Schooling for conflict transformation : a case study from Northern Uganda

Civil wars impede progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. As many conflicts erupt within a short time, it is important to know what may increase the chances of sustainable peace. Access to education is a factor but relatively little is known about the contribution of what students learn in school. This thesis aims to respond to a research gap by addressing the foll owing question: 'How can schooling contribute to conflict transformation?' Significant curricular approaches that may be used after civil war - peace education, human rights education and citizenship education - are assessed for their strengths and weaknesses. As no single approach is found to be sufficient for conflict transformation, a framework is proposed based on three fundamental concepts: (i) truth seeking; (ii) reconciliation; and (iii) inclusive citizenship. This framework is examined through a qualitative case study of curriculum in seven schools in a district in northern Uganda that is emerging from a twenty-year civil war. The curriculum of four primary schools, two secondary schools, one special school and one teacher training college was studied over a three-month period. A structure of knowledge, skills and values was used to research the framework at a detailed level. It is found that schools exhibit good socialization of reconciliation values and some development of problem-solving and communication skills. There is some understanding of human rights, but little knowledge of history, or of local, national and international political/legal systems. There is minimal development of discussion and critical thinking skills. It is argued that the framework can be used to investigate other schools and to inform the design of a curriculum that can contribute to conflict transformation, with the ultimate aim of reducing the risk of civil war re-eruption

Calibrating and adjusting expectations in life: A grounded theory on how elderly persons with somatic health problems maintain control and balance in life and optimize well-being

Aim: This study aims at exploring the main concern for elderly individuals with somatic health problems and what they do to manage this. Method: In total, 14 individuals (mean = 74.2 years; range = 68–86 years) of both gender including hospitalized and outpatient persons participated in the study. Open interviews were conducted and analyzed according to grounded theory, an inductive theory-generating method. Results: The main concern for the elderly individuals with somatic health problems was identified as their striving to maintain control and balance in life. The analysis ended up in a substantive theory explaining how elderly individuals with somatic disease were calibrating and adjusting their expectations in life in order to adapt to their reduced energy level, health problems, and aging. By adjusting the expectations to their actual abilities, the elderly can maintain a sense of that they still have the control over their lives and create stability. The ongoing adjustment process is facilitated by different strategies and result despite lower expectations in subjective well-being. The facilitating strategies are utilizing the network of important others, enjoying cultural heritage, being occupied with interests, having a mission to fulfill, improving the situation by limiting boundaries and, finally, creating meaning in everyday life. Conclusion: The main concern of the elderly with somatic health problems was to maintain control and balance in life. The emerging theory explains how elderly people with somatic health problems calibrate their expectations of life in order to adjust to reduced energy, health problems, and aging. This process is facilitated by different strategies and result despite lower expectation in subjective well-being

The JWST early-release science program for direct observations of exoplanetary systems II: A 1 to 20 μm spectrum of the planetary-mass companion VHS 1256-1257 b

Stars and planetary system

Observation de super-réseaux CdTe-HgTe par microscopie électronique en transmission

High resolution transmission electron microscopy is used for CdTe-HgTe superlattices observation. Defects, such as stacking faults, impurity segregation and dislocations are observed.La microscopie électronique en transmission est utilisée pour la visualisation de super-réseaux CdTe-HgTe. Des défauts tels que défauts d'empilement, ségrégation d'impuretés et dislocations sont observés

Considérer le potentiel agronomique des terres, un patrimoine stratégique : indicateurs spatiaux d'étalement urbain et de consommation des terres agricoles. Le cas de la plaine languedocienne

International audiencePopulation growth in the Languedoc coastal region is very high since few decades. This phenomenon produces a rapid and uncontrolled urban sprawl at agricultural lands expense. While these lands are often high agronomical potential, they are most often permanently lost. Agricultural areas are usually considered as land stocks for urban consumption whereas natural areas have more legal and spatial planning tools to protect them. This loss of land is considered as minor at a local level: elsewhere preserved farmlands exist "forever". Decades after decades, and considering the agricultural products crisis that could impact supply, this loss becomes a strategic issue at the level of an entire country. To better understand the dynamics of consumption of these agricultural lands by artificial surfaces and to have spatial tools to argue the risk of permanent loss of agronomical potential heritage, the Regional Direction of Food, Agriculture and Forestry of Languedoc-Roussillon has commissioned a study from research institutions: INRA for the agronomical theme and Cemagref and Cirad for the spatial information and analysis. The methodology has been developed to establish two main state indicators, which need to be mapped: the artificialized areas and the index of soil quality. The production of these two indicators is not easy, according to information sources, compatibility between spatial sufficiency offered by very high resolution remote sensing images and the sampling measurements and mapping models of soil. The spatial interpretation of the indicators is not easy whereas actors see them as relevant for both aspects of the issue: a heritage and the pressure on that heritage. Additional indicators can be produced by spatial analysis metrics to clarify the terms of the constraints of urban sprawl on farmland. These spatial indicators are designed in a process of consultation with public stakeholders involved in the territory to validate the relevance of the approach: the information is based on spatial data, temporal changes and other weights variables as demography. The methodology can be used in the future for all regions in France