Spectrum (E-Journal)
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Retention of Underrepresented Minority Undergraduates in STEM: Applying Social Cognitive Theory and the SAFE Model
Get PDFFar fewer undergraduate students pursue and complete STEM degrees compared to humanities degrees, despite high demand for STEM professionals. Among undergraduate STEM majors, individuals from underrepresented racial minority (URM) groups are far less likely to complete their degree than their White or Asian peers, presenting a serious obstacle to diversity within the STEM workforce. Drawing from Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, researchers have identified factors that affect the retention of URM students in STEM, though there is substantial evidence that such factors are moderated by environmental influences not traditionally included in the theory. In this paper, we argue that many environmental influences can be conceptually unified under the State Authenticity as Fit to Environment (SAFE) model. Further, we review literature suggesting that the constructs of both Social Cognitive Theory and the SAFE model interact extensively when considering retention of URM undergraduates, arguing that understanding the interactions between the two models will provide a more complete picture of how retention of URM students can be improved
Understanding Political Integration Among Syrian Refugees in Calgary
Get PDFNewcomers to Canada are essential for the nation\u27s cultural and economic vitality. However, research has primarily focused on immigrant integration, overlooking refugees. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the political integration of Syrian refugees in Calgary, Alberta, based on 21 semi-structured interviews. Specifically, it seeks to answer two main questions. First, what factors facilitate the attitudinal and behavioural political integration of Syrian refugees in Calgary? Second, what is the role of social capital in facilitating the attitudinal and behavioural political integration of refugees? Utilizing deductive thematic analysis, the study uncovers a need for enhanced political education. It also identifies the impact of individual variables like news consumption and political interest. A sense of belonging to Canadian society also emerged as an influential factor in political integration. Moreover, social capital, exemplified through membership in organizations, increased political participation and a sense of belonging. These findings suggest the need for new theories specifically focused on refugee political integration.
Key words: political integration, syrian refugees, social capital, sense of belonging, canad
The Siren\u27s Song: Dante\u27s Differentiation from Virgil in Purgatorio II, XIX, and XXX
No full textMany have been fascinated by Dante’s treatment of Virgil in his Commedia. He is simultaneously Dante’s beloved master, and a character who does not escape Hell. Robert Hollander famously asserts that Dante wields Virgil to classify him as a failed poet-vates, and therefore by contrast, to show himself, Dante, as theologus-poeta. In this paper, I will show that more than demonstrating himself a true prophet, Dante also utilises Virgil to suspend Christian comedy above classical tragedy. This paper will explore the Siren theme throughout Purgatorio, namely in Cantos II, XIX, and XXX, for observing how Dante himself moves beyond the Siren, and concurrently evinces Virgil’s failure to do so. As Beatrice is contrasted to the Siren, Dante is paired with Virgil, his Commedia with the Aeneid. In making this argument, I tie everything together by showing how the appearance of Beatrice alludes to Nisus and Euryalus (a hitherto unnoticed allusion), the very characters that Virgil had written to insert higher morality into Homer’s Odysseus and Diomedes. While those characters met tragic end, Dante and Beatrice, by contrast, are reunited in Christian splendor—that is, redemptive and transformative grace. Dante’s Commedia is therefore a comedy because Dante moves beyond the Siren to Beatrice, a feat that Virgil was not able to accomplish
The Price of Mobility: The Border Industrial Complex and the Role of Private Industry in Enforcing Migration Restrictions
Get PDFThis research paper explores the origins of the border industrial complex, current American policies supported by private corporations regarding border infrastructure, and the impact of these policies on Central American asylum seekers. My investigation draws from critical border studies literature on the existence of borders as political tools as opposed to ‘neutral lines’ demarcating sovereignty, interrogating how border policies fuel the neoliberal economy. Given this background, I examine the commercialization of human mobility using border policies at the U.S.-Mexico border as a case study. The question at the core of my investigation is: to what extent does corporate investment in U.S-Mexico border militarization obstruct protection for Central American migrants seeking asylum in the United States? In response, I argue that the issue of corporate involvement in U.S. border policy is important to examine because of how it impedes the implementation of progressive immigration policy by centering the border security market, and decentering human rights. More specifically, I contend that border violence as funded by corporate investment in state bordering becomes a way of maintaining racial hierarchy through movement and citizenship restrictions against racialized migrants from the Global South
The Tragic Myth of America’s 2021 “March on Rome”
Get PDFThe parallels between the January 6th, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and the so-called “March on Rome” of October 1922, are unmistakable, from Donald Trump and Benito Mussolini’s leadership styles to their non-participation in the actual coup attempts to the unwavering commitment of their most zealous followers to the respective causes. Indeed, comparisons between these two figures and events have led scholars to refer to the events on January 6th as a “Half-Baked March on Rome” or an “abortive March on Rome,” among other similar references. While historically convenient and rhetorically appealing, however, these associations risk downplaying the requisite conditions that allowed the March on Rome to result in a successful coup but which never manifested in the buildup to January 6th or its actualization. Moreover, referring to January 6th within the context of the March on Rome minimizes the distinct possibility that the former was but the precursor to an eventual triumphant American iteration of the March on Rome. By using the March on Rome as a conduit through which to examine the January 6th, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, this paper seeks to properly place the latter within the context of significant revolutionary events of the past and thereby explore its role in the broader arc of American democracy\u27s future
English
Get PDFMistreatment of the body following a stigmatized death is a culturally relevant issue that disproportionately affects marginalized groups. Robert Southey’s “The Cross Roads” details the life and death of a young working class woman through a folkloric retelling of her murder. In this work, I curate a historical review of the period’s values regarding stigmatized death, including the religious attitudes regarding suicide and domestic homicide. The previous historical review is then put into dialogue with Southey’s work in order to fully contextualize his criticism of the crossroad burial practice. Moving forward, research may be applied to literary works outside of the 18th century graveyard movement in order to fully understand how and why working class bodies are mistreated in life and death
Film Poster Design: Understanding Film Poster Designs and the Compositional Similarities within specific genres
No full textA film poster is an integral part of the promotion and marketing of an upcoming film. It encapsulates the essence of the film and is used in theatres, DVDs, and advertisements. For effective promotion, designers must create film posters that are relevant to the film they represent. This study explored whether film posters have common compositional aspects within genres. Previous research has explored genre classification and colour theory within film posters. However, the analysis of composition within film posters has been insufficiently researched in the context of recognizing patterns throughout film genres. I explored four film genres and analyzed existing film posters within these genres using a visual analysis tool. The analysis was then used to define a summarized composition of each genre, which then created generated posters using this analysis and definition. These generated posters consisted of low fidelity posters made using basic shapes such as circles and squares. The posters were used in participant interviews which followed a semi-structured approach. I asked participants questions to further their reflection about the posters and create discussion. Each participant was asked to label each poster with a genre based on their understanding of what they would assume to be the genre of the generated film poster. After analyzing the results from the participants’ decisions, the findings indicate that film posters have similar compositions within genres. These similarities are further recognized by film consumers and impact consumers’ perceptions of film posters
Whiteness as Beauty: A critical analysis of South Korean tone-up cream and sunscreen advertorials
Get PDFDo online shopping advertorials for whitening skincare products in South Korea perpetuate a racial hierarchy wherein whiteness is maintained as an ideal beauty standard? If so, how is this hierarchy articulated and reinforced with words and images? Whitening products, such as tone-up creams and sunscreens, have become increasingly prevalent in the skincare industry in South Korea. Adding a level of nuance to earlier research, my research undertakes a critical feminist discourse analysis method to examine 19 skincare advertorials on the South Korean beauty e-commerce site, Olive Young Global. This study breaks new ground by taking an inductive analysis approach to analyzing these advertorials to produce findings comparable to similar studies in other Asian countries. Thus, it works to confirm the overall message being communicated that these products are sold as the key to a woman’s quest for a white beauty ideal. By undertaking an inductive critical discourse analysis, the research will develop themes based on the exploration of these advertorials with some guidance from existing literature. The globalization of beauty promotes a falsely universal white(ned) woman, and this project evidences a nuanced analysis of the lexical choices and images employed to promote the idea that whiteness and youthfulness equate to “natural” beauty. This critical feminist discourse analysis will provide insight into how a racial hierarchy is reinforced through media and how the exclusion of racialized women from spaces intended to empower all women will reproduce the societal hierarchy among women within the beauty industry
Art and Identity in the Forbidden City: Paradox in One Day in 2004 No. 6
Get PDFBy representing and manipulating locations that hold widespread cultural significance, artists mediate the relationship between individuals and city spaces. The photographic work of Cui Xiuwen explores the complexity of identity formation in the Forbidden City, the political center of China. Studying the nuances of her piece One Day in 2004 No. 6 reveals the tension of the relationship between the body and the spaces it inhabits. Though Cui has emphasized the dominating presence of Tiananmen Gate looming over her youthful female figure, the image also supports the agency of this young girl. Rather than defining the piece as a representation of either subordination to the weight of cultural history or the assertion of individual identity, this paper recognizes the paradox inherent in the work. In my analysis of the photographic image, I embrace contradictory readings of its meaning to emphasize the importance of visual culture in how individuals define themselves in city spaces. The paper draws on the shifting cultural meaning of Tiananmen Gate and contextualizes Cui’s work with pieces by other contemporary Chinese artists, including Hu Ming and Lin Xin, engaging in similar themes. Analyzing specific elements of Cui’s piece, such as the Young Pioneer’s Uniform and the young girl’s cyborg hand, reveals the significance of gender when considering identity formation in the Forbidden City. This paper outlines the subtleties of Cui’s artwork to place it in conversation with academic and artistic representations of the Forbidden City, as the historical significance of this space continues to influence self-conception
The Interior Other: Gender and Monstrosity in Victorian Gothic Novels
Get PDFRepresentations of monstrosity in literature reveal the cultural tensions of specific historical periods, as collective social fears become embodied by creatures intended to disturb their audiences. Gothic novels of the late Victorian Era rely on these representations of darkness in society, and the different monsters created by Victorian authors reflect various views of social norms, particularly in relation to gender. This essay focuses on Bram Stoker’s sexually threatening vampires in Dracula and Robert Louis Stevenson’s physically repulsive representation of the duality of humankind in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Portrayals of monsters in the late nineteenth century were not limited to literature, but also evident in visual works, such as Aubrey Beardsley’s renderings of Salomé for Oscar Wilde’s publication of a play by the same name. While Stoker’s engagement with monstrosity villainizes female sexual subjectivity, Stevenson’s depiction of corruption questions socially performative masculinity. An analysis of Beardsley’s images emphasizes the potential for sexually subjective female monsters like those in Dracula to contradict social gender norms much like Stevenson’s representation of Mr Hyde, rather than perpetuate the sexual repression of women as Stoker’s novel does. However, the exoticized nature of these drawings also highlights the association between imperial ideologies and representations of gendered monstrosity which both Stoker and Stevenson exhibit as they express anxieties about the colonial other in their texts. Studying these works allows insight into the connections between gender, sexual normativity, and the colonial other that continue to be relevant in contemporary media