Queerying activism through the lens of the sociology of everyday life

The approaching 30th anniversary of the introduction of the 1988 Local Government Act offers an opportunity to reflect on the nature of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) activism in Britain. The protests against its implementation involved some of the most iconic moments of queer activism. Important though they are, these singular, totemic moments give rise to, and are sustained by small, almost unobtrusive acts which form part of LGB people’s everyday lives. This article aims to contribute to a re-thinking of queer activism where iconic activism is placed in a synergetic relationship with the quieter practices in the quotidian lives of LGB people. The authors interrogate a series of examples, drawn from three studies, to expand ideas about how activism is constituted in everyday life. They discuss the findings in relation to three themes: the need to forge social bonds often forms a prompt to action; disrupting the binary dualism between making history and making a life; and the transformative potential of everyday actions/activism. The lens of the sociology of everyday life (1) encourages a wider constituency of others to engage in politics, and (2) problematises the place of iconic activism.Peer reviewe

Vodcast Impact on Students\u27 Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions

Purpose: This paper uses structural equation modeling to assess the effectiveness of Vodcasts (video podcasts) as part of a university’s communication strategy with prospective students. Design/methodology/approach: Three theoretical models were tested using a structural equation model. Findings: We find that perceived informativeness, credibility, and irritation of the advertising are directly related to the value of the Vodcast advertising. However of those three factors, only the informativeness is directly related to the intent to take further action toward enrollment. In addition, while prior work has suggested that perceived entertainment of advertising positively influences its perceived value, we find that for these university Vodcasts, perceived entertainment is not a statistically significant factor. Research limitations/implications: The results suggest that for Vodcasts used for these purposes, less attention should be given to entertainment value, and more attention should be focused on providing useful information in a manner that is credible and not irritating to students. Originality/value: Vodcasts have become part of the Internet multimedia experience and have been integrated into universities’ web-based promotion strategies. While prior work has examined general advertising on the web, few studies have considered the impact of the interactive medium of Vodcasts on attitudes and behavioral intentions

Developing Stature Estimation Regression Formulae for the Arikara of the Larson and Leavenworth Sites

Stature is an important descriptive characteristic of an individual. Living stature cannot be measured directly in archaeological populations and thus must be estimated by bone. Current stature estimation formulae cannot be used with archaeological populations because the relationships between stature and the length of the various bones used in estimation differ among races and populations. Similarly, secular change in stature makes the use of formulae derived from modem populations on archaeological groups problematic. Anatomical methods of estimating stature account for the skeletal elements that contribute to an individual\u27s height and provide an estimate of the soft tissue component of stature. These methods give results very close to properly recorded living statures. In populations for which recorded statures or cadaver lengths are unavailable, anatomically estimated statures can be substituted for living statures for the purpose of creating stature estimation formulae. Living stature was estimated for 48 individuals (25 females, 23 males) excavated from the South Dakota Larson (39WW2) and Leavenworth (39C09) sites using Fully\u27s anatomical method. These sites represent two Arikara villages from the Great Plains protohistoric and historic phases, respectively. The Fully method estimates were treated as living statures for the purpose of regression. Linear regression formulae were calculated using the Fully estimates and basion-bregma height, bicondylar length of the femur, condylo-malleolar length of the tibia, vertebral column height, height of the articulated talus, and calcaneus, maximum humerus length, and maximum radius length. The regression formulae were calculated in two ways. In the first manner, classical calibration, the bone or bones are regressed onto stature and the equation is solved for stature. This method creates general formulae that should be applicable to many American Indian and other indigenous American populations. In the second manner, inverse calibration, stature is regressed onto the bone or bones. This method ideally gives more precise but population specific formulae. To illustrate the importance of population specificity, the long bone measurements for the Arikara were used in stature estimation formulae developed from closely related groups including Illinois Middle Mississippians, Ohio Valley natives from the archaic through protohistoric periods, modem Mesoamericans, and modern Mongoloid and Mexican populations. The goals of this study are 1) to develop population specific formulae for use in estimating stature in incomplete skeletal remains of the Arikara and closely affiliated groups; 2) to develop general stature estimation formulae for potential use in other indigenous America groups; and 3) to argue for the importance of using population specific formulae when estimating stature. The results of this study show that for this population, the best estimator of living stature in females is bicondylar femur length, followed closely by the combined femur and tibia lengths. For males, the best estimator was the combination of the femur and tibia lengths with the next best estimator being femur length alone. In both sexes the vertebral column and humerus and radius estimate well. Basion-bregma height did not work at all in females and only marginally in males. Articulated talus-calcaneus height produced regression formulae of questionable utility

Genesis of Gold Deposits at the Little Squaw Mines, Chandalar Mining District, Alaska

The Little Squaw gold mines are located in the Chandalar Mining District, which is in the Brooks Range, 200 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska. Country rock in the Little Squaw area consists of Devonian clastic and volcanic rocks which were subjected to two periods of upper greenschist facies metamorphism during the Cretaceous. A penetrative schistosity developed during the first metamorphic event, and thrust faulting and the development of a non-penetrative cleavage occurred during the second. Gold-bearing quartz veins in the Little Squaw area crystallized along high angle normal faults which post date thrust faulting and cross-cut the non-penetrative cleavage. Data obtained from the study of fluid inclusions from the gold-bearing quartz were used to determine physical and chemical conditions of ore deposition. It was found that the gold-bearing quartz veins in the Little Squaw area crystallized at about 275°C and 825 bars from boiling fluids containing an average of .18 mole % CO2. Thermodynamic calculations suggest Au(HS)2- was the predominant gold transporting agent and transport as AuCl2- was insignificant. The presence of arsenopyrite, stibnite, and CO2-rich fluid with the gold suggests that arsenothio, antimonothio, and carbonate complexing may have contributed to the transport of gold. A drop from lithostatic to hydrostatic pressure, resulting from tectonic uplift and hydraulic fracturing, induced boiling of the hydrothermal fluids. The physiochemical changes that took place during boiling caused gold to precipitate. The search for additional ore shoots should center on locating the zone of boiling within post- metamorphic quartz-bearing structures in the Little Squaw area

An Analysis of Principals\u27 Perceptions of Their Levels of Response to Instruction and Intervention

Recent resounding dialogue surrounding school improvement has led to reform initiatives including Response to Instruction and Intervention (RTI2). Although all 50 states have implemented some form of an RTI model, Tennessees state-wide framework to address struggling learners has placed us at the forefront of educational reform. The Response to Instruction and Intervention (RTI2) initiative in Tennessee was implemented as a framework for teaching and learning to ensure success for all learners through a model of high expectations and supports for students. The lack of research surrounding the perceptions of principals regarding RTI2 in their respective schools and districts has created a gap of knowledge. To avoid the impediment of a lack of fidelity to the RTI2 framework this study sought to add to the limited research and analyze current practices in 5 municipal districts. This quantitative study utilizes survey research as a secondary analysis of the RTI2 implementation in 5 municipal school districts. Previously published data including responses to questions on 5 constructs of RTI2 from the Tennessee Educator Survey and demographic data from the Tennessee School District Report Card were investigated. The study sought to answer two overarching questions surrounding the school districts and school principals biggest successes and continued challenges. The data was analyzed through four research questions using a Friedman rank sum test, T-test, Shapiro-Wilk, linear regressions, and a multiple regression

The Impact of Perceived Parenting Styles During Childhood Experiences of Bullying on Emerging Adult Attachment

Given the prevalence of bullying during youth and the substantial negative outcomes of these experiences during adulthood, this study evaluated youth bullying experiences, perceived parenting style, and emerging adult attachment styles. The purpose was to determine the extent to which perceived parenting style moderates the relationship between youth bullying experience and emerging adult attachment to primary caregivers, romantic partners, and best friends above and beyond what youth bullying experience already predicts. The interaction between youth bullying experience and perceived parenting style were hypothesized to account for a significant amount of the variance in the outcome of emerging adult attachment style. The study had 139 participants (ages 18-25) who completed an online survey. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were conducted and the results found significance in the relationships between youth bullying and emerging adult attachment to parents and romantic partners. While a significant interaction effect was seen supporting the hypothesis in relation to primary caregivers, none was seen in regard to romantic partners or best friends. Results indicated the highest prevalence of participants were both a bully and a victim (57.6%) and authoritative parenting styles in childhood were associated with significantly more secure adult attachments. Implications and future research are discussed

Usability of hypertext : factors affecting the construction of meaning

One type of hypertext application, information retrieval, has become increasingly popular and accessible due to the explosion of activity occurring on the World Wide Web. These hypertext documents are referred to as web sites. Readers can now access a multitude of web sites and retrieve a wide variety of information. The uniqueness of a hypertext document centers around the concept that text is broken into an array of non-sequential text chunks, or nodes, which are connected through links. The hypertext reading can be considered an interactive experience requiring the reader to effectively navigate the document. The potentially complex link and node structure awaiting hypertext readers can lead them into becoming lost in hyperspace Usable hypertext design will maximize document coherence and minimize readers\u27 cognitive overhead, allowing readers to create an accurate mental model of the hypertext structure. Usability testing is designed to determine how easily the functionality of a particular system can be used, In this case, the system under investigation is New Jersey Institute of Technology\u27s web site. The usability of a hypertext document is affected by design elements which contribute to the content and structure of the hypertext. These design elements include good navigation aids, clear link labels, and consistent page layout

Climatic Adaptation and Postcranial Metric Variation in Precontact North America

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate patterns of variation in the postcranial skeleton of prehistoric American populations as they are related to variation in climate. Two ecogeographical rules proposed by Karl Bergmann (1847) and Joel Allen (1877) describe expected patterns of variation with widespread, warm-blooded species. Modern humans in the Old World largely conform to this pattern (Holliday 1997a). This study seeks to explore if the same patterns are present in the New World. Skeletal material from 25 North American bioarchaeological collections was used in this analysis. A series of 29 measurements of the postcranial skeleton were collected from 854 individuals. These measurements were analyzed with respect to site-specific temperature and precipitation data using univariate and multiple regression analysis, analysis of size and shape using “Mosimann” type shape variables (Darroch and Mosimann 1985), and canonical correlation analysis. The results of this study show that there is a significant relationship between climate and postcranial variation in this sample, particularly in measurements of long bone length and epiphyseal size. Radius and tibia length appear to be the most highly correlated with climate variables, as would be expected if thermoregulation is a significant biological stress (Holliday 1999). Comparison between this sample and data collected from Old World samples suggest that adaptation to climate has occurred in North America, but not to the same degree as is seen in the Old World. This suggests that the relatively recent peopling of the Americas, as well as other factors such possible long-distance migrations, have influenced the potential effects of adaptation to climate