America's Heartland: A Case for Social Resilience?

Much has been written in recent years about the decline, problems, distinctive traditions, and political conservatism of small rural “heartland” communities. I discuss the important place that rural communities occupied in the development of modern sociological theories, the focus of recent empirical studies of these communities, and the arguments that have been advanced about population decline and the stultifying effects of closed social networks. I then describe evidence that supports arguments about social resilience in small rural communities, including recent demographic figures about population stability, data on social capital and open networks, and qualitative information about small-town values and lifestyles

Multimodal literacies and critical reflexivity: Digital storytelling as a 21st century tool for Learning Developers

Digital storytelling (DS) is a multimedia storytelling technique that has become an efficacious educational tool in tertiary environments. Individual students, supported by other students in a facilitated “Story Circle”, create short videos using digital devices, still images, and a cloud-based video editor in response to a targeted story prompt. The DS process aligns closely with an emerging trend in universities to instil in their students both critical reflection skills and strong digital, media, and visual literacies to enable them to thrive in their professional and personal lives. This paper proposes the adoption of DS as an additional and innovative pedagogical strategy by Learning Developers (LDs) within discipline-specific embedded teaching. Embedded teaching is a well-established method of developing student literacies, and LDs already employ this approach to support academics across disciplines. The integration of DS into this practice would further strengthen the capacity of LDs to enhance students’ capabilities as they move into post-Covid, 21st-century ‘graduateness’

Selective Engagements—Chinese Naval Diplomacy and U.S.-China Competition

As China enters a period of heightened strategic competition with the United States, the PLAN will adjust its foreign-engagement strategy. China will forge stronger naval relations with non-U.S. major powers, including Russia; the United States will attempt to deny China new overseas naval facilities; and both countries will use exercises and other instruments to shape regional perceptions

Raging Waters

The book aims to provide a common platform for interested parties—policy makers without training in hydrology and scientists without a background in the study of international relations—to consider the water challenges faced by Bangladesh, India, and China along the entire Brahmaputra against the backdrop of their bilateral relations. We hope this book will inform policy communities in China, India, and Bangladesh—as well as water resource specialists and academics internationally—about the interconnected aspects of the political-military situation in the Brahmaputra River basin and the potential for national water, energy, and infrastructure policies that could exacerbate interstate tensions and subnational human security conditions in the region

Beyond the Veto: Chinese Diplomacy in the United Nations Security Council

Once described as a "diligent apprentice," China has emerged in the early 21st century as an active and sometimes contentious participant in the UN Security Council. For the U.S., China has complicated decision-making on a range of issues, including North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Burma, Zimbabwe and Libya. China's material interests in several of these "pariah states" has raised problems for attempts to target such regimes through the Council and its powers under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Yet China's positions on these cases have been mixed. It has sometimes aligned with the U.S. (as it did on Libya), and has, at other times, stood in opposition (as on Burma). This study seeks to explain the variance. Drawing on an array of sources, it weighs five hypotheses against the empirical record. These explanations are centered on two sets of factors. First are the strategic risks of cooperation, i.e. the chance that coercion will harm China's interests. Second are the political ramifications, i.e. the potential costs to China's relations with the U.S., regional stakeholders and others associated with particular positions. Prefaced by a historical narrative of China's changing role in the Council from 1971 through 2011, the analysis covers eight cases, spanning China's diplomacy on North Korea, Iran, Sudan, Burma and Zimbabwe. Five are positive cases, insofar as Beijing supported U.S.-backed resolutions. These include the issues of North Korea and Iran. Three are negative cases, in which China maintained opposition. These include proposed sanctions on Sudan in 2007, and draft resolutions on Burma and Zimbabwe. The primary conclusion is that both strategic and political explanations can provide insight into the development of China's positions. Specifically, China's bargaining power is at its greatest when credible outside options exist and when there is a division in attitudes towards the legitimacy of the preferences of the U.S. and its allies, and weakest under the opposite conditions. From a policy point of view, the U.S. will have to craft nimble diplomatic strategies and carefully assess when to proceed versus when to yield. However, Washington can assume that China will remain a status-quo oriented, and relatively predictable, participant within the UNSC

Subsidizing Religious Participation through Groups: A Model of the “Megachurch” Strategy for Growth

Either despite or because of their non-traditional approach, megachurches have grown significantly in the United States since 1980. This paper models religious participation as an imperfect public good which, absent intervention, yields suboptimal participation by members from the church’s perspective. Megachurches address this problem in part by employing secular-based group activities to subsidize religious participation that then translates into an increase in the attendees’ religious investment. This strategy not only allows megachurches to attract and retain new members when many traditional churches are losing members but also results in higher levels of an individual’s religious capital. As a result, the megachurch may raise expectations of members’ levels of commitment and faith practices. Data from the FACT2000 survey provide evidence that megachurches employ groups more extensively than other churches, and this approach is consistent with a strategy to use groups to help subsidize individuals’ religious investment. Religious capital rises among members of megachurches relative to members of non-megachurches as a result of this strategy