Saturday, October 31, 2009

Federal Communications Commission and Native American Policy

FCC Tribal InitiativesStatement of Policy on Establishing a Government-to-Government ... 06/08/07 FCC, Native Public Media, The National Congress of American Indians, and Native ...
www.fcc.gov/indians/ - Cached - Similar -

Promoting Telecommunications Services Among Indians
FCC Logo - Return to the FCC Home Page ... Native American Initiatives ...
www.fcc.gov/wcb/tapd/indians/

FCC Tribal Initiatives - Telehealth and Telemedicine Internet ...
FCC Policy Statement · Financial Assistance · Tribal Lands & Auctions ...
www.fcc.gov/indians/internetresources/tt.html
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FCC Filings & Policy Actions | Our WorkDec 22, 2008 ... Native Public Media - Native American Radio Stations. ... Native Public Media Policy Priorities presented to Obama-Biden Presidential FCC Transition Team. ... Reply Comments in the FCC's Diversity of Ownership proceeding ...
www.nativepublicmedia.org/Our-Work/fcc-filings.php - Cached - Similar -


U.S. GAO - Telecommunications: Challenges to Assessing and ...The Federal Communications Commission has made efforts to improve the historically low subscribership rates of Native Americans on tribal lands. ...
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Contact information for the Native American Liaison Program ...Federal Communications Commission, Indian Initiatives: http://www.fcc.gov/indians/. FEMA, American Indian and Native Alaskan Policy: ...
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[DOC] DHHS Policy on Consultation with American Indian/Alaska Native ...File Format: Microsoft Word - View as HTML
General Procedural Guidance for Native American Consultation. H-8610-1. ... Federal Communications Commission Policy Statement June 23, 2000. ...
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Native Americans : Community Development Resources : Rural ...Tribal Law and Policy Institute. Tribal Governments and Native Americans on USA.gov. GSA . Office of Citizen Services ... Federal Communications Commission. ...
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As the Federal Communications Commission develops a National Broadband ..... once again by new broadband policies and initiatives. Native American and ...
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Lifeline and Link-Up: Affordable Telephone Service for Income ...Jun 24, 2009 ... The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with the help of the Universal ... Residents of Native American Indian and Alaska Native tribal ...
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Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission ...For example, little appreciation or understanding of black American ... Orientals, and Native Americans, rarely saw their viewpoints expressed over the airways. ... Metro, challenging FCC's policy awarding preferences to minority-owned ...
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[PDF] Native American Media Ownership Hearing Request 8.12.06FINALFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
FCC staffer who took part. In particular, we appreciate the efforts of the Consumer and ... principles found in the Commission's own Statement of Policy on ... Center for Native American Public Radio. CC: The Honorable John McCain, ...
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Digital Communication/Native American/Divide (great)

http://www.evanscraig.com/Community/Reports/NativeDigitalDivide.html

Harvard Project Economic/

http://www.hks.harvard.edu/hpaied/docs/PRS00-3.pdf

Harvard Project on Native American / Ongoing/ 10-31-2009

http://www.hks.harvard.edu/hpaied/res_all.htm

Digital Communication/Native American Website/2009 prior

http://www.digital-librarian.com/american_indian_studies.html

United States/Gov/ Archivial Website/ Topic related

http://www.archives.gov/research/topics.html

Indian Affairs Records Website/October 31st, 2009

http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/075.html

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

History of Distance Education/ Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distance_education

Saturday, October 24, 2009

NEW THOUGHT: Quimby related works./

Related Quimby work...plagiarism question concerning Mary Baker Eddy.

NEW THOUGHT...
NEW THOUGHT DEFINED

by Abel L. Allen

"O we can wait no longer,
We too take ship, O soul;
Joyous, we too launch out on trackless seas,
Fearless, for unknown shores, on waves of ecstasy to sail, Amid the wafting winds,
Chanting our chant of pleasant exploration.
O my brave soul,
O, farthcr, farther sail,
O daring joy, but safe, are they not, all the seas of God?
O, farther. farther sail."
WALT WHITMAN.
NEW THOUGHT is not, as many believe, a name or expression employed to define any fixed system of thought, philosophy, or religion, but is a term used to convey the idea of growing or developing thought. In considering this subject, the word "New" should be duly and freely emphasized, because the expression "New Thought" relates only to what is new and progressive.

It would be a misuse of terms to apply the expression "New Thought" to a system of thought, because when thought is molded and formed into a system, it ceases to be new. When a system of thought has reached maturity and ceases to grow, expand, and develop, it can no longer be defined by the word "New." It follows, therefore, as a necessary conclusion, that no system of new thought, or no system of thought defined by that expression, now exists or ever can exist. "New Thought" is the result or creation of perpetually advancing mind. The growing mind is not content with the past or its achievements. It is not satisfied with systems of philosophy or religion originating in other ages and handed down through succeeding generations. They do not satisfy the wants of the mind. Systems do not grow, mind develops. It wants something larger and better; it wants improvement, growth, and development. It is merely the logical and natural effort of the mind in its struggle for advancement; it is following its basic and innherent law.

As the growing mind applies thought to whatever enters into consciousness, it gains new and enlarged conceptions and, therefore, grows, and what it thinks is new. New Thought has been defined as the latest product of growing mind. A distinguished writer has characterized New Thought as an attitude of mind and not a cult. Those who grasp the true meaning and spirit of New Thought, or, as it is sometimes called, progressive or unfolding thought, do not conceive that a finished or completed system of thought, either philosophical or religious, is a possibility. All systems of thought change with the flight of time. Decay follows growth. The philosophies and religions of today differ from those of yesterday, and those of tomorrow will be unlike those of today. History alone demonstrates the truth of this statement. This conclusion is inevitable also from the very laws that govern man's growth and existence.

Man's body is not the only result of the processes of evolution, growth, and development, but his mind is likewise the product of the same great law. Man is an evolved and evolving being, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Change and growth are the silent mandates of divinity. The eternal current ever moves onward. We do not reckon with all of nature's forces. Back of all, unseen yet all powerful, is the one universal law or cosmic urge, forever pushing and projecting man forward into higher physical, mental, and spiritual development.

Through the principle of evolution, physical man was brought to his present state of development. By the same principle has he come to his present mental and spiritual condition. It is a principle operating throughout the universe. Evolution is a movement from the lower to the higher, from the simple to the complex, from the inferior to the superior. How can there be a fixed system of thought, a complete philosophy, a perfect theology, or a defined religion? For as man grows mentally and spiritually he moves away from such limitations. As his mental and spiritual visions expand, the very laws of his being lead him to higher and still higher conceptions of philosophical and religious truth. "Through spiritual evolution are we led to God."

Every system of philosophy or religion is the result of an evolutionary process, the product of the human mind and understanding. When thought changes, when the mind develops, when the understanding is enlarged, philosophies and religions must likewise change. This is a self-evident truth. Were it otherwise, systems of thought, philosophies, and religions would be greater than the minds that created them and launched them upon the world -- the things created would be greater than their creators. Were it not so, systems that have no inherent power of growth would become greater than man, whose very law is growth.

Moreover, fixed systems of thought, either philosophical or religious, are impossible, because they are not the same to any two persons but convey different meanings to each individual. No two persons think alike, or have the same conception or understanding of any important subject, least of all of a philosophical or religious subject. No two individuals are alike or think alike. Duplicates have never been discovered in all the broad domain of nature. Scientists tell us that even the molecules of which our bodies are composed differ one from the other.

"No two men in creation think alike,
No two men in creation look alike, No two men in creation are alike,
No worlds or suns or heavens, but are distinct and wear a separate beauty.''
No individual can convey his thoughts, ideas, and impressions entire to another. Language, either written or spoken, is but a symbol, and at best an imperfect vehicle to convey thought. The meaning of truth is deflected in its transmission. "Thought is deeper than speech; feeling deeper than thought; souls to souls can never teach what to themselves is taught." The mental and spiritual visions of man differ as the stars differ in magnitude. The same light does not shine with equal brilliancy on the pathway of each individual. What is light to one, may be a shadow to another.

Nor are our ideas changeless and fixed. Our thoughts, conceptions, and understandings change with the advancing years, as the soul receives new influx of light. As each morning bathes the earth in new light, so each returning day and every recurring season bring new meanings and understandings to the soul.

The greatest gift from God to man is a growing mind, one that expands from day to day as the light of truth breaks upon it. Were it otherwise, were our ideas fixed and changeless, life would be intolerable and existence a sterile waste. It is the new conception that thrills the soul and broadens the understanding, as the influx of new life brings physical health and growth.

In the search for truth each ultimate fact becomes a cause, a starting-point for the discovery of more truth. Every attainment is the beginning of the next. "Every end is the beginning." The discovery of a law of nature is only the forerunner of a more universal law. Thus in the search for truth the endless tide of progression rolls on, forever conveying to man broader conceptions of truth and carrying him into a higher realization of his relationship with divinity.

As man renews his mind and reaches out for larger conceptions of truth, his understanding is enlarged, he gains new viewpoints, his expanded thought is translated and externalized into life, he grows, he advances, he comes into a closer union with God.

Thought is not final. What we last think may be our best thought, but it is not our ultimate though. It is only the foregleams of greater thought -- we may not encompass the whole truth, but we can enlarge our conceptions of truth and thus bring ourselves nearer the reality. We all live, move and have our being in an atmosphere of truth; truth is only assimilated by the individual. It is not susceptible of monopoly or systematization. It is not encompassed by institutions, but its living spirit is present in every manifested form and object of nature.

We hear much at times about systems, established religions, and settled creeds. Every institution insists on laying its foundation on a dogma. It has been well said that when a church is built over truth, truth flies out at the window. Every creed and every dogma offered to man undertake to show man's true relationship to God. The major premise of every dogma rests upon an idea of God, and yet no two persons can be found with the same ideals and conceptions of God. Man's idea of God is but an image of himself. The major premise of every creed is the conception some man had of God. To talk about settled creeds, the indisputable presumption must be indulged, that all other men have the same conception of God. To have a finished system of thought or a definite creed respecting man's relations to God presupposes a perfect and complete knowledge and understanding of that relation, which is beyond man's comprehension in his present state of development. When he has attained the mental and spiritual growth necessary to comprehend that relationship in its fullness and entirety, he will possess all knowledge and all wisdom, he will be omniscient.

It took the Christian Church until the fifth century to formulate its creeds, and yet for fourteen centuries it has been striving to settie them and mold them into an acceptable system. Has it accomplished it? Are its adherents any nearer an agreement? It is no nearer the coveted goal than it was fourteen hundred years ago. It is creed against creed, dogma against dogma, and their adherents still continue to look outward for truth.

Man has caught only a few rays from the great light of truth. Even the agencies of external nature transcend and baffle our understanding. We use electricity, it is in our bodies, we see its manifestations, we harness it, we regulate it, but we know not what it is. How light reaches the earth is a puzzle to the understanding. Because we do not understand these familiar agencies, the meaning of nature's symbols, must we relinquish all efforts to discover their meaning and to find the laws that govern them? Must we desist in our search for truth?

Science is a search for the secrets of nature. It is an attempt to find the laws governing the universe. The laws of the universe are the laws of God. Science, then, in its broadest aspect is a search for the knowledge of God. As man delves more deeply into the secrets of nature, the mysteries of the universe, his spiritual visions will expand and he will have broader and more comprehensive conceptions of God. Yet we are told that religion must be let alone; that creeds and theologies must not be disturbed, that they are not the subject of inquiry. How futile the attempt to set bounds to the processes of thought; why should not man seek for a better religion as he struggles for better government? Thought was the first step toward civil liberty. Thought is the first step toward the soul's liberty.

Truth is the understanding of the principles underlying the universe. Truth is as illimitable and boundless as the universe itself. Principles and laws are changeless, but our understanding of them changes as our minds gain new conceptions of truth and as they grow and develop. Only as the mind dwells on principles can it advance to a larger understanding of truth and higher conceptions of life. Principles are the landmarks to which all things are tied. When man departs from them he enters the jungle of uncertainty and confusion. To gain higher conceptions of the principles and laws underlying the universe is the real work of man. As he comes into an enlarged understanding of these principles, he directs the current of his life in accordance therewith. He grows into a closer harmony with nature, and enters a richer and more satisfying field of experience.

A moral and religious life must be a growing life, an advancing life, a life positively and constantly constructive. Man is either progressing or receding; spiritually and mentally he cannot stand still. All nature, with her actions and reactions, proclaims this great truth in every moment of life.

All useful discoveries in science have been the result of progressive and continued thought, thought applied to the discovery of the secrets of nature. Each discovery has been a stepping-stone to the next. The discovery of each law became a light for the discovery of more laws. Each discovery in nature is a benefit to the race, a step forward, and enlarges man's understanding of God.

Man can grow into a knowledge of his relationship with God and reach out toward the divine goal, only as he renews his mind, only as he enlarges his conception of what is within his consciousness, only as he presses forward into a higher spiritual and mental development.

Why should not new conceptions be applied to religion as well as governments? Religion relates to man's life and destiny: Government regulates man's relation with his fellow-man. Governments have existed as long as religion. They both sprang into existence with the dawn of reason. They traveled side by side down the ages. They have changed as man has progressed in civilization.

We do not yet concede the existence of a perfect government. The model government is not yet in sight. The struggle to improve government goes on as relentlessly as ever before in history. The rights of man forever assert themselves. They have been improved and secured only as he created new ideals of government, only as he applied new thoughts and new conceptions to existing governments.

The creeds which attempt to set bounds to religious thought, which endeavor to define man's conceptions of God, were given to the world when scientific thinking was unknown and by men whose conceptions of nature were no better than idle superstitions. The formulators of the creeds, in their blind endeavor to set up a system founded on the oriental allegory of the Garden of Eden, apparently did not know that truth has no terminals and cannot be defined or circumscribed. If they had looked into the great laboratory of nature and given thought and study to her processes, they might have there read that nature tells no falsehoods and that her very law is growth, development, and eternal progress. They might hug the delusion that creeds are static, that they are fixed and final, bur they could find nothing in nature remotely to hint at limitation or set bounds to her modifying processes. Change is written everywhere in her symbols. Her pulsations of life growth and decay, the morning and evening, the return of the seasons, all bespeak eternal change. There are no fixtures in all her domain. She has her seed-time and harvest, her summer and winter, her heat and cold. Her pendulum always swings.

Everything vibrates and oscillates through the broad stretches of infinity. Since motion produces change, everything in nature is passing through perpetual change.

Let us apply the analogies of nature to man, for is man not a part of nature? The physical man is changing as the moments speed away. Scientists at one time said our bodies were entirely renewed once in seven years. Now they have reduced the time to twelve months or less. Man is constantly putting off the old and putting on the new, but nature ever tends toward perfection. From the amoeba to man was a long and tedious struggle, but it marks the developing and perfecting laws of nature. Her movements were ever from the lower to the higher, by the ceaseless and tireless processes of evolution, to the highly complex and individualized man, conscious of his own personality and existence.

We recognize man as a co-worker with nature, and his right to assist her in her efforts toward perfection. He applies thought to her processes, and with her aid brings the flower, the fruit, the nut, and the animal to perfection. Is not nature a part of God? Are not these symbols through which God finds expression and speaks to man? Why not Burbank religions, creeds, and theologies, as well as the fruits and products of the earth?

When man is a co-worker with nature he is a co-worker with God; he applies thought to the processes and laws of nature, and behold she smiles back with fatness and plenty. Then let us, with a sublime courage and kindly spirit, turn the God-given mind in each to higher ideas of God, and God will smile back with prophetic glimpses of the eternal peace and beauty of true religion.

All thought is new. What we know, what we understand, we do not think about. It is only the new that creates interest or enthusiasm. It alone awakens the mind and soul to activity and effort. The soul is always thrilled with the reception of new truth. Without enthusiasm nothing great was ever accomplished. It has ever been the propelling force of man in every important and momentous undertaking. We instinctively turn from the old to the new. It is the law of mind, it is nature's method, it is God's plan of teaching man to grow.

Emerson said, "What is the ground of this uneasiness of ours, of this old discontent? What is this universal sense of want and ignorance, but the fine innuendo by which the great soul makes its enormous claim?" Progress is the law of the soul. Evermore the mind stretches forth toward the infinite, to grasp and reduce to understanding her mysteries, her wanders, and her secrets. To bind it to a fixed creed, a defined religion or system of thought, is as impossible as to pluck the Pleiades from the galaxy of the stars. The mind that can flash its thoughts across billions of miles from star to star in the hundredth part of a second, as the scientists tell us is possible, cannot be fettered by fixed creeds, dogmas, or systems, or bend to the authority or edict of an institution.

As we constantly advance to higher and more perfect ideals, we obtain clearer conceptions of the principles of truth, we expand and extend our spiritual horizon. We thus come to a better understanding of ourselves, our powers and forces, and the meaning of our existence.

Man grows only as he enlarges his thoughts. How can his thoughts be enlarged except as he takes on the new? By no other process can he enlarge his conceptions and understanding of life. As his ideals expand he comprehends more truth, he moves forward, he extends his visions, he grows, he sees beauty, harmony, and law in all created things.

Hence New Thought is a synonym for growth, for development, for perpetual and eternal progress. It recognizes the superior and excellent in man; it deals not with limitations; it sets no bounds to the soul's progress, for it sees in each soul transcendental faculties as limitless as infinity itself.

But, someone asks, has New Thought nothing but uncertain and shifting conceptions regarding man's relation to the universe? Is New Thought a mere tramp in the field of philosophical and religious thought? Is it anchored to nothing? These inquiries do not create surprise, since for centuries past men have been told that a belief in certain formulas war the first step in a religious life. They have become habituated to creeds, beliefs, and churches of authority and therefore deeply impressed with the thought that without them religion must decline and cease to have any vitality and strength. New Thought may be said to possess one fixed creed, that of an eternal search for truth. It is anchored to that one thought. It believes in truth, but it does not accept every conception of truth final. It realizes that attainment of truth is a process of evolution, growth, and development.

Man can acquire truth only as he is mentally and spiritually prepared to receive it. New Thought is anchored to the idea of finding the good and the beautiful in life, the development of latent possibilities in man, and that law reigns supreme in the universe. Anchored to these principles, New Thought moves forward in its quest for more truth, in its search for greater light that leads upward and onward toward a unity with God. It has not come to eradicate the old, except as the old fades away before the advancing light of the new. However, we have been told that it is dangerous to put new wine into old bottles lest the bottles may break. New Thought is constructive, not destructive. It is not here to tear down, but to build up. It employs addition, not subtraction. Its symbol is plus, not minus.

It recognizes that the universe is supported upon the enduring foundation of changeless principles and fixed laws, the result of an infinite and divine intelligence. It realizes also that man may grow into a knowledge and understanding of those principles and laws only as his conscious ideals grow from day to day.

Its goal is the understanding of life, of man, and a conscious unity of man with God. If its adherents differ, it is only in methods and not in the end sought. It does not enjoin methods. There are many avenues leading to truth. The arc-light sends out a myriad of rays, but they all lead to the one light.

The adherents of New Thought worship the omnipresent God, the indwelling God, in whom we live, move, and have our being. They do not conceive of God as distant or separated from man, but as a universal Spirit permeating all nature, finding its highest expression in man.

No better conception of the God of New Thought can be expressed than was given by Pythagoras to the world six centuries before the Christian era. Listen to the great message:

"God is the Universal Spirit that diffuses itself over all nature. All beings receive their life from Him. There is but one only God, who is not, as some are apt to imagine, seated above the world, beyond the orb of the universe; but being Himself all in all, He sees all the beings that fill His immensity, the only principle the light of heaven, the father of all. He produces everything. He orders and disposes of all things. He is the reason, the life and motion of all things."

New Thought teaches that the revelation of God to man is a continuous process through nature, through reason, the whispering of intuition through the events and experiences of life. The objects of nature convey their message only as they awaken the divine impulse within, the desire to come into harmony with God.

Molding our lives more and more into the divine likeness is the essential thought in any worthy religion; as Plato taught, the highest aspiration of man is "the free imitation of God."

To teach man to come into a conscious realization of the divinity within, and the unity of man and God, so that out of the sublimity of his soul he can say with the Gentle Master, "The Father and I are one," is the supreme purpose and meaning of New Thought.

Click Here for a brief history of the New Thought movement.

Click Here for more detailed information on New Thought history and beliefs.

Click Here for a History Chart of the development of New Thought.

Click Here for a summary of the similarities and differences between New Thought and New Age.



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Cornerstone Books Home Page

Distance Learning/ Systems Theory Reference Article from Contract/ Higher Education/ Margith Strand

Editor’s Note: `This is an interesting study on the anatomy of distance learning from the perspective of involved students, faculty, technologists, administrators and support staff. This is a good system study that highlights the complexities, human and technical, within the evolution of distance learning.



Socio-Technical System Advancements:
Making Distance Learning Changes That Count

Denise Land, Anthony Nwadei, Scott Stufflebeam, Cyril Olaka


Introduction

“Let the Knowledge Olympics begin. The torch of e-learning is ablaze”

(Bersch, 2001, p. 32).

The distance-learning environment taps innovative technologies to offer flexible and engaging adult learning opportunities. Students engaged in distance learning are able to learn anytime, anywhere, in a collaborative learning community. Online learning promotes the globalization of adult learning by opening the boundaries of learning (Neo & Eng, 2001).

This review of student suggestions regarding socio-technical redesign of distance learning venues to optimize human and technical resources, including the identification of associated learning benefits, provides a needed assessment of distance learning configuration. In addition, the authors present an analysis of anticipated reactions to conditions necessary for successful introduction of change.



Systems Theory Overview
In the 1950’s, German biophysiologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy introduced general systems theory based on the assumption that essential principles of system relationship governed and explained the relationships amongst and between the interrelated aspects of a system (Hatch, 1997). “Each part is conceived as affecting the others and each depends upon the whole” (Hatch, p.35). The two primary tenets of the general systems theory include the notion that the theory is relevant and applicable to any thing science can study, and that all systems can be divided into analyzable parts for the purpose of study, however their true systems essence can only be studied as a holistic system. “The implication is that, to comprehend a system, you must not merely analyze, you must also be willing to transcend the view of the individual parts to encounter the entire system at its own level of complexity” (Hatch, p.35). Online academic distance learning arenas, associated school administration, instructional facilitation, technological mechanisms, and students are accurately considered a system.

Bertalanffy (1968) stated that “systems theory is a broad view which far transcends technological problems and demands, a reorientation that has become necessary in science in general and in the gamut of disciplines from physics and biology to the behavioral and social sciences and to philosophy” (p. vii). Systems theory allows understanding of the structure and dynamics of all systems, allowing for the observation of relationships between various elements of a system viewed holistically versus elementally segregating isolated aspects of the overall system (von Bertalanffy, 1968). Systems philosophy is the “reorientation of thought and world view ensuing from the introduction of “system” as a new scientific paradigm (in contrast to the analytic, mechanistic, one-way causal paradigm of classical science)” (von Bertalanffy, 1968, p. xxi).



Suggested Socio-technical Modifications
Employment markets and employee positions of the present day and future challenge individuals to have greater, more comprehensive skill capacities and abilities, therefore higher education organizations are experiencing increased demand for a larger variety of rapid paced educational resource options for the adult learning community. “Within a context of rapid technological change and shifting market conditions, the American education system is challenged with providing increased educational opportunities without increased budgets” (Willis, guide 1, 2002). Many universities offer the adult learning community a technology based option for gaining institutionally provided learning experiences previously confined to the traditional classroom arena. The benefits of e-learning include: a) instantaneous materials access; b) convenience; c) improved learning retention; d) real-world application; e) practicality, flexibility and learning consistency; f) just-in-time information for career-active students; g) global incorporation of new concepts; h) minimal disruption of family and work life responsibilities; i) elimination of space, time and geographical constraints; j) increased peer interaction due to the collaborative learning environment; k) increased interaction with more accessible teachers; l) increased quality of learning with deeper critical reflection; and, m) increased access to information and other resources not available in traditional environments.

The distance-learning environment is never static, but reflects the dynamism of the learning communities. The dialog of the online classroom stimulates the learning environment in which students interact with each other to expand their ideas via electronic forums and communication tools such as learning group discussions, bulletin boards, Internet relay chat, newsgroup discussion, E-mails, etc. (Atwong et al, 1996; Natesan & Natesan, 1996; Seibert 1996; Siegel, 1996). The e-learning model assumes that learning is a social activity and learners tap the learning network to verbalize their thoughts. The technological advantage of online classrooms promotes active group learning through technology-mediated dialogs (Cordell, 1996). There is never a dull moment online due to the interactive nature of collaborative learning. In addition, the somewhat impersonal online medium promotes greater student reflection. For the student, online learning provides: a) greater cognitive development; b) critical thinking skills to challenge assumptions; c) exploration to further professional practice; d) empowerment of professionals to heighten personal responsibility toward creating social change; and, e) discovery of new knowledge.

Currently, many options exist including voice, video, data, and print medias for the gathering and facilitating of the adult learning process. “These types of programs can provide adults with a second chance at a college education, reach those disadvantaged by limited time, distance or physical disability, and update the knowledge base of workers at their places of employment” (Willis, guide 1, 2002).

Specific Suggested Socio-Technical Modifications:
· Increased motivators and requirements for student-to-student interaction.

· Timely teacher to student feedback; particularly that which is of the Socratic fashion of question asking and thought provoking reflections.

· Use of voice instructional audio tools such as telephone conferencing, audio-conferencing, short-wave radio and audiotape lessons or materials.

· Use of instructional video tools such as slides, videos, films, and video-conferencing.

· Optimal implementation of electronic mail, fax, real-time computer conferencing and World-Wide Web applications.

· Greater incorporation of most recent topic related print materials, including study guides, journal articles, textbooks, popular books, case studies and workbooks.

· Focus on objectively achieving identified outcomes of the course.

· Incorporation of interactive audio or video conferencing to cost-effectively incorporate guest speakers and content experts into course curriculum.



Expected Stakeholder Reaction to Change
Primary stakeholders include students, student employers, student family members, university faculty, university support staff, and university administration. The possibility exists that all stakeholders will experience an increased level of initial stress due in part to the increased expectations of unilateral application of all suggestions. This stress is further increased by the speed in which change occurs. Unlike the metamorphosis of the butterfly, change no longer evolves over long periods of time. Now, with organizational change such as that evident in academic course re-structuring, it often feels like being part of an accelerated metamorphic process with insufficient time to adjust from one stage to the next. Once upon a time, only buildings were stressed and people could be tired, worried, anxious, nervous, uncertain, or working long hours. In more recent times, 'stress' has evolved from an engineering term to a culture construct (Columbia University, 1998). During major organizational change, the most important and difficult journey individuals need to make is the internal process of change (Bridges, 1995). While many of the external aspects of change happen according to schedule, the internal transition from denial and resistance to acceptance and commitment is a different story. Changing structures and developing new processes and procedures challenges stakeholders' beliefs as to their own identity and values. Individuals may experience feelings of disorientation, insecurity and uncertainty. Stakeholders may display a variety of emotional reactions regarding restructuring decisions and behaviors that, in stakeholder perception, have robbed them of a known way of life and imagined security, and cast uncertain shadows on their future academic activities.

Based on the assumption that emotional and behavioral reactions are largely caused by conscious and unconscious beliefs, in addition to systemic relationships, the goal is to help stakeholders begin to understand the links between their own ways of thinking in response to change and their increased stress levels. Action planning and practice are crucial elements because beliefs and ways of thinking are the product of long-term learning and will not change without sustained hard work, in addition to the ingredients necessary for effective change processes. In changing, people are giving up part of themselves and letting go of ideas and practices they have long used to make sense of the world and of themselves. When practicing new behaviors, people experience feelings of insecurity and uncertainty. This anxiety along with other adverse affects of change can be reduced or eliminated by ensuring that all of the key ingredients of successful change are included in any plan and process for change. Effective change is made possible through provision of vision + skills + incentives + resources + action planning.



Key Ingredients to Managing Complex Change:

Vision
+
Skills
+
Incentives
+
Resources
+
Action Plan
=
CHANGE


+
Skills
+
Incentives
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Resources
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Action Plan
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CONFUSION

Vision
+

+
Incentives
+
Resources
+
Action Plan
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ANXIETY

Vision
+
Skills
+

+
Resources
+
Action Plan
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RESISTANCE

Vision
+
Skills
+
Incentives
+

+
Action Plan
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FRUSTRATION

Vision
+
Skills
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Incentives
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Resources
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TREADMILL




From the stakeholder perspective, developing attitudes for successful self-management through the change process means learning to screen the input from situations, events and other people and process it appropriately. Provided with the ingredients for a successful change process, stakeholders can learn to sort, toss, keep or redirect incoming information by learning to be alert to their own emotional responses and inner dialogue.



Conditions Necessary for Successful Introduction
In most organizations, events happen that stakeholders disagree with, yet remain out of their control to stop or change. Some form of organizational change will always be present, resulting in increased workload, deadlines, conflicts, uncertainty and frustration. In developing the program our goal was not to eliminate stress (there is no magical 'cure'), but to offer tools to manage it and methods to help minimize its effects. The goal of leadership is to help stakeholders begin to understand the links between their own ways of thinking in response to change and their increased stress levels. Within organizational change, people will experience things they cannot control. At times, stakeholders are forced to make some difficult or painful changes where desirable choices seem non-existent. Unfortunately, people may direct their attention to the things they cannot control, resulting in reduced awareness of available choices and feelings of being trapped. This results in higher stress levels and decreased effectiveness. Working with stakeholders to identify what they can and cannot control about the changes they will be experiencing leads to realizations like the following:



What we cannot control:
What we can control:

Decisions made by administration

Some decisions made by top management

Other people

Consequences of our behavior or actions

The unknowing self
How we behave or act

Our thoughts

Our contribution and performance

Our choices

What we say to others, positive or negative input




“Successful distance education programs rely on the consistent and integrated efforts of students, faculty, facilitators, support staff, and administrators. Without exception, effective distance education programs begin with careful planning and a focused understanding of course requirements and student needs”
(Willis, guide 1, 2002).

While administrators of educational institutions often focus on the technical requirements of early implementation activities with distance learning strategies, later administrative emphasis is more appropriately focused on coalition and consensus building. Necessary for successful introduction of any change is visionary leadership, which can bring together the forces and resources necessary for successful implementation. In particular, administrative leadership and faculty will need to have in place trained and efficient support staff with the necessary resources to facilitate distribution and access to all course materials and technology for easy student access and use.



Faculty Strategies for an Improved Transition Process:
· Develop an understanding of the characteristics and needs of distant learning students with little first-hand experience and limited, if any, face-to-face contact.

· Adapt teaching styles taking into consideration the needs and expectations of multiple, often diverse, audiences.

· Develop a working understanding of delivery technology, while remaining focused on the teaching role.

· Function effectively as a skilled facilitator as well as content provider (Willis, guide 1, 2002).



Improved Planning and Organization
for Successful Implementation:
Before developing something new, check and review existing materials for content and presentation ideas (Willis, guide 2, 2002)

Hands-on training with the technology of delivery is critical for both teacher and students. Consider a pre-class session in which the class meets informally using the delivery technology and learns about the roles and responsibilities of technical support staff (Willis, guide 2, 2002).

At the start of class, initiate a frank discussion to set rules, guidelines, and standards. Once procedures have been established, consistently uphold them (Willis, guide 2, 2002).

By its very nature, distance education relies heavily on the individual students' ability to manage and control their personal and situational circumstances to be successful. Academic achievement correlates with more positive internal beliefs (Findley & Cooper, 1983; Phares, 1976; Riipinen, 1994). These include: competitiveness, motivation to learn for its own sake rather than for performance, and motivation to avoid failure (Eppler & Harju, 1997; Platow & Shave, 1995; Thorne, 1995).

In reflection, additional keys to success include:

a) the ability to balance student studies with other personal and work commitments;

b) comprehensive orientation to expectations and learning objectives;

c) universal and user-friendly technology support;

d) a positive attitude about overcoming obstacles and challenges;

e) record achievements, learnings and useful resources; and,

f) get appropriate training to master basic academic skills, such as library and writing skills is especially helpful.

For the adult learner, the principles of online learning are compatible with the strategies of adult learning that include: self-directed learning, using past experience as a resource base for learning, fitting new knowledge into current work and personal life situations, real-life problems-solving advantages, and time-management advantages for the time conscious student.

For teachers, facilitating a distance-learning program is a very different skill from lecturing or other forms of instruction in which the teacher dominates. Teachers need to be able to assess students' readiness for such learning and guide them from a position of dependence to independence. Teachers should provide a structure, in terms of offering guidance, checking plans, suggesting resources, and clarifying the basis on which work will be judged. Teachers have all heard the call "Back to Basics!" Effective strategies include:

a) creating an awareness of the strategy to be learned,

b) modeling the strategy,

c) providing practice in the use of the strategy, and,

d) applying the strategy in real-life situations.

The most in-depth and perhaps most important goal of teaching is to enhance comprehension, learning is more meaningful when students are active participants. We all remember best that in which we take an active part. Higher-level critical thinking skills are an important part of comprehension. Asking questions that cause students to use inductive thinking is important. Another strategy is to provide activities that are open ended and allow students the opportunity to come up with a variety of answers. In addition, having to explain how they arrived at their choice and discerning whether or not they have used logical thinking is also important to student development.



Conclusion
For the student eager to engage in the advantages and stimulation of an active adult learning environment distance learning education programs are highly advantageous. Few learning opportunities can provide the combination of enriched collaborative learning environments offered by a quality on-line environment with the freedom and flexibility advantages necessary for the success and inclusion of active professionals. In addition, the collegial support of cohort learning partners and professors with professional experience greatly enrich the environment, the learning challenge, and the learning outcomes.

Checkland defines systems thinking as: "an epistemology which, when applied to human activity is based upon the four basic ideas: emergence, hierarchy, communication, and control as characteristics of systems. When applied to natural or designed systems the crucial characteristic is the emergent properties of the whole" (Checkland, 1999, p. 318). Systems theory emphasizes the capacity to realize the relationships, structures and patterns of the whole, versus segmentation and analysis of separate parts (Checkland, 1999; Senge, 1990). Understanding systems theory allows for the witnessing of system-based relationships contributing to cause and effect reactions versus the alternative of focusing on the outcome symptoms. “Research comparing distance education to traditional face-to-face instruction indicates that teaching and studying at a distance can be as effective as traditional instruction, when the method and technologies used are appropriate to the instructional tasks, there is student-to-student interaction, and when there is timely teacher-to-student feedback (Moore & Thompson, 1990; Verduin & Clark, 1991)” (Willis, guide 1, 2002).



References
Atwong, C T, Lang, I. L., Doak, L., & Aijo, T. S. (1996). How collaborative learning spans the globe, Marketing News, 30 Aug.

Bersch, C. (2001, April). Can you go the distance? Communication News, 38(4), pp. 32-36.

Bridges, W. Managing Transitions. Nicholas Brealey Publishers, London, 1995.

Burns, R. Managing People In Changing Times. Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1993.

Checkland, P. (1999). Systems thinking, systems practice. Chichester, NY: John Wiley & Sons, LTD.

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. The Commerce of Coping. (internet website: http://stress.jrn.columbia.edu/site/index.html), 1998.

Cordell, V (1996), Application of group decision support systems in marketing education, Journal of Marketing Education, 18, Spring.

Eppler, M. & Harju, B. (1997). Achievement motivation goals in relation to academic performance in traditional and nontraditional college students, Research in Higher Education, vol. 38 no. 5, pp. 557-73.

Findley, M. I & Cooper, H. M. (1983). Locus of control and academic achievement:
A literature review, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, No. 64, pp. 419-27.

Hatch, M. (1997). Organization theory (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Moore, M. G. & Thompson, M. M., with Quigley, A. B., Clark, G. C., & Goff, G. G. (1990). The effects of distance learning: A summary of the literature. Research Monograph No. 2. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University, American Center for the Study of Distance Education. (ED 330 321)

Natesan, M. & Natesan, N. C. (1996). The Internet marketing tool in the classroom, in Great ideas for teaching marketing, Hair, J. F., Lamb Jr., C. W., McDaniel, C., & Roach, S. S., (eds.) Cincinnati, OH: Southwestern College Publishing.

Phares, M. (1976) Locus of control in personality. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.

Platow, M. & Shave, R. 1995, Social value orientations and the expression of achievement motivation, Journal of Social Psychology, 135(1) pp. 71-81.

Riipinen, M. (1994). Extrinsic occupational needs and the relationship between need for achievement and locus of control, Journal of Psychology Interdisciplinary & Applied, 128(5) pp. 577-87

Seibert, L. J. (1996). Using the net, e-mail in marketing education, Marketing News, 30, August.

Siegel, C. F. (1996). Using computer networks (intranet and internet) to enhance your students marketing skills, Journal of marketing education, 18, Fall.

Thorne, Y. (1995). Achievement motivation in high achieving Latina women, Roeper Review, 18(1), pp. 44-9.

Verduin, J. R. & Clark, T. A. (1991). Distance education: The foundations of effective practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

von Bertalanffy, L. (1968). General system theory: Foundations, development, applications. New York: George Braziller.

Wee Keng Neo, Lynda & Eng, Chen Swee. (2001). Getting it right: Enhancing On-line learning for higher education using the learner-driven approach. Singapore Management Review. 2001 2nd half, 23(2), p61, 14p

Willis, B. (2002). Distance education at a glance. University of Idaho. Internet resource retrieved: October 15, 2002.



About the Authors
Denise Land is Deputy Director of the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Placer County. She is responsible for fund development, finance administration, multi-agency collaboration and integration strategies, fee reimbursement strategies, and family support program technical assistance. Ms. Land has had experience working with diverse communities, particularly in the areas of child development and child abuse prevention and intervention. She holds an MSW and a BS in Gerontology. She is currently a Doctor of Management student at the University of Phoenix.



Anthony Chiedu Nwadei is a doctoral candidate of the University of Phoenix Doctor of Management, Organizational Leadership online program. He holds a B.Sc. (Hons.) and M.Sc. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and MBA.



Scott Dwain Stufflebeam is a consultant and an attorney focusing upon organizations, human resources, and real estate. He was president of First American Title Company with over twenty years of experience in management. He is currently enrolled in the doctorate program at University of Phoenix.



Cyril Olaka is a business consultant in Dallas, Texas. He attended Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minnesota, where he obtained Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in March 1985. He also obtained Bachelor of Science degree in February 1993 and Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics in March 1995 from Bemidji State University, Bemidji, Minnesota. He is currently pursuing Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership in University of Phoenix.






In This Issue | Podium | Featured Articles | Student Exchange | Technology Exchange
State Exchange | Positions

Indian Trust - Cobell vs. Salazar

http://www.indiantrust.com/

The $7 Billion Offer That Never Was

A number of news accounts – particularly The Associated Press - are incorrectly saying that the plaintiffs have rejected a $7 billion offer from the government to settle the Indian Trust lawsuit. That simply isn’t true.

Here are the facts:

The government has never offered to settle the Cobell vs. Kempthorne lawsuit at any price. Every proposal made by plaintiffs and by mediators to settle the case has been rejected by the government.

The Bush administration in March 2007 suggested it was willing to spend $7 billion over 10 years to resolve a wide range of major Indian issues, including land fractional land claims, the Cobell suit, all individual land mismanagement claims, the 100 plus trust lawsuits filed by tribes and pay for all of trust reform as well.

Oh yes, and it also included provisions to deny Indians any right to bring any future lawsuits for future mismanagement no matter how egregious. That final provision was essentially a license to steal.

This proposal was universally condemned by everyone not associated with the government, including a wide range of Native leaders.

It never went beyond conceptual testimony to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. And it contained no specific amount to settle the Cobell litigation.

In testimony before the committee Ms. Cobell said the figure was insufficient to settle her case alone. "This is not an offer -- instead, it is a slap in the face for every individual [with] trust fund litigation," she said. She did note that a mediator had suggested recoveries could run between $7 billion to $9 billion in the case. She said she "would want to talk about that more." Hardly a rejection.

But the Bush administration never followed up on her overture. In fact, federal officials have never made any offer to the Cobell legal team to settle the class action lawsuit for any specific amount.

In 2006, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee did introduce legislation to settle the lawsuit without a specific dollar amount. The Committee later amended that bill to include an $8 billion figure but the bill never moved out of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee because of objections raised by the government.

Lawyers for the Justice Department and the Interior Department have made clear throughout the Cobell litigation that the government's firm position is that the Individual Indian Money (IIM) Trust is not a real trust and that Indians are owed nothing no matter how much money and other assets are missing or have been looted from the Trust.

The position of the Cobell plaintiffs has long been that we will consider reasonable offers from the United States to resolve this case.

Unfortunately, none has been put forth.

Who is telling the truth about the Indian Trust? You decide.

Check brochures produced by the plaintiffs in Cobell vs. Kempthorne against a taxpayer-funded brochure produced by Interior SecretaryKempthorne .

The plaintiffs' brochure accurately describes the status of Kempthorne's continuing failures to reform the long-broken Indian Trust. The plaintiffs have challenged Secretary Kempthorne to submit his brochure to the federal courts for review.

Click here for the Plaintiff's brochure
Click here for the government's brochure



There is no restriction on oral (spoken) communications between the government and Individual Indian trust beneficiaries for those who wish to sell, exchange, convey or convert their Trust land. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia confirmed this on October 22, 2004; however, written communications from the BIA and other bureaus or offices within the Interior Department concerning the sale, exchange, conveyance, and conversion of Trust land (and the historical accounting) must include a Notice prescribed by the Court.

Click here to view the Memorandum & Order governing land sales.
224.0 KBs


08/22 A new model for developing fractionated lands

07/28 Gazette Opinion: Indian trust case demands settlement

07/24 Lead Plaintiff Comments on Court Ruling

07/24 Court of Appeals Opinion. Appeals Court revives government's duty to render an equitable accounting. 43.4 KBs

05/29 Department of Interior Computers Missing, Report Finds

05/11 INDIANS ASK APPEALS COURT FOR JUSTICE

05/03 Indian Trust Lawyer Dies in Washington

04/10 IG: Interior's networks weren't secure in 2008

04/08 Plaintiffs Notice. Plaintiffs provide notice to the appeals court of recent Supreme Court case. 986.2 KBs

04/06 Plaintiffs Notice. Plaintiffs provide notice to the district court of former-Secretary Kempthorne's admission that he was aware of the IG Report and his representations contained in his quarterly reports. 24.7 KBs

04/05 Report Says Interior Dept. Failed to Secure Network

04/02 Internal report contradicts Interior's claims that systems were secure

04/02 Notice. Plaintiffs file with the court of appeals a notice of DOI IG report finding IIM IT security still vulnerable to cyber attack. 1.5 MBs

04/01 Plaintiffs Notice. Plaintiffs file notice of DOI IG report finding IIM IT security still vulnerable to cyber attack. 18.4 KBs

03/28 A Time for Change? President Obama on Indian Country and Native Nations

03/23 Why Indian Country Is Disappointed: Cobell Questions Willingness to Settle Suit

03/23 Plaintiffs' Response and Reply. Plaintiffs file their response and their reply in support of their appeal of the district court's award of $455.6 million. 170.4 KBs

03/23 Cobell disappointed with Obama administration

03/13 Court of Appeals Order. Court orders oral argument for May 11 at 9:30am. 29.8 KBs

03/11 Indian plaintiff says Salazar comments insulting

02/22 The edge: Quote of the week; An editorial from Montana

02/18 Beargrass: A New Mexico Blog Cautions "The proof will be in the pudding" the Obama administration makes in settlement talks

02/17 Hopes Run High for Trust Suit Settlement with Obama Administration

02/13 COBELL WELCOMES SECRETARY'S STATEMENT ON INDIAN TRUST LAWSUIT

02/01 Criminal review of scandal-ridden agency an easy call for Salazar




Home | Privacy Policy | Site Map

Copyright ©2009 Blackfeet Reservation Development Fund, Inc. All rights reserved.

Native American Law Review Center/ October 24, 2009

Legal Sources
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Resource Center
American Indian Law Review
American Indian Law Review Index Page includes links to an Articles, Commentaries and Notes Index; an Author and Book Review Index; a Legislation, Statutes and Treaties Index; a Subject Index; a Table of Cases; and a Tribal Index.
Bureau of Indian Affairs Federal Acknowledgement Decision Compilation
The database is an online version of the Acknowledgment Decision Compilation (ADC), a record of documents that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has on file for groups that have gone through the federal recognition process.
Cobell Lawsuit
Material related to the case, including important court rulings and orders, and Quarterly Reports to the Court submitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Collected by the DOI Office of Special Trustee.
Cornell Legal Information Institute
Cornell Legal Information Institute provides a list of virtually all legislation that pertains to Indian Law with links to the full text of the legislation.
Early Recognized Treaties with American Indian Nations
Published by University of Nebraska Libraries Electronic Text Center. Provides access to the nine federally recognized Indian treaties that are absent from volume 2 of Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, by Charles J. Kappler (see below). This site therefore complements the digitized Kappler collection provided by the Oklahoma State University Library Electronic Publishing Center. All 375 treaties are now available online through these two resources.
FindLaw Indian and Native Peoples Law
Guide to Law Online: United States, Indians
The Guide to Law Online is a selective, annotated compendium of Internet links produced by the Law Library of Congress. In compiling this list, emphasis is on sites offering the full texts of laws, regulations, and court decisions, along with commentary from lawyers writing primarily for other lawyers. Materials related to law and government that were written by or for lay persons also have been included, as have government sites providing general information.
U.S. Dept. of the Interior Office of Hearings and Appeals

The office provides access to these decisions:

A and M Decisions
Copps Mineral and Public Land Laws (1881, 1890)
Digest of Grazing Decisions (1993-2001)
Director's Decisions (1996 to the present)
Hearings Division (Selected, 2000 to the present)
IBIA Decisions (1970 to the present)
IBLA Decisions (1970 to the present)
Land Decisions (181-1929) and Interior Decisions (1930-1994)
Solicitor's Decisions (1993 to the present)
Board of Indian Appeals
Board of Land Appeals
Cumulative chronological list of decisions issued by the Board of Indian Appeals
Index of Native American Legal Resources on the Internet
Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties
Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler. Hosted by the Oklahoma State University Library. Volumes I through VII are available on the web both as fully searchable digitized text and as page images.
Indian Claims Commission Decisions
Digitized by the Oklahoma State University Library, and produced in cooperation with the University of Tulsa Law Library and the National Indian Law Library.
Indian Land Cessions in the United States: U.S. Serial Set Number 4015
Indian Law Bulletins
A current awareness service of the National Indian Law Library
Indian Law Resource Center
Legal advocacy for the protection of indigenous peoples' human rights, cultures, and traditional lands so that Indian tribes and nations may flourish for generations to come.
National Indian Law Library
A public law library devoted to federal Indian and tribal law
National Tribal Justice Resource Center
Established by the National American Indian Court Judges Association
Native American Constitution and Law Digitization Project
This Project is a cooperative effort among the University of Oklahoma Law Center, the National Indian Law Library, and Native American tribes providing access to the Constitutions, Tribal Codes, and other legal documents.
Native American Documents Project
This project was begun in 1992 to develop methods for making documents of Federal Indian policy history accessible by computer. Many documents were taken from microfilmed collections of reports and letters in the National Archives. Others were taken from official publications, mainly the annual reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
Native American Law Blog
A member of the law professor blogs network. Official Blog of the AALS Section on Native American Law
Navajo-Hopi Land Commission Papers
Presented by the Fourth World Documentation Project, tis web site has links to the Navajo-Hopi Land Commission Papers.
Tribal Court Clearinghouse
The Tribal Court Clearinghouse is designed as a resource for tribal justice systems and others involved in the enhancement of justice in Indian country.
Turtle Talk
Turtle Talk is the blog for the Indigenous Law and Policy Center at Michigan State University College of Law. There are news items related to Indian law and politics, with a special emphasis on topics related to Indian tribes in Michigan and the Great Lakes region. In addition, Turtle Talk offers links to every Supreme Court case involving federal Indian law from 1959 to the present.
University of Oklahoma Law Center - Native American Legal Resources



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Thursday, October 22, 2009

Gerunds and Distance Learning: The Best Way Expressed!

Gerunding and contextual relationship in Distance Education and Learning: the best way expressed. The Dissertation will strive to achieve the balance to explain the methodological mannerisms which "hold" the seams of the world of Distance Education together. Course Management, Classroom Management and the entire projected "organelle" world of Distance Learning and Education will be exmanined through the views of someone who has viewed this world from a number of sides in that the author has taught over 63 course sections at one of the leading onlline colleges (WWC). Some of the materisl will be filtered and analyzed through the use of Management Science processes.

Higher Education and Spirituality/ Context Relationship: Distance Education

The Higher Education and Spirituality Context material are for the 8th Knowledge Area material.

Conditional Governance /Fielding Graduate University

The Conditional Governance excerpts are for the Comprehensive Assessment support material.

Notes for Mary Baker Eddy; October 22, 2009

Notes


^ a b von Fettweis, Yvonne Caché; Warneck, Robert Townsend (1998). Mary Baker Eddy: Christian healer. Twentieth-century biographers series. Christian Science Pub. Society. ISBN 9780875103747. http://books.google.com/books?id=vGjZAAAAMAAJ.
^ "Longyear Historical Foundation - Short Biographical Sketch on Mary Baker Eddy". http://www.longyear.org/mbe.html. Retrieved 2006-05-30.
^ a b Wilbur, Sibyl (1907), "Childhood Days", The Life of Mary Baker Eddy, Boston: The Christian science publishing society (published 1913), pp. 9–20, ISBN 054818450X, http://books.google.com/books?id=LMwAAAAAYAAJ, retrieved 2008-10-23
^ a b c Eddy, Mary Baker G. (1891—1892), Retrospection and Introspection, Cambridge: University Press (published 1915), pp. 8–9, 22, 24-5, ISBN 0879520442, http://books.google.com/books?id=9IYuAAAAYAAJ, retrieved 2008-10-24
^ a b c Wilbur, Sibyl (1907), "Education and Development", The Life of Mary Baker Eddy, Boston: The Christian science publishing society (published 1913), pp. 21–37, ISBN 054818450X, http://books.google.com/books?id=LMwAAAAAYAAJ, retrieved 2008-10-23
^ a b c d e f Wilbur, Sibyl (1907), "Change and Bereavement", The Life of Mary Baker Eddy, Boston: The Christian science publishing society (published 1913), pp. 38–48, ISBN 054818450X, http://books.google.com/books?id=LMwAAAAAYAAJ, retrieved 2008-10-23
^ Wilbur, Sibyl (1907), "Formative Processes", The Life of Mary Baker Eddy, Boston: The Christian science publishing society (published 1913), pp. 49–66, ISBN 054818450X, http://books.google.com/books?id=LMwAAAAAYAAJ, retrieved 2008-10-23
^ http://www.christianscience.com/mary-baker-eddy-faq.html
^ Hammond, Edward H. (October 1899). Christian Science: What it is and what it does. . The Christian Science Journal (The Christian Science Publishing Society) 17 (7): 464. http://books.google.com/books?id=ygkrAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA464.
^ Richard A. Nenneman (1997). Persistent Pilgrim: The Life of Mary Baker Eddy. Nebbadoon Press. ISBN 1891331027.
^ a b Gill, Gillian (1998), Mary Baker Eddy, Radcliffe Biography Series, Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books, pp. xi, ISBN 0738202274
^ Twain, Mark (1903), "Chapter 1", CHRISTIAN SCIENCE: with notes containing corrections to date, Book II, New York and London: Harper & Brothers Publishers (published February 1907), pp. 102–103, http://books.google.com/books?id=g9xLR1DakZEC&pg=PA102
^ Paine, Albert Bigelow (1912) (Scholar search), Mark Twain: A Biography; the Personal and Literary Life of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 3, Philadelphia, Pa.: Chelsea House Publishers, p. 1271, ISBN 0791045390, http://ia331404.us.archive.org/2/items/marktwainabiogra02988gut/2988.txt
^ "Mrs. Eddy Dies Of Pneumonia; No Doctor Near", written at Boston, New York Times, 60, New York City, December 4 1910 (published December 5 1910), pp. 1–2, ISSN 1594051, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D01EFDD1638E333A25756C0A9649D946196D6CF, retrieved 2008-10-19, "Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist, died Saturday night at 10:45 o'clock. The death was kept a secret until this morning, when a city medical examiner was called in. It was first publicly announced at the Mother Church this morning. Mrs. Eddy was in her ninetieth year."
^ "Eddy Centenary Observed at Bow", written at Concord, NH, New York Times, 70, New York City, July 16 1921 (published July 17 1921), pp. 23, ISSN 1620732, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E04E4DC1731EF33A25754C1A9619C946095D6CF, retrieved 2008-10-19, "A little group of between 75 and 100 persons gathered in the village of Bow, three miles from here, this afternoon to take part in the simple, brief exercises which marked the centennial of Mary Baker Eddy founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist."
^ a b c Hartsook, Andrew W. (1994) (PDF), Christian Science After 1910, Bookmark, pp. 25, 26, 27 and 28, ISBN 0930227247, http://mbeinstitute.org/Quotes/jul08a.pdf, "The Concord Evening Monitor of December 24, 1918, contained an interesting article regarding the project of a lone Christian Scientist."
^ "Mary Baker Eddy Memorial Defaced by Unknown Vandals", written at Concord, NH, New York Times, 72, New York City, November 12, 1922 (published November 13, 1922), pp. 1, ISSN 1620732, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E04E4DC1731EF33A25754C1A9619C946095D6CF, retrieved 2008-10-19, "Rewards aggregating $250 have been offered for the arrest of persons who mutilated the memorial to Mary Baker Eddy at her birthplace in Bow."
^ Longyear Museum | Historic Houses | Chestnut Hill & Lynn, MA
See also

Mary Baker Eddy/ Christian Science and Health and Science works/ October 22, 2009

Distinguishing between Eddy and Quimby and other criticisms
Gillian Gill, writes "I am now firmly convinced, having weighed all the evidence I could find in published and archival sources, that Mrs. Eddy's most famous biographer-critics -- Peabody, Milmine, Dakin, Bates and Dittemore and Gardner -- have flouted the evidence and shown willful bias in accusing Mrs. Eddy of owing her theory of healing to Quimby and of plagiarizing his unpublished work." [11]

Although Eddy used terms such as "Science", "Health", "error", "shadow", "belief", "Christ" and others used by Quimby, these terms are also to be found in the Bible. In the end, her conclusions from scriptural study and continued healing practice were diametrically opposed to the Quimby's teachings. Eddy also eventually rejected many of Quimby's conclusions on the dynamics of human disease, suffering, healing, redemption, God and Christ.

Through her study of the Bible, Eddy rejected Quimby's notion of a dualism between matter and spirit. She wrote in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, "All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all. Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error." (S&H 468: 10-12)

Eddy found that while at first hypnotism seemed to benefit the patient, it later created more problems than the original sickness. Ultimately she rejected any form of hypnotism or mesmerism, stating "The hypnotizer employs one error to destroy another. If he heals sickness through a belief, and a belief originally caused the sickness, it is a case of the greater error overcoming the lesser. This greater error thereafter occupies the ground, leaving the case worse than before it was grasped by the stronger error." (S&H 104:22-28)

Eddy's use of these terms and her teaching are considered by both her defenders and Quimby's family to be distinct from Quimbyism. Quimby's son, George, wrote, "Don’t confuse his method of healing with Mrs. Eddy’s Christian Science, so far as her religious teachings go.... The religion which she teaches certainly is hers, for which I cannot be too thankful." (Gottschalk, Rolling Away the Stone, p. 72).

Phineas Quimby died in January 1866. In 1873, Eddy divorced Patterson for adultery to which he readily admitted. In 1877 she married Asa Gilbert Eddy, who died in 1882.

In 1903 Mark Twain published a satirical diatribe attacking Eddy and her church entitled Christian Science. Twain wrote "We cannot peacefully agree as to her motives, therefore her character must remain crooked to some of us and straight to the others. No matter, she is interesting enough without an amicable agreement. In several ways she is the most interesting woman that ever lived and the most extraordinary. The same may be said of her career, and the same may be said of its chief result...Whether she took it or invented it, it was—materially—a sawdust mine when she got it, and she has turned it into a Klondike; its spiritual dock had next to no custom, if any at all: from it she has launched a world-religion which has now six hundred and sixty-three churches, and she charters a new one every four days. When we do not know a person—and also when we do—we have to judge the size and nature of his achievements as compared with the achievements of others in his special line of business—there is no other way. Measured by this standard, it is thirteen hundred years since the world has produced anyone who could reach up to Mrs. Eddy's waistbelt."[12] However, later he seemed to reverse his stance as Paine wrote:[13]

I was at this period interested a good deal in mental healing, and had been treated for neurasthenia with gratifying results. Like most of the world, I had assumed, from his published articles, that he condemned Christian Science and its related practices out of hand. When I confessed, rather reluctantly, one day, the benefit I had received, he surprised me by answering:
"Of course you have been benefited. Christian Science is humanity's boon. Mother Eddy deserves a place in the Trinity as much as any member of it. She has organized and made available a healing principle that for two thousand years has never been employed, except as the merest kind of guesswork. She is the benefactor of the age."
It seemed strange, at the time, to hear him speak in this way concerning a practice of which he was generally regarded as the chief public antagonist. It was another angle of his many-sided character.
In view of Mark Twain's extended and caustic attack in his book "Christian Science" on both Christian Science and its founder, Mary Baker Eddy (whom he once described as the "queen of frauds and hypocrites"), it is widely assumed that his reference to "Mother Eddy" as "the benefactor of the age" was purely sarcastic.[original research?] When Harper's refused to publish "Christian Science" in 1903, Twain interpreted the rejection as suppression caused by pressure from Christian Science and wrote, "The situation is not barren of humour. I had been doing my best to show in print that the Xn Scientist cult has become a power in the land - well, here is the proof: it has scared the biggest publisher in the Union."[citation needed]

Building a church
Eddy devoted the rest of her life to the establishment of the church, writing its bylaws, "The Manual of The Mother Church," and revising "Science and Health." While Eddy was a highly controversial religious leader, author, and lecturer, thousands of people flocked to her teachings. She was supported by the approximately 800 students she had taught at her Massachusetts Metaphysical College in Boston, Massachusetts between the years 1882 and 1889. These students spread across the country practicing healing in accordance with Eddy's teachings. Eddy authorized these students to list themselves as Christian Science Practitioners in the church's periodical, the Christian Science Journal. She also founded the Christian Science Sentinel, a weekly magazine with articles about how to heal and testimonies of healing.

In 1908, at the age of 87, Eddy founded The Christian Science Monitor, a daily newspaper which continues to be published today. She also founded the Christian Science Journal in 1883, a monthly magazine aimed at the church's members and, in 1898, the Christian Science Sentinel, a weekly religious periodical written for a more general audience, and the Herald of Christian Science, a religious magazine with editions in non-English languages, for children, and in English-Braille.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Impact of Technology on Culture and Communication/ Native American and Internet

A New Understanding of Culture and Communication:

The Impact of Technology on Indigenous Peoples

A Pathfinder by AJ Johnson

Indigenous peoples across the world have been affected by the introduction of technologies from foreign cultures for hundreds of years. Some have not dramatically changed their ways of life, while others have completely changed self-identities, entire societies and worldviews. Modern technologies, especially telecommunication and computer technologies, allow indigenous groups to participate in the larger societies and economies around them. These technologies also enable them to preserve and promote their way of life for their descendants and for our collective knowledge of human history.

This pathfinder will help researchers locate information on the Internet about modern technologies and how they are being used by indigenous groups. The main focus is on Native Americans, but examples of indigenous groups from other parts of the world and how they have adopted modern technologies has been included. The pathfinder can be found online at http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~vlibrary/edres/pathfinders/ajohnson.

Where can I find sources that give a general overview of the affect of technology on indigenous peoples?

Casey, James. "Native networking: Telecommunications and Information Technology in Indian Country." Benton Foundation Online. Home page online. Available from http://www.benton.org/Library/Native; Internet; Accessed 03 Mar 2001.
Warschauer, Mark. "Technology and Indigenous Language Revitalization: Analyzing the Experience of Hawai�i." Home page online. Available from http://www.gse.uci.edu/markw/revitalization.html; Internet; Accessed 03 Mar 2001.
What uses of new technology are most beneficial to indigenous groups?

There are many different examples of beneficial uses of new technology. Several Web sites demonstrate the potential benefits that can be gained by using video conferencing technology, digitization of documents, and radio broadcast over the Internet.

U.S. Department of Commerce. "Native American Herbal Tea Company Finds Customers Using Latest Video Technology." Access America Exporting 11. [e-journal] http://www.accessamerica.gov/docs/tea.html; Internet; Accessed 03 Mar, 2001.
The National Indian Law Library. "Native American Constitution and Law Digitization Project." Home page online. Available from http://thorpe.ou.edu/; Internet; Accessed 03 Mar 2001.
Native American Public Telecommunications. "Native American Public Telecommunications." Home page online. Available from http://www.nativetelecom.org/index.html; Internet; Accessed 04 Mar 2001.
What are some problems Native Americans have encountered in gaining access to telecommunications technology, and what solutions are being explored?

One of the biggest problems indigenous groups have encountered has been the "Digital Divide," which separates people who have access to modern technology from those without access. Several of the best articles follow. To find more, use an Internet search engine, such as Google, to search with the terms "Digital Divide," "Technology, and "Native American" or "Indigenous,""

Craig, Evans. "The Native Digital Divide: A Review of Online Literature" from Native American Distance Education Community Web Home page online. Available from http://www.eot.ahpcc.unm.edu/Community/Reports/NativeDigitalDivide.html; Internet, Accessed 04 Mar 2001.
Office of Technology Assessment. Telecommunications Technology and Native Americans: Opportunities and Challenges Report OTA-ITC-621 Washington D.C., Aug 1995. Available from http://www.wws.princeton.edu/~ota/disk1/1995/9542_n.html; Internet; Accessed 04 Mar 2001.
Twist, Kade. "Four Directions to Making the Internet Indian." The Digital Beat (extra) 2 (May 2000). [e-journal] http://www.benton.org/News/Extra/dd050200.html; Internet; Accessed 03 Mar 2001.
How have indigenous people used new technology to preserve, promote and teach their history and culture?

Probably the most widespread use of the Internet by indigenous people has been in preserving and promoting their culture and history. Several good examples of this follow, and the pages at the end of the pathfinder contain many good links to other indigenous culture-based Web pages.

Aboriginal Digital Collections. "Aboriginal Digital Collections Home Page." Home page online. Available from http://aboriginalcollections.ic.gc.ca/e/index.html; Internet; Accessed 03 Mar 2001.
Government of Canada. "Canada�s Digital Collections: First Peoples." Home page online. Available from http://collections.ic.gc.ca/E/SL_firstpeoples.asp; Internet; Accessed 03 Mar 2001.
How has communication between tribe members or members of different indigenous groups changed due technology?

Telecommunication technology facilitates many different methods of communication between people. The Internet is used by indigenous groups for e-mailing, chat rooms, radio stations, video-conferencing, and simple information-gathering by looking at Web sites. Some sample sites are listed here, and each has links to other communication sites.

National Indigenous Media Association of Australia. "National Indigenous Media Association of Australia." Home page online. Available from http://www.indigenousaustralia.com.au/nimaa/home_fs.htm; Internet; Accessed 03 Mar 2001.
Native American Public Telecommunications. "Native American Public Telecommunications." Home page online. Available from http://www.nativetelecom.org/index.html; Internet; Accessed 03 Mar 2001.
What are some organizations and other resources that promote utilization of technology in indigenous communities?

There are multiple organizations dedicated to this. The first sample which follows demonstrates an educational program addressing and promoting the technology needs of Native Americans, while the second focuses on indigenous peoples from other parts of the world. The last two pages are important resources because they have gathered links to many other resources and organizations onto one Web page. To browse through more organizations, simply go to one of these pages and begin exploring by clicking on the other Web pages listed. Many of the previous Web sites listed will also have a place to find more organizations like them. These can usually be found by looking for a place on the site which is usually labeled �Links,� or an obvious name like �Other resources.�

Albuquerque High Performance Computing Center. "Tribal Computational Science Program" Web page online. Available from http://www.eot.ahpcc.unm.edu/Tribal/archive.htm; Internet; Accessed 03 Mar 2001.
Cultural Survival. "Cultural Survival home page." Home page online. Available from http://www.cs.org/index.html; Internet; Accessed 03 Mar 2001.
Native Web. "Resources for Indigenous Cultures around the World on the Web." Home page online. Available from http://www.nativeweb.org/; Internet; Accessed 04 Mar 2001.
Strom, Karen M. "WWW Virtual Library - American Indians: Index of Native American Resources on the Internet." Home page online. Available from http://www.hanksville.org/Naresources/; Internet; Accessed 03 Mar 2001.
And remember. If you need further assistance, ask a librarian.

We are here for you!

Introduction Annotated Bibliography Title Page

Waggoner, Michael D., Spirituality in Higher Education

Waggoner, Michael D. Spirituality in Higher Education. Forest, J. and Kinser, K. (Editors) (2002) Encyclopedia of Higher Education in the United States. ABC-CLIO Publishers.
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An emerging phenomenon on campuses and in the broader culture, spirituality in higher education reasserts the importance of a holistic understanding of life, one that acknowledges the place of spirit among ways of knowing. At the founding of the universities almost one thousand years ago, the prevailing worldview was grounded in religious ideas. This way of knowing guided the development of knowledge and society well into the 18th century, when the successes of modern science began to challenge the seeming inadequacies of religion's explanations of the physical world. The idea of unlimited progress through the advance of science evolved from the application of scientific discovery to quality of life improvements in health, technology, agriculture, and industry.

U.S. higher education, under significant influence from the 19th century German research enterprise, became the predominant engine of science and the embodiment of the idea of progress during the early 20th century. However, this period of history brought the concurrent developments of quantum physics relativity and the detrimental effects of technology seen in urbanization and modern warfare, calling into question both the idea of progress and the unquestioned trustworthiness of science as the leading guide for human development. Though religion still suffered from the stigma of failing the challenges of modern science, it had offered a seemingly more complete way of knowing when compared to the newly apparent shortcomings of science. This awareness and resulting desire for a more unified way of knowing, coupled with the challenge of Einstein's relativity to the more static universe of Newton, fostered anti-intellectual and reactionary responses. But it also emboldened some more conciliatory voices to explore ways of knowing that incorporated modern science while acknowledging other dimensions of experience.

The debate continues between those asserting a value-free, objective approach to a single knowable reality and those arguing for an interpreted environment that acknowledges context, culture, and perspective. Since the university remains the major agent of discovery and technological development in our society, and since both ways of knowing are contending for a place in the future of higher education, it is important to understand the emergent phenomenon of spirituality in higher education and its potential impact upon the development of knowledge and, consequently, life in this country.

A Brief History of Spirituality in the U.S.
The earliest institutions of higher learning in the United States prepared clergy for the spiritual oversight of colonial life as settlements grew to towns and moved West. The pervasive influence of religion in society through this time was seen in college curricula and government organization patterned after church models. Spirituality referred to the quality of one's Christian experience-predominantly Protestant, but with significant Anglican and Roman Catholic presence. The flow of immigration through the colonial and early national period came from Europe, the United Kingdom, and Scandanavia, further reinforcing the Christian dominance in its varied denominational forms.

During the 18th century, science laid increasing claim to knowledge and technological innovation, and began to offer explanations of the physical world that challenged traditional Christian religion and undermined its pervasive authority. Also during this time, a group of intellectuals (later to be known as the Transcendentalists), including Ralph Waldo Emerson, introduced to American society sources from Eastern spiritual traditions, including Buddhism and Taoism. In 1893, the first Parliament of World Religions was held in Chicago, Illinois. Representatives from major religious traditions from around the world convened for several days to pursue common ground and understanding. A delegation of Hindu from India toured the US in conjunction with their attending the parliament. They were so dismayed with what they perceived to be the spiritual impoverishment of the United States, that upon their return to India, they sent Hindu missionaries to the United States.

Though at first of small influence and limited to an elite intellectual audience, these seedling ideas from non-Western spiritual traditions germinated in the rich intellectual soil of early 20th century America. Important conditions present during this time set the stage for growing interest in spirituality that would emerge over the next several decades: the shortfall of the promise of science, the apparent intellectual inadequacies of traditional Christian religion's response to modern science, and the emergent interest in Eastern spiritual traditions.

By the early 20th century, the promise of science and technology had been tarnished by the problems emerging from industrialization, the growth of cities, the increasing sophistication and violence of modern warfare, and the general failure to solve social problems as had been hoped. At the same time, Einstein's theory of relativity and the consequent emergence of quantum physics further challenged the view of the world previous offered by traditional science. Higher education through this period continued to embrace science and technology, becoming the incubator for innovation and technology transfer. At the same time, fields of social inquiry like psychology and sociology appropriated the methods of science, attempting to replicate the successes of the physical sciences in developing their own areas of inquiry.

The two world wars of the 20th century, concluding with the nuclear explosion at Hiroshima, laid bare the paradox of scientific progress-spectacular intellectual achievement resulting in horrific moral consequences. The remaining decades of the 20th century saw further scientific advance, particularly in the biomedical areas, that continued to challenge ethicists of every spiritual and secular tradition. It was, however, the decade of the sixties that gave increased impetus to the current interest in spirituality.

Spirituality and Higher Education in the 1960s
Three developments of the 1960s combined with the growing disillusionment with traditional science in the service of progress, contributed to the cultural climate change regarding spirituality in higher education and the broader society. First was the well-known protest culture of the sixties campuses. Growing as a response to the Vietnam War, the broader establishment-including business, government, and religion-was assailed by the collegiate generation for the apparent failure of its institutions. Alternative answers were sought and explored by this younger generation. Second, the Immigration Act of 1965 opened the gates to non-Western immigration. Heretofore, immigrants were largely European, but with this new wave came non-Western cultural practices, including religion. Over the ensuing decades, the spread of these alternatives to Christian faith traditions across the American landscape brought new perspectives and resources for spiritual development. They also challenged the meaning and intent of the long cherished ideal of pluralism. Third, the mid-sixties saw the creation of religious studies departments in higher education. Previously the province of theological education, the study of religion transmuted to an academic discipline complete with the creation of its own disciplinary association, the American Academy of Religion.

These trends were occurring at the same time as the dominant view of science was being challenged. Deriving from the relativism of quantum physics, some scholars began to assert that reality must be interpreted with attention to culture, context, and perspective and that there is not a single objectively knowable reality. These sentiments are not only abroad in the popular culture but are contending for a place in the university.

Conclusion
Decades of ferment have given rise in recent years to scholars and practitioners organizing conferences and publishing in respected journals to publicly argue the place of spirituality in higher education. In 1993, the second Parliament of World Religion convened in Chicago after 100 years; a commitment emerged to conduct these gatherings more frequently and a third parliament was held in South Africa in 1999. The Education As Transformation Project convened national gatherings in 1998 at Wellesley College and 2000 at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst to explore evidences of and roles for spirituality and religion in higher education. The Pluralism Project at Harvard University heightened national awareness of the breadth and depth of religious diversity in the United States. Scholars and practitioners continue to argue in books and journals for a place within higher education to acknowledge and to develop the spiritual dimension of the whole of life to complement the intellect. Clearly, spirituality will hold a prominent place in our discussions of higher education throughout the coming decades.


See also: Political and Social Contexts; Religious Institutions


For Further Reading:
Eck, Diana. 1993. Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banaris. Boston: Beacon Press.
Kung, Hans and Karl-Josef Kuschel, eds. 1995. A Global Ethic: The Declaration of the Parliament of World Religions. New York: Continuum.
Love, Patrick, and Donna Talbot. 1999. Defining Spiritual Development: A Missing Consideration for Student Affairs. NASPA Journal 37, No. 1:361-375.
Laurence, Peter. 1999. Can Religion and Spirituality Find a Place in Higher Education? About Campus 4, No.5: 11-16.
Palmer, Parker. 1983. To Know As We Are Known: Education as a Spiritual Journey. San Francisco: Harper Collins.
Parks, Sharon. 2000. Big Questions, Worthy Dreams: Mentoring Young Adults in Their Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Faith. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Rendon, Laura I. 2000. Academics of the Heart: Reconnecting The Scientific Mind with the Spirit's Artistry. Review of Higher Education 24, No. 1:1-13.
Roof, Wade, C., Anne, E. Patrick, Ronald, L. Grimes, and Bill J. Leonard. Forum: American Spirituality. Religion and American Culture 9, No. 2:131-157.
Strange, Carney. 2000. Spirituality at State: Private Journeys and Public Visions. Journal of College and Character. http://www.CollegeValues.org


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UCLA Project Site for Spirituality and Higher Education 10/20/2009

http://www.spirituality.ucla.edu/about/index.html

Higher Education and Spirituality Eric Digest Reference 10/20/2009

ERIC Identifier: ED459370
Publication Date: 2001-00-00
Author: Tisdell, Elizabeth J.
Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult Career and Vocational Education Columbus OH.

Spirituality in Adult and Higher Education. ERIC Digest.
"The spiritual awakening that is slowly taking place counterculturally will become more of a daily norm as we all willingly break mainstream cultural taboos that silence or erase our passion for spiritual practice" (hooks 2000, p. 82). Spirituality is a hot topic. Bookstores are filled with many popular titles related to it, from Western religions to traditions of the East to new-age philosophies. What are adult and higher education practitioners to make of this new emphasis on spirituality? On the one hand, many of us might resonate with hooks' observation that spirituality has a role in breaking the silence that erases our passion as well as a place in higher and adult education. On the other, we may also wonder, as Wuthnow (1998) observes, "whether 'spiritual' has become synonymous with 'flaky'" (p. 1). This Digest provides a summary of the recent literature related to spirituality as it relates to adult learning. It begins with an overview of the more general literature on spirituality in adult and higher education. Next is a consideration of some of the literature related to spiritual development. In the last section is a consideration of spirituality and emancipatory education.

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS OF SPIRITUALITY
Until very recently, with the exception of adult religious education, spirituality has been given little attention in mainstream academic adult education. This may be because spirituality is difficult to define and can sometimes be confused with religion. For many of us, our adult spirituality is clearly informed by how we were socialized both religiously and culturally. Yet, spirituality is not the same as religion; religion is an organized community of faith that has written codes of regulatory behavior, whereas spirituality is more about one's personal belief and experience of a higher power or higher purpose. In seeking to define "spirituality" (as opposed to "religion"), Hamilton and Jackson (1998) conducted a qualitative study of the conceptions of spirituality among women in the helping professions. Participants' definitions centered on three main themes: the further development of self-awareness, a sense of interconnectedness, and a relationship to a higher power. Although this definition does give a sense of the psychological aspects of spirituality as broadly related to meaning-making, it does not get at the relationship of cultural experience and spirituality or the connection between spirituality and a commitment to social justice education and community work, an important area of educational activity for many adult educators. Nevertheless, these three themes of spirituality appear to be common aspects of what spirituality is for most who consider it an important meaning-making aspect of their life.
Most recent discussions in adult and higher education specifically focus on the role of spirituality in teaching and learning. A number of new edited books focus on its role specifically in adult education (English and Gillen 2000), and in education more generally as the construction of knowledge (Glazer 1999) or in dealing with religious pluralism in higher education settings (Kazanjian and Laurence 2000). A common theme is the focus on meaning-making in adult learning as intricately related to the spiritual quest of adults (Hunt et al. 2001). Vella (2000) suggests that attending to the spiritual dimension of adult learning is part of honoring the learner as "subject," and thus the author of her/his own life in the quest for meaning-making.

Attending to spirituality in learning doesn't necessarily mean that one needs to discuss it directly in classes or learning activities, although there may be occasions for drawing it into course content. Dirkx (1997) has suggested that our interest is not so much to teach soulwork, or spirituality, but rather to nurture soul, i.e., "to recognize what is already inherent within our relationships and experiences, to acknowledge its presence with the teaching and learning environment, to respect its sacred message" (p. 83). In a similar vein, Palmer (1998) discusses the importance of attending to paradox, sacredness, and graced moments in teaching and learning, in developing a spirituality of education. Lerner (2000) presents an approach to spirituality that he calls an "emancipatory spirituality." An emancipatory spirituality, in contrast to a "reactionary spirituality" (p. 174), recognizes the value of pluralism and the many manifestations of spirit within different cultures, religions, and traditions. He discusses how spirituality might inform work in education, law, medicine, and environmental issues without pushing a religious agenda. Eck (2001) also addresses how to deal with issues of religious pluralism in a way that opens up dialogue between and among groups and honors their spirituality and religious traditions without pushing a religious agenda.

The subject of spirituality is currently a theme in workplace and human resource development literature. Bolman and Deal (1995), among others, have discussed its role in leadership development. Fenwick and Lange (1998) reviewed the literature on spirituality and the workplace in human resource development circles, suggesting that it has an emphasis on individual needs and organizational development rather than a focus on social justice or the common good. However, some writers do discuss the role of spirituality in work related to a more just global economy. Fox (1995), for example, examines the connection between spirituality as "inner work" and the revisioning of our "outer work" and the importance of ritual and celebration in the creation of a new cosmology as the great paradigm shift of our time. Haroutiounian et al. (2000) discuss the learning that took place in a class on spirituality and work, largely because of the diversity of the participants. Barnett, Krell, and Sendry (2000) also address how to approach the subject of spirituality in management education classes.

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
Given the connection between adult learning and adult development, discussions of spiritual development are relevant to concerns in adult education. Most developmental theorists who write about spiritual development connect it with other aspects of development. Most often cited is James Fowler (1981) who developed a stage theory of faith development based on a study of 359 adults. Fowler ties faith development strongly to cognitive and moral development and draws heavily on the work of Piaget and Kohlberg. Yet he takes issue with them for "their restrictive understanding of the role of imagination in knowing, their neglect of symbolic processes generally and the related lack of attention to unconscious structuring processes other than those constituting reasoning" (p. 103). Despite some limitations of Fowler's study (e.g., a sample that is almost entirely White and Judeo-Christian), it contributes to our understanding of how people construct knowledge through image and symbol, an area that has been ignored by most development and learning theorists.
Many writers draw on Fowler's work, but focus on spiritual development at particular points in the life cycle. For example, Parks' (2000) focus is on young adults, whereas Loder (1998) discusses it from a theological perspective in adolescence, young adulthood, the middle years, and after age 65. Wuthnow (1998) presents a study of how those who have grown up religious have negotiated an adult spirituality. Terkel's (2001) new book is a discussion of how people's spirituality influences their view of death. Borysenko (1999) considers women's spiritual development more from the perspective of salient themes, such as naming a sense of mystery, spiritual identity and healing, and the role of ritual and prayer in development; she offers suggestions for how women might develop their spirituality.

Whether or not spiritual development unfolds in a series of linear stages is a matter of some debate and, as Wilber (2000) observes, depends on how one defines spirituality. Writing from a cultural evolutionary perspective, Wilber discusses how, over time, cultures as well as individuals develop spiritually. He suggests that spiritual development unfolds in overlapping and interweaving levels "resulting in a meshwork or dynamic spiral of consciousness unfolding" (p. 7). Each level includes and expands on the development of earlier stages and moves to greater integration. This move to greater integration reflects an important theme of spiritual development: the ongoing development of identity. In my study of women emancipatory educators (Tisdell 2000), several referred to it as related to the development of their more "authentic identity." But this authentic identity always develops in a cultural and gendered context. This is why it is important to consider the cultural dimensions of spiritual development, an area that most developmental theorists have given little attention to.

SPIRITUALITY, CULTURE, AND EMANCIPATORY EDUCATION
The role of spirituality in culturally relevant education and emancipatory education efforts is being addressed. Clearly, spirituality played a large role in the engagement of people's passion in the civil rights movement. Further, both Horton and Freire (1990) were clear about the influence of spirituality on their own work. Walters and Manicom (1996) discuss the importance of spirituality among grassroots emancipatory adult educators working with women in an international context. They note that spirituality "is a theme that is increasingly significant in popular education practice as culturally distinct groups, women recovering 'womanist' traditions and ethnic collectives, draw on cultural and spiritual symbols in healing and transformative education" (p. 13).
Educators and cultural workers are beginning to break the silence about the connection between spirituality and education and about its role in emancipatory education efforts. As the cultural fabric of North America is changing, there is a greater emphasis on creating culturally relevant programs for specific population groups. When spirituality is integral to the fabric of a community, it makes sense that educators might attend to it. But there are also greater numbers of people of color represented both in higher education classrooms and among adult educators working in community settings or higher education. This is beginning to displace the strict focus on rationality, particularly from a Eurocentric perspective, as the only valid form of knowledge. Many scholars doing cultural work in communities or in the reformation of the academy have worldviews deeply embedded in the spiritual. "The heretofore silencing of the spiritual voice through privileging the academic voice is increasingly being drowned out by the emphatic chorus of those whose underlying versions of truth cry out 'We are a spiritual people!'" (Dillard et al. 2000, p. 448).

This is why some writers have discussed the spiritual development of members of different cultural groups; e.g., African American women--Wade-Gayles (1995), Cannon (1996), Williams (1993); American Indian communities--Allen (1992), Deloria (1993); and Latinos--Abalos (1998). Berry (1999) speaks of spiritual development as being foundational to our ecological survival, and Welch (1998) notes its role in developing approaches to multicultural education. Tisdell et al. (2001) recently discussed its role in developing culturally relevant and transformative approaches in adult and higher education settings.

Spirituality is one of the ways people construct knowledge and meaning. It works in consort with the affective, the rational or cognitive, and the unconscious and symbolic domains. To ignore it, particularly in how it relates to teaching for personal and social transformation, is to ignore an important aspect of human experience and avenue of learning and meaning-making. This is why spirituality is important to the work of adult learning.

REFERENCES
Abalos, D. LA COMMUNIDAD LATINA IN THE UNITED STATES. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998. Allen, P. G. The Sacred Hoop. Boston: Beacon Press, 1992.
Barnett, C. K.; Krell, T. C.; and Sendry, J. "Learning to Learn about Spirituality." JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION 24 , no. 5 (October 2000): 562-579.

Berry, T. THE GREAT WORK: OUR WAY INTO THE FUTURE. New York: Bell Tower, 1999.

Bolman, L. G., and Deal, T. E. LEADING WITH SOUL. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995.

Borysenko, J. A WOMAN'S JOURNEY TO GOD. New York: Riverhead Books, 1999.

Cannon, K. G. KATIE'S CANON: WOMANISM AND THE SOUL OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY. New York: Continuum, 1996.

Deloria, V., Jr. GOD IS RED. 2D ED. Golden, CO: North American Press, 1992.

Dillard, C. B.; Abdur-Rashid, D.; and Tyson, C. A. "My Soul Is a Witness." INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF QUALITATIVE STUDIES IN EDUCATION 13, no. 5 (September 2000): 447-462.

Dirkx, J. M. "Nurturing Soul in Adult Learning." In TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING IN ACTION. NEW DIRECTIONS FOR ADULT AND CONTINUING EDUCATION NO. 74, edited by P. Cranton, pp. 79-88. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997.

Eck, D. A NEW RELIGIOUS AMERICA. San Francisco: Harper, 2001.

English, L., and Gillen, M., eds. ADDRESSING THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSIONS OF ADULT LEARNING. NEW DIRECTIONS FOR ADULT AND CONTINUING EDUCATION, NO. 85. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.

Fenwick, T. J., and Lange, E. "Spirituality in the Workplace: The New Frontier of HRD." CANADIAN JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF ADULT EDUCATION 12, no. 1 (May 1998): 63-87.

Fowler, J. STAGES OF FAITH. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1981.

Fox, M. THE REINVENTION OF WORK. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1995.

Glazer, S., ed. THE HEART OF LEARNING: SPIRITUALITY IN EDUCATION. New York: Putnam, 1999.

Hamilton, D. M., and Jackson, M. H. "Spiritual Development: Paths and Processes." JOURNAL OF INSTRUCTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 25, no. 4 (December 1998): 262-270.

Haroutiounian, A. et al. "Learning and Being: Outcomes of a Class on Spirituality in Work." JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION 24, no. 5 (October 2000): 662-681.

hooks, b. ALL ABOUT LOVE. New York: William Morrow, 2000.

Horton, M., and Freire, P. WE MAKE THE ROAD BY WALKING. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990.

Hunt, C. et al. "Is Your Journey Really Necessary?" PROCEEDINGS OF THE 31ST ANNUAL STANDING CONFERENCE ON UNIVERSITY TEACHING AND RESEARCH IN THE EDUCATION OF ADULTS (SCUTREA), pp. 451-457. London, England: University of East London, 2001.

Kazanjian, V. H., Jr., and Laurence, P. L., eds. EDUCATION AS TRANSFORMATION. New York: Peter Lang, 2000.

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