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This article describes a sequential approach to improvisation teaching that can be used with students at various age and ability levels by any educator, regardless of improvisation experience. The 2014 National Core Music Standards include improvisation as a central component in musical learning and promote instructional approaches that are contextual, integrate musical concepts, and facilitate group interaction. The described approach focuses on the how and the why of improvisation instruction, offering a pedagogical guide through the teaching process using concepts of melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, and formal structure. Rather than a collection of isolated activities, the sequence builds on skills and concepts that are applied in authentic and meaningful group interactions. Examples are based on the blues and teaching techniques commonly used by jazz educators that can be adapted to any musical genre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strategies pursued by the U.S. to control violence, wherever national interest was threatened, saw significant challenges in the 21st Century. By juxtaposing Sun Tzu's 'Art of War' (400-320 BC) to the U.S.' policies in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, the strategic follies of those campaigns can be better explained. The 'Art of War' argues that war is a matter of vital importance to the State; a matter of life or death; a matter of survival or ruin. Its thorough understanding is, therefore, an existential necessity. On the subject of understanding the enemy and one's own strategies, Sun Tzu prophesied that ignorance of oneself and ignorance of one's enemy is a recipe for disaster. Sun outlines the fundamentals of strategy and tactics in a simple, ageless and succinct manner. At times he displays disdain for war by admitting the significance of the 'evils' of war-waging, without comprehending which wars can never be won. In brief, 'Art of War' is still relevant in understanding the criticality of 'moral,' 'intellectual' and 'circumstantial' factors of war. Failure in understanding these moral, intellectual and circumstantial factors led to the setbacks faced by the U.S. subsequent to the Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003) invasions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An unavoidable problem in Southern American history is the racism. Racial relationship is under Flannery O'Connor's consideration in several stories. By examining the protagonists' process of self-transformation and their different ways of looking at the white-black relationship, O'Connor tries to demonstrate that only by truly abolishing the hierarchy between races can the white and the black achieve their harmonic relationship, that is, the black workers have to remove the "inferiority complex", the "paternalism" and the white farm owners have to remove "superiority complex". Otherwise, the disaster will definitely follow as before although the blacks have been emancipated politically for such a long time. Only by truly abolishing the racial hierarchy can American society set up a cozy atmosphere between the races based on true acceptance and understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social harmony is a valued relational rule in collectivism. Using data from in-depth interviews with 20 Chinese American couples, the authors study how husbands and wives interpret and negotiate marital harmony within a multicultural context and how gender relates to this process. Although all participants appear to seek harmony, the result indicates two quite different forms. Structural harmony is based on traditional social norms that emphasize obligation to the whole. Relational harmony is "we-centered" and prioritizes the marriage relationship itself. Not all couples fall neatly in either category; couples in transition experience a push-and-pull process between the multiple influences in their lives. These tensions are explored through six dimensions: (a) conflict between relational and structural goals, (b) communal versus dyadic obligation, (c) unclear authority structure, (d) intersection of family and workplace, (e) harmonizing multiple voices, and (f) incorporating personal agency. Implications for research and practice are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

My article aims to develop a relational, pluralistic political theory that moves beyond standard theories of liberal democracy, and to consider how such a theory translates into our public school settings. I use a narrative style argument to share stories that focus on homogeneity and diversity from my visit to a Japanese elementary school, as I consider, drawing on the work of Chantal Mouffe, the important role harmony and disagreement, and a tension between homogeneity and diversity, play in encouraging citizens to contribute to their school and their larger communities in a democracy-always-in-the-making. I argue that there is much we can learn from Japanese educational practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the goals of the McMaster School at Defiance College is to prepare students to be engaged citizens in a world that is becoming more interdependent and connected. Defiance College students study the concept of harmony, from the Chinese cultural perspective, in order to increase their understanding of the importance of the movement towards globalization. Although there is considerable ambiguity in the students' predispositions at the start of the course, the readings and discussions on the concepts related to harmony give the students a more in-depth understanding of the nature of harmony. This paper reports the results of class learning on the subject of Chinese harmony. The observation in the interactional process with the students provides rich information about American students' views on the concept of harmony embedded in the Chinese culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiculturalism has been conceptualized and applied in many different ways in different countries across the globe. This paper presents a new framework of the politics of multiculturalism in the United States. This framework consists of four different politics of multiculturalism: Multiculturalism as the Politics of Celebration, Multiculturalism as the Politics of Harmony, Multiculturalism as the Politics of Facilitation, and Multiculturalism as the Politics of Parity. These four types are associated with specific multicultural goals and specific types of multicultural policies. This paper will explain each of the four politics of multiculturalism in the United States, give examples of the different types of policies that have been advanced within each type, and assess the success of these policies. This paper contributes to the existing theoretical discussion of multiculturalism in the literature. Within that context, this paper also advances a new analysis of multicultural policies in the United States which contributes to the global discussion of strategies countries have utilized to address the complex problems of diverse societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The approaches of 111 Thai and a matched set of 111 U.S. community mediators are investigated. Results show that Thai mediators are more apt to be assertive in their mediations; they put disputants together, demand concessions, criticize disputants, and threaten them more frequently than do U.S. mediators. Thai mediators more frequently seek harmony by asking disputants to forgive each other and to apologize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

U.S. GAAP has increasingly become an influence on accounting practices in other countries, even aside from those traditionally considered under direct U.S. influence. The change arises from the large number of U.S. accounting standards, non-U.S, companies listing on U.S. stock exchanges, and the amount of U.S. direct investment abroad. As the impact of U.S. GAAP varies across countries, it may affect international accounting harmony. This idea is tested by examining the level of international harmony for eleven accounting measurement policies in matched pairs of large companies from Australia and the U.K., two countries with historically strong cultural and economic links. It is argued that, in recent decades, accounting practice in Australia, more so than in the U.K., has become increasingly U.S.-oriented. The concepts of harmony of Tay and Parker (1990) and Archer et al. (1996) are employed. International harmony is measured by the between-country C index and chi-square test; national harmony by van der Tas's (1988) H index. While considerable national harmony is found in the U.K. for seven and in Australia for five accounting policies, there is considerable or complete international harmony for only three policies. Evidence is presented of the influence of U.S. GAAP as one factor explaining the poor degree of U.K./Australia international harmony. Australian companies appear to follow U.S. GAAP to a greater extent than do U.K. companies. The state of partial harmony thus existing restricts international comparability of accounting reports and may cause problems for regulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pierre de Coubertin, father of the modern Olympic Games, traveled to England and the United States with the hope of changing the educational system in France. His first-hand observance of the effect that sport had on education helped to create his educational philosophy. In his efforts to create an environment of learning for students that would bring a moral and healthy life to the classroom, he changed the world. With Coubertin's vision and drive, he was able to create an event that incorporated education, art, and a moral character in the design. The growth of the Olympic Games has touched many nations leaving a legacy in host cities that will remind people for generations of the peaceful message the event brings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]