Snippets from our Adventures in the Former Soviet Union from 1991-2011

Gary Fawvers notes from his adventures in the Former Soviet Union from 1991-2011. These are related to his involvement in the Christian Camps in the Ukraine

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View of the Sea of Azov from the top of the hill where the camp was located.https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/fawver_ukraine/1069/thumbnail.jp

Gender Similarities and Differences in Experiences of Public School Administrators

The purpose of study was to examine similarities and differences in experiences between male and female high school principals and district administrators in addition to similarities and differences in leadership style and skills. This was an in-depth study with participants working in the same district and matched with descriptors such as age, similar position, and time served. Therefore the statement of the problem for the present study is what similarities and differences in experiences exist between male and female high school principals and district administrators in addition to similarities and differences in leadership style and skills. Two male high school principals, one female high school principal, and one female district supervisor participated. Only top-level administrative positions were considered. The participants were interviewed and asked to take a survey on their leadership skills and their leadership style. All of the participants had experience as high school teachers with varying levels of teaching experience. There was a fairly small range of assistant principal experience. The participants reported having people who had been an influence in their decision to become administrators and someone who had mentored them. Barriers did not seem present in obtaining positions for either the male or female participants. Barriers that were listed involved issues that arose in their job such as implementing multiple new programs

Destruction in Search of Hope: Baudrillard, Simulation, and Chuck Palahniuk\u27s Choke

Chuck Palahniuk\u27s Choke is a text that perfectly constructs a world of simulation as theorized by Jean Baudrillard. However, rather than reveling in meaningless, if entertaining, hyperreality as Baudrillard does, the text attempts to find escape from the endless barrage of mediated images and information inherent in such a simulatory existence. It advocates an evolution (or de-evolution, as the case may be) of communication and signification, a willful ignorance of sorts, that will allow images to be reconnected with meaning and signifiers to be reunited with concrete corresponding signifieds. Following a line of postmodern literature begun by Pynchon and Delillo to its logical end, Choke takes the next step into post-postmodern territory, abandoning nihilism and focusing, instead, on the hopeful pseudo-Romantic destruction and rebirth of images and sign

A Nature Nudge

For a number of years now, I have believed that informal and formal outdoor experiences built on a biblical knowledge base can be beneficial and should be purposely pursued throughout one\u27s life. My intentions for a vocational ministry in the outdoors have been to reconnect people with the natural realm, to assist them in rediscovering the outdoors. In support of that, I conducted an action research project to demonstrate the benefits of God\u27s natural world, the outdoors, in the lives of a select group of people through a five-day immersion in that outdoor environment. The outdoor setting became the mechanism to develop physical and emotional well being in the participants. This setting was used also as a means of providing spiritual growth in both individuals and the group through Bible study, worship, and contemplation. I wanted to determine if it was possible, in a relatively short period of time, to enhance people\u27s perceptions about the outdoors and increase their outdoor ministry effectiveness. I hoped, as a result of this experience, to encourage people, from professionals-camp leaders and church workers, college and seminary professors-to parents and interested individuals to recognize the benefits of and make intentional use of the outdoors

Listening Life: An Approach to Spiritual Formation at Newberg Friends Church

At Newberg Friends Church we have developed a Listening Life approach to spiritual formation based on the call of God recorded in Mark 9:7, This is my Son, whom I love, listen to him. A listening life is a holistic life - one that is open to being in a love relationship with God, creating intentional space and time with Christ, and responding to the nudges of the Spirit in the spontaneity of life. This listening is richer when done together with others and more free if it embraces an experimental attitude that holds things loosely as we seek to live out God\u27s call toward neighborly love at home and around the world. This dissertation is broken into six sections with the following focus: In section one the ministry problem is named - Newberg Friends Church has lacked a clearly articulated theology and foundational approach to spiritual formation. Section two considers some present-day resources in the arena of spiritual formation with special focus on four divergent groups and the unique contribution each offers. Section three then articulates the five theological foundations embraced at Newberg Friends Church and an overview of a Listening Life approach to spiritual growth. Sections four through six are the practical expression of this approach through a description of the web-based resources being developed, appendices, and the bibliography. The Listening Life approach gives us the framework to organize tools, resources, and practices of the spiritual life for groups and individuals and is housed at www.listeninglife.org. In the future this approach will be experienced, refined, and deepened as the Newberg Friends community grows in the ability to listen to Christ more fully, change in the Spirit, and live out love to those in need

Practice schedules affect how learners correct their errors: Secondary analysis from a contextual interference study

Contextual interference is an established phenomenon in learning research; random practice schedules are associated with poorer performance, but superior learning compared to blocked practice schedules. We present a secondary analysis of N=84 healthy young adults, replicating the contextual interference effect in a time estimation task. We used the determinant of a correlation matrix to measure the amount of order in participant responses. We calculated this determinant in different phase spaces: Trial Space, the determinant of the previous 5 trials (lagged constant error 0-4); and Target Space, the determinant of the previous 5 trials of the same target. In Trial Space, there was no significant difference between groups (p=0.98) and no Group x Lag interaction (p=0.54), although there was an effect of Lag (p<0.01). In Target Space, there were effects of Group (p=0.02), Lag (p<0.01), and a Group x Lag interaction (p=0.03). Ultimately, randomly scheduled practice was associated with adaptive corrections but positive correlations between errors from trial to trial (e.g., overshoots followed by smaller overshoots). Blocked practice was associated with more adaptive corrections but uncorrelated responses. Our findings suggest that random practice leads to the retrieval and updating of the target from memory, facilitating long term retention and transfer

New-onset psychosis following COVID-19 infection in a patient with no psychiatric history: A longitudinal case report.

BACKGROUND: Viral infection, including COVID-19, has been implicated as a potential cause of various neurobehavioral issues. An increasing number of case reports suggest that current or recent COVID-19 infection may cause new onset of psychotic symptoms in some individuals, potentially related to viral inflammation or infection of the nervous system. CASE PRESENTATION: A 26-year-old woman with no psychiatric history presented with severe psychotic symptoms days after recovery from a mild COVID-19 infection. No other etiologies for psychosis were identified via diagnostic testing, review of medical history, or interviews with family. Her symptoms persisted for approximately two months, requiring three inpatient admissions, various medication trials, and ongoing outpatient follow-up. With continued use of quetiapine and lithium, she returned to living independently and working full-time, and discontinued all medication approximately nine months after symptom onset. CONCLUSION: The psychiatric and cognitive effects of COVID-19 infection are not yet fully understood. Given the widespread and ongoing nature of this pandemic, this remains an important focus of further investigation, especially within the context of potential long-term complications

The association of COMT genotype with buproprion treatment response in the treatment of major depressive disorder

Background Pharmacodynamics and pharmacogenetics are being explored in pharmacological treatment response for major depressive disorder (MDD). Interactions between genotype and treatment response may be dose dependent. In this study, we examined whether MDD patients with Met/Met, Met/Val, and Val/Val COMT genotypes differed in their response to bupropion in terms of depression scores. Methods This study utilized a convenience sample of 241 adult outpatients (≥18 years) who met DSM‐5 criteria for MDD and had visits at a Midwest psychopharmacology clinic between February 2016 and January 2017. Exclusion criteria included various comorbid medical, neurological, and psychiatric conditions and current use of benzodiazepines or narcotics. Participants completed genetic testing and the 9 question patient‐rated Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐9) at each clinic visit (M = 3.8 visits, SD = 1.5) and were prescribed bupropion or another antidepressant drug. All participants were adherent to pharmacotherapy treatment recommendations for >2 months following genetic testing. Results Participants were mostly Caucasian (85.9%) outpatients (154 female and 87 male) who were 44.5 years old, on average (SD = 17.9). For Val carriers, high bupropion doses resulted in significantly lower PHQ‐9 scores than no bupropion (t(868) = 5.04, p < .001) or low dose bupropion (t(868) = 3.29, p = .001). Val carriers differed significantly from Met/Met patients in response to high dose bupropion (t(868) = −2.03, p = .04), but not to low dose bupropion. Conclusion High‐dose bupropion is beneficial for MDD patients with Met/Val or Val/Val COMT genotypes, but not for patients with Met/Met genotype. Prospective studies are necessary to replicate this pharmacodynamic relationship between bupropion and COMT genotypes and explore economic and clinical outcomes

Skill-based differences in the impact of opponent exposure during anticipation: the role of context-environment dependency

Data availability statement: The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.Copyright © 2023 Gredin, Thomas, Broadbent, Fawver and Williams. Introduction: We examined skilled-based differences in the impact of exposure to an opponent with action tendencies that were either independent of, dependent on, or both independent of and dependent on evolving environmental information during anticipation. Methods: A video-based two-vs.-two soccer task was employed, where 14 expert and 14 novice soccer players had to predict an attacking opponent's imminent actions, before and after exposure to the preceding actions of the opponent. Results: Anticipation accuracy, number of responses congruent with the opponent's action tendencies, response confidence, and visual dwell time on the opponent in possession increased following opponent exposure, both in experts and novices. When compared to novices, experts demonstrated higher anticipation accuracy, more congruent responses, and greater response confidence. Novices performed at their best when the opponent exhibited action tendencies that were independent of the environment, whereas experts demonstrated their highest performance when the opponent had action tendencies that were both independent of and dependent on unfolding environmental information. Discussion: Our findings provide novel insights into the role of context-environment dependency and support the notion that experts are superior to novices in detecting and utilizing opponents' action tendencies and integrating this information with unfolding environmental information during anticipation