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globalbriefs


News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefits all.


Universal Truths Chinese Seek Happiness and Justice


When the Chinese Internet portal NetEase recently offered Open University-style lectures in English with seminars like Web 2.0 Marketing Communications and Introduction to Robotics, managers were surprised that the most popular choices turned out to be two more contemplative courses; one on happiness and the other on justice. “We never imagined that the most successful topics would be those to


do with people’s hearts and minds,” says NetEase spokesman Yang Jing. More than 3 million people have already watched the course on the concept


of justice, led by Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel, author of Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? Sandel believes that the demand reflects an awakening of ethical reflection and debate in China. “The generation that came of age during China’s economic miracle now wants to engage with big questions about moral re- sponsibility, justice and injustice; about the meaning of the good life,” he observes. Although China is proud of its economic advances, “There is also recognition that rising affluence has brought growing inequality, that GDP (Gross Domestic Prod- uct) alone does not bring happiness, and that markets can’t by themselves create a just society.” Psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar, author of Being Happy, states that his positive


psychology course acknowledges that, “The need for happiness, for meaning and pleasure, is universal, common to all people. However, what people find meaning- ful or pleasurable often differs across different cultures.”


Source: Time magazine


Got Faith? Global Religion Remains Strong Despite Repression


In a recent, nondenominational global survey of 18,000 people across 24 countries by UK research firm Ipsos Mori, 70 percent identified themselves with a chosen religion. Thirty percent said that their religion motivates them to give time or money to people in need and 73 percent of those under age 35 said their religion or faith was important in their life. At the same time, Rising Restrictions on Religion, a recent report by the


Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, found that more than 2.2 billion of the world’s total population of 6.9 billion people live in countries where either government restrictions on religion or social hostilities involving religion rose substantially between 2006 and 2009. Most of the countries that experienced substantial increases already had high levels of restrictions or hostilities. “This survey shows how much religion matters and that no analysis of the con-


temporary world, political or social, is complete without understanding the relation- ship between faith and globalization,” says former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, a patron of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. “There is much to encourage the view that people can learn to respect those of another faith and live with them peacefully. Interfaith dialogue and action today is not just an interesting but peripheral minor subject; it is the essence, central to creating greater social cohesion and harmony.”


Sources: Christian Today (UK); PewForum.org 12


Rockland & Orange Counties naturalawakeningsro.com


Bully Beaters Cooperation is Key to Social Harmony


Bullies seem to be made, not born. A study from the University of California, Berkeley, concludes that a cooperative school experience, versus a competitive one, can play a major positive role in the socialization of students. Researchers canvassed 217 stu-


dents in grades three through five, mea- suring how much they liked to cooper- ate or compete with their peers, and how often they acted with aggression or kindness toward them. The youngsters also estimated how often their teachers put them in small groups to complete assignments together, a classroom strat- egy known as “cooperative learning,” because the students have to collabo- rate with one another to get their work done. Students that engaged in more


frequent cooperative learning were more likely to say they enjoyed cooperating with others and reported exhibiting kind, helpful, pro-social behaviors. In contrast, students that said they preferred to com- pete were significantly more likely to act aggressively toward their peers and try to do them harm. The results suggest that coopera-


tion begets cooperation. The research- ers further concluded that cooperative experiences promote the development of the personality trait of cooperation. Based on their results, the researchers advocate more cooperative learning in classrooms as a way to promote posi- tive behaviors and combat bullying, or harm-intentioned aggression.


Source: Greater Good Science Center


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