This quasi-experimental study aimed to investigate the effect of group bibliotherapy on the self-esteem of blind females. Thirty blind females agreed to participate in the study. They were randomly ...divided into experimental and control groups. Data were collected through the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory. A medical librarian performed an eight-session bibliotherapy intervention in collaboration with a psychological counsellor for the experimental group. After the intervention, the experimental group’s self-esteem scores were higher than the control group’s (p < 0.05). The mean self-esteem scores in the experimental group after the intervention increased significantly (p < 0.05). The highest percentage increase is related to the family and educational/professional self-esteem subscales. Using bibliotherapy by a team of medical librarians and psychologists to improve the psychological problems of the blind and other people with disabilities is recommended.
Mikhail Kalatozov, the first and only director to win a Golden Palm in Cannes for The Cranes are Flying in 1957, started his career as a filmmaker in Georgia. However, Salt for Svaneti, believed to ...have been his first film, was not at all the director's debut: rather, he had already made a number of films, most of which have not survived. This is also the case for The Blind Girl. In 2010, Sergei Tret'iakov's script for this film was discovered in the archive of the theatre critic Aleksandr Fevral'skii and published in Russian. The present publication, which consists of an introduction and the publication of the script, first traces the origins of the script and contextualises it, before offering a first English translation by Albert Newberry. The Blind Girl sheds light on an obscure episode in the biographies of both Kalatozov and Tret'iakov, addressing the challenges of overcoming the accumulated effects of centuries of underdevelopment and backwardness in the lives of the multinational population of Soviet Russia. This, however, made the film ripe for censorship by the time of its completion.
למקובל יצחק דמן עכו מיוחסים כמה חיבורים, ובהם חיבור קצר שאיתר גרשם שלום באנתולוגיה הידועה 'אבני זכרון', ושהוא הדפיסו כ'פירוש ספר יצירה' מאת מקובל זה. במאמר מראה המחברת כי הפירוש כלל איננו פירוש ל'ספר ...יצירה', אלא פירוש ל'פירוש ספר יצירה' המיוחס ליצחק סגי נהור. כבר שלום ציין כי בפירושו של יצחק דמן עכו כלולות מובאות מ'פירוש ספר יצירה' המיוחס ליצחק סגי נהור, ולדעת שלום יצחק דמן עכו לא ירד לסוף כוונתן. אבישי בר־אשר טען כי מדובר במובאות חלקיות בלבד מ'פירוש ספר יצירה' המיוחס ליצחק סגי נהור, ושיצחק דמן עכו הביאן על מנת להביע את התנגדותו לאמור בהן. ואולם המחברת מראה כי לפנינו פירוש מקיף ורציף שמתייחס אך ורק למילות 'פירוש ספר יצירה' המיוחס ליצחק סגי נהור, מסבירן ומפרשן – מתוך קבלה מלאה של דברי פירוש זה ל'ספר יצירה' זה ויחס של כבוד רב כלפי מחברו.
לאחר הצגת הראיות התומכות בטענתה, מתארת המחברת בפירוט בחלקו העיקרי של המאמר את דרכי הטיפול הפרשני של יצחק דמן עכו בדברי 'פירוש ספר יצירה' המיוחס ליצחק סגי נהור, בחלוקה לטיפול הנוגע למינוח, לתחביר ולתוכן. על סמך זאת היא מראה כי יצחק דמן עכו קיבל לחלוטין את סמכותו של 'פירוש ספר יצירה' המיוחס ליצחק סגי נהור, וכי הוא הבין היטב את תכניו. אגב כך מתבררות כמה נקודות קשות ב'פירוש ספר יצירה' המיוחס ליצחק סגי נהור. למאמר מצורפת מהדורה ביקורתית של פירושו של יצחק דמן עכו, ודבריו מוצגים בה במקביל לקטעי 'פירוש ספר יצירה' המיוחס ליצחק סגי נהור שפירש.
From among the treatises attributed to the Kabbalist Isaac of Acre (RIdA), this article focuses on a short treatise of his which Gershom Scholem discovered in the sixteenth century anthology Avnei Zikkaron. Scholem designated this treatise as a commentary on Sefer Yetzirah (SY) and published it as such, and since then scholars have not questioned his designation. In the article, the author shows that the treatise in question is in fact a commentary on yet another commentary, namely the SY commentary attributed to Isaac the Blind. Consequently, it is not a direct commentary on SY. Scholem noted in his article that RIdA’s commentary includes many citations from the commentary attributed to Isaac the Blind, and remarked that RIdA failed to comprehend their contents. In a different vein, Avishai Bar-Asher argued that the references to the SY commentary attributed to Isaac the Blind are merely partial citations presented by RIdA in order to express his objection to their contents. Contrary to these views, the author shows that RIdA’s commentary relates only to words from the commentary attributed to Isaac the Blind and explains their meaning, showing full understanding and acceptance of their contents and demonstrating great esteem for its author.
Following a succinct presentation of the evidence corroborating this claim, the bulk of the article is dedicated to a detailed description of the various hermeneutical treatments RIdA utilizes in his work on the commentary attributed to Isaac the Blind. The examples are divided into those related to terminology, to syntax and to contents. Based on this hermeneutical survey and investigation the author shows that RIdA fully accepted the authority of the commentary attributed to Isaac the Blind and accurately understood its contents. In addition, several difficult points in the commentary attributed to Isaac the Blind are elucidated. The article includes a critical edition of RIdA’s commentary, aligned with the relevant passages from the commentary attributed to Isaac the Blind.
'פירוש ספר יצירה' המיוחס ליצחק סגי נהור, נחשב עד לא מכבר בספרות המחקר לחיבור הקבלי הקדום ביותר שמחברו ידוע לנו בשמו ולשריד העיקרי מיצירתו של יצחק סגי נהור, שנתפס על ידי מקובלים וחוקרים כדמות המכוננת ...של הקבלה. החוקרים הניחו כי הפירוש אכן נתחבר בידי יצחק סגי נהור, היינו בשליש הראשון של המאה השלוש עשרה, כי הוא היה ידוע למקובלים שפעלו בזמנו של יצחק סגי נהור ומעט לאחר מכן, וכי הללו העריכוהו והושפעו מתכניו. לאחרונה טען אבישי בר־אשר במאמר ארוך ומפורט כי פירוש זה יוחס ליצחק סגי נהור בטעות, וכי יש לדחות את הייחוס מכול וכול, מאחר שמדובר בחיבור מאוחר. לדבריו, מקובלי קטלוניה וקסטיליה הצעירים מיצחק סגי נהור לא ראו ב'פירוש ספר יצירה' המיוחס לו פירוש חשוב ולא השתמשו בו בכתביהם – מאחר שטרם נכתב בזמנם, או שכבר היה בנמצא אולם הם לא הכירוהו, או שלא העריכוהו ביותר, או שחלקו על דבריו, או שלא החשיבוהו כפרי עטו של יצחק סגי נהור, או מכמה מטעמים אלה יחד.
במאמר המחברת מציגה ומנתחת ראיות שעולה מהן תמונה שונה. על פי תמונה זו הפירוש המיוחס ליצחק סגי נהור היה ידוע בקרב מקובלים כבר סמוך לכתיבתו, ואין סיבה לקבוע את חיבורו לתקופה המאוחרת משנות חייו של יצחק סגי נהור. פירוש זה המשיך להיות ידוע למקובלים לאורך המאה השלוש עשרה, והוא הפירוש היחיד ל'ספר יצירה' המוכר לנו מן המאה הזו שזכה לפרשנות של מקובלים אחרים עליו. מכאן שלפירוש נודע מעמד רם במיוחד וייחודי בקרב מקובלים בתקופה זו. כמו כן, כל מעתיקיו של הפירוש הקפידו לציין את ייחוסו ליצחק סגי נהור, כפי שמופיע בעדי הנוסח האמינים שבידינו.
המאמר מחולק לשלושה חלקים: ראשית דנה המחברת במהימנות ייחוסו של הפירוש ליצחק סגי נהור בכתבי היד של הפירוש שבידינו, ומראה כי המצוי בכתבי היד עשוי לכל היותר לחזק את ייחוסו של פירוש זה ליצחק סגי נהור, ולא להפך. בחלקו השני של המאמר היא פונה לחיבור המכונה 'פירוש ספר יצירה' ליצחק דמן עכו, ואשר לאחרונה הצביעה על כך כי הוא למעשה פירוש של יצחק דמן עכו על 'פירוש ספר יצירה' המיוחס ליצחק סגי נהור. פרט לכך שיש בתובנות חדשות אלה כדי ללמדנו על מעמדו של הפירוש, המחברת ממצה מפירושו של יצחק דמן עכו ראיות לקיומה של פעילות פרשנית קבלית נוספת על 'פירוש ספר יצירה' המיוחסליצחק סגי נהור, כפי הנראה בשליש האחרון של המאה השלוש עשרה לכל המאוחר. היא מראה כי בתקופה זו נכתבו לכל הפחות שניים (ואולי שלושה) פירושים קבליים על 'פירוש ספר יצירה' המיוחס ליצחק סגי נהור. הדברים מעידים על מעמדו האיתן והמרכזי של 'פירוש ספר יצירה' המיוחס ליצחק סגי נהור בקרב מקובלים בשליש האחרון של המאה השלוש עשרה או קודם לכן, לכל המאוחר, ומניה וביה מתברר גם כי היה כבר בנמצא בתקופה זו. בחלקו האחרון של המאמר מוצגות ראיות לקיומו של הפירוש עוד קודם לשנים אלה, מאחר שבידינו התייחסויות אליו בשנות חייו, כפי הנראה, המאוחרות של יצחק סגי נהור: רמב"ן הכיר את הפירוש בשנות הארבעים או החמישים של המאה השלוש עשרה; עזריאל מגירונה הסתמך על הפירוש בפירושו שלו לספר יצירה; עזרא מגרונה, שנפטר בסמיכות רבה לפטירתו של יצחק סגי נהור, הכיר אף הוא פירוש זה, וגם יעקב בן ששת הכיר פירוש זה בשנות הארבעים של המאה, והביא דברים מתוכו וייחסם ליצחק סגי נהור בשמו המלא.
בהתחשב בכל הידוע לנו בשלב זה המחברת סבורה שאין הצדקה לפקפק בקדמותו של הפירוש, במעמדו המרכזי בקרב מקובלים במאה השלוש עשרה או במהימנות ייחוסו ליצחק סגי נהור.
Until recently, the Sefer Yetzira (SY) commentary attributed to Isaac the Blind was considered by scholars as the earliest Kabbalistic treatise of known authorship, and as the main vestige of the Kabbalistic traditions of Isaac, an author recognized by Kabbalists and scholars alike as a founding figure of Kabbalistic literature and thought. Consequently, scholars accepted Gershom Scholem’s view that the commentary was indeed composed by Isaac the Blind and thus was written in the first third of the thirteenth century. Accordingly, it was believed to have been known to Kabbalists active in Isaac’s days and shortly after his passing, Kabbalists who valued this commentary and were influenced by its contents. In a recent article, Avishai Bar-Asher argued that the attribution of this commentary to Isaac the Blind is erroneous and must be completely rejected by scholars, since this commentary is, in fact, a much later work. In addition, Bar-Asher claimed that the Catalan and Castilian Kabbalists younger than Isaac, neither valued this SY commentary nor used its contents in their writings. This he explains as a consequence of one or more of the following scenarios: (1) the commentary was not yet extant in their days; (2) the commentary was already extant in their days but they were not familiar with it; (3) the Kabbalists were familiar with the commentary but did not value it much; (4) the Kabbalists disagreed with the commentary’s contents and criticized it; (5) the Kabbalists did not view this commentary as Isaac’s work.
In the article the author presents and analyzes evidence from which a different picture emerges: the commentary was in fact known to Kabbalists shortly after its composition, regarding which we have no substantiated reason to date it later than Isaac’s death. Throughout the thirteenth century Kabbalists were familiar with the commentary, and it is in fact the only SY commentary known to us from this century that was in itself a subject of Kabbalistic commentaries. From this we learn that this commentary enjoyed high and unique status among Kabbalists in this period. Finally, all the reliable extant manuscripts of the commentary include clear attributions to Isaac the Blind.
The article is divided into three parts: First, the attribution of the commentary to Isaac the Blind in the extant manuscripts is discussed, showing that the evidence corroborates the credibility of this attribution.
In the second part of the article, the author focuses on the treatise commonly referred to as Isaac of Acre’s SY commentary, which she has recently shown to be a commentary by Isaac of Acre on the SY commentary attributed to Isaac the Blind. In addition to what can be inferred on the status of the commentary attributed to Isaac the Blind from the fact that it was studied by a central Kabbalist, probably at the end of the thirteenth century, further evidence is uncovered, hitherto neglected in Isaac of Acre’s commentary, which testifies to the existence of additional Kabbalistic commentaries on the commentary attributed to Isaac the Blind. These were probably composed during the last third of the thirteenth century at the latest. Thus, we learn that during this period at least two (and perhaps – three) kabbalistic commentaries were composed on the SY commentary attributed to Isaac the Blind. This shows that the SY commentary attributed to Isaac the Blind enjoyed a solid and recognized status among Kabbalists in the last third of the thirteenth century at the latest. This also shows that the commentary was already extant in this period.
In the last part of the article, I present evidence showing that the commentary was extant even earlier, most probably – at the latest – during Isaac the Blind’s last years. Thus, it is shown that Nachmanides knew the commentary in the 1240s–50s; that Azriel of Girona used the commentary in his own SY commentary; and that Ezra of Girona, who passed away shortly after Isaac the Blind, was also familiar with this commentary. Finally, it is shown that Jacob ben Sheshet was also familiar with the commentary, since he refers to a passage known to us from the commentary while specifically attributing it to Isaac the Blind.
Therefore, given everything known to us at this point, the author sees no reason to doubt the early dating of the commentary’s composition, its central status among thirteenth century Kabbalists, or the reliability of its attribution to Isaac the Blind.
Indonesia is among the ranks of countries with the lowest literacy in the world. Precisely at rank 69 of 76 countries. If calculated the average Indonesian people only read one book per year. One of ...the reasons for the low literacy of Indonesia is the lack of understanding of Indonesian society with Indonesian vocabulary. Although Indonesian is an educational language which is also the national language and language of Indonesian unity, it can not be denied if Indonesian people do not fully master the Indonesian language. That's what causes the dictionary as a medium for discovering the meaning of words.On the other hand, until now Indonesia is not evenly able to facilitate the dictionary as a means of searching the meaning of words. Many Indonesian dictionaries only specialize for normal people only. Whereas the number of persons with disabilities in Indonesia reached 2.45% of the total population of Indonesia. Then the blind person is 29.63% of the total number of persons with disabilities. It can be concluded that people with visual impairment are the highest in persons with disabilities in Indonesia. Therefore the development of Indonesian dictionary for the blind is considered important in this era.Android is a Linux-based operating system that can be used for smart phones and tablet computers. The selection of Android as the Indonesian dictionary base for the visually impaired on the Android platforms is provided platfro open for developers to create applications. In addition to Android also features Talk Back and speech to text that was created specifically for the visually impaired. The feature works as an Android screen reader so that the blind people can enjoy the screen display with sound output. In line with these things Android is considered easier operation and maintenance because it is more practical than conventional dictionary.
Summary
Among early Christian writers, Didymus of Alexandria occupies an unusual position being a theologian who garnered renown while enduring a significant physical disability, since he became ...blind in early childhood. Scholars of Didymus have frequently bemoaned the lack of biographical information concerning this famous teacher, and some suggest that Didymus never expresses regret for losing his physical eyesight in his own writing, arguing that he considered spiritual insight more valuable. Most recent monographs on Didymus have been content to cite traditions about Didymus' blindness, but few have sought to track the emergence of the few traditions about him and how these sources might relate to each other and have conflicting theological agendas. This paper seeks to address these lacunae by closely examining references to Didymus from his own contemporaries, all of whom personally met him, in order to make some suggestions of how this might open some new avenues for better understanding attitudes toward physical disability in early Christianity and particularly Didymus as a blind Christian theologian.
PurposeThis paper aims to encourage the extension of the literature on accountant stereotypes beyond primarily Angelo-American contexts based on reflections formed on reading the novel, Blindness, by ...José Saramago.Design/methodology/approachA mindful insight into how an accountant, blind since birth, is portrayed in the novel Blindness by acclaimed Portuguese author Saramago, a Nobel Prize for Literature recipient.FindingsThe study reveals characters under extreme circumstances when a city is plunged into a blindness epidemic, or distinctive “white blindness”, and failings in human behaviour, particularly by hoodlums and their leaders, including the blind accountant.Research implicationsBy reflecting on what we take for granted in the accountant stereotypes literature, this paper illuminates how we can all contribute new understandings of accounting and accountants more specifically in all contexts in which the discipline and its practitioners operate, including non-Anglo-American contexts.Originality/valueThe paper presents the insights of a member of the historical and interdisciplinary accounting research community with experience in research and publication on accountant stereotypes.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether people with visual impairment in Japan are provided with useful information by their ophthalmologist while being notified of their disability, and ...what information is needed by these individuals upon being diagnosed. An analysis of the responses from 197 respondents revealed that only 30.45% had been provided information by their ophthalmologist upon being diagnosed, while 69.55% patients were not provided any information. When asked about the form of media they used to receive information, the most frequently used was the internet (16.68%). As web accessibility is not sufficient in Japan, making information media accessible to the visually impaired is a challenge. Finally, when asked about the type of information they would like to be provided, the most common answer was information about peer support. This suggests that ophthalmologists are expected to (1) understand the needs of the visually impaired and (2) provide information appropriately and promptly.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought great difficulties for the deaf, the blind and people with disabilities in general, in addition to the difficulties of everyday life. This study aims to examine the ...public interest in the social integration of the deaf and hard of hearing community during the pandemic and the pre-pandemic period in the context of an inclusive society. The empirical study is based on the analysis of statistical data provided by Google Trends, which is a big data analysis, relative measurement and information visualisation tool that allowed to get insight on gaps and inconstancy of information seekers’ interest within categories of science, people and society, law and government, and health. The study encourages researchers and social policy makers to pay extra attention to the social inclusion of the deaf, which, according to the research data, worsened during the pandemic more than other groups of the disabled.
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