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The decline of Hip-Hop as a political medium: an examination of digital sampling and its impact on the genre\u27s evolution
Get PDFThe decline of hip-hop as a political medium has been a dramatic turn for the genre since its creation. The specific use of digital sampling was a mechanism in the genre\u27s ability to express African American socio-political struggles. During hip-hop\u27s Golden Age, artists used sampling not only as a creative tool but as a means to politically empower communities, foster civic engagement, and revive historical messages of resistance. However, the rise of mass commercialization and the imposition of legal copyright restrictions—particularly through landmark cases like Grand Upright Music Ltd. v. Warner Brothers (1991) and Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films (2005)—dramatically curtailed artists\u27 ability to sample freely. This research argues that these legal and economic constraints coalesced to dismantle sampling as a vehicle for political messaging, thereby stripping hip-hop of one of its most powerful expressive tools. By threading sampling\u27s decline into existing scholarly discussions on commercialization and legal reform, this research provides a more comprehensive understanding of hip-hop\u27s transformation from a medium of liberation to one of consumerism—and suggests that reviving its political voice requires reimagining creative freedom in the genre today
Exploring the relationship between exercise, social support, and mental health
Get PDFThis study explored the relationship between exercise, social support, and mental health in college students. Mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and stress are prevalent among college students. The two components that are experimented with for their potential in decreasing the effects of negative mental health are exercise and social support. This project executed a cross-sectional design by surveying three groups of college students: cycle class participants, independent exercisers, and non-active students. The recruitment process for the three groups of participants were key in measuring the physical activity levels. The participants were individually asked if they completed a specific duration of physical activity per week. Since the cycling participants are involved in a group fitness class, this group helped highlight the effects of social support on mental health. Mental health was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). A one-way ANOVA was conducted to compare the mental health scores across the three groups. The results displayed no significant differences in mental health scores between the groups (p-values: depression =0.239, anxiety = 0.790, and stress = 0.406). Even though the results did not display a statistically different impact of physical activity and social support on the mental health scores, this is likely due to the small sample size rather than lack of influence. This project suggests that future research, with larger sample sizes or different measures could be more beneficial to better prove the influence of physical activity on mental health
Trevor Paglen: Visible through the invisible
Get PDFTrevor Paglen is a practicing artist, geographer, and photographer. Paglen investigates our relationship with the evergrowing advancements in technology and surveillance. By examining the “invisible through the visible” with multidisciplinary practices and image-making, Trevor Paglen explores the fragments of Artificial Intelligence and mass surveillance to understand the underlying forces of the systems we live in.https://scholar.utc.edu/global-contemporary-artists/1026/thumbnail.jp
Parental Leave Policies as Structures of Inequality
No full textParental leave policies should be a key aspect of ensuring reproductive justice for all families as they choose to expand. Unfortunately, in relation to university policies, the reproductive health of birth givers in the United States is not ensured and takes a backseat to the needs of the business rather than their employees. When Parental Leave policies are created to further the investment and protection of the college, complex terminology takes over what should be an understandable document. When work-based policies are unclear or do not cover the full range of birth and family outcomes, inequality reaches new heights in the workplace. To investigate this issue, I have compiled and coded a corpus of parental leave documents for universities in the United States to analyze their independent discrepancies. Finding these modes of injustice within education based policies furthers the claim of reproductive health being categorized as an inconsequential aspect of parental leave. The process of rhetorical policy analysis enables the compilation of injustices in the education administration when it comes to the reproductive rights and well-being of university employees
Analyzing anuran diversity in urban and rural wetlands using frog call citizen science data
Get PDFAmphibians are currently experiencing a crisis of high extinction rates because of habitat destruction, and climate change. Citizen science, the incorporation of citizens in data collection or management of scientific research, has become necessary to monitor populations widely. The Tennessee Amphibian Monitoring Program is a citizen science program, at the state-level that conducts manual calling surveys in Tennessee. The TAMP dataset was analyzed to see if there was a difference in diversity and abundance of anurans in urban wetlands compared to rural wetlands in the Ridge and Valley ecoregion. A Hutchenson’s t-test and a Mann-Whitney U test found that the diversity scores of the two groups were not equal, with the rural wetlands having significantly higher diversity than the urban wetlands. Occupancy modeling found that rural wetlands appear to contain more sensitive and rarer anurans. The TAMP data can further facilitate our understanding of land use impacts on amphibian conservation
Explaining the wealth gap in Chattanooga through housing policy design: Do Chattanooga housing policies contribute to the wealth gap?
Get PDFSome scholars contend various public policies have continued to play a role in the creation and persistence of racial wealth inequalities particularly in housing. This thesis explains the wealth gap in Chattanooga through housing policy design and answers the question: Do Chattanooga housing policies contribute to the wealth gap? The thesis also explores local Chattanooga policies believed to influence the wealth gap such as the destruction of the Big Nine, the redevelopment of the Golden Gateway, and the many City of Chattanooga zoning codes (redlining). In addition, this thesis will examine federal policies that have contributed to the wealth gap such as the creation of Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC), The National Housing Act of 1934, and the G.I Bill. Throughout time, these policies have prohibited and limited economic opportunities for African Americans, especially within the housing sector. This thesis examines the relationship between public policy and the wealth gap. Specifically, a policy design framework is used to assess the relationship between local housing policies and the wealth gap in Chattanooga as expressed in homeownership. In addition, the thesis also examines additional political and socioeconomic factors thought to influence wealth inequities, the research suggests that government policies and programs play a role, whether intended or not, in the development and persistence of wealth-related disparities. By focusing on housing as a critical factor in the racial wealth gap in Chattanooga, this research aims to provide a deeper understanding of how current policies and historic policies continue to shape the outcomes for the communities in Chattanooga, specifically the African-American communities in Chattanooga. The most common entry point to accumulating wealth in America has been through the acquisition of property, specifically housing. Because property generally increases in value over time, Americans with access to it have been able to use the equity (property value less the mortgage owed) in their homes to fund other activities that contribute to personal wealth. For example, acquiring additional property, funding higher education or private school, buying equipment to start a business, etc. With unrestricted access to property, white Americans have been able to accumulate wealth at a higher rate than any other racial group. Now, in 2024, not only is the wealth gap between Whites and Blacks as wide as it\u27s ever been but also the diversification of the types of assets that make up the wealth of a typical White American has outpaced every other race as well. The more diversified an individual’s assets are, the less likely they’ll be subject to drastic increases and decreases due to outside economic factors Currently, the average Black American’s wealth is overwhelmingly based on home equity (44%). Conversely, home equity makes up only about 19% of the average White American’s net worth. (NCRC article)
The impact of parent-child interactions on emotion regulation in adulthood
Get PDFChildhood is a time where emotional skills are formed. These skills often reflect the primary caregiver(s) modeling and interactions which may shape emotional intelligence. This research aimed to assess if specific parenting approaches have lasting effects on a person’s ability to emotionally regulate. The sample included 141 adults, who responded to questions reflecting the parenting approaches they observed, and their current state of emotional regulation. Results from our regression analysis showed when controlling for age, parental warmth in childhood predicted one’s later ability to use cognitive reappraisal skills. Results from our correlational analysis showed strong positive associations between overindulgence, cognitive reappraisal, and warmth, and negative correlations between psychological control, expressive suppression, age, and warmth. Implications and future research are discussed
The benefits of increasing access to theatre education in K-12 schools
Get PDFTheatre has been a part of education in the United States since the nineteenth century, when Horace Mann launched the public-school movement, and educators introduced the children of immigrants to American language and culture. The use of theatre in education has gradually evolved along with K-12 curriculums in the United States. However, during this time, theatre has not been used as well or much as it could be, even though participation in theatre can improve students’ educational achievements while simultaneously teaching important life skills. In my research, I look at how theatre can be a vital part of education in secondary schools in the United States and how theatre can help school systems reach their educational goals. After reading a range of studies about the benefits of theatre, I analyzed the Hamilton County, Tennessee, Board of Education’s strategic plan, Opportunity 2030, to see how theatre aligns with its goals. Even though Opportunity 2030 does not mention the inclusion of theatre to achieve its goals, my research demonstrates that theatre provides undeniable benefits for students, advancing the educational goals set forth in school districts’ strategic plans
Rewriting women: the narratives of Angela Carter and Kathy Acker
Get PDFThis paper outlines the significance of contemporary readings of feminist writers Angela Carter and Kathy Acker and traces the genres and theories they utilize: magic realism, pastiche strategy, and postmodern feminism. Through their employment of these aesthetic and expressive strategies, they position themselves kairotically as writers conscious of the context from which they are writing in. This paper explores Acker and Carter’s adherence to the arguments of postmodern feminism through their navigation of feminine identity, sexuality, and their critiques of patriarchy and capitalism. For this paper’s argument that contemporary audiences should continue to read Acker and Carter, the evidence drawn from their text seeks to highlight the ways in which their concerns continue to be the concerns of contemporary audiences while leaving room for some thematic adaptability
Effects of Gameplay Context on Visual Search Performance
Get PDFGames of all modalities have been found to improve different cognitive skills. This experiment examined the cognitive skills of visual attention and search, and explored whether different modalities of one game would have different effects on visual search abilities. Specifically, we asked whether playing a game alone or with a partner, or playing an analog or digital version of this game would have measurable effects on visual attention and search. Participants (N = 30) completed a visual search task before and after playing the card game SET in three different experimental conditions. SET was chosen because of its focus on visual searching and matching. A three-way analysis of variance was conducted to analyze the data collected from the experiment. The findings indicate that playing the game may improve visual search performance regardless of the modality in which it is played. However, contrary to our hypothesis, there was no significant effect of modality. Limitations, practical implications, and future directions are further discussed