A cross-cultural study of agency

Culture plays an important role in the development of counselling concepts. The concepts imbibe significant aspects of the culture mirroring the values and goals of the culture they are born in. In this research an attempt has been made to examine three agency concepts from a religio-cultural perspective different from the one in which they were developed. Three counselling concepts, namely, locus of control, learned helplessness, and self-efficacy have been reviewed to identify common themes across the concepts. A Hindu philosophical perspective was discussed drawing upon the Advaita Vedanta of Sri Shankaracharya, and concepts from Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Limitations of the common themes identified were then examined from this Vedantic perspective to arrive at propositions about the agency concept, and counselling implications. Agency in the three counselling concepts is found to be equated to the self. The self is seen as a product of the mind, its beliefs, expectations, and thoughts; the actions performed; and the outcomes achieved. The self is thus buffetted by failures, negative outcomes, undesirable events. Future decisions and actions are influenced by past outcomes making it hard to 'let go’ of the past and act in the present. Also, the self is constantly monitored and evaluated through the data provided by the mind, and the outcomes attained. Great deal of faith is placed on the mind and its processes. The mind is viewed as an appropriate and accurate instrument for understanding the self. Due to this mistaken identification of agency with the self, individuals seek unrealistic and confining ends, distorting reality and the conception of the self. Counselling, based on these concepts, is likely to generate limited and problem specific solutions entrenching the individual in the doership and enjoyership. In contrast, self in the Vedantic perspective is not agency. Self is the unchanging, eternal essence due to the presence of which agency is experienced, but is different from agency. The notion of agency belongs to the field of the not-self. The mind and its processes are constantly changing, and creating structures which are considered unreliable bases upon which action can be based. Mind therefore is considered to be the not-self. This kind of discrimination of the self from the not-self is deemed to be an important and necessary step to growth. Due to the broad perspective of self, there is a greater potential for remaining free from notions of agency and outcome orientation. This enables individuals to persevere regardless of the outcomes attained, 'let go' of the past, and act in the present.Education, Faculty ofEducational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department ofGraduat

Updating phylogeny of mitochondrial DNA macrohaplogroup m in India: dispersal of modern human in South Asian corridor.

To construct maternal phylogeny and prehistoric dispersals of modern human being in the Indian sub continent, a diverse subset of 641 complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genomes belonging to macrohaplogroup M was chosen from a total collection of 2,783 control-region sequences, sampled from 26 selected tribal populations of India. On the basis of complete mtDNA sequencing, we identified 12 new haplogroups--M53 to M64; redefined/ascertained and characterized haplogroups M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M8'C'Z, M9, M10, M11, M12-G, D, M18, M30, M33, M35, M37, M38, M39, M40, M41, M43, M45 and M49, which were previously described by control and/or coding-region polymorphisms. Our results indicate that the mtDNA lineages reported in the present study (except East Asian lineages M8'C'Z, M9, M10, M11, M12-G, D) are restricted to Indian region.The deep rooted lineages of macrohaplogroup 'M' suggest in-situ origin of these haplogroups in India. Most of these deep rooting lineages are represented by multiple ethnic/linguist groups of India. Hierarchical analysis of molecular variation (AMOVA) shows substantial subdivisions among the tribes of India (Fst = 0.16164). The current Indian mtDNA gene pool was shaped by the initial settlers and was galvanized by minor events of gene flow from the east and west to the restricted zones. Northeast Indian mtDNA pool harbors region specific lineages, other Indian lineages and East Asian lineages. We also suggest the establishment of an East Asian gene in North East India through admixture rather than replacement