Self-reflection Research Articles

Using community interaction theory to understand the effects of group mentoring on adolescents

This paper describes the outcomes for adolescents taking part in a 12-week group behavioural mentoring programme and possible causal mechanisms involved, using Law's (1981) Community Interaction Theory as a theoretical framework. The two-stage qualitative research with four groups of students aged 13-14 showed that there were changes to their understanding of self, their self-confidence, their ability to control emotions and behaviour and, importantly, changes in their career aspirations. Interacting with their mentors (adults from outside their previous communities) appeared to have a significant impact on them. The data suggests this was via the creation of a new community which moderated existing beliefs about who they were, and what opportunities were open to them. The mentors provided feedback, support and information, and were perceived as a credible and trusted role model. The study offers an application of Law's theory to the younger students it was developed for and provides evidence suggestive of the importance of interactions with wider communities in career development and widening participation, although future research should consider long-term follow-up of mentees.

The Narrative of Trauma in Art spiegelman’s Maus

This article explores how Art Spiegelman’s Maus (1986-1991) challenges the humanist concept of the unified self, proposing instead that the post-war self is fragmented and split. This fragmentation is particularly examined through the lens of Holocaust survivors in Maus, showcasing how extreme experiences during and after the Second World War cause the self to fracture and even disintegrate. The article argues that storytelling and narration serve as a crucial tool for the trauma survivors to navigate and reconcile the fractured aspects of their self. Through storytelling, the protagonist finds a means of survival, by finding a language to articulate his otherwise inexpressible and ineffable experiences and memories. It highlights the fragmentation of the human psyche as a direct consequence of Holocaust trauma and similar traumatic experiences, examining how narrative acts as a medium for the protagonist to deal with his traumas. The novel offers insights into the complexities of the new post-war self, the enduring scars of trauma and the potential of narrative in coping with trauma, providing a deeper understanding of the fragmented self in the context of Holocaust trauma.

Mindfulness and Religiosity: Four Propositions to Advance a More Integrative Pedagogical Approach

AbstractIn this commentary article, we critically discuss the need for greater understanding of intercultural and interreligious competence when teaching and applying the practice of mindfulness and contemplative meditation. We start by considering the predominant religious and belief systems that exist worldwide, how each system utilises meditation, and how this meditative practice can be linked to the experience of mindfulness. We then consider how mindfulness can be discussed when taught, through the cultivation of intercultural and interreligious competence. To create a clearer direction in the teaching of mindfulness within the context of interreligious competence, we present four propositions or considerations. We have also put forward a model that suggests mindfulness is a means to achieving greater understanding of self and, thus, more than a clinical tool for ameliorating observable malaise. Moreover, we assert that mindfulness and contemplative meditation practices lie on a continuum that provides the opportunity for self-realisation and optimal states of wellbeing. Our aim is to extend previous discussions on intercultural and interreligious competence as this relates to the practice of meditation. In addition, we continue the philosophical and pedagogical debate to enable teachers and students to optimise the full potential of meditation. In doing so, we create an expansive dialogue to enable teachers and students to engage in a richer and more accepting learning landscape.

EXPLORING SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING IN PRACTICAL CLASS FOR HOSPITALITY STUDENTS

The Malaysia Education Development Plan 2015-2025 (Higher Education) aims to strengthen Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to meet the demands of the industry by producing skilled workers. It is crucial for TVET students to enhance their skills through high-quality practical training. This study aims to investigate the self-directed learning as learning styles and the achievement of practical hospitality courses among hospitality students in community college in the northern part of peninsular Malaysia. This study proposes to apply the Kolb's Learning Style. This quantitative study utilizes a survey method, with preliminary study involving 30 students and the actual sample of 136 participants comprising students from semester two and semester three at the identified Community Colleges using Proportionate Stratified Random Sampling technique. The preliminary collected data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 27.0. The findings of this study are expected to provide a better understanding of learning styles and self -directed learning on academic achievement in the context of TVET among hospitality students at Community Colleges.

Mapping the pre-reflective experience of “self” to the brain - An ERP study

The neural underpinnings of selfhood encompass pre-reflective and reflective self-experience. The former refers to a basic, immediate experience of being a self, while the latter involves cognition and introspection. Although neural correlates of reflective self-experience have been studied, the pre-reflective remains underinvestigated.This research aims to bridge this gap by comparatively investigating ERP correlates of reading first- vs. third-person pronouns – approximating pre-reflective self-experience – and self- vs. other-related adjectives – approximating reflective self-experience – in 30 healthy participants.We found differential neural engagement between pre-reflective and reflective self-experience at 254–310 ms post-stimulus onset. Source estimation suggested that our sensor-level results could be plausibly explained by the involvement of cortical midline structures and default mode network in the general sense of self but selective recruitment of anterior cingulate and top-down dorsal attention network in the pre-reflective self. These findings offer a deeper understanding of the experiential self, especially pre-reflective, providing a foundation for investigating self-disorders.

Listing the Body: Embodied Experience and Identity in Autobiographical Graphic Illness Narratives

“Listing the Body: Embodied Experience and Identity in Autobiographical Graphic Illness Narratives” examines the popular use of lists in autobiographical graphic illness narratives to determine how they are used to address the subject’s embodied experience of illness. After a brief discussion of what lists are and how they have been said to function in literary texts, attention is given to examining how the verbal and visual lists included in several autobiographical graphic illness narratives narrate identity as understood across the body, in the mind of the self, and in the mind of others. Asking how lists function within autobiographical graphic illness narratives to address the ill subject’s fluctuating understanding of self as an embodied being, the article concludes that lists narrate the subject’s lived experience of illness.

Spiritual Retreats: Implications for Practical Christian Living

Spiritual retreats have a long history steeped in religious tradition and generally involve a separation from everyday life and entering into a new temporary experience. Retreats have been a means of help for people in all spheres of life, providing favour able outcomes such as spiritual growth and restoration. This study utilized Attention Restoration Theory and Activity, Setting, Experience and Benefit (ASEB) framework to explore the implication of spiritual retreat activities and experiences on Christian growth indicators, i.e., in the areas of establishing a deeper relationship with God, gaining a fuller understanding of self, applying personal faith in troubling life situations, and finding fulfilment in reaching out to fellowship with others. Data from 115 study participants were analysed using a mixed-method approach and demonstrated evidence of the beneficial effects of spiritual retreats on Christian growth. Spiritual retreats were shown to have a significant and beneficial impact on participants’ Christian growth, particularly in the areas of abiding in Christ, living by the Bible and biblical principles, growing in faith and prayer, fellows hipping with other Christians, and service to God. The practical and theoretical implications of the findings of the study for pastors, church leaders, retreat centre facilitators as well as the general Christian community are also discussed.

Narrating Agency and a Reflective Self in “Asymmetry” by Lisa Halliday

Advancements in modern “post-classical narratology” have undergone unprecedented growth in the last two decades, giving rise to various directions of narratological research within the cognitive and diachronic domains. One such approach is biosemiotics, which appeared at the crossroads of semiotics and cultural biology and combines a set of definitions for meaning-making and agency construction in philosophy, linguistics, culture, and all complex systems. Agency here represents any kind of subject activity (e.g., epistemic, cognitive, etc.) which is possible to determine by the indices and icons of subjectivity on the level of the storyline development and then compared at the level of the discourse. From the biosemiotic approach, the narrative discourse as a complex system is characterized by the meaning emergence and telic behavior of all its constituent parts striving at closure and a certain goal, i.e., having some sort of agenda (Mendoza-Collazos&Zlatev, 2022). Thus, the agency is supplementary to the acting of the self-reflecting subject in terms of intentionality, self-referentiality, and self-governing activity. Following the above definition of agency, this paper examines the possible ways of applying Peircian triadic sign theory to narrative agency construction in the contemporary novel “Asymmetry” (2018) by Lisa Halliday, operating with the notions of embodied or bodily agency (Caracciolo&Kukkonen, 2021) and biosemiotic agency (Tønnessen, 2015). Seeing subjectivity related to perspective-taking in the narrative discourse, it is important to trace the distribution of the icons and indexes of subjectivity on three levels: semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic.

Maintaining Family Harmony in Islamic Law According to Madhhab of Imam Shafi’i

­This research explores and discusses the importance of maintaining family harmony in Islamic family law according to the Madhhab of Imam Syafi'i. This article, explained that maintaining family harmony is started from the attachment between husband and wife in the marriage context. Both parties must respect, appreciate, and support each other and understanding self rights and obligations. Furthermore, this article also explained the importance of good communication between family members. Each family member have to own the ability of listening and sparing time to talk to each other, then problems arises can be resolved properly. In addition, good parenting from parents to their children is also very important in maintaining family harmony. This article also emphasized the importance of avoiding actions of damaging family harmony such as infidelity, harsh words, and household violence. This could endanger family harmony and potentially caused a rift in husband and wife relationship also between parents and children. This article also emphasized the importance of maintaining the unity and entity in family, thus each family member could feel the ownership of being part of a family that supports and holds each other in life. In conclusion, this article affirmed that harmony in the family is very important in Islamic family law according to the Madhhab of Imam Shafi'i. In maintaining family harmony, each family member need to support each other and maintain the integrity of the family as a whole unit. Therefore, promoting family harmony should always be a major concern for every Muslim family.

Toxic Masculinity and Compulsive Heteronormativity in Konkona Sen’s Movie, A Death in the Gunj

Gender is one of the most contested subjects in literature. Some prominent scholars like Judith Butler have argued that gender is not innate, but performative. For instance, masculinity is a construct which is always believed to resonate with a compulsive heteronormativity. The fact that men have to behave like an actual “macho; the giver ; the doer completely contrasting feminine virtues such as the emotional , passive and the receiver is prescriptive of the ways through which heteronormativity has become naturalized since the beginning of the civilization. This paper looks into the subtle details about the rooted construct of heteronormativity resembled in the movie “A death in the Gunj’(2016) . Here the protagonist Shutu faces spiritual conflict between his naturally innate virtues like kindness, sensitivity, introversion which goes quite contrary to the compartmentalized masculine virtues such as assertiveness, bravery, manhood and a pressure to maintain a proper “macho” personality. This research looks into the prominent crisis of masculinity and gender performativity that the world faces today. Is it only essential to venerate the so called masculine virtues like dominance and assertiveness? If yes , what about kindness, sensitivity and the capacity to feel emotions that are so much sidelined as feminine virtues? What is the position of man in the modern society? The movie “ A death in Gunj “ paradoxically opens up these hard questions through the characterization of Shuttu who remains unloved and forsaken and drives himself towards the annals of self-destruction and suicide for the reason that he finds himself very vaguely suited to fit into the societal constructs of what makes a proper “man’. This research employs Judith Butler’s concept of gender performativity to look into all these prominent gender questions. It also employs Lacan’s construct of symbolic order where language is a source of both alienation and subjectivity considering the fact that while language structures our understanding of self and reality, it alienates from the self that stemmed from the imaginary order from our authentic selves.

Bringing Labour Markets Back in: Inclusionary and Exclusionary Solidarities in Platform Delivery Work in Italy and Belgium

This research showcases the ways in which the labour market informs the formation of different types of solidarities among platform workers. Building on qualitative research that focuses on the delivery sector in Italy and Belgium, we demonstrate diversity in forms of solidarities built among platform workers. While in Italy, in- and out-group boundaries, particularly those based on language and ethnicity, are successfully crossed by platform workers resulting in what we describe as inclusionary solidarities, in Belgium, they remain rigid resulting in exclusionary solidarities. Our findings demonstrate that two distinct forms of solidarity are informed by the functioning of labour markets, which shape workers’ options for exit outside of the platform world and hence the degree of platform dependency. These processes contribute to the creation of variegated understandings of self and others at work and in the labour market at large that in turn inform the ways in which workers relate to one another and form solidarities.

Bildung as Cultural Participation: The Prereflective and Reflective Self in Hegel’s Phenomenology

Bildung as Cultural Participation: The Prereflective and Reflective Self in Hegel’s Phenomenology

From Moral Therapy to Political Defiance: Public Self‐Reflections on Russian YouTube

AbstractDuring the first months of the Russian war in Ukraine, millions of Russian‐language viewers both within Russia and elsewhere, including ourselves, became addicted to a type of YouTube format that presented 1–2‐hour videos staged as dialogues between a journalist and prominent figures in the public life of contemporary Russia. The interviews are grounded in personal reflexive accounts of broad national rupture and rifts in identity resulting from the recent political events and Russian military aggression. This format is formed by an overlap between the personal and the public, and it combines private conversation with political expression in a manner novel for Russian‐language media. In this essay we follow the emergence of the format as a particular genre of public self‐reflection, focusing on the YouTube channel “Skazhi Gordeevoi.” Interpreting a contemporary script of personal reflection of the public Self coming from a liberal antiwar milieu in Russia, we discuss the role of emotional expressions in moral political accounts of collective ruptures. We find that this format of emotional self‐reflection serves as collective “moral therapy” for those in this milieu, both real and imaginary, and simultaneously creates a community of dissenters, thereby becoming an act of defiant talk and civil dissent.

Quantitative text analysis of language use in rare dementia support groups

AbstractBackgroundQuantitative text analysis facilitates study of internal states of speakers in an interspace between self‐report measures and qualitative analyses. The methodology is well‐established in psychological research, including in numerous support group settings.MethodIn this study, Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC2015) was employed to characterise conversations in online multi‐component (peers and professionals) support groups for familial caregivers of people living with young onset, atypical or inherited (rare) dementias. Using a corpus of transcripts (129,616 words) from 14 sessions, the differences between trained facilitators’ (n = 2) and participants’ (n = 14) speech were examined, and the impact of agenda on discussion was investigated. Sessions were semi‐structured, addressing independence and identity, or unstructured, without agenda. Statistical methods included comparison of linguistic features with natural speech, Poisson regression, and a clustering algorithm.ResultMeaningful differences between natural speech and the corpus emerged, including in emotional tone (Tone; d = ‐3.2, p<0.001), level of analytic/informal language (Analytic; d = 0.8, p = 0.01), degree of expertise/confidence (Clout; d = 1.0, p = 0.002), and openness/guardedness (Authentic; d = ‐0.9, p = 0.006) (Figure 1). Differences were observed between facilitators and participants in the descriptive (Figure 1) and inferential (Figures 2&3) statistical methods employed. Differences between unstructured and semi‐structured sessions, including between different agendas in the semi‐structured sessions, were observed. Sessions 2 and 4 focused on the participant while sessions 1 and 3 focused on their loved one (Figure 2). The clustering algorithm categorised participants’ conversational turns into three groups: sharing experience (EXP), self‐reflection (SELF), and group processes (GROUP). Contribution‐types were dispersed throughout sessions (Figure 3).ConclusionResults suggest that LIWC2015 can be used to distinguish support group conversations from natural speech, facilitators from participants, and different sessions based on agenda. The methodology could be adapted for use by other peer‐support services wanting insight into their groups using only session transcripts as raw data.

Multilingual practice and multilingual selves: A mixed-method study of EMI international students in Japan

The utilization of English-medium Instruction (EMI) has become increasingly prevalent in Japanese higher education as a means of promoting internationalisation. International students who come to study in Japan are likely to encounter unforeseen multilingual situations where they are forced to learn the local language. This study employed a mixed-methods investigation comprising both quantitative and qualitative elements to examine the relationship between EMI international students and the local language they have acquired, as well as the multilingual selves they have constructed through this process. A questionnaire-based quantitative survey completed by 178 participants investigated the acquisition and use of the Japanese language by EMI international students and to identify any barriers they encountered during this process. In the second phase, a multi-case qualitative study was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the multilingual selves of international students. Four participants took part in in-depth semi-structured interviews. The findings of this study indicate that EMI international students do not possess a holistic understanding of a certain language, but they could achieve holistic communication with all the linguistic resources they possess. Policy recommendations for language education and language support in EMI settings have been proposed for practitioners and stakeholders in the academic community to ensure that language proficiency is optimized to enhance effective teaching and learning outcomes.

How do "Young-old" Adults project their Self? A Study of Self-defining Future Projections in normal Ageing.

Self-defining future projections (SDFP) are mental representations of plausible and highly significant future events that provide core information of one's understanding of self. We explored SDFPs in a large sample of older adults and aimed to target the interrelations between the main dimensions of SDFPs. Moreover, correlations between these dimensions and clinical and cognitive variables were examined. We recruited 87 young-old adults (60-75 years) with normal cognitive functioning who were invited to present three SDFPs. We found integrative meaning as a salient dimension and older individuals preferentially generated projections containing leisure or relationship events. Anxiety and self-esteem were correlated with integrative meaning and high executive functioning was found to be protective towards the simulation of future events containing dependence and death or end-of-life events. This study will contribute to the understanding of personal goals and identity in normal ageing.

PENGEMBANGAN MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN VIDEO ANIMASI KESELAMATAN KEBAKARAN PADA MATA PELAJARAN PENDIDIKAN JASMANI KELAS IX SMP BPS&K JAKARTA TIMUR

Until now, fire disasters cannot be avoided, both in the industrial sector, housing and even in the forest. From various types of fire cases, it is very detrimental if there are casualties, so there is a need for education about fire safety learning for adults, teenagers and even children. Children's understanding of danger and self- protection causes children to be less able to anticipate and overcome dangerous conditions around themselves. This can usually be fatal for the safety of the child. Even when there is no adult supervision around the children, they cannot optimally look after and supervise the children. The results of the development of learning media for the feasibility of animated videos that cause fires and how to prevent fires, according to material experts, are categorized as feasible with a value of 76% measured by several aspects, namely: material coverage, presentation clarity, language aspects, understanding. Meanwhile, the feasibility of animated videos that cause fires and how to prevent fires, according to media experts, is categorized as very feasible with a score of 84% measured by several aspects, namely: text, images, video, audio, program effectiveness. And the feasibility of animated videos that cause fires and how to prevent fires based on the assessment of junior high school students is categorized as very feasible with a score of 88% measured by several aspects, namely: text, images, video, audio, program effectiveness.

Rethinking agency in literacies: Malawian children’s and teachers’ perspectives

ABSTRACT This qualitative study contributes theorised and empirically enriched insights from local practices into children’s agency. The authors trace a converging interest in multimodal literacies, postcolonial philosophies and early childhood pedagogy to document and critically engage with children’s agency in stories experienced by Malawian children in their primary schools. Agency is understood as the identities that children assign to their stories and understandings of self [Pahl, K. and Rowsell, J., 2012. Literacy and education (2nd edition), London: SAGE Publications]. Interviews with twenty-five children and two teachers from two primary schools in semi-urban Malawi and drawings from 49 children were analysed using the Sense-making Method [Weick 1995. Sensemaking in Organizations. Vol. 3. Sage]. Children’s drawings and interviews revealed children’s positive portrayals of collective agency in contexts typically associated with subdued identities (domestic chores). Gendered, age-restricted and otherwise limited agency in orchestrating diverse stories in the classroom were explicit in the teachers’ accounts. The discussion imbues contemporary early childhood studies with a new understanding of children’s agency, as a communal and context-dependent phenomenon.

Theorizing mimesis across social studies contexts of mimicry, imitation, and simulation

ABSTRACT Social studies education (SSE) commonly uses copying pedagogies (e.g., simulations) to help students develop a deeper understanding of self, others, curriculum, and society. This article argues that simulations are eminently mimetic (i.e., a theoretical orientation concerned with understanding the entangled relationships between originals and copies) and abound with overlooked opportunities to engage with double logics that traverse academic disciplines. Primarily, we theorize how mimetic concepts (e.g., protean, pharmakon/Janus-faced) can be capacious in providing needed nuance and texture to simulatory approaches to SSE through the demarcation of two specific mimetic registers within simulation(s): mimicry and imitation. Through these two mimetic gestures, this article calls for a more intra-disciplinary framing of SSE, thus offering an alternative corridor for SSE educators, students, and researchers to consider how simulations are used to make sense of the more-than-human world in both historical and contemporary contexts.

Exploring Continuity and Change: Personal Identity Formation from Childhood to Adulthood

Individuals' initial conceptualizations of the world are typically formed during their childhood years, a period whose influence is notably enduring. This fundamental understanding tends to reach maturation during adolescence, though it remains subject to continuous evolution and reshaping throughout adulthood, influenced by a myriad of personal experiences. The complex interplay of continuity and change in identity formation underscores the multifaceted and dynamic nature of personal identity. This recognition can enhance nuanced understanding of self and others, potentially enriching interpersonal relationships, self-development, and overall life satisfaction. By appreciating the intricate perspectives, maintaining a stable core identity and accommodating the potential for change, individuals can better navigate the complexities of life. This equilibrium provides a crucial framework for individuals to forge their unique life paths, while adjusting to various special expectations and personal growth stages.