Participation in the “Synodal Way”: A Few Comments in the Light of Karol Wojtyła’s Theory of Participation

Announcing in the German Church the so called synodal way provoked discussions concerning the participation and joint responsibility of all the faithful in the implementation of the Church mission, especially with regard to exercising power and making binding decisions. The aim of the presented reflections (comments) is to look at the discussion in the light of the theory of participation, analysed by Karol Wojtyła in his work The Acting Person. The co-existence of the community of action and the personal value of the act and experiencing as one`s own jointly made decisions may set the direction for new paradigms of exploring sensus fidei.

Getting Personal — The Intuition of Neutrality Re-interpreted

According to the Intuition of Neutrality, there is a range of wellbeing levels such that adding people with lives at these levels doesn’t make the world either better or worse. As lives in the neutral range can be good for those who live them, this intuition is in conflict with one of the main tenets of welfarism; it creates a disparity between what is good for a person and what is impersonally good. Adding a person with a good life needn’t make the world better. In “Broome and the Intuition of Neutrality” (2009) I suggested, but did not elaborate, a re-interpretation of the neutral range that would remove the problematic disparity. On this re-interpretation, a life at a level within the neutral range is not merely impersonally neutral; it is also neutral in its personal value: neither better nor worse for its owner than non-existence. Nevertheless, among such personally neutral lives, some might still be personally better or worse than others, provided that they are incommensurable in their personal value with non-existence. In this paper, I explore some of the implications of this ‘personalization’ of the Intuition of neutrality. In particular, I discuss its worrisome implications for neutral-range utilitarianism (NRU). While NRU was originally proposed as a way to avoid the Repugnant Conclusion, it turns out this conclusion is re-instated on the new interpretation and, contrary to what was suggested in my 2009-paper, it remains repugnant. A related point is that it no longer holds that all personally good lives must be better for a person than personally neutral lives. Nor that all personally bad lives must be worse than personally neutral lives. While this might seem strange, it should be accepted. As for the worrisome implications of NRU, these implications do not undermine the personalized Neutrality Intuition itself. The latter might well be retained even if NRU is given up.

The Consequences of not Acting on Personally and Socially Important Value-Expressive Behaviours on Hedonic and Eudaimonic Wellbeing

<p>Wellbeing is thought to decrease when one’s actions do not align with one’s values. This study refined a previous experimental method to investigate how perceived failure to live up to expectations of value-expressive behaviours may affect eudaimonic and hedonic wellbeing. One hundred and ninety-nine students considered their own past value-expressive behaviours in a survey designed to induce a discrepancy or “gap” between reported and ideal behaviour. We tested whether the importance of value-expressive behaviours—and whether this importance was based on personal or social ideals—would affect the perception of behavioural discrepancies and wellbeing. Results showed that being asked about more important behaviours predicted a greater perceived behavioural gap and less hedonic wellbeing. Whether this importance was based on personal values or social desirability did not differentially predict perceived behavioural gap or wellbeing, challenging the focus that some therapy models place on personal value expression to improve wellbeing. The perceived behavioural gap did not mediate a relationship between experimental condition and wellbeing, suggesting that other variables may play a role in the relationship between values, behaviour, and wellbeing. Further exploratory tests, limitations, and theoretical implications are discussed.</p>

The Consequences of not Acting on Personally and Socially Important Value-Expressive Behaviours on Hedonic and Eudaimonic Wellbeing

<p>Wellbeing is thought to decrease when one’s actions do not align with one’s values. This study refined a previous experimental method to investigate how perceived failure to live up to expectations of value-expressive behaviours may affect eudaimonic and hedonic wellbeing. One hundred and ninety-nine students considered their own past value-expressive behaviours in a survey designed to induce a discrepancy or “gap” between reported and ideal behaviour. We tested whether the importance of value-expressive behaviours—and whether this importance was based on personal or social ideals—would affect the perception of behavioural discrepancies and wellbeing. Results showed that being asked about more important behaviours predicted a greater perceived behavioural gap and less hedonic wellbeing. Whether this importance was based on personal values or social desirability did not differentially predict perceived behavioural gap or wellbeing, challenging the focus that some therapy models place on personal value expression to improve wellbeing. The perceived behavioural gap did not mediate a relationship between experimental condition and wellbeing, suggesting that other variables may play a role in the relationship between values, behaviour, and wellbeing. Further exploratory tests, limitations, and theoretical implications are discussed.</p>

Mental Time Travel and Retirement Savings

We portray the valuation of retirement savings in terms of a mental time travel journey in which a proposed contribution to a pension plan is projected forward to the plan member’s retirement date and this projected value is then discounted back to today, thereby giving a present or personal value. We set this within a broader framework of pension planning, which seeks to smooth consumption over the lifecycle. We explain how two psychological biases—exponential growth bias and present bias—can lead to a difference between the initial value of a pension contribution and its present value, such a difference reflecting an asymmetry between projection and discounting, and how such a difference might lead to inadequate retirement savings and hence to a lower than desired standard of living in retirement. We consider how the two biases might be mitigated.

Socio-professional Features and Personal Value Systems as Factors Shaping Management Styles of Managers of Polish Cultural Institutions

In the discussion on cultural institutions in Poland, the role of values in creating their internal organizational culture is often emphasized. Among other things, questions are asked about the type of leadership that should be exercised and the values of the "ideal" "culture manager". However, reports from research studies exploring these issues are not numerous. The overall picture of the managerial staff of the aforementioned institutions also seems incomplete. This is a gap in knowledge about people institutionally organizing the cultural life of Poles.

The influence of personal value orientations on the successful professional development of undergraduates in pedagogical university

Введение: Актуальность проблемы исследования формулируется в контексте социо-культурных, экономических изменений современного общества, необходимости подготовки квалифицированных педагогических кадров, готовых жить в эпоху перемен, повышать профессиональное мастерство и быть востребованным на рынке труда. В статье рассматриваются особенности реализации ценностных ориентаций личности при получении педагогического образования в современных условиях. Цель: изучить влияние устойчивых ценностных ориентаций на успешное профессиональное становление магистранта педагогического вуза. Методы исследования: анкетирование, беседа, наблюдение (эмпирические методы исследования). Методологическое основой выступают антропологический, системный и деятельностный подход. Результаты исследования ценностных ориентаций личности представлены авторами на основе диагностики реальной структуры ценностных ориентаций личности по методике С.С. Бубновой. Определение уровня развития ценностных ориентаций магистрантов ОмГПУ позволило выявить мотивационное поле обучающихся, уровень развития самоорганизации, направления выстраивания долгосрочных профессиональных целей, уровня развитие рефлексивных умений и навыков тайм-менеджмента. Научная новизна и практическая значимость: Магистерское образование рассматривается как один из важных компонентов профессионального Акме педагога, выстраивающего свой профессиональный карьерный рост как вертикально, так и горизонтально. В статье также сформулированы направления совершенствования подготовки педагогических кадров с учетом ценностных ориентаций магистрантов. Introduction: The relevance of the research problem is formulated in the context of socio-cultural, economic changes in modern society, the need to train qualified teaching staff who are ready to live in an era of change, improve professional skills and be in demand on the labor market. The article discusses the features of the implementation of the value orientations of the individual when receiving pedagogical education in modern conditions. Aim: to study the influence of stable value orientations on the successful professional development of a master's student of a pedagogical university. Research methods: questionnaire, conversation, observation (empirical research methods). The methodological basis is the anthropological, systemic and activity approach. The results of the study of personal value orientations are presented by the authors on the basis of diagnostics of the real structure of personal value orientations according to the method of S. S. Bubnova. Determination of the level of development of value orientations of undergraduates of OmSPU allowed to identify the motivational field of students, the level of development of self-organization, the direction of building long-term professional goals, the level of development of reflexive skills and time management skills. Scientific novelty and practical significance: Master's education is considered as one of the important components of the professional Acme of a teacher who builds his professional career growth both vertically and horizontally. The article also formulates the directions for improving the training of teaching staff, taking into account the value orientations of undergraduates.

Organizational learning, entrepreneurial orientation and personal values towards SMEs’ growth in Indonesia

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the dimensions of organizational learning (OL), entrepreneurial orientation (EO), personal value toward the firm performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in North Sumatera, Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach This study used a quantitative methodology using Smart partial least squares of the structural equation model. A survey is done by distributing the questionnaires to the respondents (owner-managers) of SMEs across sectors. Using a convenient sampling technique, 128 respondents are selected. Using a cross-sectional survey design, 11 hypotheses are tested. Findings It is found that the innovativeness of EO and personal value both have a significant relationship with firm growth. While OL is significantly related to the innovativeness of EO, risk-taking of EO and proactiveness of EO. Then, both innovativeness of EO and proactiveness of EO significantly mediate the relationship of OL and firm growth. However, OL, proactiveness of EO and risk-taking of EO are insignificantly related to firm growth, while risk-taking of EO also insignificantly mediates the relationship of OL and firm growth. Originality/value EO (innovativeness, risk-taking and proactiveness) is deemed a crucial factor in running businesses by SMEs, while OL and personal value play a significant role in creating a competitive advantage that is needed for growth.

The value of conscious paternity as a priority direction in the vocational training of social workers

The objective of the research consisted in establishing and experimentally testing the methodology of formation of the value of conscious parenting in future specialists of social work, for its transformation into professional and evaluative orientation. Methods of analysis, systematization and generalization of ideas and scientific approaches, specification of practical tasks, the pedagogical experiment and pedagogical diagnostic methods were used to study the real state of the problem and achieve the objective of the research. As a result, based on the authors' interpretations of the main concepts investigated, a model for transforming the personal value of conscious parenting into a professional and value orientation has been suggested. A workshop has been suggested as an effective way of working. The authors established that the optimization of the process of formation of the value of conscious parenthood in social workers and its transformation into professional and value orientation, depends on the modification of the educational process in the institution of higher education through innovative processes, content and use of interactive forms and methods.