Victims and new wars

Interpretations of ‘new wars’ are contradictory. While some stress the asymmetry of intentions, strategies, and capabilities of antagonists, others emphasize the identity of warring parties in sharing the same space of political violence. Introducing elements of a political anthropology of victimhood, this paper suggests that the polarity in new wars is driven by self-representations of collective victimhood. Modes of total warfare in the twentieth century shifted the moral centre of gravity towards representations of humanity as a transcendent victim. The universalist sacred of protecting humanity as a victim, however, masks the polarity between antagonists who legitimize aggression by defensive propositions in the name of suffered victimhood. On the one hand, moral justifications of revenge for victimhood support claims for the asymmetry of polarity. On the other hand, this asymmetry of proliferating victims conceals an ongoing symmetry of rivalry. Ultimately, the focus on political agency and on moral justifications maintains the illusion that the other is the aggressor. A new moral economy requires acknowledging the deep interdependence of rivals. The aggressor has always been aggressed. If the moral core of warfare is in the de-humanization of the enemy, possible paths of reconciliation require the moral recognition of the enemy's same humanity.     

Development and Implementation of Trauma-Informed Programming in Youth Residential Treatment Centers Using the ARC Framework

This project describes application of an evidenced-based, trauma-informed treatment framework, Attachment, Regulation and Competency (ARC), with complexly traumatized youth in residential treatment. The processes of implementing the ARC model into clinical and milieu programming at two residential treatment programs are described. Particular attention is paid to system-level processes and strategies for embedding ARC in a sustainable manner. Pilot data demonstrated a significant relation between use of ARC and reductions in PTSD symptoms, externalizing and internalizing behaviors, and the frequency of restraints used across programs. Preliminary findings contribute to an emerging empirical basis for the ARC model and are supportive of its clinical utility as a practice in the residential context. Next steps include: a) expanding the study findings by conducting controlled efficacy research, b) examining system level variables as mediators of change, and c) describing the full operation stage of implementation of the ARC framework.     

The Power of Symbols—Communism and Beyond

Examining the revolutionary origins of Soviet communism this paper argues that symbolic structures were crucial in the making of Soviet communism as a political force. It conceptualizes symbolizations as contingent interpretive acts that capture people in extraordinary situations of dissolutions of political order. In the first part, I identify the dramatic and imaginative sources of the Bolshevik Revolution, which created a schismogenetic system, in which symbolic structures of time, representation, and leadership would become disintegrative forces in Soviet society. In the second part, I elaborate on the creativity of political symbolism by understanding symbolizations as rites of passage, constructions of origins and ends, as well as reality-creating self-fulfilling prophecies. Rather than to know the origins of symbols, the proposition here is to understand how symbolic meanings contributed to the creation not only of the empirical-objective world of Soviet communism but also of dominant social science interpretations.     

Personality underlying motivation for type A behavior in late adolescents

The personality profiles of Type A college males and females, carefully selected as especially vulnerable to stress, were compared with peer controls. The purpose of these comparisons was to determine whether some motivational goals of their excessive competitive striving might be identified by underlying personality traits distinguishing the Type As, whereas other goals might be eliminated. The results indicated that Type As of both sexes were more emotionally dependent and that their competitiveness could be an effort to elicit approval from others. At the same time, higher aggression in male and female Type As implied that the negative impact upon others of winning over them also was a goal of competition. No evidence for need achievement, mastery, or task proficiency as competitive motives was found. Implications of these findings and other significant results were discussed.Received Ph. D. in Psychology from University of Iowa. Current research interests are sources of stress in college students, sex role development, alcoholism, and criminality.     

The development of empathy and prosocial behavior through humane education,restorative justice,and animal-assisted programs

Literature suggests that developing empathy for animals will result in caring toward other living things. Empathy is often seen as a key building block of prosocial behavior and can be defined as sharing of another person’s emotions and feelings. In older childhood and adolescence, a lack of empathy may have deleterious consequences, leading to antisocial behaviors. However, children and adolescents who exhibit human and non-human animal aggression have often been witness to animal cruelty in the home. When empathy and prosocial behaviors are not learned in the home, there are alternatives to facilitate that process. This study discusses the development of empathy and prosocial behavior by working with animals through the modalities of humane education, restorative justice, and animal-assisted programs. Each modality focuses on building compassion, caring, responsibility, and kindness with the help of animals. Through these violence prevention programs, children and adolescents can develop empathy, which will decrease the likelihood of future aggression.