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craig reviews brian

Page history last edited by PBworks 15 years, 6 months ago

 

MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO USE HEADERS...START WITH ONE HERE?CB

 

The Radiant Peace Foundation International is a St. Petersburg based organization recognized across the world and dedicated to the promotion of the ideals derived from the phrase “radiant peace.” Radiant peace is defined by the organization as “natural, whole, harmless, benevolent, energy within our hearts relating us all and making us whole.” The organization ties itself to no religion or political party, and is funded and ran by donations and volunteers. The organization works for the protection of animals and other living things on earth, the protection of natural sites, and promotes walks and events around the world.

 

Founded in 1986, the Radiant Peace Foundation’s largest program is the Radiant Peace Education Awards which began in 1990. The awards recognize essays, art, and projects entered by students between grades 1 and 12. Over 250,000 children have participated in this award program. In 1999 the organization started a museum for the entries located in St Petersburg. MAYBE A TRANSITION INTO THE MUSEUM TRIP CB

 

After a few phone calls to organizations lacking time to speak to me, and some who directed me to the website to acquire more information, I was very happy to hear back from Shoshana Shay of the Radiant Peace Foundation(feel free to use anagram of foundation, after it is defined the first time-it will save you some typing)Kim. I was not only pleased because this is actually an organization that appears to up my alley, but also because of her extremely bubbly invitation to come down to the museum for an interview. After a brief description of my mission, and the class she sounded more than honored to provide some feedback.

 

PERHAPS A HEADER HERE ABOUT YOUR INTENTIONS...

 

My intention is to first gather a more detailed description of the organization from Shoshana. Right now, as commendable as the groups philosophy seems, I still feel like I don’t know how they promote their values. It’s clear that entries of artwork are a prime focus. It is also clear that children are heavily involved. With a goal-list so easily connectable to many religions, I want to know how religion in general influences the progression of the organization. I want to know how A BIT REPETITIVE HERE WITH I WANT TO KNOW HOW AGAIN...CB a bi-partisan, non-religious organization operates among issues that are so innately religious or political for so many. http://www.radiantpeace.org/purposes.html

 

A lot of my intrigue about the organization is the suspicion that a lot of what it offers is more of the inspirational/motivational nature, as opposed to a more concrete sounding policy changing kind of operation. It seems like they focus on a more free approach to community service. One based more on personal reflection and inspiration. THIS IS A SENTENCE FRAGMENT, PROBABLY A TYPO...CB ALSO, MIGHT WANT TO AVOID ...ING GERUNDS TO MAKE WRITING A BIT MORE CRISP AND SENTENCES LESS CONFUSING...CB

 

Next I want to learn how The Radiant Peace Foundation promotes itself. It will be interesting to see what strategies for educating the masses on the cause are. Also, to see PROBABLY DON'T NEED "TO SEE" HERE...CB what strategies could be put into action? Furthermore, how does it all work when maintaining a non-partisan/non–religious identity? I want to know what it is that Shoshana feels would be the most relevant issue or idea for the community to be collectively aware about if she were to choose. I am hoping to draw opinions and connect them to my own concerning what seems to be an organization promoting a very spiritual and humanitarian sort of MAYBE A DIFFERENT PHRASE CHOICE THAN "SORT OF" CB community literacy. I am anxious to hear what someone involved with such a project feels should be commonly understood across the earth. What does the organization and Shoshana feel are the most important values, or ideas, or works to be equally available and shared among all of us. What will bring everyone up to speed? I want to see how the information age promotes or confuses the goals of the organization. TRANSITION HERE...CB

 

NEW HEADER HERE?CB

 

On Wednesday September 9th I was able to borrow thirty minutes of Shoshana Shay’s radiant peace promoting time for a very pleasant telephone interview. Shoshana was expecting my call, and greeted me with just as much “bubble” as before. Before we dove in, small talk led us to discover we both had ties to Colorado. Shoshana has a friend in Lakewood (where I grew up), and family in Greeley (where I attended school). After chatting about her childhood trips to the city that provided me 5 years of rollercoaster-like-excitement, I gave Shoshana a more detailed rendition of the assignment, my intentions, and my interest in the organization.

 

After telling me how much she wants to enroll in the class, Shoshana gave me the run-down on The Radiant Peace Foundation. She confirmed a lot of information I had discovered on the web-site about when the organization was formed, when the museum was started, and the ideals they promote. Shoshana told me something I did not know when she explained the creation of the awards program. The organizations largest program, the Radiant Peace Education Award Program was created through the school system in 1990. The organization started by sending information to schools inviting MAYBE A DIFFERENT WORD OTHER THAN INVITING SO IT'S NOT REPEATED IN THE SENTENCE..CBteachers to invite their students to submit essays revolving around a “radiant peace like” theme. As time progressed, art and other projects became eligible for entry. It was interesting to hear Shoshana describe the importance of a parent signed permission slip for the entries. I thought a little bit about creative control, and wondered if some of the best entries could be from kids without permission from their “representation.”

 

I asked Shoshana how people represent the organization nationally and she told me some stories. The first one was about a small project in Michigan. A group of students all adopted a business and held a poster competition. The posters exclaimed messages like “Fly your radiant peace” and “Plant radiant peace”. All of them pertaining to the business the student adopted START WITH THE STUDENT ADOPTED...SEEMS TO BE THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE, PROBABLY LESS CONFUSING IF YOU START SENTENCE WITH THE SUBJECT. Shoshana politely remembered my description of the assignment, and humored my appetite for a community literacy reference by making sure to point out the relevance of this example’s community involvement. Next she told me about a chocolate party[yummy for peace in Iowa, but not without first emphasizing her personal love for chocolate. I asked how this small organization in St. Petersburg managed to radiate beyond the barriers of the United States and she told me a surprising story. She told me about a city in Romania (I think Alexandria) Anyway, she said it began in a classroom of students participating in similar radiant peace projects, and now every year on the International Day Of Radiant Peace the city celebrates, and the mayor reads a proclamation. Sounds pretty cool, but what is radiant peace? Shoshana Shay simply says “There is no prescription.” I ask Shoshana why the organization is so focused on children and without hesitation she responds “Kids know directly, they say it clearly and specifically.”

 

MAYBE A NEW HEADING ABOUT RELIGION AND POLITICS?

 

Now, what about religion? I asked Shoshana how religion affects the operation. She told me that “peace starts in each of us and radiates out.” She explained that this concept is not dependent on any religious belief. Shoshana was sure to inform me that winners of the Radiant Peace Education Awards have been attendees of Jewish, Buddhist, and Catholic schools as well as attendees of public schools. “And politics?” I said. Shoshana had a few more words for me on this one. She was quick to clarify that the organization is not a bunch of anti-war “peaceniks.” (I was kind of hoping they were, but oh well.) She told me that sometimes misconception about the group occurs due to the semantics of the word peace. She explained that in this context peace should not be interpreted as the opposite of war. She told me that radiant peace has a place in the presence of war, and goes on to describe a soldier in Iraq who found out from friends that when you Google his name they found themselves on “some peace website”. Shoshana answered the concerned soldiers phone call, and reminded him of his “award winning” example of radiant peace submitted when he was eleven. This made me think of how crazy it is that the internet has provided us a window to our past selves that was not there before. How documented will our youthful endeavors become as technology progresses? How will we communicate with, and interpret the old us? REALLY GOOD COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS HERE....CB

 

It was not difficult for me to understand Shoshana’s very confident description of an organization that operates on collective support for one very electric concept. I am inspired by the idea of peace transcending any sort of human classification. I can see though why one would say “well what do they do exactly?” I thought the same thing. When do we protest? Where do I sign up for the anti-war march? Who is the politician we are gonna GOING TO disagree with? There has to be some sort of injustice to oppose, or some religion to crucify for its unethical leaders. But no, this peace is about symbolism. This peace is about inspiration. This peace can mean whatever we want it to. What a commons! And this commons NICE awards youthful minds for their inspirational art. It is not about opposition or division, it is about participation. The interview had me comparing the transcendent qualities of radiant peace to the transcendent qualities of the internet, and I realized that they were a match made in… well, whatever idea of perfection you prefer.

 

MAYBE A NEW HEADER HERE...

 

Now, I want to help already interested Shoshana see how some of the “WIKed” stuff we are experimenting with in class mixed with my interest in her organization can be useful. Shoshana gave me an idea of events coming up, and days that would be convenient for me to visit the museum. I am confident I will discover ways in which the speedy radiating qualities of the internet can connect individuals who might be interested in the program, expand the potential of the organizations growth, and support the message that anyone can participate. Shoshana works for an organization that depends on a consistentlyMAYBE ELIMINATE THIS ADVERB...ADVERBS TEND TO TAKE AWAY FROM CONCISE WRITING.. expanding concept of community inspiration. Not only that, the organization embodies ideas of a non-biased acceptance and right to participate. The same standards we are so carefully attempting to analyze through our text, class discussion, and Wiki fun. Applying the principals of radiant peace to a world communication system we have collectively found is often discriminatory or restrictive will be an absolute adventure. It will be awesome to see how much freedom, and how much constraint need to be applied to a medium or a message that typically spreads like wild fire.

 

OVERALL, WELL ORGANIZED AND YOU HAVE SOME PROVOCATIVE QUESTIONS HERE. ENJOYED READING IT. THANKS, BRIAN. CB

 

In order to decide the type of case study I would like to employ for my project I did some investigation on the different types of case studies. I found a website that seems to have some good general knowledge regarding case studies.

http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/research/casestudy/com2b1.cfm

 

This Colorado State University website divides case studies into four sub-categories. The first is an illustrative case study. These are used as a tool for the reseacher to show their audience how one or two occurances of a specific event can provide a common understanding of the issue or topic that is being discussed. For my project an illustrative case study would be easy to utilize in that the Radiant Peace Foundation sponsors events and recognizes symbolistic representations of its message across the world that can be connected to a very basic core message. If my intention was to inform an audience of the principals of the organization, and provide examples of how these principals are being enacted and represented, than an illustrative case study would be choice.

 

Next is an exploratory case study. These are used to generate questions that will be applied to a larger project, and to discuss possible ways of measuring its data. I would catogorize this as sort of hypothesis forming. If I were to apply this to my project I would take the questions I have already asked Shoshana Shay and continue to revise them and generate follow up questions. I would select a specific lense to look through or type of measurement to apply to the questions with the most relevance to a more concrete investigation of an aspect of the organization. Following this I would decide what large scale investigation I was going to embark on. I would then use these questions and measurement methods as one form of suplementation for my project or argument.

 

A cumulitive case study is inacted by pulling together similar investigations that have already been conducted in order to use all the relevant knowledge that has been previously uncovered. The researcher will then use this knoledge in conjunction with their own to create a more broad array of information for thier readers. In my case I would find an aspect of the Radiant Peace Foundation to investigate. At the moment I am contemplating digging deeper into how the use of symbols plays a part in this organizations operation. Using a cumulitive case study would allow me to review other similar projects pertaining to symbolism and non-profits, or symbolism and organizations, or the history of symbols and society. I could even take a more socialogical approach and look at how the use of symbols affect our human need for belonging to groups or causes. I could do a whole project on flags as an extention of humans. I could investigate how the Radiant Peace Foundation uses our need to advertise our beliefs in order find community with friends, strangers, and other human beings very far away from us.

 

http://www.radiantpeace.org/rpbanner.html

 

The last sub-category is a critical instance case study. This type of case study has two purposes. One is to apply one or two sources of information to a specific unique interest. I could use this type with my project by really focusing in on how my organization directly affects the the city of St. Petersburg, or the children involved, or how it can directly affect the likleyhood that partisipants will involve themselves with different causes or organizations. The second purpose is to offer a counterpoint to a commonly agreed upon theme. I could search for flaws in the logic of The Radiant Peace Foundations assertions about its philosophies, or search for an argument that challenges others common interpretation of the message. Almost like defending the organization against being stereotyped. For instance I could offer counterpoints provided by Shoshana regarding her fear that the organization is often viewed as a group of "peace niks" or "anti-war promoters."

 

All of these types of case studies could easily lend themselves to my project. Actually, I am sure that I will involve aspects of all of them (if I have not already) on my journey to create an argument, a theory, and a recomendation. I feel like for the most part I would like to focus my energies in the cumulitive direction. After some feedback in class, and with a desire to investigate how a broad idea can be connected to my organization of interest I feel like I could really get the ball rolling on this symbol stuff. I want to steer my work towards a kind of human nature study as it applies to the our interpretation of belonging and affiliation. With this I can accumulate information from others projects in order to participate with others in the class, and invite feedback and collaboration. I can apply theories about patriatism, the cognitive affect of visual stimuli, technology as an extention of humans, ect. I feel like this is the easiest way to incorporate the class readings, generate a recomendation for Shoshana, and enhance interation with other projects. I think a cumulitive case study will allow me to spend time gathering information that will suplement an assesment of human existance. I can then apply this to the Radiant Peace Foundation, its mission, and its proof or disproof of my assertions.

 

 

 

Patti Responding to Brian's Ethnography

 

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