Digital Commons Network^™

“Tengo Que Habla Español. Yo No Entiendo Ingles!”: A Qualitative Case Study On A Bilingual Child With Autism Spectrum, Hyun Uk Kim, Marilyn Roberti

The Journal of Special Education Apprenticeship

Language differences in children with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) often lead professionals to believe that children with ASC cannot or should not become bilingual, thus advising parents with a child with ASC raised in a bilingual household to adhere to English only. Emerging studies, however, attest that children with ASC can become bilingual, and that there are no language differences between bilingual and monolingual children with ASC. Although these findings are promising, very few studies investigated external factors, such as cultural expectations, school practices and other pertinent factors involved in raising and educating children with ASC bilingually. Drawing from video-and …

Reaching The Otaku's Mecca: The Cultural Growth Of Geeks Journeying In Japan, Amanda Mitchell

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

There is a population of people that refer to themselves as otaku, which has come to mean someone who is a fan—to the point of adoration, in most cases—of Japanese media. For otaku, going to Japan is a journey of zealous force—almost a pilgrimage—to the Mecca of the otaku experience. I have undertaken an autoethnographic study that observed a few American otaku traveling in Japan. I recorded the events of each day and the behaviors that I and the otaku with me exhibited during these events, attempting to pay special attention to the tensions between otaku subjects and specific …

Center Stage: Operatic Culture And Nation Building In Nineteenth-Century Central Europe, Philipp Ther

Central European Studies

Grand palaces of culture, opera theaters marked the center of European cities like the cathedrals of the Middle Ages. As opera cast its spell, almost every European city and society aspired to have its own opera house, and dozens of new theaters were constructed in the course of the "long" nineteenth century. At the time of the French Revolution in 1789, only a few, mostly royal, opera theaters, existed in Europe. However, by the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries nearly every large town possessed a theater in which operas were performed, especially in Central Europe, the region upon …

“Why Do You Sing To Me?”: A Case Study Of Form And Function Of Children's Songs In The Caribbean Diaspora Culture In South Florida, Finley Walker

Masters Theses

How does a child gain a musical identity? Music resides in the depths of personhood. Even before birth we are all touched by its power. Music is a language in that it communicates--thoughts, feelings, desires, information, and more. As children grow physically and mentally, they also grow musically. A person's musical development will be directly influenced by their culture and family. The following qualitative study looks at the form and function of children's songs, specifically children's songs from the diasporic Caribbean culture in South Florida. Twenty-one interviews, including 53 participants, were conducted to see how children's songs might play a …

Hybrid Gulf — Excavating Future Identities, Robert Canak

Theses and Dissertations

This Project examines the coexistence of two cultures?–?in this case the host Gulf, and the imported Western?–?and addresses certain problems that still need attention. This Project celebrates the creation of the third, hybrid, culture as a result of their intermingling. In this Research, Postcolonial Theory? and Transitional Object Theory? are used as conceptual frameworks, and are combined with Archaeology and Design as a practice. On a personal level, the Project evolved out of my cross-cultural origin and experiences. On an academic level, the Project serves as an experiment, trying to fill the gaps in the Gulf region’s search for identity. …

Creating A Cultural Analysis Tool For The Implementation Of Ontario's Civil Mental Health Laws, Roby Dhand

PhD Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to develop a Cultural Analysis Tool (CAT). The CAT consists of specific thematic questions that can serve as a cultural and equity analysis instrument for practitioners to use in the implementation of Ontario’s civil mental health laws. The rationale behind creating the CAT is based on research suggesting that ethno-racial people with mental health disabilities experience inequities and differential outcomes while interacting with Ontario’s civil mental health laws. Given the increasing multi-racial population in Ontario, there is a need to develop mechanisms to address these intersecting issues. Other countries that have created evaluative tools …

Gettin' Weird Together: The Performance Of Identity And Community Through Cultural Artifacts Of Electronic Dance Music Culture, Andrew Matthew Wagner

Theses and Dissertations

The growing popularity of Electronic Dance Music (EDM) on nearly every continent has given rise to the transition of EDM music from underground raves to large scale, multiple-day music festivals. Attendance at EDM events, whether at concerts or festivals, is primarily dominated by today's youth generation. The number of youth attending these events continues to grow as elements of EDM are being mixed into other mainstream music genres. This increase in the popularity of EDM has been an area of research interest in the past decades for a variety of disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, marketing, and tourism. The present …

I Did That Wrong And It Sounded Good: An Ethnographic Study Of Vernacular Music Making In Higher Education, Victor Ezquerra

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to examine vernacular music making in higher education. The participants, undergraduate music education majors (N=23 for Fall, N=10 for Spring), were investigated throughout the course of the 2012-2013 academic year. A constructivist philosophical framework was applied and data were collected using several methodologies including participant observation, journals, interviews, and audiovisual and multimedia methods. Results showed that students were able to successfully learn, create, and share music in a vernacular manner. Participants took a pragmatic approach to making music. Furthermore, students engaged several aspects of music making they had not encountered in traditional music …

Use Of Task Clarification, Feedback, And Recognition To Increase Desired Behaviors Within An Organization’S Permit To Work System - Analysis Of Data Previously Collected As An Organizational Consultant, Tarek Abousaleh

Dissertations

The term ‘culture’ can be used to describe both a ‘social culture’ and a ‘work culture’. A social culture can be defined behaviorally as a pattern of overt and covert behaviors that are consequated by the verbal community and the contingency specifying rules that facilitate behavior independent of any first hand experience. It is this community that defines which behaviors are reinforced, extinguished, or punished. Similarly, a work culture can be defined as a pattern of overt and covert behaviors that are consequated by the work community (leadership, employees, self, etc.) and the contingency specifying rules that facilitate behavior/performance independent …

Cultural Accountability For Business-Practice Differences And Beyond: A Comparative Study On Bank Loan Classification Between Japan And The Usa, Kanji Kitamura

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The aim of this interdisciplinary essay is to demonstrate locally shared senses of values (“cultural values”) as the root causes of the cross-national differences in business practice between Japan and the USA; in particular bank loan classification and its value-driven consequences. For this aim, it investigates three levels of bank lending; decision-making at an individual level, bank loan classification at an organisation level and aggregate bank loans at a national level. The essay first examines the historical debate in economic anthropology, with the focus on cultural values. The second part explores research-proven differences in individualism and collectivism. The third part …

Bringing 'New Wind' To The Rural Interior Of The French Basque Country: The Association 'Haize Berri' And The Politics Of Culture, Zoe Bray

BOGA: Basque Studies Consortium Journal

This article looks at Haize Berri, a cultural association active in the rural French Basque Country from the 1980s to 2009, to reflect on the different understandings of art and culture and their political implications in the particular context of the Basque Country. Haize Berri, which in the Basque language means ‘New Wind’, a name chosen to evoke the coming of a new era, had the ambition of bringing cultural life to the rural inland of the French Basque Country. With the participation of public figures from the Basque art world, Haize Berri was at the heart of a cultural …

2014-2015, Csusb

Anthropology Department newsletter

No abstract provided.

East Vs. West: South Korean Student Acculturation, Jeremy Grabiner

Capstone Research Projects

This paper is an ethnography that explores the acculturation of South Korean exchange students at Southern Adventist university through a triangulation of information from theory, interviews, and field observation. The paper relies on Young Yun Kim’s theory of acculturation, which closely looks at the push and pull of one’s home and host culture in the process of acculturation. In my ethnography, I observed approximately 60-100 South Korean students, ages 18-23, in different social settings such as church, social dining, and study. Full participant, participant observer, and full observer were the three methods of observation used in the various social settings. …

Beyond Donors And Dollars: An Ethnographic Case Study Of International Aid And Its Agents In Mozambique, Carly Amanda Santoro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Mozambique, international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) work mainly in Mozambique's rural areas, with programs dedicated to the prevention of infectious diseases, education, access to food and clean water, gender equity, and many other concerns. Yet despite these efforts, Mozambican populations are critical of NGOs' missions and practices, and Mozambique remains one of the poorest countries in the world. To explore these issues concerning contradictions in aid in Mozambique, I employ the concept of cultural capital, which refers to cultural practices, perspectives, and beliefs in relation to one's ability to access symbolic and material goods. My thesis examines the degree to …

The Definition Of Insanity: Dialectically Communicating Student Athlete Identity And Structure In Collegiate Sport Culture, Marissa Metala Yandall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Albert Einstein famously stated that the definition of insanity is to continue to go about a process in a similar manner while expecting different results. This is the current state of collegiate athletics. Reformers and community members have high hopes for meaningful change in light of the numerous and ongoing issues of impropriety and scandal that continue to grace the sports page in daily current events. Yet, in spite of nearly one hundred years of reform efforts, the structure of collegiate sport has changed very little. How can we expect a change in the culture without making concentrated effort to …

France And Ireland In The Public Imagination, Benjamin Keatinge, Mary Pierse

Books

This engaging collection of essays considers the cultural complexities of the Franco-Irish relationship in song and story, image and cuisine, novels, paintings and poetry. It casts a fresh eye on public perceptions of the historic bonds between Ireland and France, revealing a rich variety of contact and influence. Controversy is not shirked, whether on the subject of Irish economic decline or reflecting on prominent, contentious personalities such as Ian Paisley and Michel Houellebecq. Contrasting ideas of the popular and the intellectual emerge in a study of Brendan Kennelly; recent Irish tribunals are analysed in the light of French cultural theory; …

Networks Of Users And Powers: Blackboard Software Roadmap As Cultural Practice, Diana Gellci

Wayne State University Dissertations

With the rapid growth of eLearning applications - the software providing for learning through the Internet - it has become commonplace to describe those technologies as both simple tools and user-friendly. These two vague yet suggestive terms make the operating of the technology appear as social value and any related issues as a user's problem. Interested neo-liberal groups take a step further when considering eLearning technologies as the solution for the problems faced in the field. STS studies recognize that technology fetishism is strategically employed to justify the latest developments of capitalism as technological and logical.

This doctoral study examines …

The Concept Of Culture: From The Perspective Of The Western, Malay And Tamil Scholars, S.S. Ramiah

Research Publications (2011 to 2015)

Culture is one of the key elements and a valuable treasure of human life. This is because, it is deemed to be an important factor in order to distinguish humans from other lives in the universe especially animals. This research is conducted in order to reveal the concept of culture described by western, Malay and Tamil scholars. In an effort to find the definition of the term culture, the researcher found that there is a disparity between the western, Malay and Tamil scholars. Thus the researcher looked separately the view of western, Malay and Tamil scholars in order to see …

Culture Wars: A Quest For Justice In Arizona, Crystal Lynne Pfeiffer

Master's Theses

The Southwest is the location of an ongoing culture clash between proponents of a unified "American" culture and Mexican-American culture. The significance of the debate is not just about Mexican-American studies; it reflects a broader debate about individual and collective identity in the United States. The two cultures have historically had a contentious relationship that is further intensified by their geographical proximity to one another. Some of the tensions have culminated in a conflict within the school system between supporters and opponents of Mexican-American studies. One side of the debate sees the program as a means to help students succeed …

Information And Communication Technology In Child Welfare: The Need For Culture-Centered Computing, Richard J. Smith, Tara Eaton

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article discusses the introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) in the California child welfare system. Drawing from anthropological literature, the authors emphasize the role of work practice and context associated with new ICT implementation. This case study uses a documentary- historical approach to analyze interviews with 386 workers who used the Child Welfare Services/Case Management System (CWS/CMS) between 1997 and 2005. Data show the implementation of CWS/CMS impacted the work practice of the welfare system. The authors recommend culture-centered computing for future developments and upgrades of ICT in child welfare.

Impacts Of Expatriates' International Experience On Self-Identity, Mandy M. Chan

Theses and Dissertations

Expatriation is becoming an attractive career path for many people due to the global economic movement. People experience career transitions due to change of organization, locations, responsibilities, reporting structures, and work groups. Expatriates in particular experience more extreme changes because of challenges they encounter from language differences, geographical distance across countries, culture, habit, and life style. These changes influence people's perspective in seeing things, including their self-identity. The aim of this research was to explore the evolvement of expatriates' self-identity. A qualitative research design using reflexive narrative inquiry was employed. Seven current and former expatriates from Australia, Japan, Netherlands, United …

'Det Ny Fra Thy': Historical Innovation In A Peripheral Place, Poul Houe

The Bridge

When we say in English that a certain innovation "takes place" or in Danish: finder sted, which means literally, "finds place" -both linguistic idioms, "takes" or "finds" place, suggest that the role of place is not accidental. This is obviously pivotal in geography, but also in anthropology, sociology, philosophy, and a host of cultural studies, sometimes in the form of "mental geography." Recent Danish book titles suggest as much: Dan Ringgaard's Stedssans (Sense of Place), Anne-Marie Mai's Hvor litteraturen finder sted (Where literature Takes Place) in 3 volumes, and Ringgaard & Mai's anthology Sted (Place).

The Art Of Collaboration In Academic And Clinical Partnerships, Kelsey Spencer Bennett

Online Theses and Dissertations

Occupational therapists in various settings share a professional identity valuing occupation. Their socialization into a practice setting is context-dependent, in terms of the skills needed and roles to be enacted. Collaboration between occupational therapists in clinical and academic settings benefits each participant, along with presenting challenges given the systems where they work. The purpose of this project was to delve into understanding the culture of the settings (academic and clinical) influencing a community-based research partnership. Through a mini-ethnographic approach, similarities and differences of culture emerged describing the depth of components for the collaboration between research group members. This description may …

A Model Of Jordanian Firm’S Trainees’ Acceptance Of A Web-Based Training, Amin A. Shaqrah, Al Hareth Abu Husain

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This study investigates E-learning technologies such as web based training “WBT” as a one of many products which wide used in all corporate training for delivering educational content to their employees. In order to achieve a better view and validate the study, researcher attempts to give details of how technology acceptance models help Jordanian trainees firms in accepting e- learning technology, and how if applied will result more attention to usage behavior. The empirical examination of study model which developed based on Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology ”UTAUT” which indicates that the Jordanian trainees’ firms’ usage behavior …

Seeds Of The Real People: How Cherokee Folk Ways Conflicted With Colonial Culture, Christopher Gunn

Masters Theses

The diplomatic relationship between the Cherokee and English colonists (and later the United States) was complex and affected by many variables. Chief among them were the cultural differences between the two peoples and how those differences interacted. Because the two groups were from long separated and isolated continents, their cultural ways were almost entirely alien to one another, with only the shared nature of the human condition to give them any common ground. Initially they had much to offer each other, with trade and military alliance becoming the foundation of their relationship. As the two communities grew closer together, however, …

Tickling The Palate: Gastronomy In Irish Literature And Culture, Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire, Eamon Maher

Books

This volume of essays, which originated in the inaugural Dublin Gastronomy Symposium held in the Dublin Institute of Technology in June 2012, offers fascinating insights into the significant role played by gastronomy in Irish literature and culture. The book opens with an exploration of food in literature, covering figures as varied as Maria Edgeworth, James Joyce, Charles Dickens, Enid Blyton, John McGahern and Sebastian Barry. Other chapters examine culinary practices among the Dublin working classes in the 1950s, offering a stark contrast to the haute cuisine served in the iconic Jammet's Restaurant; new trends among Ireland's 'foodie' generation; and the …

Analogue Angels And Digital Diamonds: Tracing The Origins Of New Media Art, John C. Ryan

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper explores the key vocabularies, themes, ideas, artistic movements, and technological innovations contributing to the development of the digital arts over time. As new media theorists have argued, one of the defining features of the digital arts is the break-down of divisions between art forms, and between art and society (for example, Manovich 2001, 2005). This paper outlines how digital processes intersect with aesthetic and conceptual forms. Relevant frameworks, such as materiality, embodiment, hybridity, interactivity, and narrativity, form the origins of the genre. Digital artworks, like digital media, are interactive, participatory, dynamic, and customizable, incorporating shifting data flows and …

Taking People's History Back To The People: An Approach To Making History Popular, Relevant, And Intellectual, David H. Lempert

Democracy & Education

This article takes the educational vision of people’s history an additional step, combining it with experiential approaches to democratic education that have developed over the past century and presenting the tools for students and adults to take control of their own historical study, control their heritage, and personalize the study of history on the very landscapes of their own communities. Through this approach, history becomes an exciting democratic exercise not merely in storytelling but in discovery of, participation in, and interaction with history on the very grounds of the community. The new approach to history, being tested in several communities, …

The Role Of Culture In Making Psychiatric Diagnosis: Hwabyung (火病) And Neurasthenia (神經衰弱), Jonghyun Lee

2013 New England Association for Asian Studies Conference

The Role of Culture in Making Psychiatric Diagnosis: Hwabyung (火病) and Neurasthenia (神經衰弱)

My paper looks at two psychiatric illnesses and discusses their social and cultural dimensions. The two illnesses to be compared are the Korean affliction called hwabyung, and the once-popular Western malady labeled neurasthenia, a common ailment in 19th century America.

Neurasthenia was defined as “a disorder characterized by feelings of fatigue and lassitude,” which is caused by the nervous system. That definition could fit most people at some time or another. Hwabyung, on the other hand, means “fire illness.” Koreans believe that chronic distress can …

Cultural Components Of Infant Mortality In Asante, Ghana, Adriana Matos, Dr. William Olsen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Among the Asante people of central Ghana, health and healing are conceptualized quite differently than the western biomedical model. Religious cosmology has special significance in relation to healing. Health is thought of holistically; every illness is a product of physical, spiritual, emotional, and cosmological forces. Illnesses manifest themselves in the body, but unlike the biomedical view of health, it is not the bodily affliction that is the root of the problem. In order to cure a disease, the true cause must be discovered and resolved. Although many of the traditional beliefs have been pushed out or reduced by the growing …