Digital Commons Network^™

Gender-Based Violence, Legal Protection, And Intersecting Narratives: A Conversation With Flavia Agnes, Barnana Baidya, Partha Bhattacharjee

Journal of International Women's Studies

Flavia Agnes is a leading advocate for gender justice because of her legal expertise in marital law, divorce, and property law and her activism as an Indian women’s rights lawyer. Her scholarly work on systemic and legal gender-based oppression has appeared in the journals Subaltern Studies, Economic and Political Weekly, and Manushi. Her book, My Story...Our Story of Rebuilding Broken Lives, released by her non-profit organization named Majlis, depicts how Agnes battled domestic violence while addressing the law’s restrictive abilities to offer protection. We conducted an interview through Google Meet with Agnes to discuss her work as a legal activist …

Book Review: All She Lost: The Explosion In Lebanon, The Collapse Of A Nation, And The Women Who Survive, Noor Obeid

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Letters From The Edge: Outrider Conversations, Raeesabegam Usmani

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

A Feminist Analysis Of Post-Independence Administrative Reforms In Bihar, Shrey Sharma, Rajeev Kumar Jain, Ashutosh K. Pandey, Shashikant Nishant Sharma

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper critically examines the administrative reforms in Bihar since India’s independence, focusing on the evolution of women’s roles and representation in state governance. Drawing on historiographic and textual analyses of academic scholarship, government reports, reform commission findings, and policy documents, the study uses the case of the Indian state of Bihar to explore how political leadership, bureaucratic structures, and gendered hierarchies intersect in shaping postcolonial governance. Bihar, historically marked by institutional fragility and social inequality, provides an illustrative context for assessing how national-level reforms— such as the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments, civil service modernization, and e governance—have attempted …

The Role Of Tribal And Dalit Women In Water Conservation: A Case Study Of The Western Indian Trans-Himalayan Region, Vivek Kumar, Anuradha Choudhary

Journal of International Women's Studies

Water scarcity and environmental degradation are pressing contemporary issues, and the Himalayan regions are especially at risk. The Trans-Himalayas in particular face severe resource scarcity as water availability is totally dependent on the now dwindling supply of glacial meltwater. Women in the Spiti Valley in the Trans-Himalayan region are particularly exposed to these issues because they spend significant time collecting water and fodder for domestic animals and managing agricultural irrigation. As the primary caregivers and managers of households, women in this region face greater challenges in adapting to and mitigating resource scarcity. This study focuses on the role of Dalit …

Twitter’S Role In Challenging The Marginalisation And Subjugation Of Women In Northern Nigeria, Tioluwalogo Olakunbi-Black

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper aims to examine social media’s role in advocating against the marginalisation and domination of women in Northern Nigeria with a focus on Twitter (X). This study analyses women’s strategies of digital advocacy drawing on feminist theory, specifically difference feminism, intersectional feminism, and post-structuralist feminism, alongside theories of technological determinism. Difference feminism argues that women possess distinctive qualities, experiences, and perspectives that differentiate them from men, and that these differences can be a source of strength rather than a basis for disadvantage. Intersectional feminism foregrounds intersecting identities such as race, class, ethnicity, and sexuality, emphasising the multiplicity of women’s …

Women’S Employment And Intrahousehold Bargaining Power: Evidence From Nigeria, Temitope O. Olalude, Olanrewaju A. Olaniyan

Journal of International Women's Studies

Although women’s participation in paid employment has increased in recent years, the extent to which this improvement correlates with increased intrahousehold bargaining power (IHBP) remains understudied. Women’s intrahousehold bargaining power plays a critical role in achieving a more inclusive and sustainable economy. This study therefore investigates the relationship between women’s employment status and IHBP in Nigeria using data from the 2013 and 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHS) to evaluate progress over time. We measured women’s employment status and assessed women’s intrahousehold bargaining power using two indices: the direct bargaining power index (DBPI) and the indirect bargaining power index …

The Social Reproduction Of Filipina Migrant Workers Represented In Ten Filipino Films, Elora Francisco, Precious Lois Layas, Karlena Ameina Saturnino, Leo Vicentino

Journal of International Women's Studies

The growing phenomenon of the Philippines’ high labor export has contributed not only to the country’s economy but also to that of countries all over the world who are receiving these migrants. With the demand for labor exports increasing, film narratives concerning overseas Filipino workers offer important insight into the experience of migrants. In particular, Filipina migrant workers (FMWs) face gendered socio-cultural constraints in their pursuit of financially supporting their families. While gender migration has been examined across various disciplines, the representation of the Filipina diaspora in mainstream contemporary Filipino films remains insufficiently explored. Thus, this study aims to determine …

The Making Of A Woman Superstar: An Analysis Of The Superstardom Of Malayalam Actor Manju Warrier, Sangeetha Ps, Jais Merlin P. Augustine

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article examines the construction and development of women’s superstardom in Malayalam cinema, drawing on the example of Manju Warrier, one of few Indian regional actresses to achieve sustained celebrity status that goes beyond youth and glamour. We draw upon Richard Dyer’s star theory, particularly his notion of the star as “structured polysemy,” a constellation of meanings that are produced by film roles, publicity, and audience reception (Dyer, 1998). This article examines how Manju Warrier’s star image is constructed through a productive interplay of film roles, mediated representations, public persona, and audience reception. The discussion also adopts a feminist film …

Brown Women, Cyberspace, And The Scopophilic Male Gaze In Hari Kunzru’S Transmission, Ayesha Perveen

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study draws upon gaze theory to explore the cinema-cyberspace-gender nexus presented in British Indian writer Hari Kunzru’s novel Transmission (2005). While Arjun Mehta is widely considered the protagonist of the novel, I focus instead on the representation of the character Leela Zahir both as an individual and as a virus. Although the virus unleashed by Arjun is the novel’s main source of cyberterrorism, I analyze cyberterrorism in terms of the cyberspace representation of women as scopophilic objects for the male gaze. For this purpose, I discuss the mindset behind the use of the “she” pronoun for the virus as …

Quantitative Comparison Of Writing Styles Among Indonesian Women Novelists: A Corpus Linguistics Approach, Vicno Triwira Dhika Jr, Ermanto Ermanto, Hasanuddin Ws, Ridha Hasnul Ulya, Aditya Rachman, Selfi Mahat Putri

Journal of International Women's Studies

Using the KORTARA Korpus Nusantara application, this study employed a quantitative corpus linguistics approach to examine the lexical density and average sentence length in nine novels by Indonesian women authors. The results indicated that each work differed greatly with respect to average sentence length and lexical density. When lexical density was analyzed through TTR, the results displayed a sufficiently wide range, suggesting the absence of a uniform women’s writing style in terms of vocabulary. For example, Dee Lestari’s Supernova: Roots (2002) achieved the highest TTR of 23.59%, which indicates an extensive and diverse vocabulary. Alaska Bay (2019) by Eka Aryani, …

Narrating Otherwise: Analysing Nancy Spero’S The First Language As Historiographic Metafiction, Ipek Ebru Yildiz, Rifat Sahiner

Journal of International Women's Studies

Through a feminist reading grounded in the framework of historiographic metafiction, this article aims to analyze pioneering feminist U.S. artist Nancy Spero’s The First Language (1981). Throughout the history of Western art, women’s bodies have been predominantly represented through the male gaze, reducing women to passive objects and excluding them from consideration as full subjects in historical and artistic narratives. In response to these modes of representation, Spero constructs a unique visual language that reclaims the female body from historical silence and repositions it as a political and narrative subject. The First Language brings together women figures from different cultures …

Between Tradition And Expression: The Mother–Daughter Relationship In Druze Women’S Artworks, Shahar Marnin-Distelfeld, Ebtesam Barakat

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article examines how young Druze women artists in Israel depict their relationships with their mothers through visual art. Drawing from a broader study of fifteen artists from the Carmel, Galilee, and Golan Heights, it focuses on two whose work most directly engages the mother–daughter bond. Using interviews and visual analysis, the study explores how these artists express cultural values, tensions, and expectations shaping this relationship in contemporary Druze society. The research is a bilingual, bicultural collaboration between a Druze Arabic-speaking sociologist and a Jewish Hebrew-speaking art scholar. Both artists’ work highlights generational and cultural divides, depicting mothers as central …

Feminist Knowledge Production And Editorial Praxis: A Bibliometric And Qualitative Analysis Of The Journal Of International Women’S Studies (2014–2024), Naresh Prajapati, Rupinder Singh, Mukesh Behera

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study presents a bibliometric and editorial analysis of the Journal of International Women’s Studies (JIWS) from 2014 to 2024, examining its scholarly output, citation impact, and evolving feminist priorities. Drawing on Scopus-indexed data, we analysed 1,255 articles authored by 1,705 contributors using SciVal, Biblioshiny, VOSviewer, and Microsoft Excel. Findings indicate a 7.05% annual growth in publications and a consistent citation rate of 2.84 per article, highlighting the journal’s expanding academic engagement. Single authorship dominates at 48.7% with international co-authorship at 8.1%. The journal’s reach extends widely into the Global South, particularly to India and Indonesia. Our keyword analysis identified …

Editorial Introduction, Diana Fox

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Use Of The Well-Star Model And Well-Star Graphic In Healthcare, Fidan Korkut-Owen, Zubeyde Akpakir, Dean W. Owen

Journal of Wellness

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Neocortex: Pallial Routes To The Edge Of Sentience, Oryan Zacks

Animal Sentience

In The Edge of Sentience, the sentience candidacy of fishes and reptiles is strengthened if one accepts midbrain-centric theories of human consciousness. In this commentary I attempt to untether the two positions. I suggest that we need not look for a one-to-one match between the neocortex and a single pallial structure outside of mammals. Instead, a sufficient similarity might exist between the mammalian neocortex and the combination of pallium and midbrain in fishes and reptiles. Adopting an evolutionary perspective in the study of vertebrate brains could point to new investigation priorities in human and animal research.

Guest Editor's Note: The Emerging Profession Of Signed Language Pathology, Anita Small, Jody Cripps, Kimberly Ofori-Sanzo

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

The Anatomy And Physiology Of Signed Language Articulation, Leah C. Geer

Society for American Sign Language Journal

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) receive extensive training in the anatomy and physiology of the oral speech and swallowing mechanisms. However, SLPs who serve individuals using a signed language like American Sign Language (ASL) may struggle to apply their training to appropriately assess and treat signed language productions in such students. Similarly, signed language specialists often lack foundational clinical knowledge to work effectively in the context of signed production. This article provides a detailed anatomical exploration of the primary sign language articulators, highlighting parallels between oral and manual articulators. SLPs learn in graduate school which speech sounds typically emerge at what ages …

Stuttering-Like Behaviors In Asl: Clinical Position Paper On Assessment Considerations And Recommendations, Jody Cripps, Mark W. Pellowski

Society for American Sign Language Journal

Assessment of stuttering like behaviors in signed language among deaf individuals will be discussed in this paper. Several assessments have been developed over the years that evaluate deaf children’s American Sign Language (ASL) proficiency, which is a very important undertaking for this population. However, there has been very little discussion in the literature regarding the specific diagnostic tools used to evaluate deaf children’s signed language disorders and dysfluency, such as specific signed language impairment (SSLI) and signed stuttering (Cripps et al., 2016a & b). Although some American deaf children have been ‘informally’ diagnosed with SSLI (e.g., Quinto-Pozos et al., 2011, …

Afterword: Toward A Framework For Signed Language Pathology, Paul M. Evitts

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

From Language Access To Ownership In The Education For Deaf Children, Joanne R. Marshall

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

Asl Proficiency Outcomes: Comparing In-Person And Online Instructions, Stephen B. Fitzmaurice

Society for American Sign Language Journal

This study examined whether American Sign Language (ASL) proficiency outcomes differ between in-person and online instructional modes using a standardized external assessment. Twenty-eight undergraduate students who completed 44 credit hours of ASL coursework at a southeastern U.S. university were assessed using the American Sign Language Proficiency Interview (ASLPI). Students were divided into two groups based on graduation cohort: those who completed all coursework in-person (n = 15) and those who completed at least four courses online (n = 13). Results revealed significantly higher ASLPI scores for in-person students (M = 2.47, SD = 0.48) compared to online students (M = …

Freeing The Butterfly: A Call To Action, Lisalee D. Egbert

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Volume 8

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

Best Integrated Writing Fall 2026 - Complete Edition, Wright State University School Of Humanities And Cultural Studies, Kristie Mckiernan

Best Integrated Writing

Best Integrated Writing includes excellent student writing from Integrated Writing courses taught at Wright State University.

Scénographier La Mémoire : Le Costume Théâtral Comme Archive Vivante. Retour Sur L’Exposition « Tisser Le Temps », Mohammed Amin Boudrika

Regards

This article examines the role of theatre costume in constructing and transmitting the memory of the performing arts, drawing on the exhibition Tisser le Temps: Histoire et Création du Costume Théâtral Marocain (Weaving Time: History and Creation of Moroccan Theatre Costume), presented in 2024 as part of the National Theatre Festival of Tetouan. Given the ephemeral nature of theatrical performance, costume emerges as a material trace capable of preserving the memory of the production, of the actor's body and of the creative process. In this sense, it can be regarded as a genuine "living archive". The article also analyses the …

Archiver Le Théâtre Algérien : Itinéraire D’Un Chercheur, Ahmed Cheniki

Regards

Undertaking research on theatre in Algeria, the Arab world or sub-Saharan Africa is by no means an easy task; it is closer to an obstacle course. It is far from the simple "intellectual adventure" it is so often imagined to be. It is a gruelling experience, patiently built up over time: the outcome of a long and delicate process, a lengthy journey made up of rewarding moments, to be sure, and genuine discoveries, but also of trial and error, self-questioning, refusals, closed doors and, at times, decisive encounters.

Résumé
Entreprendre une recherche sur le théâtre en Algérie, dans le monde …

رحلة في أرشيفات المسرح العربي مقابلة مع أ.د سيد علي إسماعيل, Ons Trabelsi

Regards

This interview looks back on the career of theatre researcher and historian Sayed Ali Ismail and on his distinctive journey through the forgotten and marginalised documents of Arab theatre. The historian highlights the importance of archives in building a reinterpretation of the history of the performing arts in the Arab world, particularly in Egypt.

ملخّص
تتناول هذه المقابلة المسيرة المهنية للباحث والمؤرخ المسرحي سيد علي إسماعيل، بالإضافة إلى رحلته الفريدة مع الوثائق المنسية والمهمشة في مجال المسرح العربي. ويؤكد الباحث على أهمية الأرشيفات في إعادة قراءة تاريخ الفنون المسرحية في العالم العربي، ولاسيما في مصر

كلمات مفتاحية
الأرشيف، التوثيق، التاريخ، …

Palestinian Theatre Studies: The Emergence Of A Field, Noor Shihadeh

Regards

This article analyses the emergence of Palestinian theatre studies, a field of research bound to the modern history of Palestine and to the settler colonial violence that marks it. This violence strikes people, their cultural production and the very possibility of preserving it, shaping in turn how scholarship circulates and where it can be conducted. Studies on Palestinian theatre have nonetheless appeared since the 1960s. The article examines them through a multilingual literature review (Arabic, English, French, Italian, Hebrew) and identifies three main lines of research: a historical-documentary approach, a socio-political and anthropological approach, and a body of studies devoted …