MacEwan Open Journals (MacEwan University)
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Social Darwinism, Class Conflict, and War: The Interplay between Organicism, Marxian Dialectics, and Military Conflict
No full textIn this paper, the idea that war has been seen as - and used as - a tool of what Spencer would call \u27social Darwinism\u27 is put forward and advanced. The cocurrent evolution of war and society is measured through the understandings of various classical theorists and modern sociologists. Alongside these thoughts, Marxian class conflict is then brought to bear and the entire paper becomes a compare and contrast between organicists and class conflict theories and how war has been view by - and justified by - both throughout history. Ending in a call to arms for the creation of new theories and a re-evalutation of conventional knowledge surrounding class conflict, social Darwinism, and war, this paper calls for another level of sociological analysis on the state, inter-state, and planetary scale
Straight from the Horse’s Mouth: A Case Study on the Adult Male Fans of My Little Pony
No full textThis is a qualitative case study that examines an alternative subculture composed of adult males who are fans of the Hub Network cartoon television series: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Given the predominantly female cast of pony characters who primarily serve as positive role models for children, the fan base, which refers to itself as "bronies", provides a unique opportunity to explore a group that defies traditional norms regarding masculinity. Four main themes were explored. First, this study seeks to explain why adult males are drawn to this particular show. In addition, this study explores how the bronies are perceived by others who are not part of this subculture. Since it is presumed that bronies are regarded in a negative manner by outsiders, this study also attempts to explain how bronies deal with these primarily negative perceptions. Finally, this study examines how a sub-group within the fan base who derive sexual pleasure from the pony characters differ from the more mainstream group of bronies. Bronies make for a fascinating subculture when framed within gender and sexuality in the age of the internet. Content analyses and narrative analyses were employed using a variety of data sources including online message boards specially created by fans to discuss the television series, popular new stories and a documentary on the bronies subculture. While unusual, the bronies, for the most part, appear to be a harmless group of males who are brought together by a common interest in a cartoon that promotes friendship and acceptance and many inadvertently help to break down traditional stereotypes
Depictions of Women in Victorian Literature: Precursors of Social Change or Stereotypical
No full textEngland’s Victorian Age was pregnant with the seeds of social change, inter-sown with the nutrients of personal and national introspection. Within this upheaval, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Charles Dicken’s Hard Times expose concerns about the position and value of Victorian females. This stereotypical portrayal of their characters can be transplanted to the current, twenty-first century struggle with gender equality. Exploration of our past can light our present as well as illuminate our gendered/non-gendered future
Relevant Restaurant Interests to Partnering with Non-Profit Organizations
No full textMealshare is a newly formed non-profit organization that partners with restaurants to feed persons in need. We conducted exploratory and quantitative research on Edmonton and area restaurants to identify those restaurant interests leading to partnerships with non-profit organizations. By performing in-depth interviews with restaurant owners and managers within Edmonton, we discovered main themes such as marketing benefits of social responsibility, preferences for charities to donate to, concerns about charity work, and influences on choosing social responsibility efforts. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to restaurant owners and managers, from which we derived tentative conclusions and recommendations to enhance the Mealshare brand and identify future opportunities. Based on the findings, we find that Mealshare should focus on configuring their marketing activities to emphasize community involvement, time constraint management, and marketing benefits, as well as tailor themselves for independently owned restaurants
Brittle Stars: A story of success in biodiversity.
No full textThe brittle star is found in a wide range of habitats all over the world. The regenerative and adaptive capabilities have allowed them to diversify. Huge photo evidence has determined several species to be invasive as they dispurse into new habitats
