Social design as violence

textFaculty in art schools, colleges, and universities have increasingly begun institutionalizing and professionalizing "design for good" in their curricula. Students are currently being taught that social design is good--or at least preferable to working for large corporations--but are not being urged to question this feel-good assertion. When the trendy phrase "design for good" is used, for whom is it good? Though social design can result in powerful, laudable work, it often escapes critical scrutiny--particularly in educational settings--for two reasons: 1) by default, many consider non-commercial (broadly defined) work de facto virtuous and thus assume that any and all partnerships with non-profit organizations, for example, must be ethically commendable; and 2) many consider good intentions sufficient and do not inquire about actual effects and consequences. My thesis work proposes that social design is just as ethically fraught as other kinds of design, if not more so, as any unintended harmful consequences of projects lie unnoticed and unchallenged under the guise of "doing good." Social designers' analyses of sociopolitical dynamics and histories of conflict are often thin. In some instances, their projects may actually enact violence, maintaining imbalances of power and perpetuating the oppression of the very individuals and communities they try to serve. I argue that insights regarding power, state control, and privileges afforded by race, class, and gender should form a critical foundation for designers seeking to work in this field. If designers and design educators are serious about design providing a "social good," it is essential that they broaden their scope of analysis and critique to include the insights and strategies that activists and academics in other fields can offer.Desig

Gender on the Range: Feminine Strategies in the 1913 Michigan Copper Strike

In the autumn of 1913, a small, remote Michigan mining community attracted national attention as miners and management found themselves embroiled in a conflict that would prove no easy victory for either side. The strike came as a shock to management, who, with the help of a nearly perfected paternal system, had come to expect a generally docile and compliant workforce. But what was even more shocking was the involvement of the miners’ wives in the strike effort, and the lengths they went to in order to keep men from crossing the picket line. This paper focuses on that effort, arguing that the women of the Michigan copper country developed strike strategies that were derived from their domestic experience, and justified their involvement through maternal arguments. However, these public actions allowed the management to disregard the respect and courtesy generally given to the domestic sphere as police and private agents perpetrated a number of home invasions in an attempt to break the strike. The involvement of women in male dominated labor disputes (mining, steel productions) has been largely ignored in the literature due to their indirect connection to the company as wives and not workers. This paper seeks to remedy this gap, and gain a better understanding of that indirect relationship. Sources include newspaper articles, private correspondence, public investigation records, and oral histories, found largely in the Michigan Tech Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections, Michigan Technological University, Michigan

Student Recital: Shannon Schubert, Flute

Shannon Schubert is a student of Patti Watters. This recital is given in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Music, Music Education degree. Shannon Schubert, flute Rebecca Raydo, pian

John Bright, Lancashire and the American Civil War

This thesis aims to bridge the gap between the American Civil War and John Bright biographical historiography. It will re-evaluate the role of Bright’s transatlantic network and how it shaped his perspectives on the conflict, which has often been undermined by historiography. In doing this, it will reconsider Anglo-American relations and what issues were of considerable importance to Bright. Bright played a vital role in communicating with American citizens and has sometimes been overlooked by historians, with much emphasis being placed on Richard Cobden. The evidence used to demonstrate his significance in affairs was notably the collection MS 43391 from the British Library, as well as the Rochdale Observer and Manchester Guardian newspapers. This source from the British Library has been under-utilised by historians and therefore will offer a different approach into Anglo-American relations. Additionally, Bright’s speeches from Rochdale, Birmingham and the House of Commons were used in order to connect Bright’s private and public circles. Bright’s oratory skills were exemplary, and these speeches are an excellent showcase of his opinions and talent. The themes that will be discussed in these letters include British attitudes towards the war, abolition, the ‘Cotton Famine’, Manchester’s support for the Union, capital punishment and how the debates surrounding these topics evolved throughout the conflict. Britain’s policy of neutrality remained controversial throughout the conflict, and in this thesis the reasons for its controversy will be addressed. Where other works on Anglo-American relations have focused heavily on the question of slavery, this research aims to re-evaluate the evolution of Bright’s correspondence by shedding light on his interest in capital punishment, which is a lesser known aspect of his career. It contributes to our existing understanding of Anglo-American relations and the American Civil War more broadly but aims to centralise Bright’s engagement in his transatlantic network

Job search experiences and career satisfaction among recent archives program graduates

In June 2012, Rebecca Goldman and Shannon Lausch conducted a survey of recent archives graduates to investigate job search experiences, career satisfaction, satisfaction with archival education, and overall life satisfaction. They presented the results of their research at the Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting in San Diego on August 9, 2012. Included here are the survey questions, anonymized versions of the survey data, and Goldman and Lausch\u27s presentations from SAA

Credence Services: Content, credibility, and usefulness of online reviews

Credence products are those whose quality is difficult or impossible for consumers to assess, even after consuming the product (Darby & Karni, 1973). For example, it is difficult to assess the technical skill and knowledge of a physician even after a visit. This research is focused on the content, structure and consumer perceptions of online reviews for credence services. We start by examining how the content and structure of real online reviews of credence services systematically differs from those of experience services (Nelson, 1970). We find that online reviews of credence services are more likely to contain unsupported claims than reviews of experience services. We experimentally examine consumer perceptions of reviews, varying both their structure and content. Consumers rationally discount the credibility of credence claims when presented with short, simple reviews but we expect more complex argument structure and inclusion of experience attributes in the review to attenuate this effect

The Genesis, Evolution, and Influence of Undergraduate Research Mentoring Relationships

Undergraduate research has been documented as yielding valuable student learning outcomes. While the outcomes have been extensively investigated, the development and characteristics of the relationship with the research mentor has received less attention. To better understand how participating in undergraduate research yields substantial benefits to students, we need to elucidate the relationship between students and their research mentors. Using survey and focus group data from a select group of undergraduate researchers at one research university, we investigated the origins of undergraduate research mentoring relationships, the development of those relationships over time, and how the characteristics of the mentoring relationship yielded a shift in identity among the undergraduates. In this case study we found that the meaningful relationships developed between students and their mentors contributed to student development in the form of increased confidence and perceived competency. This competency led to changed expectations of self in the professional sphere, a deeper sense of belonging, and changed expectations for post-graduation

“You’ll Never Really Be One of Us”: Women’s Underrepresentation in the Aviation Workforce

Women are underrepresented in many aviation occupations despite outreach and recruitment efforts from multiple organizations. Attracting women into aviation is a necessity not only to address workforce demand but also to achieve the benefits of a more diverse workforce to include enhanced profitability, safety, and innovation. To address the gender gap, the research presented here attempts to inform recruitment/retention strategies by identifying both the positive and negative factors that influence a woman’s decision to pursue a career in aviation and the decision to persist. Additionally, factors such as participation in youth outreach programs, role of mentors, influencers who support or interfere with the pursuit of aviation as a career for women, and development of a better understanding of barriers to the career field are all explored. The results reveal a profile for recruiting, and identification of factors that deter women from the field, which include cost of entry, negative workplace culture, and maintaining work life balance. The information gained will allow for tailoring strategies for the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women to the identified factors that influence career decisions in order to close the existing gender gaps in aviation