Research Article
Integrating Community-based Participatory Research Methods to Identify Leisure Preferences Among Newcomer Immigrant Women Aged 30-55 in Ottawa, Canada
Issue:
Volume 15, Issue 4, August 2026
Pages:
153-162
Received:
29 May 2026
Accepted:
18 June 2026
Published:
8 July 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.ss.20261504.11
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Abstract: This paper explores the benefits of adopting a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach when designing leisure activities for newcomer Farsi-speaking immigrant women aged 30 to 55 in Ottawa, Canada. Immigrant women in this age range frequently navigate complex and overlapping demands related to paid employment, family responsibilities, caregiving, and unpaid labour, yet their leisure interests and access needs remain underrepresented in both the research literature and community programming. Through sustained collaboration with a local resettlement service organization, a bilingual (English/Farsi) leisure interest survey was administered to Farsi-speaking women who had arrived in Canada within the preceding five years and fell within the designated age range. The survey invited respondents to identify preferred leisure activities, accessibility requirements, language learning goals, and scheduling preferences. A total of 40 women submitted responses, and the findings were organized into three thematic leisure categories: (1) outdoor and movement-based activities, including yoga; (2) museum and gallery visits; and (3) social gatherings. This CBPR approach enabled these community members to articulate their leisure interests, assets, and specific needs, which in turn directly informed the development of culturally relevant and responsive leisure programming. Our discussion and conclusion emphasize that a pre-activity survey can serve as a meaningful methodological bridge between community-based participatory research and the design of culturally responsive leisure programs. Implications for researchers, community organizations, and practitioners working with newcomer populations are discussed.
Abstract: This paper explores the benefits of adopting a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach when designing leisure activities for newcomer Farsi-speaking immigrant women aged 30 to 55 in Ottawa, Canada. Immigrant women in this age range frequently navigate complex and overlapping demands related to paid employment, family responsibilities...
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Research Article
The Disgrace of the Unburied Dead: A Theological Exegesis of Ecclesiastes 6:3b
Eric Adjei Gyan*
Issue:
Volume 15, Issue 4, August 2026
Pages:
163-169
Received:
16 June 2026
Accepted:
25 June 2026
Published:
17 July 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.ss.20261504.12
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Views:
Abstract: Ecclesiastes 6:3b contains one of the most arresting evaluative clauses in the Hebrew wisdom corpus: “and also he has no burial.” Qoheleth’s portrait of the wealthy man who begets a hundred children, lives many years, yet dies without burial represents a profound inversion of the conventional wisdom equating material abundance with divine favor. Despite its rhetorical prominence within Ecclesiastes 6:1–6, the burial clause has received comparatively little sustained theological attention in the commentary tradition, typically subordinated to the dramatic nephel (stillborn) comparison that follows in verses 4–5. This gap in the scholarly literature constitutes the background problem this article addresses. This article presents a focused theological exegesis of Ecclesiastes 6:3b, with particular attention to the clause “and also he has no burial” (Hebrew: w’gam-q’vurah lo-haytah lo). The study argues that this clause is not a biographical footnote but the theological climax of Qoheleth’s carefully constructed argument against the sufficiency of outward abundance without inward satisfaction, and that recovering its full theological force holds significant implications for both biblical scholarship and pastoral ministry. The study employs a combination of historical-grammatical analysis of the Hebrew text, canonical-theological reading across the Old and New Testaments, and socio-rhetorical examination of the burial motif within its ancient Near Eastern cultural context. Key lexical terms: nephesh (soul/life-force), qevurah (burial), and nephel (stillborn) are subjected to close exegetical analysis. Comparative analysis draws on Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Israelite burial traditions, Hebrew prophetic judgment oracles, wisdom literature, and New Testament kerygmatic texts, supplemented by current Qoheleth scholarship. The study demonstrates that the denial of burial in Qoheleth’s framework functions simultaneously on three levels: as a marker of covenantal rupture within the Hebrew theological tradition, as an act of social and memorial erasure in the ancient Near Eastern context, and as an eschatological signpost that points beyond Qoheleth’s own literary horizon toward a final divine reckoning. Read canonically, the motif anticipates the New Testament theology of Jesus’ burial as the form of a death that holds resurrection hope. The article further draws pastoral and homiletical implications, arguing that the text constitutes a sustained theological summons to soul-satisfaction, relational legacy, and the disciplined contentment that alone can ensure a life of enduring worth.
Abstract: Ecclesiastes 6:3b contains one of the most arresting evaluative clauses in the Hebrew wisdom corpus: “and also he has no burial.” Qoheleth’s portrait of the wealthy man who begets a hundred children, lives many years, yet dies without burial represents a profound inversion of the conventional wisdom equating material abundance with divine favor. De...
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