Attack on the Brain: Neurowars and Neurowarfare

Is neurotechnology leading nation-states toward a new domain of war? Neuroscience is on the verge of deciphering the human brain. As a result, brains will become a part of the battlefield against which attacks will be directed. As neuroscientist James Giordano argued: “the brain is the next battlespace.” It is foreseeable that this will have tremendous implications for warfare and could amount to a true military revolution in the sense of military historian Williamson Murray: it would completely change the characteristics of conflict, as well as transform state and society

Flourishing Firefighters: A plan for optimal organizational deviance using healthy human systems

The purpose of this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is to offer the potential groundwork to enhance the current support services of a union representing firefighters in Canada. The hope is to address the growing number of firefighters that are afflicted with Occupational Stress Injuries (OSI) and to provide a more comprehensive positive approach to mitigate the psychological effects and professional ramifications of the consistent exposure to traumatic events and other associated occupational stressors. The aim is to leverage the existing structure and resources to address the Problem of Practice (PoP): How can union leaders effectively address the increasing prevalence of occupational stress injuries impacting their members? Traditionally, the focus of helping first responders has been very retroactive and about treating psychological injuries after they have occurred. More recently, resources are being shifted to deliver some preventative measures. This OIP offers a new context for this problem. Through the use and establishment of a variation of the Networked Improvement Communities (NIC) model, the union will be able to better respond to this problem by supporting their members to perform at their psychological best, rather than trying to prevent the worst outcomes. This OIP uses the concepts and frameworks from positive psychology and appreciative inquiry as a means of organizational cultural transformation and the elevation of mental wellness within the workplace

Examining live-in foreign domestic helpers as a coping resource for family caregivers of people with dementia in Singapore

In Singapore, the responsibility of caring for persons with dementia falls on family members who cope with long - term caregiver burden depending on available support resources. Hiring foreign domestic workers to alleviate caregiver burden becomes a prevalent coping strategy that caregivers adopt. This strategy allows caregivers to provide home care as part of fulfilling family obligations while managing caregiver burden. This study aimed to investigate primary caregivers’ relationship with hired support and its impact on coping with caregiver burden. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with primary caregivers who hired live-in domestic helpers to take care of their family members with dementia. The findings revealed that caregivers perceived the normative obligations to provide home care to family members with dementia. They sought support from domestic helpers to cope with physical and mental burnout, disruption of normal routines, and avoidance of financial strain. A mutual-support relationship was built between caregivers and domestic helpers through trust and interdependence. The presence of domestic helpers as a coping resource reveals the positive outcomes of problem, emotional, and diversion focused coping. This study illustrates that coping strategies are employed in different ways depending on the needs of caregivers, access to infrastructure, cultural expectations, and available resources

Health and Wellness Factors Affecting the Wholistic Lifestyle of National and International Christian Missionaries

This thesis will focus on the health and wellness of missionaries and will develop a wholistic framework for healthier living. This framework will be used as a guide to help sustain missionaries living in various cultural contexts by connecting and integrating the mind, body, and spirit in harmony for wholistic lifestyle. God intended for His people to live a healthy lifestyle and to take care of their temples. Missionaries are the backbone of cross-cultural evangelism, but they often find themselves living unhealthy lifestyles. These unhealthy lifestyles can have a negative impact on missionaries’ overall health, wellness, and fruitfulness in serving on the mission field. The goal of this thesis is to develop a framework to improve the quality of life and overall wellness of missionaries, so that they can continue to focus on sharing the gospel in a productive and healthy manner. This thesis will use questionnaires to collect data from various missionary populations around the world. In addition, various factors that can affect missionaries, health and wellness, such as social, emotional, nutritional, physical, mental, environmental, and spiritual health, are researched and evaluated. The quantitative data collection is extrapolated, compiled, and analyzed, and a wholistic framework is developed from this data. This thesis will be a model for Christians to develop healthy lifestyle principles and practices in ministry

Student-Centered Professional Learning: Opportunities for Action

Neurodivergent (ND) and Emotionally and Behaviorally Disabled (EBD) learners struggle mightily to succeed in traditional school environments. These students are prime examples of the immediate systemic need to continue improving schools to make them more student-centered, i.e., equitable, culturally responsive, inclusive, and differentiated. The researcher is an educator with the Department of Defense Education Activity. The project places the challenges of ND/EBD learners squarely within DODEA’s “Focus Area 1: Strategic Initiative 1.1: Equitable Learning Experiences for All Students” (DODEA 2022b, p. 6). Developing adult capacities to meet the needs of ND/EBD learners will inform more student-centered learning for all. To prompt individuals and the larger educational system to become more student-centered, the researcher posits that DODEA must provide affordable, accessible, and transformative professional learning (PL) to administrators, educators, and staff. The PL should focus on culturally relevant education (CRE), social-emotional learning (SEL), and neurodiversity. Addressing big-picture values and yearly focus initiatives in a multi-level way (DODEA-wide and down to individual educators) will result in more authentic student-centered learning, increase teacher efficacy, and benefit all community members. Opportunities for increasing engagement with and access to professional learning and suggested resources are shared. Two local examples of PL plans are broken down in the implementation section. Keywords: Neurodiversity, neurodivergence, emotionally and behaviorally disabled, DODEA, diversity, equity, inclusion, differentiation, professional learning, social-emotional learning, student-centered learnin