Social benefits and cultural consequences of basketball in Alaska

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2013This dissertation is an ethnographic study of the social and cultural significance of the game of basketball in the community of Nenana, Alaska. Since the building of high school gymnasiums across rural Alaska in the mid-1970s, basketball has become a popular and socially significant activity in rural Alaskan communities. The dissertation focuses on the nature of the social relations that arise from playing basketball and related activities and the constitution of a social space within which these relations become meaningful. It argues that the sport is a metaphor for community cohesiveness and ultimately a reflection of the social and cultural construction of community itself. Moreover, basketball has an effect on the everyday life of a community by providing a symbolic stage, which reinforces community identity and a sense of belonging through the renegotiation of interpersonal relations, dissemination of cultural values, and storytelling.Chapter 1.1. Introduction -- 1.1.1. Research questions -- 1.2. The community of Nenana -- 1.2.1. History -- 1.2.2. The community today -- 1.2.3. Demographic challenges -- 1.3. An anthropologist in Nenana -- 1.4. Alaskan basketball literature -- 1.5. Sports and social theory -- 1.6. Sports settings as symbolic spaces -- Chapter 2.1. History of basketball in Alaska: a brief overview -- 2.1.1. Basketball as an indoor sport for students -- 2.2. Basketball in Alaska -- 2.2.1. Organizational efforts -- 2.3. Basketball adopted and adapted -- 2.3.1. Why basketball? -- 2.4. Basketball in Nenana -- 2.5. Conclusion -- Chapter 3.1. Basketball nights in Nenana -- 3.1.1. Basketball games; a wealth of symbolisms -- 3.2. Analyzing the experience of high school basketball -- 3.2.1. Practices: learning the rules -- 3.2.2. Written rules: eligibility and the ASAA contract -- 3.2.3. Unwritten rules -- 3.2.4. Educative purpose and the teaching of values -- 3.2.5. Understanding conflict -- 3.2.6. Making friends in practice -- 3.3. Road trips in Alaska -- 3.4. The game: living in the moment -- 3.5. Watching the game: spectatorship and participation -- 3.6. Conclusion -- Chapter 4.1. The ups and downs of Nenana's school spirit -- 4.2. Community spirit in Nenana -- 4.3. The social function of basketball -- 4.3.1. Pick-up games -- 4.3.2. High school basketball nights -- 4.3.3. Nenana Invitational Tournament (NIT) -- 4.4. The heart of the game and collective memory -- 4.4.1. The "heart of the game" -- 4.4.2. Collective memory: consolidation of the social effects -- 4.5. Conclusion -- Chapter 5.1. Gym life -- 5.1.1. The gym as a contested space -- 5.2. The gym: a symbolic world -- 5.2.1. The gymnasium deconstructed -- 5.3. The gym versus the street -- 5.4. The gym and the world; connecting people -- 5.5. Conclusion -- Chapter 6.1. Conclusion -- 6.1.1. More than science -- References

Band-gap tuning at the strong quantum confinement regime in magnetic semiconductor EuS thin films

Ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra of nanoscaled EuS thin films reveal a blue shift of the energy between the top-valence and bottom-conduction bands. This band-gap tuning changes smoothly with decreasing film thickness and becomes significant below the exciton Bohr diameter ~3.5nm indicating strong quantum confinement effects. The results are reproduced in the framework of the potential morphing method in Hartree Fock approximation. The large values of the effective mass of the holes, due to localization of the EuS ƒ-states, limit the blue shift to about 0.35eV. This controllable band-gap tuning of magnetic semiconductor EuS renders it useful for merging spintronics and optoelectronics

Aleut baseball: Cultural creation and innovation through a sporting event

Le baseball aléoute est un sport populaire pratiqué par les Sugpiat de Nanwalek et de Port Graham, à l’extrémité de la péninsule de Kenai en Alaska. Bien qu’il présente quelques ressemblances avec le baseball américain et le lapta russe, le baseball aléoute doit être considéré comme une innovation culturelle sugpiaq. Ce jeu, que l’on pratique pour le plaisir ou pour la compétition, est l’occasion d’évènements communautaires qui rassemblent souvent les villages et les communautés sugpiaq. Cet article expose quelques-uns des éléments fondamentaux qui font du baseball aléoute un véhicule d’expression de la culture sugpiaq, et un canal de renégociation et de revitalisation des normes et des valeurs établies. De plus, en examinant le baseball aléoute sous l’angle du concept du jeu de Victor Turner, les auteurs avancent que les sports et les jeux procurent à l’innovation et à l’expérimentation culturelle d’immenses opportunités, en plus de renforcer l’identité du groupe. Enfin, cet article explore la capacité des sports et des jeux à lier les perceptions globales aux réalités locales.Aleut baseball is a popular game played by the Sugpiat of Nanwalek and Port Graham on the lower Kenai Peninsula of Alaska. Despite its resemblance to American baseball and Russian lapta, Aleut baseball should be considered a Sugpiaq cultural novelty. Ranging from recreational to competitive, the game is a communal occasion, which often brings together Sugpiaq villages and communities. This article presents some of the profound elements that make Aleut baseball expressive of Sugpiaq culture, and a channel for renegotiating and re-energising established norms and values. Furthermore, looking at Aleut baseball through Victor Turner’s concept of play, the authors argue that sports and games provide immense opportunities for cultural innovation and experimentation, as well as for strengthening of group identity. Finally, the article explores the capacity of sports and games to link global perceptions with local realities