Chinese Music Therapy and Clinical Music Education in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

With an overall pooled estimate of 7.2% attention, deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is considered a global psychopathological burden in the younger generation, and a prevalence of 6.4% makes it the leading mental issue in China. On the basis of comparative research and meta-synthetic construction, the present article suggests to differentiate between ADHD as a primary psychiatric disorder, ADHD-typical symptoms caused by disturbing environmental conditions, and multifaceted ADHD resembling syndromes generated by adverse developmental processes and inadequate educational facilities. This differentiation has a decisive impact on treatment modes such as (i) clinical music education, e.g. piano tuition, (ii) cultural participation and self-adjustment through arts-based cognitive behavioural therapy, (iii) avoidance of disturbing stimuli as well as music-based resilience techniques, and (iv) Chinese music therapy including sound-meditation, focused listening training, creative self-actualisation and music-based self-regulation. Interdisciplinary approaches combining music therapy and music education are discussed, alongside cross-cultural application and flexible settings, online music therapy included.

Constructions of Artistic Creativity in the Letters of Vincent van Gogh

Artistic creativity is presently considered to be a multidimensional phenomenon that unfolds over time and is in constant conversation with the social and historical context of the artists, as well as their personal life experiences. This article adopts a narrative perspective and explores Vincent van Gogh’s understanding of the constructs of creativity as reflected in his letters to his brother Theo, friends, and other family members. To inquire into van Gogh’s correspondence, narrative thematic analysis was employed. Findings highlight the artist’s constructs around creativity, which seem to depict elements of both modern and post-modern views of creativity. Major themes include creativity as (a) a developmental, dynamic learning process characterized by dedication and persistence; (b) a relational process in the context of people and nature; (c) an embodied action; (d) an oscillation between asceticism and socio-cultural participation, (e) suffering, and (f) a larger-than-life force. With this study, we join the conversation of scholars around recent developments in the field of creativity, calling for a variety of perspectives and methodological approaches to this complex and multifaceted construct. Moreover, we hope to move beyond the ‘mad genius’ stereotype and myths around psychopathology and artistic creativity, as exemplified in the present analysis of van Gogh’s correspondence.

Imaginary Controversists: Abraham Gómez Silveyra and the Theologians of the Huguenot Exile

In the Huguenot refugee community in The Netherlands, known as a hotbed of the early Enlightenment, literary interest in Judaism was ubiquitous, yet actual Dutch Jews were relegated to a marginal position in the exchange of ideas. It is this paradoxical experience of cultural participation and social exclusion that a major unpublished source allows to depict. The ex-converso Abraham Gómez Silveyra (1651–1741), a merchant endowed with rabbinic education and proficiency in French, composed eight manuscript volumes of theological reflections in Spanish literary prose and poetry. This huge clandestine series, which survives in three copies, shows the author’s insatiable curiosity for Christian thought. While rebutting Isaac Jacquelot’s missionary activity, he fraternizes with Pierre Jurieu’s millenarianism, Jacques Basnage’s historiography, and Pierre Bayle’s plea for religious freedom. Gómez Silveyra, however, being painfully aware of his voicelessness in the public sphere, enacts Bayle’s utopian project as a closed performance for a Jewish audience.

The Art of Intersubjective Dialogue: How to Make Partnership Sustainable

Since human beings communicate, dialogue is a central topic, mainly in terms of partnerships in private, political or business contexts. Often, however, dialogue means double monologue. In order to transform it into a real dialogue, particular strategies are helpful, which can be found during the last centuries. Modern communication partners, thus, can evaluate dialogue-experiences from Biblical time until today to make their relationship sustainable and to apply open, personal, and symmetrical communication as a kind of cultural participation. As demonstrated in this paper, all dialogue participants can draw benefit from such evaluation by transferring and transforming past experiences into current situations, Therefore, the article evaluates texts from both religious and psychological perspectives, and emphasizes both, religious and secular narratives, values, models, rituals and attitudes. Thus, it invites people to make experiences with communication strategies in their relationships and daily life.

A Review of intellectual property rights: The weak link with the African Traditional knowledge

Protecting traditional knowledge (TK) has been acknowledged in various discussions under the umbrella of a number of inter-governmental organizations that deal with biodiversity, the environment, indigenous peoples’ rights, human rights, among others. It has, however, been difficult to arrive at a consensus on the proper modality that can serve the needs and desires of Indigenous and Local Communities (ILCs) in their economic and cultural participation. The paper examines the requirements for the protection of TK and explores the modalities of TK protection at the international level for regulating the control of, access to and utilization of biodiversity associated with it. It is argued that any modality of TK protection should incorporate defensive and positive protection that address gaps in protecting TK. Protection of TK should, therefore, involve identifying different modalities, including those based on Intellectual Property, to fit the nature and use of TK in particular contexts. The paper makes a case for a shift in strategy for protecting TK by adopting pluralistic modalities that address the protection needs of ILCs, depending on the purpose and the context in which the knowledge is practiced.

Age, Period, and Cohort Effects on Literacy Skills across Life Stages

Literacy skills are essential adult competencies for economic, social, political and cultural participation, which are linked to higher quality of life. Literacy skills are known to be lower for older age groups. However, relatively little is known about cohort and period effects, which provide clues to the sociohistorical impacts on literacy, in addition to the well-known age effects, over the life course. This study analyzed three nationally representative cross-sectional survey data of the U.S. adults at five time points, from the 1994 International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), 2003 Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL), and the 2012/2014/2017 Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). The total analytic sample was 17,450 adults age between 18 and 65 years old. The literacy measures were re-scaled (0-500 points) to be comparable across the surveys. An age-period-cohort hierarchical linear model (i.e., cross-classified random effects model) was constructed using the Bayes estimator. Individuals were cross-classified based on 14 five-year birth cohort and 5 periods (survey years) information. Results showed that literacy skills improved [95% credibility-interval (CI) for linear effect of age = (0.31, 1.07), but the rate of improvement declined over time, faster rates of decline in later life stages [95% CI for quadratic effect of age = (-0.17, -0.09)]. Additionally, the notable variability across the cohorts and periods [95% CI variances = (5.34, 52.52) and (2.30, 172.01), respectively] were identified. Possible explanations for the identified age, period and cohort effects on literacy and implications for adult competencies in later life are evaluated.

Cultural Participation and Subjective Well-Being in Latin America: Does Ethnic-Racial Ascription Matter?

Cultural participation has been evidenced to bring several benefits to the well-being of individuals. However, the analysis of this relationship has been addressed mostly in the context of Westernized countries, without considering the diversity of populations in Latin America. Therefore, the aim of this manuscript is to explore the association between cultural participation and subjective well-being (measured by life satisfaction) in Latin America, considering ethnic-racial ascription. With data from the 2013 Latinobarómetro survey (n=20204), several ordered logit regression analyses were performed. Results suggest that read books, read news, attend movies, attend theater, visit heritage places, and participation in community celebrations are associated with life satisfaction. However, these relationships show differentiated patterns depending on the ethnic-racial ascription, which implies that the positive impacts of cultural participation cannot be attributed to all populations, highlighting a process of social exclusion where some individuals get benefits of cultural participation, while others do not.

Temporal Restriction and Interest for the Elderly on Cultural Participation. The Case of Spanish Performing Arts 2019

This paper discusses the relationship of cultural participation in performing arts with the manifested interest. Using the data set from the Cultural Habits and Practices Survey 2018-2019 a binary probit model has been applied for the analysis. Emphasizing the role of aging in participation, especially for the group of the elderly and very old. The age variable is one of the most difficult variables to apprehend, in which the cohort effects, age itself and period should be considered. This paper is an approach to the study of the aging effect on cultural participation, which would be continued with the analysis of the Surveys in previous years. This work shows that there is no homogeneous behavior between participation and interest within the different performing arts. Presenting some of them differentiating features.