Should we teach an old game new tricks?

The Middle East Politics Simulation (MEPS) is a simulation of diplomacy and political tension in the Middle East. This online role-play exercise is aimed at providing students with an improved level of understanding of the political dimensions of the region. Having been run since 1993, the MEPS has not had any major updates to its platform in all those years. However, as such a mature online entity there is the question of whether the MEPS will continue to engage students as their expectations of what constitutes an online role-playing environment became steadily raised by their familiarity with more graphically immersive platforms. The reliance on social media tools for students and political figures to use as conduits for communication is also unrepresented in the MEPS and the subject of some student dissatisfaction in previous years. This research assesses student attitudes towards the MEPS with an eye to balancing the demands of technology, functionality, equity of experience, security and, most importantly, learning outcomes

From dictatorship to democracy : simulating the politics of the middle east

 The use of an online diplomatic simulation to increase learning outcomes amongst students of MIddle East Politics. The chapter explores the gains to be had from such collaborative online learning, including the increased depth and breadth of knolwedge gained, the defeat of ethnocentricity, high levels of stduent engagement and the changing role of the teacher in this role play as learners become more self-directed

When good dictators go bad: examining the \u27transformation\u27 of Colonel Gaddafi

On October 20, 2011, the 42 year rule of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi came to a violent end after months ofintense and brutal fighting. The violence in which Gaddafi died and the ensuing abuse of his dead body by his killers wascaptured on film and broadcast around the world. This gruesome end was the antithesis to his rise to power in 1969,where he was welcomed as a savior and a hero. Until his death, Gaddafi was the longest-serving non-monarchical Headof State and was considered by most scholars more likely to die of natural causes than be overthrown by his people. Sowhat happened in those 42 years that caused Gaddafi to go from beloved liberator to hated oppressor? And what is hislasting legacy for the country he ruled for over four decades

The charismatic persona of Colonel Qaddafi

In any list of dictators and antagonists of the West the name of Libya’s Colonel Muammar Qaddafi will always rank highly as one of the most memorable, colourful and mercurial. The roles he played to his fellow Libyans, to regional groupings, to revolutionaries and to the West were complex and nuanced. These various roles developed over time but were all grounded in his self-belief as a messianic revolutionary figure. More importantly, these roles and behaviours that stemmed from them were instrumental in preserving Qaddafi’s rule and thwarting challenges to it. These facets of Qaddafi’s public self accord with the model of “persona” described by Marshall. Whilst the nature of political persona and celebrity in the Western world has been explored by several scholars (for example Street; Wilson), little work has been conducted on the use of persona by non-democratic leaders. This paper examines the aspects of persona exhibited by Colonel Qaddafi and applied during his tenure. In constructing his role as a revolutionary leader, Qaddafi was engaging in a form of public performance aimed at delivering himself to a wider audience. Whether at home or abroad, this persona served the purpose of helping the Libyan leader consolidate his power, stymie political opposition and export his revolutionary ideals

The Presidential Persona Paradox of Barack Obama: Man of Peace or War President?

On a wave of hope and rousing talk of building global bridges, President Barack Obama won office in 2008, partially on a pledge to end the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. In contrast to his predecessor, who launched America into long, costly and ineffectual wars, Obama was seen to be more of a dove than a hawk. However, at the end of his two-term tenure America has been in a state of foreign belligerence for all those eight years, making Obama the longest serving US war president in history.   The political persona of Obama as a dove originated with his opposition to the 2003 intervention in Iraq while he was still a senator and was cemented early in his presidency with his 2009 speech in Cairo, which seemed to signal a profound and optimistic realignment of America’s intentions towards the Middle East and its peoples. This speech was a watershed in defining his political persona and was instrumental in his being the only US president to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize while still in office. However during his term the underlying political landscape of the Middle East changed significantly. The withdrawal from and now return to Iraq, the nuclear agreement with Iran, the increasingly chaotic legacy of the Arab Spring, the continued impasse of the Israel-Palestinian peace, the disintegration of Yemen and Libya and the rise of the Islamic State as the new threat in the political vacuum of northern Iraq and eastern Syria and a resurgent Russian role in the region - all of these have provided novel challenges to Washington and a President attempting to live up to the positivity of his early days in office.   At the end of his presidency Obama is faced with a public burned by the disappointments of the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns and the new entanglements in the Middle East. This paper seeks to offer insights into the juxtaposition of Obama’s political persona and the reality and explores what his political legacy might really be

Statistical findings of time-based stable human aura

Aura is an electromagnetic field located outside living things which has a number of vibrational energy waves in it. For human being, this vibrating energy waves are related to energy level of the mind, the individual’s emotion and physical. The measurement of this energy can be made indirectly usingbiomedical devices like biosensor instead of direct snapping by optical camera. The aura pattern of the individual involved can be monitored by video capturing of the output produced by the device. Since the subject’s feelings affect aura readings, his emotion will be put to a level as low as possible through a simplemeditation. The data however, will be captured even before meditation to see the changes in the aura pattern and to find if there is any convergence to a stable or a final stage aura. This is what we define as the pure or characteristic aura of the individual. The stable or pure aura might be a little different fromsession to session but within the statistically accepted range. A sample of 10 students regardless of gender had been taken their aura color and analyzed at solar plexus chakra. The personal details of them had also been taken. Some repeated and stable aura images had been observed. It is found that almost everyone has a stable aura regardless of how unstable his aura normally. In general, good students tend to have a more stable aura compared to those with lower academic performanc

Case report: Unusual cause of difficulty in intubation and ventilation with asthmatic-like presentation of Endobronchial Tuberculosis

Endobronchial Tuberculosis is hazardous in causing circumferential narrowing of tracheobronchial tree despite the eradication of tubercle bacilli in the initial insult from Pulmonary Tuberculosis. They may present as treatment resistant bronchial asthma and pose challenge to airway management in the acute setting. We present a 25 year-old lady who was newly diagnosed bronchial asthma with a past history of Pulmonary Tuberculosis that had completed treatment. She presented with sudden onset of difficulty breathing associated with noisy breathing for 3 days and hoarseness of voice for 6 months. Due to resistant bronchospasm, attempts were made to secure the airway which led to unanticipated difficult intubation and ventilation. Subsequent investigations confirmed the diagnosis of Endobronchial Tuberculosis and patient was managed successfully with anti TB medication, corticosteroids and multiple sessions of tracheal dilatation for tracheal stenosis. This case highlights the unusual cause of difficulty in intubation and ventilation due to Endobronchial Tuberculosis, which required medical and surgical intervention to improve the condition

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Co-ordinating Peace Research and Education in Australia : A Report from the Canberra Forum of 2 May, 2008

This report examines a forum on peace research and education held in Canberra, funded by Australian Council for Learning and Teaching, and facilitated by the University of New England. The suggested innovations included: a) increased sharing of methods and perspectives, b) a peace studies wiki website, and c) more regional engagement by Australian academics and researchers