Rightful Resistance in the Colombian conflict. A theoretical reflection based on a Peace Community

This article considers the opportunities of civilians to peacefully resist violent conflicts or civil wars. The argument developed here is based on a field-based research on the peace community San José de Apartadó in Colombia. The analytical and theoretical framework, which delimits the use of the term ‘resistance’ in this article, builds on the conceptual considerations of Hollander and Einwohner (2004) and on the theoretical concept of ‘rightful resistance’ developed by O’Brien (1996). Beginning with a conflict-analytical classification of the case study, we will describe the long-term socio-historical processes and the organizational experiences of the civilian population, which favoured the emergence of this resistance initiative. The analytical approach to the dimensions and aims of the resistance of this peace community leads to the differentiation of O`Brian’s concept of ‘rightful resistance’.

Institutional resistances before school mediation. An inquiry in the conflict settings

This paper deals with the conceptions of the different school actors about the meaning and the implications of mediation in their schools, drawing on data from a qualitative approach carried out as part of a wider project to map mediation perspectives and practices in Catalonia. The authors analyze the scope of the situations regarded as suitable or unsuitable for the introduction of restorative practices, as well as the resistance to change in the practice of conflict resolutions and in the democratization of school culture.

Sherman Alexie’s "The Toughest Indian in the World": Amalgamating the Oral and the Written Traditions

This article argues that The Toughest Indian in the World (2000) by Native-American author Sherman Alexie combines elements of his tribal (oral) tradition with others coming from the Western (literary) short-story form. Like other Native writers — such as Momaday, Silko or Vizenor — , Alexie is seen to bring into his short fiction characteristics of his people’s oral storytelling that make it much more dialogical and participatory. Among the author’s narrative techniques reminiscent of the oral tradition, aggregative repetitions of patterned thoughts and strategically-placed indeterminacies play a major role in encouraging his readers to engage in intellectual and emotional exchanges with the stories. Assisted by the ideas of theorists such as Ong (1988), Evers and Toelken (2001), and Teuton (2008), this article shows how Alexie’s short fiction is enriched and revitalized by the incorporation of oral elements. The essay also claims that new methods of analysis and assessment may be needed for this type of bicultural artistic forms. Despite the differences between the two modes of communication, Alexie succeeds in blending features and techniques from both traditions, thus creating a new hybrid short-story form that suitably conveys the trying experiences faced by his characters.

Caught in the conundrum: neoliberalism and education in post-conflict Northern Ireland: Exploring Shared Education

Northern Ireland (NI) is emerging from a violent period in its troubled history and remains a
society characterized by segregation between its two main communities. Nowhere is this more
apparent than in education, where for the most part Catholic and Protestant pupils are
educated separately. During the last 30 years there has been a twofold pressure placed on the
education system in NI - at one level to respond to intergroup tensions by promoting
reconciliation, and at another, to deal with national policy demands derived from a global neoliberalist
economic agenda. With reference to current efforts to promote shared education
between separate schools, we explore the uneasy dynamic between a school-based
reconciliation programme in a transitioning society and system-wide values that are driven by
neo-liberalism and its organizational manifestation - new managerialism. We argue that whilst
the former seeks to promote social democratic ideals in education that can have a potentially
transformative effect at societal level, neoliberal priorities have the potential to both subvert
shared education and also to embed it.

Shared education in Northern Ireland: school collaboration in divided societies

During the years of political violence in Northern Ireland many looked to schools to contribute to reconciliation. A variety of interventions were attempted throughout those years, but there was little evidence that any had produced systemic change. The peace process provided an opportunity for renewed efforts. This paper outlines the experience of a series of projects on 'shared education', or the establishment of collaborative networks of Protestant, Catholic and integrated schools in which teachers and pupils moved between schools to take classes and share experiences. The paper outlines the genesis of the idea and the research which helped inform the shape of the shared education project. The paper also outlines the corpus of research which has examined various aspects of shared education practice and lays out the emergent model which is helping to inform current government practice in Northern Ireland, and is being adopted in other jurisdictions. The paper concludes by looking at the prospects for real transformation of education in Northern Ireland.

Shared Education in contested spaces: How collaborative networks improve communities and schools

Societies which suffer from ethnic and political divisions are often characterised by patterns of social and institutional separation, and sometimes these divisions remain even after political conflict has ended. This has occurred in Northern Ireland where there is, and remains, a long-standing pattern of parallel institutions and services for the different communities. A socially significant example lies in the education system where a parallel system of Catholic and Protestant schools has been in place since the establishment of a national school system in the 1830s. During the years of political violence in Northern Ireland a variety of educational interventions were implemented to promote reconciliation, but most of them failed to create any systemic change. This paper describes a post-conflict educational initiative known as Shared Education which aims to promote social cohesion and school improvement by encouraging sustained and regular shared learning between students and broader collaboration between teachers and school leaders from different schools. The paper examines the background to work on Shared Education, describes a ‘sharing continuum’ which emerged as an evaluation and policy tool from this work and considers evidence from a case study of a Shared Education school partnership in a divided city in Northern Ireland. The paper will conclude by highlighting some of the significant social and policy impact of the Shared Education work.

GPs’ and community pharmacists’ opinions on medication management at transitions of care in Ireland

Objective. The aim of this study was to survey GPs and community pharmacists (CPs) in Ireland regarding current practices of medication management, specifically medication reconciliation, communication between health care providers and medication errors as patients transition in care.
Methods. A national cross-sectional survey was distributed electronically to 2364 GPs, 311 GP Registrars and 2382 CPs. Multivariable associations comparing GPs to CPs were generated and content analysis of free text responses was undertaken.
Results. There was an overall response rate of 17.7% (897 respondents—554 GPs/Registrars and 343 CPs). More than 90% of GPs and CPs were positive about the effects of medication reconciliation on medication safety and adherence. Sixty per cent of GPs reported having no formal system of medication reconciliation. Communication between GPs and CPs was identified as good/very good by >90% of GPs and CPs. The majority (>80%) of both groups could clearly recall prescribing errors, following a transition of care, they had witnessed in the previous 6 months. Free text content analysis corroborated the positive relationship between GPs and CPs, a frustration with secondary care communication, with many examples given of prescribing errors.
Conclusions. While there is enthusiasm for the benefits of medication reconciliation there are limited formal structures in primary care to support it. Challenges in relation to systems that support inter-professional communication and reduce medication errors are features of the primary/secondary care transition. There is a need for an improved medication management system. Future research should focus on the identified barriers in implementing medication reconciliation and systems that can improve it.

Lawyers & Truth Recovery Mechanisms: South Africa

Focusing on post-apartheid South Africa, the report explores the role of lawyers in truth recovery mechanisms.

The report was prepared by Dr Rachel Killean and draws on a series of interviews conducted in South Africa (with legal academics, ‘struggle’ lawyers, state lawyers, judges and human rights activists) as part of the wider Lawyers, Conflict and Transition project.

Dr Killean begins with an overview of the various roles the legal profession has played in South Africa, both during the apartheid era and post-transition.

The first half of the report then explores the role of lawyers as professional participants – firstly at the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and secondly in the Marikana Commission of Inquiry.

The report then considers the notion of lawyers as subjects of truth recovery, looking in particular at the Special Legal Hearing on the legal profession as part of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

In the concluding section Killean reflects on the extent to which lawyers influence the procedures and outcomes of truth recovery mechanisms and offers some concrete suggestions as to how the involvement of lawyers in such processes might be more effectively managed.

With regard to lawyers as subjects of truth recovery, she acknowledges the limitations of the South African model but posits that the endeavour must be applauded, not least because it demonstrated that it is possible to scrutinise the role of the legal profession in past conflict, and that it is worth wrestling with the associated challenges.

Addressing conflict and tolerance through the curriculum

Political, religious and national divisions in Northern Ireland go back many hundreds of years so it is not surprising that the lack of a common national narrative has made the teaching of history in schools difficult. The fact that schools have largely been organized on a denominational basis has added to the challenge. When political violence broke out in the late 1960s many looked to schools to contribute to the promotion of reconciliation and the way history had been taught received significant critical attention. This chapter will outline the evolving nature of the history curriculum and review evidence on the impact of this curriculum on the historical understanding of students and young people. In addition, the chapter will briefly consider other ways in which students engage with historical issues through the teaching of citizenship, and wider family and community influences. Whereas the teaching of history in the past either was largely absent or often took on a partisan character, the development of a statutory curriculum in the 1990s helped promote a more dispassionate, skills-based approach which emphasized critical engagement with evidence and a multiperspectivity. While this represented a significant improvement on what had gone before, evaluation of the impact of this approach has highlighted the need for a consideration of the emotional impact of historical understanding and the need better to connect the lessons of history to contemporary society.

Comunicação intersubjetiva na negociação integrativa: criação de novos valores

Dissertação apresentada ao Programa de Pós- Graduação em Comunicação – Mestrado como requisito para obtenção do título de Mestre em Comunicação da Universidade Municipal de São Caetano do Sul.

O cinema, o jogo e a cultura

práticas artificiais, que incluem a experiência midiática, numa negociação/conciliação permanente entre a cultura objetiva (social) e a subjetiva (do indivíduo). A mediação cotidiana e fundamental é a comunicação do real com o imaginário. Para além do ato ou efeito de mediar, de estar entre, as mediações são a articulação entre práticas de comunicação e movimentos sociais; são as modalidades da comunicação dentro das quais se inserem os meios e que estão ligadas ao sensorium dos modos de percepção e da experiência social. O cinema reflete esse quadro como produto de uma experiência coletiva de fascínio mágico, um lugar de participação afetiva. Comporta elementos do jogo não competitivo e também apresenta elementos do sagrado pela alimentação e divulgação de mitos, pela ritualização convertida em periodicidade e pelo extraordinário evocado em êxtase profano.

Algorithmes de construction et correction d'arbres de gènes par la réconciliation

Les gènes, qui servent à encoder les fonctions biologiques des êtres vivants, forment l'unité moléculaire de base de l'hérédité. Afin d'expliquer la diversité des espèces que l'on peut observer aujourd'hui, il est essentiel de comprendre comment les gènes évoluent. Pour ce faire, on doit recréer le passé en inférant leur phylogénie, c'est-à-dire un arbre de gènes qui représente les liens de parenté des régions codantes des vivants. Les méthodes classiques d'inférence phylogénétique ont été élaborées principalement pour construire des arbres d'espèces et ne se basent que sur les séquences d'ADN. Les gènes sont toutefois riches en information, et on commence à peine à voir apparaître des méthodes de reconstruction qui utilisent leurs propriétés spécifiques. Notamment, l'histoire d'une famille de gènes en terme de duplications et de pertes, obtenue par la réconciliation d'un arbre de gènes avec un arbre d'espèces, peut nous permettre de détecter des faiblesses au sein d'un arbre et de l'améliorer. Dans cette thèse, la réconciliation est appliquée à la construction et la correction d'arbres de gènes sous trois angles différents: 1) Nous abordons la problématique de résoudre un arbre de gènes non-binaire. En particulier, nous présentons un algorithme en temps linéaire qui résout une polytomie en se basant sur la réconciliation. 2) Nous proposons une nouvelle approche de correction d'arbres de gènes par les relations d'orthologie et paralogie. Des algorithmes en temps polynomial sont présentés pour les problèmes suivants: corriger un arbre de gènes afin qu'il contienne un ensemble d'orthologues donné, et valider un ensemble de relations partielles d'orthologie et paralogie. 3) Nous montrons comment la réconciliation peut servir à "combiner'' plusieurs arbres de gènes. Plus précisément, nous étudions le problème de choisir un superarbre de gènes selon son coût de réconciliation.

Representações e Atitudes sobre Igualdade de Género no Trabalho e nas Organizações dos Funcionários e das Funcionárias de um Município Português

Em Portugal, as iniciativas no âmbito da conciliação trabalho-família e a igualdade entre mulheres e homens têm-se fortificado nos últimos anos. A presente dissertação estuda as “Representações e atitudes sobre igualdade de género dos funcionários e funcionárias de um município português”, tendo partido do desafio de acompanhamento de um processo de planeamento e mudança organizacional - Plano para a igualdade de género - para a eliminação da desigualdade de género numa Câmara do interior centro do país. Analisaram-se os dados de um inquérito por questionário respondido por 206 colaboradores/as da autarquia, dos quais 51,2% são homens e 48,8% mulheres. Com uma escala composta de 34 itens procurámos conhecer a extensão e a expressão dos valores e da estereotipia de género, bem como o reconhecimento da desigualdade e o acolhimento de práticas e políticas igualitárias por parte deste universo. Concluiu-se que ao mesmo tempo que já se admite e se aceita cada vez mais o facto de numa família, os dois cônjuges trabalharem fora e se dedicarem a uma carreira profissional, ainda está presente nas pessoas inquiridas a ideia de que as tarefas vinculadas ao âmbito doméstico são responsabilidades das mulheres, ainda que elas já recebam auxílio dos seus companheiros. Assim, percebemos que embora o mundo público seja cada vez mais ocupado por mulheres, ainda se vincula o espaço “profissional” aos homens e as responsabilidades ligadas ao lar e aos filhos às mulheres. Foi também possível concluir uma forte estereotipia de género que justifica de forma essencialista aquilo que são, na realidade, efeitos da desigualdade de género. Este diagnóstico permitiu desenhar um plano de formação organizacional com enfoque no combate à estereotipia de género e seus efeitos nefastos na gestão das pessoas, na igualdade de oportunidades e no desenvolvimento organizacional. / In Portugal, the initiatives in the scope of the bond work-family and the equity between men and women have been strengthened in the last few years. The present thesis studies the “Representations and attitudes about gender equity between men and women employees of a Portuguese city”, that started with the challenge of overlooking a process of planning and organizational change – Plan for gender equity – in order to eliminate the gender inequity within a City Hall in the interior of the country. Data collected from a questionnaire was analysed. This questionnaire was answered by 206 City Hall employees, of which 51,2% are men and 48,8% are women. With a scale composed of 34 items we sought to understand the extent and the expression of the values and gender stereotyping, as well as the inequity acknowledgement and the reception of equity practices and policies by this universe of people. It is concluded that although, more and more, it is allowed and accepted that in a family both spouses work and dedicate themselves to a professional career, within the people surveyed the idea that the household chores are of the women’s responsibility is still present, the “professional” field is still linked to the men and the responsibilities related to the home and the children are linked to the women. It was also possible to conclude that a strong gender stereotyping justifies, in an essentialist way, what are, in reality, the effects of gender inequity. This diagnosis enabled the design of an organizational training program, with the emphasis on the battle against gender stereotyping and its adverse effects in people management, in equal opportunities between men and women and in the organizational development.

WHITE-NAPED CRANE Migratory Bird

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-08