In this thesis I examine the craft goals and strategies I have employed in developing three socially engaged plays during my studies in the MFA Playwriting Program at The University of Texas at Austin. I am defining “socially engaged theater” as that which is written for the stage and explores a major social issue. Each play included examines a different issue. The play, You Ain’t Cuz You Not, explores the issue of gentrification, privilege, and poverty. The script is written in a non-linear, non-naturalistic style to meet both the craft needs and resonate most effectively with the issues. The play, Rivers of January, looks at racial construction and class divisions in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The play is structured in a conventional and linear format and is stylistically entirely a naturalistic drama to create the tone most effective for exploring the themes. The play, You Can’t Win, is a musical biography of the career criminal Jack Black and study of the prison industrial complex. Each script presented a unique set of craft challenges in the development process. The tone, genre, and structure of each piece were determined by both the needs of the particular story and the desired outcome of examining a particular topic of social relevance. / text

The driving question of this project is: "How is St. Catherine of Siena an exemplar of engaged communication scholarship?" This project covers five essential facets of communicative inquiry into a deeper understanding of St. Catherine of Siena and her embodiment of engaged communication scholarship. The five areas trace her life from its historical context to its most personal revelations to her lived engagements with others. In the first chapter, the inquiry into St. Catherine of Siena begins with how she is understood by others for her knowledge and impact. Chapter Two assesses the historical moment in which St. Catherine of Siena lived. In Chapter Three, St. Catherine of Siena, both the person and her life, is explored focusing on her participation in society from her birth in 1347 to her death in 1380. Chapter Four examines St. Catherine of Siena's work, The Dialogue, which contains four treatises including: (1) "A Treatise of Divine Providence;" (2) "A Treatise of Discretion;" (3) / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts / Communication and Rhetorical Studies / PhD / Dissertation

No / This paper explores how we can embed impact in research to generate socially useful knowledge. Our contribution lies in proposing a form of engaged research that draws upon situated knowledge and encompasses dialogical sensemaking as a way of making experience sensible in collaborative researcher−practitioner conversations. We draw attention to the intricacies of doing socially useful research and illustrate how five conversational resources can be used within dialogical sensemaking through an example of a research project in which impact and relevance were embedded and where researchers and practitioners worked together to resolve an important social and organizational issue.

In my BA project, I travelled to Tanzania with a MFS stipend and experienced humanitarian architecture up close - by following architectural group Asant Collective´s project in Tanzania: a new Children Centre for a small non-governmental organization called ECONEF.  I have worked with social questions / responsibilities regarding our role as interior architects in developing countries - often feeling like a anthropologist. In my design part, I have re-drawed the layout for ECONEF´s planned new orphanage after a analyse of the existing orphanage, culture and traditions. / Due to upload conditions, the report have inadequate resolution - Please visit elseabrahamsen.com to view my work and follow the blog about humanitarian architecture.

Healthcare in Sweden is in need of eHealth innovations to meet the requirements a highlydeveloped society. However to develop and implement eHealth in the healthcare system ischallenging because the system is experienced as complex, conservative and fragmented.In this thesis a qualitative single case study has been conducted to further investigate thechallenges of development and implementation of eHealth. This study demonstrates that itis challenging to understand the complexity of the healthcare system and this has animpact on eHealth development. Involvement of potential users and collaborationbetween stakeholders are seen as a suggested solution to understand this problem. Thisthesis has also shown that to involve users and collaborators is challenging as well.Further the study has shown that there are technological challenges in realizing eHealthin the healthcare system and there is a challenge to develop and implement informationsystems because of regulatory limitations. Despite years of experience in healthcare or ITdevelopmentmany of the respondents find that these factors challenge innovation efforts.

This dissertation focuses upon the question, "how are we called to live?", relying on the thought and dialogue of Thomas Merton, a 20th Century Catholic monk, and Sallie McFague, a 21st Century Protestant theologian. This question is approached by examining Merton and McFague's understandings of God, self, and the world as these aspects relate to the question and issue of Christian living. In exploring these areas this project brings together aspects of Christian spirituality, theology, and ethics to grasp the intimate relationship between faith and action, which is the essence of authentic Christian discipleship. Ultimately, the merging of faith and action seen in Merton and McFague's lives and work suggest that they both possess and advocate for "engaged spirituality," or spiritually rooted social action, as the central expression of Christian faith called for today. Their examples, brought together, convey truth and inspire all of us to live more authentically and to more fully contribute to the making of a better world. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts; / Theology / PhD; / Dissertation;

Cognitive self-regulation, or the ability to direct one’s attention and actively participate in learning, is a valuable asset because it promotes successful adjustment across the lifespan. Although cross-sectional studies have provided some information about the stability and change in cognitive self-regulation from early childhood through the elementary school years (ages 3-12), less is known about the other child characteristics that influence its development. This study is designed to examine multiple dimensions of preschool skills in relation to children’s attention and engaged learning across the elementary school years. Rich longitudinal data are used from a sample of 1,364 typically developing children from across the U.S. who participated in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Variation in preschool attentional skills, social behavior, and early academic skills was used to predict average level and rate of change in attention, planning, work habits, and classroom engagement from first through sixth grades. Results indicate that high levels of teacher-rated attention problems in the fall of kindergarten are consistently related to lower levels of attention and engaged learning in elementary school. High scores on kindergarten teacher-rated internalizing problems and social skills are linked with high attention and classroom work habits according to elementary school teachers. Finally, early academic skills (particularly oral language skills) are associated with high performance on the Tower of Hanoi planning task and high observed classroom engagement. These results suggest that programs designed to promote school readiness would be remiss in emphasizing early academic skills to the detriment of addressing children’s attention problems and social behavior. / text

No description available.

Social isolation is a concern for the health of older adults in Canada. Community-engaged arts (CEA) programs are thought to support social inclusion but how such programs contribute to building community connections for older adults at risk of social isolation is poorly understood. This study, therefore, is aimed to explore the experience of community for this population in the context of a CEA program as well as the role the program plays in that experience. A qualitative study using ethnographic methods was conducted to answer two research questions: (1) What does community mean to seniors in the Arts, Health and Seniors program? (2) What is the role of the Arts, Health and Seniors program in the participants’ experience of community? Data were collected over a six week period using participant observation, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The sample was a group of 20 urban-dwelling seniors at risk for social isolation who participated in a CEA program once a week. Regular group art sessions were observed by the researcher and extensive field notes were recorded. Interviews were conducted with five senior participants and four other key informants (including two artists, a senior worker, and an administrators), and documents related to the community were reviewed. Data were analyzed throughout the data collection process and interpretations were noted. Through immersion in the data and a movement between the data and interpretations, themes were developed. Connections between themes were explored and taken back to the data. Findings were presented as a detailed description of the participants’ experience of community. Community for the participants focused around the Seniors Centre where the program was held. The participants expressed that the meaningful relationships at the centre made it ‘another home’ and was a place they could find resources to adapt to challenges. The CEA program provided a unique experience of community through working together as a group and making new social connections. For health professionals working with older people at risk for social isolation, this research will add to the understanding of how community is experienced by older adults and how community is supported by CEA programs.

Social isolation is a concern for the health of older adults in Canada. Community-engaged arts (CEA) programs are thought to support social inclusion but how such programs contribute to building community connections for older adults at risk of social isolation is poorly understood. This study, therefore, is aimed to explore the experience of community for this population in the context of a CEA program as well as the role the program plays in that experience. A qualitative study using ethnographic methods was conducted to answer two research questions: (1) What does community mean to seniors in the Arts, Health and Seniors program? (2) What is the role of the Arts, Health and Seniors program in the participants’ experience of community? Data were collected over a six week period using participant observation, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The sample was a group of 20 urban-dwelling seniors at risk for social isolation who participated in a CEA program once a week. Regular group art sessions were observed by the researcher and extensive field notes were recorded. Interviews were conducted with five senior participants and four other key informants (including two artists, a senior worker, and an administrators), and documents related to the community were reviewed. Data were analyzed throughout the data collection process and interpretations were noted. Through immersion in the data and a movement between the data and interpretations, themes were developed. Connections between themes were explored and taken back to the data. Findings were presented as a detailed description of the participants’ experience of community. Community for the participants focused around the Seniors Centre where the program was held. The participants expressed that the meaningful relationships at the centre made it ‘another home’ and was a place they could find resources to adapt to challenges. The CEA program provided a unique experience of community through working together as a group and making new social connections. For health professionals working with older people at risk for social isolation, this research will add to the understanding of how community is experienced by older adults and how community is supported by CEA programs.