Depression and expression: life begins on the other side of despair

This paper has two parts. In Part I, it consists of a letter written by the subject of the &lsquo;case study&rsquo; that forms the basis of Part II. Part I demonstrates how the writer Aliki Pavlou discovered that, in attempting to help a friend face uncomfortable truths in relation to his perception of his mother, she inadvertently was able to voice her own dilemma in relation to her mother that hitherto had been elusive.This paper forms a part of a larger project being researched by Aliki Pavlou, Justin Clemens and me. The study, to be entitled, &quot;In the Heart of Hell: Depression and its Expression,&quot; is one that contends that Literature expresses the ineffable nature of depression in its symbolic mode; that, indeed, literary texts reveal in their concealment. The work therefore argues that &lsquo;depression&rsquo; is expressible.Part II of this paper analyses the response of a depressive to Jean-Paul Sartre&rsquo;s novel Nausea (1964). Beginning with a brief discussion of the role of the &lsquo;mother&rsquo; as psychologically pivotal in some depressives&rsquo; struggle towards well-being, this section analyses a reading of Nausea by a depressive. The objective of this study was to ascertain the extent to which the condition of nausea, as represented in Sartre&rsquo;s novel, expresses the experience of depression. <br /

Pupils' attitudes towards art teaching in primary school: an evaluation tool

Pupils’ attitudes are influencing both learning and teaching processes and are affecting the way pupils will engage with art as adults. This paper introduces an attitude scale, ASAES (Attitude Scale for Art Experienced in School), which measures factors that may influence the formation of pupils’ attitudes, from pupils’ perceived abilities in art to teachers’ art specialisation. This newly developed instrument is a Likert- scale comprising four subscales: enjoyment, confidence, usefulness, and support needed. The support needed dimension is an essential component in the learning process because it represents the pupil’s perception of teacher’s feedback on how well they are coping with the task. The ASAES was administered to 420 primary school pupils in Cyprus and its psychometric properties are evaluated by Confirmatory Factor analysis

Media narratives, politics and the Cyprus problem

Media, politics and the Cyprus Problem are the main themes of the present study. Through analysis of Greek and Turkish Cypriot television news bulletins and newspaper editorials and leading articles, the study seeks to establish media approaches and positions on important issues so as to better understand their work, role and functions. The study analyses practices and positions related to the Cyprus Problem, the solution, matters of identity, the ‘others’ and the European Union, the authorities and the political forces. This attempt to ascertain the underlying values that guide news selection and content will provide a clearer picture of how the media interacts with or influences society

ICT and adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL

Mellar, H., Kambouri, M., Sanderson, M., and Pavlou, V. (2004) ICT and adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL. London: NRDC. Available at: http://www.nrdc.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_258.pdfResearch report for NRDCThis project set out to obtain a picture of present teaching practice in the use of ICT in adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL within formal provision. (http://www.nrdc.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_258.pdf

'What is art?' for children around the world : a comparative analysis

Art as a concept often operates within a particular culture. Through social interaction with adults, children build up a fund of social knowledge, which influences their own interpretations of art. This paper compares the findings of different studies examining children’s perceptions of art, which took place in different geographical (Los Angeles, New York, Nicosia/Cyprus), ethnic/ cultural (Whites, Latino, African-American, English speakers, Greek speakers), socioeconomic and curriculum contexts. Despite the significant disparities observed in the contexts under review, striking similarities are noted in children’s perceptions of art. These results have implications for the way we seek to understand what art is for children. More importantly, though, they highlight that art has a universal meaning for children and as such it can be used as a means for understanding, appreciating and accepting diverse cultures.peer-reviewe

Consumer Intentions to Adopt Electronic Commerce - Incorporating Trust and Risk in the Technology Acceptance Model

This research describes consumer intentions to adopt e-commerce by predicting behavioral intentions to use Internet technologies for online transactions, drawing upon Ajzen’s (1985, 1988, 1991) theory of planned behavior (TPB). Consumer intention to adopt e-commerce is proposed as a behavioral intention to exchange information online, share confidential and monetary information, and engage in product purchases. Drawing upon the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), since online transactions entail consumers to use Internet technologies to a great extent, e-commerce adoption intentions essentially necessitate that consumers perceive Web interfaces to be useful and easy to use. In addition, the novel and impersonal nature of online transactions and the technological unpredictability of the Internet reduce consumer perceptions of control over their online transactions, making trust and risk beliefs inevitable elements of online consumer behavior. This research incorporates the constructs of trust and perceived risk with TAM major constructs to predict e-commerce adoption intentions, following TPB. Consequently, a set of testable hypotheses that interrelate intentions to transact online with perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived risk, and trust is proposed. The resulting research model is validated using data from three exploratory experiential studies with 103 subjects using three different scenarios. The results give substantial support for the proposed hypotheses, while explaining 64% of the variation for consumer intentions to adopt e-commerce. The paper discusses several insights from this exploratory study, proposes several future research directions, and concludes with implications for theory and research