Arguments are put forward in this paper in favour of research which has as its aim the finding and systematizing of forms of thought in terms of which people interpret significant aspects of reality. The kind of research argued for is complementary to other kinds of research; it aims at description, analysis and understanding of experiences. The relatively distinct field of inquiry indicated by such an orientation is labelled phenomenography. A fundamental distinction is made between two perspectives. From the first-order perspective we aim at describing various aspects of the world and from the second-order perspective (for which a case is made in this paper) we aim at describing people's experience of various aspects of the world. Research in a variety of disciplines, sub-disciplines and “schools of thought” has provided us with experiential descriptions, that is, content-oriented and interpretative descriptions of the qualitatively different ways in which people perceive and understand their reality. It has, however, seldom been recognized that these various research efforts share a common perspective in their view of phenomena and a unifying scientific identity has in consequence not been attained. The focussing on the apprehended (experienced, conceptualized,) content as a point of departure for carrying out research and as a basis for integrating the findings is seen as the most distinctive feature of the domain indicated. Conceptions and ways of understanding are not seen as individual qualities. Conceptions of reality are considered rather as categories of description to be used in facilitating the grasp of concrete cases of human functioning. Since the same categories of description appear in different situations, the set of categories is thus stable and generalizable between the situations even if individuals move from one category to another on different occasions. The totality of such categories of description denotes a kind of collective intellect, an evolutionary tool in continual development.

Phenomenography — Describing conceptions of the world around us

The primary objectives of this article are (a) to put forth an explicit operational formulation of positive human health that goes beyond prevailing "absence of illness" criteria; (b) to clarify that positive human health does not derive from extant medical considerations, which are not about wellness, but necessarily require a base in philosophical accounts of the "goods" in life; (c) to provoke a change of emphasis from strong tendencies to construe human health as exclusively about the mind or the body toward an integrated and positive spiral of mind-body influences; (d) to delineate possible physiological substrates of human flourishing and offer future directions for understanding the biology of positive health; and (e) to discuss implications of positive health for diverse scientific agendas (e.g., stress, class and health, work and family life) and for practice in health fields (e.g., training, health examinations, psychotherapy, and wellness intervention programs).

The Contours of Positive Human Health

This monograph provides a philosophical framework and practical ideas for improving service delivery to children of color who are severely emotionally disturbed. The monograph targets four sociocultural groups (African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and NatiVe Americans). The document emphasizes the cultural strengths inherent in all cultures and examines how the system of care can more effectively deal with cultural differences and related treatment issues. In dealing with cultural differences, there is a need to cic:y policy, training, resources, practice, and research issues, and cultural competence should be viewed as a developmental process. Five element., contributing to a system's, institution's, or agency's ability to become more culturally competent are identified: value diversity, cultural self-assessment, consciousness of the dynamics of cultural interaction, institutionalization of cultural knowledge, and development of adaptations to diversity. Cultural competence must be developed at the policymaking, administrative, practitioner, and consumer levels. Service adaptations developed in response to cultural diversity may impact on intake and client identification, assessment and treatment, communication and interviewing, case management, out-of-home care, and guiding principles. Planning for cultural competence involves assessment, support building, facilitating leadership, including the minority family and community, developing resources, training and technical assistance, setting goals, and outlining action steps. (Approximately 170 references) (JDD) U.S DEPARTMENT Of EDUCATION Othce of Educational Research and Improvemen1 EDUQATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) flu dpcument has been reproduced as received Irom the person or organization originsting it 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions slated in this dock,merit do not necessarily represent officisl OERI position or policy SCOPE OF INTEREST NOTICE TM ERIC Facility has assigned this document for processing to: In our ludgment. this document A also of Interest to the Clear inghouses noted to the right. Indexing should reflect their Special points of view. TOWARDS A CULTURALLY COMPETENT SYSTEM OF CARE A Monograph on Effective Services for Minority Children Who Are Severely Emotionally Disturbed

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E. E. Evans-Pritchard

Papers

African Religions and Philosophy