Growth In Aspirations Research Articles

A Study on Activities Related to Habitation (Indwelling) and Their Meanings

Abstract The process of transformation in Poland contributed to the dynamic development of the housing market and caused a growth of aspirations among Poles related to the housing environment. The diversity of lifestyles has brought about new, different expectations of the residential environment. Meanwhile, most surveys examining housing preferences and focused on the location of housing, services and infrastructure in housing estates, and urban and architectural standards show similar expectations of residents in regards to their housing environment. The phenomenon of the homogenization of expectations regarding the residential environment appears regardless of the household lifecycle, place of residence, or level of wealth (STACHURA 2013). Research methods testing users’ preferences allow an expected set of characteristics of the housing environment to be specified. If the respondents' aspirations regarding the housing environment are similar regardless of the segment they belong to, it may be assumed that possible differences may be revealed by a more detailed study. People perform many activities in their homes. These activities are related to everyday living, family and social life, work or hobbies. Each of them may be in assigned to one or more rooms in a dwelling. Activities may have different meanings and hold a different degree of importance to the residents. When purchasing a new dwelling, buyers prefer homes where the activities most important to them can be carried out in the most satisfactory way. The study attempts to establish the relationships between activities and sub-settings (dwelling or residential environment features) as well as between activities and their meanings. This paper presents an extended method of examining residential preferences: respondents declare, in a survey questionnaire, what activities are carried out in the dwelling, and how they attach meanings to these activities. The pilot study showed that some of the activities are strongly associated with one specific room, while others may be connected to any room. Rooms in Polish homes have many functions. Some of the functions are strictly connected with the type of room (bedroom, bathroom), but there is also a set of everyday activities that can be assigned to different rooms, selected by the resident. The present research revealed that activities can take on different meanings, which determines their level of importance to the dwelling user.

Development of occupational aspiration prestige: A piecewise latent growth model of selected influences

Using the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) data sets, the complex phenomenon of intra-individual and inter-individual differences in and the potential predictors of those differences on career aspirations development over a 12-year period was analyzed. Results indicated that 73.1% of the total growth (change) in adolescents’ occupational aspiration prestige scores were achieved between grades 8–10, while 26.9% of growth was achieved between grades 10 and 12. One-third of the total growth in the occupational aspiration scores of these individuals as young adults was observed between high school graduation and 2 years after graduation, while 67.4% of the total growth was obtained during the period between 2 and 8 years after high school graduation. Individuals with higher initial aspiration scores experienced slower growth in aspirations than those with lower initial aspirations. A negative association between career aspiration prestige scores in grade 12 and 8 years post-graduation existed.

Aspiration growth, talent development, and self‐fulfillment in a context of democratic erosion

Healthy liberal democracies provide strong support for the agency of gifted and talented individuals. Agency entails the development of lofty aspirations, strong talents, and self‐fulfillment over the long term. In contrast, totalitarian sociopolitical environments strongly suppress the agency of most citizens while supporting the ethically warped development of a few privileged insiders. A model of democratic growth and erosion, drawn from syntheses of scholarship from history, political theory, economics, sociology, and ethical philosophy, reveals some dynamics of large‐scale contextual influences on the gifted and talented. Current trends toward ideological polarization and mass deception suggest that democratic erosion is jeopardizing the development of high ability individuals, particularly among disadvantaged populations. Educators of the gifted must become aware of discrepancies in epistemic power and the impact of empathy gulfs while striving to support the development of creative, ethical leadership.