title: From 'ambiguously gay duos' to homosexual superheroes: the implications for media fandom practices

authors: Corin, Gemma

subjects: superheroes

abstract: Despite traversing the fine line between homosocial and homosexual (Brooker, 2000) in his controversial text Seduction of the Innocent, Fredric Wertham's (1954) description of Batman and Robin as a 'wish dream of two homosexuals living together' (Lendrum, 2004, p.70) represents one of the first published queer readings of superhero characters. This text can also be interpreted as the commencement of, and subsequent intense interest in the way superhero characters often portray a 'camp' sensibility (Medhurst, 1991) representative of a queer performative identity (Butler, 1993).
This is most evident today within comic book fan-communities online where the sexual identity of popular superheroes are continuously explored and debated in discussion forums and expressed through the production of slash fiction and queer-themed fan art. Indeed, the ambiguity inherent in superhero comics has traditionally allowed and encouraged fans to operate as 'textual poachers' (Jenkins, 1992) appropriating these texts for their own means.
Today, however, there exist a new generation of comic book superheroes, in the form of the Young Avengers, Uncanny X-Men and The Authority, which contain established 'out' gay characters. This paper will examine the implications of these series on the practice of fandom by analyzing fan reactions and responses to the manner in which the industry has opted to present a gay relationship between its superhero characters Wiccan and Hulkling and, Apollo and The Midnighter. The meaning of the shift from the 'implied' to 'actual' is examined in terms of fans' acceptance, resistance and desire to further appropriate the text.

text: From 'ambiguously gay duos' to homosexual superheroes: the implications for media fandom practices Despite traversing the fine line between homosocial and homosexual (Brooker, 2000) in his controversial text Seduction of the Innocent, Fredric Wertham's (1954) description of Batman and Robin as a 'wish dream of two homosexuals living together' (Lendrum, 2004, p.70) represents one of the first published queer readings of superhero characters. This text can also be interpreted as the commencement of, and subsequent intense interest in the way superhero characters often portray a 'camp' sensibility (Medhurst, 1991) representative of a queer performative identity (Butler, 1993).
This is most evident today within comic book fan-communities online where the sexual identity of popular superheroes are continuously explored and debated in discussion forums and expressed through the production of slash fiction and queer-themed fan art. Indeed, the ambiguity inherent in superhero comics has traditionally allowed and encouraged fans to operate as 'textual poachers' (Jenkins, 1992) appropriating these texts for their own means.
Today, however, there exist a new generation of comic book superheroes, in the form of the Young Avengers, Uncanny X-Men and The Authority, which contain established 'out' gay characters. This paper will examine the implications of these series on the practice of fandom by analyzing fan reactions and responses to the manner in which the industry has opted to present a gay relationship between its superhero characters Wiccan and Hulkling and, Apollo and The Midnighter. The meaning of the shift from the 'implied' to 'actual' is examined in terms of fans' acceptance, resistance and desire to further appropriate the text.

year: 2008

title: Improving browsing in digital libraries with keyphrase indexes

authors: Gutwin, Carl

subjects: computer science

abstract: Browsing accounts for much of people's interaction with digital libraries, but it is poorly supported by standard search engines. Conventional systems often operate at the wrong level, indexing words when people think in terms of topics, and returning documents when people want a broader view. As a result, users cannot easily determine what is in a collection, how well a particular topic is covered, or what kinds of queries will provide useful results. We have built a new kind of search engine, Keyphind, that is explicitly designed to support browsing. Automatically extracted keyphrases form the basic unit of both indexing and presentation, allowing users to interact with the collection at the level of topics and subjects rather than words and documents. The keyphrase index also provides a simple mechanism for clustering documents, refining queries, and previewing results. We compared Keyphind to a traditional query engine in a small usability study. Users reported that certain kinds of browsing tasks were much easier with the new interface, indicating that a keyphrase index would be a useful supplement to existing search tools.

text: Improving browsing in digital libraries with keyphrase indexes Browsing accounts for much of people's interaction with digital libraries, but it is poorly supported by standard search engines. Conventional systems often operate at the wrong level, indexing words when people think in terms of topics, and returning documents when people want a broader view. As a result, users cannot easily determine what is in a collection, how well a particular topic is covered, or what kinds of queries will provide useful results. We have built a new kind of search engine, Keyphind, that is explicitly designed to support browsing. Automatically extracted keyphrases form the basic unit of both indexing and presentation, allowing users to interact with the collection at the level of topics and subjects rather than words and documents. The keyphrase index also provides a simple mechanism for clustering documents, refining queries, and previewing results. We compared Keyphind to a traditional query engine in a small usability study. Users reported that certain kinds of browsing tasks were much easier with the new interface, indicating that a keyphrase index would be a useful supplement to existing search tools.

year: 1999

title: E Whakatipuranga o te Tāpoi Māori - Māori Indigenous Tourism Development: A Whānau based Māori Tourism development

authors: Puriri, Ashley Reed

subjects: Maori Tourism

abstract: This Doctoral thesis uses a Kaupapa Māori research methodology, which is culturally grounded to identify the indigenous Māori underpinnings and processes that a Whānau (Māori family) experience when developing their Māori tourism business. The thesis discusses the following four issues, which are addressed using a Kaupapa Māori research methodology:
1. The gap in the current literature for Māori tourism development and authenticity from a Māori perspective.
2. The cultural underpinnings and processes of a Whānau (Māori family) tourism business.
3. Identification of the Māori cultural values that inform Māori tourism development
4. Development of a cultural framework that positions Māori values on levels of significance from a Māori perspective.
A cultural tourism experience is investigated, involving a Whānau Māori tourism business developed from a conceptual stage in preparation for financial investment. Using a Kaupapa Māori research methodology this research contributes to a gap in the academic literature relating to Whānau (Māori family) tourism development. The research contributes new academic literature to support the notion that the Whānau unit is at the core of social and economic development for Māori tourism. This thesis captures and describes the various stages, developed over a year, of Whānau Hui (family meetings), of a Whānau tourism business. As a Māori researcher, I gained emancipated access to a Whānau using Kaupapa Māori methods, applying a cultural set of protocols and values to unlock access to a Māori worldview of how a Whānau navigates the processes of developing their Whānau tourism experience in New Zealand. The engagement of a Kaupapa Māori research methodology enabled me to apply my personal skills of a lifetime of knowledge of Te Ao Māori (a Māori worldview) and Te Reo Māori (Māori language) combined with over 20 years of global advancement of indigenous tourism in the cruise industry. As a Tohunga Whakairo (master carver) I applied seven distinctive steps of a master carver’s processes in carving a Pou Tokomanawa (the main centre post of a Tipuna Whare orancestralmeeting house), providing a unique cultural process that frames the chapters of this dissertation. The research data provided an enriched flow of cultural information, which was analysed using a cultural analytical process to validate the key themes that emerged from the research findings. The cultural analyses are completed in two stages; the processes of Whakapapa and Whanaungatanga (cultural relationships), which are culturally-grounded methods for analysing research data using a Māori worldview, and the validation of cultural significance by Kaumātua (elders) of the Whānau. The thesis is imbued with cultural paradigms that frame and identify the cultural underpinnings and processes of a Whānau tourism development. The study expands on two cultural models,‘Te Tāpoi Poutama’ and Te Matua Poutama (Māori tourism frameworks for identifying cultural levels of significance) and these cultural paradigms are applied to demonstrate cultural levels of significance that a Whānau place on their proposed Māori tourism business.

text: E Whakatipuranga o te Tāpoi Māori - Māori Indigenous Tourism Development: A Whānau based Māori Tourism development This Doctoral thesis uses a Kaupapa Māori research methodology, which is culturally grounded to identify the indigenous Māori underpinnings and processes that a Whānau (Māori family) experience when developing their Māori tourism business. The thesis discusses the following four issues, which are addressed using a Kaupapa Māori research methodology:
1. The gap in the current literature for Māori tourism development and authenticity from a Māori perspective.
2. The cultural underpinnings and processes of a Whānau (Māori family) tourism business.
3. Identification of the Māori cultural values that inform Māori tourism development
4. Development of a cultural framework that positions Māori values on levels of significance from a Māori perspective.
A cultural tourism experience is investigated, involving a Whānau Māori tourism business developed from a conceptual stage in preparation for financial investment. Using a Kaupapa Māori research methodology this research contributes to a gap in the academic literature relating to Whānau (Māori family) tourism development. The research contributes new academic literature to support the notion that the Whānau unit is at the core of social and economic development for Māori tourism. This thesis captures and describes the various stages, developed over a year, of Whānau Hui (family meetings), of a Whānau tourism business. As a Māori researcher, I gained emancipated access to a Whānau using Kaupapa Māori methods, applying a cultural set of protocols and values to unlock access to a Māori worldview of how a Whānau navigates the processes of developing their Whānau tourism experience in New Zealand. The engagement of a Kaupapa Māori research methodology enabled me to apply my personal skills of a lifetime of knowledge of Te Ao Māori (a Māori worldview) and Te Reo Māori (Māori language) combined with over 20 years of global advancement of indigenous tourism in the cruise industry. As a Tohunga Whakairo (master carver) I applied seven distinctive steps of a master carver’s processes in carving a Pou Tokomanawa (the main centre post of a Tipuna Whare orancestralmeeting house), providing a unique cultural process that frames the chapters of this dissertation. The research data provided an enriched flow of cultural information, which was analysed using a cultural analytical process to validate the key themes that emerged from the research findings. The cultural analyses are completed in two stages; the processes of Whakapapa and Whanaungatanga (cultural relationships), which are culturally-grounded methods for analysing research data using a Māori worldview, and the validation of cultural significance by Kaumātua (elders) of the Whānau. The thesis is imbued with cultural paradigms that frame and identify the cultural underpinnings and processes of a Whānau tourism development. The study expands on two cultural models,‘Te Tāpoi Poutama’ and Te Matua Poutama (Māori tourism frameworks for identifying cultural levels of significance) and these cultural paradigms are applied to demonstrate cultural levels of significance that a Whānau place on their proposed Māori tourism business.

year: 2017