Digital Commons Network^™

Object Handling With Contemporary Craft Objects: An Observational Study Of An Embodied, Social And Cognitive Process, Bruce Davenport, Neill James Thompson

The Qualitative Report

This study focuses on the ways that people interact around contemporary craft objects. The ambiguous quality of these objects holds people’s attention and inhibits autobiographical narratives. The study focused on the relationship between the perceptual language used by participants and the ways in which they interacted with the objects. The analytical approach taken here begins with close observation and careful description of single cases and working towards valid generalisations rather than imposing an interpretation from the outset by explicitly positing a hypothesis. Six pairs of women were invited to participate in object handling conversations in an art museum setting. The …

Trans-Pacific Imaginaries And Queer Intimacies In The Ruins Of Middlesex, Dai Kojima

The Goose

Taking up Roland Barthes’s concept of the “third meaning,” Kojima analyzes the character of Julie Kikuchi, the Japanese American love interest of the grown-up Cal. Taking Julie seriously as a character beyond mere plot contrivance and cultural reference, Kojima invites us to consider the intertwined histories of economic rise and fall, trans-Pacific wars, and other intimacies that Middlesex remains entangled in yet fails to fully acknowledge.

Materialism’S Affective Appeal, Elizabeth Mazzolini

The Goose

Citing the pronounced lack of academic engagement with Middlesex since its publication and riffing on the novel’s recounting of the demise of the auto industry in Detroit, Mazzolini examines how cycles of obsolescence and currency work within academic discourse and ultimately advocates for the novel’s potential for examining the material and affective nature of relevance itself.

From Rusty Genetics To Octopussy’S Garden, Stacy Alaimo

The Goose

Alaimo critiques the “rusty” understanding of genetics, gender, and sex in Middlesex, advocating instead for queer ecological futurism.

On Being Intimate With Ruin: Reading Decay In Middlesex, Kaitlin Blanchard

The Goose

Blanchard argues for an intimate attention to the ruin in Middlesex and Detroit as a means of exploring the geo-bio-politics of decay as a problem of our socio-ecological present.

Introduction: Sex And The (Motor) City: Ecologies Of Middlesex, Kaitlin Blanchard, Catriona Sandilands

The Goose

This special cluster consists of twelve short essays, originally presented in two linked roundtables at the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE) conference in Detroit in June 2017, examining Jeffrey Eugenides' 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Middlesex. Through the novel, these papers explore the historical, intersectional, and ecological understandings of Detroit, exposing an exceptional—indeed, epic—range of social ecologies, concerned with everything from intersex and multispecies bio/geopolitics to transnational economies, to the aesthetics of architecture and decay. Focused on a very particular novel, written about a very particular city and experience of it, these papers bring to light and …

North African Regular And Irregular Migration: The Case Of Libya, Mustafa O. Attir

New England Journal of Public Policy

Because of its geographical size and location, Libya has for centuries been a transit county for human movement across the region. Thus, its experience with immigrants has a long history. In the early 1970s, Libya became a destination for foreigners seeking jobs. Some entered the country legally, others illegally. All came to work, live, and send remittances back to their families. During the 1990s, when many migrants used Libya as a transit country for crossing the sea to Europe, the European Union started negotiating with the Libyan government to curb the flow of irregular migrants. In 2011, the country joined …

Investigation Of Mexican-American Attitudes Towards Pet Dogs, Deisy Landeros, Shelly Volsche

McNair Poster Presentations

From wild wolves to ‘fur babies,’ dogs have transcended their relationships with humans after years of domestication and evolved pet keeping dynamics. This research study explores human and dog relationships through cultural perspectives. My research specifically targets the Mexican-American population in Las Vegas in order to understand diverse attitudes towards dogs. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether there are more positive attitudes towards pet dogs within Mexican communities, or if negative attitudes are still present like they have been in past Mexican traditions. While previous studies have presented increasing dog attachment bonds within Americans, I will instead …

W.E.B. Dubois For The Twenty‐First Century: On Being A Scholar‐Activist In The Digital Era, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

W.E.B. Du Bois began his work as a scholar-activist at the dawn of the twentieth century, and this paper argues that his example has much to teach contemporary scholar-activists in the twenty-first century. In order to publish The Crisis, the magazine of the activist organization he co-founded, DuBois purchased a printing press. This meant he could own the means of his own knowledge production and foretold both the promise of what it means to be a scholar-activist in the twenty-first century and the limitations built into the current systems of knowledge production. Du Bois was also prophetic when he …

Strengths And Coping Strategies In The Life Narratives Of Sexual Minority Women, Laurie Drabble, Karen F. Trocki, Brenda Salcedo, Bobbi R. Morales, Rachael Korcha

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This study explored self-described strengths and strategies for coping with stress among sexual minority women (SMW), drawing on qualitative narratives of sexual minority and heterosexual women who were recruited from a population-based sample. In-depth follow-up qualitative telephone interviews were conducted with 48 women who had participated in the National Alcohol Survey, a U.S. population-based survey. Participants included 25 SMW and 16 matched exclusively heterosexual women. Narrative data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis and constant comparison to explore the study aim, with an emphasis on themes that diverged or that were particularly salient for SMW relative to heterosexual women. Strengths …

Incorporating Social System Dynamics In The Columbia River Basin: Food-Energy-Water Resilience And Sustainability Modeling In The Yakima River Basin, Jennifer E. Givens, Julie Padowski, Christian D. Guzman, Keyvan Malek, Rebecca Witinok-Huber, Barbara Cosens, Michael Briscoe, Jan Boll, Jennifer Adam

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

In the face of climate change, achieving resilience of desirable aspects of food-energy-water (FEW) systems already strained by competing multi-scalar social objectives requires interdisciplinary approaches. This study is part of a larger effort exploring “Innovations in the Food-Energy-Water Nexus (INFEWS)” in the Columbia River Basin (CRB) through coordinated modeling and simulated management scenarios. Here, we focus on a case study and conceptual mapping of the Yakima River Basin (YRB), a sub-basin of the CRB. Previous research on FEW system management and resilience includes some attention to social dynamics (e.g., economic and governance systems); however, more attention to social drivers and …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 93 [94], No. 4, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Ziege, Nicole & Rebekah Alvey. Is Mold in Dorms Making You Sick? – Housing & Residential Life
• Singlton, John. Delta Tau Delta Returns to Campus After Four-year Hiatus
• DeLetter, Emily. WKU Limited Use of White Squirrel Logo
• DeLetter, Emily. City Passes Grant Application to Revitalize Riverfront
• Allen, Ellie. Editorial Cartoon re: Banished Squirrel
• Banished? #SaveOurSquirrel
• Hovell, Nolan. Worst Day Ever: The Day We Lost Malcolm Miller aka Mac
• Hanks, Michelle. Bowling Green Fiestaval
• Webster, Mark. Nothing But Love – Houston Edison
• Kizer, Drake. Spikeball Gains …

“We Always Hurt The Things We Love”—Unnoticed Abuse Of Companion Animals, Bernard E. Rollin

Animal Cruelty and Abuse Collection

Despite the fact that companion animals enjoy the status of “members of the family” in contemporary society, there are numerous diseases affecting the longevity of these animals and their quality of life. Some of the most pervasive and damaging problems accrue to pedigreed animals whose genetic lines contain many major and severe diseases which are detrimental to both the quality and length of life. If one considers the most popular dog breeds in the United States, the top 10 include the Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, French Bulldog, Beagle, Poodle, Rottweiler, Yorkshire Terrier, and German Shorthaired Pointer. Some idea …

Culture, Socialization, And Firearms Violence In The United States, Jennifer L. Lanterman, Sarah J. Blithe

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Firearm violence persists in the United States despite innumerable social, political, and economic changes throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries. Collaborative Event Ethnography was used at seven gun shows in three regions of the United States to explore childhood socialization into firearm culture via intergenerational communication of values and views regarding violence, safety, and the use of firearms. Children were observed at all gun shows engaged in activities ranging from standard play to potentially dangerous activity in an environment characterized by bias and controversy. The findings support social learning theory and provide some insight into the role of culture …

How To Begin, Danielle M. Pillet-Shore

Communication

This article introduces the special issue of Research on Language and Social Interaction organized around the theme “Opening and Maintaining Face-to-Face Interaction.” The contributions to this special issue collectively consider “how to begin”—either a new encounter or a new sequence after a lapse in conversation. All articles analyze naturally occurring, video-recorded episodes of casual and/or institutional copresent interaction using multimodal conversation analytic methods. Though the opening phase of a face-to-face encounter may elapse in a matter of seconds, this article shows it to house a dense universe of phenomena central to sustaining our human sense of self and our social …

Arriving: Expanding The Personal State Sequence, Danielle M. Pillet-Shore

Communication

When arriving to a social encounter, how and when can a person show how s/he is doing/feeling? This article answers this question, examining personal state sequences in copresent openings of casual (residential) and institutional (parent-teacher) encounters. Describing a regular way participants constitute—and move to expand—these sequences, this research shows how arrivers display a nonneutral (e.g., negative, humorous, positive) personal state by both (1) deploying interactionally timed stance-marking embodiments that enact a nonneutral state, and (2) invoking a selected previous activity/experience positioned as precipitating that nonneutral state. Data demonstrate that arrivers time their nonneutral personal state displays calibrated to their understanding …

Disequilibrium, Adaptation, And The Norse Settlement Of Greenland, Rowan Jackson, Jette Arneborg, Andrew Dugmore, Christian Madsen, Tom Mcgovern, Konrad Smiarowski, Richard Streeter

Publications and Research

There is increasing evidence to suggest that arctic cultures and ecosystems have followed non-linear responses to climate change. Norse Scandinavian farmers introduced agriculture to sub-arctic Greenland in the late tenth century, creating synanthropic landscapes and utilising seasonally abundant marine and terrestrial resources. Using a niche-construction framework and data from recent survey work, studies of diet, and regional-scale climate proxies we examine the potential mismatch between this imported agricultural niche and the constraints of the environment from the tenth to the fifteenth centuries. We argue that landscape modification conformed the Norse to a Scandinavian style of agriculture throughout settlement, structuring and …

Perils Of Hollywood Whitewashing?: A Review Of 'Ghost In The Shell' Movie, Kosuke Mizukoshi

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

'Ghost in the Shell' was first produced as a Japanese animated film in 1995. The movie and its sequels established a cult status due to the philosophical depth in portraying the posthuman condition. It was remade as a live action Hollywood film in 2017; and this version failed at the box office. One reason had to be the “whitewashing” issue – that the female protagonist was played by a white actress in the Hollywood movie, rather than a Japanese character as in the original anime. This review essay critically discusses issues of whitewashing, racial ‘identity’, the shifting identity of the …

Revisiting The Creation Of Meaning By Media: A Perspective From Japan, Satoko Suzuki

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

This paper revisits the role of media in the meaning-construction system. In consumer research, media are often regarded as gatekeepers in the system. This paper focuses on the media’s other role -- as the creator of meanings. In this paper, an interpretive analysis of magazine articles regarding the ‘jibun e no gohoubi’ [self-reward] consumption since 1990 has been conducted. The findings indicate that the media had created the meanings of sacred and profane consumption acts, in the domain of self-reward consumption. In addition, the paper explores the influence of media in liberating and empowering Japanese women.

Japan And Critical Marketing Theory: Opening A Window, Masaaki Takemura, Nikhilesh Dholakia

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

No abstract provided.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 94, No. 2, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Austin, Emma. Remembering Alex Davis
• Breu, Natasha. WKU Alumni Highlight First University of Kentucky Medical School Class – Dixi Secula
• Deletter, Emily. Confucius Institute to Stay at WKU Despite Bill
• Singleton, John. WKU Launches International Year of Cuba in 2018.
• Dressman, Jake. A Short Guide for Going Greek
• Hovell, Nolan. Comedy: An Unlikely Source for Truth
• Higher-Ed Counseling Offices Struggling
• Hanks, Michelle. Ready, Set, Go! – Beech Bend Drag Strip
• Bunton, Gabby & Laurel Deppen. Furnished – Aaron Price, Noah Shreve
• Yaacoub, Sarah. Students with …

Relative Deprivation, Justice Perceptions And Forgiveness Of Victims In Poland And Uganda, Kamila Anna Krygier

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

This study examines the question of how persisting economic and social inequalities between perpetrators and victims affect victims’ perceptions of justice and forgiveness in cross-cultural settings by applying the theory of relative deprivation. The hypothesis of this study is that inequalities trigger relative deprivation in victims, which in turn has a direct negative effect on forgiveness as well as an indirect effect via justice perceptions. Relative deprivation is defined as a consequence of a disadvantageous comparison with an outgroup. It includes the cognitive elements of comparing and perceiving the own outcome as less than deserved, as well as the affective …

Arriving: Expanding The Personal State Sequence, Danielle M. Pillet-Shore

Communication

When arriving to a social encounter, how and when can a person show how s/he is doing/feeling? This article answers this question, examining personal state sequences in copresent openings of casual (residential) and institutional (parent-teacher) encounters. Describing a regular way participants constitute – and move to expand – these sequences, this research shows how arrivers display a non-neutral (e.g., negative, humorous, positive) personal state by both (i) deploying interactionally-timed stance-marking embodiments that enact a non-neutral state, and (ii) invoking a selected previous activity/experience positioned as precipitating that non-neutral state. Data demonstrate that arrivers time their non-neutral personal state displays calibrated …

How To Begin, Danielle M. Pillet-Shore

Communication

This article introduces the special issue of Research on Language and Social Interaction organized around the theme “Opening and Maintaining Face-to-Face Interaction.” The contributions to this special issue collectively consider “how to begin” – either a new encounter, or a new sequence after a lapse in conversation. All articles analyze naturally-occurring, videorecorded episodes of casual and/or institutional copresent interaction using multimodal conversation analytic methods. Though the opening phase of a face-to-face encounter may elapse in a matter of seconds, this article shows it to house a dense universe of phenomena central to sustaining our human sense of self and our …

Achieving The Promise Of Integration In Social-Ecological Research: A Review And Prospectus, Neil Carter

Human-Environment Systems Research Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

An integrated understanding of both social and ecological aspects of environmental issues is essential to address pressing sustainability challenges. An integrated social-ecological systems perspective is purported to provide a better understanding of the complex relationships between humans and nature. Despite a threefold increase in the amount of social-ecological research published between 2010 and 2015, it is unclear whether these approaches have been truly integrative. We conducted a systematic literature review to investigate the conceptual, methodological, disciplinary, and functional aspects of social-ecological integration. In general, we found that overall integration is still lacking in social-ecological research. Some social variables deemed important …

The Politics Of Service: Affectivity, Social Relations, And The Power Of Tipping In The Restaurant Industry, Jacqueline A. Ross

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The #MeToo movement and the growing spotlight on sexual harassment and misconduct has increasingly brought industries and individuals into the public eye. The restaurant industry is one such industry to receive this spotlight. While most of the coverage has stemmed from celebrities, the misconduct of celebrity chefs has been paralleled by the stories of servers and their customers. The NY Times published several articles on harassment in the restaurant industry and some specifically focusing on the abuses that tipped workers face. Often these workers were women. When asked about experiences of harassment, responses were often that servers felt that they …

Wukongism: Monkey King, Kungfu/Jazz, And Asian/American Performance, Sissi Liu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Wukongism offers one of the first non-western epistemic frameworks to examine theatre and performance that traverse beyond the shifting taxonomies of national, cultural, racial boundaries, and in particular, Asian/American theatre and performance. Wukongism, or shapeshifter consciousness, is built on the narrative of Sun Wukong the Monkey King, a supernatural shapeshifting character from the 16^th century classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. Juxtaposing physical shapeshifting (plastic surgery and performing of the racialized face) with institutional shapeshifting (reinventing and eliminating invisible and hypervisible boundaries), this dissertation project posits Wukongism as a means to examine the varying, fluid, and precarious …

Critical Paradigm Theory: A Deconstruction Of The Dominant Discourse Shaping Public Education In America, Kevin Froner

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to deconstruct the dominant discourses shaping public education in America. To understand the ontological and genealogical roots of public education, the researcher developed a framework referred to as Critical Paradigm Theory (CPT) to examine the current education paradigm. Longitudinal data was collected from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) with an analysis of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Additional analysis was performed applying critical paradigm theory to a …

Ageing: A Sin In Nigerian Society?, Raji Abdullateef, Sunkanmi Folorunsho, Adeshina Olawale, Raji Adeyemi

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Ageing can be said to be a permanent and irreparable innate process determined by a reduction in mental and equally physical status of people. Due to multiple factors, this essential process and its significance vary significantly among individuals and across cultures. The phenomenon of ageing is not attracting the attention it deserves especially in the developing countries like Nigeria. Importantly, old people in Nigeria are facing many challenges ranging from financial and economic shortcomings, socio-cultural discriminations among others. The study set out to understand the challenges and prospects of ageing in Nigeria. The theory used to explain this is the …

Bias-Motivated Homicides: Toward A New Typology, Lindsey Sank Davis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Despite significant progress towards equal protection under the law for women, LGBT individuals, and people of color in the United States, hate crime remains a pervasive problem, and rates appear to have increased in recent years. Bias-motivated homicide – arguably the most serious form of hate crime – is statistically rare but may have far-reaching consequences for marginalized communities. Data from the Uniform Crime Reports and the National Crime Victimization Survey have suggested that, on average, fewer than 10 bias-motivated homicides occur in the United States per year; however, data from open sources indicate that the rate of bias-motivated homicide …