Social Sciences
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California prison shakeup reveals urgent need for reform, expert says
The recent shakeup in the troubled California Department of Corrections reveals the resistance to a badly needed overhaul of the nation’s largest prison system, says a leading expert on prisons and the psychology of incarceration. The resignation of Corrections chief Roderick Hickman, hired two years ago by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to overhaul the dysfunctional system,…
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MEDIA ADVISORY: You are invited to cover King Convocation, film screenings
Keith Beauchamp, the filmmaker drawing acclaim for The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till, and Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and CEO of the national advocacy group PolicyLink, will speak at UCSC’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Convocation at 7 p.m. February 28. In addition, Beauchamp will be hosting two screenings of the film to which…
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UC Santa Cruz psychology prof develops language aids for hearing-impaired and autistic children
Twenty years ago, psychology professor Dominic Massaro never dreamed his investigation of how humans comprehend language and speech would benefit hearing-impaired and autistic children. But his research into how auditory and visual cues work together to aid our comprehension of the spoken word attracted the attention of parents of children with language challenges. Eager for…
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Journalist who broke CIA prison story speaks March 6 at UC Santa Cruz
Dana Priest, the award-winning Washington Post reporter who broke the story about the CIA’s secret overseas prisons, will give a free public lecture March 6 at UC Santa Cruz. Her talk, titled “The CIA’s Secret War,” will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Colleges Nine and Ten Multipurpose Room. Priest, who earned a bachelor’s degree…
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Stanford biologist Paul Ehrlich to speak at UCSC on Thursday, March 2
Paul Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Population Studies and president of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University, will give the second Fred Keeley Lecture on Environmental Policy at the University of California, Santa Cruz, on Thursday, March 2. The talk, titled “One with Nineveh: Politics, Consumption, and the Human Future,” will take place at…
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California Teach Program launched to boost numbers of highly qualified math and science teachers
The California Teach Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is creating new opportunities for students in mathematics, science, and engineering majors to prepare for careers in teaching. The program is part of the UC systemwide “California Teach” initiative designed to increase the number and quality of science and math teachers in California schools.…
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Documentary director, activist to address King Convocation Feb. 28
Keith Beauchamp, the filmmaker drawing acclaim for The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till, and Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and CEO of the national advocacy group PolicyLink, will speak at UCSC’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Convocation February 28. Held at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, the annual convocation will begin at 7 p.m. The…
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Eileen Brooks, assistant professor of economics at UC Santa Cruz, dies at 33
Eileen L. Brooks, assistant professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, died Wednesday, February 1, at Dominican Hospital after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was 33 years old. No services are planned. Brooks joined the UCSC faculty in 2001 after earning a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. A 1994 graduate…
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2006 Visiting Professor program under way at UC Santa Cruz
The UCSC Alumni Association Distinguished Visiting Professor program is offering an eclectic mix of disciplines in 2006. Stanford historian Richard White will speak in February; Johanna Drucker, a renowned book artist and authority on typography and visual art, will visit this spring; and Arielle Saiber, who concentrates on the influence of mathematics on the literary…
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Essays about Hurricane Katrina by Wynton Marsalis and others appear in new book
The weak federal emergency response to Hurricane Katrina fits a pattern of reduced federal government responsibility for public well-being, according to the editor of a new collection of essays about Katrina. John Brown Childs, a professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and editor of the new book Hurricane Katrina: Response and…
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Soil ecologist investigates the role of plant roots in regulating carbon cycling and reducing global warming
Soil ecologist Weixin Cheng is at the leading edge of scientific efforts to quantify the impacts of plant roots on the cycling of carbon between the atmosphere, where carbon dioxide contributes to global warming, and terrestrial ecosystems, where large amounts of carbon are stored in soil organic matter. Cheng, an associate professor of environmental studies…
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Secretary of State Bruce McPherson speaks at UCSC Nov. 17 at 4 p.m.
The community is invited to attend a free public talk by California Secretary of State Bruce McPherson at 4 p.m. on Thursday, November 17, in the Colleges Nine and Ten Multipurpose Room at the University of California, Santa Cruz. McPherson will deliver a talk entitled “The Importance of Voting in the Democratic Process,” as the…