The Solidarity, Sustainability, and Non-Violence (SSNV) Newsletter is a monthly digest of research on the most critical global issues at the intersection of technology, religion, and society. The Bible and other sacred scriptures provide provide a solid foundation of divine wisdom, albeit mediated by human minds. System theory and mimetic theory are the primary methods of analysis. The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are used as point of reference. Send feedback to Luis T. Gutierrez, SSNV Editor.

The following is a list of the research reports posted and planned:

POSTED V1 N1 May 2005 V1 N2 June 2005 V1 N3 July 2005 V1 N4 August 2005 V1 N5 September 2005 V1 N6 October 2005 V1 N7 November 2005 V1 N8 December 2005 V2 N1 January 2006 V2 N2 February 2006 V2 N3 March 2006 V2 N4 April 2006 V2 N5 May 2006 V2 N6 June 2006 V2 N7 July 2006 V2 N8 August 2006 V2 N9 September 2006 V2 N10 October 2006 V2 N11 November 2006 V2 N12 December 2006 V3 N1 January 2007 V3 N2 February 2007 V3 N3 March 2007 V3 N4 April 2007 V3 N5 May 2007 V3 N6 June 2007 V3 N7 July 2007 V3 N8 August 2007 V3 N9 September 2007 V3 N10 October 2007

FOCUS Cross-Gender Solidarity The Phallocentric Syndrome From Patriarchy to Solidarity Synthesis of Patriarchy and Solidarity From Solidarity to Sustainability Dimensions of Sustainability Analysis and Synthesis of Objective Evidence Solidarity, Subsidiarity, and Sustainability Synthesis of Solidarity and Sustainability Sustainable Human Development Patriarchy and Mimetic Violence Mimetic Violence in Patriarchal Religions Mimetic Violence in Patriarchal Religions 2 Mimetic Violence in Patriarchal Religions 3 Mimetic Violence in Patriarchal Religions 4 Mimetic Violence in Patriarchal Religions 5 Sabbatical Activity ~ September 2006 Sabbatical Activity ~ October 2006 Sabbatical Activity ~ November 2006 Sabbatical Activity ~ December 2006 MDG1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty MDG2: Universal Primary Education MDG3: Promotion of Gender Equality MDG4: Reduction of Child Mortality MDG5: Maternal Care Improvement MDG6: Mitigation of HIV/AIDS Epidemic MDG7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability MDG8: Global Partnership for Development Integrated Analysis of the U.N. MDGs Feasibility of the 2015 MDG Targets

PLANNED V3 N11 November 2007 V3 N12 December 2007

FOCUS If not the MDGs, then what? Patriarchy, Humanity, and the Human Habitat

This is a brief description of the knowledge growth and stepwise refinement process. The basic process is a feedback loop with four recursive phases: requirements definition (what additional knowledge is needed?), information gathering (what knowledge is there?), information analysis (what is the gap between existing and required knowledge?), and knowledge synthesis (how can newly acquired knowledge be integrated with existing knowledge?).

As everyone who has done this kind of work knows, it is seldom a matter of iterating through a succession of discrete cycles. Most often, the work must unfold in two, three, or even all four phases simultaneously. Nevertheless, to keep things in perspective, and to measure progress, it is useful to think in terms of the four phases, and keep status records for each phase. There are limits to physical resources, but there are no limits to knowledge.

REQUIREMENTS DEFINITION Defining the information requirements is, in essence, to define the required information content of the final report. Working backwards, the information raw material to be gathered and analyzed is derived. Taxonomies, maps, and relational databases of information requirements, can be very useful in defining requirements. It is anticipated that the advent of the semantic web, and the use of tools such as semantic diagrams, topic maps, and knowledge maps, will improve the ability of researchers to overcome the vexing problem of knowledge fragmentation.

INFORMATION GATHERING The are thousands (or millions) millions of website directories, libraries online, and search engines in any given subject matter area. A good search strategy is critical to find the required information in a cost-effective manner. To view sample collections of online resources used to gather information, click HERE and HERE.

KNOWLEDGE SYNTHESIS A synthesis explains how information subsets interact to produce knowledge. This may require a topic map or a causal-loop diagram and a simulation model. Click on the following thumbnail: See Powersim for the software used. There is a wide variety of software tools to support knowledge synthesis.

INFORMATION ANALYSIS When review and analysis reveals interdependencies among chunks of information content, several techniques can be used to understand the interdepemdemcies, e.g., precedence diagrams, causal-loop diagrams, interdependency matrices, etc. Click on the following thumbnail to see an example of an interdependency matrix analysis: See Problematics for the software used. There is a wide variety of software tools to support the analysis of information flow and content, including methods of information quality assurance.