Crossing Borders: Building Radical Economic Subjectivities along the USA/Mexico Border from Sites of Privilege

2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 721-737
Author(s):  
Julie Steinkopf Rice ◽  
Emily R. Cummins ◽  
Aprildawn Willeford

Research examining radical economic subjectivity processes involved in creating alternative economies remains extremely scarce. We address this lacuna by employing qualitative techniques including semi-structured interviews and participant observation to examine advocates who work to provide economic alternatives to economically dislocated communities along the USA/Mexico border. Theoretically we use a poststructural feminist perspective to illuminate the contradictions and complexities involved in how these advocates negotiate and often work against their interests arising from class, race, and geopolitical privileges. Contributions of this study include demonstrating the utility of a poststructural feminist approach to global political economic issues that extend beyond a focus upon gender. This theoretical approach provides insights into the complex relations radical economic subjects have to the state; the importance of critical self-reflection in building solidarity across different social locations; and the complexities related to language barriers and representation of the subaltern.

2021 ◽  
pp. 096100062096216
Author(s):  
Sarah Barriage

Many children in the USA spend a significant amount of time in center-based childcare. However, research has yet to explore their information practices in this setting. This study investigates young children’s perceptions of the concept of information and their own information-seeking practices within the context of their day care classroom. The participants included 13 children between three and five years of age. Data was collected using participant observation, semi-structured interviews, child-led photo tours, and photo-elicitation interviews. The findings indicate that the children did not perceive the concept of information in a manner consistent with adult understandings of the term, and that they engaged in information-seeking related to finding out new things on their own, through interactions with others, and through classroom resources, activities, and routines. The findings have implications for both researchers and practitioners working with young children.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-118
Author(s):  
Arkadiy Alekseevich Eremin

This article is an attempt to critically analyze the policy of the 45th President of the United States Donald Trump regarding the southern border of the USA with Mexico. The paper analyzes the approach of Washington under the administration of D. Trump to the problem of the joint border between USA and Mexico, as well as conducts a comprehensive assessment of the main programs underlying the most pressing changes in D. Trumps policy in this area. In particular, the paper focuses on the structure of migration flows between 2017 and 2019, as well as on the reasons behind those changes. The author looks at the root causes of the unprecedented increase in the flow of potential migrants and refugees, and correlates them with the ongoing political, economic and humanitarian crises in the Central American sub-region. An important focus is given to the increasing role of Mexico in the settlement of this issue, as well as to the potential impact of such cooperation between the authorities of the United States and Mexico on the situation in Central America and Latin America in general. The significance of this paper is determined by the objective necessity of academic evaluation of the Donald Trumps administration impact on the United States governmental and foreign policy course. The author argues that the approach of the 45th president of the United States regarding traditionally sensitive issues like US - Mexico border control and migration has been mostly based on coercive tactics with obvious disregard towards social basis and root-causes of the issue at hand. One of the most distinguished traits of this approach is the practice of outsourcing managing the problem of refugees from Central America to the border-country, which in this specific case is Mexico.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystal Barber

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how lesson study can lead to teacher learning and improvement of instruction by developing teachers’ mathematical-task knowledge and by supporting teachers’ selection, modification, and implementation of mathematical tasks. Mathematical-task knowledge includes knowledge needed to use tasks that require a high level of thinking and reasoning. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative case study design was used to explore the learning and instruction of three teachers as they went through the process of lesson study, developed knowledge around mathematics tasks, and made changes to their instruction. Methods included direct observation of lessons, semi-structured interviews, and participant observation. Findings This lesson study project supported teachers in developing mathematical-task knowledge and in making change to instructional practice. The teachers discussed in this paper added to their understanding of mathematical tasks and changed how they implemented tasks after lesson study. The teachers began to challenge students to go beyond memorizing or executing procedures to deepen the students’ understanding of mathematical concepts. Teachers developed key insights and understandings of mathematical tasks, triggering shifts in their thinking, and changes to instruction. Collaboration and reflection altered the selection, modification, and implementation of mathematical tasks. Research limitations/implications This study reveals the connections between features of lesson study and the pathways that lead to learning and improvements to instruction. Limitations included the demands of the school district’s pacing guide and curriculum, and a limited number of interviews and observations were conducted after lesson study. Originality/value There are many different ways lesson study has been implemented in the USA, yet the effectiveness of many lesson study projects is still unclear. This study reveals more about the lesson study process, what features are important, and how these features lead to development of knowledge and practice. This study examines how teachers within the same lesson study group added to their knowledge and practice and how different features of lesson study prompt them to make changes.


Author(s):  
Mona Turjoman

This sociolinguistics study investigated the maintenance of the Arabic language among three migrant Arab Muslim families, who have been living in the USA for at least ten years, particularly among the children. Each family has children between the ages of 10 to 15 and they attend American public schools. Arabic is essential in the religious rituals of the Muslim society. Yet living in an English-speaking environment makes it challenging for these families to maintain fluency in Arabic and English. The families live in Muncie, Indiana where the only means of formal teaching of Arabic is through a Sunday school held in the Mosque and parental attempts to teach them at home. Data were collected by using semi-structured interviews and participant observation over a six-month period and analyzed according to Smolicz’s (1981) Core Value theory. The findings of the study indicated that all three families are aware of the challenges of maintaining the Arabic language and therefore emphasize the use of Arabic at home, to supplement the Arabic lessons in the Sunday school. 


Author(s):  
Gabriella E. Sanchez

The hypervisibility of contemporary migration flows has generated significant interest in human smugglers, and reports of their activities are ubiquitous. Smugglers as facilitators of irregular migration are most often characterized as young and violent men from the Global South organized in criminal networks who are responsible for the tragic journeys of migrants around the world. Yet despite their frequent appearance in dramatic migration accounts, smugglers have hardly been the subject of empirical inquiry, which has led to the prevalence of male-centred, racialized, and classist characterizations of their activities. This chapter, drawing from structured interviews and participant observation conducted among twelve women charged with human smuggling offences and twenty-five women who travelled with smuggling facilitators in the US states of Arizona and Utah, situates the narratives of smuggling and its intersections with race, class, and gender in the facilitation of border crossings along the US–Mexico border.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-49
Author(s):  
Neeru Karki

On 25th April 2015 at 11:56 am local time, a devastating earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale shook Nepal. It is considered as one of the most fatal disasters in Nepal, ensuing aft restocks; avalanches and landslides triggered in the aftermath killed over 9,000 people. The most damage occurred when the earthquake triggered a destructive avalanche composed of ice, snow and soil, burying the entire Langtang village- a huge settlement of the popular adventure tourism destination of Nepal and killing at least 253 people. This study envisions to explore the scopes of special-interest dark (thanatology) tourism in the post-disaster scene, and it is used as a vehicle for self-reflection and education. This paper also explores the tourism prototype for an adventure tourism destination that has been severely impacted by a disaster. The paper adapts sociological theory, experience, and participant observation to complete a vanity ethnographic study of a “post-disaster tour” in the Langtang area. The tools and techniques of data collection derived from qualitative methodological approaches such as case study, semi-structured interviews, informal interviews, participant observation, content analysis, focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and house to house visit. The findings show how the adventure tourism hosts bounced back and depicted resiliency through unified reconstruction. Langtang’s post-disaster touristic setting instigates a unique paradigm in the tourism sector that can go parallel with the adventure tourism engagements. Th e model is represented through the amalgamation of dark tourism (Dark) and adventure tourism (Adventure), which forms a phenomenon that is named “darventure” (Kunwar, 2019) tourism. The‘ darventure’ tourism features the elements of both thanatology and frontier thrills at the same place. Dark tourist and adventure tourist experiences can coexist in Langtang, it creates a unique tourism prototype that complements both practices and can be offered as ‘darventure’ tourism.


2007 ◽  
Vol 15 (spe) ◽  
pp. 812-819 ◽  
Author(s):  
Telma Sanchez Vendruscolo ◽  
Maria das Graças Carvalho Ferriani ◽  
Marta Angélica Iossi Silva

This is a qualitative study that aimed to know and analyze the social representations of social workers regarding the assistance to the child and adolescent, victims of domestic violence. The data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews and participant observation. The data analysis was based on the hermeneutic-dialectic perspective. The empirical categories that emerged from the subjects' representations were: "lack of policy", "do not support because have not received support", and "social assistance" whereas the political economic aspect was highlighted as determinant of violence; the cultural aspects, perpetuating a cycle of violence in the families. An important step must be taken is the formulation of public policies directed to all children and adolescents and not policies of exception, directed only to those who are in situation of "social and personal risk".


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Célia Coelho Gomes da Silva

This work is the result of the doctoral thesis entitled Pilgrimage of Bom Jesus da Lapa: Social Reproduction of the Family and Female Gender Identity, specifically the second chapter that talks about women in the Pilgrimage of Bom Jesus da Lapa, emphasizing gender relations, analyzing the location of the pilgrimage as a social reproduction of the patriarchal family and female gender identity. The research scenario is the Bom Jesus da Lapa Pilgrimage, which has been held for 329 years, in that city, located in the West part of Bahia. The research participants are pilgrim women who are in the age group between 50 and 70 years old and have participated, for more than five consecutive years in the Bom Jesus da Lapa Pilgrimage, belonging to five Brazilian states (Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Espírito Santo and Goiás) that register a higher frequency of attendance at this religious event. We used bibliographic, qualitative, field and documentary research and data collection as our methodology; we applied participant observation and semi-structured interviews as a technique. We concluded that the Bom Jesus da Lapa Pilgrimage is a location for family social reproduction and the female gender identity, observing a contrast in the resignification of the role and in the profile of the pilgrim women from Bom Jesus da Lapa, alternating between permanence and the transformation of gender identity coming from patriarchy.


Author(s):  
Amanda Cabral ◽  
Carolin Lusby ◽  
Ricardo Uvinha

Sports Tourism as a segment is growing exponentially in Brazil. The sports mega-events that occurred in the period from 2007 to 2016 helped strengthen this sector significantly. This article examined tourism mobility during the Summer Olympic Games Rio 2016, hosted by the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This study expands the understanding of the relationship between tourism and city infrastructure, therefore being relevant to academics, professionals of the area and to the whole society due to its multidisciplinary field. The existence of a relationship between means of transportation and the Olympic regions as well as tourist attractions for a possible legacy was observed. Data were collected from official sources, field research and through participant-observation and semi structured interviews. Data were coded and analyzed. The results indicate that the city was overall successful in its execution of sufficient mobility. New means of transportation were added and others updated. BRT's (Bus Rapid Transit) were the main use of mass transport to Olympic sites. However, a lack of public transport access was observed for the touristic sites.


Author(s):  
Richard Giulianotti

World sport often appears as one of the most powerful illustrations of globalization in action. This chapter provides a critical analysis of global sport. Four major areas of research and debate on global sport are examined: political–economic issues, centering particularly on the commercial growth of sport and inequalities between different regions; global sport mega-events such as the Olympic Games or World Cup finals in football; the emergence and institutionalization of the global sport for development and peace; and sociocultural issues, notably the importance of global sport to diverse and shifting forms of identity and belonging. Concluding recommendations are provided on areas for future research into global sport.


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