Measurement of attitudes of deans of women toward principles of good counseling

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University

The Church first called Christian: The Melkite Church of Antioch

The Catholic Church is made up of many church communities of different rites, with the main classifications being the Roman rites and the Eastern rites of the Catholic Church. With the influx of migrants especially since the Second World War there has been growth in Australia, in the number of Catholics belonging to the many Eastern rites including Byzantine Catholics, Coptic Catholics and Chaldean Catholics. The Second Vatican Council documents encouraged members of the Catholic Church of the Latin traditions to know and understand the rich traditions of the Easterners so that the full manifestation of the catholicity of the Church and full knowledge of its divinely revealed heritage are preserved. One can ask how familiar are Catholics of the Roman rites with the beliefs, practices, liturgy, devotions and historical development of the other rites in the Catholic Church? The aim of this thesis is to give understanding about the Melkite Catholic Church in Australia. It takes the reader on a journey from Antioch in Syria to Australia in the third millennium, showing that the Melkites trace their roots to Antioch where believers were first called Christians. This thesis elaborates on who the Melkites are by firstly looking at the origins of this church community and thereby establishing the authenticity of this church community since it was established by the apostles and their co-workers, with the apostles being empowered by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The thesis enumerates the key aspects of the early church at Antioch including theology, liturgy and the structure of the church, with these findings being foundational for the Melkite Church in Australia today. The thesis describes worship in the Melkite Church with emphasis on the development of this worship especially for the sacraments of Baptism, Chrismation and the Eucharist.;It explains important ritual, symbols, architecture and artwork and concluded that these express the key beliefs of this church community. The fundamental dogmas in the Melkite Church are the teachings on the Holy Trinity and the Incarnation. The thesis elaborates on these dogmas explaining how they were important in the early church at Antioch and how understanding of them was developed by important theologians revered in the Melkite Church, in previous eras and today. The Christian faith is a living faith. In writing this thesis the importance of Tradition for God's revelation to His holy people is emphasised. In its study of the sacraments of Baptism, Chrismation and the Eucharist, the thesis was able to show that the celebration of these sacraments was linked to the early church at Antioch. It especially looked at what was happening at the time of St John Chrysostom at Constantinople. This time frame saw the beginning of the development of the Byzantine Rite. There is elaboration on the link between the Byzantine rite (the rite of the Melkites today) and the Antiochene liturgy. As well the thesis expounded on the understanding of the three fold ministry of bishop, priest and deacon at Antioch and the importance of the ordained ministry today. It concluded that the four sacraments discussed above were foundational in the early church and are essential in worship in the Melkite Church today. The thesis explained important details about the sacraments of Marriage, Penance and the Anointing of the Sick. It especially explained the development of the Sacrament of Penance. The thesis acknowledges the validity of all rites in the Catholic Church and concluded that encouragement must be given for the preservation of the various rites in the Church. This is important for the Eastern Church communities as they contain a rich heritage, which is an integral part of the Church of Christ.;An important conclusion was that the development of the church at Antioch must be understood in the light of Tradition the living and lived faith, which passes on all that the church believes and celebrates in its worship of the Holy Trinity. The Melkite Church of Antioch was first called Christian

Preserving the Spirit of African Storytelling in the Pittsburgh Cycle

This thesis will investigate and examine how August Wilson incorporated African storytelling ceremonials inside of Gem of the Ocean and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. By studying the mannerisms and characteristics of Aunt Ester (Gem of the Ocean) and Bynum Walker (Joe Turner’s Come and Gone), this paper will help educators to understand that Wilson created these characters to preserve African griots inside his Pittsburgh Cycle. This paper will link how theatre educators in the 21st century can capture the spirit of the African griots. The socially responsible theatre practice is a teaching method that theatre teachers can incorporate into their classroom that replicates the early objective of African storytelling. This thesis will demonstrate that the ritual of African storytelling and social responsible theatre practice aim to heal the individual

The experiences of fathers in the perinatal period

This thesis portfolio is comprised of three parts: a systematic literature review, an empirical study and a set of appendices.Part one is a systematic literature review in which existing empirical literature relating to fathers’ representations of their unborn children during pregnancy is reviewed. A total of 15 studies is critically evaluated and assessed for quality. Their findings are then collated to examine the manner in which fathers represent their unborn children and the factors which influence the development of these representations. These findings are discussed in relation to clinical implications and directions for future research.Part two is an empirical paper which explores fathers’ experiences of the perinatal period in the context of maternal mental health problems. The study employed a narrative approach in the exploration of forty fathers’ stories of this time. Both elicited and pre-existing online stories were included. The holistic form and content of the stories was examined in an attempt to gain insight into the factors and processes that contribute to differential outcomes for families within this period. The findings are discussed in reference to the Developmental Systems Framework of Family Resilience (Walsh, 2016) and clinical implications are presented.Part three is a complete set of appendices of parts one and two. The supporting information for the systematic literature review and empirical study are presented, in addition to epistemological and reflective statements to provide further context for the undertaken research

Counsellor's views of diversity and difference in an NGO counselling environment

The topic of this research is lay counsellors’ attitudes towards difference in an NGO organization that offers a counselling service based on Carl Rogers’ Person-Centred approach. South Africa post-apartheid is a fragmented and traumatized society and attempts at redressing past inequities have largely overlooked the mental health care sector. As a result, NGO’s are increasingly having to fill the gap, with little co-ordination with or co-operation from professional mental health care practitioners. With critical race theory as a theoretical point of departure, Lacau and Mouffe’s discourse theory was used to analyze results from in-depth semi structured interviews with counsellors at an NGO in Johannesburg. The findings confirmed that counsellors’ attitudes towards difference are shaped by their and the client’s racialized identities, with the adherence to Rogerian principles and the need to be a ‘good’ counsellor, foreclosing any opportunity to critically examine subject positions and the role of history in how such positions are constructed. The introduction of a training component that includes historical analysis and courageous conversations about difference would better equip counsellors to carry the burden of complex presenting issues from a diverse clientele

Teaching character and citizenship through literature

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Changes in inpatients' experiences of hospital care in England over a 12-year period: a secondary analysis of national survey data

Objectives Adult inpatient surveys generate approximately 70,000 responses per year about patients’ experiences of National Health Service hospital care in England. We examine historical data to assess change between 2002 and 2013 and consider the factors that may have stimulated any change. Methods: Archived national data from National Health Service Inpatient Surveys between 2002 and 2013 (comprising 840,077 patient responders) were obtained. Questions were selected for inter-year analysis if they had been replicated for at least seven years. The percentage of responses in the most positive category was compared for each question’s earliest and most recent year. The statistical significance of differences was tested using chi-square. Also, since such large sample sizes mean that even 1% differences are statistically significant, effect sizes were used to assess the practical significance of those differences. Results: There were statistically significant (p  0.1) and one ‘small’ decline, but differences were not meaningful for 42 questions. The greatest improvements were for patients receiving copies of doctors’ letters; single sex ward areas; clinicians’ hand washing; ward cleanliness and planned admission waiting times. The greatest decline was that fewer responders said their call bells were usually answered within 2 min. Conclusions: More aspects of care have improved than have deteriorated. This study highlights the need for a consistent repeated survey programme to detect changes over the long term, since year-to-year changes tend to be small. The greatest improvements are in areas that can be influenced by organisation-wide interventions and many are associated with top–down government policies, targets or media campaigns. Patients’ evaluations of many aspects of their interactions with clinicians are unchanged or have declined. Further research could test whether ward-specific facilitated communication of survey results to clinicians could drive improvements in clinician–patient interactions

Cosmetic surgery & reality television: the relationship between college students\u27 viewing of cosmetic surgery on reality television and self-reported attitudes toward cosmetic surgery

The current study explores the effects of viewing cosmetic surgery reality television programs (CSRTP) on self-reported attitudes toward cosmetic surgery. Undergraduate college students (N = 105) completed surveys and responded to questions related to their television viewing habits and their attitudes toward cosmetic surgery. Results of this study indicate that heavier viewers have a more favorable attitude toward cosmetic surgery for themselves than do non-viewers or lighter viewers. However, the results also indicate no significant difference in attitudes among heavier viewers, lighter viewers, and non-viewers regarding cosmetic surgery for others; additionally, the results show no significant difference in terms of the perceived social stigma, pain, and healing time associated with undergoing surgery

New Jersey public libraries and funding

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine New Jersey public libraries with budgets exceeding $3 million dollars and find out their sources of funding. In particular, with the financial climate of many state libraries\u27 budgets being cut, the mailed questionnaire focused on whether 18 public libraries out of a selection of 21 libraries in New Jersey have established endowment funds or deferred giving plans. Results found that only a few libraries have funding other than local community tax revenue. Most library directors acknowledge that fundraising is a viable way to diversify their income, and that in concept it is valuable. The majority of libraries were not doing fundraising on any sustainable basis, and their philosophical agreement to raise money did not translate into any significant action on their part

Sociology, Science and Sustainability: Developing Relationships in Scotland

This paper considers the application of the sociological imagination during the analysis of data collected during an ethnographic study of an environmental regulator, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). SEPA is tasked with implementing the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Scotland, which will radically alter the regulation of water use. Applying a sociological imagination allowed the researcher to advocate for a more interdisciplinary and equitable understanding of sustainable water use when feeding back initial research results at the end of the data collection period. The researchers introduced socialised definitions of the environment, which linked social justice and ecological concerns. These insights provided a challenge to the traditional bio-physical science focus of the organisational participants, for whom sustainability is a relatively new addition to their duties. The paper concludes by discussing the importance of developing these interdisciplinary relationships in the future.Sociological Imagination, Water Framework Directive, Sustainability Science, Consumer-Citizens