Digital Commons Network^™

After Bureaucracy, Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Latecoming Of The Posthuman, Or, Why 'We' Do The Apocalypse Differently, 'Now', Ivan Callus, Stefan Herbrechter

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[Editors' Introduction]

The paper takes its cue from a brief but pointed passage in Specters of Marx, in which Jacques Derrida describes as latecomers those who discuss the apocalypse in a manner that disregards previous discussions of the theme within philosophy and theory. Especially concerned with tracing Derrida's wariness of the beguilements of narratives of the end, Callus and Herbrecther analyze the implications of that wariness for any study of the vexed relation between the apocalyptic and the posthuman, doing so on the basis of reference to a number of the relevant essays by Derrida, but in particular to …

Cyborg Bodies And Digitized Desires: Posthumanity And Phillip K. Dick, Jennifer Attaway

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[Editors' Introduction]

The interaction between human beings and intelligent machines has challenged the traditional understanding of what it means to be human. In his novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, phillip k. dick rethinks human identity through the positioning of human beings within a technologically mediated reality that displaces the biological body and the spontaneity of human sensation. Written in 1968, dick's novel anticipates the effect of a technologically mediated culture on the formation of a posthuman identity. dick's fictional juxtaposition of the human being and the organically anthropomorphic android complicates conventional implications of embodiment. Androids are physically …

Dead Astronauts, Cyborgs, And The Cape Canaveral Fiction Of J. G. Ballard: A Posthuman Analysis, Melanie Rosen Brown

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[Editors' Introduction]

In Dead Astronauts, Cyborgs, and the Cape Canaveral Fiction of J.G. Ballard: A Posthuman Analysis, Melanie Rosen Brown explores the ways in which the so-called Cape Canaveral short stories of J.G. Ballard anthologized in the collection Memories of the Space Age exemplify the promises of posthumanity as articulated by posthuman theorists such as Donna Haraway and N. Katherine Hayles. Although Ballard's fiction is viewed by many as a needlessly pessimistic and derogatory portrayal of NASA's space program, viewed through a posthuman lens, Ballard's fiction instead reveals him to be optimistic about the future of space exploration -- cautiously …

On Dixon's Straight: Constructions Of Heterosexuality In The Cinema, Markus Rheindorf

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

Wheeler Winston Dixon's Straight is an odd book. An interesting book, to be sure, but one that falls short of its promise or, rather, its many promises. While its title, especially the definite article in its subtitle, would seem to suggest a rather abstract and general treatment of constructions of heterosexuality in the cinema, a cinema somehow constructed as a totality, the book is both inspiring and frustrating in its unsystematic approach to its object(s). Object(s) because it would be difficult, even without raising any objections to the construction of the cinema as a singular totality, not to …

Occupational Self-Direction, Intellectual Functioning, And Self-Directed Orientation In Older Workers: Findings And Implications For Individuals And Societies, Gary Oates, Carmi Schooler, Mesfin Samuel Mulatu

Sociology Faculty Publications

Using data from 1994-95 third-wave interviews, this study tests whether Kohn and Schooler's findings ( based on 1964 and 1974 interviews) that self-directed occupational conditions increase intellectual functioning and self-directed orientations hold when the respondents are 20 years older. Results confirm that even late in life self-directedness of work continues to affect intellectual functioning and self-directedness of orientation. These psychological characteristics, in turn, affect social-structural position in ways that increase disparities between the advantaged and disadvantaged. From a historical and societal perspective, the findings suggest that the occupational self-directedness of a society's workers may affect its social norms, values, and …

Navigating Perceptions Of ‘Otherness’ In The Classroom: One Experience, Nikitah O. Imani

Black Studies Faculty Publications

As a direct result of the pervasive nature of Eurocentrism and Platonic epistemology in the academy today, teaching undergraduates is a special challenge for those who are viewed as representations of cultural others. This presents such teachers with what may be described at best as “unique” classroom experiences. Their “being” is rendered in a manner that places it on trial. This trial, taking place in the mind of the student becomes an additional barrier to the learning process, and oft-times a crutch that allows the interjection of variables of social and cultural stratification when the lack of academic preparation is …

The Impact Of Culture On Accounting Choices: Can Cultural Conservatism Explain Accounting Conservatism?, Tony Kang, Lian Fen Lee, Jeffrey Ng, Joanne Tay

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We explore the extent to which cultural conservatism explains accounting conservatism. Our primary measure for accounting conservatism is the magnitude of non-operating accruals, which are highly discretionary in nature. Culture permeates values and attitudes, and thus governs many aspects of human behavior. Hence it is likely to affect managers’ accounting choice behaviors. However, there is surprisingly little evidence on the association between the two types of conservatism in the literature. Using a sample of 800 firms originating from 21 countries during the nine-year period from 1993 to 2001, we find strong evidence that the managers in more conservative cultural environments …

Law, Economics, And The Theory Of The Firm, Michael J. Meurer

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Charity Begins In Washington, D. C., Edward L. Rubin

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

From High In The Paper Tower, An Essay On Von Humboldt's University, John Henry Schlegel

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Middle School Student Responses To Family Health Questions: The Effects Of Family Caregiving On The Education Of Middle School Students With Family Health Issues, Constance T. Siskowski

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

More than currently recognized, family health situations, often compounded with family caregiving responsibilities, affect students' learning and academic performance. Three out of five middle school children (n=3,848) from a large, socio-economically and culturally diverse population sample, responded to the 88-question What Works Survey conducted in 2002, and indicated that someone needing special medical care lived either with them or close by them. Nearly two of five of these students (38.6%) documented that their learning is hindered as a result of their family health/caregiving situation. Among students with family health situations who reported hindered learning, only students who are Asian-Pacific Islanders …

Neiu Magazine- Summer 2004, Neiu Magazine Staff

NEIU Magazine

No abstract provided.

Schizophrenics, Cyborgs And The Pitfalls Of Posthumanism, Angela Woods

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[Editors' Introduction]

In Schizophrenics, Cyborgs and the Pitfalls of Posthumanism, Angela Woods invites us to revisit two canonical analyses of the postmodern: Fredric Jameson's Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism and Donna Haraway's A Manifesto for Cyborgs: Science, Technology and Socialist Feminism in the 1980s. Jameson and Haraway introduced to contemporary cultural criticism two posthumanist icons: the schizophrenic, a pathologized victim of postmodernity, and the cyborg, a vision of strategic posthuman subjectivity. In her timely and critical analysis of these articles, Woods challenges the established notion of an oppositional relationship between the schizophrenic and the cyborg. She turns …

Toward A Posthuman Ethics, Dongshin Yi

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[Editor's Introduction]

Setting a posthuman ethics as a goal toward which the collaboration of posthumanism and ethics must move, Yi in his essay, Toward a Posthuman Ethics, points out that the collaboration is detained because current debates on the cyborg harbor on the question of representations and consider how political, social and cultural problems of the human are reconfigured, and possibly resolved, by the cyborg. Thus, the debates are bound to be retrospective in approach and circular in direction, as they fail to recognize new possibilities that the cyborg may present. Arguing that the failure indicates the cyborg is being …

The Infinite Plasticity Of The Digital: Posthuman Possibilities, Embodiment And Technology In William Gibson's Interstitial Trilogy, Tama Leaver

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[Editors' Introduction]

Ever since William Gibson coined the term cyberspace in his debut novel Neuromancer, his work has been seen by many as a yardstick for postmodern and, more recently, posthuman possibilities. This article critically examines Gibson's second trilogy (Virtual Light, Idoru and All Tomorrow's Parties), focusing on the way digital technologies and identity intersect and interact, with particular emphasis on the role of embodiment. Using the work of Donna Haraway, Judith Butler and N. Katherine Hayles, it is argued that while William Gibson's second trilogy is infused with posthuman possibilities, the role of embodiment is …

On Rubin's Self Made Men And Green's Becoming A Visible Man, Kristen Schilt

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

In their new books, Jamison Green and Henry Rubin create two very different but complimentary works about female-to-male transsexuals (FTMs) [1]. In Becoming a Visible Man, Green, a long-time transgender activist and public speaker, provides a lyrical and moving account of his own experience as a transman, as well as a comprehensive overview of the some of the issues facing transmen today, ranging from the varied effects of testosterone to the pressures to conform to hegemonic masculine ideals. Self-Made Men, on the other hand, is an interview study conducted by up and coming sociologist Henry Rubin …

Law, Terrorism, And Social Movements: The Tension Between Politics And Security In Germany's Anti-Terrorism Legislation, Shawn Boyne

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article explores Germany's approach to combating terrorism from the late 1960s to the 1980s, emphasizing the interplay between security measures and civil liberties. It argues that political power struggles, rather than the terrorist threat itself, often drove antiterrorism legislation. The analysis highlights how laws such as the Berufsverbot and criminal code revisions were used to suppress dissent, leading to public backlash and eventual reforms. In contrast to the U.S., which framed its post-9/11 response as war, Germany maintained judicial oversight and avoided suspending constitutional rights. Public opinion played a pivotal role in shaping these policies, ultimately fostering a stronger …

Should Governments Play Robin Hood? The Effects Of The Repeal Of The Estate Tax On Wealth Apportionment, Mark Bernstein

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note explores the debate surrounding wealth disparity and the effectiveness of taxes, such as the estate tax and net wealth tax, in addressing this issue. It examines the historical and contemporary arguments for and against these taxes, drawing comparisons between the U.S. and countries like Japan, Sweden, and Switzerland. The analysis highlights the tension between reducing wealth inequality and maintaining economic growth, ultimately suggesting that a well-structured net wealth tax could be a viable solution to both redistribute wealth and generate revenue.

Evolution, Politics And Law, Bailey Kuklin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

On Cue Vol. 17 No. 3 Third Quarter 2004, Jan Delay

On Cue

No abstract provided.

From Petticoats To Briefs: History Of Women At The University Of Missouri-Kansas City School Of Law, Robert C. Downs, Brooke Grant, Elizabeth Sterling

Faculty Works

The story of women in American society has largely been defined and recorded by men and the institutions that men have dominated for most of the past two hundred-odd years. Women have been denied access to education, employment, political power and other benefits of social intercourse by exclusion, intimidation, ridicule and patronization. The experience of women in law school is one part of that experience. Law school is an arduous undertaking whether one is male or female. Gaining admission to modern law schools requires talent and demonstrated academic performance in a competitive environment. But in the nineteenth century, the foremost …

On Wings Of Hope, Volume 9, No. 3, July-September 2004, Phadp, Vinney Turk, Darrell Grayson, Mary Beek, Esther Brown, Gary Hart Ii, Jeff Rieber, Ella W. Wilcox, Dale Wisely, Leroy White

On Wings of Hope

July–September 2004 edition.

Post·Hum·An·Ous, C. Jason Smith, Geoff Klock, Ximena Gallardo-C.

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

The Death of the Human is in many ways one of those characteristic intellectual bids for attention, in the vein of Lacan's Woman does not exist or Baudrillard's the Gulf War never happened. Flashy and rhetorically misleading, such assertions nevertheless create a discursive space in what otherwise appears to be a closed, natural(ized) system. Posthumanism, like any other movement or -ism, is difficult to introduce, first and foremost, because of this kind of rhetoric: its first infiltrating tactic is to call the time of death on the current age. Perhaps the most salient example of this self-defined loss …

Law, Economics, And The Theory Of The Firm, Michael J. Meurer

Faculty Scholarship

Economic analysis of the law assumes the "shadow of the law" influences the behavior of businesses. Thus, business people consider the costs and benefits of contract litigation when they make decisions about contract performance, they consider the costs of tort litigation when they make investments in safety, they consider the costs of violating a regulation when they make decisions about regulatory compliance, and so on. Economic models of law typically abstract from organizational detail and treat businesses as if they are represented by a single manager who controls the firm's behavior and acts to maximize its profit. This abstraction simplifies …

Implications Of Changing Social Norms For Social Security Benefits: Results Of Pilot Research, Francis G. Caro, Yung-Ping Chen

Gerontology Institute Publications

Problem. The U.S. Social Security program is designed to protect the American family structure that existed when the program was introduced in the 1930s. Both family structure and social norms regarding family life have changed substantially in the interim. Major changes in family structure invite proposals to modify Social Security benefits to accommodate contemporary conditions. To remain politically viable, the program must make adjustments to reflect contemporary public opinion regarding family life. We asked to what extent contemporary public opinion is supportive of the current benefit structure and the extent to which public opinion points to possible changes in benefits? …

Access To Training For Mature Workers Through One-Stop Career Centers In Massachusetts, Francis G. Caro, Kelly Fitzgerald

Gerontology Institute Publications

The major purpose of this research is to determine the extent to which career centers in Massachusetts are providing mature workers with access to federally funded training. The research is based on two large administrative data sources: The MOSES database made available by the Massachusetts Department of Employment and Training (now Division of Career Services and Division of Unemployment) and a customer service database maintained by The Career Place, a career center in Woburn, MA. The MOSES data file provided for this research includes data on user characteristics and service transactions for all career centers in Massachusetts from July 1, …

Idiomatic Expressions And Marital Relationships Over Three Stages Of The Family Lifespan, Meredith T. Raynor

Institute for the Humanities Theses

In interpersonal communication language shared between two people becomes important in the everyday life of relational participants. Even more so, the language shared between married couples is vital because of their "unique relationship". Part of that language involves the symbols, gestures and words called idioms that have specialized meaning for the marital dyad.

This thesis sought to discover what idioms are identified among married couples at three stages of the family lifespan, newlyweds, couples with children and empty nest couples as they seek to maintain a system of "personalized communication" as it relates to their marital satisfaction (Breuss & Pearson, …

Euthanasia: An Exploration Of Public Opinion, Debra M. Babylon

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The acceptance of euthanasia is examined using the 1972-2002 GSS cumulative dataset. The dataset contains a total of 43,698 respondents. The euthanasia question, "Should a terminally ill patient be allowed the right to die?" was asked beginning in 1977. The number of respondents answering the euthanasia question totals 22,039. The independent variables age, race, gender, political view, religious affiliation, and education were reviewed to assess their impact on support of euthanasia. Additionally, in order to test the "slippery slope" hypothesis, the abortion question, "Should abortion be allowed under any circumstance?" was added to the independent variable list. Cross tabulation was …

The Effect Of Humor On Elderly Well-Being, Mary M. Boone

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The main objectives of this study were to identify the connections between the sense of humor and well-being in the elderly population, examine the benefits of humor as a coping mechanism, explore the role of humor as a preventative and therapeutic measure, and to attempt to gain a greater understanding of these connections. Humor has been the focus of study within many different domains, including psychology and medical research (immunology, pain management, cardiology, and psychoneuroimmunology), but there is a distinct lack of theory and research within the sociological realm on this topic (except in social psychology), especially involving the aging …