Working Paper: The Role of Nafeer and Social Networks in Sudan’s Humanitarian Response and the Challenges for International Aid

This paper explores the integral role of Nafeer, a traditional Sudanese communal practice, and social networks in addressing humanitarian crises, focusing on the ongoing 2023 conflict. Nafeer, rooted in rural agricultural settings, has evolved to mobilise urban communities for emergency responses, while social networks extend social support beyond family ties, providing a complementary layer of resource-sharing. Both systems, decentralised and grassroots in nature, contrast sharply with formal international aid structures. The research highlights how Nafeer and social networks mobilise resources through traditional means, such as mobilising social capital and economic resources including remittances, and modern mechanisms, like crowdfunding. It underscores the potential for international actors to enhance humanitarian efforts by aligning with these indigenous systems in a conflict-sensitive and context-driven manner. The paper provides actionable recommendations on how external aid actors can engage more effectively with Nafeer and social networks, empowering local initiatives and bridging gaps in formal responses

Lunch & Learn: The Rule of Benedict: Timeless Lessons for Modern Leaders

Join us for an inspiring event on how Benedictine principles, people, and practices shape us in community—guiding us to lead with wisdom, deep care for others, and a commitment to place. Learn how embracing formation and reformation over time can cultivate authentic leadership, rooted in relationships and a shared journey of growth. Whether you are seeking to deepen your leadership, strengthen our community, or explore the transformative power of the Benedictine path, this event invites you to step into a tradition that has shaped leaders for centuries

Human Security and The Idiot: “Can Beauty Really Save the World”

A key point of progress in the systematic considerations of the causality and cessation of violent conflict is found in the evolving idea of human security. In a collective effort to respond to the chaotic reality of violent engagement, human security emerged toward the end of the twentieth century as a multilateral, person-centered paradigm for thinking about and pursuing conflict transformation. As human security enters a third generation of development, scholars and policymakers continue to discern the usefulness of this holistic, multilateral paradigm for security. The efficacy of human security outcomes will depend on how the individual and collective within a conflict-or post-conflict context experience and perceive an acceptable level of life improvement. This paper argues that a range of shared ideas and values that demonstrate personal realization and human flourishing are present and observable in post-conflict communities experiencing constructive and sustainable transformation. The necessary pursuit and presence of beauty is one such example. The ability to create and realize beauty is a critical point of measured progress in post-conflict societies. As a thought exercise on the idea and value of beauty, this article explores the nature and potential of beauty through the fine arts and through the lens of literature, focusing on one author and one novel: Fyodor Dostoevsky and his nineteenth-century work, The Idiot

2025 Ralph Gross Global Lecture: Bringing the Joy Back: Wellbeing in Global Learning

An inspiring session with award-winning leader, Dr. Keshia Abraham! Discover how empathy, equity, and connection drive ASHE (Appreciation, Seeing, Honoring, Engaging) to create an inclusive global community where every voice matters, and meaningful dialogues inspire positive change.Abraham Consulting - Agency Unlimited - YouTub

Math Games (and Why They Matter)

A decade ago, at a math department picnic, I stumbled across a strange and compelling variation on tic-tac-toe. Since then, over all my protests and resistance, math games have made a slow conquest of my professional life. What makes games so potent and compelling? We’ll explore a variety of examples, from a press-your-luck dice game to a quantified trivia game — and ask what each reveals about the interwoven powers of reason and imagination

Different Stories, Different Genres, Different Gods

We typically talk of “God” as though the Bible speaks of one — and only one — deity. However, a close reading of various biblical texts reveals that instead of a singular character called “God,” we find several different characters who go by that appellation. Those respective characteristics are at times so incompatible as to depict separate gods, each with a unique character in its own righ

Exercise Physiological Insights into Exercise-Induced Muscle Cramping: Blood Lactate and Creatine Kinase as Biomarkers in College Students

Creatine kinase (CK) is an enzyme that\u27s found in the skeletal muscle, heart muscle and brain. When any of these tissues are damaged, they leak creatine kinase into your bloodstream. Elevated CK levels may indicate muscle injuries, cramping, or disease1. There are different types of CK, which are also known as isozymes for the cytoplasm, CK-MM, CK-MB, and CK-BB. CK-MM focuses on musculoskeletal, CK-MB focuses on heart muscles, and CK-BB focuses on the brain tissue. There are also two isozymes in the mitochondria15. Cramping is common problem amongst runners and can be described as “painful, spasmodic contraction of the skeletal muscle that occurs during or immediately after muscular exercise”4. CK is frequently described as the best indirect marker of damage to muscle tissue, especially after resistance exercise or other exercises that require predominantly eccentric action3. CK has also been associated with muscle cramps2. We want to see the correlation between cramping and CK. CK levels transiently rise after exercise or heavy manual labor. Serum CK levels may increase to as much as 30 times the upper limit of normal within 24 hours of strenuous physical activity, then slowly decline over the next 7 days. The degree of CK elevation depends on the type and duration of exercise, with greater elevation in those who are untrained5. As a runner myself, I am interested in seeing the effects of cramping on the body and hopefully this will help take care of my body for running in the future. If a person exercises and cramps up, then their CK-MM levels should increase because due to the serum levels rising 24 hours post-exercise according to literature