The Impacts of the Socratic Method and Andragogy on Adult Bible Classes

This chapter addresses the potential use of the Socratic method and andragogical teaching methods in adult Bible classes in parish education. There exist many correlations between Socratic teaching strategies and andragogical philosophy, most notably the assumption that adult learners trend towards thinking of themselves as self-directed learners with a variety of experiences and the capacity to learn through dialogue with facilitators and each other. This chapter first outlines adult Bible classes in the isolated context of Christian parish education as community or non-formal education. Then, the chapter highlights the methods of a particular study in which pastors were trained in Socratic and andragogical methods and then observed for an extended period of time. Conclusions from the study include how Socratic and andragogical methods potentially help to increase learner self-reflection and engagement in similar contexts to the featured study.

Role of Peer Support in Posttraumatic Growth Among Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Patients and Survivors with Pediatric and AYA Cancer

Purpose Adolescents and young adults (AYA) who undergo cancer treatment sometimes report posttraumatic growth (PTG) and experience posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Although the importance of peer support has been demonstrated, its association with PTG, especially in the five, distinct domains of PTG, needs to be investigated further in AYA cancer survivors. The present study examined the role of demographics, peer support, and PTSS in PTG among AYA cancer patients and survivors. MethodsThe present, multicenter, cross-sectional, prospective, web-based study enrolled AYA cancer patients and survivors (median age 28 years). Of 549 AYA patients recruited, 212 patients from 11 cancer centers and 12 cancer patient communities agreed to participate by completing a self-reported measure of PTG (PTGIX-J) and providing information about their diagnosis, treatment, peer support (affiliation with an AYA patient community or friendship with other AYA cancer patients), social status, and PTSS. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify significant correlates in the total score and five PTG domains. ResultsIn general, PTG was positively associated with male sex, years since diagnosis, having a confidant, and friendship with other AYA cancer patients. PTG was not significantly related to age, age at diagnosis, affiliation to an AYA patient community or PTSS. Friendship with other AYA cancer patients was positively associated with all five PTG subscales. PTSS was not associated with PTG but was associated with a subscale of “appreciation of life”. For the five subscale scores, “belonging to a religion” was positively associated with “spiritual change,” and “having a confidant” and “a good relationship with siblings” were positively associated with “appreciation of life.” Conclusion “Having a confidant” and “friendship with other AYA cancer patients” was positively associated with PTG. Psychosocial interventions mobilizing peer support can potentially contribute to promoting PTG in AYA cancer patients.

Depression, Anxiety and Associated Factors among Frontline Hospital Healthcare Workers in the Fourth Wave of COVID-19: Empirical Findings from Vietnam

(1) Background: This study aims to assess the magnitude of, and factors associated with, depression and anxiety among Vietnamese frontline hospital healthcare workers in the fourth wave of COVID-19; (2) Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was carried out within two weeks, October 2020, at a central COVID-19 treatment hospital. Depression and anxiety were measured with PHQ-9 and GAD-7, respectively. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were applied to recognize variables related to depression and anxiety, respectively; (3) Results: Among 208 frontline hospital healthcare workers, overall prevalence of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and both symptoms of depression and anxiety was 38.94%, 25.48% and 24.04%, respectively, in healthcare workers. In a reduced model after using multivariate stepwise logistic regression, age (OR = 0.9, p = 0.001), marital status (OR = 7.84, p = 0.027), profession (OR = 0.39, p = 0.028), having experienced traumatic stress following a work event (OR = 46.24, p < 0.001), feeling at very high risk for COVID-19 (OR = 0.02, p < 0.04), and affected by workplace conditions (OR = 5.36, p < 0.001) were associated with the symptoms of depression. With regard to symptoms of anxiety, single status (OR: 12.18, p = 0.002), being medical technician (OR: 68.89, p < 0.001), alcohol use (OR: 6.83, p = 0.014), using pain relief medications (OR: 25.50, p = 0.047), having experienced traumatic stress following a family event (OR: 130.32, p = 0.001), having experienced traumatic stress following a work event (OR: 181.55, p = 0.002), reporting at very high risk for COVID-19 (OR: 29.64, p = 0.011), treating moderate (OR: 6.46, p = 0.038) and severe (OR: 18.96, p = 0.004) COVID-19 patients, and being significantly affected by the community (OR: 6.33, p = 0.003) were increased risk factors for the symptoms of anxiety. Meanwhile, those living with 4–5 people (OR: 0.15, p = 0.011), specializing in infectious disease (OR: 0.13, p = 0.044)/resuscitation and emergency medicine (OR: 0.04, p = 0.046), and having knowledge preparation before participating in COVID-19 (OR: 0.008, p = 0.014) were less associated with the symptoms of anxiety; (4) Conclusions: There was a relatively high prevalence among Vietnamese hospital healthcare workers exhibiting symptoms of depression and anxiety during the ongoing pandemic. Greater attention to training in psychological skills should be suggested for those belonging to a younger age group, being single/widowed/divorced, treating moderate and severe COVID-19 patients, feeling at very high risk for COVID-19, being significantly affected a lot the community or workplace conditions, or experiencing traumatic stress following a family/work event in the past week.

Negotiating Christian Cultural Heritage

This article shows how Christmas in schools and public service media for children (PSM) involves negotiation and renewal of Christian cultural heritage. Across the studied cases from Norway and Denmark, we find that the institutions involved seek to realize community. However, community is approached differently in different settings. It is either understood restoratively as a process in which children, including immigrant children, become part of an existing societal community, or constructively as establishing an inclusive community across cultural and religious divides. A major finding is that activities associated with Christianity such as school services are framed in a language of ‘museumification’ and not as part of a living religious practice with the capacity to change and transform. Whereas Islam is positioned as a ‘religious other’, Christianity understood as culture facilitates creative heritage making, establishing community across religious divides. Contrary to political rhetoric, Christian cultural heritage in schools and PSM is by and large not dominated by a safeguarding nationalistic discourse. Rather, traditions and activities related to Christianity are negotiated and appropriated for the benefit of an inclusive community. A premise for making this succeed in schools and PSM is to negotiate Christian cultural heritage as culture, not as religion.

REPRESENTATION OF CONREPRESENTASI BUDAYA KONSUMEN DI KOMUNITAS MINIMALIS LYFE WITH LESSSUMER CULTURE IN LYFE WITH LESS MINIMALIST COMMUNITY

The culture of consumerism is almost a pathology for people all over the world. Consumerism culture according to Jean Baudrillard is the fulfillment of the human need for signs. Therefore, it is also necessary to identify a consumerist culture in a minimalist community that has thoughts or principles that are contrary to consumerism. The Lyfe With Less minimalist community or can be shortened to the LWL community is an Indonesian minimalist community. This community is a place for people to learn to be minimalist. Minimalism is closely related to reducing consumption in life, in order to get more happiness. Based on the many programs owned by the LWL community, there is one program that is the hallmark of this community. The programs are cross-linked. The research objective is to answer major and minor questions. The major question is how the interrelationships of consumer culture and processes in the LWL community are interrelated. While the minor question is how the involvement of consumerism culture when the process crosses over. This research method uses a virtual ethnographic qualitative method. The results show that the LWL minimalist community has anti-consumerism thoughts, including cross-linking programs to extend the functionality of goods.

Strategies Older Adults Used During COVID-19 to Stay Connected

An unintended consequence of the physical distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19 may be increased feelings of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify successful strategies used in avoiding social isolation and feelings of loneliness in older adults (50+) during the pandemic. Methods Older adults (n=22) selected from a longitudinal study, Aging In the Time of COVID-19, who did not report loneliness, participated in a semi-structured interview via zoom. Individuals were asked a series of questions about how their lives were impacted by the pandemic and what they did to avoid social isolation and loneliness. Each interview was recorded and transcribed verbatim. transcripts were analyzed and categorized to identify common strategies. Results Participants were primarily female and white (100%) with a mean age of 64.7 years. Preliminary findings (n=5) suggest older adults developed several effective strategies for combating social isolation and feelings of loneliness, including purposely reaching out and “checking in” on others; engaging in exercise, either alone or with others, and engaging in outdoor activities, such as socially distanced in-person encounters. Other effective strategies included virtual events (e.g. community or local events, museums or concerts, etc.), using technology to communicate with friends and family, and practicing gratitude consistently. Conclusions Although older adults have been encouraged to stay at home and physically distanced throughout the pandemic, they have found ways to remain socially connected with friends, family, and community, despite not being physically together.

Age-Friendly Communities and Aging in Place: Findings From Latent Profile Analysis

Older adults prefer to live in their current home or community and ‘Aging in place’ has been shown to reduce the cost of caring for older adults and help their successful aging. Although age-friendly communities (AFC) initiatives have been helpful to aging in place, little has been known about the relationship between the types of AFC and aging in place. Using the 2017 AARP Age-Friendly Community Survey, we included 1,079 adults aged 65 or older. We measured aging in place as ‘move to a different community’, ‘move into a different residence within your current community’, and ‘stay in your current residence’, and included eight AFC constructs. We identified the type of AFC using Latent Profile Analysis: low-friendly, mid-friendly, and high-friendly. We also ran multinomial logistic regression to examine whether the types of AFC were associated with aging in place. Of the total participants, 26.0% lived in the low-friendly community, 23.7% in the mid-friendly community, and 50.3% in the high-friendly community. Older adults living in the high-friendly community were more likely to stay in the current residence (64.7%) than those in the low-friendly (47.1%) (χ2=28.680, p&lt;.001). Also, older adults living in the low-friendly community (OR=3.05, p&lt;.001) and the mid-friendly community (OR=1.42, p&lt;.10) were more likely to move to a different community compared to those living in the high-friendly community. This result suggests that it is important to build an AFC to promote aging in place. For the growing number of older adults' lives, policymakers should consider expanding the AFC initiatives.