Arquitecturas para la soledad. Proliferación y pandemia de capillas aisladas [versiones chilenas]

"Architectures for solitude", which are those that are small in size and were first used by a single resident to later be inhabited by a very small number of people as a place of spiritual retreat or for liturgical rites, deals with analysing the circumstances and causes of the great increase in the number of isolated chapels that have been projected and built in the first two decades of the 20th century around the world, and particularly in Europe and Latin America. The study of such a notorious proliferation focuses, by way of example and symptom, on a reduced repertoire of works designed by Chilean architects. Methodologically speaking, although the progress presented only contains some indications of the procedures used, the study will be carried out by reviewing the pages and cover pages dedicated to them by architecture publications, printed or digital, resorting to the discursive strategies of architectural types and semantics analysis, comparison and statistical calculation, the communicative potential of the photographic image, and the expressive capacity of the word. From the theses raised, it is proposed that the term “chapel” be redefined to re-signify it; of the cases presented, that the heterogeneous formal repertoire of contemporaneity starts from the vernacular to venture into experimentation devoid of prejudice. Ultimately, the data allow us to deduce that the current rise of hermitic architectures is related to the circumstances of hegemonic urban societies, as well as to predict that the process will be accelerated by upcoming pandemics.

Effect of a One-Week Spiritual Retreat on Brain Functional Connectivity: A Preliminary Study

Background: Many individuals participate in spiritual retreats to enhance their sense of spirituality or to improve their overall mental and spiritual well-being. We are not aware of any studies specifically evaluating changes in functional connectivity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in individuals undergoing an intense spiritual retreat program. The goal of this study was to determine whether such changes occur as a result of participating in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Methods: We conducted psychological and spiritual measures in conjunction with functional connectivity analysis of fMRI in 14 individuals prior to and following shortly after their participation in a one-week spiritual retreat. Results: Significant changes in functional connectivity were observed after the retreat program, compared to baseline evaluation, particularly in the posterior cingulate cortex, pallidum, superior frontal lobe, superior parietal lobe, superior and inferior temporal lobe, and the cerebellum. Significant changes in a variety of psychological and spiritual measures were identified as result of participation in the retreat. Conclusion: Overall, these preliminary findings suggest that this intensive spiritual retreat resulted in significant changes in brain functional connectivity, and warrants further investigation to evaluate the physiological, psychological, and spiritual impact of these changes.

Beyond the horizon of words: silent landscape experience within spiritual retreat tourism

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the notion and function of silent landscape in a touristic experience by presenting the findings of a study on silent retreats in a Buddhist meditation retreat center in Northern India. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a sensory ethnography approach applied through interviews and participant observation methods conducted during and after nine retreats in a meditation center. Findings This study suggests that silent landscapes are not only backdrops of touristic experiences but can be considered as inter-subjective performative and resourceful milieu of engagement that intertwine intimate embodied experiences with broader social and cultural values. Originality/value Despite landscapes having been thoroughly investigated in tourist studies, this paper underlines the pertinence of mobilizing the lens of other forms of presences such as affects, embodiment, sensoriality and sonority to understand the inter-relation between tourists-selves and the surrounding world encountered during their travels.

The Power of Readiness Theory and the Success of Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Peace Process in South Sudan

In this article, the South Sudan conflict will be analyzed by examining the IGAD mediation process between the Government of South Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A IO). The study will look into factors that prompted the IGAD states to call for an emergency meeting and initiate peace talk just few days after the outbreak of the conflict in December 2013. The study will use the Readiness Theory to examine the factors that pushed the parties to the negotiation table and enable the IGAD to succeed or failed. Although the mediation was somehow shaky characterized with mistrust and suspicion among the parties, The IGAD mediators was also questionable since some of the IGAD states were already perceived has taken part in one way or other. The study will explore two major factors; first the factor that led to the agreement between the parties and the second one will be looking into assumption of readiness theory applicable to this case study. In conclusion, the study will investigate the level of mistrust and suspicion which was very high through out the negotiation and almost failed the talk to the level of parties being coerced to sign an agreement against their will of which government presented number of reservations to the mediator and went unaddressed will in many observers’ opinion was the cause of the July 2016 J1 dog-fight. But the IGAD continue pd pushing for peaceful settlement of the conflict and initiated handshake and face-to-face meetings between the leaders which eventually resulted into the Khartoum revitalized agreement in September 2018. Other arrangements also followed such as the spiritual retreat in Vatican in April 2019, which was attended by almost all leaders, but despite all these, still the motivation is in question and the time will prove this wrong.

Role of Travel Behaviour Characteristics in Selecting Wellness Services at Tourism Destination

The main plan of this manuscript was to explore the peculiarities between the three kinds of visitors: Spiritual retreat, Beauty spa and Health resort visitors with reverence to choosing tourism destination and their socio demographic, travel behaviour characteristics. Data was collected from as a division of a investigate on tourists’ activities on a part of vacationers visiting and also residing at least one night in tourist service offered places in India. Respondents are international tourists to India specifically to the wellness tourism destinations such as Kerala, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Pondicherry who are drawn from the study population. They may have used services from the three types of services and must be an international visitor to India. As Chennai, Bangalore, Kottakal, & Auroville were the few places of wellness tourism from each of the destinations mentioned above which is a representative of the requisite population the samples were drawn from above mentioned places. Few chi square tests for independence were performed to check if there exists any significant difference among the three types of wellbeing visitors with reverence to their demographic and voyage behaviour distinctiveness. Noteworthy dissimilarities among three types were initiated from the facet of sample travel behaviour distinctiveness, socio demographic, visiting other tourism destinations. Index Terms: Wellness, Travel behaviour, India.