Self-reflection as dialectic: How we can follow the Delphian calling to self-knowledge whilst avoiding Narcissus' fate

Self-reflection refers to our ability to think about ourselves and our lives and to ask and answer questions ranging from "Who am I?" to "Why did I do this?". It is thus considered a valuable means to gain self-knowledge. Structurally, reflection involves two elements, a reflecting and a reflected-on, in other words a subject and an object. In the case of self- reflection, subject and object are the same, the reflecting is the reflected-on. As subject and object are traditionally conceived of as radically opposed i.e. mutually exclusive, this situation has led to considering self-reflection problematic: If self-reflection is always reflection on an object, it is thought that self-reflection cannot yield insight into oneself qua subject and might even represent a danger to one’s subjectivity which is characteristic of lived life. Refuting the mutual exclusiveness of subject and object, self-reflection can be regained as a valuable means to gain self-knowledge. It is thereby going to be demonstrated that self-reflection has a dialectical structure. The nature of the self-knowledge yielded by self-reflection conceived of as dialectic is going to be explored. A final part shows how a dialectical account of self- reflection proves useful in clarifying the role which self-reflection plays in schizophrenia

Women and Work: 50 Years of Change since the \u3ci\u3eAmerican Women\u3c/i\u3e Report

[Excerpt] When the President’s Commission on the Status of Women published its report American Women in 1963, there was much to be celebrated with regards to women’s status in the United States. Women were living longer than ever and more of them were a part of the labor force than at most times in recent history. The civil rights movement had placed equal opportunity as the ideal in the workplace, at home, and in all facets of life. Yet in the workforce, women had a long way to go. Many jobs were essentially off-limits to women, including doctor, lawyer, and many types of businesses. While a few remarkable women pursued these fields, the majority of women worked as teachers, nurses, maids or secretaries. Fifty years later, women’s gains are considerable. More women are a part of our labor force than in 1963, and women are more likely to be the primary breadwinner for their families than they were then. Women are matriculating from higher education in larger numbers than their male peers. Many goals outlined in American Women have been achieved. But the more things change the more they also stay the same. This paper will examine women’s participation in the labor force, then and now, and illuminate lingering gender disparities that persist from day one for female workers. Specifically, a persistent concern is that women begin their careers nearly on par with their male counterparts in wages, but fall behind their male colleagues in mid- to late- career. This fact has not changed substantially since 1963, even though postsecondary educational gains have helped women narrow the wage gap. There is much left to be done to ensure the promise of the 1963 report of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women. This paper begins with a brief study of the changing landscape of education and training and its impact on women’s work. Next, the paper explores women in the workplace and persistent challenges they face. In addition, the paper examines women and their support for their families as wage earners. The paper concludes with an assessment of policy priorities to help achieve many of the goals set forth in the original American Women report

A Model of Climate Change Education at the University Level

College students represent the future leaders of a world that will face the impacts of climate change. However, classes on sustainability and climate change typically are not mandatory for university students. Previous studies indicated that there is currently a gap in climate change education at the college and university level. While many colleges offer elements of climate change education in lower level earth science courses, most students are not required to take these courses. This literature review examines perceptions and beliefs of college students and the general public using results of surveys by the Climate Education Partners (CEP) and Jamelske et al. 2015 to inform a proposal for a climate education model at the university level. The proposal is informed by the methods of the CEP in creating the 2050 Report and uses the Tripartite Integration Model of Social Influence (TIMSI) as a theoretical framework for social psychology and behavior in order to implement a structure that is compatible with university students? responses to information. The proposal details a framework for a climate change education model for university students in all steps of planning and implementation. The proposal also includes a pre- and post-education survey as a measurement of effectiveness for the framework of climate change education

Scientist Speak on Smallest Disease Carrying Agent

News release announces a seminar on Viroids: the Smallest Known Agents of Infectious Disease at the University of Dayton

Towards a systematic description of distance in autobiographical narratives of mental illness

BACKGROUND: Over the last two decades, the relationship between distance and mental health and the role of distance in psychotherapy has generated considerable research interest. Up to date, operationalisations have primarily focused on verbal content whereas descriptions of distance on the level of communicative form are lacking in the psychological literature. DESIGN AND METHODS: Five open-ended narrative interviews with persons with an experience of psychotic (two) or depressive (three) illness were transcribed and systematically coded for characteristics of distance described in the psychological and linguistic literature up to date. Codes for further characteristics of distance were developed bottom-up from the data. Codes were then grouped into broader interpretative categories and these categories were again applied to the data. RESULTS: Distance was displayed at the level of content and form. In total, 29 individual characteristics of distance could be identified, and three interpretative categories emerged: "detachment", "balanced oscillation" and "immersion". DISCUSSION: Our study provides an in-depth, nuanced and gestaltic description of distance and raises awareness for displays of distance at the level of communicative form in addition to content. Our results also support an understanding of distance as a continuous phenomenon and highlight its processual character. Possible connections between distancing and coping as well as implications for psychotherapy are discusse

Interventions Used by Occupational Therapists and Allied Health Providers in Regards to Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

Problem: Chronic musculoskeletal pain is the most widely known disability in the American health care system (National Institute of Health [NIH], 2010). Chronic pain affects how individuals are able to engage in meaningful activities of daily life. Unrelieved pain can potentially result in longer hospital visits, emotional distress, and increased re-admission rates to hospitals (The American Academy of Pain Medicine, 2012). A review of research in the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) database revealed that few clinically useful references were available for practitioners regarding interventions used with chronic musculoskeletal pain (AOTA, 2014). As a result, it was determined that effective chronic pain management interventions should be further reviewed and analyzed through a systematic review. Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review was to identify and investigate commonly used allied health interventions utilized with individuals who are experiencing chronic musculoskeletal pain and assess the utility of those interventions. Methods: An extensive, systematic review of quantitative research was completed using PubMed because of its broad collection of health sciences literature. We selected particular inclusion and exclusion criteria aimed to identify high quality and rigorous evidence regarding preparatory, purposeful, and occupation-based interventions used in occupational therapy and allied health professions in the treatment of individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Specific research processes and analysis were used to develop an organizational framework of the treatment interventions in the reviewed literature regarding chronic musculoskeletal pain management. Results: This systematic review yielded evidence that pointed to a diverse set of literature that varied in topic and rigor. While it does represent the “best” evidence available, the review showed a severe lack of high quality, replicated, and clinically useful occupation-based treatment interventions. Despite the absence of consistency in research topics, the review did reveal that programs that required a specified amount of time to be completed by subjects (and included an educational component regarding pain self-management) and consistent and frequent meetings with a designated health care professional provided better outcomes for clients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Conclusion: Despite the high numbers of individuals in the U.S. who experience chronic musculoskeletal pain, there is a dearth of research regarding clinically useful, occupation-based interventions for these individuals’ health care needs. There is a need for research focusing on the utilization of purposeful and occupation-based interventions addressing chronic musculoskeletal pain. The lack of research, highlighted in this systematic review, limits occupational therapy practitioners’ ability to prescribe effective, occupation, and evidence-based interventions for clients with chronic musculoskeletal pain in clinical practice

Neue Forschungsräume eröffnen. Einblicke in Raum und psychische Gesundheit

Die Autorinnen stellen ein Forschungsprojekt vor, welches die in Gesprächen über psychische Gesundheit verwendeten verbalen und nonverbalen Strategien untersucht. Sie präsentieren die partizipatorischen Prozesse des multidisziplinaren Projektes sowie Ergebnisse zu physischen und metaphorischen Räumen in Gesprächen über psychische Gesundheit

Zur experimentellen Aktivierung des Bindungssystems bei Erwachsenen: systematische Erprobung der Stimulierung mittels Filmszenen und Validierung deutschsprachigen Wortmaterials für semantisches Priming

Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, ein einfach zu handhabendes, hoch standardisierbares und zuverlässiges Verfahren zu entwickeln, das das Bindungssystem bei Erwachsenen aktiviert und die Untersuchung der damit einhergehenden physiologischen Reaktion ermöglicht. Studie 1 testet, ob sich eine Aktivierung des Bindungssytems durch das Zeigen von Filmszenen bindungsrelevanten Inhalts erreichen lässt. Dazu wurden Studierenden eine als bindungsrelevant eingeschätzte Filmszene sowie zwei Kontrollszenen gezeigt und ihre emotionale Reaktion darauf durch mehrere Fragebogen erfasst. Da sich keine signifikante Interaktion von Bindungstyp und Film zeigen ließ, kann die aktivierende Wirkung nicht als erwiesen gelten. Unabhängig vom Film beobachtete signifikante Unterschiede zwischen den Bindungstypen in deren emotionaler Reaktion stützen jedoch den engen Zusammenhang von Bindungs- und Emotionsregulationssystem. Studie 2 wählte daher ein anderes methodisches Vorgehen: Um in Anlehnung an die Studie von Mikulincer et al. (2000) semantisches Priming zur Aktivierung des Bindungssystems einsetzen zu können, wurde deutschsprachiges Wortmaterial zur Stimulierung sowie zur Überprüfung derselben mittels lexikalischer Entscheidungsaufgabe erstellt und validiert. Allgemeine methodische Schwierigkeiten der Aktivierung des Bindungssystems bei Erwachsenen sowie Implikationen der Studien zum Zusammenhang von Bindung, Stress und Emotionsregulation werden diskutiert

»A landscape of tents«. Transitory Places in Jenny Erpenbeck’s Go, Went, Gone

Jenny Erpenbeck’s novel Go, Went, Gone portrays Berlin, the highly present city in the author’s work, as a city filled with histories and memories, which make up the city’s physical and mental (visible and invisible) layers. Analyses of this novel have so far centered on memory aspects, which implies a certain notion of permanence. This article turns towards the motif of impermanence and shows its predominance in Erpenbeck’s work. By scrutinizing the texture of the specific places in Berlin, this topographical reading aims to show how the places’ structure is shaped by a permanent impermanence. As these continuous transformations can be observed on different levels, the article unfolds a multilayered impermanence of Berlin

What’s the linguistic meaning of delusional utterances?: speech act theory as a tool for understanding delusions

Delusions have traditionally been considered the hallmark of mental illness, and their conception, diagnosis and treatment raise many of the fundamental conceptual and practical questions of psychopathology. One of these fundamental questions is whether delusions are understandable. In this paper, we propose to consider the question of understandability of delusions from a philosophy of language perspective. For this purpose, we frame the question of how delusions can be understood as a question about the meaning of delusional utterances. Accordingly, we ask: “what meaning(s) can delusional utterances possibly have?”. We argue that in the current literature, there is a standard approach to the meaning of delusional utterances, namely the descriptive account which assumes that a delusional utterance “p” means that p is the case. Drawing on Speech Act Theory, we argue that solely relying on the descriptive account disregards essential ways of how linguistic meaning is constituted. Further, we show that Speech Act Theory can prove a helpful addition to the theoretical and clinical “toolbox” used for attempting to understand delusional utterances. This, we believe, may address some of the theoretical and clinical shortcomings of using only the currently predominant descriptive account