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An
Historical Overview of the SPED Research
JULY 2006
INTRODUCTION
The Study and Prevention of Psychological
Diseases Foundation (SPED) was officially incorporated in
March 2005. The primary aim of
establishing the organisation was to
promote the prevention and control of psychological
diseases in human beings thereby setting out to ultimately
create the Ideal Human Environment (IHE).
The extensive historical events leading to
the establishment of SPED, is appositely relevant to its aim
(objects), functions and the methods it uses to carry out its
functions. The aim of this paper is to discuss, in brief, the
background relating to the formation of SPED and the rationale
behind the research methods adopted for the future direction
of its research.
HISTORY
1.
Origins
SPED’s aims and functions traces its
origins back to the founder of the research, James G
Salerno. Born in Benevento, Italy in
1947, Salerno immigrated to Australia with his family in 1954.
At
the age of 19, Salerno enlisted in the Australian Army and a
year later was sent for a one year tour of duty in
Vietnam. Salerno experienced the
shocking violence and witnessed firsthand the horrendous
scenes of human carnage and suffering, ever present in war.
Salerno also witnessed immense human
courage and spirit. He saw what could be
achieved with human cooperative effort, albeit in war.
After surviving Vietnam, Salerno returned
to Australia and took stock. He was the third straight
generation from the Salerno family to go to war. He considered
whether the next generation must also go to war. He
considered the millions of young men who had already died in
armed combat. He became determined that
there must be a solution to break the vicious cycle of
conflict that had blighted a century of incredible
technological progress.
Salerno made it his personal quest to
discover a safer way for people to resolve their conflicts.
2.
Initiation with the Australian Aboriginal
In
the pursuing years, Salerno travelled the world extensively,
researching and studying different social systems, cultures
and religions. Salerno also gained qualifications in teaching,
nursing and naturopathy and acquired skills in psychology and
counselling.
Salerno gained broad international
teaching experience in places as distant as America, China,
Poland, Papua New Guinea and the United Kingdom. Through these
experiences, he observed many different cultures and the
methods used to resolve their personal, interpersonal and
social conflict. He observed that in all
cultures, genuine efforts to resolve conflict were at the
forefront of social structure. However, all too often,
those efforts were in vain and conflicts ended in law courts,
tribal justice systems or war.
Salerno lived with and became an initiated
Aboriginal (warrior) of the Pitjantjatjara tribe - a rare
honour for a white man (skin name Tjabuljarri).
Salerno introduced basic
human ethical conduct between tribes and tribal members. He
assisted with money management skills, personal hygiene,
nutritional education, (especially for the children) and
improved inter-cultural relations. He
began to develop and promote simple business practices such as
the selling of their traditional art and artefacts in
Australia and overseas.
During this time, Salerno
was also the Principal of the Mt Ebenezer Primary School in
Northern Territory. Although the school had
existed for seven years, previously none of the children had
successfully been taught to read or write English.
Salerno introduced the reading and writing of the
Aboriginal native language into the curriculum.
Salerno adapted his teaching methods to
create a program specifically designed for the Aboriginal
psychology. Within six months, the
children were writing stories in both English and their native
tongue. As a result of this
opportunity, six of these students became the first
Aboriginals to graduate to secondary school from the Mt
Ebenezer area to Yirarra College in Alice Springs.
Following his placing at Mt Ebenezer,
Salerno also taught at Yirrara College in the Northern
Territory and developed a special class for adolescent
students with behavioural problems. He established and
implemented a program called Compassionate Teaching, based on his
experience and discoveries of differing ethnic and traditional
cultures. Within two months, a significant change to behaviour problems was
evident.
Salerno’s experience with tribal elders
gave him further insight as to how social harmony could be
created and maintained in any society, whether it be a
traditional or a technologically advanced society. Salerno observed that
it was of crucial importance to create social harmony in a ‘technologically advanced society’
because, whilst most ordinary people would agree that
society’s tremendous technological and scientific progress has
eliminated many of the hardships and diseases suffered by our
predecessors, they would also say that modern society has been
disintegrating socially.
3.
The IHE Research Team
Salerno initially asked his family and
friends to cooperate with him in his quest to create an
environment where people could feel emotionally safe from and
with each other. He gathered his five brothers and sisters,
his mother and father, his cousins and close relatives, his
friends, his associates and his colleagues. He
extended this invitation to include their friends and family
and associates and colleagues. He also advertised in
newspapers for members of the community.
Most of Salerno’s family and friends did
not share in this pursuit. By the time Salerno had
assembled the research team, many of those who commenced, were
not related or close friends, but rather people with a shared
concern for the wretched human state of conflict and a
commitment to finding a solution. It was through their shared
quest they developed strong relationships.
In the early 1980’s this group, consisting
of a small number of families and individuals, became the
first ‘living social research team’ endeavouring to create a
safer society (which later would be termed the
IHE).
This pioneering group of people
self-funded the research team. Utilising experiential
real-life action research methods, the research team were all
active participants and co researchers. A
number of the founding members of SPED remain as a part of the
research team.
4.
Crime Free Experiment
In
1989, representatives from the ‘research team’ presented a
document titled ‘Crime Free Experiment’ to the Shadow
Prime Minister, The Honourable Andrew Peacock, in a private
meeting in Canberra. The ‘Crime
Free Experiment’ was a detailed program to reduce and
relieve the social and
financial burdens associated with crime in Australia. The
research and development of the ‘Crime Free’ proposal was a
culmination of the ‘research teams’ findings to that date. The
Liberal party did not succeed at the subsequent election and
the proposal was not put into action.
5.
The ‘EQ’ Book Released
In
1996, Salerno released a book titled ‘Your
Whole Intelligence: Emotional Quotient (EQ) - Are You Ready
for it!’ The ‘EQ’ book was a culmination of research
undertaken by the research team to discover and develop a
measurement for a person’s whole intelligence.
This measure, coined the ‘Emotional
Quotient’ accommodated a broad range of human capacities, such
as impartiality, compassion, intuition and business acumen.
The EQ book spawned national and international speaking
engagements and further application of the EQ in the creation
of the IHE.
6.
National & International
Conferences
Following the release of the ‘EQ’ book,
delegates from the research team presented at a number of
national and international Conferences including:
·
In 1997 the paper titled ‘How to Create an Ideal Human
Environment’ was presented at the World Futures Studies
Federation XV World Conference in Australia.
·
In 1998 a paper on the Emotional Quotient
(E.Q.) was presented to the International Conference for the
Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and
Recreation (ACHPER).
·
In 1998 a paper titled 'The Sustainability
of the Ideal Human Environment for Future Communities’ was
presented at the Professional Futures Forum in Houston, Texas.
·
In 1998 a paper titled, ‘Creating a
Crime-Free Society’, was presented at the World’s Criminology
Conference in Korea.
By 1998, the research team had trialled
and tested a number of the primary principles integral to
creating and implementing the IHE.
The IHE was defined as a
place where all people regardless of race, colour, creed or
religion, can feel emotionally and physically safe from and
with each other. The research focus at this
stage was on the importance of ensuring capable and balanced
leaders who considered the needs of the whole organisation.
The research team considered that by
practising the principles, a working model of the IHE had been
created. The research team wanted to put this working model to
the test.
7.
Project Research 2000 (PR2000)
In 1999, Project Research 2000 (PR2000) was
launched with the aim of testing a working model of the IHE
program. A daring social experiment,
PR 2000 consisted of a group of over 60 men, women and
children. Volunteers were chosen from over 500 applicants of
diverse ethnic, social, generational, educational and
religious backgrounds (including twenty five children and
international participants from China, India and
Austria).
Participants lived in a remote and
inhospitable area of the Kimberley Ranges in Western Australia
for approximately 5 months. The aim of the experiment was to
prove that it was possible to create the IHE, even in the most
physically and emotionally challenging
environments.
Living in tents and swags, this courageous
group of people defied the searing forty degree heat, the
snakes, the flies and geographical isolation in order to
‘road-test’ the principles of the IHE.
The PR2000 experiment was an astounding
success for the IHE research, demonstrating that even in the
harshest emotional and physical environments the IHE was
possible.
The success of PR2000 thrust the research team into
the media limelight and they were then inundated with ‘calls
for help’ from those suffering from various emotional and
psychological maladies and disorders.
8.
The Ideal Human Environment Foundation:
Direct Relief
In
2000, wishing to provide assistance to youth suffering from a
range of social disorders, the ‘research team’ founded the
Ideal Human Environment Foundation. The IHE Foundation was
established primarily to provide support, stability and
assistance for young people suffering from social disorders
(ie. drug and alcohol abuse, depression, criminal behaviour,
suicidal tendencies and antisocial behaviour).
In
the pursuing five years, the IHE Foundation undertook many
programs in support of its aims.
One such program was titled ‘Outback Advance’ for
troubled youth suffering from substance abuse, addictions,
depression and other psychological disorders.
Outback Advance (OA) was held in the harsh
outback deserts of Australia. Participants were removed
from familiar surroundings and provided with intense physical
and emotional challenges. In this exigent environment,
participants were provided with the IHE 6x20 principles to
help break the vicious cycle of self destructive behaviour in
which they were entrenched.
During this period, the research team
continued to function with its ongoing discoveries
complimenting the aims of the IHE Foundation. The research
team performed extensive interviews and case histories for all
OA participants (and families where possible).
The case histories documented factors such
as; other family members with mental health disorders, an
upbringing in dysfunctional family environments, socioeconomic
factors, early childhood signs of mental and psychological
disorders and maladaptive behaviours. The OA findings have
supported the growing body of knowledge that many individuals
who suffer from psychological disorders are raised in
dysfunctional families(1),
often have a family history of psychological disorders and
also may have demonstrated early childhood signs of
psychological disorders and maladaptive behaviours.
9.
The Barracks
In 2001, the IHE Foundation established an
accommodation facility called ‘The Barracks’
for short and long term accommodation in Adelaide, SA.
The Barracks were used as accommodation for participants of
IHE workshops, live in programs (with the provision of ongoing
support), sponsorship and mentoring programs as well as the
School of Success programs.
10.
Safe Schools Program (SSP)
In
2003, the IHE Foundation developed the ‘Safe Schools Program’
(SSP). The SSP was a step-by-step
program addressing concerns in the education system relating
to bullying, apathy, aggression, and other psychological and
behavioural issues. Also in 2003, a large delegation from the
IHE Foundation including a number of children, presented the
SSP to The Honourable Brendan Nelson in Canberra.
The IHE Foundation also forwarded a SSP proposal to Sir
Guy Green, the then Governor General of Australia.
11.
‘Inspire series’ for Unemployed
In
2004, the IHE Foundation developed a program for the long term
unemployed titled the ‘Inspire Series.’
The ‘Inspire Series’ addressed numerous
psychological disorders that can be present in the long term
unemployed. The ‘Inspire Series’ provided insight into
the impaired perception and behaviour that sabotages an
individual’s efforts to be a productive member of society’s
work force. The ‘Inspire Series’ was delivered to
hundreds of unemployed during 2004.
12.
Conferences
During the period of 2000 – 2004 delegates
from the IHE Foundation, in cooperation with the ongoing
research team, presented research findings at the following
conferences:
·
In 2001 the paper, ‘Suicide Prevention; A New Paradigm’
was presented at the 8th SPA
National Suicide Prevention Conference in Sydney,
Australia.
·
In 2001 the paper, ‘Treating Substance Abuse’ was
presented at the 2nd
International Conference on Drugs and Young People in
Melbourne, Australia.
·
In 2002 the paper, ‘A Paradigm shift – Eliminate Crime’
was presented at the Australian and New Zealand Society of
Criminology Conference, Brisbane, Australia.
·
In 2004 the Key note
presentation of ‘Emotional Quotient (EQ) The Measure of
Whole Intelligence at the NESA National Conference,
Adelaide, Australia.
13.
Prevention as a method to control
psychological disorders
In
2004, the research team ‘took
stock’ and considered the accomplishments and
discoveries of the past 2-3 decades of the research and
implementation of the IHE 6x20 program, including the various
programs they had undertaken, aimed at youth suffering serious
social disorders.
In
cooperation with the IHE Foundation, the research team had
invested significant time at conferences, workshops, seminars,
women’s groups and men’s groups assisting
the
public to improve their lives through the
implementation of the IHE 6x20 program. The
research team had also delivered numerous programs providing
direct relief and had engaged in hours of ‘crisis mentoring’
to sufferers in emotional and psychological distress.
There was no doubt that the OA programs,
the Inspire Series, mentoring and other programs had been
successful in improving the participants’ ability to more
accurately perceive themselves and the consequences of their
actions. Participants reported their psychological states had
improved and a general sense of emotional balance and
well-being was achieved.
However, once participants returned to
their familiar social environment, the research data suggested
that they experienced difficulty in maintaining consistent
emotional homeostasis, without ongoing support.
During this time of revision, the research
team also conducted an extensive literature review to assess
the academic reporting of causative factors in mental and
psychological disorders. Rather than help treat the
symptom, the research team wanted to investigate prevention of
psychological and mental disorders or diseases.
14.
Understanding Psychological Diseases
Mental health can be described as ‘a
state of wellbeing in which the individual
realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal
stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is
able to make a contribution to his or her community’.(2)
Conversely the terms used to describe
states of mental ‘sickness’ have included terms such as mental
and/or psychological ailment, disorder, disease, illness,
malady, deformity or defect. These various descriptions
all relate to a disorder that has a negative impact on an
individual’s cognitive, emotional, behavioural and/or social
ability.
Often these terms are used interchangeably
where the distinction between these terms are not always well
defined. For the purpose of this paper, the term
‘psychological disorders’ is used to describe all mental
and/or psychological ailments, disorders, diseases,
impairment, illnesses, maladies and/or defects.
The IHE does not refer to the ideal
physical environment. Fortunately, technological
advances have assured a high level of safety and comfort in
the physical realms of our existence.
The IHE refers to the ideal psychological,
emotional and social conditions that all people would wish to
live in if given the opportunity, that is; ‘a
place where all people regardless of race, colour, creed or
religion can feel emotionally and physically safe from and
with each other.’
The only factor that prevents the IHE from
being created are the humans themselves.
People are in constant conflict with each other, their
family, their friends, their government and world views.
Conflicts occur because people have differing
perceptions on reality. A person’s perception of
reality differs based on one’s psychological makeup.
When a person’s perception is in conflict with reality,
they suffer from some form of psychological disorder or
distress.
Our research reveals that the IHE results
when people adjust their perception to reality. An
observation of the research appeared to be that psychological
discord is inversely proportionate to a persons ability to
perceive reality. .
The IHE 6X20 program is a set of
principles that when practically applied in daily life,
assists the individual to adjust their perception with
reality, thereby preventing psychological disorders and
suffering.
It
is axiomatic therefore, that the IHE is an environment where
those who live in it experience a state of mental health, free
from psychological disorders.
15.
The Birth of the Study & Prevention of
Psychological Disease Foundation
The research team came to the realisation
that the provision of ‘relief’ to people in psychological
crisis, was to put energy at the wrong end of the ‘disease’
cycle. In layman’s terms, it is
likened to driving the ambulance to the bottom of the hill
rather than constructing a barrier fence at ‘the top’.
The focus of the research team began to
shift from providing direct relief to people in psychological
crisis, to looking for methods of early detection and
prevention. The ultimate aim would
remain the same; to create the Ideal Human Environment, but it
would achieve this by prevention and control of psychological
disease.
Subsequently, in 2005, ‘The Study &
Prevention of Psychological Disease Foundation’ was
incorporated as a ‘Health Promotion Charity’.
SPED’s primary aim was to promote the prevention and control of
psychological diseases in human beings therefore setting out
to ultimately create the Ideal Human Environment (IHE).
SPED’s primary function was to operate and
fund a research team that functions 7 days a week, 24 hours a
day, and whose purpose is to research human psychological
disease by studying a cross-section of human behaviour in a
variety of emotional, social and physical conditions,
circumstances and environments.
16.
Family: The Research Laboratory
The aim of the SPED research team was to
detect early signs of psychological disorders and implement
the IHE 6X20 principles in order to prevent more serious
expressions of the disorder.
As established in SPED’s longitudinal
research, essential to early detection and prevention of
psychological disorders, is to study social support
structures, and in particular the family unit. A
functional family unit is essential for psychological and
physical health. Family dysfunction has been associated with
a broad range of problems in children (e.g: low self esteem,
increased risk of child abuse) through to adolescence and
adulthood (e.g: increased risk of mental disorders such as
depressive disorders, substance abuse disorders, and
personality disorders).(3)
In recent years there is evidence the
family unit has disintegrated. Domestic violence has
dramatically increased across Australia over the past 10
years(4) and divorce rates have
increased. Concomitant with the
breakdown of the family has been the increase in crime and
psychological disorders.
The research team have studied cultures
and communities all over the world, living and working with
the Australian Aboriginals, Chinese, Indians, Malaysians,
Papua New Guineans, Italians, Americans, New Zealanders and
South Pacific Islanders.
Whilst the family unit is a common feature
to all these cultures, the nature and importance placed on ‘family
relationships’ varies between cultures. Early in the
research it was observed that there may be a connection
between the integrity of ‘family
relationships’ and the quality of emotional, psychological
and physical harmony between people, which may ultimately
determine social cohesion.
An important discovery of the research was
that a community only achieves a sense of social cohesion when
each member is given a position relative to each other member
of that community. Concomitant with gaining a
position in one’s community comes an understanding of one’s
place, role and relationship to each other member in that
community. This includes the knowledge
of who one is accountable to and for (whether it be their
immediate ‘family’ or their extended family, community or
society).
Therefore, the fundamental paradigm is to
establish a solid family and a ‘constitution of
relationships.’ This underpins the
study and prevention of psychological disorders, and is
necessary to create the IHE.
In seeking to prevent psychological
disorders, principles of friendship, accountability and
cooperation must be practiced and relationships established
and strengthened.
The practice of safe principles for human
interaction in the family unit builds the foundation for an
emotionally and physically safe and healthy society.
A
common misperception in society is that ‘family by blood’ is a
recipe for success, harmony and cooperation.
Sharing one’s genetics by no means guarantees a good
relationship. In reality, many violent crimes against women
and children are predominantly committed by those related to
them.
An Australian Institute of Criminology study
analysing homicides in Australia between 1989 and 1999 found
that 20.8% of all homicides
involved intimate partners.(5)
It has also been estimated that in 30% to 60% of families
where domestic violence is a factor, child abuse is also
occurring.(6)
Therefore, the family structure was deemed
the appropriate theatre for the study, early detection and
prevention of psychological disorders.
The SPED research ‘laboratory,’ by
necessity, had to be the family unit.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
This document has provided a summary of
the more significant events preceding the incorporation of
SPED in order to provide researchers important historical
context for future research direction.
The SPED Foundation is now in the early
stages of engaging research into the study and prevention of
psychological disease. Armed with an immense source
of research material from the decades preceding its formation,
it is now able to pursue an in-depth empirical study of
psychological diseases in varying environments and conditions
with the purpose of discovering methods of preventing these
diseases.
SPED anticipates that after a period of
intense research, SPED will be positioned to produce a solid
and working program that will have a broad and far-reaching
application to the myriad of psychological disorders currently
affecting our society.
References
(1)
Panagopoulos I, (2002), Importance of assessing family dysfunction
in conjunction with standardised measures when treating
substance abuse, School of Psychology, Deakin
University.
(2)
The World Health Report, (2001), Mental Health: New understanding, new
hope, Geneva: World Health Organisation.
(3)
ibid
(4)
Stewart J, (2005), Australian Domestic and
Family Violence Clearinghouse
(5)
Mulroney J, (2003) Australian Domestic and Family Violence
Clearinghouse
(6)
ibid
Methodology Overview of the SPED
Research
JULY 2006
1.
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this document is to provide
an overview of SPED’s research methodology and
provide background rationale to the current structure and
design of the research. The research method is not designed to
be entirely prescriptive but rather an evolving model that
allows for the incorporation of new ideas and knowledge as the
research evolves.
The research method adopted by the SPED
research team is termed ‘experiential research’.
‘Experiential research’ is qualitative in nature and
based on a model of research similar to the participatory
research models of ‘Cooperative Inquiry’ and ‘Participatory
Action Research’.
These methods are described below:
2.
METHODOLOGY
2.1 Method of Inquiry
a)
Qualitative
Qualitative research is a broad umbrella term for
research methodologies that describe and explain persons’
experiences, behaviours, interactions and social contexts (1) without the use of statistical
procedures or quantification.(2) It aims to understand the
richness and complexity of social experience by attending
closely to the actions, interactions, and social contexts of
everyday life.(3)
Qualitative methodologies are especially
appropriate for understanding individuals’ and groups’
subjective experiences of health and disease; social, cultural
and political factors in health and diseases; and interactions
among participants and health care settings.(2,4) It involves systematically
‘watching people in their own territory.’(5)
The goal is to describe the dynamics and
texture of everyday life that quantitative research methods
typically overlook in their formal operationalizations and
numerical representations.(3) Rather than simply
designating and enumerating categories of experience,
qualitative researchers provide detailed descriptions of the
social organisation and interpersonal processes in
question.(3)
Qualitative research inquiry adopts a working scepticism with respect to
what everyone ostensibly ‘knows.’
(3) Across the board, the
researcher implicitly challenges what is common knowledge.
The scepticism that
galvanises qualitative inquiry prompts qualitative researchers
to scrutinize social life at close range in order to
understand and document the organization of social life as it
is practiced.
The goal has been to look carefully at
social phenomena to view in detail what other forms of
observation may have ‘missed.’
(3) A feature of qualitative research it to
begin from ‘where people are’ and work upwards toward
generalisations from this premise rather than to start with
large-scale structures and work down to the level of everyday
life(3).
Qualitative research is committed to investigating social life in process,
as it unfolds in practice. Qualitative researchers acknowledge
that the researcher is a subject in his or her own right; he
or she is present in the same world as those studied, and
actively participates in the formulation of what comes to be
regarded as data.
(3)
b)
Cooperative Inquiry
Cooperative Inquiry, also known as
Collaborative Inquiry was first
proposed by John Heron in 1971 and later expanded with
Peter Reason in 1996-7. The major idea of cooperative
inquiry is to ‘research “with” rather than “on” people.’ It
emphasizes that all active participants are fully involved in
research decisions as co-researchers.
Cooperative inquiry creates a research
cycle among four different types of knowledge: propositional
knowing (as in contemporary science), practical knowing (the
knowledge that comes with actually doing what you propose),
experiential knowing (the feedback we get in real-time about
our interaction with the larger world) and presentational
knowing (the artistic rehearsal process through which we craft
new practices).
The research process includes these four
stages at each cycle with deepening experience and knowledge
of the initial proposition, or of new propositions, at every
cycle.
c)
Participatory Action Research (PAR)
Participatory Action Research (PAR) was
promoted principally by Orlando Fals-Borda, a
Colombian sociologist and political activist, in Latin
America. PAR is an interactive inquiry
process that balances problem solving actions implemented in a
collaborative context with data-driven collaborative analysis
or research to understand underlying causes enabling future
predictions about personal and organizational change. (6)
d)
Action Research
Action research challenges traditional
social science, by moving beyond reflective knowledge created
by outside experts sampling variables, to an active
moment-to-moment theorizing, data collecting, and inquiry
occurring in the midst of emergent structure.
‘Knowledge is always gained through action
and for action. From this starting point, to question the
validity of social knowledge is to question, not how to
develop a reflective science about action, but how to develop
genuinely well-informed action — how to conduct an action
science.’(7) In short,
performing action research is the same as performing an
experiment, thus it is an empirical process.
Action research was further conceptualized
by Kurt Lewin and later elaborated and expanded on by
other behavioural scientists. Concerned with social change
and, more particularly, with effective, permanent social
change, Lewin believed that the motivation to change was
strongly related to action: If people are active in decisions
affecting them, they are more likely to adopt new ways.
Lewin's description of the process of
change involves three steps:(8)
·
Unfreezing: Faced with a dilemma or disconfirmation,
the individual or group becomes aware of a need to change
·
Changing: The situation is diagnosed and new
models of behaviour are explored and tested.
·
Refreezing: Application of new behaviour is
evaluated, and if reinforcing, adopted.
e)
Cycles of Experiential Research
inquiry:
In
the SPED ‘experiential’ research model, the researchers are
both the researchers and the participants (one and the
same). The research team is the
same team participating in all the research endeavours and the
decision making process. No distinction is made between the
participant researchers.
The research is an ongoing interactive
cyclical process of observation, discovery, action
intervention, practice and feedback as outlined below.
Living Observations: Observations are gathered from daily
experience of living 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24X7),
with a focus on any incident that involves some form of
emotional, psychological, physical discord whether experienced
on a personal or interpersonal level.
Discovery: The process of discovering
factors relating to a ‘discord’.
Action intervention: a new paradigm of thinking
and action is proposed and implemented based on the
discovery process.
Practice: Knowledge is gained through the rehearsal
of new practices in everyday living 24x7.
Feedback: Implementation of the new paradigm is
evaluated and if reinforced is adopted and the research cycle
begins again.
2.2 The Research Laboratory:
Family
a)
Research Team Structure
The design of the research requires that
the researchers are either part of a family structure, and if
not already related, will become part of a ‘family unit’ as a
participant in the research.
The current research team consists of many
of the original research team that had already been working
together, some for almost 30 years. At the beginning of 2005,
the research team consisted of 7 Males 10 Females and 9
children. The number of research team members since that time
has increased and the family dynamics have altered. It
is expected that as the research continues the dynamics will
naturally alter as children are born into the research, and
members leave or join the research team.
The researchers are varied in their
occupation including lawyers, teachers, doctors, nurses,
farmers, politicians, car salesmen, butchers, business
managers, accountants, fashion models, engineers, students and
road builders.
b)
Research Team Agreements
Prior to becoming a Volunteer Full Time
Research Team Member (FTR) each person over the age of 18 is
required to complete a FTR Application and a FTR Agreement on
behalf of themselves and any of their dependants under the age
of 18 years of age.
In
order to be a FTR, applicants need to undergo a probation
period. This probation period is different depending on the
applicant however, in all cases, is no less than three months.
Being a FTR is not a lifestyle for every person. It
requires rigorous psychological, emotional, spiritual,
financial and physical scrutiny and accountability without any
significant long-term financial or material gain.
2.3 Conducting The
Research
a)
Living Observations
The research is conducted on a 24 x 7,
all-inclusive basis, to study human psychological disease, how
it expresses itself in various environments and circumstances;
its causes and its triggers.
All prior assumptions of what would create
harmony within the human ‘psyche’ and between people are put
to the test no matter how ‘obvious’ the assumption may be.
The ‘experiential research’ is based on
what occurs in real-life, with real families, in natural
settings over a 24-hour day. Individuals are accountable for all their
actions and emotional manifestations every minute of the day;
24x7.
At
daily meetings, observations are noted with respect to:
·
any activity that creates personal or
interpersonal discord
·
cognitive and behavioural patterns
·
personality traits
·
familial similarities in cognition and
behaviour
The research to-date has found that it is
not sufficient to restrict the research of human behaviour to
the hours of 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Neither has it been
suffice to conduct the research activities just on Saturday
morning or in an air-conditioned office.
Researching in such restricted time periods precludes
many varied issues that arise from human behaviour across the
spectrum of work, family and social life.
The research to date has found
discrepancies in the way people act in the work place when
compared to the home environment.
These discrepancies have related to levels of
cooperation, accountability and responsibility displayed.
This has been a vital discovery in contributing to the
current research model and design.
For this reason, it was imperative that
the research needed to study all human behaviour, 24 hours per
day, 7 days a week, in all of life’s physical and emotional
vicissitudes.
Conducting the research 24x7 places an
immense physical and emotional toll on the researchers. Every
researcher acquiesces to all actions and behaviours being
transparent to the whole research team and is accountable to
each and every of his or her actions.
This can be extremely emotionally
challenging and sometimes intimidating where ones decisions
and actions lead to consequences such as conflict with others,
loss of money, or an accident involving harm to person or
property. However, the research team
have conceded that such is necessary in order to achieve an
accurate and serious study of the causes and prevention of
psychological disorders.
In
the research, all beliefs and paradigms are challenged to
determine if they exacerbate psychological disorders in
oneself and others, which will ultimately sabotage efforts to
create the IHE. This includes questioning:
·
religious beliefs;
·
cultural traditions;
·
work ethics;
·
politics;
·
relationships (marriage, divorce,
homosexuality); and
·
attitudes towards matters such as money,
health, education, discipline and punishment.
The research team members do
not have ‘holidays’ or ‘time-off.’ Meetings are called at any
time of the day or night to resolve any type of concern or
event.
At
times, the research undertakes special projects to create
varied experiences in order to study the human emotional state
in its entirety. This may involve a
researcher driving a rusty old car at one time and a luxury
car at another. It may include a researcher
obtaining a higher education degree whilst others not
attending university at all.
It
may require researchers to live with cultures overseas whilst
others live with the Australian Aboriginals. Some researchers may deliver
their children in hospital whilst another may deliver at
home.
These are all part of normal human
experiences and hence subject matter for research
scrutiny.
b)
Discovery
The research team meet daily to analyse
observations in order to discover causative factors.
In
the research, no complaint is too petty. If a complaint is
important to an individual, it has to be resolved. No adult’s
issue is left unresolved. No child’s issue is left unresolved.
Even a baby’s cry is seen as a cry for help and therefore an
issue that needs to be resolved. In the research, nothing is
too petty.
In
determining the cause, the main focus is on the individual’s
perception and recollection of events.
Researchers who are not
intimately involved in the discord, add an impartial analysis
of the events. All researchers form part of
what the research team coin: the ‘Wisdom Bank’.
The Wisdom Bank (defined in the IHE 6X20
program under Paradigm no 3), is the term used to explain the
impartial and collective wisdom belonging to a group of people
who come together with the intent to elicit an impartial
understanding of reality. The Wisdom Bank is based on SPED’s
research discoveries in varying cultures and the methods of
governance used in ancient and current systems. In
simplistic terms, the Wisdom Bank can be likened to the Jury
used in the Australian Court system.
The judicial systems entrusts the task of
deciphering the relevant facts and making the crucial life and
death judgments to a group of ‘common’ people. These ‘common’
people have no formal qualifications in law. The entire legal
fraternity, with all its qualified knowledge and expertise,
delegate the task of determining guilt or innocence to the
‘common’ and ‘reasonable’ person. It
is, in fact required by law, that these jurors have no formal
qualifications in law.
In order to create and maintain an
emotionally and physically safe environment for the discovery
process, the rules for Safe Sparring
are used. Safe Sparring rules (defined in the IHE 6X20 program under
Paradigm no 4) are an integral part of the IHE 6X20
principles. During the development of the IHE 6x20
program, it became clear when people
communicate they often unintentionally hurt each other.
People of all ages have
strong views, even the very young! People like to express
their views, however, these expressions are often perceived as
an attack. When a person feels
attacked, the response is to either counter attack or ‘walk
out’.
In
order to facilitate the discovery process it became necessary
to inject principles to ensure verbal expressions and
interactions safe without quelling, mitigating or compromising
human expression. Safe Sparring rules are
attitudes and verbal decorum, which maintain emotional and
physical homeostasis. When emotional and physical
homeostasis is maintained, people are not harmed and do not
‘walk away.’
c)
Action Intervention.
The action intervention consisted of
providing:
·
a new paradigm (reality) of cognition
(thought) and behaviour; and
·
emotional and physical activities in order
to facilitate the integration and assimilation of the new
paradigm.
These new paradigms (taken from the IHE
6x20 paradigms) relate to the way in which an
individual perceives, interprets and relates to the world
around them. To gain the most equitable and effective action
intervention, all the researchers (the Wisdom Bank) are
involved.
d)
Practice
The experiential phase allows for the
rehearsal of the action intervention. All researchers practice
principles (and assist each other to practice the principles)
for safe human interaction as a part of their everyday living,
24x7.
e)
Feedback
Feedback is provided in an ongoing basis
and also at daily meetings. As action interventions are
practiced, immediate feedback is provided so any adjustments
can be made.
Positive results are measured in terms of
how much the intervention was able to achieve on a long-term
basis:
·
Reduced emotional and physical
stress;
·
Feeling of well-being; and
·
Prevention of aberrant cognition and
behaviour.
When an action intervention achieves
positive results under varying conditions and in varied
situations, then it becomes a principle for safe human
interaction. From these findings, principles are discovered,
that when practiced in everyday life, are steps to prevent and
control psychological disease. These principles are practised
to refine the IHE 6x20 Paradigm Shifts. Fundamental to the
aims of the research is to find principles that, when applied
to any human environment, will facilitate safe human
interaction in any human relationship.
These principles need to be ‘human friendly’ and they
need to be functional, practical and applicable in daily life
by the everyday person.
2.4
Funding
Finances are the ‘life blood’ of the
research - without funding, the research cannot continue.
Managing the research funds includes fundraising and
investing as a part of the research.
The direction of the research is largely
directed and restricted by what projects SPED can afford to
undertake. If SPED can afford to send
researchers overseas to experience a new cultural experience,
the research team may resolve to do this. If
a suggested project is outside of the budget but deemed of
value, then SPED will assess what fundraising projects can be
undertaken by the researchers in order to raise the required
funds.
Although individual volunteer researchers
may advocate various research projects, expenditure cannot be
made by personal discretion without full authority from the
research team and the SPED Board.
Just as every behaviour in the SPED
research is subject to inquiry and analysis, so too is every
financial decision and behaviour relating to financial issues
subject to in-depth analysis. This accountability is
essential for carrying out the research.
This early discovery has evolved the structure of the
research to its current form.
In
most charitable endeavours, funds are obtained through various
avenues such as government grants, public fundraising, ‘door
knock appeals’, telethons and raffles.
Unique to the SPED research is the intent
to be self-funded, largely through the physical efforts of the
researchers themselves.
As part of the research function, funds are raised by
research team activities. Scrutiny is undertaken for cost
cutting exercises, investment options, spending accountability
and all responsible fiduciary processes a prudent organisation
would implement. Financial responsibilities and activities
form part of the everyday living experiences that are analysed
by the researchers.
The research is funded by concomitantly
conducting research activities. Fundamental to the research,
is that the researchers live ‘normal’ lives, being placed in
different exterior environments to elicit diverse interior
emotions, psychological states and reactions. SPED therefore
conducts its fundraising whilst also carrying out its primary
objective of operating a research into the human psychological
state. This results in the binary outcome of research material
and research funding being created from the same effort.
SPED achieves this ‘binary’ outcome by
selecting research team members to engage in various vocations
(sometimes of their own trade or specialty, and sometimes a
trade that is completely removed from their usual line of
work).
Fundamental to signing up as a FTR, is the concept that
each person’s life is now ‘under
the microscope.’ Their daily living becomes the research
laboratory. Therefore, the daily expenses of living a normal
life are funded by SPED. By the same token, all activities by
research team members are research activities.
Any income earning activity is a ‘fundraising’ activity
by SPED. No income earning activity can be put to personal
gain by any individual. Therefore, whilst being engaged in the
SPED research, research team members do not accrue any
personal wealth or assets.
When research team members resign from the research,
they have no rights or ownership to any intellectual property,
capital or assets. Researchers leave without
pecuniary value from their research efforts.
When the research methodology is understood, it becomes
clear an empirical social research of this scope, could not
operate otherwise. The research team members’ daily living, 24
hours a day and 7 days a week, must form part of a human
research that encompasses all aspects of living. The lives of
the research team members are funded by SPED in order that
their daily experience can be monitored and analysed for the
purpose of refining the principles necessary to prevent and
control psychological disease and create the IHE.
3.
SUMMARY
This document endeavours to detail the
research methodology adopted by SPED and provide a background
and rationale to the current structure and design of the
research.
As
the SPED research is continually evolving and discoveries are
made, we anticipate the design and structure of the research
may alter, however the methods adopted above outline a
footprint for future research endeavours.
4.
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Holstein, J, Gubrium, J, (2002), Qualitative Research, Encyclopedia of Aging.
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Davidson L, Hodge M, Godleski L, Rakfeldt
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