Lifeworks: From Crisis to Success in Austin

In Austin, Texas, LifeWorks is an $8 million, multifaceted human services organization providing support as youth and families “transition from crisis to safety and success”1. This dynamic, well-respected product of a merger provides an array of services for homeless, runaway and foster youth; counseling to individuals and families; and prevention programs for at-risk school-age youth. It is a strong advocacy voice for the needs of at-risk children and families, and enjoys a leadership role in the human service community.LBJ School of Public Affair

The Idealized Nation-State, Globalization, Critical Geopolitics and the Case of Morocco

The Moroccan nation-state is a taken-for-granted geopolitical entity that is represented by the Moroccan government and the core of the world system in ways that are consonant with their visions of reality. The primary goal of this thesis is to uncover the ideology and politics behind these visions of reality. Theories of critical geopolitics have been used to deconstruct Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara, its language policy, its economic policy, and its immigration situation. I have shown that the Moroccan government's views of its own nation-state are influenced by Arabo-Islamist ideology and that the core's perceptions of Morocco are influenced by colonial philosophy, modernization theory, and neoliberal thought. In these cases, geographical information that presents itself as objective is instead highly ideological and politicized

Nature as Metaphor in School Art Therapy: Development of a Group Method

This group method was developed to observe the impact of bringing nature materials indoors to be utilized in school art therapy sessions. Little research exists on the impacts of natural materials being used therapeutically and expressively in a school setting. This study was conducted throughout the course of one week of therapeutic homeroom with three female high school students aged 15-17. Sand, shells, leaves, flowers, seaweed, sea grapes, driftwood, prickly seeds, and berries were gathered from a beach pathway by the researcher and presented in organized piles on a large classroom table. Students responded to a different prompt for four consecutive art therapy sessions. By engaging with this unique nature assemblage process, students were able to step outside their comfort zones, collaborate on shared meanings and metaphors, reflect on internal reactions, and further bond as a group

Why They're Worried: Examining Experts' Motivations for Signing the 'Pause Letter'

This paper presents perspectives on the state of AI, as held by a sample of experts. These experts were early signatories of the recent open letter from Future of Life, which calls for a pause on advanced AI development. Utmost effort was put into accurately representing the perspectives of our interviewees, and they have all read and approved of their representation. However, no paper could offer a perfect portrayal of their position. We feel confident in what opinions we do put forward, but we do not hold them tightly. In such dynamic times, we feel that no one should be resolved in their expectations for AI and its future.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figure

The "toughness conundrum" : contemporary mainstream media images of women in the public sphere during the "war on terror"

textThis dissertation explores the relationship between gender, war, and media constructions of both. Using the theoretical frameworks of the social constructions of gender and the gendered constructions of the public sphere, I have analyzed how Time magazine portrayed Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton in discussions of war. Time represents mainstream mediated coverage in this case. Rice and Clinton represent women outside the normal boundaries of femininity. First, they were participants in the public sphere, which is largely male-dominated in our society. Second, both women were involved in discussions of war and foreign policy. Their participation in this area of the public sphere is a contradiction to how society expects women to act during war time. The most interesting conclusion is the way the women are linked back to the private sphere through their relationships with men. These representations align with historical theoretical definitions of the public sphere, which favor male participation and often disregard female participation.Journalis

Prison guards’ attitudes towards the prevention of sexual contacts between inmates

This article presents the main findings of an innovative Portuguese research project on prison guards’ attitudes towards the prevention of sexual contacts between inmates. Sexuality in prisons is still a poorly-studied issue, although its increasing visibility demands a better understanding of prison dynamics. Results show that guards hold very favourable attitudes towards the prevention of forced sexual contacts between inmates, but they are more ambiguous concerning consensual sexuality. This result is influenced by the characteristics of the inmates under the guards’ supervision and by the prison guards’ knowledge of the existence of sexual contacts between inmates. The results will be discussed, along with their impact on the development of training programmes and policies regarding sexual contacts between inmate