Cairn International
Studies
Cairn
International Studies will improve European students' ability
to work in an increasingly globalized environment in Nepal and
surrounding Asia. The goal is to prepare European students and
trainees for focused international tasks, promote interactive
and communicative skills and encourage an open and receptive
attitude towards the Himalayan region ethnic cultures. Cairn
Euro-Asian Network will further increase opportunities for
internships, field-research and online studies within an
international dimension and with selected international
experts cooperation.
Cairn
Cross-Cultural Awareness program stresses that for an
Euro-Asian cross-cultural training to be effective as an
enhancement for an international development organization, it
must deal with several complexities in the learning process,
including that of providing flexible options for genuine
Projects-based Cultural Immersion. Just providing information,
or some online courses, is not an effective approach for the
future Euro-Asian relations, beyond that of a basic
introductory level.
Cairn believes that such training should be an interactive
intercultural process, through the use of flexible training
modules being a menu of Cultural Immersion Options organized
in strategic target-sites, where the behavioral situation,
case studies, scenarios, critical incidents, catharsis and
crisis resolution, will bring to participants and
beneficiaries focused and longterm results.
Cairn is also launching a
stepwise development of a Mixed Mode Postgraduates and Masters
ECDL/ECTS Certification centered around disciplines initiated
from the EU partners units and linked with the pressing issues
of Nepal/Asian LDCs Development Management. This unique mode
of study allows students the flexibility to study through a
combination of residential home courses in the EU, field-study
in Asia, group sessions and flexible distance learning. The
recommended pattern of study starting in 2004/2005 is
currently under-design, for the following options.
New Postgraduate
Options in Euro-Asian Cross-Cultural Awareness
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30/09/2004
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| Cairn
is offering a new interdisciplinary postgraduate programme
for exploring the current diversity and strategic issues
raised by cultural differences between Asian and European
people. To know local values, attitudes and belief systems
(KABP), as they may apply to the decision making process
in the ethnic and castes context of Asia, is of tremendous
importance for the success of any venture, development aid-
mission or job, as well as for knowing what consequences
they can have on core issues in education, social/health
intervention, crisis remediation, international
collaboration business, or in the daily life, for those
who work with/in Asia.
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| Drawing
from the closely related disciplines of psychology,
sociology and anthropology, the programme will familiarise
postgraduate students and researchers with the context and
nature in cultural changes affecting Asian contemporary
ethnic groups and societies, through examining
experientially through a personalized cultural immersion
or field-research project what are the current impacts in
the social/health and education sectors, in post-development
intervention (NGOS), in current cheap labour migration and
international business, as well as on individuals.
While this core
programme is the only one of its kind presented online, it
draws its originality and credibility on more than 15
years daily involvement in strategic issues of the
Himalayan regions, on the prevailing misconceptions in the
West on core decision making issues and on the urgency to
upgrade awareness on the values, attitude and beliefs for
a better future. This programme is aimed at both new
postgraduates, professionals (NGOs, SMEs and HEIs) and
those currently in research projects or envisioning
employment with links with Asia. It provides
research-orientated teaching online and in situ direct
supervision in Asia, and can be studied full time (one to
three years) or part time on a day release basis (two to
five years). Research options are presented within the
Open Menu Modules
(click here)
Postgraduates and
research applicants of this scheme will possess the
experiential background and professional skills necessary
to work efficiently in Asia, in a wide range of careers of
an increasingly global and multicultural society.
The new scheme will be
taught using both Cultural Immersion (Tour&Study) in
selected strategic sites in Asia, as well as the usual
combination of online courses, lectures, seminars, group
work and practical fieldwork, including a dissertation.
Students will be continuously assessed by tutors online on
the basis of their essays, report writing and presentation
of portfolios. There are no examinations for this
programme, as the final aim is based on personalized
experiential and tailored project which fulfilment will
require genuine and continuous efforts on the ground...
Applicants should have a
degree in a related subject and/or relevant professional
qualifications and experience. This scheme is under the
ECTS/ECDL Adult Continuous Education / Open Menu European
Certification Guidelines & Policy. (For more details
click here)
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Cairn Consortium
academic network resources and facilities in Nepal, India,
Europe, UK- and Canada are also open to all Asian
postgraduates & train |
HIV/AIDS Counselling
Online Support Project Design
Cairn Tibetan Medicine Materia Medica, Psychotherapy
and Counselling Online, was initiated in December 1999, during
the Bouddhanath Stupa Health Anthropology Seminar, which aims
were to investigate and support the potential resources for
Tibetan Medicine found in the local community, as well as
to address from a consensual diagnosis what were the recent
epidemiological and health education concerns facing the
Tibetan and Nepalese target- community in contemporary Nepal,
and the important migration diaspora linked with current
crisis in Nepal, India and
Tibet (China).
At this
stage, Cairn Network is involved in the feasibility assessment
and design of this project, which is intended to respond to
Drug- Abuse & HIV/AIDS Prevention, Treatment and Counselling
in the target-migrant population.
Research
Aims & Rationale
The Cairn Erasmus Cross-Cultural Awareness
Postgraduate Project
is an Action-Research based, multilingual,
interdisciplinary, inter-university postgraduate programme, that will provide genuine inputs of quality
high education and NGOs cross-cultural awareness
professional competences for students, researchers,
personnel working or intending to work in the areas of
social, health, education and crisis intervention in
Nepal and Asia.
The principal objective of
the Research is the creation of an infrastructure to
support on-going dialogue between traditional healers
and the conventional medical community, thereby enabling
emergence of a united front for Training in Counselling
and Traditional Healing in the struggle against HIV/AIDS.
The ultimate long-term objective is self-sustainability
of the Online Training platform to facilitate exchange
of scholars, practicioners, researchers and students for
finding affordable and effective alternative anti-HIV
therapies from natural products and traditional/alternative
medical practices, so as to alleviate the sufferings of
people living with the HIV disease, as an adjunct to
currently available conventional treatment modalities.
The Online Network will also provide Online Coaching &
Counselling, as well as promote a better understanding
of traditional healing practices and stimulate
constructive alliances between scientists and
traditional healers to enhance global capacity, and to
ensure quality and affordable healthcare for the target-
population.
The
five methodological components of this Pilot- research project include
:
- (i) under
Applied Psychology : all issues linked to Counselling
HRD training and behavioural change within Health Promotion,
- (ii)
under Development Studies : issues related to social/health
policy
strengthening,
and :
- (iii) NGOs/PHCs capacity building,
- (iv) under
Prospective Health Anthropology: all issues related to Himalayan Traditional
Healing R&D Project management, including
Interlinked Qualitative / Quantitative Drug Case-studies
& Epidemio Case Reporting System inputs
- (v) in regional
strategic planning, as well as in Database Online and
e-learning access ICT-/VLE System management.
Counselling &
Traditional Healing Psychotherapy (R&D)
In
terms of Research and Development (R&D) for Culturally
Appropriate Health Education, the issues of Health Education
and Treatment meant that Cairn/SXC Network had to
progressively increase its visibility and credibility at
grassroots, survey the resources existing in KTM and the Bauddha
strategic -site, while also seeking for autonomy in terms of
self-sustainable initiatives. Indeed, survival of strategic
decision-making and project management at local level seldom
fits with being busy drafting numerous projects to local
donors, which redtapes, jargons, heavy paperwork and lobbying
led Nepal Development Aid to what it is today. In short, some
balance must prevail. Short- term budget hardly answers the
vision of a long-term intervention,
thereupon...
Persons with AIDS are
seeking many different treatments, some using plant products,
with the hope of obtaining either a cure or relief of symptoms.
There is scientific evidence based on in vitro studies that
some medicinal plants do in fact have inhibitory effects on
HIV. A consultation on in vitro screening of traditional
medicines for anti-HIV activity held in Geneva from 6 to 8
February 1989 offered promise that scientifically valid
collaborative studies of traditional medicines, particularly
medicinal plants, might lead to effective and affordable
therapeutic agents.
Natural products can be selected for biological screening
based on ethnomedical use, random collection or a
chemotaxonomic approach (i.e., screening of species of the
same botanical family for similar compounds), but the
follow-up and selection of plants based on literature leads
would seem to be the most cost-effective way of identifying
plants with anti-HIV activity. No single in vitro screening
methodology for anti-HIV activity is ideal and confirmatory
assays in multiple systems are needed to examine completely
the potential use of a compound.
There can
be found in India and Nepal
some anecdotal comments from Tibetan clinics patients who
request more medicines from the clinic to boost their vitality
and immune systems, some diagnosed under HIV stress. However,
at this day of writing, we have no clear evidence that the
medicine specifically helps HIV or AIDS patients. Generally,
such natural medication does provide more energy balance and
body&mind well-being, as well as has no side effects known, as
a general comment. However, Tibetan physicians will tend to
avoid abusive generalisation and diagnose the person on a
case-to-case basis, because related HIV diseases often may
come first from potential dysfunctionment that already are in
the body.
Himalayan Traditional
Medicine has maintained its popularity in the strategic
target-sites here considered, as well as in most regions of
the developing world, and its use is rapidly spreading in
industrialized countries.
Report of an Informal WHO
Consultation on Traditional Medicine and AIDS: In vitro
Screening for Anti-HIV Activities (Geneva, 6-8 February 1989),
WHO/GPA/BMR/89.5, WHO Geneva, 1989
Some available information recently
stressed that Chinese and Tibetan Herbal Medicine has been
tested and had since then become very popular in China (Tibet
TAR), not only because it was the locally least expensive of
all available drugs in situ, but also because it was restoring
the immune system function of the body so efficiently that (quoted)
"in the majority of patients the CD4 counts were getting back
to normal within 1 to 3 months, and a large number of viral
secondary infections are cured at the same time". Cairn
urges treatment based on personal diagnosis.
While this appears effectively a new way of looking at the
treatment of HIV, the medicine itself is only a sophisticated
mixture of Traditional Tibetan / Chinese herbs, used to cure
immune system deficiencies. The herbal extracts are said to be
easily accepted by the body...
Cairn is planning a serie of
interactions at personal level with Tibetan Medicine certified
Amchis, selected Nepalese Ayurvedic Healers, Chinese Medicine
Doctors, HIV/AIDS Counselling Intervenors, Doctors, PHC and
THC Workers, scholars and innovative religious or community
leaders, working on issues related to Training in Health
Education, Prevention, Ethnomedicine of Traditional Healing,
HIV-/AIDS Allopathic and related media interest. These
consultations (Y2004-05) will be used to disseminate knowledge,
create dialogue and build public awareness on the future of
Himalayan Traditional Medicine potentials, to develop a
protocole for “Best Practices” in HIV/AIDS Counselling and
Treatment, as well as transfer of knowledge and tested herbal
products to other regions.
This initiative will be include
to seek more partnerships with other NGOs and Donors, such as
the WHO and EC-, and will involve collaborations with a
variety of grassroots organizations and local people living
with HIV/AIDS, so as to increase awareness and improve public
health programs and policies. Training Result
At the end of the training,
Cairn expects that the participants will:
- Be able to analyze
psycho-social, ethical, legal and human rights aspect of HIV
and AIDS from health and development perspectives.
- Develop skills in related
counselling and interventions for prevention and care at all
levels.
- Develop skills in research,
advocacy, management and training at various levels,
including :
- to proceed
with
HIV counselling and testing services in both
public and private sectors.
- to
proceed with
systemic,
structural, resource and policy
analysis of
enabling or
disabling factors for
HIV/AIDS and related HRB.
- to
proceed with assessing the
role of non-governmental
(NGOs)
and
community based organisations in the national
HIV/AIDS
strategy and
service delivery.
- to
proceed with Qualitative Case-studies and Epidemiology Case
Reporting Systems.
- to
network and work with selected/relevant Traditional Health
practicioners & services.
Tibetan Medicine Introduction Tour&Studies
In order to facilitate
the access in KTM / Nepal to relevant Tibetan Medicine
quality resources for EU- ECTS/ECDL credits training and
research certificate,
Cairn
has organized a Tibetan Medicine Materia Medica,
Philosophy and
Psychology
curriculum based upon a stepwise culturally appropriate
approach
being a chronological
succession of three (3) levels of scheduled courses
and/or field- research
activities, namely:
Level 1- is a 30 days
long Cultural Immersion Tour & Introduction to Tibetan
Medicine,
(for details on options, click here on :
Tibetan Medicine Introduction Tours&Field-studies,
Level 2- is a
three-months indepth training cum field-research into either
Tibetan Medecine,
Philosophy or Psychology, this
last option including Dzog-Chen, Tsa-rLung, Tantras
and other inputs relevant to
professional psychotherapy training,
(see other links for details, hereunder)
Level 3- is a
four-year long Postgraduate and/or Doctorate Thesis (Option
ECTS/ECDL),
divided into 3 distincted
postgraduate modules, between 1 to 2 years each.
(see this link for more details at :
http://cairn-healing-online.tripod.com/boddha.html)
Cairn Cross-Cultural
Awareness program stresses that for an Euro-Asian
cross-cultural training to be effective as an enhancement for
an international development organization, it must deal with
several complexities in the learning process, including that
of providing flexible options for genuine Projects-based
Cultural Immersion. Just providing information, or some online
courses, is not an effective approach for the future
Euro-Asian relations, beyond that of a basic introductory
level.
Cairn believes that such
training should be an interactive intercultural process,
through the use of flexible training modules being a menu of
Cultural Immersion Options organized in strategic
target-sites, where the behavioral situation, case studies,
scenarios, critical incidents, catharsis and crisis
resolution, will bring to participants and beneficiaries
focused and longterm results.
Cairn is also launching a stepwise
development of a Mixed Mode Postgraduates and Masters
ECDL/ECTS Certification centered around disciplines initiated
from the EU partners units and linked with the pressing issues
of Nepal/Asian LDCs Development Management. This unique mode
of study allows students the flexibility to study through a
combination of residential home courses in the EU, field-study
in Asia, group sessions and flexible distance learning.
The recommended pattern of study starting in 2004/2005 is
currently under-design, for the following
options.
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