Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This study takes a first step to investigate social life within agencies designed to house homeless adolescents through research conducted at a live-in, emergency youth shelter (The Faulk House). I pose the following questions here: How does the shelter approach the problem of adolescent homelessness? Is this approach challenged, that is, how are things like rules, voice, power, and social control negotiated in shelter life? As one institutionalized response to the social problem of adolescent homelessness the Faulk House addresses its client population through a plan for treatment that emphasizes “providing structure” for shelter residents. The shelter provides physical necessities, safety, life skills, and a consistent (for residents and staff), structured environment mainly in its operation as a quasi-total institution. Shelter curriculum treats adolescent homelessness as an individual rather than social problem, emphasizing the modification of individual behaviors through social control mechanisms such as physical and psychological boundaries. This approach conflicts with the experience of shelter residents, many of who experience poverty and homelessness as marginally connected to personal choice and behavior. Social life within the shelter is largely defined by the constant negotiation of social control mechanisms and the imposition of “structure.” Boundaries, for example become more or less permeable as a result of the degrees to which shelter residents and staff challenge or conform to shelter policy.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Lawyers in the U.S. often like to think of themselves as different from their counterparts in Europe. They see themselves as active and creative participants in the structuring of financial transactions, as “problem solvers.” In contrast, they often stereotype Continental lawyers as more bureaucratic, as “technicians.”

But the capacity to see “confusion where clarity reigns” and to argue “for any position,” capacities that are openly heralded by the bar and actively taught in American law schools, at the extreme, can render law itself illusory. After all, what limits really exist when a lawyer is able to deconstruct any rule, even the most precisely expressed precepts of law?

This quality of the U.S. lawyer is vividly displayed in the bar’s participation in the construction and promotion of abusive tax shelters. These “shelters” are transactions with no economic substance apart from tax avoidance. When detected by the Revenue Service, they are shut down. But along the way, billions of dollars are effectively stolen from the federal treasury.

Lawyers have been in the thick of these deals, writing the essential opinion letters and helping to structure and promote the shelters. Yet, regulatory responses to this phenomenon have faltered.

In this paper, I try to think through how the conception of professional role feeds lawyer complicity in tax fraud. I will also examine the failures of the various forms of regulatory response to this problem and how those responses are also intertwined with conceptions of the lawyer’s professional role.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In the past twenty years interest in the homeless population has increased and the awareness of this social issue has led society to believe the homeless population makes its cities unattractive and crime-ridden. In response to this heightened activity in relation to the homeless, many cities throughout the United States have passed laws in an effort to diminish the homeless population. The restricting of the homeless to certain areas is believed to make cities more attractive and reduce crime. While the unattractiveness of a city is a subjective evaluation, the number and types of crimes committed around homeless shelters can be determined and analyzed in the context of hot spot crime areas.
I present an analysis of the density of crime reports for June to December of 2006 versus the distance of the crime locations from the three homeless shelters located in the Orlando Parramore Heritage District. The types of analyzed offenses are violent, substance, larceny, property, sexual, and ordinance violations. The analysis indicates that locations closer to homeless shelters are more likely to have larceny offenses and ordinance violations, while the density of crimes involving violent, substance, property, and sexual offenses do not correlate to the locations of these three homeless shelters.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Teaching political science content in classrooms with students with diverse language abilities can often be challenging for many educators. Teaching political science content using English as the language of instruction in a foreign language environment adds additional challenges. At the same time educators in these circumstances are increasingly called upon to better prepare their students for futures in international business or international study abroad experiences.  Several methods as part of a sheltered content curriculum have proven very effective for bridging the multiple linguistic and cultural divides. Active learning techniques provide many solutions for a great number of challenges faced by teachers in the international classroom. Political science courses have proven particularly well suited for active learning strategies that assist students of lesser English proficiency. Comprehension of subjects such as participatory democracy, diplomacy and foreign policy is enhanced through peer teaching, cooperative learning groups and simulations.  The use of multimedia support is also useful in such classroom environments.  Powerpoint lecture support, close-captioned video, computer simulations and internet activities are particularly helpful when students' academic and language communication skills vary widely.  Finally, the careful selection of textbook and supplementary reading materials is also required to support students with diverse skills, abilities and preparation.  This paper reviews the use of sheltered content instruction for improving teaching and learning in the international politics classroom.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Abstract

This paper explores the working lives of animal welfare workers at a non-profit facility called the National Animal Organization or NAO (name fictitious). Specifically, this paper focuses on the stress associated with working at an animal shelter that euthanizes its animals after a certain period of time. Through participant observation and personal interviews, the researcher explores the different kinds of stress NAO shelter workers experience and the many different coping strategies they use to manage their tension. Finally, the researcher evaluates the impact of gender on shelter work and tension management.
Conducted as an ethnographic study, this research uncovers much of the “behind the scenes” feelings and beliefs of animal welfare workers. As an identified researcher who also volunteered with the NAO, the researcher had access to the entire NAO facility and staff, including management.
The findings of this exploratory study suggest that gender does play a significant role in the working lives of animal welfare workers. Male shelter workers were seen as more stoic and less apt to show visible signs of distress, whereas female shelter workers were seen as more emotional and better suited to shelter work.