Forum on Public Policy Online
Summer 2007 edition (Posted January 2008)
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Summer 2007: Table of Contents
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Ethics and Mistrust of Government Back to top
Articles:
Essays
The Use of Civic Engagement to Build Trust in Governance
William W. Bauser
Abstract:
This is a time in mankind’s history were cultural wars are predominate and people are frustrated by their inability to change the current status of civic engagement so that they can find good governance. This paper traces the positions in civic engagement of the cognitivist and non cognitivist and the limitations of each and how these limitations lead to the frustrations of diverse groups and diverse individuals as they civically engage in civil society issues. This paper finally concludes by advancing a methodology that can be used to build trust back into good governance.
Breach of Faith: Towards a Political Genealogy of Trust
Michael Clifford
In 1721, Thomas Gordon defined our relation to government quite succinctly, “What is Government, but a Trust committed by All, or the Most, to One, or a Few, who are to attend upon the Affairs of All, that every one may, with the more Security, attend upon his own? A great and honourable Trust; but too seldom honourably executed.” Today, Britain and the United States find themselves in a crisis of political trust rivaling that of 17th century England, which suffered through the turmoil of civil war, revolution, and even the beheading of Charles 1. From the old scandal of “rotten boroughs” in Britain to the recent gerrymandering by Tom DeLay in the U.S., not to mention the selling of political influence in both countries, government continues, it appears, to be a trust “too seldom honorably executed.”
Democracy as Trust in Public Discourse
William W. Clohesy
Abstract
In his Federalist Papers Madison presents a vision of how opinions will be developed into a shared public view in a discourse among constituents and their representatives under the proposed republic in the U. S. Constitution. A republic requires a public assertive and knowing enough to express itself and officials trustworthy and attentive to the words of the people. The danger Madison sees is faction: one group overcoming others so as to force their intentions upon citizens rather than join with them in seeking to articulate a common good.
In the modern era, the role of the public in the discourse and decisions of government is again in question. Walter Lippmann and John Dewey had a notable argument over the place of the citizen in the formation of public opinion in the 1920s. As a way into the modern question of discourse I discuss Lippmann and Dewey. I address Lippmann’s distrust of American democracy because voters—who think in simplistic “stereotypes”—cannot handle complex modern problems. Lippmann calls for a government of experts to handle modern problems. I then examine Dewey’s response to Lippmann. Dewey argues that people create publics when private problems become a matter of wider concern. Lippmann’s description of citizens indicates they are isolated and stunted intellectually. Abolishing democracy is no solution, but to regenerate it by bringing citizens back to a public life of active interchange is. I conclude with comments on the media’s threat to democracy and possible ways of renewing public discourse among citizens who know the role they play and who trust one another as interlocutors.
Losing Trust in Leadership: Philosophical & Theological Factors
Robert M. Ferguson
Abstract
In western democracies and business communities of the past, leadership was presumed to be trustworthy on the basis of accepted concepts, defined relationships, and a fixed understanding of reality and truth. However, leadership is no longer presumed to be trustworthy on the basis of an ideal. Rather, in the postmodern setting, leadership must be continually establishing its trustworthiness in the context of a progressive “dialogue” with its constituencies, taking into account the key indicators of the postmodern mindset.
In this setting, leadership in the US, UK and Australia is increasingly finding itself in credibility and ethical calamities. Popular explanations for this growing cultural angst have ranged from the skeptical to a variety of rather pessimistic anthropologies. Some skeptics view leadership as always being corrupt. On the other hand, some philosophical and theological anthropologies have asserted the inherent self-centeredness of the human character and psyche.
Trust is no longer an issue determined primarily by presumptions, standards and character. Trust is also molded by human interactions in the context of the postmodern mindset and expectations. This paper identifies and interacts with key indicators of the postmodern mindset that establish points of tension in relation to the leadership discourse that was associated with the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the continuing conflict in Iraq.
The Role of Virtue in Developing Trustworthiness in Public Officials
Hope K. Fitz
Abstract
In this paper, I am concerned to show that trustworthiness in public officials, which I judge to be necessary for trust in government, is made possible by teaching virtues, or more specifically a virtuous way of life, to children in a society. Furthermore, the individual development of the shared virtues of a society requires the support of those virtues by citizens of that society. To show how this has worked in the past, I examine Aristotle’s notion of eudaimonia as virtuous activity and how he believed that his theory of virtue would make possible the development of moral members of the polisor city state. Although Aristotle’s virtue theory was practiced to a great extent in Athens, it cannot be practiced in modern nation states as it only works in small communities. Such is the case because it is based, in large measure, on the different types of friendship which Aristotle described.
A virtue theory which could work in different nation states involves the ancient belief of ahimsa which originated in Hindu thought over 3,500 years ago and was developed and practiced by Hindus, and later by Jains and Buddhists. This development culminated in the what can be viewed as the virtue theory of Mahatma Gandhi. As Gandhi understood ahimsa, it meant no (intentional) harm to any living being by thought, word or deed and the greatest love, i.e., compassion for all creatures. Gandhi brought the belief of ahimsa into the social/political arena with his satyagraha, i.e., Truth Force against oppression. Instead of fighting oppressors with weapons that can harm, Gandhi “fought” with non-cooperation and later civil disobedience, based on ahimsa, as ways to combat his oppressors. He believed that he could shame the oppressors and eventually convert them to ahimsa. He fought with courage and never let up on an issue of human rights or a quest for peace. In his engagements, he told his satyagrahis, i.e.,followers of satyagraha, never to harbor anger let alone hatred for one’s oppressors. With satyagraha, grounded in ahimsa, he won many rights for the Indian people whom he represented in South Africa and he spearheaded the freedom fighters that eventually brought about India’s independence from Great Britain.
A Crisis in Archetypes: How Framing U. S. Elections as Heroes versus Villains Promotes Two-Valued Orientation, Encourages Corruption, And Erodes Public Trust
Paulette D. Kilmer
Abstract
The deeply embedded lexicon of archetypes within the subconscious provides human beings with frames for interpreting their experiences and attaching meaning to incidents. When journalists evoke these potent symbols to advance ideology, they promote propaganda at the expense of revealing the truth. Since democracy depends upon an informed, rational electorate, the decline of a press devoted to unearthing the truth and serving the public threatens civic well-being in the United States. Traditionally, reporters and editors serve as watchdogs devoted to holding power brokers accountable. When they play circus mutts eager to entertain or herd dogs trained to prevent the multitude from straying into individual thinking, the public loses its objective window on the world. The grand public conversation degenerates into a grapevine of invective, gossip, and slander.
Building Stronger Business and Professional Ethical Practices
A survey of research that asks the question: Can we teach ethics to young adults or is it too late?
William J. Lawrence
The question of whether ethics can be taught at all, much less to post-secondary level adults, has haunted philosophers, educators, and scholars for centuries. Educators and professionals continue to ask this question, and no definitive answer has yet come forth. Skeptics feel that morality and ethical standards have been well set by adulthood, and, as many great thinkers of the past have stated, virtue, like morality, is not something that can be taught. Others thinkers, equally qualified, feel that we can teach as well as influence character and behavior and therefore a person's fundamental ethical structure. It is my intention in this paper to explore both sides of this debate and why it more important than ever before to answer this age old question and to seek conclusions as to how a curriculum containing ethics education can be made more effective and relevant to current professional and business needs.
The Erosion of Ethical Standards in Government: Is What It Takes To Get Elected the Root of the Problem?
Daniel E. Lee
Abstract:
In the United States, campaigns for Congress have become exceedingly expensive, necessitating almost constant fundraising, which often involves pandering to various special-interest groups. Most successful campaigns for national office depend heavily on television advertising (one of the reasons they are so expensive). Many of the ads are 30-second attack ads crafted by campaign consultants with few scruples who do not hesitate to distort facts while maligning the opposition. The result is that many successful candidates are ethically compromised by the time they are elected. This paper explores various possible solutions to the problem, among them public financing of campaigns and term limits.
Is the U.S. Government's Mining of Commercial Data Contributing to an Erosion of Trust in Government?
Carter Manny
Abstract
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the executive branch of the U.S. Government turned to data mining practices for the avowed purpose of protecting public security. Relying on a combination of legislative authorization and cooperation by the private sector, federal institutions have obtained access to information in commercial databases collected largely from routine business transactions by ordinary people posing no particular threat to public order. Much of the data mining has occurred without safeguards like prior court authorization and limitations in the Privacy Act of 1974. In the absence of these safeguards designed to protect individual liberty, data mining appears to have contributed to an erosion of public trust in government. Government surveillance following September 11, like responses to other crises in U.S. history, is motivated by fear. While many members of Congress have supported greater restraints on data mining, their efforts tend to be overridden by fear-based justifications for surveillance.
Human Freedoms and Public Corruption around the World: Demonstration of a Curvilinear Relationship
Michael K. McCuddy
Abstract
Two enduring human concerns throughout the world are (a) the various freedoms enjoyed (or not enjoyed) by citizens of different nations, and (b) the presence or absence of corruption among public officials and politicians of those same countries. This paper explores the relationship between human freedoms and corruption in national public life around the globe.
A common conception of the relationship between human freedoms and corruption is that increasing freedoms create more opportunities for corruption. A competing hypothesis is that freedoms, by providing greater opportunities for personal choice, action, responsibility, and accountability, decrease corruption. A third proposition ¾ examined in this paper ¾ posits a curvilinear relationship, of the cubic form, between freedoms and corruption. Specifically, at low levels of human freedoms, corruption will increase as freedoms increase; at moderate to moderately high levels of freedoms, corruption will decrease as freedoms increase; and at very high levels of freedoms, a threshold point will be reached, beyond which corruption will increase.
This proposition is tested using polynomial regression analysis, with corruption as the dependent variable and human freedoms as the independent variable. Corruption is gauged with the Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International. Human freedoms are measured with an index created by factor analyzing various published measures of economic, political/civil, cultural, and religious freedoms. Results support the curvilinear hypothesis, and implications and limitations of those results are discussed.
The Roots of Governmental Mistrust Inside Ourselves
Lawrence J. Schneider
Abstract
Many perceive that the problem of waning trust in government is rooted in a breakdown of ethics. Though commentators try to identify the source of this growing mistrust, it seems likely that multiple factors contribute to the erosion of this trust. I assume that trust in government is related in part to deeper fundamental processes of the human condition. These processes may not be causative in mistrusting government, but I am of the opinion that they play a central role in shaping a person’s basic inclination toward trusting and more particularly influence one’s general orientation in regard to mistrusting government.
I start with some basic purposes and the social necessity for government. After suggesting criteria for reviewing criteria for good rule-making, identification of how statutes are applied and the consequences of their enforcement are considered. This leads to awareness of the central role that reason and logic occupies in the evolution of society and human development. Hints of the development of mistrust in government can be seen from the interplay of reason and logic, application of law, and the individual’s conduct of life. I summarize aspects of human development from three analytic perspectives. Finally, I attempt to weave a tapestry that shows how these fundamental processes imbue individuals with a basic inclination toward trusting or mistrusting government. These factors are not proposed as the definitive explanation for waning trust in government, but they do play an influential role that may be overlooked or underestimated as foundations on which such trust/mistrust rests.
When is the Pentagon exempt from revealing the truth?
Rose Sergi
Abstract
Nothing defines the public's waning trust in government more than George W. Bush’s treatment of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as it relates to the Department of Defense.
In December 2005, The Defense Authorization Act was passed by the Congress of the United States which renders the Defense Intelligence Agency’s operational files fully immune to FOIA requests. In short, the Department of Defense has been granted exemption from FOIA requests. Said requests are the central mechanism by which watchdog groups, journalists and the general public can access federal documents.
Naturally, the concern is that abuse is much more likely to occur because there is no public oversight of the activities of the Defense Intelligence Agency. This exemption expires, due to an imposed two-year sunset date, in December 2007.
If the U.S. government has nothing to hide, if its dealings are all above board, then why was this exemption ever granted to the Pentagon? The answer to this question and speculation about the impact of the government’s abuse of power will be the subject of the forthcoming paper.
Representative Agency: The Fundamental Trust Relation of All Social Structure
Ronald Teeples
Abstract:
Representative agency is defined and illustrated as a fundamental building block of every social organization. An analytical framework emerges that is used to reformulate the normative paradigm advanced in Milton Friedman’s famous (1970) essay identifying maximization stockholder profits as the sole social responsibility of corporate managers. The paper’s representative agency framework clarifies moral duties for both principals and agents who are bound together in long-term trust relations. The framework renders superfluous much of the existing distinctions claimed to differentiate stakeholder from stockholder analysis of social organizations. Representative agency is simply portrayed as a resource control mechanism, constituted as a durable trust relation, capable of application to social /business/governmental institutions, but requiring investment in character development and other techniques for ultimately making it accountable and more productive than associations secured by more extensive government regulation, monitoring, enforcement effort, and private transaction costs.
Distrust and the Nuclear Doctrine
J.D. Wulfhorst
Abstract.
A generation ago, rampant economic problems and perceived risk of nuclear power brought the industry to a halt on applying for new construction permits. Because of the military history of nuclear technology, development of the existing nuclear power infrastructure during the Cold War, and contemporary discussion about nuclear power offering a reduced carbon footprint, it has emerged as a force within the global climate debate. The amalgam of associated nuclear technologies and activity has created a nuclear doctrine, or a set of conditions about the culture and politics of our energy needs and production options. However, questions remain as to the safety and environmental impact of next generation nuclear technologies, which have yet to be deployed into operation. Economic change with federal incentives along with popular news media describing a renaissance of the industry have sparked renewed questions about the nuclear technology options and impacts. The article uses the wicked problems theme to analyze the nuclear doctrine. The concept of distrust in government and industry managers is applied to understand the primary dilemmas facing the nuclear doctrine in the dynamic context of global climate change.
Teaching Bad Faith and Broken Promises: The Erosion of the Covenant between the Citizen and the State
Kristen Zbikowski
Abstract
With the ethics scandals in the U. S. government in recent years and the current administration’s efforts to redefine governmental policies and procedures, the actions of the elected officials seem to be eroding the bond between the state and the citizen. This paper investigates the relationships between the citizen and the state and the citizen and the elected officials by distinguishing between state and government and between covenants and contracts. The bond between the citizen and the state is argued to be covenantal in nature, while that between the citizen and the government is argued to be contractual.
By directing attention to different types of moral wrong, simple and compound wrongdoing, I will show that the actions of the government in recent years have been changing and eroding the covenant between the citizens and the state. The result of this erosion is an increasing alienation of the citizens toward the state. My concluding remarks focus upon three approaches the government and citizens could utilize to attempt to reaffirm this important covenantal relationship.
Essays
Orwell’s “Smelly Little Orthodoxies”: Absolutism and the Crisis of Our Time
Everett Helmut Akam
With the historical triumph of modernity in the West, who could have possibly foreseen the tsunami-like resurgence of religion as a force in the political life of our times? Radical jihadists are breaching the wall separating church and state with unimaginable barbarism. Even in the United States, the formidable political power of conservative evangelical Christians has liberals scrambling to assure voters that they, too, are born again. Yet this breach is also producing a backlash. All those of good will denounce the despicable actions of the “new totalitarians;” surprisingly, however, even evangelicals are now denounced from a more tolerant Christian perspective as “American fascists.” And a growing number of readers are drawn to the works of the “new atheists,” including Christopher Hitchens, until recently Orwell’s champion and author of God Is Not Great. Although Hitchens recently proclaimed Orwell’s irrelevance for our time, that judgment stands premature. Orwell continues to matter today, for he condemned not only totalitarianism but all forms of absolutism, all those “smelly little orthodoxies,” both secular and religious, that close men’s minds.
Two Current Challenges to Public Leadership: Individual Autonomy and Group Polarization
George S. Matejka
The new millennium is now almost seven years old. These years have been difficult ones for many in leadership positions in our country. The business world was rocked by the Enron and Worldcom scandals. The Catholic Church was stunned by the revelations of clergy abuse of minors. Local governments have seen police and judges indicted for criminal behavior. And, nationally citizens have been repeatedly jabbed by the news of apparently deceptive communications by numerous government officials. In this collective wake, citizens are understandably growing more and more reluctant to trust leaders of any stripe. How have we come to this social malaise?
Improving American Police Ethics Training: Focusing on Social Contract Theory and Constitutional Principles
Monica M. Moll
Abstract
Americans have good reason to fear the awesome power granted to police officers and to demand that these government officials adhere to the strictest of ethical standards in carrying out their duties. No other government official has such direct power and immediate access to regularly deprive the average citizen of their liberties. Other scholars (Cohen and Feldberg, 1991; Fitzpatrick, 2006) have articulated a clear set of ethical standards that should be used to guide the police in America, yet they are not being taught to most American police cadets. These standards are based on social contract theory and principles found in the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, its Bill of Rights and the Federalist Papers. Are these principles too complicated for the average police recruit to internalize? One would think an officer that takes an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution would at least understand the basic principles found within it.
This paper is partly an extension of an earlier work by FitzPatrick (2006). It will explain why a change in current police ethics training focusing on outcome-based codes of ethics and oaths of honor is necessary. The paper reviews Cohen and Feldberg’s (1991) five moral standards for police and argues that they should form the basis of police ethics training in the U.S. It explores the reasons that these standards are rarely taught to cadets in police academies across the nation. Suggestions for maneuvering around these barriers and incorporating the five moral standards for police into all levels of police training will be presented.
Effect Of Governmental Immunity On Declining Governmental Ethics—The King Can Do Wrong!
Marilyn Phelan
Some of the decline in ethics in government must be attributed to the awareness of governmental officials that they generally cannot be sued for their wrongful or unethical conduct. The long standing judicial doctrine of sovereign immunity, which prevents citizens from suing the government unless the government gives its consent to such suits, is an antiquated carryover from the days of the near-absolute power of the English kings and is based on the philosophy that the sovereign cannot commit a legal wrong and, thus, should be immune from civil suit. While the doctrine fell into some disfavor in the past, recently U.S. courts have applied the doctrine more vigorously to continue the judicial notion that citizens cannot bring suits against the government. The justification seems to be that the government would be hindered substantially in its performance of public duties if it were subjected to repeated suits as a matter of right of any citizen, but more realistically the reason for the court’s continuing application of such an antiquated doctrine is grounded on another established but often inconsistently applied doctrine, the principle of stare decisis. Based on this principle, the Supreme Court has treated the tenet that citizens cannot sue their government as a fabric of our jurisprudence from the time of the drafting and ratification of the Constitution and the institution of the first U.S. courts to present.
The Absence of Ethics in No Child Left Behind
Jerry Robicheau
Abstract
A national debate on the reauthorization of the federal mandate No Child Left Behind (NCLB) will center on the impact the law has had on American public education. Much of this debate will center on the major intent of the law that measures academic proficiency by reliance on the results of standardized tests. Armstrong, (2006) Pardini, (2004) Duck, Trucker, Groden & Heinecke (2003), and Starratt (2004) raise the ethical issues of NCLB. Armstrong contends that NCLB takes away the focus on education of the human begins and instead focuses on standardized tests. As educational leaders are expected to rely more on standardized tests as a measure of student performance they will find themselves more in conflict with their ethical standards. School leaders are faced with the dilemma of allocating resources for the greatest good of the organization or allocate resources to respond to the NCLB mandate. Ethical standards of justice and equality are the expectation that educators have the responsibility to treat all students equally and justly. This opinion paper will present a dialogue regarding the absence of the ethical tenets of justice and equality in NCLB and will present rationale as to why ethics must be included in the national debate.
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The Baltic - from European Sea of Troubles to Global Interface
Nils Blomkvist
The idea of studying a vast sea as an entity has a formidable pioneer in Fernand Braudel, who analysed the role of the Mediterranean for the peoples surrounding it. His La Méditerranée et le monde méditerranéen à lèpoque de Philippe II from 1949 demonstrates the extreme permanence of Mediterranean cultures, longue durée as he called it, upon which the cyclic movements of conjunctures, and the daily flow of events made little impact. In his later work he endeavoured to generalise these observations on a more or less global scale.
Communications and Military Intervention in Historical Perspective: The United States and Latin America
John A. Britton
The importance of communications in contemporary warfare is evident in the use of global positioning satellites and laser guided bombs in the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 United States invasion of Iraq. Frederick Kagan encapsulates the priority given to electrical surveillance and rapid communications in the title of his book: Finding the Target. Kagan and other analysts may disagree on specific policy options, but there seems to be a broad consensus that the unimpeded flow of information is essential for military and naval operations.
Factors of Change in Modern Europe: A Practical Way to Teach Contemporary History
David C. McGaffey
Abstract
For roughly one thousand years, Western European society was characteristically fractured, static, and bellicose. An obvious solution to any problem was to make war on another European. Contemporary Europe (since the end of WWII), by contrast, is relatively unified, dynamic, and peaceful. While WWI, WWII, and the inter-war period were an obvious trigger or turning point, the causes of this astonishing transformation are not clear. Factors affecting this social change appear to be multifarious and have deep rootsin European history. Teaching this ongoing extraordinary transformation, for which neither a root cause nor the end result are known, presents a challenge. This paper shows how the use oftraditional factor analysis to teach Contemporary European History both provides students with a deeper understanding of the dynamics of change and offers them a tool to better understand their own contemporary history. This paper proposes a methodology to make students comfortable with using factor analysis and historical arguments under conditions of uncertainty.
The Value of Historical Study and the Clash of Civilizations
Keith Huxen
In the late 1970s, the Oxford philosopher Isaiah Berlin entitled an essay, “Does Political Theory Still Exist?” in which the question mark denoted doubts concerning the viability of the intellectual field itself, and in which he commented that support for the negative viewpoint emanated from the fact that “no commanding work of political philosophy has appeared in the twentieth century.” I will submit that the long twilight of the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union, in which the proponents and tenants of capitalist democracy and Marxist communism struggled, bounded the possibilities of debate over the future of the world at that time. However, in the late 1980s as the Cold War was resolved and the Soviet Union literally disintegrated, the possibilities for the application of political theory to the future opened with two inspired works which have set our current standards for debate.
The History of Presidential-Congressional Leadership In American War Making: From Washington To Bush And The Empire-Building Neocons
Tim R. Miller
Writing in support of ratification of the U.S. Constitution, the learned James Madison cautioned:
If men were angels, no government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.
So it would be necessary, he continued, to separate powers and provide various checks to balance power between the various branches of the proposed new American federal government. “But it is not possible,” Madison would continue, “to give each department an equal power of self-defense. In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates” (Hamilton, Madison and Jay, 1961:322).
Accordingly, as Angela and John Roddey Holder would explain, “The framers of the Constitution envisioned the Congress as the most important and most powerful branch of government” (1997:19). It would be the people’s branch; it would have extensive enumerated powers establishing the very basis of federal authority. And so began a slow, evolutionary tug of war for the preeminent role of institutional leadership in American policymaking, an ebb and flow of competition across time.
American policymaking since September 11, 2001 (hereafter 9/11) has both shed light upon, and has in fact redefined, the congressional-presidential balance of power in the realm of foreign policy generally and war making particularly, as will be examined in the pages below. Two sections follow. We begin with an overview of the history of presidential-congressional rivalry across America’s war making, establishing the point that the administration has, in the words of Charlie Savage, reinstituted an “era of unchecked executive power”
(10-07:25). Next, we turn to the heart of the matter in answering the question, “How, exactly, has this presidential power grab been accomplished?” The discussion concludes with a query of the implications of America’s most recent venture into empire building by noting unmistakable parallels between Bush policy and neoconservative ideology.
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The Historical and Political Influence of Imperialism and Colonialism upon 21st Century China
Nooshan Shekarabi and
Narges Rabii
The History of Chinese Politics
In order to truly appreciate the significance of the current influence of 20th century imperialism and colonialism on modern day China, it is crucial to acknowledge the political history of China towards the end of the imperial system in 1912. The year 1912 marked a profound change in the history of China. Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, China’s political, economic, and military influence had declined due to the growing regional power of imperial Japan and the penetration of Western powers. The last Chinese dynasty – the Qing – was abolished ending 2000 years of imperial rule. The Chinese Nationalists (Kuomintang) then established the Republic of China on January 1st, 1912.
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Arts and Sciences Back to top
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An Application of The Two Cultures to Environmental Education
Scott Ashmann
Abstract: Over the past few decades, it has become evident that the natural environment is an entity that humans need to better understand. Environmental education is defined here as the teaching and learning of, and about, nature and human interaction with nature. Traditionally, the environment has been researched and taught about in a piecemeal fashion – Studies and instruction in the sciences (hydrology, land cover, soil, atmosphere, etc.) were completely separate from social issues related to the environment. However, a new approach to conducting research has permeated environmental studies whereby a systems approach (or a more-holistic view) is utilized that combines ideas and approaches from the sciences and humanities. Some schools are beginning to implement this approach by organizing environmental curricula in a systems or holistic manner. This paper provides an application of C.P. Snow’s ideas in thinking about how to develop curriculum and teaching strategies that transcend the piecemeal approach (and the corresponding cultures associated with each discipline) and provide a deeper understanding for students of not only the elements of the environment, but also the ways in which they interact and their relationship to social issues.
Reason’s Personal and Public Roles in Meeting Snow’s Challenge
Charles V. Blatz
Abstract
This paper explores the challenge laid down in C.P. Snow’s The Two Cultures and A Second Look. The work is not only or even primarily a discussion of intellectual culture wars. Rather it is concerned with ameliorating the human condition, and thus with an enterprise of ethics. This discussion seeks to draw out Snow’s explicit ethical challenge of bettering the human lot through finding a form of intellectual culture that can take full advantage of the second scientific revolution and its attendant new industrial revolution. The paper argues, however, that the ameliorative challenge will not be met in yet another contending form of intellectual culture. After giving an account of how Snow understands intellectual culture, I argue that ethical ends will not be guaranteed by any such further fashion of reasoning.
Snow overlooked a crucial part of the workings of reason. This is a dimension of reason’s culture that is found in the formation and maintenance of a coherent experiential base underlying articulate, evidence-providing forms of reasoning. This phenomenological understory of reasoning is arguably the basis of creative judgment bringing together a holistic sense of the inquirer’s circumstances necessary to all inquiry. Further, the paper’s explorations suggest why the integrative or reintegrative formation of this experiential basis will always involve an ethical dimension. That much granted, the paper then proceeds to identify conditions under which the ethical dimension of an inquirer’s experience will suit it to join with the experiential base of other inquirers so as to lead to a common sense of what society might defensibly undertake to better the human lot. The vagaries of an ethical commons so constructed will not assure success, but do show a path along which society might strive. In conclusion, the character and point of this striving are related to the pursuit of wisdom and to the maintenance of intellectual and experiential pluralism. These pursuits, I suggest, are the real challenge Snow left.
E=mc2 and Other Artistic Equations: Encouraging the Complementary Skills of Einstein and of Picasso through Redefinition
Mary Dezember
Abstract
C.P. Snow calls for communication between the “two cultures” of arts and humanities and science and mathematics so that, globally, humanity can survive and prosper. This paper suggests that when individuals begin to identify with both “cultures,” they will be less tolerant of such polarity within education and society and will begin to foster and even expect a mending of this fractured societal persona. My thesis comes from the results of a questionnaire answered by 55 of my students—members of the “science and mathematics culture,” for they attend a science, engineering, and technology research institution. The results of this survey strongly suggest that teaching non-dualism, non-oppositional or complementary dualism—meaning differences that work together for a whole, such as illustrated by the yin yang symbol—is validating for many students.
Survey results also show that most students feel that the scientific and artistic aspects within their personalities are balanced or close to balanced; many answers suggest that students are seeking a resolution of this breach in their education and in society. Some surprising results emerged from the survey, such as revealing that an almost equal number of students considered themselves “predominantly artistic” as do those who consider themselves “predominantly scientific.” Results also articulate further redefinition is needed in each of the “two cultures” for their equal validity in society. Specifically, most likely from educational and societal training that begins when young, students do not recognize the transformative value of the socio-political impact of art and do not understand that artists are often technicians of social change.
Virtual Learning Worlds as a Bridge between Arts and Humanities and Science and Technology
Jeremy Dunning, Sunand Bhattacharya, David Daniels and Katherine Dunning
Abstract
Science and technology, when applied to educational excellence, have become part of the arts and humanities of tomorrow. The interactive multimedia technology tools available to educators today provide an opportunity to build into the distance or traditional course through learning objects, highly interactive experiential exercises that allow the instructor and the student to obtain an accurate image of the student’s level of understanding of the content throughout the course. The instructor can not only determine that a student does not understand some aspect of the content of the course, but may also determine exactly what part of the content the student fails to comprehend. Of more importance is the fact that students may also get an immediate and accurate map of their own mastery of the content. To create absorbing and successful traditional, blended, and online classes, a broader cooperative design structure that is as much art as technology is required. In this paper the concepts involved in the creation of course materials, through a cooperative partnership between Indiana University, ITT Educational Services, Inc. (the parent company for the 93 ITT Technical Institutes across the United States), Pearson Learning Solutions, and Arjuna Multimedia, are explored. They have resulted in a technological teaching environment in which sophisticated interactive computer technology may be incorporated into any classroom or distance course to provide the most effective learning experience. These techniques apply equally well in courses in arts and humanities and science and technology. Such tools as virtual worlds, laboratory simulations, game theory-based exercises, artificial intelligence systems, and intelligent tutors have been applied to several hundred courses in 17 countries with excellent results. The focus of this paper is on the pedagogical approaches considered and utilized in these cooperative course production partnerships.
Music: A Bridge Between Two Cultures
Alma Espinosa
Abstract
Certain aspects of European art music occupy a middle ground between the
two cultures described by C. P. Snow almost fifty years ago. Analogies exist not only between mathematics and the ratios underlying musical notation and intervals (i.e., the distance between pitches) but also between computer science and counterpoint (simultaneous melodies): in both cases there is a precise syntax of individual parts within the whole.
Music’s relationship to the humanities and social sciences is also of considerable interest to bridging Snow’s two cultures; trends in music, especially opera, have sometimes seemed to herald events in the social, political, and economic realms.
These and other correspondences suggest that rigorous classroom instruction in music, with an emphasis on its links to other disciplines, should be required throughout the school years and on into the undergraduate core. Such a policy, if implemented, might well help future generations to bridge the divide between Snow’s two cultures.
Contemporary Art, Science, Ecology, and a Critical Pedagogy of Place
Mark A. Graham
Abstract
In contemporary life and education, the local is marginalized in favor of large-scale economies of consumption that are indifferent to ecological concerns. The consequences of neglecting local human and natural communities include a degraded habitat, loss of wilderness, alienation, rootlessness, and lack of connection to communities. Place-based education responds to this indifference to local ecological concerns by grounding student learning in the experiences of their own lives, communities, and regions. Critical place-based pedagogy broadens the scope of place-based learning by incorporating critical theory into the curriculum of the local. This article describes a critical pedagogy of place as a prelude to describing contemporary art that is involved with ecological and social issues. Works of contemporary artists that are responsive to the ecology of local places and culture will be explored as examples of collaboration between artistic and scientific approaches. These artists suggest possibilities for the educator to create a critical pedagogy about place and to resist the isolation of the classroom from vital issues of community and ecology. The intersection of critical theory, place-based learning, and art education provides a robust framework for the theory and practice of education concerned with ecological issues.
Balancing Act: Bridging the Traditional And Technological Aspects of Culture Through Art Education
Pamela Harris Lawton
Abstract
This paper addresses the benefits of connecting and balancing education in the visual arts and in technology through discussion of actual examples. This balanced connection accomplishes three goals: to further advance and enhance quality of life, to cultivate humane and ethical behaviors, and to initiate global dialogue on issues that matter among people from diverse cultures, languages, countries and ethnicities.
The visual arts and technology are mutually dependent upon one another. In fact, much of yesterday’s technology is today’s fine art. Two excellent examples of this are printmaking and photography. Printmaking techniques were once used to simultaneously print text and image, to spread religious doctrine and communicate important information to the literate as well as the illiterate. Photography, a less labor intensive process than printmaking, replaced it, and is another example of a technological advance that is used for scientific, commercial and fine art purposes.
Technology is a boon to the arts in that it presents artists with another set of tools in which to express their creative vision and make it easily accessible to a broader audience. The arts need technology to grow, flourish, and meet the changing aesthetic tastes and needs of an increasingly global society. Technology needs art to envision possibilities, to make it more palatable, more humane and to raise questions about the effects of technological advances on our values, morals, ethics and natural environment.
Through a balanced education, that connects the arts and technology, placing equal weight on the importance of each within the curriculum, teachers can encourage both right and left-brain thinking. In this way we secure for ourselves a future in which our imaginations are unbounded and creativity translates into a well thought out and carefully planned reality that ensures the health and happiness of future generations.
Preferential States of the Dichotomy of Human Nature: Art and Science
John G. Thomas Amador Legaspi
Abstract
It is essential that the roots of the division in western culture presented by CP Snow’s Two Cultures be examined in order to view their many present day ramifications and solutions. The purpose of this paper is to explore the dichotomy of our artistic and scientific origins biologically, socially, economically, spiritually and emotionally. This will also bring into question the validity of these preferential attitudes. Is this division an empirical shared realty or more of a perceived orchestrated reality? By examining these origins and the subsequent paths leading to the contemporary state in western culture one may perhaps be able to focus on the benefits of striking a balance between the arts and sciences in our educational systems as well as in our daily lives. This reflection on our dual nature hopes to shed some light on the principals of our universal connections and solutions in our multi-layered human existence. As a visual artist and art educator, I will also illustrate this division or lack there of throughout past and contemporary art examples. The culture that Snow talks about carries itself many questions as to exactly who he is talking about. The multiplicity in our society is so diverse that it is hard to classify Snow’s definition of culture. For the sake of this paper I will try to loosely target the mainstream of western culture.
A familiar eastern axiom speaks of the parts of a whole as being crucial aspects to a complete unity. It is prefaced by the prudent warning that no part is greater than their sum. If the arts and the sciences analogously are the parts to a complete scope of humanity, segmenting and elevating one over the other will fragment our perspective and render humanity’s heirs unfortunately incomplete.
The Marriage of Two Opposing Cultures
Luis Loubriel
Abstract
With a heavy dominance on its technical/empirical aspects, the segmented performance, pedagogy, and assessment of Western classical music is undermining its goal of creating art with precision, style, and expressive beauty. This segmentation has its roots in the quantitative assessment processes found in music education and in the note-perfect performance expectations of art organizations. The results are often heard in the uninspired performances of such vital music.
As an alternative, an integral performance, educational, and assessment approach (the IPEA model) will be open for discussion. The IPEA model utilizes the concepts of upward causation (science) and downward causation (art) to equalize the elements found in the music quadrants and it continues with their evolutionary track through the Spiral Dynamics as designed by Beck and Cowan. An all-quadrant/multilevel pedagogical, performance, and assessment approach will result signaling a major shift in Western classical music by addressing the developmental needs of music students/performers without corroding their technical or expressive strengths. This model bridges the gap between the empirical and the artistic sides of music proposing, perhaps, the perfect marriage of two seemingly opposing cultures: science and art.
A Critical Choice: The Arts And Humanities In The Dark Age Of Terrorism And Globalism
Everett F. Peralta
Abstract:
Can humanity survive another Dark Age with terrorism as the only sustainable solution left to the second and third worlds? Is the price of globalism only a scientific and technological philosophical perspective that is dominated by the first world superpowers? Can the arts and humanities save mankind and civilization in changing from a negative arena of conflict and destruction to a proactive dialogue and life on earth? What possible models of speculation are possible when terrorism is the only solution? Can the beast in Man be affected by the higher order of thinking and achievements of the Arts and humanities? What is the gain and profits of the arts and humanities in the game of power and force of science and technology? Do we need a global renaissance in the arts and humanities to resolve our conflicts? The critical choice is a balance between the two cultural perspectives of the Arts and Humanities with Science and Technology.
Art Meets Science
C. Renee Rohs
Abstract
Numerous connections between the visual arts and sciences are evident if we choose to look for them. In February 2006, students and faculty from the Art and Geol/Geog departments at NW Missouri State University put together an exhibit at a local art gallery featuring works that were born out of science, inspired by science, or exploring the science behind the art. The primary goal of this project was to provide a setting where students could make creative links and increase awareness of both arts and sciences through community outreach. Photomicrographs, scanning electron microscopic images and lightning photography were included along with written explanations describing background information such as interference colors, intricate three-dimensional structures <50mm in size, and timed shutter speeds. Comparatively, two pastel works, using colors, lines, and curves, had been inspired by the laws of physics while one ceramic piece depicted marine invertebrates cast in stone. Students were involved at all levels of the project from developing the displays to interacting with community members at the reception to creative writing in response to the exhibit. Outcomes from this project provide evidence of direct benefits to students as a result of integrating understanding in both arts and sciences.
The Science of Art: Reconsidering the Interpretive Methods of Creativity in American Art
Carol G. J. Scollans
Philosophically in American society there has been much debate about the validity of art as a reflection of cultural importance. Historically in this country, art was thought to be antithetical to the Puritanical sensibility that defined the character of American life. Perceived as luxury, it was believed that high art caused the moral decay of great civilizations unlike the sciences which advanced the course and direction of civilization. By emphasizing methods of analysis and interpretation art historians have begun to illuminate the complex role of the visual arts as a primary vehicle through which we can illustrate how civilizations thrive.
The New Perception: Hypermediating Interdisciplinary Cultures Through Aesthetic Education
John Toth
Abstract
The Arts and Sciences have long shared an interest in studying the world and representing an understanding of that world through their respective language and methods. Scientists use numbers and equations to prove theories and artists use paint, color, shapes and patterns to create visual representations/interpretations of the world.
However, the electronic age has challenged the way in which we define both the substance and process of our world. C. P. Snow advocates a new perception to bridge the gap between the specialized world of science (quantum theory) and the abstract world of the arts (Dada and Cubism). Aesthetic Education facilitates perception by the close study of a work of art that is opened to the viewer by participating in activities, reflection and discussion that develop the language of the art form. The new perception that C. P. Snow advocated in 1959 must embrace the latest technologies that require a new literacy that is based on hypermedia. Hypermedia is a linking apparatus that is embedded in technologies such as e-mail, electronic databases, virtual reality games, word processors, spreadsheets and numerous electronic technologies that involves a conductive method of association that leads us into the Twenty-first Century.
Image Making and Meaning: Educational benefits to studying Design in the 21st century
Nancy Wynn
Abstract
Over the past 27 years, the influence of technology has revolutionized the professional practice of Design and its products produced. At the same time, technology has also created more advanced and complex pedagogy for design education. However regardless of technology’s influence, critical thinking, problem solving, and presentation are still founding principles that must
be explored, experienced, and comprehended.
In the United States, primary and secondary educational institutions do not focus on Design per se, they have Graphics, Architectural Drafting, and Photography listed under ‘Tech Ed.’ Colleges and universities vary based on how many different design disciplines they offer. Some have entire schools devoted to design or large departments that offer a multitude of options. Other smaller programs offer Graphic Design under ‘Commercial Arts’ or within ‘Marketing Communications’ departments. At the present time, technological influence or the connection to business are the main identifiers for affiliation.
I believe Design should be used to create a more whole-minded educational experience. It blends both science and technology with art and humanities—a dynamic integration. From the initial visualization to the final presentation, a project
can employ reading and research, math, drawing a concept, technological production, writing an argument, collaboration,
and presenting the project. I will present examples of successful integrated learning experiences that yield both amateur and professional results as well as create exciting learning environments for students and professionals alike.
Poverty Back to top
The Relationship between Socio-economic Conditions and the Impact of Natural Disasters on Rural and Urbanized Regions Level of Preparedness and Recovery
DeAnna M. Burney, Keith Simmonds and Gilbert Queeley
Abstract
The capacity to survive and recover from the effects of a natural disaster depends on two major factors: the physical magnitude of the disaster and the socio-economic conditions of individuals or social groups who experience the crisis. In short, poverty is the central factor that will determine the level of vulnerability and hence the survival of a natural hazard turned disaster. Therefore, it is suggested that the lack of preparedness, ability to reunify, and then rebuild after a natural or created disaster remains problematic, especially for children and families already facing poverty conditions. The current research was designed to assess levels of preparedness and transit mobility in rural and urban regions during evacuation and reunification efforts when a natural disaster or terrorist attack occurs. Transportation was used as a variable of socioeconomic class or condition. The study focused on three primary research goals: 1 to identify if differences exist between urban and rural region transit evacuation and reunification efforts; 2. to examine the level of preparedness to evacuate due to personal resources and city or county assistance; 3. to examine the effects of Human Factors such as Stress, fatigue, and anger related accidents, and ability to rebuild after a disaster. Major outcomes of this study revealed that most participants of the study remain unprepared to survive a natural or created disaster, even though 50% of participants had some previous direct experience with natural disasters. Further, the study identified consistent concerns with poverty conditions as a major factor affecting their ability to prepare, evacuate, reunify, and rebuild after a natural disaster.
The intellectual merit of this project centers on the neglected community of disaster victims and their socioeconomic need for assistance in preparing and rebuilding following a disaster. The research is new and informative to the national and international communities, due to minimal published investigations regarding victims of natural disasters.
Food Stamp Use among Food Pantry Clients in the United States
Patricia A. Duffy
Abstract
Although the United States government provides an array of food assistance programs for low‑income individuals and families, private emergency food assistance has emerged in the last several decades as an increasingly important resource for meeting food needs among impoverished households. Although emergency food assistance clients generally have very low incomes and have a clear need for additional food, only about one-third of clients surveyed at food pantries indicate that they receive food stamps. This paper examines how food security status is related to participation in the Food Stamp Program for a national sample of food pantry clients. Results indicate that food pantry clients who receive food stamps have a higher probability of being food secure than those who apply for food stamps but do not receive them, but a lower probability of food security than those who have not applied. Increased household income yields a smaller increase in the probability of being food secure in households receiving food stamps than in those not receiving food stamps.
Managing Social Security Benefits to Avoid Future Impoverishment for
At-Risk Populations in the U.S.
Morrine Tauheed
Abstract:
The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Program in the United States. The amount of Social Security benefit is based on an individual worker’s lifetime earnings and replaces approximately 40% of an average wage earner’s income. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has determined that the U.S. poverty line in 2006 for a single-person family unit was $9800 annually (approximately $816.67 monthly). The median monthly Social Security benefit for 2006 is estimated at $989.50. Since the Social Security benefit is often the sole (or primary) source of income, many Social Security beneficiaries fall below the poverty line.
This paper will examine some strategies for future beneficiaries to maximize their Social Security benefits and possibly alleviate future income deficiencies. Methods such as increasing lifetime earnings, accurately assessing future financial needs, and establishing additional sources of income will be discussed. Studies focus on at-risk populations already susceptible to and/or for whom impoverishment is exacerbated. Results show that expectations and reliance on Social Security differ among ethnic groups as well as among gender groups. There are also differences in trends in plans to obtain information regarding benefits. While several proposals to remedy the problem are discussed, clearly a fresh approach, such as this study, is needed to help tackle the complexity of the growing Social Security dilemma.
Is Public Concern Over Growing Executive Compensation Justified? A Study of Income And Wealth Inequality
Melissa S. Wiseman and Gordon B. Severance
Abstract: This paper will scrutinize income inequality trends over the past quarter century, focusing on the relatively disparate growth of corporate executive compensation relative to income and wealth of subordinate wage-earners. In this area of comparative incomes, special attention will be given to stock options—a new hybrid that is often taxed as income, yet at other times as capital gains—which are a major builder of wealth and the ensuing backdating scandals. Possible improvements in corporate governance as well as other remedies are explored.
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Physical Fitness: The Gateway to Preventive Health
Ben R. Abadie
Abstract
The promotion of physical fitness provides individuals direct physiological and psychological benefits that will serve to enhance preventive health. These benefits include: reduction of mortality rates, reduction of blood glucose, improved quality of life in patients with chronic lung diseases, reduced risk of the development of atherosclerosis by increasing high-density lipoproteins, reducing systemic hypertension, reducing body fat, reducing insulin needs, and reducing platelet adhesiveness and aggregation. Physical activity reduces intraocular pressure, increases bone mineral density, and reduces the risk of the development of certain types of cancers. Physical activity reduces the severity of depression and anxiety and stabilizes mood. Individuals who are physically active are less likely to smoke, abuse addictive drugs, abuse alcohol, and are less likely to engage in destructive eating behaviors. This paper also will review the impact of a sedentary lifestyle on society, as well as discuss strategies to increase physical fitness participation.
Community-Based Health Education Intervention: A Service-Learning Approach
Srijana M. Bajracharya
Abstract
A variety of best practices concerning community-based health education intervention has been developed and administered. Integrating service-learning projects into community health programs through academic credit-bearing courses can make such programs more effective and meaningful because programs incorporating service-learning projects can have a major effect not only on the target population, but also on other populations in the community.
This paper will cover how health education program planners can involve college and university students—future health professionals—in service-learning projects and integrate these projects into community health programs. Such projects encourage students to apply what they have learned in the classroom in real-world settings. These activities ensure that the service being provided and the learning that is occurring receive equal attention and benefit both students and clients. The participation of college and university students (who often have abundant energy and motivation) can help make community health programs cost effective and advantageous to all involved. This paper will present sample projects and models in order to show how health professionals can include college and university students in partnerships to provide health education programs and to support comprehensive community health promotion and disease prevention activities.
Effective Strategies to Reduce High Risk Drinking Among College Students and Residents in an Urban Environment
Marsha Brinkley and
Donald W. Zeigler
Abstract:
An urban American university, Georgia Institute of Technology, established a campus-community coalition to reduce high risk drinking, its harms and second-hand effects among university students and residents of the Atlanta community. The Atlanta-based institution was part of a ten-year, ten-university project, A Matter of Degree (AMOD), administered by the American Medical Association with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and evaluation by the Harvard School of Public Health. The Georgia Tech program, GT Smart, sought to change campus and community policies that affect the alcohol “wet” environment that passively permits or actively encourages high-risk drinking. Unlike the other nine AMOD coalitions, Georgia Tech had an additional challenge of residing in a major urban environment. However, the coalition systematically and effectively addressed campus issues and undertook change in both local neighborhoods and municipal policy alcohol-control measures. The projects successful comprehensive strategies of civic engagement and confronting political barriers provide important lessons for other urban communities and university environments.
Collective Efficacy: A Community Level Health Promotion and Prevention Strategy
Abigail A. Gerding
Abstract
Hispanic-Americans are almost twice as likely to die from diabetes, than Caucasians. In an effort to improve health outcomes of Hispanic Appalachians, faculty researchers from East Tennessee State University (ETSU) and representatives from the Hispanic community came together in 2003 to form La Coalicion Hispano-Americano de la Salud (CHAS). Using CDC funds, the members of CHAS and ETSU faculty engaged in community-based participatory research (CBPR) focused on diabetes prevention. The team implemented thirteen health screenings and informational sessions serving approximately 400 people. Increased utilization of a local clinic resulted in a 30% increase in Hispanic diabetic patients. CHAS members were included in at least 3 advisory health boards throughout the city. Continued collaboration as a community resulted in other types of health promotion and prevention activities. These findings indicated that CBPR is an effective mechanism for strengthening community capacity for change. Collective efficacy is the linkage of mutual trust and a shared willingness to intervene for the good of the community. By increasing the ability of the community to work together to address health issues, collective efficacy becomes a significant community level intervention.
The Politics of AIDS in the Black Community
Byron D’Andra Orey
Throughout history, dating back to slavery, blacks have been confronted with economic, political and social subjugation while living in the United States. During the course of this struggle, the black church has served as a place of refuge for the black community. The church, for example, served as the catalyst for the civil rights movement. Organizations such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy, worked tirelessly to tear down the barriers of inequality.
In recent years, however, the black church has, arguably, failed to provide the same type of leadership in the fight against HIV-AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).
The USDA Food Stamp Program and Childhood Obesity: An Innovative Approach
Joyce Lynn Terrell
Abstract
This white paper is a response to the Oxford Roundtable Committees’ call for papers which address “current thinking and explore modern methods of remediation and treatment” of persistent and difficult health problems worldwide…moderating unsuitable eating habits being one of these. The Food Moderation Program a theoretical concept examines implementing policy that would moderate the quantity of select foods (e.g. soda, sweetened cereals, confectionaries) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) food stamp recipients would be allowed to purchase in a monthly buying cycle. The need for exploration of this concept is defined in the statistics on obesity, a disease that is “expected to soon overtake cigarette smoking” as the number one cause of preventable death in America. The idea of moderating or limiting the USDA food stamp recipients’ purchase power at first glance, may appear to be controversial, yet, moderating one’s consumption of nutrient poor foods and encouraging purchase of healthier foods promotes a more nutritiously sound diet and the promise for a better quality of life. It is hoped that the Food Moderation concept will become an innovative approach to abating the obesity epidemic and possibly a promising practice in obesity prevention. However, acceptance of this approach requires one to look beyond bureaucratic challenge and the financial investment for technology up-grades to grasp and envision the bigger picture…to institute an effective scientifically (once studied) based method of obesity prevention that ensures hope for a better, healthier tomorrow for Americas family.
The aim of this paper is to provide historical highlights of the USDA Food Stamp Program including the state of Minnesota’s request to prohibit Food Stamp program recipients from purchasing select food items with benefits, provide an overview of the obesity epidemic which plagues America’s children, introduce the Food Moderation concept detailing the theoretical framework outlining critical concerns as they relate to program feasibility, and finally explore initiatives addressing this problem. It is important to state the following disclaimer; The Food Moderation Program 1) will not eradicate the obesity problem due to its limited consumer base; 2) the exact number of Food Stamp recipients coping with obesity is not readily available; further research is needed in that area, although research purports a positive correlation between poverty and obesity; and 3) the moderation concept can not control for a recipients’ use of personal money to purchase monitored foods once food quantity allotment is met.
Community Alcohol Policy Coalitions in 10 College Communities: The ‘A Matter of Degree’ National Program To Reduce High Risk Drinking Among College Students
Richard Alan Yoast
Abstract
“A Matter of Degree,” funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and administered by the American Medical Association, was a national program to test the application of environmental change strategies to reduce binge drinking among college students. Ten universities were funded (1996 through 2008) to 1) test the use of an environmental change model (with a focus on alcohol policy) in the college community; 2) develop sustainable campus-community policy partnerships; and 3) reduce student binge drinking and its negative effects on students and the community. Each site developed its own coalition structure and work plan but was required to focus primarily on campus and municipal policies and their enforcement, to emphasize use of the media to communicate with the public and decision-makers, and to have the active support and involvement of high level campus and city administrators. External evaluation and on-site data collection were used to assess student attitudes and behaviors, coalition participation and changes in alcohol-related health and social outcomes.
At mid-point the outcomes evaluation indicated that five of the sites had more fully implemented the program than the others. Compared to the other five and 32 comparison sites which saw no changes in major indicators, the high implementation sites saw significant positive outcomes in a number of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences. Compared to the coalitions at the lower implementation sites, the coalitions the high implementation sites were characterized by more formal structures and processes and had staff and leaders that were more facilitative and focused on building consensus. Their coalition members held more positive attitudes about the surrounding campus and city environments’ support for change, about the coalition’s management and ability to produce change, and expressed more positive feelings about their own participation in the coalition and the value of that participation. It is not clear whether these positive attitudes preceded and thus made coalition success more likely, or was produced by success, or was a realistic assessment of the likelihood for success. However, the ways in which these coalitions operated appear to have made their success more likely than the processes in the lower implementation sites.
AgingBack to top
Attitudes Towards Health Technologies for Telecare and Their Relationship To Successful Aging in a Community-Based Older Minority Population
Elizabeth M. Bertera, Binh Q. Tran, Ellen M. Wuertz, and Aisha A. Bonner
Abstract
Purpose: Examined attitudes and practices related to readiness and use of health technologies for telecare among an older minority population residing in affordable housing. Design and Methods: A model of successful aging based on Rowe and Kahn is used as a conceptual framework. Eighty-five respondents with an average age of 73 completed a self-administered survey that assessed receptivity to health technologies for telecare. Results: The survey showed that this older, predominantly African American community has an interest in health technologies that enables telecare and successful aging in place, irrespective of education and physical functioning levels. Results also suggest that those most likely to adopt new health technologies for telecare have the most positive attitudes toward successful aging, and are currently using some health technologies. The health technology that would be most likely to be used was environmental sensors in the home. Older residents were most open to health technologies for telecare that improve communications with healthcare personnel, especially for medical emergencies and detecting falls. Arthritis, hypertension and diabetes were the top health problems; and getting enough exercise and following a healthy diet were the key barriers to managing them. Use of a camera in the home to monitor illness gave seniors the most concern. Implications: Older minority Americans residing in affordable housing are generally receptive to in-home health technologies for telecare.
The Lived Experiences of the Independent Oldest Old in Community-Based Programs: Public Policy Implications
Kathleen McNellis Carey
Abstract
This study investigated the experiences of oldest old who live independently and participate in community-based programs. The qualitative research design was based on Heideggerian hermeneutics. The aims were to identify how oldest old urban-dwelling individuals perceive the experience of living independently and engaging in social programs; to analyze their life satisfaction and sense of well-being; to describe how these programs affect their sense of self; and to explore what social support and resources they perceive as important to their continued independence and well-being. The data were gathered in extended, nonstructured interviews and analyzed using ATLAS.ti software. The major findings include a profile of an individual who thrives independently at age 85 and beyond. This individual is committed to maintaining social ties, cares about an active body and mind, is energized by new ideas, and sets and attains short-term goals. Such an individual clearly exhibits resiliency and the ability to adjust. This person has the strength to accept loss and manage change, remains committed to making a meaningful contribution, and is at peace with the world and him- or herself. These findings can guide those influencing social policy and those professionals who work with the oldest old.
Protecting the Elderly in Times of Disaster: The Critical Need for Comprehensive Disaster Planning and Exercise Design
James C. Hagen
Abstract
Of vital concern internationally is the protection of one of our most vulnerable populations, the elderly, in times of disaster. This is especially true when the threat of disasters, both man-made and natural, is increasing. Recent disasters in the United States, especially Hurricane Katrina, have proven the inadequacy of current planning. It has been shown that 91% of long term care (LTC) health professionals and other providers felt ill-prepared to deal with public health emergencies and bioterrorism threats. Concern for the quality of life for LTC community residents and those elderly living at home must include intensive planning and preparation for emergencies/disasters that would compromise the safety of these most at-risk loved ones.
The optimal approach to improving the ability of LTC communities to respond lies in appropriate, targeted, and effective training concerning how to create/exercise plans to respond to, and recover from, disasters. This work addresses major issues and challenges of disaster planning for the elderly. Suggestions are provided for concrete action, and a there is a call for the LTC community to move forward in being included in future planning efforts and the exercising of these plans.
The food habits of Black older adults in New York City: Are there differences between African Americans and Caribbean-born immigrants?
Beverly P. Lyons
Abstract
The purpose of this pilot study was to gather data from urban-dwelling African-American and Caribbean-born elders in order to explore their normal food habits, awareness about nutrition, influence of personal health conditions on food habits, and receipt of specific practitioner-initiated personalized nutrition intervention. A series of four focus groups were conducted among 50 Black elders, 36 of whom were African Americans and 14 of whom were Caribbean immigrants. Sessions were audio taped and transcribed. Transcripts were analyzed using ATLAS.ti software. Some elders from both subgroups have maintained lifelong cultural food habits regardless of personal health challenges. It was evident that there were differences in food habits, and health beliefs between the subgroups. Also, a larger percentage of African Americans received individualized intervention from their health practitioners primarily because of exacerbated personal health conditions. Those elders reporting no personal episodic health conditions also reported that they had not received separate and specific practitioner-initiated personalized nutrition intervention. Practice and policy implications were discussed urging attention to differences; a greater need for personalized nutrition interventions; removal of barriers to primary care nutrition coverage.
Internet and Email Utilization by a Nursing Home Resident: A Single Subject Design Exploratory Study for Improved Quality of Life for the Elderly
James E Smith and Shawna E. Hibbler
Abstract
The number of older people in America will increase dramatically during the 2010-2030. Research suggests moving into a resident/assisted-living or long-term care facility may lead to a sense of social isolation, loss of independence, and depression due to institutionalized living, especially for residents geographically removed from their family, friends, and community. Technology may allow aging adult residents in such facilities to maintain contact with their social support network. This may reduce the risks associated with aging and separation. Internet and email use by these aging residents will help empower and strengthen psychological, emotional and physical health for sustaining quality of life.
A single-subject design case study was used to explore if using the Internet and email might improve family, interpersonal and intrapersonal communication, the emotional and psychological health for one older adult long term care resident. Implications for research, development, education, and practice in human services and gerontology will be discussed.
Interdisciplinary Education in Emergency Preparedness: Assuring the Safety of Aging Populations
Linda L. Strong and Dori Taylor Sullivan
Abstract
Aging is a global phenomenon. It impacts unequally, with this inequality attributable to such factors as gender, culture, education, socioeconomic status and access to primary and preventive care. Access to care and the quality of that care are significantly impacted by governmental support and regulations. Most elderly live in developed countries; however, for a significant number life is not free of stress and struggle to meet basic needs. Elders in developing countries face even more challenges. Natural and man-made disasters increase the vulnerability of these populations through potential disruption of critical services. Currently there is a paucity of health and social services professionals educationally prepared to meet the various health and illness needs of aging populations. There is also a lack of new and practicing professionals trained for practice in emergency situations. Disasters can, have and will overwhelm existing resources thus requiring effective and efficient responses to emergencies.
This paper will address the need for interdisciplinary education in emergency preparedness to assure the safety of aging populations. Arguments will be made for educational initiatives that are competency based, threaded from preparatory to graduate education, intra- and interdisciplinary in design and developed from a standardized curriculum resulting in ongoing dialogue among health and social service disciplines.
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Articles:
Essays:
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The West Indian Diaspora to the USA: Remittances and Development of the Homeland
Aubrey W. Bonnett
Abstract:
In a global world in which over 150 million people migrate from one country to another every year, the new Black Diaspora, now termed transnational and very circular in nature, is quite different from the initial Diaspora born of slavery, or that born of colonialism and post colonialism. It is argued, that within the late twentieth century, and now in the new millennium, the transnational forces of the new migrations have brought into play a different and new Diaspora which contributes more financially to the homeland, has redrawn the political interconnections between the “homelands” sand the host society, and which now play a pivotal intervening role in the reconstruction of “Home”.
Finally, it is contended that it behooves the homeland(s) of the sending societies, to establish facilitating, structural arrangements at the national governmental levels, to ensure that there is: transparency, mutuality, efficacy and accountability in these evolving relationships-especially in an increasingly globally interconnected world.
Dealing with Global Migration: Applying Two Sociological Theories
Paul R. Eberts
Abstract
Global migrations are reaching major proportions that are both beneficial and detrimental in More Developed Countries as when migrants take unskilled jobs, but they also add to social services costs. Jared Diamond in Collapse (2005) also m |
