scholarly journals Distribution Matters: Feminist Bookstores as Cultural Interaction Spaces

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-75
Author(s):  
Kathy Liddle

To investigate the historical case of North American feminist bookstores, I use archival materials, interviews, and surveys to consider how cultural distribution sites affect the acquisition and interpretation of cultural objects. The findings point to the importance and variety of distributor conditions, including physical space, atmosphere, bookseller characteristics, stock, and audience members. I develop the concept of the cultural interaction space, defined as a location where a distributor, its cultural objects, and its audience converge. These spaces provide opportunities for interaction, observation, and experimentation with both tangible and intangible cultural materials, as well as for identity formation and the development of group solidarity. Future research should consider how variations in cultural distributors and in cultural interaction spaces affect audience reception, interpretation, and use of cultural objects.

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Jingyi Li ◽  
Ceenu George ◽  
Andrea Ngao ◽  
Kai Holländer ◽  
Stefan Mayer ◽  
...  

Ubiquitous technology lets us work in flexible and decentralised ways. Passengers can already use travel time to be productive, and we envision even better performance and experience in vehicles with emerging technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) headsets. However, the confined physical space constrains interactions while the virtual space may be conceptually borderless. We therefore conducted a VR study (N = 33) to examine the influence of physical restraints and virtual working environments on performance, presence, and the feeling of safety. Our findings show that virtual borders make passengers touch the car interior less, while performance and presence are comparable across conditions. Although passengers prefer a secluded and unlimited virtual environment (nature), they are more productive in a shared and limited one (office). We further discuss choices for virtual borders and environments, social experience, and safety responsiveness. Our work highlights opportunities and challenges for future research and design of rear-seat VR interaction.


2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-154
Author(s):  
HENRY SPILLER

AbstractThe powerful concept of orientalism has undergone considerable refinement since Edward Said popularized the term with his eponymous book in 1978. Orientalism typically is presented as a totalizing process that creates polar oppositions between a dominating West and a subordinate East. U.S. orientalisms, however, reflect uniquely North American approaches to identity formation that include assimilating characteristics usually associated with the Other. This article explores the complex relationship among three individuals—U.S. composer Charles T. Griffes, Canadian singer Eva Gauthier, and German-trained Dutch East Indies composer Paul J. Seelig—and how they exploited the same Javanese songs to lend legitimacy to their individual artistic projects. A comparison of Griffes's and Seelig's settings of a West Javanese tune (“Kinanti”) provides an especially clear example of how contrasting approaches manifest different orientalisms. Whereas Griffes accompanied the melody with stock orientalist gestures to express his own fascination with the exotic, Seelig used chromatic harmonies and a chorale-like texture to ground the melody in the familiar, translating rather than representing its Otherness. The tunes that bind Griffes, Gauthier, and Seelig are only the raw materials from which they created their own unique orientalisms, each with its own sense of self and its own Javanese others.


Author(s):  
Erika Melonashi

The present chapter aims to explore the relationship between social media and identity by reviewing theoretical frameworks as well as empirical studies on the topic. Considering the complexity of the concept of identity, a multidisciplinary theoretical approach is provided, including Psychological Theories, Sociological Theories and Communication Theories. These theories are revisited in the context of online identity formation and communication through social media. Different aspects of identity such as gender identity, professional identity, political identity etc., are discussed and illustrated through empirical studies in the field. Moreover, the role of social media as a factor that might either promote or hinder identity development is also discussed (e.g., phenomena such as cyber-bulling and internet addiction). Finally recommendations and suggestions for future research are provided, including the need for multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks to the investigation of the relationships between social media and identity.


Author(s):  
Frank Towers

Whereas the introduction to this volume focused on the question of sovereignty and the nation-state, our conclusion takes stock of another important theme of this volume, writing North American history outside of a national framework. Riding the crest of a wave of studies on transnational and global comparative studies of the nineteenth century, historians working in this field would do well to pause briefly to take stock of its achievements, limitations, and future research questions....


Author(s):  
Varda R. Mann-Feder

This chapter proposes that developmental theory can provide multiple lenses through which the transition to adulthood for youth from care can be understood and supported. This chapter outlines the benefits of a developmental approach and presents theories, such as Erikson’s identity theory and the theory of emerging adulthood, which stresses the importance of the identity formation process; attachment processes throughout the lifespan; and loss, grief, and mourning as it relates to the experiences of youth removed from home and placed incare. Relevant research with care leavers is reviewed, and implications are outlined for practice, policy, and future research that promotes optimal development for youth leaving care.


2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Cerezo ◽  
Mariah Cummings ◽  
Meredith Holmes ◽  
Chelsey Williams

Although the concept of intersectionality has gained widespread attention in psychological research, there remains a significant gap related to the impact of intersectionality on identity formation for persons negotiating multiple minority statuses. This gap is especially pronounced among sexual and gender expansive women of Latinx and African American descent—two groups that face disparate personal and public health risks but are largely ignored in the research literature. In response to this gap, we carried out a qualitative study using constructivist grounded theory with 20 Latinx and African American sexual minority, gender expansive women to understand participants’ experiences of forming an intersectional social identity. Following an exploration of identity formation related to the specific domains of race, gender identity, and sexual orientation, we prompted participants to consider how each of the specified identity domains impacted the formation and experience of an overall intersectional identity (e.g., how racial position impacted gender identity and/or sexual identity formation). Findings revealed four major themes that were critical in identity formation: (a) family and cultural expectations, (b) freedom to explore identity, (c) the constant negotiation of insider/outsider status, and (d) identity integration as an act of resistance. Implications for future research and psychological services are discussed.


2019 ◽  
pp. 120633121988135
Author(s):  
Weijia Wang

With the rapid development of information and communication technology, physical space has been increasingly enhanced by digital technology. The way people and space interact is significantly changed. In particular, an increased interest in the notion of place has emerged in examining smart city development, digital engagement, and people–technology relationships in hybrid physical–digital space. In this article, a place-centric perspective is employed to investigate digitally enhanced people–space interactions. Based on a multimethod research design that combines physical survey, field observation, and interview, this research employs a case study of a shopping mall to examine people’s everyday practices of digitally enabled placemaking. It is found that a range of digital interfaces functions as a system at various proxemic scales in hybrid space, which open up new spatialities by mediating trans-scale placemaking practices. Type-forms of digitally enabled people–space interactions are also summarized. The paper concludes that digitally enabled placemaking in this particular case is constituted within a closed mechanism. Future research directions are also raised at the end.


2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 1066-1097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin K. Sovacool ◽  
Katherine Lovell ◽  
Marie Blanche Ting

Large technical systems (LTS) are integral to modern lifestyles but arduous to analyze. In this paper, we advance a conceptualization of LTS using the notion of mature “phases,” drawing from insights into innovation studies, science and technology studies, political science, the sociology of infrastructure, history of technology, and governance. We begin by defining LTS as a unit of analysis and explaining its conceptual utility and novelty, situating it among other prominent sociotechnical theories. Next, we argue that after LTS have moved through the (overlapping) phases proposed by Thomas Hughes of invention, expansion, growth, momentum, and style, mature LTS undergo the additional (overlapping) phases of reconfiguration, contestation (subject to pressures such as drift and crisis), and eventually stagnation and decline. We illustrate these analytical phases with historical case studies and the conceptual literature, and close by suggesting future research to refine and develop the LTS framework, particularly related to more refined typologies, temporal dimensions, and a broadening of system users. We aim to contribute to theoretical debates about the coevolution of LTS as well as empirical discussions about system-related use, sociotechnical change, and policy-making.


Author(s):  
Thembani Dube

The Kalanga are one of the ethnic groups found mostly in the Bulilima and Mangwe districts, in the southwestern parts of Zimbabwe. Although the origins of the Kalanga date back to a thousand years, it is important to note that Kalanga ethnic identity is a socially constructed phenomenon, which continues to be negotiated. Therefore, it is vital to note that dynamism, flexibility, and malleable are some of the attributes of this identity. As such, Kalanga history and identity, which has been a product of various processes, such as precolonial political and social organization, colonial rule and the postcolonial Zimbabwean state, will be sought after. Central to these processes are actors such as Kalanga chiefs, missionaries, colonial administrators, Kalanga elites, women, and the ordinary people, who played a significant role in shaping and articulating Kalanga identity at different historical epochs. Moreover, markers of Kalanga identity such as language, Ngwali/Mwali religion, chieftaincy, and histories of origin have been used to (re)construct Kalanga identity. Nonetheless, the heterogeneity of Kalanga people and the complexity involved in the intricate processes of identity formation will be acknowledged. In postcolonial Zimbabwe there has been rising interest from Kalanga elites who have lobbied the government to recognize the Kalanga. This activism is inspired by perceived marginalization of the Kalanga and other minority groups, which has been enforced through monolithic linguistic policies, orchestrated through government favoritism toward the so-called majority languages, such as Shona and IsiNdebele. However, the interaction and cordial relations among the Kalanga and other ethnic groups found in Zimbabwe will also be acknowledged. Nonetheless, there is no exhaustive account of this group as scholars continue to engage with them, hence contributing to always expand the different interpretations on these people. It is therefore hoped that the history of this particular group will be chronicled and perhaps directions for future research on the Kalanga pointed out. In order to fully explore this historical account, various sources that have been used in the study of Kalanga history will be critically engaged.


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