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The Year, Richard C. Crepeau Dec 2014

The Year, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

As years go 2014 was an interesting one in sportsworld. Some might characterize it as depressing while others may look back on it as exhilarating. Whatever the case may be we know that at some point in the future we will look back on the year 2014 with nostalgia and/or perhaps a year of pivotal change. Maybe even historic, whatever that means.


Much Of Society's Unrest Caused By Barrage Of Negative Stereotypes In Films, Anthony Major Dec 2014

Much Of Society's Unrest Caused By Barrage Of Negative Stereotypes In Films, Anthony Major

UCF Forum

Everybody has a perception about what the image of art should say – or not say – but few have an informed opinion. The power of the communicative arts transcends the mere power to inform. That power is used in film, television, newspapers, radio, art, magazines, music, theatre and the new social media network as a means of influencing and shaping attitudes by providing images and opinions.


Bowling, Richard C. Crepeau Dec 2014

Bowling, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Every few years I like to take inventory of the Bowl Games. Each football season concludes with these loss leaders for intercollegiate football teams. Almost without exception teams who have been honored with an invitation to a bowl game will lose money with the cost of bowling exceeding the payouts for bowlers. The theory is that the exposure is worth more than real budgetary dollars.


Fearsome Foursome, Richard C. Crepeau Dec 2014

Fearsome Foursome, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The much anticipated day of revelation has arrived. No, not the second coming of Bear Bryant, but rather the announcement from the Committee of Justice that yesterday revealed the top four teams in college football. In case you were being held in solitary confinement and missed it, let me reveal to you, in order of quality, the four chosen ones: Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, and Ohio State, sorry, The Ohio State University.


An Examination Of The Instability And Exploitation In Congo From King Leopold Ii's Free State To The 2nd Congo War, Baldwin Beal Dec 2014

An Examination Of The Instability And Exploitation In Congo From King Leopold Ii's Free State To The 2nd Congo War, Baldwin Beal

HIM 1990-2015

This thesis will analyze the Congo from King Leopold II's Free State to the 2nd Congo War. After a thorough investigation of the colonial period, this thesis will analyze the modern period. This thesis contends that the underdevelopment of the Congo, and its continuing warfare and poverty are the consequences of an exploitative colonial history. To be sure, King Leopold II of Belgium created the template for administering the Congo through the installation of concessionary companies that were more interested in harvesting huge profits than creating the conditions for a self-sustaining Congolese economy. Indeed, the policies implemented by King Leopold …


The Representation Of Poverty In Great Depression American Literature, Cavel Austin Dec 2014

The Representation Of Poverty In Great Depression American Literature, Cavel Austin

HIM 1990-2015

The objective of this thesis is to explore how American authors represented poverty across different states during the Depression Era. I have chosen to review social reform author John Steinbeck, and proletariat authors, Michael Gold, Meridel Le Sueur, and William Attaway. Before addressing the issues presented in the data collection tools (novels): The Grapes of Wrath, Jews Without Money, The Girl, and Blood on the Forge, I reviewed the fundamentals of the events leading up to the crash of the stock market, which spiraled the United States and the world at large in the greatest Depression ever known. In this …


Media Sensationalism And Its Implications On The Public Understanding Of Science, Christopher Barsoum Dec 2014

Media Sensationalism And Its Implications On The Public Understanding Of Science, Christopher Barsoum

HIM 1990-2015

Myths, misinformation, and sensationalism. These are common enemies that directly inhibit the public understanding of science. In particular, the media is often responsible for mishandling or otherwise misrepresenting scientific information, historically and presently speaking. Many sources can combat the public understanding of science through pseudoscientific means. This includes but is not limited to religion, the media, politics, or just simple hearsay. For example, Young Earth creationism is deeply rooted in Christian theology, but the beliefs hold no scientific basis. Yet, almost half of Americans still believe in Young Earth creationism. Another such example is anti-vaccination campaigns due to fears of …


An Empire On The Brink Of Destruction: The Stability Of The Seleucid Empire Under Antiochus Iv (175 B.C. - 164 B.C.), Tyler Campbell Dec 2014

An Empire On The Brink Of Destruction: The Stability Of The Seleucid Empire Under Antiochus Iv (175 B.C. - 164 B.C.), Tyler Campbell

HIM 1990-2015

The Seleucid Empire expanded its territory to stretch from Thrace to India under the leadership of Antiochus III, making it one of the most expansive empires in the Hellenistic World. Antiochus III's subsequent loss at the Battle of Magnesia to Rome in 190 B.C. caused some of the satrapies of the empire to begin to rebel, and has led some historians to believe that the empire began an unrecoverable decline. In this investigation I will argue that the myth of decline in the post-Antiochus III era is invalid through analyzing the stability brought to the empire during the reign of …


Queen Isabella And The Spanish Inquisition: 1478-1505, Lori Nykanen Dec 2014

Queen Isabella And The Spanish Inquisition: 1478-1505, Lori Nykanen

HIM 1990-2015

Queen Isabella (1451-1505) daughter of King John II of Castile and Queen Isabella of Portugal has been accredited for some of the most famous accomplishments of medieval Spain. Through her succession to the Castilian throne in 1479 Isabella created a secular government, which enabled her to restore the monarch's power and wealth, and gave her a wide reaching authority over her kingdom. The Queen, being a pious Catholic, reestablished Catholicism as the official religion of Castile and brought forward a tribunal to help her reinforce her desires for sincere Christian piousness and to bring retribution to those who were heretical …


Madama Butterfly: The Mythology; Or How Imperialism And The Patriarchy Crushed Butterfly's Wings, Adriana Nieves Dec 2014

Madama Butterfly: The Mythology; Or How Imperialism And The Patriarchy Crushed Butterfly's Wings, Adriana Nieves

HIM 1990-2015

As a popular historic work with constant and worldwide performances, the sexist and racist narratives disseminated by Giacomo Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly causes harmful social and political ramifications. Many scholars point to this opera specifically when discussing the fetishization of Asian females, and mention the title character as the quintessential example of damaging stereotypes. Thus, I conduct a postcolonial and feminist reading of Madama Butterfly, through analysis of the opera's libretto, the libretto sources, and the opera's score. I unravel the Orientalist assumptions that make up the foundation of the Butterfly narrative, and trace them as they make their way …


Cohabitation: Looking Through A Keyhole, Mary Joy Torrecampo Dec 2014

Cohabitation: Looking Through A Keyhole, Mary Joy Torrecampo

HIM 1990-2015

Initially, my developing body of work aimed to redesign the traditions of representational painting, specifically the female nude, to depict the contemporary notions of lesbianism and femininity in an honest and empowering manner as a form of identity and not as vehicle for voyeurism. As an artist who paints the female nude and identifies as a woman and a lesbian, I examine the preexisting notions of the male gaze and the effect of socialization as it pertains to my work. The act of looking from the point of view of a woman, which is not synonymous with a "female gaze", …


Rice Decision, Richard C. Crepeau Nov 2014

Rice Decision, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

How surprising was it when the arbitrator in the Ray Rice case ruled that Roger Goodell had acted “arbitrary in his discretion,” and had punished Rice twice for the same offense? In addition when Goodell claimed that Ray Rice misled him about the severity of the incident, the arbitrator found otherwise. Goodell was fully apprised by Rice as to the severity of the incident.


Thanksgiving, Richard C. Crepeau Nov 2014

Thanksgiving, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

As with all American traditions, if it happened once or twice it is one. Therefore I present my traditional Thanksgiving piece.


Football And Police, Richard C. Crepeau Oct 2014

Football And Police, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Over the past few weeks college sport has once again taken over the lead in ink and air time; not actually games, of course, but stories that illustrate the corruption of higher education in America by the presence of intercollegiate athletics on campus, or more precisely football on campus.


The Curaçao North Sea Jazz: A Lustrum Churning Economic And Promotional Opportunities For Curaçao, Manuel A. Rivera, Robertico R. Croes, Kelly J. Semrad Oct 2014

The Curaçao North Sea Jazz: A Lustrum Churning Economic And Promotional Opportunities For Curaçao, Manuel A. Rivera, Robertico R. Croes, Kelly J. Semrad

Dick Pope Sr. Institute Publications

The experience of the first lustrum of the Curaçao North Sea Jazz Festival (CNSJF) has been nothing short of astonishing and spectacular. Since 2010, nearly 45,000 international tourists have attended the festival contributing US$75 million to the local economy. These international tourists stayed on average 6.07 days on the island and spent nearly US$263 per day. More significant is that this daily average expenditure by international tourists attending the festival was nearly four times higher than the typical tourists visiting Curaçao. The spending performance prompted by the festival is indeed impressive news in a tourist environment typified lately by stagnation …


Baseball, Richard C. Crepeau Oct 2014

Baseball, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

There are many terrific and zany baseball quotations that make there way across the nation at this time of year. Between Dizzy Dean, Yogi Berra, and Phil Rizzuto almost all aspects of the game were covered. Broadcasters too have added to the diamond lexicon. My favorite, however, comes from the former pitcher for the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals, the incomparable Joaquin Andujar whose most memorable line covers nearly all of the possibilities of the game.


Goodell's Press Conference, Richard C. Crepeau Sep 2014

Goodell's Press Conference, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

After last week’s debacles in the NFL and Goodell’s retreat into a cave somewhere, I read a number of references to Goodell as a Nixonian figure. These were amusing and vaguely resonant. Then came Friday’s Follies as Goodell surfaced publicly and assured us that he would not resign, that he would get it right, and that the NFL remained a moral leader that America could count on.


Goodell's Quagmire, Richard C. Crepeau Sep 2014

Goodell's Quagmire, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The continuing saga of the NFL and Ray Rice has now become basically the Roger Goodell story. The Commissioner has not managed to stay ahead of the news cycle and has failed to cut his losses. Rather than to accept responsibility for his mistakes and missteps he has continued to deal in what now seems to be his only task as Commissioner, to Protect the Shield. And it’s not going well.


Women In Sportsworld, Richard C. Crepeau Sep 2014

Women In Sportsworld, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Roger Goodell is the Commissioner of the most popular professional sports league in the United States. This week he demonstrated just how much he learned at the feet of his predecessors, Paul Tagliabue and especially Pete Rozelle.


Little League, Richard C. Crepeau Aug 2014

Little League, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The Little League World Series is often the occasion for comment but usually it involves subjects such as rabid parents or hyperventilating coaches. This time the comments coming out of Williamsport, where fracking rather than baseball usually dominates the landscape, had a feel good aspect to them.


Life Is Like A Salad Bowl (Or Should Be!), Anthony B. Major Aug 2014

Life Is Like A Salad Bowl (Or Should Be!), Anthony B. Major

UCF Forum

Everyone in the world eats salad of some sort. We enjoy all the different ingredients in our salads depending on what we have a taste for at the time.


O'Bannon And The Five Giants, Richard C. Crepeau Aug 2014

O'Bannon And The Five Giants, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

At this point in August there are those who think that football season is already in full swing. They are probably deceived into thinking this by the increase in the number of assault arrests being made of both the professionals and the collegians. There seems to be little difference between the two, and indeed the myth of that difference was rejected this week by a federal judge in the O’Bannon Case. As if in anticipation of the decision, the NCAA itself negated its claim of amateurism once again by approving a change in its rules that will allow the five …


Re-Entry And Disorientation, Richard C. Crepeau Aug 2014

Re-Entry And Disorientation, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

I have been out of the country for less than three weeks and it is mid-summer when not much happens of note. The first thing I confronted on returning was a total reorganization of the local supermarket. Under the influence of jet lag I found this quite disorienting. As it turned out, this was only one of many changes that faced me.


Animal-Like And Depraved: Racist Stereotypes, Commercial Sex, And Black Women's Identity In New Orleans, 1825-1917, Porsha Dossie Aug 2014

Animal-Like And Depraved: Racist Stereotypes, Commercial Sex, And Black Women's Identity In New Orleans, 1825-1917, Porsha Dossie

HIM 1990-2015

My objective with this thesis is to understand how racist stereotypes and myths compounded the sale of fair-skinned black women during and after the slave trade in New Orleans, Louisiana. This commodification of black women's bodies continued well into the twentieth century, notably in New Orleans' vice district of Storyville. Called "quadroons" (a person with ¼ African ancestry) and "octoroons" (1/8 African ancestry), these women were known for their "sexual prowess" and drew in a large number of patrons. The existence of "white passing" black women complicated ideas about race and racial purity in the South. Race as a myth …


King Leopold Ii's Exploitation Of The Congo From 1885 To 1908 And Its Consequences, Steven Johnson Aug 2014

King Leopold Ii's Exploitation Of The Congo From 1885 To 1908 And Its Consequences, Steven Johnson

HIM 1990-2015

This thesis argues that King Leopold II, in his exploitation of the Congo, dealt the Congo a future of political, ethnic, and economic destabilization. At one time consisting of unified and advanced kingdoms, the Congo turned to one completely beleaguered by poverty and political oppression. Leopold acquired the Congo through unethical means and thus took the people's chances away at self-rule. He provided for no education or vocational training, which would stunt future Congolese leaders from making sound economic and political policies. Leopold also exploited the Congo with the help of concession companies, both of which used forced labor to …


World Cup, Richard C. Crepeau Jul 2014

World Cup, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

I am not a fan of The Beautiful Game, although I do watch and appreciate its beauty especially when it is displayed by the likes of Lionel Messi. Soccer, as with all games, when played with skill and competence is a beautiful game. The same might be said of hockey, baseball, basketball, or curling. When any skill is combined with artistry, whether in sport or some other human endeavor, it has a beauty worthy of admiration.


Huge Week, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2014

Huge Week, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

I’m just now getting into the World Cup as the recent sports calendar has been overloaded with prime events. With the battle for Lord Stanley’s Cup raging on, the NBA Finals testing the bounds of credulity, and the U.S. Open Golf Tournament on the menu, trying to fit the World Cup into my thoughts and my schedule was nearly too much to manage. Perhaps foolishly, I will try to do some justice to each of these penultimate sporting events here.


Reaching Beyond Ourselves: Celebrating 40 Years Of Cala (1973 - 2013), Sai Deng Jun 2014

Reaching Beyond Ourselves: Celebrating 40 Years Of Cala (1973 - 2013), Sai Deng

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The CALA 40th Anniversary Issue, Reaching Beyond Ourselves: Celebrating 40 Years of CALA (1973-2013), is without doubt a unique collection of the Chinese American Librarians Association’s (CALA) history. It contains pictures, biographies, citations and messages from the presidents of the CALA since its very beginning in 1973, obtained from historical CALA newsletters and the presidents themselves. It records the major events in a timeline format including the establishment of the association, the merge of CALA and CLA, the California based Chinese Librarians Association, the annual conference programs and the new initiatives. It collects personal contemplations, messages and greetings from a …


Triple Crown, Richard C. Crepeau Jun 2014

Triple Crown, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

By late Saturday sportsworld will know if there is a Triple Crown winner for the first time in thirty-six years. The last winner was Affirmed in 1978. No one could have guessed that it would be this long before another horse would accomplish this feat again. After all Affirmed was the third horse of the 1970s to win the Triple Crown. Seattle Slew won the Crown in 1977 and the great Secretariat did it in 1973.


Acceptable Violence, Richard C. Crepeau May 2014

Acceptable Violence, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

There are times when marginally related events converge and raise questions about issues related to sport. Such a convergence occurred in my corner of sportsworld over the past week.