The Missing Rhetoric of Gender in Responses to Abu Ghraib

This paper explores Western responses to the torture inflicted upon Iraqi detainees by U.S. soldiers at the Abu Ghraib facility near Baghdad. More specifically, however, this paper examines responses to photographic representations of this torture, which began to surface in the April of 2004. The analysis that follows engages closely with the status of the photographs as images, arguing that existing critical interpretations fail to account for the particular issues and problems that the visual image presents. Through detailed reference work by Judith Butler and Susan Sontag, this paper will also interrogate the limitations of recent theoretical approaches to the Abu Ghraib photographs, and consider the extent to which discussions of gender have been excluded from these discourses

Invisible Inequalities of Austerity: Everyday Life, Mothers and Health in Stockton-on-Tees

Austerity in the UK has been ongoing since 2010 and is contributing to widening health, economic, gender and social inequalities. There has been little contemporary qualitative research into the gendered inequalities of austerity in the context of health inequalities. This thesis presents findings from research with mothers in Stockton-on-Tees, a borough in the North East of England with wide health inequalities. The research focuses on the interplay between the macro and micro consequences of austerity for mothers – the impact of welfare retrenchment, public sector cuts and local labour market conditions, and how these effect everyday life in the context of unpaid care work and mothers experiences of depletion through social reproduction. This is contextualised through the lens of feminist political economy as an essential framework for diagnosing the symptoms of austerity and proposing productive alternatives. Qualitative longitudinal interviewing and ethnographic research are used to draw out the perspectives of respondents in relation to austerity and everyday life. The ‘intersectionality’ of inequality is emphasised – how gender interacts with age, class, place, ethnicity and disability to produce complex effects on health and wellbeing. Findings indicate that austerity is making Stockton-on-Tees a more uneven place - once-strong ties to communities are perceived to be deteriorating, and the socio-spatial distribution of inequality increasing. Mothers expressed a need for more space and time to care without the pressures of welfare reform and the associated risks. ‘Invisible inequalities’ are depleting the mental wellbeing of many mothers. This research provides a contribution to the growing body of evidence indicating that austerity is damaging to social equality, widening the health gap, contributing to worsening mental health, and intensifying intersecting inequalities for women. It is unique in its application of the concept of intersectionality to health inequalities in the context of austerity, and the novel contribution of a feminist political economy approach to the study of health and austerity

The development of a ‘normative battleground’ between the EU and Russia from 2004 to 2014

This thesis will chart the development of a “normative battleground” between the European Union and Russia within Ukraine. This “normative battleground” stems from the clashing securitising projects both the EU and Russia are implementing within Ukraine in order to shape the development of the country according to their own interests. The EU and Russia are widely believed to carry out securitising projects from within different international relations spheres. For this thesis, these are the EU’s “postmodern”/“Kantian” security project, which is incompatible with the Russian “modern”/“Hobbesian” security project. These security projects are manifesting themselves in the norms each side is promoting, and this is where the clash is particularly visible, this is the “normative battleground”. This thesis seeks to provide a holistic conceptualisation of the term “normative battleground” within the framework of Buzan’s English School Triad and to tie its development with the contrasting securitising projects being implemented within Ukraine.http://www.ester.ee/record=b4701254*es

The Undergraduate Community Service Experience: Changing Perceptions of Diversity

Previous research has documented many positive effects of community service on student learning. Although a few studies have discovered that community service increases student’s cultural awareness, little research has addressed concrete changes in students’ conceptualization of diversity. The current study investigates how community service participation changes the complexity of students’ attitudes toward and perceptions of diversity. One hundred and six students participated in community service as a requirement for classes in Small Group Communication. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis of pre and post-community service surveys revealed that (1) community service significantly increased students’ level of comfort in interacting with populations different from their own, and (2) community service facilitated a shift of students’ conceptualization of diversity from simple categorical divisions to both similarity and difference as dynamic principles of identity

The Forgotten Zoological Garden: A Photographic Study of the Heterotopic Museum Taxidermy Display

This paper considers the influence of the museum space on its taxidermy collections as their own heterotopic sites of expression, that of a lost or forgotten metaphorical zoological garden. The taxidermy specimen is ambiguous, it is both of itself and something other - in its skin of likeness its materiality is present, but also absent, wrapped in metaphor and construction

EFFECTS OF FATIGUE ON RUGBY PLACE KICKING TECHNIQUE AND PERFORMANCE

The aim of this study was to identify differences in place kicking performance and technique following a rugby-specific fatigue protocol. Three skilled place kickers performed four blocks of the protocol, between which they took three place kicks from a challenging pitch location. The success of the kicks, measures of physical exertion and lower body and torso kinematic variables were measured. Kicking success dropped following blocks 2 and 4 of the protocol, all missed kicks were wide of the goalposts. Individual differences were apparent. After block 2 the kickers demonstrated greater upper body motion, potentially a strategy to obtain fast foot velocity but at a detriment to accuracy. After block 4, collapse of the stance leg was observed which may have impacted the kickers’ stability. Further research with more participants and a specific focus on muscular fatigue is required

An exploration into the photo-transformation of the human form, through a research of its contemporary influential imagery and diversity within our culture

The purpose of this study is to look at how the figure is imaged through the photographic medium today. Through this purpose I aim to explore the individual expression of the photographer in his photographic medium; the expression of the figure within the medium and the diverse practises of this medium in society - to build up an awareness and understanding of the diverse representations of the human form. The general aims of study are: 1 - to study how these three photographers choose to photograph the figure, through their technical, compositional and individual approach. 2 - to show how diverse the usage of the photographic figure is in the visual world. 3 - to expose an awareness of the photographic figure as transformation of an expression of self. 4 - to show the relationship between the photographer and the figure, the camera and the photographer, the camera and the figure, and the photographic figure and the viewer. 5 - to study my own photographic imagery in relation to the other imagery discussed. My research information was collected through: observations, discussions, literature and practical exploration. This study will attempt to draw conclusions, from its explorations, that will highlight the importance of the individual eye: that it is the individual eye that becomes the vehicle of transformation

Assistive Technology (AT): Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Research, Education, and Service Delivery

The World Health Organization has estimated that 10% of the world’s population (650 million people) has a disability. Assistive Technology (AT) has the potential to improve function for individuals with disabilities. Research and development must to focus both on universal design approaches for the population, as well as customization to meet individual functional demands. This mini-symposium will present the trends driving the need for AT, case studies demonstrating solutions to functional challenges, and evidence-based policy measures that are being implemented to meet the needs of people with disabilities living in the community. Since 1991, UMass Lowell has operated an AT Program through which individuals with disabilities and community organizations meet with teams of students and faculty to design customized solutions. Symposium participants will discuss the development of population-level measures and examine indicators linking AT device use to psychosocial well-being: ultimately informing AT policies regarding access and provision. Participants will also to discuss challenges in translation of AT research due to the diversity of users and the functional implementation of AT solutions. Ultimately, participants will recognize the complex nature of AT solutions for persons with disabilities, and provide input on a strategy for a multidisciplinary collaboration to foster a novel person-center approach to research in this area