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ⓘ Motor coordination
Motor coordination is the combination of body movements created with the kinematic and kinetic parameters that result in intended actions. Motor coordination is achieved when subsequent parts of the same movement, or the movements of several limbs or body parts are combined in a manner that is well timed, smooth, and efficient with respect to the intended goal. This involves the integration of proprioceptive information detailing the position and movement of the musculoskeletal system with the neural processes in the brain and spinal cord which control, plan, and relay motor commands. The cerebellum plays a critical role in this neural control of movement and damage to this part of the brain or its connecting structures and pathways results in impairment of coordination, known as ataxia.
1.1. Properties Nonexact reproduction
Examples of motor coordination are the ease with which people can stand up, pour water into a glass, walk, and reach for a pen. These are created reliably, proficiently and repeatedly, but these movements rarely are reproduced exactly in their motor details, such as joint angles when pointing or standing up from sitting.
1.2. Properties Combination
The complexity of motor coordination can be seen in the task of picking up a bottle of water and pouring it in a glass. This apparently simple task is actually a combination of complex tasks that are processed at different levels. The levels of processing include: 1 for the prehension movement to the bottle, the reach hand configuration have to be coordinated, 2 when lifting the bottle, the load and the grip force applied by the fingers need to be coordinated to account for weight, fragility, and slippage of the glass, and 3 when pouring the water from the bottle to the glass, the actions of both arms, one holding the glass and the other that is pouring the water, need to be coordinated with each other. This coordination also involves all of the eye–hand coordination processes. The brain interprets actions as spatial-temporal patterns and when each hand performs a different action simultaneously, bimanual coordination is involved. Additional levels of organization are required depending on whether the person will drink from the glass, give it to someone else, or simply put it on a table.
1.3. Properties Degrees of freedom problem
The problem with understanding motor coordination arises from the biomechanical redundancy caused by the large number of musculoskeletal elements involved. These different elements create many degrees of freedom by which any action can be done because of the range of ways of arranging, turning, extending and combining the various muscles, joints, and limbs in a motor task. Several hypotheses have been developed in explanation of how the nervous system determines a particular solution from a large set of possible solutions that can accomplish the task or motor goals equally well.
2.1. Theories Muscle synergies
Nikolai Bernstein proposed the existence of muscle synergies as a neural strategy of simplifying the control of multiple degrees of freedom. A functional muscle synergy is defined as a pattern of co-activation of muscles recruited by a single neural command signal. One muscle can be part of multiple muscle synergies, and one synergy can activate multiple muscles. The current method of finding muscle synergies is to measure EMG electromyography signals from the muscles involved in a certain movement so that specific patterns of muscle activation can be identified. Statistical analyses are applied to the filtered EMG data to determine the number of muscle synergies that best represent the original EMG. Alternatively, coherence analysis of EMG data can be used to determine the coupling between muscles and the frequency of common input. A reduced number of control elements muscle synergies are combined to form a continuum of muscle activation for smooth motor control during various tasks. These synergies work together to produce movements such as walking or balance control. Directionality of a movement has an effect on how the motor task is performed i.e. walking forward vs. walking backward, each uses different levels of contraction in different muscles. Researchers have measured EMG signals for perturbation applied in multiple directions in order to identify muscle synergies that are present for all directions.
Initially, it was thought that the muscle synergies eliminated the redundant control of a limited number of degrees of freedom by constraining the movements of certain joints or muscles flexion and extension synergies. However, whether these muscle synergies are a neural strategy or whether they are the result of kinematic constraints has been debated. Recently the term of sensory synergy has been introduced supporting the assumption that synergies are the neural strategies to handle sensory and motor systems.
2.2. Theories Uncontrolled manifold hypothesis
A more recent hypothesis propose that the central nervous system does not eliminate the redundant degrees of freedom, but instead it uses all of them to ensure flexible and stable performance of motor tasks. The central nervous system makes use of this abundance from the redundant systems instead of restricting them like previously hypothesized. Uncontrolled Manifold UCM Hypothesis provides a way to quantify the muscle synergy. This hypothesis defines "synergy" a little differently from that stated above; a synergy represents an organization of elemental variables degrees of freedom that stabilizes an important performance variable. Elemental variable is the smallest sensible variable that can be used to describe a system of interest at a selected level of analysis, and a performance variable refers to the potentially important variables produced by the system as a whole. For example, in multi-joint reaching task, the angles and the positions of certain joints are the elemental variables, and the performance variables are the endpoint coordinates of the hand.
This hypothesis proposes that the controller the brain acts in the space of elemental variables and selects in the space of manifolds i.e. sets of angular values corresponding to a final position. This hypothesis acknowledges that variability is always present in human movements, and it categorizes it into two types: 1 bad variability and 2 good variability. Bad variability affects the important performance variable and causes large errors in the final result of a motor task, and a good variability keeps the performance task unchanged and maintains successful outcome. An interesting example of the good variability was observed in the tongues movements, which are responsible for the speech production. The prescription of the stiffness level to the tongues body creates some variability in terms of the acoustical parameters of speech, such as formants, which is, however, not significant for the quality of speech at least, in the reasonable range of stiffness levels. One of the possible explanations might be that the brain only works to decrease the bad variability that hinders the desired final result, and it does so by increasing the good variability in the redundant domain.
3.1. Types Inter-limb
Inter-limb coordination concerns how movements are coordinated across limbs. J. A. Scott Kelso and colleagues have proposed that coordination can be modeled as coupled oscillators, a process that can be understood in the HKB model. The coordination of complex inter-limb tasks is highly reliant on the temporal coordination. An example of such temporal coordination can be observed in the free pointing movement of the eyes, hands, and arms to direct at the same motor target. These coordination signals are sent simultaneously to their effectors. In bimanual tasks involving two hands, it was found that the functional segments of the two hands are tightly synchronized. One of the postulated theories for this functionality is the existence of a higher, "coordinating schema" that calculates the time it needs to perform each individual task and coordinates it using a feedback mechanism. There are several areas of the brain that are found to contribute to temporal coordination of the limbs needed for bimanual tasks, and these areas include the premotor cortex PMC, the parietal cortex, the mesial motor cortices, more specifically the supplementary motor area SMA, the cingulate motor cortex CMC, the primary motor cortex M1, and the cerebellum.
3.2. Types Intra-limb
Intra-limb coordination involves the planning of trajectories in the Cartesian planes. This reduces computational load and the degrees of freedom for a given movement, and it constrains the limbs to act as one unit instead of sets of muscles and joints. This concept is similar to "muscle synergies" and "coordinative structures." An example of such concept is the Hogan and Flash minimum-jerk model, which predicts that the parameter that the nervous system controls is the spatial path of the hand, i.e. the end-effector which implies that the movement is planned in the Cartesian coordinates. Other early studies showed that the end-effector follows a regularized kinematic pattern relating movements curvature to speed and that the central nervous system is devoted to its coding. In contrast to this model, the joint-space model postulates that the motor system plans movements in joint coordinates. For this model, the controlled parameter is the position of each joint contributing to the movement. Control strategies for goal directed movement differ according to the task that the subject is assigned. This was proven by testing two different conditions: 1 subjects moved cursor in the hand to the target and 2 subjects move their free hand to the target. Each condition showed different trajectories: 1 straight path and 2 curved path.
3.3. Types Eye–hand
Eye–hand coordination concerns how eye movements are coordinated with and affect hand movements. Typical findings relate to the eye looking at an object before the hand starts moving towards that object.
4. Learning
Bernstein proposed that individuals learn coordination first by restricting the degrees of freedom that they use. By controlling only a limited set of degrees of freedom, this enables the learner to simplify the dynamics of the body parts involved and the range of movement options. Once the individual has gained some proficiency, these restrictions can be relaxed so allowing them to use the full potential of their body. | https://amp.ww.en.freejournal.org/3313340/1/motor-coordination.html |
- Konstantinos Natsis1Email author,
- George Tsakotos1,
- Konstantinos Vlasis1 and
- Juergen Koebke2
https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-1947-5-393
© Natsis et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011
- Received: 18 April 2011
- Accepted: 18 August 2011
- Published: 18 August 2011
Abstract
Introduction
The human hand is a complex anatomic entity consisting of many muscles, nerves, and vessels, thus providing a special ability to perform accurate and meticulous movements. In this group of muscles are the four dorsal interosseous muscles.
Case presentation
A distinct supernumerary fourth dorsal interosseous muscle was found in the right hand of the cadaver of a 76-year-old Caucasian man without any other concomitant abnormality.
Conclusions
The presence of such an additional muscle in the hand should be considered in the management of hand deformities, whether the treatment is conservative or surgical.
Keywords
- Proximal Phalanx
- Volar Plate
- Dorsal Interossei
- Metacarpal Fracture
- Dorsal Interosseous Muscle
Introduction
The dorsal interosseous muscles of the hand arise, typically, by two heads from the sides of the adjacent metacarpal bones. Distally, these two heads form a thin tendon and their possible insertion sites are the volar plate and the base of the proximal phalanx, joint capsule, extensor expansion, and transverse and oblique retinacular ligaments and lateral bands of the extensor tendon. The tendon of the first and second dorsal interosseous muscles inserts at the radial aspect of the proximal phalanx of the index and median fingers, respectively, whereas the tendon of the third and fourth interosseous muscles inserts at the ulnar aspect of the proximal phalanx of the median and paramedian fingers, respectively.
In the literature, many anatomic variations of these muscles have been described. Interosseous muscles may consist of one to three heads. According to Eladoumikdachi and colleagues , 38% of the palmar interossei and 75% of the dorsal interossei have more than one head. Specifically, the fourth interosseous muscle might have one head in a ratio of 7%, two heads in 71.5%, and three heads in 21.5%, and, as mentioned above, the possible insertion sites are at the proximal phalanx of the paramedian. To the best of our knowledge, the presence of a discrete supernumerary dorsal interosseous muscle that is not a head of the normal fourth interosseous muscle has not been reported [2, 3].
Case presentation
Discussion
The presence of a supernumerary fourth dorsal interosseous muscle is usually asymptomatic but may have some clinical implications. Namely, it may alter normal biomechanical behavior during movement of the hand, may affect the functional capacity of intrinsic muscles , or may contribute to increased intracompartmental pressures . It might be noticed in laborers who overuse their hands. Also, after a metacarpal fracture, the bony fragments often are dislocated because of traction from the surrounding muscles . One of the most common fractures is of the head of the fifth metacarpal, the so-called "boxer's" fracture, and a hypothetical supernumerary dorsal interosseous muscle may contribute to the effort of its reduction.
Conclusions
Muscular variations should always be taken into account when a clinician encounters hand deformities, whether the treatment is conservative or surgical. Adequate knowledge of muscular abnormalities is very important for hand surgeons while dealing with fractures, stiff joints, claw toe, or tendon's transfer. Because of its anatomic position and its specific course, the muscle described above can be included in the interosseous muscle variations as a distinct, supernumerary fourth interosseous muscle.
Consent
Written informed consent was obtained from the patient's relative for publication of this case report and any accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal.
Declarations
Authors’ Affiliations
References
- Eladoumikdachi F, Valkov PL, Thomas J, Netscher DT: Anatomy of the intrinsic hand muscles revisited: part I. Interossei. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2002, 110: 1211-1224. 10.1097/00006534-200210000-00001.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Bonnel F: Anatomy of the interosseous and lumbrical muscles of the hand. Ann Chir Main. 1983, 2: 172-178. 10.1016/S0753-9053(83)80099-4.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- DiFelice A, Seiler JG, Whitesides TE: The compartments of the hand: an anatomic study. J Hand Surg Am. 1998, 23: 682-686. 10.1016/S0363-5023(98)80055-5.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Jacobson MD, Raab R, Fazeli BM, Abrams RA, Botte MJ, Lieber RL: Architectural design of the human intrinsic hand muscles. J Hand Surg Am. 1992, 17: 804-809. 10.1016/0363-5023(92)90446-V.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Ling MZ, Kumar VP: Myofascial compartments of the hand in relation to compartment syndrome: a cadaveric study. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2009, 123: 613-616. 10.1097/PRS.0b013e3181956538.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Meunier MJ, Hentzen E, Ryan M, Shin AY, Lieber RL: Predicted effects of metacarpal shortening on interosseous muscle function. J Hand Surg Am. 2004, 29: 689-693. 10.1016/j.jhsa.2004.03.002.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
Copyright
This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. | https://jmedicalcasereports.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1752-1947-5-393 |
Occupational therapists are often approached by professionals and parents with concerns related to their child’s pencil grip development. This concern is a very common concern, mostly because it can have impact on the child’s participation in writing and drawing tasks. Some of the most common concerns are related to:
- The development of pencil grip in preschoolers.
- The correction of a child’s pencil grip once they have already established a grasp.
- The correction of a child’s grip once they have started writing.
The assessment of a child’s pencil grip development is considered to be important as it can indicate various aspects of their overall development. It can also indicate their performance in other skills in the scholastic environment.
What is the best pencil grip?
There is a general perception that the “dynamic tripod” grasp is the best and most suitable grip for a child. This type of grasp involves holding the pencil against the middle finger, thumb and index finger.
The current research indicates that there are variations to this and other grips have been found to be almost equally efficient. An efficient and functional pencil grip needs to enable the child to:
- Have an open web space (space between the thumb and index finger)
- Control the pencil by moving only the fingers rather than the whole hand
- Participate in writing tasks without getting tired
- Participation in writing tasks with good writing quality
There are mixed opinions as to what age a child matures their pencil grip. The key point is to keep in mind that the development of pencil grip has its stages of development. As a general rule this developmental process starts to mature at Kindergarten age. This is when your child starts to experiment with colours and other writing tools which in turn will further promote the development of the pencil grip.
At this stage you should demonstrate the proper finger position to your child, however, you should allow for the developmental progression to take its course. This means that you need to encourage your child to experiment with various writing tools, carry out fine motor activities and avoid the use of pencil grips in Kindergarten. Remember children are still learning how to adjust and correct their grip.
Immature Grip
An immature or inefficient pencil grip does not allow a child to use efficiently finger movements. In this case movements during writing can be static and come from the wrist or whole arm. Children who experience an immature or inefficient pencil grip need more than just practicing with crayons or pencil in order to develop a better pencil grip. Activities to target the underlying skills need to be carried out.
Activities to Promote efficient pencil grip
- Strengthen the core and shoulder muscles
Your child needs adequate core stability, alignment and posture in order to efficiently use fine motor skills. This will provide a stable base for the development of an efficient pencil grip. Activities to strengthen the core and shoulder muscles include; Wheelbarrow walk, animal walks, tug of war, climbing, playing on all fours, pulling activities and crawling.
- Practice Fine Motor Activities rather than Pencil and Paper activities
Fine motor skills involve movements using the small muscles of the hands and wrist. They are complex motor movements which are based on the refinement and stability of gross motor movements. Fine motor development includes: grasping, finger isolation, development of the arches of the hand, use of the hand, manipulating small objects and bilateral skills. To promote fine motor development you need to carry out fun activities that require the manipulation of tactile media and exploration with hand muscles. Pen and paper activities on their own will not promote fine motor development.
An interesting activity involves painting with just one finger at a time. This will promote finger isolation. Encourage your child to use their pointer finger to paint with red, their middle finger to paint with blue, their ring finger to paint with yellow, and their little finger to paint with green. For more fine motor activities read ‘Handwriting Readiness: Is my child ready to write?‘.
- Bilateral activities
In addition to fine motor activities you need to practice activities that require your child to use both hands together. This is an important skill to achieve as many of our daily tasks involve actions that require the use of both sides of our body. For example during writing tasks your child would need to be able to write with one hand and manipulate the pencil while holding the paper steady with the opposite hand.
- Hand Strengthening Exercises
Hand strengthening activities will help your child to improve adequate muscle tone, develop arches of the hands and improve endurance. These activities should be carried out in conjunction to the above mentioned core and shoulder activities. Therapeutic putty or play dough is an important medium to be used for such skill. You can also use items such as clothes pegs, water pipettes, large tweezers. Refer to ‘Handwriting Readiness: Is my child ready to write?’ for ideas.
A word of Advice….
If your child experiences challenges with pencil grip development you will need to consider an assessment by an Occupational Therapist. Your child might need a professional more in-depth assessment of his muscles tone, postural skills and motor coordination.
At WonderKids paediatric centre Malta we can help you out. | https://occupationaltherapy.mt/tips-to-promote-a-functional-pencil-grip/ |
Effects of Ageing on Hand Function
Original Editor - Your name will be added here if you created the original content for this page.
Top Contributors - Lucinda hampton, Uchechukwu Chukwuemeka, Shaimaa Eldib and Kim Jackson
Contents
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Intrinsic Bones and Joints
- 3 Fingernails
- 4 Nerve Changes and Hand Motor Control
- 5 Sensory Changes in the Aging Hand
- 6 Skin Changes in the Aging Hand
- 7 Functional Movements of the Hand and Fingers
- 8 Therapeutic Exercises and Ergonomic Devices for the Aging Hand
- 9 Simple Home Exercise Plan
- 10 References
Introduction
Hand function decreases with age in both men and women, especially after the age of 65 years. Deterioration in hand function in the elderly population is, to a large degree, secondary to age-related degenerative changes in the musculoskeletal, vascular, and nervous systems. Deterioration of hand function in elderly adults is a combination of local structural changes (joints, muscle, tendon, bone, nerve and receptors, blood supply, skin, and fingernails) and more distant changes in neural control. These age-related changes are often accompanied by underlying pathological conditions (osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, rheumatic arthritis, and Parkinson's disease) that are common in the elderly population.
Age and grip strength are significant predictors of hand dexterity Aiming and tapping hand dexterity (involving rapid, coordinated, goal-directed actions) is moderated by the factor of grip strength more than age ie physical activity may improve particular types of hand dexterity.
- Musculoskeletal hand problems are common in the population aged over 50 yrs.
- Hand function seems to remain stable until age 65 years, after which it gradually reduces.
- After age 75 years, age differences in performance is apparent.
- Most are painful and have a significant impact on everyday life.
- Women and the very old appear especially vulnerable to the effect of hand problems on their daily activities.
Factors Affecting Function in Aging Hands
Extrinsic Factors
- Environmental factors (ultraviolet radiation, chemical irritants)
- Physical activities (work-related, recreational sports, and hobbies)
- Nutrition
- Traumatic injuries
Intrinsic Factors
- Genetic factors
- Endocrine factors
- Metabolic disorders
- Diseases (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis)
Pathological changes
- soft tissues (muscles, tendons, blood vessels, nerves)
- hard tissues (bone, hyaline cartilage, fingernails)
Muscles
One of the most common changes in aging skeletal muscle in the body is the major reduction in muscle mass ranging from 25% to 45%, ie “sarcopenia of old age”. The diminished muscle strength of the aging hand is attributed to decreasing muscle mass.The are 11 intrinsic muscles and 15 extrinsic muscles with direct functional roles in the hand.
- There is a significant reduction in both action potentials and in the number of viable motor units associated with the hand muscles in the elderly.
- Extrinsic and intrinsic hand muscles produce the force required for gripping objects (grip force).
- After 60 years of age, there is a rapid decline in hand-grip strength, by as much as 20–25%, accompanied by a substantial loss of muscle fibers and decreased muscle-fiber length, particularly in the Thenar muscle group.
- The thumb intrinsic musculature constitutes approximately 40% of the total intrinsic musculature of the hand.
- Three of the main thumb muscles play important roles in stabilizing the thumb during strong pinch grips of objects and these commonly show age-related dysfunction.
- The contractile capacity of the Thenar muscle in elderly people has been assessed finding higher muscle fatigue resistance in elderly adults, attributed to differences in both the PNS and CNS.
Tendons
Tendons are composed of dense connective tissue, primarily formed by densely packed, orderly arranged, collagen fibers.
- Tendons have a very poor blood supply and are virtually avascular in the regions of tendon insertion.
- The primary function of tendons is to attach muscles to bone and to transmit muscle force to the skeletal system with limited stretch or elongation.
- Changes due to aging cause reduced microcirculation of the synovial sheaths of the tendons and tendons unit, causing difficulties in the ability to adapt to environmental stress, decreased range of joint motion, and decreased flexion. This may also cause flexion contractures of the overlying joints.
- The tensile strength of tendons is a measure of elongation of the tendon during tensile testing, the ultimate tensile strength values for aged tendons decrease by 30–50%.
- Biochemical changes in the aging tendons result in a stiffer, more irregular dense connective tissue. This involves a reduction in water content accompanied by a loss of proteoglycans and also degradation of the collagen type I fiber.
Intrinsic Bones and Joints
With aging, the hand bones (19 long bones and 8 short bones) and joints, especially the synovial joints, are accompanied by morphological and pathological changes common to aging skeletal tissues.
- Aging hands and fingers are especially prone to osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis of the hand and finger joints is a disease process that destroys interphalangeal cartilage, synovial membranes, and the joint capsule. Consequences of osteoarthritis of the fingers include pain, swelling, joint deformities, bone spur formation, restricted range of motion of wrist and fingers, and difficulty in performing manual activities that require grip and pinch.
- After the age of 50, the bone density of the hand decreases by approximately 0.72% per year.
Fingernails
Functionally, nails are important tools for fine grip and manipulation of small objects in various ways.
The rate of fingernail growth diminishes with aging.
Age-associated nail changes are common in elderly people. These may involve
- Discoloration with changes in color from white-pink to yellowish-gray
- Changes in contour (longitudinal ridges, or less concave shape)
- Changes in the thickness and roughness of the nail surface.
- Structural changes include brittle nails; onychauxis (hypertrophic nail); subungual exostosis (a variant of osteochondroma).
- The most common disorders of aging fingernails are common fungal infections.
- With the loss of manual dexterity with aging, elderly adults may not be able to cut their own nails and commonly require manicure assistance.
- Several of the changes in aging fingernails may be symptoms of underlying disease or metabolic disorders and can provide diagnostic indications for the physician. The translucent nature of the nail plate enables the coloration of the underlying nail bed, predominantly provided by the dermal vascularization, to be seen; this can provide an indication of problems such as anemia.
Nerve Changes and Hand Motor Control
Loss of functioning of motor neuron and ventral root axons has been demonstrated in the elderly population, approximately 25% of the motor axons in hand muscles are lost in old age.
- There is a reduction in the number of myelinated nerve fibers from the seventh and eighth cervical nerve roots, together with diminished nerve fiber diameters.
- Muscle twitches become smaller and slower.
- There are loss of motor units after the age of 60, although they are less obvious in the Hypothenar group. The motor units in the Thenar and Dorsal interossei muscles decrease significantly with age.
- Muscles in elderly adults have fewer (but on average larger and slower) motor units, which has an important effect on both motor control and function. There is a critical decline in age-related motor performance, which has been attributed to loss of motor neurons .
- There is evidence indicating that age-related changes occur in both neurohistology and in responses to neurotransmitters.
- The integrity of the CNS is reflected in the cognitive and psychomotor ability of the individual. For a successful prehension task, CNS control processes of negative and positive feedback mechanisms are needed. This motor task requires the integrity of a circuit of interconnected hand-related areas, including a ventral subdivision of the premotor and sensorimotor cortical areas, the cerebellum, and the basal ganglia. With physiologic changes this may be affected, affecting prehension tasks.
Sensory Changes in the Aging Hand
Our senses and sensory integrity decline with aging. An understanding of the somatosensory system of the hand is important for therapists.
- Accurate functional sensory input is essential for well-controlled precision manipulation of small objects needed for many different activities of daily living. This requires refined coordination of forces exerted on the object by the tips of the finger and thumb.
- Peripheral decrement in tactile sensibility contributes to slowness in processing afferent information associated with hand movement.
- The effects of old age on fingertip force responses have indicated degraded central information processing and deterioration of cutaneous mechanoreceptors.
Skin Changes in the Aging Hand
- Elderly people are more susceptible to feeling cold in their hands than younger people, and this is probably due to the poorer blood flow in the elderly hands.
- Reduced sensitivity to local heat sources or slower reflexes may explain the increased incidence of burns to the hands of the elderly population (hot water scalding).
- The thin skin of the dorsal aspect of the hand undergoes morphological changes with aging and becomes much thinner.
- The numbers and activities of sweat and sebaceous glands are also reduced in elderly people, who find it more difficult to accommodate to environmental heat stress. One of the consequences of the thinner dorsal hand skin in elderly adults is that it is more fragile, drier, and heals more slowly after injury.
- Obvious signs of dorsal skin aging of the hand are wrinkling and loss of elasticity, resulting from changes in the amount and biomechanical properties of the elastic fibers in the
- The reduction in tactile sensation of fingers in elderly adults is due to the loss of the various sensory mechanoreceptors (Pacinian corpuscles, Meissner corpuscles, etc.).
Functional Movements of the Hand and Fingers
- Tests show that in elderly people the largest declines in upper extremity functioning (greater than 50%) are in hand-force steadiness, speed of hand-arm movements, and vibration sense.
- Hand function remains fairly stable until the age of 65 years, after which it diminishes slowly. After the age of 75 years, age differences in performance become more apparent as seen in prehensile pattern frequency, hand strength, performance time, and range of motion. The percentage decrease in strength with age is similar for men and women regardless of their lifestyle.
- By the age of 90, an individual may be expected to have wrist range-of-motion (ROM) values that are approximately 60% of those of average 30-year-old individuals, affecting functional hand activities.
- Difficulties to adduct the thumb cause elderly people to substitute thumb adduction by using thumb flexors to compensate for their weakness (Froment's sign is positive).
- Aging has marked degenerative effects on hand function, age-related declines in hand and finger strength and the ability to control submaximal pinch posture, manual speed, and hand sensation occur. Moreover, a gender difference was also found, with elderly women experiencing more serious declines in fine manual dexterity and strength than men of a similar age.
Therapeutic Exercises and Ergonomic Devices for the Aging Hand
Functional aging changes in hands can possibly be retarded by introducing suitable simple regular hand exercise programs for hand strengthening and hand flexibility. It is important that the exercises selected are appropriate and do not lead to damage or overexertion
- Exercise can be very simple eg squeezable rubber balls, or elastic bands on fingers and exercises to strengthen grip and maintain joint flexibility of fingers and the wrist. See home-exercise plan below.
Ergonomic devices are important: modifying tools and instruments of daily living for the elderly population, especially those with impaired functioning. eg basic items such as cutlery, pens, scissors, nail clippers, hairbrushes, and combs. Large phone pads.
Simple Home Exercise Plan
1. Finger Bends
A simple home exercise plan that keeps the joints in fingers moving. For best results, perform these bends on each individual finger of both hands.
- Begin by holding up your right hand straight.
- Bend your thumb downward in the direction of your palm.
- Hold the bend for two to five seconds.
- Straighten your thumb.
- Repeat on each finger on the right hand.
- Repeat the entire sequence on the opposite hand.
2. Make a Fist
How to Make a Fist
- Start by holding your right hand up and straight (as if you were going to shake someone’s hand). Keep your wrist and forearm close to a tabletop or another flat surface.
- Close your fingers together to create a gentle fist. Try not to squeeze your fingers into your palms.
- Slowly and gently return your fingers to the starting position.
- Repeat multiple times on each hand.
3. Thumb Bends
How to Perform a Thumb Bend
- Start by holding your right hand up and straight – just as you did with the previous exercise.
- Bend your thumb down and inward toward your palm.
- The goal is to reach for the bottom of your pinky finger, but don’t worry if you cannot reach that far just yet.
- Hold the bend for a few seconds.
- Return to the starting position.
- Repeat 10 times.
- Repeat on the left hand.
4. Make a “C”
How to Make a “C” With Your Hands
- Begin with your right hand up and your fingers straight.
- Curve your fingers downward and your thumb out and to the side to create a “C” shape.
- Return to the starting position.
- Repeat multiple times on your right hand.
- Repeat on the left hand.
5. Finger Lifts
How to Perform Finger Lifts
- Start with your hand palm-side down on the table.
- Lift your thumb slowly off the table.
- Hold for two seconds.
- Gently lower your thumb back down.
- Repeat on each finger.
- Repeat the entire sequence on the opposite hand.
6. Wrist Stretches
How to Perform Wrist Stretches
- Begin with your right arm stretched out in front of you, hands flat.
- Gently press down on your right hand. The tips of your fingers should be facing the floor.
- Hold the stretch for a few seconds.
- Repeat 10 times.
- Repeat on the left hand.
7. Give the Okay
- Begin with your hand up and straight (as if you were going to shake someone’s hand).
- Create an “O” shape by touching your thumb to your index fingertip.
- Next, touch your thumb to your middle fingertip.
- Repeat the same movement on the remaining fingers.
- Repeat the sequence multiple times.
- Repeat the entire exercise on the opposite hand.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Carmeli E, Patish H, Coleman R. The aging hand. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. 2003 Feb 1;58(2):M146-52. Available from:https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/article/58/2/M146/593573 (accessed 16 March 2020)
- ↑ Martin JA, Ramsay J, Hughes C, Peters DM, Edwards MG. Age and grip strength predict hand dexterity in adults. PloS one. 2015;10(2):e0117598
- ↑ Shiffman LM. Effects of aging on adult hand function. Am J Occup Ther. 1992;46(9):785–792. doi:10.5014/ajot.46.9.785
- ↑ Dziedzic K, Thomas E, Hill S, Wilkie R, Peat G, Croft PR. The impact of musculoskeletal hand problems in older adults: findings from the North Staffordshire Osteoarthritis Project (NorStOP). Available from:https://academic.oup.com/rheumatology/article/46/6/963/2899444 (accessed 16 March 2020)
- ↑ Eli Carmeli, Hagar Patish, Raymond Coleman, The Aging Hand, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A. 2003; 58(2):M146-M152. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/58.2.M146
- ↑ Chen CY, McGee CW, Rich TL, Prudente CN, Gillick BT. Reference values of intrinsic muscle strength of the hand of adolescents and young adults. Journal of Hand Therapy. 2018; 31(3): 348–356. | https://www.physio-pedia.com/Effects_of_Ageing_on_Hand_Function |
We explored whether the synergic control of the hand during multi-finger force production tasks depends on the hand muscles involved. Healthy subjects performed accurate force production tasks and targeted force pulses while pressing against loops positioned at the level of fingertips, middle phalanges, and proximal phalanges. This varied the involvement of the extrinsic and intrinsic finger flexors. The framework of the uncontrolled manifold (UCM) hypothesis was used to analyze the structure of inter-trial variance, motor equivalence, and anticipatory synergy adjustments prior to the force pulse in the spaces of finger forces and finger modes (hypothetical finger-specific control signals). Subjects showed larger maximal force magnitudes at the proximal site of force production. There were synergies stabilizing total force during steady-state phases across all three sites of force production; no differences were seen across the sites in indices of structure of variance, motor equivalence, or anticipatory synergy adjustments. Indices of variance, which did not affect the task (within the UCM), correlated with motor equivalent motion between the steady states prior to and after the force pulse; in contrast, variance affecting task performance did not correlate with non-motor equivalent motion. The observations are discussed within the framework of hierarchical control with referent coordinates for salient effectors at each level. The findings suggest that multi-finger synergies are defined at the level of abundant transformation between the low-dimensional hand level and higher dimensional finger level while being relatively immune to transformations between the finger level and muscle level. The results also support the scheme of control with two classes of neural variables that define referent coordinates and gains in back-coupling loops between hierarchical control levels.
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Acknowledgements
The study was in part supported by NIH grant NS095873.
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Cuadra, C., Bartsch, A., Tiemann, P. et al. Multi-finger synergies and the muscular apparatus of the hand. Exp Brain Res 236, 1383–1393 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-018-5231-5
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Artificial neurons are increasingly reminiscent of the human brain compared to traditional computers. This similarity is becoming even clearer as artificial neurons now require sleep to function more efficiently.
Moreover, as a recent study shows, they require not a simple shutdown, but the impact of special slow signals, such as those observed in a sleeping brain.
Neural networks are made up of artificial neurons that exchange signals with each other, like real biological neurons. Usually, the formed connections are strengthened over time, so that neural networks can learn on their own.
Unlike sequential processing of information by conventional computers, neural networks can process different streams of information in parallel, making them a powerful tool for tasks such as image and speech recognition. Curiously, AI "inherited" from a living brain the need for sleep, which is so necessary for our health and well-being.
In a new study conducted by specialists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA), it was found that neurons become less stable after prolonged work. This happened during the uncontrolled mastering of the dictionary by the AI system. Artificial intelligence "overextended" the fact that in the process of identifying similarities between objects for the sake of their classification, it was not provided with clear examples for comparison.
To help the networks maintain their activity, the researchers exposed them to various types of white noise signals (noise, the spectral components of which are evenly distributed over the entire range of frequencies involved - ed. Techcult).
The so-called Gaussian noise - signals that include a wide range of frequencies and amplitudes - is best suited to "calm down" neurons. Most interestingly, these are the same types of waves that propagate through the human brain during the recovery phase of slow wave sleep. | https://coolstoryme.com/publication/6443 |
Background Research:
The US Census reported in 2018 that about 1 in 59 children suffer from autism (“U.S Autism Rate up 15 Percent over Two-Year Period”). Autism is a disorder that affects how a person processes sensory information. Educational progress of children with ASD is impacted by responses to environments that have sensory triggers (Ashburner). One of the most difficult symptoms of autism can be sensory overload (Brain and Cognition). This can happen when a person’s body has trouble processing the amount of stimulation from different triggers like sound, light, textures and tastes. Sensory overload can result in discomfort, confusion, and even pain. Individuals with autism may have a negative response to environmental triggers (Landon). People with autism can also be very sensitive to sound at certain frequencies (“How Noise Affects Individuals with Autism”).
Sensory overload can affect how well a person is able to learn and negatively affect their behavior. Sound sensitivity causes significant discomfort in many people with autism (Gomes). Sensory processing problems can manifest in different ways including the inability to interact with people, language delays or deficits, the inability to stay focused on a task, etc (Ford-Lanza). A large number of people with autism actually become fearful of sounds because they are uncomfortable. A fear of sound is not uncommon in people with autism (Stiegler).
Sensory integration is important for learning and behavior. For people with autism, this function can demand a lot of effort and attention. Challenges with sensory items can negatively affect a student’s ability to take in information or remain calm. (“Supporting Sensory Needs at School”). Modifications to minimize sensory challenges, can have meaningful impact on a person’s ability to be successful in that environment. (Suarez).
Participants with autism in a study were questioned about which sensory stimuli had the biggest impact on ability to function and learn. Sound was the biggest problem, with students reporting that it provokes a physical response. Ongoing noise difficulties affected the students’ concentration, anxiety and discomfort. Since school is such a big part of a child’s life, research should be more focused on how to improve the experience in the classroom (Howe).
Sound waves are measured by how many times they go through a cycle in a second. The number of vibrations per second is frequency (Elert). They cycles per second is called hertz. Humans can sense sounds from 20-20,000 hertz. 20-80 hertz is very low, and causes discomfort in most people (“Understanding Frequencies”). Sounds in the frequency range of 10-200 Hz have been found to cause discomfort to people with sensory sensitivities (Leventhall). Low frequency noise has a great potential to irritate someone, especially if the noise is right above the low frequency hearing threshold. Health effects for low frequency noise are worse than noise in general (Waye). Frequencies above 10,000 hz are extremely high. Many people cannot hear the sounds in above this range (“Understanding Frequencies”).
When people hear noise that they feel is unpleasant, they develop defensive reactions. The hum of a computer fan or a fridge can feel uncomfortable to someone with autism. Solutions must be found to help stop this problem (Hughes). People with sensory sensitivities report being distracted by the buzzing of fluorescent bulbs. Extreme sensitivity to sound is a common symptom of autism. 40 percent to 84 percent of people with autism experience problems with hypersensitivity to sounds (“ADHD Light Sensitivity: The Link with Hypersensitivity & Sensory Processing”).
Purpose:
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The purpose of this project is to create a more suitable learning environment for people with sensory sensitivities by eliminating negative sounds. Many people with disabilities, like autism, have sensory processing disorders. By identifying and either reducing or eliminating things in their environment that trigger their sensory disorder, they have a better chance of success in a classroom or school.
Hypothesis:
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Frequency levels in common items in classrooms are creating an uncomfortable environment for some students with hypersensitivity to sound. These students hear frequencies that are undetectable to the ears of people without sensory processing disorders. If these items are eliminated, then it will create a more comfortable and successful learning environment for many students with autism.
Independent Variable:
The independent variable of the experiment is common noise-producing items found in a classroom such as light bulbs, fans, DVD players, computers, etc.
Dependent Variable:
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The dependent variable of the experiment is threshold levels of audible frequency and loudness that contribute to sensory overload in a person with autism predetermined by research.
Materials:
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Completed Surveys from 8 to 12 participants
Precision microphone for testing hertz and decibels
Procedures:
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A. Gather research to understand the problem and the potential for improvement. The types of research to gather is:
1) Research explaining that people with autism or other disabilities often have sensory processing issues and what that means.
2) Research about sensory overload for people with sensory processing issues.
3) Research that explains how learning and appropriate behavior are affected when sensory overload is present.
4) Research on what items found in schools and classrooms can potentially contribute to sensory overload, particularly auditory.
5) Research about frequency levels that may contribute to sensory overload. This is interesting because people with sensory sensitivities may hear frequencies that most other people cannot hear.
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B. Survey people with sensory processing issues or their parents, caregivers or health care professionals who specialize in the field to find out what things may trigger sensory overload. Look for potential things to test for in a classroom or school environment.
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C. Take the data from the survey and research to determine what to test in a school. Use a precision microphone to test frequency levels of these items.
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D. Analyze the data from both the surveys of people and the test results from schools to come to a conclusion about how items contributing to unnecessary auditory sensory overload in classroom environments can be reduced or eliminated. Summarize the data collected by survey regarding other potential triggers for sensory overload (possibly colors, lights and touch).
Survey Background and Results:
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A survey was created and then completed by 10 participants who have or work closely with someone with autism, asbergers or ADHD. It asked questions regarding sound sensitivity in school environments. Subjects gave answers to acknowledge the sounds they found to be uncomfortable or distracting. The purpose of the survey was to identify which sounds in schools were potentially creating a negative learning environment.
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The breakdown of the 10 survey participants are as follows: 4 former students, 1 current student, 3 parents, and 2 healthcare professionals. 9 of the participants indicated they have or work with clients who have an Asperger’s diagnosis. 4 participants indicated they either have or work with clients who have sensory processing disorder. 3 participants indicated they either have or work with clients who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). There were 8 female participants and 2 male participants. Age ranged from early 20s to mid 40s.
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6 participants said that high pitched noises cause them discomfort.
1 said low pitched noise cause them discomfort.
3 said both high and low pitched noise cause them discomfort.
Classroom objects that caused discomfort from sound include: | https://www.weinclude.org/learning-environments-paper/ |
Controlling noise in analog and mixed-signal circuits is important but not simple. Data integrity is dependent on controlling noise in the signal chain. If left uncontrolled, noise can impair or disrupt system operation. This FAQ starts by looking at the various sources and types of noise, looks at how noise can enter the signal chain through various components, considers printed circuit board grounding and layout techniques to help control noise, and reviews some design techniques for controlling noise.
Noise can be caused by various sources and manifests in a range of frequencies, bandwidths, and spectrum distributions (Figure 1). Noise can take the form of common-mode or differential-mode energy. It can originate within the system or come from outside sources. Whatever its specific characteristics or source, noise is an undesirable form of energy.
Sources and types of noise
There is a range of noise sources in analog and mixed-signal systems. Some common types of noise include white noise, pink noise, Johnson noise, quantization noise, and popcorn noise.
White noise has a flat spectrum and is distributed uniformly throughout the frequency domain. Bandwidth reduction can be used to remove white noise from an analog signal. Reducing the bandwidth of an amplifier by a factor of N reduces RMS white noise by the square root of N.
Pink noise, also called flicker or 1/f noise, has a frequency dependence inversely proportional to frequency. The energy of pink noise at each frequency level falls off at about 1 to 3 dB per octave. This is in contrast to white noise which has equal energy at all frequency levels. As a result, pink noise is strongest at low frequencies, but at higher frequencies, it loses strength, and white noise becomes the primary source of noise. Eliminating pink noise can be challenging at the PCB level.
Johnson noise, also called thermal noise, is the random excitation of electron motion that is a function of temperature. Johnson noise is unavoidable and can only be completely eliminated at zero degrees K.
Quantization noise is a result of errors introduced by quantization in an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). It’s non-linear and signal-dependent. It’s caused by the rounding error between the analog input voltage to the ADC, and the output digitized value.
Popcorn noise, or burst noise, which is low frequency and the result of imperfections in devices. It’s random and, therefore, unpredictable.
Various sources of noise are inherent in electronic components and combine into a noise figure for the inputs and outputs. A noise analysis can determine the noise level, called the noise floor, below which any signal will be indistinguishable. The noise floor for an interconnect or component is defined by the input noise from all sources, the bandwidth of the component or circuit element, and the noise figure of the interconnect or component. Noise can enter the signal chain through various components such as:
- ADCs, which produce thermal and quantization noise.
- Amplifiers, which produce broadband and 1/f noise
- Voltage references, which produce broadband and 1/f noise
- Clocks, which produce jitter.
- Power supplies, especially switch-mode converters, which produce a variety of periodic and random noise types
- Printed circuit board (PCB) layouts that couple noise from external sources into the system.
- Sensors, which contribute a wide variety of noise types into sensitive systems (Figure 2).
Noise can be produced in the PCB by current spikes that occur on some signals. In analog circuits, these spikes are often caused by changes in load current, while in digital circuits, current spikes result from transistor switching. Noise can also result from an incorrect ground or floating ground connection. Grounding is especially important. A simple single ground point is often enough in PCBs where the maximum signal frequency is 1MHz or less. A star or multipoint ground architecture is often needed if higher frequencies are involved. Some designs combine a single point ground for low-frequency blocks and a multipoint ground scheme for high-frequency blocks.
Component placement is also important when minimizing PCB noise sources and levels. Some common recommendations include:
- Placing power components close together on the same layer reduces inductances created between the via holes.
- Arrange high-frequency components to minimize trace lengths as much as possible.
- Place decoupling capacitors as close as possible to the power pins, reducing current spikes from signal switching and minimizing ground bounce back. A rule of thumb with multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) for decoupling is to use 0.1 µF MLCCs for frequencies up to 15 MHz and 0.01 µF MLCCs for higher frequencies.
Given the numerous types and sources of noise, it’s important to be proactive in reducing and controlling noise in analog and mixed-signal designs. Common recommendations include:
- Use high-order filter circuits when needed to control noise outside the desired bandwidth. Filtering can be used to control analog sources of noise and control the digital signals’ rise/fall times.
- Specify devices such as comparators with rise times no faster than needed to reduce high-frequency harmonics.
- When using an ADC for sampling, noise can be spread across a wider bandwidth and total noise reduced by using a higher sampling rate followed by an anti-aliasing filter.
- Noise from amplifiers can be reduced by specifying devices that have no more than the necessary bandwidth, when necessary, filtering can be added to decrease the effective bandwidth.
Summary
Noise is an undesirable fact of life in analog and mixed-signal circuits. Noise comes from various sources and in a range of energy signatures or formats. It can enter the signal chain through a variety of mechanisms. A noise analysis can determine the expected noise level, called the noise floor, in a given design, below which any signal will be indistinguishable. Designers have a range of tools available to control the impact of noise on system performance. | https://www.analogictips.com/what-causes-noise-in-analog-designs-and-how-can-it-be-controlled-faq/ |
All signals picked up by the auditory system are transported via the nervous system:
directly, via specific pathways, which link the inner ear with the auditory cortex which takes in the signal and recognises its significance;
or via an indirect route, a non-specific pathway; (these are collaterals of the direct pathways) to reach the reticular activating system (which regulates arousal), which is in turn connected to the limbic system and to other parts of the brain, to the autonomic nervous system and the neuroendocrine system, which play crucial roles in regulation of physiological functions in attention and behaviour.
This explains why an irritant noise, even if it is of low intensity (generally from 60 dB), by introducing a subjective dimension, can cause psychological harm and other problems (a stress reaction) which are not directly or solely linked to the physical properties of the noise. The level of harm to an individual is not fully correlated with the level of noise; there is, however, a correlation between harm to an entire population and noise levels. Noise therefore belongs in the category of environmental stressors. This kind of stress is experienced all the more because the subject has little or no control over the source of the stressor.
Sleep and alertness problems
On board non-soundproofed ships, the greatest risk that is not related to hearing is that sleep is disturbed by noise. A seafarer lives 24 hours a day in the confined environment of the ship, and should experience the good-quality sleep that is essential if the body is to recover from fatigue and maintain proper biological functions.
Slow-wave sleep is involved in repair of tissues that are involved in physical effort.
Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep restores the higher functions of the nervous system (alertness, learning, memory, adaptiveness and intent).
However, noise above 60 dB(A) causes sleep problems in the form of reduced total amount of sleep, reduced duration of REM sleep, and increased occurrence of night-time waking. This sleep disturbance leads to increased fatigue and irritability. The problems are cumulative, and a vicious circle can develop whereby serious sleep dysfunction can arise, leading to physical exhaustion and overwork. Such noise is found very frequently on all types of ships. It is therefore reasonable to think that seafarers in general suffer from sleep problems which worsen general fatigue.
Tamura (16) et al.studied sleep patterns in three subjects who were exposed to 65 dB noise from a ship’s diesel engine for five nights, and their sleep in such conditions was compared to their sleep in a quiet environment. They found that the number of episodes of REM sleep, and the duration of these episodes, were reduced, and that the time between these episodes of REM sleep was increased. They also reported a reduction in subjective sleep quality and difficulties in falling asleep. At noise levels of around 60 dB, the same authors (17) observed that, although seafarers became habituated to such noise levels in terms of subjective sleep parameters, there were still disturbances in the physiological parameters, as measured using actigraphy.
Rabat et al.(18) carried out a sleep study on rats who were exposed to a recording of warship noise for 9 days, and compared the results to those of rats sleeping in a quiet environment. They confirmed that normal sleep structure was distorted, leading to a ten-hour debt of slow-wave sleep (the number of episodes of deep sleep was increased, but the duration was shorter than normal) and also, like Tamura et al. (13) found a six-hour debt of REM sleep (the number of episodes of REM sleep was reduced, as was their duration). The consequences of such sleep disturbance were significant, and appeared after the noise stopped; they involved the ability to commit information to long-term memory, the extent of the memory problems being positively correlated to the extent of the debt of slow-wave sleep. They also demonstrated two types of sleep-related behaviour: one group of rats was resistant, and rats in this group rapidly recovered their ability to memorise, and one group of rats was vulnerable, and had significant problems. These results strengthen the theory that there are differences between individuals in terms of noise sensitivity.
Tirilly (19) studied sleep patterns in coastal sea fishermen and demonstrated the importance of sleep at night, which can be short in duration but which must occur at the same time each day for a given individual (this is known as “Anchor sleep” and maintains biological rhythms). In this study, the mean level of alertness in seafarers fell very soon after leaving port and the sleep deficit was between 60-90 minutes/24 hours, caused by fragmentation of sleep: on average six episodes of sleep were observed, with a total daily sleep period of between 5.5 and 6.5 hours.
Alertness may be defined as maintaining attention during activities requiring prolonged periods on watch (particularly gangway watch). Alertness is reduced in proportion to the intensity of the noise, and this can result in attention problems. Noise also increases the risk of human error (20). Particularly in fishing, this can be a non-negligible cause of accidents.
Intellectual performance seems to be reduced if noise is above 85 dB, in terms of psychomotor ability, reasoning and capacity to commit to memory, which is linked, as we have already seen, to sleep problems. At sound levels above 80 dB, there may also be effects on intellectual capacity, but this depends on the frequency of the noise, whether it is intermittent or not, how long it lasts and its significance. Poulton21 observed that people working in constant noise initially performed better than those in quiet environments, but that there was gradual deterioration in performance if the noise persisted. Poulton thought that the physical intensity of the noise masked the signals produced by the machines, which were used by the operator as a guide to performance when the environment was quiet. When the signals were masked, performance levels worsened. When the noise began, the stressor seemed to cause a sudden burst of physiological and behavioural stimulation which overcame the harmful masking effects of the noise. This effect, however, gradually loses its impact, and subsequently there is an inescapable loss of performance. Another explanation might be that processing of noise using cortical filtering might impose an additional workload on this central brain structure. The capacity devoted to this task would be unavailable for other tasks, which would cause a reduction in the ability to reason and process information.
These problems could cause errors of judgement on board ship, which in some cases could have dramatic consequences: these could include failure properly to understand orders when undertaking difficult manoeuvres, a risk of damage to machinery through negligence caused by reduced judgement or abnormal levels of fatigue.
Noise-induced cardiovascular problems
It is generally agreed that noise causes generalised vasoconstriction. This vasoconstriction persists as long as noise exposure continues (22).
Although this phenomenon has been discussed frequently (23,24), the problem of the link between noise and blood pressure problems has been the subject of many studies. Despite the fact that the methodology of many of these studies has been criticised, 80% of the studies suggest the existence of such a link.
An increase in blood pressure is found in those exposed to noisy conditions and the duration of the increase was correlated to length of exposure to the stressor. The increase depends not only on the level of sound but also on many other factors in the work environment such as the type of work and the category of staff (25, 26;27).
In addition, it has been demonstrated that employees with work-related hearing loss have significantly higher diastolic blood pressure than a control population with no hearing problems (28; 29).
This increase in hypertension is a logical consequence of this latter observation. The link between noise and hypertension was first suspected after it was noted that use of anti-hypertensive drugs was greater in areas near airports than it was in quieter areas (30). Many subsequent studies have confirmed this link (31, 26, 32, 33,34,35,36). There have been several studies of shipping, with similar results (37, 38 ,37 has shown that levels of hypertension are significantly higher among engineers aged over 40 on board merchant ships (18.90%, N=164) than they are among non-engineer personnel of the same age (N=291) of whom 11.68% were hypertensive. This difference was not found in younger subjects. Levels of hypertension in the engineer group were independent of other risk factors such as family history of hypertension, obesity and alcoholism. The relative risk of hypertension due to noise has been calculated at 1.62. This is similar to results of other studies (39). Roodenko et al. (40) also found, in a recent study, increased levels of hypertension in engineers when compared to deck crew and catering personnel.
Fig 4: Rates of hypertension in engineers and non-engineers in the merchant
navy
The difference between engineers and non-engineers aged between 40 and 55 is significant (p=0.05).
Noise can also be responsible for myocardial infarction (41).
Effects on vision
Subjects who are regularly exposed to noise experience a reduction in nocturnal visual acuity and difficulties with depth perception, associated with a narrowing of the visual field. This narrowing can be as much as 10° at the red end of the spectrum. These abnormalities can be very troublesome when on gangway watch at night (when night vision is needed, and when the ambient lighting is red) but usually only occur if noise levels are above 100 dB. Noise-induced stress seems to reduce dopamine synthesis; dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is used by the retina.
Effects on the endocrine system
Stress caused by noise (60 dB or above) causes the same type of endocrine problem that is seen in all types of stress (catecholamines and cortisol). A recent study (42) has shown that three days of noise exposure appears to cause significant increases in corticosteroid and adrenaline levels. An effect on immune functions has also been observed, with an increase in oxidative stress.
Indirect noise-related effects
Noise limits people’s ability to communicate, and contributes to isolation which is already a significant phenomenon on board merchant ships. Intelligibility of a conversation reduces in proportion with the increase in background noise and the distance between the interlocutors. At a distance of one metre, communication is only possible if the noise level is lower than 75 dB.
A high level of noise may mask a warning or alarm indicating danger, or may lead to incorrect interpretation of instructions. Noise may be a direct cause of accidents. In 1955, Sir Lionel Heald confirmed that “men who worked on the flight decks and were exposed to tremendous noise from aircraft and ventilating machinery became extremely careless, got into the way of the planes, fell over things and got themselves injured.”* According to Poulton (20), noise has a masking effect on non-intentional auditory signals and on the “internal monologue” that each individual uses to overcome deficiencies in short-term memory. More generally, it is possible that noise, by masking a whole range of auditory signals that are characteristic of an environment, creates an impression of isolation, which leads to lack of attention and negligence. It is therefore essential, when choosing alarm equipment, to check that the acoustic power and frequency of the signal (low-frequency sounds mask high-frequency sounds) are adequate for the planned area of use.
In addition, it has been demonstrated (43, 44) that ambient noise increases the risk of accidents, particularly in subjects with hearing loss.
The problem of multiple stressors
Noise is just one of many stressors that affect personnel on board ships. Among others, there is also vibration, and heat in some cases. The question arises as to whether these stressors interact with each other. This area is very complex, and little is known about it. In the maritime field, which is greatly affected by this problem, the scientific literature is particularly sparse.
Some studies (45, 46, 47 ) suggest that whole-body vibrations play a role in the aetiology of noise-induced hearing problems. Effects on low frequencies seem to be increased if there is combined exposure to noise and vibration. Okada (48) and Manninen (49) considered that, while vibrations play a role in noise-induced hearing problems, this would only be of the order of 5 dB at TTS² (auditory fatigue, measured 2 minutes after exposure). Pyykko (50) indicates that whole-body vibrations of between 2 and 10 Hz at 10 ms-2 seem to increase auditory fatigue (TTS) when noise levels are above 90 dBA.
Several authors have attempted to show that there is an antagonist interaction between noise and heat. However, it seems as though the effects of associated noise and heat may be synergistic, antagonistic or negligible, depending on the intensity of the stressors, type of work and length of exposure. According to Pekkarinen (33), high temperatures increase auditory fatigue in the presence of vibration.
It has recently been established that there is a synergistic effect between exposure to noise and exposure to various solvents (toluene, styrene, xylene and trichloroethylene in particular) as well as carbon monoxide, which increases ototoxicity and therefore also hearing loss. (51, 52, 44).
Smoking can increase the ototoxicity of noise (53). However, Bur (54) finds that smoking is an independent risk factor for incidence of hearing loss. | http://textbook.maritimemedicine.com/index.php/textbook-of-maritime-medicine/51-textbook-of-maritime-medicine/18-noise/920-non-hearing-effects-of-noise-on-seafarers-1 |
About this Research Topic
Sound environment is a significant factor to be considered in building sustainable and healthy urban communities and cities. Soundscape, as defined by the International Organization for Standardization is an acoustic environment that is perceived or experienced and/or understood by a person or people in a certain context. The current soundscape research has been mainly focused on the planning, design or management of urban spaces (e.g., parks, open spaces, and streets) and functional buildings (e.g., hospitals, schools, offices and residences) but little attention has been paid to the human appreciation to sound and its contribution to human well-being. The experience of environment can result in either positive or negative perceptual outcomes, which are in turn related to the emotional states as well as well-being of people. For instance, natural environment as well as music can induce positive emotions and help restoring attention and reducing mental fatigue, however noise may lead to hearing loss, annoyance, sleep disturbance, and even cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Research in this area has been primarily focusing on the differences among individuals however the differences between groups are not often given enough prominence in environmental psychological studies, particularly the vulnerable groups.
Vulnerable groups refer to individuals or communities considered particularly susceptible to coercion or undue influence in a research setting. For sound perception research, vulnerable groups include but are not limited to the aged, children, disabled, patients, and the low-income, etc. Study shows that the elderly have special challenges for hearing in noise; noise could disturb patients’ sleep and even children's cognitive development; and people with high noise sensitivity are more susceptible to noise.
Therefore, this Research Topic aims to answer 3 major questions for vulnerable groups: 1)what types of people are vulnerable groups in urban or building sound environments? 2)What are the differences between vulnerable and general groups in sound perception? And 3) what kind of sound environments are psychologically beneficial for vulnerable groups? The focus could either be on theoretical or methodological aspects.
The sub-themes include but are not limited to the following:
• Sound perception of low-income groups
• Restoration of the sound environment in patients
• Soundscape perception across ages
• Effect of sound and/or noise on children’s well-being
• Impacts of socioeconomic status on sound perception
• Soundscape perception in hearing-impaired people
• Soundscape design for blind people
• Standardized evaluation methods on soundscape for vulnerable groups
• Adverse effects caused by noise on vulnerable groups
• Potential benefits brought by soundscape for vulnerable groups
Keywords: Sound Perception, Soundscape, Vulnerable Groups, Health, Restoration, Theoretical Framework, Methodological Tool
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review. | https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/17603/sound-perception-and-the-well-being-of-vulnerable-groups |
If your mind is occupied with something absorbing, it is easier to forget about the tinnitus. Work, leisure pursuits and other interests can all help to provide a worthwhile focus. If you don't have a hobby, now might be the time to start something, many people say that painting or writing helps. Bear in mind however, that excessive activity may produce stress, so take time for relaxing activities and social interaction where possible.
Resetting the tonotopic map. Researchers are exploring how to take advantage of the tonotopic map, which organizes neurons in the auditory cortex according to the frequency of the sound to which they respond. Previous research has shown a change in the organization of the tonotopic map after exposing the ear to intense noise. By understanding how these changes happen, researchers could develop techniques to bring the map back to normal and relieve tinnitus.
If you have tinnitus you also may suffer from anxiety, depression, or insomnia. Discuss treatments with your doctor. While tinnitus cannot always be cured, there are many treatments available for you to make it easier to live with tinnitus. See your doctor if tinnitus is accompanied by dizziness, fever, or headache; as this may signal a more serious condition.
Other causes of tinnitus include middle ear infections, disorders that block the ear canal (such as an external ear infection [external otitis], excessive ear wax, or foreign bodies), problems with the eustachian tube (which connects the middle ear and the back of the nose) due to allergies or other causes of obstruction, otosclerosis (a disorder of excess bone growth in the middle ear), and temporomandibular disorders. An uncommon but serious cause is an acoustic neuroma, a noncancerous (benign) tumor of part of the nerve leading from the inner ear.
The exact biological process by which hearing loss is associated with tinnitus is still being investigated by researchers. However, we do know that the loss of certain sound frequencies leads to specific changes in how the brain processes sound. In short, as the brain receives less external stimuli around a specific frequency, it begins to adapt and change. Tinnitus may be the brain’s way of filling in the missing sound frequencies it no longer receives from the auditory system.
Hyperacusis is a different, but related condition to tinnitus. People with hyperacusis have a high sensitivity to common, everyday environmental noise. In particular, sharp and high-pitched sounds are very difficult for people with hyperacusis to tolerate—sounds like the screeching of brakes, a baby crying or a dog barking, a sink full of dishes and silverware clanging. Many people with tinnitus also experience hyperacusis—but the two conditions don’t always go together.
Tinnitus that's continuous, steady, and high-pitched (the most common type) generally indicates a problem in the auditory system and requires hearing tests conducted by an audiologist. Pulsatile tinnitus calls for a medical evaluation, especially if the noise is frequent or constant. MRI or CT imaging may be needed to check for a tumor or blood vessel abnormality.
Other potential sources of the sounds normally associated with tinnitus should be ruled out. For instance, two recognized sources of high-pitched sounds might be electromagnetic fields common in modern wiring and various sound signal transmissions. A common and often misdiagnosed condition that mimics tinnitus is radio frequency (RF) hearing, in which subjects have been tested and found to hear high-pitched transmission frequencies that sound similar to tinnitus.
Tinnitus is when people think they hear something in their ears but there is actually no sound. People with tinnitus actually do "hear" noises that range from a whistle to a crackling noise to a roar. It can happen only occasionally, can occur for a period of days then take a break before recurring again, or it can be constant. The sound can vary in pitch from quiet to unbearably loud, or it can stay the same.
It’s been found that exposure to very loud noises can contribute to early hearing loss and ear problems. Loud sounds can include those from heavy machinery or construction equipment (such as sledge hammers, chain saws and firearms). Even gun shots, car accidents, or very loud concerts and events can trigger acute tinnitus, although this should go away within a couple days in some cases. (5)
Tinnitus can occur as a sleep disorder - -this is called the "exploding head syndrome". This most often occurs while falling asleep or waking up. It is a tremendously loud noise. Some theorize that this syndrome is due to a brief seizure in auditory cortex. It is not dangerous.(Green 2001; Palikh and Vaughn 2010). Logically, anticonvulsants might be useful for treatment.
It is very well accepted that tinnitus often is "centralized" -- while it is usually initiated with an inner ear event, persistent tinnitus is associated with changes in central auditory processing (Adjamian et al, 2009). Sometimes this idea is used to put forth a "therapeutic nihilism" -- suggesting that fixing the "cause" -- i.e. inner ear disorder -- will not make the tinnitus go away. This to us seems overly simplistic -- while it is clear that the central nervous system participates in perception of sounds, and thus must be a participant in the "tinnitus" process, we think that it is implausible that in most cases that there is not an underlying "driver" for persistent tinnitus.
A large, 2014 study of almost 14,000 people found obstructive sleep apnea was linked to significantly higher rates of hearing impairment and hearing loss. Scientists think one reason for this is changes to blood flow to the ear that result in inflammation. (We know that sleep apnea causes changes to circulation and weakens blood flow to some areas of the body, including the brain.) A related factor? People with sleep apnea are at greater risk for high blood pressure, and high blood pressure can exacerbate hearing loss, according to research.
Tinnitus is the name for hearing a sound that is not physically present in the environment. Some researchers have also described tinnitus as a “phantom auditory perception.” People with tinnitus most often describe it as ringing, buzzing, cricket sounds, humming, and whooshing, although many other descriptions have been used. To hear some sound samples access the American Tinnitus Association website, where they have put together files of different manifestations of tinnitus to listen to for education purposes.
Pulsatile tinnitus is a rare type of tinnitus that sounds like a rhythmic pulsing in the ear, usually in time with your heartbeat. A doctor may be able to hear it by pressing a stethoscope against your neck or by placing a tiny microphone inside the ear canal. This kind of tinnitus is most often caused by problems with blood flow in the head or neck. Pulsatile tinnitus also may be caused by brain tumors or abnormalities in brain structure.
It’s the same mechanism that’s happening in people who feel a phantom limb sensation after losing a limb, explains Susan Shore, PhD, a professor of otolaryngology, molecular physiology, and biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. With tinnitus the loss of hearing causes specific brain neurons to increase their activity as a way of compensating, she explains. “These neurons also synchronize their activity as they would if there were a sound there, but there is no external sound,” she adds.
About 25-30 million Americans have tinnitus as a condition, and they experience these noises on a regular, most often daily, basis. About 40 percent of people with tinnitus hear tinnitus noise through 80 percent of their day. And for a smaller group of people—about 1 in 5, tinnitus is disruptive enough to significantly interfere with daily functioning, becoming disabling or nearly disabling.
Muscle spasms: Tinnitus that is described as clicking may be due to abnormalities that cause the muscle in the roof of the mouth (palate) to go into spasm. This causes the Eustachian tube, which helps equalize pressure in the ears, to repeatedly open and close. Multiple sclerosis and other neurologic diseases that are associated with muscle spasms may also be a cause of tinnitus, as they may lead to spasms of certain muscles in the middle ear that can cause the repetitive clicking.
John P. Cunha, DO, is a U.S. board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Dr. Cunha's educational background includes a BS in Biology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and a DO from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in Kansas City, MO. He completed residency training in Emergency Medicine at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Sound therapies are one method that has previously been shown to reduce the severity of tinnitus. While not all sound therapies have gone through rigorous clinical testing, they have far greater traction and adoption in the tinnitus community. There are two types of sound therapy approaches: (1) maskers that are intended to block out the tinnitus and have the patient learn to ignore their tinnitus, and (2) sound therapies that utilize the same brain plasticity that is thought to be causing the tinnitus for the purpose of reducing it. Both approaches can be delivered via electronic devices that can produce sound. There has been an increase in tinnitus maskers that are built into hearing aids. These built-in maskers generate different sounds including white noise and random tones. Unfortunately, due to their design, hearing aids are still limited to providing masking at frequencies below 8 kHz.
An ultrasound is another test that may be used to aid in the diagnosis of tinnitus. An ultrasound uses reflected high-frequency sound waves and their echoes to create images of structures within the body. An ultrasound can reveal how blood flows within vessels, but is only useful for accessible vessels. It is not helpful for blood vessels within the skull. | https://banishtinnitus.net/tinnitus-cure-essential-oils-does-xanax-cure-tinnitus.html |
A new collaborative study by University of Texas, Arlington researchers has shown that a small area of the brain can be optically stimulated to control pain.
Researchers found that using a specific frequency of light to modulate tiny regions known as anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of the brain, they could significantly reduce pain in laboratory mice models. Current electrode based ACC stimulation techniques miss specificity and activate both inhibitory and excitatory neurons.
The research focused on the same chemical irritants and the exact same mechanical pain experienced after a pinch or pinprick. According to Prof. Mohanty, this project could lead to a better understanding of the pathways and strategies of pain and ultimately could help manage chronic pain.
“While reducing the sensation for chronic pain by optical stimulation, we still want to sense certain types of pain because they tell us to move our hands or legs away from something that is too hot or that might otherwise hurt us if we get too close,” Prof. Mohanty noted.
This research could direct the scientific community towards less invasive methods to treat severe pain without losing crucial sensing, emotional and behavior functions.
In order news related to Texas-based research related to the study of chronic pain, a recent comprehensive review that involved researchers from University of Texas at Arlington, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center concluded that psychological interventions often provide more relief to chronic pain than prescription drugs or surgery without the risk of side effects, but are used less frequently than traditional medical treatments. The study was published by the American Psychological Association. Learn more. | https://bionews-tx.com/news/2015/03/03/ut-arlington-researchers-use-optogenetic-brain-stimulation-to-control-pain/ |
Nowadays, Artificial Intelligence is being one of the niches in which more is being investigated, since the fact that we can teach a machine to “think” is allowing us to reach levels of development that, otherwise, we it would take centuries to achieve. But AI is not only used “in a big way”, but also in more everyday aspects such as, for example, noise cancellation in the microphones that we use regularly in our homes. We tell you how it is possible and how it works.
The active noise cancellation in microphone works, in general terms, by introducing one or more additional microphones, to detect background noise or sounds distant, produce a sound equal and inverse to the first ring. This technique is expensive in terms of the materials used and the electronics to carry it out, so introducing a simple Artificial Intelligence algorithm that does all the work is, without a doubt, something very profitable since we are talking about software and not hardware. in the end.
This is how software noise cancellation works
Leaving aside the active noise cancellation by hardware, which to this day is still the most effective, we can also find various systems that use software algorithms to produce the same effect (although as we have already said, they are not as effective) .
Traditional noise removal is done with filters
Most denoising algorithms are subtractive, that is, they identify certain frequencies that have the highest levels of background noise and remove those frequencies from the original signal. The problem with this method is that static filters are used (known as low-pass, high-pass and band-pass), designed with specific parameters that can eliminate sounds that they should not remove, or may not remove. all the background noise.
To give you an idea, in the following image you can see how a Wiener noise reduction algorithm works; In the first graph we have only the voice of the interlocutor, completely clean, while in the second we have the same but with background noise, where it can be clearly seen that the wave is “dirty”. In the third graph, we have the result after applying the filter, which has eliminated the frequencies for which it is programmed.
However, we can see in the graphs on the right that many nuances have been lost with respect to the original clean phrase. Therefore, these types of filters are only effective when the background noise is determined and always the same, but they are tremendously ineffective in situations where the background noise varies and can create unwanted effects like the ones we have reviewed. A while ago.
How Artificial Intelligence improves noise cancellation
As you already know, Artificial Intelligence also needs to have a kind of database on which to base itself in order, in this case, to know how to identify what is noise that it must suppress and what is “good” sound that it must let pass. Here, as in all AI algorithms is performed by learning ( Machine Learning ), or put another way, the IA should have a basis on which to base their decisions.
But before establishing the dataset on which to base it, it is important to consider the use case of the model, in this case noise suppression. For example, when training a noise reduction algorithm that would be applied to the microphone signals of a helicopter pilot, it makes more sense to train the neural network with audio samples distorted by variations in the sounds produced by the engine of the helicopter. helicopter. However, for a more generic noise suppression model it makes more sense to train the network with samples of more everyday background sounds, such as background conversations, fan noise, dog barking, traffic noise, music, etc. .
The biggest difference between noise reduction using Artificial Intelligence and noise reduction simply by software is that in the latter, the “model” used are completely static, fixed filters, while using AI these filters are completely modifiable since for that is the AI, to interpret what it has to suppress and what not based on that previous training.
For this reason, noise reduction through Artificial Intelligence such as RTX Voice or the technology that Microsoft is implementing in Teams is much more efficient and effective for daily use, since it does not make use of fixed filters and that, in reality, they only serve to mitigate one type of background noise. | https://notesread.com/how-software-noise-cancellation-works/ |
The ear is a sensitive organ and can be damaged if exposed to excessive levels of noise. The measure of noise is referred to as sound pressure level (SPL) and is quoted in the unit decibel (dB).
Not all noise is the same and it is important to consider the type of noise an employee is exposed to before deciding on the most suitable PPE.
There are two properties of noise that are important to consider before deciding on PPE:
- The frequency of the noise
- The intensity of the noise at that frequency (or frequencies)
Frequency is the attribute of noise that determines its pitch. A high-pitch noise, such as that of a squeaking bearing contains high-frequency sound energy. A low-pitch noise, such as the hum of an electrical generator contains low-frequency sound energy. Frequency is an important consideration because the ear has different sensitivity at different frequencies.
The ear is most sensitive at frequencies from about 400-6,000Hz. These frequencies are important for speech intelligibility, and damage to the ear in this range can have a significant impact on the individual suffering hearing loss. The increased sensitivity of the ear at these frequencies is modelled mathematically by a frequency curve known as the A Weighting Curve.
When a SPL is quoted, it may be quoted using the A weighted value (dBA). This shows the value has been adjusted to represent its relevance to the sensitivity of the ear.
In summary, at very low and very high frequencies, the ear is less sensitive, while at frequencies in the middle of the audible range, the ear is much more sensitive. As a result, hearing protection must be designed and selected to ensure this is taken into consideration.
Selecting hearing protection that conforms to the standard EN 352 will ensure protection of the ear. The aim of any protection product is to reduce the SPL at the ear to a level that is not going to cause damage. The specific level of reduction required varies by region, but generally a SPL above 80(dBA) for anything other than a very short period of time will cause damage to ear.
When selecting hearing protection, there are several criteria that the manufacturer of the product is required to quote in the instructions to the user. These criteria help in the selection of the hearing protection:
- Assumed Protection Level (APL) gives the value of protection at a specific frequency. The frequencies the APL is quoted at most often start at a low frequency. The frequency is then doubled for the next APL value. This is known as an octave band increase.
- Single Number Rating (SNR) value represents the overall performance of the product and is based on the A weighted performance of the product. It offers less detailed information than the APL values, but it is useful for refining a search of hearing protection.
- High, Mid, Low (H,M,L) values give the performance of the hearing protection. H,M and L values offer a middle ground between the SNR and APL, offering a relatively detailed description of the performance of the product.
There are various types of hearing protection. Most common are the ear muff and ear bud types. Ear muffs sit over the ear and rely on a seal between the side of the head and the cushioning of the muff to provide protection. Ear buds or plugs have to be inserted into the opening of the outer ear and seal against the skin of the ear. | https://knowhow.distrelec.com/mro/hearing-protection/ |
(The WHAT of psychosocial research in architecture)
This is the third post in a series considering the role of psychological research within the context of an architectural practice. The goal of this series is to provide answers to six key questions, namely, the why, what, who, when, how and where, of design focused psychological research.
In my previous post we looked at why design focused psychosocial research matters within the architectural practice. In this post we will discuss the “what,” which is the nature of this type of research by referring to five primary characteristics. A discussion regarding the nature of this research differs from a discussion on appropriate methodologies. While this post addresses the “what,” a future post will address the “how.”
It is important to note, at the onset of this discussion that, psychosocial research, as it relates to the designed environment, can be especially complicated. This is primarily due to the number of variables present in the designed environment and the fact that some are difficult to define, and almost impossible to measure. Adding to the complexity is the dynamic relationship between variables and that these interact with each other within the context of a larger equally dynamic social and cultural environment. However, many of these challenges can be managed by setting realistic study goals based on a clear understanding of the nature and limitations of this type of research. In an attempt to better define this field of research at least five aspects regarding its nature should be emphasized:
Interdisciplinary: By its very nature psychosocial research in the architectural practice needs to be interdisciplinary. To accurately describe the variables and their relationships requires input from a number of different disciplines, none of which the architect in innately familiar with. On this point reference should be made to well-established research disciplines such as social and environmental psychology, cognitive sciences, anthropology and sociology. However, given the contribution of various design disciplines to the designed environment, input from the various design disciplines; interior design, lighting design, industrial and furniture design is also required. Architectural practice is by nature a cooperative, multi-disciplinary endeavor. Psychosocial research in architecture should build on this multi-disciplinary foundation, crossing over, where needed, into the interdisciplinary.
Conceptually delineated: Given the interdisciplinary nature of this research, a designer hoping to engage in psychosocial research should develop a general understanding of the key concepts of related disciplines. There exists, in architectural design, a relative freedom to appropriate, and sometimes misappropriate words and concepts to describe a particular design idea. While this is useful within the context of a specific project, these terms are not usually used as part of a larger academic discussion. However, as designers engage in interdisciplinary research there should be a clear understanding that a larger research discussion, extending beyond the boundaries of architecture, depends on a shared understanding of formally defined, and acknowledged, terms. Designers wanting to engage with research in this domain should do their due diligence to become familiar with the ‘industry jargon’ of related disciplines.
Rigorous (but not necessarily experimental): Related to the previous point is the requirement that psychosocial research should have an intentional rigor to the definition of concepts and the selected methodology. This is especially true should the designer be interested in presenting or publishing the results of the research. Given the specific requirements for peer reviewed research, the intent to publish in an accredited academic journal should be considered at the onset of the study. It is worthwhile to point out that although some firms might be able to pursue studies of a more experimental nature, the requirements of experimental research are such that, in most cases, this will be the exception rather than the rule. It is highly recommended that architects, wishing to engage in more specialized forms of research do so in collaboration with academic researchers. These collaborations, although difficult to establish and manage, holds immense potential for both researcher and practitioner for developing new methodologies and attaining results with practical applications.
Methodologically flexible: Although psychosocial research should be rigorous there needs to exist flexibility in terms of the various methodologies available to the designer. Considering that this field of research is still developing, the architect’s research toolbox should contain methodologies from a number of different disciplines. More importantly, given the unique challenges and varying physical and social contexts of the designed environment, the creation of new methodologies based on the research question and available resources should remain a possibility. Various methodologies, many which have been used successfully in design firms, will be described in a future post.
Outcomes based: Just as material research in architecture is directly focused on specific outcomes related to an actual building, psychosocial research in architecture should be aimed at addressing specific questions aimed at ultimately generating specific design solutions. Research, for the sake of research, is questionable within a real-world context of billable hours and time based project delivery. Design focused psychosocial research is not unlike design focused material research where, for example, research regarding the thermal conductivity of an insulated glass unit is not primarily for the sake of better understanding thermal conductivity, but rather to better understand the contribution of the glass unit as part of a larger facade assembly, to the overall building performance and occupant comfort.
Although similarities exist between design focused psychosocial research and traditional academic research disciplines, there are significant differences. A clear understanding of these differences is essential when considering the unique challenges of this type of research. At times these differences will require the development of new outcome based methodologies. The degree to which firms will develop their own methodologies will depend on the experience and objectives of the designers involved.
In the next post we will discuss the “who” of design focused psychosocial research by considering the characteristics and requirements of the various individuals and organizations involved with this form of research.
Related:
An Introduction to Psychological Research in Architectural Practice
Why does psychological research in architectural practice matter? | https://www.payette.com/research-innovation/5-points-on-the-nature-of-psychosocial-research-in-architecture/ |
One of the most perspective development directions of the aircraft engine is the application of adaptive digital automatic control systems (ACS). The significant element of the adaptation is the correction of mathematical models of both engine and its executive, measuring devices. These models help to solve tasks of control and are a combination of static models and dynamic models, as static models describe relations between parameters at steady-state modes, and dynamic ones characterize deviations of the parameters from static values.
The work considers problems of the models’ correction using parametric identification methods. It is shown that the main problem of the precise engine simulation is the correction of the static model. A robust procedure that is based on a wide application of a priori information about performances of the engine and its measuring system is proposed for this purpose. One of many variants of this procedure provides an application of the non-linear thermodynamic model of the working process and estimation of individual corrections to the engine components’ characteristics with further substitution of the thermodynamic model by approximating on-board static model. Physically grounded estimates are obtained based on a priori information setting about the estimated parameters and engine performances, using fuzzy sets.
Executive devices (actuators) and the most inertial temperature sensors require correction to their dynamic models. Researches showed, in case that the data for identification are collected during regular operation of ACS, the estimates of dynamic model parameters can be strongly correlated that reasons inadmissible errors.
The reason is inside the substantial limitations on transients’ intensity that contain regular algorithms of acceleration/deceleration control. Therefore, test actions on the engine are required. Their character and minimum composition are determined using the derived relations between errors in model coefficients, measurement process, and control action parameters.
Abstract
Annoyance is the most prevalent community response to environmental noise. Observational and experimental lab studies have shown that exposure to environmental noise leads to annoyance, sleep disturbance, daytime sleepiness, increased heart rate and increased blood pressure. However, previous literature is preliminary based on controlled settings or experimental design, raising the question of the generalizability and applicability in daily life scenarios. This study aimed to investigate two main research questions. First, what is the relationship between short-term annoyance and different amounts of nocturnal aircraft noise exposure in daily life? Second, what is the relationship between physiological parameters, including heart rate, number of awakenings, sleep efficiency, sleep duration and different amounts of nocturnal aircraft noise exposure in daily life? This study also aimed to explore the suitability of non-invasive commercially available activity trackers to measure physiological metrics in a scientific way. During this field study, participants were wearing Fitbit Charge 3 activity trackers recording heart rate and different sleep-derived metrics (e.g. deep sleep duration, sleep efficiency and awakenings). The used activity trackers were readily available, non-intrusive, relatively cheap and easy to use by the participants. Simultaneously, a logbook was used by the participants to track the subjective perception and situational context of air traffic noise exposure. The noise levels corresponding to the exposure of air traffic of each participant were calculated based on the location of the participant and the corresponding radar track using an aircraft noise monitoring system.
We hypothesize that a higher amount of exposure to aircraft noise in real life will be associated with increased annoyance, increased rest heartrate, higher number of awakenings, decreased sleep efficiency and decreased deep sleep duration.
Preliminary results on the interactions between aircraft noise exposure, perceived annoyance and physiological metrics suggest increased nocturnal aircraft noise exposure seems to negatively affect sleep efficiency and deep sleep duration.
Abstract
The article presents the results of calculations applied to compare flight envelopes of varying helicopter configurations. Performance of conventional helicopter with the main and tail rotors, in the case of compound helicopter, can be improved by applying wings and pusher propellers which generate an additional lift and horizontal thrust. The simplified model of a helicopter structure, consisting of a stiff fuselage and the main rotor treated as a stiff disk, is applied for evaluation of the rotorcraft performance and the required range of control system deflections. The more detailed model of deformable main rotor blades, applying the Galerkin method, is used to calculate rotor loads and blade deformations in defined flight states. The calculations of simulated flight states are performed considering data of a hypothetical medium class helicopter with the take-off mass of 6,000kg. In the case of both of the helicopter configurations, the articulated main rotor hub is taken under consideration. According to the Galerkin method, the elastic blade model allows to compute blade deformations as a combination of the blade bending and torsional eigen modes. Introduction of additional wing and pusher propellers allows to increase the range of operational speed over 300 km/h. Results of the simulation are presented as time-runs of rotor loads and blade deformations and in a form of disk distribution plots of rotor parameters. The simulation method can be useful in defining requirements for a high speed rotorcraft.
Abstract
The idea of using the phenomenon of rotating detonation to propulsion has its roots in fifties of the last century in works of Adamson et al. and Nicholls et al. at the University of Michigan. The idea was recently reinvented and experimental research and numerical simulations on the Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE) are carried in numerous institutions worldwide, in Poland at Warsaw University of Technology (WUT) since 2004. Over the period 2010-2014 WUT and Institute of Aviation (IOA) jointly implemented the project under the Innovative Economy Operational Programme entitled ‘Turbine engine with detonation combustion chamber’. The goal of the project was to replace the combustion chamber of turboshaft engine GTD-350 with the annular detonation chamber.
This paper is focused on investigation of the influence of a geometry and flow conditions on the structure and propagation stability of the rotating detonation wave. Presented results are in majority an outcome of the aforementioned programme, in particular authors’ works on the development of the in-house code REFLOPS USG and its application to simulation of the rotating detonation propagation in the RDE.
Abstract
Detonation is a promising combustion mode to improve engine performance, increase combustion efficiency, reduce emissions, and enhance thermal cycle efficiency. Over the last decade, significant progress has been made towards the applications of detonation mode in engines, such as standing detonation engine (SDE), Pulse detonation engine (PDE) and rotating detonation engine (RDE), and the understanding of the fundamental chemistry and physics processes in detonation engines via experimental and numerical studies. This article is to provide a comprehensive overview of the progress in the knowledge of rotating detonation engine from the different countries. New observations of injection, ignition, and geometry of combustor, pressure feedback, and combustion modes of RDE have been reported. These findings and advances have provided new opportunities in the development of rotating detonation for practical applications. Finally, we point out the current gaps in knowledge to indicate which areas future research should be directed at.
Abstract
Among of modern papers devoted to numerical modeling of rotated waves the greater part of papers are based on assumption that such wave propagates with velocity equals to the Chapman-Jouguet velocity of ideal detonation model with plane front. But the experimental velocities of rotated detonation waves, as a rule, are less (and even much less) the velocity of ideal Chapman-Jouguet detonation. Such regimes are named as low-velocity detonation or quasi-detonation and its characteristics are practically not investigated carefully. Moreover, similar to the spinning detonation, the strong connection of velocity of rotated transverse waves with the acoustic waves of reaction products was observed. So the new model with an allowance for the losses of impulse and energy must be used at numerical modeling of RDE and new experimental investigations of regimes with understated velocity must be carried out. In given paper some important aspects of rotated detonation waves and new experimental results are analyzed: the multifront system of rotated waves; correlation of rotation velocity of waves with acoustic characteristics of reaction products; streak-records trajectory of rotated waves on moving film; pressure and temperature profiles of rotating waves; velocity deficit and energy-release.
Abstract
The article proposes a method of deciding on the continuation or termination of the UAV flight on the basis of fuzzy logic to ensure its trouble-free flight, which will be used in the future to build an onboard monitoring system of the power supply of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The developed method of decision-making allows to determine the residual battery life on the basis of data on current voltage, battery temperature, temperature on board the UAV and the direction and strength of the wind, using which the computer system will make recommendations for continuing or terminating the UAV flight task. The method of decision-making using fuzzy logic involves the formation of linguistic variables, which are the input information parameters and the output decision, their linguistic terms and membership functions, as well as a system of rules for decision-making. The voltage at the output of the battery, its surface temperature and the wind direction on board the UAV were used as input variables, and the residual battery life was used as the output linguistic variable.
Abstract
A mathematical model of the error of the navigational accelerometer caused by the nonlinearity of its metrological model, taking into account the influence of vibration, was developed. The method of experimental estimation of the vibration error based on the developed model was proposed. The main idea of the method is to evaluate parameters of the developed model during static tests in the terrestrial gravitational field and to calculate error according to the specific vibration characteristics – the amplitude in the case of harmonic vibration profile or the frequency band and the power spectral density in the case of random vibration. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been tested using three types of navigation accelerometers in comparison with the results of classical dynamic testing in various vibration conditions (harmonic, white noise, etc.).
Abstract
In traditional air taxi model, flight route and timing are assigned to every order individually, resulting in minimum utilization of seats, maximum number of empty legs and elevated price levels. Sharing flights, when possible, allow decreasing number of empty seats and distributing cost of flight among customers. Challenges to overcome are varying timing needs of customers and volatility of demand. This article investigates possibilities of synchronizing passenger orders. The proposed passenger pooling model replaces specific flight timing on order with constraints: latest arrival and earliest departure to provide room for coordination of orders, backed by web-based ICT. Theoretical test cases calculations verify the concept and compare it with traditional full on-demand and scheduled operations. | https://content.sciendo.com/browse?pageSize=10&sort=relevance&subSite=sciendo&t_0=EN&t_1=EN-01-01&t_2=MS-01&t_3=MS |
learning?
University of Bergen online course,
Occupational Health in Developing Countries
Impaired hearing is a well-documented effect from too much noise exposure. Impaired hearing due to noise exposure may occur as a result of mechanical (e.g. rupture of the ear drum) or neurogenic damage (e.g. damage of the hair cells in cochlea). Regeneration may restore function, but if the level and duration of noise has been too great, the hair cells will die, resulting in a permanent hearing loss. Hearing loss due to chronic noise exposure usually begins at 3000 Hz or 4000 Hz. Noise exposure may also cause tinnitus.A temporary threshold shift (TTS) is a normal response to loud noise exposure, and recovery ensues after a certain period of rest under low noise conditions. Excessive exposure to high noise levels may cause a permanent threshold shift (PTS), known as noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). Illustration of the time necessary to reach the limit for increased risk of hearing loss related to sound intensitites. © University of Bergen/Arjun AhluwaliaThe figure above tells us how long we can be exposed to different noise levels without increasing the risk of developing NIHL. For a normal, eight hour working day, our ears can tolerate a level of 85 dB(A), but not higher. As the decibel scale is logarithmic, an increase of 3 dB corresponds to a doubling of the sound pressure, and the exposure time needs to be halved. The hearing ability can become acutely and irreversibly damaged when exposed to sound levels above 130 dB(A).b) Non-auditory effects
The non-auditory effects of noise exposure include effects on cognitive performance, communication difficulties, sleep disturbance, cardiovascular effects, irritability and increased risk of accidents. The mechanisms of non-auditory effects are less well documented than those for auditory effects. However, the societal cost of such effects has been well established.
AudiometryHearing loss is usually assessed through a procedure known as audiometry. Audiometry is a hearing test performed in a quiet room where an audiometer delivers tones of specific frequency and loudness to the worker who then has to give a signal if he or she hears the sound. The examiner can increase or decrease the loudness, depending on the response from the patient, to determine the hearing thresholds for different frequencies. A person’s ability to hear is displayed in an audiogram. An example of an audiogram from a person with severe threshold shift. A young person will normally hear all frequencies at 20 dB or less. In this audiogram it is displayed that the person needs to have 60 – 70 dB on the frequencies 3000, 4000, 6000 and 8000 Hz to hear the sound. Such a hearing loss may indicate noise exposure damage. © University of Bergen/Arjun AhluwaliaIt is important to conduct regular hearing tests in occupations with noise exposure. The frequency of such testing should be decided in relation to the risk assessment, whic itself is related to the noise exposure. However, generally it is recommended to perform the test at the time of employment, after 6 months of work and then every year thereafter if the noise levels are high. To ensure reliable results on the test it is important to take into account several things; that the worker is not exposed to noise during the 12 hours preceding the test, that he does not suffer from allergy or cold at the time of the test, and that his ears are free of ear-wax. The test should be performed in a very quiet room, preferably in a sound-insulated audiometric booth, and the test personnel should be educated in audiometric procedures and have good routines for correctly maintaining of the equipment. Here, audiometry is performed in a quiet office, without a sound-insulated booth. The worker hears sounds at different frequencies, and presses a button when she hears them. The examiner sees a light on the instrument panel when the button is pressed, and can note the results. © G. TjalvinThe hearing damage received is dependent on what frequency noise you have been exposed to. Most typical for industrial noise damage is a hearing loss in the frequency area 3000 – 6000 Hz. Unfortunately, this range is the same as that for human speech. There is no treatment for hearing loss other than making sure that the hearing loss does not progress. To avoid increasing hearing loss, it is important to avoid noise exposure and to protec the remaining hearing ability. This is done through risk assessment, hearing protection, regular follow up with hearing tests and equipping the person with hearing aids, which are small amplifying apparatuses in the ears. A construction site can be a noisy workplace. © Colourbox
Work places at riskMany workplaces have high noise levels. High noise levels may, for instance, occur in any industry with machinery, in agriculture and in mining. Building sites may have sudden high noise levels due to demolition or falling objects and noise levels may exceed 130 decibels (dB(A)). Machine rooms aboard vessels with engines, normally have noise levels around 100 dB(A). Any place with noise producing machines and tools may have high noise levels. Old machines and equipment often produce high noise levels due to the less advanced technology and lack of maintenance. Although the highest noise levels at work come from large machinery and tools, noise levels may also be high at other types of workplaces. Examples of other “noisy” workplaces include restaurants, discotheques and music concert areas.
Occupational Health in Developing Countries
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What Are Drug Addicts Anonymous or Substance Abuse Anonymous Meetings?
Substance Abuse Anonymous or Drug Addicts Anonymous (DAA) may enrich and extend the positive effects of professional treatment. They are also known as self-help groups that provide help for drug addiction or any other form of substance abuse. Most are affiliated with Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and Cocaine Anonymous (CA).1
AA was the first of these groups and it was founded back in 1935. From it, the NA was founded in 1953. Both use a 12-step model specifically developed for people struggling with substance use disorders (SUD).2,3
As of early 2018, NA alone has had more than 70,000 substance abuse anonymous meetings in 144 countries per week.4
What Are the 12 Steps of Drug Addicts Anonymous?
Groups based on the 12-step programs are mutual aid organizations that help individuals struggling with SUD. All of these organizations implement a specific process that follows these principles:5
- Admitting that the individual cannot control their substance use.
- The belief in a Higher Power that gives a person strength.
- Examination of past errors.
- Making amends.
- Learning how to live a new, sober life.
- Helping others who struggle with the same type of SUD.
The 12-step tradition was formally established in 1946 in Akron, Ohio. The practice is to stay anonymous or use only the individual’s first name while sharing messages that could help other struggling individuals.6
Support groups based on this approach such as Drug Addicts Anonymous offer some important benefits:7
- DAA meetings offer individuals an opportunity for involvement with a group of people who are trying to maintain sobriety.
- They offer a sense of belonging.
- They offer mutual support to people recovering from drug addiction (or any other form of SUD).
- They help former users make friends with common interests.
- They destigmatize SUD.
- They help former users gain a sense of responsibility.
- They help individuals accept that they have a problem.
- Substance abuse meetings are held several times a day, almost every day of the week, so you can always count on them.
- They offer free help for users.
However, there are a few downsides to Substance Abuse Anonymous meetings. These include the following:7
- These programs don’t provide any medical advice unlike specialized addiction rehab facilities.
- They require social involvement. Some people who struggle with SUD may feel anxious in group settings and would prefer one-on-one meetings.
- They require some form of religious belief.
- They insist that all struggling individuals use the word ‘addict’. Not everyone is comfortable with that.
- They make individuals believe that they are powerless in front of SUD and that only a higher power can save them.
- They take a lot of time.
What Happens at Drug Addicts Anonymous or Substance Abuse Anonymous Meetings?
Drug Anonymous meetings for drug addiction can complement the effects of professional rehabilitation treatment. They provide additional forms of help for drug addiction or any other type of SUD. Most rehab facilities encourage their patients to participate in DAA meetings during and after treatment.1
DAA meetings offer struggling individuals readily available community-based resources for free. This is a way to provide help to drug users with no insurance or money, as well as to individuals who might benefit from being in a community of supportive people who have had their own issues with SUD.7
What Are the Benefits of Drug Addicts Anonymous or Substance Abuse Anonymous Group?
DAA meetings and groups can provide many benefits to participants.7 Substance Abuse Anonymous groups show some level of clinical effectiveness. For instance, 42.3% of participants who participated in a survey that explored the benefits of DAA stated that they found DAA meetings helpful.7
The same study showed that people who are regular attendants of DAA meetings for three years or more were 4.1 to 8.6 times more likely to sustain abstinence compared to people who don’t participate in such programs.8
Overall, a great number of individuals reported feeling the benefits of being a part of a group of sober people. While a combination of medical treatment and Alcoholics or Addicts Anonymous meetings seems to provide the best outcome, a 12-steps program can help its members remain abstinent from illicit substances.8
What Can I Expect at a Drug Addicts Anonymous or Substance Abuse Anonymous Meeting?
Substance Abuse Anonymous meetings tend to vary a bit, as they are directed by the local members. However, the basics behind them stay the same, as most people inside the room have gone through the same struggles.9
During the meeting, the participants share their stories in an open discussion. Often, there is a topic that serves as the foundation behind this discussion.9
‘Newcomers’ will usually be asked to introduce themselves, using only their first name to stay anonymous. After that, many participants with similar stories will come to support the new participants and help them open up and reflect on the underlying reasons behind their addiction.9
What to Prepare Before Going for Drug Addicts Anonymous Meetings?
A person who wants to participate in DAA meetings doesn’t have to prepare anything physical to be able to attend. The meetings are free but every participant can leave a donation.9
However, you have to be in the right mindset and willing to participate. All individuals should be willing to stop using and be prepared to help themselves. Also, they are free to ask any questions related to drugs and alcohol, but bringing these substances is strictly forbidden during meetings.9
Where Can I Attend Drug Addicts Anonymous or Substance Abuse Anonymous Meetings Near Me?
There are many Drug Anonymous meetings nationwide held every day, many times a day. Some organizations, such as AA, NA, and Al-Anon, have downloadable applications that will let you know where you can find a Drug Anonymous meeting near you.4
Other than downloading apps, you might try the old-fashion way and look up a phone number in the local telephone book, white pages, or online. Next to AA, CA, and NA, you might also try to find these organizations:7
- Celebrate Recovery.
- Chemical Dependent Anonymous.
- Crystal Meth Anonymous.
- Dual Recovery Anonymous.
- Marijuana Anonymous.
- Moderation Management.
- Pills Anonymous.
- Women for Sobriety.
Some of these groups might even arrange an online group meeting via video call. However, most meetings are held in locations such as treatment centers, churches, or other similar facilities that tend to be affordable, convenient, and available.9
What Is the Duration of Drug Addicts Anonymous Program?
There isn’t a set duration of DAA or any other 12-step program. While all participants are encouraged to come as many times as possible, any individual can decide to stop participating in the program whenever they feel like it. Similarly, they are free to return at any time, as long as they are actively working on their recovery.9
It’s important to note that the longer you attend the DAA meetings, the greater are your chances of successfully abstaining from substance use. Most sponsors encourage newcomers to attend 90 meetings in 90 days.8,9
When it comes to the duration of the meeting, most last for an hour, but there aren’t rules against them lasting longer or shorter.8
How to Find a Drug Addict Anonymous Meeting Near Me?
Most 12-step organizations have their meetings listed on their websites. DAA, for example, has a list of upcoming meetings on its website that you can attend without scheduling. On it, you’ll certainly find helpful Drug Addicts Anonymous meetings near you.
You might also learn when you can attend a meeting by calling a Drug Anonymous helpline on or even join by clicking the link that is available on the DAA’s website. DAA also enables users to start a meeting on their own. This can be done by following the instructions outlined by the group.
All of these meetings come free of charge. Unfortunately, they are just one aspect of addiction treatment and you may want to consider joining a specialized program. There are many payment options for individuals looking for help with their SUD should you decide to seek professional help.
Most insurance carriers will cover either a portion or the entire cost of your specialized rehab. If you aren’t certain whether you are covered, American Addiction Center (AAC) can help by verifying your insurance. You might also call their helpline and speak to a person who can check your benefits during the conversation. | https://www.projectknow.com/drug-addiction/drug-addicts-anonymous-meetings/ |
Intervention (12 Step Integration)
At Great Oaks Recovery Center we believe that the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is not a program but rather a foundation and roadmap for the men and women who have entered into a decision to live a chemical-free life. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) are support groups designed to be a refuge for those with the common thread of individuals struggling with addiction seeking hope. Therefore, while a client at Great Oaks Recovery Center all will be introduced to and walked through how support meetings work and how the 12 steps augment a new life. Our staff will help each client through the textbook of Alcoholics Anonymous (The Big Book) and all the steps. We call this aspect of our programming The Intervention.
The intervention is based on the behavioral, spiritual, and cognitive principles of 12-step fellowships such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA). The Intervention focuses on these general goals:
- Honesty and acceptance of the need for abstinence from alcohol and other drug use
- Surrender, or the willingness to participate actively in 12-step fellowships as a means of sustaining sobriety
- A willingness to amends for things we have wrongly done
The counselor assesses the client’s alcohol or drug use, educates the client on the difference of sobriety vs. recovery, explains the basic 12-step concepts, and actively supports and facilitates initial involvement and ongoing participation in AA &/or NA. It’s not brainwashing – it’s HOPE & SUPPORT. | https://greatoaksrecovery.com/intervention-12-step/ |
There are many elements that support a person’s recovery from alcohol or drug addiction. Support groups provide an essential component for many people as they begin to break free from addiction, and these resources also help as they continue their work to remain sober years or even decades later.
as part of the treatment programs to give clients the support they need during recovery.
Those who currently or previously struggled with alcohol abuse or addiction find support in Alcoholics Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are open to anyone of any nation, creed, gender, or belief system. During Eustis AA meetings, you will learn the 12 steps that support you during recovery to reduce the risk of a relapse. Although there is a spiritual component, there is no central religious tenant.
As you attend meetings, you benefit from peer support. You can share your struggles and celebrations during your recovery journey and learn from others as they share. This helps you to build on the coping skills you learned during rehab so you can live a full life without alcohol.
There are many options for AA meetings in Eustis. Each meeting has its own atmosphere based on the location, timing, attendance, leadership, and other factors. Therefore, you will want to try a few AA meetings before choosing one or more that you wish to regularly attend.
To find additional meetings, head to the Alcoholics Anonymous website.
Is the AA meeting coed?
What is the makeup of attendance?
You will find Eustis AA meetings around the city, often in community centers, churches, and other gathering centers. Some meetings may also take place in a person’s home.
Narcotics Anonymous meetings have been around for about 65 years, and they continue to provide support for those struggling with addiction to legal and illegal drugs, including opioids, cocaine, and marijuana. Like AA, the only requirement to attend NA meetings in Eustis is a desire to overcome your addiction.
NA meetings take place in a variety of settings, including community centers, parks, libraries, and churches. The Eustis NA meetings take place weekly, but with so many options, you can usually find a meeting on almost any day.
As you attend the meetings, you will work your way through the 12-step program. You can also share your struggles and get support and advice from your peers who have also struggled with addiction.
Everyone is welcome at NA meetings. Like AA, there is no central creed or tenant. Each meeting is unique to the individuals and leaders, so you may want to try a few different ones until you find one where you feel comfortable.
Although finding NA meetings in Eustis is most important for those fresh out of recovery and starting the transition into life after rehab, you will find that they continue to be important throughout your sobriety to keep you from falling back into your bad habits.
NA meetings Eustis are free and available around the city. You can find them through searching online for meetings near your location. You can also search for Narcotics Anonymous meetings on their website.
As you make your way from meeting to meeting, you may find that some are better suited for those just starting out. However, all meetings will welcome anyone struggling with substance abuse and looking to start a life free of drugs.
If you struggle with finding the right support groups or wish to start a more intensive treatment program, then contact The Recovery Village®. Our representatives will discuss our treatment options with you and answer questions about the different levels of care. | https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/local-rehab-resources/florida/eustis/aa-na-meetings/ |
AA Meetings and NA Meetings in Cleveland, Ohio
Alcohol abuse and drug addiction can lead to lonely and potential dangerous lives for those who suffer from them. The good news is that there are always options when it comes to treatment and recovery, and there are also ways to get support from people who know what you are going through.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a peer support group that has been around for decades in the Cleveland area. AA meetings in Cleveland are run by seasoned group leaders who have experience in the struggles associated with alcohol abuse treatment and recovery.
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is a peer group that operates in the same way as AA does in Cleveland. An NA meeting is a chance for those in treatment or recovery to not only share their story but realize that they are definitely not alone in their struggle.
Many people attend their first AA or NA meeting as part of a substance abuse treatment program in Cleveland, but there are also many standalone meetings held throughout the city for your convenience.
AA Meetings in Cleveland, Ohio
Before you start attending AA meetings in Cleveland, there are a few things you want to look for that will help you decide which meetings to attend. You want to make sure you find the group that is going to best serve your needs.
The primary elements that separate the different Cleveland AA meetings are the group leaders. Each leader has a different background, different approach, and a different way of handling the meetings. Before you settle on an AA meeting, be sure to talk to the meeting leader and ask questions that are important to you. It is also a good idea to try and find former and current group members who can give insight into how the groups are run.
AA meetings are not affiliated with any religion. The group leader might like to recommend 12-step programs or other forms of peer support, but you will not be faced with making a religious decision. The power of the individual with the support of the group is what drives AA meetings.
Finding AA Meeting Near Me
You can find Cleveland AA meetings by utilizing the AA website’s meeting locator resource. This resource will give you the location where the meetings are held, the group leader’s name, and contact information for the group leader. Some meetings are held in public spots such as library meeting rooms or high schools, while others take place in church basements. The important thing about the location is that it makes you feel comfortable and it is easily accessible for you.
Here are some meeting locations to get you started:
- Cleveland District Office
- 1557 St. Clair Ave. NE
- Cleveland, OH 44114
- St. Timothy Missionary Baptist Church
- 7101 Carnegie Ave.
- Cleveland, OH 44103
NA Meetings in Cleveland, Ohio
The NA meetings Cleveland residents look for are low-stress peer support sessions that act as a foundation for a client’s treatment and recovery. During the treatment phase, NA meetings are there to answer questions for group members and give group members the resources they need to feel as comfortable as possible with their treatment.
One of the most important functions of NA meetings in Cleveland is help during recovery. Cleveland NA meetings are where clients going through recovery can talk about their challenges and brushes with relapse. No one judges you at an NA meeting because everyone is there to help.
As with AA meetings, you will not find religion present at any NA meetings. The focus is on getting everyone to share their story and allow the group members to find strength in each other. Many lifelong friendships are forged in NA meetings, and those friendships often turn into lifelong support systems for each group member.
Finding NA Meetings Near Me
The quickest way to locate Cleveland NA meetings is to go to the NA website and search for local meetings. The NA website will give you a comprehensive list of meetings from which you can choose, along with all of the information you need to contact the group leader.
As you search for local NA meetings, give some thought to all aspects of your treatment and recovery. Would it be better for you to find a meeting that is close so you can walk and take in the fresh air, or would a drive listening to the radio be better? The way in which you prepare yourself for an NA meeting is just as important as the information you share, and the stories that you hear.
Here are some meeting locations to get you started:
- Lee Heights Community Church
- 4612 Lee Rd.
- Cleveland, OH 44128
- Lonnie Burton Center
- 2511 East 46th St.
- Cleveland, OH 44104
Battling substance abuse is not easy, nor is it something you can completely share with your family. While your family wants to support you, they are unaware of the challenges you face each and every day. The best way to get the support you need for those challenging moments is to join a peer support group.
Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are places where no one is judged, and all are accepted. These are peer support groups made up of people who know what you are going through, and they want to help you to meet your health goals as smoothly as possible.
To find AA and NA meetings and other support services in the Cleveland area, call The Recovery Village today. | https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/local-rehab-resources/ohio/cleveland/aa-na-meetings/ |
Unlike many NA or AA chapters, this group accepts that many people benefit from medications like methadone and buprenorphine.
Original Source: slate.com
It was quarter to seven, and St. Mark’s Church in Frankford, Philadelphia, was home to your typical pre-meeting bustle: A woman in pink in her mid-40s dragged mismatched metal chairs across the floor into a circle while the sound of a coffeepot crackled behind her. As is often the case in 12-step groups, there were concerns over the coffee—was it too light? (it was), would there be enough for next week’s meeting? (there wouldn’t). Family Dollar was allegedly out of sugar.
This wasn’t an Alcoholics Anonymous or a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, though. This was a Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous, or a MARA meeting, a gathering of people who were united by their desire to recover from their addictions, but who also recognized that the best way for them to do this might involve anti-craving medications like methadone and buprenorphine, known by the brand name Suboxone.
It was a light turnout that night—about 25 people—according to a woman holding a cane sitting next to me. All but two in the group were female. One member shared a story of working up the nerve to tell her AA sponsor that she’s on 45 mg of methadone, something that is too often discouraged in the AA model. When she shared, the compassion was audible; this kind of concern is all too common.
In the midst of America’s deadliest addiction epidemic—a crisis in which the national life expectancy has fallen for the second consecutive year due to opioid overdoses’ impact—there is still an enormous and problematic stigma within 12-step groups against members who take prescribed medications to manage their addictions.
Though at the organizational level, groups like AA and NA consider medication an “outside issue,” at the local group level, it is subtly, and sometimes explicitly, discouraged.
Members who do not take these medications often marginalize those who do by excluding them from meeting participation, turning them down when they ask for sponsorship, and telling them that they’re not actually in recovery.
The use of prescribed methadone and buprenorphine—referred to as medication-assisted recovery when combined with psychosocial treatments like peer support and talk therapy—is undeniably the most effective treatment for opioid use disorder, according to the evidence. Research has repeatedly shown that these medications reduce opioid addiction–related deaths by 50 percent or more, increase treatment retention, and decrease infectious disease transmission and criminal activity.
Despite this evidence, patients with opioid use disorder frequently receive pressure from family members, 12-step groups, and outdated, punitive policies in treatment centers, recovery houses, and court systems to not take these medications at all, or to stop taking them before they’re ready, according to addiction specialists who treat them. Dr. Sarah Wakeman, the medical director of the Substance Use Disorder Initiative at Massachusetts General Hospital, attributes much of this stigma to confusion between physiological dependence and addiction.
Physiological dependence, Wakeman explains, means that if an individual stops taking a drug or medication, they’ll get sick, just like a person with diabetes gets sick without insulin. Addiction, on the other hand, is defined as compulsively using substances despite harmful consequences. Medications like methadone and buprenorphine are prescribed to assist with physiological dependence, which prevents them from getting sick so they can focus on their recovery. Individuals on the proper dose of these medications who take them as prescribed can lead full, high-functioning lives both socially and professionally.
But AA and NA are programs based upon total abstinence from mind- or mood-altering substances, and many members consider addiction and dependence synonymous. In 2016, NA published a pamphlet called Narcotics Anonymous and Persons Receiving Medication-Assisted Treatment, in which it states, “By definition, medically assisted therapy indicates that medication is being given to people to treat addiction. In NA, addiction is treated by abstinence and through application of the spiritual principles contained in the Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous.” So while some members and groups (due to the organization’s autonomous structure) are open-minded to individuals on medication, many others have interpreted this to mean that if a person takes methadone or buprenorphine, he may as well be using heroin.
“I think it’s heartbreaking because if a person had cancer or had any other chronic illness and they were valiantly managing it, people in their lives would be supporting them and encouraging them to take their medication every day to stay healthy,” Wakeman tells me. | https://peerrecoveryindiana.org/new-12-step-medication-assisted-recovery-anonymous/ |
What Is a 12-Step Program? – The Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) model of twelve steps and twelve traditions is one of the oldest established guidelines designed to help people overcome an addiction to alcohol. AA’s approach has frequently been lauded as the standard for recovery from nearly any type of addiction. The purpose of a 12-step program is to enable “members to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety.”
Since its inception in 1935, AA has achieved enough success for other support groups to adopt and modify the steps to fit the needs of their members. Currently, there are many 12-step programs for various addictions and compulsive behaviors, such as Narcotics Anonymous, Food Addicts Anonymous, and Debtors Anonymous. Regardless of the addiction or compulsion of choice, all 12-step programs are based on AA’s original model.
Although the original twelve steps are heavily based on religious spirituality, many non-religious people have found the program to be tremendously helpful in addiction recovery. The program’s language places emphasis on the presence of God or a “higher power” based on each person’s own understanding, which allows for different interpretations and religious or spiritual beliefs.
The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous
Because recovery is a lifelong endeavor, there’s no wrong way to approach the twelve steps as the person tries to figure out what works best for them. In fact, most members find that they will need to revisit some steps, alter their order, or undertake multiple steps simultaneously.
The following are the 12 Steps as given by Alcoholics Anonymous:
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
The 12 Traditions
The 12 Traditions speak to the participants of Alcoholics Anonymous as a group. They are distinct from the steps, which are focused on the individual. Most 12-step programs have also adopted the 12 traditions for their own standards.
Here are the 12 traditions:
1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon AA unity.
2. For our group purpose, there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
3. The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking.
4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or AA as a whole.
5. Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.
6. An AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
7. Every AA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
8. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
9. AA, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the AA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.
12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
Getting Treatment
Alcoholics Anonymous or other 12-step programs can be very helpful at motivating people to quit using drugs and alcohol, remain sober, and receive the support they need from peers. However, research has found that people have the most successful recovery outcomes when they also undergo professional addiction treatment and receive evidence-based services, including psychotherapy, counseling, health and wellness programs, and aftercare planning.
Harmony Recovery Center is dedicated to providing the tools, support, and resources that people suffering from addiction need to achieve abstinence, prevent relapse, and experience long-term wellness and sobriety.
Contact us today if you or a loved one is struggling with a substance use disorder to discuss treatment options. Learn how we help people free themselves from the chains of addiction indefinitely! | https://www.harmonyrecoverync.com/12-step-program/ |
The 12-step program has actually become quite popular these days amongst individuals with some dependency issues, and although initially it was created by Alcoholics Anonymous for people with alcohol abuse as a progressive disease, the 12-step program in Youngstown, OH that we now understand is utilized more widely within different substance abuse healing groups, Narcotics Anonymous or Cocaine Anonymous for people with illicit drug use issues, and others.
So if you are interested in learning more about the 12-step programs in Youngstown, Ohio and how they could be carried out in your own treatment programs, then you might want to continue reading this post!
Youngstown 12-Step Program Organization
As you might have guessed, the Youngstown, Ohio 12-step program contains in itself 12 different spiritual principles and guidelines that must be utilized by different support groups to assist its members overcome their problems.
So here are these 12 actions produced by Alcoholics Anonymous for its AA members to be utilized in Youngstown, OH, or any other location:
- Confess your weakness for alcohol;
- Find a Power greater than yourself, and believe that a Power like that could restore us to sanity;
- Turn your will over to God so that he can restore us and take care of all these defects that we have;
- Make a personal inventory of yourself, discover the root of your problems, and admit it to yourself;
- Admit to God and other people the exact nature of your sins;
- Enable God to get rid of all these defects that you have right now, which hinder your daily life in a unfavorable way;
- Do not hesitate to ask for God’s assistance while you are going through this searching and fearless moral inventory of yourself;
- Right down a list of all individuals that you have actually harmed prior to;
- Apologize before anyone that you have actually hurt unless these direct amends and your existence in the lives of these people would harm them a lot more;
- Never stop your personal recovery process. Be ready to say sorry whenever you understand that you are in the incorrect, as it is the spiritual foundation of your recovery;
- Use prayers and meditation as a method to improve your conscious contact with God in whatever kind that you imagine Him;
Once you are ready, move all of your knowledge and experience to other individuals with substance abuse problems and, of course, continue to practice the principles of 12-step programs throughout your life, as your personal recovery depends upon them.
Youngstown, OH 12-step Programs and Their Concepts
Aside from the 12 standards described above, twelve-step programs also include 12 traditions that are connected with the organization of Alcoholics Anonymous groups in general and not with the process through which every one of their participants is going through.
And here are these 12 customs:
- You do not need more than a sincere desire to stop drinking in order to get an AA subscription and attend meetings of your group;
- The main purpose of any AA group is to transfer the principles of 12-step treatment programs to those who have a substance use issue;
- The whole group’s conscience and welfare are more vital than that of any private individually, as the group function of recuperating from an health problem depends on the AA unity;
- The one ultimate authority of all AA groups is God himself, in whatever type we imagine Him. And therefore, the leaders of any AA group are simply His servants;
- Each Alcoholics Anonymous must be created separately from all others;
- AA groups ought to always stay non-financial organizations so that nobody would get distracted from the main function of AA groups, which is to help those with substance abuse issues in their spiritual development;
- Aside from being no-financial, AA groups must likewise stay self-support groups, suggesting that any type of aid from others ought to be rejected;
- AA groups are nonprofessional, which is why their leaders ought to not be related to medicine or psychology. The only possible exception is to employ special workers from substance abuse treatment service centers;
- Aside from AA groups being totally self-supporting, they need to likewise stay non-organized groups, but they could create service boards or committees directly responsible for the aid to be gotten by those they serve;
- Alcoholics Anonymous must not have an viewpoint on any outdoors matter so that the name of the groups and their treatment programs would not be utilized in public confrontations. AA leaders should bear in mind that the participants of their groups have a right to maintain personal anonymity;
- Public relations could be utilized just with the aim of drawing in those in need and not for promoting the service centers and their functions;
- The assisting hand of others is not the only requirement of AA groups; anonymity is the 2nd one. This principle advises us that collectively-accepted guidelines need to be more crucial than every person’s desires, particularly when it comes to group partnership.
12 Step Programs’ Interpretations in Youngstown, OH
As you can see, the to start with created variation of the 12-step program is based upon the spiritual awakening principles, but time has helped the program to establish and end up being less based on God if that is what you want.
For a few of you who are not as much of believers in God, it would be great to understand that such spiritual focus is really not the main attribute that assists people to recover. Your own recovery depends more on your own analysis of the 12 steps and on the social assistance of people who help you because process. Acceptance of some higher power greater than us does not necessarily imply that God is that power; it might also be our AA or any other group that might help us with all our affairs and troubles.
There are various 12-step programs in Youngstown, Ohio these days, which is why you will have no trouble finding the ones in your regional neighborhood that matches your need the most, no matter whether it will be connected to belief in God or not.
Twelve Steps Advantages
As we already understand, among the primary principles of 12-step programs is privacy, which is why it is rather impossible to collect data on its effectiveness. But what we do understand is that 74% of U.S.A. treatment centers are using 12 step programs as one of the treatment possibilities for its visitors. What is more, the participants of this problem were discovered to be alcohol abstinent for longer amount of times.
And as some of the insurance coverage can cover your costs of going through a 12-step program in Youngstown, Ohio, it would be easy to understand why 12 steps have become so popular in the last years.
Thus, knowing that 12 actions programs are popular and widely accepted throughout the world, we can state for sure that this kind of treatment is effective; we just do not know for whom. You can compare 12-step programs to therapy types: you can never know for sure whether a specific technique is working for you unless you try it out, but you still know that all of them could be efficient.
Alternative Treatment Programs in Youngstown, Ohio
It might be the case that 12-step programs are ineffective in your case, which is why considering alternatives is very important.
So here is a list of some other types of drug addiction treatments that might be practical:
Residential Programs
Such programs happen in rehab centers in Youngstown, Ohio with expert health care providers, which is why they are considered to be among the most reliable ones. Residential programs assist you to produce an environment where no substance use is allowed, which is why your recovery might be much faster compared to other rehabilitation approaches.
The only disadvantage is that such programs are usually not that cheap, which is why you might require to consider other alternatives. But if you do incline taking part in government-based rehab programs, then you may cover the expenditures with your insurance coverage.
Outpatient Rehabilitation Programs
These programs are quite comparable to domestic ones, however they permit you to continue living your life and bearing your responsibilities, as you will not need to stay at the center all day, just in the early mornings and nights.
However, because of such a format, you may need to invest a bigger time period in your rehabilitation center and deal with your physical and mental health a bit more.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the standard principle of a 12-Step program in Youngstown, OH?
The primary concept of the Youngstown 12 steps is that individuals can help one another in their journey of conquering drug abuse or any other problems. And although initially, God was the central character of self-help groups, His presence is not essential nowadays.
Where are the 12 steps in the AA Big Book?
The 12 steps can be discovered in the very start of the book “Alcoholics Anonymous,” in the chapter called “How it works.” However you could also check out them in the post above and decide whether they would be practical to you.
Exists an AA 12-step workbook?
Yes, there is a workbook available for 12 actions followers, and you can download it for free. Such workbooks are normally extremely handy for new members, and the things that you make a note of in such a workbook could be discussed together with other AA members. | https://pathwaytorecovery.com/12-step-program-near-me/12-step-and-not-12-step-program-in-youngstown-oh.php |
Some of the most widely accessible recovery resources in the United States are 12-step fellowships, such as Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Narcotics Anonymous was formed in the early 1950s in Southern California.3 NA is a recovery program adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous and based on the 12 steps. The main distinction from AA is that NA members classify themselves as “addicts” and identification is all-inclusive to any mood or mind-altering substance.3 NA was born because addicted people were unable to talk openly about their specific problems in AA meetings, where the words “sober” and “clean” clashed. The NA literature refers to alcohol as a drug and deals with the illness of addiction, whereas AA focuses primarily on alcoholism. NA’s mission is to provide a context where addicts can help one another stop using drugs and find a new, healthy way to live. The only requirement for NA membership is a “desire to stop using drugs.”3
Originating in Los Angeles, NA grew quickly and is now a worldwide organization, with meetings spread across North and South America, the Middle East, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Russia.3 A total of 67,000 NA meetings occur weekly in 139 countries and NA literature is available in 49 different languages.3 Statistically, NA’s gender ratio is 59% male and 41% female.3 NA is not restricted to any political or geographic boundaries, nor is it limited to any one faith, dogma, or philosophy.2 The main tenets of NA are based upon three basic features: Unity, Service, and Recovery (meetings, service work, and the 12 steps), as depicted by NA’s triangular emblem. The NA program is a set of spiritual principles used to recover from addiction.
NA’s 12 steps begin with “We” instead of “I.” The purpose of this is to demonstrate how program members recover together and to highlight the importance of community.
The 12 steps of Narcotics Anonymous are as follows:2
The 12 steps are positive tools that help make recovery possible.2 Working the 12 steps of recovery is a cornerstone of most, if not all, 12-step programs. Generally, members will look for a sponsor with whom they feel comfortable being rigorously honest with. Twelve-step work may involve writing assignments, taking inventory, making lists of persons/places harmed, and making direct amends. Steps 10, 11, and 12, also known as the maintenance steps, are practiced daily. You can work through the 12 steps at your own pace or as negotiated between you and your sponsor.
The 12 traditions of NA are to the group what the 12 steps are to the individual. The NA 12 traditions are as follows:7
The 12 traditions are the guidelines that keep the NA fellowship alive. They are a set of standards to be followed by the group so that internal dealings are smooth and effective and NA’s mission can be carried out. The 12 traditions are spiritual tools used to interact with other people harmoniously. NA members vote on certain topics in meetings, and often a group conscience is necessary. The 12 traditions help keep everyone on the same page. They also protect the NA fellowship as a whole, so that outside forces cannot interfere.
Twelve-step programs like NA, during and after treatment, are a cost-effective and useful approach to promoting recovery from drugs and other substances.1 Based on a survey conducted in 2015, the average length of continuous clean time in NA is 8.32 years.3 Research shows that attendance of 3 or more NA meetings per week are associated with complete abstinence and optimal outcomes.4 Results from the survey confirmed that people were 4.1 to 8.6 times more likely to stay abstinent by continuously attending 12-step meetings and remaining involved.4 Another study found that individuals who consistently attend NA meetings have higher abstinence rates than those who do not participate in the 12-step program.5 The more meetings someone attends in the first 6 months after seeking treatment the more likely they are to be clean at 6-month follow-up.5
Belief in the 12-step ideology, specifically that moderate use of drugs is not an option, is the greatest factor of abstinence regardless of how many NA meetings individual people attended.5 People receiving individual counseling are more active in self-help groups, such as NA.5 A person’s ability to remain clean is also dependent on the user’s non-drug dependent “clean” network; the environment and social circle impact a person’s recovery.6
Religiousness has specific denominational attributes because it involves an organized system of worship and doctrine shared within a group. Spirituality is generally thought of as more open, inclusive, and universal than religiousness and is a subjective experience; people create their own spiritual constructs. Additionally, many spiritual activities are independent from religion. NA members have varying concepts of a Higher Power; members may choose their Higher Power to be God, the program itself, the group, or anything else. It just has to be something they strongly believe in. Even atheists have found a place in the NA fellowship. The point is that members should remain open-minded, regardless of religious beliefs and limitations.
NA’s concept of a Higher Power provides a positive outlook and instills faith in something bigger than self-reliance. Before NA, for many people struggling with addiction, self-sufficiency and the ability to stop using drugs had failed. A belief in a Higher Power enables people to practice spiritual principles and is the basis for getting and staying clean. The member chooses a personal concept of a Higher Power; religion may or may not influence that decision. | https://www.detox.net/narcotics-anonymous/ |
Idaho Falls, Idaho, with its historic downtown and the Snake River running through its center surrounded by a beautiful greenbelt, is known for its high quality of life.
But, like many cities across the state, Idaho Falls has not escaped the problems caused by the abuse of alcohol and destructive drugs like heroin, meth, ecstasy, and cocaine.
That’s why it’s so important today to know about the many addiction resources in Idaho Falls. From help spotting the signs of an overdose and finding local support groups to learning about educational opportunities and treatment options, this comprehensive guide to nearby community resources can point you in the right direction.
Like nearly every other state across America, substance abuse is a serious problem from Idahoans.
According to the Idaho 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an estimated 284,000 residents (20.87%) engaged in binge drinking (a major risk factor in developing alcoholism) from 2015 to 2016. Plus, 123,000 Idaho residents (9.02%) were estimated to have used an illicit drug in the past month.
The single most dangerous addictive substance in Idaho is, of course, alcohol. Alcohol alone was the cause of almost 4% of all deaths in Idaho in 2016 according to the Division of Public Health’s Mortality 2016 report.
On top of that, alcohol-induced deaths for the state are more than 27% higher than the national average (13.1 deaths per 100k people vs. 10.1 deaths).
According to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, drug-induced deaths are on the rise as well. Below are a few stats outlining the percent change in Idaho deaths from various drugs from 2015 to 2016.
Bonneville County in particular (where Idaho Falls is situated) has an especially severe problem with substance abuse. In fact, it’s tied with Bannock County for having the second highest rate of overdose deaths in the state at 24 deaths per 100k residents.
One of the deadliest risks of substance abuse, whether it be legal drugs like alcohol or illicit ones like heroin, is the chance of a fatal overdose.
Drug overdoses have become the number one cause of death among Americans under the age of 50. This is primarily due to the massive surge in opioid-dependent citizens as well as the availability of increasingly dangerous substances such as fentanyl.
However, other drug overdoses are on the rise as well, including those involving cocaine, benzodiazepines, prescription stimulants, and even alcohol.
As a result, it’s never been more important than it is today to be able to recognize the signs of an overdose before it’s too late.
Not all overdoses look alike. And in fact, some people may not even be able to tell that a friend or loved one’s life is in danger due to drug or alcohol toxicity.
Below are lists of common overdose symptoms for the most frequently abused drugs today.
The most important thing you can do after identifying an overdose is contacting emergency services by calling 9-1-1.
Do not hesitate or reconsider. Each second is vital when it comes to overdosing. And assuming that they’ll pull through on their own can in fact be a death sentence.
The emergency professionals at 911 will provide life-saving strategies for you to administer while you wait for an ambulance to arrive.
Emergency services will likely then transfer the victim to one of two Idaho Falls hospitals.
The most popular kinds of addiction support group in Idaho Falls and around the country as a whole are 12-step meetings.
These groups are all free to attend, 100% anonymous, and often have a variety of meetings that take place nearby.
Two of the most popular 12-step groups are Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous. Each uses the same 12 principles of recovery but address different types of addictions.
Beyond their ease of access, 12-step groups also provide much-needed social connection and support – an essential component of addiction recovery.
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is a well-known and highly respected 12-step program with groups across the country. In fact, there are nearly 67,000 weekly meetings that take place in 139 different countries around the world.
Not everyone knows what NA meetings are about. And contrary to popular belief, NA addresses addiction of any kind, and that includes alcoholism.
NA welcomes those who are maintaining their sobriety after completing a rehabilitation program or may be where a new attendee first learns about rehab programs and what they offer. Attending NA meetings is free, 100% anonymous, and widely accessible thanks to the popularity of the group.
And most importantly, the support and strategies of Narcotics Anonymous are actually backed up by real science and is an effective way of promoting recovery.
This meeting is open. Anyone may attend.
This meeting is for newcomers to NA. This meeting follows a Discussion/Participation format. Childcare services available.
12-step groups are so widely used in part because there are so many different meetings to choose from. This is just as true in Idaho Falls as it is around the country.
Below are some of the closest Narcotics Anonymous groups taking place nearby and less than 50 miles away.
This meeting follows a Discussion/Participation format. Meeting is wheelchair accessible.
This meeting follows a Discussion/Participation and Question/Answer format. Meeting is wheelchair accessible.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is perhaps the best-known support group in the world. It had an estimated 2,087,840 members in 2017 and more than 120 thousand different groups across the globe.
It also has one of the longest histories of helping addicts recover as well, dating all the way back to 1935.
A fellowship of men and women all helping each other through their journey to get and stay sober, AA has spawned many subgroups to offer guidance and encouragement to family members as well. The 12 Steps taught by AA help people regain control of their lives and reach and maintain sobriety.
This meeting is open to all, and anyone may attend.
Meeting is wheelchair accessible. This meeting follows a Step Meeting format.
Meeting is wheelchair accessible. This meeting follows a Big Book Study format.
Meeting is wheelchair accessible. This meeting follows a Speaker format.
One of the best things about Alcoholics Anonymous and 12-step groups in general is the fact that there are so many different meetings to choose from. And in the Idaho Falls area, this is especially true.
The meetings below all take place outside of Idaho Falls but are less than an hour drive away. So, whether you don't want to run into anyone you know or you'd rather just get out of your hometown for treatment, there are still plenty of options.
Below are some of the closest.
Meeting is wheelchair accessible. This meeting is specifically for young problem drinkers.
Al-Anon is there for family members affected by a loved one's drinking or drug abuse.
Free, warm and welcoming, Al-Anon provides guidance with boundary-setting, self-care and living with a person who is recovering from or still living with addiction.
It’s a great source of support for the often-neglected family and friends of addicts.
It can also help friends and family recognize enabling behaviors and even begin planning an addiction intervention.
As you can see, there aren’t many Al-Anon groups that meet within Idaho Falls itself. However, there are plenty of other meetings taking place in the surrounding areas. Below are some of the closest meetings, each within 50 miles.
When facility is closed use ramp and meeting room is second on the left.
If club is closed go through door at top of handicapped ramp.
Alateen offers support groups for children and teenagers whose loved ones are suffering from drug and alcohol addictions.
Due to the especially sensitive and impressionable time in their lives, teenagers and children often need extra support to help cope with an addicted family member. And Alateen meetings provide just that.
12-step meetings aren’t the only option when it comes to addiction support groups in the Idaho Falls area. One of the most popular and effective alternatives is SMART Recovery.
These groups differ from 12-step programs in a couple of ways. First, they are led by a trained instructor rather than by members of the group themselves. Also, SMART Recovery strategies are fully science-based and don’t invoke the same spiritual aspects that many 12-step groups may contain.
It’s a powerful addiction resource that’s been recognized by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
While SMART Recovery is not nearly as popular and widespread as 12-step groups like AA and NA, there are still a number of different meetings to attend within the Idaho Falls area. These groups are listed below.
This meeting follows a Standard format.
This meeting follows a Family & Friends format and is specifically for family members and friends of struggling addicts.
This meeting follows a Standard format and is for adults only.
While education and support groups can go a long way aiding in recovery, most addicts will need professional addiction treatment in order to maintain their sobriety in the long-term.
Not only can these professional treatment programs provide powerful anti-addiction medications, but they can also offer expert-level advice and guidance for overcoming cravings, identifying and avoiding triggers, and setting the foundation for an addiction-free life.
Knowing what to look for in a rehabilitation facility can be hard though. And often there are so many different points to consider, and a lot of people simply don't know the right questions to ask.
And while there are a couple of addiction treatment facilities within Idaho Falls itself, it’s important to understand all the available options before partnering with any particular facility.
Professional addiction treatment is usually broken down into two different types of treatment: detoxification and rehabilitation.
Detoxification – This is often the very first stage of treatment. It involves supporting recovering addicts as their bodies push through the often-uncomfortable process of withdrawal when first quitting. Detox is a necessary component for recovery as it rids the body of the addictive substance while setting the foundation for a drug-free life.
But detox can be incredibly hard to get through without professional help. And in many cases, addicts will end up turning back to their substance of abuse simply because the physical and psychological symptoms are so unbearable.
A professional treatment program will provide medications and other forms of support and therapy to reduce the severity of withdrawals as well as the duration. Such programs will also monitor the health of patients so as to prevent and treat any dangerous complications that may arise.
Many times nutritional meal plans and exercise regimens will be included to keep the body healthy throughout the process.
Rehabilitation – Detox alone isn’t enough to beat addiction in most cases. That’s because while detoxification helps the body recover from addiction, the mind is still just as dependent on the drug than ever.
Rehab aims to treat the mental side of addiction by teaching patients how to adopt new, healthy behaviors in place of substance abuse like stress-management techniques. Patients will also work with professional counselors to identify and overcome emotional trauma, one of the most common causes of substance abuse.
Ultimately, rehabilitation is responsible for re-training the brain to live without addictive substances. And it’s an incredibly vital part of any recovery program.
Most rehabilitation programs fall into one of three categories: inpatient, outpatient, and intensive outpatient programs (IOPs).
Inpatient Rehab – Also known as residential rehabilitation, inpatient programs require patients to eat, sleep, and undergo treatment all on the campus grounds. Many times patients aren’t allowed to leave without a chaperone either.
This closed environment provides a more focused approach to recovery as well as a lower chance of relapse since patients are physically unable to acquire drugs within the program.
These programs are typically around 30 days long, and patients are unable to attend work, school, or certain family obligations during the program.
Outpatient Rehabilitation – A more flexible option compared to inpatient, this type of program often provides treatment during the evening hours rather than all day long. Patients are able to work and go to school like normal and even sleep in their own beds.
The tradeoff here is a less intensive treatment protocol and more exposure to temptation to fall back into old unhealthy habits.
These programs usually last about 3 months and are often cheaper than inpatient programs.
Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOPs) – A step up from outpatient, IOPs provide evening treatment sessions, but these sessions typically last longer and occur more frequently than normal outpatient programs.
This allows for a more focused treatment protocol while still offering the flexibility required to fulfill normal daily obligations. Programs last for about 3 months as well.
It’s a great option for those who need more care than an outpatient program can provide.
Only about 1 in 10 people facing addiction actually get help.
The majority of this has to do with denial which often goes hand in hand with addiction. But another factor is the cost of treatment.
In fact, the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found that of the American addicts that admitted they needed treatment (just 4.5% of all addicts), almost one-third of those that didn't receive it didn't do so because of the cost of treatment.
However, the truth of the matter is that treatment has actually never been cheaper than it is today. Thanks to recent changes in healthcare legislation, insurance providers are now required by law to cover addiction treatment like they would any other medical problem.
And in fact, some patients don’t end up paying anything out of pocket at all.
Of course, it’s always important to verify insurance coverage before partnering with any particular facility. But in most cases, it actually covers more than most people think.
And when you add in just how costly maintaining an addiction can be, the best financial choice by far is to partner with a professional treatment program as soon as possible.
Finding a treatment program that offers the high-quality, individualized care needed to ensure recovery can be tough. And unfortunately, many people don’t look much further than their hometown to find the help they need.
But often times, one of the absolute best options is travelling for treatment. Not only does it expand your options, but it also opens up the door to a higher level of care that nearby facilities may not be able to provide.
And at Northpoint Recovery in Boise, we offer the highest-quality treatment services in the state. Our inpatient facility is both comfortable and modern and will help you feel right at home as you learn how to tackle your addiction.
On top of that, our facilities are nationally accredited by the Joint Commission. We also offer one of the highest staff-to-patient ratios in the area so you can be sure you’re getting the individualized attention you need.
So whether you’re struggling with an addiction to legal substances like alcohol and prescription drugs or illicit ones like heroin and crystal meth, our detox and rehabilitation services are equipped to give you the level of care you need to recover.
Give us a call today to set up a free addiction assessment or to schedule an intake meeting.
We're passionate about recovery, and we'd love to help you experience some of the many reasons to kick your addiction for good. | https://www.northpointrecovery.com/idaho/idaho-falls-resources/ |
Augusta, Maine is known for an interesting history and heritage, a vibrant art and cultural scene and friendly and warm people. However, even in a city with this much happiness and life, a deadly disease plagues many of the citizens: the disease of alcohol and drug addiction. This is an epidemic spreading throughout the entire country, but Maine has been no exception. For example, among those who are 18 to 25 years old, 9 percent reported misusing pain relievers in 2011-2012.
Alcohol continues to be an issue for those who live in Augusta, Maine as well. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, last year, there were 5,756 arrests for drunk driving. It’s a known fact that illegal substances like cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin can do a lot of damage, but as we have seen above, legal substances like alcohol and prescription drugs can also be misused.
What can be done about this problem? If you are suffering from a substance use disorder, there is help available if you are willing to ask for it.
It’s important to remember that legal substances like alcohol and prescription medication can be dangerous. In 2013, it was reported that 28.7 million people had driven under the influence of alcohol at least once in the previous year in the United States. If you have alcohol or drug addiction, it’s imperative that you seek treatment.
There are many choices for anyone looking for an addiction treatment program in Augusta, Maine. The first thing you need to do is familiarize yourself with all of the programs that are available. This way, you can decide if you need an outpatient treatment program, a partial hospitalization program, a residential treatment program or a combination/progression of all three.
Residential treatment programs are also called inpatient treatment programs, and they require patients to stay in the treatment facility. They offer access to medical supervision 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is very beneficial for patients who need to get out of their destructive surroundings.
While in a partial hospitalization program, patients will still have access to monitoring by medical professionals, and they will still participate in rehabilitation activities during the day, but they are permitted to go home at night.
While in an outpatient treatment program, patients will participate in rehabilitation activities for 10 to 15 hours a week. This is ideal for patients who have less severe addictions, patients who have already completed a residential program or PHP or patients who have a lot of family or work obligations.
In order to find an effective treatment plan for you, you will need the assessment of an experienced addiction specialist.
What is the purpose of a detox center in Augusta, Maine? Your body can go through an extremely difficult time when you stop certain substances it has become dependent on. When you are going through the detox process, it is beneficial to have medical supervision.
Detox is only one step you need to take on the road to long-term recovery, however. Detox centers will make you more comfortable, but it is much better to go to a facility that will get you into an inpatient treatment program where you will be able to address the emotional, spiritual, mental and psychological components of your addiction.
Having an aftercare plan is an important part of completing a treatment program. Typically, a good aftercare plan will include a recovery program with regular meetings. There are numerous options for meetings near you.
Alcoholics Anonymous is the most popular recovery group in America and the entire world. It has been helping those who have an addiction to alcohol for decades as it began in 1935. While AA encourages members to get a sponsor – an experienced member of AA who becomes a mentor – it does not require this of its members. The only thing it requires is a desire to stop drinking. There are a number of meetings in the Augusta area. Here are a few.
A 12-step program like Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous has a primary focus on those with an addiction to harder substances. NA is the second largest recovery group in the world with over 67,000 meetings all over the globe. There are many meetings in the Augusta area. Here are a few options.
SMART Recovery does not use the 12 steps, but it uses a 4-point system – building and maintaining motivation, living a balanced life, coping with any urges that arise and managing thoughts and behaviors – to focus on self-empowering recovery. This group is the largest alternative to the 12-step approach. For some people, the “higher power” that AA an NA talk about does not resonate. These people would most likely appreciate the scientifically based approach of SMART Recovery. Here are the meetings that are close to Augusta.
When your mother, father, daughter, son, brother, sister, wife, husband, girlfriend or boyfriend struggles with drug or alcohol addiction, you go through a lot of suffering yourself. While people in your life may try to be sympathetic, they can’t really understand what you are going through unless they have gone through it themselves. Al-Anon and Nar-Anon are support groups dedicated to the loved ones of those who struggle with substance use disorder. Here are options for meetings in the Augusta area.
When you are looking for alcohol and drug addiction treatment facilities in Augusta, Maine, it might also be smart to look in nearby cities for additional recovery resources. | https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/local-rehab-resources/maine/augusta/ |
One of the ways in which drug and alcohol rehab facilities in Lucas county can assist their patients undergoing rehabilitation is through introducing them to the right 12-step groups. These groups can be useful in helping individuals minimizes their chance of relapse.
Most 12-step groups were modeled after AA - Alcoholics Anonymous. In these groups, you will be surrounded by other people in recovery so that you can continue giving strength and hope to each other and prevent a relapse.
Most of these groups incorporate various spiritual themes to help their patients heal and overcome their substance use disorder. As a member, you will approach your ongoing sobriety and recovery by following some distinct recovery steps.
12-step groups also encourage the principles of brotherhood, humility, perseverance, hope, honesty, and willingness. Through these principles, members are better equipped to continue on the road to recovery while avoiding the temptation to relapse.
Most 12-step groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and others adopt 12 basic traditions that provide rules for the practices and governance of these groups. These traditions include: | https://www.dashshaw.com/browse-treatment-options/oh/lucas-county/12-step/ |
Aegean wrote:I begin with aesthetics. So, you might say I'm an empirical realist.Prismatic567 wrote:Aegean wrote:One builds opinions, morals, ideals by exploring and understanding the real; the other begins with the ideal and attempts to incorporate reality into it.
Realism, based on an indifferent, threatening world, seems harsh and brutal to the idealist who has adopted his ideology as a way of coping with threatening indifference of the world.
There are some nuances to the above.
Kant differentiated between Empirical Realism versus Transcendental Realism.
The empirical idealist or transcendental realist assumes there is something "real" out there but he is unable to realize it except for what is perceived by the brain from waves emitted from that "real" thing-in-itself out there.
Why one is an empirical idealist is because one is interacting merely with sense data in one's mind and not the real-empirical-thing.
Meanwhile, the empirical realist engages and interacts with real things within [external and internal] reality objectively.
The empirical idealist is also the Philosophical Realist;Philosophical realism are attitudes that objectivity exists in reality. In philosophical concepts, objects are ontologically independent of someone's conceptual scheme, perceptions, linguistic practices, beliefs, etc.
..
Realism can also be a view about the nature of reality in general, where it claims that the world exists independent of the mind, as opposed to non-realist views (like some forms of skepticism and solipsism, which question our ability to assert the world is independent of our mind).
Philosophers who profess realism often claim that truth consists in a correspondence between cognitive representations and reality.
Realists tend to believe that whatever we believe now is only an approximation of reality but that the accuracy and fullness of understanding can be improved. In some contexts, realism is contrasted with idealism. Today it is more usually contrasted with anti-realism, for example in the philosophy of science.
Note, the Philosophical anti-Realism comes in many forms.
Kant's view is that of empirical realism which I agree.
Other Philosophical anti-Realism views are the various forms of idealism, e.g. Berkeley's subjective idealism, Platonism, etc. which I do not agree with.
The 'object' is an interpretation of fluctuating energies exhibiting a pattern.
There are energies with no pattern which are interpreted as darkness - also complex patterns are interpreted thusly, producing the confusion about what 'chaos' means.
For me chaos means 'randomness', the opposite of order.
The external world is independent from how the mind interprets it, but this makes an accurate interpretation more crucial to survival.
Currently erroneous interpretations are being sheltered from natural culling, for different reasons. Mostly because the promotion of poor judgments, and of superstition, makes a population more malleable to political and marketing manipulation and exploitation.
I'm a philosophical realist.
The mystical I associate with chaos and complexity - not to be confused as being the same.
Reality cannot be entirely known, but only interpreted sufficiently to promote survival and understanding.
Sometimes survival is inhibited by understanding, and promoted by superstition and mysticism. This is why it takes a particular kind of psychology to be a philosopher. A mind that places clarity and understanding above survival.
Nihilism projects mental abstractions into reality - absolutes - so as to 'correct' their absence. If they were to exist, outside their minds, existence would be negated. This is why I say that nihilism, the concept, is part of nihilism, the paradigm.
Nihilism is an expression of itself, and an inversion of reality.
In fact, the absence of absolutes, such as a one-god, universal morality and so on, is a positive because it is existence.
Nihilism is always idealistic, using semiology to 'correct' the real. This kind of idealism begins with the solution and then attempts to justify and validate it over time.
A realist, like myself, begins with the perceived and works towards establishing an ideology based on the experienced and perceived - cross referenced with other minds, and continuously validated against reality.
This establishes a higher probability, not a certainty.
Bertrand Russell wrote:Among these surprising possibilities, doubt suggests that perhaps there is no table at all.
Such questions are bewildering, and it is difficult to know that even the strangest hypotheses may not be true. Thus our familiar table, which has roused but the slightest thoughts in us hitherto, has become a problem full of surprising possibilities. The one thing we know about it is that it is not what it seems. Beyond this modest result, so far, we have the most complete liberty of conjecture. Leibniz tells us it is a community of souls: Berkeley tells us it is an idea in the mind of God; sober science, scarcely less wonderful, tells us it is a vast collection of electric charges in violent motion.
-Problem of Philosophy - Appearance versus Reality
surreptitious75 wrote:The mind cannot be independent from reality because it is a part of reality so the philosophical realist cannot distance himself from it regardless of what he thinks
The only position that is valid is empirical realism as it is mind interacting with reality or more precisely one part of reality interacting with another part of reality
The term reality gap is therefore an oxymoron as the only gaps are ones of knowledge and nothing else
promethean75 wrote:'intelligence' is not a static feature that can be evaluated according to a finite set of standards. rather generally speaking it is an organism's ability to successfully navigate and use the environment that it's in, which can be quite different than past environments. so you'd not assess the quality of organism x's intelligence (who lives in the year 2386) with organism's y's intelligence (who lived in 1873).
Aegean wrote:If we use language to reveal and not to conceal, then we may use the Greek term for 'self', ego to refer only to the conscious, lucid, part of self.
This makes Know Thyself a process that can never complete itself.
Self can be sued to refer to the identity starting at birth and ending at death, characterized by experiences - reactions and relating with reality in the fluctuating fluid present.
We may capitalize Self to represent the identity at is inherited from the parents - preceding birth.
we then have a triad:
ego--self--Self - to put it in temporal order: Self---self---ego.
A continuum of memories. Some inherited, genetically, and others adding to the previous via sensual interactivity.
Ego is the awakening to this continuum. Most associate it with the will, because the will is the focusing of the organism's aggregate energies upon an objective.
Data can flow from exoteric and from esoteric sources, into the brain, via the nervous system.
The one-god has been associated with the mind, despite the body, because only the mind is free from natural order, and space/time limitations.
Abrahamism uses the mind to reject the body's limitations.
My emphasis is on physis (nature), empiricism, with metaphysics only acting as a supportive element; a foundation.
andy wrote:You can successfully navigate and use the environment that you're in solely by luck. That's why I don't think your definition is a good one.
Intelligence is the ability to recognize patterns in data. We use this ability to make accurate predictions, we make accurate predictions so that we can prepare for the future and we prepare for the future so that we can increase the chances of attaining our goals.
If words like male/female can lose their empirical meaning, and become terms of ideological contention, then how much easier it is to do so with more synthetic words, referring to more complex concepts? | http://ilovephilosophy.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=195406&start=25 |
The ‘broken windows’ theory has dominated policy debates over how to deal with crime and disorder for more than three decades, but few have examined how disorder influences political engagement. Using data from Chicago, Jamila Michener finds that people’s perceptions of disorder are a powerful influence on their likelihood to engage politically, such as speaking to a politician or attending a community meeting. She argues that the way people interpret the ‘broken windows’ of their neighborhoods can be a critical determinant of how grassroots politics develop.
Graffiti, litter, abandoned and boarded up buildings: many of us know a “bad” neighborhood when we see it. According to the popular theory of “broken windows,” these directly observable material conditions have an influence on the ways people respond to their local environment. Proponents of this theory argue that minor but visible signs of neighborhood disorder lead to more serious criminal infractions. This controversial claim has motivated policy and sparked enduring debates over whether and how neighborhood disorder affects crime. Social scientists have drawn on the core intuition of broken windows theory (that salient physical and social neighborhood conditions impact behavior) to consider the economic and even psychological consequences of disorder. Yet, scholars and policymakers have remained silent about its political ramifications. This is especially problematic because the possibility of transforming blighted neighborhoods is at least partially rooted in local political engagement. Without knowing how such engagement is impacted by disorder, we cannot adequately map the participatory pathways that might reinvigorate “bad” neighborhoods.
To assess the role that neighborhood disorder plays in shaping local participation we need to understand at least two things: 1) the concrete conditions of neighborhoods and 2) how people interpret those conditions. The first involves the material realities that residents confront when they walk out of the door everyday. These experiences can make a profound impression. Anyone who has driven through, walked by or lived amidst urban decay understands why. Some neighborhoods inspire comfort while others rouse fear and even loathing. Much of this has to do with the objective physical setting. Yet, there is more to it than that. People have unique outlooks on “objective” circumstances and divergent perceptions of one’s environment can mean that the same “reality” has variable effects across and within neighborhoods.
Keeping this in mind, I designed a study to evaluate the relationship between neighborhood disorder and political participation, taking care to account for both tangible markers of disorder and subjective perceptions of it. Utilizing exceptionally rich data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, I found that while objective conditions are politically consequential, these perceptions are a more powerful and consistent mechanism through which neighborhood disorder affects citizen engagement.
As shown in Figure 1, increasing levels of objective social disorder (this includes things like adults loitering in the streets, drugs being sold openly, prostitution and public alcohol consumption-all of which were measured through systematic observation techniques) are associated with decreased likelihood of local residents reaching out to political officials (this effect was as high as 23 percentage points).
Figure 1 – Probability of Speaking to a politician by objective social disorder
While strong, the relationship between participation and objective disorder is just the tip of the iceberg. Subjective interpretations of the conditions connected to disorder are also critical and extend to even more forms of participatory behavior. For example, as conveyed in Figure 2, neighborhood residents who report perceiving the least disorder in their neighborhoods are 14 percentage points less likely to attend a meeting to discuss neighborhood problems than those who report perceiving the most disorder (even after controlling for the concrete material context and a host of other factors).
Figure 2 – Probability of attending a meeting by perceptions of disorder
Further still, the role of perceptions grows more complex as we consider different modes of participation. As shown in figure 3, the impact of perceptions is not always linear. Neighborhood residents with average perceptions of disorder are 22 percentage points more likely to speak to a politician than those with the most negative perceptions and 15 percentage points more likely than those with the most positive perceptions. Substantively, this means that community members on the extremes- those with a very bad or very good perspective towards their environment- are less likely to participate via formal contact with an elected official than those who fall in the middle. Since contact with politicians is a relatively high cost and often solitary mode of participation, it makes sense that the proclivity for engaging in this way is more susceptible to being swayed.
Figure 3 – Probability of speaking to a politician by perceptions of disorder
Ultimately, even holding constant objective contextual features, the lenses through which community residents interpret things like “broken windows” are critical determinants of grassroots politics. This is not just a nifty scholarly finding, it bears directly upon the factors that policymakers must consider as they determine the best practices for promoting strong neighborhoods and urban renewal. Turning to perceptions when evaluating policy responses to disorder requires that we reflect on the participatory consequences of things like aggressive policing, gentrification and demolition projects – deliberating not only about the tangible results of such policies but also about the ways they shape residents’ interpretations of their environments.
A recent study by political scientists Vesla Weaver and Amy Lerman offers a timely and significant example of how public policy is implicated in shaping the democratic life of disadvantaged communities. Lerman and Weaver find that the concentration and nature of police stops in New York City impacts levels of citizen engagement (i.e. the frequency with which citizens make 311 calls). Most notably, they show that police stops involving invasive searches or the use of force have a “chilling effect on neighborhood level outreach to local government.” One reason for this is that antagonistic relations with the police taint citizens’ views of government and law enforcement. In this way, stop-and-frisk tactics highlight the perceptions-to-participation link and demonstrate why policy must be evaluated with an eye toward repercussions for community participation. This means that the attitudes and ideas of ordinary neighborhood residents are too vital to be neglected- particularly in the most disadvantaged areas. It is these blighted places that need the most renewal and if they are to be regenerated from the bottom up, political elites can no longer afford to sanction policies that unwittingly stifle a democratically driven public life.
This article is based on the paper, ‘Neighborhood Disorder and Local Participation: Examining the Political Relevance of ‘‘Broken Windows’’’ which appears in the December 2013 issue of Political Behavior.
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Note: This article gives the views of the authors, and not the position of USApp– American Politics and Policy, nor of the London School of Economics.
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Jamila Michener – Cornell University
Jamila Michener is an Assistant professor in the department of Government at Cornell University. Her research focuses on poverty and racial inequality in American politics. Her current work explores the conditions under which disadvantaged groups engage in the political process, and the role of the state in shaping the political and economic trajectories of marginalized communities. | https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2013/12/12/broken-windows-political-engagement/ |
The spiritual text A Course in Miracles (ACIM) is a three part book containing a text, a workbook and a manual for teachers. The workbook is a 365 day mind training programme based on Universal spiritual truths and it is said to be the channelled teachings of Jesus. Although written in Christian language, I sense it is both Buddhist and Taoist in its teachings and through working with it you obtain a very different perspective on life. The main focus of ACIM is on the re-training of the workings of our minds through forgiveness and the recognition of the profound effect that has on our lives and the lives of those around us.We have literally thousands of thoughts that go through our mind every day. These thoughts colour our perceptions of the world and create the reality that we have. ACIM teaches that there are no idle thoughts and all thought creates form on some level. This behoves us to be very careful what we think about and most importantly, be very willing to change our perceptions of the circumstances of our lives if they are not to our liking.
Our mind contains within it many thousands of beliefs all of which have the complete power to influence how we see our lives, the world around us, other people and ourselves. These beliefs are often based on the past limiting decisions we have taken about life, old assumptions we have made often as a small child and old judgments we have placed on the nature of reality – and these beliefs, based on past conditioning, are dictating our present perceptions. We then add to our present perceptions of what we are experiencing, stories that we constantly tell ourselves and others about how life is for us and guess what, after a while these stories become the life scripts that we live by.
As humans we are lucky to have a large frontal lobe in our brain which I believe makes up some 40% of our brain. Compare this to a dog which has a frontal lobe making up 7% of their brain. This frontal lobe gives us the capacity to observe our thoughts as it makes our thoughts more real for us so that from this observation, we can change or modify them if necessary. With this ability to observe our thoughts we can change our perceptions from perceptions based on fear to perceptions based on love. This is one of the key teachings of ACIM, to hold perceptions based on love.
Awareness is the beginning of changing our old beliefs that no longer serve us. With awareness, we can recognise the belief and then begin to change the way we think about ourselves. As we change the way we think about ourselves, we inevitably change the way we experience the world around us and too, we act differently in the world.
The way our Universe helps us gain new understandings is by giving us new and different information about ourselves and the situations in our lives. With this new information we are able to form new and current beliefs about ourselves and the nature of reality. As we make these internal changes with this new evidence that we now have about ourselves, we begin to live at cause, because we are causing a new effect to happen in our lives.
The more we release our limiting beliefs and the negative emotions that go with them, the more our innate Divine Intelligence can shine through us and create even greater Causes in our lives. This is our purpose in life – to express the Divine Intelligence through us and when we do this life changes, often in ways that we could never imagine.
This work is about breaking the habit of being yourself. It is about seeing yourself differently and behaving in a new and different way. It is about gaining new understandings, changing perceptions, releasing negative emotions and understanding the power of forgiveness to heal your mind. | https://www.sarah-alexander.co.uk/heal-your-mind/ |
Things are distinct not in their essence but in their appearance; in other words, in their relation to one to whom they appear. This is art, the truth of which is not in substance or logic, but in expression. Abstract truth may belong to science and metaphysics, but the world of reality belongs to art.
Usually people interested in spiritual development think in terms of the importance of mind, that mysterious, high and deep thing that we have decided to learn about. But strangely enough, the profound and the transcendental are to be found in the factory. It may not fill you with bliss to look at it, it may not sound as good as the spiritual experiences that we have read about, but somehow reality is to be found there in the way in which we relate with everyday problems. If we relate to them in a simple, earthy way, we will work in a more balanced manner, and things will be dealt with properly.
All societies create their own worlds, using language and folklore to impose an arbitrary order on the complexity of the cosmos. This ordering of reality helps make sense of things by interpreting information in ways which are compatible with what is already known.
If reality flows like a stream, then knowledge of such reality also becomes fluid, a process rather than a set of fixed truths. And because all knowledge is produced, displayed, communicated and applied in thought; then thought too must be seen as part of the same eternal tide... Thought is, in essence, a response of memory. It consists of a repetition of some image or sensation, or it involves a combination or reorganisation of such repetition in a new and useful way. So, in the end, intelligence turns out to be part of the flow. It is not grounded in cells or molecules, but drawn from the same moving stream as reality. In other words, mind and matter are ultimately inseparable.
Only awareness can free us from our thoughts. In the moment we become aware that our thoughts are just thoughts, rather than reality itself, we wake up from their spell and can return to presence. It is empowering to dispel and can return to presence. It is empowering to discover that we are not enslaved by our thoughts, by how our mind interprets reality.
Here is the test of wisdom, wisdom is not finally tested in schools, wisdom cannot be pass’d from one having it to another not having it, wisdom is of the soul, is not susceptible of proof, is its own proof, applies to all stages and objects and qualities and is content, is the certainty of the reality and immortality of things, and the excellence of things.
The myth of integration as propounded under the banner of the liberal ideology must be cracked because it makes people believe that something is being achieved when in reality the artificially integrated circles are a sophomoric to the blacks while salving the consciences of the few guilt-stricken whites.
The reality of life is that your perceptions -- right or wrong -- influence everything else you do. When you get a proper perspective of your perceptions, you may be surprised how many other things fall into place.
The world is full of paradox. For example, [in Buddhism] though no notion of a creator is entertained, great stress is laid upon the need for faith and piety. By faith is meant not trust in a benevolent diety avid for love, praise and obedience, but conviction that beyond the seeming reality misreported by our senses which is inherently unsatisfactory, lies a mystery which, when intuitively unsatisfactory, lies a mystery which, when intuitively perceived, will give our lives undreamed-of meaning and endow the most insignificant object with holiness and beauty.
An independent reality in the ordinary physical sense can neither be ascribed to the phenomenon nor to the agencies of observation.
Whoever has the symbol has thereby the beginning of the spiritual idea; symbol and reality together furnish the whole.
Modern mental hospitals, where every method of control has been euphemistically renamed, can be frightening places. The actions of every staff member – the aide who holds a patient down, the nurse who injects the medication, the doctor who prescribes it – all have been defined as benevolent. Patients who dare to utter the unauthorized reality – that they are prisoners and that their “helpers” are jailers – only provide further evidence that they are indeed ill. Succumbing to brainwashing, accepting reality as defined by one’s captors, differs from a psychiatric “cure” only because in the latter case the accepted reality is the prevailing one. Holding a minority position makes a person a potential subject for psychiatric brainwashing.
Facts as facts do not always create a spirit of reality, because reality is a spirit.
Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act of faith to assert that our thoughts have any relation to reality at all.
This empty world may change but Reality is the same. It has never been easy to know but Truth shines everywhere.
Reality doesn't bite, rather our perception of reality bites.
I believe that there is, that there must be, a spiritual reality corresponding to E=mc2 because from the standpoint of creative harmony, the universe is incomplete without it, and because, from the standpoint of moral freedom, humankind is sentenced to extinction without it.
Is there a spiritual reality, inconceivable to us today, which corresponds in history to the physical reality which Einstein discovered and which led to the atomic bomb? Einstein discovered a law of physical change: the way to convert a single particle of matter into enormous physical energy. Might there not also be, as Gandhi suggested, an equally incredible and [as yet] undiscovered law of spiritual change, whereby a single person or small community of persons could be converted into an enormous spiritual energy capable of transforming a society and a world?
The essence of reality lies in the interiority contained by the universe at a given moment.
The search for final truth rests with each individual personality and rendering the partial interpretations of our experience fundamentally consistent with one another. It is this fact that justifies the use of the word `God’ to designate the all embracing personality in whose existence ultimate reality exists. | http://greatthoughtstreasury.com/index.php/reality/quotes-0?page=4 |
Your Brain, Your Life
Women’s Global Leadership Initiative presents the first in a series of workshops that will focus on “The Neurobiology of Leadership”. This initial workshop presents information on human perception of reality and how the mind and the brain influence our beliefs and interpretations of our external world.
The workshop will be facilitated by Linda Hartstrom (34 years with the California Department of Justice and current PhD candidate). The workshop will explore how the brain perceives reality, and the many biological constraints which shape how we experience life and ultimately respond to it.
Participants will have a chance to learn why we do not see the world as it really is, but rather as we are, and learn tools to counter unproductive perceptions, to shape a pattern for a happier and healthier life.
Topics include:
- Visual Perceptual Distortions
- Visual Perceptual Blindness-Change Blindness
- The Power of Context
- Survivor Bias
Friday, June 29, 2012 9 a.m.-noon
University of San Francisco–Santa Rosa Campus)
416 B Street. Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Fee: $75 at the door, $65 in advance, with discounts for students and faculty ($54). Limited scholarships are available. | https://wgli.org/your-brain-your-life-6292012/ |
Any view saying that reality is in some way mental, or depends intrinsically – and not just causally – on mind (not necessarily the human mind).
The term may also apply to features of some philosophy, but is connected for philosophers with ‘idea’ rather than, as in popular usage, with ‘ideal’ in the sense of goal of behavior; nor does it apply now to Plato’s theory of forms (or ideas) since though these are not material neither are they mind-dependent.
Idealism may be opposed to materialism or to realism. Sometimes the term ‘idealism’ refers to the opinion that reality can only be described from some point of view, not in a way that transcends all points of view.
Compare with: perspectivism
Also see: objective idealism, subjective idealism, transcendental idealism
Source:
A C Ewing, ed., The Idealist Tradition (1957)
In philosophy, idealism is a diverse group of metaphysical views which all assert that “reality” is in some way indistinguishable or inseparable from human perception and/or understanding, that it is in some sense mentally constituted, or that it is otherwise closely connected to ideas. In contemporary scholarship, traditional idealist views are generally divided into two groups. Subjective idealism takes as its starting point that objects only exist to the extent that they are perceived by someone. Objective idealism posits the existence of an objective consciousness which exists before and, in some sense, independently of human consciousness, thereby bringing about the existence of objects independently of human minds. In the early modern period, George Berkeley was often considered the paradigmatic idealist, as he asserted that the essence of objects is to be perceived. By contrast, Immanuel Kant, a pioneer of modern idealist thought, held that his version of idealism does “not concern the existence of things”, but asserts only that our “modes of representation” of them, above all space and time, are not “determinations that belong to things in themselves” but essential features of our own minds. Kant called this position “transcendental idealism” (or sometimes “critical idealism”), holding that the objects of experience relied for their existence on the mind, and that the way that things in themselves are outside of our experience cannot be thought without applying the categories which structure all of our experiences. However, since Kant’s view affirms the existence of some things independently of experience (namely, “things in themselves”), it is very different from the more traditional idealism of Berkeley.
Epistemologically, idealism is accompanied by skepticism about the possibility of knowing any mind-independent thing. In its ontological commitments, idealism goes further, asserting that all entities rely on the mind for their existence. Ontological idealism thus rejects both physicalist and dualist views as failing to ascribe ontological priority to the mind. In contrast to materialism, idealism asserts the primacy of consciousness as the origin and prerequisite of phenomena. Idealism holds consciousness or mind to be the “origin” of the material world – in the sense that it is a necessary condition for our positing of a material world – and it aims to explain the existing world according to these principles. The earliest extant arguments that the world of experience is grounded in the mental derive from India and Greece. The Hindu idealists in India and the Greek neoplatonists gave panentheistic arguments for an all-pervading consciousness as the ground or true nature of reality. In contrast, the Yogācāra school, which arose within Mahayana Buddhism in India in the 4th century CE, based its “mind-only” idealism to a greater extent on phenomenological analyses of personal experience. This turn toward the subjective anticipated empiricists such as George Berkeley, who revived idealism in 18th-century Europe by employing skeptical arguments against materialism. Beginning with Immanuel Kant, German idealists such as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, and Arthur Schopenhauer dominated 19th-century philosophy. This tradition, which emphasized the mental or “ideal” character of all phenomena, gave birth to idealistic and subjectivist schools ranging from British idealism to phenomenalism to existentialism.
Phenomenology, an influential strain of philosophy since the beginning of the 20th century, also draws on the lessons of idealism. In his Being and Time, Martin Heidegger famously states: “If the term idealism amounts to the recognition that being can never be explained through beings, but, on the contrary, always is the transcendental in its relation to any beings, then the only right possibility of philosophical problematics lies with idealism. In that case, Aristotle was no less an idealist than Kant. If idealism means a reduction of all beings to a subject or a consciousness, distinguished by staying undetermined in its own being, and ultimately is characterised negatively as ‘non-thingly’, then this idealism is no less methodically naive than the most coarse-grained realism.” Idealism as a philosophy came under heavy attack in the West at the turn of the 20th century. The most influential critics of both epistemological and ontological idealism were G. E. Moore and Bertrand Russell, but its critics also included the new realists. According to Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the attacks by Moore and Russell were so influential that even more than 100 years later “any acknowledgment of idealistic tendencies is viewed in the English-speaking world with reservation”. However, many aspects and paradigms of idealism did still have a large influence on subsequent philosophy. | https://sciencetheory.net/idealism/ |
In Rita Carter’s, “Exploring Consciousness” and William James’ “the Principles of Psychology,” the authors are both examining and explaining the range of stages of consciousness. According to James’ theories, our mind is able to focus on exactly what it finds interesting in viewing and studying while we are consciously perceiving something. This rang true for me – I often find myself focusing in on what particular part of an image I am looking at – whether it be a photograph, picture or real life view. Our eye picks up on what exactly we want to notice. Carter also gets a feel of the incessant stream of consciousness that warps our minds. She explains through the process of reading that is “present in our perception of everything.” (Carter 24). When someone is reading, their minds do not pick up on every word, while at the same time highlighting internally words that stick out to us and draw our attention in closer. Together, both Carter and James acknowledge that our minds are constantly running and working – interrelating and succumbing to the environment around it. Even while we sleep, our mind is processing different forms and interpretations of reality through our dreams. Our conscious is able to process for us a plethora of emotions and feelings; it creates our happiness, sadness, anger what have you. James says in his essay that, “the object is not only apprehended by the mind, but is held to have reality.” (James 288). This made me believe that not only does our mind work to take in objects and images – but it does it in the most accurate way. No picture, no photograph can give such a direct image as the mind and the eyes do in the conscious state. The mind is able to create aspects that it deems to be defining reality – which makes interpretations key in shaping the world. A point I find thoroughly interesting in James’ essay was the theory that the way our mind is constructed orders a person’s ability to view but after an extended period of time, it becomes harder and harder for a person to distinguish what is actual reality and what is figments of the imagination aiding and molding the thoughts we perceive. In her essay, Carter quotes Kevin O’Regan, an expert in psychological perception, on what he believes to be the truth behind perception and the conscious. He believes that everything we perceive is just a grand illusion, but this creates an argument that if it is an illusion we are not interpreting reality. If one can say that everything we perceive is just a part of this grand magic act – than what is in fact reality? Is the sky actually blue – or do we just perceive it as such because someone many years ago decided it was blue and we all just liked that answer? If I say that the sky is purple, is there no room for debate – simply because our perceptions are “grand illusions?” This theory of O’Regan’s seems pretentious and I enjoyed Carter using it in a way to expand what not to truly believe. The Anton Delusion I found very interesting – “Can operate very happily as a fully sighted person until they collide with objects that happened not to be in their imaginary picture of the world.” (Carter 18). This to me rang so very true in what I believe is the conscious working; countless amounts of times I have experienced incidents that I had never witnessed before – shaping and changing the way I see the world and, to be honest, scaring me because it wasn’t something I was used to by any means. While Carter reflects James in her essay, I found her essay a much easier and enjoyable read. Both works, however, made me think of the “stream of consciousness” that is found within many writers, most notably Lewis Carroll. He never feared using his conscious and the stream of words that flowed through it to make up a story or enhance a story – an attribute to the literary field that worked wonders.
One Response to “Blog Post 3: Stream of Consciousness”
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Dominique Zino on
March 17, 2011 1:07 am
Jackie,
In reference to your questions at the end of the first paragraph, is there a way in which we can think outside of the notion that “reality”=good and “grand illusion”=bad?
(Also, you are not alone in asking the question, “Then what is reality?”)
Just one thing, remember that “stream of consciousness” is a writing style and “stream of thought” is James’s way of describing how our minds work to process the environment we find ourselves in. They are not identical ideas.
Thank you for this. | http://jwebs3.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/2011/03/08/blog-post-3-stream-of-consciousness/ |
We integrate the Diamond Guidance when we understand understanding. The word “understanding” is normally used in a more limited way than how we use it in the Diamond Approach. Therefore, we need to discuss understanding more extensively than we have done in previous chapters. The idea that guidance and spiritual realization can be discovered through understanding our experience is a perspective that is quite accessible to our ordinary mind, even though it is not common in traditional teachings. I like this approach because it doesn’t require any esoteric or exotic ideas, beliefs, or symbols in order to engage in the inner work. Understanding is something that we can relate to directly. Our everyday life and our ordinary ways of experiencing and thinking are all we need in order to begin working on ourselves. If we simply deepen these, we arrive at true realization of ourselves without getting into strange or mysterious concepts or rituals.
Spacecruiser Inquiry, pg. 236
Our Ordinary Mind Adheres to Dichotomies as if they are Solid and Ultimate Reality, Unquestionable and Eternal
Much of the work of realization of the nonconceptual dimension is a matter of recognizing the basic mental dichotomies, and recognizing them for what they are. They form the solid bases of our mental universe, and hence function as the final underpinnings of the structure of self and world, a structure that we generally accept as reality. Our ordinary mind adheres to these dichotomies as if they are solid and ultimate reality, unquestionable and eternal. This view of reality inherently supports the structure of the ego-self, for this structure is built using images and representations that are ultimately conceptual, but also depend on the basic dichotomies for their reality. As long as we adhere to them as truth they structure our experience in such a way that reality appears to conform to them. It is difficult to challenge the fundamental dichotomies, for we cannot see them as conceptual fabrication until we stand on the nonconceptual ground. Only true nonconceptuality, which is the ground of pure awareness, can expose them for what they are, through contrast. Some approaches to realization try to penetrate the conceptual dichotomies through thought and reason, but how can a dimension of being comprehend a deeper and more fundamental dimension than itself? Access to the deeper dimensions is what frees the soul from its inherent limitations of thought.
The Inner Journey Home, pg. 333
Perceptions of the So-Called Ordinary World Which are New and Unfamiliar to Our Ordinary Mind
Also, even though the Absolute is the ultimate natural condition, human beings will want to experience everything that is possible as consciousness unfolds from the Absolute. As our consciousness becomes clarified, all kinds of things will be revealed, such as perceptions of essence, of dimensions of reality, and perceptions of the so-called ordinary world, which are new and unfamiliar to our ordinary mind. Our lack of understanding may be experienced as a kind of opaqueness or obscuration. As an unfamiliar and unexpected state of consciousness arises, you might experience a subtle contraction against it because your mind resists the new experience. The resistance to a new manifestation may get connected to something in your past that reminds you of this new experience. You may see a personal issue about it. Although the personal issue might not be what’s most relevant, it still needs to be worked out and made transparent. Furthermore, there is not a single definitive way of experiencing the Absolute. The experience and realization of the Absolute reveals many unexpected mysteries of reality. We will be amazed at how many subtle concepts we have, many of which we take to be ultimate fixtures of reality. These become transparent, transforming the realization of the Absolute to further and deeper realizations.
Diamond Heart Book Five, pg. 143
The Mind that is a Prisoner of Concepts Will Never Know the Night
From this perspective, the many things that people say about giving, loving, serving, and sacrificing mean seeing through the entity and all of its attachments. What you surrender is your mind. Being a giving person means not holding on to an entity. Surrender means losing the belief that you are an entity. Service means that being an entity is not the end. All of these are conceptual ways to approach the reality. But, in a sense, the reality cannot be approached, because the moment you approach it, you are already dealing in concepts. You are already taking yourself to be something approaching something else. Reality doesn’t really work that way. The reality infiltrates you, your mind, your soul. The reality acts on you from within and without, like a corrosive acid that eats more and more, dissolving you gradually and completely. You have many kinds of experiences and realizations as the reality feasts on you inside and out. You think you are gaining something, but you are actually being thoroughly consumed. You wake up one day not knowing what’s happened. You thought you were going to be happy and realized, but now you see that you’re gone. The ordinary mind cannot fathom the reality, cannot know what to do and how to get there. The mind that is a prisoner of concepts will never know the night.
Diamond Heart Book Five, pg. 179
The True Underlying Fabric that Can Bring Unifying Meaning to Our Life is Beyond Ordinary Mind
This advancing globalization, happening at the same time that we are becoming increasingly aware of the subtle emptiness of modern secular Western life, is resulting in many people feeling confused and questioning, consciously or unconsciously, what it means to be human in our times. The destructuring effect of cultural diversity is making many feel the stripping away of the substance of their value systems, reflecting the denuding of the three elements of the triad. They feel it as the loss of the sense of living in a meaningful world. Many now have no sense of having a world that can psychologically hold them and their aspirations in a clearly meaningful way. The pervasive questions become: What is life on Earth? What should life be? How will we live? What are our values? What is important? What is real? What will work? What is appropriate for our times? If we do not want to simply regress to past solutions, as many fundamentalist movements are trying to do, we will have to ask: What is the vision of being human that is appropriate for our times? To refer to the past for solutions would involve our interpretations of what that was like; this is what fundamentalism does. However, going to the past will not enable us to reach the true underlying fabric that can bring unifying meaning into our life; this fabric is the presence of true nature, which is always in the now, and beyond ordinary mind.
The Inner Journey Home, pg. 476
You Would be Out of Your Mind if You Were Practicing for No Reason
As we continue to examine practice from the perspective of realization, as we see how practice is realization, we can recognize another position, another attitude that we tend to have in relation to practice. As we challenge one assumption, we encounter further ones. We explored how practice needs to become continual in order for it to be an effective practice. But effective toward what end? We realize at some point that practicing doesn’t mean that we are practicing for a reason. For most people, before realization matures, practice seems to be both pushed and pulled: pushed by motivation and pulled by a goal. So we are motivated because we usually have a goal in mind. Motivation and goal orientation are two ends of the same delusion, the same misinterpretation of reality. Or we could say that they are two facets of the same approximate, but ultimately limited, view of reality. Most of us are practicing for a reason; we are practicing so that something will happen. Isn’t that why you are practicing? Otherwise, why would anybody practice? You would be out of your mind if you were practicing for no reason. And that is true; you will be out of your mind—at least out of your ordinary mind. So, from the perspective of the individual soul, one of the holy cows of practice is that we practice in order to become realized, awakened, enlightened, and free. When we say that practice is realization, we mean precisely that: Practice is not for realization, it is realization. This challenges the conventional belief that we practice so that we can become enlightened. If we practice with the intention of attaining realization, we have an aim in mind; we have a goal toward which we are oriented. Motivation is impelling us to keep going, and the promise of a particular result is beckoning us forward, inviting us to go in that direction. Realization that is practice shows the folly of having a goal as the end of our practice. As our practice matures and as our realization deepens, we can understand more and more the perspective of true practice. | https://www.diamondapproach.org/glossary/refinery_phrases/ordinary-mind |
What’s Wrong With Being Right
How to stop believing that winning is everything.
Posted April 7, 2014
by Charlie Bloom
The mind is an extraordinary thing. It can solve problems, imagine amazing ideas, help us meet difficult challenges, transform our capacity to comprehend previously incomprehensible experiences, and, in uncountable other ways, bring greater clarity and understanding into our lives. As we've all undoubtedly recognized, however, there is a shadow side to the mind that can activate experiences that leave us feeling diminished, hopeless, frightened, and impotent.
Yet neither the positive nor negative perceptions that we hold represent an absolutely accurate reflection of reality. They are, rather, interpretations of ourselves, other people, and our world produced and shaped by our mental software.
The difference between what is and what I think is can be an incredibly difficult distinction to make, because our thoughts can be extremely convincing when we are trying to discern the truth.
My favorite bumper sticker says, "Don't believe everything you think." It reminds me that my thoughts are not necessarily the most reliable source when it comes to the truth. Yet it's so easy to forget that. When I do, I become rigidly fixed in my perspective, closed to seeing things any other way, and very attached to being right.
Often, the ideas that I am attached to do not make me feel better about myself or the world, but confirm limiting, negative beliefs that leave me feeling hurt, frustrated, angry, or overwhelmed. It's not my circumstances or reality that is frightening, overwhelming, or unfair—it's my thinking that makes them seem so.
Of course, the mind is just as capable of providing interpretations that are unrealistically or impossibly optimistic. These positive distortions can be just as dangerous or damaging as negative ones, similarly setting us up for disillusionment, disappointment, and feelings of hopelessness and resignation.
And then there are those occasions—hopefully more common as we grow in maturity and wisdom—when our mind offers us an accurate reflection of things and enables us to create a useful blueprint for planning and taking effective action.
The problem, as I said, is that you can't always believe what you think, and it's sometimes quite difficult to know where the truth ends and where our own distorted interpretations begin. The bumper sticker doesn't tell us not to believe anything we think; it warns us not to believe everything we think.
It's up to us to determine how much of what we think is worth believing.
If this seems confusing, it is. What I have discovered, though, is that it's not always necessary to figure out exactly what is and isn't true in order to prevent "analysis paralysis" or "hardening of the attitudes." When you don't reflexively believe everything you think, you can meet your thoughts without a rigid attachment to a single perspective, but with an openness to seeing things with some degree of, if you will, open-mindedness.
The opposite of being self-righteous is not assuming you're wrong, or knowing exactly what's true—it's being open to the uniqueness of any given situation and bringing curiosity, along with a willingness to learn something new, to it. In practicing this non-attachment to our beliefs, thoughts, and views, we're not admitting that we're wrong; we're simply expressing an openness to looking at our conclusions from other perspectives. This can liberate us from defensive patterns that no longer serve us, and enhance our lives in innumerable ways.
It can also create unexpected challenges.
Relationships provide us with an unlimited supply of opportunities to practice this form of reflection. I haven't always taken full advantage of the extensive growth opportunities to expand my thinking that my marriage has offered me. There have been times when I actually went so far as to try to convince my wife, Linda, that my thinking was more accurate than hers on a given subject, even trying to give her evidence to validate my correctness. To her credit, most of the time (not always) she has respectfully rejected my offers to help her see things "correctly."
Fortunately, I eventually came around and began to see that it wasn't a matter of figuring out who was right—or even proving her wrong—but rather being open to considering her views and seeing if there was anything in them that might have a degree of validity. There almost always was.
Unfortunately, it took me years of arguing and coercing to come to that realization, but the good news is that I have finally stopped believing that I'm always right and have started looking for the validity in what Linda is saying rather than trying to poke holes in her point of view.
Most of the time.
Old habits take a long time to die. There are still times that I forget that it's not about being right, but it happens with decreasing frequency and it doesn't take long for me to loosen my grip on my attachment to being right and ask Linda to run her view by me one more time so I might really hear what she is trying to tell me, rather than focusing on my strategy to win the argument.
Practicing open-mindedness and reflection is enormously valuable in our close relationships. It can be very difficult for those of us who have long been so attached to being right. It's freeing, but humbling—strong medicine, but just what the doctor ordered. | https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/stronger-the-broken-places/201404/what-s-wrong-being-right |
I. Idealism in the History of Philosophy. 1. The Roots of Idealism in Ancient Philosophy. 2. Descartes and the Modern Age. - II. German Idealism and its Influences on Contemporary Thought. 1. The German Idealism of Fichte, Schelling and Hegel. 2. Post-Hegelian Idealism. 3. The Principle of Immanence at the Root of the Idealist Position. - III. Idealism and Scientific Knowledge: Classical Physics and Mathematics. 1. Idealism and Classical Physics. 2. Platonic Idealism in Mathematics. - IV. IdeaIist Paradigms in some Modern day scientific theories. 1. Idealism and Relativity. 2. Idealism and Quantum Mechanics. 3. Idealist Paradigms of Theoretical Cosmology. 4. Summarizing Vision. Idealism and Realism in the Method of Sciences : the Search for Objectivity. - V. Theology and the Idealist Principle of Immanence. 1. The Appraisal of the Principle of Immanence according to Theology. 2. The Critique of Religion: God as Projection of the Conscious and the Unconscious. 3. The Method of Immanence and how it acts in Theology. 4. The Existential Exegesis. - VI. How the Idealist Perspective works in Theology: Possibilities and Critical Appraisals. 1. Does an Idea of Christianity exist? 2. The Transcendental Theology of K. Rahner. 3. Truth and History.
One generally understands the term "idealism" to mean every philosophy that, in questioning the source of knowledge, identifies it with thought, that is, with ideas. From the idealist perspective, human knowledge would not acknowledge the reality of things placed outside of the conscious subject, because the only phenomena considered to be real are those inner to the subject, also called "representations or states of conscience." "Being" is thus determined by "thought" and is often indicated by the term spirit. In this sense, idealism is primarily opposed to materialism, which instead claims that Being exists in itself as materiality, and secondly to realism that instead claims the reality of the existence of objects also outside the conscious mind. Taking the "principle of immanence" as its own method, according to which we do not directly know real objects, but only our representations of them, idealist philosophy bases its gnoseology on the claim that an immediate access to the data of experience on the part of our conscious would be impossible, or at least doubtful. The idealist position, beyond determining a gnoseology, also constructs its own metaphysics: in contrast to realism, that bases reality and truth in being, the principle of immanence maintains that truth is founded on thought. This idealist metaphysical conception has remarkable consequences in anthropology, theology, and also science, when the subject is predominant over the external world, that is, over the knowledge of a reality created independently from the subject itself.
I. Idealism in the History of Philosophy
1. The Roots of Idealism in Ancient Philosophy. The first philosophical use of the term "idealism" was made by Leibniz (1646-1716), who used it in reference to the philosophy of Plato. Although in the history of philosophy the term "idealism " usually indicates a period from the end of the 1700's to the first decades of the following century, the idealist philosophy has in reality a much broader historical scope. Though recognizing that the German idealism of Hegel, Fichte and Schelling perhaps represents its greatist theoretic consistency, such a philosophical current cannot be confined to this period alone, as it concerns a gnoseological vision that, even with its different shades of meaning, crosses the entire history of Western philosophical thought.
Idealism effectively began with the philosophy of Plato (427-347 B.C.), who supported the existence of two worlds, the visible world, that of becoming, and the intelligible world, "the world of ideas" (Gr. hyperouránios), perfect and immutable. In fact the main characteristic of the platonic philosophy is just the vision of this super-sensibile truth, defined as "theory of ideas." The inquiry of nature (Gr. physis), carried out by the pre-socratic philosophers, had tried to explain the reality of things starting from the only mechanical and material causes. These were expressed in the mechanistic combination of what were then believed to be the four fundamental elements of matter: water, air, earth and fire. Plato did not, however, believe that these combinations were the true causes; he thought, in fact, that the cause of the sensible was to be found in something "supersensible" (cf. Phaedo , 97b-98c). For Plato the physical "data" cannot be explained remaining in the dimension of the physical, but rather ascending to the "supersensible", that is, in the ideas. With the term "idea" Plato meant, in a certain sense, something that is opposed to thought, that is "that to which" thought turns to when it thinks, something without which thought itself would not be: thus, the Platonic idea is not a thought, but rather a "being," indeed that being "that is absolutely," the "true being" (cf. Reale, 1975, vol. II, pp. 39-40). For Plato, therefore, the idea is the ontological essence and not so much the logical concept. Plato's idealist conception can be found, among other texts, in Book VII of The Republic, where the famous "myth of the cave" is found, and where there is a description, through a metaphorical-mythical process, of the various levels of human knowledge, that proceed increasingly from the sense knowledge to the intelligible knowledge. It is in these pages, and in similar ones of Platonic writings, that the first form of idealism is put, understood as a progressive rebuttal of sensible experience as the basis for knowledge, giving predominance to ideas. Only in this way, Plato claimed, could one hope to move from simple "opinion" (Gr. dóxa) to "science" (Gr. epistéme).
If what we have recalled by now is common knowledge accepted by everyone, Plato's position in favor of the reality of mathematical entities is, on the contrary, under a great debate. In the pages of Metaphysics dedicated to the Platonic doctrine of causes, Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) —after recalling that it is at the same time similar and dissimilar from the Pythagorean theory— says that for Plato, "besides sensible things and forms, there are the objects of mathematics, which occupy an intermediate position, differing from sensible things in being eternal and unchangeable, and from forms in that there are many mathematical objects alike, while the form itself is in each case unique" (Metaphysics, I, 6, 987b). For Aristotle, therefore, Plato admits the existence of "archetypal ideas" of numbers from which, similarly to other ideas, mathematical numbers are derived. In effect, in several works of Plato, such as Philebus, Republic, the VIIth Letter, we find a reference to the existence of ideal numbers that are archetypes of the numbers used by mathematicians. In Plato one can therefore suppose the existence of numbers, but with the shrewdness to remember that he speaks about them only as archetypal ideas, a concept of the number very different to the mathematical reality that he derives.
2. Descartes and the Modern Age. In the context of modern philosophy the term "idea" is altered. If for Plato it is something real, for modern philosophers it is rather a "mental representation," that is, the idea is closer to the "psychological" than to the "ontological" dimension. According to many historians of philosophical thought, it is only with the Modern Age that the specifics of idealism are explicitly set out. In this period we find, on the one hand, a world of experience that is considerably valued, thanks to physical-mathematical science, which after Galileo and Newton had grounded its epistemological autonomy on experience; on the other hand, thought is interpreted as "intuition", a thought that looks within itself for the certainty of its truth, a vision that will have its foremost defender in Descartes. But if Platonic idealism can be identified as an "objective" idealism, that of the Modern Age should be defined as a "subjective" idealism, meaning that the ultimate foundation of reality is based in the subject.
The role assumed by Descartes (1596-1650) in effecting this change of route is remarkable: with his cogito ergo sum he turns the previous gnoseological outline on its head, giving to "knowing" (the subject) the precedence over "being" (the object). By introducing methodical doubt, refuting the certainties that are not grasped in a clear and distinct manner, that is, in an immediate and intuitive way (the human spirit having "innate ideas" that exist in it as objects of knowledge), Descartes places himself as the remote father of modern idealism, even if, in fact, it is difficult to categorize him as a pure idealist. In fact, in Descartes' gnoseological doctrine "sense" has a certain degree of obscurity and is contrasted with intellect, the faculty of "clear and distinguished ideas," that acts through intuition and deduction to reach true knowledge. In his philosophy there is still, however, the difficulty of establishing whether an effective object existing in reality corresponds to these objects of the mind. In order to answer this problem he recovers, in part, the doctrine of Plato's ideas, thus showing how his way of thinking truly reflects his habit of mathematician.
A different gnoseological formulation was that of John Locke (1632-1704). Remembering the admirable synthesis performed by Newton (1642-1727), who was also a friend of his, he does not start from mere sensation, but rather from the "sensible perception," which is itself an act of knowledge. Locke defines the "idea" as: "whatsoever the mind perceives in itself, or is the immediate object of perpection, thought, or understanding" (An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, II, 8). A true admirer of the physics of Newton, Locke never thought of denying the existence of the truth outside of us (cf. ibidem, IV, 11), but indeed he placed the foundation of knowledge in sensible experience. It is from the critique to the concept of substance begun by Locke that subsequently, thanks to George Berkeley (1685-1753), the best-known form of modern idealism would be born. In his critique to Locke, Berkeley was lead to deny the existence of bodies as substances and to say that they are only ideas. All substance would be constituted by "ideas," whose truth consists in the fact that they are perceived by the subject. The esse est percipi would become, from that moment onwards, the typical formula of modern idealism. Only spirits and ideas exist, the spirit is the active substance, the idea is the inert and passive object of knowledge, for which the ideas depend in a certain sense from the spirit (cf. The Principles of Human Knowledge, 25). But, as Berkeley still emphasizes, not all ideas depend on "our" spirit, in fact some of them depend on God. He takes ideas as objects of sense experience: his theory of ideas is a theory that refers not to all being, but only to the sensible world. The jump performed here, with respect to Platonic idealism, is evident. From his gnoseological theory, Berkeley draws as a consequence the rehabilitation of final causes and the critique of Newton's absolute time and space, considered by the Irish bishop as pure abstractions.
With Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) idealism is defined in an even more specific way. He calls his philosophy "transcendental idealism," in order to distinguish it from the problematic idealism of Descartes and the dogmatic one of Berkeley. In the Critique of Pure Reason the problem of the possibility of metaphysics is raised, starting from the question of what are the conditions of possibility that allow science to arrive at a certainty (cf. Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics, § 4). Fascinated by Newtonian physics, he claimed that mathematics and physics are the only sciences through which human reason reaches unequivocal results. Their characteristic is that of being based on necessary and universal principles, a priori, and thus principles not derived from experience. Experience, from which science nevertheless is nourished, can only say: "things have always worked this way," but not: "they should work this way." If Locke admits that the laws of physics are simple generalizations of experience —and thus he denies that physics has the character of a rigorous science- Kant does not accept this position and asserts, on the contrary, that the laws of physics and mathematics are propositions in which the predicate "adds" something to the subject, calling them "synthetic a priori judgments." Such judgments are possible because the object on which they are delivered is a "phenomenon," that is, something that derives from sensible data and from certain a priori forms that order such data into an objective unity. This entails that all our knowledge is limited to phenomena and that, in fact, we cannot know a thing in itself, the "noumenon." The different phenomena of sensible experience are organized by the subject, who constructs an objective world uniting the phenomena according to the laws of the human intellect, that Kant calls "categories." It is the intellect, Kant says, that prescribes its laws to nature and not vice versa. In Kantian idealism, space and time are not real properties, but a priori structures of our knowledge, forms of our sensitivity, conditions of the object's appearance to our intellect. Therefore, the main feature of the Kantian system is the definition of "transcendental," a term by which the active presence of the human spirit is indicated in every knowledge that concerns experience.
Thus, the difference between the scientist and the philosopher consists in the fact that, while the former puts his or her trust in an "experience" approach, in perceptions of the material world derived from the senses, the philosopher examines the same job of the scientist, to make him or her understand that this is only a construction of human spirit, an interpretation of the sensory experience. Kant therefore does not deny the existence of an external reality, indeed he criticizes the idealism of Berkeley: Kant's idealism rather operates a stronger accentuation of the role of the knowing subject.
II. German Idealism and its Influence on Contemporary Thought
1. The German Idealism of Fichte, Schelling and Hegel. The form of idealism that came after the philosophy of Kant represents a "continuation" and at the same time a "reaction" to the thought of the philosopher of Königsberg. It is a continuation, because it continues to affirm the knowability of being, and a reaction because it gives free space and ample creativity to the spirit. After Kant, the position of idealism can be summarized by the statement: "there is only the Self and every other reality is a work of the Self." The German idealists will take into consideration only the Critique of Pure Reason, and claim that Kant's work would contain an intrinsic contradiction, that is, if everything that is knowable is set out by the subject, then the thing itself, the "noumenon" will also have to be, so that we can know its existence. The intervention of the subject, of human spirit, is thus moved further: from the phenomenon to the noumenon. The spirit not only creates the form of the knowable, but also the content of the consciousness; it entirely creates the known object and identifies with it.
Taking a different position to Kant, J.G. Fichte (1762-1814) attempts the union between phenomenon and noumenon, theoretical and practical, subject and object. If for Kant the "Self," the subject, creates the knowing, for the subsequent German idealism the subject creates being. All reality is thus reduced to thought. If Plato, alongside the "world of ideas" puts the "world of things," caused by as many objects as there are ideas, in German idealism nothing exists outside of the unique Idea (with capital I). The individual beings of things are only modifications of the unique substance, temporary and phenomenal manifestations of the Absolute. However, for German idealists, the identification between object and subject, being and thought, Self and non-Self, is not immediate. This takes place though an intrinsic "dialectic opposition" of the spirit. The spirit moves in a triadic process of "thesis", in which the subject poses itself, "antithesis", in which the object is placed, and finally the "synthesis", in which the subject, in its self-awareness, acknowledges having placed the object in being. In this framework, the idealism of Fichte is called "subjective idealism", because the Self is the fundamental principle of all knowledge, and "ethical idealism", because the first activity of the Self imposes on every individual the fulfilment of an obligation, that is, conquering one's own freedom (cf. in particular the Foundation of the Entire Science of Knowledge, 1794). In the homonymous "objective idealism" of F.W. Schelling (1775-1854), the object (Nature) is not -as it was for Fichte- an obstacle to be removed, but an autonomous reality, certainly inferior to the spirit, but only by "degree". The idealism of Schelling is also called "aesthetic," because in his opinion, the identity-unity of the Absolute can only be understood by aesthetic intuition. It is interesting to note how, unlike Galileo and Newton, for whom nature is materially conceived and dominated by the inflexible laws of mechanics, Schelling understands nature as a spiritual entity endowed with an inexhaustible free activity.
In the philosophical thought of G.W.F. Hegel (1770-1831) we instead speak of "absolute idealism," an overcoming of the idealism of Fichte and Schelling by virtue of the complete realization of the finite in the infinite. According to Hegel the beginning of every reality is Reason, or Absolute, or Idea, from which derive both the world of nature and the world of the spirit. Hegelian idealism is also called "logical", because its fundamental principle is the identity of Reason and Being: "what is rational is real; and what is real is rational" (Preface to the Elements of the Philosophy of Right, 1821). The opposition to Aristotelian logic, where thought and reality are very distinct, is obvious here. Logic is only the "logic of the abstract," because identity between metaphysics and logic is never posed. Hegel accepts the concept of the Absolute as the identity of Nature and Spirit. Reason is understood as a unity that contains reality. The Absolute is not a "substance," nor something static, as it was suggested by Spinoza (1632-1677), but it is Thought, that is, a dialectic development. Therefore, for Hegel the only true reality is the reality of Reason. It is the same to state that the only true being is the being of Thought and that the only true thought is the thought of Being. All that exists is a manifestation of the Absolute. Understood in this way, idealism could not but identify a return to a philosophy that was more humanistic than scientific; it was not by chance that Popper would write that, starting from Hegelism, a dangerous abyss has arisen between science and philosophy (cf. The Nature of Philosophical Problems and their Roots in Science, 1952, in Conjectures and Refutations). German idealism was, in fact, an attempt to put in crisis the relationship that Descartes' philosophy had established between mathematics and philosophy, like that which Francis Bacon and Kant had established between philosophy and natural science.
2, Post-Hegelian Idealism. In the period that goes from Kant to Hegel the development of idealism can be subdivided into four different stages, summarized in the following theses: a) there is no knowledge without categories (Kant); b) There are no categories without the self-awareness that produces them, and the productive self-awareness must be absolute (Fichte); c) Self-awareness is absolute only if it is the identity of nature and spirit (Schelling); d) This identity cannot be aware if it is not self-conscious reason, that is, Spirit, which represents the unanimous principle of the world (Hegel). Though reaching its peak with Hegel, idealism would also find its continuation in posterior philosophical thought that we can divide into two main streams.
The first of these is represented by "neo-idealism," developed in Italy thanks to authors as Spaventa, Croce and Gentile; in Holland through the work of Bolland, and in England at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Apart from the study of the relationship between phenomenology and logic, one of the main aims of Italian Neo-Idealism was that of opposing positivism and its claim to scientifically explain all reality. Neo-idealism only acknowledges the Spirit as the sole absolute reality in history. The immanentism of the Spirit, and the identity between history and philosophy, is then derived, providing an origin to historicism in its diverse and complex forms, which, however, are still the offspring of Hegelian phenomenology. For Benedetto Croce (1866-1952) all that is real is life or history of the Spirit, nothing is outside of the Spirit (immanentism), nothing is outside history (historicism). For Giovanni Gentile (1875-1944), however, the beginning of all reality is the universal "Self", or absolute Subject, that is realized as Absolute Thought. Thought does not precede thinking and therefore does not derive from a pre-existing subject, but rather from a subject that exists precisely because it thinks, and in the act of thinking creates itself. The universal "Self" is therefore the thinking present (actualism) and immanent in all things (immanentism). In France, with the exception of Octave Hamelin and Leon Brunschvig, idealism did not have a major development. The situation was quite different in England, where an idealist school blossomed at Balliol College (Oxford) by the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. But this was nothing more than a group of individual scholars who used idealism as an inspiring philosophy. Among others we remember E.J. Mc Taggart, R.G. Collingwood and F.H. Bradley. Their role, however, was of a certain importance, because it was these three thinkers who marked the cultural climate of England at the beginning of 20th century, when G.E. Moore and B. Russell, founders of analytical philosophy, began their university studies at Cambridge.
The second stream that originated from post-Hegelian idealism, rather than assuming idealistic philosophy, is indirectly influenced by it and, especially in the works of Husserl and Heidegger, it confronts with idealistic philosophy as well. All of Edmund Husserl's (1859-1938) philosophy is dominated by the idea of science. He came from the world of mathematics and his work begins with the attempt to define the mathematical entity. Intending to fight psychologism, Husserl was very interested in consciousness that he always meant as "consciousness of something." In this idea of consciousness there is a distinction between subject and object: the subject is the body of facts of consciousness, such as perceiving, judging, representing itself, and the object is that which manifests itself in these facts, such as sounds, colored objects, memories and images. Our psychic actions always refer to an object (we never see "the green," but only a "green object"). But this does not mean that Husserl endorses a realistic vision. Beginning with the publication of Ideas Pertaining to a Pure Phenomenology and a Phenomenological Philosophy (1913), Husserl begins to question the problem of what reality is, and claims that, in order to resolve the question, one must adopt an attitude of "suspension of judgment" (Gr. epoché) regarding all that that, until now, has been said by the various sciences or by several philosophical schools. That is, from the persuasion of the existence of world one must not deduce any philosophical proposition, because at the root of every reflection that wishes to be philosophical, only that which is intuitive, that which is self-evident, is placed. The only thing we can be certain of, is not so much the existence of the external world, but that of consciousness. Husserl continued to question this topic and in his later writings there are traces of a certain type of idealism in his vision of the relationship between scientific knowledge and philosophical knowledge. These idealist nuances are obvious, in particular, when he opposes the developments caused by positivist (and neo-positivist) vision of science, understood as the refusal of every philosophy (cf. The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology, 1954). But Husserl did not define exactly what this "consciousness" consisted of, making his position in the idealistic panorama difficult to evaluate. Even if defined by some as an idealist because of his recovery of Descartes', and in part, of Kant's philosophy, Husserl goes beyond realism and idealism. Even if we acknowledge his relationship with idealistic philosophy, we shal conclude that this was neither conflictive nor resolutive.
It was, instead, Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), in the first phase of philosophical thought, who turned to idealism to find a solution to his key problem, that is, the search for the foundations of mathematics and the question of the reality of the number. But his idealist position did not last very long, because at the beginning of the 20th century, he would abandon it to embrace as a reaction first an extreme realism inspired by Alexius Meinong (1853-1920), and then a more moderate realism. The change in Russell's position regarding idealism happened as a result of the critique that G.E. Moore (1873-1958) addressed to the esse est percepi proposition of Berkeley by the pages of his work The Refutation of Idealism (1903). Moore would criticize the idealist proposition not so much on the logical or metaphysical level, but rather at the level of linguistic significance. He wanted to show how the statement esse est percepi, in fact means nothing, thus giving rise to that important philosophical stream that would dominate the 20th century: "analytical philosophy." This was also a product, albeit indirectly, of the critique of idealism.
Someone who would instead confront himself with German idealism, in a systematic and profound way, was Martin Heidegger (1889-1976). He was committed in his philosophical journey to give back to philosophy the uncontaminated purity of its origins. Heidegger attempted to clean up philosophical thought from the waste that contaminated it, caused by the methods and aims of science. Re-examining the concept of science, as formulated by Fichte, Schelling and Hegel, who had assigned only to philosophy the property of rationality, Heidegger reaffirms that philosophy is not interested and cannot be interested in positive science, because philosophy itself is true science, the true way to reach absolute knowledge. At the same level as the German idealists, Heidegger lets philosophy go back to being the indisputable queen of thought.
3. The Principle of Immanence at the Root of the Idealist Position. Throughout its articulated philosophical journey, the specific argument of idealism thus remains the "principle of immanence." It consists of stating the assumption according to which the act of the subject (the Self) produces nothing outside of itself, but is put inside the subject that placed it. According to the idealists one cannot think of a being outside of thought; as soon as something is thought, because of the fact that is thought, it is present in my Self and no longer externally. This position was thought by Berkeley to be an obvious and self-evident statement: "Some truths there are so near and obvious to the mind, that a man needs only open his eyes to see them. Such I take this important one to be, viz. that all the choir of heaven and furniture of the earth, in a word all those bodies which compose the mighty frame of the world, have not any subsistence without a mind, that their being ( esse ) is to be perceived or known" (The Principles of Human Knowledge, n. 6).
The concept of immanence is directly opposed to that of transcendence. In the strictly gnoseological sense, the latter coincides with the realistic perspective, that is, the possibility of knowing something external to the same subject. Idealism coincides with the denial of this gnoseological transcendence, since it denies that conscience can go beyond its own limits and recognize as existing, a reality that is external to it. The idealist conclusion is therefore immediate: that which is known must be in thought, and an object that was not in thought would not be known. Therefore, we cannot know realities external to thought. The American philosopher C.S. Peirce (1839-1914) puts this concept in the following way: "But if it be asked us, whether some realities do not exist, which are independent of thought; I would in turn ask, what is meant by such an expression and what can be meant by it. What idea can be attached to that of which there is no idea? For if there be an idea of such a reality, it is the object of that idea of which we are speaking, and which is not independent of thought. It is clear that it is quite beyond the power of the mind to have an idea of something entirely independent of thought -it would have to extract itself from itself for that purpose; and since there is no such idea there is no meaning in the expression" (C.S. Peirce, Toward a Logic Book. On reality, in "Writings of Charles S. Peirce", ed. by C.J. Kloesel et al. [Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986], v. 3, pp. 31-32).
Its strong gnoseological resonances, especially as regards the relationship between idea and truth, would allow idealism to accompany a good part of the elaboration of scientific thought. That was not be confined to the debate betweeen realism and idealism, but would involve science as such: one is reminded of, for example, the relationship between reality and models, the foundations of mathematics, or finally the relationship between theory and experiment, the relevance of the latter being obvious in the debate between the various philosophical interpretations given to quantum mechanics. An analysis of the idealist perspective of sciences thus becomes necessary.
III. Idealism and Scientific Knowledge: Classical Physics and Mathematics
The direct or indirect repercussion of idealism on science is to be found in at least three meaningful ways: a) in the definition of what we mean by science; b) in the formation of the basic knowledge used by science and, specifically, by mathematics c) in the interpretation of scientific theories. In particular, as far as aspects a) and b) are concerned, the idealistic perspective has shown itself mainly as "Platonic" or Platonicizing idealism (see above, I.1), while as c) is concerned, we mainly deal with modern Kantian, or post-Kantian, idealism (see above I.2 and II 1-2). In this and in the next section we will try to provide an essential picture of the main epistemological viewpoints of mathematized scientific theories, in relation to the different degrees of their development along the history.
1. Idealism and Classical Physics. In classical physics, that is Galilean and Newtonian science, which was also for a long time the epistemological reference model for all other natural sciences, the definition of science has directly involved an "observative" or "experimental" component as well as a mathematical one. Beginning with Galileo, science was considered as a mathematical description-explanation of nature, capable of being controlled by experiment. The success, historically proven, of this way to understanding the natural sciences marked the overcoming of "Platonic" idealism on Aristotelism, as Koyré correctly observes: "If you claim for mathematics a superior status, if more than that you attribute to it a real value and a commanding position in Physics, you are a Platonist. If on the contrary you see in mathematics an abstract science, which is therefore of a lesser value than those - physics and metaphysics — which deal with real being; if in particular you pretend that physics needs no other basis than experience and must be built directly on perception, that mathematics has to content itself with the secondary and subsidiary role of a mere auxiliary, you are an Aristotelian. What is in question in this discussion is not certainty —no Aristotelian has ever doubted the certainty of geometrical propositions or demonstrations— but Being; not even the use of mathematics in physical science -no Aristotelian has ever denied our right to measure what is measurable and to count what is numerable- but the structure of science, and therefore the structure of Being. [...] It is obvious that for the disciples of Galileo just as for his contemporaries and elders, mathematicism means Platonism [...]. The Dialogue and the Discourses tell us the history of the discovery, or better still, of the rediscovery of the language spoken by Nature. They explain to us the manner of questioning her, i.e., the theory of that scientific experimentation in which the formulation of postulates and the deduction of their implications precedes and guides the recourse to observation. This too, at least for Galileo, is a proof 'by fact.' The new science is for him an experimental proof of Platonism" (Koyré, 1943, pp. 421, 424, 428).
This orientation of natural sciences towards the mathematical ideal does not arise suddenly with Galileo or Descartes. It follows a long course of preparation that has its roots as far as in the 13th century, in the heated debate between the school of Paris, which was mainly Aristotelian, and the school of Oxford, more Platonic in character (cf. Crombie, 1995; Hackett, 1980). Among the representatives of this school, who were absolutely convinced of the necessity to elaborate all knowledge according to a strictly mathematical point of view, was Roger Bacon (1214-1292), who expressed the matter thus: "Now in mathematics it is possible for us to reach a complete, error-free truth and a universal certainty, without a shadow of doubt, because here one progresses with necessary proofs (in ea convenit haberi demonstrationem per causam propriam et necessariam). And the demonstration introduces the truth [...]. Only in mathematics are there proofs in the true sense of the word (per causam necessariam); and therefore only in the sphere and by virtue of this science man can reach the truth [... ]. In mathematics alone one attains full certainty. It follows that if in the other sciences we want -and is our duty— to reach a level of certainty that excludes every doubt, and a truth, that excludes every error, it is necessary that mathematics become the foundation of our knowledge, in that, prepared by this, we can reach full certainty and truth also in other sciences" (The "Opus maius" of Roger Bacon, edited by J.H. Bridges, Oxford 1897-1900, vol. I, pp. 105-106). In this sense, the influence of Platonic idealism in order to conceive and build modern science is expressed by the idea of "mathematization": for science the world of Platonic ideas is nothing but a mathematical empyrean.
The success of Galilean sciences, however, would have to pay the price of a gradual move towards nominalism with the loss of analogy, of realism, and of the cognitive value of science itself. The latter would increasingly be seen as an instrument of calculation and prediction, rather than as a true (or at least verisimilar) knowledge of reality. The influence of Platonic idealism on science would tend to join, over time, with idealism, understood in its "modern" and "subjectivist" sense. Thus, Kant would seek an a priori philosophical interpretation of the absolute space and time of Newton, identifying them with the same structure of the way of knowing of the subject, rather than with external and objective properties.
2. Platonic Idealism in Mathematics. Another, still very important aspect of Platonic idealism in science, directly concerns mathematics. The way it works can be seen in the answers that would be given to the following questions: a) Do mathematical entities have a purely mental existence, moreover an objective existence outside of the human mind, placed in some world of ideas? b) How are mathematical notions formed in our knowledge? For as much as these questions may seem remote, they have become nowadays extremely current, bringing back to the limelight, in the area of reflection on scientific thought, the names of Plato and Aristotle. These names appear to have surpassed in the final decade of the 20th century those of Descartes and Kant, that appear to have reigned for a long time, almost undisputed, as the founding fathers of true critical philosophy.
When the above questions are asked, the great names of mathematics, physics and science in general, reflecting as philosophers, tend to offer either a Platonic solution or an answer of empiristic-abstractive kind. One easily notices the almost natural tendency of mathematicians towards Platonic idealism: mathematical objects have a dignity and a beauty that demand an extramental ontological state. Often this reflects an enthusiasm of an aesthetic nature, not founded on fully demonstrated arguments, but extremely significant. The passionate reflection of Roger Penrose, for example, is relevant to all: "How 'real' are the objects of the mathematician's world? From one point of view it seems that there can be nothing real about them at all. Mathematical objects are just concepts; they are the mental idealizations that mathematicians make, often stimulated by the appearance and seeming order of aspects of the world about us, but mental idealizations nevertheless. Can they be other than mere arbitrary constructions of the human mind? At the same time there often does appear to be some profound reality about these mathematical concepts, going quite beyond the mental deliberations of any particular mathematician. It is as thought human thought is, instead, being guided towards some eternal truth — a truth which has reality of its own, and which is revealed only partially to any one of us. [...] Is mathematics invention or discovery? When mathematicians come upon their results are they just producing elaborate mental construction which have no actual reality, but whose power and elegance is sufficient simply to fool even their inventors into believing that these mere mental constructions are 'real'? Or are mathematicians really uncovering truths which are, in fact, already 'there' — truths whose existence is quite independent of the mathematicians' activities? I think that, by now, it must be quite clear to the reader that I am an adherent of the second, rather than the first, view, at least with regard to such structures as complex numbers and the Mandelbrot set" (Penrose, 1989, pp. 94-96).
But, supposing that a world of the ideas exists, in a Platonic sense, at least as far as mathematical ideas are concerned, in that way we can know them? In other words: does every type of knowledge come through our senses (nihil est in intellectu quod prius non fuerit in sensu, says the Scholastic adage) and then reach the mind in the form of universal concepts (Aristotelian thesis); or do ideas - and in particular mathematical ideas - reach the mind though intuition, or direct illumination, not contaminated by matter and the senses (Platonic thesis)? This is how ontological idealism is reflected in a gnoseological idealism, and in every enquiry about the formation of mathematical knowledge. It is interesting to observe how the return to Platonic idealism, on the part of some mathematicians and physicists, begins with the demand for a recovery of objectivity against the subjectivism of modern idealism, and is based on a realistic statement (the "exaggerated" realism of Plato that attributes an extramental existence to ideas) in opposition to the subjectivist idealism that denies the reality of being as such outside of the subject and thought. A totally subjectivist and arbitrary science, purely conventional, lacks cognitive content and it is unacceptable for scientists who dedicate their greatest energies to it.
IV. Idealist Paradigms in some Modern Scientific Theories
In relation to how much the physics of Newton already had, the physics of the 20th century has attributed to mathematics an increasing and even more significant role, also because it progressively distanced itself from direct, human scale experiences. Very high speeds such as that of light, that come into play in the theory of special relativity, enormous dimensions and times, that come from the cosmology of general relativity, extremely small dimensions in microphysics governed by quantum mechanics, are all things far removed from our daily experiences. This has implied that physics, and the sciences related to it, have ultimately moved towards Platonic idealism. It is now idealism in the modern sense: Cartesian, Kantian and post-Kantian, that, rightly or wrongly, has come into play.
1. Idealism and Relativity. As regards the theory of relativity, it must be said that it is spontaneously associated by many with subjectivist idealism. Sometimes the relativity of measures of time and space, of simultaneity, etc., has lead some authors to believe that in this theory, objective elements do not exist independently from the measuring observer (subject), and that this legitimatizes idealism, relativism and subjectivism. An idealist interpretation of general relativity was proposed by Gödel, a keen follower of the philosophy of Kant, basing his arguments on a solution he found to Einstein's equations, in which a global synchronization of time is not possible and in which, indeed, it is conceivable to travel back in time, in contrast to what happens with cosmological solutions of a physical kind. But Gödel's solution is ultimately only a mathematical curiosity, not, in fact, a physically realizable one (cf. Gödel, 1949).
On the contrary, the theories of relativity can be considered theories of "invariants" or absolutes. They are aimed at, and succeed in, giving a formulation of the physical laws completely independent from the choice of the observer. While the mechanics of Newton was applicable only by the so-called "inertial observers," (general) relativity, in its definitive form, achieves applicable laws which are operative by any observer. The subjective interpretation of space and time as a priori categories of the knowing subject, proposed by Kant, is no longer conceivable here. General relativity tends, moreover, to move closer to the Aristotelian concept of motion, space, time and matter, rather than to the Platonic ones. It may instead mirror a certain Platonic, if not quite Pythagoran, idealism. In fact, it places all physics into one single geometric outline, of Spinozan inspiration. Einstein himself declared that he felt, in a certain sense, close to the pantheist philosophical vision.
2. Idealism and Quantum Mechanics. The issue of "subjectivist" idealism has instead assumed an important role in the interpretation of quantum mechanics. Unlike what occurred in other fields of science, here the same scientists have defined their interpretation as "idealist" or "realist," opting for a decisive "philosophical" formation. People such as Einstein, De Broglie, Schrödinger, Bohm, shared a realist interpretation, while among those who supported an idealist interpretation we find Bohr, Heisenberg and Born. The latters' interpretation would prevail as the official one, under the name of "interpretation of the Copenhagen school." We refer to other entries of this Encyclopedia for the detailed discussion of these interpretations. Here we observe that, in approaching the problem, one must keep two elements in mind: a) on the one hand, the philosophical convictions stated by the authors that define themselves as "idealist" or "realist," according to the meaning they give to the respective terms, which are not necessarily identical to the corresponding philosophical terms; b) on the other hand, what do the terms "idealism" and "realism" effectively mean when one refers to an interpretation of a scientific theory. If the first aspect is interesting for the biographer, the second aspect interests more in-depth epistemological enquiry.
Following the official vision of the Copenhagen school, it is worth emphasizing that the interpretation of quantum mechanics is considered idealist for two reasons. From the "experimental" viewpoint, in that the observable data appears inseparable from the measuring device, and the resultant measure is the combined action of the subject's action on the object: According to Heisenberg, this looks as if an element of subjectivism had been introduced into the theory, as if we meant to say: what happens depends on our way of observing it or on the fact that we observe it (cf. Heisenberg, 1958). When looked at closely, all of this reminds us of Kantian idealism, according to which the thing in itself ("noumenon") is not knowable, but that which we know ("phenomenon") is the result of the combination of the a priori of the subject with the investigated object. And this also holds from a "theoretical" viewpoint, as it is not possible to find a single model, accurate enough and in line with reality, that entirely describes a quantistic object. Instead, we must refer to complementary and mutually exclusive mathematical outlines, such as that of the "wave" and that of "particle," that are applied alternately. A similar situation makes us think of an unknowability of reality, of a "weak" science from the gnoseological point of view, and of an "instrumentalist" epistemology (cf. Kuhn, 1996 3 ).
3. Idealist Paradigms of Theoretical Cosmology. The epistemological charter of cosmology is rather a special one. Focusing on the study of the universe on a large scale, unlike other fields in physical and chemical sciences, cosmology works on systems that are "non-reproducible" in the laboratory, and tries deduce physical properties on a cosmic scale, starting from verifiable knowledge on a local scale. Moreover, cosmology makes wide use of models, known as "cosmological models." In its theoretical formulations cosmology often relies on multiple assumptions and the proposed solutions for a specific model play the role of particular cases within very wide generalizations. Cosmology is therefore not only introduced as a "science of the universe," but also as "science of the assumptions that must be made so that it is possible to formulate a science of the universe" (cf. Heller, 1986). Having the need to include within its models also space-time regions that are inaccessible to observation, cosmology unconsciously tends to move its own criteria of truth from the sphere of verifiability to that of the simple inner, logico-mathematical coherence. Its epistemological peculiarity favors the use of some paradigms of the idealist type, according to two procedural principles: a) the attempt to conceptualize the universe as a whole, and therefore to confront the philosophical problem of entirety; b) the ideal abstraction of a priori "bringing into being," by means of a specific cosmological model, the object under analysis (that coincides with the whole physical reality), moving therefore in a deductive manner from the mathematical model towards the observables of the model, if these exist. Maintaining the adopted terminology up to now, it must be said that this state of affairs gives place to paradigms both of a Platonizing and of a subjectivist kind.
Intending it to be a part of physical sciences, although unique in its character, the scientific charter of cosmology is supposed to depend on its ability to maintain a certain relationship with the observations (observational cosmology) and to formulate "models of the universe" subject to falsifiability, that is, to an experimental check. When this is lacking, it inevitably migrates from the field of physical sciences to that of mathematical logic. The realist question on the physical truth of the formulated models is then transformed into an idealist question on their logical coherence, then taking the shape of a if-then science (if some unverifiable assumptions are true, then the conclusions drawn from them are also true; cf. Heller, 1986). But, as regards what happens in the axiomatic theories of mathematics, there is a very important difference here! The object of abstraction is no longer just the numerable element, but is all of physical reality; and on all of physical reality, the various cosmological models demand their implications. In so doing, it is still the subject who places the object, but places it in its highest and greatest possible state.
Implicit reference is made to this state of things when cosmology speaks of "parallel universes" or "plurality of worlds," without any causal connection between them, at least starting from a certain time towards the future; or, also, when cosmologists make hypotheses about the quantum conditions of the universe "before the Big Bang" or on its future state "after" the eventual Big Crunch in which its evolution could come to an end, if gravitational energy is sufficient to reverse its expansion. Cosmology attempts to reconstruct a past that lies beyond "horizons of observability" of increasing severity, as the "era of the decoupling of the matter from the radiation" and, even much before, the "Planck era." The popularization of science, most active in this field of research, often exalts the implicit recourse to such paradigms that, inevitably, are already operative in the methodology of cosmologists' daily work.
Within cosmology there are also epistemological trends that try to remember the need for maintaining a link with observations (W. McCrea in the 1960s, and, more recently, G. Ellis, W. Stoeger, M. Heller). To neglect this aspect would be to put this discipline in the difficult situation of no longer being regarded, in the strictest sense, as a Galilean science, because it would be concerned with mathematical models, of absolutely equivalent value, that are not verifiable, and therefore non-decidible among themselves. Such a "return" of cosmology to the observational sphere, however, will always present physiological limits, owing to its specific formal purpose, that of trying to get closer to the universe in its globality. That gives rise to a sort of "uncertainty principle" at work also in cosmology. For example, there will always be various cosmological models compatible with the same set of observed data, keeping open the choice on which among these, within great families of parametric solutions, is the most correct one. Moreover, any model can never be exhaustive and in its attempt of giving a complete description of physical reality it will always run into "problems of incompleteness." If the framework adopted is that of the field equations of general relativity, such equations do not contain the definition of their own topology. In order to calculate the probability that a certain metric is the right one, and to thus provide a reason why the geometry of the universe is one and not another, we must ask, in advance, for the definition of the constants of nature and of the physical laws to be applied. On the contrary, if we want to evaluate why the properties of the universe — its physical laws and its boundary conditions — are precisely those observed and not others, we require the beforehand choice of an appropriate geometry for space-time. We are faced with the necessity of a decision which is, so to speak, "external" to the system being studied. Such a decision could certainly be favored by a link to the observations, thus offering a coupling of the realist kind, but it may not be so, due to the physiological limits of the model or the family of models it uses. In this latter case, the choice falls back on assumptions of the idealist kind, leaving the scientist, according to his or her own "world vision," to trust in criteria of a Platonizing nature, such as simplicity, symmetry or aesthetics, or of a subjectivist kind, such as that of "replacing the mind of God" or wanting to recognize its finalistic action at all costs.
4. Summarizing Vision. Idealism and Realism in the Method of Sciences: the Search for Objectivity. At the conclusion of our considerations regarding the influence of the various forms of idealism on scientific thought (cf. III and IV), in particular mathematics and mathematical sciences, it is worth stressing that the natural tendency, for scientific thought, seems to remain that of a realist perspective. Idealism, wherever it has penetrated, has all in all acted as a weakening, more or less explicitly recognized, of the cognitive process. Because of their method, the sciences aim to stress "objective" realities, seeking where possible for "invariants" properties. Therefore mathematics and physics search for laws that are independent respect to "groups of transformations" made by the subject and that, therefore, can be attributed to the object as "its own." In Newtonian physics, laws are independent from the uniform translation of the observer's system of reference; in general relativity they are independent from any type of regular transformation, and in the quantum mechanics independence respect to some rules of "symmetry" will also appear. If the formulation of a law does not follow certain properties of invariance, it is considered as inadequate, in that it does not emphasize those characteristics "owned" by the object.
Sometimes, one runs into mathematical difficulties in carrying out this type of research (just think of the still open problem of independence from the choice of the "norm" in the space of phases of the systems with infinite degrees of freedom). Then, what could one do when subject and object, measuring device and phenomenon, appear "inseparable"? Recent investigations into the complexity propose a new vision of the relationship between the subject observer and the observed object. Their inseparability is not interpreted as an action that introduces an unavoidable subjectivism into knowledge, but rather as an indication of the need to consider as a whole the measuring device and the measured object, as if they were a single "entity," and therefore the impossibility of examining them as separate parts. We do not currently possess a theory of the complexity that allows us to say how this enquiry should be carried out. It seems, however, to constitute a new challenge for science that opens the road to the consideration of diversified levels of reality and heralds a rationality that is wider than the "univocal" one, that up to now has dominated the field of mathematical sciences.
V. Theology and the Idealist Principle of Immanence
The idealist perspective is not foreign to implications of a theological nature. These can be mainly recognized in three great areas: the theory of knowledge, the relationship between the Self and the world, the relationship between truth and history. Among the implications of idealism one must not forget the criticism of religion brought by the theology of the so-called "Hegelian left."
1. The Appraisal of the Principle of Immanence according to Theology. In the gnoseological sphere, an idealist principle of immanence that assumes the Self as a starting point of every awarenesss and knowledge, cannot be found, as such, in Judeo-Christian Revelation, nor in the corresponding theological tradition. The Biblical message clearly reminds us that the first source of knowledge is in listening to the word of God, a word that is recognized in nature, in history and in Scripture. The Self is not the beginning of knowledge, and even less the beginning of being, since the human being can only understand himself and herself as a creature dependent on a Creator, who is the Creator of everything and of everyone. In contrast to what happens in religions such as Hinduism or Buddhism, Christianity maintains that the solutions to the great problems of existence must be sought not so much by looking inside oneself, but by directing one's gaze to the works of God, to nature and history. Biblical Revelation does not deny that human beings can, indeed must, seek God in the intimacy of their own conscience —this is a path which also has a Biblical foundation and a specific theological tradition, from St. Augustine to Newman. The Bible only wishes to emphasize that personal conscience is neither the measure nor the horizon of understanding of every truth and knowledge. The interiority of the human being is introduced with the greatest possible dignity, that of being the image of a personal God, but human conscience is not the source and principle of experiencing and knowing. The infeasibility of a radical principle of immanence in theology is not tantamount to undervaluing the importance of the subject. The value of the human person, placed by God at the peak of creation, and made the recipient of the creative and redemptive love of God —according to an anthropocentrism the ultimate meaning of which is "revealed" by a right Christocentrism— is unquestionable in Biblical Revelation. But the human being is not the conclusive measure of good and evil, nor of the truth of things. The human being must let God - to whom we owe our origin and the context of our own being —to "tell" him or her the meaning of existence; and the human being must behave like a child does with its mother, because in the beginning of our existence all our experience and knowledge may take place only within the horizon of whoever has given us life. From the standpoint of philosophy and of natural theology, the access to God through one's own conscience, the experience of freedom and one's own auto-transcendence, are ways not separate from the access to God through nature and the experiences connected with it. The anthropological and the cosmological path are two sides to the same ascent. The reference to reality offers the subject the guarantee that what one experiences inside oneself is not confined to an incommunicable subjectivism, but is part of a universal experience, common to all mankind.
2. The Critique of Religion: God as Projection of the Conscious and the Unconscious. It is from post-Hegelian idealism, and in connection with the principle of immanence, that one of the strongest expressions of atheism would arise. The criticism would consist of claiming that religion and theology are nothing other than anthropology in disguise: the divine essence would be, all things considered, a projection of the Self, of human essence, conceptualized and venerated as if it were other-than-us.
This would be the thesis of Ludwig Feuerbach (1829-1880) in which a complete inversion of the Absolute of Hegel would be performed: the Absolute Spirit that man recognizes to be the guide of the world and of history, is nothing more than the same human spirit made absolute: human knowledge about God would be nothing more than the knowledge man has about himself. For Feuerbach (The Essence of Christianity, 1841), every discourse on God is simply the "ideal projection" of a human discourse, the naïve reflection of human desires. The infinite belongs to man and not to God: the "consciousness of the infinite," in every religion, is nothing other that the "consciousness of the infinity of human consciousness". In this way the extreme consequences of that process are reached, a process that began during the Enlightenment: religion was at first reduced within the limits of reason, and then totally interpreted in immanent philosophical terms.
One similar criticism was that of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Based on the psychology of the profound, he states that religion essentially answers the anxieties of man. To lead one's life at mercy of anguish and fear is unbearable for the human being and, therefore, through a "flight from the real world", he or she finds refuge in God's omnipotence. The psychological attitute by which this is attained, results to be a sort of "neurosis": religion, as repeatedly stated in Totem and Tabù (1913), would therefore be a disease (an obsessive neurosis, to be precise), sometimes useful in order to avoid an even worse one, but still a disease. Just as with Feuerbach, also for Freud the essential content of religion is the result of a "projection" of the subject's desires. The difference is that, acccording to Freud, such desires would no longer be a fruit of a reflective conscience, but of our "unconscious", that uses them to construct an imaginary supersensible world. The sense of guilt towards God (awareness of sin) would also be a projection, that of paternal authority that is transfigured into the image of a divine paternity. Religion, in its entirety, would thus characterize an "infantile phase of humanity," which would have to give way in the future to a "scientific phase," when mankind would be able to leave these false securities aside and turn to the much truer ones of science.
Theology has responded to such objections by emphasizing the "exceeding" and "overabundant" nature of Christian Revelation regarding the expectations and desires of the human being, whether the latter comes from our conscious or unconscious. Such an "excess of gift" is seen both on the hermeneutic and linguistic level, as well as on the anthropological and existential one. The categories the Bible uses speaking of God do not depend entirely on philosophical pre-understandings, but represent something new. They coin new concepts and reveal an image of God that, though satisfying the demands of reason, in fact surpasses its horizon. One need only think of Revelation as being communion and freedom (Mystery of the Trinity), or of the harmonic composition of the dialectic relationship between transcendence and immanence (already in the God of Israel and then, above all, in the Word made flesh), just to give some examples. At the anthropological level, the salvation offered by God to man, its content and logic, offers to the human reason the signs and guarantee that a God that encounters man in this way is not the echo of our conscience. The history of salvation is fulfilled beyond every human expectation: in this it is not only "excessive," but also includes the dimensions of the paradox and scandal (cf. 1Cor 1:17-31).
3. The Method of Immanence and how it acts in Theology. The "method of immanence" (to be properly distinguished from the "principle of immanence"), developed in theology between the 19th and 20th century, as an attempt at a discourse on God and faith starting from the legitimate expectations of the subject. In this case, the "self" it is not grasped as a principle of understanding of reality, but as a subject that must recognize the significance of the questions to which divine Revelation intends to answer. Going with what was already attempted by Pascal (1623-1662), the method of immanence is thus attested to in an apologetic sphere beginning with M. Blondel (1861-1949), then meeting with French personalism, especially with E. Mounier and J. Mouroux, and giving rise to convergent trends in various linguistic areas. These all were thinkers united by the idea of arousing in man the awareness of being an "enigma" to himself, a problem that can be only decoded and resolved thanks to the answers coming from faith in Jesus Christ. The method of immanence would also find an original application in Paul Tillich (1886-1965), through "the method of correlations." Between man and God maximum tension would exist, but there would also be a profound correlation such as that between the finite and the infinite. The theological method would have to make explicit the dialectic underlying the tension between reason that questions and God who reveals, a tension that Tillich organizes into five great correlations by the pairs: Reason/Revelation, Being/God, human existence/Christ, life/Spirit, history (world)/Reign (Church). For Tillich, only if the experience of the existential questions has been made in advance by those to whom Revelation offers a corresponding answer, then one can understand what God is saying.
In wider terms, the re-evaluation of the subject in the theological sphere looks favorably upon "personalism," but marks the strong limits of "subjectivism." One thus moves to the search for a fine balance, the tensions of which were already grasped by the thought of Kierkegaard (1813-1855). One wishes to avoid religion or Revelation becoming absorbed within the confines of personal experience, as demanded by the modernist trends, but at the same time keeping the awareness that Christian responses to human questions must become a living experience in a subject. For its part, the magisterium of the Catholic Church has often intervened to clarify the ambiguity of the subjectivist position, especially in relation to the problem of truth, the cognitive realism and the judgments of conscience (cf. Pius X, Lamentabili, DH 3420, 3458; Pascendi , DH 3477-3478; Pius XII, Humani generis , DH 3882-3883; more recently, Veritatis splendor, 4, 32-34, 63, 106), sharing at the same time, indeed developing, the best personalist views (cf. Gaudium et spes , 22; Redemptor hominis , 13-14).
4. The Existential Exegesis. Within the topic of the centrality of the Self, which is a legacy of one of the main idealist perspectives, a farther, more extreme application must be cited, this time in the field of exegesis, from which Catholic theology, and to some extent also the reformed theologians, have progressively distanced themselves since the second half of the 20th century. It concerns the method of "existential exegesis" proposed by Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976). For the German theologian, Revelation (which in the thought of most of the reformers is often used as synonymous with Holy Scripture) has such an "existential present" that it need not base itself on facts that occurred some time before. This appeals to the present life of every human being, and acquires meaning through the way in which the subject acknowledges God's Word as being capable of formulating such a call. The passing of time has separated and inevitably separates the "Jesus of history" from the "Christ of faith" and it is by now impossible to reset the two. This separation would not constitute a problem for Bultmann, because Scripture is always a word spoken "in the present," an "action" through which God reveals himself to the recipient of that message, inviting him or her to be saved.
If Bultmann's position has the merit of valuing again the existential content and perennial contemporanity of the Word of God, to the point of making a rule of its exegesis, it has, however, the serious defect of weakening the historical-realist dimension of Biblical Revelation, detaching faith from every link with reason. The objective dimension of the Word is thus completely absorbed by the subjectivist dimension; and not only because Revelation is received "in the subject," but because, in the typically idealist perspective, it is "put into action," that is created, by the person who announced it and by the person who received it. As a consequence, one arrives at the erroneous conclusion that knowing effectively what Jesus of Nazareth "actually" preached, would, paradoxically, no longer have any meaning or interest for human salvation.
VI. How the Idealist Perspective works in Theology: Possibilities and Critical Appraisals
1. Does an Idea of Christianity exist? Also the idealist perspective which shifts the attention from the subject, who conceives the Idea, towards the Idea in itself, understood as an Absolute that expresses all of reality in a unifying and rational way (Hegel), has influenced methods and reflections of theology. In line with such a vision, the conception would take shape that Christian religion is both the development of an Idea and the unfolding of this in history. While Kantian reason sees in the person of Jesus Christ the ideal moral of humanity, in which previous forms of ethical life find their highest expression (cf. Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone, 1793), the idealism of Schleiermacher (1768-1834) interprets this as the perfect archetype of man inhabited by God. For the latter author, Christianity is the ideal religion towards which the natural religiosity of humanity necessarily tends, first with simple and imperfect forms, and then with progressively more evolved forms (cf. On Religion, 1799; The Christian Faith, 1822). Christianity is thus made to correspond with a unitary and unifying Idea, but at the price of inevitable immanentist and historicist outcomes. Idealism sees religion as a great historical-ideal process, positioned from the bottom upwards (or developed linearly throughout the course of history), but does not allow God to interpret this history, nor does it allow him to meet the human being along unexplored paths that surpass, or even disturb, the progressive self-development of human religious conscience, which is ultimately the same as the Absolute.
This vision, which, along with rationalism would dominate German theology of the 1800's, would be reacted against by the Catholic theology of the first half of the 20th century, with K. Adam (1876-1966) and then with R. Guardini (1885-1968), who showed that Christianity does not correspond to an Idea, but to a person, the person of Jesus Christ. The problem of the "essence of Christianity," placed by Schleiermacher and dealt with critically by Feuerbach, is now considerably resolved by going back its source, Jesus Christ, not as the archetype of man raised by God, as Schleiermacher wanted, but as a true God that encounters every human being. Christianity is not approached through abstraction, but through the realism of the Incarnation: "There is no abstract determination of such essence. There is no doctrine, no structure of moral values, no religious attitude nor order of life, that can be separated from the person of Christ, and of which one can then say that they are the essence the Christianity. Christianity is Christ himself; that which through him reaches man, and the relationship that through him man can have connect with God" (Guardini, 1991, p. 68).
The Hegelian plan of reuniting all of reality into a single rational Idea would however be a positive source of inspiration for a theology that would correct its immanentist request changing it to a transcendental version, and leading it back to the logic of freedom of the mystery of God. Thus, after the uncertain attempts of Romantic theology, there would be an interesting rehabilitation of important idealist intuitions in an aesthetic version, first with M.J. Scheeben (1835-1888) and then with other authors, up to the most recent proposal of H.U. von Balthasar (1905-1988). In his work The Mysteries of Christianity (1865), Scheeben would offer a great theological synthesis where the doctrines and mysteries offered by Christian Revelation, recalling and illuminating each other, give rise to a single amalgam, to a superior system, certainly penetrated by a single idea, but an idea that is possessed in its fullness only by the Logos. It is therefore unavailable to human nature, that can instead access it only through the gift and the logic of grace. In the The Glory of the Lord. A Theological Aesthetics (1961-1965) by von Balthasar, Revelation and its credibility become established through their attractive beauty, for the great coherence of God's plan, a coherence capable of recovering and explaining even the dramatic moment, not as a mere overcoming of a dialectic contrast, but as an unveiling of the sense of the existing and as a process that reproduces the great archetypal logic of the paschal mystery of Christ.
2. The Transcendental Theology of K. Rahner. Also worth mentioning is the proposal of "transcendental theology" advanced by Karl Rahner (1904-1984), based on the synthesis that Joseph Maréchal made between the transcendental philosophy of Kant and the thought of St Thomas Aquinas (cf. Le Point de Départ de la Métaphysique, Paris 1949), a synthesis about which, however, Rahner does not wish to judge exhaustively its compatibility with Christianity. According to the German theologian (cf. Hearers of the Word, 1941; Foundations of Christian Faith. An Introduction to the Idea of Christianity, 1976), the intimate constitution of the human being is that of a "supernatural existence," that is, an a priori transcendental, ontologically disposed to self-communication of God. Further, every human being represents, in his or her most profound truth, the conditions for the possibility of the Incarnation. Maintaining a certain connection between "being" and "knowing," Rahner claims that the self-knowledge of the human being, understood as the place of the self-communication of God (though not separated from our own freedom) truly defines the same human being. In other words, the human person "the ensemble of conditions" that makes the event of God's self-communication possible.
Fundamental theology would first be called to such a "transcendental" perspective, because it is invited to reflect on the condition of possibility, in the believing subject, of the contents of the revealed faith, in order to better show the connection between the formal essence of a divine revelation, generally understood, and the way in which this has been realized in Christianity. The reasonableness of Christianity is not an extrinsic proof that establishes itself through the experience, as from the outside, but is rather the acknowledgment that Christianity is the deeper "explanation" to that what the human being is. A rational basis can therefore be given to faith, making it take the form of a connection between the "trascendentality" and the "historicity" of the human being; between an athematic knowledge, through which the subject recognizes itself as the place of the revelation-communication of God, and an awareness of a categorical kind, through which he or she understands how such a revelation-communication has effectively arisen in the history of salvation. Such a connection points to the recognition of the historical coming of a Savior, as a definitive manifestation of the supernatural revelation already working in all human conscience.
Although the Rahnerian formulation has the value of highlighting the "globality" and "universality" of Christian truth, that thus becomes the speaker for all mankind (this was a worry that could be associated with Balthasar, but with a philosophical use of the "idealist" perspective that certainly distances Rahner from the Swiss theologian) the accent placed on the subject also from a gnoseological and epistemological viewpoint can end up "reducing" Christology, and to a certain extent theology itself, to anthropology, such that one would speak of an "anthropological turn." Moreover, it is not so easy to place the mystery of sin within the relationship between man and God, and new categories would have to be referred to in order to understand the "gratuity" of grace, categories which, to some extent, distance Rahner's position from that stated by most of theological tradition.
3. Truth and History. The "historical" form of Judeo-Christian Revelation as a "history of salvation" would also permit a certain recovery of the requests for re-evaluation of history advanced by some idealist streams. 20th century philosophy and theology would no longer be able to approach anthropology leaving aside historical categories, also because of a progressive knowledge of relevant scientific results. If for some Catholic theologians, among them Rahner himself, the re-evaluation of history would act as spur to seeking in-depth knowledge and fields of dialogue with the lay culture, in other authors, especially among the reformed theologians, the assumption of a historical perspective would dominate to such an extent as to give rise to a historicism that would also incorporate the image of God and his relationship with the world. In theology, such a formulation would lead one to see an "unfolding" of the divine Trinity in the history of the world (J. Moltmann), while as regards the relationship between theology and science it would give rise, especially in the Anglo-Saxon sphere, to a "process theology" inspired by the philosphy of A.N. Whitehead. The Catholic authors, instead, prefer to attempt a difficult, but not impossible, synthesis of the historical-phenomenological perspective and the metaphysical perspective. This latter perspective is mainly inclined to the priority of being on becoming, to that of essence on relationship, and maintains the possibility of acceding from the phenomenon to the foundation.
The persistence of the idealist influence could be seen in the theology of W. Pannenberg (Revelation as History, 1961). Here, again, the Hegelian idea of a truth totally revealed only at the end of history is proposed, when the meaning of the parts will be seen in the light of the whole, then affirming the supremacy of the knowledge we will have in the éschaton on the knowledge we have today. Von Balthasar would oppose this with a theology of history where the whole is revealed already in the fragment, where the logic of the entirety is accessible in the beauty of the part. In this way, the fundamental relationship between truth and history becomes present again, crossing not only theology, but also hermeneutics. This is a relationship that Christianity recognizes as non-conflictory. It does so in the light of the Incarnation of the Word, the fullness of time and truth made person (cf. Gal 4:4; Jn 14:6). A relationship, that between history and truth, also elaborated by the reflection proposed by Fides et Ratio (1998). Mainly from a philosophical viewpoint, rather than a theological one, and recognizing that the access of reason to truth remains ultimately partial and limited, the document speaks of the emergence of truth over the changeable flow of interpretations and history (cf. nn. 11-12; 87).
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Everything exists along a spectrum. Light. Knowledge. Truth. Fear. Love. Right. Wrong. Hate. Extroversion. Introversion. Everything, even Certainty, is as flexible as a rubber band. And, like a rubber band, certainty can become brittle over time; it can snap when stretched toward what once was its zone of ease and comfort.
Like certainty, absolutes—if they exist—exist along a spectrum. That is to say reality is flexible. Reality is contextual. Reality is, in other words, an illusion defined by reflections in mirrors stationed to reveal different perspectives from different angles.
I write all of this as a preface to my epiphany: introspection, too, can be as shallow as a puddle after a passing rain shower or as deep as the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean. Though that incredibly broad spectrum of introspection might suggest self-knowledge runs from cursory to excruciatingly detailed, I suggest otherwise: introspection, regardless of depth, reveals deep truths. Those truths, though, are flexible and they bend like light. They are viewed—no matter how shallow or deep—through a contextual prism.
Circumstances—also known as context—often dictate the degree to which any given motivator in one’s life takes control. Now, imagine that the spectra of all the influences on one’s life imitate the spectrum of light; all the colors from white to black. If one pauses long enough to carefully examine the spectra involved in that motivator (e.g., knowledge, truth, fear, love, etc.), the imagined colors constitute a constantly changing kaleidoscope twirling at high speed. Every influence contributes to that psychedelic rainbow. Certain colors, though, assume supremacy; purples or yellows or reds or greens assert themselves. Their context, the circumstances surrounding them, gives them greater influence than the other colors. But only within the context of all the other colors bouncing off the prism’s faces. So, too, is it with introspection.
Willful introspection sometimes fails to reflect reality; it hits the surface of a prism covered with an opaque layer. So, reality gives way to an illusion that may or may not have any bearing on reality. But that illusion may influence one’s perceptions of other aspects of reality. And so begins an utterly artificial examination that reveals only distortions. Valid introspection takes place only through unplanned response to one’s reactions to circumstance. It is that unrehearsed, unplanned, unintentional response that carries one along the full spectrum of introspection. All the way from the shallow puddle to the Challenger Deep. Every point along that spectrum holds a mirror that reflects reality at that instant, from the surface to the most deeply hidden core. Some of the images in those mirrors are innocuous. Some are flattering. Some are disturbing. And some are so terrifying the mind collapses, replacing images with darkness.
Every other influence—Knowledge. Truth. Fear. Love. Right. Wrong. Hate. Extroversion. Certainty, etc.—functions in the same way. And every one of them is influenced in some way by the rest of them. The complexity of the environment in which introversion attempts to conduct its task of self-knowledge is daunting. Our minds are too elaborately convoluted for us to ever know ourselves. Introversion sometimes seems a useless tool that solves nothing, yet reveals more questions and greater uncertainty.
All of this convoluted stream of consciousness drivel about introspection is ego-driven and oriented to self. The impossibility of understanding one’s self should be enough to short-circuit the mind, causing synapses to spark and sizzle as the current exceeds their capacity to carry it. And it is enough. But we add to the confused mental meltdown our attempts to understand others’ similarly complex and convoluted minds. Our efforts to understand other people are colored by our assumptions about them and about ourselves. Our conclusions about others’ motives, reasons, or intentions rely on interpretations of reality through clouded prisms.
None of this leads me to any insights. Only to confusion and a sense that it’s just as pointless to try to understand myself as to understand others. The only unbending reality is that my attempts at both will always fail. My efforts will yield unreliable results. Therefore, any actions I take based on the results of my attempts might as well be taken at random, without attempting to “know” anything. This is how prismatic introspective thinking ends up; a mass of words wadded into a ball and covered with glue and wax in a futile effort to make them stick together in some fashion. | http://johnswinburn.com/prismatic-introspective-thinking/ |
Recently I had the pleasure of studying a new TOE (Theory of Everything) called CPH which has been proposed by an Iranian physicist by the name of Hossein Javadi (1). Mr. Javadi's theory reminds me of Leibniz's Monadology, a model of the world with a tilt to pluralism (2). Leibniz's pluralism is closer to the pluralism of atomists (from Democritus to Russell), than to the pluralism of Aristotle.
"...[For Aristotle,] there is a hierarchy of concepts that refers to concrete things and in the order of explanation, the universals are first and particulars are last, whereas in the order of sensation, the particulars come first and universals are the last. In the order of sensation, the most fundamental concept is substance which is followed by the concepts of unity (or being) and first principles. In the order of explanation, it is the opposite and first principles are the primary concepts followed by unity (or being) and substance...To discover whether plurality or unity are primary in Aristotle’s metaphysics, we should ask which one is prior in the order of sensation, because Aristotle, in all his philosophy, gives primacy to the sensible things rather than to the abstract ideas...Aristotle writes in his Physics “The universal is more knowable in the order of explanation, the particular in the order of sense [Book I, 189a 5-10, BW, p.228].” Based on the two interpretations of Aristotle’s metaphysics in this paper, plurality is next to particulars and unity is next to the universals. Therefore, plurality has primacy in the world as it is, and unity has primacy in our ideas and explanations. In other words, unity is the farthest from the perceptive reality and may be even subjective, and plurality is the closest to the perceptive reality and is the state of objective reality. Thus I can conclude that pluralism is what is defended in Aristotle’s Metaphysics, though as I explained, with all the intricacies of Aristotle’s unique metaphysical scheme" (3).
"...the subjective notion of truth is objectified when he [Bertrand Russell] claims that the truth of the world can be reduced to “facts that make up the truths of the world.” This was very similar to Leibniz’s Monadology where the subjective notion of mind was *objectified* by monads. The atoms relating to the truth in the objective world, according to logical atomism, are not particulars, relations, or qualities; but a unique unity of them corresponds to the truth, i.e. the atomic facts. Thus, these atomic facts, though complex, are not reducible to their parts as if the objectification of truth is a ghost holding them together" (4).
It is interesting to remember how Leibniz was so much perturbed with the concept of *action at a distance* in Newton's gravitational theory to the point of ending up in the wicked arguments with Newton. In fact, their fight about calculus was not a difference about theory, but was rather about who invented calculus first, whereas their disputes about action at a distance were their real *disagreements* which were even raised to a theological dispute.
Javadi is also trying to answer the issue of action at a distance by his theory of transformation of the vector quantity force and the scalar quantity energy, when he shows a quantum of work can be defined by a quantum of force multiplied by Planck's Length (Wq=Fg.Lp). Thus just like Leibniz, for Javadi, there is no action at a distance, and the space is filled with gravitons, that interact with each other. For Javadi, the gravitons are nothing but the CPH when it has a spin, and CPH (Creation Particle Higgs) is the basic particle of the world with constant mass moving at constant speed in an inertial frame.
In other words, the whole world is a simple five dimensional world (spin is considered a dimension). Javadi's model, not only explains the inconsistencies of quantum mechanics and relativistic theory, it even explains classical issues better than the 10-dimensional model of string theory. For example, force being a vector quantity, means that the conservation of momentum conserves in all three physical directions at the same time, whereas mass and energy being scalar quantities, means the conservation of mass and energy conserve one-dimensionally, at least when dealing with them in classical mechanics. Javadi's model, through the transformation of force and energy, makes these fundamental concepts of physics identical. Eventually the CPH Theory, makes the main challenge of modern physics, the unification of the three forces of nature possible.
"One purpose that has run through all that I have said, has been the justification of analysis, i.e. the justification of logical atomism, of the view that you can get down in theory, if not in practice, to ultimate simple, out of which the world is built, and that those simples have a kind of reality not belonging to anything else [Russell, Bertrand, The Philosophy of Logical Atomism, LK, p. 270]."
Below I present my own analysis of Leibniz's Monadology, from the viewpoint of philosophy of science, hoping that while the discussions of CPH theory continue in the physics community, I can help similar discussions about the philosophical model of CPH theory to start in the circles of philosophy of science [http://www.ghandchi.com/358-falsafehElmEng.htm].
In the opening of "Principles of Nature and Grace" [Leibniz, G.W., Philosophical Papers and Letters, Leroy Loemkev Edition, University of Chicago, 1956, Vol. II, p.1033-4], Leibniz defines ‘substance’ in a Cartesian style as ‘a being capable of action;’ and ‘simple substance’ as ‘that which has no parts.’ Then Monads are introduced as equivalent to ‘simple substances’ and he continues by asserting “Monas is a Greek word signifying unity or that which is one.’ Plato refers to Mind as *the* Monad [Aristotle, De Anima, The Basic Works of Aristotle, Richard Mc Keon Edition, 1941, P.540] and most commentators think that Leibniz, contrary to Plato, Aristotle, and Descartes (his principle inspirers), has actually made mind divisible in his metaphysic and has presumed its parts as Monads. Thus, it is believed that the nature of Monads is mental. On the other hand, Leibniz’s referring to Monads as ‘true Atoms of nature’ [Leibniz, Monadology, George Montgomery's Translation, Open Court Publ, Illinois, 1980, P.251] bears a certain resemblance to ancient Greek atomism. Nevertheless, most commentators agree that Leibniz’s Monads differ from the atomists’ atoms insofar as the former do not embody extension whereas the latter do, i.e. the Monads are not geometrical points and are metaphysical points [Copleston, Frederick, A History of Philosophy, Vol. IV, The Newman Press, Maryland, 1960, P.266]. Therefore, despite the undeniable resemblance of Monadology to atomism is undeniable, the nature of these "atoms" (i.e. the Monads) remains to be investigated separately and I will do this scrutiny in the following lines.
Revealing the differences and similarities of Leibniz' s Monads with Plato’s Forms, Aristotle’s substances, and Descartes' simple substances is not enough to fathom the nature of Monads. Various commentators stressing the different qualities of Monads alleged in Leibniz’s numerous works have mostly proposed these elements to be mental and some even believed them to be material elements. In my opinion, the problem of these commentators is that they are limited to the framework of Western philosophy in which ultimate reduction is either mental or material and this fact has been the reason for futile attempts to classify Leibniz as an idealist or a materialist. Although Leibniz was essentially familiar with Western philosophy and certainly Plato, Aristotle, and Descartes had great influence on his thought, nonetheless his speculations about the nature of simple substances (Monads), is unique and in a sense resembles some of the Eastern philosophies.
I think it is evident from the book Monadology that Monads are the basic blocks or the atoms of the world. That this reductionism was accepted by Leibniz can be gathered from his presumption of the world to have ‘true atoms.’ Thus, the question is what is the nature of his reductionism-is it materialist, idealist, or is it something else? Materialists reduce all reality to some kind of material principle and synthesize the world from this principle, e.g. some of the modern atomists presume the atomic particles (or sub-atomic particles) as the basic blocks of the world and biological elements (like DNA or RNA) or mental elements (neurons) are assumed to be ultimately comprised of material sub-atomic particles (i.e. electrons, mesons, etc.). The idealists reduce all reality to some kind of mental principle and synthesize the world from this principle, e.g. the subjective idealists consider everything to be in our mind and some quantum physicists similarly believe that the existence of electrons depends on our thought. The foregoing may be regarded as a brief sketch of materialism and idealism in Modern philosophy and science.
In the East, especially in Indian philosophy (e.g. Vedanta philosophical systems), there is another kind of reductionism, almost unbeknownst to Western concepts, which we may call biological reductionism. In this thought, the ultimate biological elements are not molecules of ultimate material elements. Instead, the ultimate material elements (e.g. electrons) are comprised of ultimate biological elements (whatever they may be called). From such a perspective, electrons are even more "biologically" ultimate than RNA/DNA, and still the ultimate biological elements are to be found in the elements comprising electrons, in short the ultimate biological element are the building blocks of even the electron and sub-atomic particles. Probably, if we would like to express such an ideology today, the best word for the ultimate element would still be Entelechy, the word that Leibniz used interchangeably for Monad.
"Every portion of matter may be conceived as like a garden full of plants, and like a pond full of fish. But every branch of a plant, every member of an animal, and every drop of the fluids within it, is also such a garden or such a pond [Leibniz, G.W., Monadology, Ibid., P.266]."
"If we wish to designate as soul everything which has perceptions and desires in the general sense that I have just explained, all simple substances or created Monads could be called souls. But since feeling is something more than a mere perception I think that the general name of Monad or Entelechy should suffice for simple substances which have only perception while we may reserve the term Soul for those whose perception is more distinct and accompanied by memory [Ibid., P.255]."
"I believe, therefore, that if the animal never actually commences in nature, no more does it by natural means come to an end. Not only is there no generation, but also there is no entire destruction or absolute death [Ibid., P.268]."
The biological nature of Monads makes their essential qualities to be *apperception* and *appetition* and even motion itself [Leibniz, G.W., Principles of Nature and Grace, Philosophical Papers and Letters, Vol. II, P.1034-36]. Moreover, their relations are not by efficient causes (monads are ‘windowless’) and they are related by final causes. This is why he considers final causes as the principle of efficient causes and gives priority to final causes [Ibid., P. 1040]. His God is *not* the Unifier but rather the Harmonizer of the world of Monads. Even this concept in Leibniz, which separates him from his colleague and contemporary Spinoza, very much approaches some Eastern pantheists’ beliefs in Harmony rather than a Western view of Unity of the world. The views that give primacy to final causes and their refutation by Spinoza have been discussed in detailes in a paper entitled "Spinoza's Refutation of Teleology" (7) and also in an article entitled "Sufism and Fatalism" (8). The intricacies of Leibniz’s metaphysical scheme and its relations to the nature of Monads shows why he arrived at the picture of the world as the "City of God" with a dominant monarch, God, as the ultimate Monad and the Creator of this world. | http://www.ghandchi.com/394-MonadsCPHEng.htm |
There is a thriving community of graduate students, both master’s and DPhil, studying topics related to WWI at Oxford. The Globalising and Localising the Great War project aims to facilitate dialogue between them: please do get in touch if you wish to be added to our mailing list. The following graduate students are among those assisting with the development of the project:
Charlotte Bennett (Wolfson College) is completing her DPhil in History on Irish and New Zealand adolescents during the First World War. Focussing on prestigious secondary schools, her research explores how the conflict disrupted elite educational environments and student reactions to such interventions. Both Ireland and New Zealand contributed heavily to Britain’s imperial war-effort, and youth were targeted by sustained cultural mobilisation efforts. In order to encourage particular behavioural responses, teachers and other authority figures explained the war’s significance and localised impacts with reference to prominent conceptualisations of citizenship and national identity. The necessity of imperial loyalty held sway in New Zealand and parts of Ireland, for example, whilst empathy for the plight of Belgium prompted support amongst some Irish Catholics. Over time, however, war-related pressures on schools increased, and mass fatalities and the question of conscription exacerbated underlying socio-political divisions in both home-front societies. Utilising school periodicals, children’s writings, and retrospective memoirs, Charlotte’s research brings to light the experiences of middle-class Irish and New Zealand adolescents throughout the 1914-18 period. She is particularly interested in cross-national parallels illuminating why youth engaged with the conflict, such as the influence of socio-economic status, gender, religious membership, and political affiliation.
Jack Doyle (St Hilda’s College) is beginning a DPhil on combat and identity in aerial warfare. Drawing from both military and civilian perspectives, Jack’s thesis will explore British, French, and American fighter pilots as combatants and cultural icons throughout the First World War, as the conflict where aviation became militarised. The legacy of fighter pilots as ‘knights of the air’ remains a powerful trope in pop culture; however, early fighter pilots have gone relatively under-examined as a distinct combat culture situated within an unprecedented kind of warfare. This ‘aviator myth’, which emerged early on in the War as a transnational heroic narrative amongst military and civilian communities alike, nevertheless profoundly influenced the social development of aviation cultures and the tactics, technology, and organisation of fighter-based air war in both World Wars. Jack will examine the relationship between the nature of aerial combat and transnational cultural perspectives of the air war, considering combat theory, the unique nature of fighting, killing, and dying in the air, conceptions of soldierhood, and public and private identities in wartime.
Ben Eacott (Linacre College) is completing his DPhil on the Imperial Russian Navy during the last years of its existence, a period in which it experienced several major upheavals in the forms of the Russo-Japanese and First World Wars, a series of violent mutinies, and finally, revolution. The image of the Russian sailor as a revolutionary firebrand is one engrained in popular understanding, yet little has been done to determine what factors drove sailors to such extremes. Exploring officer/sailor backgrounds and their relations in peace and wartime, Ben assesses to what extent a variety of factors, including perceptions of class origins, the living and working conditions within the navy, methods of maintaining authority and discipline, and the successes and failures of revolutionary agitation, combined to create a service that exploded with violence during the 1917 revolution. In studying naval personnel as a distinct group, rather than simply as waterborne members of Russian society, Ben’s work tries to refocus traditional perceptions of military forces in war and revolution to determine whether external radicalisation or internal unrest causes soldiers and sailors to turn against the state they are expected to serve.
Ashley Garber‘s (Kellogg College) doctoral research analyses the relationship between generations, memory and identity. Utilizing sources from veterans’ organisations and regimental associations in America and Britain, she looks specifically at how interpretations of the First World War and of veteran identity in society change in relation to generational shifts in leadership. Built upon the experience of the First World War, the veterans’ groups in her study espoused views of that conflict that helped cultivate membership and define veteran status during the interwar period. After 1939, the expansion of membership to include ex-servicemen of subsequent conflicts required revisions to these tenets in order to welcome new veterans and foster unity. Ashley uses leadership cohorts as defined by specific conflicts to chart these revisions, in the hope of discovering more about the role that generations play in shaping memory and identity.
Louis Halewood (Merton College) is a John Roberts (MC3) Great War scholar, and began his DPhil in 2015. He is studying the war at sea, specifically the co-operation and competition between Britain, France, Italy, and the United States between the outbreak of hostilities in 1914 and the Washington Naval Conference in 1922. By 1917, these states and their navies shared the common goal of defeating Germany, and worked together to bring about victory. However, this collaboration was rarely smooth, as each state sought to protect individual national interests during the war, and to lay the groundwork for achieving long-term policies of naval power and maritime trade in the post-war world. Yet the pressure to create a stable world order after 1918 presented new challenges, and pitched naval ambitions against political exigencies. The naval history of the war has received considerably less attention from historians than the Western Front, and the naval-political dimension often is misunderstood. This transnational study will reveal the dynamics of naval diplomacy, both between navies and their political masters, and between states. It will chart the development of these relationships from war into peace, and explain the functions of maritime power for states in the period of the Great War.
Greg Hynes (Pembroke College) is completing his DPhil in History, exploring the significance of empire and the settler Dominions, particularly his native New Zealand, to the content and organisation of Britain’s official First World War propaganda. Specifically, his research explores the divergence between rhetorical or ‘imagined’ constructions of the British world found in wartime propaganda, and the practical reality of that imperial relationship. The organisation of New Zealand’s wartime propaganda suggests that while identifications with a shared imperial Britishness remained strong, throughout the war the practical reality of the relationship between Britain and the Dominions was much more complicated, and often distant. Both physical distance and the limitations of accepted imperial governance limited the type of close, familial connection with Britain that the Dominions both expected, and expressed in their propaganda. Greg’s DPhil research will therefore investigate this divergence more closely from the British angle, in particular exploring the empire’s importance to Britain’s understanding of its war effort. More broadly, Greg is interested in the First World War’s impact on the development of ‘Greater Britain’ and the British world, in particular arguing the need to move away from tidy traditional nationalist interpretations of the war’s significance, still entrenched especially in the former Dominions.
Michael Joseph (Pembroke college) is completing a DPhil on the links between military service and ideas of race and citizenship across the Anglophone and Francophone Caribbean between 1912 and 1939. The project will consider the war and its legacy for the Caribbean in an era of economic hardship, labour unrest, and developing anticolonial and nationalist thought in which the memory of the colonies’ sacrifice was appropriated by veterans and civilians alike. British and French colonialism differed in important respects, and indeed their colonies ultimately moved in near opposite directions, either towards independence or greater integration as départements d’outre-mer. There is, therefore, an interesting comparison to be made between the British and French islands in terms of the way the war was first approached and then remembered politically and culturally, one which will enable the project to move outside of the traditional fragmentation and insularity of the historiography. It is hoped that examining the effects of the collision between pre-war expectations, wartime experiences, and post-war realities will reveal something not only about the war, but about the empires themselves.
Erin O’Halloran (St Antony’s College) is a first year DPhil student in Global and Imperial History. Her research focuses on the interaction between British policymakers in London, Cairo and New Delhi throughout World War I and the interwar period. Cairo, long a potent symbol of Islamic civilization and the beating heart of the Arab world, also lay at the centre of British political, military and intelligence operations in the Middle East and North Africa during the Great War. In 1914, the Government in New Delhi still viewed the Middle East as part of its sphere of influence, and fought vigorously against attempts to shift policymaking towards London or, worse, Cairo. In the decades that followed, these two cities were among the principal theatres of a dramatic encounter between the British Empire and its subjects—Indians, Arabs and Jews. Erin’s research seeks to investigate how imperial officials understood the relationship between India and the Middle East, as well as the impact of the burgeoning nationalist movements with which they were increasingly forced to deal.
Hanna Smyth (Exeter College) is beginning her DPhil in History in October 2015, following an MA Museum Studies completed earlier this year. Her doctoral research will focus on the relationship between Commonwealth War Graves Commission sites and identity. The project will use the material culture of CWGC memorials and cemeteries to explore tensions and elisions of identity along two axes, which are traditionally seen as dichotomies: imperial-colonial and personal-collective. This research will create new insight into individual and institutional choices concerning how people and nations were represented in these edifices, with what degree of agency, and what this reveals about external and internal conceptions of identities in the war’s aftermath. These sites are enjoying particular prominence in centenary commemoration, and are becoming ever more central to the processes of remembrance as the war itself recedes from living memory. This necessitates a greater understanding of the roles of these memorial sites in reaffirming narratives of remembrance and identity. Her research interests for this doctoral topic will include the social history of Great War remembrance, relationships between specific memorials or battles and national identities, imperial and colonial histories, war remembrance in popular memory, battlefield tourism, the history of the CWGC, memorialization and commemoration, and grief, mourning, and memory processes.
Calum White (Balliol College) is completing his D.Phil which focuses on the relationship between the First World War and social and political unrest and agitation in Britain. His thesis seeks to explore the relationship between the First World War, the population, and the government, examining the principle factors engendering political discontent in the immediate aftermath of the war and the consequent governmental responses. One area that Calum will be focusing on, for example, is the housing crisis. By re-examining the issue from the perspective of the popular discontent which precipitated it, we can revisit our understandings of the Addison Act of 1919, as well as the more general assumed responsibility at a national and local authority level for the provision of dwellings of an acceptable standard for the working-classes. This is particularly the case in aspects such as the inability of the government to repeal the rent controls of 1915, as the spectre of popular discontent forced authorities to keep rent levels artificially low. Subsequent chapters will also examine: alcohol provision and restrictions; unemployment and the demobilisation experience; and profiteering and the cost of living. | http://greatwar.history.ox.ac.uk/?page_id=35 |
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] The purpose of the current study was to identify and explore a group of collegiate student-athletes lived experience of participating in a formal mindfulness intervention with intention to uncover how resulting findings may relate to well-being. The sample for this study consisted of 9 student-athletes representing multiple sports as recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, all of whom were enrolled in a large public university located in the Midwestern region of the United States. The 8-week intervention included both didactic and experiential opportunities for student-athletes to engage with mindfulness concepts and practices. Data was collected throughout the duration of the intervention and consisted of participant's written reflections/journal entries as well as two in depth semi-structured interviews. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed. The primary themes and corresponding clusters were organized into three chronological phases and included: Incongruence between perceived expectations and reality (perceptions of readiness, perceptions of purpose and objectives); Challenges (preoccupation for meeting objectives, restlessness during practice, difficulty practicing outside of practice); Sense of self (heightened selfawareness, increased self-compassion); and, New perspective (greater sense of appreciation, altered relationship with ambiguity). Additional experiential components facilitating transition between the phases were identified; these included: sense of openness, elite athlete testimonies, relationship formed with others, confidence developed over time, and variety of practices available. Further interpretation of these themes revealed two primary interpretations: Participants' perceptions of the mindfulness intervention evolved and self-awareness matters. These interpretations are further discussed in relation to well-being theories. Future research should continue to seek understanding with how student-athletes tailor their mindfulness practice to various domains of their lives including, but not limited to: sport, academics, relationships with others, and personal life.
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Access to files is limited to the University of Missouri--Columbia. | https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/handle/10355/67897 |
Publications:
A new free course on Analytic Idealism
We’re releasing a new Analytic Idealism course, produced in a collaboration between Essentia Foundation and Keytoe Academy. Unlike our previous course, which was based on slides and more formal in nature, the present one is more informal and conversational. Our executive director, Bernardo Kastrup, simply talks to his audience without the use of formal visual aids. As such, the course is now easy to follow while you exercise, walk, or even lie in the bath!
Positivism and the failed attempt to bury metaphysics
Failure to acknowledge the role that presuppositions play in the pursuit of scientific knowledge grants natural science the privileged status of the science of pure being once enjoyed by rationalist metaphysics; it does not get rid of dogmatism, but merely replaces one kind of uncritical dogmatic realism with another, argues Dr. D’Oro
The whirlpool metaphor of individual mind
Today’s Essentia Readings podcast episode unpacks what makes a good metaphor, why metaphors are so valuable to our pursuit of Truth, and invites us to appreciate the simple elegance and explanatory power of one metaphor in particular, favored both in Eastern and Western thought.
Spacetime is just a headset: An interview with Donald Hoffman
Prof. Donald Hoffman talks to Essentia Foundation’s Hans Busstra about his theory of conscious agents, according to which space and time are cognitive constructs in consciousness, not an objective scaffolding of the world outside. The interview also touches on Prof. Hoffman’s personal history and life, bringing the warmth of his humanity to the academic rigor of his theories.
Consciousness cannot be reduced to brain activity: Doctor Raymond Tallis on the mind-body problem
Professor Tallis—a philosopher, poet, novelist, cultural critic, retired medical physician and clinical neuroscientist—discusses the relationship between mind and brain, as well as the big questions about the nature of reality.
Quantum physics and the first-person perspective
The Nobel Prize in physics this year (2022) went the scientists who showed that the physical world is a product of observation and relative to the observer. And so Essentia Foundation’s conference this year is organized in collaboration with the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Vienna (IQOQI-Vienna), home to Prof. Anton Zeilinger, one of this year’s Nobel Laureates in physics. The conference will be hosted by IQOQI-Vienna’s Dr. Markus Müller and feature seven other speakers.
Experience requires no personal self
We tend to think that experiences are given to our personal subjectivity. Dr. Stew shows here, using easy-to-follow Western reasoning, that no such personal self needs to exist for experience itself to exist.
An objective science of subjective experience
The West has attempted to develop its own methodology for the objective study of our conscious inner states: phenomenology. A work in progress as it still may be, it provides an antidote to naive positivistic attitudes that have dominated science until very recently. Dr. Stew reviews the historical timeline of this methodology and relates it to materialism and idealism. In so doing, he provides a systematic framework for understanding much of what Essentia Foundation publishes and promotes. This is the first part of a two-part series that will be continued next week, so stay tuned for the follow-up.
The Copernican Revolution of the human mind
Today’s Essentia Readings episode calls for a revolution. And like a number of revolutions in history, it is an attempt to dethrone a controversial king; one the author thinks has long outstayed his welcome, and led us all rather astray. He presents the way to our freedom, and the promise of truths therein.
Can brain anatomy and function account for psychiatric conditions?
In this in-depth interview, Prof. dr. Sarah Durston discusses the limitations of trying to account for psychiatric conditions based solely on measurable brain anatomy and function. Her candid answers may surprise those who think that brain-reductionism rests on solid ground for at least the most common psychiatric conditions.
Metaphysics underpins all of our thinking (The Return of Metaphysics)
To criticize metaphysics is itself inevitably to rely on certain metaphysical claims, thereby making metaphysics impervious. Metaphysical ideas underpin all our thinking, argues Prof. Robert Stern.
A child’s sense of Self
This special video production explores a child’s pre-intellectual, felt sense of self and other, which reflect age-old intuitions rooted in nature. The video is an invitation to revisit rooms in the palace of our minds that we’ve left behind many, many years ago; rooms that contain forgotten treasures whose unspoiled authenticity is an antidote to many of modern life’s ills.
The symbiotic ecology of the psychedelic realm
The many seemingly autonomous entities encountered in the psychedelic realm suggest that human consciousness is the result of psychic symbiosis, entailing both personal and transpersonal formative principles, argues Dr. Walden in this fascinating essay.
There is no personal self
Today’s Essentia Readings episode challenges our currently held notion of self and how we typically define experience, as well as consciousness itself. It argues that the concept of an isolated self is an illusion, and drawing from the Buddhist teachings, illustrates what constitutes consciousness, and how we actually experience—and relate to—ourselves, the world, and others.
Metaphysics is inescapable: Even Wittgenstein was a metaphysician (The Return of Metaphysics)
In distancing himself from the Big Questions, such as the nature of reality and the meaning of life, Ludwig Wittgenstein ends up applying a generally-defined form of metaphysics as an antidote to unclear thinking.
Situating Analytic Idealism within Nietzsche’s critique of realism: A world-historical view
Modern analytic idealism may offer a path to resolving the historical tension between realism (the notion that we can know something about the world out there, as it is in itself) and a Nietzschean relativism that confines all knowledge to merely personal subjectivity, writes Prof. Grego.
Playing in the field: The nature of children and consciousness
Through their play and the extraordinary inner experiences they report, children reveal a broader, non-local, decentered and shared self. Because children are less conditioned than adults, this may be a clue to the true nature and scope of self and reality, as well as the role of consciousness within it, argues Dr. Donna Thomas.
The timeless mind: A thought experiment
Mind cannot be reduced to matter. Therefore, instead of looking for the origin of mind, we must understand reality in semiotic terms: as a universal set of signifiers and meanings. This is the argument put forward by Massimilano Sorrentino and Daniela Panighetti in this essay.
A psychiatrist’s perspective on dissociation and complexity
Today’s article is a master class on dissociation, from the field of psychiatry. It breaks down the complexity of this phenomenon, and shows us that it is a much more common process in life than is generally thought. Furthermore, when observed in the realm of mind and then extrapolated beyond to consciousness as a whole, it allows for a better understanding of the fundamental premise at the heart of analytic idealism.
How to understand your mind, beyond thought
The unmediated experience of where the question “what am I?” arises in our mind is already its answer, writes Johannes Jörg; an answer that cannot be produced by thought alone. To understand our own minds, we must go beyond conceptual reasoning and explore our older, more primary mental faculties. By merely being aware of our often-ignored inner states, we can restore balance to our lives. This is because living systems are self-organizing: when dysregulation comes into awareness, it is already being regulated.
How Idealism—and Schopenhauer—saved Tolstoy’s life
In the grip of the nihilistic ethos of late 19th-century materialism and Darwinism, Leo Tolstoy contemplated suicide. He would be saved only by finding confirmation, in Schopenhauer’s idealist philosophy, of his own earlier idealist intuitions. Idealism would go on to deeply transform Tolstoy’s life and work, reconnecting him to the simple but profound intuitions of meaning that pervade the lives of peasants. This easy-to-read essay recounts the existential difficulties of a world-famous individual who presaged both our cultural ethos today, and the transformative opportunities offered by modern idealism.
Can we live without searching for ultimate truths? (The Return of Metaphysics)
It is second nature for human beings to look for ultimate truths and ground our lives on that search. But should we give up on ultimates altogether and, instead, live pragmatically on the basis of the best ‘literary story’ we can come up with? Dr. Danielsen Huckerby describes how philosopher Richard Rorty argued for just that.
Physicist and inventor of the microprocessor, Federico Faggin, on life, the universe and everything
Physicist Federico Faggin is the inventor of both the microprocessor and silicon gate technology, and probably the world’s most well rounded idealist alive. This interview is an open, free-ranging but very accessible conversation with Mr. Faggin.
The world as cognitive construct
Today’s article examines our decidedly limited mental representation of the world, and how it is fundamentally linked to the systems of meaning available to us, to our perceptual constructs. It lays out incredible data to show just how much and in how many ways our perception can be manipulated, and the role we often take in our own delusion.
The world in mind: Transcendental idealism in Husserl and Kant
Although the philosophies of Kant and Husserl are not logically inconsistent with a hypothetical world outside mind, both deny that there is any meaning or significance to such a theoretical abstraction. Therefore, both Kant and Husserl were true idealists, argues dr. van Mazijk.
How hyper-dimensional spacetime may explain individual identity
How can one natural consciousness appear to be many? Prof. Bernard Carr proposes that multiple dimensions of time, which can also be associated with the notion of a ‘specious present,’ can resolve the problem both rigorously and in an intuitively satisfying manner.
Consciousness, spacetime and the intelligence of nature
Closing the second day of the 2021 ‘The Science of Consciousness’ conference, dr. Jacob Jolij, dr. Esmee Gerken and Dr. Iain McGilchrist take questions and debate consciousness, spacetime and the intelligence of nature.
Fictions and simulations: The case for idealism
A new, creative and compelling argument—even a new type of argument—for idealism is elaborated upon in this long-form essay, which is fluid and easy to read.
Falling for naive common-sense: Russell and physical realism (The Return of Metaphysics)
The story of our falling for naive physical realism—the notion that we can become directly acquainted with non-mental entities, which are supposed to have standalone existence—in the early 20th century, and how modern thought is now bringing us back to more mature Idealism.
Is the human brain a model of the universe? Read and commented on by Nadia Hassan
The article Nadia Hassan reads today presents documented similarities between the human brain and the cosmos, and poses the question: can either be modeled after the other? This very exciting possibility might allow as of yet undiscovered truths about both realms, and bring us closer to the Holy Grail of modern physics, the Theory of Everything.
Is Western thought marching towards Eastern Idealism?
Prof. Grego argues that, if we extrapolate the evolutionary trajectory of Western scientific and philosophical thought since the European Enlightenment, it becomes possible to discern that it is progressing towards a consciousness-only ontology convergent with Eastern thought.
How can you be me? The answer is time
That you believe you were your five-year-old self is grounds to believe that you can be another person, right now, while still being you, argues our executive director in this stimulating theoretical essay.
Interview with Dr. Iain McGilchrist, on the nature of reality (Part 2)
Here is the second and final part of our interview with Dr. Iain McGilchrist, on the nature of reality. Unmissable!
Interview with Dr. Iain McGilchrist, on consciousness and its role in nature
Essentia Foundation’s Natalia Vorontsova interviews psychiatrist and author Dr. Iain McGilchrist about his new work, “The Matter with Things,” and the role of consciousness in nature. Unmissable!
The Three Minds, read and commented on by Nadia Hassan
The article Nadia Hassan reads today shines an important light on the field of medicine, allopathic medicine in particular, and questions the largely biomedical approach underpinning mainstream practice. It argues for a more connected and balanced view, one in which the role of mind is paramount in understanding illness, and the process of healing.
The futile search for the non-mental: Derrida’s critique of metaphysics (The Return of Metaphysics)
Jacques Derrida argued that finding some ‘uncontaminated’ presence of reality is impossible, for our experiences are determined by our mental contexts. Yet, perhaps far from refuting metaphysics, Derrida may actually make a case for the recognition that our reality isn’t just contaminated by the mental, but is mental.
Higher dimensions of consciousness?
In this much anticipated presentation of the ‘Science of Consciousness’ conference 2021, dr. Jacob Jolij brings advanced physics and philosophy of mind together, to discuss higher dimensions of consciousness.
Mind may be older than we think
We may have reasons to believe that life is an intentional work of art; and not a very original one, for it may be based on a form of planetary imitation!
The Collapse
Hans Busstra and his guest, Dr. Markus Müller, make Quantum Mechanics intuitively understandable, while remaining true to it. They argue that we must start from a first-person perspective and predict what we will see next, as opposed to the metaphysical presupposition of an external, objective physical universe with standalone existence. If truly understood, as this episode attempts to help you do, his views are as compelling as its implications are world-changing.
Idealism rediscovered (The Return of Metaphysics)
Prof. Paul Redding highlights the recently rediscovered importance of German Idealism, particularly Hegel’s idealism, in articulating solutions to present-day problems.
Blobs of order
In this fascinating presentation, filled with surprising images, Dr. Esmee Geerken looks deeper into the symbiosis between animal and mineral, aiming to form new materials through biomineralization mechanisms.
The miraculous epicycles of materialism
Faced with a growing mountain of refutations in the form of empirical evidence and clear reasoning, materialism tries to survive through a bizarre display of absurd imaginary entities, hypotheses and hollow rhetoric, writes our executive director in this week’s mid-week nugget.
Can consciousness understand itself?
Has human consciousness evolved enough to understand what it is and isn’t? Dr. Hogan warns against a rush to judgment when it comes to answering the big questions of life, self, and reality at large.
The Platonic realm emerging in mind and nature
Prof. dr. Erik Verlinde, well-known for his ground-breaking theory of entropic gravity, talks about emergence in mind and nature, as well as the Platonic realm physicists tap into to describe the world.
The fantasy behind Sabine Hossenfelder’s superdeterminism
Our Executive Director critiques physicist Sabine Hossenfelder’s proposed ‘superdeterminism,’ which aims to account for the theoretical difficulties of quantum measurement without departing from physicalist metaphysical assumptions.
Idealist stones hurt too
Physical realism is a leap of faith compelled by fear induced by a failure of the imagination, argues Dino Alfier. He provides a comprehensive take-down of Samuel Johnson’s attempt to refute Bishop Berkeley’s idealism by famously kicking a stone and proclaiming, in a peculiar display of circular and illogical reasoning, “I refute it thus.”
The ethics of Idealism, read and discussed
Today’s article is a fascinating deep dive into the subject of morality and the neurological mechanics of our joint human condition. It is an eye-opening presentation of how we actually relate to each other, and what this could mean for the future of our collective consciousness.
The Science of Consciousness: Panel discussion, first day
Closing the first day of the 2021 ‘The Science of Consciousness’ conference, dr. Bernardo Kastrup, Prof. dr. Heleen Slagter, Dr. Steve Taylor and Prof. dr. Henk Barendregt take questions and debate.
Is intelligibility a pre-condition for existence? (The Return of Metaphysics)
University of Chicago’s Prof. Robert Pippin returns to Kant and Hegel to ask the question: is intelligibility a precondition for existence? Are our thought processes and their inherent capabilities and limitations fundamentally linked to what can or cannot exist in nature? He reviews German Idealism to ponder what it could mean for us today.
The force that complexifies nature
A form of consciousness that pervades all nature impels physical structures to become more complex and, eventually, canalizes itself into our individual being. This is what Dr. Steve Taylor, from Leeds Beckett University, argues in his presentation during our 2021 ‘The Science of Consciousness’ work conference.
What lurks behind spacetime?
The cosmic riddle of structure without extension—of how complexity can exist outside space and time—is tackled by our Executive Director in this first edition of our ‘mid-week nugget.’
Whirlpools in Universal Consciousness
Dr. Nagaraj reminds us of the extraordinarily rich and long history of metaphysical Idealism in Indian philosophy, and of the power of metaphors to illustrate, to the common person, the simultaneously profound and simple truths of Idealism.
The mathematical logic of consciousness
In the second presentation of the ‘Science of Consciousness’ conference 2021, Prof. dr. Henk Barendregt brings the rigor of mathematical logic to our understanding of consciousness and its various states and manifestations. For good measure, he also discusses Vipassana meditation within this formal context.
Conscious storms and the origin of life
This surprisingly coherent and empirically well-grounded essay argues that, although governed by blind, purposeless laws of nature, the Earth’s atmosphere—just like biological brains—may be associated with a subjective first-person perspective, and may have therefore purposely created life on Earth. The essay coherently brings together a compatibilist approach to free will, an idealist metaphysics and speculations about abiogenesis.
The predictive mind
In a fascinating exploration of some of our minds’ most amazing abilities, Prof. dr. Heleen Slagter, Principal Investigator of the Cognition & Plasticity Laboratory of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, talks about the predictive mind: the ability of our cognitive systems to not only perceive the world, but also infer what the world should be like, given our previous experiences.
Nadia Hassan reads ‘Re-thinking identity: Children’s experiences of self’
In the best episode of ‘Essentia Readings’ yet, Nadia Hassan introduces us to her young niece, a child who is aware, during sleep, of the fact that she is asleep. This suggests that our original, natural sense of self and consciousness, before culture tells us how to think about both, is much different than our adult understanding.
What neuroscience actually shows about consciousness
In his opening presentation of the ‘Science of Consciousness’ conference 2021, Essentia Foundation’s executive director Bernardo Kastrup reviews the neuroscientific evidence and discusses what it actually tells about consciousness. He also discusses, in explicit and specific detail, what he perceives as widespread physicalist confirmation bias in both academia and mainstream media.
The spirit of the universe
The gap between panpsychism and idealism is bridged if one infers that fundamental consciousness, instead of being a property of elementary material particles, pervades the fabric of space itself, from where it is then canalized into living beings.
Iain McGilchrist: “Consciousness is the stuff of the cosmos”
Renowned psychiatrist Dr. Iain McGilchrist laid out his idealist metaphysical views unambiguously in the closing presentation of the ‘Science of Consciousness’ conference, 2021. His clarity, lucidity and almost hypnotically compelling style provided a spellbinding end to the conference. Video and transcript follow.
Idealism may not be what you think
It increasingly strikes us that the reason why many scientists and scholars reject idealism—the notion that reality is essentially mental—is based on simple misunderstandings of what idealism states or implies. In this brief editorial, we would like to discuss and correct some of these misunderstandings.
Nadia Hassan reads, ‘Near-Death Experiences during cardiac arrest’
In the fourth episode of the Essentia Readings podcast (available for free on all major platforms), Nadia Hassan reads Dr. Pim van Lommel’s ‘Near-Death Experiences during cardiac arrest,’ a half-hour of fascinating material.
The Copernican Revolution of the human mind
Conceptual reasoning might seem as central to our understanding of self and world today as the Earth once seemed central in the pre-Copernican cosmos. But just as the Copernican Revolution repositioned the Earth in the orbit of a much larger system, an on-going revolution in our understanding of ourselves will dramatically expand the boundaries of our inner cosmos.
Reality Reminded, a podcast like no other!
We’re launching the Reality Reminded podcast, with acclaimed Dutch documentary filmmaker Hans Busstra. Could it be that we have ‘un’minded reality and now need to ‘re’mind it? This is a show like no other, in that each episode covers a specific theme, as opposed to a specific interviewee; the listening experience has an almost visual feel to it; and the content covered is more akin to an ongoing television documentary than a podcast. And best of all, it’s all FREE.
Nadia Hassan reads ‘What is consciousness?’
In the third episode of the Essentia Readings podcast (available for free on all major directories), Nadia Hassan reads Dr. Gerald Woerlee’s What is consciousness? A half-hour of fascinating material that may surprise you.
The eternal background of consciousness: An interview with Prof. Vyacheslav Moiseev
When a special kind of ‘beingness’ organizes itself by taking on form, it presents itself to itself, from within, against its own background, thereby igniting consciousness into existence.
Announcing ‘The Science of Consciousness’ online conference, 2021
Every year Essentia Foundation organizes an online conference featuring some of the world’s leading scholars, scientists and academics, on a topic relevant to ontological idealism. This year, we are delighted to focus on The Science of Consciousness, in a very special edition of the conference organized by Prof. dr. Sarah Durston. We’re even more delighted to count as our partners, this time, the Sentience and Science Foundation and the Institute for Advanced Study of the University of Amsterdam.
Sinking into life: the tragedy of our lost philosophy
In an age when abstraction and conceptual games have come to dominate our philosophy, we must wonder whether we’ve lost something important, even crucial, in our way to relate to the world, one another and even ourselves.
The ethics of idealism
Research suggests that there is a neurological foundation to the experience of social connectivity, and that it is the same as the foundation of consciousness itself: synchronistic alignment appears not only within an individual brain in correlation with experience, but also between people taking part in joint tasks. This can form the basis for an objective ethics, argues Dr. Walden.
Nadia Hassan reads ‘Communicating through the collective unconscious’
In this fascinating second episode of the Essentia Readings podcast, Nadia reads Prof. Victor Petrenko’s work. Nadia’s commentary towards the end is particularly spellbinding! This podcast is available through all major platforms.
The hierarchical structure of the universal mind
Spanish science journalist and doctor Antonio Rial delights us with the perspectives acquired after decades studying and communicating science. He regards reality as the image of a hierarchical structure of mental processes, an evolving ecosystem of minds.
Inducing the mental creation of experiential realities
Can people—even those ostensibly not hypnotizable—be coaxed into creating entire virtual realities that they then take for facts? Can the same techniques be used to alter our memories of the past? If so, is this significant for our understanding of what reality—the real reality—actually is? Psychologists Prof. Petrenko and Dr. Kucherenko share astonishing results produced by Russian clinical and experimental psychology, which answer these questions in the affirmative.
On the self-validating nature of idealism
While physicalism is impossible to confirm even in principle, idealism suffers from no such limitation. This intrinsic verifiability makes it a more fruitful avenue of investigation.
Launching the Essentia Readings podcast, with Nadia Hassan
We are delighted to launch today the Essentia Readings podcast. In it, British-Lebanese artist Nadia Hassan reads a selection of the material published by Essentia Foundation, adding her own commentary and impressions. With this initiative, we hope to reach you with quality, enriching content not only during your reading time, but in other moments of your life as well.
Depression, anxiety and the grip of metaphysics
Metaphysical beliefs modulate our experience of all aspects of life. As such, explicitly assessing the metaphysics we internalize can be the difference between depression and contentment, anxiety and vibrant aliveness. In this brief editorial, we highlight the crucial importance of metaphysics to every facet of our lives.
Keeping a close ‘I’ on ‘reality’ in social science
In seeking to ameliorate social injustices by debunking the egoic self as measure of all things, the social sciences risk inadvertently abolishing the very notion of a subject of experience, argues Dr. Donna Thomas. The way forward, according to her, is to embrace metaphysics and understand the self not as a separate social agent, but as the ontic ground of all reality, common to all of us.
There is no self: the periodic table of experience
Theologian Dr. Asher Walden argues that the self can be accounted for purely as a momentary aggregate of mental factors. Although we normally think of experience as some kind of relation between a subject and an object, in truth there is just experience.
This ‘zero-worlds’ theory might just be crazy enough to be true
Journalist Hans Busstra interviews physicist Dr. Markus Müller on his so-called ‘zero-worlds’ theory, which was not meant as a proof of idealism, but does ‘give you idealism for free.’
The activity theory of consciousness
Prof. Vladimir Serkin discusses a theory of consciousness whereby the latter is not regarded as merely a product of physiological function. His isn’t an idealist approach and, therefore, we at Essentia Foundation reserve judgment about it. However, the theory is undoubtedly scholarly and reveals the remarkably interesting directions in which Russian academia is pursuing an explanation for mind. They aren’t as held back by physicalist prejudices as similar efforts in the West, and thus deserve our careful attention.
Dissociation and complexity: A psychiatrist’s perspective
The claim that individual human consciousness is a segment of a universal mind, separated from it via dissociation, is supported by the neurobiology of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), according to psychiatrist Dr. Yulia Perch. In this essay, complexity science and Dr. Perch’s own clinical experience are used to demonstrate that dissociative processes in a living psyche are not specific to DID, but widespread and inevitable.
What’s out there when our brains quit telling us stories?
If the reality we think we inhabit is but a story confabulated by the brain’s ‘default mode network,’ what is the world ‘out there,’ and the self ‘in here,’ when the inner storytelling is subdued through meditation?
Communicating through the “Collective Unconscious”
Prof. Petrenko shows that we may be regularly, though implicitly, using the so-called “collective unconscious”—a transpersonal field of subjectivity we all share, but which we can’t explicitly access through introspection—to tap into each other’s minds, minds in the animal kingdom as a whole, and perhaps even beyond.
Our free Analytic Idealism Course is now online!
Today we’re releasing a complete, carefully produced but free online course on Analytic Idealism, perhaps the most modern and intellectually compelling formulation of Idealism currently available. The course is based on a series of seven videos, totaling over 6 hours of content. It is conducted by Essentia Foundation’s executive director, Bernardo Kastrup.
The primordial quantum language
Consciousness is the inner reality of the world, governed by the laws of coherent quantum systems, while matter is but an expression of the meaning inherent in this inner reality. The classical world of matter conforms to the statistical properties of a primordial quantum ‘language’ spontaneously used by the inner quantum reality to express itself. These are the insights of physicist—and inventor of the microprocessor—Federico Faggin in this captivating essay.
The flip, and the flipped: leaving materialism behind. An interview with Jeffrey J. Kripal.
Journalist and documentary filmmaker Hans Busstra interviews Prof. Jeffrey J. Kripal on ‘the flip’: the sudden change of worldview away from the materialist paradigm that is increasingly experienced by scientists, scholars and academics the world over.
Contact with universal consciousness through the research of human mentality
One of the most respected psychologists in the Slavic world—where materialist prejudices are less pronounced—Prof. Victor Petrenko, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, discusses his views on the nature of mind and reality. He shows, through remarkable experiments, that our very perception is conditioned upon our ability to tell ourselves, conceptually, what we are perceiving. It is possible that we simply do not perceive what we have no conceptual categories to make sense of. This way, we may be immersed in effectively alien aspects of reality that we cannot cognize. This captivating essay introduces to a Western audience the high-quality—and arguably less metaphysically biased—scholarship of the Slavic world in an area of knowledge whose relevance to our lives cannot be overestimated.
Near-Death Experiences during cardiac arrest
In this short and powerful essay, cardiologist Dr. Pim van Lommel summarizes and discusses four rigorous studies of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) carried out in clinical settings. He concludes that, on a scientific basis, the materialist notion that brain activity somehow is or generates consciousness is not adequate to accommodate and make sense of the empirical evidence available.
Is it possible to make a conscious computer?
Science fiction and certain voices in academia have manufactured cultural plausibility for the notion that we should, one day, be able to build a conscious computer. But is this idea even coherent to begin with? Who best to ask but the creator of the microprocessor and artificial intelligence pioneer, Federico Faggin.
Can a physicist embrace idealism?
Is science in general, and physics in particular, compatible with a consciousness-only worldview in which matter is merely an appearance of extended mental processes underlying all nature? Physicist Dr. Claus Metzner doesn’t see why they shouldn’t.
Re-thinking identity: Children’s experiences of self
Dr. Thomas argues that children, before a conceptual, culture-bound notion of self is inculcated in them, have a more spontaneous, broader sense of identity that defies our current worldview. She argues that their more natural, fluid self is more conducive to overcoming the despair characteristic of our present situation, and that it has much to teach us about reality itself.
What is consciousness?
Consciousness is more fundamental than, and precedes, higher-level mental activity such as thoughts and emotions. Therefore, it is possible that consciousness—as a kind of primary ‘operating system’—is present even in the complete absence of recognizable mental activity, argues dr. Woerlee with the authority of an anesthesiologist. We may thus be conscious even during states of seeming unconsciousness, which is relevant for metaphysics—such as idealism—that consider consciousness fundamental.
The physics of first-person perspective: An interview with physicist Dr. Markus Müller
After Dr. Müller’s extraordinary presentation during Essentia Foundation’s 2020 online work conference, we, the editors, felt the need to interview him and explore his ideas further. If you haven’t watched his presentation already, we recommend you do so before reading on. The video is linked.
Hello, we are Essentia Foundation
In this inaugural editorial, we introduce ourselves to you by discussing our perspective on an urgent challenge facing our society, our vision for how to address this challenge, and how we hope to contribute to the solution.
The Flip: Recalibrating the humanities and the sciences around extraordinary experiences
There are extraordinary experiences that, although commonplace, contradict the current materialist metaphysics. This is what Prof. Jeffrey J. Kripal argues in his presentation during Essentia Foundation’s 2020 online work conference.
Conscious realism
Is matter merely a ‘graphical user interface’ to a deeper, conscious reality? In his presentation during Essentia Foundation’s 2020 online work conference, neuroscientist Prof. Donald Hoffman argues compellingly that this is indeed the case.
Making space and time for matter and mind
A new understanding of space and time is a prerequisite for making sense of the mind-body problem, argues Prof. Bernard Carr in his presentation during Essentia Foundation’s 2020 online work conference.
The mind-body problem: An anti-solution
If the mind-body problem is at all solvable, should it ever be solved? In his presentation during Essentia Foundation’s 2020 online work conference, renowned author and science journalist John Horgan maintains that, for moral reasons, it shouldn’t.
Consciousness unbound
Has rigorous empirical research ever contradicted materialism? In his presentation during Essentia Foundation’s 2020 online work conference, Prof. Edward F. Kelly discusses decades of solid scientific work that does precisely that.
Kabbalistic panpsychism: The enigma of consciousness in Jewish mystical thought
There are uncanny correspondences between Jewish mysticism and cutting-edge theories of reality such as idealist cosmopsychism, as discussed by neurologist Prof. Hyman M. Schipper in his presentation during Essentia Foundation’s 2020 online work conference.
The role of mind in neuroscience
After failing to find anatomical or functional correlates of a variety of psychiatric conditions, Prof. dr. Sarah Durston has moved away from metaphysical materialism. This is what she discusses in her presentation during Essentia Foundation’s 2020 online work conference.
The role of mind in nature
Prof. Mikhail Ilyin, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, discusses foundational issues around the mind-body problem, as historically explored in Western philosophy and beyond. Watch his presentation during Essentia Foundation’s 2020 online work conference.
A word from our Founder
Fred Matser, Essentia Foundation’s Founder and Chairman, explains his motivations for taking this initiative.
The limits of conceptual communication
Fred Matser, Essentia Foundation’s Founder and Chairman, invites us to contemplate the limits of mere words and concepts in our interactions with one another and nature at large. Are we missing out on important things because we assume that what cannot be said also cannot exist?
Is the human brain a model of the universe?
In this eye-popping essay, physicist and mathematician Melvin Felton explores the uncanny and unexpected similarities between the structure of the human brain and the universe at large, at both unfathomably small and unfathomably vast scales. Nothing in today’s science explains these bewildering similarities.
Is what you see, what you get?
Is what we see, what we get? Are the seemingly material objects around us what the world actually is? Or are our perceptions merely providing us with a coded representation of a deeper, mysterious reality?
Mind before matter
So what comes first, matter or mind? Prof. Kak’s answer is nuanced and deserves a thoughtful read.
The three minds: A framework beyond biopsychosocial medicine
In this cogent essay, emergency physician Dr. Anoop Kumar elaborates on his view of the fundamental role mind plays in healthcare, as well as his three-minds model.
Where is your mind?
Does the brain produce the mind? Or is the relationship between the two something altogether different? We explore the latest science in this short film.
Kabbalistic panpsychism
In this powerful essay, Prof. Schipper unveils the uncanny similarities and correspondences between the ancient Kabbalah and cutting-edge theories of reality such as idealist cosmopsychism.
Seeing things: The daimonic nature of reality
Are popular myths and tales merely an expression of naive superstition, or do they reflect—metaphorically or symbolically, as the case may be—something real about the underlying nature of reality? Author Patrick Harpur’s answer is as thoughtful as it is nuanced.
From enigmas in physics to a structural version of idealism
Our first-person perspective is primary, the external world emergent, argues physicist and member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Dr. Markus Müller, in his presentation during Essentia Foundation’s 2020 online work conference. A follow-up interview with Dr. Müller, expanding on the topics of his presentation, is also available.
Is matter but a superficial appearance?
Does the matter that surrounds us have a standalone reality, irrespective of observation? Or is matter merely the thin, superficial appearance of a deeper, mysterious reality?
Limitless life
Prof. dr. Jan van der Greef discusses his intellectual journey from childhood polio to life sciences, entrepreneurship, art, and finally to a non-dual relationship with nature at large. Watch his presentation during Essentia Foundation’s 2020 online work conference.
Let us build the future of our culture together
Essentia Foundation is a registered non-profit committed to making its content as accessible as possible and without advertisements. Therefore, we depend on contributions from people like you to continue to do our work. There are many ways to contribute. | https://www.essentiafoundation.org/author/ |
The potentially damaging outcomes of species introductions to areas outside of their natural range are well known, and invasive non-native species are regarded as one of the most significant threats to biodiversity worldwide. Social perceptions of non-native species are open to subjective influence, and in a rapidly changing world the implications of species introductions are becoming less defined. Understanding the ecology of invasions and the human perceptions of them, is therefore fundamentally important for managing all stages of species introductions, relying on a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the invasion process. Invasions can also provide opportunities to study adaptive responses of organisms to novel or changing environments, which in turn can provide insight into mechanistic workings of the invasion process and range expansion. In this study I investigate the ecology of introduced populations of the Common Wall lizard (Podarcis muralis). Using a multidisciplinary approach including population ecology, functional ecology, predictive modelling, social science, and behavioural experiments, I focus on the species' invasion potential, adaptive responses, and implications for ecological impacts on native lizards in the UK and on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. I found that morphological differences between populations were associated with ancestral origins and infer a greater invasion potential for animals of Italian origin over French. Comparison of physical and performance traits, and a broad dietary niche of P. muralis, indicate considerable overlap between P. muralis and native lizards, suggesting high potential for competitive interaction. However, the varied behavioural responses observed towards scent cues in P. muralis and native lizards suggests an interplay between naivety and threat sensitivity may influence interspecific interaction. Models of predicted range expansion suggest P. muralis populations are likely to remain localised, but that potential for secondary translocation is likely to increase with increasing population size, particularly in urban habitats. I also found clear indication that charismatic non-native species such as P. muralis, may have use as model species with which to raise awareness and minimise the subjectivity shaping perceptions of invasive species in general. | https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.798047 |
Social constructs are generally understood to be the by-products of countless human choices rather than laws resulting from divine will or nature.
Social constructs are generally understood to be the by-products of countless human choices rather than laws resulting from divine will or nature.
Examples of social construct in the following topics:
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Social Constructionism
- Social constructionism is a school of thought introduced into sociology by Peter L.
- Berger and Thomas Luckmann with their 1966 book The Social Construction of Reality.
- Socially constructed reality is seen as an on-going dynamic process; reality is re-produced by people acting on their interpretations of what they perceive to be the world external to them.
- Berger and Luckmann argue that social construction describes both subjective and objective reality - that is that no reality exists outside what is produced and reproduced in social interactions.
- Religion is seen as a socially constructed concept, the basis for which is rooted in either our psyche (Freud) or man's need to see some purpose in life or worship a higher presence.
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Social Definition of Race
- Most social scientists and biologists believe race is a social construct affecting sociopolitical, legal, and economic contexts.
- Most social scientists and biologists believe race is a social construct, meaning it does not have a basis in the natural world but is simply an artificial distinction created by humans.
- Many academics and researchers across disciplines, therefore, came to the conclusion that race itself is a social construct.
- As anthropologists and other evolutionary scientists have shifted away from the language of race to the term "population" to talk about genetic differences, historians, cultural anthropologists and other social scientists have accordingly re-conceptualized the term "race" as exclusively a cultural category or social construct.
- The social construction of race has developed within various legal, economic, and sociopolitical contexts, and may be the effect, rather than the cause of major race-related issues.
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Additional Reading
- " - This is an article that discusses some recent attempts to illustrate how gender is at least partially socially constructed.
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The Social Construction of Gender
- Social constructivists propose that there is no inherent truth to gender; it is constructed by social expectations and gender performance.
- The social construction of gender comes out of the general school of thought entitled social constructionism.
- Money is a socially constructed reality.
- Is gender an essential category or a social construct?
- If it is a social construct, how does it function?
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The Social Construction of Aging
- The social construction of aging entails the creation of social norms and symbols that encapsulates the aging process.
- Representations of aging in the social life are determined by different social interactions like getting senior discounts.
- While aging itself is a biological process, what it means to be "young" or "old" is socially constructed.
- Aging is perceived differently around the world, demonstrating its social construction.
- Significantly, these social interactions occur in a social milieu that values youth.
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Mental Health
- Mental health is a socially constructed and socially defined concept; different societies, groups, cultures, institutions, and professions have very different ways of conceptualizing its nature and causes, determining what is mentally healthy, and deciding what interventions are appropriate.
- Members of different social classes often hold different views on mental health.
- Thus, the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders varies widely by social class.
- To say that mental health is socially constructed means that its definition and criteria can change across time and culture.
- Define mental health and explain why it is regarded as a socially constructed concept
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Assumptions of Social Constructivism
- Reality: Social constructivists believe that reality is constructed through human activity.
- For the social constructivist, reality cannot be discovered: it does not exist prior to its social invention.
- Knowledge: To social constructivists, knowledge is also a human product, and is socially and culturally constructed (Ernest, 1999; Gredler, 1997; Prat & Floden, 1994).
- Learning: Social constructivists view learning as a social process.
- Meaningful learning occurs when individuals are engaged in social activities.
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General Perspectives of Social Constructivism on Learning
- Social constructivists see as crucial both the context in which learning occurs and the social contexts that learners bring to their learning environment.
- Together they produce a product and, as a group, impose meaning on it through the social learning process.
- These "big ideas" expand learner vision and become important foundations for learners' thinking and on construction of social meaning (Gredler, 1997).
- Pragmatic or emergent approach: Social constructivists with this perspective assert that the implementation of social constructivism in class should be emergent as the need arises (Gredler, 1997).
- Humans are a part of the constructed environment (including social relationships); the environment is in turn one of the characteristics that constitutes the individual (Bredo, 1994; Gredler, 1997).
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What is Social Constructivism?
- Social constructivism emphasizes the importance of culture and context in understanding what occurs in society and constructing knowledge based on this understanding (Derry, 1999; McMahon, 1997).
- This perspective is closely associated with many contemporary theories, most notably the developmental theories of Vygotsky and Bruner, and Bandura's social cognitive theory (Shunk, 2000).
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Introduction to Social Psychology and Social Perception
- Social psychology includes the subfields of cognitive social psychology and social neuroscience.
- This field is specifically concerned with the way feelings, thoughts, beliefs, intentions, and goals are constructed, and how such psychological factors, in turn, influence interactions with others.
- This includes areas like social perception, social interaction, and social influence (including trust, power, and persuasion).
- It involves questions about the nature of social behavior: for example, does social behavior ultimately stem from the individual, or is it largely a product of socialization, interaction, and greater social structures?
- On the other hand, other theorists stress the capacity of individual agents to construct and reconstruct their environments. | https://oer2go.org/mods/en-boundless/www.boundless.com/definition/social-construct/index.html |
Scientists from across a variety of disciplines at Wageningen University explore, design, conceive and combine potential solutions to create a more sustainable animal sector. Examples of solutions found to enhance one or more aspects of sustainability are: producing meat from broilers with improved welfare (using a slow-growing breed), installing a manure digester on dairy farms to yield bio-energy, producing eggs in a new-housing concept (Rondeel) that improves the welfare of the animal and transparency for consumers, and introducing meatless Monday in campus cafeterias.
Exploring practices through dialogue
However, scientists and researchers don’t work in a vacuum. Our work is embedded in different contexts, whether academic, cultural, political, or socio-economic, to name a few. Alongside the scientists working to develop new and innovative solutions to the problems they perceive, there are farmers, producers, business owners and shareholders, consumers, neighbours and citizens, retailers, manufacturers, intermediaries, regulators, policy-makers, NGO’s, activists, journalists, and, with regards to animal sciences, there’s the animals themselves: livestock, wildlife, the environment. In an increasingly globalised world economy, these actors might even be separated by thousands of kilometres, and come from different backgrounds and cultures. It is thus hardly surprising that they have different perceptions, interpretations and cognitions regarding the problems and potential solutions that animal production faces, including – but not limited to – sustainability. Not only might some of these stakeholders have differing views and ideas about the solutions developed by scientists; they might have different perceptions and interpretations about the problem in the first place, due to different positions, interests, backgrounds, emotions, values, etc.
Furthermore, discussions about animal production – the different perspectives on its future, the diverse problems that stakeholders perceive, and the potential solutions to those problems – are not restricted to classrooms, laboratories or symposia. Newspaper articles discuss and evaluate policy changes, investigative reports uncover new problems, fierce debates about the ethics of animal production erupt on Facebook or Twitter, and scientific journals publish the latest technological developments proposed by the scientific community to address these issues. Therefore, an important part of the discussion about animal production largely takes place in and is accessed through the media; both shaping and being shaped by stakeholders’ perceptions, evaluations and emotions.
How can we navigate this complex and complicated landscape of differing perspectives, interests, values and emotions about different problems regarding animal production? How can we engage in meaningful and constructive dialogue about the problems in and of animal production, across conflicting and conflictive views, in order to find solutions that are relevant and viable in political, economic, socio-cultural, ethical and/or techno-scientific terms, valuing both feelings and facts? How can we transform these disagreements and different perspectives regarding sustainability and animal production, into a productive conversation that addresses these issues and their potential solutions?
It is not just about asking how we solve a problem; it is about questioning what the problem is in the first place, why it’s a problem and for whom it is a problem.
Addressing these questions requires a better understanding of the societal context. Namely, the newly developed technology (the so-called ‘hardware’ of the innovation) by itself does not automatically lead to sustainable development. To make an innovation successful, several people with different backgrounds and perspectives should work together to implement the idea (the ‘software’ of the innovation). In addition, there are numerous formal and informal rules that influence the success of a sustainable innovation (the ‘orgware’ of the innovation). In short, a novel idea only becomes meaningful when it is organized and placed in its social and institutional context, or in other words, when attention is paid to hardware, software and orgware.
Based on theories from communication and innovation sciences, natural scientists and social scientists will together analyse the failures and successes of an introduction of slow-growing breeds in Dutch broiler production. Through meaningful interdisciplinary dialogue, this course seeks to strengthen our understanding of contested issues around animal production, including different perspectives of different stakeholders, and to encourage a constructive engagement with such complexity, in order to enhance our capacity to comprehend these problems and develop, evaluate and implement sustainable innovations.
Conceptual framework
Relevant perspectives
- Multi-stakeholder perspective
- Selective perceptions, frames and framing, bridging and bonding
- Dealing with facts, valuing emotions, valuing dialogue
- Media perspective
- The role of media in the framing of animal production systems
- The role of social media in shaping animal production systems
- Innovation perspective
- Distinguishing hardware, orgware and software of an innovation process as well as the different institutional levels that play a role
Learning goals
- Understand the complexity of a transition towards sustainable animal systems from different perspectives
- Understand different theoretical models to analyse complex animal system cases
- Constructively use the theoretical models for contested issues
Target group
This course is intended for PhDs, postdocs, and staff members from across a variety of natural and social science backgrounds, who want to engage with contested issues around animal production through meaningful interdisciplinary dialogue. While the course specifically targets PhD candidates from WIAS and WASS, candidates from other graduate schools and external participants are encouraged to participate as well. Since the aim is to attract a target audience from varied disciplinary backgrounds in order to enrich the dialogue, there is no specific assumed prior knowledge; this course is relevant for beginner as well as experienced researchers.
Teaching methods
Through a series of short presentations by natural and social scientists, participants will be introduced to the study case from different scientific and stakeholder perspectives; while also becoming more familiarized with the theoretical and analytical tools to engage in meaningful and constructive dialogue with and between stakeholders. Students will also partake in a series of exercises (both in smaller groups and the group as a whole) to understand different perspectives – including their own –, analyse and engage in dialogue to discuss the case of study and potential solutions, as well as reflecting on these processes and their outcomes.
Study material
Five papers will be provided as preparation, about:
- The role of animals in a sustainable food system
- The role of communication in shaping future animal systems
- Sustainability issues of broiler production
- The role of Media in framing animal production
- The role of Social Media in shaping animal systems
In addition, a list of relevant literature will be provided for those participants who wish to further engage with these topics.
Requirements and ECTS
Individuals who follow the course receive 0.4 ECTS, through preparation for the course, attendance on both afternoons, and active participation in the discussions, exercises and reflections.
Course schedule
23 may: Day 1 Scientific embedding
|13:30 - 14:00||Introduction|
|14:00 - 14:15||Imke de Boer: The role of animals in a sustainable food system|
|14:15 - 14:30||Noelle Aarts: The role of communication in shaping future animal systems|
|14:30 - 14:45||Questions|
|14:45 - 15:15||Exercise 1: Perspective of participants|
|15:15 - 15:30||Break|
|15:30 - 15:45||Eddie Bokkers: Sustainability issues of broiler production (intro case study)|
|15:45 - 15:50||Questions|
|15:50 - 16:00||Videos: Stakeholders in dialogue|
|16:00 - 16:15||Marie Garnier Ortiz: The role of Media in framing animal production|
|16:15 - 16:30||Tim Stevens: The role of Social Media in shaping animal systems|
|16:30 - 16:45||Questions|
|16:45 - 17:00||Evaluation|
24 may: Day 2 Experiencing a dialogue
|13:30 - 14:00||Noelle Aarts: Communication Strategies|
|14:00 - 14:15||Videos: Stakeholder perceptions|
|14:15 - 14:30||Questions|
|14:30 - 15:30||Exercise 2 (part 1): Dialogue with reflections moments|
|15:30 - 15:45||Break|
|15:45 - 16:45||Exercise 2 (part 2): Dialogue with reflection moments|
|16:45 - 17:00||Evaluation, list with common points for future animal systems|
Registration
Registration is possible electronically via the WIAS courses and seminars page.
The maximum number of participants is 40, while the minimum is 10. The registration deadline is two weeks before the start of the course; that is, on May 9th, 2017.
Fees
WIAS PhDs: € 100 (WIAS will subsidize 75%)
WASS PhDs: € 100
Other PhDs: € 100
WUR staff: € 160
External participants: € 240
Cancellations
Cancellations may be made free of charge until 2 weeks before the start of the course. Cancellation fee of 100 % applies if participants cancel the course less than 2 weeks prior to the course. The organisers have a right to cancel the course not later than 2 weeks before the course starts. The participants will be notified of any changes at their e-mail addresses.
Further information
On course content, please contact Cindy Klootwijk ([email protected]) or Marie Garnier ([email protected]). | https://www.wur.nl/nl/nieuws/23-24-May-New-PhD-course-Shaping-future-animal-systems.htm |
For more information, please see the Juvenile Justice Brochure or visit the Juvenile Resources page for programs and information links and contact information.
The following are some programs and resources which support and inform the work of the Juvenile Justice Unit:
Juvenile Diversion Program (NWDA-JDP)
When appropriate, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Juvenile Diversion Program offers an opportunity to divert eligible juvenile offenders from the court system. This voluntary program can be an effective strategy for many youth to help to improve life outcomes while preserving and protecting public safety. Participating youth and their parent(s)/guardian(s) work with the Juvenile Diversion Specialist to develop a Diversion Plan. Restorative principles and practices are a part of all diversion plans. Plans may include letters of apology, educational materials and programs, restitution, community service, cooperation with counseling/treatment services and other structures and supports which provide opportunities to connect youth with reliable adult support and improved healthy prosocial activities and relationships, which may also help to develop leadership and skill building opportunities for youth. Youth who successfully complete the Juvenile Diversion Program will not begin a CORI (Criminal Offender Record) as a result of the offense. Their cases will be dismissed prior to arraignment. Cases not appropriate for diversion are prosecuted through the Juvenile Court.
Restorative Justice
A restorative approach is also pursued in delinquency matters. Restorative justice offers an opportunity to hold individuals accountable for their actions in a manner that helps youth understand their impact and seeks to make things as right as possible for those they have impacted, (e.g. the direct victim of their act, the offender, their families, and their communities) and to help offenders build skills and gain understanding to help reduce the likelihood of reoffending in the future. Youth and parent(s)/guardian(s) in the NWDA-JDP participate in restorative conferences and delinquency court dispositions seek to be restorative. Delinquency and diversion matters may also be referred to community-based Restorative Justice Programs.
Community-Based Juvenile Justice Program Violence Intervention and Prevention Measures
The Community-Based Juvenile Justice Program (CBJ Program) is a statutorily mandated (G. L. c. 12, §32) school-based initiative designed to establish and coordinate a partnership between schools, police and state agencies to address school violence and violence prevention. The CBJ Program partners regular communicate and also meet throughout the school year. CBJ Meetings help individuals from law enforcement, justice, education, and social services to identify and develop school and community-based programs that foster positive youth development, prevent juvenile violence and delinquency, and develop techniques for the early identification and intervention with at-risk youth. For more information, please see the NWDA's Community-Based Justice brochure.
Community Outreach & Education
Assistant District Attorneys assigned to the JJU have assisted the office's Director of Community Outreach and Education and have presented to parents, students, school staff, faculty, administrators and School Resource Officers at professional development programs, parent information nights, student assemblies and classes. With input from school and community partners, the JJU plans and co-sponsors Annual Safe School Summits, Youth Leadership and Prevention Programs and other trainings. The JJU staff regularly attend training on topics including but not limited to: Adolescent Brain Development, the Neurobiology of Addiction, Healthy Relationships, Youth Mental Health First Aid, Motivational Interviewing, Life Skills, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Arson, and Cases with Digital Evidence, School Safety, Threat Assessment, Signs of Suicide, Community Supports and Resources.
Northwestern Fire Intervention, Response, Education and Safety (NoFIRES)
NoFIRES' core mission is to protect our youth, their families and the communities in which they live from the dangerous and sometimes fatal act of setting fires. A collaboration of law enforcement and social service agencies, NoFIRES is committed to providing a consistent, coordinated and appropriate response to youths who set fires or engage in fire-related behavior. Components of this approach include intervention and education. For more information, please see the NoFires page.
Safe Schools Response Team
The Massachusetts bullying law offers a definition of bullying, but as victims, educators and parents have learned, there is no specific criminal charge of bullying. Bullying behavior may fit specific criminal charges, such as threat to commit a crime, criminal harassment, or a civil rights violation. Therefore, the NWDA developed a team of prosecutors to review certain complaints of bullying and other matters to determine if the behavior rises to the level of a criminal charge. The team is not a substitute for school investigations and response. Schools must follow their own state-mandated policies as to bullying complaints and investigations. However, the NWDA team may provide information and support for schools, parents and victims. Members of the Safe School Response Team include Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Suhl, Juvenile Justice Unit Chief Elizabeth Mulcahy, Assistant District Attorneys Bruce Patryn and Elizabeth Swihart, and Administrative Assistant Susan Snyder. | https://www.northwesternda.org/prosecution/pages/juvenile-justice |
This section of our website contains resources and information for students, parents, and staff. It is important to note that children involved in incidents of bullying, victims, and perpetrators, need our support. If you have suggestions or comments regarding the district's bullying prevention and intervention services, please submit those to [email protected].
BULLYING DEFINITION
Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems.
In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be aggressive and include:
An Imbalance of Power: Kids who bully use their power—such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity—to control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people.
Repetition: Bullying behaviors happen more than once or have the potential to happen more than once.
OVHS BULLYING PREVENTION PLAN:
(1) Annual review of the procedures for responding to allegations of bullying will be conducted. Data pertaining to incidents will also be reviewed.
(2) ANY alleged bullying incidents will be reported to the principal/building representative.
(3) Building administrators that receive an allegation of bullying will promptly inform the parent/guardian of the perpetrator and victim to discuss the incident/consequences.
(4) Appropriate counseling, social work, or other services will be provided to both aggressor and victim if deemed necessary.
(5) The investigation will be conducted within 10 school days of the report.
(6) The principal will maintain a record of allegations and incidents of bullying, including appropriate paperwork.
(7) Bullying resources, education, workshops, professional development, speakers, etc. will be provided on an annual basis to students and teachers to provide awareness and resources to combat bullying. | https://www.okawvalley.org/o/okaw-valley-high-school/page/bullying-resources |
Theraplay and Jean Ruttenberg have a free workshop on Tuesday, March 14that 7pm.
If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to Lauren Toolan at [email protected] by March 6th.
In recent years, bullying has become a national concern. It appears that bullying has increased in settings such as school and in our local communities. Bullying can include behaviors such as verbal and cyber threats, physical aggression and excessive teasing.
What we know about bullying is that boys and girls tend to engage in bullying, but each tend to use different forms. For example, boys are more likely to engage physical bullying, while girls are more likely to engage in verbal and cyber threats. Research indicates that there is no one cause for bullying. Some contributing factors can be negative family, school and peer environments. Both bullies and victims can be at greater risk for future emotional difficulties. An additional challenge in combating bullying is that many adults do not recognize or consider bullying to be a serious issue. Additionally, many schools still do not have programs that address bullying.
The US Department of Justice reported that younger students are more likely to be bullied than older students. Bullying appears to be more prevalent between the 5th and 8th grade. Other reports indicate that students with special needs, such as Autism, are especially vulnerable to bullying.
What Can Parents Do?
Jean Ruttenberg, MA
Jean is a well-known and respected specialist in the area of autism, ADHD and emotional disorders. She assists all age groups and is skilled at solving difficult behavior problems. | http://www.thecenterinwarrington.com/blog/tag/jean-ruttenberg/ |
Janet M. Irvine, is a 20+ year former educator and lives in Canada, so not only does she bring extensive experience to the discussion, but also an international viewpoint. Janet is also an accomplished author, and her fictional book, When Push Comes to Shove Back, would make for a fantastic book report project that would also double as a lesson on how bullies, victims and bystanders can join forces for positive change.
You will enjoy reading Janet’s article, which can be found here.
Restorative Justice – Advice to a Parent
By Paul Langhorst October 4, 2012
Following up on my post earlier this week on restorative justice, where I highlighted a new article, Restorative Justice: The Opportunities and Challenges, by CyberBully Hotline contributor, Janet M. Irvine, I would like share a new article that I ran across in my daily reading – Mr. Dad: Fight Bullies with Restorative Justice, by Armin Brott.
In this article, a dad posts a question of how to respond after learning that is son is being bullied by an older child at school and is now pleading “not to have to go to school.” Brott first addresses “Mr. Dad” and praises him for questioning his son and persevering with dialog until the son comes clean with his bullying problem. Brott then goes on to explain how schools have handled bullying in the past: ineffective peer mediation (bringing the bully and victim together); and even more infective, bully group counseling (bringing all the purported bullies together). Brott ends with an explanation of “restorative justice,” sharing an example of how if a bully smashed a kids lunch box, the bully would be required to replace the lunch box.
I encourage you to read Brott’s full article, which can be found here.
As Janet Irvine pointed out in her article, about the challenges of implementing a restorative justice program, the technique holds significant long-term potential for reduction in bullying behavior, however the downside is that it takes significant time and training for one to become skilled in the process. Furthermore, the penalties for non-compliance with the restorative justice measures are often voluntary or subject to bully-parent participation (the bully-parent providing money for the replacement lunch box) and the same weakly enforced policies of the institution that allowed the bullying to happen in the first place.
In a perfect world, the lunch box would be replaced and bully-victim would be come friends and ride off in the sunset together. When restorative justice works, it works well, and the results can be long lasting. The challenge is developing the skill and infrastructure to allow it to work.
If your school is seeking to develop a restorative justice program, here are some helpful links to additional information:
- Restorative Justice – A guide for school: http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/illinoisschoolguide
- Restorative Justice Implementation Guides: http://www.promoteprevent.org/node/3364
- Implementing Restorative Justice: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/public/pdf/BARJ/SCHOOL%20BARJ%20GUIDEBOOOK.pdf
Suicide in the School Community – Response and Recovery: Webinar Event
In recognition of National Bullying Awareness Month (Oct 2012), please plan on joining us for a Professional Development webinar: Suicide in the School Community: Response & Recovery.
Our special guest speakers are Tina Meier of the Megan Meier Foundation and suicide/ mental health expert, Scott Poland.
The webinar is set for Monday, Oct. 15th, 2012 from 10:30-11:30 AM CDT Register for this powerful webinar here.
Since her daughter Megan’s suicide, Tina Meier has committed her life to battling bullying and cyberbullying. Tina Meier is helping school administrators across the country expand their knowledge of the impact of bullying on kids and their families.
Dr. Scott Poland is a nationally recognized expert on school crisis, youth violence, suicide intervention, self injury, school safety, threat assessment, parenting and the delivery of psychological services in schools. From Dr. Poland learn about the link between bullying and suicide; learn warning signs of suicidal behavior and thoughts; learn tips on how to speak to students and your communities about suicide; and learn best practices for dealing with the aftermath of a suicide in your school community.
Anonymous Bullying Reporting: Works with Olweus and PBIS Programs
By Paul Langhorst
This week we posted two new articles on the CyberBully Hotline website that detail how anonymous bullying reporting solutions such as the CyberBully Hotline can work in concert with popular bullying prevention programs such as Olweus and PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Supports). The hallmark of both these programs is opening the lines of communication between students, and between students and staff/faculty.
- Anonymous Reporting Works with the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
- Stop, Walk & Talk: How Anonymous Reporting Works with PBIS Principles
These “whole school” bullying prevention programs are built around a framework of classroom meetings during which communication principles are modeled and practiced. For example, PBIS teaches the Stop, Walk and Talk model where bullying victims are taught to stop the bullying or abusive behavior with a combination of a verbal and hand signals and then taught to seek a trusted adult to report the abusive behavior.
Anonymous reporting fits into these programs nicely in two key ways:
- An anonymous reporting solution helps expand the ways in which a victim or bystander can report incidents. May victims and bystanders are filled with fear and an anonymous reporting method can help open a path resolution. Experts indicate that as much as 50% of bullying and cyberbullying goes unreported due to student fears. An anonymous reporting solution helps address the problems that may be lurking, unseen below the surface.
- The classroom meeting is an ideal platform from which the anonymous reporting program can be discussed and promoted.
I encourage you to review the above articles depending on whether your school is running Olweus or PBIS to learn more specifics.
Cyberbullying vs Physical Bullying’s Impact on LGBTQ Youth
By Paul Langhorst
The Examiner recently posted a great article on the impact of cyberbullying vs. physical bullying on LGBTQ youth (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, Questioning). The article by Gregory Kelly, suggests that cyberbullying has a far harsher impact on LGBTQ youth.
Citing the statistics below, Gregory suggests that cyberbullying is far more damaging to LGBTQ youth than physical bullying, because of the wide spread nature of cyberbullying vs. physical bully.
Sobering statistics:
- LGB youth are 4 times more likely, and questioning youth are 3 times more likely, to attempt suicide as their straight peers. (2011, CDC, “Sexual Identity, Sex of Sexual Contacts, and Health-Risk Behaviors Among Students in Grades 9-12: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance”
- LGB youth who come from highly rejecting families are up to 8 times
as likely to have attempted suicide as LGB peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection. (2010, Family Acceptance Project™ “Family Acceptance in Adolescence and the Health of LGBT Young Adults”)
- Nearly half of young transgender people have seriously thought about taking their lives and one quarter report having made a suicide attempt (2007 , The American Association of Suicidology, Grossman, D’Augelli, “Transgender Youth and Life-Threatening Behaviors”)
- Approximately 20% of the students report experiencing cyberbullying in their lifetimes.
- Mean or hurtful comments (13.7%) and rumors spread (12.9%) online are the most common types of cyberbullying.
Physical bullying is typically one-on-one, or by a small group upon a single individual, which keeps the stigma of the attacks within a smaller sphere. Cyberbullying, played out on the internet and trough social media, can have a far wider reach to non-involved individuals (bystanders). For example, imagine that a popular student tweets that he/she thinks “Johnny Student is gay.” The popular student may have hundreds of Twitter followers, both at Johnny’s school and at others. Whether or not he is gay, Johnny’s life is instantly turned upside down. Such rumors spread like wildfire and Johnny is instantly cast as gay, causing him to battle emotionally internally and externally with the mantel. In addition, what starts online can lead to physical bullying to compound the matter.
Therefore, in the battle against bullying at your school or organization, pay special attention to reports of cyberbullying against LGBTQ youth, for those students may be at a greater risk of suicide than other students. | http://www.cyberbullyhotline.com/blog/category/school-bullying-resources/ |
Bullying in schools continues to be a significant topic of debate for students, parents, educators, and legislators. Although there currently is no federal law against bullying, all 50 state legislatures have enacted individual anti-bullying statutes for schools. While these laws acknowledge the importance of addressing bullying in schools, they provide little advice on how to prevent bullying in general and how to respond when an incident has occurred.
Have an anti-bullying policy in place. Any institution that cares for children should have age-appropriate anti-bullying rules in place. An official policy will help create a climate of respect and communication within the facility. Anti-bullying policies should address what bullying is, where it can happen, what duties faculty and staff have, reporting procedures, and what consequences are possible if the policy is violated. Furthermore, the anti-bullying policy should designate a staff member to serve as the point person and main investigator.
Define bullying clearly. Bullying can take many different forms, from name calling to physical violence. It can also take place anywhere, including school grounds and online. Providing a specific definition of bullying can help staff, parents, and students recognize behavior. Additionally, a definition will enable students to better understand what behavior is considered unacceptable.
Educate staff, parents, and students on recognizing signs of bullying. Everyone plays a role in preventing bullying. Schools can elect to implement awareness campaigns that focus on teaching everyone in the community about how bullying can affect others and what they can do to help prevent it. Educating staff, parents, and students on recognizing signs of bullying can help schools take action quicker and prevent situations from escalating.
Encourage students to report incidents. Schools should strive to create an environment where students feel they can safely communicate with faculty or staff about incidents of bullying. Students should be reminded that their feelings are important and that their complaints are taken seriously. No complaint about bullying or similar behavior should go unacknowledged.
Address situations quickly. Most anti-bullying laws emphasize the need to handle reports of bullying immediately. Responding to bullying sends a message to all students that the behavior is unacceptable. Additionally, it reinforces the notion that reports are taken seriously.
Speak with both the victim and the accused. Once a complaint has been made, the designated staff member should set up a meeting with both the victim and the accused. Initially, these meetings should take place separately so that the staff member can get each side’s account of what happened without interruptions. During these meetings, the staff member may discover underlying issues of why the accused is behaving in an unacceptable manner. Once the individual interviews have occurred, the staff member may decide to have a meeting with both sides present in order to give them an opportunity to reconcile. Having a joint meeting may help mitigate the accused’s behavior in the future, and provide the victim with a feeling of empowerment.
Support the victim. A victim should never be made to feel as though he or she is being punished. If corrective action involves separating the two parties, then it is the accused whose schedule should be changed, not the victim’s.
Weigh consequences for the accused. Bullying can cause immense harm to others, and therefore, must have serious repercussions. Corrective action should be taken immediately in order to lessen the possibility that the same student will bully others in the future. Conducting reflective interviews with the accused can help uncover underlying issues at the bully’s home, such as a chaotic lifestyle or abuse from family members. Even if there are issues at home, a school should never condone a student behaving inappropriately.
Provide counseling when appropriate. Schools can recommend or arrange counseling for both victims and bullies. The effects of bullying can often stay with victims for years after they have escaped their tormentors. Providing counseling early on can offer victims much needed support and help them understand that they have done nothing wrong. Furthermore, counseling sessions may help bullies express themselves in healthier ways, and enable the facility to be on alert for worsening situations at home. If the school deems it necessary, students may be referred to outside therapists for on-going assistance.
Involve parents and guardians. Because of the time spent with children, faculty and staff are able to notice signs of bullying first. Working with parents and guardians and encouraging communication at home can help schools reinforce their policies against bullying. Schools can keep parents informed of their children’s friends and behavior so that any issues can be picked up as quickly as possible.
It is important to remember that bullying can take place anywhere, and that it is up to schools and the members of their communities to take a firm stance against unacceptable behavior. Continuous efforts need to be made in order to help prevent bullying and create healthier, safer environments. | https://www.halpernadvisors.com/top-ten-ways-address-student-bullying/ |
Bullying is one of the most critical issues affecting the development of teens. The main challenge with bullying is that it is a social phenomenon, and, just like any other social development, it affects the ability of people to integrate into their social group as well as their performance in different aspects of interactions. The effects of bullying are usually long-term. Therefore, obtaining a better understanding of bullying is essential for supporting children.
To be specific, the interest in this topic is motivated by the fact that I have three young children. For this reason, the research is driven by the desire to know how to help my children once they enter their preteen and teen developmental stages and in cases they face the challenges connected to bullying. More than that, the study is motivated by the desire to find out how bullying could potentially affect them as students.
Exploration of the Investigated Issue
Bullying is an intentionally aggressive behavior and the temporary abuse of power by peers. This power imbalance and abuse are commonly demonstrated through an intentional harm-doing to peers. In most cases, it is a repeated action. One of the main issues connected to bullying is that it can be either mental or physical. In the first case, a bully – a person bullying a peer – offends their victim verbally. Some common examples of mental bullying are calling names. On the other hand, more severe forms of bullying include physical abuse, such as hitting. Finally, except for these two kinds of bullying, there is as well a concept known as indirect bullying. Its main specific feature is the avoidance of direct contact with a victim. Instead, the preference is given to spreading rumors or motivating the social group to exclude the victim from it by ignoring their presence or words, thus fostering the isolation of the victim (Wolke & Lereya, 2015). With the active expansion of the newest technologies and the Internet into everyday life and activities, one more kind of bullying emerged – cyber bullying. It is determined by shifting the aggressive intentions towards bullying into the virtual dimension (Adler-Tapia & Settle, 2017). However, the challenge is that it is associated with the higher risks of negative consequences of bullying due to the fact that people tend to support similar intentions in social networks.
Regardless of the type of bullying chosen for demonstrating one’s domination, the effects of bullying are always critical. The major concern is that they are long-term, which means that all life choices are later influenced by the experience of bullying. One of the most common effects of bullying is the influence on students. In this case, the concept of being a student can be perceived from two perspectives – academic performance and integration into a classroom. The second determinant is pointed to because the preteen and teen developmental stages are characterized by learning to properly integrate into the social group. Therefore, it is as well an aspect of studying. Returning to the effects of bullying on teens, all of them are emotional in their nature. The common examples are avoiding social interactions, self-isolation intentions, poor academic performance due to the loss of interest in studying, and the impaired elaboration of skills necessary for acquiring new knowledge (Werf, 2014). All in all, the effects of bullying come down not only to becoming a worse student but also impairing the learning and social interaction skills, which, eventually, affect the integration into social groups.
Current Approaches to the Issue
There are different approaches to bullying. The most common ones were mentioned above when the types of bullying were determined. Nevertheless, there are other relates approaches to consider. For instance, it is perceived as a human right issue. The rationale behind developing this approach to bullying is the fact that it is directly associated with the violation of fundamental human rights, such as the right to being treated with respect and dignity or the right to equal treatment. Another common approach to bullying is identifying it as a public controversy. The challenge of the power imbalance has always been critical, especially in view of the Darwinism theory. In other words, bullying is seen as a manifestation of Darwin’s theory because it is directly associated with the relations between the weak and the strong people. Finally, bullying is commonly determined as a public health issue. The rational behind this approach is the fact that it both derives from mental issues and results in mental issues (Rigby, 2012). Putting it simply, no person is born as a bully. Instead, it is their social environment that turns them into a bully. As a result, they impose a negative emotional impact on their victims, which is as well a mental problem.
Treatment Modalities and Interventions
Due to the criticality of the consequences of bullying, different interventions were developed for altering bullying-related behaviors as well as diminishing the severity of its effects. The interventions focus on both bullies and their victims. For instance, the most popular one – strengthening the victim so that they could emotionally oppose the bully – focuses on victims. On the other hand, the traditional disciplinary approach is based on punishing the bully. Finally, there are approaches aimed at reducing the impact of bullying and the interest of bullies in the power demonstration intentions. They are known as interventions based on restorative justice, mediation, group support, and shared concern (Rigby, 2012). Although all them differ in effectiveness, the overall contribution to reducing the severity of bullying effects is positive.
Reflection on the Materials and Applying Research to the Real-Life Experiences
All in all, the impact of bullying on people in preteen and teen developmental stages is crucial. Nevertheless, understanding the underlying causes of bullying and its effects might be valuable for helping children cope with the issues. The most appropriate application of the obtained knowledge to real-world experiences is to enhance parent-children communication by demonstrating concern with the problem and the desire to cope with it. In this case, it is vital to say that parents are the firstly met agents of socialization so that they impact the effectiveness of kids’ communication with peers and their ability to avoid being bullied by developing appropriate social integration and behavioral patterns, such as self-confidence, that are vital for minimizing the risks of being bullied.
- Adler-Tapia, R., & Settle, C. (2017). EMDR and the art of psychotherapy with children: Infants to adolescents (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
- Rigby, K. (2012). Bullying interventions in schools: Six basic approaches. West Sussex, England: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Werf, C. (2014). The effects of bullying on academic achievement. Dessarollo y Sociedad, 74(1), 275-308. | https://mypaperwriter.com/samples/effects-of-bullying-in-teenagers/ |
Programme Policy Manuals
Listing to resource documents for developing individual programmes in settings such as schools and the criminal justice system.
- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Juvenile Accountability Block Grants Program Guidance Manual 2007.
- This manual, designed as the primary reference for State and local program managers, provides guidance to assist States in applying for, receiving, obligating, and expending the Juvenile Accountability Block Grants (JABG) funds. This manual offers guidelines and reference for State and local program managers for applying for JABG funding and explains eligibility, State allocation of funds, distribution of funds, and waivers. Other detailed guidelines include: application process, requirements of State recipients and local subgrantees, definitions of terms, and other available resources. The JABG Program provides State and local governments with funds to develop programs which prevent and control delinquency while strengthening their juvenile justice systems. In implementing the program, OJJDP seeks to reduce juvenile offending through both offender-focused and system-focused activities that promote accountability. The premise of the program is that both the juvenile offender and the juvenile justice system be held accountable. For the juvenile offender, accountability means holding offenders responsible for their delinquent behavior through the imposition of sanctions or other individualized consequences, such as restitution, community service, or victim offender mediation. Juvenile accountability is best achieved through a system of graduated sanctions imposed according to the nature and severity of the offense, moving from limited interventions to more restrictive actions if the offender continues delinquent activities. For the juvenile justice system, strengthening the system requires an increased capacity to develop youth competence, to efficiently track juveniles through the system, and to provide enhanced options such as restitution, community service, victim-offender mediation, and other restorative justice sanctions that reinforce the mutual obligations of an accountability based juvenile justice system. Abstract courtesy of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.gov.
- Hamel, John. Gender-Inclusive Family Interventions in Domestic Violence: An Overview
- "Current policy toward domestic violence, including criminal justice and mental health responses that favor psychoeducational same-sex group treatment for perpetrators (usually for men) and victim services for victims (almost always women), has proven to be shortsighted and limited in its effectiveness (Babcock, Green, & Robie, 2004; Mills, 2003). In this chapter, a critical review is undertaken of family interventions in domestic violence from the advocacy model to past and recent alternative treatment approaches that take into consideration the systemic, interactive, and complex nature of family violence. Afterward, procedures for assessment and treatment are outlined on the basis of a new, research-based gender-inclusive systems model." (excerpt)
- Bodine, Richard and Crawford, Donna. Conflict Resolution Education: A Guide to Implementing Programs in Schools, Youth-Serving Organizations, and Community and Juvenile Justice Settings; Program Report
- The first chapter defines conflict as a natural condition and examines the origins of conflict, responses to conflict, and the outcomes of those responses. It presents the essential principles, foundation abilities, and problemsolving processes of conflict resolution; discusses the elements of a successful conflict resolution program; and introduces four approaches to implementing conflict resolution education. Each of the next four chapters discusses one of these four approaches and presents examples of programs that use the approach. One chapter describes an approach to conflict resolution education characterized by devoting a specific time to teaching the foundation abilities, principles, and one or more of the problemsolving processes of conflict resolution in a separate course or distinct curriculum. Another chapter describes an approach in which selected, trained individuals provide neutral third-party facilitation in conflict resolution. A chapter presents an approach that incorporates conflict resolution education into the core subject areas of the curriculum and into classroom management strategies, and another chapter presents a comprehensive whole-school methodology that builds on the previous approach. The next two chapters address conflict resolution education in settings other than traditional schools, including juvenile justice and community settings. The final three chapters address more overarching topics: conflict resolution research and evaluation; a developmental sequence of behavioral expectations in conflict resolution; and the process of developing, implementing, and sustaining a conflict resolution program. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.
- Bennett, Trevor and Brookman, Fiona and Pierpoint, Harriet and Maguire, Mike. Handbook on Crime
- The Handbook on Crime provides analysis and explanation of the nature, extent, patterns and causes of over 40 different forms of crime, in each case drawing attention to key contemporary debates and social and criminal justice responses. It also challenges many popular and official conceptions of crime. (Excerpt)
- Green, Simon. Research and Policy: Competing or Reconcilable Agendas for Restorative Practice?
- Simon Green argues that there is a need to develop a common language. Without a clear epistemology which provides a restorative interpretation of key terms and concepts restorative justice will always be vulnerable to the imposition of alternative values and agendas. It is crucial that researchers are able to inform the development of policy with both theoretical and empirical information and that policy-makers articulate the wider social, economic and political constraints that need to be accommodated within a restorative model. (excerpt)
- Board of Directors. By-Laws of Barron County Restorative Justice Programs, Inc.
- The By-laws of Barron County Restorative Justice Programs, Inc. shall provide for the operations of the Board of Directors of the Corporation. The By-laws shall be consistent with the mission and philosophy of Barron County Restorative Justice Programs, Inc. (excerpt)
- Wachtel, Joshua and Costello, Bob and Wachtel, Ted. The Restorative Practices Handbook for Teachers, Disciplinarians and Administrators.
- The Restorative Practices Handbook is a practical guide for educators interested in implementing restorative practices, an approach that proactively builds positive school communities while dramatically reducing discipline referrals, suspensions and expulsions. The handbook discusses the spectrum of restorative techniques, offers implementation guidelines, explains how and why the processes work, and relates real-world stories of restorative practices in action. (publisher's description)
- Zartman, I. William and Soto, Alvaro de. Timig Mediation Initiatives
- This toolkit presents and examines ways for mediators to determine if a conflict is at a stage where mediation is appropriate, interpret how parties see themselves in relation to the conflict, and encourage moments for mediation to occur.
- Lehmann, Ingrid A.. Managing Public Information in a Mediation Process
- Managing Public Information in a Mediation Process helps mediators identify and develop the resources and strategies the need to reach these audiences. It highlights essential information tasks and functions, discusses key challenges and opportunities, and provides expert guidance on effective approaches. Examples from past mediations illustrate how various strategies have played out in practice. (Excerpt)
- RESTORE. RESTORE: Overview Manual
- The RESTORE programme offers an alternative to conventional justice processes for victims of sexual assault. This manual describes the basis for the programme and the processes used.
- Diversion Association and Chilliwack Restorative Justice and Youth. Operations manual
- The Chilliwack Restorative Justice and Youth Diversion Association (CRJYDA) is a nonprofit organization in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. Begun in the late 1990s and rooted in restorative justice principles and practices, it offers diversionary alternatives to the court system for first-time young offenders. This manual details its operations. Following an introduction to the organization and its rules for restorative practice, the manual provides extensive, practical information on program administration. Sections cover the following information: CRJYDA's mission statement and purposes; CRJYD's formation as a nonprofit organization; organization and operation of the Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers; the nature and functioning of the diversion process; and a description of CRJYDA's collaboration with community organizations and other resources. Numerous appendices add more detailed information in areas such as these: resource list of restorative justice models; organizational by-laws; sample budget; organizational chart; sample partnership contracts and agreements; statistics; a volunteer application form; a youth alternative measures form; and a glossary of terms.
- Costello, Bob and Wachtel, Joshua and Wachtel, Ted. Restorative Circles in Schools: Building Community and Enhancing Learning
- Restorative Circles in Schools is an in-depth guidebook on the use of the circle, an essential restorative practice for schools. The book includes a wealth of practical knowledge on circles, drawn from the experience of the International Institute for Restorative Practices, which has worked in a wide variety of settings worldwide. Stories from numerous educators illustrate the circle's use in diverse situations, including proactive circles for improving relationships and enhancing academics, responsive circles to solve problems and address conflict, and circles to address issues among faculty, staff, and administrators. (Excerpt)
- Stern, Fred. Peer mediation in secondary school.
- This workshop [presentation]provides an overview of peer mediation in secondary schools where the presenter has worked with teachers/students in this program since 1990. What’s worked, what hasn’t? How are other schools using this program?
- Ball, Jennifer and Caldwell, Wayne and Pranis, Kay. Doing Democracy With Circles
- In this book, we explore the potentials for using Circles to solve the multifaceted and often intensely emotional problems that public planers face on a regular basis. We have written this book specifically for the planning practitioner, the student of planning, and the community member who seeks better public decisions. Yet, it is also true that much of the information that we offer about Circles and how to adapt them to problem-solving may be useful to those who want to apply Circles for other purposes as well. (Excerpt)
- McHugh, Gerard. Integrating Internal Displacement in Peace Processes and Agreements
- Leading experts on mediation and the plight of internally displaced persons (IDPs) collaborated to produce this handbook, which gives mediators the tools they need to incorporate IDPs' concerns into peace processes and agreements. The authors highlight four critical steps to asses the causes, dynamics, and characteristics of internal displacement; create the framework for integrating internal displacement; engage IDPs in peace processes; and integrate human rights and interests of IDPs in peace agreements. (Excerpt)
- Hyams, Ross and Batagol, Becky and King, Michael S and Freiberg, Arie. Non-Adversarial Justice
- This comprehensive book provides a large overview of emerging trends in Australian criminal justice. While the current system operates under adversarial justice, there have been increasing movements away from it. Some alternative forms of non-adversarial justice that have developed are therapeutic jurisprudence, restorative justice, preventive law, creative problem solving, holistic approaches to law, and appropriate or alternative dispute resolution. Each approach is presented in its own chapter, with information about their backgrounds, potential benefits, and potential drawbacks. The authors then compare and contrast procedure under adversarial justice and non-adversarial justice in the context of family law. Then the book shifts away from modes of justice to specific developments in the legal system that reflect growth away from adversarial justice. These include problem-oriented courts, diversion schemes and intervention programs, indigenous sentencing courts, and managerial and administrative justice. Lastly, the authors develop what the application of adversarial justice to coroners, court management (specifically the development of the judicial role), lawyers, and legal educators would look like.
- Mason, Simon J.A. and Siegfried, Matthias. Debriefing Mediators to Learn from Their Experiences
- Debriefing Mediators to Learn from Their Experiences examines interviews conducted with mediators to learn lessons about their mediation "method." These methodological debriefings are typically conducted by individuals who have not been directly involved in the mediator's work but who want to learn the mediator's perspective on what was done and why it was done. This handbook enhances the practice of mediation by showing how lessons from individual mediators can be identified an made available both to their organizations and to a wider practitioner audience. It also gives guidance to staff debriefing mediators who are or have been directly involved in peace negotiations. (Excerpt)
- Jorgensen, Gro. ‘Selling’ restorative justice to the media-How far can we go?
- The author discusses why people involved in mediation should not be afraid to interact with the media. She goes on to describe how journalists think and work in order to provide tips on how best to be a good source and accommodate the media's values while portraying restorative justice in its best light. All her points are illustrated by her own experience as both a journalist and a person who works with the Norwegian Ministry of Justice.
- Pollard, Sir Charles. Addressing the Public
- A former official from the Thames Valley Police discusses his history with restorative justice and how the force used it to address neighborhood disputes. The author says that integral to using restorative justice effectively was communicating clearly and strategically with the public. He highlights some of the difficulties that may hamper communication and some of the strengths that may make restorative justice more palatable to the public, and then presents tactics to aid the dialogue between advocates and the public.
- McGlade, Hannah and Cripps, Kyllie. Indigenous family violence and sexual abuse: Considering pathways forward. | http://www.justicereparatrice.org/www.restorativejustice.org/programme-place/04programme-policy-manuals-1?b_start:int=20 |
This paper by Brenda Morrison, research fellow, Centre for Restorative Justice, Australian National University, endorses the use of restorative justice in schools, particularly as a response to bullying. Bullying, she says, is about the abuse of power, while restorative justice is about empowerment through building relationships. The paper was presented at the third in a series of three IIRP conferences with the theme, "Building a Global Alliance for Restorative Practices and Family Empowerment," in Penrith, Australia, March 3-5, 2005.
Paper from ''Building a Global Alliance for Restorative Practices and Family Empowerment, Part 3'', the IIRPs Sixth International Conference on Conferencing, Circles and other Restorative Practices, March 3-5, 2005, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia.
We leave the realm of justice to our courts, where investment and growth are soaring. Yet justice is a part of our everyday lives, and hence it also belongs in our homes and our schools, where investment and growth are in decline. Schools, as our primary developmental institutions, need to invest in justice. The implementation of restorative justice and responsive regulation in schools offer an opportunity for schools to invest in justice, not a simple one-off opportunity, but one that embraces the ongoing and emerging complexities of school life. While my starting point will be the problem of bullying within schools, the vision is much broader. In other words, while restorative justice can be used to address the problem of bullying, restorative justice is much more than another response to add to the grab bag of programmes that seek to address bullying at school. Having said this, at a foundational level, building understanding about the relationship between bullying and restorative justice is an important cornerstone to understanding and building safe and healthy schools; for, both in theory and in practice, the study of bullying makes an interesting and compelling fit with the study of restorative justice.
School Bullying, Restorative Justice and Empowerment
On a practical level, we know from research on the school rampage shootings (Newman, 2004) that bullying can feed the wider cycle of violence in schools; thus, the study of bullying is important to understanding and addressing the escalation of conflict and violence, with restorative justice offering a model of effective intervention (see Morrison, 2003; Morrison, forthcoming). Bullying is also one of the most insidious forms of violence in schools and the broader society, having potential long-term effects on both offenders and victims (Rigby, 2002). Children who bully in school are more likely to continue to use this form of dominating behaviour in other contexts, such as close relationships and the workplace (Pepler and Craig, 1997). Through effective intervention, we may be able to intervene early and curb this pattern of behaviour. For children who are victims of bullying in school, we know the traumatising effects can lead to depression and suicide (Rigby, 2002). For these children, the challenge is to tap the resources of resilience and empowerment.
Theoretically, bullying and restorative justice have a serendipitous fit, in that bullying is defined as the systematic abuse of power and restorative justice aims to restore the power imbalances that affect our relationships with others. Further, there is an interesting synchronicity to the emergence of these two growing fields of study: both have a recent history, emerging strongly in the 1990s. This coincides with Braithwaites (2002) analysis of the decline of democracy, where: The lived experience of modern democracy is alienation. The feeling is that elites run things, that we do not have a say in any meaningful sense (p. 1). By way of illustration, the Index of Leading Cultural Indicators (Bennett, 1999) reports that over the last three decades we have experienced substantial social regression, reporting that there has been a 560 percent increase in violent crime, with the fastest growing segment of the criminal population being our children. The teenage suicide rate is another worrying indicator, with the rate being more than three times what it was in 1960. Violence towards the self or others is a strong indicator of alienation. Sadly, it is evident in our schools. Indeed, violence in schools was another international concern that emerged in the 1990s, and in response the first international conference on violence in schools was held at UNESCO, in Paris, in 2001. Yet, an unfortunate irony remains; for with this rising tide of violence in our schools and society, we have become less tolerant and more punitive and excluding. The zero-tolerance policies introduced to address petty crime on the streets of New York now pervade our schools. And while not all schools hold explicit zero-tolerance policies, the language and the mind-set of zero tolerance is clearly with us.
The need for restorative justice, which values healing over hurting, inclusion over exclusion, has never been stronger, and against this rising tide, there has been the rise and fall of many restorative justice programmes in schools. At the same time, there are beacons of hope arising internationally, as different schools and administrations embrace the values and principles of restorative justice. Indeed, around the world, the use of restorative justice in schools is growing stronger by the day. These practices, in their wide variety, are about empowerment through building relationships. They seek to empower victims, offenders and communities to take responsibility for themselves, and in doing so, for others. Through empowerment, the multiplicity of voices within school communities rises, and healthy deliberative democracies emerge. We learn to embrace our differences and listen to the stories of othersboth stories of harm and stories of hope. In the hectic pace of life these days, we need to learn to stop and listen again. Of particular importance is listening to the voices of those who have harmed and those who have been harmed. Kay Pranis (2001:7) helps us understand how listening and storytelling, key elements of restorative processes, are important to empowerment:
Storytelling is fundamental for healthy social relationships. To feel connected and respected we need to tell our own stories and have others listen. For others to feel respected and connected to us, they need to tell their stories and have us listen. Having others listen to your story is a function of power in our culture. The more power you have, the more people will listen respectfully to your story. Consequently, listening to someones story is a way of empowering them, of validating their intrinsic worth as a human being.
Feeling respected and connected is intrinsic to ones self-worth; they are basic needs of all human beings (Beaumeister and Leary, 1995). The reciprocal relationship between these two needs, respect from others and connection with others, empowers individuals to act in the interest of the group, as well as in their own interest. In the context of schools, feeling connected to the school community increases pro-social behaviour and decreases anti-social behaviour (McNeely, Nonnemaker and Blum, 2002). Yet, as many researchers note, we have little evidence of what it takes for individuals to feel connected to the school community. Restorative justice has much to offer to research and development in this area.
Bullying and School Connectedness
As I stated earlier, an understanding of bullying behaviour is foundational, because bullying is about the abuse of power and restorative justice is about empowerment. Most bullying intervention programmes fail to address the fundamental issue of power imbalances, and because of this, they fail to address the heart of the problem and, as such, are often ineffective. For example, a review of 12 leading bullying programmes from around the world found that while the programmes had some positive effects on victims of bullying, albeit marginal, they failed to have significant effects on children who bully (see Rigby, 2004). In the US state of Colorado, in the wake of the Columbine shootings, all schools were required to put a bullying intervention programme in place. The Colorado Trust, which funds many of these programmes, is largely dissatisfied with existing programmes and has recently launched a significant campaign to fund research into further programmes. The evidence at hand indicates that most programmes fail to address the power relations inherent to the social and emotional dynamic of schools. Broadly, many programmes are too individualistic, focusing more on the isolated individuals involved and less on the relationships between the individuals. Typically, interventions provide one intervention for the offender, such as anger management, and another intervention for the victim, such as assertiveness training. Some school districts suspend and transfer bullies, offering no opportunity to take responsibility and repair the harm done, while other school districts transfer the victims, who then carry the emotional harm with them, possibly for a lifetime.
Many programmes emphasize reason over emotion. In other words, they ply us with information about recognising and responding to bullying while failing to address the emotional core of school bullying. Advocates of restorative justice recognize the importance of emotion. Larry Sherman strongly argued this point in his keynote address to the American Society of Criminology. Indeed, emotional engagement is at the heart of restorative processes, and we know that affective engagement is important to building safe schools.
Bullying in Schools: Pride, Respect and Shame
A students feeling of belonging in school can be measured in terms of emotional engagement through an understanding of affect. Researchers have studied affective engagement in different ways, with one prominent line of research focusing on school connectedness, or belonging, through measuring students feelings of pride and respect within the school (Libbey, 2004). Pride and respect are strongly correlated with compliant and cooperative behaviour (Tyler and Blader, 2000). When this is matched with the finding that bullies are not perceived as cooperative members of the school community (see Rigby, 2002), this suggests that feelings of pride and respect need to be a focus of concern. Indeed, there are many programmes that focus on building pride and respect within the school. Generally, these programmes can be thought of as programmes that focus on the positives of school life for the individuals, be they offenders, victims or both. And while these programmes play up the positives, they also play down the negatives. And this is where they go wrong, for while focusing on the positives is important, addressing the negatives cannot be forgotten. Indeed, the theory and practice of restorative justice tells us that we must embrace the negatives, the conflicts, of school life to lift the positives. In other words, focusing on the impact of harmful behaviour can lead to positive development and understanding. When something negative happens to us, it doesnt go away through ignoring it. The negative affect stays with us. Ask most people to describe their most powerful memory of school and more often than not you will get a story of harm over a story of joy. Many years later that negative affect remains intact, and in subtle, and not so subtle, ways, becomes an important regulator of our behaviour.
The affect of shame has always been central to our understanding of restorative justice, notably through the work of John Braithwaite (1989, 2002) and Donald Nathanson (1997). Nathansons (1997) analysis of shame helps us to understand the consequences of alienation when we are not able to discharge shame over wrongdoing, be it as victim or offender. Shame is a powerful predictor of harmful behaviour because it signals the breakdown of social relationships. While we typically think about shame in terms of offender behaviour, as exemplified by the term shame on you, victims responses to harmful behaviour are also underpinned by shame. Nathansons (1997) compass of shame outlines four shame responses:
Attack Self Indeed, we know of too many stories where victims of bullying have taken their own life.
Attack Other Columbine is the notable example here, where the victims of ongoing bullying struck back at the individuals who taunted them and the institution that failed to protect them.
Withdrawal Depression is a key indicator here, and there is clear evidence of the relationship between being a victim of bullying and subsequent depression.
Avoidance Many victims of bullying, even as adults, mask their shame and rage through abusive behaviour, often involving sex, drugs and alcohol.
Building on Braithwaites work on reintegrative shaming, Ahmeds (2002) work on shame management and bullying is important, as she shows how bullying and victimisation are related to shame-management styles. While simplifying the analysis, the axes of the social discipline window are useful in mapping the four shame-management strategies. Recall that the social discipline window helps us differentiate restorative justice from punitive, permissive and negligent responses to harmful behaviour; highlighting that, compared to the others, restorative responses are high on both accountability (or control) and support (Wachtel and McCold, 2001). Onto the two axes of accountability and support, we can map the four categories of bullying status (see Figure 1): non-bully/non-victim; victim; bully; bully/victim.
Figure 1. Accountability, support and bullying status
In terms of accountability, non-bully/non-victims are willing to take responsibility for their behaviour and want to make the situation better; in terms of support, they feel others will not reject them following their transgression. Victims, like non-bullies/non-victims, take responsibility and want to make amends, but feel others would reject them following wrongdoing, signalling a lack of supportive relationships. For bullies, the inverse pattern is evident: they do not take on responsibility for their behaviour nor do they want to make amends, and feel that no one would reject them following the wrongful deed. Bully/victims capture the worst of this typology: they dont take on responsibility nor make amends, but also feel that others would reject them following the transgression.
One way to interpret this typology is to argue that victims need more support and bullies need to be more responsible, and accountable, for their behaviour. Indeed, as argued above, this has been a typical approach to the problem of bullying and wrongdoing: wrongdoers get punished, or imposed with sanctioned consequences, sometimes backed up with anger-management classes, and victims get therapy or counselling, and assertiveness training. However, this analysis is too simplistic, for we know from the theory and practice of restorative justice that support and accountability must always go hand in hand. Victims and bullies alike require appropriate accountability and support mechanisms. There is evidence that bullies become more accountable when we offer the right support mechanisms, and we know that when victims are not held accountable for their behaviour, they can fall into distressing cycles of helplessness. Bringing bullies and victims together, face-to-face, with their respective communities of care, increases support and accountability for all involved. Restorative justice fosters a normative culture of support and accountability through a focus on reaffirming, repairing and rebuilding relationships.
Figure 2. Bullying status and shame management
This analysis of shame management is corroborated by the clinical literature on shame (see Ahmed, 2001). This literature suggests that (see Figure 2): Victims are caught up in ongoing cycles of persistent shame; bullies bypass shame; bully-victims are caught up in cycles of denied bypass shame; while non-bullies/non-victims are able to discharge their shame over wrongdoing. Thus, the evidence indicates that understanding the affect of shame, and its management, is important to understanding bullying and victimisation in schools. Simply put, it is important to address bullying at school at an emotional level through discharging shame and mending relationships.
Figure 3. Bullying status as a function of pride and respect
More recently, Morrison (in press) has integrated Tyler and Bladers (2000) work on pride and respect, as measures of social identification or belonging, with Ahmeds work on shame management, in the context of school bullying (see Figure 3). This work parallels Scheffs (1994) analysis that pride builds social bonds while shame threatens to sever them. Again, by way of simplicity, when pride and respect are used to define the axes outlined above, the findings show that: non-bullies/non-victims rated highest on both feelings of pride and respect within the school community and identified strongest with the school community; victims rated lower on the level of respect within the community; while bullies rated lower on levels of pride (albeit not significantly), but not respect; bully-victims, capturing the worst of both cycles, rated lowest on both pride and respect and identified least with the school community. This research establishes an empirical association between the affect of shame and a sense of belonging, or identification, within the school community. One way of interpreting these findings is to conclude that unless the shame over wrongdoing is discharged, the internalized shame will act as an affective barrier to a full sense of belonging and significance at school. As Braithwaite and colleagues conclude:
once we have reached the point where a major act of bullying has occurred or a serious crime has been processed by the justice system, shame management is more important than pride management to building a safer community. Our conclusion is that the key issue with shame management is helping wrongdoers acknowledge and discharge shame rather than displace shame into anger. Part of the idea of restorative undominated dialogue is that the defendant will jump from an emotionally destructive state of unresolved shame to a sense of moral clarity that what she had done is either right or wrong (Braithwaite 2001: 17).
This analysis suggests that it is important for school communities to create institutional space where harmful behaviour can be addressed through processes that enable shame to be discharged, before anger and other harmful emotions arise, with early intervention being optimal. This conclusion also resonates with Gilligans (2001: 29) conclusion that the basic psychological motive, or cause of violent behaviour is the wish to ward off or eliminate the feeling of shame and humiliation. In other words, while the building of pride and respect within the school is important, if they are not buttressed with mechanisms to discharge shame, they offer false hope for school communities. There is building evidence that programmes and practices based on principles of restorative justice can accomplish this task.
For example, we have preliminary evidence that proactive programmes, such as the Responsible Citizenship Programmes, can shift students shame-management style for both bullies and victims (Morrison, 2002). We also have evidence that classroom interventions, such as the use of restorative problem cycles, can shift shame-management styles and curb bullying behaviour (Morrison and Martinez, 2001). And we know from research into restorative conferencing, used to address serious incidents of harm, that shame is an important emotional vehicle to shifting behaviour (see Ahmed, Harris, Braithwaite and Braithwaite, 2001).
Restorative Justice and Responsive Regulation
These three types of restorative practices come together to make up a whole-school model of restorative justice, offering three different levels of intervention: universal, targeted and intensive (see Figure 4). Briefly, these levels of response form a continuum of responses based on common principles. By way of analogy to a health care model, the universal level of intervention targets all members of the school community through an immunisation strategy, such that all members of the school community develop social and emotional skills to resolve conflict in caring and respectful ways. The targeted level of intervention addresses conflict that has become protracted, such that it is affecting others within the school community; as such, a third party is often required to help facilitate the process of reconciliation. The intensive level of intervention typically involves the participation of an even wider cross section of the school community, including parents, guardians, social workers and others who have been affected or need to be involved, when serious offences occur within the school. A face-to-face restorative justice conference is a typical example of this level of response. Taken together, these practices move from proactive to reactive, along a continuum of responses. Movement from one end of the continuum to the other involves widening the circle of care around participants. The emphasis is on early intervention through building a strong base at the primary level, which grounds a normative continuum of responsive regulation across the school community.
Figure 4. Whole-school model of restorative justice
While these three levels complement each other and are useful in broadening the work of restorative justice in school, they are insufficient in sustaining a fully realized model of restorative justice and responsive regulation. To begin with, restorative justice is not a panacea; we still have a lot to learn about the effectiveness of restorative justice in schools. Further, if the development of restorative justice in schools focuses too much on the practice, and not enough on the institutional dynamic sustaining current practice, we have lost the true potential of the process; that is, micro-institutional reform that brings about sustained institutional change.
Fully realized, restorative justice and responsive regulation is not about adding another programme or set of practices to the tool kit of school life; it is about institutionalising a process that facilitates micro institutional change that is responsive to the ongoing and emergent needs of individuals and communities. For this change to be effective, it must broach both the everyday practice of managing student outcomes as well as the institutional culture that sustains the research and develops those practices. It is on this second point that the realisation of restorative justice in schools has largely failed.
The full model of restorative justice and responsive regulation in schools that I am proposing goes back to one of Braithwaites original ideas of restorative justice: that is, separating the behaviour from the person. But instead of applying this to individuals, we are applying this to institutions, in this case, schools. Like other models of responsive regulation, I propose a four-sided regulatory pyramid to conceptualize the full model of responsive regulation and restorative justice.
It is useful to begin with the side of the pyramid that focuses on the practices underpinning restorative justice in schools, as this is our starting point. But, as I have stated, it is important to recognize that these practices alone are insufficient to the implementation and development of restorative justice in schools. As a start, this side of the pyramid only defines one aspect of support that is needed to bring about sustained behavioural change within schools. To sustain school-wide behavioural change, it is important to support ongoing systems of growth and development, both at the individual level and at the institutional level. How might this be realized? Perhaps through an interlocking system of responsive regulation that enhances:
- relational practices, empowering individual change and development
- behavioural evidence, empowering responsive decision making
- relational bridging, empowering cultural change and development
- behavioural policies, empowering the use of relational practices
Thus, two faces of the regulatory pyramid focus on behaviour (the behavioural pair), while the other two focus on the person and the culture, in the context of relationships within and beyond the school community (the relational pair). This regulatory framework outlines a process through which schools can be responsive to behaviour and restorative to individual and institutional relationships. Hence, behavioural policies are not forgotten but embedded in a broader framework that recognizes the importance of relationships, both at the individual and the institutional level. For each pair (two behavioural and two relational), the two faces stand opposite each other, supporting opposite sides of the pyramid (as opposed to standing adjacent to each other). Thus, as one moves around the pyramid, the behavioural and relational faces alternate.
The behavioural pair focuses on behaviour in two different ways: behavioural policy and behavioural data or evidence. Behavioural policy clearly establishes, through policy, what behaviour is expected and how schools respond to behavioural concerns. Behavioural data provides the evidence base for the development of policy and the practice. In other words, the data provides a reality check on how schools are doing in terms of the behaviour policy and restorative practice.
The relational pair focuses on relationships in two different ways: relational practices at the individual level and relational practices at the institutional level. Having the individual- and institutional-level faces of the pyramid standing opposite to one another reflects the reciprocal nature of individual- and institutional-level process, in terms of how the dynamics of one level influences the dynamics of the other, and vice versa. At the individual level, the pyramid establishes a range of practices, typically utilising the strength of the community, that support individual change. At the institutional level, the pyramid establishes a range of systemic practices that support institutional and cultural change and the sustainability of change. In comparative terms, the behavioural pair involves more reflection and planning, while the relational pair involves more of active engagement with the school community. Hence, given that the pairs stand opposite each other, the framework is constantly moving within a broad action-learning framework.
Simply put, responsive regulation and restorative justice is about responding to behaviour and restoring relationships. The idea is to broaden the vision from a range of responsive practices that restore relationships to a responsive framework that regulates the implementation, development and sustainability of restorative practices in schools. More to the point, building safe and healthy school communities goes hand and hand with how safe and healthy schools are regulated. This regulatory framework capitalizes on Braithwaites notion of separating the behaviour from the person, for too many policies and practices that seek to regulate safe school communities focus too much on the behaviour, emphasising the rules of behaviour, while failing to address the relational needs of the school community and the web of relationships that sustain the school communitys health and safety. By way of analogy, when we focus too much on behaviour, we fail to see the forest for the trees. We must understand behaviour in the context of the relationships that regulate that behaviour. The framework outlined focuses not only on the behaviour but also on the relationships that sustain them. Further, policy development needs to be embedded into the cultural life of the school; policies are less effective when they are simply handed down from a higher authority. Policies, as well as practices, need to be responsive to the needs of individuals, as well as the needs of communities. To do this we must bridge the school with the wider community.
In summary, the framework outlines a recursive process of ongoing monitoring and development that must constantly be in place in schools, responding to concerns as they arise. For new problems will always arise, new actors and new behaviours will always be bubbling up from within the foundations of the school system. We will always have deviance from the status quo within schoolssome of this deviance will breed new life into the school community; some of this deviance will eat away at the foundation of school life. The school community needs to respond to both, for deviance has the capacity to shut us down or provide opportunities for growth. Schools, as microcosms of society, are dynamic, not static. Our society, over the past half century, has changed much more quickly than our schools. Our schools have been left behind, economically, culturally and socially; as a result, human and social capital is suffering. Restorative justice and responsive regulation have the potential to address this concern, and with this comes an opportunity to broaden our vision for restorative justice.
Restorative justice grew from a dissatisfaction within the courts, in particular juvenile and criminal justice. Yet courts have a very different mandate than schools. Schools are developmental institutions. Because of this, within schools we can broaden our vision for restorative justice to a mechanism that works towards achieving social justice. Braithwaites (2001) Youth Development Circles are a step in this direction. This vision is about achieving just outcomes for students on all levels, in terms of safety, health, as well as academic outcomes.
Within the context of courts, Nils Christie (1977) described the system as stealing conflict and, with this, the voices from those affected. There are many conflicts stolen and voices not heard within schools as well, but the system steals more than conflicts: It steals the hopes, dreams and potential of our children. And with that, we do ourselves as individuals, and a society, a great disservice. Our children are our mirror, our reflection. We know how well we are doing as a democracy when we take the time to reflect and respond to how well our children are doing. When our children are hurting they are sending us a strong and powerful message, one that we should take note of. Restorative justice and responsive regulation lay the foundation to help us work towards a just world for our children and ourselves. Let us build the scaffolding of hope for the next generation together. The children deserve it and we deserve it too. Together, lets raise the bar in promoting justice in our schools. Justice, not just for some students, but for all students. In doing so, we will be working towards not only just schools, but a more just society.
References
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We heard in the Education Bill briefing and this morning in Special Interest Matters about restorative practices. I am curious about how extensive the use of restorative practices is in the Justice department now and in the work you see in your work as Attorney-General.
I will be pursuing restorative practices and how they are going to be implemented into the new Education Bill and into the system.
Mr President, I thank the honourable member for Rosevears for his question. The Tasmania Prison Service recognises crime causes harm to people and communities and seeks to assist in repairing that harm by encouraging and supporting prisoners to participate in programs that enable them to contribute to the community.
Prison leave programs aim to promote the development of prosocial behaviours, enable prisoners to contribute to the community through the principles of restorative justice, and reduce reoffending rates. One of the main aims of prison leave programs is to support the concept of prisoners 'giving back' to the community.
Hand made with Pride in the Mary Hutchinson Women's Prison - providing items to the Royal Hobart Hospital neonatal ward, Cancer Council, UnitingCare and the Launceston General Hospital neonatal ward.
These activities are an important part of reintegration as they allow prisoners to give back to their community. They also increase the amount of prosocial contact prisoners have with community members, encourage development of crime-free identities and replace negative labels with positive labels, such as volunteer or skilled worker, all of which contribute to safer communities and prisoner rehabilitation.
Likewise, Community Corrections has a broad range of Community Service Order - CSO - project sites available for offenders statewide. One of the aims of CSOs is an offender is able to repay the community for their offence. Some key CSO projects include graffiti removal, maintenance of nature reserves and cemetery restoration through partnerships with councils, placement at various community and neighbourhood houses, assistance with community events and festivals, or providing regular assistance to pensioners.
Community Corrections continually works with community organisations to explore opportunities for future project sites.
Victims Support Services is able to provide non-court ordered victim/offender mediation in appropriate circumstances at the request of either the victim of the crime, the family of the victim of the crime, or the offender.
Victim/offender mediation only occurs if a number of criteria are met and includes pre- and post‑counselling for both victim and offender. It will also only occur between consenting parties.
Section 84 of the Sentencing Act 1997 provides that before a court passes sentence on an offender found guilty of an offence it may, if the victim agrees, order a mediation report. A mediation report is a written or oral report by a mediator about any mediation or attempted mediation between the offender and a victim. A mediation report is a written or oral report by a mediator about any mediation or attempted mediation between the offender and a victim. It reports on the attitude of the offender to mediation, to the victim and to the effects on the victim of the commission of the offence. It also reports on any agreement made as to actions to be taken by the offender by way of reparation.
Young people are also assisted to stay out of the criminal justice system through a restorative justice approach, including services such as community conferences. Under the Youth Justice Act 1997, a young person may be referred to a community conference by police or the court. Conference outcomes may include an agreement by the young person to apologise, repair damage, undertake volunteer work or community service, or take other steps to repair the harm caused by their actions.
Outcomes from community conferences seek to ensure that young people take responsibility for their actions, make restoration and reparation, and are deterred from further offending.
Restorative practices are also used in schools in Tasmania. Additional funding has been provided to increase restorative practices training for Department of Education staff. This ensures that principals and teachers have a range of skills to manage student behaviours, including empowering students to talk about and manage problem behaviours. | http://kerryfinch.com/qa-speeches/20160405.html |
will actively support all victims of bullying and take appropriate action with the perpetrators. This work will be pursued through the pastoral and academic curriculum, as well as through the reporting and disciplinary procedures created to deal with all such incidents.
What is bullying?
Bullying is behaviour by an individual or group, repeated over time that intentionally hurts another individual or group, either physically or emotionally. It can take many forms, and is often motivated by prejudice against particular groups, such as those listed in the protected characteristics, for example on grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation (including homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying), special educational needs or disabilities, or because a child is adopted or has caring responsibilities. It might be motivated by actual differences between children, or perceived differences.
Bullying involves an imbalance of power between the perpetrator and victim. The imbalance of power may be physical, psychological, derive from an intellectual imbalance, or by having access to the support of a group, or the capacity to socially isolate. It can result in the intimidation of a person through threat of violence or by isolating them either physically or online.
We also consider ‘banter’ to be bullying. If students are repeatedly ‘joking’ with an individual, who is not included in the joke, it is bullying. Our school does not tolerate the ‘banter’ excuse.
Cyber-Bullying
As a school, we realise the advantages of modern technology and its educational benefits. However, we are aware that it also facilitates the potential for bullying. We recognise that bullying issues occurring outside of school can impact on our
students in school. In these cases, we will act to ensure that school remains a place of safety and happiness. We define cyber-bullying as an intentional act using electronic forms to intentionally hurt another individual or group of
individuals. This can take different forms but could include bullying by text message or email; the taking and/or distribution of digital images; posting threatening, abusive, or defamatory messages on the internet or social media.
Objectives of this policy
• To ensure that every member of the school community feels comfortable, safe, secure, equally valued and respected.
• To ensure that every member of the school community is able to grow and change, free from prejudice, stereotyping, harassment, and negative discrimination.
• To ensure that all members of the school community understand what bullying is.
• To promote positive relationships and make our policy absolutely clear; that the harassment and bullying of others is never acceptable.
• To ensure we are a ‘telling school’ where students and parents report bullying that they suffer or witness.
• To act promptly and effectively at the first sign of bullying.
• To protect and reassure any victims of bullying.
• To have effective sanctions to deter bullying and to have successful strategies to reform bullies.
Systems for preventing and tackling bullying
Preventing Bullying
Our school ethos aims to create an environment that prevents bullying. An ethos of tolerance, kindness and respect is the golden thread which runs throughout everything we do. All dimensions of school life, including the curriculum, extra-curricular activity, pastoral care and worship:
• promote positive relationships and emphasise that the harassment and bullying of others is never acceptable.
• promote respect for the differences between people and celebrate the richness that diversity brings to modern British society.
In addition
• we will ensure that all students in school understand our bullying policy and understand the role they play in reporting any bullying that is taking place.
• we will communicate our policy and approach to all parents during induction, and will signpost parents to our policies during the annual parents’ information meeting for each year group.
Preventing Cyber-Bullying
All students will receive clear guidance and support about online communications through well-being, ICT lessons and assemblies. This will ensure students are:
• Safe online
• Kind and mature in the digital contributions that they make
• Mindful of the digital footprint that they leave
• Aware of the negative effects of cyber bullying
Tackling bullying
Reporting, Intelligence and investigation
We are a ‘telling school’. We foster an ethos where students let us know if they experience or witness bullying. Students must report concerns to any member of staff e.g. form tutor, teacher, learning mentor, TA or a member of pastoral
support. All school staff proactively gather intelligence about issues between pupils which might provoke conflict and put strategies in place to prevent bullying beginning or escalating. When students reporting bullying, we offer them immediate kindness and protection. We ask all students to give us
their written perspective. Investigating pastoral staff then seek the perspectives of the alleged perpetrators and witnesses. In cases of alleged cyber-bullying it will sometimes be necessary for teachers to view, search and if necessary, delete inappropriate images or files from electronic devices, including mobile phones. This is done in line with the 2011 Education Act.
Working with victims and students who bully
We use restorative practice to resolve bullying. Restorative conversations are used to work with both alleged bullies and victims. Our aim is to encourage reflection and foster reconciliation. Students who bully will be sanctioned in accordance with the behaviour policy of the school and will be offered support
in forming positive relationships with others. Students who have been victims of bullying will be offered ongoing support from either their form tutor, a sixth form buddy or Learning Mentor.
Working with parents
We encourage parents to speak to their children about bullying and to report any concerns to the form tutor in the first instance. Where bullying issues have been identified, pastoral staff will call all relevant parents, and they are expected to support this school policy. | https://www.blue-coat.org/policies/anti-bullying/ |
Planning a Domestic Violence Prosecutor-Led Diversion (PLD) Program
This toolkit is intended to guide prosecutors and program planners through the process of developing a diversion program for domestic violence (DV) cases. The Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA) acknowledges the complexity of DV prosecution and the desire of state, local, and federal prosecutors to build sustainable, data-informed diversion programs for DV-related offenses. Criminal justice reform efforts have increasingly provided a pathway for prosecutors to explore new ways to manage DV cases in a manner that focuses on the safety of the victim while delivering alternative treatment options to the accused.
This toolkit seeks to provide guidepost questions and considerations for program developers and highlight innovative alternatives to incarceration for DV-related offenses. With the implementation of this toolkit, DV diversion programs can bolster victim safety, prevent recidivism, address the root causes of violence to disrupt the cycle of violence, and create safer communities.
Glossary of Terms
APA acknowledges that prosecutors’ offices, criminal justice stakeholders, and the public often utilize the same or similar terms to describe certain individuals, offenses, and diversion programs. However, these terms may have different meanings or implications depending upon the geographic region, professional discipline, or intended audience. To ensure clarity and uniformity throughout this toolkit, definitions for these common terms are provided below.
Diversion encompasses a broad range of programs that remove individuals from the traditional criminal justice system processes and divert them into community-based treatment designed to reduce their likelihood of reoffending.
Diversion programs address behavioral health needs, encourage accountability, increase victim safety and restitution, and address the underlying root causes of violent behavior to disrupt the cycle of violence. Individuals who successfully complete a diversionary program may experience a range of benefits. These include having their cases or charges dismissed, having the charges reduced or mitigated, or avoiding the stigma and collateral consequences of a criminal conviction.
Additionally, diversion can occur at various stages in the criminal justice process, from pre-arrest diversion to post-arrest, court-based programs. Program guidelines and recommendations contained in this toolkit are focused on prosecutor-led alternatives to incarceration at each stage of the criminal justice process. However, specific guidance pertaining to a particular form of diversion programming (i.e., court-based diversion) will be noted.
Toolkit Note: Many programs and jurisdictions across the country and the world utilize various terms and definitions for diversion. One common term, restorative justice, refers to “a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused by criminal behavior.” Centre for Justice & Reconciliation, Lesson 1: What is Restorative Justice?, http://restorativejustice.org/restorative-justice/about-restorative-justice/tutorial-intro-to-restorative-justice/lesson-1-what-is-restorative-justice/#sthash.QuqfHTu1.dpbs (last visited October 19, 2021). For the limited purposes of this toolkit, we will not address restorative justice measures and will focus on the definition of diversion that is listed above in Section B.
Crime that can include intimate partner violence (IPV), child abuse, protective orders, stalking, parents of a child, or any crime involving people related by blood relations, “household members,” or family relations.
Toolkit Note: State statutes may have existing statutory definitions of DV or IPV. Please review your specific state statute carefully prior to planning your diversion program.
A person who stands accused, but not proven, of committing a DV offense and whose case is being diverted from the criminal justice system.
A person against whom an act has been committed that falls under the definition of DV.
Key Considerations and Program Basics
In conjunction with the particularized sections of this toolkit, these key themes and considerations can bolster programmatic success when maintained as the centric focus at each stage of DV diversion program planning. These key themes and considerations can bolster programmatic success when maintained as the central focus at each stage of DV diversion program planning.
Availability of Free or Low-Cost Options
The availability of free or low-cost evidence-informed treatment for enrolled individuals that responds to their behavioral health needs to reduce risk, recidivism, and prevent escalation of violent behavior is key to programmatic success.
Culturally Competent Programming
Culturally competent programming is necessary to address behavioral health needs of the enrolled individuals from communities of color and ameliorate disparate impacts on marginalized communities with a focus on risk factors and addressing root causes.
Strong Partnerships
Strong partnerships between prosecutors, law enforcement, civil attorneys, court personnel, treatment providers, and diversion program administrators can bolster diversion programming. A multidisciplinary team dedicated to DV diversion can communicate regularly to monitor the progress of cases and facilitate necessary interventions and treatment models for programmatic success. Partnerships should host regular case management meetings to discuss diversion potential, treatment plans, high-risk cases, and review progress for ongoing cases can ensure the safety of victims and continued success of diversion participants.
Judicial involvement, training, and buy-in is also critical for successful court-based diversion. Post-Charge diversion programs can have a dedicated judge for DV diversion to receive updated DV training and track ongoing cases. In the absence of judicial involvement, pre-charge diversion programs can have a navigator or someone to supervise the participant as they progress through the program and provide periodic updates and/or address breaches of the program.
Data and Technology
Utilize data and technology to inform diversion creation and track success. Planners can draw from research, data, and technology to provide evidence-informed diversion programs by highlighting behavioral health needs of enrolled individuals, victimization rates and populations, current options for treatment, and racial and ethnic or socioeconomic disparities in both enrolled individuals and victims. These programs can utilize linked data sets, whenever possible. Establishing partnerships with academic institutions and public health professionals can assist with understanding and modifying data collection and analysis to improve data-informed responses to DV. Ongoing internal and external evaluation of program implementation can create a learning model for policy adjustments and increased efficacy. Case Management Systems (CMS) or internal tracking likely have capacity to track a number of successful participants and recidivism rates.
Below are some data metrics to consider tracking to ensure programmatic success and efficacy.
- Racial and socioeconomic demographics of both victim and enrolled individual.
- Treatment dosage and success rates.
- How to analyze participation.
- Criminal history.
- Number and history of successful participants including qualitative narratives of program participants.
- Victim pre- and post-diversion input, both qualitative and quantitative data.
A robust victim services component is crucial to an impactful DV diversion program. The considerations outlined in this section can assist prosecutors in building a strong victim services response to increase victim safety and empowerment throughout the criminal justice process.
Case Study: Survivor’s FIRST (King County, Washington)
The Survivor’s FIRST (Facilitating Information and Resources for Survivors of Trauma) program in King County, Washington was launched in 2019 by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in partnership with the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). Housed in the YWCA, Survivor’s FIRST aims to directly connect survivor-defendants with intervention services in lieu of criminal charges.
- Legally recognized victim of gender-based violence, including domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking, and prostitution.
- Facing criminal charges (either in a police referral or in a filed case).
Survivor’s FIRST partners with the YWCA to provide the following treatment and assistance to participants:
- Trauma-informed Advocacy
- Legal Advocacy
- Housing Resources
- Community Resources and Connections
- Empowerment Support Group
- Referrals for Job Readiness
- Financial Education
Survivors FIRST seeks to support the needs of survivor-defendants, defined as victims of abuse who have been accused of various crimes as a result of their victimization. Survivors FIRST specifically targets the needs of criminalized survivors of DV in underserved communities. The program also aims to reduce the racial disproportionality of survivors of gender-based violence in the criminal legal system by diverting survivors of color to culturally appropriate services to address trauma resulting from their victimization and any additional needs as appropriate.
To learn more, sign up for the APA DV listserv or contact us directly at [email protected] Division: Domestic Violence Unit.
For additional information and resources, see:
Here are additional things to consider in relation to developing a behavioral health prosecutor-led diversion program. Click on the links below to access information on each stage of the diversion planning process.
Articulating clear goals of a DV diversion program at the outset of the planning process can be critical to long-term programmatic success. Some of the most common and important goals of diversion include addressing the underlying cause of violent behavior, reducing recidivism, improving community behavioral health, addressing victim safety, and ensuring accountability.
Program planners should carefully review whether prosecutors are authorized to create such programs by caselaw, statute, court rule, or by their inherent prosecutorial discretion. In the absence of such authority, program planners may have to initiate action to create such authority.
Eligibility standards are central to the structure of any diversion program, but are especially significant with respect to the handling of DV offenses. When setting eligibility standards, potential considerations include an individual’s criminal record or prior offenses, treatment history (prior diversion participation), and the likely effect of diversion in minimizing the likelihood of future violent behavior. In cases of DV, these standards should also account for the existence of injury caused by the incident, a lethality assessment, and the presence of mental health or substance abuse concerns, among other relevant factors.
When crafting eligibility requirements, it is critical for program planners to determine the appropriate timing of program referrals in the diversion process, the role of prosecutorial discretion, and ways to reduce barriers to program enrollment, such as an enrolled individual’s inability to pay.
When outlining a successful DV diversion program, program planners should account for the way external factors, such as resource constraints or costs associated with diversion, may shape diversion outcomes or violations of program requirements. It is also important to keep in mind that a variety of options, including trauma-informed therapy, a Basic Needs Assessment, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, can be offered to enrolled individuals on a case-by-case basis and under the direction of mental health professionals.
Program administrators with limited resources can generate a list of treatment providers to refer enrolled individuals if existing treatment partnerships are not built into the diversion program. Additionally, when establishing program conditions, it is necessary to consider the outcome for successful completion of the diversion program. These options may include expungement after completion, a graduation ceremony, or dismissal of reduction of charges.
The complexity of DV cases warrants a consistent and thorough process for screening potential candidates for diversion. Program planners should actively seek the input of prosecutors and victim advocates from specialized DV units, or those trained to handle DV matters, because they are in the best position to understand the intricate case review process and lethality screenings for diversion. When such specialized units or staff are not available, program planners can proactively seek to engage clinical partners and treatment providers in this process. In addition, program planners should include a review of an enrolled individual’s history to ensure that any past trauma can be addressed through counseling.
Case Study: Early Intervention Plan (Milwaukee County, Wisconsin)
In 2016, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office partnered with the Sojourner Family Peace Center, the largest nonprofit provider of domestic violence prevention and intervention services in Wisconsin, to address cases of domestic violence.
All cases in which the police (1) make contact with a victim and (2) result in a referral for charges, are asked to meet with the Assistant District Attorney who will review the referral for charges at the Family Peace Center. The Family Peace Center is based on a Justice Center Model, with an accounting for the sensitive and ever-evolving history of the word “justice” in various communities.
The stated objective of the program is to hold perpetrators accountable while also reducing recidivism and protecting the victim and their family from harm in both the near- and long-term.
The program also has a stated focus on prioritizing an understanding of the complicated relationships between the victim and perpetrator in cases of family violence and the historical context in which a specific act of domestic violence occurs.
Early intervention program goals are to:
1) support and encourage pro-social attitudes and behaviors of perpetrators while they are in the justice system;
2) minimize negative consequences such as social stigma or the loss of pro-social support such as family or employment; and
3) provide victims with input in charging decisions and increase their likelihood of receiving restitution.
Milwaukee County’s Early Intervention Program reviews cases for factors that will exclude them from diversion programming. The below factors will exclude enrolled individuals from participation in the diversion program:
- The current offense is a violent DV felony offense.
- A prior misdemeanor conviction for a violent DV offense.
- A prior conviction for a firearms offense.
- A firearm was used against the victim during the commission of the instant offense.
- The enrolled individual has a prior sexual assault conviction.
This pretrial diversion program relies on structured professional judgment, which includes evidenced-based risk factors and decision-making guidelines, to assess the risk of abusive behavior. The instruments of this model focus on dynamic risk factors that assist practitioners in monitoring risk levels and managing risk.
Accordingly, if the enrolled individuals is not excluded by the screening process, a number of dynamic and historical relationship factors are assessed to determine if he/she is eligible for a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA). These include: the history of relationship and/or family violence involving tactics of power and control employed by the actor, the existence of a mental impairment or disability, the wishes of the victim, and several other circumstantial or contextual factors.
Finally, cases are reviewed by two senior attorneys who must agree that deferred prosecution is an appropriate outcome.
To learn more, sign up for the APA DV listserv or contact us directly at info@ APAInc.org. For additional resources:
Post-Charge Diversion and Deferred Prosecution Program
Program planners should seek the input of DV specialists and treatment providers and work to facilitate partnerships with mental health and substance misuse agencies at the initial stages of designing the diversion program. It is also essential to prioritize several other program components, including restitution for DV victims, remote treatment options for enrolled individuals, and the establishment of consistent channels of communication between prosecutors, court, and treatment providers.
Case Study: New York City-Wide Diversion Programming
Toolkit Note: The two citywide programs differ from Manhattan’s TI-APIP (seen below) in that they permit enrollment of defendants citywide due to funding from the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.
Dignity and Respect is an abusive partner intervention program for male defendants, and operates on an evidenced-based curriculum for individuals mandated to attend by a court. This curriculum includes cognitive behavioral strategies with the goal of creating life skills and strategies that promote healthy relationships. The program also focuses on the impact of trauma on past and current intimate partner violence and relies on a culturally-sensitive approach to engage participants.
Dignity and Respect maintains both a 16-week and 26-week curriculum. The program diverges from anger management by specifically addressing intimate partner violence and emphasizing survivor safety. Program staff are responsible for sending regular compliance reports to the judge, court staff, or probation and can be required to send staff to compliance hearings, if needed.
For more information, see Dignity & Respect FAQ.
Turning Points is an abusive partner intervention program for female defendants, and is designed as an educational program for women who use either violence against their partners.
Treatment Methods
The program curriculum is divided into three parts:
- Group-oriented educational sessions
- Story-focused training
- Series of group exercises
The first part of Turning Points has nine distinct segments that provide a focus for each group session and are intended to educate participants on the various forms of DV and illuminate its impact on the relationships and wellbeing of family members.
In the second part of Turning Points, the stories of 11 women who have used violence in their own lives are introduced to generate further discussion and reflection among program participants.
Lastly, in the program’s third part, group discussions and exercises are facilitated to highlight recurring themes among women who use violence and teach participants about living with anger, talking to children about the violence, and the experience of abused partners.
For more information, see Turning Points Summary.
Taking steps to carefully track individual and programmatic success is crucial for demonstrating that DV diversion programs are effective and for making policy adjustments when necessary. Program planners have many different options available to them when it comes to program evaluation. Research partners, such as local universities and public health offices, a diversion coordinator in the prosecutor’s office, or pretrial services are just a few of the many resources program planners can engage with to develop effective evaluation mechanisms. Maintaining records to assess completion and recidivism rates and a Case Management System (CMS) are also useful tools for assessing the success of a DV diversion program.
DV cases in which families, children, or pets are involved can complicate diversion eligibility and conditions. Program planners and prosecutors can account for the possibility of any prior or co-existing abuse in their program conditions and eligibility requirements. They should also understand the role that pets can play in providing support to survivors who are often forced to enter shelter or safe housing and the protections that animals in their jurisdictions can be afforded during the diversion process (i.e., including pets or animals on stay away or protective orders).
Case Study: Trauma-Informed Abusive Partner Intervention Program (TI-APIP) (Manhattan, New York)
The Trauma-Informed Abusive Partner Intervention Program (TI-APIP) originated in 2018 from the Manhattan DA’s Domestic Violence Initiative, a year-long working group comprised of criminal justice stakeholders, public health officials, victim advocates, and community-based organizations tasked with developing citywide recommendations to reduce domestic violence recidivism and enhance responses across systems. Implemented in partnership with the Urban Resource Institute (URI), TI-APIP aims to address domestic violence as a public health crisis and incorporates best and promising practices for working with enrolled individuals who have experienced trauma. These practices include foundational techniques in group therapy and somatic practice.
The TI-APIP aims to help enrolled individuals take responsibility for their behaviors using a trauma-informed approach designed to support long-term healing, reduce intimate partner violence recidivism, and assist people who have used violence in relationships in developing alternatives to violence and control in relationships.
The TI-APIP is funded through the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII). The program is completely free-of-charge for all participants. The program is grounded “in the belief that individuals are capable of change if given the support, tools, and resources needed to do so.” TI-APIP staff help participants to understand why their behavior is abusive, identify underlying thought patterns, and develop healthier habits and communities to reduce recidivism.
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- Misdemeanor charges
- Certain felony charges related to intimate partner violence that are arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court.
The program worked closely with New York City Court Parts D and IDV, ADAs, Resource Coordinators and Alternative to Incarceration programs to find referrals and support enrolled individuals through programming.
To test the efficacy of the TI-APIP model, the Manhattan DA’s Office, through CJII, is funding a process and outcome evaluation of the program.
The TI-APIP incorporates survivor perspectives where possible, provides opportunities for peer support after completion of the mandated sessions, and facilitates access to a continuing accountability group following program completion. Notably, this program provides free, in-house wraparound supports, including individualized trauma-specific services (such as therapy) and ongoing case management to respond to participant’s basic living needs (such as financial, educational, and housing goals, as well as emotional, spiritual, physical, and social supports).
The program is grounded “in the belief that individuals are capable of change if given the support, tools, and resources needed to do so.” TI-APIP staff help participants to understand why their behavior is abusive, identify underlying thought patterns, and develop healthier habits and communities to reduce recidivism. The program leans into this value by modeling empathy and listening skills while holding participants accountable for harmful behavior. There is an emphasis on multiple truths, differing perspectives and paying attention to one’s own needs in place of dominating others in an attempt to satisfy one’s own desires. The program continues to expand participants’ awareness around abusive behavior, placing emphasis on areas such as being a subtle disruptive presence in the home as well as pet abuse. URI’s PALS program is highlighted in greater detail below.
The People and Animals Living Safely (PALS) program was launched by URI in 2013 to address an additional gap in services in New York City for survivors of domestic violence with pets. PALS looks to reduce a barrier to seeking safety by offering co-living for survivors in URI’s domestic violence shelter settings with their pets, and hopes to interrupt the cycle of violence for both people and animals.
In addition to the direct services provided to individuals and families in our shelters, an integral piece of the PALS program is conducting outreach and providing training on the intersection of domestic violence and abuse of animals, and the need for increased resources and support for survivors of abuse and their pets. These outreach and training efforts are intended to raise awareness on these issues, inform the public and service providers of URI’s programs and offerings, and to inspire and assist other organizations and communities in developing similar initiatives for survivors with pets. Training is provided to a wide array of entities, including domestic violence services providers, government, law enforcement and animal welfare agencies, student and professional groups and coalitions, and other community-based organizations.
To learn more, sign up for the APA DV listserv or contact us directly at [email protected] Division: Domestic Violence Unit.
For additional resources:
Manhattan DA Domestic Violence Unit
Manhattan DA Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII)
Abusive Partner Intervention Program (APIP)
Additional Resources and Trainings
**This page will be updated as resources become available!**
A Roadmap to Designing a Successful Diversion Program: What Questions Should My Office Be Asking?
While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to designing a DV diversion program, there are several questions that can serve as a roadmap for program planners. The key questions contained in the below resource can help program planners better identify program goals and overcome potential obstacles to programmatic success. | https://www.diversiontoolkit.org/planning-a-domestic-violence-dv-diversion-program/ |
Crime prevention strategies seeks to positively impact the lives of youth through intervention counseling inside the juvenile justice center and youth. The juvenile justice and delinquency prevention committee is the official juvenile justice planning, coordinating, and policy-setting body for the commonwealth of pennsylvania the committee develops a comprehensive, long-range plan and related policies for the commonwealth's juvenile justice system. Crimes committed by juveniles are among the most urgent social problems juvenile crime is as prevalent as crime itself is, and it has not been solved completely in any society and cannot be solved through law enforcement measures alone in this article, the authors discuss the dynamics and. Panel on juvenile crime: prevention, treatment, and control data come from a national panel that examined what is known about juvenile crime and its prevention. Child crime prevention & safety center there are a variety of unique issues that affect juveniles in connection with the law courts and legislators recognize that minors are particularly vulnerable to certain types of crimes and also that juvenile offenders are unique and often should be treated differently than adults accused of crimes.
The primary goals of the juvenile justice system, in addition to maintaining public safety, are skill development, habilitation, rehabilitation, addressing treatment. Pennsylvania commission on crime and delinquency to hold juvenile offenders four core protections of the federal juvenile justice and delinquency prevention. As part of the nij study group on the transitions between juvenile delinquency to adult crime, scholars examined differences between juveniles who persist in offending and those who do not, and also looked at early adult-onset offending.
Crime prevention is the anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk, and the initiation of action to remove or reduce it crime prevention works it is cheaper, safer, and healthier for communities to prevent crime than to have to treat its victims, deal with its perpetrators, and lose civic health and productivity. Crime prevention - juvenile crime graffiti graffiti costs american communities more than $8 billion per year. The juvenile crime prevention initiative is a statewide effort to prevent juvenile crime by targeting best practice services to high-risk youth, ages 10-17 data about youth receiving multnomah county juvenile crime prevention (jcp) services was needed to assess young people's risk indicators, protective indicators, and mental health indicators and to help target resources and deliver. In fiscal year 2016-2017, how successful were juvenile justice crime prevention act programs and initiatives, as measured by the six state-mandated outcome measures and county-mandated supplemental measures california's juvenile justice crime prevention act was designed to provide a stable.
Delinquency prevention & intervention delinquency prevention & intervention juvenile justice guide book for legislators programs to address juvenile crime today. 102 juvenile crime facts violent, and chronic juvenile offenders, office of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention (june 1995) between 1984 and 1993. More and more research indicates that juvenile crime and delinquency prevention programs not only have a positive impact on troubled youth, but are a good investment when compared with the costs associated with the behavior of serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders.
The prevention of juvenile delinquency is an essential part of crime prevention in society by engaging in lawful, socially useful activities and adopting a humanistic orientation towards society and outlook on life, young persons can develop non-criminogenic attitudes. In conclusion, juvenile justice prevention programs such as prenatal and early childhood nurse visitation programs and head start are largely successful at deterring crime for the children involved because they occur early in the child's development and because they focus on holistic and general aspects of the child's life rather than. Ncpc offers a number of crime prevention programs to address the needs and issues of different neighborhoods, ethnicities, and age groups. Juvenile crime since children don't belong in a penitentiary with adults, and since minors generally have a greater chance of rehabilitation, there are special rules and procedures to handle juvenile crime.
Juvenile delinquency—negative behaviors of children and teens that may result in crimes or legal action—frequently causes widespread problems in communities rand's research on juvenile delinquency includes populations from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and features studies related to crime and juvenile justice, at-risk populations, violence, bullying, substance abuse prevention and. The prevention of crime and delinquency is an important area of concern for both researchers and practitioners prevention efforts have the capability to stop delinquency and crime before they occur as well as reduce the magnitude of these behaviors by doing so, prevention efforts reduce cost and. Delinquency prevention efforts seek to redirect youth who are considered at-risk for delinquency or who have committed a delinquent offense from deeper involvement in the juvenile justice system programs. The office of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention (ojjdp), part of the us department of justice, office of justice programs, assists local community endeavors to effectively avert and react to juvenile delinquency and victimization.
Office of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention december 2001 law enforcement and juvenile crime howard n snyder this bulletin is part of the. The guilford county juvenile crime prevention council envisions a community where its youth are well educated, healthy, law abiding, contributing members of society who respect the rights of others and themselves. Prevention & early intervention this in turn reduces the burden of crime on the office of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention recommends that the. The juvenile crime prevention office providing parents and youth with strong defenses against environmental risks for personal growth and enhanced bonding.
Juvenile justice history this is an introduction to juvenile justice in america since the 1990s, youth crime rates have plummeted these falling crime rates have led many jurisdictions to rethink the punitive juvenile justice practices that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. Delinquency prevention and intervention efforts primarily are comprised of identifying the risk factors that see findlaw's sections on juvenile crime and. North carolina department of public safety juvenile justice (jj) juvenile crime prevention council policy and requirements and procedures (r&p.
2018. | http://yvhomeworkxrtr.orlandoparks.info/prevention-of-juvenile-crime.html |
Sticks and stones may break my bones
But words will never hurt me.
That old English children’s rhyme is right, up to a point, but the truth is bullying — which can be done with fists or words — hurts.
If you haven’t been bullied, you’ve more than likely been witness to it, even if it’s only by seeing it on television and in movies. Regina George from Mean Girls and Nelson Muntz from The Simpsons are two well-known pop culture bullies. Carrie White (from Carrie , of course) is a well-known victim. Many celebrities, even Lady Gaga , have admitted to being bullied.
Bullying is far from rare. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, one of every five U.S. students ages 12-18 has been bullied. Bullying has been proven to lead to low self-esteem, anxiety disorders, depression, and even addiction.
What Is Bullying?
Simply put, bullying is when a person or a group repeatedly hurts, belittles, or scares someone on purpose. It can be physical, social, or verbal. It can — and often does — occur online in the form of cyberbullying. (More often, cyberbullying is anonymous, but it can be more relentless and persistent.)
It can happen at any age — and at home, or school, or at work. It’s aggressive in nature and typically is repeat behavior. There’s an imbalance of power in that the victim is seen as weaker.
Even if bullying happens only a few times, it can affect physical and emotional health, both immediately and for years after the fact. It can lead to injury, social problems, emotional turmoil, and even death .
Not only does it harm the victim, but it also hurts bystanders as well as the bully . (Bullies are more prone to substance abuse and academic problems and to becoming the victims of violence.)
Types of Bullying
It’s not limited to the playground or lunchroom, though. It also happens in the workplace. The three main types of bullying are:
- Verbal. This includes taunting, threatening, and name-calling.
- Social. Also known as relational bullying. Usually the goal is to damage someone’s reputation or relationships. It includes spreading rumors, embarrassing someone in public, or excluding someone.
- Physical. This involves hurting a person — hitting, kicking, tripping, shoving, or spitting — or stealing or breaking someone’s things.
One last type of intimidation is cyberbullying, where the tormentor uses technology to hurt or embarrass another. It can take on a number of forms , including:
- Sharing embarrassing or unpermitted pictures or videos.
- Doxing, or sharing someone’s private information online.
- Threatening someone.
- Pretending to be someone else by creating false accounts, or posing as someone else to get them to reveal personal details.
More than a third of adolescents (37%) between the ages of 12 and 17 have been bullied online . Girls are more likely to be the target or as well as perpetrators of cyberbullying. Fifteen percent of teen girls have been cyberbullied. Half of LGBTQ+ students have been harassed online.
Cyberbullying has unique challenges. It’s more often anonymous, and because the tormentor can send messages any time, it’s more persistent. Being the victim also makes one more vulnerable to self-harm or suicidal behaviors.
Trolling — when someone deliberately posts comments with the intent to anger or upset others — is sometimes mentioned in discussions of cyberbullying. Trolling is more about getting attention and being annoying, whereas cyberbullying is more targeting, and the bully can be motivated by anything from revenge to popularity; or to offend, humiliate, or intimidate.
It’s best to ignore trolls. Without attention and outrage, they tend to peter out.
Cyberbullying is trickier to handle. Laws on battling it vary from state to state.
Parents can better prevent it by keeping track of their children’s online activities, teaching what is appropriate and inappropriate, and devising strategies for dealing with a bully or a predator.
What are the Effects of Bullying?
Children and teens are affected by bullying in many ways. About 160,000 teens skip school each year because of it.
Bullying can harm the victim, the bully, and bystanders.
Targets of bullies tend to score lower in reading, mathematics, and science compared to non-bullied peers. They may feel anger, hurt, or fear as a result.
One study found that bullying behaviors — even for bystanders — put youth at higher risk for substance abuse. The bullied and the bully , however, are more likely to partake than witnesses. Victims are at greater risk for:
- Depression, anxiety, low self-esteem. This can extend into adulthood.
- Health complaints such as stomach aches or headaches, or experiencing sleep problems.
- Lower grades and test scores.
- Missing school, or even dropping out of school.
- Suicide.
Early bullying may set the stage for later substance abuse. One study followed youth through a number of years. Youths who were victimized in fifth grade had a greater likelihood of substance use by tenth grade.
Bullies themselves are also at higher risk for substance abuse, school problems, and violence later in life. In cases of children and teens who are both victims of bullies and bullies themselves, they are more prone to develop behavioral and mental health problems compared to bullies and people who are bullied.
Anyone with any connection to bullying — as an instigator, victim, or witness — is at higher risk for depression. Bystanders also may resort to escaping via substance abuse.
Drug and alcohol use are especially problematic for adolescents and young adults.
Substance use puts them at risk for dangerous behaviors, such as driving under the influence and sexual assault. Over the long term, it can impact brain development (which continues into one’s twenties) and fast-track some people to numerous diseases of the lung or heart as well as strokes, cancers, and mental health problems.
Who Gets Bullied?
Anyone can be the victim of bullying. Boys tend to be bullied physically while girls are harassed psychologically. A person is at greater risk, however, if they are:
- Are seen as different somehow, such as being overweight or underweight, poor, a different race or ethnicity, or LGBTQ+.
- Are viewed as weak or vulnerable.
- Have depression, anxiety, or low self-esteem.
- Have no or few friends or are less popular.
- Have more difficulty socializing compared to others.
- Have some kind of intellectual or developmental disability.
Who Bullies?
Certain factors make one more likely to bully others . Children and teens who have some social clout, who worry about their popularity, or like to be in charge of others, they may target those they view as less-than.
The following can fuel bullying behaviors, too, including:
- Aggression or frustration.
- Depression or anxiety, low self-esteem.
- Feeling isolated from peers.
- Troubled home environment (abuse, neglect).
- Struggles with following rules.
- Viewing violence as a positive thing.
- Peer pressure.
- Having friends who bully others.
Signs of Bullying
Many children and teens who are bullied never report it . They fear the bully will double down on the abuse, or they believe that no one cares or can do anything. But there are signs that may mean a child or teen is a victim of intimidation. They include:
- A shift in behavior, such as becoming more withdrawn or expressing a dislike of school.
- A drop in self-esteem.
- Ailments such as stomach pain or headaches, or faking illness.
- Changes in eating or sleeping habits.
- Lower grades.
- Self-destructive behaviors such as running away, self-harm, or substance abuse.
- Unexplained injuries.
- Lost or destroyed property.
If a child or teen is a bully or is suspected of bullying, they may show signs of aggression, face frequent discipline at school, or be excessively competitive or anxious about their performance or reputation.
What to Do If You See Bullying?
Not all youths feel comfortable opening up about bullying. It’s difficult to put a rapid stop to the behavior, but listening, being aware of the problem, and actively working toward developing an anti-bullying culture can help.
When you know a child or teen is being bullied, it’s important to show support:
- Listen to them and assure them you want to help.
- Let them know that the bullying is not their fault.
- Understand that it’s painful for kids to open up about bullying. A school counselor, psychologist, or other mental health professional may be a more neutral sounding board.
- Discuss what can be done. Try role-playing. Address how to react to the bullying.
- Work to remedy the situation. Talk to the school, for example. Get people involved.
- Follow up. Bullying usually doesn’t end right away. It may take time. Let the child know you’re backing them every step of the way.
- The bully should be informed that the behavior is wrong, harmful, and sometimes illegal.
- Let everyone know the bullying will not be tolerated.
Victims should feel comfortable enough to speak to someone they trust. Ideally, there will be a plan in place or a plan being developed to nip bullying in the bud.
Anti-Bullying Programs
There are many programs and plans being implemented nationwide — globally, even — to put bullying behaviors into the past.
What doesn’t work is a band-aid approach. A school holding an assembly to say “Bullying is bad. Don’t do it” rarely gets results. The causes of and motivations for bullying are simply too complex to be resolved in an hour or two.
The same goes for having the bully and the victim meet to discuss the issue and promise to make peace. More than anything, that usually leads to more bullying.
There are a number of programs that seek to change the culture. Call it a form of positive peer pressure.
Instead of zero tolerance for last year’s practices, several initiatives strive to develop strategies that weave anti-bullying principles and practices into the fabric, rather than the fringes, of the curriculum. Some promising programs and resources include:
- Cyberbullying Research Center. This site has information on cyberbullying and offers tools to put a stop to it. It’s geared to educators, parents, and youth alike.
- KiVa: This program originated in Finland and focuses primarily on tween-age students. It aims to make bystanders aware of their role in encouraging (intentionally or unintentionally) bullying; raise empathy and support for victims; and teach coping skills via lessons and simulation games. It’s an approach that involves students, school personnel, and parents. So many bullying victims reported that they had better self-esteem and less depression that Finland adopted the program nationwide.
- Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. This program began in Norway . It’s still relatively new but early results seem promising. Schools are encouraged to make anti-bullying classes a part of the curriculum, including ways to deal with victims and bullies. Bystanders’ roles are also considered, as well as what sparks bullying. Social and emotional intelligence are also taught.
- School Climate Improvement Resource Package . This site has resources to help schools develop a more compassionate and accepting culture.
- Sources of Strength. This program focuses on preventing suicide , bullying, and substance abuse by encouraging peers to seek help when needed, and by promoting peer and adult adviser connections. Identifying and cultivating sources of strength — there are eight sources that include family, friends, mental health, and mentors — are encouraged since they’re considered key in preventing suicide. If a student struggles to find the support of friends but has family looking out for them, a mentor, and healthy activities, those factors can be extremely uplifting.
- StopBullying.gov. This is a clearinghouse of federal information on bullying, led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education. It includes resources that can help families, educators, and members of the community as well as links to state laws.
Workplace Bullying
Once a person leaves school, most people think that’s the end of bullying, but it can happen to anyone at any time, including the workplace. If bullying is meant to single someone out, humiliate, or intimidate someone, that’s considered abusive. Examples of on-the-job bullying include:
- Threats, mocking, humiliation, jokes, or gossip.
- Being given wrong information, such as incorrect deadlines or insufficient directions, or stealing credit for work or ideas.
- Taking one’s personal or workplace items.
- Excess job monitoring, spying, invading privacy, or social exclusion.
- Harsh criticism or placing wrongful blame.
Not all criticism is bad, though. If it’s constructive and can help a person better perform their work duties, that’s not considered bullying. Neither is any disciplinary action linked to poor job performance or inappropriate workplace behaviors.
If seemingly random occurrences — such as being publicly criticized, heavily monitored, assigned duties not part of one’s job description or that one was never trained for (despite requests) — those point to workplace bullying.
Workplace bullying tends to occur in places that are stressful, have heavy workloads, poor communication, or unclear policies.
There are a lot of negative consequences too. Bullying can lead to headaches, high blood pressure, or digestive ailments. People may find it difficult to sleep at night or struggle to get up in the morning to face the day. They may feel anxious, depressed, or worthless.
If bullying escalates, it can hurt morale and slash productivity. Workers may quit frequently. There may be more absences. Loyalty is reduced.
If there is bullying, it’s best to document it. Save the evidence. Report it to human resources or a trusted supervisor. Know your workplace policies. If you have a trusted coworker or supervisor, seek help or input from them.
If necessary, legal guidance may help. Therapy can too. Letting the problem fester or dulling the ache with substance abuse, however, is a solution that does little good for anyone.
Sources
- people.com – Shawn Mendes, Lady Gaga and More Stars Who’ve Opened Up About the Bullying They Faced as Kids
- cdc.gov – What is Bullying?
- medlineplus.gov – Bullying and Cyberbullying
- https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts
- nichd.nih.gov – Who Is Affected and How Many Are At Risk for Bullying?
- ncpc.org – Stop Cyberbullying Before It Starts
- hhs.gov – Talking with Teens About Online Safety: How You Make a Difference
- ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – Substance Abuse Among Adolescents Involved in Bullying: A Cross-Sectional Multilevel Study
- drugabuse.gov – Bullying Hurts the Bully Too
- pediatrics.aappublications.org – Peer Victimization, Depressive Symptoms, and Substance Use: A Longitudinal Analysis
- nichd.nih.gov – How Does Bullying Affect Health and Well-Being?
- ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – Consequences of Underage Drinking
- drugabuse.gov – What Are the Other Health Consequences of Drug Addiction?
- unicef.org – How to Talk to Your Children About Bullying
- stopbullying.gov – Who Is at Risk
- wfu.edu – Counselors Make a Positive Impact Combating America’s School Bullying Crisis
- nea.org – 10 Steps to Stop and Prevent Bullying
- today.com – How to Stop Bullying in Schools: What Works, What Doesn’t
- hhs.gov – Preventing Bullying Among Adolescents
- universityofcalifornia.edu – Successful Anti-Bullying Program Identified by UCLA
- youth.gov – KiVa Antibullying Program
- npr.org – Preventing Suicide with a “Contagion of Strength”
- healthline.com – How to Identify and Manage Workplace Bullying
- forbes.com – Five Ways to Shut Down Workplace Bullying
Medical disclaimer:
Sunshine Behavioral Health strives to help people who are facing substance abuse, addiction, mental health disorders, or a combination of these conditions. It does this by providing compassionate care and evidence-based content that addresses health, treatment, and recovery.
Licensed medical professionals review material we publish on our site. The material is not a substitute for qualified medical diagnoses, treatment, or advice. It should not be used to replace the suggestions of your personal physician or other health care professionals. | https://www.sunshinebehavioralhealth.com/resources/how-bullying-increases-risk-of-substance-abuse/ |
Often it is preferable to resolve conflicts or disagreements outside of the court system. There are a variety of formal ways to do this. Two of the most common are mediation and arbitration. The organizations listed below may be able to help you with alternative dispute resolution. You may also want to see the section on Complaint and Advocacy.
The Alberta Arbitration and Mediation Society is a not for profit organization which provides education and information to its members and the general public on solving disputes more effectively. They provide an annually updated Directory of Arbitrators and Mediators in Alberta.
This group of programs and services is offered by Alberta Justice in collaboration with the courts of Alberta. This webpage provides general information for those who are representing themselves in a family matter in either Court of Queen's Bench or The Provincial Court of Alberta.
Alberta Family Mediation Society (AFMS) advocates resolution of family conflict through the use of mediation by qualified professionals. AFMS offers a family-centered conflict resolution process in which an impartial third party (the mediator) helps the participants in negotiating a consensual, informed and fair agreement.
The Alberta Resotrative Justice Association (ARJA) is a group of organizations and individuals who practice Restorative Justice. The Association supports existing and new Restortaive Justice initiatives in Alberta.
Catholic Social Services is a multi-function social service agency that serves people of all faiths and cultures throughout central Alberta. Founded in 1961, the agency has grown to deliver more than 100 programs.CSS is divided into Service and Program areas offered in five distinct Regions throughout central and northeast Alberta. Major Service areas include: Children, Family, and Community Service,Community Outreach and Disability Service, Immigration and Settlement Service, and Substance Abuse and Corrections Service.
The Community Mediation Calgary Society (CMCS) is a non-profit organization of volunteers available to assist in resolving conflicts between neighbors and within community associations and non-profit organizations. They are a group of professional mediators who provide free, confidential and voluntary non-legal) dispute resolution service to the community.The CMCS can be contacted at (403) 269-2707.
The Better Business Bureau of Central & Northern Alberta offers a dispute resolution service to consumers and businesses that has a two-fold goal: Helping the consumer with a marketplace problem. Helping legitimate businesses correct or remove by voluntary action the source and cause of the complaint.
Misunderstandings, miscommunications, and mistakes happen: your BBB’s Dispute Settlement Centre is available to help consumers and businesses resolve marketplace quarrels when they arise. Your BBB assists companies to resolve disputes by providing mediation and arbitration services. Unique to this BBB is our ability to provide both in-house resolution services to companies and outsource the management of dispute resolution programs for a select group of clients, such as acting as the Arbitration Administrator for the Jurisdictional Assignment Plan of the Alberta Construction Industry.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is available through the Edmonton Police Sservice Professional Standards Branch to address citizen complaints involving the police.The page on the EPS website provides information on the process and benefits of the service.
When you are going to court, there are some procedures and protocols that you need to follow. You will find information here on court etiquette, court procedures, and appeals and transcripts.
The Edmonton Landlord and Tenant Advisory Board (LTAB) is a City of Edmonton agency which provides advice and information to landlords and tenants of residential property in Edmonton. They work to address tenancy issues and ensure that both tenants and landlords are aware of their rights and obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act.
to receive complaints concerning conduct that is in breach of the laws governing tenancies and to investigate those complaints.
A Landlord and Tenant Advisory Board will only serve residents of the particular municipality or area that set it up. If there is not a Board available in an area, residents can call Service Alberta.
The Mediation and Restorative Justice Centre (MRJC) is a not-for-profit organization devoted to building safer and peaceful communities. They provide mediation services to people and groups in conflict (neightbour disputes, family situations between siblings, parents, children or other family members), and restorative justice services to victims and offenders. These services are offered free of charge to anyone in the greater Edmonton region (Alberta).
This webpage on the Provincial Court of Alberta website provides information on alternative to going to court (mediation, and dispute resolution services), where to get help, and what you need to know when going to court.
The Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS) offers landlords and tenants an alternative means of resolving serious disputes outside of court. The Service is designed to be faster, more informal and less expensive than the courts. A tenant or a landlord who has concerns related to an eviction, unpaid rent/utilities, security deposit, damages, repairs or other common disagreements can use the service.
The society providse services that support the resolution of concerns in our community by helping our community members to communicate concerns and resolve conflict respecfully.
The ADR Institute of Canada (ADR Canada) is a national non-profit organization that provides national leadership in the development and promotion of dispute resolution services in Canada and internationally. "ADR Connect" is provided to assist in locating an ADR professional. This website allows visitors requiring the services of a qualified mediator to quickly identify suitable professionals to help settle their dispute. Users can search by locality, qualifications, background/case experience and date availability. ADRWeb.ca is intended to promote the practices of Canada's growing community of dispute resolution professionals, but also to expedite the scheduling process for those individuals & organizations that regularly require mediators. | https://lawcentralcanada.ca/en/help/alternative-dispute-resolution |
Reflecting on Restorative Justive Week
Restorative Justice Week is an important way of highlighting the incredible impact that restorative justice can have on communities and individuals. CRJI are an organisation dedicated to the promotion of restorative justice as a means of healing harm which has occurred within our communities. CRJI practitioners act as an intermediary between victims and perpetrators, and curate a safe environment for those who are seeking closure. Despite the impact of COVID-19 on community projects, CRJI are working tirelessly to provide restorative justice services for the people in the North of Ireland, facilitating programs like the STARS project to deliver restorative approaches.
What is Restorative Justice?
Restorative justice offers a victim the opportunity to communicate with a perpetrator. This provides a space for victims to seek answers through questioning, explaining how the crime has affected them and their families, as well as receiving assurance from the perpetrator that they have learned from their mistakes.
Creating a safe environment to promote conversation and highlight grievances helps the victim process the actions of an event and to further explore the harm that has occurred. Restorative justice also provides an opportunity for the perpetrator to reflect on the impact of their crime or action which leads to a significant drop in the potential of the perpetrator reoffending.
Why Does Restorative Justice Work?
Restorative Justice is an integral part of constructive and safe communication between victims and perpetrators of crime. Giving victims an opportunity to seek answers for events that have caused them trauma is an important part of many individual’s healing process. In the traditional criminal justice system, many victims feel contempt and confusion over how their own trauma has been handled. Restorative justice provides the much-needed space for for victim’s voices to be heard.
The impact of restorative justice isn’t just important for victims but is crucial for perpetrators as well. They are confronted with the volume of their actions and this can allow them to understand the consequences of their crimes. Restorative justice provides closure, lessens Post Traumatic Stress symptoms in victims, reduces repeat offending, among many other positive factors.
How has COVID-19 Impacted Restorative Justice?
The COVID-19 pandemic has been detrimental for most individuals, businesses, and communities in the North of Ireland. It has been particularly taxing on the most vulnerable in society who have been left to struggle fiscally, mentally, and physically with the loss of work and lack of clarity on laws surrounding COVID-19 measures.
Despite this, the CRJI has been delivering consistent and unwavering support to local communities and developing innovative and creative ways to service the growing needs of the most vulnerable in society. Some of these responses have been attained through the hard work and dedication of the staff and volunteers of CRJI serving their communities with the help of other equally committed organisations.
Some of the incredible work that this group of individuals have contributed towards has been the production and distribution of food parcels, creating and dispensing PPE, providing emotional and practical support to those in need, as well as arranging medication drop offs. Regardless of the terrible impact of COVID-19, CRJI has continued to serve the community.
What Work is CRJI Doing?
Restorative Justice is something that brings healing to communities through the facilitation of communication between victims, perpetrators, and the community. With that in mind, CRJI has developed the STARS Project in collaboration with the NIA (Northern Ireland Alternatives). STARS stands for Striving Towards A Restorative Society and it hones in on the core principles of the CRJI. The STARS Project is funded by TEO and managed by Co-operation Ireland.
Interested in the STARS Project and need more information? Get in touch with CRJI today to start transforming your community.
CRJI are committed to finding peaceful resolutions to conflict and pain through open dialogue and providing a range of services that seek to give communities the tools and resources to engage with one another. At no cost to participants, CRJI has a multitude of qualified practitioners who are wanting to serve their communities.
CRJI offer a variety of programmes including victim support services, drop-in advice centres, youth mentoring, rehabilitation programs, family support, and intervention services to name a few. CRJI creates environments that encourage inclusion, reintegration, as well as stressing equality, respect, and accountability. | https://www.crjireland.org/post/reflecting-on-restorative-justive-week |
It is always an overwhelming experience to perform Beethoven. His music touches every aspect of human life, reaches deep into our souls and reverberates in our heart. I have been captivated by Beethoven’s music ever since I was a boy learning some of his piano works. The music – so powerful yet so intimate – speaks to me like no other and transcends me to spiritual heights. For over 50 years, I have performed most of Beethoven’s works, both as a pianist and conductor, including cycles of the complete Piano Concertos and Symphonies.
Tonal beauty: In producing a sound on a musical instrument, I have always attempted to bring it into being by coaxing it, instead of striking it, particularly in the more lyrical passages. The sound emerges from nowhere as it is set in motion and continues its passage through time and space moving from one note to the other seamlessly like a tonal body in constant and perpetual motion. The dynamic quality of a tone is a statement of its incompleteness. When we play, we are always between notes, on the way from one to the other. I am therefore more interested in what happens between notes in their passage through time and how we might condition the emergence of a note by preparing it well in time. To quote conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler: ‘The power to affect a note lies in the preparation of the beat, not in the beat itself...’.
Structure: Particular attention should be afforded to the overall structure of Beethoven’s compositions. These are so tightly constructed on thematic unity that they require consistency of thought and execution throughout.
Rhythm: For me, rhythm is the most important constituent element in all of Beethoven’s compositions, the vibrant beauty of which will awaken every particle in our bodies and shake us to the very core of our being, whether we encounter it in the fast-moving passages in his outer movements or in one of his slow movements. Rhythm, has little to do with playing ‘in time’. While perpetual motion is of paramount importance, it is the minute deviations from strict metronomic time that create tensions and relationships between notes and which, when delineated proportionately, define what true rhythm is about. Deviation from strict metronomic time also elucidates the ebb and flow of the music, creating space between notes that outlines the contours of a phrase.
Tension: The tension in Beethoven’s music is palpable throughout. It stirs the heart and fires the passions. When it reaches a climax it explodes ardently and recedes to either a mournful longing or to a triumphant conclusion, hailing the emancipation of the human spirit.
In performance, we must apply the principles of motion to determine tensions and deliver them fervently to our listeners.
In crescendo passages, a momentary dip in dynamics will often be employed. The principle of applying the reverse to heighten tension can also be employed when an accelerando is called for. Holding back the tempo at the start of an accelerando can be most effective.
Other tools at our disposal to convey the tension in Beethoven’s music include sustaining and maintaining a long line, infusing energy into the notes, pacing and unfolding the growth of the musical line and delaying the resolution of chords for as long as possible.
Tempi: Much has been written about tempo choices in Beethoven. Despite metronome markings in some of his scores, many eminent artists have chosen to ignore them. The pianist and musicologist Peter Stadlen (1910-1996), who devoted many years to studies of Beethoven’s markings, regarded 66 out of a total of 135 important markings as absurdly fast and thus possibly wrong. For me, it matters more to interpret the tempo indication than the actual metronome marking.
My philosophy on tempi in general – which I have adhered to for most of my professional life – is quite a simple one: it doesn’t matter how slow a piece is played so long as the musical line is sustained; conversely, it doesn’t matter how fast a work is being played, so long as the musical lines breathe. If one note does not connect to another, in real legato, the musical line will still sound slow and disjointed however far the tempo is pushed. If notes are sustained and relate to one another, it doesn’t matter how slow one plays, the musical line will still have a flow about it and move along. Of course, there comes a time when the line is stretched too far and loses its ‘elasticity’. A great artist will listen carefully to how far a note can be sustained, particularly on the piano, before releasing it to introduce the next.
A real Adagio in Beethoven, for instance, cannot be hurried. We must create that wonderful sense of timelessness when everything stands still. To try to instil a sense of movement by hurrying along would be to rob the musical line of its inner strength and ability to stir the emotions to the full.
In my opinion, tempo changes within a movement are totally permissible in Beethoven, so long as these are executed proportionately and an overall perpetual motion is maintained.
Motion: For me, all music is movement: I see patterns when I play, when I conduct. Like everything else in motion, the musical line has weight, speed and direction. On one hand it is a perceived motion while on the other it is a real one, emanating from the movements the body makes in producing a sound when playing an instrument. Together they form the basis for a wonderful synaesthetic musical encounter which transforms music-making to an auditory, visual and tactile experience.
Interpretation: It has always been my aim to deliver strong musical statements. These, at times, stray from the norm. But they are always delivered with musical integrity and with a passion to communicate. It is, of course, the prerogative of the listener to agree or disagree with my musical ideas. Standards are explicit statements of expected quality in performance where one person’s expectations may differ from those of another.
My musical ideas are not arbitrary: they have been formulated by informed opinion based on knowledge, experience and considered principles. | https://www.pianistmagazine.com/thoughts-on-how-to-play-beethoven/ |
To open his Wigmore Hall recital, Andreas Haefliger played the introduction to ‘Chapelle de Guillaume Tell’ very slowly, with long pauses. His cantabile playing featured soft, golden tone, innumerable slight tempo changes and occasional rubato. In climaxes his tone wasn’t compromised and the tolling bass in the final bars was grandly sonorous. However, he also accelerated into climaxes and the use of pedal was – at best – over-enthusiastic. ‘Au lac de Wallenstadt’ was very impressionistic, with a chiselled right-hand and in ‘Pastorale’ the rhythm and line was syncopated and dislocated. In ‘Au borde d’un source’ Haefliger’s crystalline tone was compromised by too much use of the sustaining pedal and in ‘Orage’ there was enormous attack and fury, but – despite some tremendous playing in the coda – any sense of line and shape was lost in the over-pedalled, rather glutinous sound Haefliger favoured. ‘Vallée d’Obermann’ was taken very broadly with constant variation of tempo and dynamics, and in the final bars Haefliger produced some absolutely gorgeous tone.
The first movement of Schubert’s G major Piano Sonata was taken at a reasonably relaxed tempo, Haefliger intent on creating a totally different soundworld to that of Liszt. Use of the pedal and the dynamic range were much more restrained. The second subject brought no tempo change – as it should be, it was simply an extension of the first. Haefliger observed the exposition repeat and kept the atmosphere subdued, but failed to present the material in new ways. The development featured dynamic contrasts and the fff climax was suitably powerful, but the listener wasn’t drawn into the performance. In the Andante the flowing tempo allowed both the lyrical and the rhythmic elements to be heard in the first subject, but the second theme was slightly too jarring. The Minuet followed without a break and Haefliger combined both the dance and martial elements in the opening section, although the sense of sad whimsy that Sviatoslav Richter so memorably found in the Trio was missing. The finale was taken at a relatively fast tempo and the preparation for the move into the minor was very well handled, with a slight slowing and change of tone and weight. In many ways this was the most successful movement, perhaps because its urbane wit found harmony with the performer.
For an encore Haefliger returned to Liszt and ‘Les jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este’ from the Third Year of Années de Pèlerinage, which was played very softly, with dazzling delicacy, and little use of the pedals. | https://www.classicalsource.com/concert/andreas-haefliger-at-wigmore-hall-liszt-schubert/ |
Fragments, is an experimental performance that is not based on a specific plot or theme, so the building up to a major climax through out the performance was not very clear, however each scene had a minor climax. People who watched the performance would realize that it had a lot of tempo and rhythm.
Tempo and rhythm were very clear in the performance, at times it was slow and at other times it was fast. Naji used a lot of ways to speed up the tempo. For instance there was no pauses in between scenes. There was always something happening on stage, the character Lina and her twin were always in between the scenes. They kind of linked one scene to another and in the same time they were adding a new impression, they added to the visual picturization of the stage at times, for instance when the actors where dancing between the audience they were dancing behind they wall in their boxes.
In the performance their were a lot of scenes and each scene was consistent with a different tempo and rhythm. There was the twins scene, hands scene, aquarium scene, the metamorphisis scene, wolves, chains, bags, dream, and name scene. Speed varied at times from slow to fast and that was very effective in creating variety and sustaining the audience's attention.
In thefirst 10 minutes of the performance, movement on stage was slow, the characters came out on stage with the same rhythm, they came out slowly and stood in their positions. The metamorphosis from fetus (weak body position) to wolf (strong body position) was also slow, and this can be considered as an external technique which affects climax. That slow beginning enabled the audience to adjust their eyes and concentration on what is happening on stage and it helped in capturing their full attention. In the wolves scenes the tempo and rhythm was in general very fast, although sudden changes of speed was used, like for …
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Perhaps inevitably the extra colour afforded by woodwind and brass, especially the alto saxophone, is missed in this arrangement. However the Nash Ensemble shaded the sombre ‘Overture’ beautifully, working from a very slow beginning that perhaps portrayed the emptiness before creation – though in a very different way to Haydn! While the colour and shade was nicely done the opening of the fugal section ‘The Chaos before Creation’ was tentative and lacked the jazzy swing it needs. From there the performance grew in stature, the players enjoying Milhaud’s sleights of rhythm, his rich harmonies and the spicy oriental melodies that make this ballet-music so enjoyable.
Ravel’s sole Piano Trio is an altogether more serious and sombre work, given extra pertinence in this performance by its proximity to the First World War, the centenary of whose beginning falls this year. The third-movement passacaglia was the emotional centre, with Tim Horton sensitive to the bare bones of the left-hand piano melody, while Rebecca Gilliver’s contribution low on the cello also chilled. Gilliver and Marianne Thorsen were superb when playing in unison in the faster movements, as though singing Ravel’s melodies in one soft breath, while Horton played with commendable detail and attractive phrasing, despite the extraneous sounds from the sustaining pedal as it touched the raised platform on which the performers sat. The players’ virtuosity in the scherzo was without question, their technical assurance most impressive at a daringly fast tempo, while the dappled shades of the first movement and opening of the finale were beautifully rendered.
The choice of César Franck’s Piano Quintet for the second half was a good one, the piece and performance complementing the grand setting. The strings were superb, Thorsen and Laura Samuel closely aligned and faultless in both tone and intonation. Lawrence Power’s viola added crucial depth to the sound, underpinned by Gilliver’s woody cello. The close acoustic suited the frequent instances of unison playing and intensified the dotted rhythms of the arresting opening statement, while Horton’s careful use of the sustaining pedal and sensitive dynamic choices meant that piano and strings were ideally balanced. This was a thrilling performance, the energy bubbling under the surface in moments of tension at the start of the finale but released in a torrent as the main theme arrived.
It was however the elusive and improvisatory second movement that made the deepest impression, the depth of feeling clear despite the tonal shifts, whose motions were both instinctive and unexpected, the melodies singing out with real beauty. When the main theme from this movement reappeared in the finale from Thorsen’s violin there was a real sense of resolution, enhanced by the emphatic final statement where all five musicians were united. | https://www.classicalsource.com/concert/city-of-london-festival-nash-ensemble-milhaud-ravel-and-franck/ |
A tightly-honed sense of rhythm is important for all musicians because rhythm is the gas in the music engine. Regardless of genre, having good rhythm skills can help you to sound more professional, synchronize with other musicians and be the creator of the all-important groove that draws in your audience.
Yet, rhythm is a weak point for many musicians and a frequently-overlooked part of their training. Lack of focus on rhythm is not limited to just those musicians who play melodic instruments – even percussionists fall prey to focusing on which notes to play instead of when.
We recently came across the theory of “Inchronicity” and asked its creator, Mac Santiago, about how his theory can help you to improve your rhythmic skills.
This is a summary post.
→ Read the full interview
Rhythm is Everyone’s Responsibility
When playing in an ensemble, everybody shares in the responsibility of keeping time. All players in a group have the ability to be the creators of time. It’s therefore the responsibility of all musicians to not only set the tempo but to maintain it throughout a song, not just one person.
In fact, when you rely solely on others to be the “timekeepers” in the group instead of your own internal metronome, you are prone to affecting the time one way or another. Keeping time is something everyone needs to “own” with confidence.
Follow the Tempo
There are many reasons why being a good follower of the tempo is so important. Firstly, since the tempo is the glue that holds the music together, following it is paramount to judging a successful performance at any level. Being a good follower of the tempo is what allows you to stay in sync with the other players in your ensemble.
When you hone this skill, you will not only be able to adjust to what you hear other players doing, but also to adjust accordingly to what you are being directed to do by the conductor or by colleagues. Following the tempo well helps you to clarify the moment of attack and the stating of your phrases, allowing for a crisp, professional performance.
The Struggle is Real
We asked percussionist, teacher and accompanist Mac Santiago his theory as to why so many musicians struggle with rhythm. The son of a drummer, Mac believes that rhythm often plays “second fiddle” to harmony and melody in western musical cultures. With the attention so often on the education of technical issues, Western and European musicians aren’t taught to dance to or to even to incorporate body movement in time to the music.
In a musical career of over 40 years, Mac has observed some professional musicians unable to tap in time to the music. This does not appear to be an issue in African music cultures, where the foundation and emphasis of much of the music is on rhythm instead of melody and harmony.
Beyond the Metronome
In an attempt to help musicians develop better rhythm, Mac created a method called “inchronicity”. The word “inchronous” is defined by Mac as “exhibiting an ability to play rhythm accurately in steady time without the aid of a metronome, recorded music, or other musicians… what many experienced musicians refer to as your internal clock.”
Mac explained his inchronicity method to us recently and in his book “Beyond the Metronome”. The inspiration to write the book and create the method came from hearing well-trained musicians, who were able to play with a click-track or a metronome, struggle in actual performances with rhythm.
Mac’s inchronicity method is designed to help all musicians create or maintain a steady tempo by weaning themselves off of the so called “tempo crutch”.
A “tempo crutch” is any external aid that prevents a musician from relying on their own inner clock such as a metronome, click track, or even the time-keeping of other players in the ensemble. Inchronicity works the same way that intonation clarifies melody and harmony: the more you use it, the cleaner your rhythm will become. Like other musical skills, your inchronous sense can be refined and “tuned-up” as your technique changes and grows.
Additional Advice
In addition to honing your inchronous sense, there are other ways in which you can improve your sense of rhythm. For example, try recording yourself and listen to the playback of your recording. What do you note with regards to your rhythm? Is it steady?
Also, don’t disregard advice as criticism. When someone says that you are rushing or dragging the tempo, look at it as a teachable moment and an opportunity to correct your mistakes.
Most of all, listen to other musicians and try to detect on your own when you are not in-sync with other players.
Developing a sense of inchronicity can be a potentially formidable tool in your musical arsenal and becomes even more important as music becomes more complex. By taking ownership of your rhythmic skills away from external influences, you might just stop taking the importance of time-keeping for granted and perhaps even prioritize rhythm above melody and harmony – if just for a moment.
After all, as Mac Santiago says, “A poorly-played note well placed is better than a well-played note placed poorly.”
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aspects of such a conflict.
The voices are immediately full-blooded and rich when they first appear in
the opening adagio; the soprano’ first entry is sublime, soaring over the
sensitive accompaniment of the Freiburger Barockorchester. Yet prettiness is
never with us alone, and the ensemble are quick to emphasise the work’s
darker nature by exaggerating the dynamic contrasts, as found in the sudden
quiet in the centre of the Introitus: Requiem æternam.
Throughout the disc, there is a fine balance achieved between high drama
– achieved through crisp articulation and dynamic variety – and
melodic sweetness. Indeed, one of the most unsettling features of
Mozart’s Requiem may be its juxta-position of beauty with darkness; how
can someone write such sublime music to express something that embodies such
fear and unpredictability?
This sense of contrast is beautifully highlighted in this new release. When
the sopranos and altos glide into the picture after the opening gravitas of the
male voices in the Confutatis, the dynamic and timbral contrast is
stunning. However, it does at times feel almost overblown, particularly with
the tempo that Jacobs adopts here, a tempo noticeably faster than Marriner on
Philips (Academy and Chorus of St Martin in the Fields, 1991). Marriner also
manages to keep the dynamic quieter for longer in the latter half of the
Confutatis, making the tension almost unbearable. Similarly,
Karajan’s DG (Vienna Philharmonic, 1987) reading finds a greater hush at
the opening of the Lacrimosa, making the prolonged crescendo more
striking. Despite the abrasive aggression of the Confutatis and
the missed opportunity for genuine quiet in the Lacrimosa, it is
impossible not to feel swept away by the sheer force of nature of both the
score and the performance here, this force brilliantly communicating the
overwhelming nature of death.
This release is certainly never afraid to be forceful, and gives as much
prominence to the darkness as to the light. Listen to the explosive opening of
the Dies Irae and, with the wonderfully full-bodied choir and
aggressive brass, it feels that we are hearing not only a piece of music that
is glaring death in the eye, but also performers playing for their lives.
Indeed, this sense of vitality and liveliness in the singers (a touch ironic,
perhaps) is matched by the instrumentalists, and the acoustic captures the
imitation between the brass and choir effectively. A more transparent recording
than Karajan’s DG reading enables a more prominent brass and string
section, vital in communicating the raw energy and darkness of Mozart’s
score.
Indeed, compared to Karajan, Jacobs employs a much faster tempo for the
Tuba Mirum – or perhaps I should say that Karajan employed a
tempo that was far slower – and Jacobs is much closer to Mozart’s
andante marking. It is a shame, however, that the opening descending
crotchets speed up, denying the phrase the gravity attained in the more
consistent opening tempo of Marriner’s classic Philips recording.
However, both Marriner and Jacobs are agreed in their faster tempo reading in
comparison to Karajan’s sluggishness, creating a greater sense of
movement in the Tuba Mirum. This heightens the drama of the
tenor’s entry and the voices’ dotted rhythms. Karajan, whilst
aiming for an epic stateliness, achieves more of an inflated sluggishness that
detracts from the grandeur of this section. Yet, even compared to Marriner,
Jacobs takes a very fast tempo; in the Tuba Mirum, Jacobs’
recording lasts just 3m11s, compared to Marriner’s 3m47s and
Karajan’s 4m21s. Jacobs clearly aims for fast-paced dramatic tension; one
could argue Marriner finds a better compromise between dramatic agility and
stately gravitas, as Jacobs does occasionally feel rushed, as in the opening
descending crotchets. Marriner’s tempo is my ideal: weighty yet with a
sense of movement.
Tempo is fast elsewhere in the new recording; Jacobs’ genuine allegro
of the Communio: Lux aeterna creates a fantastic sense of buoyancy,
making the semiquavers sound far more agile than Karajan’s slower
reading. The Belgian soprano Sophie Karthäuser sings beautifully in the
Lux Aeterna, performing with great purity of tone and a
well-controlled vibrato that never distracts from the text. There is a
beautiful simplicity and delicacy that expertly conveys the “eternal
light” described.
This recording’s unique selling point is the score it uses; instead of
utilising Franz Xaver Süssmayr’s completion of Mozart’s
original, Jacobs makes use of Pierre-Henri Dutron’s 2016 revised score, a
project motivated by Dutron’s frustration at the inadequacies of
Süssmayr’s version. Amongst the changes made by Dutron is a revised
ending, which turns to an adagio tempo earlier and uses an extra pause –
alongside dynamic contrast – to conclude the work with what Dutron argues
would have been closer to Mozart’s true style. This recording is thus an
important documentation of an alternative perspective on a well-known piece,
providing fresh perspectives and asking further questions about the legitimacy
and efficacy of Süssmayr’s version.
Harmonia Mundi’s new release is a powerful tour de force that
confronts us with the high drama and tension of Mozart’s late
masterpiece. With superb dynamic contrast, tempi that mostly strike a good
balance between stateliness and momentum, and beautifully expressive singing,
this is a highly enjoyable disc that communicates the full force of the huge
emotions that Mozart grapples with. Given that the piece was performed at the
funerals of Joseph Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Rossini, Berlioz and
Hallé, not to mention Goethe and Schiller, this is music that is
intimately connected to death beyond just its subject matter. It is music about
death in the fullest sense. With this recording, it is impossible not to be
aware that one is listening to a piece of music that looks death in the eye.
With the added interest of Dutron’s revisions, the spectre of death in
Mozart’s score is communicated here with the fullest force of life.
Jack Pepper
References:
Landon, H. C. Robbins. 1999. 1791, Mozart’s last year. New
York: Thames and Hudson.
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, Sylvia McNair, Carolyn Watkinson, Neville
Marriner, Francisco Araiza, Robert Lloyd, and Franz Xaver Süssmayr. 1991.
Requiem, K. 626. London: Philips.
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Helga Mu?ller Molinari, Vinson
Cole, Paata Burchuladze, and Herbert von Karajan. 1987. Requiem K. 626.
Hamburg: Deutsche Grammophon.
image=http://www.operatoday.com/Mozart_Requiem.png
image_description=harmonia mundi 902291 [CD]
product=yes
product_title=Mozart: Requiem K.626
product_by=Sophie Karth‰user, Marie-Claude Chappuis, Maximilian Schmitt, Johannes Weisser. RIAS Kammerchor. Freiburger Barockorchester. René Jacobs. | https://operatoday.com/2017/11/mozarts_requiem_pierre-henri_dutron_edition/ |
This is the first of two articles, continuing our series from BodyMinded in Sydney1, addressing the relationship between too much tension, and too little.
Muscle activity is a part of everything we do. Coordinating your movement skilfully is essential in learning and performing music, so it makes sense that challenges in skill development and performance often lead to muscle tension related questions. These articles will introduce some fundamentals to answer questions on how much tension is enough; how to release or relax; and how to work with musical dynamics such as loudness, timbre and tempo in the context of whole-self coordination.
Some Basics
Muscles pull. When they pull the parts of the body move, unless there is resistance to movement, in which case the muscle work becomes tension. In physics “tension” refers to pulling on something to make it stretched or tight. In the body excess muscle tension is associated with stiffness, preventing ease of movement and interfering with the timing, sequencing, and rhythm of our playing.
We all have some idea of what too much tension looks like (stiff, jerky), what it may feel like (tense, uncomfortable, restricted), and its potential impact on both comfort and musical performance. What is not so clear is how to address it within the complex activities of playing or singing.
Link the fingers of one hand to the other and pull in opposite directions. You will feel the muscle work, the pressure of opposing forces, but little or no movement occurs. Notice that the more you pull the more likely you are to notice tension in other parts of your body: your neck, your jaw, pulling a face or holding your breath. Tension tends to generalise to the whole self.
Unnecessary tension does not have to feel uncomfortable. It may generate discomfort involving strain, struggle and/or effort, but for some this may be experienced as a positive sense of ‘working hard’ or even not register as a particular sensation at all. The feeling of working hard does not necessarily mean you are being effective; in fact it can mean the opposite.
Regardless of sensation, too much tension can be heard in a flattening of dynamic range and reduced sensitivity of control of the instrument (including the voice) and may lead to repetitive strain injuries.
Try this exercise: while playing your instrument, or drumming your fingers on a table or desk, deliberately hold your breath or pull a face. How about if you stiffen your legs while you move your fingers. How does that feel? What happens to your movement? Does it change again when you allow yourself to breath easily??
General Moveability
Overall movement freedom affects the specific movements involved in making music. Improvements in overall ‘moveability’ help create the background conditions for improvements in coordination and control in your singing and playing. Based on this, we can begin our experiments with the Goldilocks Principle2 as it applies to muscle tension:
“Allow everything to move that needs to move”
This is a simple reminder that all parts of you remain moveable as you play. Note this does not mean everything is actively moving to play, some parts play a supporting role, and move ‘passively’ or ‘automatically’; they adjust naturally, all you need to ensure is that they can.
One way to explore this with yourself and with your students is to conduct a moving tour of the whole body, to awaken the sense of moveability everywhere that movement can happen. With kids this can be the ‘wiggle warm-up’; with older people a tour of the joints and movements. For example, in the torso your spine is moveable (bendable) through its whole length, forward, backward, sideways, spirals; your head is moveably balanced over the spine, and the pelvis moves along with the rest of the torso. Head, spine and pelvis form a moving synergy as you play. All movement directions can be explored (within safe parameters for each person), noticing how moving the head moves the spine, moving the pelvis moves the spine, and moving the spine moves the head and pelvis, all together. What happens when you remember this ‘wiggle-ability’ as you play?
As you have seen, the solution to too much tension is moveability. This applies in an overall sense as well as to specific tensions, such as in the jaw, fingers, shoulder/neck or legs. When you start playing or singing, do you once again stiffen your torso? Hold your breath, or stiffen your legs? Using the activity above, observe how the specific tension you are concerned with responds to improvements in overall moveability.
Playing music is action. You cannot play well if there is insufficient muscle tone, that is, despite improvements often feeling ‘more relaxed’, asking for relaxation is not the answer! In our follow-up article we will look at how to deal with ‘over relaxation’ and ensure an appropriate level of muscle work in your singing and playing. | https://interlude.hk/the-goldilocks-principle-in-the-performance-of-music/ |
The clashing notes and use of chromaticism in the high string part results in harmonic dissonance, which creates tension throughout the work.
Jenn Gillan: You don’t need to include ‘creates tension throughout the work, just = tension is enough and takes fewer words.
The combination of this harmonic dissonance with textural sparsity at the start create a mysterious, brooding character.
Jenn Gillan: The question has given you the aspect it wishes to describe, ie tension, so you don’t need to change words ‘mysterious, brooding’ etc. Stick with tension.
The tone colour of the high strings is sharp and grating, which creates tension and adds to the mysterious character of the excerpt.
Jenn Gillan: Again, reference to mysterious not needed.
The long, rubato rhythm of the double bass pedal-point creates the sense of a lack of movement which creates anticipation and mystery.
Jenn Gillan: Maybe saying ‘draws out dissonance or prolongs dissonance resulting in increased tension’ may have addressed the question better.
The rhythmic subdivisions of the upper string part increases throughout the excerpt, increasing the sense of tension and anticipation when juxtaposed against the mostly static double bass.
Jenn Gillan: Great. You’ve compared what’s happening in different parts effectively.
The legato articulation of the strings, which intrinsically creates a sense of calm, has the opposite effect when combined with the tension created by the other elements, heightening the sense of mystery and anticipation throughout the excerpt.
Jenn Gillan: Again, a great comment. This shows that you understand what is expected in music and how these expectations are met or not met. These are insightful comments.
Overall: Some great insight and comparison at a high level. Make sure you address the question, not add character when it is not required. Articulation and tone colour could have been addressed in a little more depth but overall a great response. Well done. | https://jennygillan.com.au/analysis-question-two-with-sample-response-iii-brett-dean-between-the-spaces-in-the-sky/ |
Polish Contemporary composer Henryk Mikołaj Górecki [1933–2010] wrote three string quartets. The Second Quartet, titled Quasi una Fantasia, is in four movements.
A throbbing cello opens the work, with occasional long violin tones sustaining a bleak mood. This persists for some time with the violin mostly adding colour. After several minutes, the violin becomes more salient and probes in a stronger manner. The music changes slowly with the violin now joined by a second voice offering up extremely sparse phrases, similar to the previous introduction of the first violin. A change to a harmonised version of the pulsing cello is briefly heard, before the texture is returned to a violin and cello, this time without pulsing – a series of four sparse ascending chords concludes. You could probably call this a dirge but I am interested to see how it sits within the structure of the work.
The next movement features a much stronger chordal pulse, with one violin in a low register expressing furtive phrases, based around a simple motif. This violin becomes more expansive and brings on a more melodic section, mostly in a higher register although it does spend some further time in the lower register. An extended pause brings on two funereal chords before a return to the movement opening. Now we have a variation on the basic melodic material which leads into a section of several sharp stops between episodes of the unrelenting rhythm, some of which are also quite brief. An extended pause leads into further funereal chords with a violin musing sparingly within the harmonies. This precious mood continues until a faded ending occurs.
Rhythm is eschewed for the third movement which begins with a series of long chords and a stark violin line which gradually becomes insistent, leading the accompaniment on to a chaotic period. A change in mood has the violins sounding jagged in their attack. A new section unfolds with two violins in a simple harmonised motif which gives way to a series of sparse passages where a gentle, but constantly changing harmony is heard. This period is all about ensemble chords with little or no melodic development occurring. The movement offers up a complete distraction from the previous energised movements.
The finale is again pulsing, but there is a sense of more melody here together with changes in the harmonised rhythms. A stop moves into a cello driven passage, with the cello moving through a series of rhythmic motifs, sometimes supported by other voicings and sometimes solo. This is frantic music, although sporadic brief moments of peace are to be heard. Similar to the previous movement there is a series of intensely rhythmic passages which feature only incremental change. The tension is eventually resolved, revealing a period of gentle chords with no tempo until the cello introduces a most subtle pulse. This too, slowly dissipates and the music drifts to a faded, placid conclusion.
I have always been quite ambivalent about Górecki’s quartets, in fact I hadn’t listened to the first two for about 15 years. I came across the Third recently and after an initial period of excitement, this long work ultimately did not feel satisfying to me, a feeling that grew stronger as I listened to it intently over a couple of days. The work that I have just discussed also feels a little unsatisfying to me. Having said that, I know that the first two quartets are quite popular, and I am sure that many readers would enjoy their measured, non-confronting but powerful modernism. Maybe on another day, I would have different thoughts about them too.
The review CD, String Quartets 1, 2: Already It Is Dusk: Quasi Una Fantasia, performed by the Kronos Quartet, on the Nonesuch label, is still freely available, 25 years after its release. There are also several other versions on Amazon US and UK.
Górecki fans should also investigate … songs are sung, the Third Quartet, a strange work but one that carries his distinctive style to great lengths.
There are versions of all three quartets on Spotify, earsense and YouTube. | https://sqblog.jhredguitar.com/uncategorized/henryk-gorecki-quasi-una-fantasia/ |
# Haile (robot)
Haile (pronounced Hi-lee) is a robot percussionist developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology that listens to music in real time and creates an accompanying beat. The robot was designed in 2006 by Georgia Tech's professor of musical technology, Gil Weinberg. He and one of his graduate students, Scott Driscoll, created the robot to be able to "listen like a human, improvise like a robot" (Weinberg). Haile "listens" through a microphone mounted on the drum and analyzes the sound, separating it into beats, rhythms, pitches and several other qualities. Detecting changes in these qualities helps Haile to assume either a leading or following style of play, roles that define the robot's collaborative abilities. Haile was also the first robot to create an acoustic percussion experience rather than play music through speakers. Its anthropomorphic design, which gives it movable arms that can move in any direction, allow it to create this acoustic music.
## Goals and purpose
Driscoll's initial goal for making Haile was to combine the use of auditory input and robotics to create a musical experience that would lead to further human–robot interaction. The final goal was a robot that could translate live music into an acoustic performance that could implement and transcend human capabilities. Haile wasn't designed to replace human musicians, but rather to accompany them with expressive playing.
These goals led to Weinberg wanting to create an acoustic musical experience. His earlier experiments failed to incorporate the visual or auditory aspects associated with acoustic music. Haile's functional drumming arms add musical cues (visually stimulating bouncing drum sticks and live, acoustic sounds) that other robot performances lack. Additionally, other attempts at percussion playing robots, Weinberg saw, were limited in the variety of beats that they could produce. Haile is not only preloaded with individual beats, but is also programmed to identify pitch, rhythm, and patterns, allowing it to improvise and play different beats every time, rather than simply mimic.
## Design
Haile's anthropomorphic or human-like design mimics human movements which supports interactive play with other musicians. Its two robotic arms are responsible for creating different sounds; the right arm plays faster notes, while the left arm has larger motions for louder and slower beats. While other robotic drummers at the time were limited to playing only a few locations on the drum, Haile is versatile in its ability to play along a straight line from the rim to the center of the drum.
### Form
Haile's wooden designed was modeled to match the natural feel of a Native American pow wow(Native American gathering), so it was made out of wood rather than metal. The wooden parts were made at the Advanced Wood Product Laboratory at Georgia Tech's College of Architecture using a CNC wood router. It was originally designed to play a pow wow drum, a multiplayer drum that supports Haile's collaborative purpose. However, it also was made with metal joints that give it adjustable height so it can play other drums. These joints are the keys to the robot's arm movement up and down, left and right, and front and back. If needed, they detach, allowing for full disassembly.
### Perception
Haile uses a microphone on the drum which first detected rhythms played by a human in real time. The robot identifies tempo and beats allowing it to play along with the other player. It can also adjust to the human's changes in volume, tempo or beat, allowing it to switch between accompanying and lead playing. Weinberg and his team first developed the robot's low-level perception ability, which includes detecting hit onsets, pitch, amplitude, and density. In terms of sound, a hit refers to a distinct change in both volume and sound quality. Once the outside music is captured, the sound is analyzed through a number of instruments, called perception modules, which each detect a certain aspect of the sound:
Pitch - detects hits and changes in frequency and translates them to find pitches Beat - processes onsets and determines rhythms and tempo Amplitude - recognizes changes in volume to determine when to assume leading or following roles Density - detects changes in rhythm complexity at tempo to also help Haile assume leading or following roles
### Arm mechanics
Haile's arms are driven by two separate means. The left arm uses a linear motor which is responsible for larger movements that correspond to louder sounds. The linear motor, along with a linear encoder is used to control the robot's arm height. The larger motions are louder and more visible, but limit the arm to swinging at a top speed of 11 Hz. The right arm, which plays softer and faster notes, is driven by a solenoid, which uses an aluminum stick and return spring capable of hitting the drum at up to 15 Hz. Both arms are capable of hitting anywhere (from the rim to the center) on the drum through the use of a linear slide, which allows each of them completely independent movement in a single direction.
## Playing
Haile's system adopts a leader-follower model, using tempo and beat changes to determine who the current leader is. Haile understands when a new leader emerges based on musical changes (tempo, volume, beat, etc.). The robot has two modes of play:
As a follower, Haile first analyzes the external music. It then matches and maintains the tempo, allowing the human player to play more complicated rhythms. Haile can also tell when the other player begins to play louder or more quickly, forcing it into the submissive role. When the human beings to play basic rhythms at a steady tempo, the robot takes the lead. As a leader, Haile uses rhythms produced earlier by the human and improvises a rhythm with its right arm. The left arm detects and maintains the other player's tempo.
## Challenges
Some of the challenges that Weinberg faced with Haile's programming involved being able to distinguish between different, simultaneous sounds. Initially, analysis algorithms were unable to pick out softer and more subtle notes amidst louder sounds. Also, the inability to filter out ambient noise prevented Haile from working properly. After a considerable amount of adjusting, the filters and input hardware were tuned to differentiate between various volumes of music while ignoring interfering noise.
As Haile was designed to play in either leading or following roles, early detection algorithms limited the human's ability to lead. The robot was designed to be able to detect changes in the music it heard, but would only respond to changes in tempo. This flaw only allowed the human to lead as long as he or she kept speeding up or slowing down. Weinberg, trying to model human musical interaction, implemented volume and noise density sensors to aid in the robot's ability to define leadership. These additions gave the human longer periods of leadership, giving Haile more opportunity to build upon what it heard. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haile_(robot) |
I search for the realness, the real feeling of a subject,
all the texture around it. . . I always want to see the third dimension of something. . . I want to come alive with the object.
~Andrew Wyeth~
Our world is full of texture. Almost as much as color, I am keenly aware of the textures in my environment. Soft grasses, bristly pines, wispy clouds, ripples on water, are just a few of the endless textures we can experience in the landscape. Keep reading to discover why I love the element of texture in painting.
Notes on Painting ~ Rhythm
3/1/2019
Rhythm is as necessary in a picture as pigment; it is as much a part of painting as of music.
~Walter J. Phillips~
I am thinking about rhythm as I continue with my posts here considering my paintings as they relate to the elements of design. Besides music, lots of things have rhythm. I enjoy the rhythm of the seasons, a rhythm to my days, and the calming rhythms of ocean waves. And I enjoy adding pattern, through repeated elements or motifs, into my painting compositions to create a visual rhythm. Repetition is probably the easiest way to express rhythm in painting by repeating any of the design elements throughout a composition. Repetition can suggest movement through a visual tempo and provide a path for the eye to follow.
Notes on Painting ~ Balance
1/4/2019
The works must be concerned with fire in the soul
but executed with clinical coolness.
~Joan Miro~
My intention to post here monthly fell apart at the end of 2018. So here it is a new year, a fresh start, and a good time to talk about balance. I obviously lacked a bit of balance when I allowed busyness in the studio, and with life in general, overtake other areas that are also important to me, like posting on this blog! I know it’s not easy keeping all the parts of our lives in balance, and it is something I often hear about, the attempt to keep a sense of balance in our lives.
Notes on Painting ~ Space
9/19/2018
What art offers is space – a certain breathing room for the spirit.
~ John Updike ~
Creating a feeling of spaciousness is something that I struggle with in my abstract landscape works. The spaces I strive to create in my paintings are a direct response to the landscape here in the Blue Ridge Mountains. There is distance but also a closeness of rising mountainsides, tree lines and forests.
connections
4/26/2018
It took me a while to see it.
I have fallen into a way of working in my sketchbook that feels just about right for now.
Process
3/19/2018
The only consistency with my painting process is that I like to mix things up. Changing up the process helps me keep things fresh. In this way new challenges are presented, and there are new problems to be solved.
visual language and DNA
12/1/2017
For some time now my method for working on paintings has been to allow the composition to develop intuitively on the canvas. Choices of color happen naturally as well, perhaps influenced by the color of the season or even just the weather that day. And what has been happening in these compositions are vague references to landscape, particularly mountainous landscapes. At the outset of this exploration into abstraction I attributed this to my many years of living in these mountains and that these land forms have crept into my visual vocabulary. Now I am beginning to wonder if it doesn’t go even deeper than that. Perhaps it’s in my DNA.
I began the month of October with the goal of completing a series of small abstract paintings that celebrate the color and texture of Autumn. I also had in mind to experiment with process.
After a base coat from my "gray jar" onto the six 8 x 8 inch panels, I then applied vibrant color to serve as a contrast for further layers.
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About me...
I dream in color.
*All images and content on this blog is ©Ann Thompson Nemcosky. | http://www.nemcoskyart.com/studio-notes/category/painting |
My friend Jerry recently posted this semiotic schema of music on his blog asking for feedback. I think its amazing, and for anybody grappling with multimodal text analysis it is invaluable. I’ll post the schema to save flipping back and forth but note it is Jerry’s work:
Music: A Semiotic Schema
|FUNCTION >RANK
|
\/
|IDEATIONAL
|
(Propositional/representational)
|INTERPERSONAL
|
(Modality)
|TEXTUAL
|
(Compositional)
|SCHOOL/PERIOD
|
(Ideological base)
|Religious/Secular
|
Canonical/Popular
|Orientation
|
i)Form (eg Classical)
ii)Ornament (eg baroque)
iii) Sense (eg romantic)
|Genre|
|WORK||Type of orchestration/Intertextuality||Modality
|
– fantasy
-description
-irony
-etc
as expressed by:
-voicing
-key
-dynamics
-’weight’ etc
|Frame
|
eg song/folk dance/tonepoem/sonata/etc
|MOVEMENT||Interplay of
|
i)thematic structure
ii)sub-themes
eg: statement, recapitulation,cadence (ending), conjunction
|Mood
|
eg slow movementMode
eg -major
-minor
-dorian
-lydian
-chromatic
-pentatonic etcRange
-pitch
-volumeInstrumentation
|Textual coherence :
|
-interplay of theme
-conjunctions/transitions
-sub-themes
modulations:
-to different key
-to different mode
-tonal ambiguities
|PHRASE
|
(Verbal group)
|Theme+rhythm:
|
anticipation
recapitulation
cadence
conjunction
|Modifiers
|
-rhythmic
-tempo
|Contrast options:
|
-rhythm
-tempo
-pitch
-dynamic range(loud/soft)-pauses
|THEME
|
(nominal group)
|Play of figures
|
(nominal ‘characters’)
|Characterisation:
|
relation to hearer – ‘gaze’
-pointers to key tonality
-colour
-dynamics
-line (melodic sequence)
|Deixis:
|
Tonal qualifiers – flat 5ths/7ths etcKey statementCadences (endings)
|MOTIF
|
(Morphemes)
|Lexical content
|
recognisable figuresrecurrent patterns
|Lexical Register:
|
Modified motifs:
-changed mode
-changed key
-inversions
-changed rhythm
|Collocations:
|
-position in theme
-posn in movement
-posn in Work
parallelism/contrasts
|NOTE
|
(Phoneme)
|Basic unit of information:pitch+lengthdegree of scale:
|
8-octave
7-leading-note
6-sub-mediant
5-dominant
4-sub-dominant
3-mediant
2-supertonic
1-tonic
|Oppositions:sound/silence
|
long/short
loud/quiet
high/low (pich)
chord/single note
|
Position in harmonic seriesdistributioncollocationintervals
|
voicing
I think when Theo van Leeuwen speaks about movement he uses the terms figure, ground and field to distinguish which musical themes are foregrounded (the figure) or backgrounded (the field) at any one time. These are categories of interpretation and relate to how the listener perceives and interprets their position within the soundscape. These relate to the same principles of perspective that we also use when speaking about images. Similarly, he uses the principles of social distance when speaking about the interpersonal meanings of dynamics.
Van Leeuwen also discusses the use of silence as both an ideational and textual resource to mark turning points in the musical conversation.
I am especially interested in the study of multimodal texts and how the semiotic modes are deployed to make narrative meanings, so the idea of which sounds are diegetic (used to construct narrative meaning) and which ones are non-diegetic (don’t signify any narrative meaning) is something I’ve been looking at. I am also interested in the way the narrative is passed around and through the semiotic modes, or how they are multiply textured (and I’ve stolen the term multimodal complexity from Royce to describe this) to signify meaning.
One interesting thing to note is that many musicians emphaise the interpersonal resource above and beyond the other metafunctions because they believe that their music transcends all else but to make that connection with the audience. But there is just so much work to be done in this area and it seems to me that the SFL-ers are just way behind – so work like Jerry’s here is incredibly helpful to bounce off. I went to a seminar earlier in the year where Jim Martin and Theo van Leeuwen were both lamenting the lack of work being done and urging new SFL scholars to take up this challenge. I went to the seminar expecting a lot of answers and guides and discussions of schema such as this one but was quite shocked when they said they just didn’t know much yet about multimodal texts in general. | https://angelaathomas.com/2007/05/21/the-semiotics-of-music-a-schema-by-jerry-everard/ |
You will no doubt have seen this before reading me, but John Maxwell Hobbs, in a comment below, calls my attention to Clive Thompson’s fascinating interview in the Times with Daniel Levitin, the cognitive scientist who tracks how music gets processed in the brain. The passage that I’ll be quoting to my composition students is this:
Observing 13 subjects who listened to classical music while in an M.R.I. machine, the scientists found a cascade of brain-chemical activity. First the music triggered the forebrain, as it analyzed the structure and meaning of the tune. Then the nucleus accumbus and ventral tegmental area activated to release dopamine, a chemical that triggers the brain’s sense of reward.
The cerebellum, an area normally associated with physical movement, reacted too, responding to what Dr. Levitin suspected was the brain’s predictions of where the song was going to go. As the brain internalizes the tempo, rhythm and emotional peaks of a song, the cerebellum begins reacting every time the song produces tension (that is, subtle deviations from its normal melody or tempo). [Emphasis added]
For years I’ve harangued my students that every new note creates expectations that must be dealt with – whether fulfilled or contradicted, but at least acknowledged – and now I’ve got cognitive science to back me up. | https://www.artsjournal.com/postclassic/2006/12/the_tension_of_deviating_from.html |
Tempo builds upon nature's complex design through choreographed rhythmic movements to the tempo of music. Using a timed movement through space, one exposure is used to arrive at the final image.
The images are printed on a metal substrate. A dynamic dimension emerges creating a playground for light to affect her work as the light changes throughout the day. | https://www.lissahahnfineart.com/copy-of-current-work |
Principles of design are the rules and guidelines that govern how the elements of design should be organized. They are the fundamental guiding principles for a good composition of the individual elements of design. The principles of design are balance, variety, harmony, emphasis, proportion, movement, unity, and contrast.
Balance
This is the arrangement of the elements of design so that no one part of the work overpowers or seems heavier than any other part. It is a feeling of harmony in the composition of colour and space. It is a state of equalized tension and equilibrium in space, shape and weight. In the real world, balance can be measured on a scale. If two objects weigh the same, the two sides of the scale will balance. In art, balance can be seen and felt by the viewer.
There are three types of balance. These are formal balance, informal balance, and radial balance.
Formal Balance
Formal balance is achieved when one half of a work is a mirror image of the other half or a situation when both halves of a work are the same. It is also referred to as Symmetrical Balance. Owing to the fact that formal balance can easily be noticed, some are of the view that when used in a work it makes the work seems less interesting.
Informal Balance
Informal balance is when two unlike objects are made to seem to have equal weight but in actual sense they are not. Informal balance is also referred to as Asymmetrical balance. It is achieved by the use of hues, values, intensities, shapes and spaces in the picture plane. For instance, in a painted work, a small shape painted with a warm colour like red will balance with several large shapes painted in dull or cool colours. In a drawing, the large shape may be drawn closer to the central point while the small shape can be moved farther away from the fulcrum or a central point in order to achieve informal balance. This type of balance is complex and difficult to recognize in a work.
Radial Balance
Radial balance happens when the elements or objects in a work are positioned around a central point or fulcrum. A flower with its petals spreading outward from the centre is an example of radial balance in nature. The elements placed in a radial balance seem to ‘radiate’ out from a central point in a circular fashion.
Variety
This refers to combining one or more elements to create interest or hold attention. It is the opposite of monotony. It is the variation in the elements of design in a composition to break monotony and to increase the attraction. Variety heightens or increases the visual appeal of artworks. There are various ways of showing variety in an artwork. These include using light values of a colour in breaking most dark values of the same colour in the work. Straight lines can be used in breaking the monotony of several curved lines in a picture
Harmony
This refers to the blending of elements in a pleasing way. It is a design principle that involves composing design elements that share common or similar interest. For instance, rectangle and square are harmonious because each of the elements is constructed by the use of parallel lines. In colour work, paints or colours are said to harmonise if they would form a pleasant combination. Most skilled artists use the principles of harmony and variety together in different amounts to bind the parts of a work to the whole.
Emphasis
This is the making of an element or object in a work to stand out from the other objects or elements used in the work. This principle helps the artist to control the part of a work that the viewer looks at first. It also helps the artist to control how long the viewer will spend looking at each of the different parts of the same work.
Dominance
This is a design principle that ensures that one element in a composition domineers over the other elements. Dominance resolves conflict and helps in regaining unity in an artwork. The traditional and simplest way of achieving dominance is by repetition of the dominant element. In numbers, the dominant element is greater than the others in the composition.
Proportion
This refers to how parts of a work relate to each other and the whole. It is the comparative relationship of dimensions and shapes. An artist may point out the main figures in a work by making them larger than the rest. Proportion in art is not limited to only sizes of objects, but also in colours. A key colour can be used in differing proportions in a work.
Movement
This is the principle of art that leads the viewer to sense action in a work. It can also be the path that leads the viewers’ eyes throughout a work. Artists create movement through a careful blending of elements like lines and shapes. Movement between colours and textures are created by relating their values to one another. Movement can be created by placing elements close to each other (Rhythmic movement) in an orderly manner.
Rhythm /Repetition
This is the systematic repetition of an element to make a work seem active and stimulate a sense of movement. It is a timed movement through space in a work of art. Sometimes, to create rhythm, artists repeat not just elements, but the exact objects, shapes, lines, texture or colour in a work over and over again to create a patterned picture.
Unity
This is the arrangement of elements to create a feeling of completeness. It is achieved by the careful placement of the elements of design to give a sense of oneness. Unity helps in holding attention. When the objects or individual items seem to go their own way in a picture then unity is missing.
Contrast
Contrast is very similar to variety. However, the varying element is usually opposite to the other element used. For instance, when circles are used, its varying element that will best help in creating contrast is square. Contrast is sometimes referred to as Opposition or Conflict.
Scale
This is using the relative sizes of elements against each other to attract attention to a focal point. When elements are designed larger than life, scale is being used to show drama, animation and cartooning. | https://ezmart4u.com/familiarizing-oneself-with-the-governors-of-creation-principles-of-designs/ |
March 27, 2019
Teachers know how difficult it can be to teach a classroom full of students with different abilities. Not only do you work hard to meet teaching standards, cater to various IEPs, complete lesson plans that are fun and exciting, but you must make sure that your classroom is an environment that is comfortable for each student. Creating this welcoming education environment can be extremely difficult, especially in classrooms where there is improper rhetoric regarding the ways to discuss disabilities - both physical and intellectual. That’s why the experts at Jett Publishing have created a guide for teaching students about disabilities - from physical disabilities to an IEP for dyslexia - in the classroom. Using these helpful ideas, you can take the time to address students with a valuable lesson on acceptance, understanding, and personal strengths.
One of the most important things you can teach your students about disabilities is how to have a respectful, politically-correct conversation about disabilities. Whether you are focusing on learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, or physical disabilities, it’s important to provide students with the tools necessary for respecting the feelings and abilities of others.
There are a variety of things students should know about a respectful conversation about people with disabilities. As a teacher, it is not only your role to teach this to create an accepting environment for all students, but to provide a life lesson that many students will not receive at home. Here are some key talking points when helping students establish a language for talking about disabilities:
The key here, while outlining the proper language for discussing disabilities, is to emphasize the acceptance of differences. For learning disabilities - which are often ignored in these conversations yet valuable in an academic setting - it’s important to emphasize that each student learns differently regardless of disability. By gearing the conversation towards accepting differences, your classroom will become a more welcoming, collaborative environment.
In addition to explaining the proper language for discussing disabilities, it’s important to provide students with the knowledge necessary to understand disabilities and their roots. Since nearly 1 in 5 people in the US have a disability, it’s important to teach students that these disabilities are not a person’s fault. Additionally, taking the time to teach students about common disabilities allows them to better understand a person’s abilities, breaking down misconceptions about people with disabilities.
While teaching students about common disabilities encountered in schools - ranging from learning disabilities to physical disabilities - be sure to reinforce the person-first language and talk to them about equal opportunities for students with special needs. Explain how some students will have an IEP for dyslexia, ADHD, or another learning disability. Not only should you focus on the perceived “downsides” of the disability, but should discuss how learning differences can provide benefits to both the individual and a group. Not only do different ways of learning and thinking bring new ideas to the table, but help highlight the talents of everyone in the group.
Once students have a better understanding of disabilities, their new-found knowledge can be a source of power in creating accepting, collaborative environments both inside and outside the classroom.
As a teacher, it’s your goal to create an environment that is best for learning and growing. Creating this type of environment can prove to be difficult if students find that they do not feel welcome. Take the necessary steps in creating an inviting, politically-correct environment for individuals with disabilities by informing students about various disabilities. By taking the time to address disabilities head-on, you can avoid future problems with acceptance in your classroom. Take the next step in leveling the playing field in your classroom by looking into the Secret Codes Curriculum, which is proven to prevent reading failure in classrooms. Whether you’re teaching a student with an IEP for Dyslexia or a student performing well above their age level, rest assured that the Secret Codes is the curriculum that can help every student thrive. | https://www.jettpublishing.net/post/teaching-students-about-differences-in-the-classroom |
An educational system is of quality when it pays attention to marginalized and vulnerable groups and seeks to develop its potential,” UNESCO explains, referring to inclusive education. This is a matter of achieving a standard, which places special emphasis on the elimination of gender disparities and equal access to all levels of education, taking into account people with disabilities and gender differences.
So, it is important to ask ourselves, how can we achieve an inclusive education and transcend historical social and cultural paradigms? A remarkable example comes from Nigeria of an Educator and Philanthropist called Chidi Topaz Olujie. Mr. Olujie has played an active role in working for his community. As a community leader, humanitarian, and philanthropist, he has helped change the lives of hundreds of people residing in his locality. One of his most notable contributions remains his efforts to promote diverse and inclusive education by establishing strategies and implementing them. He also has assertively campaigned for special education which won him the Deaf Teacher Association of Nigeria.
Suggested are 5 ways to promote diversity and inclusive education in the classroom.
- Encourage respect for difference: Respect in classrooms is driven by differences in culture, languages, customs, gender, and disabilities, thus avoiding prejudices and stereotypes. Teachers should instill a healthy coexistence among all members of a group and propose more effective methodologies such as dynamics and exercises, thus promoting more responsible participation and potentializing the inherent characteristics of each student.
- Promote a healthy environment in the classroom: A positive context can have a favorable effect on students, who will feel more motivated and have a better attitude towards learning. It is important to make them feel welcomed to the class regardless of the diversity of personalities. It will undoubtedly increase their sense of belonging and, therefore, the environment and coexistence will be healthier among teachers and students.
- Transmit and build confidence in each of the students: Without a doubt, each individual is different – whether in their beliefs, values, culture, preferences, etc. – therefore, promoting the trust of the members of the group is vital. , since it enhances the competences of each one, strengthens their self-esteem and allows better expression skills, greater security, and confidence.
Without a doubt, this achieves more successful and tolerant people and less vulnerable to common problems such as bullying. An excellent tool for teachers is the free #YoCuidoMiHuella campaign, which seeks to promote children and adolescents to make responsible use of their social networks and learn to configure the privacy of their data when surfing the Internet.
- Invite students to participate in social and cultural activities: In this way, students will have a positive integration through teamwork and personal development. Students will also develop tolerance and acceptance of differences between them.
- Spend more time to educate: Teachers should devote more time to transmit their knowledge, detaching themselves from textbooks, and adopting digital tools for the simplification of administrative and academic tasks in schools. Thus leaving more time for participation in the classroom and for education to be more inclusive and healthy. | https://www.qhublog.com/1402/5-strategies-on-promoting-diverse-and-inclusive-education-in-the-classroom/ |
No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.
-Theodore Roosevelt
An inclusive and supportive school climate is an important part of education for teachers, students, administrative staff, and parents. One of the ways that we can maintain a school culture that is inclusive is by ensuring that students have a Social-Emotional Learning program (SEL) in place, or, at the very least, that teachers are employing strategies to promote SEL in their classrooms.
SEL programs teach both children and adults how to understand and express their emotions in a healthy way, while also promoting empathy and acceptance for others. The ideas behind SEL programs and the research connected to these programs is part of a fairly new discussion, but it is one that is vital for teachers to have with school administrators and parents.
Schools are growing in diversity with regard to ethnicity, culture, socio-economic status (SES) and background. As educators, we must provide a classroom environment that is welcoming and safe for all students.
What has happened a lot in education, particularly with certain "trends", is that schools may adopt practices for a month, a semester and even as long as a year, but then, soon enough, they are ready to move onto the next hot topic.
Education is evolving and changing constantly; however, Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) or whatever we may be calling it in 5 years, needs to remain a constant in order to have the most impact on the next generation of students. Luckily, SEL is something that can be integrated into the daily routine, no matter what age group you are working with.SocialEmotional Learning is something that can be integrated into the daily routine Click To Tweet
Check in at the beginning of class
Rather than hitting the ground running with course content, start the class with a moment to touch base with your students to help set the tone for the day.
With my college students, for instance, I usually incorporate a free-write activity that plays on the week, current events, or it might just be a way for students to get ideas/thoughts/feelings down on paper. We then have an open discussion for just a few minutes if anyone is willing to share. This moment usually sets the mood for the remainder of the class session.
Checking in can be as simple as greeting your students or starting with something light at the beginning of class, rather than just jumping right in. Typically, as teachers, this is something that we are likely doing already.
Build a classroom culture of kindness & openness
Creating a culture of kindness and openness must start from the beginning of the school year to effectively promote Social-Emotional Learning. We, as teachers, must lay the groundwork for how we communicate with our students and how we allow our students communicate with one another. But, the work doesn't end once you've set ground rules in place, as they likely will need to be reinforced throughout the school year.
For example, during class discussions, things can get heated, and differences of opinion between students are likely to occur. These differences can provide for wonderful teachable moments to explain that the classroom is a safe place to voice your opinion, but that we must respect and listen to the opinions of others during discussions. Maintain the stance that all students are valued members of your classroom or learning community.
Work as a team
Though the idea of teamwork might be thought of as more common in early childhood and elementary classrooms, it can work in a high school or college setting as well. A lot of one's educational career and achievements are thought of as a solo activity, though there are ways to incorporate projects into your lessons to teach the importance of working together as a team.
In one of my college classrooms, I arranged a debate between students. I first asked the students their opinion on a certain topic, and then split them up into two groups, mixing together students with varying opinions. In each group, they needed to work together to create a solid case for whichever side of the argument they were assigned to represent, sort of like a group of lawyers working to prove their client's innocence. They needed to create roles and "jobs" for each team member and needed to present their case to the class clearly and effectively.
As we progress through life, it becomes increasingly important for us, especially as adults, to be able to work together as part of a group. Being a "team player" is considered to be an invaluable skill in various professional settings. Activities that promote and teach teamwork help students to fine-tune their strengths while recognizing the strengths in others.
Explore the idea of mindfulness
Mindfulness meditation, and mindfulness in general has been finding its way into the classroom in recent years, and it can be incorporated to improve Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) as well. In fact, there have been studies ranging from early childhood to high school regarding the benefits of incorporating mindfulness-type practices into the classroom. Benefits range from stronger and longer attention spans to students who are more perceptive to the feelings of those around them.
These strategies are fairly simple and easy to incorporate. One particular strategy might be the practice of "mindful listening", where you encourage students to really focus on one item or idea at a time. Or, some teachers have started ending their class time with a "mindful moment" to focus on what they learned or found interesting that day. Mindfulness Schools, a proponent of the movement, explains some of the ideas and background of mindfulness in more detail here.
A lot of the strategies and ideas mentioned here are things that teachers do daily without realizing that they are promoting Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). Regardless of whether or not you are a teacher utilizing strategies like these in the classroom, it is important to remember that by promoting SEL, we help to enhance our students' emotional intelligence and help to build a strong foundation for how they might approach relationships, both personal and professional, in the future. | https://theeducatorsroom.com/maintaining-inclusive-support-school-environment-social-emotional-learning-sel/ |
The work of the Council on Inclusion and Diversity (CID) has been incorporated into a new umbrella structure promoting inclusive excellence: DEAL. CID was the successor to PACIE and sought to engage the entire Wheaton College community in the important work related to diversity and inclusion. CID was a campus-wide leadership team made up of students, faculty and staff working to create a community that is welcoming and supportive of each of its members.
The CID had three themes that guided its work:
People: To foster increased diversity among faculty, staff and students.
Environment: To create an environment on campus that embraces the rights of all to a safe place to work, study and live, and that challenges all members of the community to grow in our understanding and appreciation of our diversity.
Beyond campus: To connect with issues around diversity and inclusion in the world outside of Wheaton.
CID also worked to:
- Host an MLK Interfaith Service
- Support BSA events for Black History Month
- Host faculty forums on classroom challenges
- Fund opportunities for faculty and staff diversity and inclusion initiatives. | https://wheatoncollege.edu/about-wheaton-college/diversity/historical-diversity-efforts/ |
A variety of inclusive teaching resources exist including our book What Inclusive Instructors Do, but there is an elephant in the room. This elephant consists of the personal barriers that inhibit the adoption of inclusive teaching. In a study, my co-authors and I found that these barriers can include: lack of awareness, fear, unwillingness to change teaching practices, not feeling responsible, and challenges with facilitating inclusive student-student interactions. These were not the only barriers described by study participants. They also reported a variety of institutional barriers. Here we’ll address the personal ones. Each of these obstacles on their own or in combination can potentially hinder an instructor’s utilization of inclusive teaching practices.
In my experiences I have found that: The adoption of inclusive instruction often involves: (1) becoming aware of the elephant in the room, the personal barriers, (2) making a commitment to modify teaching practices, and (3) trusting processes that unfold after teaching inclusively.
Let’s consider each barrier one by one, unpacking these findings.
Lack of awareness
In the study, we found that this barrier can take on two forms: (1) not being aware of types of teaching practices that are inclusive, or (2) not recognizing that existing practices utilized are exclusionary or inequitable. I continue to observe that instructors who are dissatisfied with their current instructional practices and are willing to learn more about inclusive teaching are in better positions to overcome these barriers. As a case example, an instructor who had been teaching for many years acknowledged their shortcomings with inclusive teaching during a workshop. This vulnerable act of self-disclosure was commendable. The instructor was also very aware that there were many things they did not know about being inclusive and were receptive to hearing recommendations from their colleagues newer to teaching. While I cannot speak as to whether this instructor moved forward on implementing inclusive teaching approaches following the workshop, what was clear was that they acknowledged the elephant in the room, sought to increase their awareness, and were open to change. For many, COVID-19 has revealed the need to teach inclusively given that inequities although there previously, have become more visible. Now is the ideal time to hold onto what has been learned and keep inclusion embedded within all future instruction.
Fear
Instructors have shared feelings of guilt about something they could have done better while teaching because they care deeply about students. I have seen that being fearful in an anticipatory way can inhibit the adoption of inclusive teaching by holding instructors to a standstill. Reallocating this energy into a positive direction, not expecting perfectionism, and espousing a growth mindset has helped many move forward in their inclusive teaching efforts. Also, taking small steps can be transformative, such as changing one thing in a course to advance inclusion, as well as informally observing the teaching of trusted colleagues who implement inclusive practices in their classes. There is no denying that we will likely make some mistakes, and we need to remind ourselves that we are not perfect and can always seek to do better. We are always growing as inclusive instructors.
Unwillingness to change teaching practices
For instructors who feel that their teaching practices are just fine or are not open to change, an important question to ask is what evidence they have that their instruction is working? For example, is it working for a diversity of learners? Reflection is critical here because sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know. Similar to above, implementing small changes in teaching practices has the potential to challenge these assumptions and lead to changes in mindset.
Not wanting to take responsibility
Another barrier we uncovered is around responsibility, particularly that the work of equity and inclusion is assumed to be housed in certain spaces that exclude learning environments. Yet, when I speak with students they express the significance of their instructors fostering welcoming environments in the classroom and the many positive impacts of such actions. The instructor can play a key role in promoting an inclusive environment in a course.
Challenges with promoting inclusion in student-student interactions
Often instructors acknowledge that they find inclusivity in student-student interactions difficult to navigate. The good news is that instructors need not have all of the answers here. I have seen so much good come from instructors co-creating classroom guidelines with their students early in the course to set the tone for inclusivity. There are a number of other strategies for fostering welcoming environments described in our book.
Reflecting on these barriers, what if we shift to asking the following questions?
- Lack of awareness: What steps can I take to learn more about inclusive teaching approaches and the diversity of my students?
- Fear: How can I take risks in my teaching to advance equity and inclusion in the classroom?
- Unwillingness to change teaching practices: What different approaches can I try that have the potential to improve the inclusivity of my classroom?
- Not wanting to take responsibility: Do I hold any assumptions about my responsibility as an instructor to foster an inclusive environment? If so, are these assumptions valid?
- Challenges with promoting inclusion in student-student interactions: How can I partner with students to co-create inclusivity guidelines that we can all abide by as members of a learning community?
There is an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed. Personal barriers need not to hinder us from building more inclusive classrooms. | https://sites.lafayette.edu/addyt/category/my-blog/ |
Starting Small: Teaching Tolerance in Preschool and the Early Grades is an innovative multimedia resource that illustrates how promoting empathy in young children can be achieved in the early years through various teaching methods.
The book component features seven early childhood classrooms (preschool, kindergarten and primary) in which teachers are helping young children build inclusive, caring communities across differences that too often divide. Each classroom narrative is followed by research-based “reflections” addressing specific themes or developmental aspects of teaching tolerance. Practical applications are also provided for incorporating the concepts into activities.
The teachers featured in the book and video understand that even within the seemingly safe confines of the classroom, children can feel lost or frightened. Following are examples of methods used in Starting Small. Parents will also find these strategies helpful at home.
Affirming Identity
Lead discussions and activities that openly value racial and ethnic diversity in the classroom (e.g., compare and contrast skin colors and affirm the beauty of all of them).
Nurturing Justice
Design learning activities that help children explore the concepts of fairness and justice. For example, use dramatic play, interviews, and puppets to talk about social and moral dilemmas, or read selected children’s literature to discuss or act out hypothetical social and moral problems.
Fostering Gender Equity
Break down gender stereotypes through your own actions (e.g., a female teacher fixing a wagon or a male teacher mending a doll’s dress). It is also important to inspect books, posters, and bulletin boards for gender balance.
Building Friendship Skills
Have children draw pictures of themselves playing with friends, and label and display the artwork.
Facing Prejudice
Take an active role against hurtful situations that occur among children. For example, if a child uses a racial epithet, determine his or her understanding of the term. Explain that such words are mean and make people feel bad.
Encouraging Self-Discipline
Create “Peace Tables” where children can work out their own conflicts, or role-play conflict situations and include a variety of ways to solve problems.
Responding to Special Needs
Invite guests with special needs to present activities in your classroom; focus on their “regular” traits first (such as job and family) and the activity they will lead. Create a relaxed atmosphere for questions and answers about disabilities and other matters.
Coping with Loss
Provide opportunities for children to commemorate loss through play and work activities, such as making memory gifts, planting a flower or tree, lighting a candle, or creating a mural.
Copyright/Permission:
Copyright © 1997 National Association for the Education of Young Children. Reproduction of this material is freely granted, provided credit is given to the National Association for the Education of Young Children. | https://perpetualpreschool.com/kindness-classroom/ |
Index for inclusion developing learning and participation in schools tony booth and mel ainscow editing and production for csie mark vaughan published by the centre for studies on inclusive education...
Draft-confidential -june 2015 page 14 draft national norms and standards for resource distribution for an inclusive education system draft version for discussion
Developing inclusive practice: a role for teachers and teacher education? martyn rouse. university of aberdeen. abstract. although there is widespread support for inclusion at...
Inclusive programming, children who qualify for special education, particularly children with significant disabilities are grossly under-represented in afterschool programs. 6 inclusion of students with special needs in the classroom is beneficial to all students.
Educating in inclusive classrooms 3 educating students with learning disabilities in inclusive classrooms. inclusion refers to the practice of students with...
developing inclusive education systems: how can we move policies forward? mel ainscow and susie miles, university of manchester, uk (chapter prepared for a book...
The praxis study companion 5 step 1: learn about your test 1. learn about your test learn about the specific test you will be taking special education: teaching students with learning...
University of wollongong research online faculty of education - papers (archive) faculty of social sciences 2008 inclusion of students with disabilities in new times:
Inclusive education for children with disabilities 25 sturdee avenue | rosebank | johannesburg 2132 | south africa
from apartheid education to inclusive education: the challenges of transformation.. international education summit for a democratic society wayne state university
Inclusive education: an efa strategy for all children susan j. peters* world bank november 2004 the findings, interpretations and...
Inclusive education for students with disability a review of the best evidence in relation to theory and practice a what works for kids evidence review
Parent's guide to special education / 5 age 2 to 21, inclusive a child with a disability, age 2 to 21, inclusive, means one whose second birthday
2. benefits of inclusive practices. every day, you are faced with the opportunity. to meet the diverse learning and behavioral needs of your students.
Educating children about autism in an inclusive classroom 3 the study the purpose of this project was to contribute to the knowledge and implementation of best practices for children with autism.
Preparing qualified and effective adapted physical educators to improve outcomes for students with disabilities sponsored by the national center to improve...
Inclusive education in low-income countries a resource for teacher educators, parent trainers and community development workers by lilian mariga, roy mcconkey and hellen myezwa
•collaboration - we believe we're better when we work together. • community - we partner with our community in the transformative, public good of educating students. • inclusivity - we seek to cultivate an environment of respect and empathy, advanced by diverse cultures and perspectives. • learning - we learn as a college by building outstanding educational
May/june, 1998 3 disability solutions or classroom to assist students with special needs, it is crucial that they are viewed as a support for all
pre-service teachers' views of inclusive education: a content analysis abstract survey-based research was conducted with pre-service teachers, from a large regional
Equity and inclusive education in ontario schools guidelines for policy development and implementation realizing the promise of diversity 2014
Regulations governing special education programs for children with disabilities in virginia virginia department of education division of special education and student...
Functional curriculum and students with mild intellectual disability: exploring postschool outcomes through the nlts2 emily c. bouck and gauri joshi
National association of special education teachers naset | promoting positive social interactions in an inclusion setting for students with learning disabilities 3 why are social skills important? social competence is the degree to which students are able to establish and maintain satisfactory
There may be instances where a parent or guardian of a minor student disagrees with the student regarding the name and pronoun to be used at school and in the student's education records.
A message from the state superintendent of public instruction. i. am pleased to present. inclusion works: creating child care programs hat promote belonging for children with special needs
Tash congressional briefing on inclusive education july 9, 2009 2 the landmark case of pennsylvania association for retarded citizens v. commonwealth of pennsylvania (p.a.r.c.) in 1971 established the right of all students with disabilities to a public education. mills v. board of education closely followed p.a.r.c. in time as well as in result. | http://www.docucu-archive.com/Inclusive-Education-for-Students-with-Disability.pdf |
The DOSA team will provide an inclusive, welcoming and supportive environment that promotes respect, exposure and appreciation for all students through innovative programming and civic engagement.
Social Engagement
The DOSA team will create and facilitate the CSU experience through programming and learning opportunities outside the classroom to promote school spirit and Cougar pride.
Effective Communication
The DOSA team will communicate effectively and consistently with and to the student body in order to maintain an open dialogue on campus.
Retention-Driven Decision Making
The DOSA team will be intentional in monitoring the pulse of the student body to assess its morale and needs, essentially leading to the retention our students.
Innovative & Visionary Leadership
The DOSA team will function as active change agents in fostering growth and development for our student population, empowering them to be productive ground-breaking leaders and global citizens.
Team Members, Partnerships & Collaborations
The DOSA team will honor and respect the expertise of team members as it collaborates and builds relationships with internal and external CSU partners.
Organizational Development
The DOSA team will assess the needs of the Division while maintaining policies and procedures that will allow for progressive collaboration with Chicago State University’s community.
Sustainability
The DOSA team will be instrumental in maintaining records, documents, and staple programming to ensure the continuation of legacies and traditions at the University. | https://csu.edu/dosa/dean/corevalues.htm |
European countries are increasingly becoming more diverse. We currently see an increase in students with migrant and refugee backgrounds in European school systems. This is creating obstacles but also opportunities within educational instutions across the continent. In this project we will reach out and support teachers – particularly educators working with youth with immigrant and refugee backgrounds – in fostering mutual understanding and respect in the classroom.
In fostering enhanced social inclusion, mutual understanding and respect among young people in the classroom, and providing real, concrete skills and training for those educators on the front lines of the influx of new faces and cultures, we know we are helping to build a more cohesive European society, with an enhanced socially inclusive climate.
Aims
The project wants to provide trainings and promote social cohesion and the competencies of teachers in enhancing social inclusion, finding solutions in existing experiences and exploring methodologies and approaches.
The project aims to:
- increase abilities in the area of pedagogical approaches and methodologies to promote social inclusion in the classroom;
- promote the exchange of good practices in enhancing the inclusion of all students, especially those with migrant and refugeen backgrounds;
- create options for more inclusive classrooms and schools.
Intellectual Outputs
The project wants to develop four Intellectual Outputs of different types (Reports, Guides, DVDs, Internet Platform) in a period of twent-four months.
They are:
- Target Groups Report;
- Guide for Teachers;
- Toolkit for School Leaders;
- Online Teachers Course.
Impact
The impact is intended to be at a high a level among participants trainers, target group, partner organisations, and relevant stakeholders. The impact of the project is connected to two main aspects, those being the goals that the project wants to achieve in the project and the methods that the partnership uses to achieve these goals.
Results
The project plans to:
- provide educators with a learning space to share better practices and gain creative and innovative skills in promoting socially inclusive education;
- encourage and provide a platform for the educators to take part in solution building in addressing issues for inclusion of especially disadvantaged youth with immigrant and refugee backgrounds and design strategies for the classroom;
- bring school leaders into dialogue about promotion of social inclusion in schools;
- engage relevant educational authorities in the countries of Denmark, Greece, Italy, and Germany, in prioritizing socially inclusive education;
- identify existing research and connect it to real practice and experiment with it to meet real needs in the classroom;
- encourage and inspire the educators to play a critical role, in which they feel fully competent in ensuring social cohesion through education in their learning communities;
- create a dialogue space and solidarity between learning communities regarding inclusion strategies in youth education;
- 8. increase awareness of the positive impacts of immigration in Europe and make a useful contribution to ensuring social cohesion in European learning communities and societies. | https://paesic.eu/ |
Where are Safe Zones?
When you see the Safe Zone symbol on someone’s office door or in their office, it signifies that this person is Safe Zone trained and offers understanding and empathy to LGBTQ+ individuals.
What are Safe Zones?
Safe Zones are areas where allies have promised to support, respect, accept, and listen to students, faculty, and staff regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Safe Zone Allies advocate tolerance and equality for all members of our community. South Piedmont Community College participates in the Safe Zone program and strives to create safe, welcoming, and inclusive campus environments for all our community members.
Safe Zone Allies
Carl Bishop, Vice President, Academic Affairs, Chief Academic Officer
John Muir, Faculty, Communication
Jim McAlhaney, Faculty, Psychology
Janice Ryback, Library Circulation Manager
Dana Glauner, Director, Academic Support Center, Information Services Librarian
Victoria Efird, Faculty, Developmental Reading and Writing
Tammy Frailly, Director, Academic Enrichment Programs
Mary Brown, ePortfolio Assistant
Anjella Tabor-Smith, Faculty, Spanish
Steve Smith, Faculty, Sociology
Ryan Brown, Faculty, English
Richard Osvai, Part-time Assistant Safety and Security
Victoria Rueff, AA student
Marvin Tyson, Welding faculty
Information for Allies
Safe Zone Allies is a program that offers educational opportunities to promote understanding and respect for community members who identify as LGBTQ+. Workshop participants learn vocabulary, language, and behavior that is offensive to the community and have the opportunity to become allies.
Safe Zone Allies are students, faculty, staff, and administrators who support LGBT+ students by demonstrating understanding through their conversations, actions, language use, and an overall willingness to champion human rights for all students. LGBT+ students make up a part of our diverse student population, and with education, the college community can to their needs as individuals and learners.
Allies
- Attend workshops
- Plan and participate in events
- Become Safe Zone workshop presenters
- Promote understanding and acceptance of LGBTQ+ in their daily lives
- Display the Safe Zone logo as a visible representation of their support and commitment to fight homophobia and heterosexism
Safe Zone’s mission is tied to the college mission of “…life-long learning, student success, and workforce and community development through education that creates a welcoming and inclusive environment on our campuses for LBGTQ+ students by sponsoring events, guest speakers, workshops, and outreach. | https://spcc.edu/student-life/safe-zone/ |
What is cultural health safety?
Patient experience of health care Cultural safety is defined with reference to the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who access and use health care services, including their treatment by health care professionals and their feelings of cultural safety.
How can you be culturally inclusive in the classroom?
Fostering a Sense of Inclusion in the Classroom
- Learn your students’ names and learn to pronounce them.
- Set aside time for relationship housekeeping.
- Have one-on-one conversations, discussions, and informal meetings with students.
- Connect with parents.
- See yourself as the students see you.
- Know your content.
Why is cultural safety important?
Cultural safety provides a structure which can guide or assist a nurse to provide and manage care in a way that protects and sustains a person’s identity and wellbeing.
How do you build a strong safety culture?
Use OSG’s six tips to begin establishing and maintaining a strong and positive safety culture in your workplace
- Communicate.
- Provide Training.
- Lead by Example.
- Develop and Implement a Positive Reporting Process.
- Involve Workers.
- Put your JHSC into Action.
What is a culturally safe workplace?
A culturally safe workplace has a defined set of values and principles, and demonstrates behaviours, attitudes, policies, and structures that enable all workers to work effectively cross-culturally. In a culturally safe workplace all workers feel comfortable, supported and respected.
How can we improve cultural safety in the classroom?
Make the class a safe place for all students
- Establish a classroom in which teachers and students demonstrate mutual respect.
- Manage behaviour that might stimulate ‘classroom incivilities’:
- Establish inclusive class ground rules that safeguard against racism and harassment.
How do nurses demonstrate cultural competence?
Here are 5 ways to help you provide culturally competent nursing care.
- Perform a cultural competence self-assessment.
- Obtain a certificate in cultural competence.
- Improve communication and language barriers.
- Directly engage in cross-cultural interactions with patients.
- Participate in online chats and networks.
How do you stay culturally competent?
Fortunately, say Helms and other experts, there are plenty of ways to get that training and experience on your own:
- Learn about yourself.
- Learn about different cultures.
- Interact with diverse groups.
- Attend diversity-focused conferences.
- Lobby your department.
How can teachers avoid stereotyping?
We offer five strategies for doing this work in your classroom.
- Check YOUR bias at the door.
- Create a welcoming environment free from bias in your discipline.
- Be diverse in what you teach and read.
- Honor multiple perspectives in your classroom.
- Have courageous conversations.
What are the characteristics of a culturally safe environment?
Cultural safety means an environment which is spiritually, socially and emotionally safe, as well as physically safe for people; where there is no assault, challenge or denial of their identity, of who they are and what they need.
Why is cultural competence important in medicine?
(1) A culturally competent health care system can help improve health outcomes and quality of care, and can contribute to the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities.
Is it possible to eliminate stereotyping in society how?
Individual scientists can take at least three steps to buffer themselves against negative stereotypes: educating themselves and others about the science of stereotypes, adopting a growth mindset, and expanding their professional networks.
What is cultural competence in medicine?
Cultural competency in health care describes the ability of systems to provide care to patients with diverse values, beliefs and behaviors, including the tailoring of health care delivery to meet patients’ social, cultural and linguistic needs.
What is the first step in becoming culturally competent?
Developing cultural awareness is often the first step in working with young people and families. This involves learning about the cultural norms, values, beliefs and practices of the CLD communities that your agency services. Workers should find out about the: languages spoken within these communities.
How do you become a culturally competent teacher?
Culturally competent teaching and learning requires focused activities and intentionally structured environments. Perspective-taking behavior requires an understanding of norms, values, and traditions that have informed the other’s worldview and learning behaviors.
What is an example of promoting a culture of safety?
For example, team training, interdisciplinary rounding or executive walk rounds, and unit-based strategies that include a series of interventions have all been labeled as interventions to promote a culture of safety.
How can we prevent stereotyping?
- Empirically Validated Strategies to Reduce Stereotype Threat.
- Remove Cues That Trigger Worries About Stereotypes.
- Convey That Diversity is Valued.
- Create a Critical Mass.
- Create Fair Tests, Present Them as Fair and as Serving a Learning Purpose.
- Value Students’ Individuality.
- Improve Cross-Group Interactions.
What is a good example of a stereotype?
Positive examples of stereotypes include judges (the phrase “sober as a judge” would suggest this is a stereotype with a very respectable set of characteristics), overweight people (who are often seen as “jolly”) and television newsreaders (usually seen as highly dependable, respectable and impartial).
What are the five basic cultural competence skill areas?
Contained within this guide is a walkthrough of the five building blocks of cultural competence: open attitude, self-awareness, awareness of others, cultural knowledge, and cultural skills. | https://turningtooneanother.net/2021/12/19/what-is-cultural-health-safety/ |
It’s true — all it takes is one teacher to make a difference in a student’s life. Educators help students grow intellectually and personally. They accomplish this by imparting knowledge to their students, supporting their academic achievements, and helping them reach their potential. Teachers serve as mentors in an academic setting, but they are undervalued in society. That’s no secret — but that should not impact the important role they play.
One of many important measures teachers need to take today is creating conducive and equitable learning environments for LGBTQ students. All students should be offered the same learning opportunities. However, ensuring each student feels valued and safe in the classroom is no walk in the park. Teachers can do this by limiting instances of bullying and discrimination and encouraging inclusivity — but is this enough?
Students benefit the most when teachers value inclusivity and diversity in their classrooms. More Gen Z children are coming out as members of the LGBTQ community. To practice inclusivity and acceptance, teachers should be aware that their students may identify as LGBTQ and take the right measures to support them.
Here are some ways to create a safe learning experience for LGBTQ students in classrooms.
1) Consider Pronouns and Gender-Specific Language
As students enter their classrooms for the first time, teachers should always ask for preferred pronouns when taking attendance. It’s crucial for LGBTQ students to feel respected in their gender identity.
When taking attendance on the first day, make sure to pronounce students’ names correctly and ask, “What are your preferred pronouns?” This allows students to share which pronouns they feel comfortable being called. Common pronouns used are:
- She/her/hers
- He/him/his
- They/them/theirs
- Ze/zir/zirs
Although pronouns are not limited to this list, remembering to use them for LGBTQ students can make them feel seen and respected for their identity.
2) Representation in Curriculum
Regardless of the subject they teach, teachers work hard to create an engaging curriculum for their students. Learning about new topics and staying up with current events is what keeps students interested.
When creating a curriculum, acknowledge the perspectives of students. Each student has a unique background and personal interests that may contribute to their insights. A student’s sexuality or gender can play a role in how they learn information.
If a teacher contributes to heterosexism, it can leave students feeling alienated or disconnected from students that identify as cis-gendered or heterosexual. By incorporating material into a curriculum that shows positive representations of LGBTQ people, students can find role models and relate to stories better, leading to higher engagement on their end.
Students experience highs and lows throughout their day that can affect their learning. The last thing a teacher wants is their student to feel disengaged because the material they’re learning perpetuates heteronormativity.
3) Act as a Resource
In addition to their curriculum, the teachers themselves provide a plethora of information to their students. Teachers can use their own life experiences to help them teach a class and relate to students on a more personal level. Support LGBTQ students by sharing appropriate resources with them. There are numerous sources available online — some that range from quick LGBTQ facts to crisis and suicide prevention hotlines. These resources let LGBTQ students know they’re able to go to a teacher in times of need. Instead of just sharing resources, become one.
The Trevor Project found that 40% of LGBTQ youth considered suicide in 2019. Protecting LGBTQ youth falls on the adults who care for them, including parents or guardians, family members, and teachers. Fostering a caring environment for LGBTQ individuals to thrive in can reduce this number.
Creating an LGBTQ-Inclusive Classroom
There’s a negative stigma around teaching young children about gender and sexuality. Some find it inappropriate for adults to bring up these topics, as they may not be relevant yet. But the only way to see a change in the acceptance of LGBTQ youth is to start the conversation early.
Exposing children to the diverse world we live in benefits them — they learn to live with empathy and see the value in respecting others. Also, children will feel more willing to address their own identity and orientation later on in life because of this early intervention.
Despite the controversy over this, the positive impact of bringing this conversation into the spotlight makes it all worthwhile.
Ginger Abbot is an education and learning writer. Read more of her work on Classrooms.com, where she serves as Editor when she’s not freelancing.
The American Consortium for Equity in Education, publisher of the "Equity & Access" journal, celebrates and connects the educators, associations, community partners and industry leaders who are working to solve problems and create a more equitable environment for historically underserved pre K-12 students throughout the United States. | https://www.ace-ed.org/incorporating-lgbtq-equity-inclusivity-into-k-12-classrooms/ |
Why is play the work of children?
- Our Commitment to Children
- Aloha Huber Park
- Barnes
- Beaver Acres
- Bonny Slope
- Chehalem
- Fir Grove
- Greenway
- McKay
- McKinley
- Vose
- William Walker
- 2022-2023 PreK Calendar
- Contact Us
Our Commitment to Children
The Beaverton School District is working to build a Pre-K program where children are supported to enter kindergarten with a strong foundation for lifetime learning. We believe in using current research about learning and the child’s brain development, our experience as educators, and what we know about the experiences of our children and their families as we develop our Pre-K through 2nd grade alignment practices.
We are committed to building culturally responsive, nurturing environments that are inclusive of all children, particularly children with developmental delays or disabilities, who speak languages other than English, children of color, and children living in poverty.
As we work with children we will:
- Consider what is known about child development and learning, what is known about each individual child, and what is known about the social, linguistic, and cultural contexts in which each child lives.
- Concentrate on all domains of child development, focusing on the whole child, remembering that children construct their learning in progressions and on a developmental continuum.
- Work to develop each child’s sense of self as the foundation of their social emotional growth.
- Remember that children learn through experiences on their way to developing the ability to translate what they know about their environment to abstract thoughts.
- Create opportunities for children to interact with interesting challenges in their environment through inquiry and play as a way to build their brains.
- Celebrate the ways children learn from each other, and create space for peer interaction as a tool for learning.
- Work to build secure attachments with each of our students because we know that a warm and nurturing relationship with their teacher supports the development of empathy, self-regulation, and a strong self-concept.
- View and work with every child in the context of their culture, their family, and their community.
- Commit to connecting with families and caregivers, valuing their diverse perspectives and cultural knowledge as assets, and to working with them as partners in their child’s education.
We are committed to this vision because young children inspire us with their curiosity, playfulness, and sense of wonder about the world around them. We see the core of our work as celebrating and understanding the strengths and great capacity of young children; working to sculpt their minds so they become powerful thinkers, and building Pre-K and early elementary programs worthy of their capabilities.
Aloha Huber Park
Barnes
Our dedicated staff of experienced bilingual teachers and assistants will introduce your child to our 90/10 % Spanish Dual Language Program. Our play-based program emphasizes hands-on learning, and our anti-biased curriculum covers the beautiful cultures of our world. We nurture knowledge about diversity so that children grow into conscientious people who embrace the differences that make us each unique. Our program focuses on the social and emotional needs of children while encouraging empathy and helping others.
Beaver Acres
Our Vision
At Beaver Acres we provide a safe, welcoming, and inclusive learning community that encourages, empowers, and supports
all students to become confident, capable,
and independent lifelong learners.
Our Mission
To achieve our vision on a daily basis WE:
WELCOME everyone.
NURTURE the whole child.
BUILD a culture of perseverance and hard work.
TEACH an engaging curriculum and a love of learning.
FOSTER meaningful relationships within our community.
VALUE diversity.
CELEBRATE the individual strengths of each and every member of our community.
Bonny Slope
Bonny Slope is an inquiry-based learning school that welcomes the opportunity to have a PreK in our school! We believe that children learn best through playful learning. It is this type of learning that supports our students with problem-solving and life-related skills, known as
Habits of Mind. It is the focus on these skills such as persisting, listening, and understanding with empathy, thinking and communicating with clarity, taking responsible risks, creating, imagining, and innovating that is needed to be successful in kindergarten and ultimately throughout their educational experience.
Chehalem
Chehalem is very excited to begin our first year with a pre-K program. We are a community of diverse learners focusing on the academic, social and emotional needs of all learners. We believe that structured play is a great opportunity to practice and grow a student’s academic and social emotional skills. This is especially true for our youngest learners! We work to ensure all students feel seen, loved, and that they belong at Chehalem. We know that when this happens, amazing academic and personal growth can take place. We can’t wait to welcome our newest Mighty Mustangs!
Fir Grove
Fir Grove is a community of committed educators, students, families and community members. We look at the whole child and work to foster growing learners. We promote academic learning and positive civic behaviors that leads to respectful and responsible children. Our school is nestled within a walkable, diverse neighborhood where families speak many languages and originate from multiple countries. We look forward to welcoming Pre-K to our community.
Greenway
Greenway is an amazing school with a committed team of educators, students, families, and community members. We partner with families to nurture the whole child and help to support their journey from PreK to 5th grade. We have an incredible PreK team that helps each child begin their educational journey with wonder, awe, and curiosity!
McKay
McKay is a vibrant, diverse community school. We work to ensure that at school all children feel safe, experience a sense of belonging and learn that their ability and competence can grow with effort. Parents are their child’s first teacher, we believe in the power of family and community partnerships for successful schools.
Our academic program and school culture are informed by an anti-bias approach. In anti-bias education children learn to be proud of who they are, to respect human differences, to recognize bias, and to stand up for what is right. With a comprehensive approach to educating the whole child, we aim to equip all of our students with the skills and perspectives necessary to become fully engaged members of their communities. We look forward to partnering with you to provide our students with an engaging and joyful school experience. Welcome!
McKinley
McKinley is an amazing school that serves an amazing community. For thousands of years, our location was home to Native American Tualatin tribes. In 1889, two German-American brothers built the original one-room wooden schoolhouse that would eventually become our McKinley Elementary School. And today, because we are located on 185th Avenue, we serve one of the most vibrant, diverse, and busy communities of families in all of Beaverton. Our staff are dedicated individuals who teach at McKinley because they love this community. Adding Pre-K classrooms to McKinley is the newest chapter of our school's history, and we are eagerly looking forward to taking this journey with our Pre-K children and their families. Welcome!
Vose
Vose Elementary is a school that welcomes all students and families into our community. Our community is strengthened by its diversity and commitment to supporting each of our students and families to develop their gifts and strengths. We have a diverse school of learners, with staff and students and families working and learning together. We have had a dual language bilingual program for over 20 years which provides an opportunity for over 60% of our students to become fully bilingual, biliterate and bicultural. We have a very committed and diverse staff who teach at Vose because they are dedicated to our community and each other. We have had a PreK classroom at Vose for the last 3 years and look forward to continuing to integrate the program as it enriches students and families lives.
William Walker
William Walker is built on a mission of “high levels of learning and success for ALL students.” To achieve this, we are focusing on whole child educational practices to ensure that behavioral, academic, and social emotional needs of our students are met.
In our PreK program we believe that children learn best through playful inquiry. This type of learning supports students with problem-solving and foundational life-related skills. We have had a PreK classroom at William Walker for the last 3 years and look forward to continuing to integrate the program as it enriches students and families lives.
2022-2023 PreK Calendar
Contact Us
In partnership with: | https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/departments/early-learning/pre-k |
For the clay or rock lining of a hearth or oven, it is the time since the last intense fire burned there. Thermoluminescence release resulting from rapidly heating a crushed clay sample. Particular isotopes are suitable for different applications due to the types of atoms present in the mineral or other material and its approximate age. This allows samples to be dated more than once.
Chronology and dating methods
These strata are often most visible in canyons or gorges which are good sites to find and identify fossils. As a result, the direction that a compass needle points from the same location will vary from year to year as well. Hominids of the Acheulean.
Difference Between Relative and Absolute Dating
This does not mean that radiometric dates or any other scientific measurements are unreliable. However, it can be used to confirm the antiquity of an item. The atoms of crystalline solids, such as pottery and rock, can be altered by this radiation. Understanding the geologic history of an area and the different strata is important to interpreting and understanding archaeological findings.
The L- and D-amino acid ratios are determined by gas and liquid chromatography. At numerous times in the past, the north and south magnetic poles reversed entirely. Dating samples for this technique are geological strata of volcanic origin.
This is the critical time period during which humans evolved from their ape ancestors. This technique is based on the principle that all objects absorb radiation from the environment. The age of a sample is determined by the number of decays recorded over a set period of time.
This causes them to give off their stored energy in the form of light impulses photons. From Wikibooks, open books for an open world. Amino acid racemization can be used to date organic materials such as teeth, bones, fossilized feces, egg and mollusk shells, plants as well as peat and calcium rich soil sediments.
- Radiometric dating is based on the known and constant rate of decay of radioactive isotopes into their radiogenic daughter isotopes.
- Canon of Kings Lists of kings Limmu.
- These can be seen and counted with an optical microscope.
This will always be true due to the finite limits of measuring equipment. However, paleoanthropologists rarely use it to date sites more than several million years old. Geodesy Geomagnetism Geophysical survey Seismology Tectonophysics. Since weather patterns tend to run in cycles of a number of years, the sequence of tree-rings in a region will also reflect the same cycling, as illustrated by the graph below.
In the case of a pottery vessel, matchmaking temple usually it is the time since it was fired in a kiln. In other languages Add links. From Hunter-Gatherer to Food Producer. This process frees electrons within minerals that remain caught within the item.
Concepts Deep time Geological history of Earth Geological time units. That may mean that another reversal is coming, but not for a few thousand years. Such contamination can occur if a sample is exposed to carbon compounds in exhaust gasses produced by factories and motor vehicles burning fossil fuels such as coal or gasoline. Knowing the half-life of carbon allows the calculation of a sample's age.
Absolute dating
Lava and volcanic ash deposits often contain the thermoremnant magnetic records of these reversals. Technology of the Middle Paleolithic. This has become known as the de Vries effect because of its discovery by the Dutch physicist Hessel de Vries.
The number of fission tracks is directly proportional to the amount of time since the glassy material cooled from a molten state. The r adiocarbon dating of charcoal in fire hearths associated with thermoremnant magnetic samples at these sites anchored them in time. Fission tracks in obsidian as t hey would appear with an optical microscope.
If archaeologists know how pottery styles, glazes, and techniques have changed over time they can date sites based on the ratio of different kinds of pottery. Origin of Paleoanthropology. These rates are stated in terms of half-lives. This technique is used to date the remains of organic materials.
There are a number of other radiometric dating systems in use today that can provide dates for much older sites than those datable by radiocarbon dating. The L-amino acids change to D-amino acids more or less steadily following death. Stratigraphic dating is based on the principle of depositional superposition of layers of sediments called strata. After cooling, this thermoremnant magnetism will remain as a permanent record of the direction of magnetic north at that time until the material is reheated or broken up.
When a sample is heated to high temperatures in a laboratory, the trapped electrons are released and return to their normal positions in their atoms. Thermoluminescence testing also dates items to the last time they were heated. Any organic substances can be used for radiocarbon and amino acid racemization dating. Magnetic field orientation of iron particles before heating.
Difference Between Relative and Absolute Dating
Paleoanthropologists frequently need chronometric dating systems that can date things that are many thousands or even millions of years older. They are called chronometric because they allow one to make a very accurate scientific estimate of the date of an object as expressed in years. Whenever possible, paleoanthropologists collect as many dating samples from an ancient human occupation site as possible and employ a variety of chronometric dating methods.
In fact, the rate changes slightly through time, resulting in varying amounts of carbon being created. The use of additional dating methods at the same site allow us to refine it even more. Rather, it is a probability statement. Dating samples are usually charcoal, wood, bone, or shell, but any tissue that was ever alive can be dated. This is a radiometric technique since it is based on radioactive decay.
- However, it potentially could be used for much older samples.
- This allows the dating of much older and smaller samples but at a far higher cost.
- This process is called racemization.
- Materials that can be dated include volcanic rock and clay or rock that ha s been exposed to high temperatures.
- By cross-linking core samples from living and dead trees, a master sequence of annual tree-ring widths can be compiled.
Likewise, it can occur in molten rock from a volcano. Th e carbon containing gas that is produced is then cooled to a liquid state and placed in a lead shielded box with a sensitive Geiger counter. The most commonly used radiometric dating method is radiocarbon dating. Measurement of the amount of argon in a sample is the basis for age determination.
Chronometric Dating Methods
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This is still acceptable because these dates help us narrow down the time range for a fossil. Archaeologists in that country first noted this source of contamination when samples found near the Autobahn were dated. Data collection and analysis is oriented to answer questions of subsistence, mobility or settlement patterns, speed dating haute normandie and economy.
The carbon quickly bonds ch emically with atmospheric oxygen to form carbon dioxide gas. Namespaces Book Discussion. Defining Paleoanthropology. These energy charged electrons progressively accumulate over time.
Techniques include tree rings in timbers, radiocarbon dating of wood or bones, and trapped-charge dating methods such as thermoluminescence dating of glazed ceramics. Other radiometric dating techniques are available for earlier periods. Comparison of the Time Ranges for Dating Methods. The methods that are used depend on the presumed age of the site from which they were excavated. Dendrochronology can only date tree-rings. | http://economics-news.ru/chronometric-dating-method.html |
‘Once-in-a-lifetime’: Rameses II-era burial cave found in Israel | History News
A team of experts has found pieces of pottery and bronze artifacts dating back to the time of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh who died in 1213 BC.
A team of Israeli archaeologists has discovered a burial cave dating back to the time of Pharaoh Rameses II of ancient Egypt.
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced the find on Tuesday when the team found pottery shards and bronze artifacts dating back to the reign of the ancient Egyptian king, who died in year 1213 BC.
The cave was discovered on a beach when a mechanical excavator working in Palmahim National Park crashed into its roof, and archaeologists used ladders to descend into the spacious man-made square cave.
In a video released by the IAA, archeologists shine a flashlight at dozens of ceramic vases of various shapes and sizes.
Bowls – some painted red, some containing bones – can be seen in the cave along with foot cups, cooking pots, storage jars, lamps and bronze or pointed arrowheads.
The objects are burial offerings to accompany the deceased on their final journey to the afterlife, found intact since being placed there about 3,300 years ago.
At least one relatively intact skeleton was also found in two rectangular cells in the corner of the cave.
“The cave can provide a complete picture of Late Bronze Age preservation customs,” said Eli Yannai, an IAA Bronze Age expert.
It’s an “extremely rare … once-in-a-lifetime discovery,” Yannai said, pointing to the cave’s excess wealth that remained sealed off until it was recently discovered.
The finds date back to the reign of Rameses II, who controlled Canaan, a territory that roughly includes present-day Israel and Palestinian territories.
The provenance of the ceramic vessels – Cyprus, Lebanon, northern Syria, Gaza and Jaffa – is evidence of the “vibrant trade that took place along the coast”, Yannai said in a statement by the IAA.
The IAA says the cave has been closed and is being protected while excavation plans are being made, the IAA said, noting that “several items” have been plundered from it in a short period of time since the excavation. discovered and closed. | https://news7h.com/once-in-a-lifetime-rameses-ii-era-burial-cave-found-in-israel-history-news/ |
Absolute dating methods anthropology, get the most out of chegg study
In a landmark study, archaeologist James Ford used seriation to determine the chronological order of American Indian pottery styles in the Mississippi Valley.
This method is generally only applicable to rocks greater than three million years old, although with sensitive instruments, rocks several hundred thousand years old may be dated.
Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree rings, also known as growth rings.
Students may be divided into teams of excavators and mappers with as many "sites" as feasible. Fluctuating levels can skew results — for example, if an item went through several high radiation eras, thermoluminescence will return an older date for the item.
What Is Chronometric Dating? | Sciencing
Thermoluminescence Thermoluminescence uses the phenomenon of ionizing radiations that naturally occur in the atmosphere. For younger students, the concept of stratigraphy may be reinforced by gluing the pictures of artifacts to cardboard and cutting them up as one would make a puzzle.
Radioactive decay dating is not a single method of absolute dating but instead a group of related methods for absolute dating of samples. This provides a Absolute dating methods anthropology range for the different uranium series of a few thousand years toyears.
During sediment transport, exposure to sunlight 'zeros' the luminescence signal. The stratigraphic levels would then be spatially horizontal, conforming to the changing coastline.
It cannot be used to accurately date a site on its own. When the mineral or glass is heated, the tracks are erased in much the same way cut marks fade away from hard candy that is heated.
A layer with many pieces of a particular style will be represented by a wide band on the graph, and a layer with only a Absolute dating methods anthropology pieces will be represented by a narrow band. An initial reading dates the specimen which is then calibrated by considering this date and its correspondence with the measurable level of carbon 14 stored over time in the growth rings of certain tree species, including redwood and pine bristol.
Relative dating includes methods that rely on the analysis of comparative data or the context eg, geological, regional, cultural in which the object one wishes to date is found.
For example, the oldest human remains known to date in Canada, found at Gore Creekhave been dated using soil stratification. Nevertheless, the range of time within archaeological dating can be enormous compared to the average lifespan of a singular human being.
This is a method that does not find the age in years but is an effective technique to compare the ages of two or more artifacts, rocks or even sites. Dendrochronology is another of the popular method of finding the exact age through growth and patterns of thick and thin ring formation in fossil trees.
This water comes in contact with skeletal remains under ground.
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Is any item of a greater frequency? Numismatics — many coins have the date of their production written on them or their use is specified in the historical record. This is the only type of techniques that can help clarifying Speed dating dc livingsocial actual age of an object.
Currently, the maximum for fully anchored chronologies is a little over 11, years from present. Uranium series dating techniques rely on the fact that radioactive uranium and thorium isotopes decay into a series of unstable, radioactive "daughter" isotopes; this process continues until a stable non-radioactive lead isotope is formed.
They do not provide an age in years.
Dating Methods
What does it look like? It was the case of an 18th-century sloop whose excavation was led in South Carolina United States in Stratigraphic dating remains very reliable when it comes to dating objects or events in undisturbed stratigraphic levels.
For example, U dissolves more readily in water than its parent, U, so lakes and oceans contain an excess of this daughter isotope. | http://idaretosoar.com/absolute-dating-methods-anthropology.php |
Dendrochronology is the discipline of dating tree rings to the year of their formation . core's outermost ring according to its sampling date, relative to the growing season, Earth's climate has undergone a transition from glacial to interglacial. application of dendrochronology to dating problems quickly spread to other North .. and temperature can be compared with known events in prehistory. Dendrochronology is the science that deals with the absolute dating and study of Dendrochronology is possible because climate influences tree growth .. are converted to dimensionless indices that can be compared with one another.
Later, when radiometric absolute dating methods were developed, they still were not applicable to sedimentary layers. This is a classic case of circular reasoning. Today, it is not surprising that many geologists are rejecting uniformitarianism and embracing catastrophism again. There is much evidence that refutes uniformitarianism.
Dating in Archaeology
Helens demonstrated that rapid deposition and rapid canyon erosion are a fact. Also, when life forms die they only become fossils when they are buried rapidly.
Polystrate tree fossils that extend through multiple layers are common. That could only happen with rapid deposition. Consequently, the uniformitarianism model, along with the age assignments of the geologic column, is in doubt. The relative dating methods themselves are generally sound when used with good assumptions. However, when scientists apply relative dating to a preconceived uniformitarianism model, the dating methods are only as good as the model.
This article is also available in Spanish. Geologic Time Scale - Go!
Godthe Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him. Jesusthe creator and eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He died for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was buriedand rose from the dead according to the Bible.
If you truly believe and trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your Saviordeclaring, " Jesus is Lord ," you will be saved from judgment and spend eternity with God in heaven. What is your response? Typology Typology is a method that compares reference objects in order to classify them according to their similarity or dissimilarity and link them to a specific context or period. This technique is frequently used when it is impossible to make use of absolute dating methods; it generally allows archaeologists to identify the period to which a cultural site or object belongs, without specifying the date of occupation.
This method is primarily applied to projectile points and ceramic vessels. These present many characteristics that are used for comparing them, such as morphology and raw materials in the case of stone tools, and decorative techniques and motifs in the case of ceramics.
Relative dating - CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
Absolute Dating Radiocarbon Dating Radiocarbon dating is the most widely used dating technique in archaeology. It relies on a natural phenomenon that is the foundation of life on earth.
Indeed, carbon 14 14C is formed from the reaction caused by cosmic rays that convert nitrogen into carbon 14 and then carbon dioxide by combining with carbon 12 12C and carbon 13 13Cwhich are stable carbon isotopes.
Following the death of an organism, any exchange ceases and the carbon 14, which is radioactive and therefore unstable, slowly begins to disintegrate at a known rate half-life of years, ie, after this period only half of the total carbon 14 present at the time of death remains. A sample requires 10 to 20 grams of matter and usually consists of charred organic material, mainly charcoal, but bones see zooarchaeology and shells can also be dated using this technique.
An initial reading dates the specimen which is then calibrated by considering this date and its correspondence with the measurable level of carbon 14 stored over time in the growth rings of certain tree species, including redwood and pine bristol.
Subsequently, the calibration of that date provides a time interval where the event or object being dated can be situated eg, AD. Radiocarbon dating, however, can only be used for dating objects that are less than 50 years.
Dendrochronology Dendrochronology is a method that studies the rings of tree trunks to define characteristic sequences by analyzing the morphology of growth rings for a given species. This method is based on the principle that the variation in tree growth from one year to another is influenced by the degree of precipitation, sunshine, temperature, soil type and all ambient conditions and that, consequently, reference patterns can be distinguished.
Several sets of rings from different trees are matched to build an average sequence. Subsequently, overlapping series of average sequences from trees that died at different times and come from various sources ie, the wood of historic buildings, archaeological and fossil woods are used to build a chronological sequence covering several hundred years which becomes a reference.
Relative Dating
Finally, absolute dating is obtained by synchronizing the average sequences with series of live and thus datable trees and thus anchors the tree-ring chronology in time. Dendrochronology mainly uses softwood species that are sensitive to changes in growth conditions, while hardwoods show rather little variation in ring width.
This method provides very accurate dating, sometimes to the nearest year. It is especially used to develop calibration curves used to correct data obtained from radiocarbon dating, a technique that remains imprecise due to fluctuations in the concentration of carbon 14 in the atmosphere over the centuries. Thermoluminescence Thermoluminescence uses the phenomenon of ionizing radiations that naturally occur in the atmosphere.
This technique relies on a unique physicochemical property of certain minerals especially quartz and feldspar that have an imperfect structure and therefore retain radioactive elements in the natural environment. When these minerals are heated while a pot is being baked during the occupation of an archaeological site, for instance, the traps formed by their crystal structure are emptied and the clock is reset to zero. Subsequently, the total flow rate of irradiation paleodose since the reset is calculated by heating the specimen once more, and this result is then compared to the annual input recorded by a dosimeter installed on the archaeological site where the object being dated was found.
Thermoluminescence is a technique that requires complex manipulation. To obtain a date for a single pottery sample, it is necessary to perform a laboratory fractionation of the clay mineral used in the manufacture of the pottery and prepare nearly 75 sub-samples; some of these are heated to release the level of thermoluminescence, while others receive a radiation dose to measure their sensitivity to radiation. Thermoluminescence can replace radiocarbon dating to date events that occurred more than 50 years ago; it is used mainly for dating stone fireplaces, ceramics and fire remains.
Aitken editorsChronometric Dating in Archaeology ; W. Adams, Archaeological Typology and Practical Reality: | https://draktbutikk.info/and-dating/relative-dating-dendrochronology-and-climate.php |
Of thermoluminescence dating
To obtain a truly absolute chronology, corrections must be made, provided by measurements on samples of know age.The most suitable types of sample for radiocarbon dating are charcoal and well-preserved wood, although leather, cloth, paper, peat, shell and bone can also be used. Since 1977 TL sediment dates have been published by six additional groups using a variety of methods. Shelkoplyas, and for over a decade their TL dates, obtained from a variety of sediments, have appeared in the Soviet literature.C dating, thermoluminescence is related to radioactive decay.Thermoluminescence is produced by radioactive decay particles (electrons), trapped in mineral grains.We describe here the experimental evidence which indicates that some event which has the same result does occur.
The use of TL to date the deposition of ocean sediments which we propose here is similar in the main principle except for the lack of the heating event.
Warning about fakes using ancient materials What about airport x-rays and radiography? Thus, when one measures dose in pottery, it is the dose accumulated since it was fired, unless there was a subsequent reheating.
When pottery is fired, it loses all its previously acquired TL, and on cooling the TL begins again to build up.
It is an absolute dating method, and does not depend on comparison with similar objects (as does obsidian hydration dating, for example).
The thermoluminescence technique is the only physical means of determining the absolute age of pottery presently available.
Search for of thermoluminescence dating:
Used particularly for edu.au/environment/ee Pages/ee Dating/Quaternary Geochronology/ Trapped Charge Dating PRINCIPAL: energy trapped in crystal imperfections depends on dose rate and time. establish hydration rate for each type of obsidian by examining pieces of known age, or with high pressure and temperature in lab. | http://geper.tennis-market.ru/of-thermoluminescence-dating-950.html |
WHAT would an archaeologist digging in the remains of our cities two millennia from now make of our civilisation?
That’s a fine question, posed by long-time US archaeologist Eric Cline in the stimulating epilogue to his new book, Three Stones Make a Wall. Assuming that our noticeboards and signposts, if not our long-vanished emails and websites, are still decipherable in AD 4000, most large urban structures, such as highways, bridges, schools and even archaeological museums, should be easy enough to figure out.
But what about what Cline labels “the ubiquitous rectangular blobs of metal, plastic, glass and circuitry that seem to be associated with every skeleton”, frequently found clutched in a bony hand? Will future diggers know that these were once communication devices?
And what of the still more puzzling shrines or temples “complete with a goddess wearing a crown and with flowing locks”, located on virtually every street corner? “I think there is a good chance of misidentifying Starbucks as a religion,” jokes Cline. After all, a religious purpose is the typical explanation put forward by today’s archaeologists for anything incomprehensible that they find in ancient ruins.
Most of Cline’s book deals with the stories of dramatic discoveries since archaeological excavation became methodical, beginning at Herculaneum and Pompeii in the 18th century. These are selected from around the Mediterranean and a few other parts of Europe, the Americas, Egypt and the Middle East, with occasional forays into the rest of Africa and Asia. For reasons that aren’t explained, Russia, the Indian subcontinent, Japan, Australia and Polynesia don’t feature.
Interwoven with these stories are the careers and colourful personalities of some well-known archaeologists, such as Heinrich Schliemann at Troy and Mycenae, Arthur Evans at Knossos, Howard Carter at Tutankhamun’s tomb, Leonard Woolley at Ur, and the Leakey family in east Africa. There are some more recent pioneers too: underwater archaeologist George Bass, the excavator of Bronze Age shipwrecks in the Mediterranean, and David Stuart, Mayan script decipherer and the youngest person to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, at just 18.
Both the discoveries and the discoverers are illuminated by gritty fieldwork recounted from Cline’s experience at sites around the eastern Mediterranean, such as the ancient city of Megiddo in Israel, known as Armageddon to the Greeks. This area was the focus of his valuable 2014 book about the Bronze Age, 1177 BC: The year civilization collapsed.
The mix is an enjoyable and wide-ranging one. That said, the most original and clearly scientific sections of Three Stones Make a Wall are four chapters prompted by the questions non-archaeologists are wont to ask. How do you know where to dig? How do you know how to dig? How old is this and why it is it preserved? Do you get to keep what you find?
Cline patiently explains. Where to dig depends on the surveying methods. These range from people on foot fanatically scouring areas for artefacts, to aircraft scanning jungle terrain using aircraft equipped with laser tech (lidar), to the sophisticated interpretation of satellite images by individual archaeologists.
In 2010, for example, Cline and fellow academic Sarah Parcak purchased some Quickbird satellite imagery of the area around Tel Megiddo. “Almost immediately,” writes Cline, “we saw the outlines of what looked like a large building in a field right next the ancient mound.” The images had pinpointed the exact spot Israeli archaeologist Yotam Tepper had earlier proposed as the probable location of the camp of the sixth Roman legion during the 2nd century AD.
The two also found “an almost perfect match with other Roman camps”, like those built around the hilltop site of Masada, a fortress besieged by the Romans around AD 73. They shared the images with Tepper and his collaborator, who carried out remote-sensing of the site at Tel Megiddo, including ground-penetrating radar and electromagnetic surveys. Subsequent excavations revealed Roman-period coins, pieces of armour and roof tiles stamped with insignia of the sixth legion: it was definitely their camp.
As for the dating of artefacts, Cline rattles through radiocarbon and potassium-argon analysis, rehydroxylation, pottery typology, thermoluminescence and dendrochronology. However, he stresses, archaeologists must admit “a willingness to acknowledge that none of it is fixed in stone”.
For example, rehydroxylation can estimate the age of pottery on the basis of the rate at which it absorbs water after its original firing. But when it was applied to a medieval brick from the UK city of Canterbury, it gave an age of about 66 years. The brick turned out to have been accidentally re-fired when Canterbury was bombed in the second world war.
As for the question of who keeps what, finders are no longer keepers. “Not only don’t I get to keep what I find,” observes Cline, “I don’t think that other people should collect such items either.” The consensus among scholars, he says, is that there is a direct correlation between private collecting and the looting of ancient sites – as the recent destruction of ancient Syrian sites by ISIS shows so painfully.
It is difficult to disagree. And yet, how very much poorer would the world’s great archaeological museums be without the past donations of private (and often none too scrupulous) collectors. | https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23431210-700-raiders-of-the-lost-phone/ |
Ice-sheet dynamics Sampling the surface of Taku Glacier in Alaska. There is increasingly dense firn between surface snow and blue glacier ice. An ice core is a vertical column through a glacier, sampling the layers that formed through an annual cycle of snowfall and melt. At Summit Camp in Greenland, the depth is 77 m and the ice is years old; at Dome C in Antarctica the depth is 95 m and the age years. The bubbles disappear and the ice becomes more transparent. Ice is lost at the edges of the glacier to icebergs , or to summer melting, and the overall shape of the glacier does not change much with time.
This is very possible, and even likely. It is only an assumption that integral or adjacent lead could only be an end-product. In addition, there is “common lead, “which has no radioactive parent lead
Advantages and limitations of thermoluminescence dating of heated flint from Paleolithic sites. 13 Pages. Advantages and limitations of thermoluminescence dating of heated flint from Paleolithic sites. Uploaded by. Daniel Richter. Advantages and limitations of thermoluminescence dating of heated flint from Paleolithic sites.
Ancient TL 16, 2: Introduction to Optical Dating. Oxford University Press, Oxford: Chronological separation of interglacial raised beaches from Northwestern Europe using thermoluminescence. Quaternary Research 35 1: Luminescence dating of Neolithic ceramics from Lumea Noua, Romania. Thermoluminescence dating of the Pleistocene Old Crow tephra and adjacent loess, near Fairbanks, Alaska.
Canadian Journal of Earth Science 24 Dating Quaternary events by luminescence. Geological So-ciety of America, Special Paper Progress in luminescence dating methods for Qua-ternary sediments. Rutter NW and Catto N, eds.
A common misconception about radiocarbon dating is that it gives a precise date B. In actual practice radiocarbon dating can only give a range of dates for a given sample to B. The precision of a radiocarbon date tells how narrow the range of dates is. There are two main factors which determine the precision of a radiocarbon date. The precision of the measurement of the radiocarbon concentration in the sample.
Modern accelerator mass spectrometry used for radiocarbon dating purposes to separate radiocarbon atoms from stable carbon atoms and count them is quite precise.
The University of Washington Luminescence Dating Laboratory has been involved in luminescence dating research since the mids. The laboratory, which is part of the Anthropology Department, specializes in archaeological applications and is particularly interested in research projects in which luminescence can solve archaeological problems.
Different aspects of the dating procedure based on zircon TL, including laboratory added irradiation at room and elevated temperatures, fading and preheat processes, have been considered within the framework of the kinetic model developed by our group earlier. It is shown that dose rate effects arising due to the difference between natural and laboratory irradiation can be removed by a suitable preheat treatment of the laboratory irradiated samples prior to the TL measurements.
We demonstrate that the TL behaviour of zircon which has been irradiated under natural conditions can be reproduced by means of laboratory irradiation at some elevated temperature. This opens a promising possibility of i getting rid of dose rate effects and anomalous fading and ii reconstructing the dose dependence of the total TL signal emitted by samples irradiated under natural conditions. The model has been checked by simulating the dating procedures used for our coastal dune sand samples from Ameland NL , the age of which is known from historical records; the results agree well with the available experimental data.
The results of this investigation demonstrate the utility of the kinetic model for planning dating experiments and for development of new and innovative TL dating methods. Export citation and abstract.
Sorry, something has gone wrong. Thermoluminescence dating does NOT measure the amount of light energy trapped in the mineral’s crystals, it actually indirectly measures the amount of electrical energy trapped within the crystals. Simply put, all crystals have imperfections that can trap electrons.
Thermoluminescence (TL) dating of burnt flints: problems, perspectives and some examples of application.
Bradshaws now called Gwion art are among the most sophicated forms of cave painting in Australia. Introduction Australian Aboriginal rock art may be the oldest Stone Age art on the planet. This possibility is supported by the studies of Professor Stephen Oppenheimer, whose research combines genetic analysis with climatology, archeology, fossil analysis and modern dating methods, in order to juxtapose early migration with early rock art , see for example his book “Out of Eden: According to Oppenheimer, modern humans first began arriving in Australia from islands across the Timor Sea during the Middle Paleolithic era, between 70, and 60, BCE.
Evidence of the ancient art if any of this first wave of aboriginal settlers is extremely scarce, but there are signs of pigment usage which suggest that they began painting almost immediately, although this might have been face or body painting rather than rock painting. In any event, human occupation in Australia has been carbon-dated to at least 53, BCE, and the oldest Australian human fossil has been dated to around 38, BCE – the difference probably being due to the drowning of the earliest coastal occupation sites by rising sea-levels: All this means that aboriginal migrants were settled in Australia some 10, years before their northern counterparts arrived in Europe.
So we may yet discover that Paleolithic art in Australia predates the cave art in Europe by a similar margin. Other, possibly even older examples of prehistoric art cupules have been discovered in the granite rock shelter of Turtle Rock, Northern Queensland, and in the dark limestone caves of southern Australia. Australian Aborigine artists have continued to practice their traditional arts and crafts into the modern era, creating in the process a unique and unbroken record of artistic expression.
Unfortunately, over time, some aboriginal caves and rock shelters have become saturated with superimposed imagery as well as artifacts from a great many occupations. As a result, even though Australia is home to more petroglyphs and pictographs than any other country in the world, the sheer number of these cave paintings and rock engravings places a heavy burden on the country’s limited archeological resources.
The thermoluminescence technique is the only physical means of determining the absolute age of pottery presently available. It is an absolute dating method, and does not depend on comparison with similar objects as does obsidian hydration dating, for example. Most mineral materials, including the constituents of pottery, have the property of thermoluminescence TL , where part of the energy from radioactive decay in and around the mineral is stored in the form of trapped electrons and later released as light upon strong heating as the electrons are detrapped and combine with lattice ions.
By comparing this light output with that produced by known doses of radiation, the amount of radiation absorbed by the material may be found. When pottery is fired, it loses all its previously acquired TL, and on cooling the TL begins again to build up. Thus, when one measures dose in pottery, it is the dose accumulated since it was fired, unless there was a subsequent reheating.
Ancient TL Vol. 27 No.1 1 Single-grain two-fragment method for dating terrace deposits using red thermoluminescence from quartz Y. Ganzawa and T. Azuma Faculty of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University of Education, Hakodate Campus.
Having been spurred by promising results of thermoluminescence TL dating of medieval and Przeworsk materials, we have employed it in those situations, where no other chronometric methods seem to be efficient. TL dating has been combined with typological analysis of the dated pottery and, partially, with radiocarbon method. Albeit the produced TL dates do not represent the level of sought-for fine chronological resolution, they indicate the temporal trends and corroborate the typological research.
Our study has shown the potential of TL dating for periods with plateaus on 14C calibration curve. We also have dealt with unexpected TL ages and suggested some solutions of the problem. Finally, we have demonstrated that the condition sine qua non for archaeological interpretation of TL dates is a thorough stylistic-chronological analysis of dated pottery and clear understanding of relations between chronometric dates and the archaeological event to be dated.
Ancient TL 16 2: Methodological developments in the luminescence dating of brick from English late medieval and post medieval buildings. Ancient TL 17 1: Luminescence dating of pottery from later prehistoric Britain. Luminescence dating of Neolithic ceramics from Lumea Noua, Romania. Combined dating methods applied to building archaeology:
B , ” The question of the mode of origin of modern humans Homo sapiens has dominated palaeoanthropologi-cal debate over the last decade. This review discusses the main models proposed to explain modern human origins, and examines relevant fossil evidence from Eurasia, Africa and Australasia.
Conference Announcements: L.A.I.S materials, or applying luminescence data to archaeological and cultural heritage problems. Antoine ZINK, Elisa PORTO ) being the first to expound the application of thermoluminescence as a dating technique for the geosciences and archaeology. The intervening years have seen.
Chronological Methods 9 – Potassium-Argon Dating Potassium-Argon Dating Potassium-Argon dating is the only viable technique for dating very old archaeological materials. Geologists have used this method to date rocks as much as 4 billion years old. It is based on the fact that some of the radioactive isotope of Potassium, Potassium K ,decays to the gas Argon as Argon Ar By comparing the proportion of K to Ar in a sample of volcanic rock, and knowing the decay rate of K , the date that the rock formed can be determined.
How Does the Reaction Work? Potassium K is one of the most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust 2. One out of every 10, Potassium atoms is radioactive Potassium K These each have 19 protons and 21 neutrons in their nucleus. If one of these protons is hit by a beta particle, it can be converted into a neutron. With 18 protons and 22 neutrons, the atom has become Argon Ar , an inert gas. | http://interunion.info/dosimetry-problems-related-to-the-thermoluminescence-dating-of-ancient-ceramics/ |
Middle Iron Age and Roman period discoveries found
Historical buildings and relics dating back to the Middle Iron Age through to the Roman period have been unearthed by archaeologists working on National Highways A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvement scheme in Bedfordshire.
Published
14 Feb 2022
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Since July 2021, archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) and the Cambridge Archaeology Unit, on behalf of National Highways, have been busy excavating as part of a wider programme of archaeology work on the proposed improvement project.
At a site known as Field 44 near the village of Tempsford in Central Bedfordshire, the team has uncovered evidence of an ancient farm, which has offered an incredible glimpse through time to see how life has changed over the last 6,000 years.
The farm’s story spans across a 700-year period from Middle Iron Age to the Roman conquest and beyond:
Early life at Field 44
Flint arrowheads were discovered dating back to the Neolithic (c. 4000-2200 BC) and Bronze Age (c. 2600-700 BC), suggesting people were hunting animals in the surrounding landscape well before the farmstead existed.
The first communities at Field 44
The first evidence of a settlement is from the Middle Iron Age (c. 300-100 BC), with the unearthing of two large round houses dating back to that period. They measure more than 15 metres in diameter and contain evidence of the remains of butchered animals, pottery, loom weights and personal items. This shows that people both lived and worked in them.
The Roman invasion
After the Roman conquest in AD 43 there is evidence the settlement expanded and continued to be occupied for around 400 years. During this time, farming was an important activity at this settlement. This is proved by the discovery of an oven used to dry grains and make malt for brewing, as well as by further grains and cereals found elsewhere on site.
The settlement was also a place where goods were being produced and traded. Archaeologists identified a Roman pottery kiln with vast numbers of failed pots, termed ‘wasters’. It is thought that livestock, craft items and agricultural surpluses will have been traded and transported off site to larger distribution centres in the area.
Dr Steve Sherlock, Archaeology Lead for the A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvement scheme, said:
“The farmstead and artefacts we have unearthed near Tempsford are hugely exciting and significant finds as they help shape our understanding of what life in Bedfordshire was like over a period of 6000 years, and we can see how the site developed through different periods of time.
“What is particularly exciting is that the site was initially established beside a substantial boundary ditch, and we think this boundary was used to define a tribal area. This large ditch seems to have been maintained and occasionally redefined over time. The excavation in Field 44 will inform how we examine other sites in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire as we continue with the programme of excavations.”
As excavations on the project continue, specialists will begin to analyse the artefacts in more detail, which will reveal more about the site and who lived there.
For the latest information about the A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvement scheme: | https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/a428-black-cat-to-caxton-gibbet/latest-news/middle-iron-age-and-roman-period-discoveries-found/ |
The narrower a range of time that an animal lived, the better it is as an index of a specific time. Thermoluminescence can replace radiocarbon dating to date events that occurred more than 50 years ago; it is used mainly for dating stone fireplaces, ceramics and fire remains. Stratigraphic dating remains very reliable when it comes to dating objects or events in undisturbed stratigraphic levels.
Afterward, the amount of the radioactive isotope carbon in their remains decreases. Geologic age dating—assigning an age to materials—is an entire discipline of its own. Radioactive dating arranges the difference between absolute dating 1. Moreover, stratigraphic dating is sometimes based on the objects that are found within the soil strata. Thermoluminescence, used in dating archaeological material such as pottery, is based on the luminescence produced when a solid is heated; that is, electrons freed during radioactive decay and trapped in the crystal lattice are released by heating, resulting in luminescence. | https://london-housing.uk/amateur/dating_profile_hot_ebony488.php |
JORDANIE – Jerash - An international archaeological team lead by French experts has discovered rare and "priceless" Roman sculptures in the north city of Jerash following three years mission that promises to unearth more troves, according to officials from Jordan archaeological department. The findings include a sculpture of the Greek goddess of love and beauty 'Aphrodite,' an unprecedented finding in the kingdom and one of the few worldwide. "This is the first time in Jordan history we discover a statue for Aphrodite (Venus). In total, the findings include at least 14 large sculptures, some of which are fully intact, while others have been decapitated. Archaeologists are currently combing through the site in order to learn more about the findings, some of which are seen for the first time."This is a result of three years of continues work with international and local experts working in al Hamamat site, a well known Roman location," said Ghuneimat. One of the most intriguing discoveries include a sculpture of Zeus, a popular figure in Jerash that will join other sculptures being displayed in Jerash temple of Zeus, added Ghuneimat. The other findings, some of which are being renovated, will be displayed in an exhibition in Jerash for visitors of the ancient Roman city.,The archaeological mission is expected to continue digging until later this year, hoping to unearth at least two more sculptures that would complete a set of sculpture for the Nine Muses - the daughters of Zeus. Archaeologists have discovered seven of the sculptures in Jerash and hope to unearth the remaining two to complete the set. Ghuneimat stressed that the findings represent a major development in the status of Jerash as an attraction for scalars and experts from around the world.,It would also give an added incentive for tourists to see some of the most rare sculptures that date back to the second century BC. (ANSAmed).
U.A.E. - Fujairah - According to the Fujairah Tourism and Antiquities Authority, FTAA, more than 31 petroglyph sites have been found in Fujairah, including sites in Wadi Saham, Hassat al-Risoom, Wadi ah-Shanah, and Wadi al-Hayl. These petroglyphs provide valuable insights into past occupants of the country, dating as far back at the Bronze Age, over 3,000 years ago, as well as the local Iron Age, which lasted from around 1250 BC to 300 BC, the late pre-Islamic period and during the Islamic period. While petroglyphs are difficult to date without scientific analysis of the rocks on which they are found, some motifs have direct parallels with excavated artefacts from the Iron Age. Motifs (designs) portrayed in the rock art include drawings of horses and riders, ‘wusum’ (tribal signs in the form of geometric symbols), and other zoomorphic (related to animals) and anthropomorphic (related to humans) symbolism. Among the motifs discovered, according to FTAA, is a collective dance scene that provides an insight into aspects of historical development, including agricultural practices.
GRECE – Nemea - An intact tomb from the early Mycenaean era (1650-1400 BC) has been unearthed by archaeologists in the region of Nemea, southern Greece. According to the Culture Ministry, the tomb is among the largest ever found in the region and is set apart by the short yet wide path leading to its entrance along with other features that place it in the early phase of the Mycenaean civilization. It was found in a Mycenaean cemetery in Aidonia. The Mycenaean civilization, with its palatial states, urban organization, sophisticated art and writing system, flourished in Greece in the 17th-12th centuries BC.
SUEDE – Vidöstern lake - An eight-year-old Swedish-American girl came across an exciting find swimming at her local lake, when she pulled an ancient sword from its depths. It was initially reported that the sword was at least 1,000 years old, but the museum later contacted The Local to clarify that they believe it may be even older, estimated to date back to the 5th or 6th century AD, pre-Viking Age. The find has prompted huge interest from archaeologists and historians."It's about 85 centimentres long, and there is also preserved wood and metal around it," explained Mikael Nordström from the museum. "We are very keen to see the conservation staff do their work and see more of the details of the sword."
ROYAUME UNI – Cambridge - A team of 250 archaeologists have been on site as part of Highways England's £1.5bn scheme to improve the stretch between Cambridge and Huntingdon. More than four tonnes of pottery fragments have been unearthed since work began two years ago. Experts said some of the pottery was of the "highest quality". Teams led by the Museum of London Archaeology have dug more than 40 separate excavation areas covering an area of 350 hectares (3.5 sq km). The entire area was the site of a medieval village and a Roman trade distribution centre, archaeologists found. Among the pieces recovered are a Samianware Roman bowl, depicting a male figure fighting a lion, which would have been imported from France - giving an insight into the wealth, status and travels of the people who lived here.
ALBANIE - Archaeologists in Korca in the southeast of Albania have unearthed one of the largest ancient cemeteries in Albania. In Turan, which sits in an agricultural valley surrounded by the Morava Mountains, excavations reveal 1,000 or more layered burials. Reports from the dig suggest that several of ceremonial burials are richly appointed. The excavation by a team of archaeologists has uncovered burials and artifacts from Neolithic times, the Iron Age, late Roman times, and the Middle Ages. Under the bottom layer are traces of a rare Neolithic settlement demarcated by holes in the ground that supported the now-rotted wooden skeletons of small huts. The scientists discovered 20 Neolithic sites in Albania, dating roughly from the 7th to the 3rd millennia B.C. Some of these are the earliest farming settlements in Europe. This most recent discovery came about when workers digging a pipeline stumbled across the cemeteries. Interestingly, no traces of the settlements these cemeteries served have yet been located, but Pojani said it’s easy to see why people through the ages chose to live there. The recent finds include grave goods included rings, bracelets, earrings, amber and glass beads, gold coins, lots of pottery — including local copies of 11th or 10th century B.C. wine jugs popular in neighboring Greece — medieval wooden caskets and clothes worked with silver thread, as well as spears, daggers, knives, and swords. Turan, which lies about 180 kilometers (110 miles) southeast of the capital Tirana, is the most important 30 sites discovered since the laying of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, or TAP, that will bring natural gas from Azerbaijan through Turkey, Greece and Albania, and across the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy. The Turan site has been in use for almost 2,000 years, and the cemeteries date back to 700 B.C. The archaeologists hope that the burials will help them answer questions about who these people were and their relationship to other settlements. | http://www.archeolog-home.com/pages/content/05-0ctobre-2018-jerash-fujairah-nemea-vidostern-cambridge-albanie.html |
Getting ahead of KRAS inhibitor resistance
The growth of many cancers is driven by mutations in the gene KRAS. Although the encoded protein has been considered “undruggable,” the compound ARS-1620 binds to and inhibits one of these KRAS mutants (termed G12C) and is showing promising results in clinical trials. Lou et al. sought combination therapies that could enhance the efficacy of ARS-1620 and possibly prevent therapeutic resistance. Using functional genomics that identified pathway rewiring in ARS-1620–treated lung and pancreatic cancer cells, the authors found combination therapies that either enhanced target engagement by ARS-1620 (namely, EGFR, FGFR, or SHP2 inhibitors) or suppressed persistent tumor cell survival pathways (namely, AXL, PI3K, or CDK4/6 inhibitors). The findings have promising implications for clinical success for patients.
Abstract
Inhibitors targeting KRASG12C, a mutant form of the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) KRAS, are a promising new class of oncogene-specific therapeutics for the treatment of tumors driven by the mutant protein. These inhibitors react with the mutant cysteine residue by binding covalently to the switch-II pocket (S-IIP) that is present only in the inactive guanosine diphosphate (GDP)–bound form of KRASG12C, sparing the wild-type protein. We used a genome-scale CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) functional genomics platform to systematically identify genetic interactions with a KRASG12C inhibitor in cellular models of KRASG12C mutant lung and pancreatic cancer. Our data revealed genes that were selectively essential in this oncogenic driver–limited cell state, meaning that their loss enhanced cellular susceptibility to direct KRASG12C inhibition. We termed such genes “collateral dependencies” (CDs) and identified two classes of combination therapies targeting these CDs that increased KRASG12C target engagement or blocked residual survival pathways in cells and in vivo. From our findings, we propose a framework for assessing genetic dependencies induced by oncogene inhibition.
INTRODUCTION
The concept that a cancerous phenotype can be driven by the activity of a single oncogene has motivated the search for targeted therapeutics directed against individual oncoproteins (1). Although this concept has been successfully implemented in numerous instances [as for the fusion protein BCR-ABL, the kinases HER2, EGFR, BRAF, KIT, and others] (2), it has not yet been possible in the case of the most frequently mutated human oncogene, the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) KRAS, due to its “undruggable” nature (3). To circumvent the inability to directly inhibit RAS proteins (KRAS, NRAS, and HRAS), other genetic dependencies associated with RAS mutations have been thoroughly investigated (4, 5). These approaches sought to indirectly target RAS-driven cancers through synthetic lethal (SL) genetic vulnerabilities that are selectively necessary for the maintenance of a RAS-mutated cell state (6, 7). Although these studies have nominated numerous promising targets (8–13), identifying broadly applicable, targetable SL vulnerabilities remains a challenge.
The paradigm of KRAS “undruggability” has evolved, as a new class of oncogene-specific direct KRASG12C inhibitor (14–17) has entered clinical trials (18, 19). In preclinical studies, an advanced-stage compound, ARS-1620, has exquisitely specific anticancer activity against KRASG12C-mutant tumors with no observed dose-limiting toxicity in mice (17). Despite this, and as is true for inhibitors of other driver oncogenes, it is likely that, upon direct pharmacological inhibition of KRASG12C, KRASG12C-dependent cancer cells will engage previously dispensable genes and pathways to maintain survival and proliferation. Therefore, inhibiting KRASG12C may render previously nonessential genetic dependencies newly vital to support cells suddenly deprived of mutant KRASG12C activity. Nonmutational bypass mechanisms of drug resistance are common in cancer (20); thus, it is imperative to define such mechanisms to overcome preexisting or de novo resistance to targeted therapeutics. We reasoned that bypass pathways capable of sustaining cancer cell survival in the face of acute deprivation of a driver oncogene’s activity are likely to be distinct from SL dependencies, which are contingent on the overactivation of KRAS signaling. We define this class of genetic interactions that support the driver-limited cancer cell state as collateral dependencies (CDs) and hypothesize that targeting CDs will promote response to KRASG12C inhibitors (Fig. 1A).
Here, we systematically identified and studied KRASG12C CDs by leveraging the allele-specific KRASG12C inhibitor, ARS-1620, to pharmacologically induce a driver-limited cell state. Under such conditions, genetic knockdown of individual genes uncovers underlying genetic dependencies that are selectively essential in the setting of KRASG12C inhibition. Using a genome-wide CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) functional genomics platform (21, 22), we identified diverse mechanisms by which CDs influence KRASG12C-driven growth upon oncogene inactivation. This approach identified specialized roles of known RAS signaling components and highlights CDs involved in transcriptional regulation and other cellular processes outside the core RAS pathway. In a large panel of KRASG12C-driven cancer cells, the vast majority of CDs identified in our experiments are not SL, thus demonstrating that CDs (driver oncogene–inhibited) are biologically distinct from SL dependencies (driver oncogene–active).
After validating our screen results genetically, we used pharmacology to further dissect the relationship between therapeutically targetable CDs and KRASG12C, revealing that chemical inhibition of both known and unexpected RAS pathway genes synergized with KRASG12C inhibition. We then investigated the mechanisms of these drug synergies inferred from our RAS pathway CD map using a new drug occupancy probe for direct KRASG12C inhibitor target engagement. These combination therapies either directly cooperated with switch-II pocket (S-IIP) inhibition to increase KRASG12C target engagement or independently blocked residual survival pathways. Both classes of combinations tested ultimately resulted in a deepened suppression of common signaling nodes, emphasizing the convergent nature of the oncogenic RAS signaling network.
Our study uncovered diverse mechanisms by which collateral pro-oncogenic signaling proteins sustain a mutant KRAS-dependent cancerous phenotype after acute chemical inhibition of KRASG12C. We demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo that combination therapies targeting KRASG12C and pro-survival CDs have enhanced anticancer activity. Our work reveals that optimal targeting of KRAS-driven cancers will require coinhibition of both the driver oncogene and upstream, downstream, and parallel CDs. This work also establishes generalizable strategies for cotargeting CDs to fully exploit the anticancer activity of driver oncogene inhibitors, a principle that we expect will apply to any direct inhibitor of an oncogenic driver.
RESULTS
Genome-scale CRISPRi screens nominate KRASG12C collateral dependent genes
We performed genome-scale screens using our previously described CRISPRi functional genomics platform (21, 22) in two cancer cell lines driven by KRASG12C mutation arising from distinct tissues to characterize CDs (Fig. 1A), whose knockdown could potentiate response to KRASG12C inhibition (Fig. 1B). Several features motivated the choice of the two cell lines used: (i) The H358 non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and MIA PaCa-2 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cell lines represent two cancers with high KRAS mutational prevalence; (ii) H358 is KRASG12C/KRASWT, whereas MIA PaCa-2 is KRASG12C/ KRASG12C, representing two distinct genotypes associated with KRAS mutational status; (iii) both cell lines are highly sensitive to ARS-1620 [half-maximal inhibitory dose (IC50) within about two- to threefold] across both two-dimensional (2D) adherent and 3D spheroid cultures (17), suggesting that KRAS dependency is well represented in either condition; and (iv) selection in more than one KRASG12C line helps ensure likely generalizability to other cells that share this same driver mutation.
Pooled genome-scale genetic screens were performed by transducing H358 and MIA PaCa-2 cells stably expressing a CRISPRi construct (dCas9-KRAB) with a genome-scale CRISPRi library (21, 22). Transduced cell populations were grown in the presence or absence of ARS-1620 in duplicate. We measured quantitative differences in single-guide RNA (sgRNA) frequency for each sample by deep sequencing to determine how knockdown of a given gene contributes to cell growth and susceptibility to KRASG12C inhibition. Analysis of the H358 (fig. S1, A to D, and data files S1 and S2) and MIA PaCa-2 (fig. S2, A to D, and data files S3 and S4) screens showed high correlation between two biological replicates and confirmed depletion of known essential genes, validating our method as a high-confidence approach for identification of factors required for cellular survival in these models of KRAS-mutant NSCLC and PDAC. Growth phenotypes specifically associated with KRASG12C inhibition were quantitatively defined by the differences in sgRNA enrichment or depletion between ARS-1620– and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)–treated cells (Δlog2 fold change).
Analysis of ARS-1620 CD screen hits (Δlog2 fold change < −0.5) revealed a number of core RAS pathway components as well as multiple processes not commonly associated with RAS signaling (Fig. 1C). Multiple genes were overlapping key regulators of response to ARS-1620 in these two diverse KRASG12C-mutant tumor models, but some KRASG12C CDs were also disease or model specific, such as ZNF750, a poorly characterized gene that is strongly sensitizing in the H358 screen (data file S2).
We then analyzed the relationship between the biology of overlapping CDs identified in our work to traditional SL CRISPR screen analysis of KRAS-mutant cancers. We determined average essentiality scores for our nominated CD genetic hits using CRISPR screening data in all KRAS-WT (wild-type) and KRAS-mutant NSCLC cancer cell lines (39 KRAS-WT and 19 KRAS-mutant) found in the publicly available datasets, PICKLES (pooled in vitro CRISPR knockout library essentiality screens) and DepMap (Cancer Dependency Map) (Fig. 1D) (23, 24). By taking the differences in essentiality scores between KRAS-mutant and KRAS-WT cell lines, we derived SL scores that reflect selective dependency in the presence of KRAS mutation. The only gene that was found to be both strongly SL (selectively essential in KRAS-mutant cells) and CD (selectively essential during mutant KRAS inhibition) in this analysis was KRAS itself, confirming, in this context, our hypothesis that the vast majority of CDs are not SLs.
CDs are selectively essential in the setting of KRASG12C inhibition
To validate the CD hits nominated by our CRISPRi screens, we transduced H358 and MIA PaCa-2 CRISPRi cells with individual sgRNAs and tracked relative populations of non–sgRNA-expressing and sgRNA-expressing cells over time (Fig. 2, A to C). We determined retest phenotypes from this mixed population assay using a metric, resistance index (RI), which reflects proportional differences in sgRNA-expressing populations across DMSO- and compound-treated conditions (Fig. 2, B and C) (25). Screen phenotypes (Δlog2 fold change) were correlated with retest phenotypes (RI) (Fig. 2, B and C), validating our genetic hits for their ability to selectively potentiate the effects of KRASG12C inhibition across multiple independent experimental conditions.
We then sought to characterize the mechanistic role of the transcription factor FOS-like antigen 1 (FOSL1), a CD required for survival in a driver-limited signaling state, by testing whether FOSL1 function affects key signaling pathways activated by KRAS. RAS serves as a central signaling hub, activating its two primary effector arms, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, as well as others to enable cell growth and proliferation. FOSL1 is a transcription factor activated by MAPK signaling that is reported to be among the most down-regulated mRNA transcripts by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) upon treatment with ARS-1620 (17) and additionally has been implicated to play a role in the maintenance of mitotic machinery (26).
We were able to recapitulate ARS-1620’s ability to down-regulate FOSL1 transcript by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and found that sgRNAs identified in the screen targeting FOSL1 induced a similar extent of knockdown (Fig. 2D). Combining the effects of ARS-1620 inhibition of FOSL1 with CRISPRi genetic knockdown of FOSL1 further deepened suppression of FOSL1 mRNA expression and potently inhibited phosphorylated AKT (p-AKT) signaling (Fig. 2, D and E). p-AKT has been suggested to be a downstream node of RAS signaling that is recalcitrant to direct KRASG12C inhibition and important for cell survival and proliferation (27, 28). Our findings propose a mechanism that connects the MAPK and PI3K effector arms through FOSL1, a downstream output of the MAPK cascade. Genetic knockdown of FOSL1 notably led to no clear differences in the ability of KRASG12C inhibition to suppress signaling resulting in the phosphorylation of extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) and ribosomal protein S6 (S6) (fig. S3), suggesting a highly specific requirement of FOSL1 to cross-activate AKT in both NSCLC and PDAC cell models.
A CD map reveals targetable vulnerabilities within critical signaling modules of the RAS pathway
To understand how our findings could be applied to design therapeutic strategies against KRASG12C-driven cancers, we constructed a CD map of the RAS pathway to visualize relationships between sensitizing and resistance genetic factors in both PDAC and NSCLC cell models and, for comparison, also included CD hits identified in both screens (Fig. 3A and fig. S4A). These data suggest two distinct mechanisms by which CDs can modulate cellular response to direct chemical inhibition of KRASG12C.
First, the KRASG12C protein cycles dynamically between active and inactive guanosine triphosphate (GTP)/guanosine diphosphate (GDP)–bound states (15, 16), and our data provide genetic support for the hypothesis that S-IIP inhibitors bind KRASG12C-GDP (14) as genes that can modulate this ratio of KRAS nucleotide occupancy, such as those encoding guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs; as in SOS1) and their regulators (FGFR1, EGFR, SHP2, and CRKL), alter cellular sensitivity to ARS-1620. This first class of hits likely facilitates drug loading, thereby priming KRASG12C mutant cells with a permissive amount of KRASG12C-GDP to promote efficient compound target engagement and anticancer activity. Even among highly overlapping classes of genes, such as receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) (29), specific genetic knockdowns pinpointed critical functional nodes that were not readily apparent by assessment of mRNA expression alone (Fig. 3B and fig. S4B) (30).
A second category of hit genes critically important to diverse cell growth and survival pathways, including cell cycle control (such as CCND1 and CDK4), multiple cell adhesion proteins (such as ITGA7 and ITGAV), regulators of transcription (such as FOSL1), and the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, modulated sensitivity to ARS-1620, suggesting that cell death induced by direct inhibition of KRASG12C is influenced by various pathways commonly dysregulated in KRAS-mutant cancers (Fig. 3A and fig. S4A) (31). This second class of hits is predicted to not change ARS-1620 target engagement and would thus be mechanistically distinct from those that alter KRASG12C-GDP abundance. We also observed that substrates of protein kinase screen hits were differentially phosphorylated after ARS-1620 treatment, consistent with dynamic regulation of KRASG12C activity (fig. S5, A and B, and data file S5). We note that, for other overlapping, sensitizing CD hits (such as ELP3, ELP4, KIF18A, PKN2, VBP1, and VPS29), the direct connection to KRAS remains to be uncovered and will motivate future investigations.
Our results confirm the initial CD hypothesis that previously dispensable or weak genetic dependencies can become potentiated when reframed in the context of an oncogenic driver–limited state. Numerous compounds directed against targets and pathways identified by our screens have failed to demonstrate clinical efficacy as monotherapies in KRAS-mutant cancers (32). Dual inhibition of KRASG12C and various cotargets could repurpose these agents by applying them to therapeutic scenarios with heightened non-driver genetic dependencies.
Two classes of combination therapies targeting CDs with KRASG12C promote distinct mechanisms of synergy
These data suggest that, despite differences in tissue of origin and genetic background, functional interactions with mutant KRAS signaling dependency can be governed by common CDs that are druggable using clinically approved and advanced preclinical compounds. To test the mechanistic hypothesis that repression of select CDs promotes increased target engagement by ARS-1620, we developed ARS-1323-alkyne, a chemical probe that enables measurement of live-cell KRASG12C covalent inhibition kinetics (Fig. 4A). After treatment of cells with ARS-1323-alkyne, covalent labeling was assessed using an electrophoretic mobility shift assay where larger protein–small molecule adducts migrate more slowly following click reaction to tetramethylrhodamine azide (TAMRA-N3) (Fig. 4B) (33). Relative target engagement was quantified by the densitometry of upper (KRAS + inhibitor) and lower (KRAS) bands.
We sought to measure the influence of cotargeting CD vulnerabilities upstream [with an EGFR inhibitor (EGFRi), a fibroblast growth factor receptor inhibitor (FGFRi), an AXL inhibitor (AXLi), and a protein tyrosine phosphatase, non-receptor type 11 inhibitor (SHP2i)], downstream [with a cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor (CDK4/6i)], and parallel [with a PI3K inhibitor (PI3Ki)] to KRASG12C on inhibitor target engagement in NSCLC and PDAC models. The kinetics of KRASG12C inhibition in the H358 NSCLC model with ARS-1323-alkyne demonstrated two general classes of combinations (Fig. 4, C and D). We observed that KRASG12C probe target engagement was perturbed by cotreatment with compounds that inhibit GTP loading to KRASG12C (such as SHP2i) by effectively preventing recruitment and activation of the RAS GEF son of sevenless (SOS). Conversely, coinhibition of cognate pro-growth and pro-survival pathways was shown to operate outside the direct context of nucleotide cycling (such as with CDK4/6i). These results were generalized to the MIA PaCa-2 PDAC model, with pharmacological interactions reflecting differences in observed genetic dependencies; for example, EGFR and FGFR1 were found to be cell-specific CDs, whereas SHP2 was overlapping (Fig. 4, E and F). Inhibition of the RTK AXL, which has been implicated in promoting mitochondrial activity in KRAS-mutant PDAC models (34), does not appear to strongly influence KRASG12C nucleotide state, consistent with a model in which different RTKs play specialized roles to support a mutant KRAS-driven phenotype.
Together, our experiments nominate two classes of combination therapies that either enhance KRASG12C target engagement (namely, EGFR, FGFR, or SHP2 inhibitors) or independently suppress persistent survival pathways (namely, AXL, PI3K, or CDK4/6 inhibitors).
Mechanistically diverse CDs with KRASG12C converge upon downstream signaling outputs
We explored the link between KRASG12C target engagement and inhibition of various downstream signaling outputs by treating cells with ARS-1323-alkyne at an intermediate time point with different second chemical agents. Treating each cell line with its RTK dependency’s cognate growth factor (EGF for the NSCLC line H358 and FGF2 for the PDAC line MIA PaCa-2) potently obstructed the effects of KRASG12C inhibition at both the target engagement and signaling levels (Fig. 5A). Overall, combinations that cotarget upstream genes (RTKs and SHP2) potentiated suppression of p-ERK, whereas those that cotarget parallel and downstream factors (PI3K and CDK4/6) displayed modest to no differences in p-ERK activation compared to monotreatment. Cotargeting PI3K also distinctly inhibited p-AKT signaling. Despite these differences, however, all combinations tested resulted in notably deeper suppression of p-S6, which has been shown to correlate well with inhibition of cell viability (28, 35).
Studies have demonstrated that RAS-driven cancer cells are more dependent on RAS signaling in 3D than in 2D culture models (15, 17, 36, 37). To evaluate the context specificity of our results, we assessed several drug combinations in 2D and 3D assays. Consistent with their ability to promote p-S6 inhibition, combinations cotargeting CDs showed enhanced anticancer activity in both 3D (Fig. 5B) and 2D (Fig. 5C) assays in H358 and MIA PaCa-2, as well as in a third KRASG12C-driven NSCLC cancer cell line, H23. In the 3D assay, we found that multiple drug combinations formally have synergistic antitumorigenic activity (38).
These pharmacological experiments validated cell type–specific synergies exemplified by specialized RTKs that promote KRASG12C activation and other pathways. Conversely, coinhibition of SHP2, a broadly required RTK adaptor, represented a general synergy as did coinhibition of PI3K or CDK4/6. Our data suggest that CDs nominated by our CRISPRi screens reveal diverse targetable genetic dependencies in NSCLC and PDAC models that result in the enhanced suppression of critical downstream signaling outputs required for cell viability.
Coinhibition of CDK4/6 potentiates the global effects of KRASG12C inhibition
CDK4 and its close homolog CDK6 cooperate with D-type cyclins to promote G1-S cell cycle progression through direct phosphorylation of retinoblastoma (RB) tumor suppressor family members, releasing a transcriptional program mediated by the transcription factor E2F to initiate S-phase entry in the cell cycle (39). CDK4 has also previously been suggested to be an SL partner with mutant KRAS (40), although inhibition of CDK4/6 proved to be ineffective as a monotherapy in KRAS-mutant NSCLC in a phase 3 trial (41). Neither CDK4 nor cyclin D1 (CCND1) displayed strong SL relationships with mutant KRAS in our analysis of the PICKLES database and DepMap (Fig. 1D), but both genes appeared as strong KRASG12C CDs in our CRISPRi screens in both the NSCLC and PDAC models (Figs. 1 and 3 and fig. S4). This may suggest that the essentiality of CDK4 is amplified in the setting of mutant KRAS inhibition, reframing the genetic interaction as a true CD relationship.
Intrigued by the ability of palbociclib (CDK4/6i) to decrease p-S6 when combined with a KRASG12C inhibitor, we compared by RNA-seq the transcriptome profiles of H358 cells treated with DMSO, CDK4/6i, ARS-1620, and the combination. Treatment with the combination of CDK4/6i and ARS-1620 resulted in an expression profile that reflected potent inhibition of cell proliferation (Fig. 6, A and B). The concentration of ARS-1620 used (1 μM) has been demonstrated to affect ≥95% target engagement in H358 cells at the assayed time point (24 hours) (17). Unbiased clustering of top significantly altered transcripts by the combination revealed major changes in four primary gene ontologies (Fig. 6A) (42). Inhibition of KRASG12C alone appeared to modestly suppress cell division genes (such as CCNA2, CCNB1/2, and CDK1), whereas CDK4/6i alone or in combination induced their marked down-regulation (Fig. 6, B and C). Conversely, CDK4/6i alone resulted in no statistically significant differences in MAPK inhibition–associated genes (such as CCND1 and DUSP4/5/6), whereas the combination displayed significantly decreased expression even when compared to ARS-1620 monotherapy. Overall, both additive and synergistic (in the case of inhibition of MAPK activity) effects were observed where the transcriptional changes induced by KRASG12C inhibition were complemented and strengthened by cotreatment with CDK4/6i (Fig. 6, C and D).
To understand the signaling mechanisms from which these transcriptional changes might be derived, we probed two primary signaling outputs, p-S6 and p-RB, that reflect the activity of KRASG12C and CDK4/6, respectively, in NSCLC and PDAC models (Fig. 6E). We observed that, consistent with RNA-seq experiments, CDK4/6i alone or in combination more strongly induced markers of G1 arrest (decreases in p-RB) than ARS-1620 monotherapy (Fig. 6E). Furthermore, addition of CDK4/6i shifted the dose-response relationship between KRASG12C inhibition and p-S6. S6 integrates inputs from both the MAPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR effector arms of the RAS pathway; thus, it was unexpected that inhibition of CDK4/6 would alter these phosphorylation dynamics. CDK4/6i’s ability to suppress RAS pathway signaling appears specific to p-S6, as only subtle changes were observed in p-AKT and p-ERK (fig. S6, A and B). Our data indicate that KRASG12C inhibition is insufficient to fully suppress G1-S progression, that CDK4/6 inhibition is unable to halt signaling through KRASG12C, and that the combination maintains both advantages while bolstering the effects of driver oncogene inhibition.
Cotargeting CDs promotes response to KRASG12C inhibition in vivo
To validate ARS-1620 combination therapies in vivo, we designed two preclinical trials to model combination therapies cotargeting CDs and KRASG12C. At high doses of ARS-1620 that elicit a robust antitumor response (50 to 200 mg/kg), it has been shown that KRASG12C target engagement is incomplete (17). Therefore, we rationalized that, at this dose range of ARS-1620, it is likely that in vivo tumor cell survival is fostered by CDs that limit target engagement as well as CDs that promote alternate survival pathways. We performed experiments to test two combination therapies that promote ARS-1620 target engagement (ARS-1620 and EGFRi) in H358 xenograft tumors (Fig. 7A) or inhibit a residual survival pathway (ARS-1620 and CDK4/6i) in MIA PaCa-2 xenograft tumors (Fig. 7B). In both experiments, the combination proved more effective than either monotherapy, confirming that both mechanisms of combination therapies targeting KRAS-mutant cancers can augment ARS-1620 activity in vivo. In support of our mechanistic understanding of the ARS-1620/EGFRi combination therapy, we found that the ARS-1620/EGFRi combination decreased the activity of key downstream KRAS signaling outputs (p-AKT, p-ERK, and p-S6) (fig. S7), suggesting that this combination acts via deepened suppression of KRAS signaling, consistent with enhanced target engagement of KRASG12C. These experiments nominate combination therapies that combine ARS-1620, an oncogene-specific KRASG12C inhibitor, with a second targeted agent such as EGFRi or CDK4/6i to increase anticancer activity while minimizing synergistic on-target toxicity to the patient.
DISCUSSION
Three principles emerge from our analysis of genetic dependencies in a KRAS driver–limited state. First, we found that KRAS CDs and SLs are largely nonoverlapping genetic dependencies. Our screens identified KRAS CDs, which support a cancerous phenotype in the setting of driver oncogene inhibition. Our data highlight the concept that CDs are complementary to traditional SL interactions for understanding driver oncogene biology and anticipate the importance of using both overactivated and hypomorphic model systems to study genetic dependencies related to any driver oncogene.
Our experiments revealed CDs upstream of KRASG12C in NSCLC and PDAC cell models and emphasizes a growing perspective that mutant KRAS is dynamically regulated and responsive to upstream inputs in cancer cells (43–47). Beyond the requirement of KRASG12C for SOS-catalyzed nucleotide exchange to sufficiently maintain its GTP state, we suggest that the RTKs EGFR, FGFR1, and AXL play specialized roles in mutant KRAS signaling and activation. We reveal that the relevant receptors in these signaling networks are cell type specific and highlight the modularity of RTKs in the recruitment of a shared set of adaptor proteins (such as SHP2) to transduce signal to SOS and RAS proteins.
We also identified CDs downstream and parallel to KRASG12C that were incompletely suppressed by driver oncogene inhibition. Our findings suggest that independent inputs from RTKs and/or cell adhesion/cohesion can circumvent KRASG12C to maintain PI3K activity, limiting the ability of direct KRASG12C inhibitors to fully disrupt all RAS effector arms. We also suggest that mutant KRAS is, on its own, not fully responsible for promoting cell cycle progression and that CDK4 can sustain G1-S transition even in the setting of RAS pathway inhibition. This may explain, in part, the finding that genetic alterations in CDK4 and/or CCND1 in BRAF-mutant melanoma and EGFR-mutant lung cancer promote resistance to their respective driver inhibitors (48, 49). We anticipate that similar mechanisms may also promote resistance to direct KRAS inhibitors and propose coinhibition of CDK4/6 as a strategy to maximize therapeutic efficacy. In addition, we nominate CDs not commonly associated with RAS function related to transcriptional control and other diverse processes that merit further exploration. We anticipate that our results will generalize to other KRAS-mutant cancers and propose the possibility of cotargeting multiple CDs to address mutant KRAS alleles yet to succumb to direct allele-specific pharmacology.
Second, our genetic analysis suggests a specific mechanistic hypothesis for CDs suspected to regulate the ratio of KRAS GTP/GDP. The engagement of a small molecule with its target can report on the conformation, oligomerization state, and/or activity of a specific protein in its native environment. Classically, type I kinase inhibitors bind to target protein kinases in the active state, whereas type II kinase inhibitors bind kinases in an inactive state (50). Resistance to type II kinase inhibitors can therefore be achieved through mutations or signaling mechanisms that promote kinase activity (51). In analogy to this, our work expands this intellectual framework to GTPases, such as KRAS, by mechanistically revealing how upstream signaling pathways that decrease levels of KRAS GDP promote resistance to ARS-1620. We use S-IIP inhibitors (ARS-1620 and ARS-1323-alkyne) as conformationally specific chemical reporters of KRASG12C nucleotide state in living cells. As the development of direct KRAS inhibitors extends toward GTP-state binders, such agents would not benefit from target engagement enhancement through GDP-state priming, although they would likely continue to synergize with combinations that coinhibit other CDs that sustain residual survival.
We anticipate that the two mechanisms of synergy we describe (target engagement enhancing or independent inhibition of residual growth signals) are generalizable to other chemical-genetic or drug combination interactions. We propose systematic identification of such interactions using conformationally biased covalent probes coupled to functional genomics screens, dissecting complex target regulation and enabling the construction of mechanistically informed combination therapies.
Third, we reveal that single-target inhibition of even one of the most well-validated oncogenic drivers can be limited by CDs that help sustain an oncogenic phenotype in the driver-limited state. We addressed these limitations by presenting two distinct classes of in vivo validated ARS-1620 combinations, which require further evaluation in genetically engineered mouse models (52). We anticipate that allele-specific inhibitors like ARS-1620, which spare the WT protein, will be well tolerated in patients and highly amenable to combination with second inhibitors to enable synergistic anticancer activity without synergistic toxicity to otherwise normal cells and tissues.
The concept that a cancerous phenotype can be driven by the activity of a single oncogene is being revised given that, beyond BCR-ABL inhibitors in chronic myelogenous leukemia, targeted therapies have fallen short on their promise of promoting durable responses and cures for patients. We nominate CDs to be the underlying cellular processes that are engaged upon driver oncogene inhibition and limit the efficacy of targeted therapeutics. We anticipate the logic of CDs to be generalizable to any driver oncogene through genetic or chemical perturbation, providing an opportunity for cotarget identification in next-generation combination therapies (53).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Cell culture and reagents
All cell lines used in this study (H358, MIA PaCa-2, and H23) were obtained from the American Type Culture Collection and authenticated by the University of California (UC) Berkeley DNA Sequencing Facility using short tandem repeat DNA profiling. Cells were maintained in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% (v/v) fetal bovine serum, penicillin (100 U/ml), and streptomycin (100 μg/ml). All cells were grown at 37°C in 5% CO2. All cells were tested for Mycoplasma contamination using the MycoAlert PLUS Mycoplasma Detection Kit (Lonza) before initiation of experiments. ARS-1620 was obtained by custom synthesis from Pharmaron. Erlotinib and palbociclib were obtained from LC Laboratories, AZD4547 and buparlisib were obtained from MedChem Express, and SHP099 and bemcentinib were obtained from Selleckchem. ARS-1323-alkyne was synthesized as described below. Recombinant human EGF and FGF2 (FGF-basic) were obtained from Thermo Fisher Scientific. TAMRA-N3 and tris(benzyltriazolylmethyl)amine (TBTA) were obtained from Click Chemistry Tools. Tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP) and CuSO4 were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich.
DNA transfections and lentivirus production
For lentivirus production, HEK293T cells were transfected with standard packaging vectors using the TransIT-LT1 Transfection Reagent (Mirus Bio). Viral supernatant was collected 2 to 3 days after transfection, filtered through 0.44-μm polyvinylidene difluoride filters, and frozen before transduction.
Generation of CRISPRi cell lines
H358 and MIA PaCa-2 cell lines stably expressing dCas9-KRAB were generated by transducing WT cells with a lentiviral vector expressing dCas9-BFP-KRAB from an EF1α promoter with an upstream ubiquitous chromatin opening element (UCOE; UCOE-EF1α-BFP-KRAB) and selected for blue fluorescent protein (BFP)—positive cells through two rounds of fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) with a BD FACSAria II.
Genome-scale CRISPRi screening
Genome-scale CRISPRi screens were conducted similarly to previously described screens (21, 22). The five-sgRNA/gene human CRISPRi v2 (hCRISPRi-v2) library (22) was transduced into H358 or MIA PaCa-2 CRISPRi cells at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of <1 (percentage of transduced cells 2 days after transduction = 20 to 40%). Cells were selected with puromycin (3 μg/ml) to achieve 80 to 95% transduced cells, at which point T0 samples were harvested with a minimum 500× library coverage (100 × 106 to 150 × 106 cells), and the remaining cells were split into two biological replicates of two conditions for DMSO- and ARS-1620–treated growth. Cells were grown in 150-mm adherent dishes, maintaining an average minimum 500× library coverage, trypsinized and reseeded every 3 to 5 days over the course of the screen, and dosed with respective treatments after each trypsinization and reseeding. For ARS-1620 treatment, ARS-1620 was added to H358 CRISPRi cells at 3.3 μM and to MIA PaCa-2 CRISPRi cells at increasing concentrations from 348 nM to 10 μM as the screen proceeded. After 12 to 16 days of growth and selection, cells were harvested with a minimum 500× library coverage (100 × 106 to 150 × 106 cells). Genomic DNA was isolated from frozen cell pellets, and the sgRNA-encoding region was enriched, amplified, and processed for sequencing on the Illumina HiSeq 4000 as described previously (21).
Screen processing
Sequencing data from the Illumina HiSeq 4000 were aligned to the five-sgRNA/gene hCRISPRi-v2 library, counted, and quantified using the Python-based ScreenProcessing pipeline [https://github.com/mhorlbeck/ScreenProcessing (22)]. sgRNA phenotypes, gene phenotypes, negative control gene phenotypes, and Mann-Whitney P values were determined as described previously (21, 22). ARS-1620 sensitivity sgRNA phenotypes (Δlog2 fold change) were calculated by subtracting the equivalent median value for all nontargeting (NT) sgRNAs from the log2 fold change in enrichment of an sgRNA in the ARS-1620– and DMSO-treated samples. DMSO and ARS-1620 sgRNA growth phenotypes were similarly calculated from respective log2 fold changes in enrichment of an sgRNA from T0 samples. Gene phenotypes were derived by collapsing phenotypes from sgRNAs targeting the same gene using the average of the three top scoring sgRNAs (by absolute value) and assigning a P value using the Mann-Whitney test of all sgRNAs targeting the same gene compared to the NT sgRNAs. For genes with multiple annotated transcription start sites (TSSs) targeted by the sgRNA library, phenotypes and P values were calculated independently for each TSS, and the TSS with the lowest Mann-Whitney P value was used to represent the gene. Read counts and phenotypes for individual sgRNAs are provided in data files S1 (H358) and S3 (MIA PaCa-2). Gene-level phenotypes are provided in data files S2 (H358) and S4 (MIA PaCa-2). Hits were defined as genes with ∣Δlog2 fold change∣ > 0.5. Gene ontology analysis was performed using DAVID Bioinformatic Resources using the GOTERM_BP_DIRECT database (42). Additional analysis and plotting were performed in Prism 7 and 8 (GraphPad Software).
Essentiality score and SL score determination
Essentiality and mutational data were drawn from the PICKLES database (23) and DepMap/CCLE (24, 30), respectively (2018 Q3 release). The PICKLES database contains essentiality scores for all genes and cell lines in DepMap that have been converted to Bayes factors from log fold changes (54). NSCLC cell lines from the PICKLES database and DepMap were placed in one of two bins: KRAS-WT (39 cell lines) and KRAS-mutant (19 cell lines). A given gene’s essentiality score (quantile normalized Bayes factor) was averaged across all cell lines in a given bin, resulting in an average essentiality score for KRAS-WT and KRAS-mutant NSCLC models. Each gene’s SL score was then determined by subtracting its KRAS-WT average essentiality score from its KRAS-mutant average essentiality score.
Individual evaluation of sgRNA phenotypes
sgRNA protospacers targeting CCND1, CDK4, CRKL, ELP3, ELP4, FOSL1, KAT6A, KIF18A, MED24, TLN1, TM2D1, TM2D2, TM2D3, UNC50, and a negative control NT sequence were individually cloned into BstXI/BlpI–digested pCRISPRia-v2 [marked with a puromycin resistance cassette and green fluorescent protein (GFP) or BFP, Addgene #84832] (22) by ligating annealed complementary synthetic oligonucleotide pairs (Integrated DNA Technologies) with flanking BstXI and BlpI restriction sites. Protospacer sequences used are listed in table S1. The sgRNA expression vectors were individually packaged into lentivirus as described above. Internally controlled growth assays to evaluate relative sgRNA susceptibility to ARS-1620 were performed by transducing H358 and/or MIA PaCa-2 cells with sgRNA expression vectors at an MOI of <1 (20 to 40% transduction rate). Five days after transduction, cells were treated with DMSO or ARS-1620 (300 nM or 1 μM for H358 and 300 nM or 3.3 μM for MIA PaCa-2) for 12 days before the percentage of sgRNA-expressing cells was determined as the percentage of GFP- or BFP-positive cells by flow cytometry on an LSR II (BD Biosciences) or an Attune NxT (Thermo Fisher Scientific). RI was calculated as a measurement of the relative level of sensitization (RI < 1) or resistance (RI > 1) to ARS-1620, where RI = (F2 − F1 × F2)/(F1 − F1 × F2), with F1 being the endpoint GFP- or BFP-positive percentage of the DMSO-treated population and F2 being the endpoint GFP- or BFP-positive percentage of the ARS-1620–treated population (25).
Quantitative PCR
CRISPRi cells (500,000 cells per well) stably expressing a negative control sgRNA or sgRNAs targeting FOSL1 (table S1) were seeded into six-well ultra-low attachment plates (Corning Costar #3471) and allowed to incubate at 37°C overnight. Cells were treated with DMSO or ARS-1620 (1 μM) and then incubated at 37°C for 24 hours. Cells were lysed, and total RNA was immediately extracted with the RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen) according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. RT-qPCR was performed using the SYBR Select Master Mix (Thermo Fisher Scientific) according to the manufacturer’s recommendations on the QuantStudio 7 Flex Real-Time PCR System (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Fold changes were calculated using ΔΔCt analysis, normalizing FOSL1 (FOSL1 forward primer, GGCCTCTGACCTACCCTCA; FOSL1 reverse primer, CTTCCTCCGGGCTGATCT) in each sample to actin (ACTIN forward primer, GCTACGAGCTGCCTGACG; ACTIN reverse primer, GGCTGGAAGAGTGCCTCA).
Global phosphoproteomics
Cells were expanded in conventional 2D culture conditions, adapted to 3D culture in ultra-low adherence plates (Corning) over 72 hours, and treated with DMSO or 3.3 μM ARS-1620 for 24 hours. Cells were then collected, lysed, and subjected to tryptic digest. Phosphoenrichment was then performed with immobilized metal affinity chromatography using established protocols (55). Samples were then lyophilized, desalted, and acquired using an Orbitrap Fusion Lumos Tribrid (Thermo Fisher Scientific). All mass spectrometry was performed at the Thermo Fisher Scientific Proteomics Facility for Disease Target Discovery at UC San Francisco (UCSF) and the J. David Gladstone Institutes. Peptide identification and label-free quantification were then performed using MaxQuant (56), and statistical comparison was performed using MSstats (57). Kinase substrate identification was performed using two established databases: PhosphoNetworks (58) and RegPhos 2.0 (59).
ARS-1323-alkyne kinetic labeling assay
Cells (500,000 to 1,000,000 cells per well) were seeded into six-well ultra-low attachment plates (Corning Costar #3471) and allowed to incubate at 37°C overnight. Cells were treated with the indicated concentrations of compound combinations and then incubated at 37°C for the indicated times. In preparation for sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotting, cells were pelleted at 4°C at 500g and washed twice with ice-cold phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Lysis was conducted as described below, and copper-catalyzed click chemistry was performed by addition of the following to each lysate at the following final concentrations: 1% SDS (20% SDS in water stock), 50 μM TAMRA-N3 (5 mM in DMSO stock), 1 mM TCEP (50 mM in water stock), 100 μM TBTA (2 mM in 1:4 DMSO/t-butyl alcohol stock), and 1 mM CuSO4 (50 mM in water stock). After 1 hour at room temperature, the reaction was quenched with 6× Laemmli sample buffer before SDS-PAGE.
SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting
Lysis buffer [100 mM Hepes (pH 7.5), 150 mM NaCl, and 0.1% NP-40] supplemented with protease inhibitors (cOmplete Protease Inhibitor Cocktail Tablets, Roche) and phosphatase inhibitors (PhosSTOP, Roche) was used for cell lysis, and protein concentration was determined by bicinchoninic acid assay (Pierce BCA Protein Assay Kit, Thermo Fisher Scientific). Proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE and transferred to nitrocellulose membranes (Bio-Rad) and blocked according to standard protocols. Membranes were immunoblotted with antibodies against RAS (ab108602) from Abcam, α-tubulin (3873), p-AKTS473 (4060), AKT (4691), p-ERKT202/Y204 (9101), ERK (4695), HSP90 (4877), p-RBS807/811 (8516), RB (9313), p-S6S235/236 (4858), and S6 (2217) from Cell Signaling Technology diluted (1:1000) in 5% bovine serum albumin in TBST blocking buffer supplemented with 0.02% NaN3. After primary antibody incubation, membranes were probed with IRDye secondary antibodies (LI-COR Biosciences) according to the manufacturer’s recommendations and scanned on an Odyssey Imaging System (LI-COR Biosciences). Phosphoprotein blots (p-AKTS473, p-ERKT202/Y204, and p-S6S235/236) were stripped (Restore PLUS Western Blot Stripping Buffer, Thermo Fisher Scientific) according to the manufacturer’s recommendations and immunoblotted for total protein (AKT, ERK, and S6). RB and p-RBS807/811 blotting was performed as above in the reverse order.
Clonogenic assay
Cells (10,000 cells per well) were seeded into six-well plates and allowed to adhere overnight. Cells were then cultured in the presence of absence of compounds as indicated for 10 to 14 days. After removal of media, cells were washed twice with PBS and then treated with fixing/staining solution (0.05% crystal violet, 1% formaldehyde, 1× PBS, and 1% methanol) for 20 min before thorough washing with water. Plates were then imaged using a digital scanner.
Cell viability assay and quantitative analysis of drug synergy
Cells were seeded into 96-well ultra-low attachment plates (Corning Costar #3474) and were allowed to incubate at 37°C overnight. Cells were treated with ARS-1620 and the indicated compounds as monotherapy or in combination (1:1 concentration ratio) in a nine-point threefold dilution series from 1.5 nM to 10 μM (100 μl final volume per well). Cell viability was assessed 5 days later by a CellTiter-Glo (CTG) luminescence-based assay (Promega). Diluted CTG reagent (100 μl) (1:4 CTG reagent:PBS) was added to cells and the 96-well plates were placed on a plate shaker for 20 min to ensure complete cell lysis before assessment of luminescence signal. Drug synergism was analyzed using CompuSyn 1.0 (a value of 0.01 was substituted for negative viability measurements). CIs were determined at 370 nM single-agent doses generated by CompuSyn to quantify synergistic effects, where CI < 0.75 reflects synergism, CI = 0.75 to 1.25 reflects additivity, and CI > 1.25 reflects antagonism (38).
RNA sequencing
Cells (500,000 cells per well) were seeded into six-well ultra-low attachment plates (Corning Costar #3471) and allowed to incubate at 37°C overnight. Cells were treated with DMSO, palbociclib (1 μM, CDK4/6i), ARS-1620 (1 μM), or the combination in duplicate and then incubated at 37°C for 24 hours. Cells were lysed, and total RNA was immediately extracted with the RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen) according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. RNA-seq libraries were prepared with the QuantSeq 3′ mRNA-Seq Library Prep Kit FWD for Illumina (Lexogen) and assessed on a BioAnalyzer 2100 (Agilent) for quantification and quality control. RNA-seq libraries were sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq 4000 using single-end, 50–base pair (bp) sequencing. The leading 12 bp of all sequencing reads was trimmed with Trimmomatic (Galaxy version 0.36.5) and then aligned to the hg19 reference genome with STAR (Galaxy version 2.6.0b-1). Mapped reads per gene were summarized using featureCounts (Galaxy version 1.6.2). Data normalization and differential expression analysis were conducted with the R package DESeq2 (version 1.20.0) (60). Read counts were normalized using the estimateSizeFactors() and rlog() functions. Heatmap plots were generated using the aheatmap() function from the R package NMF (version 0.17.6).
Animal studies
Six- to seven-week-old female nude mice (Foxn1nu, stock no. 002010) were purchased from the Jackson Laboratory and housed with ad libitum food and water on a 12-hour light cycle at the UCSF Preclinical Therapeutics Core vivarium. All animal studies were performed in full accordance with UCSF Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
H358 xenografts were established by subcutaneous injection into the right flanks of mice with H358 cells (5 × 106 cells in 100 μl of serum-free medium mixed 1:1 with Matrigel). Tumor xenografts were allowed to establish until they reached about 700 to 900 mm3 in donor mice and then reimplanted into receiver mice to achieve higher engraftment rate. Briefly, established H538 tumor xenografts from donor mice were resected, cut into even-size fragments (15 mm × 15 mm), embedded in Matrigel, and reimplanted via subcutaneous implantation into receiver mice (61). H538 tumor-bearing mice were randomized into control and treatment groups when tumors reached a size range of 100 to 120 mm3, and single or dual dosing of ARS-1620 (100 mg/kg in Labrasol) and erlotinib [80 to 100 mg/kg in 0.5% (hydroxypropyl)methyl cellulose, 0.2% Tween 80 (HPMT)] or vehicle control (Labrasol) was administered daily by oral gavage. Tumor volume and body weight were assessed biweekly for the duration of the study. Tumor volume was assessed by caliper 2D measurement, and volume was calculated using the following formula to approximate the volume of an ellipsoid: 0.52 × (width)2 × (length). When tumor volumes of vehicle-treated mice reached a size of 400 mm3, ARS-1620, erlotinib, and dual treatments were stopped and tumors were harvested for subsequent analysis. Vehicle-treated mice were reenrolled in a short pharmacodynamic study (four groups, two mice per group) and treated for 3 days with single or dual dosing of ARS-1620 (100 mg/kg in Labrasol) and erlotinib (100 mg/kg in HPMT) or vehicle (Labrasol). Tumors were harvested 6 hours after the last dose and snap-frozen for protein extraction and immunoblotting.
MIA PaCa-2 xenografts were established by subcutaneous injection into the right flanks of mice with MIA PaCa-2 cancer cells (5 × 106 cells in 100 μl of serum-free medium mixed 1:1 with Matrigel). MIA PaCa-2 tumor-bearing mice were randomized into control and treatment groups when tumors reached a size range of 180 to 200 mm3, and single or dual dosing of ARS-1620 (100 mg/kg in Labrasol) and palbociclib [100 mg/kg in sodium lactate buffer (50 mM, pH 4.0)] or vehicle control (Labrasol) was administered daily by oral gavage. Tumor volume and body weight were assessed biweekly for the duration of the study. Tumor volume was assessed by caliper 2D measurement. When vehicle-treated mice reached the size limit of 2000 mm3, all treatments were stopped and tumors were harvested for subsequent analysis.
Quantification and statistical analysis
Immunoblots were processed using ImageStudioLite 5.2.5 (LI-COR). Densitometry quantification was performed by fixing the relative shape, size, and distance between band pairs of each region assessed within each experiment. Background was set to the median value around all sides of the quantified region with a border width of 1. Negative densitometry values were assessed as 0. Relative KRASG12C labeling percentage was calculated as 100 × (top band)/(top band + bottom band) densitometry quantifications. Sequencing data from CRISPRi screens were processed using the Python-based ScreenProcessing pipeline [https://github.com/mhorlbeck/ScreenProcessing (22)]. Details of methods to calculate phenotypes and P values have been described previously (21, 22). Relative KRASG12C labeling percentage data were fit to pseudo–first-order association kinetics, and additional statistical analysis was conducted using Prism 7 and 8 (GraphPad Software).
Chemical synthesis
Detailed descriptions of compound synthesis and characterization can be found in the Supplementary Materials (text S1).
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
stke.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/12/583/eaaw9450/DC1
Text S1. Chemical synthesis details and methods.
Fig. S1. Genome-wide CRISPRi screening in the cancer cell line H358 identifies genes that influence cell growth and survival.
Fig. S2. Genome-wide CRISPRi screening in the cancer cell line MIA PaCa-2 identifies genes that influence cell growth and survival.
Fig. S3. FOSL1 minimally modulates p-ERK and p-S6 phosphorylation dynamics.
Fig. S4. Unique genetic dependencies within common signaling modules are revealed by evaluating ARS-1620 CRISPRi selection screens from distinct cancer cell lines.
Fig. S5. Cellular response to KRASG12C inhibition is mediated through phosphorylation changes in substrates of hit kinases.
Fig. S6. CDK4/6i coinhibition minimally alters p-AKT and p-ERK phosphorylation dynamics.
Fig. S7. EGFRi cotreatment enhances the suppression of oncogenic RAS signaling by ARS-1620 in vivo.
Table S1. sgRNAs used for individual retesting.
Data file S1. H358 ARS-1620 genome-wide CRISPRi sgRNA counts and phenotypes.
Data file S2. H358 ARS-1620 genome-wide CRISPRi gene phenotypes.
Data file S3. MIA PaCa-2 ARS-1620 genome-wide CRISPRi sgRNA counts and phenotypes.
Data file S4. MIA PaCa-2 ARS-1620 genome-wide CRISPRi gene phenotypes.
Data file S5. ARS-1620 global phosphoproteomics.
This is an article distributed under the terms of the Science Journals Default License. | https://stke.sciencemag.org/content/12/583/eaaw9450 |
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