Some Reflections on Hagiology with Reference to the Early Mawlawī-Christian Relations in the Light of the Manāqib al-cārifīn

Abstract

Hagiographic sources are of particular value for the study of social life in historical societies. They reflect contemporary social discourses such as how to deal with members of different religious or ethnic groups or social classes. A prime Muslim example of this genre is the Persian Manāqib al-?ārifīn (Feats of the Knowers of God) of the Mawlawī-Dervish A?mad-i Aflākī written in Konya in the eighth/fourteenth century. It is dedicated to the life and deeds of the masters of the emerging brotherhood of the Mawlawiyya. This community was of outstanding importance in urban central and western Asia Minor in the eighth/fourteenth century, both as an institution of the urban middle classes and as an effective missionary, and was thus an important protagonist in the process of Islamisation. After some methodological considerations on the genre of hagiography, the article will address the issue of missionary strategies of the early Mawlawiyya on the basis of the Manāqib al-?ārifīn.     

EFFECTS OF A MULTIFOCUSED PREVENTION PROGRAM ON PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S COMPETENCIES AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

This study was designed to assess the effectiveness of a multifocused (child‐, teacher‐ and parent‐focused) prevention program for Romanian preschoolers, targeting social–emotional competence development, as well as reduction of behavior problems. Fourteen classrooms were randomly assigned to the intervention and control conditions. Subsequent hierarchical linear analyses indicated that intervention‐group children performed better on experimental tasks measuring emotion knowledge and social problem‐solving strategies, and received higher assessments by their teachers and parents on measures of social–emotional competencies and externalizing problems. These results indicate that a prevention program combining intervention strategies for both high‐ and low‐risk children is effective across a wide range of adaptive and maladaptive behaviors. Moreover, a short four‐session parent group training employed to attract parent participation elicited an acceptable overall attendance rate (54%), indicating the sustainability of parent intervention in the context of community‐based interventions.     

The MacWilliams identity for m-spotty Rosenbloom–Tsfasman weight enumerator

The communication systems and disk or tape memory can sometimes cause clusters of errors, namely burst errors. There have been many designs in order to detect and even correct such errors. Recently, a new class of codes called m-spotty byte error correcting codes has found applications in high speed memory systems that employ random access memory chips wide Input/Output data, especially at 8, 16, or 32 bits. The MacWilliams identity provides the relationship between the weight distribution of a code and that of its dual code. Also, an interesting new metric called Rosenbloom–Tsfasman metric has been studied as an alternative metric for linear codes recently. In this paper, we combine these two interesting topics and introduce the m-spotty Rosenbloom–Tsfasman weights and the m-spotty Rosenbloom–Tsfasman weight enumerator of a binary code. Moreover, we prove a MacWilliams identity for the m-spotty Rosenbloom–Tsfasman weight enumerators.     

Preschoolers’ and first graders’ reasons for liking or avoiding school

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study examined 287 Turkish children's school experiences and sought to connect such experiences to their overall feelings about school. A semi-structured interview protocol derived from Ladd, Kochenderfer, and Coleman’s [1996. “Friendship Quality as a Predictor of Children’s Early School Adjustment.” Child Development 67 (3): 1103–1118] School Liking and Avoidance Questionnaire was used to collect data from the participants, who comprised 141 preschoolers and 146 first graders. Most members of both groups stated that school was fun, that they were happy when they were there, and that they felt happy about going to school in the morning. Most preschoolers and first graders also said that school did not make them feel like crying, and that they did not wish they could stay home from school or go somewhere else. However, slightly more than half the respondents stated that they felt happier when it was time to go home from school. Preschoolers tended to emphasise positive features of school such as toys, whereas first graders were more likely to talk about learning new things, and their in-school friendships.     

Perceived social support,quality of life and satisfaction with life in elderly people

The aim of this study examines the relationship between quality of life, satisfaction with life and multidimensional perceived social support in people aged 65 years and older. The implementation part of the study was carried out with elderly people living in the city center of Burdur, Turkey. Data were collected in March 2018 from 517 participants and then assessed. The results of the analyses revealed that perceived social support explained 11.7% of the total variance in the satisfaction with life, 22.1% of the total variance in the quality of life. In addition to, the perceived social support and the quality of life explained 28.6% of the total variance in the satisfaction with life. And the quality of life was the most influential variable on the satisfaction with life. The findings of this study suggest that making improvements to the elderly people social support and quality of life will increase their satisfaction with life.     

Cultural Responsiveness of School Curriculum and Students' Failure in Turkey

Education should develop the common values needed to enhance the unity and progress of a multi-ethnic, multicultural society. In order to enhance effective learning, students' varied backgrounds should be taken into consideration when designing a curriculum. Clearly, if the curriculum is dominated by the culture of an ethnic majority, and the existence of different ethnic and cultural groups are ignored, the students of non-majority origin perceive themselves to be distinct and may develop antagonistic attitudes toward education, which often lead to failure.In some parts of Turkey, especially the Eastern and Southeastern regions, the majority of the population is of different ethnic origin. ahin and Gülmez (2000b) studied the efficiency of education and the factors affecting the success of students in both regions. They found that illiteracy in those regions was higher when compared with the other regions, that females received less education, and that secondary school students were less successful in nationwide examinations such as OSS (selection examinations for OYS) and OYS (student placement examinations for university entrance). Ethnic diversity alone is not as effective when maintained by cultural diversity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the differences in cultural values of students with different ethnic backgrounds. Differences in curriculum and teaching materials were analyzed with regard to the perceptions of those students who identified themselves as ethnically different and not of Turkish origin.The results of this study indicate that the quality of the school curriculum and text books assessed were significantly different for those students identified to be not of Turkish origin and therefore appeared to be culturally unresponsive, a factor which may lead to the educational failure for many students of different ethnic origins.     

The algorithm of mathematical modelling for learning styles of pre-school children

This study examines pre-school children's learning styles by utilising a mathematical model. The model uses a Euclidean geometry algorithm to generate a graphical representation of the learning styles. The algorithm of the developed mathematical model was developed as a practical application of the theoretical assumptions. Index of Learning Styles for Children (ILSC), developed by one of the researchers, has been applied to a total of 301 five-year-old children. Results of the study indicate that children utilise the active, cognitive and visual learning styles under the control of the right hemisphere, and the sequential (analytical) learning styles under the control of the left hemisphere. The modelling algorithm reveals that the children's learning style preferences are shifted towards the right hemisphere at the rate of 8%. The results also provide empirical support that the developed model can mathematically explain the theoretical assumptions it is based on.     

The Effects of Gratitude Journaling on Turkish First Year College Students’ College Adjustment,Life Satisfaction and Positive Affect

This study examined the effects of gratitude journaling on first-year college students’ adjustment, life satisfaction, and positive affect. Students who scored high (i.e., scores between 35 and 56) on the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al. in Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 385–396, 1983) and low (i.e., scores between 48 and 144) on the University Life Scale (Alada? et al. in Türk Psikolojik Dan??ma ve Rehberlik Dergisi, 2(20), 41–47, 2003) were invited to participate in the study. Among the 24 students who met the criteria, 21 volunteered to participate. Students in the experimental group (11) kept a gratitude journal for 3 weeks, whilst those in the control group (10) were not involved in any gratitude-related activity. Results indicated that students in the experimental group had significantly higher post-test scores on gratitude, adjustment to university life, life satisfaction, and positive affect. Results related to gratitude interventions, positive emotions and college student adjustment are discussed.