BU Libraries self-care "Take a coloring break" posters

These posters were created to encourage self-care and healthy habits during exam periods at BU

Adventures in Tena

Postcard from Haley Parson, during the Linfield College Semester Abroad Program at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuado

Social Integration and Suicide Rates in Japan: An Analysis

Japan has seen extreme changes in its social structures since the end of the 1800s. Before 1868, Japan practiced an exclusionary foreign policy known as sakoku (Japanese for “seclusion”), keeping Western influence out of the country for hundreds of years (Perez 1998:62). The end of this period, however, came with an intense modernization of Japan known as the Meiji Restoration (Stanlaw 2017). From this point to the present day, Japan has seen an increase in Western social structures and values, all while trying to retain aspects of its collectivist society. The economic growth of Japan was halted with the 1990 Asian financial crisis, an event that set off high rates of suicide for the country. While the initial increase of suicides from 1997 to 1998 in Japan has been attributed to middle-aged males ages 40-59, the subsequent years saw a shift in high suicide rates amongst youths aged 20-39 years old. These rates would remain high until the 2010s, where rates began declining in 2012 (Chen et al. 2015). One of the explanations for these high suicide rates often cited by researchers is the cultural history of suicide in Japan. Suicide has been seen in Japan since its use by samurai (Japanese warrior class prominent in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1867)) in their commitment of seppuku, a ritualistic act of committing suicide. Others point to the neutral attitudes of death held by both Buddhism and Shinto, two prominent types of religion in Japanese society, to explain these high rates (Kingston 2011). However, this explanation is still criticized by many, as, despite Japan’s history with suicide, the act itself remains stigmatized (Chen et al. 2015). The explanation for these suicides can be seen when analyzing the effects of individualism on Japanese society. With the use of Durkheim’s theory of suicide and social integration, as well as the theory of social support, I argue that both the initial increase in suicide rates amongst middle- aged men and the high rates amongst youth are caused by changes in perceived and received social support. These changes are attributed both to anomie (in the case of suicides for middle-aged males), as well as shifts in individualism (suicides amongst youths). The tension between individualistic ideas held by many youths and the collectivist nature of many aspects of Japanese society has caused for a decrease in perceived social support, which has attributed to high rates of suicide amongst youths. With nationwide programs for comprehensive suicide prevention, Japan has seen decreases in these rates

Sending Love Home: The Effects of Global Care Chains on Economics, Family, and Agency

Globalization has allowed for an increasing interconnectedness of people all around the globe, but this comes at a price to the livelihoods of many individuals and traditional structures that attempt to remain unaffected from the influence of globalization. Issues like family relations and international migration are prevalent in the Philippines, where many women become migrant workers to support their families back home. These women take jobs in families as domestic workers, doing household chores and caring for the children while the mothers enter the workforce. This process is known as a global care chain, a term coined by the sociologist Arlie Hochschild (2002). Global care chains have led to the interactions of people from different parts of the world; the effects of these chains on international migration and family relations show a form of cultural differentialism, seen through economic and gendered relationships of those involved in these interactions. Globalization has caused changes in these relationships, with power being a main driver in the seemingly-perpetual cycle of these care chains. As long as the economies in these developing countries make jobs like domestic work in other countries more economically appealing, the cycle of international migration will continue to be the most reasonable option for those who can afford to do so

Libraries outside the BU Bubble: Boston Public Library (1)

Poster spotlighting the Boston Public Library to promote awareness of Boston libraries other than Boston University's Mugar Library

The Essence of Hemlocks

Poetry by Haley Huelsman

"Congrats Graduates" Mugar Library 2017

These posters were created by the Mugar Greene Scholars to celebrate the graduation of the class of 2017

Cultural Bubbles in Ecuador

While still in the midst of their study abroad experiences, students at Linfield College write reflective essays. Their essays address issues of cultural similarity and difference, compare lifestyles, mores, norms, and habits between their host countries and home, and examine changes in perceptions about their host countries and the United States. In this essay, Haley Parson describes her observations during her study abroad program at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador

Diboson Production at D0

We present recent diboson production measurements from the D0 experiment at Fermilab's Tevatron collider. The production of ZZ was observed using leptonic final states. Zgamma->nunugamma was observed and used to set the most stringent limits from a hadron collider on anomalous Zgammagamma and ZZgamma trilinear gauge couplings (TGCs). WW events with leptonic final states and WW+WZ events with semi-leptonic final states were used to set limits on anomalous WWZ and WWgamma TGCs. Finally, limits on anomalous WWZ and WWgamma TGCs were obtained from a combination of the fully-leptonic Wgamma, WW, and WZ channels and the semi-leptonic WW and WZ channels, giving the most stringent limits from a hadron collider.Comment: Proceeding for the European Physical Society Europhysics Conference on High Energy Physics July 16-22, 2009 in Krakow, Polan