin, Pathmawathi Subramanian, Wong Li Ping

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Background: To provide quality care at the end of life, nurses should possess knowledge and skills to provide effective end-of-life care, as well as develop the attitudes and interpersonal competence to provide compassionate care. Aim: This study aimed to assess nurses’ knowledge and attitude towards end of life care and caring for terminal ill patients and to examine relationships among demographic variables and nurse’s knowledge and attitudes toward end of life care and caring for terminal ill patients. Method: a cross-sectional study was conducted at 1 tertiary hospital located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Self-administrative questionnaire was used to collect data from 553 nurses from over all departments except emergency department, operation theater and outpatient clinic. Two tools were used in this study, the Frommelt’s Attitude Toward Care of the Dying (FATCOD) Scale to assess the nurses’ attitude and End of Life Knowledge Assessment to assess the nurses’ knowledge. Result: the result of this study yielded that, the majority of participants (54.8%) and (54.4%) have less positive attitude and knowledge towards end of life care and caring for terminal ill patients respectively. As well as there is no significant relationship were found between nurses’ ethnicity, religion, and the total score of FATCOD scale; End of Life Knowledge Assessment score. On other hand there is significant relationship among nurses’ age, working experience, level of education, attending any post basic courses and the total score of both FATCOD scale and End of Life Knowledge Assessment. Conclusion: A lack of education and experience and post basic course about end of life care and palliative care may contribute to the negative attitudes and poor knowledge regarding end of life care. Providing sufficient courses about end of life care could enhance the nurses’ knowledge towards end of life care, as well as providing a reflective narrative environment in which nurses can express their personal feelings about death and dying could be a potentially effective approach. Implication for Practice: This study elaborates the need for further research to develop an effective educational programs to enhance nurses’ knowledge and to promote positive attitude towards death and dying, as well as enhance communication skills, and coping strategies.

Keywords: knowledge, attitude, nurse, end of life care

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Authors: Salima Kerai, Muhammad Islam, Uzma Khan, Nargis Asad, Junaid Razzak, Omrana Pasha

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Background: Pre-hospital care providers are exposed to various kinds of stressors. Their daily exposure to diverse critical and traumatic incidents can lead to stress reactions like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Consequences of PTSD in terms of work loss can be catastrophic because of its compound effect on families, which affect them economically, socially and emotionally. Therefore, it is critical to assess the association between PTSD and Work performance in Emergency Medical Service (EMS) if exist any. Methods: This prospective observational study was carried out at AMAN EMS in Karachi, Pakistan. EMS personnel were screened for potential PTSD using impact of event scale-revised (IES-R). Work performance was assessed on basis of five variables; number of late arrivals to work, number of days absent, number of days sick, adherence to protocol and patient satisfaction survey over the period of 3 months. In order to model outcomes like number of late arrivals to work, days absent and days late; negative binomial regression was used whereas logistic regression was applied for adherence to protocol and linear for patient satisfaction scores. Results: Out of 536 EMS personnel, 525 were found to be eligible, of them 518 consented. However data on 507 were included because 7 left the job during study period. The mean score of PTSD was found to be 24.0 ± 12.2. However, weak and insignificant association was found between PTSD and work performance measures: number of late arrivals (RRadj 0.99; 95% CI 0.98-1.00), days absent (RRadj 0.98; 95% CI 0.96-0.99), days sick (Rradj 0.99; 95% CI 0.98 to 1.00), adherence to protocol (ORadj 1.01: 95% CI 0.99 to 1.04) and patient satisfaction (0.001% score; 95% CI -0.03% to 0.03%). Conclusion: No association was found between PTSD and Work performance in the selected EMS population in Karachi Pakistan. Further studies are needed to explore the phenomenon of resiliency in these populations. Moreover, qualitative work is required to explore perceptions and feelings like willingness to go to work, readiness to carry out job responsibilities.

Keywords: trauma, emergency medical service, stress, pakistan

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Authors: Kamila Irena Szpunar

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The central idea of the study is considered from two perspectives. The first perspective includes the interpersonal relationships formed by coach and athlete. Another perspective is connected with motivational environment which is created by the coach in team. This study will show the interplay between the perceived motivational climate created by the coach and the interpersonal dynamics between coaches and athletes. It is important because it will supply knowledge of the interpersonal conditions that can foster adaptive or maladaptive behavior in sport conditions. It also ensures implications for understanding how the perceived motivational atmosphere in a team is manifested at the level of coach – athlete relationship and interactions. The primary purpose of the study was to identify the association between coach-athlete relationship and athletes' perception of the motivational climate in team sports. The secondary purposes examined the differences between female and male athletes in perceiving of the motivational climate and the coach athlete-relationship. To check coach-athlete relationship Polish translation of The Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire will be used. It measures athletes' perceptions of coach- athlete relationship defined by 3+1 Cs conceptual model of the coach-athlete relationship. From this model were used three constructs such as closeness (feelings of trust, respect etc.), commitment (thoughts about the future of the relationship), and complementarity (co-operative interactions during practice sessions). To check perceived motivational climate will be used Polish translation of The Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire-2 (PMCSQ-2). PMCSQ-2 was created to assess athletes' perceptions of the motivational climates in their teams. The questionnaire includes two general dimensions, the perceived task-involving climate and the perceived ego-involving climate; each contains three subscales. To check the associations between elements the motivational climate and coach-athlete relationship was used canonical correlation analysis. Student's t-test was used to check gender differences in athletes' perceptions of the motivational climate and the coach-athlete relationship. The findings suggest that in Polish athletes' perceptions of the coach-athlete relationship have motivational significance and that there are gender differences between female and male athletes in both variables – coach-athlete relationship and kind of motivational climate. According to the author's knowledge, such kind of study has not been conducted in Polish conditions before and is the first study on the subject of the motivational climate and the coach-athlete relationship in Poland. Information from this study can be useful for the development of interventions for enhancing the quality of coach- athlete relationship and its associated outcomes connected with motivational climate.

Keywords: coach-athlete relationship, ego-involving climate, motivational climate, task-involving climate

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Authors: Bahor Bahriddinovna Turaeva

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The article provides a structural analysis of the titles of the famous Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov’s creative works “The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years”, “Doomsday”. The author’s creative purpose in naming the work of art, the role of the elements of the plot, and the composition of the novels in revealing the essence of the title are explained. The criteria that are important in naming the author’s works in different genres are classified, and the titles that mean artistic time and artistic space are studied separately. Chronotope is being concerned as the literary-aesthetic category in world literary studies, expressing the scope of the universe interpretation, the author’s outlook and imagination regarding the world foundation, defining personages, and the composition means of expressing the sequence and duration of the events. A creative comprehension of the chronotope as a means of arranging the work composition, structure and constructing an epic field of the text demands a special approach to understanding the aesthetic character of the work. Since the chronotope includes all the elements of a fictional work, it is impossible to present the plot, composition, conflict, system of characters, feelings, and mood of the characters without the description of the chronotope. In the following development of the scientific-theoretical thought in the world, the chronotope is accepted to be one of the poetic means to demonstrate reality as well as to be a literary process that is basic for the expression of reality in the compositional construction and illustration of the plot relying on the writer’s intention and the ideological conception of the literary work. Literary time enables one to cognate the literary world picture created by the author in terms of the descriptive subject and object of the work. Therefore, one of the topical tasks of modern Uzbek literary studies is to describe historical evidence, event, the life of outstanding people, the chronology of the near past based on the literary time; on the example of the creative works of a certain period, creators or an individual writer are analyzed in separate or comparative-typological aspect.

Keywords: novel, title, chronotope, motive, epigraph, analepsis, structural analysis, plot line, composition

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Authors: Florence Matsveru

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The 21st-century church in Africa is faced with a myriad of challenges, which need attention. One of those challenges is pastoral ministry to congregants in high positions. This paper is based on a Ph.D. study entitled, ‘Wellbeing and work performance of Christians in managerial positions: A Namibian case study’ conducted between 2015 and 2018. The study was conducted with 32 purposively selected Christians working in managerial positions in Ohangwena Region, Namibia. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, i.e., both qualitative (to get participants’ feelings and perceptions) and quantitative (to get proportions of the experiences and perceptions). The research process involved a questionnaire survey and interviews. The study revealed that Christians in managerial positions have both common and unique experiences in three spheres: the workplace, the family and the church. The experiences lead to physical, emotional, psychological, social and spiritual needs. The findings also showed that some of the expectations placed upon Christians in managerial positions in the church may be unrealistic, while at the same time this group of congregants want to use their work experiences for the benefit of the church. A worrying finding was that pastors are generally not well-trained for ministry to congregants in high positions. Since these were perceptions of the participants (some of whom were also pastors), the researcher went further to do a short internet survey of the curricula of a number of theological colleges in Southern Africa. This survey did not show any ‘manager-sensitive’ modules in the surveyed colleges. Theological education for pastors, especially in African theological institutions, seems to ignore the unique needs of congregants in high positions. This paper argues that the needs of Christians in high positions should be considered in pastoral care and that theological education is key in equipping pastors with the necessary knowledge and skills. This paper is, therefore, a call to theological institutions to include ministry to people in high positions in their curricula. Pastors who are already beyond theological school may find it helpful to attend or hold workshops that focus on congregants in high positions so that this kind of 'sheep' will find good pasture in the church. A paper of this nature helps to strengthen pastoral ministry and to enhance the relevance of theological education.

Keywords: Christian managers, theological curricula, pastoral care, African

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Authors: Carmen Nechita

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This research explores the world of Syrian refugee women living in Dresden and their efforts to reconstruct their lives in the state of Saxony in Germany. The focus is on the initial period of adjustment and understanding how refugee women use culture, family ties, and tradition to contest and rebuild new relationships with the host country. Faced with a new status as “the refugee”, women have to re-imagine their ethno-cultural identity in order to cope with life in Diaspora. In order to understand the coping mechanism and the displacement effects on Syrian women, interviews with twelve refugee women were conducted. Traumatic experiences of loss and oppression are at the core of their confessions. While gender violence, abuse and patriarchal framework shape their narratives, this research argues that there is a need to look at this from a cultural perspective and try to distance ourselves from the western paradigm. The way Syrian women refute and rebuild their national and ethno-cultural identity in order to negotiate for themselves new space within German borders is explored. Two discourses are bridged: one of multiculturalism and one of tradition in order to explain how Syrian women experience western notions of family, womanhood and spousal dynamics. The process is painful, traumatic and marked by feelings of low self-worth, but in the end, new codes emerge and these women come out more empowered. The paper includes the migration experience and explores the ways in which Syrian refugee women tend to tell their complex stories, and how they reconstruct their identity in a new territory while faced with a different culture that discriminates against them. During the research, four distinct phases in the acculturation period were identified: “the survival”, “the honeymoon period”, “the isolation period” and “the anger period”. Each phase is analyzed in order to understand what triggers them, how women migrate from one phase to another and what can be done to make the process easier. This paper contributes to the field of refugee studies by offering a thorough understanding of the initial phases of the acculturation process in the case of Syrian refugee women. The study examines the fleeing and settlement experience in order to understand the complex ways that refugee women cope with the traumatic experience of settlement in another country and in a different culture. *Almanya: The Arabic word for Germany.

Keywords: displacement, migration, refugee women, Syria

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Authors: Payton Small

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In response to increasing demographic diversity, many U.S. organizations have implemented diversity initiatives to increase the representation of women and ethnic minorities. While these initiatives aim to promote more fair and positive outcomes for underrepresented minorities (URMs) widespread backlash against these policies can negatively impact the groups of individuals that are supposed to be supported by them. A recent theory-based analysis of best practices for instituting diversity policies proposes an "inclusion for all" approach that negotiates the oft-divergent goals and motivations of both marginalized and dominant group members in these contexts. Empirical work finds that "inclusion for all" strategies decrease White's tendency to implicitly associate diversity with exclusion and increased their personal endorsement of diversity initiatives. Similarly, Whites report higher belongingness when considering an inclusion for all approach to diversity versus a colorblind approach. While inclusion-for-all approaches may effectively increase Whites' responsiveness to diversity efforts, the downstream consequences of implementing these policies on URM's have yet to be explored. The current research investigated how inclusion-for-all diversity framing influences Whites' sensitivity to detecting discrimination against URM's as well as perceptions of reverse discrimination against Whites. Lastly, the current research looked at how URM's respond to inclusion-for-all diversity approaches. Three studies investigated the impact of inclusion-for-all diversity framing on perceptions of discrimination against Whites and URM's in a company setting. Two separate mechanisms by which exposure to an inclusion-for-all diversity statement might differentially influence perceptions of discrimination for URMs and Whites were also tested. In Studies 1 and 2, exposure to an inclusion-for-all diversity approach reduced Whites' concerns about reverse discrimination and heightened sensitivity to detecting discrimination against URM's. These effects were mediated by decreased concerns about zero-sum outcomes at the company. Study 3 found that racial minorities are concerned about increased discrimination at a company with an inclusion-for-all diversity statement and that this effect is mediated by decreased feelings of belonging at the company. In sum, companies that adopt an inclusion-for-all approach to diversity implementation reduce Whites' backlash and the negative downstream consequences associated with such backlash; however, racial minorities feel excluded and expect heightened experiences of discrimination at these same companies.

Keywords: diversity, intergroup relations, organizational social psychology, zero-sum

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Authors: Nicole Scott, Emily Dwyer, Cara Patrissy, Samantha Bonventre, Lina Begdache

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Across North America, the use and abuse of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) medication, cannabis, nicotine, and other psychoactive substances across college campuses have become an increasingly prevalent problem. Students frequently use these substances to aid their studying or deal with their mental health issues. However, it is still unknown what psychoactive substances are likely to be abused when college students illicitly use ADHD medication. In addition, it is not clear which psychoactive substance is associated with mental distress. Thus, the purpose of this study is to fill these gaps by assessing the use of different psychoactive substances when illicit ADHD medication is used; and how this association relates to mental stress. A total of 702 undergraduate students from different college campuses in the U.S. completed an anonymous survey distributed online. Data were self-reported on demographics, the use of ADHD medications, cannabis, nicotine, other psychoactive drugs, and mental distress, and feelings and opinions on the use of illicit study drugs were all included in the survey. Mental distress was assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress 6 Scale. Data were analyzed in SPSS, Version 25.0, using Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient. Our results show that use of ADHD medication, cannabis use (non-frequent and very frequent), and nicotine use (non-frequent and very frequent), there were both statistically significant positive and negative correlations to specific psychoactive substances and their corresponding frequencies. Along the same lines, ADHD medication, cannabis use (non-frequent and very frequent), and nicotine use (non-frequent and very frequent) had statistically significant positive and negative correlations to specific mental distress experiences. As these findings are combined, a vicious loop can initiate a cycle where individuals who abuse psychoactive substances may or may not be inclined to use other psychoactive substances. This may later inhibit brain functions in those main areas of the brain stem, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex where this vicious cycle may or may not impact their mental distress. Addressing the impact of study drug abuse and its potential to be associated with further substance abuse may provide an educational framework and support proactive approaches to promote awareness among college students.

Keywords: stimulant, depressant, nicotine, ADHD medication, psychoactive substances, mental health, illicit, ecstasy, adrenochrome

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Authors: Sonja Gedde

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Collective effervescence, a sociological concept coined by Emile Durkheim, has gained traction in recent literature, particularly when evaluating post-pandemic social interactions. Referring to the affective arousal experienced by members of a group engaged in a shared purpose, it describes the feelings of energy, synchrony, and the somatic responses made possible when an individual moves literally or metaphorically alongside others in a mutually satisfying endeavor. In the field of Education, professional learning meetings serve as an example of instances where groups of educators join in cadence, moving toward a common intellectual goal. However, educators often experience reservation toward professional development, citing it may lack effectiveness. Rather than supporting emotional closeness and building rapport, school-based professional learning may become a dreaded or obligatory experience. This study seeks to equip educational leaders with the tools necessary to shift professional learning efficacy by utilizing principles of collective effervescence as a framework. Through this study, a grounded theory approach spanning a nine-month period was engaged with a secondary school teaching staff of approximately 130 teachers. Experiences with and attitudes toward professional learning were gauged through observation, surveys, interviews, and a review of school communications. The data revealed five hallmarks of collective effervescence, which introduce potential parallel equivalents related to professional learning. Following this revelation, a concerted shift in the design and implementation of professional learning was undertaken and again tracked through observation, survey, and interviews. The co-regulation experienced by staff after the program revision reinforced a sense of connection and inspiration that had long been absent, which, in turn, generated a collection of positive somatic and affective responses described as “palpable.” By encouraging educational leaders to predicate professional learning programs in the hallmarks of collective effervescence, the value of professional learning is underscored, leading to improved teaching practices, enhanced student learning outcomes, and increased job satisfaction.

Keywords: andragogy, emotional contagion, initiative fatigue, joy, professional learning, shared experience, social integration, transcendence of self

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Authors: Johnson-Egemba Helen Amaka

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Music is emotional in the sense that it controls people’s feelings. The way and manner people react to music at a point in time depend on the type of music that is playing. Music can make someone to march or dance, to cry or laugh, to be happy or sad, to fight or make peace and so on. It therefore makes someone o exhibit some kind of behaviours, either positive or negative. Even dangerous animals have been found to be controlled by music. In the psychiatric homes, mad people are always found to be dancing to music. During funeral ceremony, music singing and dancing are sources of comfort to the bereaved. As a background to the study, Tarok ethnic group in Plateau State was used. The Tarok comprise of Langtang North and South Local Government Areas. The ethnic group of Tarok integrates music in almost all the activities of their lives. A total of six (6) types of folk songs were identified. These songs range from marriages, funeral, royalty, togetherness, war, rituals, festivals, and farming. This paper points out the significance of basic responsiveness of the Tarok people towards the folk songs, their reaction generally whether positive or negative. The methods of data collection employed in this work include oral interview approach, recording of various types of Tarok folk songs, consulting of journals, magazines and textbooks. The researcher used oral interview as her primary source of information which is found to be the most effective procedure in carrying out this task. The songs were textually analyzed with a view to unveiling their meanings, thought processes, and conveying their direction and functions within the context of their rendition. The major findings of the study are that music in Tarok culture covers the physical, mental, emotional and social experiences. The physical aspect is the motor skills, which include dancing and demonstration of the songs. The mental experiences are intellectual levels which include construction and manufacturing of musical instruments, composing songs, teaching and learning etc. Furthermore, this research provided in addition to musical activities, the literature, history and culture of the Tarok communities.

Keywords: cultural, music, practice, responsiveness

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Authors: Kym Drady

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This paper considers whether creativity is the missing link which would allow the evolution of organisational behaviour and profitability if it was ‘released’. It suggests that although many organisations try to engage their workforce and expect innovation they fail to provide the means for its achievement. The paper suggests that creative thinking is the ‘glue’ which links organisational performance to profitability. A key role of a university today, is to produce skilled and capable graduates. Increasing competition and internationalisation has meant that the employability agenda has never been more prominent within the field of education. As such it should be a key consideration when designing and developing a curriculum. It has been suggested that creativity is a valuable personal skill and perhaps should be the focus of an organisations business strategy in order for them to increase their competitive advantage in the twenty first century. Flexible and agile graduates are now required to become creative in their use of skills and resources in an increasingly complex and sophisticated global market. The paper, therefore, questions that if this is the case why then does creativity fail to appear as a key curriculum subject in many business schools. It also considers why policy makers continue to neglect this critical issue when it could offer the ‘key’ to economic prosperity. Recent literature does go some way to addressing by suggesting that small clusters of UK Universities have started including some creativity in their PDP work. However, this paper builds on this work and proposes that that creativity should become a central component of the curriculum. The paper suggests that creativity should appear in every area of the curriculum and that it should act as the link that connects productivity to profitability rather than being marginalised as an additional part of the curriculum. A range of data gathering methods have been used but each has been drawn from a qualitative base as it was felt that due to nature of the study individual’s thoughts and feelings needed to be examined and reflection was important. The author also recognises the importance of her own reflection both on the experiences of the students and their later working experiences as well as on the creative elements within the programme that she delivered. This paper has been drawn from research undertaken by the author in relation to her PhD study which explores the potential benefits of including creativity in the curriculum within business schools and the added value this could make to their employability. To conclude, creativity is, in the opinion of the author, the missing link to organisational profitability and as such should be prioritised especially by higher education providers.

Keywords: business curriculum, business curriculum, higher education, creative thinking and problem-solving, creativity

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Authors: Xinqi Guo, Karen R. Dobkins

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Background and Objectives: Humans are probably the only animals whose minds are constantly filled with thoughts, feelings and emotions. Previous studies have investigated human minds from different dimensions, including its proportion of time for not being present, its representative format, its personal relevance, its temporal locus, and affect valence. The current study aims at characterizing human mind by employing Experience Sampling Methods (ESM), a self-report research procedure for studying daily experience. This study emphasis on answering the following questions: 1) How does the contents of the inner experience vary across demographics, 2) Are certain types of inner experiences correlated with level of mindfulness and mental well-being (e.g., are people who spend more time being present happier, and are more mindful people more at-present?), 3) Will being prompted to report one’s inner experience increase mindfulness and mental well-being? Methods: Participants were recruited from the subject pool of UC San Diego or from the social media. They began by filling out two questionnaires: 1) Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire-Short Form, and 2) Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, and demographic information. Then they participated in the ESM part by responding to the prompts which contained questions about their real-time inner experience: if they were 'at-present', 'mind-wandering', or 'zoned-out'. The temporal locus, the clarity, and the affect valence, and the personal importance of the thought they had the moment before the prompt were also assessed. A mobile app 'RealLife Exp' randomly delivered these prompts 3 times/day for 6 days during wake-time. After the 6 days, participants completed questionnaire (1) and (2) again. Their changes of score were compared to a control group who did not participate in the ESM procedure (yet completed (1) and (2) one week apart). Results: Results are currently preliminary as we continue to collect data. So far, there is a trend that participants are present, mind-wandering and zoned-out, about 53%, 23% and 24% during wake-time, respectively. The thoughts of participants are ranked to be clearer and more neutral if they are present vs. mind-wandering. Mind-wandering thoughts are 66% about the past, consisting 80% of inner speech. Discussion and Conclusion: This study investigated the subjective account of human mind by a tool with high ecological validity. And it broadens the understanding of the relationship between contents of mind and well-being.

Keywords: experience sampling method, meta-memory, mindfulness, mind-wandering

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Authors: Kofi Quartey, Kola Ijasan

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Achieving densification around transit-oriented development projects has proven the most ideal way of facilitating urban sprawl whilst increasing the mobility of the majority of the urban populations, making parts of the city that were inaccessible, accessible. Johannesburg has undertaken TOD vision, which was initially called the corridors of freedom. The TOD, in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 11, seeks to establish inclusive, sustainable cities and, in line with the Joburg Growth Development Strategy, aims to create an equitable world-class African city. Equity and inclusivity should occur from the onset of planning and implementation of TOD projects through meaningful community participation. Stakeholder engagement literature from various disciplinary backgrounds has documented dissatisfaction of communities regarding the lack of meaningful participation in government-led development initiatives. The views of other project stakeholders such as project policy planners and project implementors and their challenges in undertaking community participation are, however, not taken into account in such instances, leaving room for a biased perspective. Document analysis was undertaken to determine what is expected of the Project stakeholders according to policy and whether they carried out their duties) seven interviews were also conducted with city entities and community representatives to determine their experiences and challenges with community participation in the various TOD projects attributed to the CoF vision. The findings of the study indicated that stakeholder engagement processes were best described as an ‘educative process’; where local communities were limited to being informed from the onset rather than having an active involvement in the planning processes. Most community members felt they were being informed and educated as to what was going to happen in spite of having their views and opinions collected – primarily due to project deadlines and budget constraints, as was confirmed by professional stakeholders. Some community members exhibited reluctance to change due to feelings of having projects being imposed on them, and the implications of the projects on their properties and lifestyles. It is recommended that community participation should remain a participatory and engaging process that creates an exchange of knowledge and understanding in the form of a dialogue between communities and project stakeholders until a consensus is reached.

Keywords: stakeholder engagement, transit oriented development, community participation, Johannesburg

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Authors: Pamela-Zoe Topalli, Niina Junttila, Päivi M. Niemi, Klaus Ranta

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Adolescents’ biased perceptions about their social competence (SC), whether negatively or positively, serve to influence their socioemotional adjustment such as early feelings of social phobia (nowadays referred to as Social Anxiety Disorder-SAD). Despite the importance of biased self-perceptions in adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment, the extent to which discrepancies between self- and others’ evaluations of one’s SC are linked to social phobic symptoms remains unclear in the literature. This study examined the perceptual discrepancy profiles between self- and peers’ as well as between self- and teachers’ evaluations of adolescents’ SC and the interrelations of these profiles with self-reported social phobic symptoms. The participants were 390 3^rd graders (15 years old) of Finnish lower secondary school (50.8% boys, 49.2% girls). In contrast with variable-centered approaches that have mainly been used by previous studies when focusing on this subject, this study used latent profile analysis (LPA), a person-centered approach which can provide information regarding risk profiles by capturing the heterogeneity within a population and classifying individuals into groups. LPA revealed the following five classes of discrepancy profiles: i) extremely negatively biased perceptions of SC, ii) negatively biased perceptions of SC, iii) quite realistic perceptions of SC, iv) positively biased perceptions of SC, and v) extremely positively biased perceptions of SC. Adolescents with extremely negatively biased perceptions and negatively biased perceptions of their own SC reported the highest number of social phobic symptoms. Adolescents with quite realistic, positively biased and extremely positively biased perceptions reported the lowest number of socio-phobic symptoms. The results point out the negatively and the extremely negatively biased perceptions as possible contributors to social phobic symptoms. Moreover, the association of quite realistic perceptions with low number of social phobic symptoms indicates its potential protective power against social phobia. Finally, positively and extremely positively biased perceptions of SC are negatively associated with social phobic symptoms in this study. However, the profile of extremely positively biased perceptions might be linked as well with the existence of externalizing problems such as antisocial behavior (e.g. disruptive impulsivity). The current findings highlight the importance of considering discrepancies between self- and others’ perceptions of one’s SC in clinical and research efforts. Interventions designed to prevent or moderate social phobic symptoms need to take into account individual needs rather than aiming for uniform treatment. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Keywords: adolescence, latent profile analysis, perceptual discrepancies, social competence, social phobia

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Authors: Meital Amzalag, Sharon Hardof-Jaffe

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In the last few decades, children and youth have been immersed in digital technologies. Indeed, recent studies explored the implication of technology use in their leisure and learning activities. Educators face an essential need to utilize technology and implement them into the curriculum. To do that, educators need to understand how young people use digital technology. This study aims to explore K12 students' digital lives from their point of view, to reveal their digital activities, age and gender differences with respect to digital activities, and to present the students' attitudes towards technologies in learning. The study approach is quantitative and includes354 students ages 6-16 from three schools in Israel. The online questionnaire was based on self-reports and consists of four parts: Digital activities: leisure time activities (such as social networks, gaming types), search activities (information types and platforms), and digital application use (e.g., calendar, notes); Digital skills (requisite digital platform skills such as evaluation and creativity); Social and emotional aspects of digital use (conducting digital activities alone and with friends, feelings, and emotions during digital use such as happiness, bullying); Digital attitudes towards digital integration in learning. An academic ethics board approved the study. The main findings reveal the most popular K12digital activities: Navigating social network sites, watching TV, playing mobile games, seeking information on the internet, and playing computer games. In addition, the findings reveal age differences in digital activities, such as significant differences in the use of social network sites. Moreover, the finding raises gender differences as girls use more social network sites and boys use more digital games, which are characterized by high complexity and challenges. Additionally, we found positive attitudes towards technology integration in school. Students perceive technology as enhancing creativity, promoting active learning, encouraging self-learning, and helping students with learning difficulties. The presentation will provide an up-to-date, accurate picture of the use of various digital technologies by k12 students. In addition, it will discuss the learning potentials of such use and how to implement digital technologies in the curriculum. Acknowledgments: This study is a part of a broader study about K-12 digital life in Israel and is supported by Mofet-the Israel Institute for Teachers'Development.

Keywords: technology and learning, K-12, digital life, gender differences

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Authors: Ryotaro Ishikawa

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INTRODUCTION: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric label for a collection of psychological symptoms following a traumatic event. PTSD is as a result of a traumatic experience such as rape or sexual assault. A victim may have PTSD if she/he has experienced the following symptoms for at least a month: a) Stressor, b) Intrusion symptoms, c) Avoidance, d) Negative alterations in cognitions and mood, e) Alterations in arousal and reactivity. Studies on the cognitive theory of PTSD emphasized the roles of (a) negative appraisals of trauma memories in maintaining the symptomatology of PTSD, and (b) disorganized trauma memories in the development of PTSD. Mental contamination is primarily caused by experiences involving humans (e.g. violators or perpetrators) as opposed to substances (e.g. dirt or bodily fluids). Feelings of mental contamination may evoke following experiences of ill-treatment, sexual assault, domination, degradation, manipulation, betrayal, or humiliation. Some studies have demonstrated that traumatic thoughts related to sexual assault are particularly strong predictors of mental contamination. Treatment protocols based on cognitive-behavioral therapy appear to be beneficial in reducing the severity of PTSD and mental contamination. Studies on the cognitive theory of PTSD emphasized the roles of (A) negative appraisals of trauma memories in maintaining the symptomatology of PTSD, and (B) disorganized trauma memories in the development of PTSD. We will demonstrate a feasibility study of individual CBT for PTSD and mental contamination in Japanese clinical settings. METHOD: The single-arm trial is a group setting CBT intervention. The primary outcome is the self-rated Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale, with secondary measurements of depressive severity and mental pollution questionnaire. Assessments are conducted at baseline, after a waiting period before CBT, during CBT, and after CBT. RESULTS: Participants are eligible for the study and complete the outcome measures at all assessment points. In our hypothesis, receiving CBT would lead to improvements in primary and secondary PTSD severity. CONCLUSION: We will demonstrate a feasibility study of individual CBT for PTSD and mental contamination in Japanese clinical settings. Our treatment would achieve favorable treatment outcomes for PTSD with mental contamination in Japanese clinical settings.

Keywords: CBT, cognitive theory, PTSD, mental pollution

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Authors: Tiffany Karalis Noel

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The purpose of this study was to examine the factors attributed to the self-efficacy of beginning secondary content area teachers as they moved through their student teaching experiences. This study used a narrative inquiry methodology to understand the variables attributed to teacher self-efficacy among a group of secondary content area teacher candidates. The primary purpose of using a narrative inquiry methodology was to share the stories of content area teacher candidates’ student teaching experiences. Focused research questions included: (1) To what extent does teacher education preparation affect the self-efficacy of beginning content area teachers? (2) Which recurrent elements of teacher education affect the self-efficacy of beginning teachers, regardless of content area? (3) How do the findings from research questions 1 and 2 inform teacher educators? The findings of this study suggest that teacher education preparation affects the self-efficacy of beginning secondary teacher candidates across the content areas; accordingly, the findings of this study provide insight for teacher educators to consider the areas where teacher education programs are failing to provide adequate preparation. These teacher candidates emphasized the value of adequate preparation throughout their teacher education programs to help inform their student teaching experiences. In order to feel effective and successful as beginning teachers, these teacher candidates required additional opportunities to apply the practical application of their teaching skills prior to the student teaching experience, the incorporation of classroom management strategy coursework into their curriculum, and opportunities to explore the extensive demands of the teaching profession ranging from time management to dealing with difficult parents, to name a few referenced examples. The teacher candidates experienced feelings of self-doubt related to their effectiveness as teachers when they were unable to employ successful classroom management strategies, pedagogical techniques, or even feel confidence in navigating challenging conversations with students, parents, and/or administrators. In order to help future teacher candidates and beginning teachers in general overcome these barriers, additional coursework, fieldwork, and practical application experiences should be provided in teacher education programs to help boost the self-efficacy of student teachers.

Keywords: self-efficacy, teacher efficacy, secondary preservice teacher education, teacher candidacy, student teaching

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Authors: S. Tandon, A. Oussoren

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Clothing is a need for all humans. Besides serving the commonly understood function of protection, it also is a means of self-expression and adornment. However, most clothing for people with disabilities is developed to respond to their functional needs merely. Such clothing aggravates feelings of inadequacy and lowers their self-esteem. Investigations into apparel-related barriers faced by women with disabilities and their expectations and desires about clothing pointed to a huge void in terms of well-designed inclusive clothing. The incredible stories and experiences shared by the participants in this research highlighted the fact that people with disabilities wanted to feel, dress, and look at how they wanted to look by wearing what they wanted to wear. Clothing should be about self-expression – reflecting their moods, taste, and style and not limited to fulfilling merely their functional needs. Inclusive Design for Regaining Lost Identity was undertaken to design and develop accessible clothing that is inclusive and fashionable to foster psycho-social well-being and to enhance the self-esteem of women with disabilities. The research explored inclusive design solutions for the saree – a traditional Indian garment for women. The saree is an elaborate garment that requires precise draping, which makes the saree complicated to wear and inconvenient to carry, particularly for women with physical disabilities. For many women in India, the saree remains the customary dress, especially for work and occasions, yet minimal advancement has been made to enhance its accessibility and ease of use. The project followed a qualitative research approach whilst incorporating a combination of methods, which consisted of a questionnaire, an interview, and co-creation workshops. The research adhered to the principles of applied research such that the designed products aim to solve a problem that is functional and purposeful. In order to reduce the complications and to simplify the wrapping of the garment fabric around the body, different combinations of pre-stitching of the layers of the saree were created to investigate the outcomes. The technology of 3D drawing and printing was employed to develop feasible fasteners keeping in mind the participants’ movement limitations and to enhance their agency with these newly designed fasteners. The underlying principle of the project is that every individual should be able to access life the way they wish to and should not have to compromise their desires due to their disability.

Keywords: accessibility, co-creation, design ethics, inclusive

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Authors: Ivanna Shubina

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Background/Objectives and Goals: Recent interest in positive psychology is reflected in a plenty of studies conducted on its basic constructs (e.g. self-esteem and happiness) in interrelation with personality features, social rules, business and technology development. The purpose of this study is to investigate the mediating role of self-esteem, exploring the relationships between self-esteem and happiness, self-esteem and locus of control (LOC). It hypothesizes that self-esteem may be interpreted as a predictor of happiness and mediator in the locus of control establishment. A plenty of various empirical studies results have been analyzed in order to collect data for this theoretical study, and some of the analysed results can be considered as arguable or incoherent. However, the majority of results indicate a strong relationship between three considered concepts: self-esteem, happiness, the locus of control. Methods: In particular, this study addresses the following broad research questions: i) Is self-esteem just an index of global happiness? ii) May happiness be possible or realizable without a healthy self-confidence and self-acceptance? iii) To what extent does self-esteem influence on the level of happiness? iv) Is high self-esteem a sufficient condition for happiness? v) Is self-esteem is a strong predictor of internal locus of control maintenance? vi) Is high self-esteem related to internal LOC, while low self-esteem to external LOC? In order to find the answers for listed questions, 60 reliable sources have been analyzed, results of what are discussed more detailed below. Expected Results/Conclusion/Contribution:It is recognized that the relationship between self-esteem, happiness, locus of control is complex: internal LOC is contributing to happiness, but it is not directly related to it; self-esteem is a powerful and important psychological factor in mental health and well-being; the feelings of being worthy and empowered are associated with significant achievements and high self-esteem; strong and appropriate self-esteem (when the discrepancy between “ideal” and “real” self is balanced) is correlated with more internal LOC (when the individual tends to believe that personal achievements depend on possessed features, vigor, and persistence). Despite the special attention paid to happiness, the locus of control and self-esteem, independently, theoretical and empirical equivocations within each literature foreclose many obvious predictions about the nature of their empirical distinction. In terms of theoretical framework, no model has achieved consensus as an ultimate theoretical background for any of the mentioned constructs. To be able to clarify the relationship between self-esteem, happiness, and locus of control more interdisciplinary studies have to take place in order to get data on heterogeneous samples, provided from various countries, cultures, and social groups.

Keywords: happiness, locus of control, self-esteem, mediation

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Authors: Komal Ghafoor, Tauqir Ahmad, Murtaza Hanif, Hira Zaheer

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Assistive technology has been developed to support visually impaired people in their social interactions. Conversation assistive technology is designed to enhance communication skills, facilitate social interaction, and improve the quality of life of visually impaired individuals. This technology includes speech recognition, text-to-speech features, and other communication devices that enable users to communicate with others in real time. The technology uses natural language processing and machine learning algorithms to analyze spoken language and provide appropriate responses. It also includes features such as voice commands and audio feedback to provide users with a more immersive experience. These technologies have been shown to increase the confidence and independence of visually impaired individuals in social situations and have the potential to improve their social skills and relationships with others. Overall, conversation-assistive technology is a promising tool for empowering visually impaired people and improving their social interactions. One of the key benefits of conversation-assistive technology is that it allows visually impaired individuals to overcome communication barriers that they may face in social situations. It can help them to communicate more effectively with friends, family, and colleagues, as well as strangers in public spaces. By providing a more seamless and natural way to communicate, this technology can help to reduce feelings of isolation and improve overall quality of life. The main objective of this research is to give blind users the capability to move around in unfamiliar environments through a user-friendly device by face, object, and activity recognition system. This model evaluates the accuracy of activity recognition. This device captures the front view of the blind, detects the objects, recognizes the activities, and answers the blind query. It is implemented using the front view of the camera. The local dataset is collected that includes different 1st-person human activities. The results obtained are the identification of the activities that the VGG-16 model was trained on, where Hugging, Shaking Hands, Talking, Walking, Waving video, etc.

Keywords: dataset, visually impaired person, natural language process, human activity recognition

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Authors: Melek Göregenli, Işık Gürşimşek

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There has been a great deal of research in the past few decades examining attitudes toward homosexuals.Theoretic research has demonstrated that antihomosexual attitudes are expressed in cognitive, affective, behavioral and cultural components. Homophobia is generally defined as hostility towards or fear of LGBTI people, but can also refer to social and cultural ideologies which stigmatize homosexuality. Negative feelings or attitudes towards non-heterosexual behavior, identity, relationships and community can lead to homophobic behavior and is the root of the discrimination experienced by many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTI) people. Since the increase in number of hate crimes during the last decade, there has been a sense of urgency to respond to the problem of hate violence in Turkey. The LGBTI Rights Association KAOS-GL indicated that the most of lesbian, gay, bisexual, travesty and transsexuals reported some form of victimization in their lifetimes based on their sexual orientation in Turkey. This study explored the relations between homophobia, right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation and just world belief attitudes towards LGBTI individuals in a sample of 393 Turkish college students from Ege University in Izmir, Turkey. Data were collected with a questionnaire including the Homosexism Scale, the Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale, Social Dominance Orientation Scale and Just World Belief Scale. Participants completed a questionnaire containing the attitude measures and other several questions related with the socio-demographic variables. Consistent with the previous finding males were more homophobic than females. Contrary to this finding the main effects of other demographic variables (age, income, place of birth, class) were not statistically significant except the department of participants. These findings imply that efforts to garner wide-ranging support for policies designed to change negative attitudes to LGBT people and to enhance the given awareness on homophobia. The results of the study were discussed in cross-cultural and social psychological perspective considering cultural and social values of Turkey and current political circumstances of the country.

Keywords: homophobia, just world belief, right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, Turkey

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