The Economics of the Guru

This essay studies “Gurus,” specifically the globalization of Hinduism that has spread Hindu spiritual practices in the West and also influenced the practices in In- dia. In the United States, a focus on the self and individualism is a trait commonly found which has led to an increase in mindfulness practices. These practices travel around the world and are changed in the process, then come back to the “East” as comodified practices. Many modern gurus have latched onto traditionally Hindu practices and teachings and sell their own version of it in lectures and products that promise its consumers a better life if they follow the specific guru. The spread of Hinduism and the rise of the internet, which allows gurus to spread their teachings to a global audience, have created a culture of consumerism in which gurus can thrive by amassing a following and selling their products and services

The Development of Intervention Toolkits for Non-Specialized Personnel and Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in La Paz, Bolivia

INTRODUCTION: There has been an increase in the understanding of autism-spectrum disorder (ASD) and corresponding occupational therapy (OT) interventions; however, much of this has yet to be implemented in several resource-limited countries, including Bolivia. Parent-mediated interventions (PMIs) are being heralded as a promising approach to address this gap. Through the creation of toolkits for non-specialized personnel (e.g., parents, teachers), the purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project is to enhance the occupational engagement and quality of life for children with ASD and their families in La Paz, Bolivia. METHODS: Pre-surveys were administered to parents of children with ASD at the sites to determine beneficial topics for the toolkits. Post-toolkit development, a self-report questionnaire was administered to healthcare professionals who reviewed and will distribute the toolkits to nonspecialized personnel. These surveys consisted of a variety of question types to acquire data, which was analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. RESULTS: The findings indicate that the toolkits were found to be helpful, and the healthcare providers plan to share them with other non-specialized personnel. Qualitatively, there were reports of the toolkits being useful and easy to replicate; however, concerns were presented for ease of mass dissemination and comprehensibility for parents. CONCLUSION: This toolkit intervention for non-specialized personnel is viewed as a helpful and effective option among healthcare providers in Bolivia for reducing the gaps surrounding access to clinic-based services. The QI project supports the targeted goal for this population, and the sustainability allows for the continuation of this project

Restlessness and Domesticity: Reading Frederick Jackson Turner’s Frontier

In American history, the idea of the frontier is both history and mythology. Some scholars approach the topic from a historical perspective, others from a literary one. Historian Frederick Jackson Turner’s famous “Frontier Thesis” (1893) occupies that same liminal space, resting somewhere between the quantifiable history of the frontier and the symbolic frontier in American culture. Turner is not responsible for the romanticized ideal of the frontier—that version of the frontier had existed long before he wrote. What Turner produced was an attempt to capture the imagined frontier, during a time when America was moving away from its actual frontier experiences. In my work, I will use Turner’s ideas about the frontier as a template to explore the idealized version of the frontier as an important feature of American literature. If we treat the Frontier Thesis simply as one version of an ongoing cultural and literary tradition, rather than as a historical hypothesis, it can help us to examine how the myth of the frontier manifested itself in American popular literature. There are hundreds of American books about the frontier, but here I will focus on three: Giants in the Earth (1927) by Ole Rølvaag; O Pioneers! (1913) by Willa Cather; and Little House on the Prairie (1935) by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Each explores a similar tension between the frontier characteristic Turner described as “restlessness” and the pull toward permanence and domesticity

An analysis of sentence construction and parts of speech of 4 and 5 year old children

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University, 1949. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive