Digital Commons Network^™

Voices Of Notators: Approaches To Writing A Score--Special Issue, Teresa L. Heiland

Journal of Movement Arts Literacy Archive (2013-2019)

In this special issue of Voices of Notators: Approaches to Writing a Score, eight authors share their unique process of creating and implementing their approach to notating movement, and they describe how that process transforms them as researchers, analysts, dancers, choreographers, communicators, and teachers. These researchers discuss the need to capture, to form, to generate, and to communicate ideas using a written form of dance notation so that some past, present, or future experience can be better understood, directed, informed, and shared. They are organized roughly into themes motivated by relationships between them and their methodological similarities and differences. …

Esthétique Écologique Et Hybridité Dans Les Génériques De Début Des Feuilletons Télévisés Camerounais, -- Ngetcham, Leslie Goufo Zemmo

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

The first television pictures appeared in Cameroon thirty years ago, proposing series for public consumption. These imported products later on suffered a singular competition from local artists, whose works were mostly broadcast on private channels, besides what was proposed by the single public media of Cameroon Television (CW). In this article, we intend to carry an ecocritical analysis on the aesthetic aspects of ten credit titles; we also bring out the formal process of producing movies; this is how we can identify hybridity through costumes, languages and scenery because they go beyond the local environment which they reveal to present …

Amjambo Africa! (June 2018), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

Welcome to Amjambo Africa! Welcome to Amjambo Africa! We are Maine’s free newspaper for and about New Mainers from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Amjambo Africa! is here to help New Mainers thrive and to help Maine welcome and benefit from our new neighbors.

Amjambo Africa! will serve as a conduit of information for newcomers as they navigate life in Maine.

Amjambo Africa! will include background articles about Africa so those from Maine can understand why newcomers have arrived here.

Amjambo Africa! will profile successful New Mainers from Sub-Saharan Africa in order to give hope to those newly arrived as well as make …

Présence Francophone, Numéro 90

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

No abstract provided.

Les Modes De Réception Des Films Populaires Africains Au Brésil: Entre Usage Socioculturel Et « Plaisir Du Texte », Mahomed Bamba

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

In this article, I discuss the uses and the reception of African films (popular films and films d'auteur) in Brazil, especially in some Mostras. I examine, among other issues, the role of these mini-festivals in the establishment of what we can call a popular African cinema experience in a community. These contexts of reception produce in the audience a level of expectation, but also some constraints that impact the films' reading and interpretation.

The Dynamics Of Higher Education In Countries Experiencing Ethnic Conflict, Lillian Nellans

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

My thesis investigates how higher education institutions influence and interact with students and professors, policymakers, the economy, and the general population following ethnic conflict. I use a mixed-method comparative analysis of universities in Kosovo, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Turkey and an in-depth case study of Kosovo to analyze the dynamics of higher education in post-conflict environments. The majority of my research is drawn from personal interviews conducted between June 2017 and October 2017. I interviewed students, alumni, faculty, and administrators from Kosovo’s three most prominent universities: the University of Pristina, the University of Mitrovica, and the Rochester Institute of Technology …

Representation And Global Power In A Multicultural Germany: A Discourse Analysis Of The German Response(S) To The Presence Of Syrian Refugees, Kyle William Zarif

Senior Theses

This thesis seeks to assess the German political response to the presence of Syrian refugees from 2015-17 within the cultural context of Germany and the overall EU political approach to the Syrian conflict. To this end, it examines the German media conversation surrounding Syrian refugees, using a quantitative media study done by the UNHCR. In turn, it compares the rhetorical and political approaches of the mainstream German center (Merkel's Christian Democratic Union Party) and the right wing (the Alternative for Germany Party and PEGIDA) within the context of shifting popular German sentiments towards refugees. Considering the internal response, cultural context, …

Older Mexican Americans: Role Of The Family And Mental Health Service Utilization, John M. Gonzalez, Denise A. Longoria, Romeo Escobar, Leyla Feize

Interdisciplinary Journal of Best Practices in Global Development

This study explored role of the family and mental health service utilization by older Mexican-Americans. Using qualitative exploration, the study investigated family factors influencing their mental health service utilization. The researcher used a purposive sample and interviewed 20 older Mexican Americans, who completed outpatient mental health services located in Texas. Kleinman’s explanatory model (1980) guided the ethnographic content analysis. Findings show the family took several roles to facilitate use of mental health services. The family was involved with respondents throughout the process of help-seeking and accessing mental health services. Family members helped respondents recognize their mental distress by noticing behavior …

Study Abroad And Track Ii Diplomacy, Makena Rafferty-Lewis

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Track II diplomacy, or person-to-person diplomacy is one of the most basic, but also most important types of international relations. Track II diplomacy requires not just effective legislature to be in place, but also requires individuals to have cross-cultural competency. One question that arises is how is this type of connectivity between cultures is formed. One of the most direct links can be found in students. As the political environment changes, young minds and rising experts will be the people who need to handle future international problems, that are possibly different from what we have seen in the past. How …

The Arabic Animator's Perceptions Of Arabic Animation Film Industry, Ghanem Elhersh

Student Theses and Dissertations

Animated films from the Arab world hardly ever make it into cinemas in Japan, Europe or the United States, or onto the festival circuit (Van de Peer, 2017). The purpose of this research is to study the Arabic animation film industry from the point of view of its producers. Also, this study examines the reasons of the weakness of the Arabic animation films and the possible causes of the absence of the Arabic animation films from the world stage. This qualitative study has sought to understand the Arabic animator's perceptions of the Arabic animation film industry, and where is it …

Cape Verdean Counter Cultural Hip-Hop(S) & The Mobilization Of The Culture Of Radical Memory: Public Pedagogy For Liberation Or Continued Colonial Enslavement, Ricardo D. Rosa

Journal of Cape Verdean Studies

The paper traces the possibilities and limitations of transnational Cape Verdean Hip-Hop’s mobilization of the culture of radical memory for the disruption of racialized transnational capitalism and neocolonialism. One of the most common reference points, both in the symbolic formations of popular culture and emerging scholarly texts is the focus on CV Hip-Hop’s embrace of the life and work of Amilcar Cabral. Undoubtedly, Cape Verdean Hip-Hop Culture(s) & Cape Verdean youth counter-culture(s), more broadly, continues to serve as the most vital space for the (re)mobilization and (re)invigoration of Cabral’s thought, yet, much more is unfolding in these spaces. The paper …

Breaking Their Silence On Intimate Partner Violence: Discussions With Cape Verdean Women, Dawna M. Thomas

Journal of Cape Verdean Studies

Family/intimate partner violence is a serious social problem, with women and children victimized at profoundly higher rates than adult males. Although the domestic violence community has worked tirelessly to develop programs to reach culturally diverse women, Cape Verdean women continue to be underserved and misunderstood. The Cape Verdean Women’s Project was a qualitative study with women who shared their experiences with intimate partner violence. A feminist theoretical framework offers a foundation for examining the Cape Verdean women’s experiences with intimate partner violence and for developing recommendations for working with the community to develop intervention and prevention strategies. This article presents …

Art & Agency: Transforming Relationships Of Power Through Art In Iraqi Kurdistan, Autumn Cockrell-Abdullah

Doctor of International Conflict Management Dissertations

Today, the Kurds factor significantly both as a key to some of the most critical conflicts in the Middle East and also as citizens of the world interacting with a highly global, highly interconnected reality. Despite their importance, we lack a nuanced understanding of the complex and multi-layered cultural context of the Kurds that impacts the socio-political factors inside Iraqi Kurdistan.

The deeply entrenched political rhetoric of the hegemonic Kurdish nationalist narrative in Iraqi Kurdistan has served to homogenize the idea of what the Kurdish “nation” is, to whitewash deep social, economic and political concerns inside Iraqi Kurdistan and to …

Kissingerism And Iranian-American Relations: Prospects For Reconciliation And The Establishment Of A New Order, Kaleb D. Mazurek

International Studies Honors Projects

This thesis is an attempt to resurrect the strategic and philosophical thinking of Henry Kissinger in order to unlock the Iranian-American impasse. Encounters between the two countries have been in a state of deadlock since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, though its genesis dates back, at least, to the American-sponsored coup d’état of 1953. Within the American foreign policy establishment, no one looms larger than Dr. Kissinger: his contributions intersect the two worlds of academic diplomatic history and statecraft at the highest levels of international relations. He was the chief diplomat at a momentous period. Kissinger―through his writings and public policy―emphasizes …

On The Politics And Conceptualization Of Gender Non-Conformity : Exploring Thailand’S Kathoey Population., Macey E. Mayes

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the politics and conceptualization of gender in Thailand, drawing specifically on the Thai understanding of sex and gender with regard to the kathoey population. This work considers the solidification of a third-gender category and looks to the ways this solidification can inhibit the fluidity of gender and sexuality. It also analyzes the dangers of transnational advocacy and the superimposition of Western queer advocacy and theory on Thai gender identities. I approach this issue from an interdisciplinary framework that seeks to include historical, cultural, and theoretical perspectives. In examining anthropological research, critiques of …

Exploring Existing Innovative Education Models: A Best Practice Guide For A New School Design In Lewiston, Maine, Katie Bosse

Sustainability and Social Justice

The purpose of this research is to both identify best practices in innovative school design and then identify a guide to assist new school design teams on how to make the transition out of current practices of traditional education. First, I describe the current structure of traditional education, the challenges schools face in regard to school structure, community, and academics. Then I examine six public schools that are working to create strategies to address the challenges stated in traditional schools. Through school site visits and interviews with teacher and faculty, I explore the strategies of existing innovative school models and …

Hip-Hop In Africa : Prophets Of The City And Dustyfoot Philosophers, Msia Kibona Clark

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

Throughout Africa, artists use hip-hop both to describe their lives and to create shared spaces for uncensored social commentary, feminist challenges to patriarchy, and resistance against state institutions, while at the same time engaging with the global hip-hop community. In Hip-Hop in Africa, Msia Kibona Clark examines some of Africa’s biggest hip-hop scenes and shows how hip-hop helps us understand specifically African narratives of social, political, and economic realities.

Clark looks at the use of hip-hop in protest, both as a means of articulating social problems and as a tool for mobilizing listeners around those problems. She also details the …

In The Shadow Of Japanese Identity, Rosendo Lopez-Duran

East Asian Studies Honors Papers

Japan is, as former Prime Minister Asō Tarō once put it, commonly described as being “one race, one civilization, one language and one culture.” This statement reflects a popular conception of Japan as a homogenous nation. However, the purpose of this paper, building on earlier research, is to assess what exactly Japanese identity is, how it is constructed / maintained, and who is and is not considered “Japanese.” The impetus of this inquiry comes from my research of the hisabetsu burakumin, a Japanese social outcaste group, who have undergone significant changes throughout their long history as a socially-constructed “minority.” …

Guide To Understanding Catalonian Dissent: From Proclamation To Referendum, Andrew Larkin

Honors Theses

"Guide to Understanding Catalonian Independence Efforts: From referendum proclamation to 1-O" explains and chronicles key events from June 9 to October 1, 2017 that have impacted Catalonia's ploy for independence. The northeastern region in Spain is situated on the Mediterranean coast and plays a strong role in the Spanish economy. Although the region is well situated and prosperous, some push for an independent Catalonia. The guide is written with readers from the United States of America in mind and includes excerpts translated into English so that the struggle between Spain and independence-minded Catalans can be easily understood. Official statements, speeches, …

Collective Memory And The Argentine Military Dictatorship: A Discourse Analysis, Caitlin Wiley

Honors Theses

The last Argentine military dictatorship (1976-1983) employed strategies of extreme violence against its own people, including kidnapping and killing an estimated 30,000 people. After the dictatorship ended in 1983, the country began a process of reconstructing the collective societal memory of the dictatorship years, which involved individuals processing their memories of family members and friends who had “disappeared” (now known as los desaparecidos or “the disappeared in Spanish”). This investigation focuses on how former Argentine Presidents Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007) and Cristina Kirchner (2007-2015) reignited the national discourse around the dictatorship years and shaped the collective memories of the public in …

Amjambo Africa! (April 2018), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

Welcome to Amjambo Africa! Welcome to Amjambo Africa! We are Maine’s free newspaper for and about New Mainers from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Amjambo Africa! is here to help New Mainers thrive and to help Maine welcome and benefit from our new neighbors.

Amjambo Africa! will serve as a conduit of information for newcomers as they navigate life in Maine.

Amjambo Africa! will include background articles about Africa so those from Maine can understand why newcomers have arrived here.

Amjambo Africa! will profile successful New Mainers from Sub-Saharan Africa in order to give hope to those newly arrived as well as make …

Preserving Identity Through Discourse In A Changing Ladakh, Emma Cyr

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Situated in the rain shadow of the Himalayas, Ladakh is a vast high altitude desert. It's looming mountains, rocky vistas, crystalline lakes, and unique indigenous culture makes Ladakh not only a favorite destination for adventurers, thrill seekers, and camera toters of all types, but also marks it as one of the most ecologically fragile areas in the world. However, Ladakh has only been open for tourism since 1974. Prior to then, the region was fairly isolated, open to travellers only a few months of the year, when the high, icy passes melted enough to let trade through. In the time …

L’Agitation Du Quotidien: Une Conversation Sur La Réflexion Ⓐnarchiste Face Au Sexisme Dans La Langue, Mariel Mercedes Acosta Matos, Ernesto Cuba

Publications and Research

Ernesto Cuba interviewe Mariel Acosta au sujet des résultats de son mémoire de master, qui traite des propositions de morphèmes de genre inclusif dans des publications anarchistes de langue espagnole, parmi lesquelles le @, le x et d’autres innovations orthographiques cherchant à contrecarrer le biais androcentré de la langue.

Ernesto Cuba interviews Mariel Acosta about the findings in her master’s thesis, which investigates inclusive gender morphemes in Spanish-language anarchist publications, among which is the use of @, x and other orthographic innovations that seek to challenge the androcentric bias of language.

Shiwilu, Pilar Valenzuela

World Languages and Cultures Faculty Articles and Research

"Shiwilu, also known as Jebero (ISO jeb), is a critically endangered Kawapanan language spoken in the District of Jeberos, in northeastern Peru. Kawapanan languages exhibit a “mixed” areal profile, in that they combine structural properties typical of Western Amazonian languages with features specifically associated to the Central Andean families Quechuan and Aymaran (Valenzuela 2015). On June 23, 2016, Shiwilu became the first Peruvian language to be declared National Cultural Heritage (Resolución Viceministerial N° 073-2016-VMPCIC-MC). The present text was delivered orally in 2013 by one of the youngest native speakers, Mr. Fidel Lomas Chota, who was 59 years old at the …

The Importance Of Language In Cross-Cultural Interaction, Lacy Norton

Senior Honors Theses

Language and culture are connected. Because of this connection, people have a preferred language with which they have an emotional or cultural connection. In Latin American cultures, it is beneficial to speak to a person in their preferred language. Using a person’s preferred language as opposed to any other language will facilitate a deeper connection with that person, cross cultural barriers that may separate them, and be more effective when attempting to share the gospel.

Helen Oyeyemi And Border Identities: Contesting Western Representations Of Immigrants Through Transnational Literature, Susanna L. Mills

Student Publications

Oyeyemi is a Nigerian-British writer whose writing, like other immigrant authors', participates in a dialogue about and contestation of essentialized immigrant and ethnic identities that are a result of global and local processes. Her writing produces counter-narratives in which immigrant identities are multiple, conflicting, intersectional, and most of all self-represented. This paper explores readings of Oyeyemi accompanied by the following: an examination of globalization and flows of migration; the connections of national epistemologies through media to processes like migration: how literary canon has excluded transnational fiction from the mainstream, thereby decreasing the ability of multi-ethnic and im/migrant writers to represent …

When Necessary Is Not Enough: A Study In The Effectiveness Of U.S. Military Force To Combat Terrorism In The Middle East, Lora Christine Vonderhaar

Honors Theses

This thesis will examine the relationship between the number and size of U.S. military bases in the Middle East and instances of terrorism in the same region. It seeks to analyze the complex set of impacts that U.S. military presence has on the area and determine if U.S. presence is overall more helpful or harmful to the situation on the ground. While size and number of U.S. bases is not a perfect measure of U.S. presence, it is a fair representation and a useful empirical starting point. This thesis will focus specifically on terrorism as a non-state actor and not …

Understanding Violence Against Foreigners In Cape Town: Conceptions Of Autochthony And Xenophobia In Post-Apartheid South Africa, Mary L. Casey

Student Publications

Examining the correlation between the history of colonialism and structures of Apartheid in South Africa and the current xenophobic violence experienced by Black African immigrants settling in Cape Town. This thesis explores theories of autochthony and belonging in the context of Cape Town, Black South African relationships and ownership of land, access to resources and opportunities for employment, and the continued disenfranchisement of Black South Africans in the wake of Apartheid. These components of the issue of xenophobia in Cape Town are factored into an analysis of how and why violence persists against immigrants in the city.

Not So Bizarre Foods: Exploring The Historical And Cultural Traditions Behind The Foods Of France, Germany, And Italy, Kari Pederson Behrends

Capstone Collection

Not So Bizarre Foods is a summer-term program designed for upper-level Culinary Arts students from Johnson and Wales University, Providence. Unlike other programs serving students in the Culinary Arts, this unique model includes multiple locations and an internship. The proposed program features three month-long modules based in Lyon, France; Munich, Germany; and Naples, Italy allow for comparison across locations. Drawing from the theoretical frameworks of Kolb, Vygotsky, and Mezirow, the experiential, transformative curricular design combines an academic seminar, a practical seminar, and an internship placement, emphasizing the interplay between history, culture, and culinary tradition, a concept inspired by the popular …

Does Belarusian-Ukrainian Civilization Belong To The Western Or The Latin Civilization?, Piotra Murzionak

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.