Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 241-258). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.P.S.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-105).

The following is an in-depth look into the artistic process of actor Kyle Christopher Schnack, as reflected through his three year graduate level education in acting at the University of Texas at Austin and his work in Suzan Zeder’s play “The Edge of Peace;” a joint production through The University of Texas at Austin and Seattle Children’s Theatre. / text

<p> This dissertation examines the reasons behind the rise and fall of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) in Somalia. The UIC was born out of the chaos of the Warlord Era in Southern Somalia from within the fabric of Somali Society. The peace and stability that the UIC brought to the region had not been seen since before the fall of Said Barre's regime. However, the rapid martial expansion of the UIC and the perceived threat caused by their success resulted in Ethiopia invading Somalia thereby destroying the UIC and spawning the al-Shabaab movement. .</p>

No description available.

The Rural Aquaculture Promotion (RAP) project is a vital development initiative by the Peace Corps in Zambia with the goal of increasing the nutritional and caloric intake of rural Zambian farmers in addition to augmenting income (Peace Corps Zambia rural aquaculture promotion, n.d.). Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) success in achieving the goals of the RAP project is vital, and because PCVs are on site working on projects in the aquaculture assignment area for only 24 months, and as only three generations of PCVs are placed at a given site, it is imperative that they be able to contribute to these projects very promptly after arrival on site. The overriding issue concerning the effectiveness of the Peace Corps development effort is the job performance of the individual PCV which primarily depends on the PCV's ability to transfer learned knowledge and skills to the workplace. Many PCVs are routinely hampered by an inability to achieve significant and continuous contributions to projects within their assignment area. The Peace Corps' fundamental approach to the diffusion of aquaculture in Zambia is centered on the exchange of information between PCVs and rural farmers. Achieving sustainability with the RAP project is essentially based upon the consistency and longevity of this information exchange. PCVs are instructed in very specific technical procedures concerning all aspects of fish farming during pre-service training in order to ensure that they are equipped to diffuse a standardized technical curriculum to project beneficiaries. In addition, volunteers are trained in language and cross-cultural skills, and throughout the pre-service training period are assessed by the training staff for competence in the behavioral areas of motivation, productive competence, and adaptability/social sensitivity. Deficiencies in language and cross-cultural skills, the detrimental psychological effects of culture and role shock, and a lack of agency planning and support were key factors that affected the PCVs' ability to transfer successfully learned skills to the workplace. The lack of language ability was identified as the most substantial factor affecting the Volunteer's on-site job performance. Given the social nature of rural extension efforts, this has serious implications for Volunteer effectiveness.

“Studying the Shoah (Holocaust) forces students to consider what it means to be human and humane by examining the full continuum of individual behavior, from ultimate evil to ultimate good” (Lindquist, 2011, p. 26). The Pebbles for Peace project was created with the intention to explore these character extremes and to provide tangible examples of choices that can be made in life. This thesis is an autoethnographic exploration of the Pebbles for Peace project that will include the researcher’s narrative reflection on her personal journey through education, specifically Holocaust education, as well as observations of the impact on classroom participation in the project.

“Studying the Shoah (Holocaust) forces students to consider what it means to be human and humane by examining the full continuum of individual behavior, from ultimate evil to ultimate good” (Lindquist, 2011, p. 26). The Pebbles for Peace project was created with the intention to explore these character extremes and to provide tangible examples of choices that can be made in life. This thesis is an autoethnographic exploration of the Pebbles for Peace project that will include the researcher’s narrative reflection on her personal journey through education, specifically Holocaust education, as well as observations of the impact on classroom participation in the project.

<p> Religiously based nonviolence varies in motive, intent and interpretation. John Howard Yoder outlines a variety of religious nonviolence in his book Nevertheless. Muslim nonviolence is not addressed in the book. Identifying a distinctly Muslim understanding of nonviolence requires an appreciation of aspects of peace building that are emphasized in Islam. Muhammad Abu-Nimer has formed a framework for identifying and encouraging nonviolence and peace building in an Islamic context. By applying the basic outlines formulated by Yoder and the framework developed by Abu-Nimer to three cases of Muslim movements of nonviolence, this paper identifies distinct variations of religious nonviolence and peace building that have been developed and practiced by Muslims. The first case is historic; the Khudai Khudmatgar sought independence from Great Britain through nonviolent demonstrations and civil disobedience. The second case puts emphasis on the peace building vision of Islam by examining a movement developed in contemporary Turkey. The followers of Said Nursi and the G&uuml;len Movement collectively support "the middle way", education in both science and religion and opportunities for dialogue as a means to build peace locally and globally. The third case of religiously based nonviolence practiced by Muslims is that of the Shi'a led movement for democratic reforms in Bahrain, which uses collective action and protests to draw attention to the need for social change. Each movement demonstrates distinct approaches to nonviolence and peace building. In each case, the leadership frames the commitment to peace in Islamic terms. And in each case those who commit themselves to the movement do so through their understanding of the way they, as Muslims, should justly relate to one another and the world. This paper demonstrates Islam's unique characteristics that have enabled Muslims to pursue a common purpose and make change in a nonviolent manner.</p>

<p> As our war veterans are growing in exponential numbers, so also are their psychic wounds in need of urgent treatment. This qualitative study explores the lives of three war veterans using a narrative-inquiry methodology, informed by their personal creations: a century-old photographic archive, a published novel, a memoire, interview transcripts, military and photography historians' accounts, and recently declassified documents in the National Security Archive of The George Washington University. The researcher addressed the questions: What are the main themes and functions of the coresearchers' self-expressive works? Can the creative process assist in restorying the lives and reconstructing the relationships of individuals? Can such works include those constructed from living memory, as well as those from the past? </p><p> Participants included World War II veteran Captain Arthur Enderlin, U.S.N.R, (deceased), former Chief, Office of Telecommunications, National Security Agency; and Vietnam War army veterans, "Harry George," Lieutenant Colonel, retired, former infantry company commander, 6/31 Infantry Battalion/9^th Infantry Division; and "Mr. Tu," regulatory policy analyst, Federal Civil Service Grade GS-15, Sergeant (E-5), Delta Company 3/187 Infantry Batallion/101st Airborne Division. </p><p> The intensive in-depth research process illuminated the creative healing journey of psyche, coconstructed by both the researcher and the participants. The relational approach and sensibility integrated Jungian analytical psychology, self-psychology, and other contemporary thought in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The outcome supports that creating and expressing "new" life narratives support (a) new self-construction born from fragments, (b) relationship construction, and (c) recovery from trauma. In their interviews and writings, the Vietnam War army veterans echoed themes from their life journeys and healing from trauma, which supported and validated those of the third coresearcher's nonverbal photographic narrative. The researcher employed visual reading and professional curating practices to reach a cohesive understanding of the life narrative of Arthur Enderlin. </p><p> The researcher combined approaches in an innovative synthesis which will be valuable to clinical and depth psychotherapists and researchers as avenues for future narrative inquiry using photographic images, writings, and creative modalities with patients and their families. The results and implications will also be accessible to individuals and groups tending to victims of diverse trauma, visual-literacy scholars, archivists, and historians. </p>