Belief In Self Research Articles

Life satisfaction and L2 engagement in adolescents

Abstract The study examined how L2 engagement is associated with students’ general life satisfaction, a core element of well-being. A total of 1,109 seventh-grade EFL learners from a rural secondary school in China completed a measure of life satisfaction (family satisfaction, environment satisfaction, academic satisfaction, school satisfaction, freedom satisfaction, and friendship satisfaction) and a measure of foreign language engagement (cognitive engagement, emotional engagement, behavioural engagement, and social engagement). Path analysis shows that life satisfaction generally predicted L2 engagement positively. Variations were found in the associations between six life satisfaction dimensions and four L2 engagement dimensions. A positive psychology lens is adopted to interpret the findings and make concrete suggestions about how to enhance learner engagement. The findings imply that a proactive preventative stance on bolstering engagement could be encouraged such as fostering learners’ positive perceptions and beliefs of self, family, school, environment, study, and friends.

Is She a Feminist Icon Now? Barbie 2023 Movie and a Critique of Postfeminism

This study seeks to analyse Greta Gerwig’s Barbie 2023 movie, exploring how it playfully interacts with academic criticisms by incorporating them into its narrative in a humorous way. This article intends to investigate how the movie serves as a critique of postfeminist media texts by highlighting how it affects women's psychological well-being, illustrating the ways in which it can be debilitating. The movie also highlights the unfulfilled psychological aspects of feminism, rendering it a feminist text in that regard. A thematic analysis of the movie prompts a discussion on how a character who has been a postfeminist icon transforms into a feminist narrative identity.In the beginning of the film, Barbie resides within a paradisiacal realm characterized by unwavering agency and authority. She lives in Barbieland where “every day is a great day”. This mirrors the way in which both girls and boys immerse themselves in their imaginative play, constructing their microcosms replete with agency and the role of the protagonist (Yakali Camoglu, 2020). However, as individuals mature into adulthood, the shift is palpable and the world they encounter demands a relinquishment of some of that power, leading them to transition from active agents to potentially objectified subjects in certain contexts. This is symbolised in Barbie’s own transition from Barbieland (imaginations of childhood) to the Real World (adulthood) in the end of the movie.The movie engages in the critique that Barbie encounters, as her portrayal symbolizes the unrealistic standards imposed on women, portraying them as unattainable ideals. Although her initial intent -supposedly- is to empower girls by rescuing them from the confines of stereotypical maternal roles and introducing them to diverse occupations, her portrayal inadvertently immerses them in a realm where not only physical perfection but also success in careers and relationships is expected—a realm where limitless possibilities coexist with a profound burden. This postfeminist portrayal offers a vision of boundless potential achievable through belief in self, but concurrently fosters a burdensome mental strain and self-objectification among women, entangling them in a constant cycle of self-critique.This predicament forms the crux of Barbie's critical error, leading her to relinquish her paradisiacal abode, Barbieland, and embrace the realm of real-world womanhood. By assuming the complex roles women navigate, Barbie forfeits her idyllic sanctuary and immerses herself in a world where the concept of "perfection" is inherently absent, as authenticity takes precedence over plastic constructs.After identifying the existing literature on Barbie, the article proceeds to present the theoretical framework, which is postfeminism, and outlines the research methodology. The results of the thematic analysis reveal Barbie's active engagement in critiquing the postfeminist media culture in which she was a prominent figure. This pivotal process underscores Barbie's latest contribution to the realm of media studies, transforming from a text entrenched in postfeminist ideals to embodying a feminist narrative.

TEACHER`S SOCIAL EMOTIONAL HEALTH AND RESILIENCE IN SLOVAKIA AND LATVIA DURING DISTANCE LEARNING SITUATION

The article brings the research results of the teachers´ social-emotional health and resilience in Slovak Republic and in Latvia during distance learning situation. The sample consisted of 800 teachers, 400 teachers from each country, who completed Social-Emotional Health Survey-Teachers (SEHS-T) and Resilience Scale (RS) during months of May through July 2021. The research results showed the highest covitality level of Slovak teachers in comparison with Latvian teachers (p ˂.001, r = .36). There was found a big difference in covitality in the clue domain Belief in Self in favour of Slovak teachers (p ˂.001; r = .44), there were only average differences in other domains - Belief in Others, Emotional Competence, Engaged Living. Latvian teachers reached high scores in cognitive reappraisal and optimism (p ˂.001). There was statistical difference in the level of resilience between Slovak and Latvian samples (p ˂.001; r = .35). Slovak teachers scored higher. But the teacher’s resilience in both countries had moderate level. Significant positive strong correlation was found between resilience and covitality in Slovak teachers rs = .76** and in Latvian teachers rs = .66**. Significant high and moderate positive correlations were found also between resilience and covitality domains.

초등학생의 상호활성화와 긍정적 정서를 위한 원예교육 프로그램의 개발과 적용

This study examined the effects on covitality, an integrative variable of positive psychology and positive emotions that respond favorably to life, of a horticulture education program designed to be implemented in schools based on positive psychology. For this purpose, the analysis included a total of 52 6th graders at H Elementary School in Seoul, Korea, with 26 participants in the experimental group and 26 participants in the control group. A total of 13 sessions of the positive psychology horticulture education program were conducted using a two-group pretest-posttest measurement quasi-experimental design. The results of the study showed that the developed positive psychology-based horticulture education program was significantly effective in promoting covitality in the case of elementary school students. It improved the sub-domains of belief in self, belief in others, emotional competence, and engaged living. It also had a significant effect on reducing stress and promoting positive emotions of elementary school students. This study confirmed that positive psychology-based horticulture education programs affect elementary school students' covitality and positive emotions by using a tool that represents an integrated concept including various information beyond a single concept. This study aimed to inform the need for positive psychology-based horticulture education to help elementary school students in the creation of a sense of well-being by increasing their social and emotional competence, and to provide more effective and diverse positive psychology-based horticulture education programs for elementary schools.

PERSONAL AND CONTEXTUAL FACTORS AND ACADEMIC RESILIENCE OF LECTURERS AT STATE AND PRIVATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITIES DURING PANDEMIC

This article discusses what factors can potentially determine the academic toughness of lecturers in the PTKIN and PTKIS environments in Indonesia during the Covid-19 pandemic. To that end, this article adapts Martin and Marsh's concepts of academic resilience and teacher resilience developed by Beltman and the ideas of Beltman et al., Mansfield et al., and Alyev et al., on the determinants of academic toughness. Survey data from lecturers at PTKIN and PTKIS were analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis and produced the following findings. The academic toughness of potential PTKIN and PTKIS lecturers is determined by the following two groups of factors, namely personal and contextual factors. Trust or belief in self (self-efficacy) and self-respect (self-respect) as lecturers to achieve the learning outcomes they plan to achieve are two important personal factors that can determine the academic toughness of the PTKIN and PTKIS lecturers. In addition, this article also describes six types of potential contextual factors that determine their academic toughness. Both types of groups of factors have the potential to determine their academic resilience in carrying out academic activities, especially in the context of education and teaching that they carry out during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A Novel Palliative Care Peer Support Program for Adolescents and Young Adults: Survey and Factor Analytic Study.

Background: Palliative care literature indicates a dearth of programs addressing the psychosocial needs of adolescents and young adults (AYAs). Objectives: This study assessed patient-reported experiences of a palliative care peer support program, analyzed psychometric qualities of the program evaluation, and examined associations with quality-of-life scores to assess validity and potential impact on aspects of AYA quality of life. Design: This retrospective, cross-sectional study described self-reported Streetlight program evaluation and quality of life of AYA patients, exploratory factor analysis of survey responses, and analysis of associations with quality of life. Setting/Subjects: AYA participants (13-30) enrolled in the Streetlight program for at least six months were recruited during hospital admissions and clinic visits at UF Health Shands Hospital. Results: Participants' (n = 69) scores were high for Youth Quality of Life Instrument-Short Form (YQOL-SF) (82.6 of 100), and Streetlight evaluations (4.47 of 5). Patients endorsed themes of: high-quality friendships with volunteers, transformative impacts to wellbeing, and benefits to mental health and coping in open-ended responses. Analyses identified three factors explaining 61% of variance in Streetlight program evaluation responses: "Friendships and Support" (26%); "Coping, Family, and Providers" (20%); and "Diversion and Respect" (15%). Significant positive associations were found between Streetlight evaluation scores and YQOL-SF Belief in Self and Family factor scores, as well as between Streetlight evaluation Friendships and Support factor scores, and YQOL-SF total and factor-specific scores. Conclusions: Results suggest that the Streetlight program is a viable model to facilitate positive experiences, opportunities for socialization, and meaningful peer support for AYA patients.

Markers of Social and Emotional Health in College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective: Research on effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the mental health of youth have mostly focused on the occurrence of negative states such as anxiety and depression. The objective of this study was to assess the social and emotional health of university students in India, as influenced by COVID-19 test results and the experience of isolation or quarantine.Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in India during July and early August 2021 among university students aged 20-25 years. The Social Emotional Health Survey-Higher Education (SEHS-HE) was used to assess 4 domains: belief in self, belief in others, emotional competence, and engaged living.Results: There were 187 respondents from 78 institutions in 14 of 29 states of India. The sample was 51% male. The mean SEHS-HE scores were approximately 75% of the maximum score in each domain. In multivariable regression analysis, sex, residence with family, and a negative COVID-19 report had little effect on SEHS-HE domains. COVID-19 positivity was associated with significantly lower scores on all domains (P < .01). Isolation/quarantine was associated with significantly or near-significantly higher scores on all domains (P < .01). In all cases, β coefficients and the proportion of the variance explained by the regression were small.Conclusions: Major pandemic-related internal and environmental determinants of SEHS-HE remain to be identified. Strategies to improve the well-being of college students should be directed toward those who have tested positive for the disease. The experience of isolation/quarantine is not pathoplastic.

Undergraduates’ lived experience of project-/problem-based learning in introductory biology

Recommendations for enhancing scientific literacy, inclusivity, and the ecosystem for innovation call for transitioning from teacher-centered to learner-centered science classrooms, particularly at the introductory undergraduate level. Yet little is documented about the challenges that undergraduates perceive in such classrooms and the students' ways of navigating them. Via mixed methods, we studied undergraduates' lived experience in one form of learner-centered teaching, hybrid project-/problem-based learning (PBL), in introductory organismal biology at a baccalaureate institution. Prominent in qualitative analyses of student interviews and written reflections were undergraduates' initial expectation of and longing for an emphasis on facts and transmission of them. The prominence diminished from semester's middle to end, as students came to value developing ideas, solving problems collaboratively, and engaging in deep ways of learning. Collaboration and personal resources such as belief in self emerged as supports for these shifts. Quantitative analyses corroborated that PBL students transformed as learners, moving toward informed views on the nature of science, advancing in multivariable causal reasoning, and more frequently adopting deep approaches for learning than students in lecture-based sections. The qualitative and quantitative findings portray the PBL classroom as an intercultural experience in which culture shock yields over time to acceptance in a way supported by students' internal resources and peer collaboration. The findings have value to those seeking to implement PBL and other complex-learning approaches in a manner responsive to the lived experience of the learner.

Social-Emotional Health and Psychological Well-Being among Church School Students

Abstract Introduction: This study aims to determine the level of social-emotional health of church school students and relationships among the variables of social-emotional health and psychological well-being. Methods: The research group consisted of 73 church school students in Presov Region. The data collection tools were the Social – Emotional Health Survey for secondary education (SEHS-S) and the Scale of Psychological Well-Being (PWB). The presented quantitative study has a correlation character with the comparative questions and exploratory - verification design. Results: The findings of the study showed that there is a strong positive correlation between overall social-emotional health referred to covitality and psychological well-being. Strong and moderate correlations were found among domains and psychological indicators of social-emotional health and dimensions of psychological well-being. A domain belief in others strongly correlates with positive relations with others. A strong correlation has been found between the indicator of peer support and the dimension of positive relations with others. The findings showed a moderately large, statistically significant difference in the level of belief in self in favor of males compared to females. Small and medium-sized differences between males and females were also found at the level of psychological indicators. The level of overall social-emotional health increases with the increase in the mastery of the environmental mastering and positive relations with others, which explains 35% of the data variance. Discussion: Research indicates relationships between the social-emotional health and psychological well-being as well as among dimensions, domains and indicators. The results support previous findings of other authors. Furthermore, the results showed a significant difference in the level of belief in self domain in favour of males compared to females. This finding indicates that males have higher self-confidence while compared to females. Limitations: There are certain limitations in the research, which include usage of non-standardized methods on Slovak population and a low level of reliability for Psychological Well-being Scale. Among other limitations, we include the time of data collection, which took place during the last class at the end of the week. Conclusion: Mental Health is about more than mental illness. Being mentally healthy and feeling well is important. To measure and identify elements of mental health may be useful to comprehend and promote psychological strengths of a person. A value of the paper lies in findings concerning social-emotional health of church school students, which contributed to the standardization of SEHS-S in Slovakia. Nevertheless, social-emotional health of Slovak students should not be neglected and further research on a larger sample is needed.

Cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties of Youth Quality of Life Instrument-Short Form (YQOL-SF) in a developing South-East Asian country.

This study was performed to evaluate the measurement properties of Youth Quality of Life–Short Form (YQOL-SF) in assessing the quality of life (QOL) among general youths in Vietnam. An online cross-sectional study was conducted to validate the YQOL-SF. Factor analysis (including exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was utilized to determine the factorial structure of this tool. The psychometric properties (reliability and validity) of the new factorial model were assessed. The factor analysis revealed the two-factor model of YQOL-SF including factor 1 “Belief in self and family”, and factor 2 “Environment and relationships”. Cronbach’s alpha value showed excellent internal consistency in both factors (0.911 and 0.910, respectively). Results also indicated good convergent, divergent, concurrent, and know-group validity of the two-factor model. Our study provided a promising model with different domains that were proved to be essential for the assessment of quality of life among Vietnamese youth aged 16–24. Our two-factor model affirmed that a balance between detail and length of the assessment is important to consider when selecting YQOL-SF for youths’ QOL assessment. It helped reduce the risk of redundancy and encourages high survey completion rates among participants.

RELEVANCE OF INDICATORS OF SOCIAL EMOTIONAL HEALTH IN DIFFERENT SAMPLES OF ADOLESCENCE

The aim of this research was to determine whether there are statistically relevant differences in Michael J. Furlong's concept of socio-emotional health with meta construct Covitality (SEV factor) between teenage and youth selections, gender, and nationalities in different schools.The participants of the research were 593 respondents from Latvia, aged 11-19 years. Out of the total selection of participants (N=593) there were 318 teens (M=13.01, SD=.84), of them 151 boys and 167 girls; the other group of 274 young people (M=15.85, SD = 1.02), consisted of 132 males and 142 females. To measure the positive aspects of the mental health, A Socio-emotional Health Survey was used (Social Emotional Health Survey – Secondary, SEHS-S, Furlong, You, Renshaw, O’Malley; 2014; adapted in Latvian by Kņaze, 2017).There were raised 6 questions in the beginning of the research. Results showed higher results for girls on the scale Belief in Others (its substructure Peer Support) and on the scale Emotional Competence (its substructure Empathy), compared to the selection of boys.The results on the scale Engaged living were statistically higher for teens compared to the selection of the youth. Teens also had higher statistical results of Co-vitality compared to the youth. However, the selection of youth showed statistically higher results in the Emotion Regulation (the substructure of Emotional Competence) compared to the selection of teens.The respondents from city schools showed statistically higher results on the scale Belief in Self, Engaged Living and Co-vitality compared to students from town schools. The Regression Analysis highlights the importance of the school environment in Co-vitality, which explains the 3% variance of the socio-emotional health.

Prevalence, Intensity and Manifestation of COVID-19 Fear: A Cross Sectional Analysis.

Pandemics are direct antecedent of distinctive physical, psychological, social and financial impacts. A large number of researches are being conducted regarding previous epidemics and pandemics and lot more is currently in progress vis-?-vis COVID-19. The current research is an attempt to explore psychological impacts of COVID-19 specifically to find out the existence, intensity and dynamics of COVID-19 fear in non-clinical educated population. A cross sectional online study was conducted with non-clinical educated Pakistani citizens. Self-structured questionnaire comprising close and open ended questions was used for data collection from different cities of Pakistan. N=317 participants (men=121, women=196) were the sample for this study. Demographic information was also sought. The age range of sample was 18 to 50+ years. Most of the participants fall in the category of age group 23-28 of sample. All the participants were educated from Intermediate till PhD but majority of participants had 16 years of education. SPSS 22 was used for quantitative data analysis. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis and content analysis. Results yield significant age wise and profession wise difference in existence of COVID fear. Nine major themes were extracted regarding nature of fear i.e. Corona Fear, Loss, fear of isolation or quarantine, religion related fear, death, consequences of COVID-19, Under developed country, Psychological component of fear and empathy. Those who denied fear were asked the reasons and six major themes were extracted here i.e Religion, Inevitability of death, Precautions, Belief in self, Myths or misinterpretation of disease and Avoidant approach. Age and profession significantly influenced fear of COVID-19. Gender-wise exploration of themes yields interesting insights. Participants reflected positivity and empathy in crisis situation.

Psychometric assessment of the Persian translation of the Social and Emotional Health Survey-Secondary (SEHS-S) with female adolescents

The Social Emotional Health Survey-Secondary (SEHS-S) is a self-report measure comprised of four domains (belief in self, belief in others, emotional competence, and engaged living) developed to evaluate mental health in adolescents in the Western hemisphere. To date, the psychometric properties of the SEHS-S measure have not been tested among Iranian adolescents. The objective of the present study was to translate the SEHS-S measure from English into Persian and explore its psychometric properties with a sample of 373 female high-school students (Grades 11 and 12). Findings of face, content, and construct validity tests demonstrated that the SEHS-S measure had satisfactory validity and suitable reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis showed acceptable goodness-of-fit indices and supported the four domains of the SEHS-S measure in the present sample. Correlations between the four domains of the SEHS-S and the Examination Stress Scale, the EPOCH Measure of Adolescent Well-Being, the Aggression Scale, and the Hope Scale provided convergent and divergent validity for the four domains of the SEHS-S scale. The results of the analysis revealed that the SEHS-S measure has appropriate psychometric properties for assessing mental health in female high-school students.

Social Emotional Health Survey-Secondary (SEHS-S): A Universal Screening Measure of Social-Emotional Strengths for Spanish-Speaking Adolescents.

The Social Emotional Health Survey-Secondary (SEHS-S), which is a measure of core psychological assets based on a higher-order model of Covitality, is comprised of 36 items and four latent traits (with three measured subscales): belief in self (self-efficacy, self-awareness, and persistence), belief in others (school support, family coherence, and peer support), emotional competence (emotional regulation, behavioral self-control, and empathy), and engaged living (gratitude, zest, and optimism). Previous international studies have supported the psychometric properties of the SEHS-S. The present study extended this research by examining the psychometric properties of a Spanish-language adaptation with a sample of 1042 Spanish adolescents (Mage = 14.49, SD = 1.65.). Confirmatory factor analyses replicated the original factorial structure, with hierarchical omega between 0.66–0.93, with 0.94 for the total score. Factorial invariance across genders revealed small latent mean differences. A path model evaluated concurrent validity, which revealed a significant association between Covitality and bidimensional mental health (psychological distress and well-being). Specifically, correlational analyses showed a negative association with internalizing/externalizing symptoms, and positive associations with subjective well-being, health-related quality of life, and prosocial behaviors. This study provides an example of a culturally relevant adaptation of an international tool to measure student strengths, which is critical to planning school programming and policy.

Aphasia Park: A pilot study using the co-active therapeutic theater model with clients in aphasia recovery

Aphasia, most often caused by brain damage due to stroke, is a language disorder hindering one's ability to verbally express and/or comprehend language, ranging in severity from mild to severe. An Applied Thematic Analysis (ATA) was undertaken of a post-production focus group to evaluate a 12-week pilot program that used the CoActive Therapeutic Theater (CoATT) Model for persons in Aphasia recovery. Results of a focus group interview found five themes that participants noted as unique outcomes following participation in the pilot program: 1) Meaningful relationships; 2) Increased belief in self; 3) Invigorating experience; 4) Unique healing opportunity; 5) Perceived speech and language improvement.

"Just one of the guys" An application of the Occupational Wellbeing framework to graduates of a Men's Shed Program for young unemployed adult males with intellectual disability.

Conceptualisation of occupation requires understanding of subjective wellbeing and experiences of occupation. Opportunities for participation in productivity activities, such as employment, may be limited for people with intellectual disability (ID). An occupational wellbeing framework was recently re-imagined to focus on the subjective meaning of a person's occupational life rather than occupational performance. This study analysed experiences and possible benefits to occupational wellbeing of young adult men with ID in an intergenerational mentoring program based on Australian Men's Sheds using this revised occupational wellbeing framework. A qualitative approach was used to gather individual semi-structured interviews at the end of an intergenerational mentoring program to explore occupational wellbeing experiences. Eight individual mentees and five parents of mentees (n=13) from the different Men's Sheds sites agreed to participate in an individual interview about their experiences of the program. All mentees were male aged between 17 and 24years. Family members included four female mothers and one male father. Data were highlighted, selected and deductively coded using content analysis according to the five occupational wellbeing domains of the framework. Mentees reflected upon their experience with their mentor, the program, activities and environment of the Men's Shed. Findings were organised in relation to each of the five domains of occupational wellbeing, including contentment, competence, belonging, identity and autonomy. Experiences of mentees and their family members reflected the positive impact of participation on each domain and occupational wellbeing, including opportunities for socialisation outside of the program, mastery of skills and knowledge and validation of belief in self. Mentees involved in an intergenerational mentoring program in Australian Men's Sheds report benefits of participation in activities that foster and increase occupational wellbeing experiences. The experience of such domains should be considered when attempting to understand the quality of life and function for people with disabilities.

Facets of Career Development in a New Immigrant Destination: Exploring the Associations Among School Climate, Belief in Self, School Engagement, and Academic Achievement

With contemporary career challenges facing Latino/a youth, particularly those from immigrant communities, counselors and career development professionals may find it challenging to provide effective career services for this unique population. Students from one middle school and one high school located in a new immigrant destination were surveyed to test the hypothesis that belief in self and school engagement (i.e., behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement) played a serial mediating role in the association between school safety and academic achievement (i.e., grade point average). Moderation of the mediation model by ethnicity was also examined. Results from the sample ( N = 877) indicated that school safety was associated with higher levels of belief in self, which in turn was associated with higher levels of school engagement. Only behavioral engagement, however, was associated with greater academic achievement. Associations did not differ by ethnicity. Career implications on the importance of behavioral engagement among teachers, counselors, career development professionals, and administrators to support the academic achievement of marginalized youth are provided.

Adolescents’ Personality Traits and Positive Psychological Orientations: Relations with Emotional Distress and Life Satisfaction Mediated by School Connectedness

Contemporary models emphasize linkages between malleable positive psychological orientations and enhanced quality of life. As such, it is important to consider if these positive orientations provide unique explanatory power beyond the long-established relations between quality of life and within-person, less malleable personality traits. This study contributed to the literature by examining the relations among adolescents’ personality traits, positive psychology orientations, and self-reported quality of life indicators. These relations were further examined by considering the mediating effects of the important contextual influences of school connectedness. Self-report responses of 1867 California high school students to an 88-item schoolwide online survey that included the Big Five Inventory-10 (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness), the Social Emotional Health Survey-Secondary (Belief in Self, Belief in Others, Emotional Competence, and Engaged Living), the School Connectedness Scale, the Brief Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale, and the Social Emotional Distress Scale-Secondary were used to examine relations. Stepwise multiple regression analyses showed that after controlling for demographic variables (Block 1: sex, grade, and ethnicity) the personality traits (Block 2) were, as expected, significantly associated with life satisfaction and emotional distress. Supporting study hypotheses, the inclusion of positive psychological orientations (Block 3) explained significantly more variance of students’ life satisfaction (△R2 = 26%) and emotional distress (△R2 = 5%). Mediation analyses using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) found that only positive psychological orientations had significant indirect relations with quality of life through school connectedness. Implications and future research and practice are discussed.

Identity, Beliefs, and Political Conflict

We present a theory of identity politics that builds on two ideas. First, voters identify with the social group whose interests are closest to theirs and that features the strongest policy conflict with outgroups. Second, identification causes voters to slant their beliefs of self and others toward group stereotypes. The theory yields two main implications: i) voters’ beliefs are polarized along the distinctive features of salient groups; ii) economic shocks that render new groups salient bring about large and non standard changes in beliefs and policies across many issues. In particular, exposure to globalization or cultural changes may induce voters to switch identities, dampening their demand for redistribution and exacerbating conflicts in other social dimensions. We show that survey evidence is broadly consistent with these implications.

Encountering the difficulties of Entrepreneurship: Lesson from Ramayana

Scholars could not come to unanimity on definition of entrepreneurship but agreement exist that an entrepreneur should be a natural leader having thorough understanding of the business and visualize the changes and take calculated risk. Skills and abilities required for entrepreneurship are so great and numerous that it is difficult to find persons having entrepreneurship trailts. Most of the entrepreneurs either fail at early stages or unable to expand the business beyond a small shop. A successful entrepreneur in addition to being a visionary and possessing qualities like innovativeness, resilience, perseverance etc. should have the honest belief in self and unflinching faith in ‘Karma’ like ‘Rama of Ramayana’ so that he can face the challenges and pursue the goal with limited resources. Religious philosophy helps the people in developing traits useful in life. Holy books like the Ramayana not just deals with spirituality but management principles hidden in it help an individual to develop entrepreneurship skills and role effectiveness. Primarily, Ramayana is a story and pursuit of the Ramayana does not automatically get translated into entrepreneurship qualities as background was quite different than today’s business scenario. However, Rama, a role-model of Gyan-yog and Karm-yog, can be compared with an entrepreneur who started from scraps like entrepreneur but by linking of his goals with social values and following highest standard of ethics, he could make strategic alliances with Sugriva and Vibheeshana and created Ram and Company and inducted less skilled, less equipped but well dedicated Vanar in army and fought against Ravana (the greatest demon) having well equipped army, to make the earth free from devils and liberate Sita and save the dignity of women (social cause). Principles hidden in the Ramayana show holistic vision and, if followed, by an entrepreneur will help him to establish a successful business model.This article is a modest attempt of exploring attributes of Ram and principles/ methodology adopted by him in his fight against Ravana understood through interpretation of stanzas/ verses mentioned in Ramcharit Manas and correlate them with formation of strategy, goal orientation, strategic alliance, change management etc. ideally required by entrepreneurs to establish and grow his business in modern day competitive scenario.