Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Through The Eyes Of Greek Cypriots And Turkish Cypriots: The Perception Of Cyprus, Mary N. Olin

Dissertations and Theses

It is important to consider the effects of past conflicts on the current perceptions of the people of Cyprus and of the future generations. This thesis contends that the ongoing division of Cyprus along with the many unresolved issues regarding past conflicts have had a profound effect on how the people of Cyprus perceive new information in regard to their future. The inquiry will explore the historical background of Cyprus and the affects of nationalism. The need for enemies, large group identity, divided societies and the need for dialogue will also be examined in relation to perception and new information. …

Growing Disparities Among Greater Boston Communities During The 1990s, David Terkla

David G. Terkla

During the 1990s, rich communities in the Greater Boston area got richer, and the richest made gains that were proportionally greater than the gains made by those communities only slightly less rich. At the same time, the poorest communities stayed poor, and in fact became more poor in comparison with communities slightly less poor. This dynamic is even more striking when the ten poorest communities are compared and contrasted with the ten wealthiest communities. Census figures show a rapidly expanding differential between the communities of the Greater Boston area. As a commonwealth, we should be considering policies designed to ameliorate …

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum, Volume One, Issue One, Shane Willson, Landon S. Bevier, Rachael E. Gabriel, Taylor Krcek, Alaina Elizabeth Smith

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

It is with great pride that we present to you the inaugural issue of Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum. Here we have attempted to create an innovative, peer-reviewed space in which people from numerous disciplines, or even those claiming no discipline, can present research, multimedia, and art aimed at furthering the ideals of social justice, broadly defined. Social justice is not a concept owned by the academy, for attempts to create a more just world can come from many professions, or even from no profession at all. By applying the traditionally academic peer-review process to work done by activists, artists, …

Happiness Around The World: The Paradox Of Happy Peasants And Miserable Millionaires, Carol Graham

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

For centuries the pursuit of happiness was the preserve of philosophers. More recently there is a burgeoning interest in the study of happiness in the social sciences. Can we really answer the question what makes people happy? Is it grounded in credible methods and data? Is there consistency in the determinants of happiness across countries and cultures? Are happiness levels innate to individuals or can policy and the environment make a difference? How is happiness affected by poverty and by progress? This presentation introduces a line of research which is both an attempt to understand the determinants of happiness and …

Torch (November/December 2011), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Community Voices: New State Voting Districts In Final Stages, Carroy U. Ferguson Dr.

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

Last week the Massachusetts Legislature produced redistricting legislation that will forever change the direction of state politics for blacks, Latinos and Asians. By this time next year, the number of state house elected officials of color can increase by 100 percent, from 10 to 20 members. And communities of color will be well positioned to elect a person of color to the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in the history of the state.

Unmet Social Needs In Singapore: Singapore's Social Structures And Policies, And Their Impact On Six Vulnerable Communities, Braema Mathi, Sharifah Mohamed

Lien Centre for Social Innovation: Research

In line with Lien Centre’s vision to catalyse positive social change, this research was carried out to understand social gaps in Singapore and how our society’s ability to meet social needs can be enhanced. Despite basic social needs in Singapore being essentially met through direct government interventions and the contributions of non-governmental social service activities, there are today some vulnerable groups that remain or have become more prominent. This research project aims to identify some of these needs and the possible approaches to addressing them.

It is hoped that some of the recommendations of this report will be helpful for …

How To Sever The Legs Of An Octopus: Tunisia’S Ongoing Revolution, Matthew Hammel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Kasbah square is large and covered in barbwire. Military men stand on the inside of the fence cradling automatic rifles, joking, chatting, texting on their cell phones. Coming out from the bustle of the souks the square feels tranquil. It is September, seven months since the square became a temporary home to thousands of protestors who demanded the end of oppressive government in Tunisia. It was here that the Tunisian people solidified their revolution, refusing to be appeased by the flight of a figurehead while the tentacles of his regime remained.

Ben Ali ruled Tunisia for twenty-three years. During …

La Derecha Contemporánea En Chile: Su Rol En El Movimiento Estudiantil, Alexandra Jane Bellows

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This investigation studies the political right in Chile and how they see their role within the student movement of 2011. One of the most relevant topics in current Chilean politics, the student movement has organized, over the course of the past nine months, a series of strikes, protests and demonstrations, rallying at certain times over 100,000 people. The students are demanding change to the structure of the higher education system, a system established during the 1980’s under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet and largely influenced by the neoliberal model of Milton Freidman and the “Chicago boys.” This movement has …

Who Benefits From Early Childcare Subsidy Design In Ireland?, Bernie O'Donoghue Hynes, Noirin Hayes

Articles

Best Newcomer Article

The design of policy tools reveals underlying biases that are not easily identified in policy documents. A review of two early childhood education and care subsidies in Ireland aimed at different target populations exposes differential treatment of children, parents and service providers. It also demonstrates how in a split system ‘early education’ is prioritised over ‘childcare’. The designs serve to reinforce stereotypes that enable the powerful and advantaged to accrue benefits while those perceived to be less deserving are burdened through the maldistribution of resources.

El Rol Y El Simbolismo De Las Tomas Dentro Del Movimiento Estudiantil De 2011, Shara Guarnaccia

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este estudio de campo investiga las tomas del movimiento estudiantil de 2011 en Chile en profundidad. Es un momento importante en la historia chilena, tal como un ejemplo ilustrativo de la relación entre la educación y el cambio social. La investigación se realiza a través de observación participativa en siete tomas en Santiago, Chile que siguen en toma después de seis meses movilizados. También, utiliza entrevistas con estudiantes en las tomas para averiguar sus opiniones acerca del movimiento y su participación en la toma. Los resultados muestran que los alumnos secundarios movilizados son un grupo extraordinario que tiene una conciencia …

Le Centre D’Alliances Et Cultures, Esther Wittenberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

L’esprit de accueillance était déjà au bâtiment de centre avant d’il était officiellement le centre d’Alliances et Cultures. La structure était construite aux même temps des autres maisons qui sont dans le même quartier. Il était un projet du HLM, le Habitation à Loyer Modéré, qui construit des maisons pour les familles. Les familles sont locataires et ils paient un loyer modeste. Il était ouvert en 1982 comme un bâtiment où les familles pouvaient rencontre des autres familles au même quartier. Petit à petit, ils ont crée un microsociété, et ont gagné une rassurance de solidarité. Eventuellement, les familles ont …

¡Edúcame! Violencia, Autoridad E Identidad En El Movimiento Studiantil Actual, Aila Ferguson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Controversy has surrounded the current student movement since it began six months ago. One of the main causes for concern is the violence that seems to be a constant at every protest and demonstration. There are various contradicting opinions on the subject of violence and what is appropriate behavior for the student protesters and for the carabineros, or police officers, who are ordered to “maintain control” of the marches. Through interviews with various participants and political actors this research aims to contribute to a better understanding of government violence as a form of social control and to the understanding of …

Autism In Kenya: A Social, Educational And Political Perspective, Ariana Riccio

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Autism is a widely misunderstood developmental disability that is generally diagnosed in early childhood and has been the recent subject of much media and medical attention in developed nations worldwide. While there has been a noted improvement in diagnostic and therapeutic options for children and their families in developing nations, the attention placed on disability, particularly on autism, is considered underdeveloped and inadequate. This paper will attempt to address the current framework surrounding autism in the area of Nairobi, Kenya and discuss the social attitudes, diagnostic practices, educational opportunities, and government intervention programs available in the area. Given the lack …

This Land Is Our Land: The Ngöbe Stuggle For Land, Fran Del Rosario

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Los Ngobes han estado luchando por su tierra por muchos años. En los 1500s, debido al conquista española, Los Ngobes fueron forzados a huir a otras aéreas. Hoy, ellos están luchando por su tierra contra inversión y comercialización. Su tierra es muy importante para ellos porque su manera de vivir viene directamente de su tierra. La construcción de calles adentro y alrededor de su tierra se ha afectado mucho. Entre mas abierta su tierra, mas vlnerable son ellos a contacto con el exterior. Es más difícil preservar su cultura y tradición con proyectos de desarrollo amenazando su manera de vivir …

Assessing Mental Health Care For Iraqi Refugees In Jordan Looking To New Solutions For The Future, Hannah B. Egan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Across the globe citizens flee their native countries in search of newfound safety and stability. These people are known as refugees. Since 2003 refugees from Iraq have entered Jordan in search of a better life. Unfortunately, the terrors that Iraqi refugees escape do not disappear after crossing country lines. These memories cause serious mental health conditions for Iraqi refugees. Such conditions are intensified by the living environment in Jordan where Iraqis are not granted legal status. While some refugees are wealthy and others are resettled to the United States or Europe, the majority remain “stuck” in Jordan.

This study seeks …

“La Percepción Social De Vih/Sida En Chile Y Sus Efectos”, Philip Krause

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research Question—How does the social perception of HIV/AIDs in Chile affect the country’s prevention and treatment programs?

Background-- This paper investigated the social perception of HIV/AIDs in Chile through the opinions of experts who work closely to the issue, including regional and national political professionals, medical professionals on HIV/AIDs treatment teams in hospitals, and leaders of social organizations that had a relationship to HIV/AIDs representation and prevention. The professionals were also asked how they believed this perception affected the efforts of the Chilean government and national organizations in prevention and management of the HIV/AIDs epidemic in Chile. An …

A New Face In The Crowd: An Examination On The Social Integration Of Children With Disabilities, Christen Maguire

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Historically in India people with disabilities have been pushed to the side and have not been given the attention which they need and deserve. As a result this population has become extremely marginalized and has not been included in making decisions with the rest of society. The main reason why this has become such a marginalized group is because of a negative stigma which has been associated with mental disabilities. Slowly this stigma is beginning to change, but it still affects the way people view and act towards the disabled. The integration of people with disabilities into the rest of …

L@S Desaparecid@S No Desaparecen: Testimonios De Familias Desgarradas, Sara Jacobs

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since the beginning of time, migration has been a reality in our world. It is a phenomenon linked with the human race that has always existed and is always going to exist. There are a multitude of theories and reasons behind why people choose to migrate, whether it is in search of something different or to flee from something unsustainable, among other things. There are many reasons and each person has his or her own explanation and motive for migrating.

Although there are different motives, migrants and their family members share a human experience, and this experience connects millions of …

¿Por Qué Participan? Las Motivaciones De Participación De Los Miembros De La Corriente Classista Combativa En La Matanza Why Participate? The Motivation To Participate For The Members Of The Corriente Classista Combativa In La Matanza., Googie Karrass

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The ‘piquetero’ movement that emerged out of Argentina’s economic crisis of 2001 has undergone many transformations. Beginning in the early 90’s in response to the devastating neo-liberal policies of Carlos Menem, this movement of unemployed workers created new forms of political dissent and organization. While individual groups existed within the movement their method of public protest, the blockage of transit routes, and their shared objectives for institutional change and stable employment, allowed this movement to act as an untied front. During the crisis of 2001 and in the wake of the utter failure of Menem’s neo-liberal agenda the ‘piqueteros’ converged …

Acholi Clan, Ethnic, And National Identities In Post-Conflict Northern Uganda: A Case Study In Koch Goma Sub-County, Nwoya District, David L. Davenport

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

the following essay, the researcher will explore the clan, ethnic, and national identities of the Acholi people in the context of post-conflict northern Uganda. The researcher will first describe and interpret the meaning of these identities to Acholi people he interviewed during his research, and then he will analyze them in the post-conflict, socio-cultural context of northern Uganda.

During a research period of four weeks, the researcher spent a total of twelve days in Koch Goma Sub-Country, Nwoya District conducting one-on-one interviews. During this time, the researcher was able to interview eighteen people. Data was collected and analyzed qualitatively as …

La Relación Entre El Gobierno De La Ciudad De Buenos Aires Y Un Grupo De Cartoneros Organizados, El Ceibo - La Necesidad De Una Alianza De Esfuerzos The Relationship Between The Government Of The City Of Buenos Aires And An Organized Group Of Cartoneros, El Ceibo - The Need For An Alliance, Ketter Weissman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The process of separating and selling recyclable materials in the city of Buenos Aires provides income and livelihood for a large group of outcasted workers. This method of recycling in the Capital Federal city of Argentina involves much more than governmental departments and waste management systems. “Cartoneros” are those who rummage through the city’s trash collecting renewable goods from the disposable.

For decades, the work of cartoneros has been disregarded and cast-aside, labeled as work for the poor or unprivileged. However, the work of these collectors accounts for more than half of the city’s recycling. The government’s minimalist system of …

Resolution, Reinvestment, And Realignment: Three Strategies For Changing Juvenile Justice, Jeffrey A. Butts, Douglas N. Evans

Publications and Research

In recent decades, legislators and administrators have created innovative policies to reduce the demand for expensive state confinement and to supervise as many young offenders as possible in their own communities. This report reviews the history and development of these strategies and portrays their methods as following one of three models: resolution, reinvestment, and realignment.

Torch (September/October 2011), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Changing The World With One Cell: The Story Of Hela, Allison Roberts

Allison Roberts

Poster Created for the Diversity Committee Fall 2011 Culture Corner featuring The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Henrietta Lacks’ cell culture spawned changes in medicine, science, ethics, society and the world. This Semester’s Culture Corner features selections from UT Libraries collection that highlight the areas effected by this one human and her immortal cell.

Rethinking The Rural-Urban Divide In China’S New Stratification Order, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

I use a Marxist framework centred on the mode of production to conceptually analyze the changing stratification structure in today’s China with a focus on the changing nature of rural-urban inequality. As the state-managed tributary mode of production, once dominant under socialism, is being gradually eclipsed by the reviving petty-commodity mode of production and the newly emerged capitalist mode of production, both of which are market-based and enable the transfer of surplus from labour to capital, a new set of mechanisms are creating and sustaining rural-urban inequality in China. Rural-urban inequality – although still significant in its magnitude – is …

Healers And Researchers: Towards A More Balanced Relationship, Gracie Tewkesbury

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In my seminar paper, I discussed the benefits for both parties of collaboration between traditional healers and modern scientific researchers. If research is done on the medicinal effects of plants, these cures can be used more safely and effectively by members of the community. This relationship is greatly beneficial in theory, but the reality is less than ideal. Researchers, especially foreign ones, depreciate and exploit the knowledge of healers, and as a result, healers are often distrustful and unwilling to collaborate. The relationship between healers and researchers potentially holds the cures to countless diseases and can contribute directly to greater …

Indigenous Perspectives: The Struggle For Land, Culture And Education In Rivas, Nicaragua, Jeremy Harrison-Smith

Capstone Collection

The domination of Western educational systems and the capitalist market over indigenous social economic structures has been detrimental to communities all over the world. The search for foreign investment and development opportunities, along with local government’s educational structuring has spread these systems to communities in Central America. This research explores first-hand accounts surrounding these influences through the perspectives of two Nahua indigenous communities in Rivas, Nicaragua. First, a history of indigenous struggles in Nicaragua along with U.S. economic influence on land rights, tourism and educational systems are explored. Then, the indigenous communities’ perspectives are presented to understand the effects of …

An Analysis Of Women’S Participation In Peace Negotiations; 1992 - 2010, Tuohy Ahern

Capstone Collection

This paper will present an analysis of several women’s peacebuilding movements and describe their efforts to participate in formal peace negotiations. This analysis includes the design, development and implementation of the female and community-based initiatives as well as the strategies, tactics and approaches used by these women throughout the peace negotiation process. It is important to consider the central role women’s organizations have played in ensuring women’s involvement when examining peace negotiations. Despite a lack of formal invitations to participate in negotiations, many female community-based initiatives have gained entry through efforts outside the political realm.

To provide a framework on …

Sustainable Development Projects For Refugees Case Study: Measuring The Scope Of Sustainability Of Sustainable Development Projects And Microcredit In Eritrean Refugee Camps In Eastern Sudan, Khalid Alssardiyah

Capstone Collection

Sustainable development projects are a vital modern method in fighting poverty and in reducing unemployment; they provide the main motivation for communities to become involved in the decision-making process of building their lives in their society. International institutions focus on establishing sustainable development projects for many communities, but this concern has yet to reach those in the greatest need, such as the refugees in eastern Sudan.

This capstone paper identifies sustainability of sustainable development projects and microcredit, as well as the challenges facing these efforts. A case study was conducted on Eritrean refugees in Shagarab camp in eastern Sudan where …