Community of Practice as a teaching approach in a postgraduate environment. An insider ethnography of a higher education institution in South Africa

This auto-ethnographic description of the experiences in the development of the teaching and learning approach, at the postgraduate level, introduces the impact of the community of practice in the development of the learning processes in South Africa, with an international view. The principles of community of practice are outlined and the theoretical grounding is provided in terms of the notion of assemblage theory, the definitions of fundamental and derivative epistemic authority, as well as the assemblage boundary and the personal intents of the community of practice members. The theoretical grounding is then applied through several iterations of the community of practice between 2006 and present. The adaptive nature of the community of practice as an assemblage and the function as a sociology-of-knowledge system are outlined.

Presidential Symposium: From Global to Local: An Age-Inclusive and Rights-Based Approach to Gerontological Education

In June 2020, the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) joined in solidarity in the movement to condemn the entrenched racism undermining American society and build upon a gero-rich international historical base of supporting human rights. However, as gerontological educators, we need to expand on the conversation of racism to the broader global discussion of inclusivity and elimination of discrimination. A global focus on human rights of older persons, which began in 1982 at the World Assembly on Aging and has led to the current discussion of the proposed UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons. The Academy of Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) is GSA's education group of colleges and universities that offers education, training, curricular innovations, and research programs in the field of aging. The work of this group is grounded in an age-inclusive and rights-based perspective, and members are committed to an international view demonstrated through AGHE’s tagline Global Leaders in Advancing Education on Aging; This symposium explores the role of age-inclusivity and a rights-based perspective in gerontology and geriatrics education and offers both challenges and best practices for moving forward. The first presentation explores the meaning of age-inclusivity in aging education in a global context and asks how do we build upon our international roots? Our second presenter shares a proposed framework for a rights-based approach to gerontology education. The third presentation explores an example of a rights-based training program. We conclude with a lively discussion focusing on how to take action through education.

Research on Aging: The International View From the Editors’ Desks

We review the scope, content, and focus of the peer-reviewed journal, Research on Aging (SAGE), publishing its 422nd volume this year. We will discuss how scholarship produced from researchers around the globe has changed over the years. Data on submissions, acceptance rates, and the important role of an international editorial board will be presented. The review process will be described, along with suggestions on how to increase chances of success when submitting original research. Although Research on Aging is sometimes considered to focus primarily on social gerontology, the scope in recent years has widened considerably, with manuscripts in aging studies published from such fields as economics, psychology, demography, public health, and public policy, as well as from sociology, and social work, among others. One of several special issues forthcoming in the journal will be described to demonstrate the possibilities for international impact.

Analisis Dampak Kasus Kebakaran Hutan di Indonesia terhadap Hubungan Diplomatik Indonesia dengan Malaysia dan Singapura

This research aims to analyse the impact arising from Karhutla (forest and land fires) in Indonesia to Indonesia's diplomatic relations with Malaysia and Singapore. This is due to the case of Karhutla that occur in Indonesia to make a detrimental impact not only for Indonesia, but the smoke of the appeal raises losses for the other country, especially for Malaysia and Singapore. Losses are inflicted not only in terms of health, but in other aspects make the economic activity disturbed. This led to protests from the Malaysian and Singaporean governments, which assumed that the Indonesian Government was unable to resolve the Karhutla case which occurred almost annually. Conditions were considered increasingly complicated, when the Indonesian Government refused assistance from the Malaysian and Singaporean governments. In this study, the concept used was about diplomatic relations, in which Indonesia tends to do diplomacy by implementing Disaster Diplomacy as an effort to minimize the conflict arising from karhutla cases that have occurred since long time ago. Research methods are implemented using qualitative research methods using secondary data sources. The results show that Karhutla had an impact on the economic and social sectors, but had no effect on diplomatic relations. Although Karhutla increased the debate between Indonesia and Malaysia and Indonesia with Singapore which considered that Indonesia could not handle the karhutla case so that from protests posed by the Malaysian and Singaporean governments influenced Indonesia's image of international view as it was considered weak in handling Karhutla in Indonesia. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis dampak yang timbul dari kasus karhutla (Kebakaran Hutan dan Lahan) di Indonesia terhadap hubungan diplomatik Indonesia dengan Malaysia dan Singapura. Hal ini didasari kasus karhutla yang terjadi di Indonesia memberikan dampak yang merugikan bukan hanya bagi Indonesia saja, tetapi asap kabutnya menimbulkan kerugian bagi negara tetangga, khususnya bagi Malaysia dan Singapura. Kerugian yang ditimbulkan bukan hanya dalam hal kesehatan, tetapi dalam aspek lain membuat kegiatan perekonomian terganggu. Hal tersebut menimbulkan protes dari pemerintah Malaysia dan Singapura, yang menganggap bahwa pemerintah Indonesia tidak mampu menyelesaikan kasus karhutla yang terjadi hampir tiap tahunnya. Kondisi dianggap semakin rumit, ketika pemerintah Indonesia menolak bantuan dari pemerintah Malaysia dan Singapura. Dalam penelitian ini, konsep yang digunakan adalah mengenai hubungan diplomatik, dimana Indonesia cenderung melakukan diplomasi dengan menerapkan Disaster Diplomacy sebagai upaya meminimalisir konflik yang ditimbulkan dari kasus karhutla yang sudah terjadi sejak lama. Adapun metode penelitian yang diterapkan adalah dengan menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif dengan menggunakan sumber data sekunder. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan meskipun Karhutla berdampak pada sektor ekonomi dan sosial, akan tetapi tidak berpengaruh ke hubungan diplomatiknya. Meskipun begitu Karhutla menimbulkan perdebatan antara Indonesia dengan Malaysia dan Indonesia dengan Singapura yang menganggap Indonesia tidak mampu dalam menangani kasus karhutla sehingga dari protes yang dilayangkan oleh pemerintah Malaysia dan Singapura tersebut mempengaruhi citra Indonesia di mata Internasional karena dianggap lemah dalam menangani karhutla di Indonesia