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Moving within the Military: Intercultural Communication Training program for Youth
No full textMoving within the Military: Intercultural Communication Training (MWM) program is designed for youths between the ages of nine to twelve years old. The participants of MWM and their families are making a transition from one culture they are familiar with to another due to an active military parent that is being relocated to another country. MWM is set to operate for eight weeks located on Naval Air Station in Rota, Spain. Military children have been distant and reluctant to befriend children in their own age group. This is mainly due to one of their parents serving in the military service and having to relocate intermittently. MWM is designed to support the emotional and cultural needs of a youth. It is based on an experiential learning curriculum which the participants can put the acquired knowledge into practice in everyday life beyond MWM training program. The rationality of MWM stems from a need for this type of program, since there are many youths that need emotional assistance facilitated by trained personnel of the military to aid in coping with a new transition due to relocating to Spain. There will be assessments conducted at the entry point and upon completion of this program this will allow associates to collaborate with the necessity to make changes where needed as the program progresses to further enhance the needs of the students.
Intercultural communication curriculums from Experiential Learning Design and Kolb’s model for learning from experience will be used as a guide to advise the staff as to how to access and apply the proper coaching for that situation. Goals and objectives are to provide an adult mentor for emotional support and pair up with another participating youth with a similar situation that can reassure, encourage and share experiences.
What makes the MWM program unique is the use of other participating youths working together to communicate and share their occurrences in a non-evasive environment, to ease the discomfort of a move to a different country other than the United States
Experiences Learning English: A Case Study of Adult Immigrants in Portland, Maine, USA
Get PDFThe paper examines the process of English language acquisition for adult immigrants living in Portland, Maine, USA. The focus is on the process of language acquisition and integration into a new linguistic culture through analysis of personally narrated experiences of adult immigrants living in Portland, Maine. It seeks to expose similarities within highly individualistic linguistic journeys that contribute to investment and engagement in learning. In reviewing the data generated by the interviews, I hope to find situations to more deeply explore that could influence a more reciprocal learning culture for the mutual benefit of the language learner and the community at large
Mandate in Conflict: UNRWA’s Role within Identity, the West Bank, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Get PDFCreated over 67 years ago, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency has stood the test of time, but perhaps not in the best of ways. It is one of the largest UN agencies, boasting an annual budget that typically exceeds 1.3 Billion US$ and a staff of over 30,000, but it is not a commonly known entity. UNRWA’s mandate is dedicated to one refugee populace from one ongoing conflict: to carry out direct relief and works programmes for Palestine Refugees, and by default their descendants, fleeing from the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict (Appendix C). With decades of failed peace attempts, and the agency’s mandate continually renewed by the UN General Assembly, UNRWA has continued to serve this population as they have gone from tented refugee camps to urban slums. This agency, built as a humanitarian project, has now become a pseudo-government, with a staff of teachers and doctors. Unlike a government, and contrary to the liberal ideals of the UN, there is little in way of consent or mandate from the population.
The research question: how does UNRWA’s structure, culture, and mandate shape its behavior within the reality of its practices with Palestine Refugees, within the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and within its attempts to reconcile its identity conflict through participatory reforms. This began with a study of UNRWA\u27s needs, capacities, and preferences for participatory practices, in agency planning and actions with refugees. Through the use of a Case Study, observations, and interviews, this research intended to appraise the viability of participatory action through the perspectives of several departments representing the strategic level, the programme management level, and the field level of UNRWA’s West Bank Field Office.
The research found that there was a solid consensus amongst all interviewed that participatory reforms were essential to the agency’s success, but responsibility for this reform process was not clear. Participatory reforms were seen as a means to reconcile some issues of governance but also to reduce future financial and service burdens on the agency. However, the strategic level interviewees expressed concerns on the long-term existence of UNRWA; refugees are quite dependent on UNRWA for basic services yet there is no exit strategy down the road. Since UNRWA’s international mandate is apparently tied to the resolution of the conflict, the concern is that UNRWA will reach a point of unsustainability before the conflict approaches a resolution. In part, UNRWA is a tool used by both major conflicting groups. Using analysis from literary sources, this paper argues that UNRWA is as much a victim as well as a support structure in the larger conflict – trapped within decade’s worth of constructed identities and norms tied to Palestine Refugees – and that the entire model is unsustainable. On a macro scale, UNRWA is caught in a paradox of development best practices, do-no-harm humanitarian norms, and its international mandate culminating in an ill-fated and inseparable track between itself, the conflict, and the Palestine Refugees
Mandating International Experience: A Policy Analysis of The State University of New York (SUNY) At Geneseo Requirement for all International Relations Degree Seeking Students to Study Abroad
Get PDFThe prioritization of international education is gaining momentum among higher education institutions. One specific testament to this fact is the steady growth in study abroad participation. As the overall percentage of students studying abroad for credit during their undergraduate career rises, policies are being created in a variety of contexts to promote international education experiences (Open Doors). Amidst these fledgling policies, a 22-year-old major-specific study abroad requirement has thrived and continues to evolve in today’s global state.
This capstone is an analysis of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Geneseo’s International Relations (IR) policy requiring all undergraduate degree seeking students to participate in a for-credit international experience in order to graduate. The policy outlines a number of options for the required international experience, including an internship and a special project, yet places the greatest emphasis on study abroad for academic credit. Using supplemental data and resources, both the history and the future of this unique policy will be examined, taking into consideration SUNY Geneseo’s Internationalization campaign. There will also be a literature review presented, which will look at various policies mandating study abroad and the way different campuses work toward increasing participation and maintaining best practices. In addition, the perspectives of key stakeholders will be presented using interview responses and day-to-day observations. With the completion of the analysis, recommendations and consistent themes will be presented on SUNY Geneseo’s IR policy, assessing the impact it has had to date as well as potential options to promote sustainability in the years ahead. Recommendations include documenting formal goals and objectives, standardizing pre-departure and re-entry processes, and conducting comprehensive assessment and evaluation
Perceptions of Dignity in Humanitarian Aid: A Postcolonial Critique of Syrian Refugee Response
Get PDFThis research investigates the perception of dignity and sustainability from Syrian refugees and local aid workers in the Jordanian towns of Karak and Mafraq, through semistructured interviews conducted in Arabic and facilitated by a local translator. The study explores how these conceptions of dignity and sustainability differ from those that currently guide the international and Jordanian response to the Syrian refugee crisis, in the hopes of investigating a broader relationship between the international human rights industry and modern iterations of Western imperialism. An additional focus is the recommendations provided by refugees and aid workers on how the humanitarian response might be restructured to provide more sustainable and culturally informed support to refugees. It was found that dignity was repeatedly described as a combination of self sustainability, pride, and economic independence, and that the majority of participants expressed concerns that the current structuring of humanitarian aid hinders this combination vis a vis a strong dependency on aid (cash assistance) for livelihood. The recommendations for more sustainable aid emphasized employment opportunities for Syrian refugees and an institutionalized approach to psychosocial support programs. In the context of Western interventionism in the Middle East, these conclusions suggest a more historically informed view of humanitarian aid and the broader political implications thereof
Special Education in Tunisia: A Case Study in Social Entrepreneurship
Get PDFDespite a series of modernist reforms and national programs, Tunisian early education is not yet suited to fully integrate children with special needs. The public education sector lacks the trained professionals and multidisciplinary coordination needed to meet the needs of handicapped students. This paper will analyze impact of a private therapeutic preschool to determine the feasibility of social entrepreneurship in fulfilling unmet special education needs in Tunisia. A presentation of the limitations facing entrepreneurs in this sector is included, and special attention is given to financial and social restraints preventing the scholastic integration of these children
KOMPA AS A LESSON IN VALUE OR A SEMI-VOYERISTIC APPRECIATION OF THE BAMBOO BASKET IN DOLPA
Get PDFThis “study” explores two central topics: 1.) The logistics and details of basket weaving as both a skill and a business in Dolpa and 2.) The cultural value of the woven bamboo basket, also in Dolpa. My fieldwork started in lower Dolpa, (Dunai and Bysagar), peregrinated north into the Tarap Valley, and then returned back down to Dunai. From my research I attempt to provide an insight into the way people, of all walks of life in Dolpa, think and relate to this tool (kompa), and then attempt to derive larger moral implications from what I have observed. This “study” is both pragmatic and abstract, a little irreverent and over-earnest. I hope this fusion of styles is not annoying, but rather, makes for an enjoyable, and finally, valuable read
Solar Urban Planning: Addressing barriers and conflicts specific to Renewable Energy Policy and the current field and practice of Urban Planning within the context of a changing Climate
Get PDFThe world is in a period of rapid urbanization while experiencing unprecedented rise in global temperature as a result of climate change. Questions have been raised as to how strategies for urbanization will be able to address the fetish for energy, while halting carbon emissions produced by traditional energy sources for urban inhabitants around the world. First, this paper seeks to look to cities, at the intersection of solar energy and the field of urban planning, looking into the opportunities and challenges that are currently surfacing. Conflicts and barriers in traditional urban land use patterns emerge as a topic of discussion alongside urban morphologies and constraints posed towards a broad-reaching application of solar energy in dense cities, both domestically in the United States, and by way of international case studies. Conflicts in land use practice along with community level net zero benchmarking are discussed as well to better understand tools for progress in urban planning addressing climate change mitigation. Additionally, local action and the impacts of Green Communities Legislation are investigated alongside the need for Federal action such as bold renewable energy portfolio standards as macro policy solutions. Lastly, the conflict between the traditional role for utilities and the emergence of distributed generation technologies and subsequent policy support including the potential impact of micro grids, are included in an analysis of the energy production and delivery system for the urban environment at present. Within this paper, two in-person qualitative interviews are included to bring perspectives from active professionals and policymakers into the research. New thinking and conclusions illustrate the need for specific policy action across local, state, and federal spheres, and the need for urban planners and urban practitioners to act with intention and rapidity relating to the climate imperative
“Si no participas, alguien ajeno va a decidir por vos:” practicas de autonomia en el Bachillerato Popular de Frente Popular Darío Santillán en Constitución, Buenos Aires / If you do not participate, someone else will decide for you: Practices of autonomy in the Popular Baccalaureate Of Frente Popular Darío Santillán in Constitución, Buenos Aires
Get PDFLos reformas neoliberales en Argentina durante las últimas décadas han causado una crisis en el sistema educativo público, los efectos de la cual todavía se sienten más profundamente en el sector de para adultos y jóvenes (EDAJ). Durante este mismo período, nuevos movimientos sociales, como el movimiento piquetero de trabajadores desocupadas, habían surgido para resistir las políticas de neoliberalismo y crear fuentes de educación, salud, y trabajo cuando el educación estado no está hacerlo. La presente investigación toma como su tema las prácticas cotidianas y dilemas de la educación popular como una de estas iniciativas, un bachillerato popular (BP) del movimiento Frente Popular Darío Santillán (FPDS) en el barrio Constitución en Buenos Aires. Esta investigación intenta a enteder que son los “espacios de autonomía” en los bachilleratos de FPDS a los ojos de estudiantes y docentes, como las asambleas, prácticas-pedagógicas, y marchas en las que participan. Más allá, las páginas que siguen se proponen examinar la tensión entre la autonomía del bachillerato y heteronomía de políticas neoliberales y cómo función en los dilemas organizativos y pedagógicos de bachillerato popular de FPDS en Constitución. Para buscar respuestas a estas preguntas, este investigación hace uso de observaciones del bachillerato y conversaciones informales y entrevistas semi-estructuradas con los docentes y estudiantes del bachillerato. El ensayo incluye el macro-contexto de los nuevos movimientos sociales de Argentina y el micro-contexto del bachillerato popular de FPDS en Constitución, además de un análisis, y finalmente, algunas conclusiones a la investigación
Do Africans support English football teams and neglect local African teams: an interrogation of eight black African men in Cape Town
Get PDFThis project unravels the various reasons why black African men have such a strong attachment to English football teams belonging to the English Premier League. It works to find the answer to the hypothesis, which states that black African men exhibit greater fan support for English football teams and neglect the support of the local African teams.
Eight black African men from East, West, Southern, and Central Africa, describe the manifestation of their soccer fandom for the English team they support as well as their favorite local African club team. Based on the observations gathered through participant observations and interviews, five conclusions can be deduced.
The conclusions are as follows: 1) English football fandom is attributed to electronic colonialism, 2) African football fandom is familial, 3) there is a difference between identifying with a team and having a team as part of one’s identity, 4) African football is not neglected by fans, but by players and football governing bodies, and 5) Africans still care about African football through the influence of Pan-Africanism