Chinese Square Dance, Media, and Ideological Dynamics in Contemporary China Title: Chinese Square Dance, Media, and Ideological Dynamics in Contemporary China

Abstract In China, square dance refers to a dancing activity named after where it usually occurs, a public square. Contemporary Chinese square dance started in the 1980s, in the wake of the Chinese Communist Party's Reform and Opening Up policy. My paper explores Chinese square dance as a collective method of expression under contemporary ideological dynamics, which combine earlier socialism and the more recent neoliberalism. It entails the study of Chinese domestic news media, which represent the dialectical tensions of socialist and neoliberal ideologies when presenting the image of square dance. Using Chinese square dance as a focal point to study the interplay between media, society and the party state, we see a dynamic struggle occurring between the often despised, orthodox socialism and the arguably heterodox, yet penetrative neoliberal way of life

Marginal Loglinear Models for Three Multiple-Response Categorical Variables Title: Marginal Loglinear Models for Three Multiple-Response Categorical Variables Examining Committee: Chair: Tim Swartz Professor

Abstract A lot of survey questions include a phrase like, "Choose all that apply", which lets the re

Examining Committee: Date Approved

ii Clothes and fashion open a secondary i.e. non-verbal communication channel that allows individuals to make connections with each other. Our work proposes the concept of Digital Fashion, which uses technology to connect people in close proximity by enhancing a visual secondary communication channel. Non-private profile information known as shared knowledge is communicated via an online poll system that activates poll questions periodically. Our Digital Fashion implementation utilizes a handheld computer connected to a wireless radio network to drive a public wearable display worn on the user’s body. The wearable display system consists of flexible electroluminescent wire and a light controller responsive to wireless communications. Shared knowledge is stored as answers to poll questions. As poll questions become active, the wearable display changes colours to reflect the wearers ’ answer to the active poll question. Several user studies were conducted to evaluate this technology with data from field observations, questionnaires and interviews. The results from our user studies revealed that technology could play a useful role within social settings if designed appropriately. We found the choice of fashion as a secondary communication channel very appropriate because of its unobtrusiveness. Our system did not appear to hinder interactions but rather helped to create richer social interactions. ii

The Influence of Emotional Affect on Sexual Assault by Nicholas Paruzzolo Bordignon Title: The Influence of Emotional Affect on Sexual Assault Ethics Statement iv

Abstract This study examines the influence of emotional affect on an offender's decision-making during a sexual assault event. Based on 507 convicted sexual offenders, regressions were used to assess if emotional affective states lead an offender to utilize excessive levels of physical force and inflict a greater degree of physical injuries during an assault event. Findings indicate that negative emotional states, such as anger, increase the likelihood of an offender using excessive physical force during the assault event. Further findings suggest that negative emotional states also increase the likelihood of the offender inflicting higher levels of victim injury. Results suggest that emotional affect has a narrowing effect on an offender's decision-making process. The findings also indicate that emotional states prior to the sexual assault event are not significantly associated with either excessive physical force or violent, injurious outcomes. Theoretical and prevention implications are discussed