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Meditation and yoga both have positive effects on physical, as well as mental health. Om mantra chanting, a simple and easy to practice, also comes under the aspect of meditation. The “Om” mantra is also considered as the very name of the absolute. Om meditation not only affects the various parts of the brain, such as pre-frontal cortex, vagus nerve, amygdala and others but also affects the heart rate and respiratory rate. Considering the healing effects of Om meditation, through this paper, we are trying to explore all the relevant work done in the field of Om meditation. The survey includes a large number of papers covering the research previously conducted by many researchers, their results and different techniques adopted to study the effect of Om meditation on human beings. Studies on Om meditation are categorized under four different heads: Neuroimaging studies, EEG studies, evoked potentials studies and other methods studies. Even though the existing research evidenced capability of Om meditation in curing anxiety and depression, more rigorous studies with better design, with larger sample size and with different control groups are required. Especially the need to explore untouched research areas of Loud Om meditation using EEG is suggested in the paper. Furthermore, future research directions are also suggested.

The paper presents a corpus-based typological and diachronic study of nonverbal clauses with demonstrative identifiers in Croatian. As one of the four types of demonstratives proposed by H. Diessel, demonstrative identifiers occur in copular and non-verbal clauses. They are used to focus the hearer’s attention on entities in the surrounding situation or in the universe of discourse. The paper reviews the typologies of demonstratives discussed in recent literature with respect to the status of demonstrative identifiers. Furthermore, it investigates the history of non-verbal clauses with demonstrative identifiers in Croatian: 1. se človêkь 2. evo čovjeka DEM man-NOM.SG DEM man-GEN.SG ‘Here is the man!’ ‘Here is the man!’ The main change occurred in the case marking on the argument. In the first Croatian literary language, Croatian Church Slavonic (1), the argument appears in the nominative case. In contemporary Croatian (2), the demonstrative identifier is predominantly followed by a genitive argument. Apart from shedding some light on the diachronic development of non-verbal clauses with demonstrative identifiers and their constituents in Croatian, the paper shows how they differ from similar constructions in other Slavic languages, as well as in some major European languages. In addition, they are compared to other non-verbal constructions with genitive and nominative arguments in Croatian., U članku je predstavljena korpusna, tipološka i dijakronijska raščlamba bezglagolskih rečenica s demonstrativnim identifikatorima (prezentativima) u povijesti hrvatskoga jezika. Kao jednom od četiri tipa demonstrativa, prema H. Diesselu, sintaktički je kontekst demonstrativnih identifikatora kopularna ili bezglagolska rečenica. Funkcija im je usmjeriti sugovornikovu pozornost na pojedinosti izvanjezične ili unutarjezične stvarnosti. U članku su predstavljene najnovije tipologije demonstrativa s osvrtom na status demonstrativih identifikatora. Nadalje, korpusnom su i povijesnom raščlambom predstavljene bezglagolske rečenice s demonstrativnim identifikatorima u hrvatskom jeziku: 1. se človêkь 2. Evo čovjeka! Najveća promjena odnosi se na padež imenskoga argumenta. U prvom hrvatskom književnom jeziku, hrvatskom crkvenoslavenskom imenska je riječ u nominativu (1), dok je u suvremenom hrvatskom jeziku ona najčešće u genitivu (2). Osim povijesne raščlambe zadanih bezglagolskih rečenica, u članku je provedena usporedba sa sličnim bezglagolskim konstrukcijama u čijem su sastavu uzvici ili čestice i imenski argument u nominativu, genitivu i akuzativu. Konačno, hrvatske bezglagolske rečenice s demonstrativnim identifikatorima uspoređene su sa sličnim komstrukcijama u nekim slavenskim i drugim jezicima Europe.

Psychology has come a long way since its origin in Africa and Ghana in particular. In this paper, an attempt is made to explore the current state of psychological knowledge in Ghana as well as the associated problems in the application of such knowledge. It was concluded that the approach to the study and application of psychological knowledge and tests has been too Eurocentric and westernized. As a result, it limits the applicability of the approach to the African setting, and yet, Western theorists may expect African psychologists to apply the theories to Africans. On the basis of this criticism, the scope of Pan-African psychology is defined and suggestions for pursuing an Africanisation project are presented. It is expected that the strategies that this paper advocates for indigenizing psychology in Africa can equally be useful to psychologists in other developing regions of the world.

In this paper the scanning techniques of PET and fMRI are presented and discussed in technical terms. The main focus of this paper is the physiological processes underpinning these techniques and the ways they operate temporally and spatially. Physiological processes captured by these techniques refer generally to the volume of blood in the brain and the concentration of oxygen in the blood. Temporal and spatial resolution in the case of these methods refers to data collection when the brain is scanned. Temporal resolution records the exact time when a cognitive process takes place; spatial resolution demonstrates in what part of the brain such activity takes place. A comparison between these two techniques shows that one needs the other in terms of measuring the blood and oxygen in the brain so clear pictures of cognitive processes and their locations to be obtained. Both PET and fMRI are in use from cognitive neuroscience, for through the measures that they take from the brain, cognitive processes and their locations can be clearly identified and read.

Linguistic Confrontation vs Linguistic TypologyLinguistic confrontation – it seems – belongs to the larger field of linguistic typology. Linguistic confrontation supplies to linguistic typology richer and better documented data than those found in the descriptive grammars of particular languages. Linguistic confrontation requires from the researcher thorough knowledge of the confronted linguistic codes, while in case of typology these requirements are – unfortunately – not so thorough... In my paper I have formulated some remarks on the contribution of the confrontative analyses to the process of updating and deepening our knowledge on typological differentiation of Slavic languages.

“Playing catch up”. The notion of needing to accelerate a country’s progress towards a civilised paradise – the Bulgarian version (a proposed entry for a dictionary of peregrinating ideas)This paper outlines the main stages in the process through which the notion of “needing to catch up” (a belief that the country was in need of accelerated development) became incorporated into the idea of Bulgarian national identity. Since the mid-19th century, Bulgarians have tended to rely on the notion of “needing to catch up” as a way of conceptualising their place among “the civilised nations,” a concept they regard with varying degrees of desirability. I use the concept of “needing to catch up” in the sense of a culturally and politically functional standard or template, which nonetheless cannot function as an independent concept since it belongs to different systems of ideas with their various economic, geopolitical, religious, psychological and cultural aspects. Inseparably wedded to the idea of “needing to catch up” is the idea of “retardation”, which was floated in discussions on the Bulgarian condition even before the Bulgarian state emerged as a political reality. As the national movement grew in strength, these inferiority complexes morphed into their mirror image: a belief that Bulgarians were capable of catching up with Europe in terms of cultural advancement. From the early fascination with the cultural achievements of the “enlightened nation” felt by the so-called “Orthodox Enlightenment” thinkers, through a replication of the Russian discourse, this line of reasoning culminated in Marxist ideology (including propaganda between 1945 and 1989) and the post-1989 politics of persuasion. The bell may be tolling for the time-bound idea of “needing to catch up”, a notion which has exhausted its potential to excite intellectual conflict or struggle, and has very possibly resulted is a self-poisoning of the cultures which indulged in it, only to become doomed to dull, infantile repetition. "Doganianie". Idea przyspieszonego rozwoju w drodze do cywilizacyjnego raju. Wersja bułgarskaArtykuł poświęcony jest prezentacji głównych etapów procesu inkorporowania w tkankę bułgarskiej idei narodowej pojęcia doganiania (przyspieszonego rozwoju), które od połowy XIX wieku pozostaje narzędziem konceptualizacji przez Bułgarów ich (różnie wartościowanego) miejsca wśród „narodów cywilizowanych”. „Doganianie” rozumiem jako kulturowo i politycz­nie funkcjonalny wzór rzeczy, który jest konceptem niesamodzielnym, należącym do różnych systemów idei, mającym swój aspekt ekonomiczny, geopolityczny, religijny, psychologiczny, kulturowy. Formuła opóźnienia, zintegrowana z ideą doganiania zagościła w dyskusjach nad statusem Bułgarów jeszcze przed zaistnieniem narodu politycznego. Wraz z rozwojem ruchu narodowego kompleksy otrzymały swój rewers w postaci wiary w możliwość zrównania poziomu cywilizacyjnego z europejskim. Ta linia rozumowania prowadziła od pierwszych fascynacji dorobkiem „oświeconych narodów” w ramach tzw. oświecenia prawosławnego, przez odwzorowywanie dyskursu rosyjskiego po myśl marksistowską (z jej propagandową dominantą w latach 1945–89) i polityki perswazyjne po 1989 roku. Wydaje się, że współcześnie mamy do czynienia z podzwonnym dla związanej z czasowością idei doganiania, która wyczerpała swój potencjał agoniczny a może nawet przyczyniła się do „samozatrucia” absorbujących ją kultur, skazujących się na infantylizację i nudę powtórzeń.

The aim of this paper is to present an understanding of the coping mechanisms and coping styles adopted by individuals on the Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) by looking to draw parallels with sports performance psychology and how different sources of stress and anxiety can lead to the adoption of different coping styles. Firstly, an overview of current understanding of what constitute a stressor and how this can affect an individual is presented from sport and exercise psychology literature. Secondly, a model of coping styles is illustrated with the aim to shed light at how different perceptions of levels of stress and anxiety are managed both on an individual and group level. Thirdly, within the context of this understanding, some examples about how to support individuals on the ASC will be illustrated. Finally, implications for future research and reflection will be presented by highlighting the importance of teaching and learning coping and tolerance skills as part of a comprehensive and holistic psycho-educational program.

Burgas Free University, This paper looks into the history of teaching of the academic subjects in the field of the Science of Psychology, in the specialisms and professional areas available at Burgas Free University since its establishment.

Despite their shared focus on influence of groups on individual, research bridging intragroup dynamics and intergroup relations as predictors of authentic and inauthentic (self-alienated) experience, behavior and interaction of individuals in organizational and social contexts is surprisingly rare. The goal of the present article is to highlight how understanding the reciprocal dynamic relationship between intragroup processes and intergroup relations offers valuable new insights into both topics and suggests new, productive avenues for psychological theory, research and practice development – particularly for understanding and improving the intragroup and intergroup relations in groups, organizations and society affecting authentic psychosocial functioning. The article discusses the complementary role of intergroup and intragroup dynamics, reviewing how intergroup relations can affect intragroup dynamics which, in turn, affects the authenticity of individual experiences, behaviors and relations with others. The paper considers the implications, theoretical and practical, of the proposed reciprocal relationships between intragroup and intergroup processes as factors influencing authentic psychosocial functioning of individuals in organizational and social settings.

The aim of this paper is to present a theoretical and practical understanding of transitions in young people with an Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) and to discuss ways in which support can be provided at different stages of their lives. It aims to propose and highlight some practical initiatives which can be adopted in the preparation of micro and macro transitions thus ensuring an understanding of the criteria behind such practices which can further support practitioners in the long-term aim of positive and empowering outcomes. Ashforth (2001, Role transitions in organizational life: An identity based perspective. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associate) proposes four motives: identity, meaning, control and belonging, which are discussed in the context of role-transitions. These transitions can often require an adjustment in an individual’s behaviour and relationships with their environment as well as people around them. Transitions occur throughout our lives and these key times can cause high levels of disorientation and anxiety more so in people with ASC. The impact of a range of transitions is also discussed and suggestions of ways in which individuals with ASC can be supported are also presented through examples of key resources which can be tailored to each individual’s needs.

A very important personal quality is to be able to advocate for yourself - your own positions, to achieve your objectives, to overcome difficulties, to be determined, but without harming the rights of others and to be able to control the aggressive impulses. The concept, which expresses these personal characteristics, is called "assertiveness". Assertiveness is a part of the personal potential. It is a prerequisite for self-actualization. The goal we set in this historical-psychological paper is to explore the genesis, development and stabilization of the term "assertiveness". In this context, we will examine, compare and analyze the positions of the leading authors on this issue.

This paper deals with different aspects of self-realisation – related to the health status, to the self-actualization, to some skills and abilities (especially mechanical and technical ones), to the self-determinism, and to the students’ adaptation and professional self-realisation. Three studies were conducted in 2011 and 2012 in Bulgaria. 73 students were studied about their need for self-actualization by means of a modified scale from Gercheva-Nestorova’s questionnaire for needs based on Maslow’s theory. More than a half of them strived for self-actualization in a medium and high degree. 55 students were studied by means of MTA – a computerized method for measuring mechanical and technical abilities that is a part of Vienna Test System. The low and medium results prevailed. 42 students were studied about their adaptation to the educational process. 1/3 of the students’ responses indicated their maladaptation in the educational process concerning their professional self-realisation (undesired subject, problems with the exams and with the lecturers, lack of desire for study). The satisfied students who studied a desired subject were better adapted. More than a half of the students in this sample strived for professional self-realisation through the specialty they studied in, independent on their initial professional orientation. Language: Bulgarian

This paper describes the Old Russian construction involving verbs of perception, thought, and communication. In this construction, a single semantic argument corresponds to two syntactic constituents: a direct object and a finite subordinate clause, the subject of which is coreferential with the direct object of the main clause. The Old Russian construction is seen as an instantiation of a cross-linguistic option in the argument structure of these verbs (above all, of the perception verbs), that is, to take the subject of the subordinate clause as the direct object.

This paper presents the specificity of the codependent behaviour, some models of therapeutical effect, their scientific validity and practical effectiveness. The focus is on the possibilities of motivational interviewing - one comparatively new therapy in the area of dependent behaviours with specific techniques, which are directed towards the act and the mobilization of the inner values and goals of the codependents, their resources for stimulating changes in behaviour and forming more effective coping strategies. Language: Bulgarian