MEDIA CONTACT: Susan Feinberg
561-297-4194, sfeinbe4@fau.edu
BOCA RATON, FL (December 28, 2006) - One of the most crucial health issues the American population faces today is helping young people to manage emotions triggered by exposure to aggression. They may witness violence in families, schools or communities. "Entertainment" violence is marketed to children every day through television, video games, movies, music and other media. Dr. Patricia Liehr, associate dean for nursing research and scholarship at the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University, is conducting innovative research that will address the negative effects of aggression in children and adolescents.
Liehr attended the Pearl Harbor 65th Anniversary Symposium from December 2-5 to collect stories of Pearl Harbor survivors. These elders discussed how they survived the aggression of war and managed to go on to lead productive lives. It was the final anniversary reunion for the national survivors group, which has met every five years in Pearl Harbor for the last 65 years. Liehr’s Japanese colleagues are simultaneously collecting stories of Hiroshima survivors to ensure that both sides of the World War II experience will be presented.
Stories will be translated, synthesized and presented by professional storytellers in America and Japan to survivor and adolescent audiences. Two faculty members from the Department of Communication at FAU, Dr. Caren Neile and Dr. Tamie Kanata, will help create, analyze and present the stories. The one-hour “Peace Performances” will serve as a springboard for discussion about war and peace as related to everyday living, and enhance understanding about health and the human spirit. The presentations will keep alive the survivors’ stories and provide crucial guidance and insight to younger generations struggling to cope with anger and aggression.
“The Peace Performances will bridge generations and cultures, and promote understanding, tolerance and respect,” said Liehr. “We will give American and Japanese adolescents a chance to think about and discuss these topics. Anger and hostility are associated with poor health outcomes. Anything we can do to teach them how to diminish and dispel aggression is essentially promoting their health. I’m hoping that we can promote peace at many levels.”
The Peace Performances will take place in museums, and middle and high schools in the United States and Japan. Ultimately, the research will culminate in an instructional DVD /CD and workbook which will be used in American and Japanese classrooms.
For further information, contact Dr. Patricia Liehr at 561-297-2048.
-FAU-
FloridaAtlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing is committed to nurturing the wholeness of persons and environment through caring.
