Research Perspectives / Public Policy / Social Science

One Question Predicted Emotional Breakdown Better Than Any Other – SDP#34

A WWII field psychiatrist found that infantry soldiers in the 5th Army survived a maximum of 238 aggregate combat days (ACD) before a fate of (1) physical casualty, (2) prisoner of war, or (3) psychiatric casualty. For the first time, it was realized that every soldier had a “finite voltage” and sooner or later would break – even if they appeared to have held up magnificently under incredible stress. This understanding demarked a sharp change in thinking that previously held that soldiers that “broke” under pressure did so only due to some psychological flaw.

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Forts, Foraging, Fishing, Nostalgia & Outrage – Being a 1980’s Kid – SDP #25

Articles and studies concur that today’s children do not enjoy the freedom of previous generations – and the effects are not making kid’s safer, but are actually destroying children’s coupling with nature and that deprivation is placing them at increased risks for depression and anxiety. We’ve gone too far and have insulated children from the sun, cold, wind, spider webs, raindrops, etc.

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Logotherapy & Reclaiming Youth From the Existential Vacuum – SDP #21

Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy is a relevant framework and also a confusing term as it makes one think of branding and not the Greek word logos, which is “meaning”. In this podcast, I share why it is important to make youth aware of Logotherapy as a perspective to counter the growing rhetoric of determinism and The Butterfly Effect that are eroding belief in free will and therefore distancing people from a sense of control over self or environment.

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Debunking the Butterfly Effect & Embracing Chaos Theory – SDP #20

The Butterfly Effect is a false premise of illustrating how small initial differences may lead to large unforeseen consequences over time. This is nothing more than cause and effect and yet the Butterfly Effect is spilling across the sciences as some belief that every event has a singular, infinitesimal known origin. It is absurd to propose, and yet to scaffold with a mathematical formula, a relationship between a butterfly flapping its wings in New Mexico as the beginnings of an eventual hurricane in China. Don’t succumb to such hype.

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Discovering the Awesomeness of Multiplayer Video Games – Interview with Seann Dikkers, PhD – SDP #18

Dr. Dikkers regards video gaming the same as other media such as movies and music. It has become part of our society and just like heavy metal music, is not the causal factor of violent behaviors. In fact, as game play increases violent behaviors decrease. Seann examines digital game design and teaching and learning. What can we learn from video games to provide a meaningful experience in classrooms?

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