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From the Publisher: Reflections on the 2024 Vocational Leaders in Higher Education Conference
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Low-Hanging Fruit, Moonshots, and Coffee: Dreaming Big Within and Beyond Our Limitations
Full text linkWe All Bleed The Same Blood
Full text linkThis art piece and short essay aims to stop the feminization of periods and to convey the importance of using inclusive language regarding periods and menstruation
Taylor Swift as Religion: The Deification of an International Pop Music Superstar and the Ramifications of Fame, with a Comparison to Vox Lux
Full text linkThis paper explores the ways in which the culture surrounding pop music superstar Taylor Swift is a religion. Taylor Swift has had an indelible impact on her fans, who are known as Swifties, and this paper brings attention to the ways that she establishes a strong connection with her fans such that they come to view her as a religious figure. Definitions of religion proposed by scholars Clifford Geertz and Meghan Johnston Aelabouni are used to analyze how this popular music culture can fit into a broader conceptualization of religion. Special attention is given to the deification of celebrities in the pop music industry and the ramifications that fame can have on celebrities like Taylor Swift, who are constantly in the public eye. A comparison to the film Vox Lux (2018) highlights the struggles that women in the music industry face due to immense societal pressure. Due to her resilience and her strong willpower, Taylor Swift has managed to maintain her sense of identity and humanity despite countless obstacles, and she serves as a figure of female empowerment. She continues to inspire women around the world by speaking out against the patriarchal system and advocating for artists\u27 rights. This paper provides a critical analysis of these issues and Taylor Swift\u27s important role in society as a means of evaluating pop music culture and celebrity idolization
Animals in Prison: Is There Value in Inmate-Animal Rehabilitation Programs?
Full text linkThis paper demonstrates the benefits of animal rehabilitation programs in alleviating the mental harm of incarceration and improving outcomes for individuals upon their release. I.H.C. details the overwhelming mental health crises and conditions that inmates face in prison, arguing to redefine rehabilitation to center both practical preparations and on healing the underlying traumas and mental health concerns before release. His numerous examples drawn from prisons around the world thoroughly uphold the evidence that animal rehabilitation programs improve inmate wellbeing, decrease violent incidents in prison, enhance vocational and employment opportunities post-incarceration, and overall change inmates’ behavior – all benefits that ultimately reduce recidivism as well. I.H.C. concludes that “an effort of this magnitude” in implementing widespread inmate-animal rehabilitation programs “would be difficult,” but that “beauty and a certain type of freedom can be found on the other side of pain…if only we muster the courage to try.