Depression and expression: life begins on the other side of despair

This paper has two parts. In Part I, it consists of a letter written by the subject of the &lsquo;case study&rsquo; that forms the basis of Part II. Part I demonstrates how the writer Aliki Pavlou discovered that, in attempting to help a friend face uncomfortable truths in relation to his perception of his mother, she inadvertently was able to voice her own dilemma in relation to her mother that hitherto had been elusive.This paper forms a part of a larger project being researched by Aliki Pavlou, Justin Clemens and me. The study, to be entitled, &quot;In the Heart of Hell: Depression and its Expression,&quot; is one that contends that Literature expresses the ineffable nature of depression in its symbolic mode; that, indeed, literary texts reveal in their concealment. The work therefore argues that &lsquo;depression&rsquo; is expressible.Part II of this paper analyses the response of a depressive to Jean-Paul Sartre&rsquo;s novel Nausea (1964). Beginning with a brief discussion of the role of the &lsquo;mother&rsquo; as psychologically pivotal in some depressives&rsquo; struggle towards well-being, this section analyses a reading of Nausea by a depressive. The objective of this study was to ascertain the extent to which the condition of nausea, as represented in Sartre&rsquo;s novel, expresses the experience of depression. <br /

Pupils' attitudes towards art teaching in primary school: an evaluation tool

Pupils’ attitudes are influencing both learning and teaching processes and are affecting the way pupils will engage with art as adults. This paper introduces an attitude scale, ASAES (Attitude Scale for Art Experienced in School), which measures factors that may influence the formation of pupils’ attitudes, from pupils’ perceived abilities in art to teachers’ art specialisation. This newly developed instrument is a Likert- scale comprising four subscales: enjoyment, confidence, usefulness, and support needed. The support needed dimension is an essential component in the learning process because it represents the pupil’s perception of teacher’s feedback on how well they are coping with the task. The ASAES was administered to 420 primary school pupils in Cyprus and its psychometric properties are evaluated by Confirmatory Factor analysis

Media narratives, politics and the Cyprus problem

Media, politics and the Cyprus Problem are the main themes of the present study. Through analysis of Greek and Turkish Cypriot television news bulletins and newspaper editorials and leading articles, the study seeks to establish media approaches and positions on important issues so as to better understand their work, role and functions. The study analyses practices and positions related to the Cyprus Problem, the solution, matters of identity, the ‘others’ and the European Union, the authorities and the political forces. This attempt to ascertain the underlying values that guide news selection and content will provide a clearer picture of how the media interacts with or influences society

ICT and adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL

Mellar, H., Kambouri, M., Sanderson, M., and Pavlou, V. (2004) ICT and adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL. London: NRDC. Available at: http://www.nrdc.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_258.pdfResearch report for NRDCThis project set out to obtain a picture of present teaching practice in the use of ICT in adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL within formal provision. (http://www.nrdc.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_258.pdf

'What is art?' for children around the world : a comparative analysis

Art as a concept often operates within a particular culture. Through social interaction with adults, children build up a fund of social knowledge, which influences their own interpretations of art. This paper compares the findings of different studies examining children’s perceptions of art, which took place in different geographical (Los Angeles, New York, Nicosia/Cyprus), ethnic/ cultural (Whites, Latino, African-American, English speakers, Greek speakers), socioeconomic and curriculum contexts. Despite the significant disparities observed in the contexts under review, striking similarities are noted in children’s perceptions of art. These results have implications for the way we seek to understand what art is for children. More importantly, though, they highlight that art has a universal meaning for children and as such it can be used as a means for understanding, appreciating and accepting diverse cultures.peer-reviewe

Migración, empleo doméstico y vulnerabilidad: modelos de regulación jurídica en Chipre y España

The intersection of gender, welfare and immigration regimes has been one of the main focus of a rich scholarship on paid domestic work in Europe. This article brings into the discussion the nexus of employment and immigration law regimes to reflect on the role of legal regulation in structuring and reducing the vulnerability of domestic workers. I analyse this nexus by looking at the cases of Cyprus and Spain, two states falling under the cluster of Southern Mediterranean welfare regimes, that share certain characteristics in terms of immigration regimes, but have substantially different employment law regulation models. The first part sketches the debate on the employment law regulation of domestic work. The second part starts by giving an overview of the immigration regimes of Cyprus and Spain in relation to migrant domestic workers and then proceeds to analyse the two countries’ models and substance of employment law regulation in domestic work. The comparison of these two divergent approaches informs the debate on how the legal regulation of domestic work should be best structured. In Spain there have been recent dynamic legislative changes in the employment law regulation of domestic work. The final part of the article traces these changes and reflects on why such processes have not taken place in Cyprus.Las relaciones que se establecen entre las regulaciones y disciplinas que afectan al género, las políticas sociales y laborales y la inmigración han constituido uno de los centros de un rico debate doctrinal sobre el trabajo doméstico remunerado en Europa. El presente artículo pretende analizar el nexo entre la regulación laboral y la de inmigración para reflexionar sobre el papel que una regulación jurídica puede desempeñar en la reducción de la vulnerabilidad de los trabajadores domésticos. El análisis de la relación entre inmigración y regulación laboral se centra en el estudio de Chipre y España, dos estados que pueden encuadrarse en la tipología de modelo mediterráneo de estados de bienestar y que comparten ciertas características en sus regímenes jurídicos de regulación de la inmigración, pero donde aparecen importantes diferencias en la regulación laboral. La primera parte introduce el debate sobre la regulación laboral del trabajo doméstico. La segunda parte describe el panorama de los regímenes jurídicos de la inmigración en Chipre y España en relación con los trabajadores domésticos inmigrantes para continuar con el análisis de ambos modelos y de la regulación sustancial relevante en materia de empleo doméstico. Mediante la comparación de estos dos modelos divergentes se construye el debate sobre cómo elaborar de manera óptima la regulación del trabajo doméstico. En el caso español, en el marco de una dinámica de reformas laborales, han existido recientes cambios legislativos en la regulación del trabajo doméstico. La parte final del artículo rastrea el origen de estos cambios y propone una reflexión sobre las razones de la ausencia de un proceso similar en Chipre