Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Dimensionalising Cultural Implications Of The Multinationals In The Niger Delta: A Consequentialist Approach For Resistance, Uzoechi Nwagbara

Dr Uzoechi Nwagbara

The presence of multinational oil corporations in Nigeria – which include Agip, Chevron, Elf, Mobil, Shell, and Total among others have come with heavy consequences to the nation’s cultural heritage and identity in the global marketplace. This is particularly the case in the Niger delta region of Nigeria considered as the goose that lays the golden egg, that is, oil, which has been described in many quarters as a major source of the nation’s malaise. The cultural and environmental damage of oil exploration as well as the pauperisation of the locals is inextricably linked to the ruse of global capitalism, …

Book Review - Allison Levy, Widowhood And Visual Culture In Early Modern Europe, Louise D'Arcens

Louise D'Arcens

The past decade has witnessed the appearance of a number of excellent edited essay collections dealing with widowhood in the European past, including Louise Mirrer’s Upon My Husband’s Death: Widows in the Literature and Histories of Medieval Europe (1992), Cindy L. Carlson and Angela Jane Weisl’s Constructions of Widowhood and Virginity in the Middle Ages (1999), and Sandra Cavallo and Lyndan Warner’s Widowhood in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (1999). The essays assembled by Allison Levy in Widowhood and Visual Culture in Early Modern Europe offer a distinctive contribution to the existing scholarship, shifting the focus away from social, legal, …

Book Review Of: Tracking King Kong: A Hollywood Icon In World Culture, Brian M. Yecies

Dr Brian Yecies

No abstract provided.

Cultural Flows Beneath Death Note: Catching The Wave Of Popular Japanese Culture In China, Peter Goderie, Brian M. Yecies

Dr Brian Yecies

The government of the People’s Republic of China has often been criticized for its policies regarding freedom of expression. Cinema in China has been central to this criticism, particularly with respect to the distribution of foreign films. This article uses a case study of the Japanese film Death Note (Kaneko Shūsuke, 2006) to advance current understanding of Chinese cinema found in important studies such as Chu (2002), Zhang (2004) and Berry and Farquhar (2006). To better understand the controversy surrounding Death Note in the Chinese context, this article explores the historical precursors to the Chinese Communist Party’s ban on horror …

International Trade, Factor Mobility And The Persistence Of Cultural-Institutional Diversity, Marianna Belloc, Samuel Bowles

Samuel Bowles

Cultural and institutional differences among nations may result in differences in the ratios of marginal costs of goods in autarchy and thus be the basis of specialization and comparative advantage, as long as these differences are not eliminated by trade. We provide an evolutionary model of endogenous preferences and institutions under autarchy, trade and factor mobility in which multiple asymptotically stable cultural-institutional conventions may exist, among which transitions may occur as a result of decentralized and un-coordinated actions of employers or employees. We show that: i) specialization and trade may arise and enhance welfare even when the countries are identical …

In Search Of America, Ellen Bigler

Ellen Bigler

Taken collectively, Latinos are now the largest minority group in the USA. This chapter, with a focus on U.S. Latinos, explores the changing face of the USA in recent decades and the significance of this demographic change for the ongoing construction and negotiation of an American identity. The culture wars (e.g., debates over the canon, curriculum, and language) of the late 1980s and 1990s, and the contested role of schools in the arena of critical multiculturalism, are examined for insights into the bases of resistance to change. The author draws from her experiences in public schools as both a teacher …

Dangerous Discourses, Ellen Bigler

Ellen Bigler

Contemporary historians of U.S. immigration and ethnicity, and those who chart the experiences of Puerto Ricans on the mainland, may recognize the flaws inherent in usingthe "immigrant analogy" to evaluate and anticipate the Puerto Rican experience on themainland. However, my ethnographic research in an upstate New York city with a growingPuerto Rican population suggests that such perspectives have yet to make their way intothe mainstream. In analysis of community and school discourse over a three-year period, Ifound ethnic success stories being used by community "old-timers" to "discipline" thosewho are judged to have failed through a dearth of hard work. Within …

More Than Food: A Comparison Of Ad Images From German And American Culinary Magazines, Pamela K. Morris

Pamela K. Morris

Visual messages provide society with models for behavior, including what to eat and which gender does domestic and professional cooking. Review and comparison of advertising images from two countries highlight differences in culture and gender roles which otherwise seem natural and mainly go unnoticed. In this study images from 1,250 advertisements found in 30 German and American culinary magazines were reviewed for food and gender characteristics. Among the findings, German publications offered more fruit/vegetable and juice/water/coffee/tea ads whereas U.S. periodicals contained more pasta/bread/rice/flour and breakfast fare ads. Men were more often depicted as professional chefs than women across both countries. …

Calo Of A Chicano From "Carlos-Malo, Califas", Refugio I. Rochin

Refugio I. Rochin

Caló is the language used in Chicano neighborhoods; a source of identity and intimacy among English Language Learners with Spanish roots. Caló shapes character and lives of many who cross-communicate within the US and abroad. This is a story of my life with Caló - as a global consultant and academic with experiences in several different communities and countries, from the 1960s to 2012.

Teenage Marriage And The Socioeconomic Status Of Hmong Women, Pa Der Vang

Pa Der Vang, PhD, MSW, LICSW