Chinese Consumers: World Systems and World Cultural Analysis of Cultural Hybridity

The rise of China can be considered either the wrench in the gears of most scholars’ interpretations of globalization, or viewed as the new big gear in furthering globalization. Either way, it provides a new and fruitful landscape for examining the effects of integrating into the world-system. China’s entrance into the system was strategically planned and aided along through greater opening to outside and free market influences (Lechner 2009). As such, the changes within the nation have caused reciprocal effects on both China and the western institutions that are infiltrating the once closed society (Gerth 2010). Although the driving forces for most of the changes are based on economic reasons (acceptance of semi-free markets), changes in culture, ideology, and lifestyle are also occurring. This makes China a unique case study for understanding the impact of integration into the world system and the effects on attitudes and cultural values

The Paramount Series

"The purpose of this series is an investigation into the relationships between the figure and its setting in portraiture. Using photography as a primary reference, I will create six paintings, which demonstrate my interest in motion and distortion of the figure in contrast to a static, rigid environment."--Abstract from author supplied metadat

Impact of trans-10, cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid on interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 and adipogenic genes in cultures of human adipose tissue explants

"Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, currently ranking second among causes of preventable deaths. Our research group has shown in cultures of differentiated human adipocytes that 30 uM trans-10, cis-12 Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) increases IL-6 and IL-8 secretion into the media and lowers mRNA levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR). Human adipose tissue explants were incubated with either vehicle or 30 uM trans-10, cis-12 CLA for 8, 24, or 72 h. Trans-10, cis-12 CLA treatment increased IL-6 and IL-8 secretion into the media (p < 0.05). Trans-10, cis-12 CLA treatment also increased the mRNA levels of IL-6 and IL-8 (p < 0.05) while having no significant effect on PPARg or PPARg targets. These data demonstrate for the first time that CLA induces IL-6 and IL-8 gene expression and protein secretion in cultures of human subcutaneous adipose tissue explants"-Abstract from author supplied metadata

Without Force: Examining Voluntary Compliance in Police/Citizen Encounters

Law enforcement officers in the U. S. are granted the legal authority to issue commands to citizens and to compel citizen compliance through legal sanction, arrest, and even physical force. This research examines compliance interactions between police officers and citizens to examine the factors that are influential in producing voluntary compliance from citizens to officer commands. Findings are based on content analyses of 250 officer/citizen interactions captured by police cruiser mounted video systems used by police departments in two North Carolina cities. The influence of 31 factors on citizen compliance, suggested primarily by the theories of Social Interactionism and Judgmental Heuristics, were analyzed using Ordinal Logistic Regression. Six factors were shown to have a significant effect upon citizen's degree of compliance, including: citizen emotionality, initiation of the interaction, officer use of threats, citizen initial compliance, officer respect for citizen, and department-type of the officer involved. The implications for further research are discussed, as well as the potential usefulness of "dash cam" footage from police cruiser mounted video systems for further sociological research

A social density model of child/teacher ratio effects in early childhood settings

Following a review of research in child/teacher ratio, group size, crowding, and density in young children's settings, a model was developed to predict the short-term behavioral effects of variations in child/teacher ratio, based on Freedman1s density-intensity hypothesis. In this model, it was proposed that ratio effects on children's behavior are better conceptualized as functions of the two variables, number of children and number of teachers present in a behavior setting. Hypotheses were generated for the relationships between these two independent variables and five a priori dependent variables of children's epistemic behavior. Specifically, it was predicted that as number of children increased: social interaction with peers would drop; interaction with teachers would drop; interaction with the physical environment would not change; solitary behavior would rise; and passive behavior would rise. As number of teachers increased: interaction with peers would not change; interaction with teachers would rise; interaction with the physical environment would not change; solitary behavior would drop; and passive behavior would not change

Perón’s Political Radio Melodrama: Peronism and Radio Culture 1920-1955

Juan Domingo Perón casts a long shadow on the history of Argentine politics from the 1940s to today. What made Perón so successful was his use of identity politics, specifically focusing on the lower, working class groups as a kind of political base. The radio played a unique role in Perón’s presidency, due to the leader’s reliance on cultural symbols audience members knew, entertainers who were household names, and rhetoric that was a part of a larger Argentine national identity. The tango and the folklore movements were intertwined and demonstrated cultural divisions within Argentine culture. Perón was able to utilize the populist language that was on the radio to enable his rise to power. After winning the presidential election in 1946, Perón incorporated radio stations to consolidate his political power. By the early 1950s, Perón’s propaganda machine effectively used radio to the maximum extent to gain political power. Beginning in 1953, a series of radio missteps meant that Perón’s power started to diminish as oppositional groups gained access to the radio. Radio then became a tool for the destabilization of Perón’s government and led directly to his exile from Argentina in 1955

The once lived life

"This collection of poetry represents the body of work completed during my tenure at The University of North Carolina Greensboro."--Abstract from author supplied metadata

Dan Forrest’s sonata for trombone and piano (2005): a performance guide

The purpose of this study was to provide a performance guide and brief biographical sketch for Dan Forrest’s Sonata for Trombone and Piano. Daniel Ernest Forrest, Jr. (b. 1978), a 21st century composer, is known primarily for his choral compositions. In 2005, Forrest composed this sonata and performed the piano score on the premiere of the sonata with Paul Overly, Professor of Trombone at Bob Jones University. The study focuses on the creation of a performance guide for the Sonata for Trombone and Piano. Included in the document are specific suggestions for the trombonist and the pianist for each of the three movements of the sonata. The performance guide is a result of personal aural and score study, collaborative rehearsals with pianists and trombone players familiar with the work, and an interview with the composer. This sonata, although relatively obscure in the body of Forrest’s compositions and trombone literature, reflects a mature level of compositional understanding, includes musical nuance and style, and contains significant performance challenges for both the soloist as well as the accompanist. The potential for Forrest’s Sonata for Trombone and Piano to become standard in the trombone solo repertoire is substantial. Increased knowledge of the Sonata for Trombone and Piano will add to the recognition of this composition as a work deserving a place within standard trombone solo literature

Letter from Josefina Niggli to her family – October 12, 1935

Josefina María Niggli was in Monterrey, Mexico on July 13, 1910, but her family fled to Texas when violence emerged during the Mexican Revolution. Her family stayed roving back and forth across the border for many years and Josefina was home-schooled for the majority of her primary school years. She and her mother eventually established a new home in San Antonio, Texas when Josefina was fifteen where she went on to complete high school and pursue a higher education while her father stayed in Mexico “until near the time of his death”. Niggli would continue making visits to Mexico, but America was her country of residence starting in 1925 (Martinez 7-8)

BIS, BAS, and bias: the role of personality and cognition in social anxiety

The primary objective of the current study was to test the hypothesis that cognitive biases for negative and threatening social information mediate the effect of Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) and Behavioral Approach System (BAS) sensitivity on social anxiety. To test this hypothesis, undergraduate participants (N = 207) were initially asked to complete measures of BIS, BAS, and trait social anxiety. Participants were then informed that they would be required to give a speech at the end of the study. This social-threat induction procedure was immediately followed by the administration of a counter-balanced battery of cognitive tasks. After the participants completed the cognitive battery, their level of state anxiety in response to the speech task was assessed via self-report. Participants were then asked to perform a brief impromptu speech. Latent variables were constructed for BIS, BAS, cognitive bias, and social anxiety. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis that cognitive biases mediate the effect of BIS and BAS sensitivity on social anxiety. As predicted, the fully-mediated model showed significantly better fit to the data than did several competing models. These results provide strong support for a mediated model of social anxiety and suggest that cognitive biases for negative and threatening social information may be the mechanism through which BIS and BAS sensitivity exert their influence upon social anxiety