Different Areas Of Life Research Articles

Better Living by Their Own Bootstraps: Black Women's Activism in Rural Arkansas, 1914–1965

The field of rural history—especially rural women's history—is one that has seen exponential growth over the past two decades. The newest entry into this field from historian Cherisse Jones-Branch is not only an important contribution to this scholarship, but it also reasserts regional history's importance to the larger context of rural history. Rural women in the South, and especially African American women, were active in civil rights, reform, and activism, helping their communities at the local, regional, or state levels. Many of their stories and names are well known, while others are waiting to be remembered. This was especially evident in Arkansas; African American women sought to change and uplift their communities. These women whom Jones-Branch “lifts . . . from the obscurity of Arkansas rural history” navigated through, fought, and challenged the deep racism and segregation prevalent throughout the state (5). In Better Living by Their Own Bootstraps, Jones-Branch skillfully navigates five decades of these women's achievements, their struggles, and the evolution of their work.The book's main focus, as the title suggests, is on the women themselves. As Jones-Branch emphasizes throughout her book, the women she examines came from different areas of life. Their professions included home demonstration agents, professionals, teachers, club members, and agricultural laborers. They organized, responded, collaborated, and created, but most importantly, their work helped to change Arkansas's rural life. The majority of the women worked collaboratively and were engaged with the individual residents and communities for which they were advocating—in one of her examples concerning home demonstration agents, Jones-Branch notes, “they were mindful of how important it was to respect rural African Americans and earn their trust” (69).During the early to mid-twentieth century, rural Arkansas women faced hunger, health problems, financial and environmental crises, and job scarcity, in addition to the burdens of racism and segregation. Jones-Branch assesses how these women used reforms, education, direct challenges to the status quo of inequality, and other methods to create change and opportunities in their communities. Clubs or organizations like the Arkansas Association of Colored Women and the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation's Negro Division were either created or existing ones utilized to foster more support, resources, and strength for the communities they were seeking to uplift and help.Jones-Branch follows previous works by LuAnn Jones, Melissa Walker, Rebecca Sharpless, Debra Reid, and Carmen V. Harris, to name a few. This rural and agricultural history literature is echoed in her sources, as well as the extensive primary sources she employs. One of the most fascinating aspects of Better Living by Their Own Bootstraps is that she focuses two of her chapters on mini biographies of two specific women—Ethel B. Dawson and Annie Zachary Pike. These two women had different approaches to their activism. Dawson used religion to encourage rural community uplift and Christian doctrine when defending or justifying her work to help empower African Americans who were working in agriculture as mechanization and farming technology continued to advance. Pike, or “Ms. Annie,” and her husband owned a considerable amount of farmland, with tenants and up-to-date farm technology, and they became politically active at the state level in the Republican Party. She was eventually appointed to the state welfare board, advocated for African American laborers and education, and ran for a state senate seat in the early 1970s.Any criticisms of this book are minor. One example is the brief mention of the 1919 Elaine Massacre early in the book, which is not fully defined until chapter 12 despite falling earlier in the book's timeline. Perhaps a clarification of this significant event would have been helpful to the reader if it had been discussed in an earlier chapter, since this local event is one that continues to reverberate. However, overall, Cherisse Jones-Branch has written a book that is confident in its materials and narrative. More importantly, the book introduces the rural African American women who fought for their neighbors and communities to have better lives and better opportunities against entrenched racism and discrimination. Better Living by Their Own Bootstraps is a welcome addition to the fields of southern women's history, rural history, agrarian history, and African American history.

“The experiences and needs of persons with disabilities in using paratransit services”

BackgroundPersons with disabilities do not yet experience equality with the rest of the population when using transportation. Paratransit services take over transportation for persons with disabilities when public transportation cannot be used or can only be used to a limited extent. The usefulness of these services remains limited due to financial and structural reasons. ObjectiveThis study aims to identify the experiences of persons with disabilities with paratransit in Switzerland, explores their needs and verifies facilitators and barriers to the use of paratransit services. Furthermore, perceived experiences of how barriers and facilitators of transportation influence the participation in different areas of life of these persons are examined. MethodsIn this study, we adopted a qualitative approach with four online focus group discussions and one physically present discussion group, including 31 participants overall. We collected data between July and October 2021 and analyzed the data using content analysis according to Mayring (2015). ResultsOverall, persons with disabilities experience paratransit as important and appreciated this alternative to public transportation. Specifically, the services’ need is individual for each person and depends on different facilitating factors (e.g., habits, health condition, activities, safety, accessibility, service) and barriers (e.g., costs, weather conditions). ConclusionsThe need for paratransit services is highly individual and impacts participation in different life areas. On one hand, the federalist system in Switzerland supports a local and cultural embedment, but on the other hand leads to difficulties concerning transportation beyond the close local environment and for longer distances.

Innovation in the Treatment of Persistent Pain in Adults With NF1: Implementation of the iCanCope Mobile App

Background Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant genetic condition affecting 1 in 2500 individuals. Over 50% of individuals with NF1 report significant pain and discomfort, which may be associated with benign and malignant tumors, but is often not localized to a structural lesion, thus presenting treatment challenges for patients and their medical caregivers. To date, there are very few treatments aside from surgical intervention to mitigate pain. Objective We developed the iCanCope-NF mobile app for pain self-management. iCanCope-NF is a customized self-monitoring and pain management mobile app designed to provide resources and support for those having chronic pain due to NF1. The app enables users to access daily pain monitoring and quality of life check-ins, allows them to plot interrelated variables on various timelines to observe trends in pain and interference across different areas of life (such as sleep, physical activity, and mood), and provides them with the option to set physiological and psychological goals as well as a robust library of written and video resources to help manage pain symptoms and to better cope with NF1. Methods This paper evaluated the iCanCope-NF to reduce pain severity and interference in adults with NF1. A total of 80 participants across 3 different groups (control, iCanCope-NF access condition, and iCanCope-NF contingency management condition where subjects were provided monetary incentives for engaging with the various features within the app [CM]) completed a randomized clinical trial in which evaluations were completed at intake (initial day of participation), discharge (2 months after intake), and 6 weeks after discharge. Results Preliminary data analysis demonstrated individuals randomized to the iCanCope-NF + CM had greater engagement with the mobile app than individuals who were randomized to iCanCope-NF. Additionally, individuals in the iCanCope-NF + CM consistently checked in more (SD 59.5/60 days) than individuals in the iCanCope-NF group (SD 51/60 days). Pain interference, as measured by the Pain Interference Index (PII), was significantly different across all 3 groups at discharge: control (M=6.3), iCanCope (M=5.7), iCanCope + CM (M=5.1), P<.05. Conclusions Qualitative interviews completed at discharge for individuals with access to the app indicated that the app was a “wonderful measuring tool” and “provided credibility of my pain symptoms,” and that it was a dramatic and distinctive aide in the monitoring and tracking of their pain symptoms. We demonstrated preliminary acceptability and efficacy for iCanCope-NF as the first pain self-management tool for individuals with NF1. iCanCope-NF + CM was successful in increasing engagement and decreasing pain interference. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04561765; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04561765 Conflicts of Interest None declared.

Infographics in social media. Selected issues

Technological progress and changes in the lives of contemporary humans have led to a situation in which traditional forms of transferring information by means of text have become too slow, as it takes recipients more time to learn the content of such messages. Researchers emphasise that humans acquire graphic messages better than text. For this reason, presenting information in the form of infographics has become a popular method. The purpose of this article is to present the issue of infographics, including: definitions, types of infographics, and using infographics in different areas of life. An example of their wide use are social media. Based on this example, research was conducted using a searching technique, the purpose being to verify infographics in selected social media. The results of the research allow to acquire information about infographics in terms of popularity in a selected period, scope of topics in infographics and information about sectors and specialists who share infographics in social media most often.

A Female Wizard’s Cry for Equal Rights: Terry Pratchett’s Equal Rites

In recent literary studies, fantasy literature has begun to be studied more and more frequently. The use of fantasy elements to deal with issues related to today's society also leads to a significant increase in the readership of this genre. Terry Pratchett, who is the writer of the Discworld series consisting of 41 novels, blends fantasy and satire skillfully in his novels. As the novel’s title gives some indication, Equal Rites, which was first published in 1987, is about equal rights in terms of gender. Talking about witches, magic, wizards and the Unseen University where women are not allowed to enter as a student or teacher, Pratchett combines the fantasy with serious topics about gender inequality. The story is set in Pratchett’s fantasy world -Discworld and the writer uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own. In this paper, how Pratchett deals with some serious gender-related issues such as male dominance in institutions, women’s struggles against the sexist point of view and stereotyped roles of men and women in his fantasy world are analysed via quotations from the novel. As a result of the analysis, it was found that the writer satirizes society by using elements of fantasy for all the inequalities that women face in different areas of life and offer various solutions to those inequalities.

A comparative study using silicon carbide and zirconium dioxide nano material’s to improve the mechanical properties of 6261AA

The applications of nanotechnology differ in different areas of life. Despite all the advantages of nano-materials, there are many difficulties that need further research the most important of which is obtaining cheap, practical materials with appropriate specifications for use in various applications. This study examines the addition of multiple proportions of two materials (Silicon Carbide and Zirconia) to 6261 Aluminum alloy. Results were obtained stating that using the two nano-materials together is better than using each one separately. The best ultimate tensile strength (UTS)waders were obtained at (1.5-2.0 wt%)ratios ranging. 1.5% wt. of ZrO2 and (%SiC+% ZrO2).The improvements were (75.1 %) and (92 %) respectively. The UTS improvements (84.3%) for Al/ 2.0wt. %SiC. Also, a significant improvement was seen in the hardness values for all the weight ratios of the nano-additives with respect to the base alloy. The percentage of ductility has decreased after adding nano-materials.

Intergovernmental organizations in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic: Organizational behaviour in crises and under uncertainty

When Covid-19 broke out, many interpreted it as a crisis that would lead to fundamental changes in different areas of life. The article aims to assess whether this also applies to intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). By analysing the websites of a sample of intergovernmental organizations, we ask: How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect the behaviour of intergovernmental organizations? How can one explain this behaviour of intergovernmental organizations in response to such a major exogenous event as the Covid-19 pandemic? How can the Covid-19 pandemic be best conceptualized in terms of its impact on intergovernmental organizations? We show that the responses of intergovernmental organizations to the Covid-19 pandemic had two important features: (a) intergovernmental organizations responded in a synchronized way, and (b) the pandemic triggered wide-spread non-major adaptations to the changed environment, providing opportunities for legitimation work and minor repackaging of existing activities, but has not led to noticeable transformational change in organizations’ activities. We argue that the observed intergovernmental organization’s responses can be explained partly from rational-choice perspective and partly from sociological institutionalist perspective. Given our data, we argue that the pandemic can be conceptualized as an uncertainty shock, in terms of its impact on intergovernmental organizations.

Autonomy and Liberty: An Ethical Focus on Human Consent

This paper aims to examine the problematic relation between autonomy and liberty from the ethical aspect of human consent. The term consent is derived from the Latin conjunction where “con” mean ‘together’ with “sentire” meaning to ‘feel’, ‘think’ or ‘judge’.1 We feel safe and secure when we participate in the collective life consensually. This idea of protection is provided by the liberal tradition thereby bringing a new complex form of human relation on the basis of consent and informed life. In fact, this new complex relation claims to provide us the benefit of protection from harms and constraints. Autonomy, on the other, indicates self-ruling capacities of a person to make certain plans or goals wherein the significance of consent protects from external wrongful coercion. And, here the question is, how can we discover the significance of autonomous consent of an individual within the sphere of liberty? This paper discusses the ethical issue of consent that seems to be interwoven in the concept of liberty and autonomy in three different sections. The first section examines the question that how and why consent occupies an important place in the social and the political relations of human beings? Further, the second section argues that the meaning of consent is not implied only in the sphere of social and political relation. Consent expresses a person’s sensitivity and experiences by allowing others to perceive the importance of human autonomy across the different areas of life. And, the third section addresses the crucial ethical crux of consent from the aspect of care and concern.

Al-Faruqi's Reformist Vision in the Field of Thought and Education

Al-Faruqi's Reformist Vision in the Field of Thought and Education

A randomised controlled trial of fluoxetine versus naltrexone in compulsive sexual behaviour disorder: presentation of the study protocol

BackgroundCompulsive sexual behaviour disorder is a new disorder in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), and is associated with negative consequences in different areas of life. Evidence for pharmacological treatment...

Impacts of Covid-19 on Staff Training within the Aviation Sector

Aviation is among those industries that were most heavily impacted and disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The impacts were most severe in passenger traffic where the amount of seats offered dropped by 50% during 2020 causing airline revenue loss of 371bn USD. Air-traffic cuts exceeded 90% in some areas. Covid-19 pandemic had many indirect impacts on air travel services, including how staff training is carried out. Although the pandemic has had massive negative influences in different areas of life, it has opened doors to new innovations and developments as well. A giant leap forward has taken place in online education, which this study focuses on from the specific viewpoint of air travel service providers. Attempts to contain the spread of Covid-19 lead to school closures and by the beginning of April 2020 the pandemic had impacted over 90% of the world’s total enrolled learners. Similarly 188 country-wide school closures took place globally. This led to boost in online education – possibly the greatest growth of all time was seen.
 In aviation sector the impacts are evident as well, mostly reflected by the ways how staff training is delivered at airports. Organizations in air traffic chain had to adapt to the changed operational landscape, new health and safety risks and learn to comply with new regulations. Staff skills and competences were in the middle of this. This case study examines these developments in international air transport context during 2020 and 2021. We will look at various examples in aviation industry organizations related to staff training, focusing specifically on how training practices have changed due to Covid-19. From the basis of these findings and experiences, the paper attempts to draw a future scenario of digital transformation of training in the industry. Case studies are based on courses developed and provided by Airport College (AC) which is a private online training academy serving the global aviation sector with digitally enhanced training solutions.

MP37-20 OUTCOMES AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL) IN LONG-TERM SURVIVORS OF FOURNIER’S GANGRENE

You have accessJournal of UrologyCME1 May 2022MP37-20 OUTCOMES AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL) IN LONG-TERM SURVIVORS OF FOURNIER’S GANGRENE Laila Schneidewind, Vanessa Roßberg, Desiree L. Dräger, Joachim Steffens, Oliver W. Hakenberg, and Jennifer Kranz Laila SchneidewindLaila Schneidewind More articles by this author , Vanessa RoßbergVanessa Roßberg More articles by this author , Desiree L. DrägerDesiree L. Dräger More articles by this author , Joachim SteffensJoachim Steffens More articles by this author , Oliver W. HakenbergOliver W. Hakenberg More articles by this author , and Jennifer KranzJennifer Kranz More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000002591.20AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Fournier's gangrene (FG) is a sporadic, life-threatening, necrotizing infection affecting the perineum, perineal region and genitals. Unfortunately, FG has a poor prognosis, which has not improved in recent years. As the incidence is low, data about outcomes and quality of life in long-term survivors of FG are lacking. Consequently, we performed a multicentric study with the primary aim to describe health-related quality of life (HRQoL). METHODS: We retrospectively identified male patients treated for FG via ICD-10 coding in two centers (one university medical center and one tertiary care center) from January 2010 to December 2020 (ten years). Patients who survived the inhouse treatment were invited to participate in a survey including the validated questionnaires International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5), Quality of Life in chronic wounds (WOUND-QoL), Freiburger Life Quality Assessment – wound module (FLQA-w) and the Short Form Health (SF-36). RESULTS: Finally, 39 patients with a median age of 65.0 years (IQR 53.0 – 74.0) at therapy for FG were identified. Twenty patients were already dead (51.3%), nine patients were lost to follow up (23.1%), and ten patients participated in the survey (25.6%). The median survival time was 27.0 months (IQR 9.0 – 60.0). In eight patients (one of the ten had a suprapubic catheter and one practiced self-catheterization) the median IPSS was 13.5 (IQR 4.3 – 22.3), five patients (50.0%) had severe erectile dysfunction. On the whole, three patients (30.0 %) reported problems with the wound, two (20.0%) complained about wound pain and one (10.0%) about the wound healing situation. The mean global health score in WOUND-QoL was 1.83 (SD 1.1), which is significantly less than in the German reference population (p<0.0001). In the FLQA-w the mean subscales were for physical aliment 1.8 (SD 1.1), everyday life 1.5 (Sd 0.5), social life 1.6 (SD 0.8), psychological well-being 1.8 (SD 1.2) and satisfaction in different areas of life 1.9 (SD 1.0), respectively. The mean general health score in SF-36 was 64.0 (SD 10.5). Interestingly, age over 70 years is not significantly associated with worse reported outcomes in all subscales of used questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS: In long-term survivors of FG the wound situation has a deeply negative impact on HRQoL. This impact seems not to be age-dependent. Further research is essential to ensure the quality of care. Source of Funding: Institutional © 2022 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 207Issue Supplement 5May 2022Page: e617 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2022 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Laila Schneidewind More articles by this author Vanessa Roßberg More articles by this author Desiree L. Dräger More articles by this author Joachim Steffens More articles by this author Oliver W. Hakenberg More articles by this author Jennifer Kranz More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF DownloadLoading ...

Generativita a její souvislosti – literárně-přehledová studie

Generativity is a concept introduced into psychology by E. H. Erikson in his developmental theory as a one-dimensional concept. Generativity began to be empirically verified much later and until then it was mostly only the subject of case studies. The most recent theories work with the complexity of generativity. These theories understand it as a multidimensional concept that can manifest itself in many spheres of life. Currently, the concept of McAdams and de St. Aubin, which describes seven dimensions of generativity, is widely used. The text summarizes the development of the view of generativity and new theories of generativity. It also describes its connections with different areas of life and its negative aspects.

The State of Health and the Quality of Life in Women Suffering from Endometriosis.

Quality of life is related to good health, family relations, feeling of self-esteem, and ability to cope with difficult situations. Endometriosis is a chronic condition which affects different areas of life. The lack of satisfaction in everyday life is mainly due to constant pain. The process of adjusting to a life with illness is associated with negative emotions. The aim of the article is to review the current state of knowledge concerning the impact of social and medical factors on a population of women affected by endometriosis. Women with endometriosis have an impaired quality of life compared to the general female population. Psychological consequences of endometriosis include: depression, anxiety, powerlessness, guilt, self-directed violence, and deterioration of interpersonal relations. It may contribute to lower productivity at work and less satisfying intimate life. A multi-disciplinary, evidence-based care is needed. The disease can take away the ability to be physically active, obtain an education, work continuously, and interact with friends. Social support and cognitive-behavioral therapy are extremely important for healing.

AI-powered narrative building for facilitating public participation and engagement

Algorithms, data, and AI (ADA) technologies permeate most societies worldwide because of their proven benefits in different areas of life. Governments are the entities in charge of harnessing the benefits of ADA technologies above and beyond providing government services digitally. ADA technologies have the potential to transform the way governments develop and deliver services to citizens, and the way citizens engage with their governments. Conventional public engagement strategies employed by governments have limited both the quality and diversity of deliberation between the citizen and their governments, and the potential for ADA technologies to be employed to improve the experience for both governments and the citizens they serve. In this article we argue that ADA technologies can improve the quality, scope, and reach of public engagement by governments, particularly when coupled with other strategies to ensure legitimacy and accessibility among a broad range of communities and other stakeholders. In particular, we explore the role “narrative building” (NB) can play in facilitating public engagement through the use of ADA technologies. We describe a theoretical implementation of NB enhanced by adding natural language processing, expert knowledge elicitation, and semantic differential rating scales capabilities to increase gains in scale and reach. The theoretical implementation focuses on the public’s opinion on ADA-related technologies, and it derives implications for ethical governance.

Using Artificial intelligence to evaluate skill performance of some karate skills

Human beings are starting to benefit from the technology revolution that witness in our time. Where most researchers are trying to apply modern sciences in different areas of life to catch up on the benefits of these technologies. The field of artificial intelligence is one of the sciences that simulate the human mind, and its applications have invaded human life. The sports field is one of the areas that artificial intelligence has been introduced. In this paper, artificial intelligence technology Fast-DTW (Fast-Dynamic Time Warping) algorithm was used to assess the skill performance of some karate skills. The results were shown that the percentage of improvement in the skill performance of Mai Geri is 100%.

ВИКОРИСТАННЯ МЕТОДИКИ CLIL У ВИКЛАДАННІ АНГЛІЙСЬКОЇ МОВИ

The processes of intercultural integration and communication, as well as the internationalization of the English language in the world, require a new understanding of teaching a foreign language. Therefore, the use of new productive techniques is an important aspect of education. At the present stage in all the progressive educational systems of the world there are significant changes in the methods of teaching a foreign language and the professional subject. The teaching priority has been shifted from mastering grammar and mechanical learning of the vocabulary, reading and translation to a more functional aspect. The aim of the article is to analyze the main aspects of ClІl methodology in teaching English, which corresponds to the important trends of the educational innovations of the 21st century. The CLIL methodology is the most rational at the stage of the formation and implementation of the multilingual education model as a sign of language integration. It involves a significant number of techniques suitable for all the academic subjects, and not only allows the students to communicate effectively using a foreign language in different areas of life, but also improves all the speech skills. This technology considers learning a foreign language as a tool for mastering other subjects, which allows developing the communication skills in a foreign language. The leading idea is based on the assumption that the adoption of CLIL technology in the period of intercultural communication will let the teachers use the modern information technologies, and join the European educational space. The implementation of CLIL elements is based on the experience of the Western countries and it is the most rational for the formation of the new education model. After all, CLIL can be applied in different forms and situations, as it covers different forms of teaching. The methodology provides a significant number of techniques that are suitable for all the subjects. It not only allows the students to communicate effectively using a foreign language in various fields of life, but also improves all the language skills. This approach develops critical thinking, creative potential of the students. The introduction of CLIL allows to broaden students’ horizons of trained subjects to the level of rapid adaptation to their future profession. The CLIL methodology helps teach a foreign language using topics and materials from other disciplines.

ANALISIS PERBEDAAN HARGA DAN VOLUME PERDAGANGAN SAHAM PADA PERUSAHAAN INDEKS LQ45 DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA SEBELUM DAN SAAT PANDEMI COVID-19

The Pandemic of COVID-19 has affected different areas of life, such as education, social, tourism and the economy. One of the economic instruments affected by the Pandemic is the capital market. The aim of this research was to look at stock prices and share trading volume in LQ45 index firms on the Indonesia Stock Exchange before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic. This type of research is a quantitative study with an event study approach. The data collected is the price and trading volume of shares of LQ45 index companies from December 03, 2019, to May 31, 2020. The results of this study indicate: (1) There are differences in stock prices in LQ45 index companies before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. (2) There are differences in stock trading volume in LQ45 index companies before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. These results indicate that the COVID-19 Pandemic has reacted on the capital market by influencing investors' decisions to sell their shares and resulting in a decline in stock prices.

Experimental Phenomenology as an Approach to the Study of Contemplative Practices.

During history humans have developed a large variety of contemplative practices, in many different areas of life, and as part of many different traditions and contexts. Although some contemplative practices are very old, the research field of Contemplation Studies is young, and there are no agreed-upon definitions of central concepts such as contemplative practices and contemplative experiences. The present paper focuses on contemplative practices, defined as practices that are engaged in for the sake of the contemplative experiences they afford (e.g., the contemplation of nature, or the contemplation of various aspects of being-in-the world). The purpose of the present paper is to discuss the potential of experimental phenomenology to contribute to the development of the research field of Contemplation Studies. Experimental phenomenology is defined as the investigation of phenomenological practices and their effects on experience. Phenomenological practices involve intentional variations of experiencing by means of changes in the direction of attention and the choice of attitude, typically as guided by verbal instructions or self-instructions. It is suggested that contemplative practices represent a subcategory of phenomenological practices. Two different varieties of experimental phenomenology are described and illustrated in the present paper: (1) an informal variety which involves the development of new phenomenological practices by creative variation of procedures and observation of effects; and (2) a more rigorously scientific variety, which involves the systematic variation of phenomenological practices in accordance with experimental designs to study their experiential effects. It is suggested that the development of contemplative practices during the ages is the result of an informal experimenting of the first kind; this variety of experimental phenomenology can also be used to develop personalized health interventions in a clinical setting. As to the more rigorously scientific experimental phenomenology, it is possible that it may lead not only to an improved understanding of general principles underlying contemplative practices, but also to a more systematic development of new contemplative practices. The experimental-phenomenological approach to contemplative practices is illustrated by various examples involving mindfulness, gratitude, receiving and giving.

COMBINATION OF DEEP LEARNING MODELS TO FORECAST STOCK PRICE OF AAPL AND TSLA

Deep Learning is a promising domain. It has different applications in different areas of life, and its application on the stock market is widely used due to its efficiency. Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) proved its efficiency in dealing with time series data due to the unique hidden unit structure. This paper integrated LSTM with Attention Mechanism and sentiment analysis to forecast the closing price of two stocks, namely APPL and TSLA, from the NASDAQ stock market. We compared our hybrid model with LSTM, LSTM with sentiment analysis, and LSTM with Attention Mechanism. Three benchmarks are used to measure the performance of the models, the first one is Mean Square Error (MSE), the second one is Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and the third one is Mean Absolute Error (MAE). The results show that the hybridization is more accurate compared to only LSTM model.