EFFECT OF COAL ASH ON THE MORPHOLOGICAL, THERMAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF POLY(METHYL METHACRYLATE)
2012

Muhammad Ishaq
Institute of Chemical Sciences
University of Peshawar
Peshawar-25120, Khyber PukhtoonkhwaPakistan

Khalid Saeed
Institute of Chemical Sciences
University of Peshawar
Peshawar-25120, Khyber PukhtoonkhwaPakistan

Department of Chemistry
University of Malakand
Chakdara, Dir (Lower)Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa Pakistan

Muhammad Shakirullah
Institute of Chemical Sciences
University of Peshawar
Peshawar-25120, Khyber PukhtoonkhwaPakistan

Imtiaz Ahmad
Institute of Chemical Sciences
University of Peshawar
Peshawar-25120, Khyber PukhtoonkhwaPakistan

Tayyiba Rehman
Institute of Chemical Sciences
University of Peshawar
Peshawar-25120, Khyber PukhtoonkhwaPakistan

EFFECT OF COAL ASH ON THE MORPHOLOGICAL, THERMAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF POLY(METHYL METHACRYLATE)

J. Chil. Chem. Soc
5712012(Received: April 5, 2011 -Accepted: December 20, 2011)992Coal ashPMMASEMTGA
Composite materials of Coal ash/ Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) (ash/PMMA) were prepared/synthesized and their properties were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), polarized optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and universal testing machine (UTM). The morphological study presented that the ash particles were well dispersed and embedded within the PMMA matrix. The DSC thermograms showed that the melting temperature (T m ) of pure PMMA is about 166 o C which was shifted towards lower temperature when ash were incorporated in the polymer matrix. The mechanical properties of the ash/PMMA composites were enhanced up to an optimum level (ash 3 wt %) and then decreased at higher incorporation of large quantity of filler. The TGA thermograms indicated that the thermal stability of the ash/PMMA composite was enhance significantly than pure PMMA.

INTRODUCTION

Polymer composites reinforced with fillers/reinforced materials have paid significant attention due to the unique physical, mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of the reinforced materials. Extensive research is going on the polymer/reinforcing composite materials, in which they incorporated various kinds of fillers like carbon fiber, graphite, carbon nanotubes, nanoclay, etc. into the polymer matrix. The various properties such as electrical, mechanical, and thermal stability of the polymer improved significantly by incorporation of small amount of reinforcing materials. Xiang et al. 1 prepared pH responsive organic/inorganic nanocomposites hydrogel. They incorporated the fibrillar attapulgite into poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid), in which attapulgite fibril act as the cross-linker. The nanocomposite hydrogel showed improved response rate and mechanical properties. Zhong et al. 2 prepared exfoliated poly(styrene)/ organo-modified montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites through In situ free radical bulk polymerization, in which they dispersed a modified reactive organophilic MMT layered silicate in styrene monomer. It was found that the nanocomposites show higher decomposition temperature, dynamic modulus, stronger shear thinning behavior and a smaller die swell ratio than pure poly(styrene). Saeed and Park prepared multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)/Nylon-6 nanocomposites by In Situ polymerization method and it was found that the incorporation of MWNTs enhanced the electrical, mechanical and thermal properties of the nylon-6. 3 In an other attempt Saeed et al. prepared poly(caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers and they found that the mechanical and thermal stability of the PCL nanofibers were enhanced by the incorporation of MWNTs but the electrical properties were shown only in the case when MWNTs were adsorbed onto PCL nanofibers mat.4.

In our present study, we prepared PMMA and coal ash composite via solution casting technique. PMMA is a common transparent thermoplastic polymeric (amorphous structure). It belongs to the family of biocompatible nonbiodegradable materials. PMMA possess various attractive properties like light weight, high light transmittance, chemical resistance, colorlessness, resistance to weathering corrosion, and good insulating properties. It is also used as a substituting material for inorganic glass, due to its higher impact strength and undergoes ductile rather than brittle fracture. Although, PMMA has good properties but the glass transition temperature (relatively low) limits makes its applications in the optical-electronic industry as well as for materials like compact discs (CDs), optical glasses. [5][6][7][8] The coal ashes are the waste material obtained after coal burning and choose as a reinforcing material in the present work. The Ash/PMMA composites were prepared by solution casting technique. The Ash/ PMMA composite were analyzed for the various properties such as morphological, mechanical and thermal properties using SEM, universal testing machine, DSC and TGA analyses.

EXPERIMENTAL Materials

High density PMMA (Average molecular weight 3,50000) and chloroform e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com were purchased from Aldrich. The Cherat coal sample was kindly, supplied by PMDC (Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation).

Preparation of ash

The crushed coal was heated in muffler furnace at 750 °C until the whole carbon particles were disappeared. The obtained ash was then screened through a screener (60 µm mesh size) and used as reinforcing materials.

Preparation of PMMA polymer

The known weight of PMMA was first dissolved in 20 mL chloroform and then added 1 wt % of ash in the polymer solution and stir for 2 h on magnetic stirrer. The ash/PMMA solution was then placed in petri dish and a thin film of ash/PMMA composite was obtained after the evaporation of the solvent at room temperature. The same procedure was adopted for 3, 5 and 7 wt % ash/ PMMA composites.

Instrumentation

The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) micrographs of the gold-coated fractured surfaces (broken in the liquid nitrogen) of the ash/PMMA composites were analyzed using a JEOL, JSM_5910 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).

The DSC analyses were performed using a Diamond Series DSC (Perkin Elmer). DSC thermograms were obtained at heating rate of 10 o C/min, under a nitrogen atmosphere in order to diminish oxidation. The TGA thermograms of the composites were obtained in nitrogen atmosphere, at a heating rate of 20 o C/min between 25 o C and 600 o C, using a Diamond TG/DTA (Perkin Elmer).

The mechanical properties were carried out by universal testing machine (Model 100-500KN, Iestometric Inc. UK). The tests were carried out at room temperature with crosshead speed of 50 mm/min. The sample dimensions were 70.9 (gauge length), 27 (width), 0.1 (thickness) mm 3 . Figure 1 shows the SEM images of coal ash (screened through a screener having mish size 60 µm) and the ash (5 wt %)/PMMA composite. It can be observed from figure 1a that the size of coal ash particles had several micrometers, which is present in agglomerate form. The coal ash had irregularshape with relatively smooth surfaces. The fractured surface of ash (5 wt %)/ PMMA composite, which was broken in liquid nitrogen is shown in Figure 1b. The SEM image showed that the ash particles were not only well embedded within the polymer but also dispersed well within the PMMA matrix rather than agglomerate form.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Morphology of Ash/PMMA

Thermal properties of Ash/PMMA Composite DSC analysis is an important technique in order to study the effect of reinforcing materials on the crystallization temperature and melting temperature of polymer matrix. The coal ash/PMMA composite samples with different amount of ash were subjected to DSC analyses in order to study the effect of ash on the melting temperature (T m ) ( Table 1). The T m of pure PMMA is 166 o C, which was decreased slightly with the increment of the ash amount incorporated to the polymer matrix. Some of the research groups also reported that the T m of the polymer decreased when they incorporated the reinforcing materials in the polymer matrix. Bizarria et al. reported that the T m of the Clay/Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) nanocomposites is lower than pure poly(ethylene terephthalate). 9 They suggested that the lower T m of Clay/PET nanocomposite might be due to the nanoscale interactions between the polymer and the clay surface. It might result less stable crystals when the polymer crystallized from melted state. Similar, works were also reported by Ou et al. 10 and Burnside et al. 11 , in which they incorporated nanoparticles in PET. They also reported that the T m of the composite systems were decreased slightly.   The TGA thermograms of pure PMMA and Ash (5 wt %)/PMMA composite has been shown in figure 2. The TG curve presented that pure PMMA decomposed in three stages. The first stage of PMMA decomposition (about 150 o C) is due to the loss of water and methyl methacrylate from the additive as well as residual acetone. The second stage decomposition begins at about 290 o C, which might be due to the radical transfer to unsaturated chain ends. The weight loss with third stage (about 360 o C) associated with random scission of the polymer backbone. 12 The TGA thermogram of the Ash (5 wt %)/ PMMA composite also presented three stage decomposition. The thermogram clearly indicated that the second and third stage of decomposition of the composite were shift to higher temperature as compared to pure PMMA. Both pure PMMA and Ash (5 wt %)/PMMA composite decomposed completely at about 420 °C. The residual amount, which was contributed by the coal ash in the composite, remained at higher temperatures. The TGA thermograms

Mechanical properties of Ash/PMMA

The mechanical properties of the polymeric materials are comparatively low, which might be enhanced by the incorporation of other reinforcing materials. In the majority cases it has been shown that the inorganic additives have much improved mechanical properties as compared to organic polymer. 13 Table 2 presents the mechanical properties of the pure PMMA and Ash/PMMA composite. The stress of the pure PMMA and 3 and 7 wt % Ash/PMMA composites were 12.6, 63.0 and 15.5 N/mm 2 , respectively, and Young's modulus of them were 1885, 4407, 1450 N/mm 2 , respectively. The increased in the stress and modulus might be due to better dispersion of coal ash in the PMMA matrix. The enhancement in mechanical properties were higher at low ash concentration (3 wt %), which were decreased when 7 wt % ash incorporated. The decrease in mechanical properties might be due to agglomeration of ash particles (7 wt %) in the PMMA matrix. As shown in table 2, the elongation at break of pure PMMA, and 3 and 7 wt % Ash/PMMA composites were 1.4, 0.4 and 0.9 %, respectively. The decrease in elongation at break of Ash/PMMA composites implies that the incorporation of ash to the PMMA matrix allow to obtain stronger polymeric materials but less flexible. 14

CONCLUSION

In summary, we have demonstrated that the Ash/PMMA composites showed higher mechanical properties than pure PMMA, which was decreased as increased the amount of ash (instead of dispersion agglomeration of ash particles) in the PMMA matrix. The T m of pure PMMA is 166 o C, which was decreased by the incorporation of ash in the polymer matrix. It was also found that the thermal stability of Ash/PMMA composite was enhanced than that of pure PMMA.

Figure 1 .
1SEM images of the fractured surface (a) Ash and (b) Ash (5 wt %)/PMMA.

Figure 2 .
2TGA thermograms of pure PMMA and Ash (5 wt %)/PMMA composite.

Table 1 .
1DSC melting temperature of pure PMMA and Ash/PMMA composites.Sample
Melting Temperature ( o C)

PMMA
166

1 % ash/PMMA
145

3 % ash/PMMA
141

5 % ash/PMMA
135

indicated that the incorporation of ash enhanced the thermal degradation of
PMMA.

Table 2 .
2Mechanical properties of Pure PMMA and Ash (5 wt %)/PMMA.Sample
Stress
(N/mm 2 )

Young's Modulus
(N/mm 2 )

Elongation at
break (%)

PMMA
12.5
1185
1.4
3 % ash/PMMA
63.0
4407
0.4
5 % ash/PMMA
15.5
1450
0.9

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Work-related basic need satisfaction as a predictor of work engagement among academic staff in Turkey
August 2014

Fatos Silman email@example.com
Department of Computer and Instruction Technologies Education
Cyprus International University
Northern Cyprus

Work-related basic need satisfaction as a predictor of work engagement among academic staff in Turkey

South African Journal of Education
343August 20141 Art. # 874, 5 pages, http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.zaacademic staffbasic need satisfactionwork engagement
This study examines the relationship between work-related basic need satisfaction and work engagement. Data were obtained from a total of 203 academics who are employed in various universities of Turkey. In this research Work-Related Basic Need Satisfaction Scale and The Turkish Form of Utrecht Work Engagement Scale were utilized. The data were analysed through multiple regression and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient analysis methods. The findings revealed that the sub-dimensions of work-related basic need satisfaction significantly predicted work engagement. Upper management should improve work conditions of their personnel, which are related with competency, autonomy, and relatedness needs of academics. This way, academic staff will have better efficiency in terms of work engagement, which will also result in higher work adaptation and participation.

Introduction

The concept of basic psychological needs is regarded as a significant predictor of individual function in life (Van den Broeck, Vanteenkiste, De Witte, Soenens & Lens, 2010). Basic need satisfaction has a close association with the self-determination theory (SDT). Van den Broeck, Vansteenkiste, De Witte and Lens (2008) imply that within the SDT, basic psychological needs are defined as the nutrients needed by humans to fulfil their potentials and maintain their growth, integrity and health. According to the SDT researchers, basic psychological needs are determined as follows: Autonomy, belongingness (relatedness), and competence. These are inherent psychological needs. The need for autonomy refers to one's willpower, and desire to act freely in accordance with one's own interests and values. The need for belongingness (relatedness) implies one's need to interact, connect to and care for other people. The need for competence is one's having a sense of effectiveness while doing something (Deci & Vansteenkiste, 2004).

In the light of the SDT, Sheldon and Schüler (2011) argue that the feelings of autonomy, belongingness and competence lead to positive feelings especially when we accomplish, produce or succeed at something, experience a close relationship with another person, and become autonomous and self-regulating. These positive feelings "reinforce attainment of natural affiliation and achievement incentives, respectively" (Sheldon & Schüler, 2011:1107. SDT theory also implies that for goal pursuit and success, people's basic psychological needs should be satisfied. The concept of needs is related to the content of motivation which forms a basis for the "energization and direction of action" (Deci & Ryan, 2000:227).

There are studies that investigate the basic psychological need satisfaction in relation to different variables. For example Andreassen, Hetland and Pallesen (2010) studied how the variables of workaholism, basic need satisfaction at work and personality are related. Andreassen et al. (2010) benefited from the Self-determination Theory and worked with a sample of 661 Norwegian employees. The researchers found that satisfaction at work had positive relationship to Enjoyment of Work, but negative relationship to Drive. Conscientiousness was found to have a positive relationship to all 'workhaholism' components: Extraversion and Openness to Work Involvement and Enjoyment of Work and Neuroticism to Drive. However, negative correlations were found between Neuroticism and Enjoyment of Work, and Agreeableness and Drive.

Çankaya (2009) benefited from the model of self-determination and examined the relationship between autonomy support, basic psychological need satisfaction and subjective well-being. The findings of the research were as follows: 1. Support for autonomy has a direct and positive influence on needs satisfaction, 2. Satisfaction of individuals' basic psychological needs has a direct and positive influence on their level of self-esteem, 3. Satisfaction of individuals' basic psychological needs has a direct and positive influence on their level of anxiety, 4. Satisfaction of individuals' basic psychological needs has a direct and positive influence on their level of satisfaction with life. The research also showed that the autonomy the individuals got from their family and friends has a direct and positive influence on their basic psychological needs (Çankaya, 2009:30). Gillison, Standage and Skevington (2008), using self-determination theory, investigated how students' quality of life and psychological need satisfaction changed after they moved to secondary school. The findings revealed that satisfaction of the needs for autonomy and belongingness predicted improvements in the quality of life. Yet competence did not predict improvements in the quality of life.

The issue of work engagement has also received a considerable attention in the field of organizational behaviour. Kahn (1990) defines work engagement as the "expression of a person's preferred self during tasks that promote connections to work and to others, personal presence and active, full performances" (cited in Babcock-Roberson & Strickland, 2010:315). Work engagement has a close relationship between job performance and organizational commitment. Current research studies have come up with the results that work engagement is closely associated to burnout and turnover intentions and leadership qualities in the workplace. For example Du Plooy and Roodt (2010) found that work engagement and burn-out were significant predictors of turnover intentions. Hassan and Ahmed (2011) studied the contribution of authentic leadership to subordinates' trust in leadership and how this, in turn, predicted subordinates' work engagement. The findings revelaed that authentic leadership improved subordinates' trust in leaders, and contributed to work engagement.

The above research studies give us an insight that individuals' psychological basic need satisfaction may also be a significant predictor for their work engagement which may help them accomplish full performances in the workplace. However the researcher came across with few research that has examined the relations between work-related basic need satisfaction and work engagement. Van den Broeck et. al (2010), due to the lack of a valid and reliable measure of need satisfaction in the field of organizational psychology, developed and validated a "Work-Related Basic Need Satisfaction Scale" for future research and practice. Before the construction of this scale the same researchers examined the relationship between basic need satisfaction and the main ingredients of burnout and engegament, which are job demands, job resources, and employees' exhaustion and vigour. The study showed that satisfaction of basic psychological needs partially explained the relationships from job demands to exhaustion and from job resources to vigour.

Vansteenkiste, Neyrinck, Niemiec, Soenens, De Witte and Van den Broeck (2007), using the self-determination theory approach, conducted two studies to investigate the correlation between work value orientations, psychological need satisfaction and job outcomes. The two studies revealed that having an extrinsic work value orientation, relative to an intrinsic work value orientation was related to less positive outcomes but more negative outcomes. Study 2 showed that having an extrinsic work value orientation, relative to an intrinsic work value orientation gave harm to employees' job outcomes. That is, these orientations hindered "the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness at work" (Vansteenkiste et al., 2007:251).

Aim and Importance of the Study

In the global world like other organizations higher education institutions are also changing. These changes make organizations keep track of social, cultural, political and technological systems. Higher education institutions need to ensure quality by improving their processes such as communication, planning, problem-solving, leadership, decision making and so on. For quality of education staff members should also be motivated to take part in participatory and teamwork for the establishment of organizational goals and objectives (Maguad & Krone, 2012).

Turkey is a candidate country for European Union membership. Therefore, Turkish Higher Education system participated in the Bologna Process in 2001. Since then the higher education institutions in Turkey "has gone into a serious re-structuring and development processes" (Furuzan, 2012:107) in order to elevate these institutions to the standards of the higher education instititutions in Europe. Furthermore and firstly, higher education attracted considerable investments during the last two decades in Turkey. Many private and foundation universities (more than 100) have been launched since 1990s. Contribution of the academic staff to the advancement of the Turkish higher education system has also been documented in relevant literature (Katircioglu, 2010). Large increases in the number of higher education institutions raised strong competition not only in Turkey but also in the regions of the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Emergence of too many universities during the last two decades and recent reform iniatives such as "degree recognition, quality assurance, qualification framework, and a new accreditation system" (Furuzan, 2012:108) also emphasized the agenda of student and staff/academics satisfaction and quality education concepts.

The researcher of the present study believe that for better work engagement of the university staff in these reform initiatives as part of the Bologna process, it is important that their work-related basic needs are also satisfied. So that they can come together for the establishment of the common goals and objectives of their universities.

This study aims to examine the relationship between workrelated basic need satisfaction and work engagement. The constructs of work-related basic needs satisfaction and work engagement are mostly studied in organisational context (Imamoðlu & Beydoðan, 2011;Babcock-Roberson & Strickland, 2010;Otken & Erben, 2010;Van den Broeck et al., 2008;Bakker & Bal, 2010) rather than educational context. The researcher came across with only one study (Dogan & Eryilmaz, 2012b) that examines work-related basic need satisfaction and subjective well-being in educational context (among academicians) in Turkey.

Since studies that investigate the relationship between the above-mentioned variables in the context of higher education institutions are limited, the researcher thinks that this study will have a great contribution to the relevant literature.

Method

Sample and Data Collection

In total, 203 (94 female/109 male) academics from 86 universities in Turkey have participated in this study. These universities were selected from seven different geographical regions (Aegen, Black Sea, Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia, Marmara, Mediterranean and Southeastern Anatolia) of Turkey. Random sampling was used as a sampling strategy "to ensure the characteristics of the subjects to appear in the same proportion they appear in the total population" (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998:65). The data collection instruments were sent to randomly selected 1800 academicians via mail. However, only 203 of them responded. The age range of the participants was 22 to 65. The average age was 40,95. Regarding the academic status of the participants, 25 of them were teaching assistants, 53 lecturers, 54 assistant professors, 35 associate professors and 36 professors. Regarding their maritial status, of the 203 participants, 46 were single, 146 were married and 11 were divorced.

Data Collection Instruments and Psychometric Properties

Work-Related Basic Need Satisfaction Scale (W-BNS): The scale was developed by Van den Broeck et al. (2010). The scale contains 18 items, and is a 5-point Likert-type. W-BNS has three sub-dimensions: competency need, relatedness need and autonomy need. The "competency need" sub-dimension implies individiual's feeling himself/herself competent at work (Sample Item: I feel competent in my job). The "relatedness need" sub-dimension implies individiual's need to build relationships with others and to avoid loneliness and isolation at work (Sample Item: At work I feel part of a group). The "autonomy need" sub-dimension is related to individual's initiating activities, making decisions and choices independently at work (Sample Item: I feel free to do my job the way I think it could best be done). Factor analysis should be carried out for the suitability of sample and instrument used in the study prior to further analyses. These analyses are also available in the education literature (Bukova-Güzel, Cantürk-Günhan, Kula, Özgür & Elçí, 2013;Katircioglu, Fethi, Unlucan & Dalci, 2011). The item loading factors of the scale were found in scores ranging from .58 to .85. The goodness-of-fit (GFI) indexes obtained for the two-factor model were reported as ÷²/standard deviation (SD) = 1.8, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 98, The Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.4. The reliability of the scale was calculated as .85 for the "competency need", .82 for the "relatedness need" and .82 for the "autonomy need."

The Turkish Form of Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-TR): UWES was developed by Schaufeli, Salanova, Roma and Bakker (2002) to measure the work engagement of employees. UWES is a 17 item, 5-point Likert, self-report type of scale. The items are scored as "I strongly disagree" (1), "I disagree" (2), "I agree a little" (3), "I agree" (4), "I strongly agree" (5). There are reverse coded items in the scale. The high scores obtained from the scale show high work engagement. The scale has three dimensions: Vigour, Dedication and Absorption. The internal reliability consitency scores for the subdimensions were obtained as .80, .91, and .75, respectively. The Turkish adaptation of the scale was carried out by Eryilmaz and Dogan (2012). The goodness fix indexes revealed by confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the three factor structure of the scale with the sample of Turkish employees (÷²/SD = 3.59, GFI = 0.81, CFI = 0.96, NFI = 0.94, IFI = 0.96, The Root Mean Square Acceleration (RMSA) = 0.11). The internal consistency coefficent of UWES-TR for "Vigour," "Dedication," "Absorption" was found to be .94, .88, and .87, respectively.

Demographic Information Form: This form was prepared to elicit demographic information about the participants. The form consists of four questions related to age, gender, maritial status and academic status.

Data Analysis

This research contains statistical procedures in order to predict work engagement in the Turkish universities. Therefore, in addition to descriptive analysis, pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses have been employed in the study. There are studies that employ pearson correlation and regression analyses in the education literature; among them are Grosser and Nel (2013) and Bukova-Güzel et al. (2013). The dependent variable of this study is work-engagement and the independent variable of the study is work-related basic need satisfaction with the subdimensions of "competency need", "relatedness need" and "autonomy need." The correlation between the variables was calculated by Pearson Correlation Coefficient. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine to what extent the independent variable predicted the dependent variable. Descriptive statistics were also used for the variables in the study. The scales do not have cut-off scores since the scales were not norm-referenced.

Results

In this section results from the empirical analysis are discussed. The section will be finalized by correlation and regression analyses.  Table 1 shows that the lowest mean score regarding the competency need sub-dimension is 1.67, the highest mean score is 5.00 and the average mean score is 4.31. The minimum score regarding the relatedness need sub-dimension is 1.67, the maximum score is 5.00, and the mean score of the sub-scale is 3.70. The minimum mean score regarding the autonomy need sub-dimension is 1.33, the maximum score is 5.00 and the mean score of the sub-scale is 3.50. The minimum score regarding the W-BNS Total is 2.11, the maximum score is 4.83 and the total mean score is 3.80. The minimum score regarding work engagement is 1.35, the maximum score is 5.00 and the mean score is 4.01. Table 1 presents descriptive statistics regarding four major dimensions of the research instrument. The correlation between dependent and independent variables were calculated by Pearson Correlation Coefficent and are presented in Table 2. It is clearly seen that that there is a significant and positive correlation (p < .001) among the four dimensions of the study. The highest correlation was obtained between competency need and work engagement (correlation coefficient (r) = .64) which implies that these two dimensions are positively associated at .001 significance level.

The multiple regression analysis will be now carried out in the next step. Results are presented in Table 3. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine to what extent work-related basic need satisfaction with the subdimesions of competency need, relatedness need and autonomy need predict work engagement. Looking at the Table 3, it can be seen that the sub-dimensions of the work-related basic need satisfaction are significant predictors of work engagement R = 0.74, R² = 0.55, Analysis of Variance (F) = 81.65, p < .001). When the relationships of the variables with work-engagement were evaluated one by one, it was seen that the "competency need" was the highest meaningful predictor of work engagement (â = .47; p = .000). The second highest meaningful predictor of work engagement was "autonomy need" (â = .33; p = .000). The lowest meaningful predictor of work engagement was found to be "relatedness need" (â = .13; p = .000). These results reveal that variation in the related dimensions of Table  3 explain 55% of variation in the work engagement. The cut-off criteria for determining the extent to which there is a multicollinearity between the predictor factors utilized in regression analysis was related to the poor discriminant validity (Brown, 2006). The evidence, which signifies whether there is a poor discrimination between the predictor factors is that the correlations between the predictor factors must not exceed the determined cutoff point of .85 (Brown, 2006;Kline, 2005). In the present study, the correlations between the predictor factors are found to be below the cutoff point of .85 (see Table 2). This shows that there is no multi-collinearity between the predictor factors.

Discussion

The present study aims to examine to what extent work-related basic need satisfaction predicted work engagement among the academic staff in Turkey. The results revealed a significant and positive association between the predictive variables of "competency need," "autonomy need" and "relatedness need" and the dependent variable of "work engagement". The results also revealed that these variables significantly predicted "work engagement"; that is, competency need, autonomy need, and relatedness need exerted positive and significant impact on work engagement.

The Bologna Process is considered by "policy makers, university leaders, academic staff, students and researchers as the most important development of higher education in Europe today" (Vlasceanu & Voicu, 2006:25). As Turkey is part of this process, higher education institutions are involved in serious reform initiatives in order to elevate their standards to those of the European higher education. Universities in their efforts to develop their quality assurance system, are moving into "greater institutional autonomy" accountable for decisions, personnel recruitment, budget, student admission, educational forms and content (Gvaramadze, 2008:443). In this new culture of quality, students, university staff and other stakeholders should participate in the decision-making process. The present study is concerned only with academics as stakeholders of higher education institutions in Turkey. The researcher believes that for efficiency and better engagement in the reform initiatives, university staff should be motivated and their work-related basic needs should be satisfied.

In self-determination theory, the concept of basic need satisfaction defines three basic needs: the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. These are important determinants that influence motivational mechanism of individuals. Autonomy implies psychological freedom when individuals carry out an activity and organize their work. Competence is individuals' desires to feel effective when they explore and manipulate the environment and engage in challenging tasks. Relatedness implies individuals' need to feel connected, be part of a group, love and care and be loved and appreciated (Van den Broeck et al., 2010).

With respect to the organizational context, it is logical to suggest that the basic psychological needs of individuals influence their performances in the workplace. Yet, the lack of a work-related basic need satisfaction measure before Van den Broeck et al. (2010) constructed and validated it, did not foster studies that examined the direct relationship between basic satisfaction need and work-engagement.

From the limited literature related to the relationship between basic satisfaction need and work engagement especially in the university context, it could be said that psychological need plays an important role in job outcomes. Satisfaction of basic psychological needs have an effect on individuals' feelings and job outcomes (Vansteenkiste et al., 2007;Van den Broeck et al., 2008). Basic psychological needs also explain employees' condition at work such as burnout and well being. (Van den Broeck et al., 2008). Bakker and Bal's study (2010) conducted with 54 Dutch teachers showed that low-levels autonomy, exchange with the supervisor and opportunities for improvement had positive correlation with weekly engagement.

The multiple regression analysis in the present study showed that variation in the competency need, the autonomy need and the relatedness need explained 55% of the variation in work engagement. These findings provided evidence that work-related basic need satisfaction significantly predicted work engagement. The variables of competency, autonomy and relatedness needs positively influenced work engagement of individuals. The only study that was conducted among academicians in Turkey also showed that work-related basic need satisfaction significantly explained subjective well being of the academics (Dogan & Eryilmaz, 2012b). It can be said that this study somehow supports the findings of the present research. The research studies show that well-being of academics influence their creativity, energy, communication and productiveness at the workplace (Diener & Chan, 2011;Lyubomirsky, King & Diener, 2005cited in Dogan & Eryilmaz, 2012b.

Results of the present research have important implications for the university administration since these three dimensions have statistically significant and positive impact on work engagement. Upper management should improve work conditions of their personnel, which are related with competency, autonomy, and relatedness needs of academics. This way, universities will have better efficiency in terms of work engagement, which will also result in higher work adaptation and participation. The findings of McCloskey's study also showed that employee's autonomy and social integration levels were related with "their degree of job satisfaction, work motivation, and commitment to their organization" (McCLoskey, 1990cited in Imamoðlu & Beydoðan, 2011.

There are limitations of this study. This study has a relatively small sample size. This study was carried out with only academics. In addition to academics, other stakeholders of universities such as students, service personnel and managerial staff can be included to enlarge the sample. This study can be replicated by including participants from public and private organizations. The results of the present study can be compared with those of other organizations. Further, other variables such as burnout, turnover (Van den Broeck et al., 2008, Du Plooy & Roodt, 2010, individual personality (Andreassen et al., 2010) can also be examined together with the variables of basic psychological needs and work-engagement.

Table 1
1Descriptive Statistics related to Dependent and Independent VariablesVariables
Min
Max
SD

Competency Need
Relatedness Need
Autonomy Need
W-BNS Total
Work Engagement

1.67
1.67
1.33
2.11
1.35

5.00
5.00
5.00
4.83
5.00

4.31
3.70
3.50
3.80
4.01

.74
.74
.63
.50
.71
n = 203

Table 2
2Correlation between Competency Need, Relatedness Needand Autonomy Need

Variables
1
2
3
4

Competency Need
Relatedness Need
Autonomy Need
Work Engagement

1
.28*
1

.38*
.53*
1

.64*
.44*
.58*
1

n = 203; * p < .001

Table 3
3Multiple regression analysis related to the prediction of work engagementB
SEB
Beta
t
P

Competency Need
Relatedness Need
Autonomy Need

1.64
.35
1.07

.18
.15
.19

.47
.13
.33

9.17
2.29
5.68

.000*
.000*
.000*

R = 0.74, R² = 0.55, F = 81.65, p < .001

*p < .001

Note: B = Unstandardized Coefficient, SEB = Standard Error of Beta,
Beta = Standardized Coefficient

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Spirituality for democracy: Spiritual resources for democratic participation in the 21st century
28 Nov. 2014

Roderick R Hewitt email@example.com
School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics
University of Kwa-Zulu Natal
South Africa

School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Golf Road3209Scottsville, PietermaritzburgSouth Africa

Spirituality for democracy: Spiritual resources for democratic participation in the 21st century
28 Nov. 2014C366A20DBF016D222616CCAC9BEB6E9610.4102/ve.v35i3.1345Received: 13 Mar. 2014 Accepted: 23 July 2014
The topic invites us to explore spirituality for democracy and to identify and critique the spiritual resources that are needed for democratic participation in the 21st century.The statement specifically focused on for and not of democracy.Modern expressions of democracy are in crisis.Every context is teething with challenges and conflicts between governments and their citizens concerning how much influence through participation should be allowed in the decision-making process of governance.This topic is of extreme importance for academic discourse because the malaise that has crept into contemporary forms of democratic governance calls for urgent attention.Democratic forms of governance are not set in stone.Rather, they are formed as a result of human deliberation and praxis and cultural developments and must therefore remain open for further reformation.It is this intrinsic capacity for renewal that opens democracy to converse with spirituality.This article begins with identifying the key terms that constitute the academic building blocks of this study.The inherent contradictions in the use of these terms are noted in order to arrive at a theoretical construct to converse with the key concepts of spirituality, democracy, spiritual resources and democratic participation.Through the use of the postcolonial lenses of Rastafari hermeneutics, a theoretical framework will be employed to map a life-giving path for contemporary expressions of spirituality for democracy and to identify the resources needed for democratic participation.'to win election dem trick we then dem don't do nuttin' at all.' (Damion Marley, 'Welcome to Jam Rock ', 2005:n.p.)

Introduction

The topic invites us to explore spirituality for democracy and to identify and critique the spiritual resources that are needed for democratic participation in the 21st century.The topic specifically focuses on for and not of democracy.Modern expressions of democracy are in crisis.What is classified as democratic participation differs from country to country.Every context is teething with challenges and conflicts between governments and their citizens concerning how much influences through participation should be allowed in the decision-making process of governance.I regard this topic to be of extreme importance for academic discourse because the malaise that has crept into contemporary forms of democratic governance calls for urgent reflection and action.I therefore wish to posit that democratic forms of governance are not set in stone.Rather, they are formed as a result of human deliberation and praxis and cultural developments, and therefore, they must remain open for further reformation.It is this intrinsic capacity for renewal that opens up the possibility that democracy can converse with spirituality.This article begins by identifying the key terms that constitute the academic building blocks of this study.The inherent contradictions in the use of these terms are noted in order to arrive at a theoretical construct to converse with the key concepts of spirituality, democracy, spiritual resources and democratic participation.Through the use of postcolonial lenses of Rastafari hermeneutics, a theoretical framework will be employed to map a life-giving path for contemporary expressions of spirituality for democracy and to identify the resources needed for democratic participation.

Problem statement

This article argues that contemporary expressions of democracy, especially in the west, are accompanied by a lack of confidence and consensus, insecurity, deep introversion, a lack of concern, unwillingness to tackle anything and a lack of a consistent focus to resolve problems that affect the wellbeing of ordinary citizens.In spite of the commendable achievements that have been accomplished by diverse democratic projects in the past century, the perennial crises in the world suggest that it is consistently falling short of its vision and objectives.One cannot be sure about what it means to live in a nation state or in communities.Social change has resulted in pluralities and diversities that sometimes breed conflict, and many persons are no longer willing to give their allegiance to any centre.Democracy in the contemporary neo-liberal model functions like a bubble in a very delicate state of existence that can easily burst and have its life-sustaining contents spilt (also see Ross, Nilsson & Hewitt 2014).The trust that democracy demands is used by government to violate liberties in secret, such as reading emails and listening to telephone calls in the name of protecting national security, and all of this is done beyond the reach of democratic accountability (De Wet & Fairweather 2013).1 Therefore, the kind of spirituality that is needed to facilitate full and meaningful participation of citizens requires an overhaul of the democratic project.This renewal journey will eschew the agenda that calls for a primary focus on protecting institutional survival and focus instead on being willing to risk creating space for people to express their felt needs and to find a common path to benefit the common good.

Postcolonial lens

The key terms of this article are all controversial and are open to different kinds of contextual understandings.Therefore, I shall approach the topic by employing a postcolonial lens clothed in Rastafari hermeneutics to interrogate the loaded terminologies that are in the baggage bequeathed by systems of power that act in the interest of the influential few.According to Namsoon Kang (cf.Van der Water et al. 2011:109), a postcolonial lens in conversation with spirituality and democracy acknowledges that '… the residue of colonialism is strongly influential on construction of discourses and praxes, education, language, culture, geopolitics and economy ...' Implicit in this discourse is the colonial mentality which, in the context of 'missionary Christianity', bequeathed a spirit to patronise, dominate and control others (Van der Water et al. 2011:109).Kang adopted the notion of postcolonialism as '… the discourse of oppositionality which colonialism brings into being …', and it functions as the discourse of critical resistance and liberation from colonial confinement and oppression (Van der Water et al. 2011:113).Using Kang's perspectives, this article endorses the use of the concept to '… offer a critical analytical tool to dismantle the implicit or explicit colonial mentality and practice …' and also serves as '… an analytical lens through which one can approach the issue of power' ( Van der Water et al. 2011:113).Issues that surround spirituality and democracy are rooted in the logic of power and domination and are therefore open for piercing questions that can expose hidden agendas and disrupt the status quo in order to create liminal spaces that can facilitate boundary crossing into new spheres of meaningful living.Therefore, in this presentation, a postcolonial critique is utilised to deconstruct this false construct of democracy that is perpetrated by an unjust neo-liberal economic order that is doing so much violence in the global market place.It is somewhat contradictory to speak about Christian spirituality and democracy because, for most of her history, the church has not embraced democratic models of governance.Indeed, it seems to be comfortable with monarchical and dictatorial forms of governance.According to Fytte Klausen (cf.Katznelson & Jones 2010:314-335), European Christianity has been facilitating the emergence of secularism since 1945.Therefore, in the modern expression of Christianity in certain European contexts, it can be argued that Christian spirituality has uncritically entered into strategic partnership with democratic values and structures.

What spirituality means?

Although there may be disagreement on what 'spirituality' means, its reality is acknowledged and experienced in every human community that seeks deeper meaning and purpose to the challenges of life.Spirituality therefore refers to the interior meaning of our humanity (Swidler 2013).All religious and ideological systems sustain their identity, vocation and witness through an embedded spirituality that is not a fixed concept, but dynamic in that it is always transforming reality by embracing and relinquishing people's allegiance from time to time.It has to do with how we are being grasped by reality when we are in a liminal space.Therefore, to vote for democracy does not necessarily mean to vote for Christianity, because all religions possess different forms of spirituality.Spirituality is an innate and intangible life-sustaining reality that communicates the quality, condition or uniqueness of one's identity.It is an indispensable resource that ultimately transforms the individual from being possessed with selfish agendas to focusing on the common good of the entire community (Sheerattan-Bisnauth 2009).Within the Christian religion, spirituality is focused on lifestyles that demonstrate sacredness or holiness, mysticism and devoutness in order to achieve a specific purpose.If Christian spirituality is to inform democracy, it must bequeath fidelity to the practice of high moral standards in its political ethic, an allegiance to a transcendent being that holds all creation to account for its stewardship and a commitment to learning by doing.

Spirituality of paternalism

The undergirding spirituality that Euro-centric missionary Christianity bequeathed in relation to participating in the political realm called for trusting the state and the elected government based upon the biblical mandate given by St Paul (Rm 13:1-2) that all elected governments are divinely approved and should therefore be unconditionally obeyed because '… the authorities that exist are appointed by God'.This kind of spirituality was built on uncritical alliance with political paternalism.The citizens were duped into surrendering their critical judgement concerning the decisions that were being made on their behalf because they were taught that leaders who are elected through a democratic process will work for their best interest.However, contemporary expressions and experiences of democracy are being called into question by people.The inadequacy of the democratic process to meet felt needs have resulted in distrust of leaders and institutional systems of government, the judiciary, education, commerce and religion that are key stakeholders in the democratic process that is failing the people.

Democracy in crisis

The word 'democracy' conjures images of free and fair elections in which people vote to determine models of governance of different institutions and the leaders who will manage the process.Democracy at its best requires that people are fully involved in the process through which their representatives are elected and constitutional laws are formed.Although democracy is promoted as a phenomenon linked to Western philosophy of governance, it has evolved into a global phenomenon with different contextual constructs.Democracy is a kind of belief system that nurtures disciples to become well-qualified apologists in defence of its claims to be an excellent way of living.The political journey from communism to Western-style democracy has been accompanied by painful upheavals characterised by uncontrollable get-rich-quick schemes operated by powerful elites.Sometimes it seems that democracy brings out the worst in humans, features which other forms of governance would put under control (Haqqani 2013).

Underlying any democratic practice of good governance is the right of every citizen to go to an independent judicial system that is free from party or government interference to seek justice for what is perceived to be a gross wrong that has been done.This practice which is usually protected by the constitution is informed by a spirituality rooted in fairness that keeps in check the human capacity to act unfairly out of self-interest rather than for the common good.Good governance calls for holding accountable the performance management of those who exercise power over others.

How does spirituality relate to democracy?

It appears somewhat odd that the title of this article links spirituality with democracy.Indeed, it implies that, as a result of historical conditioning, Western nations in particular have sacralised the institution.If democracy is meant to be the best engine that drives national governance towards agreed common objectives, then spirituality is the engine oil that lubricates and cleans to ensure that the journey is not compromised because of engine failure.Therefore, spirituality has an important role to play in equipping its adherents to hold the democratic system and process accountable to the people and their needs.Democracy is sometimes presented as a kind of god that demands worship from all citizens in order for them to experience justice and peace.

There are different spiritualties of democracy.The recent episode of crisis with the spirituality that underpins the practice of democracy went on global display within the USA when the leaders within the legislature failed to agree on their budget, and it resulted in the closure of the Federal Government for two weeks (Parker 2013).The inability of the legislature to find consensus on what constituted the common good of the nation serves as a potent signpost that there can be rogue spirituality that informs different models of governance.The dysfunctional behaviour almost brought the country to default on its debt.The leadership in this case created a crisis in governance as they represented an extreme version of Christian conservatism allied with an extreme and irresponsible political conservatism of the Tea Party movement and the Republican Party.Their actions communicated a negative view of conservative religion, suggesting that it is addicted to a dysfunctional form of spirituality that results in bad governance and deepening dysfunction in pluralistic societies.Closed in self-righteous garments in the pursuit of their own self-interest, they held the nation and the world to ransom for the sake of their narrow ideological agenda.For their model of democracy to work, the right of others with whom they disagree must be curtailed.Only a more life-giving set of spiritual values that can neutralise and make impotent the power of selfinterest can restore the trust in democratic values that serve the common good.Daley and Cobb Jnr. (1989:25), in their seminal text For the common good, make reference to the warning of Alfred North Whitehead about 'the fallacy of misplaced concreteness'.According to Dale and Cobb (1989), the misplaced concreteness of the market claims that:

Misplaced concreteness

Its strengths are to be found in its capacity to use independent, decentralised decisions to give rise not to chaos but to spontaneous ... Individual consumers know their preferences better than anyone else and act directly to satisfy them in the marketplace.Individual producers know their own capacities and options better than anyone else and they too act on this information in the market.(pp. 44-45) I would like to use the concept of misplaced concreteness that is attributed to the global market system to be applied to the global phenomenon of democracy.Economic globalisation that created the market system is also directly connected to the democratic system of governance and is therefore also in crisis.In Western economies, the market is given divine and infallible status.It is fused into the democratic model of governance and made sacred as the most efficient institution for the production and allocation of resources.There is an insatiable competitive drive for profit that ensures that there are winners (those who know best and use market information) and losers (those who fail to know and use market information) (also see Ross et al. 2014).A democratic society that is built on spiritual values but morally misapplied lends itself to becoming a dysfunctional and destructive society.This economic beast, according to Matthews (2013), George Chunakara, thrives on unrestrained self-interest even at the expense of the common good of the community.One can therefore argue that the capitalist neo-liberal concept of free enterprise has hijacked democracy as an indispensable partner to serve its goals through the control of capital and labour.Therefore, the contemporary expression of democracy is embedded within the construct of the market economy.The most important political participants in this economy are those whose contributions are valued by the market to be of strategic importance (Hewitt in Matthews 2013:105).

Rastafari discourse on democracy

Rastafari constitutes an African-Jamaican postcolonial movement of resistance against the global forces of oppression.According to noted Jamaican scholar, Ashley Smith (1991):

Rastafarianism represents an acute reaction to European domination.Its advocates prefer to dissociate themselves from what would be considered distinctively Christian.It is a violent protest against what is perceived to be inimical to the very existence of the victims of white domination in the region.It regards the language of Christianity about non-Europeans as imperious and offensive and advocates not only a new religious language for black people but a new imagery for the communication of black religious values.It is particularly sensitive about the authority of the black male and the structure of the black family since (they) have been the greatest casualties of the de-culturation of the race by the white colonisers and exploiters.(p.57) Marcus Mosiah Garvey, (Martin 1986) the Pan-Africanist Jamaican whose philosophy and opinions contributed significantly to the birth of Rastafari, offers some poignant comments on black people's participation in the social system of his society:

You must never sell yourself to a politician … Always make your vote count for bringing about reforms you and others think are right for your community.Never exchange it for money … In countries where as a race, you are not allowed to vote, always work to get the vote, by way of reform.Use the help of everybody, but have political power to bring about changes that will give you the vote.Otherwise you will be governed without your consent.To vote is to make the attempt to share in the government of the community.You should never be a political slave in a community because others will take advantage of you.(pp.72-73) However, Rastafari spirituality has moved beyond Garvey's perspective to become much more radical.The birth of the movement emerged out of a socio-political crisis with the colonial era of governance in Jamaica in 1930.This was an era when the economic depression within the USA resulted in a major socio-economic dislocation within the Jamaican society The movement therefore represented a socio-political and religious response of the poor urban dwellers to British colonialism in partnership with its local beneficiaries aligned to the white value system that was dedicated to keep Africa-Jamaicans in servitude.Marcus Garvey's teachings were employed to create an alternative system of governance.He is claimed to have prophesied that African-Jamaicans should '[l]ook to Africa when a black King shall be crowned, for deliverance is near' (Norris 1962:44).Embodied in the Rastafari name is the essence of their identity.The former Ras Tafari Haile Selassie, who became Emperor of Ethiopia in 1930, was acclaimed as the Messiah of the black race.

It was the radical response of early Rastafari to their context characterised by underdevelopment of peoples of African descent that resulted in their persistent critique of the model of governance within society.They called for putting up resistance against 'politicians and their poly-tricks (Afari 2007:217-221).Although Rastafari is a religio-political movement with an Afro-centric2 ideological worldview, its commitment to fighting against systems of oppression has made it hostile to the inherent deception and corruption within the 'Westminster model of parliamentary democracy' and its accompanying party politics. 3articipation in politics has come to mean much more than voting in national elections.Rastafari Damion Marley's critique of Jamaican democracy in the post-independence era in his song 'Welcome to Jam Rock' ( 2005), presents a potent criticism of the system: This critique by Damion Marley serves as a signpost of the capacity of democratic systems to become corrupted by unscrupulous power-hungry actors.He asserts that, in a context of economic survival of the poor within Jamaica, the practice of democracy serves the corrupt players in the system.His conclusion is that the system does not fit!It does not function in the interest of the poor who are killed at random in political violence.The suffering of the poor is immeasurable, and then in the name of democracy, the power hungry call elections which in practice is a trick to deceive the poor because in the end they will do nothing to change the plight of the poor.

Therefore, processing the tools to expose the masks that these deceptive leaders use in their management of the democratic process is a critical spiritual resource.Democracy that is meant to foster good constitutions and laws that facilitate good governance, political stability, economic and social development and protecting the common good is often hijacked by powerful economic forces that bribe politicians who are susceptible because they lack strong political ethics.Good governance is therefore a prerequisite for peace, respect for human rights and social progress and just economic growth.

According to Rastafari hermeneutics, if democracy is to serve the felt needs of the people, then its ultimate objective must be to facilitate restorative and integrative justice for the oppressed on the margins of society (Barnett 2012:26).Rastafari employs an Afro-centric framework for its worldview in which the African ideal is repositioned at the centre of analysis and not at the periphery (Barnett 2012:160).Their philosophical outlook is to reconstruct a more life-giving community through self-reliance and to remove any obsession with being victims.They have given up the expectation that political authorities will respond to their cries and regard official political participation as being mixed up with 'politricks' (Barnett 2012:291).Rastafari regards dysfunctional systems of government as being part of a 'Babylonian system' that exist to deny the poor and oppressed their God-given rights.Hewitt (2012) argues that:

The concept of Babylon is loaded with deep symbolism.They adopted the term Babylon from the Hebrew and Christian scriptures that identified it as an evil and oppressive force that works against the just development of human societies.Babylon seeks to embody and control the people of God by giving them false values and institutions.(p. 32) The global face of Rastafari, Bob Marley (1979), offers the most authentic critique of democratic governance in Jamaica is his song 'Babylon System':

We refuse to be What you wanted us to be;

We are what we are: That's the way (way) it's going to be.You don't know!You can't educate I For no equal opportunity: (Talkin' 'bout my freedom) Talkin' 'bout my freedom, People freedom (freedom) and liberty!Yeah, we've been trodding on the winepress much too long: Rebel, rebel!Yes, we've been trodding on the winepress much too long: Rebel, rebel!Babylon system is the vampire, yea! (vampire) Suckin' the children day by day, yeah!Me say: de Babylon system is the vampire, falling empire, Suckin' the blood of the sufferers, yea-ea-ea-ea-e-ah!Building church and university, wo-o-ooh, yeah! -Deceiving the people continually, yea-ea!Me say them graduatin' thieves and murderers; Look out now: they suckin' the blood of the sufferers (sufferers).Yea-ea-ea!(sufferers) Tell the children the truth; Tell the children the truth; Tell the children the truth right now! Come on and tell the children the truth; Tell the children the truth; Tell the children the truth; Tell the children the truth; Come on and tell the children the truth.'Cause -'cause we've been trodding on ya winepress much too long: Rebel, rebel!And we've been taken for granted much too long: Rebel, rebel now! (Trodding on the winepress) Trodding on the winepress (rebel): got to rebel, y'all (rebel)!We've been trodding on the winepress much too longye-e-ah!(rebel) Yea-e-ah!(rebel) Yeah! Yeah!From the very day we left the shores (trodding on the winepress) Of our Father's land (rebel), We've been trampled on (rebel), Oh now! (we've been oppressed, yeah!) Lord, Lord, go to ... (n.p.)

Through the haunting repetition of some keywords, Marley communicates a Rastafari discourse of resistance against the dominant order.The following constitutes the key tenets of his argument against the Babylon system:

• Rastafari will not compromise nor surrender their identity to fit into the dominant order that wants to prescribe their place in society.• The system's claim to educate people for equal opportunity is deceptive.The focus must be on giving people freedom and liberty.• The long history of oppression of the people by the system calls for rebellion not appeasement.• The Babylon system is a life-denying system that sustains itself by 'sucking the blood' of sufferers.This constitutes a system that is evil to the core.• The model of governance in alliance with religious and educational instructions is built on deception and therefore mis-educating people who end up becoming 'thieves and murderers'.• Truth telling, especially to the children, must not be compromised.

Rastafari are therefore reluctant participants in the democratic process because they identify too many life-denying and dehumanising forces at work in the system (Prahlad Anand 2001).However, the movement's classical opposition and isolation to political engagement has experienced routinisation (Barnett 2012:292) and therefore had to adapt to the contemporary post-independence realities of politics that necessitates some form of political engagement to protect their human rights.Increasingly, the movement in Jamaica is realising that, without political power, their political ideals will not be realised.There have been cases where segments of the Rastafari community have organised themselves to compete as a party in national elections, but they have not been successful (Barnett 2012:293-296).Others have joined the mainstream political parties to contest parliamentary seats.However, what makes their discourse so inviting is the deep propensity of their spirituality to put up resistance against those forces.They do this using disarming weapons of 'words', 'sounds' and music to make the rogue power impotent.

Resources that halt withdrawal from the democratic process

Life in a healthy democracy requires active participation by a large majority of the citizens.The growing withdrawal from public participation in the democratic process is due in part to people's disappointment with the political managers of the system.The post-modern, neo-liberal world with its deification of the individualist and consumerist's ethic has resulted in societies with foundations built on fragmentation.

It is this phenomenon that has given rise to the increasing emphasis on the need for spirituality (Sheerattan-Bisnauth 2009:32).

If the spirituality for democracy is to work in partnership with political and economic democracy for development, it requires an environment that creates a safe space for every person to express his or her political perspective on any issue that affects personal or communal well-being.Therefore, in this era of information overload, the citizen must be proactive in holding democratic systems and elected leaders accountable.There is a need to entertain a healthy suspicion of any form of conservative religion that is in uncritical partnership with democracy, because what is presented as majority rule may result in totalitarian oppression by the majority.

The enslaving capacity of economic globalisation that has co-opted global democracy to support its agenda of total control of the global economy necessitates the emergence of an alternative spirituality of resistance to maintain human dignity over life-denying forces (The Church and Economic Globalisation 2007).In addition, there is a need for urgent partnerships that are united in facilitating 'fullness of life for all creation' as a strategy of struggle and resistance against neo-liberal, global economic disorder.This can only be achieved through joint action that works for the emergence of new, legal, life-supporting structures that are open to active participation from all sections of society.

Finding the political spirituality to make change

The most difficult challenge in any democratic society is finding the political will to make the change.The argument for spirituality for democracy is based on the premise that spirituality is the oil that will energise the democratic process that empowers the participants to democratise structures in order that they become more life giving.Eugene C. Bianchi (n.d.) proposed some of the key principles on 'spirituality of democracy' as a signpost to offer some possible resources that can enhance contemporary democratic participation.

The spiritual resources needed for democratic participation should include the following assets:

• Openness to the exchange of ideas and learning from and with others who are different from us.This experience allows participants to move from narrowly embedded perspectives on issues to more global deliberative perspectives that facilitate change.• Mutual respect: Affirmation of the immeasurable worth of the other is an indispensable requirement to foster and build democratic values.Wherever and whenever the human dignity of persons, regardless of race, class, creed, economic worth or religion is valued an affirmed, the democratic process is enhanced.• The discussion and contributions of those in the local communities need to be taken seriously.A core principle in democratic practice is to ensure that the voices of those at the local level are listened to and acted upon.A radical spirituality that empowers the democratic process models the example of Jesus who '… relates to and embraces those who are most marginalized in society, in order to confront and transform all that denies life' (Keum 2013:15).• People must be given space to form their own life-giving structures in diverse and multiple centres at local levels to meet their felt needs.The tenet of spirituality eschews the desire to dominate and control others and put in check intimidating and toxic forms of centralisation.• What is needed is an inclusive spirituality that empowers for free and fair participation in election: Spirituality should facilitate giving individuals a deep feeling of self-worth, inclusivity and being valued to participate effectively in the democratic process.At the Eucharistic Table , the words of Jesus are used to declare his commitment to building an inclusive community: 'All are welcomed … no one will be turned away.' • Limits to office holding are encouraged: In order to mentor new leaders and invest in succession planning, term limits to office bearers are encouraged in order that the democratic process of choosing leaders is not monopolised by powerful elites.• Team leadership with separate authorities and inbuilt checks and balances are needed: The spirituality that undergirds democratic governance is rooted in servanthood that serves in a humble, down to earth style with the goal of empowering people to help themselves.Therefore, such a spiritual resource focuses on participation that ensures that there are checks and balances in the different levels of governances because, according to William Pitt the Elder, Earl of Chatham and British Prime Minister from 1766 to 1778, in a speech to the UK House of Lords in 1770, 'Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it' (The Phrase Finder n.d.).This implies that inbuilt checks and balances within institutional frameworks are in essence forms of spiritual disciplines to keep humankind from going off course and to protect them against abuse of power.• Effective democratic governance requires the indispensable spiritual resource of accountability: That is the key reason for holding elections.Leaders are called upon to give an account of their stewardship and to motivate why they should be trusted again to serve and represent the people.

Conclusion

This article began with the assertion that, in spite of the commendable achievements that have been accomplished by diverse democratic projects around the world, the contemporary experiences confirm that democracy is experiencing a crisis of confidence in meeting the needs of many people.It argues that a life-giving spirituality for democracy is needed that embodies a vision of an inclusive community in which all participants, regardless of their identity, are fully included and given safe space to be fully human in order to achieve fullness of life.Through the use of a Rastafari postcolonial lens, a discourse on the 'Babylon system' of governance was presented that critiqued the spirituality that undergirds the Western expression of democracy.The experiences of many persons, especially those that live on the margins of society (especially women and children) in democratic countries, attest to power systems that exclude rather than include into meaningful participation.The article concludes with a call for identifying resources that will halt the withdrawal of persons who are disillusioned with the democratic process that fails to bring about 'life-giving' change in their contexts.The most urgent need is for a political spirituality that is willing to sacrifice and put into action transformational leadership behaviour that ensures democratic governance is meeting the felt needs of the people.

win election dem trick we Then dem don't do nuttin' at all

Welcome to Jam down, poor people ah dead at random Political violence, can't done, pure ghost and phantom The youth dem get blind by stardom Now the kings of kings ah call Old man to Pickney, so wave unnuh hand if you with me To see the sufferation sick me Dem suit no fit me, to

. According to Phillip de Wet and Alistair Fairweather of the Mail and Guardian newspaper (2013) South African citizens face a closer scrutiny of their private communication than USA citizens.
. Rastafarians used language, dress, hairstyle, religious beliefs, music, family life and the smoking of ganja as their way of turning their backs on the Western value system of the Jamaican establishment.
. SeeLijphart (1999) for an in-depth description of the model.
AcknowledgementsCompeting interestsThe author declares that he has no financial or personal relationship(s) which may have inappropriately influenced him in writing this article.
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