bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Disparate Academic Environments: An Emergent Framework of Socialization
Authors: Thompson Michael
Published: February 2021

Twenty-four graduate associate and/or full professors from four disparate academic environments were interviewed on the salient attributes they emphasize and reinforce to their graduate students in socializing them to the professional norms of their respective academic discipline. Qualitative research methodology was utilized to assess and understand the socialization mechanisms and processes of graduate students within disparate academic environments. The results of the study have produced a new theoretical framework for understanding the differential patterns of student learning and development as a result of student’s collegiate experience.
Shifting Paradigms and Mapping the Process: Graduate Students Respond to Qualitative Research
Authors: Reisetter Marcia , Yexley Melinda , Bonds Deborah , Nickels Holly , McHenry William
Published: February 2021

We describe the experiences and responses of a group of graduate students as they first encountered an in-depth study of qualitative research methods. Four themes emerged as having important contributions: the nature of previous research experiences, personal style and learning preferences, epistemological and philosophical commitments, and assessment of professional viability.
Homophobia: An Autoethnographic Story
Authors: McLaurin Shamla
Published: February 2021

This article is an autoethnographic account of one person’s struggle with homophobia. It chronicles the experiences and internal battle of the author as she struggles to understand and be accepting of homosexuality. The author identifies and discusses messages received, in early childhood and adulthood, as it relates to homosexuality and gender. These messages encompass religious ideology, as well as family and community beliefs toward gay/lesbian individuals.
"We're Just Friends": Myth Construction As A Communication Strategy In Maintaining Cross-Sex Friendships
Authors: Harvey Vickie
Published: February 2021

The main goal of this research is to present a narrative description and identify categorical myths of cross-sex friendship in order to more fully understand the romance challenge confronting women and men in friendship. Closer examination into the challenges confronting cross-sex friends through narratives generate insight into the process of communication and interpretation of how friends construct, change and sustain their reality of their friendship. Current research suggests that cross-sex friendships differ from same-sex friendships (Werking, 1997). Respondents were 120 college students from a Midwest college and a West Coast college attending communication classes between 2000-2002. Respondents kept a journal discussing developmental and current issues of one cross-sex friendship.
Near Complete Protection Against Covid-19 in a Section of Population: Implication of Lockdown on Development of Passive Vaccination to Counter SARS-CoV-2 Attack
Authors: Chakravarty Ph.D Prabir
Published: February 2021

COVID-19 is fast spreading around the globe in a highly contagious manner. Until date there are no therapeutic agents/vaccines developed which could control this highly infectious virus from spreading among human population. During early stage of COVID-19, stringent Lockdown was implemented throughout India on 25 March, 2020. Our earlier findings reflected that early introduction of complete Lockdown significantly controlled the spread of COVID-19 in the population immediately after Lockdown. It was hypothesized that immune response was responsible for the control of the spread of COVID-19. To further evaluate the role of immune response/passive vaccination, data from COVID-19 positive/recovered individuals in eight states were assessed for the month of December, 2020. The results from our study reflect that in all the eight states, there was marked decrease in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases after Lockdown, with one region recording no COVID-19 cases. All the states studied had very low number of active cases; the minimum number being two even after such a long period from the start of this disease. A negative correlation between number of recovered individuals and number of active cases of COVID-19 was noted. Here we hypothesize that passive immunization may have played a significant role in controlling SARS-CoV-2. It could be inferred from this study that implementation of prolonged Lockdown was able attenuate the virus and create an environment for the development of passive immunity in the section of population studied.
INFLUENCE OF FOOD AVAILABILITY ON THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF CHILDREN OF 6 MONTHS TO 23 MONTHS
Authors: Manyore Melvin Salvatore
Published: February 2021

Purpose: The study, therefore, seeks to establish the relationship between the food availability and nutritional status of children of 6 months to 23 months. Specifically, the study will seek to determine the influence of food availability, food accessibility, food utilization and food safety on the nutritional status of children of 6 months to 23 months in Kenya.Methodology: The study will take a case study of Kenyan referral level 5 hospital. The hospital has approximately 600 mothers to children of 6 months to 23 months attending clinic in a month. This study will adopt descriptive cross sectional survey design. The study will target the mothers to the children of 6 months to 23 months. The study will also target the head nurses and Paediatricians from the nursing units in the hospital as the key informants. Stratified random sampling method will be used to select the respondents. That is, from the mothers of children of age groups 6-8 months, 9-11 months and 12-23 months. Data will be collected using self-administered structured questionnaires and the Key informant interview guides (KIIs). The study will use Fisher formula to select a sample size of 201 mothers from the total population. Pre-testing of the instruments will be conducted to determine the validity and reliability of the instrument. Data will be analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Data will be analyzed using chi-square to test the association between the variables. Binary logistic regression (Odds ratio regression) will be used to test the multivariate relationships between various independent and dependent variables.Findings: The study finds that there is a significant impact of food availability on nutritional status of children of 6 months to 23 months. Unique contribution to theory, policy, and practice: TThe inadequacy and unavailability of healthy and nutritious food in many households especially in the Sub-Saharan Africa indicates the serious level of food insecurity. Hartman, et al. (2016) additionally, finds out that dietary intake is not different by disease status (remission or relapse) however, in the absence of nutritional supplements, food intake is inadequate for many nutrients in many children stomach problems.
FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND THE GROWTH OF MICROFINANCE SECTOR IN KENYA
Authors: Njuguna Dr. James Rurigi , Gakure Prof. Roselyn , Waititu Dr. Anthony Gichuhi , Katuse Dr. Paul
Published: February 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate how financial risk management strategies lead to growth of MFI sector in Kenya.Methodology: The study adopted a correlation survey research design. The population of this study was fifty seven (57) MFIs. The sampling frame was the list of MFIs provided in the AMFI website www.amfikenya.com. A sample of thirteen (17) MFIs was selected using the random sampling approach. A questionnaire and an interview schedule were the main data collection tools. Qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis whereas the quantitative data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) where descriptive and regression analysis were conducted to determine the relationship between enterprise risk management strategies and growth of MFIs.Findings: The findings indicated that MFIs had effective financial risk management strategies such as effective credit risk management practices, liquidity risk management practices, interest risk management practices and price risk management practices. In particular, MFIs took into consideration the conditions, characters, capacity, collateral and capital of borrowers. Strict debt collection practices were widely adopted by MFIs. In addition, the concept of Know Your Customer (KYC) policy, seem to have been adopted by MFIs. The relationship between financial risk management strategies and growth was positive and significant. It also shown that sources of funds for MFIs include external sources and internal sources and the most frequently used source of funds are bank loans. The use of banks loans may present various risk exposures to MFIs, the most significant being interest rate risk. However, the ability of MFIs to source funds from various sources indicates that MFIs can apply the pecking order by first exploiting internal sources of funds since they present a lower financial risks and then move on to external sources. However, despite the financial risk exposure accompanied by leverage from external sources, MFIs may also benefit as they may experience higher growth driven by the leverage. It was also found that MFIs had put in place a number of good practices that had emerged to promote responsible and inclusive lending. These include loan size limits, standardized (simple) loan terms, zero tolerance on delinquency, group-based lending. This finding implies that MFIs have put in place effective credit risk management policies which are part of an overall financial risk management strategy. The existence of effective financial risk management practices may have influenced the growth of MFIsUnique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommends that the MFIs to continue practicing effective financial management practices as this would improve the growth of MFIs.
FACTORS THAT AFFECT TAX COMPLIANCE AMONG SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMES) IN LUSAKA, ZAMBIA
Authors: Thabani Mazwi , Richard Dr. Eng  Kasongo Mwale
Published: February 2021

Purpose: Tax is an important stream of revenue for government’s development projects. However, tax compliance among SMEs is poor. Therefore, this study was conducted using SMEs in Lusaka, Zambia to evaluate and rank the factors that encourage non-compliance with tax obligation by SMEs.Methodology: The data analysis was done with the help of the statistical package for service solution (SPSS) and this hypothesis was tested with Microsoft Office Excel 2007 using the one sample z-test computed from the figures obtained in the summary statistics table.Findings: It was found that high tax rates and complex filing procedures are the most crucial factors causing non-compliance of SMEs. Other factors like multiple taxation and lack of proper enlightenment affect tax compliance among the SMEs interviewed only to a lesser extent.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: It is recommended that SMEs should be levied lower percentage of taxes to allow enough funds for business development and better chances of survival in a competitive market. The government should also consider increasing tax incentives such as exemptions and tax holidays as these will not only encourage voluntary compliance but also attract investors who are potential viable tax payers in the future.
Control of Oppressive Interest Rates and Charges by Banks and the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants - The Urgent Imperative for Statutory Protection
Authors: Babalola (SAN) Afe OFR, CON, SAN, LL.D , Chigbo Clement C.
Published: February 2021

Purpose: The purpose of the work is to examine the ways by which the court and legislature can control critical interest rates on loan bargains and legislation can be used to exercise/impose a significant legal control over the relationship between landlords and residential/occupiers.Methodology: The paper adopts the doctrinal research methodology/ approach of reviewing cases and statutes and international instruments in aiming at a valid conclusion. Emphasis were placed on statutes and case laws as primary sources. Relevance was as well placed on journal, articles, text books, internet materials, among others as secondary materials.Findings: The paper finds that many Nigerians will be exposed to unmitigated hardship and suffering during this era of covid-19 pandemic as a result of lockdown and restrictions imposed by the government in the effort and measures to contain and curb the spread of the coronavirus. Unique contribution to theory, policy and practice: The paper urges the government to adopt as a primary political objective- the use of legislation to ameliorate the plight of Nigerians in the loan bargain sector and in the residential (housing) sector. In this regard, the paper contributes to practice and policy of government by using law as an instrument of social engineering
ADOPTION OF THE BASEL II ACCORD BY COMMERCIAL BANKS IN KENYA
Authors: Nkirote Kinoti Julie , McFie Dr. J.
Published: February 2021

Purpose: The focus of the study was on the possibility of adopting Basel II accord by Kenya commercial banks.Methodology: The study adopted a descriptive survey design. A population of 45 commercial banks was identified from the central bank of Kenya website. A census was undertaken as the population was small enough. A self-report questionnaire was the data collecting instrument used in this study. Consequently, a questionnaire was handed out to each bank bringing the total number of questionnaires to 45. A nonrandom sampling/purposive sampling technique was used and managers in risk management, audit, operations and finance were highly preferred respondents.Results: The study findings indicated that that the majority of banks had not complied with the prerequisites to Basel II. In addition, the study identified the challenges to implementation of Basel II prerequisites as lack of expertise, poor regulation and supervision and lack of credit information.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommended that the challenges identified can be addressed if a collaborative effort between banks and the central bank of Kenya was used to impart knowledge on the implementation of Basel II and its prerequisites. A credit reference bureau would also be very effective in availing credit information for the various banks assets. The area of further study identified in the study relates to the empirical relationship between the costs of implementing Basel II and the financial performance of banks
ANALYSIS OF FACTORS AFFECTING TAX COMPLIANCE BY SMES IN KIAMBU COUNTY
Authors: Mbuguah Simon , Mwambia Prof. Mwambia , Baimwera Bernard
Published: February 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine factors affecting tax compliance by Smesin Kiambu CountyMethodology: The study adopted descriptive survey design and the research. The study population was 1084Smes in Kiambu County where a sample size of 325Smes was selected. Data was collected through structured and unstructured Questionnaires. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and results presented in frequency tables to show how the responses for the various questions posed to the respondents.Results: The study findings revealed that Non compliance opportunities, compliance cost, knowledge requirements and decision frames had a positive and significant effect on tax compliance. The study led to conclusion that the authorities had a weak capacity in detecting tax evasion, it was cheaper to bribe a tax official than pay full amount of tax, corrupt, fine and penalties deterred tax evasion and that degree of regulation deterred tax evasion, that tax system and rates affected the rate and amounts of tax evasion, nature and degree of regulations affected tax evasion, size and how the business was structured had a direct or indirect effect on tax evasion, location and focus of business affected tax evasion and that the type of business the tax payers were in affected tax evasion.Policy recommendation: The study recommended that the authorities should adopt high and modern technology to help in detecting tax evasion, proper measures should be emphasized on officials taking bribes, fines and penalties should be issued to those evading paying tax and that proper regulatory framework should be put in place to deter tax evasion and that the government should consider increasing tax incentives such as exemptions and tax holidays as these will not only encourage voluntary compliance but also attract investors who are potential viable tax payers in the future.
INTERACTION EFFECTS BETWEEN WATER HARVESTING TECHNIQUES AND SPACING ON GRAIN YIELD AND ABOVE GROUND BIOMASS OF COWPEA
Authors: Galwab Armara Macimiliam , Kamau Prof. Peter
Published: February 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the interaction effects between  water harvesting techniques and spacing on grain yield and above ground biomass of cowpea.Methodology: A randomized complete block design was used. Field experiments were conducted. The study was conducted at Agriculture demonstration farm (Dakabaricha) and Yayo’s farm(Nagayo) and a private farm Demo farm. There were 18 treatment combinations consisting of three water harvesting techniques and two intra-row spacing.Results: The use of tied ridges (W3/S2) as the first and open ridges (W2/S1) as the second efficient techniques of water harvesting for this specific condition (Arid and semi-arid). In line with the above ground biomass, tied ridges with a spacing of 60 x 20cm planting could be safely recommended as the first and effective type of water harvesting techniques for use as a means of soil and water conservation for rain-fed cowpea under the prevailing conditions. The results of the study also showed that water harvesting techniques had a significant effect on the growth and yield of cowpea (Katumani K80).Unique  Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Farmers are encourage to give more emphasis to water harvesting techniques in situ and drought tolerant crops (DTC) which are high yielding in order to bost the economic of the resource poor residence in the area through capacity building. An assessment of adaptation of more cowpea genotypes at different environments across years is recommended. The investigation provided sufficiently evidence to continue with further studies.
DETERMINANTS OF SUCCESSFUL PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON PERFORMANCE OF ROADS PROJECTS AT KENYA NATIONAL HIGHWAYS AUTHORITY
Authors: Wanjira Kellen , Ngari Dr. Christine
Published: February 2021

Purpose: The study aims at investigating the determinants of successful project management practices on performance of roads projects at Kenya National Highways Authority. This study was limited to four variables, which include project monitoring, management support, Project team, and Project funding.Methodology: The study employed a descriptive research design. The target population included the top project management team of KeNHA, Monitoring Officers of KeNHA, Project Engineers (PEs), financial officers and auditors, Consultants and Contractors in the entire structure of KeNHA totaling to 174. The study employed stratified random sampling technique to acquire a sample size of 87. The study collected both quantitative and qualitative data through the use of a organized survey of questionnaire. Data was presented in the form of frequency distribution tables, graphs and pie charts that facilitates description and explanation of the study findings. Results: The study findings revealed that project monitoring, management support, Project team competency and Project funding influence performance of roads projects at KeNHA. The results of findings indicates that a unit increase in project monitoring, management support  Project team competency and Project funding leads to 0.873, 0.581, 0.713 and 0.289 increase in performance of roads projects at KeNHA respectively. The study concluded that Project Funds greatly influence road Project Completion. Recommendations: The study recommends that management should provide the necessary provision to the practical and operating workers in the development of road project operations for real and practical success of objectives. Highly qualified and experienced management support with a relevant experience and technical skills should be hired to implement road projects. This will enable the Kenya government get value for their money, achieve on-time projects completion and save huge costs.
DETERMINANTS OF PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION ON PERFORMANCE OF REAL ESTATE PROJECTS FINANCED BY REGISTERED SACCOS IN NAIROBI CITY COUNTY, KENYA.
Authors: Masasabi Hamida Wambui , Ngari Dr. Christine
Published: February 2021

Purpose: The performance of projects in the Kenyan land development industry has of late been tempestuous. The study was particularly centered on the impact of task planning, venture correspondence, asset accessibility and partner's association on usage of land ventures actualized by SACCOS. The investigation was guided by the following specific objectives: to analyze the influence of project planning on performance of real estate projects financed by registered SACCOS in Nairobi City County; to establish the influence of project communication management on performance of real estate projects financed by registered SACCOS in Nairobi City County; to assess the influence of stakeholder involvement on performance of real estate projects financed by registered SACCOS in Nairobi City County; and to assess the influence of resource availability on performance of real estate projects financed by registered SACCOS in Nairobi City County.Methodology: The study utilized descriptive examination outline. The target population of this study comprised of all the 153 land development ventures being actualized by the 38 SACCOS enrolled by SASRA in Nairobi County. The examination used census on all the land ventures. Statistical Package for Social Sciences computer programming was utilized for examination. Both descriptive and inferential investigation was directed.Results: An excellent response rate of 94.7% was realized. It was established that most of the project implementation indicators have positive impact on performance of the real estate projects. The study further adopted a regression analysis to determine the relationship between the variables. The study findings showed that the four variables had a significant influence on performance of the real estate projects.Contribution to policy and practice: The study recommended that a similar research should be conducted with an aim at investigating the determinates of project implementation on the performance of real estate projects financed by registered SACCOS in Nairobi with other variables or of other firms in other sectors, including the other counties in the Kenya. The findings showed that 69.4 % of the performance is explained by the four variables while 30.6 can be accounted by other factors captured by the standard error.
DETERMINANTS OF SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF DIGITAL LITERACY PROJECT IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN BARINGO COUNTY, KENYA
Authors: Sutter Florence , Kihara Dr. Allan
Published: February 2021

Purpose: The study aimed at finding out the determinants of successful implementation of digital literacy project in public primary schools in Baringo County in Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the effect of school leadership, information communication technology teacher competence, and teacher workload and information communication technology infrastructure. The study was founded on Technology Acceptance Theory, Resource Based Theory, Upper Echelons Theory and the Technology, Organization and Environment Model theories. This study adopted a descriptive survey research design. Methodology: The study targeted 612 stakeholders in the implementation of the Digital Literacy Project in public schools including the Ministry of education Science and Technology representative who is the Sub county Directors, the TSC Sub County Directors, curriculum support officers in the County, the Kenya Institute of Special Education Sub County coordinators, the Kenya Primary Schools Head Teachers Association Sub County coordinators, the Kenya National Union of Teachers Sub County coordinators  and the  head teachers of the public primary schools in Baringo county. Yamane formula was used to determine a sample size of 150 respondents. Structured questionnaire presented in likert scale were used in collecting primary data. Descriptive statistics such as percentages, mean and frequency was used to analyze the collected data. The study also used inferential statistics such as correlation and regression. Results: The study found that school leader of technology encourage use of technology in teaching and learning and help teachers establish goals to implementation of technology in achieving their instructional strategies and that school leader’s interest; their commitment and championing implementation of ICT programs in schools positively influenced the whole process. The study concluded that school leadership had the greatest influence on implementation of digital literacy project in public primary schools in Baringo County in Kenya in Kenya followed by ICT infrastructure, then teachers ICT competence while teachers’ workload had the least influence on the implementation of digital literacy project in public primary schools in Baringo County in Kenya.Contribution to policy and practice: The study recommends that the school leaders should increase their compliance with the various policies so as to ensure more effective integration of learning and teaching in primary schools and that school administration and stakeholders in education needs to be more supportive towards implementation of ICT programs.
DETERMINANTS OF SUSTAINABILITY OF WATER PROJECTS AT MACHAKOS COUNTY IN KENYA
Authors: Lillian Nganga , Mutiso Dr. Josephine
Published: February 2021

Purpose: The study sought to establish the determinants of sustainability of water projects in Machakos County, Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to establish the effect of project management capacity, government policies, resource support and monitoring on sustainability of water projects in Machakos County Kenya. The study was guided by Project Management Competency Model, Policy Theory, Resource Based View Theory and Program Theory.Methodology:The target population comprised of 244 water projects in the county implemented by the county government, national government community and non-governmental organizations. The unit of observation was water project managers. A descriptive research design was adopted in the study. The study applied Yamane sampling formula to derive a sample of 151 respondents to be involved in the study.  The study used quantitative data that was collected from respondents using 5-point Likert scales questionnaire with closed ended questions. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The study findings were presented through tables and figures.Results: The study found that the key significant determinants of sustainability of water projects in Machakos County were capacity of the project management, government policies, monitoring and resource support. The study concluded that project management capacity had the greatest determinant of sustainability of water projects in Machakos County, followed by resource support, then monitoring while government policy had the least determinant of sustainability of water projects in Machakos County.Contribution to policy and practice: The study recommends that the government should advocate for proper planning with involvement of the benefiting community and timely implementation with the required results. This can be done through making of a policy by the ministry demanding for the practice of the same by the involved organizations. The project committee should set up financial structures considering both rising of funds and dissemination of the same in relation to operating and maintaining of the project. This can be done through learning and training on the same. The study also recommended that water beneficiaries and management should be sensitized to improve their knowledge on conservation and protection of water facilities from mismanagement and destructions. Community members should be involved in the determination of the water sale rates. County governments and the general management of the water projects in Kenya should ensure that the local community members are trained to do minor repairs.
MODERATING EFFECT OF PROJECT ENVIRONMENT ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONSTRAINED PROGRAMMING AND PROJECT OUTCOMES IN UNITED NATIONS AGENCIES IN KENYA.
Authors: Kwena Ronald , Mukulu Prof. Elegwa , Nzulwa Dr. Joyce , Odhiambo Prof. Romanus
Published: February 2021

Purpose: The aim of the study was to establish the moderating effect of project environment on the relationship between constrained programming and project outcomes in United Nations Agencies in Kenya.Methodology: A cross sectional survey is a method that involves the analysis of data collected from a population, or a representative subset, at one specific point in time (Orodho, 2011). This design is used to gather data on more than one case at a single point in time in order to collect a body of quantitative data in connection to the variables.  The study picked data for projects and sought to investigate the concept trends and status of project outcomes at a particular period (2014-2018).Results: The results indicated that the geographical environment affect  project outcomes (4.565); Social Cultural environment inhibit  project outcomes (3.875); Beliefs and traditions affect  project outcomes (4.670); Political instability hinders success of  project outcomes (3.734) and technological changes affect project outcomes (3.713). The findings revealed the moderating effect of project environment on the relationship between constrained programming and project outcomes in UN agencies in Kenya.Contribution to policy, practice and theory: Humanitarian projects should realize that in the present project environment, constrained programming forms an important element of intangible assets of the UN agencies.  These should be reconfigured to ensure that the projects seize opportunities, are proactive in the market place, make new product and process innovations.
Translated Bodies: A ‘Cartographic’ Approach
Authors: Romani Silvia
Published: February 2021

This contribution uses a contemporary comparandum, namely Antonia Byatt’s story The Stone Woman (2003), to think about the ancient idea that the petrification of a female body is not simply the result of a divine intervention or a magical act. On the contrary, this should be understood as the materialisation, the incarnation of an emotional petrification that derives from an inner trauma. To support this hypothesis, an analysis is offered of some case studies taken from ancient myths (the cases of Aglauros, Caenis and Ariadne), which show how the petrification of the body often occurs at a delicate moment in the growth phase of a young woman: that of the transition from childhood to adulthood.
Ephemeral Bodies: The ‘Candles’ of Urs Fischer
Authors: Baldacci Cristina
Published: February 2021

At the 54th Venice Biennale, Urs Fischer presented the most monumental
of his ‘candles’: a 1:1 scale replica of Giambologna’s The Rape of the Sabine
Women. Together with two other wax sculptures—a copy of his favourite
studio chair (a self-portrait) and the life-size statue of Rudolf Stingel (an
alter ego)—it formed quite an eclectic sculptural group. But this ‘untitled’
installation was far from being an exercise in monumentality. At the
Biennale opening, the sculptures were lit through candle wicks hidden
in their bodies and started to melt. Though copies replaced the ‘originals’,
Untitled resulted in a mass of ruins. More than a memento mori, it showed
the passage of time focusing on the afterlife of images.
Funeral Eulogy : Post-Mortem Figures and Redeemed Bodies, in Images
Authors: Farinotti Luisella
Published: February 2021

The essay explores the relationship between dead bodies, statues and
photographs, individuating in the images not only a means for petrifying
bodies, embalming them in time—as argued by Barthes, Debray and
Dubois—but also a form of re-animation of the inanimate. A sort of living
relic, the image is the frozen testimony of a fleeting vitality, a paradoxical
form of ‘visible hiding’ in which life and death are intertwined. The essay
demonstrates this process in some contemporary works, moving from The
Hidden Mother (L. Fregni Nagler, 2013), a series of portraits of babies from
the late nineteenth century. In these bodies of babies still alive, but in
which lives their very same corpse, death is a phantom but also a tangible
fear behind the photographic gesture.
Frozen into Allegory: Cleopatra’s Cultural Survival
Authors: Bronfen Elisabeth
Published: February 2021

This article explores the ambivalence at work in the cultural afterlife of
Cleopatra on stage and on screen. Three aspects of the resuscitation of
a political body frozen into a mythic signifier come into play: celebrity
as a modern form of political charisma, theatrical spectacle as support
of political power and imaginary projection as a tool for feminine selfperformance.
Shakespeare’s late tragedy and Mankiewicz’s Hollywood
epic are the main texts discussed.
The Well-Tempered Memorial : Abstraction, Anthropomorphism, Embodiment
Authors: Pinotti Andrea
Published: February 2021

This paper addresses some crucial categories in contemporary practices
of memorialisation and public sculpture, including the polarities
of “abstraction / figuration” and “transitivity / intransitivity” and the
questions of anthropomorphism and embodiment. Referring to paradigmatic
cases belonging to different media—sculpture, architecture,
video installations—and comparing different memorialistic subjects
(the Holocaust memorials, the Italian fascist sacraria, the monuments
dedicated to the Vietnam war), the chapter investigates the dialectics of
presence and absence in the relationship between the present material
body of the monument and the absent bodies evoked by the process of
memorialisation.
Three Dimensions of Bond : Adaptive Fidelity and Fictional Coherence in the Videogame Adaptations of GoldenEye
Authors: Jones Ian Bryce , Carloy Chris
Published: February 2021

Rare’s 1997 game GoldenEye 007 redefined the first-person shooter genre
not only through its mission-based gameplay, improved enemy AI, and
architecturally believable level designs, but also how it combined these
features to create an internally consistent, believable Bond experience.
When the game was remade in 2010, new developers Eurocom had to
negotiate intellectual property restrictions and new genre developments to
create a game that was both faithful to the beloved original and successful
on its own terms. We explore the relationship between these games via
the rubrics of adaptive fidelity (how faithfully each game operates as an
adaptation of the GoldenEye film) and fictional coherence (how well their
own components collaboratively encourage role-play as the character
of Bond).
Conclusion
Authors: Peterson William
Published: February 2021

While diminished audience numbers and the impossible scale of resources
required to successfully pull off international expositions over the last fifty
years suggests that their days are numbered in the West, the extraordinary
draw of the 2010 Shanghai Expo (73.1 million) demonstrates that the form
is far from dead. The massive resources that flowed into that expo and
the 2020 Dubai Exposition would suggest that top-down economies,
ones where the state functions as the seat of corporate power, can create
an attractive platform for any ambitious nation to seek out a seat at the
table. The future of representation at world’s fairs may thus be more about
‘nationalising the sell’ than representing nation.
Conjugal and Nuptial Symbolism in Medieval Christian Thought
Authors: Reynolds Philip L.
Published: February 2021

Medieval scholars, clerics, and religious perceived important resemblances between marriage and the relationship between God or Christ and the Church or its individual members. They construed the divine–human relationship as a mystical marriage, but they also used such analogies to explain the laws and morality of human marriage and as the basis of the doctrine of marriage as one of the sacraments. This chapter explores the diversity of such comparisons. Having noted the limitations of symbolism as our overarching category, Reynolds proposes that the implicit common denominator within medieval thought was a notion of representation, that is, a resemblance posited between corresponding items on two hierarchically ordered planes, respectively spiritual or divine and corporeal or created. Lower things, construed as signs or figures, provided cognitive and rhetorical access to analogous higher things, whereas higher things could function analogically as exemplars that lower things were required to emulate. But these two vectors of comparison were not always coincident.
Conclusion and Epilogue
Authors: Strasser Ulrike
Published: February 2021

The conclusion summarizes the main findings of this book’s exploration of the transgenerational and transregional Jesuit chain of influence in the early modern world. It stresses the simultaneously mimetic and individualistic manifestations of missionary masculinity and the role of media in reproducing it. While Jesuit masculinity left traces on societies around the world, the men and women whom the missionaries believed to have converted in turn also reformed European Catholicism. An epilogue takes the story to today’s US-controlled Guam where Chamorro Catholicism provides a site for anti-imperial critique and identity-formation, reflecting a process that began with the events narrated in this book. Notably, twenty-first-century Chamorro death customs still show vestiges of early modern matrilineal traditions and indigenous women’s agency.
From Conservative Moral Management to Survival: Conclusions
Authors: Peake Rose-Marie
Published: February 2021

The conclusion brings together the main findings of the book. It argues that as a whole the book has shown that the value system the Daughters of Charity promoted through their moral management was rather conservative and attached to medieval mentalities. The chapter points out that although most religious companies operate on the principles of moral management, the Daughters of Charity were unique in their systematic and holistic implementation. This is one very important reason for the survival of the Company well into the 21st century. Louise de Marillac was canonized in 1934, and the Company employs today more than 14 000 sisters in 94 countries. It is one of the most important Catholic organizations in France.
Encountering Water in Early Modern Europe and Beyond
Authors: Starkey Lindsay
Published: February 2021

Both the Christian Bible and Aristotle’s works suggest that water should entirely flood the earth. Though many ancient, medieval, and early modern Europeans relied on these works to understand and explore the relationships between water and earth, sixteenth-century Europeans particularly were especially concerned with why dry land existed. This book investigates why they were so interested in water’s failure to submerge the earth when their predecessors had not been. Analyzing biblical commentaries as well as natural philosophical, geographical, and cosmographical texts from these periods, Lindsay Starkey shows that European sea voyages to the southern hemisphere combined with the traditional methods of European scholarship and religious reformations led sixteenth-century Europeans to reinterpret water and earth’s ontological and spatial relationships. The manner in which they did so also sheds light on how we can respond to our current water crisis before it is too late.
Describing and Depicting Water in Cosmographical and Geographical Texts
Authors: Starkey Lindsay J.
Published: February 2021

This chapter investigates the relationship between water and the earth
and the world’s landmasses and waterways described and depicted in
fifteenth- and sixteenth-century cosmographical and geographical texts
and their medieval predecessors. This chapter argues that many medieval
authors claimed that there was more water than earth in the world and
that this water was located especially in the southern hemisphere of the
world, exposing the ecumene in the northern hemisphere. Sixteenthcentury
authors of such texts argued for more land than water in the
world and proposed different spatial relationships between waterways and
landmasses than their predecessors had, but the maps that accompanied
their texts show that they still tended to depict the southern hemisphere
as especially water filled.
Introduction: Why Water?
Authors: Starkey Lindsay J.
Published: February 2021

This introduction presents the work’s larger argument that fifteenth- and
sixteenth-century European sea voyages caused Europeans to re-examine
why water did not flood the earth. This introduction also proposes that
the topic of water allows for the investigation of several historiographical
questions: how Europeans viewed the relationship between the natural,
preternatural, and supernatural from the ancient period into the sixteenth
century; how Europeans viewed God’s connection to the universe from
the ancient period into the sixteenth century; and how these overseas
voyages in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries influenced Europeans’
dependency on textual authorities for their worldviews. It also suggests that
this study is of interest to those scholars working in blue cultural studies.
In and out of the shadows
Authors: Karrar Hasan H.
Published: February 2021

This chapter describes overland trade between Pakistan and China since
1969 until the present. Overland trade between the two countries takes
place over the high-altitude Karakoram Highway, connecting Pakistan’s
mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan region to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region in western China. The Karakoram Highway is popularly described
as a contemporary silk road; this idea has been reinforced by the 2013
announcement of the One Belt One Road initiative, which includes the
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. In this chapter, I explore the relationship
between a documented, regulated silk route trade and its shadows;
shadows take the form of traditional pathways between the two countries
that are no longer used, as well as the undocumented movement of licit
goods and smuggling of illicit substances.
The Boonchu Comedy Series
Authors: Khuankaew Sasinee
Published: February 2021

Research on Thai films after the 1997 economic crash identifies a strong
nostalgia for unblemished Thai traditions, ones particularly represented
through the countryside and the ideal rural family unit. However, this
chapter aims to investigate the comedic Boonchu film series, dating from
1988 to 1996, to address how these films also valorize rural Thailand, a
scenario constructed as real ‘Thainess.’ The chapter examines localism,
a discourse promoted by the series as a means to undermine modernization,
so revealing considerable anxiety around cultural and economic
transformation. Nonetheless, the chapter argues that while the series
idealizes rural identity as a means to defend Thai cultural values, it also
offers a negotiation (rather than a rejection) of various influences of
modernity.
Conclusion
Authors: Hjorth Larissa , Ohashi Kana , Sinanan Jolynna , Pink Sarah , Horst Heather , Kato Fumitoshi , Zhou Baohua
Published: February 2021

In Chapter 10 we reflect upon a future rubric for imagining social mobile media and data for intergenerational care at a distance.
Introduction
Authors: Mathias Nikita
Published: February 2021

The reception of disaster films has been predominantly shaped by
ideology-critical, semiotic, psychoanalytical, and eco-critical approaches
that prematurely abstract from the films’ imagery in order to foreground
capitalist, chauvinist, and racist discourses, narrative patterns, repressed
collective anxieties, and states of crisis of the political mind. In my opinion,
these approaches fail to grasp the disaster movie at its receptive core. In
contrast, I argue that this core is located within the visuality and sensuality
of the films, within their visceral images that agitate the spectator in a
sensorily and affectively intense manner, within their ethical and spiritual
sides which emerge in reaction to the receptive violation of the viewer,
and finally within the complex relations between the films’ elements
of attraction and their narrative elements. The predestined means of
analytically uncovering these various facets of the reception of disaster
cinema is, I believe, the aesthetic category of the sublime.
Starting Points
Authors: Mathias Nikita
Published: February 2021

The starting point of my historical trajectory (the iconography of the
sublime) is the second half of the eighteenth century. This was when the
aesthetic appreciation of natural disaster events and the establishment
of the sublime as a category of landscape perception became closely
intertwined. Mapped out as a dense network of discourses, practices, and
cultural phenomena, my analysis of this historical constellation stretches
from, among others, seventeenth-century Dutch landscape painting and
art academic understandings of the sublime to the Lisbon earthquake
of 1755, the Picturesque, and natural scientific discourses to Grand Tour
travelers and modern mass tourism.
The Iconography of the Sublime
Authors: Mathias Nikita
Published: February 2021

This chapter sets out to describe the establishment of the iconography
of the sublime by focusing on three central motifs: the shipwreck, the
hostility of mountain summits, and the volcano eruption. I first analyze
a shipwreck painting by Joseph Vernet in relation to Denis Diderot’s
writings and the particularities of the picture’s exhibition at the Paris
Academy Salon. Then, the Alpine landscapes of the Swiss painter Caspar
Wolf and their oscillation between academic traditions, vedute painting
conventions, sublime imagery, and geological accuracy is analyzed by
example of the painting Lower Grindelwald Glacier with Lightning. The
motif of the volcano eruption is addressed through a group of paintings,
whose interplay makes visible a variety of complications inherent to
the sublime. The discussed artworks depicting the three motifs feature
intrinsic – that is stylistic and formal – innovations that seek to intensify
the pictorial experience of their sublime content matters.
Disaster Cinema. A Historical Overview
Authors: Mathias Nikita
Published: February 2021

The aim is to give a historical account of the disaster movie genre in
chronological order, in continuation of the cultural and technological
history of sublime disasters. The films in question employ the receptive
and general aesthetic characteristics of the sublime for their depictions
of catastrophic events. My discussion also includes the specific media
technological environments in which the films were performed, insofar
as cinema’s potential to function as a medium of the sublime represents
the receptive foundation of the films. What is excluded from this historical
account is the interpretations of the films’ disasters as allegories of specific
contemporary political and socio-cultural events. In opposition to these
(often premature) readings, one must take the immediate sensuality and
the receptive tactics of disaster films seriously and elucidate the genre’s
transformations by reference to the mechanisms of economic profit and
technological innovation and application.