Phenomenological Investigation Research Articles

Self-esteem, Islamic Behavior, and Writing Assessment for Indonesian Language Madrasa Teachers: An Empirical Phenomenological Investigation

Improving students' academic achievement in Indonesian language studies at madrasas requires effective writing evaluations. This study explores how Islamic behavior and self-esteem attribution among Indonesian language teachers at Madrasas influence their approach to creating writing assessments using a phenomenological method. Through in-depth interviews with twenty teachers, the thematic analysis revealed that teachers' Islamic values provide a religious framework that shapes their understanding and application of assessment development. Teachers' evaluations incorporate moral and religious principles, reflecting on their self-worth and the intrinsic value of students' written work. Islamic behavior and the attribution of self-esteem enhance teachers' commitment to fair, reflective assessments, which ultimately support students' literacy and academic growth. The study suggests that embedding Islamic behavior and self-esteem attribution in writing assessments strengthens teacher development and student success in Indonesian language studies. Future studies could further explore the role of these factors in teacher preparation and assessment practices in Indonesian madrasas.

The lived experiences of Women's identities and intersections in accessing social justice within the Ghanaian informal legal system: A phenomenological investigation

In sub-Saharan Africa, there is insufficient formal justice infrastructure in many countries, so informal courts play a significant role. This paper examines the intersections of women's identities and access to social justice within Ghana's informal court system. Using an exploratory qualitative research approach, the study involved 15 women who utilised the informal court system. Findings indicate that traditional gender roles, social harmony-based adjudication, and the social consequences of court decisions on family households hinder women's access to justice. While these courts are accessible and affordable, their decisions primarily focus on reconciliation, failing to provide women with equal access to social justice. The study emphasizes the need for promoting gender equity, enhancing fairness in informal justice mechanisms, and creating supportive environments for women's access to justice. It suggests socio-legal reforms to address socio-cultural barriers and promote gender equality within informal justice systems.

A phenomenological investigation of kinship involvement in the lives of children whose parents have mental illness

ABSTRACT Background and Purpose Mental health services rarely reach children whose parents have mental illness despite their poor outcomes. There is a need to consider how mental health practitioners can prioritize the needs of these children and their families. This study examined kinship involvement in the lives of children whose parents have mental illness. Methods A phenomenological design was used, interviewing 20 children (aged 10–17 years) in families with parental mental illness (PMI) in Ghana. The interview data was analysed to attain the essential features of what kinship support looks like for children and their families. Results The essential feature of kinship support for children and families with PMI is characterized by uncertainty. However, there is an overall impression that kinship is generally supportive to these families, providing respite services, assistance with daily living, emotional support and advice to children and families. Yet, there is a sense that kinship may not always be helpful to these families. Conclusions Kinship support is integral in countries where formal mental health services are inadequate and should be explored/harnessed by mental health practitioners. The study provides directions into ways practitioners can utilize kinship as a resource when working with these families.

Data-driven sensegiving and sensemaking: a phenomenological investigation

Data-driven sensegiving and sensemaking: a phenomenological investigation

Phenomenological investigation of organic modified cements as biocompatible substrates interfacing model marine organisms.

Organic modification can generally endow inorganic materials with novel and promotional characteristics to fit into new functionalities. In this paper, new cement-based composite materials, with Portland cement as the substrate and polyacrylamide (PAM, alone) and PAM/chitosan as the functional components mixed with cement (bulk modified) or served as the surface coating (surface modified), were prepared and engineered as sampling substrates for biofilm and coral co-culture. In comparison to the bulk modified substrate and pure cement material, the surface modified substrate showed a balanced mechanical property, considering both bending and compressive strengths and distinctive surface features toward facilitating biofilm and coral growth, as characterized by spectroscopic, morphological, mechanical, and biofilm and coral co-culture experiments. We, thus, believe that the as-prepared surface modified substrate has the very potential to be applied as a substitute/alternative for the conventional cement material in the construction and engineering of artificial facilities with ecological protection functions.

Calculable neutrino Dirac mass matrix and one-loop θ¯ in the minimal left-right symmetric model

We revisit the contribution to the strong CP parameter θ¯ from leptonic CP violation at one-loop level in the minimal left-right symmetric model in the case of generalized parity as the left-right symmetry. The Hermitian neutrino Dirac mass matrix MD can be calculated using the light and heavy neutrino masses and mixings. We propose a parametrization of the right-handed neutrino mixing matrix VR and construct the heavy neutrino mass that maintains the Hermiticity of MD. We further apply it to evaluate the one-loop θ¯, denoted as θ¯loop, as a function of the sterile neutrino masses for explicit examples of VR. By requiring the magnitude of θ¯loop≲10−10, we derive the upper limits on the sterile neutrino masses, which are within reach of direct searches at the Large Hadron Collider and neutrinoless double beta decay experiments. Furthermore, our parametrization is pertinent for other phenomenological investigations. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Über Erfüllung

Abstract In his 1956 book Das Gemüt, Stephan Strasser presents an original phenomenological investigation into human happiness and pleasure. We will examine Strasser’s theory of happiness in more detail and reveal how he incorporates important phenomenological insights from Thomas Aquinas’ theory of the passions of the soul. Both Strasser and Aquinas view happiness as the fulfilment of intentional striving and differentiate between various feelings associated with the pursuit and attainment of a goal, such as joy and pleasure. However, while Aquinas believes that only an imperfect form of happiness can be attained in this life, Strasser aims to determine the essence of the highest form of happiness possible for human beings as the felt anticipation of perfect happiness in the future. Strasser, therefore, interprets Aquinas’ theory through the lens of an existential-phenomenological approach.

The ‘Self’ of Hearing-Impaired Learners and their Transition from Primary to Post-Primary Education in Uganda

In Uganda, post-primary education is one of the milestones in a child’s education. It is characterized by many challenges, particularly faced by learners with hearing impairments attempting to transition from primary to post-primary level. The transition has long been recognized as one of the most challenging issues for learners with hearing impairments, yet it has not been resolved by impeccable empirical scrutiny. This quagmire prompted the researcher to use a phenomenological investigation to explore the significant self-concepts affecting the learners’ transition from primary to post-primary studies. Interviews and group discussions with randomly selected learners who had joined and those who had failed to proceed to post-primary schools were involved. Also, corroborative views and opinions were obtained from preferred teachers and parents in interviews and discussions. It was discovered that the transition of learners with impaired hearing from primary to post-primary level was substantially influenced by family socioeconomic status, gender, age, health, and the learner’s cultural issues – validating the applicability of Schlossberg’s Theory of Transition to provide person-centered answers to transition deterrents, inhibiting the learners from joining and or staying in post-primary schools. It was recommended that self-advocacy training at the primary level be enhanced to help learners develop the skills they need for confidence growth in their abilities before, during and after the transition to post-primary educational institutions

Understanding Pilots' Perceptions of Mental Health Issues: A Qualitative Phenomenological Investigation Among Airline Pilots in the United States.

Background and objective Although mental health is always a major concern, particularly for airline pilots, knowledge of and attitudes toward mental health have not always been emphasized for safe operations in the aviation industry. Fear of self-reporting, stigmas, and lack of knowledge about mental health conditions are prevalent in this industry. The purpose of our research was to examine pilots' perceptions of mental health issues, the resources available to them, and the reasons they may or may not report these issues. Methods We conducted a qualitative, phenomenological study in which 21 commercial pilots were interviewed to better understand their perceptions of mental health issues, available self-help resources, and rationale for failing to report mental health issues. Results The results of our analysis using NVivo softwareshowed that pilots neither reported the issues nor trusted the processes meant to address mental health issues. Three themes emerged from the research: (1) pilots avoid discussing mental health issues for fear of repercussions, (2) although resources exist, pilots generally distrust the confidentiality of reporting systems, and (3) pilots honestly believe that reporting any mental health issue will be devastating to their careers. Conclusions Airline companies and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) need to change processes and instill a sense of trust in reporting systems among pilots so that they feel safe reporting mental health concerns and receive improved treatment. This can lead to more accurate reporting of conditions andensure safe flight operations.

Stress and Burnout: From the Narratives of the Elementary Teachers

This qualitative phenomenological investigation delves deeply into the intricate experiences of stress and burnout among elementary school educators within the educational context of Tagum City, with a focused exploration of Mangga Elementary School, San Isidro Elementary School, and Visayan Village Central Elementary School. Through rigorous in-depth interviews, this study unveils a multifaceted tapestry of challenges, including the demanding responsibilities of classroom management, administrative burdens, and the pervasive influence of societal expectations. The findings reveal a spectrum of coping mechanisms adopted by teachers, ranging from drawing on spiritual resilience to fostering supportive networks among colleagues. In light of these findings, scholarly discourse emphasizes the critical need for structured support systems, resource allocation for stress alleviation, and the integration of mindfulness practices into professional development initiatives. These recommendations seek to cultivate a culture of resilience and empowerment, nurturing a sustainable educational environment conducive to the holistic well-being and professional efficacy of elementary educators in Tagum City.

Japanese Gardens: Time of Letting – Time of Growth

Abstract From a transcultural stance the contribution explores an access to the problem of nature and time which relies on our embodied experience of our environment. By means of a phenomenological investigation into distinctive features of Japanese gardens, such as rocks and trees, the specific temporalities incorporated in these elements become elucidated. The intention is to invalidate the Eurocentric opposition of nature and culture, as the “natural” environment grows together with “cultural” activities, and cannot be separated from human engagement, in the case of Japanese gardening. There “nature” cannot become objectified or conceptually determined. It can only be disclosed by our bodily getting involved in an environment, encompassing a peculiar way of “becoming time”. This mode of temporalization exhibits significant similarities with Martin Heidegger’s Gelassenheit. Therefore, time and nature in a Japanese garden both request and set forth, a specific existential attitude towards our life environment.

Developing Digital Fluency in Early Education: Narratives of Elementary School Teachers

In this qualitative phenomenological investigation, the experiences, coping strategies, and educational perspectives of eight elementary school teachers in Caraga North District, Division of Davao Oriental were explored as they foster digital fluency in early education. Identified themes from their experiences included difficulty in acquiring digital equipment, balanced screen time, and cultivated curiosity and exploration. Coping mechanisms employed by teachers involved enhancing digital skills, establishing partnership with the digital expert, and attending professional development and training. Educational insights encompassed tailoring an age-appropriate technology integration, fostering digital citizenship, and enhancing critical thinking skills. These findings underscore the diverse experiences and competencies required by teachers in imparting relevant digital knowledge to learners. Additionally, delving into teachers' experiences not only contributes to a nuanced comprehension of modern teaching demands but also offers valuable insights for both educators and educational institutions, potentially leading to enhancements in classroom management and teaching strategies in early education.

A Phenomenological Investigation on The Lived Experiences of Filipino Youth Volunteers in Non-Profit Organization

A Phenomenological Investigation on The Lived Experiences of Filipino Youth Volunteers in Non-Profit Organization

IMPLICIT STRATEGIES OF ELEMENTARY GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN INCLUSIVE CLASSROOMS: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

General Education teachers don’t have exceedingly specialized capabilities in special education. We don’t have much encounters in an inclusive classroom. Not continuously, but regularly, it appears that teachers feel unequal to the errand of educating students with special needs. This study used a phenomenological approach, which explains how people interpret their lived experiences with a concept or phenomenon (Creswell, 2020). The objective of a phenomenological investigation is to understand and explain an event from the point of view of the participants. Many professionals in the literature express concerns about whether full inclusion is appropriate for all students with disabilities and emphasize the importance of maintaining a continuum of services. Supporters for a continuum of services for students with disabilities cite two main reasons. First, they believe there is an inadequate research base to advocate such a drastic change to the current educational system believes, the research evidence on the relative efficacy of one special education service delivery model over another is scarce, methodologically flawed, and inconclusive. A number of recommendations for future studies emerged from the data. This study was restricted to fifteen elementary general education classroom teachers from Davao City The first recommendation would be to expand this study’s sample size and the geographic area of the participants. Another recommendation would be to study the perspectives of participants not included in this study: middle and high school teachers, specials teachers, and special education teachers. KEYWORDS: Implicit Strategies, Elementary General Education Teachers, Inclusive Classrooms, A Phenomenological Study

Transverse momentum moments

We establish robust relations between Transverse Momentum Dependent distributions (TMDs) and collinear distributions. We define weighted integrals of TMDs that we call Transverse Momentum Moments (TMMs) and prove that TMMs are equal to collinear distributions evaluated in some minimal subtraction scheme. The conversion to the modified minimal subtraction (MS¯) scheme can be done by a calculable factor, which we derive up to three loops for some cases. We discuss in detail the zeroth, the first, and the second TMMs and provide phenomenological results for them based on the current extractions of TMDs. The results of this paper open new avenues for theoretical and phenomenological investigation of the three-dimensional and collinear hadron structures. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

A Phenomenological Investigation of Counselors’ Perceived Preparedness With Suicidal Clients

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the essence of counselors’ perceived preparedness working with suicidal clients and to provide suicide prevention and assessment recommendations for the counseling profession. We identified a structural-textural description that highlights the perceived amount, quality, and components of training preparedness, as well as suicide assessment and intervention knowledge. This phenomenological investigation included 10 professional counselors who described the degree to which they felt prepared to work with suicidal clients and their perceptions of the suicide prevention and assessment training they have completed during their training program and in their agency work setting. Counselors did not generally feel that their training had been adequate and subsequently sought more through personal learning or on-the-job training. Counselors should seek out evidence-based trainings that best meet the needs of their clients.

Rethinking Mental Automatism: De Clérambault's Theory in the Age of Novel Psychoactive Drugs: Psychotropic Effects and Synthetic Psychosis.

The widespread use of novel psychoactive substances (NPSs)-defined as new narcotic or psychotropic agents not classified under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 or the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971-poses a significant challenge to contemporary mental health paradigms due to their impact on psychiatric disorders. This study revisits and expands upon the theory of mental automatism as proposed by Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault, aiming to elucidate the psychopathological mechanisms underlying substance-induced psychoses (SIP) and their distinction from non-induced psychoses (schizophrenia and related disorders). Through a phenomenological and clinical investigation, we explore the relevance of mental automatism in the development of toxic psychoses, drawing upon the historical and contemporary literature. This research highlights the psychopathological distinctions between induced and non-induced psychoses and the transition mechanisms from acute to chronic psychosis states. De Clérambault's theory, supplemented by Janet, Jackson, and Bonhoeffer's contributions, provides a foundational framework for understanding the genesis of SIP. Our findings suggest that NPS consumption, particularly among adolescents and psychiatric patients, significantly correlates with increased risks of SIP, marked by a transition to chronicity influenced by biological lesions triggered by substance use. Furthermore, we propose a comprehensive framework for SIP, integrating mental automatism, psychopathological distinctions, and transition mechanisms. This framework aims to refine diagnostic criteria and therapeutic approaches, addressing gaps in clinical practice and research. The study underscores the need for a nuanced understanding of SIP, advocating for a paradigm shift in psychiatric assessment and treatment approaches to better address the complexities of substance-induced mental health disorders.

An Exploration for the Post-Pandemic Period of the Religious Lives of Individuals in Turkey Who Had Severe COVID-19 and Death Anxiety

Religion has emerged as a strong coping mechanism that has been employed by many people around the world during the chaotic atmosphere of the pandemic, and numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the relationship between religion and COVID-19. However, there is need for more studies examining how COVID-19 and death anxiety impacted individuals’ religious lives in the post-COVID-19 period. This phenomenological investigation examines the post-Covid-19 effects on the religious lives of individuals in Turkey who experienced severe Covid-19 and fear of death. The analyses of the research revealed that experiencing severe COVID-19 and death anxiety seem to contribute to strengthen religious commitments among the participants. According to research analyses, due to the severe COVID-19 and death anxiety, the participants reported that they (a) had a better understanding of human helplessness and the power of God, have tended to deepen their religious commitments; (b) gained a more robust understanding of the transient and mortal nature of the world; and (c) experienced a fear of dying as a sinner and considered the rest of their lives as a second chance given by God. All three of these factors appear to contribute to the involvement of religion in participants' lives in the post-COVID-19 period.

Pregnancy and ‘the Other’: Nausea and Accommodation in Manila

ABSTRACT Pregnancy is a processual dialectic that involves continual acts of tactical, responsive, and creative accommodation by pregnant women. This article is a phenomenological investigation of pregnancy experience of working-class women in Manila. In it, I provide an outline of “accommodation:” acts which vary according to the political ecology of procreation in which they are enmeshed, and which are particularly evident in unexpected or unplanned pregnancies. Accommodation constitutes the core act in which the mother-to-be is engaged as the protagonist of procreation, transforming the character of unexpected pregnancy from uncertain and troubled to stable and even joyous as acts of accommodation restore bodily integrity.

Exploring Digital Lifeworlds

Networked Learning (NL), originally presented by Goodyear et al. (2004), has recently been reimagined to embrace a richer, more context-sensitive understanding that incorporates the entangled, emergent and “messy” nature of learning (NLEC, Gourlay, Rodríguez-Illera, et al., 2021). Postphenomenology was cited as one of the multiple methodological frameworks relevant to this redefinition. Matthews (in NLEC, Gourlay, Rodríguez-Illera, et al., 2021) recommends postphenomenology for its focus on human-nonhuman mediation and questions of agency in sociotechnical networks. Similarly, Thestrup & Gislev (in NLEC, Gourlay, Rodríguez-Illera, et al., 2021) draw on postphenomenology to reconceive the learning network as a media ecology where “technology, not being neutral, but multistable (Ihde 1990), mediates the perceptions and actions of the participants (Verbeek 2005), and by that co-shapes the space, the connections, and the network” (p. 346). But what is postphenomenology? This workshop will introduce participants to postphenomenology as a philosophy of technology, a theoretical framework, and a pragmatic approach to doing NL research. Postphenomenology emerged from philosopher Don Ihde’s (1975, 1979) early phenomenological investigations of specific technologies being used in everyday life: chalk, eyeglasses, telephones, etc. His inquiries led to several key discoveries including the occurrence of distinct forms of human-technology-world relations (embodiment, hermeneutic, alterity and background) which can be further characterized by their amplification-reduction structure. Today, Ihde’s approach to studying technologies “phenomenologically, i.e., as belonging in different ways to our experience and use” (1993, p. 34) is known as postphenomenology and has evolved into an increasingly popular posthuman form of qualitative inquiry in education and the social sciences (Aagaard, 2016). As a theoretical framework, postphenomenology views technology not as a neutral tool but as an active mediator in shaping and co-constituting human actions, perceptions, and interpretations including interactions with others and their world (Ihde, 1990; Verbeek, 2005). Peter-Paul Verbeek (2005) expanded postphenomenology to include key insights from Actor-Network Theory, drawing especially on the work of Bruno Latour (1992, 2002), and thereby broadening its theoretical reach to include the morality of hybrid beings and the ethical design of things. As an approach to research, postphenomenology allows for in-depth explorations of how digital technologies mediate educational experiences (Aagaard, 2017; Adams & Turville, 2018). It is especially well-suited to studying how technologies shape ethical actions and decisions (Verbeek, 2011, 2023). Through “investigating how technologies help to shape human practices, perceptions, and interpretative frameworks, [postphenomenology] makes visible a moral dimension of technology itself” (Verbeek, 2023, p. 49). Postphenomenology employs a variety of phenomenological and empirically grounded methods to capture the everyday, lived experiences of different technologies including disciplined observation of humans employing specific technologies (Aagaard & Matthiesen, 2016), “interviewing objects” (Adams & Thompson, 2016) and “thing writing” (Adams & Yin, 2017). Here, doing postphenomenology demands an out-of-the-corner-of-one’s-eye attentiveness to everyday life, “an ear for meaning and an eye for materiality” (Aagaard & Matthiesen, 2016, p. 41, emphasis in original). Postphenomenological analysis often begins by first reconstructing “posthuman anecdotes”, that is, descriptions of human-technology-world interactions as they are lived, then subjecting these “reassembled resemblings” (Adams & Thompson, 2016, p. 31) to a set of postphenomenological analytic tools to help untangle how humans and different technologies in use are mutually shaping and co-constituting each other. Analytics include studying breakdowns (e.g., the “broken hammer” strategy), attending to the invitational quality of things, and discerning the spectrum of human-technology-world (HTW) relations (Adams & Turville, 2018; Adams & Thompson, 2016).