bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Study on triaxial compression performance and damage characteristics of fiber-reinforced ecological matrix cementing gangue gypsum fill material
Authors: Jiang Qi , Yin Zhigang , Yin Hang , Ma Runbo
Published: May 2024

Polypropylene fiber was equally mixed into alkali-activated slag fly ash geopolymer in order to ensure the filling effect of mine goaf and improve the stability of cemented gangue paste filling material with ecological matrix. Triaxial compression tests were then conducted under various conditions. The mechanical properties and damage characteristics of composite paste filling materials are studied, and the damage evolution model of paste filling materials under triaxial compression is established, based on the deviatoric stress-strain curve generated by the progressive failure behavior of samples. Internal physical and chemical mechanisms of the evolution of structure and characteristics are elucidated and comprehended via the use of SEM-EDS and XRD micro-techniques. The results show that the fiber can effectively improve the ultimate strength and the corresponding effective stress strength index of the sample within the scope of the experimental study. The best strengthening effect is achieved when the amount of NaOH is 3% of the mass of the solid material, the amount of fiber is 5‰ of the mass of the solid material, and the length of the fiber is about 12 mm. The action mode of the fiber in the sample is mainly divided into single-grip anchoring and three-dimensional mesh traction. As the crack initiates and develops, connection occurs in the matrix, where the fiber has an obvious interference and retardation effect on the crack propagation, thereby transforming the brittle failure into a ductile failure and consequently improving the fracture properties of the ecological cementitious coal gangue matrix. The theoretical damage evolution model of a segmented filling body is constructed by taking the initial compaction stage end point as the critical point, and the curve of the damage evolution model of the specimen under different conditions is obtained. The theoretical model is verified by the results from the triaxial compression test. We concluded that the experimental curve is in good agreement with the theoretical curve. Therefore, the established theoretical model has a certain reference value for the analysis and evaluation of the mechanical properties of paste filling materials. The research results can improve the utilization rate of solid waste resources.
Identifying depression’s genetic role as a precursor to sepsis and increased mortality risk: Comprehensive insights from mendelian randomization analysis
Authors: Zhou Qingyi , Shen Qili , Chen Xiaohua , Yang Lichun , Ma Qiang , Chu Liang
Published: May 2024

Background

Previous retrospective studies have shown a correlation between depression and increased risk of infections, including a moderate rise in sepsis likelihood associated with severe depression and anxiety. To investigate the potential causal links between depression, sepsis, and mortality risks, while considering confounding factors, we employed a Mendelian randomization (MR) approach.

Methods

In this two-sample Mendelian randomization study, we analyzed data from a large-scale genome-wide association study on depression, involving 807,553 European individuals (246,363 cases, 561,190 controls). We extracted SNP associations with sepsis and 28-day mortality from UK Biobank GWAS outcomes. The correlation analysis primarily employed the inverse-variance weighted method, supplemented by sensitivity analyses for heterogeneity and pleiotropy assessment.

Results

Our analysis revealed a potential causal link between depression and an increased risk of sepsis (OR = 1.246, 95% CI: 1.076–1.442, P = 0.003), but no causal association was found with sepsis-induced mortality risk (OR = 1.274, 95% CI: 0.891–1.823, P = 0.184). Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings.

Conclusions

We identified a potential causal association between depression and heightened sepsis risk, while no link was found with sepsis-induced mortality. These findings suggest that effective management of depression could be important in preventing sepsis.
Hydrothermal synthesis of Zingiber/ZnO for enhanced photodegradation of ofloxacin antibiotic and reactive red azo dye (RR141)
Authors: Nugroho David , Wannakan Khemika , Nanan Suwat , Benchawattananon Rachadaporn
Published: May 2024

The examination of photocatalyst powders for the total removal of pollutants from aqueous solutions is a vital research subject within the realm of environmental preservation. The objective of this study is to develop a photocatalyst heterojunction consisting of Zingiber/ZnO-H for the degradation of both the reactive red dye (RR 141) and ofloxacin antibiotic in wastewater. The current investigation outlines the process of synthesising a composite material by combining Zingiber montanum extract with zinc oxide (ZnO) by a hydrothermal method. The synthesis was conducted at a temperature of 180°C for a period of 4 hours. Consequently. The photocatalyst with a constructed heterojunction shown a notable enhancement in its photocatalytic activity as a result of the improved efficiency in charge separation at the interface. The application of economically viable solar energy facilitated the complete eradication of harmful pollutants through the process of detoxification. The removal of impurities occurs by a process that follows a first-order kinetics. Among the pollutants, RR141 demonstrates the greatest rate constant at 0.02 min-1, while ofloxacin has a rate constant of 0.01 min-1. The assessment of the stability of the produced photocatalyst was conducted after undergoing five cycles. This study additionally investigated the influence of sunshine on degradation, uncovering degradation rates of 97% for RR141 and 99% for ofloxacin when exposed to UV Lamp, and degradation rates of 97% for RR141 and 95% for ofloxacin when exposed to Solar Light.
Enhancing quality of ruminant feed through fungal treatment: Usage of bamboo shoot residues
Authors: Huo Chunyan , Guo Yuhong , Zhao Yihe
Published: May 2024

In this investigation, we explore the harnessing of bamboo shoot residues (BSR) as a viable source for ruminant feed through fungal treatment, with the overarching objective of elevating feed quality and optimizing bamboo shoot utilization. The white-rot fungi (Wr.fungi), Aspergillus niger (A.niger), and its co-cultures (A.niger&Wr.fungi) were employed to ferment BSR. And the impact of different fermentation methods and culture time on the chemical composition (Crude protein Ash, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibers), enzyme activity (Cellulase, Laccase, Filter paperase and Lignin peroxidase activities), and rumen digestibility in vitro were assessed. The findings reveal a nota ble 30.39% increase in crude protein in fermented BSR, accompanied by respective decreases of 13.02% and 17.31% in acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fibre content. Enzyme activities experienced augmentation post-fermentation with A.niger&Wr.fungi. Specifically, the peak Cellulase, Laccase, and Lignin peroxidase activities for BSR with Wr.fungi treatment reached 748.4 U/g, 156.92 U/g, and 291.61 U/g, respectively, on the sixth day of fermentation. Concurrently, NH3-N concentration exhibited an upward trend with prolonged fermentation time. Total volatile fatty acids registered a decline, and the Acetate/Propionate ratio reached its nadir after 6 days of fermentation under the A.niger&Wr.fungi treatment. These outcomes furnish a theoretical foundation for the development of ruminant feeds treated via fungal co-culture.
Pattern and predictor of hookworm re-infection among schoolchildren in three districts of Amhara Region, northwest Ethiopia
Authors: Belay Shegaw , Alemu Getaneh , Hailu Tadesse
Published: May 2024

Background

Despite integrated prevention and control measures, the prevalence of hookworm is still high in Ethiopia. The re-infection rates and predictors are poorly addressed. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the patterns of hookworm re-infection rates and predictors among schoolchildren in northwest Ethiopia.

Methods

A prospective follow-up study was conducted among 86 schoolchildren from May to December 2022. Data on predictors was collected using a questionnaire. Stool samples were collected and processed via Kato-Katz, McMaster, and spontaneous tube sedimentation techniques. All hookworm-infected children were treated with albendazole and followed for six months. The re-infection rates of hookworm were checked in the 4th and 6th months. Data was entered into Epi-data version 3.1 and analysed using SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics were used to compute the re-infection rate. The associations of predictors with hookworm re-infection rates were calculated by logistic regression. Variables with a p-value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results

Of the 86, 81 schoolchildren completed the study. The prevalence of hookworm re-infection in the 4th and 6th months was 23.5% and 33.3%, respectively. Living with family members greater than five (p = .017), poor utilization of latrine (p = .008), infrequent shoe wear (p = .039), and participating in irrigation (p = .020) were the predictors significantly associated with hookworm re-infections.

Conclusions

The re-infection rate was high during the fourth and sixth months. Participating in irrigation, infrequent shoe wear, and poor latrine utilization were predictors of hookworm re-infection. Therefore, mass drug administration, regular shoe wearing, and health education should be advocated.
Blood urea nitrogen/creatinine ratio in heart failure: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Zhou Yichang , Zhao Qin , Liu Zhitong , Gao Wen
Published: May 2024

The meta-analysis is to evaluate the predictive value of the blood urea nitrogen / creatinine ratio (BCR) for long-term outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF). PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane library, and Web of Science were searched for relevant studies from inception to October 2023. STATA SE 14.0 software was used for statistical analysis. A total of 2036 reports were identified with 14 studies meeting pre-designed inclusion criteria. Three long-term outcomes were investigated. In patients with HF, the increase of BCR level indicated a greater risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 1.67, 95% CI 1.38–2.00; I2 = 90.8%, P = 0.000). The acute HF (AHF) subgroup demonstrated a higher risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 1.79, 95% CI 1.15–2.79; I2 = 93.9%, P = 0.000) as did the non-AHF subgroup (HR = 1.51, 95% CI 1.34–1.71; I2 = 37.1%, P = 0.122). The subgroup (≤ 70 years old) demonstrated a lower risk of all-cause mortality in patients with HF (HR = 1.62, 95% CI 1.35–1.94; I2 = 68.3%, P = 0.004) as did the subgroup (> 70 years old) (HR = 1.67, 95% CI 1.19–2.34; I2 = 88.3%, P = 0.000). In addition, this study did not support the predictive value of BCR in CVD mortality (HR = 1.48, 95% CI 0.91–2.43; I2 = 63%, P = 0.100) and HF hospitalization (HR = 1.28, 95% CI 0.73–2.24; I2 = 77.5%, P = 0.035). Sensitivity analysis showed that all the results were robust. In summary, the results showed that the blood urea nitrogen / creatinine ratio (BCR) had a significant predictive value for all-cause mortality in patients with heart failure and was a fairly promising predictor obviously. Moreover, more studies are needed to further determine the predictive value of BCR in other long-term outcomes such as CVD mortality, HF hospitalization or aborted cardiac arrest.
Etiologies underlying subtypes of long-standing type 2 diabetes
Authors: Bayoumi Riad , Farooqi Muhammad , Alawadi Fatheya , Hassanein Mohamed , Osama Aya , Mukhopadhyay Debasmita , Abdul Fatima , Sulaiman Fatima , Dsouza Stafny , Mulla Fahad , Ahmed Fayha , AlSharhan Mouza , Khamis Amar
Published: May 2024

Background

Attempts to subtype, type 2 diabetes (T2D) have mostly focused on newly diagnosed European patients. In this study, our aim was to subtype T2D in a non-white Emirati ethnic population with long-standing disease, using unsupervised soft clustering, based on etiological determinants.

Methods

The Auto Cluster model in the IBM SPSS Modeler was used to cluster data from 348 Emirati patients with long-standing T2D. Five predictor variables (fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting serum insulin (FSI), body mass index (BMI), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and age at diagnosis) were used to determine the appropriate number of clusters and their clinical characteristics. Multinomial logistic regression was used to validate clustering results.

Results

Five clusters were identified; the first four matched Ahlqvist et al subgroups: severe insulin-resistant diabetes (SIRD), severe insulin-deficient diabetes (SIDD), mild age-related diabetes (MARD), mild obesity-related diabetes (MOD), and a fifth new subtype of mild early onset diabetes (MEOD). The Modeler algorithm allows for soft assignments, in which a data point can be assigned to multiple clusters with different probabilities. There were 151 patients (43%) with membership in cluster peaks with no overlap. The remaining 197 patients (57%) showed extensive overlap between clusters at the base of distributions.

Conclusions

Despite the complex picture of long-standing T2D with comorbidities and complications, our study demonstrates the feasibility of identifying subtypes and their underlying causes. While clustering provides valuable insights into the architecture of T2D subtypes, its application to individual patient management would remain limited due to overlapping characteristics. Therefore, integrating simplified, personalized metabolic profiles with clustering holds greater promise for guiding clinical decisions than subtyping alone.
The journey of Dr G. James Daichendt: An inspiring pursuit into one’s calling
Authors: Brooks Mirella
Published: May 2024

Dr G. James Daichendt is an art critic, art historian, art educator and arts administrator, living and working in San Diego, California. This article explains the biographical history and ideas of this unique arts scholar celebrating both Jim the person and Dr Daichendt the arts academic. Through an interview on 2 February 2023, we discussed his childhood, people and ideas that influenced his philosophy of art education.
A biography of Dr James Hayward Rolling Jr: A man of transformation
Authors: Wing Adrienne
Published: May 2024

People are equally moulded into who they will become by negative as well as positive experiences throughout their lives. From growing up in a rough neighbourhood, to being bused to an all-white school, to dealing with an abusive father, a resilient character developed into Dr James Haywood Rolling Jr, from an early age. These difficult events laid key foundations which shaped him and gave him the fuel to help others see potential in their own lives. This article, compiled from his various published writings, including his memoir Growing up Ugly, is a biography documenting his current life events, and how these events influenced his beliefs and ideas found in his writings.
Dr Jeffrey B. Grubbs: The journey of art education and religious faith
Authors: Ong Jamie
Published: May 2024

The purpose of this article is to reveal the life and ideas of Dr Jeffrey Bryan Grubbs. The following biographical information came from three 2023 interviews with Dr Grubbs and some of his presentations and writings. Everyone has a story to tell, and for Dr Grubbs, it is a story to combine his Christian faith with art education. His lifetime struggle to combine art and faith ultimately materialized into a unique model of art education called a ‘theological art education’, serving communities focused on religious orthodoxy education.
Baía dos Tigres - The dynamic of the process
Authors: Costa Cleide Borges da , Fonte Cidália , Santos Cármen Van-Dúnem , Teixeira-Pinto Amândio
Published: May 2024

Baía dos Tigres is a well-known sandbank in Angola, referred to since the 15th century when the Portuguese navigators passed there in 1488, on the voyage that allowed them to round the Cape of Good Hope, in southern Africa. It is a phenomenon of a sedimentary nature and therefore it is linked to the availability of solid flow carried by the drift current coming from the South. However, several changes in its condition have been recorded over the centuries. It has shifted from being a sandbank (restinga) and an island, this latter occurring when the isthmus that connects it to the mainland broke, becoming a restinga again when it reestablisheb itself. In March 1962, a huge storm at sea destroyed the fragile structure connecting the land to the coast and since then, precisely 60 years ago, Baía dos Tigres became an island, being separated from the coast in a way that seemed definitive. The observation and analysis of the satellite images used in this work seem to suggest that a setback is beginning to appear, since Baía dos Tigres may be starting to reconnect to the mainland. If this occurs, there is the possibility for Angola to have again a true fish hatchery where countless varieties of fishes and molluscs find unique conditions for spawning. Those partially closed conditions, with waters sufficiently oxygenated to generate excellent biological environment for spawning, are of great importance for the future of fish industry in the country. If those conditions are restored, the zone will be protected from the direct action of storms and the speed of currents, covering an area of more than 250 km2. This article makes an up-date of the situation, based on the analysis of satellite images currently available.
Leveraging the potential of third space faculty developers to foster individual and collective flourishing faculty professional identities in higher education
Authors: Puhr Ruth
Published: May 2024

In the context of higher education, which is a complex environment of shifting landscapes, academic identity is perceived as being eroded, and new identities associated with hybrid roles abound. Flexible support mechanisms are needed to counter the destabilising effects of the recent erosion of tradition-bound structures. This study explores how an understanding of faculty professional identity might be used by faculty developers to inform individual and collective development initiatives and foster flourishing. Using a qualitative methodology, focus group discussions with faculty developers probe the potential utility of a measure of faculty professional identity. Utility is evaluated at three levels of practice: institutional, collective and individual. Findings demonstrate the potential for faculty developers, with their third space positioning, to play a pivotal role in guiding individuals and institutions as they navigate increasingly complex higher education contexts. Recommendations include recognising the strategic potential of faculty developers as institutional gatekeepers of sensitive data and enablers of collective flourishing. A data-informed, adaptive, person-centred approach to individual faculty development that delves into the being as well as the doing to facilitate individual flourishing is proposed.
All I Want Is Loving You
Authors: Bergsman Steve , Connors Carol
Published: May 2024

In the early years of the 1950s, white female singers offered the best new songs to the general public, but by the mid-1950s with the advent of rock ‘n’ roll, their careers began to fade. Most music histories have disregarded their contributions to the American songbook. This mistake is corrected by All I Want Is Loving You, which highlights, on a year-by-year summation, their career progressions and declines—but most of all their great songs.
You Belong to Me (1952)
Authors: Ray Johnnie , Fisher Eddie , Starr Kay , Stafford Jo , Weston Paul , Mackenzie Giselle , Hogsed Roy , Brewer Teresa
Published: May 2024

While two young men, Johnnie Ray and Eddie Fisher, would conquer the teenage girl market, the best songs of the year would come from Jo Stafford with “You Belong To Me” and Kay Starr with “Wheel of Fortune.”
Little Things Mean a Lot (1954)
Authors: Haley Bill , Chords The , Cuts The Crew , Kallen Kitty , Brewer Teresa , Weber Joan , Thiele Bob
Published: May 2024

While Bill Haley & The Comet’s “Rock Around The Clock” rocks the record market, the lure of great R&B tunes attracts female singers, who have a very strong year. Yet, the male crooners hang on with some of their best tunes of the decade.
Smooth Sailing (1951)
Authors: Bergsman Steve
Published: May 2024

Although blues and R&B conquered the Rhythm & Blues charts, the most unusual record hit of the year was by jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, whose tune “Smooth Sailing” was without words. She “scatted” the whole song.
Teach Me Tonight (1954)
Authors: Bergsman Steve
Published: May 2024

Religious sounding songs, mambo music, doo-wop and girl-groups shook up the record charts. Meanwhile, the old pros Ruth Brown and Dinah Washington introduced some of their best songs.
Let the Good Times Roll (1956)
Authors: Bergsman Steve
Published: May 2024

In 1956, the big news in the music world was not about the record business, it concerned a book: Billie Holiday’s Lady Sings the Blues, still a classic even today. And talking about classics, “Eddie My Love,” “Jim Dandy” and “Let the Good Times Roll” all dominated the charts in ‘56.
Love Is Strange (1957)
Authors: Bergsman Steve
Published: May 2024

A couple of male/female duos conquered the record charts with “Love Is Strange” by Mickey and Sylvia and “Over the Mountain, Across the Sea” by Johnnie and Joe. The mixed gender phenomenon hit the doo-wop market as well with the Tune Weavers’s “Happy, Happy Birthday Baby.”
The Life and Thought of Anna Arnold Hedgeman
Authors: Williams Hettie V.
Published: May 2024

This chapter concerns the life, activism, thought, and writings of civil rights leader, politician, educator, and feminist Anna Arnold Hedgeman, an important transitional figure in the history of the Civil Rights Movement during the early and classical phases of the Black freedom struggle. Advancing a pragmatic feminist theology in her writings and activism, Hedgeman embraced an interracialist approach to human liberation that was juxtaposed with an intersectional approach to Black women’s empowerment. As such, she was arguably one of the more significant public intellectuals in the history of the Black freedom struggle.
Sandy Speaks
Authors: Sinitiere Phillip Luke
Published: May 2024

This chapter traces The Sandra Bland Movement, as the collective response became known, when Bland’s death in the Waller County, Texas jail in July of 2015 sparked national outrage about anti-Black state violence. Though her death was ruled a suicide, her family disputed the claim that Sandra took her own life. The release in May 2019 of Bland’s own cellphone footage of her arrest demonstrated clearly the hostile law enforcement actions against her, which generated a #BlackLivesMatter-era response of activism that included marches, vigils, petitions, and legislation aimed at holding law enforcement accountable for violence against Black people, especially Black women. The chapter explores the rich religious content of Bland’s video blogs known as the “Sandy Speaks” videos and presents Bland as a public religious intellectual who threaded religious conviction with social activism. The concept of digital resurrection shows how Sandra Bland still leads the movement that bears her name.
Introduction
Authors: Karpf Juanita
Published: May 2024

The Introduction establishes this book as a reception history of William B. Bradbury’s choral work, Esther, the Beautiful Queen. Premiered in 1856, Esther immediately rose to extraordinary popularity with hundreds of performances reported in locations throughout the world. Bradbury composed his score for amateur singers and, eventually the piece transitioned from a humble instructional and religious work into music theatre. As music associated with amateur artistic expression, Esther drew upon the talents of community residents near and far who not only assumed dramatic roles, but also made costumes and stage sets. Local newspapers celebrated the success of such efforts and area charities realized funds raised from ticket sales. The unprecedented spread of Bradbury’s score to overseas locations established this work as an international theatrical hit.
Religious Controversy
Authors: Karpf Juanita
Published: May 2024

Many Protestant clergy vigorously debated whether or not Esther was secular and, thus, by extension, morally suspect. Salient characteristics of the work fueled these controversies, such as the presence of theatrical elements, generally, and the design of stage costumes, more specifically. This chapter presents in-depth discussion of these questions: Were R.W. Seager’s recommendations for costumes for females revealing, immoral, or inappropriate in any way? Were the dances and dance gestures in Esther provocative or suggestive? Did staged versions of the work display aspects of a secular and Orientalist interpretation? Could sacred and secular realms actually co-exist, peacefully, in Esther?
Interlude
Authors: Karpf Juanita
Published: May 2024

By the 1860s, many communities went to the considerable effort and expense of memorializing their theatrical productions of Esther through photography. Residents pooled resources and hired photographers, often turning to the expertise of a regionally respected portraitist. The earliest of these photographs of date from 1868 and they exhibit the characteristics of theatrical productions so prevalent in Esther. This chapter focuses on some of these early photographs and discussions of the ways theatrical directors incorporated elements published in 1874 by R.W. Seager. The final section of this chapter features the drawings of famed cartoonist W.E. Hill who created charming and candid images of an Esther production.
Terror and Truth
Authors: King Stephen A. , Gatchet Roger Davis
Published: May 2024

Terror and Truth: Civil Rights Tourism and the Mississippi Movement examines how Mississippi confronts its history of racial violence and injustice through the mechanism of civil rights tourism. Mississippi’s civil rights memorial landscape comprises a vast constellation of sites and experiences—from the humble Fannie Lou Hamer Museum in Ruleville to the expansive Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson—where the state’s collective memories of the movement are enshrined and contested. Rather than chronicle the history of the activists who drove the Mississippi Movement, this book explores the museums, monuments, memorials, homes, and historical markers marketed to heritage tourists in the Magnolia State. Terror and Truth is the first book to critically examine Mississippi’s civil rights tourism industry. Combining rhetorical analysis, onsite fieldwork, and oral history interviews with museum directors, local civil rights entrepreneurs, historians, and movement veterans, Terror and Truth addresses important questions of memory and the Mississippi Movement. How is Mississippi, an impoverished and racially divided state with a long history of systemic racial oppression and white supremacy, actively packaging its civil rights history for tourists? Whose stories are told? And what perspectives are marginalized in the telling of those stories? The ascendency of civil rights memorialization in Mississippi comes at a time when the nation is reckoning with its racial past, as evidenced by the Black Lives Matter movement, Mississippi’s adoption of a new state flag, and the removal of Confederate monuments throughout the South. Terror and Truth directly engages issues relevant to this national conversation.
Remembering the Lynching of Emmett Till
Authors: King Stephen A. , Gatchet Roger Davis
Published: May 2024

In 1955, 14-year ago Emmett Till was lynched in Mississippi, an event that shocked the nation and, some have argued, galvanized the modern-day civil rights movement. Until recently, Mississippi’s official culture largely avoided promoting memory sites associated with Till as tourist destinations. Chapter three explores how Mississippi presents markedly different images of Till through promotional materials, museums, and other touristic artifacts. Greenwood’s Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), the Emmett Till Interpretive Center (ETIC), and the Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center (ETHIC) focus on distinct aspects of Till’s lynching to serve specific touristic goals. The Greenwood CVB’s memory building efforts arguably obfuscate Till’s lynching by depersonalizing him as part of an event and landscape. In contrast, the ETIC in Sumner and especially the ETHIC in Glendora provide openings for social justice by revealing Till’s brutalized face and body and confronting visitors with the gruesome realities of lynching.
“Something Else, Also Terrible”
Authors: Hantke Steffen
Published: May 2024

With 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Cloverfield Paradox, producer J.J. Abrams has expanded the original film into an open-ended franchise. Creatively reframing the giant creature trope, both films have experimented with their respective audience’s genre expectations, pushing franchise continuity and coherence toward such extremes that franchising itself has begun to emerge as the franchise’s new thematic focus.
A Moral Compass
Authors: Kabat Julie
Published: May 2024

This chapter describes how Luke's style of asking tough questions made a vivid impression on the author. He was honing his talents as a teacher by asking the author open-ended questions that encouraged critical thinking. Through their interactions, he learned how to engage and challenge a teenager, skills he would draw upon as a teacher at the Meridian Freedom School. The chapter highlights Mickey Schwerner and his wife, Rita. The young couple had arrived in Meridian to help prepare for the Mississippi Summer Project, which was administered through the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO). The most active groups that participated in COFO were the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), to which Luke belonged, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). As a CORE field-worker, Mickey had opened the COFO office to serve as the headquarters in the eastern part of the state. Mickey radiated a magnetic presence that drew others to him, including James Chaney and Andrew Goodman. As Mickey Schwerner was beloved by everyone, his absence created a huge gap. No one could replace him, but Luke and his new friend, Freeman Cocroft, accepted the responsibility of taking up his cause.
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party on the National Stage
Authors: Kabat Julie
Published: May 2024

This chapter describes how the delegates of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) arrived in Atlantic City determined to claim seats at the national convention. Their mission was to challenge the Mississippi “regulars” that were selected by a party whose motto could well have been “whites only need apply.” The seating dispute would be taken up by the Credentials Committee. Luke and other summer volunteers planned to spend hours inside lobbying for the cause. Outside on the boardwalk, civil rights workers set up a vigil. But against this backdrop, President Johnson was busy preparing for his nomination. Out in the open, Johnson's emissaries pushed a compromise to resolve the seating dispute; behind the scenes, they used strongarm tactics. The chapter then looks at “The Atlantic City Compromise,” which was rejected unanimously by the delegates. Ultimately, the failure of the MFDP delegates to be seated was a significant blow to the civil rights movement as a whole.
On Violence and Hate, of Love and Freedom
Authors: Kabat Julie
Published: May 2024

This chapter looks at Luke's unpublished essay titled “The Violent American,” which he wrote in response to the US involvement in the Vietnam War. In early March of 1965, President Johnson launched a massive bombing campaign and ordered thirty-five hundred US Marines into Vietnam for the first time. By mid-April, a thousand tons of bombs were dropped on the Vietcong, and soon afterward, fifteen thousand students gathered in Washington, DC, to protest the bombing campaign. Demonstrations against the war had started small but were now gaining national attention. In May, the New Republic magazine published Luke's article, called “My Friends in Mississippi.” In it, he recounted some of his experiences and what he had learned as a volunteer during Freedom Summer.
Afrocentricity in AfroFuturism
Authors: Asante Molefi Kete
Published: May 2024

In the twenty-first century, AfroFuturism—a historical and philosophical concept of the future imagined through a Black cultural lens-has been interpreted through a myriad of writers, artists, scientists, and other visionary creatives. In this book, the editor curates a collection of interdisciplinary essays that critiques existing scholarship on Black futurity. In contrast to much previous work, these essays ground their explorations in African agency, centering the African within historical and cultural reality. Situating Afrocentricity as the field's foundational root and springboard for an expansive future, chapters detail potential new modes of existence and expression for African people throughout the diaspora. Divided into two parts—Representations and Transformations—the book examines the tensions created by historical and cultural dislocation of African peoples and consciousness. The book covers varied topics such as the intersections of culture and design; techno culture; neuroscience; and the multiplicity of African cultural influences in aesthetics, oratory, visual art, hip hop, and more. Chapters range from theoretical analyses to close readings of history and popular culture, from the Haitian Revolution to Sun Ra, Janelle Monáe's Dirty Computer, and Black Panther. The book offers an expansive vision of AfroFuturism and its ranging significance to contemporary culture and discourse.
Conclusion
Authors: Smith Aaron X.
Published: May 2024

This concluding chapter reviews how the previous chapters presented numerous definitions of AfroFuturism while engaging in the many ways Afrocentric thought supports, aligns with, and contributes to the evolution of Afrocentric Futuristic thought and expression. AfroFuturism, like beauty, is often recognized to be defined largely from the perspective of the beholder. What this work has evidenced are definitive distinctions between the popular notions of “AfroFuturism” and the lasting and emerging analytical techniques emphasized in Afrocentric Futurism. The age-old dichotomy represented by Afrocentric communalism in contrast with European rugged individualism plays a part in how many Futurists envision the world to come when analyzing the potential impacts of technological capabilities. Ultimately, it is of critical importance to remember to maintain and protect the cultural and technological landmarks of the African foremothers and forefathers as one embarks on multifaceted Futuristic journeys through space and time.
Jazz People and Public Pedagogies
Authors: Prouty Ken
Published: May 2024

As jazz’s popularity has declined, advocacy has become something of a preoccupation with artists, critics, and fans. Engagement with the non-jazz public has become a critical site to promote the music, leading to both a sense of defensiveness and the fostering of a “public pedagogy” designed to champion the music. Outreach to new audiences has taken many forms. One case study examines the adoption of “jazz metaphors,” the use of jazz to explain particular concept, and in the process, to create new audiences, with varying degrees of effectiveness. Following this in an examination of the public discourse surround the jazz films of Damien Chazelle. Whiplash and La La Land have come under intense scrutiny for presenting an allegedly distorted view of jazz, a view which many “jazz people” have attempted to correct. This public discourse reveals who particular ideas about jazz are fostered – and challenged - in the public sphere.
Body Genre
Authors: Diffrient David Scott
Published: May 2024

Dating back to Carol Clover’s and Linda Williams’s pioneering work on horror cinema in the 1980s and 1990s, film scholars have long conceptualized this once-disreputable category of cultural production as a “body genre.” However, despite the growing recognition that horror serves important biological and social functions in our lives, we have only scratched the surface of this genre regarding its affective, corporeal, and sensorial appeals. In this groundbreaking study, David Scott Diffrient explores largely ignored facets of cinematic horror, from the various odors that permeate classic and contemporary films to their wetness, sliminess, and stickiness as prosthetics-filled productions that practically scream out for a tactile mode of textural analysis as surely as they do more traditional forms of textual analysis.
Putting the body front and center, the author anatomizes horror films in much the same way that a mad scientist might, cleaving individual parts like hands and heads from the whole only to reconstitute them into a stitched-together form that is recognizably, uncannily human. But Diffrient also problematizes his and other critics’ tendency to privilege human over nonhuman beings, not to mention ableist assumptions about horror’s centering of sight and sound (as well as their associated organs, the eyes and the ears) to the near exclusion of other senses and anatomical features. Besides examining the role that animals—living or dead, real or fake—play in human-centered fictions, this book asks what it means for audiences to consume motion pictures in which actors, stunt performers, and other creative personnel have put their own bodies and lives at risk for our amusement. Historically grounded and theoretically expansive, Body Genre: Anatomy of the Horror Film moves the study of cinematic horror into previously unchartered waters and breathes life into a subject that, not coincidentally, is reliant upon breath as our most cherished dividing line between life and death.
The Beatnigs
Authors: Ensminger David A.
Published: May 2024

This chapter focuses on the contribution of famed alternative hip-hop unit The Beatnigs both to the discourse of rebellion and to the underground music network of the post-hardcore era. As black musicians exploring the boundaries between punk, jazz, hip hop, funk, industrial, and beyond, they draw attention to race relations, hybrid musicality, and the role of mass media in controlling a society’s freedom.
X
Authors: Ensminger David A.
Published: May 2024

This chapter focuses on the first-generation punk band X that continues to shape the understanding of roots-punk. By combining literary, film, and rock’n’roll influences, ranging from the Ramones to big band music, doo-wop to disco, and country to elements of Expressionism and other art movements, the band became a guidepost to all things on the cultural map of the early 1980s in underground America.
Introduction
Authors: Fraser Benjamin
Published: May 2024

This introduction discusses Ben Katchor, including his major works, his recurring themes, and his graphic style. It also explores two of his early comics. “Italian Ices” (1988) is a four-page comic that documents the artist’s interest in urbanism and showcases his portrayal of subjectivity. “The Corner Location” (1989) is a three-page comic whose experimental design fuses the artist’s interests in building architecture and the architectural qualities of comics page layout.
Touch
Authors: Fraser Benjamin
Published: May 2024

This chapter of Ben Katchor explores how the artist emphasizes the tactile sense to comment on his preferred urban themes. While many comics are referenced, this chapter includes close readings of how tactility is handled in “An Eccentric Dry Cleaner” (from Cheap Novelties), “On the Newsstand” (from Hand-drying in America), and The Cardboard Valise. The role of coloring is also addressed. This chapter also investigates the role of touch in book manufacturing, print culture, book sales, and consumption, and comments on Katchor’s use of the paratextual spaces of his collections (front and back covers, front and endmatter) as a further canvas for his work.
Introduction
Authors: Regester Charlene , Baron Cynthia
Published: May 2024

The chapter introduces the book’s central research question: what insights about society, cinema, and literary works become visible when studies focus on film adaptations involving Black writers, directors, or stories? It reflects on the white norms in contemporary adaptation studies, highlighting the field’s emphasis on canonical work such as adaptations of Shakespeare and Jane Austen texts. The chapter surveys existing scholarship on considered Black film adaptations and explains that the book moves adaptation studies beyond insights offered in the isolated articles or chapters by illuminating patterns in how Black film adaptations reflect, negotiate, and challenge social and material contexts in which racial hierarchies sustain cultural power structures. It explains that by analyzing work ranging from 1930s film adaptations to productions at the turn of the twenty-first century, the collection shows that, over time, Black screen adaptations increasingly reflect Black perspectives and that whiteness need not be the invisible norm.
Glimmers of Hope, Dreams Deferred, and Diminished Desires
Authors: Regester Charlene
Published: May 2024

In this chapter, Charlene Regester discusses Black writers whose work led to independent film adaptations, received transitory interest from Hollywood, or was compromised during the adaptation process. Writers whose work garnered independent filmmakers’ interest include Paul Laurence Dunbar, Charles Waddell Chesnutt, and Oscar Micheaux. Authors who became screenwriters or whose writings were considered for screen adaptations include Wallace Thurman, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ann Petry. Writers who had their literary art compromised when adapted to the screen include Frank Yerby, Willard Motley, and Richard Wright. In both independent and studio settings, the adaptation of these groundbreaking writers’ work often involved the fraught cultural and material dynamics examined in subsequent chapters.
Frank Yerby and the Art and Discipline of Racial Sublimation
Authors: Scott Ellen C.
Published: May 2024

In the chapter, Ellen C. Scott analyzes the sublimated racial commentary in The Foxes of Harrow (1948), The Golden Hawk (1952), and The Saracen Blade (1954). Scott frames Yerby as a conundrum in the mid-century literary scene: short stories of this WPA-trained writer were rooted in the anti-racist protest tradition of Richard Wright; frustrated with his failure to secure a book contract for his fiction, Yerby turned to writing “costume fiction” in which racial problems appeared minor. Yerby became the first Black novelist to write best-selling books, popularizing a mode of indirectly dealing with slavery that contrasted with white-authored plantation melodramas. Like other protest novelists, Yerby wrote with a deep cynicism about white America, even though his work rarely allowed him to depict this sentiment directly. Ultimately, Yerby’s craft was steeped in the discipline of sublimation, and he explored the conditions of Black life through other frames.
Snotches of Songs
Authors: Gutstein Dan
Published: May 2024

This chapter describes the historical and cultural importance of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Slave Narrative Collection, before presenting details from ten individual narratives that mentioned “Liza Jane” songs. The six women and four men report titles and lyrics, as well as a range of performance rituals such as square dances and ring games. Five of the ten respondents endured slavery in Georgia, while other interviewees endured bondage in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. After exploring mechanisms that enabled the songs to spread from plantation to plantation and state to state, the chapter explores the versions known by blues guitarist Sam Chatmon, who attributed his knowledge of “Little Liza Jane” to his formerly-enslaved father. The ten WPA narratives and the reminiscences of Chatmon reinforce the one-verse nature of the “Liza Jane” songs and that enslaved people were the first singers of these songs.
Intermission Number One
Authors: Gutstein Dan
Published: May 2024

The first of three “intermissions,” this chapter examines a number of songs, poems, and publications that may have influenced the formation of the earliest “Liza Jane” tunes. It leads off with the Scottish poet Robert Burns, who enjoyed widespread popularity throughout the antebellum South. If half the title of “Goodbye Liza Jane” may have derived from a Burns poem, “Farewell to Eliza,” then the other half may have emerged from the 1850s minstrelsy piece “Susan Jane.” Other minstrelsy titles and lyrics, as well as poems printed in a variety of newspapers, contribute to a sense of “historical sludge” surrounding the “Liza Jane” family—namely, that many tantalizing texts and popular songs may have contributed to the formation of the “Liza Jane” folk songs first recited by enslaved African Americans.
Change the Record - Punk Women Music Politics
Authors: Franklin M.I.
Published: May 2024

Poets, Guitarists, Songwriters, TV Stars, Provocateurs, Riot Grrrl founders, the authors in this study challenge perceptions of punk music and politics. Viv Albertine, Alice Bag, Pauline Black, Carrie Brownstein, Kim Gordon, Nina Hagen, Chrissie Hynde, Patti Smith, Brix Smith Start, and Cosey Fanni Tutti have been breaking new ground in writing about their lives. They fill gaps in the historical record, back catalogues and perceptions of how music works as politics. They provide fans and music scholars with a corrective to androcentric studies of punk as a DIY politics of resistance to the mainstream. M.I. Franklin shows how they do this, along with ways to hear the personal and world politics inherent in their musical output.
Educating the People
Authors: Lyngby Thomas
Published: May 2024

The Museum of National History at Frederiksborg was established in 1878 by the philanthropist Jacob Christian Jacobsen, who also founded the Carlsberg Breweries. In this article Thomas Lyngby is dedicated to the question of the intentions of the museum, how it was arranged and the societal context in which it emerged.
Visualizing Historical Greatness
Authors: Roberts Daniela
Published: May 2024

In this paper I will look at the two national portrait galleries in Great Britain (the English institution in London and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh) and compare their strategies for presenting the collections of certain eminent men and women. Such strategies served to convey the significance of these figures both for the nation and for each museum's history. Choices of architecture, style, and decorative scheme, as well as the setting for the collection and its display, will be analysed in order to understand these institutional modes of reconstructing and visualizing national history.
Achtsamkeit und pädagogische Professionalität in der Lehrer*innenbildung
Authors: Weghaupt Dominik
Published: May 2024

Achtsamkeit ist als Gesundheitsförderung in Schule und Lehrer*innenbildung angekommen, ihr pädagogisches Potential geht aber weit darüber hinaus. Dieses nimmt Dominik Weghaupt in den Blick und erforscht Achtsamkeit als Übungsform sowie als psychologische Variable in bildungswissenschaftlicher Hinsicht. Er zeigt phänomenologisch die Charakteristika achtsamkeitsbasierter Lehrveranstaltungen auf, analysiert Achtsamkeitsübungen als pädagogische Praxis und diskutiert den personalen Aspekt pädagogischer Professionalität. Ebenfalls Gegenstand der Analyse sind die Prozesse von Selbstregulation und Selbstkenntnis in Verbindung zu Achtsamkeit - wodurch diese als ein moderierender Faktor für gelingendes pädagogisches Handeln hervortritt.