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This paper investigates the language of the last of the three American presidential debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump before the 2016 general election. To explore and interpret the process-choices within verbal groups from the perspective of systemic functional grammar, it used a transitivity toolkit. This paper aims to identify the underlying stimuli and smart strategies from the frequency of transitivity choices. The meaning of these choices was investigated through ideational meta-functions which reflect the experiences of text producers using a mixed method approach. The comparative textual analysis of the sample text found that Donald Trump used fifty-one percent whereas Hillary Clinton used forty-nine percent of the processes in the debate. The predominant use of mental, behavioral, relational and existential process types by Hillary Clinton revealed her cognitive, sentimental, sensitive, attributive and existential approach. The frequent use of material and verbal process types by Donald Trump reflected his explicit and tangible outlook on the key issues facing the American state. The results also illustrate that the varying frequency of transitivity choices by both political rivals chiefly aimed at winning the support of the public in the polls.
ABSTRACT
Traditional syntactic approaches do not offer a plausible explanation regarding the use of the Arabic preposition " ala" with abstract nouns or states. This article adopts a corpus-based approach to investigate the semantic classification of the preposition " ala" in the Quran from a cognitive linguistic perspective. Conceptual metaphor theory (hereafter CMT) was employed to find out conceptual metaphors (hereafter CM) in the data retrieved from the Quran with the help of search Quran software. CMT holds that human sensorimotor neural structures help store spatial relationships, which are then used to map the abstract concepts in language and thought, and that prepositions are the products of human sensorimotor neural structures. This paper found nine key CM themes behind the usage of prepositions in the data. Contact and support schemas were at the heart of the literal and metaphorical use of the spatial preposition " ala" in the Quran. However, it was also found that language generation and comprehension involve the role of multimodal perceptual schemas and linguistic knowledge rather than the unilinear process of one CM. This paper suggests further research into spatial relations across languages to explore the cross-cultural implications of image schemas.
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OBJECTIVE: To identify the stress level and commonly used coping strategies of parents having children with special needs. METHODS: The correlational study was conducted from January to April 2019 in Lahore, Pakistan, and comprised parents of special children from three special schools of the city. Data was collected using the Coping Strategies Inventory and the Perceived Stress Scale. Data was analysed using SPSS 24. RESULTS: Of the 150 children, 98(65%) were aged <10 years. Among the parents, 108(65.5%) faced moderate stress, 8(4.8%) faced low stress and 34(20.6%) faced high level of stress. Mean score was the highest for cognitive restructuring as the coping strategy 14.95±2.87, followed by problem-solving 14.81±2.98. There was a significant negative correlation of stress with cognitive restructuring (<0.01), positive link with problem-focused engagement (p<0.05), positive correlation with self-criticism (p<0.001), social withdrawal (p<0.01), and emotion-focussed disengagement (p<0.001). High level of stress was positively associated with high level of disengagement (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Parents were found to be using more positive and practical strategies to cope with stress induced by taking care of children with special needs.
Subject(s)
Disabled Children , Adaptation, Psychological , Child , Humans , Pakistan , Parents , Social SupportABSTRACT
Objective: The global outbreak of COVID-19 has greatly affected individual's lives around the world and resulted in various negative psychological consequences. During the pandemic, reflection on and attention to COVID-19 may help in dealing with its symptomology but frequent and persistent thoughts about the situation can be unhealthy. The present study examined the direct and indirect associations between obsession concerning COVID-19, psychological distress, life satisfaction, and meaning in life. Design: This mediation study presents a primary analysis of normative data collected after the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in Pakistan. Parametric bootstrapping was used to test the mediation models of subjective well-being, the extent of the effect, and meaning in life as parallel and serial mediators concerning the associations between COVID-19 obsession and psychological distress measures. Setting: A sample of 1,002 adults (45% men and 55% women) were recruited utilizing an online survey between April to May 2020. They were aged between 19 and 45 years (M = 24.30, SD = 7.29) and normalized on population characteristics. Results: Two out of three mediators in parallel mediation fully mediated the relationship between obsession and psychological distress (total effect = 0.443, SE = 0.050, p < 0.0001) illustrating that high-level obsessions were associated with low levels of satisfaction with life and presence of meaning in life and search for meaning in life. Psychological distress is likely to decrease in the presence of a high level of satisfaction with life and meaning. Moreover, satisfaction with life and search for meaning in life significantly mediated the association between COVID-19 obsession (z=-3.507, p < 0.0001 and z = -2.632, p < 0.001 respectively). Conclusion: The present study showed that life satisfaction and search for meaning in life may play a significant role in decreasing psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Abstract Background Previous researchers have demonstrated the co-existence of psychiatric conditions across clinical as well as non-clinical samples in diverse situations. The present study examined the prevalence and co-morbidity of various psychiatric symptoms (e.g. learning disabilities, depression and anxiety) in school-age female adolescents. Methods In a cross-sectional random sampling method, 252 girls from two government schools in Lahore were assessed by Learning Disabilities Checklist, Children Depression Inventory and the Spence Anxiety Scale. Results The results demonstrate significant prevalence and co-morbidity of psychiatric symptoms. Of the 252 participants, 34%, 21% and 68% had significant learning disabilities, depression and anxiety symptoms respectively. In addition, 27% of them presented symptoms of three studied psychiatric conditions. A highly significant positive correlation was found between learning disabilities, depression and anxiety symptoms. Methods There is a dire need for preventative intervention programs to promote mental health at school level. Further, assessment plans for the screening of psychiatric symptoms in normative samples also need to be put in place.
