The interconnection between mental health, work and belonging: A phenomenological investigation

It is well-known that a sense of belonging is crucial in relation to gaining and  maintaining sound mental health. Work is also known to be an essential aspect of recovery from mental health problems. However, there is scant knowledge of what a sense of belonging in the workplace represents. This study explores the nature and meaning of a sense of belonging in the workplace as experienced by persons  struggling with mental health issues.Using a descriptive phenomenological methodology, sixteen descriptions of the lived experience of belonging in the workplace were analyzed. The analysis reveals that the experience of belonging in the workplace is restricted and fragile until the moment one becomes accepted, but grows stronger and more resilient as one chooses how one wants to participate. Nonetheless, the sense of belonging is haunted by mixed emotions and ambivalence between the wish to be taken care of and the longing for professional appreciation

2005 Ruby Yearbook

A digitized copy of the 2005 Ruby, the Ursinus College yearbook.https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/ruby/1108/thumbnail.jp

Hiking Leisure: Generating a Different Existence Within Everyday Life

This is an Open Access article licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0 (CC BY 3.0) and originally published in Sage Open. You can access the article by following this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2158244016681395Dette er en vitenskapelig, fagfellevurdert artikkel som opprinnelig ble publisert i Sage Open. Artikkelen er publisert under lisensen Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0 (CC BY 3.0). Du kan også få tilgang til artikkelen ved å følge denne lenken: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2158244016681395This study explores how hiking trips in the forest afford two Norwegian families experiences of leisure during the trips. In situ interviews were analyzed using a descriptive phenomenological research method, which brackets theoretical or ideological assumptions during data collection and analysis. The results show that three levels of experience are interwoven. First, individual family members, parents as well as children, are immersed in the activities in their physical environment, which evokes positive bodily feelings. Second, interactions and dialogue between family members concerning actual events during the trip give rise to a sense of belonging and togetherness. Finally, the family creates a narrative about itself in the light of its own future as well as sociocultural expectations. We characterize this tapestry of experiences as an act of hiking leisure. We conclude that the experience of the hiking trip goes beyond a simple duality of a core versus balance activity theory and answers the call for research that incorporates the natural contexts in which leisure activities take place

2004 Ruby Yearbook

A digitized copy of the 2004 Ruby, the Ursinus College yearbook.https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/ruby/1107/thumbnail.jp

The mechanisms and processes of connection: developing a causal chain model capturing impacts of receiving recorded mental health recovery narratives.

BACKGROUND: Mental health recovery narratives are a core component of recovery-oriented interventions such as peer support and anti-stigma campaigns. A substantial number of recorded recovery narratives are now publicly available online in different modalities and in published books. Whilst the benefits of telling one's story have been investigated, much less is known about how recorded narratives of differing modalities impact on recipients. A previous qualitative study identified connection to the narrator and/or to events in the narrative to be a core mechanism of change. The factors that influence how individuals connect with a recorded narrative are unknown. The aim of the current study was to characterise the immediate effects of receiving recovery narratives presented in a range of modalities (text, video and audio), by establishing the mechanisms of connection and the processes by which connection leads to outcomes. METHOD: A study involving 40 mental health service users in England was conducted. Participants were presented with up to 10 randomly-selected recovery narratives and were interviewed on the immediate impact of each narrative. Thematic analysis was used to identify the mechanisms of connection and how connection leads to outcome. RESULTS: Receiving a recovery narrative led participants to reflect upon their own experiences or those of others, which then led to connection through three mechanisms: comparing oneself with the narrative and narrator; learning about other's experiences; and experiencing empathy. These mechanisms led to outcomes through three processes: the identification of change (through attending to narrative structure); the interpretation of change (through attending to narrative content); and the internalisation of interpretations. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to identify mechanisms and processes of connection with recorded recovery narratives. The empirically-based causal chain model developed in this study describes the immediate effects on recipients. This model can inform selection of narratives for use in interventions, and be used to support peer support workers in recounting their own recovery narratives in ways which are maximally beneficial to others

A case study of a mother's intertwining experiences with incest and postpartum depression

The association between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and major depression disorder (MDD) gives reason to suspect that many mothers with postpartum depression (PPD) have a history of CSA. However, few studies have investigated how CSA and PPD are related. In this case study we explore how the experience of incest intertwines with the experience of postpartum depression. We focus on participant subject “Nina,” who has experienced both. We interviewed her three times and we analysed the interviews with Giorgi's phenomenological descriptive method to arrive at a contextualised meaning structure. Nina's intruding fantasies of men who abuse her children merge with her recollections of her own incest experiences. She may succeed in forcing these fantasies out of her consciousness, but they still alter her perceptions, thoughts, and emotions. She feels overwhelmed and succumbs to sadness, while she also is drawn towards information about CSA, which in turn feeds her fantasies. The psychodynamic concepts of repetition compulsion, transference, and projection may provide some explanation of Nina's actions, thoughts, and emotions through her past experiences. With our phenomenological stance, we aim to acknowledge Nina's descriptions of her everyday life here and now. With reference to Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Minkowski, we show that Nina's past is not a dated memory; rather it determines the structure of her consciousness that constitutes her past as her true present and future. Incest dominates Nina's world, and her possibilities for action are restricted by this perceived world. Any suspension of action implies anguish, and she resolves this by incest-structured action that in turn feeds and colours her expectations. Thus anxiety and depression are intertwined in the structure of this experience

The loyal dissident: N.A. Bernstein and the double-edged sword of Stalinism

Nikolai Aleksandrovich Bernstein (1896-1966) studied movement in order to understand the brain. Contra Pavlov, he saw movements (thus, the brain) as coordinated. For Bernstein, the cortex was a stochastic device; the more cortexes an animal species has, the more variable its actions will be. Actions are planned with a stochastic "model of the future," and relevance is established through blind mathematical search. In the 1950 neoPavlovian affair, he came under strong attack and had to stop experimenting. It is argued that the consistency of his work derived both from both dialectical materialism and the relentless attacks of the neoPavlovians. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Development of a module with driving and walking capability: Study in the feasibility for application with a ZebRo robot

Robots that use legged locomotion have the ability to overcome obstacles and can negotiate a wide range of difficult terrains, such as encountered in outer-space missions. In many practical scenarios however, their applicability is still limited, mainly due to insufficient speed and efficiency. On the other hand, robots that use wheeled locomotion are fast and efficient, but are generally confined to flat or prepared surfaces. A relatively new approach, to use the advantages of both forms, is the combination of walking and driving technology into Hybrid Walker-Wheeler technology. In this research we will explore the feasibility of applying Hybrid Walker-Wheeler technology to the Zesbenige Robot (ZebRo). ZebRo is a small walking robot with six One-Degree-of-Freedom (DoF) legs and walks with an insect-inspired gait. It is being developed with the intention to go on a mission to the moon. The objective in this thesis is to increase the speed and energy efficiency of the ZebRo on flat surfaces, while maintaining its robustness and walking capability on rough terrain. We will set up the criteria for a new design, explore various options and parameters and choose a concept. We will then do a number of simulations to analyse the properties of a wheel and a leg and to apply these in the design. The final prototype consists of a single module with a wheel, a one-DoF leg and a custom-design coupling which switches torque, from the motor, between the wheel-axle and the leg-axle. This prototype was tested and evaluated on its electrical power consumption and the torque and speed transmitted to the leg-axle and wheel-axle. From these results, we were able to draw a number of conclusions and make recommendations for a ZebRo equipped with Hybrid Walker-Wheeler technology.Intelligent echanical SystemsMechanical Engineering | BioMechanical Desig