Creating Peace: The Education for Global Peace Sustainability Project

Peace concepts, aspirations, propositions and tactics have changed throughout history. Historic age, culture, politics and science affected the thoughts about the ideal of an everlasting peace -the eternal dream –but peace has been mostly considered a nobel aim, and the capacity for peace was predominantly contemplated as an individual and social virtue, and a learning asset. Therefore, throughout the years, peace education programs emerged. The current state of the world keeps reminding us that more efforts to create peace are not redundant, and that there is an urgency to keep developing and spreading more initiatives on education for peace, in particular scientifically based, rigorously assessed, flexible, and straightforward programs that can be deliver to the simplest and the most complex world arenas. This article addresses a framework for a humble, but also distinguished and valuable input to understanding and promoting peace, that refers to the contribution that surfaced from the emergent positive psychology movement, namely its studies on collective wellbeing and public happiness. Positive psychology is the scientific study of what enablesindividuals and communities to thrive, and peace is clearly one crucial aspect towards human flourishing.Both –positive peace building education and positive psychology -are strengths-oriented and aim for the optimization of the best in people, focusing attention and strategies in developing the peak functioning of individuals, groups, communities and nations. The study and promotion of virtuousness, goodness, social cohesion, justice and wellbeing is therefore inherent to the framework of the Education for Global Peace Sustainability Project -E=GPS. The contextualization and specifics of the program,and its consubstantiation and aims, are therefore detailed.Os conceitos de paz, e as aspirações, proposições e tácticas pela pacificação, mudaram ao longo da história. O momento histórico, a cultura, a politica e a ciência afectaram os pensamentos sobre o ideal de uma paz duradoura -o sonho eterno -mas a paz tem sido considerada, genericamente, um objectivo nobre, tendo a capacitação para a paz sido predominantemente contemplada como uma virtude individual e social e um recurso de aprendizagem relevante. Em consequência, ao longo dos anos foram surgindo programas de educação para a paz. O estado atual do mundo continua a lembrar-nos que não é redundante realizar mais esforços para gerar a paz, e que há mesmo uma urgência para continuar a desenvolver e difundir mais iniciativas sobre educação para a paz, em especial que tenham base científica, avaliação rigorosa, sejam flexíveis e possam ser aplicados nas arenas mundiais mais simples e nas mais complexas. Este artigo aborda uma proposta para uma contribuição humilde, mas também distinta e considerada valiosa, para entender e promover a paz, e refere-se à contribuição que emergiu do recente movimento de psicologia positiva, ou seja, dos estudos sobre bem-estar coletivo e felicidade pública. A psicologia positiva é o estudo científico do que permite que os indivíduos e as comunidades prosperem, e a paz é claramente um aspecto crucial para o florescimento humano. Ambos -educação positiva para a construção da paz e psicologia positiva -são orientados para a optimização do melhor das pessoas, concentrando atenção e estratégias no desenvolvimento do funcionamento óptimo dos indivíduos, grupos, comunidades e nações. O estudo e a promoção da virtuosidade, do bem, da coesão social, da justiça e do bem-estar é, portanto, inerente ao quadro do Projecto de Educação para a Paz Global Sustentável (E=GPS). A contextualização e as especificidades do programa, e a sua consubstanciação e objectivos, são detalhados neste texto

The Perceived Influence Of The ALICE Training Principles On Survivors During A Violent Critical Incident

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), since 2000, there has been a significant increase in active shooter events throughout the United States. The assailants frequently chose targets or establishments with the highest mortality rates, such as schools/universities, businesses, government agencies, houses of worship, and healthcare facilities. Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate (ALICE) is part of Navigate360’s collection of active assailant preparedness solutions, which teaches civilians how to protect themselves during Violent Critical Incidents (VCIs). The problem addressed in this study was the lack of available research regarding the effectiveness of courses, such as ALICE’s Active Shooter Response training, on participants’ perception of self-efficacy and the successful utilization of the principles during an actual VCI. This transcendental phenomenological study aimed to understand the influence of ALICE-trained participants’ self-efficacy in surviving an active shooter incident. The theories guiding this study were Albert Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory (SET) (1977) and Social Cognitive Theory (1986). SET posited that one’s self-confidence was the motivator for future performance. In the context of this research, if ALICE-trained individuals believed that they could successfully endure, their perseverance contributed to their ability to survive. Data collection incorporated interviewing survivors of active assailant incidents that previously attended the ALICE training. This research provided empirical data on the efficacy of ALICE principles in changing attendees\u27 mindsets and how this change affected survival outcomes

The utilisation of games technology for environmental design education

In recent years, the architectural design process has witnessed a mounting demand for qualified practitioners who can resolve the highly complex social, cultural, technological, and economical issues associated with ‘Sustainability’. Designers are thus faced with wider pallet of challenges, developing conceptual designs that are sustainably effective. Pressure is mounting on educational institutions to prepare architects that are well accustomed to the environmental design concepts and parameters, aiming to reduce the impact on the environment and preserve valuable natural resources to bring the building’s interior to comfortable living conditions. However, architectural education has been notably slow to respond effectively to the requirements introduced by sustainability. Evidently there are a number of pedagogical challenges that clearly impede the consistent endorsement of sustainability in the design curricula and thus hinder any potential values and opportunities that can result from its effective integration. This research project examines these challenges and investigates more into their nature and attributes. Accordingly, it proposes a method that endeavours to overcome the noted challenge and attempts to improve the design students' motivation and acceptance to incorporate sustainability. In essence, this method aims to mould the technical nature of Building Performance Simulation applications into the cognitive design process. In order to achieve this, the proposed method utilizes 3D games technology, incorporating Multi-Agent System and Data Mining techniques, to assist design students in achieving higher levels of motivation, engagement, and comprehension of the environmental design concepts. The research discusses the rationale for electing the employed technologies and discusses the methodology for developing the proposed tool. Following its development, the tool is presented to number of stakeholders for evaluating the pedagogical and conceptual basis. The recorded results and the provided feedback from these sessions are presented to assess the potential effectiveness of this method for improving students' understanding of various concepts surrounding sustainable design

Inside International Development Organisations: Socially Constructing Judgement in-the-Moment

This exploratory study aimed, first, to build new knowledge on how senior managers of international development organisations defined judgement and how they made sense of it in the context of their leadership roles and work environments. A secondary aim was to explore methodologies and methods, specifically unstructured interviews and observations, to be used in the PhD phase to study the social phenomenon of judgement. Using an ethnographic and reflexive approach, this study addressed the question: How do managers understand their use of judgement ‘in-the-moment’ in practice? Results from the two participating organisations suggest that there are diverse interpretations of the meaning of ‘judgement’; it is a socially constructed process; used in uncertain situations; and influenced by time and space. These findings contribute to our understanding of how judgement in-the-moment is perceived inside an understudied area: the everyday context of small international development organisations. Theoretically, this study complements the existing literature with a social constructionist perspective and draws linkages to judgement as a constitutive element of sensemaking. Methodologically, the reflexive approach taken builds awareness of examining the ‘multiple selves’ and how researchers influence their research and are influenced by it as subject and object. The validity, methodological issues, limitations and implications for future research are also discussed

Shared Trauma and Resiliency Among Military Mental Health Veterans: A Heuristic Inquiry

With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan lasting over a decade, hundreds of military mental health providers have deployed to hostile environments and some on multiple occasions. Military mental healthcare providers can experience symptoms of acute and chronic stress resulting from exposures to horrific events while caring for soldiers in a deployed environment. Indeed, in treating these soldiers, clinicians may continue to experience the same traumatic events as their clients. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and describe shared trauma and resilience for military mental health professionals who have deployed. The concept of shared trauma was defined as the experiences providers faced as they attempted to deliver clinical services while simultaneously addressing the same issue within their own lives. The concept of resilience was explored as how stressful situations were interpreted in relation to individuals\u27 overall life experiences. The principle research question for this study examined how military mental health providers described dilemmas faced as they attempted to navigate the personal and professional aspects of shared trauma. This study utilized a purposive sample of 7 military mental health veterans who deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Moustakas\u27s 5 steps of heuristic analysis. Key findings indicated participants\u27 interpretations of experiences involved posttraumatic growth, lessons learned, and changes in belief systems. Findings of this study can assist military mental health leaders in developing support and protection programs to assist this overwhelmed population, ensuring service members receive the proper care they are entitled

Math as Text, Rhetoric as Reason: Can the Humanities Save Math Education?

As a student I had always struggled hopelessly with math. I noticed many of my classmates and associates outside of school shared similar experiences with this subject. However, a unique convergence of fortuitous circumstances shed some much needed light on my difficulties with math. Using a creative and communicative approach, I was able to analyze my experience from a rhetorical perspective, which allowed me to see more clearly, not just the problem I was having with math, but the overall problems many seem to have with math education. My findings were astonishing and became the subject of my research for my honors college capstone thesis

The utilisation of games technology for environmental design education

In recent years, the architectural design process has witnessed a mounting demand for qualified practitioners who can resolve the highly complex social, cultural, technological, and economical issues associated with ‘Sustainability’. Designers are thus faced with wider pallet of challenges, developing conceptual designs that are sustainably effective. Pressure is mounting on educational institutions to prepare architects that are well accustomed to the environmental design concepts and parameters, aiming to reduce the impact on the environment and preserve valuable natural resources to bring the building’s interior to comfortable living conditions. However, architectural education has been notably slow to respond effectively to the requirements introduced by sustainability. Evidently there are a number of pedagogical challenges that clearly impede the consistent endorsement of sustainability in the design curricula and thus hinder any potential values and opportunities that can result from its effective integration. This research project examines these challenges and investigates more into their nature and attributes. Accordingly, it proposes a method that endeavours to overcome the noted challenge and attempts to improve the design students' motivation and acceptance to incorporate sustainability. In essence, this method aims to mould the technical nature of Building Performance Simulation applications into the cognitive design process. In order to achieve this, the proposed method utilizes 3D games technology, incorporating Multi-Agent System and Data Mining techniques, to assist design students in achieving higher levels of motivation, engagement, and comprehension of the environmental design concepts. The research discusses the rationale for electing the employed technologies and discusses the methodology for developing the proposed tool. Following its development, the tool is presented to number of stakeholders for evaluating the pedagogical and conceptual basis. The recorded results and the provided feedback from these sessions are presented to assess the potential effectiveness of this method for improving students' understanding of various concepts surrounding sustainable design

Critical incidents relating to high school dropout of identified young adult Black males

textThis research, a qualitative phenomenological study, identified, and analyzed critical incidents of perceptions of young adult Black male drop-outs believed to be directly related to their departure from high schools without graduating. The focus of the study was to find possible connections between school programs, policies, and practices of the senior high school level and the drop-out problem. Devised methods analyzed reported critical incidents from several perspectives within the school setting. Some cases were referenced by using cross-matrix analyses to compare and contrast patterns of happenings. What do young Black male students having “failed”, whether personally and/or by their high schools, perceive in later years, as adults, to have been critical incidents discouraging and/or alienating them from completing a program that leads to graduation? Critical incidents will focus on four questions: 1. What are there things that happened to them at school that made them want to dropout? 2. What are the varieties of critical incidents reported as those that bear some relevance to dropping out? 3. What is the in-school context reported in their critical incidents? 4. What are the given titles of dominant persons, programs or policies related to the recalled incidents? Interview respondents were tape recorded as they gave detailed descriptions of their inschool perceptions of critical incidents. The identity of respondents, school personnel and the district remained completely anonymous. Tape recorded reports were analyzed to extract critical incidents and specifics related to the research questions. Critical incidents were coded and categorized to produce themes of types of incidents. Hearing first-hand from dropouts, of a “failed” system is the first step in a process of efforts to make it widely known and to prevent such “critical incidents” from continuing to occur when high school students forfeit a diploma and full K-12 education. This study provides alterable factors with implications for school policy, teaching and leadership practices that relate to the whole child theory of learning at every stage and level. This research supports the “whole child” concept of cultural sensitivity, diverse learning and multiculturalism. It contributes to established basics for further research and theory on institutionalized malpractices.Educational Administratio

Exploring the role of nurses as 'intermediaries' in bridging the gap between biomedical and lay knowledge of disease : a case study of malaria and HIV/AIDS in Kisumu, Kenya.

“Health”, “Illness” and “Disease” are multifaceted concepts and are perceived in a range of ways by different health care professionals. This study, using qualitative research, aims to understand nurses pre-existing and current perceptions of malaria and HIV/ AIDS two of Kenya‟s most challenging public health problems. The study recognises that disease categories, beliefs attached to disease and explanations behind methods of help seeking behaviour as understood by nurses, originate from specific socio-historical, cultural and professional experiences. These experiences helped nurse‟s traverse between meanings attached to the allopathic (biomedical), popular and traditional health care models and create a unique space in which a myriad of meanings can be used in line with each other, an outcome that can further inform local health practice. Though malaria and HIV/ AIDS were described within a biomedical framework by nurses, they understood that patients attached multiple meanings to the aetiologies and treatments of both diseases. Nurses stood as key informers for medical doctors and encouraged them to take cognisance of patients‟ views- a difficult task. In doing so, nurses showed their ability to sensitively integrate non-biomedical and biomedical causalities in their everyday clinical encounters. Speaking in local dialects and reflecting on their views of disease before and after their professional training showed nurses as engaging in processes of “cultural mediation” and “cultural brokering”, two crucial aspects of their professional role. This study indicates the importance of documenting nurse‟s knowledge in representing local biomedical and non-biomedical views of disease so as to better adapt health messages in such contexts