Digital Commons Network^™

A Ulysses Pact With Artificial Systems. How To Deliberately Change The Objective Spirit With Cultured Ai, Bruno Gransche

Computer Ethics - Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE) Proceedings

The article introduces a concept of cultured technology, i.e. intelligent systems capable of interacting with humans and showing (or simulating) manners, of following customs and of socio-sensitive considerations. Such technologies might, when deployed on a large scale, influence and change the realm of human customs, traditions, standards of acceptable behavior, etc. This realm is known as the "objective spirit" (Hegel), which usually is thought of as being historically changing but not subject to deliberate human design. The article investigates the question of whether the purposeful design of interactive technologies (as cultured technologies) could enable us to shape modes of …

Culture, Identity, And Critical Theory In Expressive Arts Therapy: A Literature Review, Isaac Hunnewell

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature review was an initial inquiry looking at research in expressive arts therapy (EAT) to see how this field was understanding, conceptualizing, and using culture in their analysis and treatment of individual well-being. It delved into how the field constructed the relationship between individuals and their culture. The definition of culture, health, mental health, and the connection between them was examined. Research also included creative arts therapy (CAT) and its emerging interest in critical theory, why it was important, where it was being used, and how it contributed to an understanding of society as a source of individual pain, …

S’Klallam Wellness: Community Engagement Project, Rachel Smart

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The S’Klallam Nation, composed of three federally recognized tribes, has experienced historical, intergenerational, acute, and complex trauma. Supporting S’Klallam wellness requires cultivation of an understanding of how Native people have faced, and continue to face, and overcome these challenges. A review of literature related to Native wellness, reveals the importance of enculturation. A community engagement project, reveals how exploring cultural arts and activities as modes of fostering wellness is beneficial to the S’Klallam people. The relationship between the expressive arts therapies, including dance/movement therapy, as defined by western academic institutions is questioned.

Kumain Na Tayo! Exploring The Role Of Food In Communicating Tradition And Instilling Familial Values, Aaron Negrillo

Student Research

As a core part of Asian values, family plays a huge role in developing the individual’s identity. Family strongly contributes to the passing down of traditions and values. The expression of cultural values can be observed through many surface-level interactions such as food and meal rituals. This auto-ethnography explores the link between food and culture, specifically how it serves as a vehicle of communication that passes down traditions and values. The underlying core values of hospitality, respect, and sacrifice stand emerged from the thematic analysis conducted. Overall, food can be understood as a tangible expression of love: creating something for …

Balancing The Theoretical Toolkit: A Quantitative Examination Of Social Mobility And Culture, Nathan Cole Baggett

Sociology & Anthropology Theses - Archive

Stratification researchers of the last four decades have contributed a multitude of information on how class-origins, culture, and social psychological factors affect class reproduction. However, scholarship has spent comparatively less effort in exploring cultural elements that can facilitate upward mobility for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. This thesis addresses this research imbalance through providing a nuanced look at cultural, social, and economic factors associated with educational mobility. Specifically, I investigate how educational aspirations offset financial constraints for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. I employ regression analyses to examine how common educational mobility is for individuals from less-educated households and then test to …

Changing The Narrative: Building A Conceptual Framework For Advocating Representation In History Textbooks, Valerie Paul

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

At a time where Americans are beginning to engage in critical dialogue about the representation of minorities in the media, conversations about representation in education have been somewhat elusive or condensed. With the popular focus for marginalized communities being on issues of stereotype threat, achievement deficits, and culturally responsive pedagogy, it seems that policy makers are often left to make decisions that lack considerable connection between the cognitive, social and emotional implications of inclusivity in educational curriculum. Furthermore, there hasn't appeared to be an extensive analysis of these issues between and among relative disciplines. For example, when we discuss representation …

“You Can’T Be Outside Without Being Part Of The Culture”: Recommendations For Using Outdoor Recreation To Support International Student Transitions, Michelle K. Brunette, Callie Mady, Tara-Lynn Scheffel, Denyse Lafrance Horning, Maria Cantalini-Williams

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

The Yosakoi Festival And Rural Revitalization In Kōchi Prefecture, Japan, Amy L. Kostka

Senior Honors Projects

Japan has been experiencing a population decline in rural areas since post World War II. Rural prefectures including Kōchi have been participating in nationwide efforts as well as local efforts to maintain population and hopefully attract more people to these areas. These efforts have been collectively categorized under the term rural revitalization. Rural revitalization has many aims: to encourage pride in local cultural practices, to attract tourists and new residents, and to boost local economies. In this study I examined how a festival might assist in rural revitalization efforts. Exploring the literature involving revitalization efforts provided the scaffolding for my …

Do You See Yourself? The Effects Of Cultural Binaries Within Fantasy Young Adult Literature, Serena Holcomb

COLA Research and Creativity Conference

Teenage years are critical for identity formation. Young adult literature is a form in which teenagers use to help form identities through relating with characters and situations. It is important to have literature available to teenagers that is relatable to a wide audience so that all young adults can find novels that they feel represented by. This study will be looking into the cultural binaries that could limit representation in fantasy young adult literature, such as white/other, abled/disabled, female/male. In this way, people can be aware of what is hindering or enabling, depending on our results, wide representation of different …

It Is More Than A Game: An Ethnography Of Communication Treatment Of Resilience As A Key Element Of Basketball Culture, Matthew Charles Higgins

Communication ETDs

This study, theoretically and methodologically grounded in the ethnography of communication (Hymes 1974; Carbaugh, 1992; Covarrubias, 2008; Philipsen, 1992; Philipsen, Coutu, & Covarrubias, 2005), investigated the relationship between communication and resilience as expressed by professional basketball players and coaches from a particular city in southwest United States, referred to as PG City. Guiding questions include: Is there a basketball culture? Does basketball constitute a speech community? How do basketball and basketball culture help players and coaches fight through adversity? What is the role of resilience within basketball culture? Interviews, using ethnography of communication approaches, were used to uncover elements …

Perceptions Of The Discipleship Process In The Methodist Church In Kenya : A Study On Discipleship In Context Using The Kenyan Experience, Susan Nkatha Barriu Murithi

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Institutional Resources With Notable Foci On Psychology And Culture, Walt Lonner, Wolfgang Friedlmeier

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

The following Centers, Institutes, Programs and Units (hereafter called “entities”), all components of colleges and universities in many countries, are important resources for teaching, research, consultation and services that have some focus on psychology and culture. The aim of this list is to provide brief information about each entity and to identify the main contact person(s) at each.

Cultural Tightness-Looseness: Its Nature And Missiological Applications, David R. Dunaetz

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

The focus of much missionary work concerns sharing the gospel with others so that they may put their faith in Jesus Christ. However, members of some cultures are much more resistant to this than are members of other cultures. The concept of cultural tightness-looseness helps explain why some cultures are more closed to the gospel than are others. Tight cultures, in contrast to loose cultures, have strong social norms, violations of which are met with intense sanctions. Numerous recent studies reveal the antecedents, consequences, and the geographical distribution of cultural tightness-looseness. There are important missiological implications at the societal level, …

"Our Roots:": Latinx Parents' Language Ideologies Concerning Bilingualism, Akanne S. Torres Beltran

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Language is a fundamental component of one's identity, as well as a means of surviving in a globalizing world. This study draws upon sixteen narratives of first-generation Mexican and Puerto Rican parents in Central Florida to answer the research question: What are the language ideologies of Mexican and Puerto Rican immigrant parents towards the English Language acquisition and Spanish Language retention of their children? The information was gathered through semi-structured interviews and it aimed to learn how and if they value English and Spanish bilingualism and whether it was desired for their children. On the one hand, they are aware …

With Regard To Programmatic Advertising, Are Lewis' Findings On Cultural Dimensions Still Valid For Millennials In The 21st Century?, Robert Niemi

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

This bachelor thesis discusses new forms of advertising with respect to cultural communication. Specifically, it analyzes whether the Lewis Model of Cross-Cultural Communication needs to be updated with regard to programmatic advertising and millennials in the 21st century. In order to do so, a survey among internationals in various countries from different cultures was conducted to gather information. The survey consisted of 24 different questions on the participant's cultural background and their perception of programmatic advertising. Finally, this paper had to conclude that there was not sufficient evidence present in the survey to actually update the Lewis Model of Cross-Cultural …

An Investigation Of Perspectives On Mental Illness Across Race And Ethnicity, Emily Stark

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

"Previous research done on mental illness stigma and race and ethnicity has failed to properly recognize the complexity of identity and cultural influences and how these factors impact people’s perceptions of mental illness. These studies tend to insinuate that any differences of beliefs found between groups are due to race or ethnicity, when in fact this is an imprudent conclusion. In this thesis, a critical analysis of the literature on mental illness stigma and race and ethnicity determines that categorizing people into large homogenous groups based on race or ethnicity results in an inaccurate picture of what people believe about …

From Fetish To Fashion: Japanese Style As Commodity In 19th And 20th Century Britain, Rebecca Schmiegel

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Japanese representation in art and design brought about an age when, according to a reporter at a 1878 international exhibition in Paris, “even the greatest mistresses of European crafts lay down their weapons in shame.”1 women’s fashions were able to transcend national borders through the development of Japanese designs, Orientalist ideals, and the importance of the body. Eastern eroticism was heightened through British designers, as seen in the development of the Western kimono. From Fetish to Fashion focuses on how the relationship between the state and culture can be established by an unexpected medium: women’s fashion.

This thesis examines how …

Evangelical Faith And Culture In The Lives Of Vietnam’S Upland Hmong - 1987-2017, Jim Lewis

Biblical and Theological Studies Faculty Works

This paper centers on the contemporary conversion movement to Christianity among the Hmong of the Northern Mountainous Region (NMR). Taking place within the brief scope of only 30 years, religious change among the 1.2 million highland Hmong in Vietnam’s fourteen provinces has resulted in some 330,000 declaring they have exchanged many traditional beliefs for faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They have embraced substantially the same faith as the Tin Lanh Church, which first came to Vietnam in 1911, one of Vietnam’s six officially approved religions. It is reasonable to claim that a mass movement of this magnitude among a …

Future Of Appalachian Culture, Emily Hilliard, Travis Stimeling, Michael Kline, Carrie Kline, Trevor Mckenzie, Nancy Abrams, Torey Siebart, Chris Haddox, Mehmet Oztan, West Virginia University Press

Exhibit Panels

Appalachia is often associated with its traditional arts and culture, but that does not mean that we are stuck in the past. Local traditions often play a crucial role in galvanizing forward-thinking cultural institutions, involving artists and workers alike in making new futures that are still distinctively Appalachian. This section of the exhibit highlights this kind of work from the West Virginia Humanities Council, Arthurdale Heritage, and more, connecting to a traditional past to new traditions yet to be forged.

From Sensorimotor Dependencies To Perceptual Practices: Making Enactivism Social, Alejandro Arango

Philosophy Faculty Scholarship

Proponents of enactivism should be interested in exploring what notion of action best captures the type of action–perception link that the view proposes, such that it covers all the aspects in which our doings constitute and are constituted by our perceiving. This article proposes and defends the thesis that the notion of sensorimotor dependencies is insufficient to account for the reality of human perception and that the central enactive notion should be that of perceptual practices. Sensorimotor enactivism is insufficient because it has no traction on socially dependent perceptions (SDPs), which are essential to the role and significance of …

Kimberley Transitions, Collaborating To Care For Our Common Home: Beginnings…, Sandra Wooltorton, Sandy Toussaint, Anne Poelina, Anne Jennings, Stephen Muecke, Kevin Keneally, Jacqueline Remond, Arjati Schipf, Louisa Stredwick

Nulungu Research Papers

This scoping paper is a preliminary introduction to the aspirations, interrelated literature and research involved in development of the Kimberley Transitions Project. Our focus is on Western Australia’s Kimberley region, a landscape of immense natural and cultural significance. Along with the rest of Australia, and indeed the world in which we all live, the Kimberley is on the verge of major climate, political, social and economic change. The direction of changes being proposed by governments and industry are regularly criticised, both globally and locally, by individuals and organisations concerned about damage to its rich biodiversity and cultural integrity. With the …

Toward Engaging The Secular: Charles Taylor's Modern Social Imaginaries, Human Flourishing, And Theological Method, Jenifer A. Daley

Dissertations

Increasing secularization seems to fly in the face of Christian proposals for a Scripture-only principle for theology. The question that this dissertation explores is "How will Christian theology tackle the resulting church-society impasse in a way that is both faithful to Scripture and intelligible contemporaneously without appearing to privilege one aspect over the other?" That is, "What form should theological method take to efficaciously engage the secular?" This study suggests that the answer might lie in an innovative fusion of Scripture with borrowed concepts from secular culture. Thus, this dissertation responds to the problem of the need for robust, multidimensional …

Kurdish Culture And Identity: Building The Homeland In Tennessee, Steve Wininger

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Kurds are the largest ethnic group in the world without their own state, and are one of the most controversial, overlooked and understudied ethnic groups in academic research. In the field of communication, there is very little research of the Kurdish diaspora in the United States. Identity is a complex subject in itself, but for the Kurds it is even more complicated because of the controversy surrounding them, their claims, and their status as a stateless ethnic group. The necessity for the Kurds to keep their culture and identity has cost them their freedom, homes, and lives, yet they …

Examining Culturally Responsive Understandings Within An Undergraduate Teacher Education Program, Kelly M. Gomez Johnson, Anne E. Karabon, Derrick A. Nero

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

This article examines how a group of elementary and secondary preservice teachers engaged in understanding “culture” and culturally responsive teaching while enrolled in an early program course. We analyze how culturally-related experiences, emotions, and perspectives contribute to the overall understanding of cultural competency training in teacher education. Preservice teachers varied in their use of individual- and structural-orientations, in isolation and in combination, as they developed and progressed as socially just teachers. These findings reveal that despite attempts to develop and shift toward asset-based perspectives, far more culturally embedded coursework and practicum experiences are necessary. This paper includes a reflection on …

Festivals And Celebrations, Megan Hall

Children's Book and Media Review

People in all corners of the world love to remember important occasions with large celebrations. Although what occasions are chosen for remembrance and how they are celebrated is different across the world, every country and people has its own set of festivals. This book describes some of the most noteworthy festivals and celebrations enjoyed around the world. Celebrations in the book are as varied as a hot air balloon festival in New Mexico to building human towers in Spain. Children will love learning about festivals and celebrations from around the world as they read this book.

Yellow Fever: Asian Representation In Western Pornography, Chye Shoong Chin

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This research project seeks to explore the various implications porn films make on Asians Orientalism. Generally, Asians in pornography are composed of multiple negative archetypes, all based on the underlining purpose of servitude. Characters are portrayed through stereotypes including the use of colonial language to misrepresent Asian men and women in both straight and gay porn videos. Referred to as Orientalism, this ideology exploits Asian characters to privilege the White, male viewer. My research project investigates the following question: How are Asians represented in gay and straight pornographic films and pornographic scenes?

I will be applying scholarly arguments to various …

Italian American Literature And Food: A Match Made In The Kitchen A Handbook, Monica Marchi

English Dissertations - Archive

Food is a recurrent theme in Italian American literature and authors have used it to highlight the importance of family, women, and the community at large and to teach about Italian customs to the U.S. public. Oftentimes, for the older Italian immigrants, food triggers fond memories of the Old country, while, for the younger generations, it might cause shame that leads to clashes with the older generations. Characters use food as a tool to express power and, later, status and to communicate. Food also defines relationships, gives an identity to the Italian immigrants on foreign soil, and allows them to …

Developing Cultural Competency In Anesthesia Through Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists, Emma To

Doctoral Projects

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are the main anesthesia providers in over 70% of rural hospitals providing anesthesia. Each year, over 2,000 student registered nurse anesthetists (SRNAs) graduate and continue as licensed CRNAs. This Doctor of Nurse Practice (DNP) project emphasizes the importance of developing culturally competent providers in anesthesia by promoting early outreach in cultural competence education of SRNAs. Cultural competence is described as possessing characteristics of congruent attitudes, awareness, and conduct that provides and enables effective skills in cross-cultural encounters. Encompassing cultural competency education early in the SRNAs profession may provide valuable lifelong cultural skills that will benefit …

Betel Mania, From Culture To Cancer: Digestive And Discursive Uses Of The Betel Nut (Areca Catechu) In Guam, Anne Perez Hattori

Pacific Studies

Chewed in the Marianas for centuries, pugua, known scientifically as Areca catechu and colloquially as betel nut, is the world’s fourth most commonly used psychoactive substance after tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine-containing beverages. It has and continues to serve numerous cultural, social, political, medicinal, and economic purposes. At the same time, health concerns are mounting against pugua due to its classification as a carcinogen by the World Health Organization, as well as to high rates of cancer among Chamorros and to federal research funds that promote an antichewing agenda. This paper uses a range of sources to examine the historical use …

Winning War In A Globalized World: Utilizing Women & Gender Initiatives In 21st Century Conflict, Emerald M. Archer

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Three thousand years of recorded history has reserved warfighting for men and, in 2017, we continue to rely on ideas of hegemonic masculinity to understand who participates in war. However, women have played a vital role in the context of warfare from its inception. In the twenty-first century, women’s service is critical to the types of conflicts militaries regularly confront – specifically, counter insurgency and peacekeeping operations. The intersection of gender and security today provides new routes to peaceful prosperity globally. Applying gender initiatives to militaries – whether it means creating a gender balanced force, the integration of women into …