Digital Commons Network^™

Constraining The (Im)Possible: Improvisation And Violence In Rafi Zabor’S The Bear Comes Home, Hannah Ianniello

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This paper will explore the role of jazz improvisation in the characterization of the protagonist in Rafi Zabor’s 1998 jazz novel, The Bear Comes Home. I suggest that Zabor represents the process of improvisation to not only enhance the enigma of The Bear’s ability as a jazz musician, but also to enhance his capacity towards violence.

Through the exploration of the actual process of improvisation in the research of Paul Berliner, Ingrid Monson and Alyn Shipton, Improvisation in a real jazz context is collaborative and exploratory. However, Zabor, like many other authors (such as Michael Ondaatje, James Baldwin and …

Considering Ethical Questions In (Non)Fiction: Reading And Writing About Graphic Novels, Gene Mcquillan

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Teachers often feature graphic novels in college courses, and recent research notes how these texts can help make the process of reading more engaging as well as more complex. Graphic novels help enhance a variety of “literacies;” they offer bold representations of people dealing with trauma or marginalization; they explore how “texts” can be re-invented; they exemplify how verbal and visual texts are often adapted; they are ideal primers for introducing basic concepts of “post-modernism.” However, two recurring textual complications in graphic novels can pose difficulties for students who are writing about ethical questions. First, graphic novels often present crucial …

Applications In The Classroom: Teaching Disney/Pixar’S Inside Out Within The Tradition Of Allegorical Personification, Jason John Gulya

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Several years ago, I noticed that the widespread distinction between high and low culture was wreaking havoc on my classroom. My students would read and analyze texts like Robinson Crusoe and Pride and Prejudice with little to no prompting because (in their minds) these texts were already part of the recognized canon and it was therefore permissible to pick them apart and analyze them closely. But I would get strange looks when I asked undergraduates to think critically about how the mock-news programs The Daily Show and The Colbert Report worked or when I asked them to discuss how the …

More Than Simple Plagiarism: Ligotti, Pizzolatto, And True Detective’S Terrestrial Horror, Jonathan Elmore

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Of course, True Detective is neither a philosopher’s bedtime story nor supernatural horror, and yet there remains a productive affinity between Ligotti’s work and the HBO series. Where Ligotti provides substantial portions of the hallmark character’s identity and dialogue, True Detective puts Ligotti’s thought experiment to far more practical uses than does Ligotti himself. By intertwining hurricanes and flooding alongside industry and pollution into the background and negative space of the setting, the series implicates the urgent material reality of climate change and environmental collapse into the setting: “all of this is going to be under water in thirty years” …

Likert Scale Variables In Personal Finance Research: The Neutral Category Problem, Blain Pearson, Donald Lacombe, Nasima Khatun

Finance and Economics

Personal finance research often utilizes Likert-type items and Likert scales as dependent variables, frequently employing standard probit and ordered probit models. If inappropriately modeled, the "neutral" category of discrete dependent variables can bias estimates of the remaining categories. Through the utilization of hierarchical models, this paper demonstrates a methodology that accounts for the econometric issues of the neutral category. We then analyze the technique through an empirical exercise relevant to personal finance research using data from the National Financial Capability Study. We demonstrate that ignoring the "neutral" category bias can lead to incorrect inferences, hindering the progression of personal finance …

Counseling Iowan Farmers: A Phenomenological Study Of Clinical Perspectives, Kathleen Ruscitto, Corinne W. Bridges

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Rural communities present unique challenges for counselors. Farmers experience high rates of suicidality, depression, and substance abuse and are less likely to seek mental health help due to associated stigma, financial strain, time constraints, and lack of specialized training among clinicians. This study sought to understand the lived experiences of counselors in rural Iowa who counsel male farmers. Participants completed a 60-minute semi-structured interview and demographics questionnaire. Hermeneutic phenomenology and the ecological perspective were used to identify and interpret these experiences, illuminating the need for culturally competent, contextually responsive counseling practices in rural settings. Essential themes were categorized within the …

Michigan Academician, Volume 48, Issue 2

Michigan Academician

No abstract provided.

Michigan Academician, Volume 48, Issue 3

Michigan Academician

No abstract provided.

The Costs Of Ecosystem Disturbances, E. Wesley F. Peterson

Cornhusker Economics

Presents an illustration of the interdependencies inherent in natural ecosystems. An ecosystem may be defined as: “… a single environment and every living (biotic) organism and non-living (abiotic) factor that is contained within it or characterizes it. An ecosystem embodies every aspect of a single habitat, including all interactions between its different elements” (Knapp 2020). In such interdependent systems, removal of one or more of the essential “elements” can severely disrupt the functioning of the system and such disruptions can give rise to negative impacts on the environment and human health and well-being.

Destructive Plasticity, “Surplus Of Consciousness,” And The “Monster” In True Detective, Courtney Patrick-Weber

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

The first season of HBO's cult hit True Detective introduced viewers to a southern gothic murder mystery that many will not easily forget. Since many of us focused primarily on the whodunit narrative, we may have missed the narrative of trauma simmering under the surface of the story. This narrative of trauma reveals a deeper layer to the story between Detective Rust Cohle and serial killer Errol Childress, one that also reveals our own fears regarding trauma in our lives. By applying first the nihilist philosophies of Peter Zapffe with Cohle and Catherine Malabou's concept on destructive plasticity in Childress, …

Popular Culture Pedagogy: Theory And Application In Academia [Dialogue, Volume 3, Issue 1 (Spring 2016)], Lynnea Chapman King, Anna S. Cohenmiller

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Popular Culture Pedagogy: Theory and Application in Academia [Dialogue, Volume 3, Issue 1 (Spring 2016)]

Editorial, Lynnea Chapman King and A. S. CohenMiller

Articles

(Re)learning about Learning: Using Cases from Popular Media to Extend and Complicate our Understandings of What It Means to Learn and Teach, Kelli Bippert, Dennis Davis, Margaret Rose Hilburn, Jennifer D. Hooper, Deepti Kharod, Cinthia Rodriguez, and Rebecca Stortz

Building a Popular Writing Course, Emily Howson, Chris Massenburg, and Cecilia Shelton

Lady Gaga Meets Ritzer: Using Music to Teach Sociological Theory, Kenneth Culton and José A. Muñoz

A Framework for Using Popular Music Videos to Teach …

Applications In The Classroom: Pop Culture And Ed Psychology: What I Learned From Larry David, Rick Grimes, And Hank Hill, Melissa Vosen Callens

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

In teacher education courses, it is common to teach educational psychology concepts using case studies. Many publishers provide these case studies in textbooks and/or in ancillary materials, and there are many advantages to using them. For example, an instructor does not have to spend extra time finding or writing the case studies, both of which can be very time consuming. In addition, if students have the textbook, they have immediate access. One major disadvantage, however, is that students may find themselves uninterested and disengaged with the cases, depending on the students’ interests and the cases. This paper argues that studying …

A Framework For Using Popular Music Videos To Teach Media Literacy, Jordan M. Mcclain

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This article discusses the use of popular music videos as a tool for teaching media literacy. First, the article addresses the importance of music videos as popular culture, what other music video research has examined, and what features make music videos a good fit for in-class work investigating media and popular culture. Then the article details a single-class activity for introducing and teaching media literacy through the use of music videos. To achieve this objective, the article also proposes a set of original music video-specific discussion questions. Finally, a particular music video is considered to illustrate possible results of this …

(Re)Learning About Learning: Using Cases From Popular Media To Extend And Complicate Our Understandings Of What It Means To Learn And Teach, Kelli Bippert, Dennis Davis, Margaret Rose Hilburn, Jennifer D. Hooper, Deepti Kharod, Cinthia Rodriguez, Rebecca Stortz

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This article utilizes sociocultural and socio-constructivist learning theories to analyze incidents of learning, and by extension teaching, in six different popular media selections. The authors describe their shared theoretical framework and the nature of the original analyses, which were completed as part of a doctoral course assignment. Each of the six excerpts is then described and discussed employing unique theoretical perspectives. The use of popular culture as the context for examining learning and teaching provides a space untethered from traditional notions of schooling through which typically accepted assumptions about pedagogy are revealed, re-examined, and reframed.

Patterns Of Government In Onondaga County: Structure And Services Of County, City, Town, And Village Governments (2024), Focus Greater Syracuse, Syracuse University, Maxwell School, Community Benchmarks Program

Community Benchmarks Program

The 2024 revised Patterns of Government is an important resource for elected and public officials, citizens, students, businesses, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and the general public. Patterns of Government also serves as the textbook for Citizens Academy, co- sponsored by FOCUS Greater Syracuse and Syracuse University Community Engagement. Local government courses at Maxwell School of Syracuse University and Newhouse School of Public Communications also use Patterns of Government as an educational tool. This book contains vital information that ordinarily can be found only when one researches multiple sources. This informational book will help you understand how local governments are organized, …

The Personality Profile And Leadership Style Of U.S. Vice President And 2024 Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris, Aubrey Immelman, Anne Marie Griebie, Elise Vomacka

Psychology Faculty Publications

The paper presents the results of an indirect personality assessment of U.S. vice president Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential nominee in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

Psychodiagnostically relevant data about Harris were collected from biographical sources and media reports and synthesized into a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, and DSM-5-TR.

The personality profile yielded by the MIDC was analyzed in accordance with interpretive guidelines provided in the MIDC and Millon Index of Personality …

Attempting To Answer The Question Of Animal Awareness, Alexandra Horowitz

Animal Sentience

It was as a graduate student that I first encountered the work of both Donald Griffin and Carolyn Ristau. Griffin's The Question of Animal Awareness (1976) and Animal Minds (2001) helped a budding animal-minds researcher appreciate both the possibilities of studying non-human animal consciousness and the struggle that such an undertaking would face. Now Ristau's (2024a,b) timely biography helps explain how Griffin became the figure in animal cognition that he is.

Forecasting The Promotion Rate For Women In The U.S. Senior Foreign Service, Jodi Wynn Erickson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite efforts worldwide to increase diversity, women continue to be underrepresented in the most senior leadership and management positions. The aim of this study was to provide insight into whether specific variables increased female representation at the most senior levels of the U.S. Foreign Service. A quantitative correlational study was completed using an autoregressive integrated moving average model in SPSS. Following that, time series forecasts were run in SPSS and AI generated in Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot, to create a forecast for the female promotion rate in the Senior Foreign Service (the equivalent of the Senior Executive Service) within …

Understanding The Welfare Of Aquarium Fish, Paul Rose

Animal Sentience

Bony fishes (Osteichthyes) are prevalent in public and domestic aquaria, yet evidence-based welfare practices exist for only a limited number of species. Oldfield & Bonano’s (O&B’s) target article highlights critical questions about the wellbeing and sociality of Osteichthyes. Advancing research on their biology, physiology, psychology, and behavior is essential to develop and validate welfare measures, ensuring guidelines for welfare-focused housing and husbandry.

Dog-Friendly Workplaces: Understanding What Works And Lessons Learned Through Reflexive Thematic Analysis, Eloise Warrilow, Lisbeth Drury, Joanna Yarker, Rachel Lewis

People and Animals: The International Journal of Research and Practice

The demand for pet-friendly practices has increased since the global pandemic, with some employees reporting a preference for working alongside their companion dogs. Despite increased scholarly interest in pet-friendly practices, gaps exist in understanding their real-world impact. This study examines companion-dog-friendly offices postpandemic, focusing on perceived antecedents and outcomes of pet-friendly practices. It aims to identify what works, what does not, and lessons learned. It draws on expertise from the animal welfare and the industrial, work, and organizational psychology sectors. Employing a qualitative approach, this study utilized semistructured, one-hour interviews with 14 participants who had experienced working in a dog-friendly …

Share Your Story; Good News From Sc Libraries, Virginia Cononie

South Carolina Libraries

Welcome to the third edition

of Share Your Story, where I am deeply grateful to present over 75 inspiring library stories from across our great state. Each story is a testament to the essential role libraries play in impacting communities and the lives of those they serve.

As you explore this collection, you'll discover a rich tapestry of experiences from school, public, and academic libraries. From community gardens to therapy dog visits, activities fostering the love of reading to donor funds well spent—these stories showcase the diverse ways libraries enrich our local communities.

These stories not only demonstrate Good News …

Social Workers' Challenges And Successes In Working With Black Men During Times Of Social Upheaval., Eric Dewayne Franklin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. social workers experienced challenges and successes when working with Black male clients in mental and medical health and addiction therapy or treatment settings before and during the simultaneous events of the COVID-19 pandemic, political elections, and racial violence/social injustice movements of the late 2010s–early 2020s. This project addressed the lack of knowledge regarding evidence-based practices to address the challenges and positive therapeutic experiences of social workers, specifically those working in clinical practice with Black American male clients. The theoretical framework for this study was Bell's critical race theory. The generic qualitative research design was used to address three research …

Predictive Validity Of Person-Environment Fit On The Hiring Desirability Of Software Engineers, Lucija Velican

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Person-environment (P-E) fit, particularly in recruitment, has gained significant attention, expanding beyond the traditional focus on job-applicant compatibility to include alignment with team and organizational dynamics. Despite its importance, there is no consensus on how to effectively measure this fit, which limits its predictive power for employee outcomes. This quantitative correlational study addressed this gap by examining the predictive validity of congruence between candidates’ psychological characteristics and various facets of the work environment among software engineers. Drawing on Schneider’s attraction-selection-attrition model, the study examined congruence at multiple levels (candidate-team, candidate-leader, and candidate-role) and its influence on hiring desirability. Secondary data …

Euphemism In Ai Discourse As Colonial Harm & Effect: Learnings From Subaltern Puerto Rico, Jacqueline Oquendo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Through three integrated studies, this dissertation explores complex human-AI interactions by comparing the perceptions of two groups of U.S. citizens: subaltern Puerto Ricans and stateside Americans’ interactions with ChatGPT. This corpus-assisted Critical Discourse Analysis or CLCDA, triangulated with 1:1 semi-structured interviews, validates scholars’ concerns about the biases inherent in generative AI. Contributing to those concerns, this dissertation reveals that ChatGPT deploys discourse strategies that, when executed, facilitate digital colonialism. Euphemistic language is prominent among its discourse strategies, replacing controversial words, phrases, and topics with more palatable ones. When prompted on events of historical significance, I find that ChatGPT’s discourse obscures …

On The Role Of Prediction In Streaming Hierarchical Learning, Ramy Mounir

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In today's world, AI systems need to make sense of large amounts of data as it unfolds in real-time, whether it's a video from surveillance and monitoring cameras, streams of egocentric footage, or sequences in other domains such as text or audio. The ability to break these continuous data streams into meaningful events, discover nested structures, and predict what might happen next at different levels of abstraction is crucial for applications ranging from passive surveillance systems to sensory-motor autonomous learning. However, most existing models rely heavily on large, annotated datasets with fixed data distributions and offline epoch-based training, which makes …

Activist Archivists: Centering Marginalized Campus Voices And Rebuilding Institutional Knowledge Through Oral History, Kai H. Uchida

Faculty Publications

The rapidly changing face of the UNH system, retirements spurred by COVID, and a challenging financial environment motivated SCA to restructure the ways that they collect and preserve institutional history. Through a two-year pilot program utilizing a new technology called TheirStory -- which hosts, records, transcribes, and stores interviews -- they began plans to record histories from University leadership, faculty, staff, alumni, and students. This poster recounts how the University Archivist shaped the UNH Oral History Project to fill in the institutional gaps of its past, considers how this project forms a microcosm of his curatorial and collection vision as …

No. 03: Covid-19 Impacts On Food Security Of Refugees And Other Vulnerable Populations In Canada, Sujata Ramachandran, Zhenzhong Si, Danny Ning Dai

Migration and Food Security (MiFOOD) Network

This policy audit explores the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security in Canada, with a focus on immigrants, refugees, and other marginalized communities, particularly in Ontario and the Waterloo Region. COVID-19 significantly exacerbated food insecurity in the country, adding to existing vulnerabilities especially in historically disadvantaged communities, who already faced barriers such as low-income employment, poor housing, and limited healthcare access. COVID-19 responses, including lockdowns and travel restrictions, disrupted food production, processing, and retail services. The supply chain disruptions, along with inflation, drove food prices to their highest levels in decades. Economic access to food became a pressing …

Connecting Community And Family Philanthropy In Latin America: Mexico, Dorothy A. Johnson Center For Philanthropy At Grand Valley State Universit, Michael D. Layton, Michael Moody

Research, Reports, and Publications

This report explores the dynamics of community philanthropy and family philanthropy in Mexico in order to inform efforts to strengthen the connection between the two. In terms of community philanthropy, our primary focus is upon Mexico’s community foundation model, which is the most institutionalized form of community philanthropy and a uniquely important actor in the philanthropic ecosystem. Wealthy families and family businesses in Mexico are known to have strong local ties and to prioritize place-based development, and Mexico has more community foundations than any other Latin American country. In terms of family philanthropy, we have cast a wider net, interviewing …

November 2024 Library & Learning Newsletter, Minnesota State University, Mankato. Library & Learning Dean’S Office Communications Team

Library & Learning Newsletters

PDF version of the November 2024 (Volume 3, Issue 3) Library & Learning Newsletter.

Fall 2024, Georgia Library Quarterly

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.