Thai family support (TFS) : working with families of young substance users in primary health care

Living with substance users negatively impacts upon family members in many ways, and distress is common. Despite these deep and wide-ranging impacts, supportive interventions for family members in their own right are rarely available. Thailand has substantial and growing problems with substance use, and there is very little support or family members of drug users, especially in community setting. The Thai Family Support (TFS) program was designed for implementation in primary health care units (PCUs) in Thailand. TFS was based on two approaches with existing empirical support in Western contexts—the 5-step method and CRAFT—with adaptations to a Thai setting that included integration with Buddhist practices. Its aims were to increase well-being of family members, reduce mental distress, improve family relationships between family members, and engage substance users in behaviour change. A small-scale randomised controlled trial on TFS with a Delayed Treatment control was conducted, with assessments at 8 weeks (Post 1) and 20-24 weeks (Post 2). Structured interviews with participants and PCU staff and an examination of five case studies augmented the quantitative results. Mixed Model Analyses were applied to quantitative outcomes, and thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. Thirty-six participants (18 in each of Immediate and Delayed Conditions) were recruited. A significant difference at Baseline between the two conditions was observed on the Thai GHQ-28 and Gender, but it was not possible to statistically control for these effects. There was a significant Time by Condition interaction on the Thai GHQ-28, WHOQOL-BREF-THAI and FAS, reflecting greater improvements in the Immediate condition by Post 1, but with the Delayed condition meeting or exceeding that effect by Post 2. On FES Cohesion and Conflict, there were falls across conditions at Post 2, but only Cohesion also showed a Time by Condition interaction, and that effect was consistent with a delayed impact of treatment. Overall, TFS by PCU staff in the Delayed Condition gave similar results to TFS conducted by the researcher, supporting the viability of its dissemination to standard health services. Qualitative data also confirmed the quantitative results. Most participants reported physiological and psychological improvements even though their substance-using relative did not change their drug use behaviour. After completing TFS, participants reported increased knowledge, group support and sharing feeling, having positive patient-professional relationship, having greater knowledge of substance abuse and social support. In particular, they changed their behaviour towards the substance user, resulting in improvements to family relationships. PCU staff gave similar responses on the efficacy of TFS, and saw it as feasible for routine use, although some implementation challenges were identified. The cultural adaptation and in particular the religious activities, were recognised by participants and PCU staff as an important component of TFS to support psychological health and well-being. Findings from this study showed the impact of substance use on family members and difficulties that they experienced when living with the substance users, resulting distresses and burden that may develop severe mental health disease. Drug use policies should be modified to support family members and response to their needs effectively for early prevention. This study also gave preliminary support for application of the TFS program in rural primary care settings and identified some policies that will be required for it to be disseminated more broadly.

The nature of academic leadership at the colleges of the Royal University of Bhutan

This qualitative case study explored leaders' and faculty members' perspectives on the nature of academic leadership at the Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) Colleges. The study revealed that academic leadership at the Colleges is a complex and emergent fusion of Western and Buddhist leadership. The research recommended a hybrid model intended to inform academic leadership development in Bhutanese higher education and contribute to the realisation of the Gross National Happiness philosophy. The model incorporates Buddhist-influenced leadership and other relevant leadership approaches and is expected to contribute to academic rigour through effective learning and research leadership.

Die Personennamen und Titel der mittelmongolischen Dokumente : Eine lexikalische Untersuchung

The present research is an investigation into the corpus of personal names and titles that are found in sources from the Middle Mongolian period, that is the time from the 13th to the beginning of the 15th century. The entry for every name or title has been divided into three parts: occurence(s) of a given name in Middle Mongolian sources (primary sources), etymology, and occurence(s) in sources other than Middle Mongolian (secondary sources). Culturally and lingistically the corpus can be divided into six sub-groups: Mongolian, Turkic (Old, Middle and Modern), Arabo-Persian (Islamic), Indo-Iranian and Tibetan (Buddhist), as well as Chinese. Among these, the largest group is formed by Mongolian and Turkic, followed by Chinese (mostly titles), Indo-Iranian, Arabo-Persian and Tibetan. With regard to the primary and secondary occurences the research is based mainly on primary sources including text-publications and dictionaries. Every name or title is documented as completely as possible within a Central Asian framework. However, due to the divergency of the sources available as well as diachronical importance, each sub-group has been dealt with slightly differently, but consistently. The corpus of investigated names and titles gives a fairly correct picture of the multi-ethnical composition of the Mongolian world-empire. It also shows the foreign influences on Mongolian names and titles, being in this respect a mirror of the influences that are visible in other parts of the Middle Mongolian culture too. Furthermore, the investigated corpus reflects the transitory stage of the 13th to 15th century in Central Asian history, and includes thus material from the past (Indo-Iranian, Old and Middle Turkic), and material that points to the future (Arabo-Persian, Tibetan, Modern Turkic).

The Frontiers of India's Biological Diversity

India has a long and rich history of tropical science. But here, as elsewhere in the tropical world, there are surprises to be discovered. One thinks immediately of the description, in December 2004, of a new species of macaque from India - the Arunachal macaque Macaca munzala. I use the word description deliberately, because this species was long known to the local people, and the species name rightly reflects this knowledge. Mun zala means "deep-forest monkey" in the language of the Dirang Monpa people of Tawang and West Kameng Districts of Arunachal Pradesh, where this species lives. The new macaque was discovered by science during field trips to these areas by Indian scientists from the Nature Conservation Foundation in Mysore, the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore, the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York, and the International Snow Leopard Trust. In this habitat, the largely Buddhist local community abstains from killing wildlife for food or sport, although the monkey has been reportedly shot for crop raiding. This species, one of the world's highest-living primate species, lives at altitudes between 1,600 and 3,500m, and is thus a veritable yeti.

Human Ecology in India Some Historical Perspectives

Before the spread of extensive settled cultivation, the Indian subcontinent would have been inhabited by territorial hunter–gatherers and shifting cultivators with cultural traditions of prudent resource use. The disruption of closed material cycles by export of agricultural produce to centres of non-agricultural population would have weakened these traditions. Indeed, the fire-based sacrificial ritual and extensive agricultural settlements might have catalysed the destruction of forests and wildlife and the suppression of tribal peoples during the agricultural colonization of the Gangetic plains. Buddhism, Jainism and later the Hindu sects may have been responses to the need for a reassertion of ecological prudence once the more fertile lands were brought under cultivation. British rule radically changed the focus of the country's resource use pattern from production of a variety of biological resources for local consumption to the production of a few commodities largely for export. The resulting ecological squeeze was accompanied by disastrous famines and epidemics between the 1860s and the 1920s. The counterflows to tracts of intensive agriculture have reduced such disasters since independence. However, these are quite inadequate to balance the state-subsidized outflows of resources from rural hinterlands. These imbalances have triggered serious environmental degradation and tremendous overcrowding of the niche of agricultural labour and marginal cultivator all over the country.

Paradox between democracy and security- case study on Pakistan

Pro gradu-tutkielma tutkii demokratian ja turvallisuuden paradoksia Pakistanissa esitellen kuusi tekijää, jotka vaikuttavat kyseiseen paradoksiin. Näitä tekijöitä ovat historiallinen kehitys; eliittihallinto; taloudellinen kehitys; Pakistanin poliittisten tekijöiden demokratian eri määritelmät; opetuksen puuttuminen; ja valtataistelu hallituksen, armeijan, tiedustelupalvelun, oikeusjärjestelmän, poliittisten puolueiden sekä eri heimojen, uskonnollisten ja etnisten ryhmien välillä. Tutkimus tarkastelee myös sitä miten nämä tekijät vaikuttavat demokratian kehitykseen Pakistanissa. Keskeinen argumentti on, että länsimainen demokratia ei esiinny eikä toimi Pakistanissa vallitsevissa oloissa, etenkin historiallisen kehityksen ja ulkoisen turvallisuuden takia. Pro gradu-tutkielma käyttää sekundäärisiä lähteitä, kuten kirjoja, artikkeleita, maaraportteja, kommentaareja sekä omiin kokemuksiin perustuvia havaintoja Pakistanin matkalta 2010-2011. Keskeiset teoriat gradussa ovat Guillermo O’ Donnelin delegaattidemokratia sekä Duncan McCargon eliittihallintoteoria, jotka yhdessä selittävät historiallista kehitystä ja eliittihallinnon dynamiikkaa, mitkä johtavat paradoksiin. Kautta historian armeija on hallinnut Pakistania, ja siviilihallinto on ainoastaan neljä kertaa onnistunut olemaan vallassa, mutta silloinkin siviilihallinto päättyi korruptioväitteisiin tai armeijan vallankaappaukseen. Armeijahallinnoille on luonteenomaista hyvät suhteet USA:n, positiivinen taloudellinen kehitys ja vakaus, kun taas siviilihallinnot ovat epävakaita ja korruptoituneita. Tämä kehitys on paradoksin tausta, joka rakentuu turvallisuuspoliittisen tilanteen pohjalle eli hallitusten ja muiden tekijöiden yritykseen löytää vastapaino Intian uhalle. Tämä on ollut keskeinen huoli kelle tahansa poliittiselle päättäjälle itsenäisyydestä lähtien. Loputon valtataistelu eri poliittisten tekijöiden kesken sekä eliittihallinto pitävät yllä paradoksia, koska eliitit ovat kiinnostuneempia oman valtansa säilyttämisestä kuin kansan tahdon huomioonottamisesta. Koska valtaosa ihmisistä ei ole koulutettuja, he ovat paljolti kiinnostuneita omasta selviytymisestään, ja tämän takia sekä kansa että eliitit suosivat armeijahallintoa, koska se tuo vakautta ja taloudellista kehitystä. Sen vuoksi vallitsevissa oloissa demokratian tulevaisuus Pakistanissa näyttää huonolta, koska liberaalidemokratian vaatimukset eivät täyty puoliksi vapaan oikeussysteemin, puoliksi vapaan lehdistön, valtavan korruption ja monien ihmisoikeusloukkauksien takia unohtamatta armeijan ja tiedustelupalvelun sekaantumista siviilihallintoon.

Ethnobotany of the Monpa ethnic group at Arunachal Pradesh, India

Background: The present paper documents the uses of plants in traditional herbal medicine for human and veterinary ailments, and those used for dietary supplements, religious purpose, local beverage, and plants used to poison fish and wild animals. Traditional botanical medicine is the primary mode of healthcare for most of the rural population in Arunachal Pradesh. Materials and methods: Field research was conducted between April 2006 and March 2009 with randomly selected 124 key informants using semi-structured questionnaire. The data obtained was analyzed through informant consensus factor (F(IC)) to determine the homogeneity of informant's knowledge on medicinal plants. Results: We documented 50 plants species belonging to 29 families used for treating 22 human and 4 veterinary ailments. Of the medicinal plants reported, the most common growth form was herbs (40%) followed by shrubs, trees, and climbers. Leaves were most frequently used plant parts. The consensus analysis revealed that the dermatological ailments have the highest F(IC) (0.56) and the gastro-intestinal diseases have F(IC) (0.43). F(IC) values indicated that there was high agreement in the use of plants in dermatological and gastro-intestinal ailments category among the users. Gymnocladus assamicus is a critically rare and endangered species used as disinfectant for cleaning wounds and parasites like leeches and lice on livestocks. Two plant species (Illicium griffithii and Rubia cordifolia) are commonly used for traditional dyeing of clothes and food items. Some of the edible plants recorded in this study were known for their treatment against high blood pressure (Clerodendron colebrookianum), diabetes mellitus (Momordica charantia), and intestinal parasitic worms like round and tape worms (Lindera neesiana, Solanum etiopicum, and Solanum indicum). The Monpas of Arunachal Pradesh have traditionally been using Daphne papyracea for preparing hand-made paper for painting and writing religious scripts in Buddhist monasteries. Three plant species (Derris scandens, Aesculus assamica, and Polygonum hydropiper) were frequently used to poison fish during the month of June-July every year and the underground tuber of Aconitum ferrox is widely used in arrow poisoning to kill ferocious animals like bear, wild pigs, gaur and deer. The most frequently cited plant species; Buddleja asiatica and Hedyotis scandens were used as common growth supplements during the preparation of fermentation starter cultures. Conclusion: The traditional pharmacopoeia of the Monpa ethnic group incorporates a myriad of diverse botanical flora. Traditional knowledge of the remedies is passed down through oral traditions without any written document. This traditional knowledge is however, currently threatened mainly due to acculturation and deforestation due to continuing traditional shifting cultivation. This study reveals that the rural populations in Arunachal Pradesh have a rich knowledge of forest-based natural resources and consumption of wild edible plants is still an integral part of their socio-cultural life. Findings of this documentation study can be used as an ethnopharmacological basis for selecting plants for future phytochemical and pharmaceutical studies.

Hacia una economía holográfica. Una revisión de la ciencia económica a partir de la ontoepistemología oriental

363 p.

O despertar do budismo no ocidente no século XXI: contrbuição ao debate

Esta tese apresenta como um dos seus aspectos fundamentais a compreensão de outra cultura, outra versão, outro conjunto de valores: o pensamento indiano, berço da Ahamkãra a consciência individual, o eu e das práticas ascéticas de origem pré-ariana e autóctone. No interior dessa tradição, foram escolhidos os ensinamentos do Buddha Shãkyamuni, por sua absoluta originalidade na concepção da individualidade, transformando radicalmente as concepções de subjetividade existentes em sua época. O intuito, ao buscar uma tradição em tudo diferente da nossa, é, por dirigir o foco para o mais contrastante, iluminar nossa própria tradição, enriquecer o campo de discussão das novas matrizes de subjetivação em nossa sociedade ocidental pós-moderna e globalizada. Com essa abordagem objetiva-se contribuir para o debate em torno do despertar do budismo ocidental, no séc. XXI, lançando algumas linhas de reflexão que auxiliem, por um lado, a contextualizar esse acontecimento, e, por outro, a ampliar o debate sobre as questões relativas à noção de sujeito, utilizada pelos teóricos da psicanálise, através da apresentação de uma outra versão, a do eu budista. A comparação entre uma forma de individualidade oriunda de uma sociedade tradicional e holista e a forma da individualidade contemporânea, oriunda de uma sociedade secularizada e individualista, é possível através do que Harpham denomina imperativo ascético, uma força estruturante primária e transcultural. Nesse sentido visualiza-se uma relação entre as práticas ascéticas e a construção do eu. Segundo Mauss, o eu também é uma categoria universal, presente em todas as culturas. Assim como se encontram variações sobre o repertório das práticas ascéticas disponíveis em diferentes culturas, encontram-se variações na forma da subjetividade, de acordo com o seu solo cultural e sua paisagem mental. Fizemos uma conexão entre as práticas ascéticas indianas e o que denominamos de identificação mística, a partir da qual foi possível inferir essa imbricação entre ascetismo, construção e sacralização do eu nos primórdios da civilização indiana. Com o budismo ocorre uma espécie de descentramento, a sacralização é estendida a todo o cosmo, as práticas de meditação sintonizam com todos os seres, com todos os animais, para eliminar as causas do sofrimento. O budismo nasce com uma vocação universalista e leva para fora das fronteiras da Índia esse eu construído a partir dos conceitos da Ãhimsa, a não-violência, e da noção de ausência de existência inerente, inscritos no pensamento budista há dois mil e quinhentos anos, despertando o interesse do ocidente após um longo período de obscurecimento.

Morte e subjetividade na hipermodernidade: a perspectiva do Budismo da Nova Tradição Kadampa

A proposta do trabalho é analisar como a morte é entendida pela visão da hipermodernidade e pela visão do Budismo. Na contemporaneidade cuja lógica capitalista é embasada na lógica do mercado onde o consumo assume o papel principal, a morte se tornou um tabu, onde ela é evitada, esvaziada de sentido e descaracterizada. A dor e o sofrimento são depreciados e é exigido do homem uma inabalável postura performática e um desempenho cada vez melhor. Há ainda a crença de que o discurso tecnocientífico trará todas as soluções para as mazelas humanas. A felicidade é, portanto, um imperativo da sociedade hipermoderna e sua busca é exteriorizada isentando os indivíduos de um olhar crítico. Assim, a morte e o luto perdem seu lugar para a busca incessante de satisfação e bem-estar. O Budismo tem uma lógica que segue na contramão. Ensina que a existência humana no Samsara é constituída por principalmente quatro sofrimentos básicos: nascimento, envelhecimento, doença e morte. O Budismo ensina que a morte, assim como a vida, é um fenômeno comum a todos os seres vivos e que o exercício budista possibilita compreender o real significado da vida e da morte. A meditação sobre a impermanência, uma das práticas budistas, visa familiarizar o adepto budista a três pensamentos: certamente vou morrer; a hora da minha morte é totalmente incerta e na hora da minha morte e, depois dela, só a prática do Dharma vai me ajudar. Postula que para alcançar a verdadeira felicidade o homem deve provocar uma mudança interior, exercitar a compaixão e se desapegar da crença de que os fenômenos são permanentes e imutáveis. Tais considerações foram possíveis a partir da pesquisa sobre o Budismo da Nova Tradição Kadampa a partir de uma metodologia etnográfica que incluíram visitas ao campo de estudo, a confecção de um diário de campo e a realização de entrevistas com os praticantes budistas da Nova Tradição Kadampa.

Hidden land and changing landscape: Narratives about Mount Khangchendzonga among the Lepcha and the Lhopo

This article explores contemporary ‘hidden land’ narrative constructs of Máyel Lyáng and Beyul Dremojong in Sikkim, India, as conceived by the Lepcha and the Lhopo, two ‘scheduled tribes’. Lepcha and Lhopo narratives about these hidden lands in Mount Khangchendzonga inform us about their contemporary and historical, indigenous and Buddhist contexts and the interactions between these contexts. Lhopo perspectives on the hidden Beyul Dremojong echo classical Tibetan Buddhist ‘revealed treasure’ guidebooks and exist within the complex and reciprocal relationship between the Lhopo and the land they inhabit; development initiatives are understood to have caused illness and death in the Lhopo community of Tashiding, often referred to as the geographical ‘center’ of Beyul Dremojong. Contemporary Lepcha comprehensions of Máyel Lyáng, described in oral narratives within an ethnic community whose cosmology is intimately connected with Mount Khangchendzonga, today show some influence of Lhopo interpretations of Beyul Dremojong and the treasure texts; they also reflect Lepcha fears about cultural dispersion. Present-day narratives about both hidden lands reference notable political events in modern Sikkimese history (encounters with the British; the Chinese occupation of Tibet).

Zazen, philosophy of mind, and the practicality of realising impermanence

This dissertation involves a general overview of the meditative practice of zazen and analytic philosophy of mind while suggesting a potential bridge between them in the form of an analysis of the practicality of realising impermanence. By the end of my argument I hope to have offered up some compelling evidence in favour of the idea that analytic philosophy would benefit greatly from adopting principles which are best learned and expressed through the practice of, and scholarship around, Zen Buddhism and in particular the treatment of the concept of impermanence. I demonstrate the Western philosophical tendency to make dichotomous assumptions about the nature of mind, even when explicitly denying a dualist framework. I do so by examining the historical and philosophical precedent for dualistic thinking in the work of figures such as Plato and Descartes. I expand on this idea by examining the psychology of categorisation - i.e. creating mental categories and boundaries - and demonstrating how such categorisations feeds back into behaviour in practical ways, both positive and negative. The Zen Buddhist principle of impermanence states that all phenomena are impermanent and therefore lack essential nature; this includes intellectual concepts such as the metaphysical framework of the analytic approach to mind. Impermanence is a principle which is realised through the embodied practice of zazen. By demonstrating its application to analytic philosophy of mind I show that zazen (and mindfulness practice in general) provides an ongoing opportunity for clearing up entrenched world views, metaphysical assumptions and dogmatic thinking. This in turn may promote a more holistic and ultimately more rewarding comprehension of the role of first-person experience in understanding the world. My argument is not limited to analytic philosophy of mind but reflects broad aspects of thinking in general, and I explain its application to issues of social importance, in particular education systems.

“ Humanitarian Competition: An Intellectual History in Perspective”.

Competition has become the mantra for survival in a globalised world where meaningful existence is fraught with demands, which go beyond the material to the immaterial ‘byte-size’. This has been exemplified by our obsession with illusions of immediate fame and fortune. This paper contextualises and extends the debate about the role of competition in general. Here the four major myths of competition are explored and deconstructed, from a Darwinian perspective to a more demonstrably engaged perspective on ‘capabilities’ (Sen, 1999). The second section deals particularly with the key debates, theories that influenced Tsunesaburo Makiguchi’s seminal ideas of ‘humanitarian competition’ in 1903. The final part of the paper seeks to decipher the relevance of the key ideas of ‘humanitarian competition’ as proposed by Dr Daisaku Ikeda in his 2009 peace proposal. Here the transition from competition to cooperation is explored by tying together the key principles of global coexistence enunciated by both Makiguchi and Ikeda in the context of expanding spiritual influence by the forces of culture, morality and virtue. To engage with humanitarian competition calls for a major shift from hard power to soft power, from subordination to one of engagement. In other words this concept advances the Buddhist principle of peaceful co-existence, or Panchsheel, as a norm for human behaviour of love, kindness, sacrifice and peace through cooperation, where equality and mutual benefit are critical. Humanitarian competition provides the essential framework to establish a new world order as highlighted by both Makiguchi and Ikeda.

Processing the Peace:An Interview with Teya Sepinuck

In this interview, Teya Sepinuck, the Artistic Director of Theatre of Witness reflects not only on her first two projects in Northern Ireland, but also vividly illustrates her way of working by evoking seminal moments in her previous practice. Although, she has resisted attempts to systematise the Theatre of Witness process, preferring to see it as a set of principles rather than a fixed methodology, these principles have given rise to clear guidelines that have come to govern the process through which she works. As the interview illustrates, Sepinuck, a Jewish Buddhist, has no hesitation in explaining her approach within the framework of a humanist ‘spirituality’ that explicitly deploys Judeo-Christian terminology. She invites discussion of each participant's ‘prayer-life’ and positions herself primarily as a listener rather than an interlocutor. The introduction to the interview contextualises Sepinuck's practice in relation to her previous work and other drama-based interventions in Northern Ireland. Concerns that the lack of critical distance between the tellers and their stories inhibits those who see it from freely engaging with it as they might with a fictionalised account, are also critiqued. In the interview, Sepinuck directly addresses the risk of the commodification of her work, explaining the safeguards in place to protect the participants, who have repeatedly asserted how beneficial they have found their involvement in the work to be. The sense of autonomy and empowerment that emerges from these responses represent a persuasive challenge to concerns that they are passive instruments of the Theatre of Witness process.