When I was a young lawyer in the Chambers of a leading Jamaican lawyer, I was given a research assignment. The matter concerned extradition law. A Jamaican police officer had migrated in the 1970s to the US and there joined and distinguished himself in the military. The then Prime Minister of Jamaica, Mr. Edward Seaga, came to power in 1980 and thereafter made application through the Jamaican Government for an US extradition back to Jamaica to have the man stand trial. On the US defence side was Leonard Bodine ( i.e. the lawyer who had defended Paul Robeson). So, he was well represented. The research was completed and the salient point was that an extradition will not be ordered if the primary reason for seeking the extradition is ‘political’. Thus, the senior Jamaican lawyer travelled to the court in Virginia to provide the Jamaican law and arguments in opposition to the extradition. The team was successful, for indeed the extradition had a political motive and the US Judge, for that reason, refused the Jamaican Government’s application. That central legal principle remains constant – so to the extradition application in the UK for Julian Assange’s extradition to the US.
Assange is the founder of Wikileaks who had obtained large amounts of US Government secrets and other confidential information and he published same on the internet for the world to read. The US Government was most displeased and thus sought Assange’s extradition.
At first instance Assange’s lawyers argued that he would be subjected to inhumane treatment in the US prison to which he would be confined if he were to be tried in the US and sentenced. The Magistrate accepted the argument and the extradition was refused. The US Government appealed to the UK Court of Appeal. The appellate court overturned the first instance ruling and accepted the US Government’s assurances that he could serve his sentence in Australia and that he would not be sent to the high security prison in the US where he would be placed in solitary confinement for 23 hours per day.
The legal issues are interesting on at least three levels.
1. The publications by Wikileaks are highly embarrassing to the US Government. Not least was a video of American military personnel in a helicopter flying over a street in Iraq while randomly shooting and killing Iraqi civilians while joking as if engaged in a video game. Here is the video.
In that regard, the video is factual and well within the confines of needed disclosure in the public and global journalistic interest. The military persons involved were never charged for the offence of murder nor was any other charge ever laid. Piecing this particular disclosure together with several other disclosures it is perfectly logical to submit in court that the US Government’s application is in essence a ‘political’ one for reason of the embarrassment felt by the US Government.
2. The second argument would go towards whether or not there was a breach of the US Espionage Act 1917. The short answer is – yes there was. But, the argument does not stop there. There is precedent on this point in the case of the New York Times publication of the Pentagon Papers. That was the confidential Government papers detailing many unknown facts about the prosecution of the Vietnam War by the US Government. In other words, the New York Times sought to publish the truth. The US Government then obtained an injunction prohibiting publication. The New York Times challenged the injunction on the basis of infringement of First Amendment rights ( i.e. freedom of expression). The Court ruled that while there was a conflict between the provisions of the Espionage Act and the First Amendment, the Constitutional right under the First Amendment took precedence over the Act and it was in the public interest for the public to be informed. The Pentagon Papers were published. Thus, there is precedent for what Assange has done. He has contravened the Espionage Act while at the same time, it can be argued, that through his journalistic endeavours he is acting in the public interest by factually and accurately informing the public.
3. The third point, no doubt, will be contested on appeal to the UK Supreme Court with regards to the assurances given by the US Government. One might cynically but factually question – did Colin Powell as representative of the US Government not assure the UN Security Council that Saddam Hussein had WMDs? But, more to the point. There is the case of David Mendoza, who was a Spanish drug trafficker wanted by the US. The US Government not only assured Mendoza that if he surrendered to US jurisdiction he would be permitted to serve his prison sentence in Spain – and – the agreement was placed in writing. This undertaking was prepared as a formal binding legal agreement and duly signed by a US Government representative. Once Mendoza surrendered to US jurisdiction the US Government reneged on its binding word. Mendoza had his lawyers make two applications in Spain and the Spanish court found in Mendoza’s favour. After six years in US custody, Mendoza’s US lawyer approached the US court on the basis of the signed and binding agreement and it was only then that Mendoza was permitted return to Spain as agreed. There are other similar precedents, so in Assange’s favour, his legal team will most definitely be able to argue that the US Government’s assurances and undertaking cannot be taken at face value nor be too readily trusted.
Put the foregoing all together and one ends up with Assange’s imprisonment in the UK in their top prison designed for the incarceration of convicted terrorists. So, for publishing the truth to the world Assange is designated ‘terrorist’. Interestingly, even if the UK’s Government lawyers argue that Assange breached bail, which then requires his confinement, it could still be contended that since the seeking of asylum is a legal right afforded to all, which the Ecuadorian Embassy did extend to Assange, he could not logically be submitting to UK bail conditions while simultaneously accepting the asylum extended to him by Ecuador. Anyway, all said and done this is a ‘POLITICAL CASE’ writ large in big, bold letters and there will be a lot of politics played behind the scenes between the US and UK Governments and full frontal too in the UK judicial system before the saga is completed.
The American, Anne Sacoolas, left the U.K. shortly after a crash in which Harry Dunn was killed and she claimed diplomatic immunity. Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity which was asserted on her behalf by the US government following the collision – and – she was a US intelligence officer as was her husband. Now, the preliminary evidence suggests that Sacoolas ran into Dunn while he was riding on what the Brits call a ‘moped’ ( his mini bike or scooter). He was a teenager. She was charged with causing death by dangerous driving. So what did Sacoolas do? She fled Britain and the US Government covered her behind diplomatic immunity. She was removing herself totally from British jurisdiction. What then happened with Harry Dunn’s mother and father? They were grieving over the loss of their son and they went all the way to the White House and spoke to then President Donald Trump (he would presently say that he is still the legitimate President of the US) and Trump declined to use his Executive authority to waive diplomatic immunity. The story worsens – there is no assured happy ending. What the Dunn family, quite intelligently did was to secure a ‘red notice’ from INTERPOL ( i.e. the International Criminal Police Organisation “for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence.” ). In legal terms, if Sacoolas left the US then she could be arrested pursuant to an international arrest warrant. But, here is the point. President Biden succeeds Trump ( but not in Trump’s mind as internationally professed ) and Biden continued – at least for a while – with Trump’s policy of not waiving diplomatic immunity to have the UK’s extradition application advance and then bring the matter to trial in a British court. The legal position has now changed and Sacoolas has agreed to an 18th January, 2022 trial by virtual link. So – if she is convicted to a custodial sentence – what then? What upholding and respect for the rule of law – none – yes/no? So, let us then examine the total picture under both international and domestic law. Above – you have seen the clear video evidence of a dozen innocent lives being claimed on an Iraqi street; you are now aware of Harry Dunn’s family’s grief over the loss of their son; and – having over a forty year plus legal career of legal defence in the courts – I can well and truly invite you to ask yourselves – where is the justice? Maybe some ultimately?
In how the US has worded its so-called ‘undertaking’, it has imposed a ‘get out of jail free card’ for itself, with regards to Julian Assange. Any lawyer with a modicum of experience would never submit to such an agreement. The system ( both US and UK- where actually I studied) now clearly lack an iota of credibility in Assange’s case and continue to pursue a self-righteous path which denigrates, belies and compromises the best of their own legal principles. Sad to say.
I believe that the implications of this case go well beyond the narrow political minds of the UK Judges who sat and disgracefully ruled in the UK’s Court of Appeal.
We shall see in the fullness of time how this legal saga ends for Assange in particular and journalism in general.
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Courtenay Barnett is a graduate of London University. His areas of study were economics, political science and international law. He has been a practising lawyer for almost fully forty years, has been arrested for defending his views, and has argued public interest and human rights cases.
THE EARTHIAN, Number Twenty-Six, December 4, 2021, Effective Learning Publications, https://effectivelearning.net/effective-learning-publications/ 32 East Main Street, Statesboro, Georgia, USA, Richard John Stapleton, PhD, CTA, Editor & Publisher, The Effective Learning Report.
THE EARTHIAN is a monthly digest of articles written by free-thinking truth-seeking critical-thinking hard-hitting independent writers containing facts, perspectives, theories, models, analyses, and recommendations concerned about psychological, moral, ethical, philosophical, social, economic, political, military, religious, and ecological states of affairs affecting the existential well-being of all species of fauna and flora around Spaceship Earth.
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“ASK LESS WHAT YOUR NATION CAN DO FOR YOU–ASK MORE WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR SPACESHIP EARTH”
Individuals Are Not to Praise or Blame for How Earthian Economic, Social, and Political States of Affairs Evolve
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
By ROUT LOGGER
John Lennon and The Beatles had an international hit with a song titled All You Need is Love that made a lot of Earthian humans temporarily happier listening to it. But almost nothing could be further from the truth. While it’s hard to imagine Earthian humans getting too much love they can live without it, maybe not happily or healthily, but they can live a good while without it. Things like oxygen, water, and food are far more important. According to the existential rule of three, humans can live for about three minutes without oxygen, three days without water, and three weeks without food.
Another Brit, Mick Jagger, used to sing a song lamenting, “I can’t get no sat-is-fak-shun,” which is hard to believe, especially in his case, but there is no doubt a lot of Earthian humans are not satisfied with their lives. By some estimates about half the human population of the US are unsatisfied with their lives, primarily their economic and political states of affairs. They’re probably a majority percentage of the Repug and Dem Parties in the US. They’re angry, polarized, discombobulated, and agitated. An increasing percentage of the politicians they vote for are angry power-mad semi-literate narcissistic egomaniacs like Donald Trump; and some of them like Trump seem to have some money. But no matter how much money they get their hands on it is never enough. Nothing ever seems to satisfy them, even power. No matter how much power they get their hands on it too is never enough.
Success and satisfaction for most Earthian humans would entail receiving love and at least the necessities of life–breathable air, drinkable water, and adequate food, clothing, shelter, medicine, and medical care. In general success and satisfaction are caused by problems getting solved and goals and objectives being achieved. Winner-survivors achieve goals and objectives and loser-survivors do not, regardless of how tough and unfair, uncontrolled, and poorly-managed Earthian states of affairs are, and always have been.
How to help Not-OK Earthian loser-survivors become winner-survivors is one of the toughest problems around Spaceship Earth. How to help Spaceship Earth itself become a winner-planet is a far tougher problem.
One can build a case there is such a thing as existential OKness. How OK are Earthian humans with respect to existential threats such as global warming and climate change, militarization, and nuclear weapons development and proliferation? Most likely Earthian human existential OKness is now at its lowest level since human-like creatures evolved on Earth about one million years ago. Innumerable Earthian human tribes and groups have faced imminent threats of extinction through time, and some did become extinct–the Galapagos Islanders come to mind–but most likely never in their history have Earthian humans en masse faced a probability of total annihilation caused by human-caused forces as high as it is now.
“Editor’s note: Founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein and University of Chicago scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created the Doomsday Clock two years later, using the imagery of apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero) to convey threats to humanity and the planet. The Doomsday Clock is set every year by the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes 13 Nobel laureates. The Clock has become a universally recognized indicator of the world’s vulnerability to catastrophe from nuclear weapons, climate change, and disruptive technologies in other domains.
“Humanity continues to suffer as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads around the world. In 2020 alone, this novel disease killed 1.7 million people and sickened at least 70 million more. The pandemic revealed just how unprepared and unwilling countries and the international system are to handle global emergencies properly. In this time of genuine crisis, governments too often abdicated responsibility, ignored scientific advice, did not cooperate or communicate effectively, and consequently failed to protect the health and welfare of their citizens.
“As a result, many hundreds of thousands of human beings died needlessly.
“Though lethal on a massive scale, this particular pandemic is not an existential threat. Its consequences are grave and will be lasting. But COVID-19 will not obliterate civilization, and we expect the disease to recede eventually. Still, the pandemic serves as a historic wake-up call, a vivid illustration that national governments and international organizations are unprepared to manage nuclear weapons and climate change, which currently pose existential threats to humanity, or the other dangers–including more “virulent pandemics and next-generation warfare– that could threaten civilization in the near future.
“Accelerating nuclear programs in multiple countries moved the world into less stable and manageable territory last year. Development of hypersonic glide vehicles, ballistic missile defenses, and weapons- delivery systems that can flexibly use conventional or nuclear warheads may raise the probability of miscalculation in times of tension. Events like the deadly assault earlier this month on the US Capitol renewed legitimate concerns about national leaders who have sole control of the use of nuclear weapons. Nuclear nations, however, have ignored or undermined practical and available diplomatic and security tools for managing nuclear risks. By our estimation, the potential for the world to stumble into nuclear war–an ever-present danger over the last 75 years–increased in 2020. An extremely dangerous global failure to address existential threats–what we called “the new abnormal” in 2019–tightened its grip in the nuclear realm in the past year, increasing the likelihood of catastrophe.
“Governments have also failed to sufficiently address climate change. A pandemic-related economic slowdown temporarily reduced the carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming. But over the coming decade fossil fuel use needs to decline precipitously if the worst effects of climate change are to be avoided. Instead, fossil fuel development and production are projected to increase. Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations hit a record high in 2020, one of the two warmest years on record. The massive wildfires and catastrophic cyclones of 2020 are illustrations of the major devastation that will only increase if governments do not significantly and quickly amplify their efforts to bring greenhouse gas emissions essentially to zero.
“As we noted in our last Doomsday Clock statement, the existential threats of nuclear weapons and climate change have intensified in recent years because of a threat multiplier: the continuing corruption of the information ecosphere on which democracy and public decision-making depend. Here, again, the COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call. False and misleading information disseminated over the internet–including misrepresentation of COVID-19’s seriousness, promotion of false cures, and politicization of low-cost protective measures such as face masks–created social chaos in many countries and led to unnecessary death. This wanton disregard for science and the large-scale embrace of conspiratorial nonsense–often driven by political figures and partisan media–undermined the ability of responsible national and global leaders to protect the security of their citizens. False conspiracy theories about a “stolen” presidential election led to rioting that resulted in the death of five people and the first hostile occupation of the US Capitol since 1814.
“In 2020, online lying literally killed.
“Considered by themselves, these negative events in the nuclear, climate change, and disinformation arenas might justify moving the clock closer to midnight. But amid the gloom, we see some positive developments. The election of a US president who acknowledges climate change as a profound threat and supports international cooperation and science-based policy puts the world on a better footing to address global problems. For example, the United States has already announced it is rejoining the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Biden administration has offered to extend the New START arms control agreement with Russia for five years. In the context of a post-pandemic return to relative stability, more such demonstrations of renewed interest in and respect for science and multilateral cooperation could create the basis for a safer and saner world.”
Read “The Evolution of Spaceship Earth, Inc,” for some management science ideas on how Earthian humans might eventually evolve and co-construct an economic system that is viable and satisfying for everyone aboard Spaceship Earth, making it possible for all Earthian humans to develop an I’m OK–You’re OK life position.
This might entail Earthian humans peacefully reducing through natural attrition the human population aboard Spaceship Earth, never doing work that machines can do better, and delegating the day-to-day management of systems for scheduling, producing, and distributing the necessities of life to artificial intelligence programs and supercomputers.
This is possible based on the general algorithmic matrix algebra form
Riding aboard an airliner about to land at night moving at four hundred miles an hour at thirty thousand feet with heavy thick clouds, rain, high wind, and lightening below, which would you rather have setting the direction, speed, and angle of descent of the plane, the plane’s auto-pilot, radar, and computer system or the pilot and co-pilot, seeing nothing out their windows below but clouds and lightning?
The main reason why turning over the scheduling, production, and distribution of the necessities of life to AI robots and magnum computers is the best hope for Earthian humans is that they do not get greedy and power hungry and play psychological Games like Earthian humans in high places do. Thus far in human history most leaders running large organizations such as nations, large corporations, and big banks have become corrupt one way or another playing psychological Games and acting out their selfish life scripts, hogging as much power and money as they could get their hands on for themselves and their cronies. Whatever their limitations and possible problems, AI robots and algorithmic computers are not egotistical.
Buckminster Fuller explained in his book Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth the airplane-landing metaphor in the above paragraph and planted seeds for other ideas in the essay “The Evolution of Spaceship Earth, Inc.,” such as computers being the best hope for mankind and humans not doing work machines can do better, being paid to think instead with what Fuller called mind grants. Fuller said unemployment all around Spaceship Earth could be eliminated overnight with mind grants. Apparently Fuller was the inventor of the appellations Earthian and Spaceship Earth.
The Earthian does not sell subscriptions or advertising or solicit donations for THE EARTHIAN or the EFFECTIVE LEARNING REPORT but it would like to sell more books. If you feel you’ve gained value from THE EARTHIAN and would like to reciprocate, go to Effective Learning Publications and purchase one or more books at https://effectivelearning.net/effective-learning-publications/ .
Born to Learn: A Transactional Analysis of Human Learning has not been a best seller but it has had some impact as this review in the Texas Tribune shows at https://www.texastribune.org/2016/10/26/bookshelf-oct-26-2016/?fbclid=IwAR3ctGFk_zCH5QOyvLjqUiulkAcEPUQ4deUq1-tZIS6OuwaYhI-bmrM4Ebw . A German orthopedic surgeon discounted the book with a customer review based on argumentum ad hominem insinuations at Amazon.com at https://www.amazon.com/Business-Voyages-Schemata-Discovering-Co-Constructing/dp/1413480810lowering it from a five-star to a three-star Amazon rating. The orthopedic doctor said the author did not “come across” like a real transactional analyst and the book promised more than it delivered. The Kirkus review in the Texas Tribune in this post is fair and accurate. Both reviews comment on admittedly a debatable issue with Born to Learn: Is the book useful only for teachers and students in classrooms or for all teachers and learners in all kinds of groups and organizations, including parents and children in homes, bosses and employees in businesses, preachers and Sunday school teachers and members in churches, etc.? Is it useful for leaders and members who teach and learn in all groups and organizations–civic clubs, chambers of commerce, street gangs, military units, and governments? The Earthian asserts it can be useful in all organizations and groups and can help increase Earthian human OKness. Read both reviews and write a review of Born to Learn: A Transactional Analysis of Human Learning. The more reviews the better.
Read As the Rooster Crows Earthian OKness Increases listed below as the first Source citation for this issue of The Earthian, also published by Effective Learning Publications, that shows how transactional analysis can be used in a novel painting a picture of Earthian states of affairs.
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This experience and research-based novel is a mostly fictional re-ordering and rendering of Earthian human cause-effect situations and processes experienced by the author. Any resemblance between fictional characters cast herein and real humans is coincidental, with the notable exception of Rout Logger, the protagonist of the story. Readers must willingly suspend disbelief here and there reading this book, as it mixes facts with fiction in some passages. Although novels are supposed to be imaginary fake news, Ernest Hemingway said some are “truer than true.”
This novel was written from a third person omniscient perspective as if it might have been recorded, thought up, and written as a case by an alien from outer space who had somehow learned some Transactional Analysis lingo such as I’m OK-You’re OK; OKness; Life Positions; Parent, Adult, and Child ego states; Transactions; Strokes; Games; Time Structuring Patterns; Life Scripts; and Rackets, as first defined and prescribed by Eric Berne, MD during 1957-1970.
If you want to know more about what these TA words signify when used in a passage in this novel you can find definitions of them with an internet search. Just add the words transactional analysis to OKness, Ego States, Transactions, Games, Scripts, etc. in the search bar of a computer browser so Google or any search engine will know what kind of OKness, transactions, games, scripts, rackets, etc. you are researching, although anyone who knows ordinary English can read and generally understand this novel with no researching of transactional analysis jargon.
Two major purposes of this novel are to paint a literary picture of psychological, social, economic, religious, political, educational, and philosophical states of affairs, primarily in the United States of America, but also around Spaceship Earth, that are impeding the creation of necessary changes for achieving Earthian human sustainability, and to sell a story about a new computer-based democratic Game- Free Adult-Adult I’m OK-You’re OK tv and internet live-streaming discussion system that might help save Earthian humans from annihilation caused by global warming or nuclear war.
I used to see a lot of pigeons flying around as a child. A lot of farms had flocks of them that nested in barns and sheds. But no more. I have not seen a flock of pigeons flying around in quite a while. A friend and I used to catch and pet them in a barn on his family farm at night with flashlights. Shine a light in their eyes and you could go right up to them. They were gentle and seemingly unafraid when you picked them up.
Because it has one of the angriest, most hate-filled, most bigoted, most prejudiced, most hubristic, most chauvinistic, and most polarized populations of any country
Not a good sign. Can you believe people are loaning their hard earned or inherited or won or received or bribed or swindled or extorted or stolen money to the federal government for thirty years at the rate of 2.0492 percent per year, a rate that was up dramatically yesterday from its low, caused by fewer ordinary investors wanting to buy treasury bills and notes? If this yield rise was catastrophic imagine what would happen if the yield got back up to six percent or so, a more or less normal interest rate for fixed income investments? How many units of funny money would the USian federal reserve system have to keystroke into their computers to buy US treasury instruments and loan to large corporations to keep USian bond and stock markets at high prices then? Would it be appropriate for the Fed Reserve system to keystroke into its computers this much funny money? If not how far could bond and stock markets fall? And how much would the Fed govt budget deficit swell because of the US treasury borrowing this much funny money, while paying yearly exponentially-increasing interest on its debt, while it meets its yearly military and civilian payroll?
This is not the end of individual reforms for the Dem party, but it is the end of the illusion that Biden will significantly reform the Dem party. Money is talking louder than usual these days in Washington and more and more Dem politicians are being rewarded by the Dem party for being bought off by their rich donors, Senators Manchin and Sinema being the leading examples. Meanwhile rich USians keep getting richer and poor USians poorer. The charade that the US is a democracy, not an oligarchy, is becoming clearer and clearer in the minds of most USians. Is the USian military intelligence complex actually running the show? Earthians need a new and better third political party in the US. This is a must read article by Michael Hudson, the greatest economist alive.
Three cheers for Biden on Afghanistan. Let us grieve for him and Spaceship Earth, and hope he survives his decision to get USians out of Afghanistan, the right thing to do in my opinion. I voted for Biden as the lesser evil and was unimpressed with his character and record. I may have been wrong. He has far more courage and backbone than I imagined. Are we already living in a military dictatorship? And congratulations to Biden on the infrastructure bill, another step in the right direction for USian civilians.
Sad and scary well said right on article by Richard Wolff. Could not agree more in general. Wolff is one of the smartest and best economists alive and an excellent writer. But he still falls into a bit of hubris in the article in a place or two by referring to the USian empire as the American empire. USians are not the only Americans, and America includes far more territory than the Earthian territory included in the longitudes and latitudes conquered from Indians and governed by the US of A in North America. There are three American continents, north, central, and south; and the US comprises only about forty percent of the population of the three continents. On the other hand, empires could care less about what the territory it controls one way or another is called. A more appropriate term for the USian military industrial intelligence money and banking complex would be the USian Empire.
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ABOUT THE EDITOR
Here’s Richard John Stapleton, PhD, CTA in his office at Georgia Southern University the year he retired in 2005, the senior professor of the university that year. The photo was shot by Lori Grice, a former student, founder of Lori Grice Photography.
The object under his left hand is a Classroom De- Gamer™ he invented in 1978.
He would spin the spinner of the De-Gamer in his classes to randomly select a student at the beginning of each class session to lead a discussion of the case assigned for that day, a case taken from a real business prepared by professional casewriters at Georgia Southern, Harvard, Stanford, and the University of Alabama. Grades were based eighty percent on class participation; the rest of the final grade was based on two case write-ups. One write-up was either a comprehensive analysis of a publicly-traded company based on published data; an analysis of a local business based on field research; or a business plan the student created from scratch. The other write-up was a comprehensive analysis of a professionally written case about a real business published in a Georgia Southern, Harvard, Stanford, or Alabama casebook assigned as the final exam. Cases used in his courses included all functional areas of business, such as entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, operations management, control, management information systems, and business policy and strategy.
He learned how the case method works teaching with Bernard Bienvenu, DBA and Rexford Hauser, DBA (Harvard Business School doctorates) at what is now known as the University of Louisiana–Lafayette in 1969-70.
He has published refereed journal articles and books explaining how his democratic Game-free Adult-Adult I’m OK–You’re OK case method system works, by banishing Persecutors, Rescuers, and Victims playing psychological Games from the teaching and learning process, first documented in an article titled “The Classroom De-Gamer” he published in 1978 in the Transactional Analysis Journal.
He studied TA with Martin Groder, MD; Graham Barnes, PhD; Vann Joines, PhD; and many others at the Southeast Institute at Chapel Hill, North Carolina (1975-1978).
He has degrees in economics, organizational behavior, and management science from Texas Tech University (1962-1969), and an organizational and educational certification in transactional analysis from the International Transactional Analysis Association (1978).
He had his own case method track at the undergraduate level in the business school at Georgia Southern University taught by him alone in the management department, four or five different elective case method courses offered each academic year (1970-2005), in which he led, coordinated, and graded twenty-five or so students each academic year who took all or most of those case method courses in their junior and senior years, of about two hundred students who signed up for all of his courses each academic year, using a democratic circle or amphitheater classroom layout. He also taught most semesters two sections of a capstone integrative business policy course he added to the business school curriculum in 1970 that was required for all undergraduate business majors that could be elected by any student in any major, in which he used the case method. He was the only professor in the business school to use the case method in any course.
His students agreed to a course learning contract that stipulated they would read the facts of the case before class and would lose a whole letter grade from the course final grade if the De-Gamer randomly caught them obviously not having read the case before class, if they had not slipped a note under his office door before class telling him they had not read the case, which they could do twice during the course without penalty.
About ten percent or so of his students made A’s and about five percent made D’s, and most made C’s, which is about right, since C = Average. There were almost no F’s in his courses. The main criterion for course grades was the quantity and quality of ideas sold by students in case method discussions. He used peer ratings to give students feedback showing what their fellow students thought about the quantity and quality of their ideas sold in class, having made it clear the final decision about final grades was his. He did not believe in Lake Wobegon grading.
No student was ever forced to take one of his courses to graduate, and the most hardened Game-players in the school did not sign up for his courses after he issued his Edict of 1972 in which he clearly spelled out in his syllabi the penalty for getting caught unprepared. His Classroom De-Gamer™ was roundly discussed by students in bull sessions across campus every year and was labeled various things, such as The Wheel of Fate and The Death Wheel. Most students near the end of his career simply called it The Spinner. He appreciated the fact Georgia Southern honored his academic freedom as a tenured professor, allowing him control of his teaching methods, classroom layouts, grading procedures, and course books, cases, and materials.
He conducted primary survey research in 1992 that discovered longitudinal data (published in “Evidence the Case Method Works” in his book Business Voyages: Mental Maps, Scripts, Schemata, and Tools for Discovering and Co-Constructing Your Own Business Worlds, 2008, pg. 475) that showed his case method students during 1972-1982 reported higher yearly incomes in 1992 than students electing the same courses in 1972-1982 taught by professors using the lecture method and the authoritarian row and column classroom layout, who graded students based on how well they memorized “right answers” for so-called objective multiple-choice tests, indicating learners learning in Adult–Adult I’m OK–You’re OK Game- free learning processes graded subjectively became more successful in the real world of business than learners lectured to in Parent–Child I’m OK–You’re Not-OK un-De-Gamed learning processes. Only former students who had worked in the real world ten or more years after graduating from the Georgia Southern business school were included in the study.
For more information on these classroom management ethical issues see Stapleton, R.J. and Murkison, G. (2001), “Optimizing the fairness of student evaluations: A study of correlations between instructor excellence, study production, learning production, and expected grades,” the Journal of Management Education, 25(3), 269-292. He had one of the lowest student grade point averages among professors in the business school and was one of the lowest-ranked professors as an instructor on computerized campus-wide student evaluations up to about 2000; but he was one of the highest-ranked professors in a computerized student evaluation he designed that generated data showing study production, learning production, and relative expected grades data for each professor, published in “Optimizing the Fairness of Student Evaluations.”
After this research was published, Georgia Southern in 2001 added study production, learning production, and expected grades questions to the student evaluation form used campus-wide.
“Optimizing the Fairness of Student Evaluations” has by now (December 4, 2021) been cited as a reference in 83 refereed journal articles concerned about student evaluations of teachers in several academic disciplines, including eight new citations since April 2021, proving the article is still being read and used by serious scholars, educators, and administrators in higher education.
As the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein propositioned, “The case is all there is.”
If so, everything else said about Earthian human states of affairs is a rendition of what was or might be.
