Information Networks and Collective Action: Evidence from the Women’s Temperance Crusade

How do social interactions shape collective action, and how are they mediated by networked information technologies? We answer these questions studying the Temperance Crusade, a wave of anti-liquor protest activity spreading across 29 states between 1873 and 1874. Relying on exogenous variation in network links generated by railroad accidents, we provide causal evidence of social interactions driving the diffusion of the movement, mediated by rail and telegraph information about neighboring activity. Local newspaper coverage of the crusade was a key channel mediating these effects. Using an event-study methodology, we find strong complementarities between rail and telegraph networks in driving the movement’s spread. (JEL D83, J16, L92, L96, N31, N41, N71)

Антиколыбельная песня Егора Буджалова в аспекте пародии Морхаджи Нармаева: «Ɵдгǝ цага саатулин дун» — «Буджала Егор залуд»

Introduction. So far, the genres of lullaby and poetic parody in the Kalmyk poetry of the twentieth century have not attracted much attention. Born in the late 1920s — early 1930s, the tradition was short-lived. While their genres were explicitly or implicitly marked, the works of Kalmyk poets in question were primarily oriented towards the Russian literary tradition. However, they expanded the genre paradigm of Kalmyk poetry in the intercultural dialogue. The relevance and novelty of the article is apparent, granted its focus on the two innovative works by Egor Budzhalov and Morkhadzhi Narmaev; these are single works that belong to the genres of anti-lullaby and satirical parody as part of the 1990s literary polemics of the contemporaries. This article aims to introduce these little-known poems of the two poets as representative of their contributions to the genres. Materials and methods. The sources for the study, Budzhalov’s “Ɵdgǝ tsaga saatulin dun” (“Modern Lullaby Song”, 1991) and Narmaev’s “Budzhala Egor zalud” (“To the man Egor Budzhalov”, 1991), were published in the local newspaper “Halmg unn”. The study of historical-literary milieu and realia, comparative-contrastive and hermeneutic approaches were employed to examine the poetic pieces in the context of literary, socio-political, ideological, and social processes on the eve of the country’s collapse; also, the biographical data of the poets that belong to different generations was helpful in the analysis of their ideological positions, as well as the authorial voices in the texts under study. Results. The study shows the innovative character of the poets’ efforts at creating a lullaby for adults, or an anti-lullaby song, and a satirical parody; these were to remain single samples, granted that the Kalmyk lullabies are mainly addressed to infants, and parodies are of a friendly character. Their works reflect the authors’ polar views on the realities in the 1980s and 1990s: criticism, on the one hand, and the defense of socialism, communist ideas, on the other hand. Conclusions. Budzhalov’s poem may look like a lullaby for children at first sight while, in fact, it is a lullaby for adults or rather an anti-lullaby, with the formulaic chorus baiu bai, a marker of the genre, acquiring in his piece the opposite message: wake up, do not sleep, act. Narmaev enters the dialogue with his younger contemporary, his poem also representing a synthesis of genres: a message, an open letter in verse, and a satirical parody. However, his parody is also transformed when the author parodies not so much his fellow poet’s style but the authorial implications concerning the Soviet reality. The tradition of literary polemics was not continued in Kalmyk poetry.

Humbug and outrage: A study of performance, gender and affective atmosphere in the mediation of a critical parliamentary moment

In a Parliament called back following its unlawful prorogation in September 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson touched a raw nerve by stating that the ‘best way to honour Jo Cox’s memory is to get Brexit done’. Johnson had earlier dismissed concerns about threats to Members of Parliament which echoed his inflammatory language as ‘humbug’. We examine this critical parliamentary moment in the context of broader discussions about emotionality, toxic discourse and polarisation in the United Kingdom. The study combines performance analysis of the Hansard transcripts and UK Parliament YouTube coverage of the debate, with discourse analysis of national and local newspaper coverage from 25 September to 1 October 2019. We contend that in-depth examination of this moment, alongside the subsequent journalistic commentary, contributes an original case study which works to illuminate the intersections of political performance, affective atmospheres and gender in contemporary mediated political culture.

Forming a Secret Group

Chapter 3 addresses how people keep their politics a secret by detailing how CWG developed. First, it attends to how digital media is at the heart of the group’s formation, allowing members to coordinate away from disagreeable spouses and neighbors, and to discuss, engage, and grapple with politics in secret both online and offline. This chapter also focuses on the role of traditional media—what media members tended to consume as well as the unique role of the local newspaper in constructing perceptions of disagreement within their community. This chapter helps to establish the role of digital media in facilitating political secrecy and the role of traditional media in conveying to partisans whether they are in the majority or minority of their community.

“A festa da Arte”

Este trabalho realiza uma discussão sobre o uso do jornal como fonte histórica a partir de uma análise das publicações feitas sobre o Instituto de Música do Rio Grande do Norte pelo jornal A Ordem, entre os anos de 1936 e 1952. Com o objetivo de compreender como o referido periódico realizava suas publicações sobre esse espaço de ensino musical, e a fim de ter acesso às suas edições na íntegra, realizou-se uma pesquisa na Hemeroteca Digital da Biblioteca Nacional, na qual encontraram-se as edições nas quais o Instituto de Música do Rio Grande do Norte foi mencionado. A pesquisa é de natureza qualitativa e exploratória, com procedimentos de caráter bibliográfico e documental, através da análise das notas encontradas no jornal A Ordem. Para a interpretação dos dados, traz-se a compreensão de Barros (2019) acerca do jornal como fonte histórica e não como objeto de estudo, e de Albuquerque Junior (2013) sobre documentos, que trazem vida, sentimentos, emoções, e acontecimentos da vida de um homem do passado. No período analisado, A Ordem publicou conteúdos diversificados sobre o Instituto de Música do Rio Grande do Norte, informando sobre período de matrículas, início de ano letivo, resultado de exames, recital dos alunos, trazendo notas com o diretor da instituição e outras que faziam referências indiretas à mesma. Desse modo, o periódico local se mostrou um importante parceiro na realização das atividades da instituição. Palavras-chave: Instituto de Música do Rio Grande do Norte. Jornal A Ordem. Documento. The "art celebration": a ordem newspaper as a research source regarding music professional education in Rio Grande do Norte (1936-1952) Abstract This work deals with the use of the newspaper as a historical documental source. The research is based on an analysis of the publications of the Institute of Music of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil in the A Ordem newspaper between the years 1936 and 1952. To understand how the periodical realized its publications regarding the musical teaching institution, and in order to have access to its full editions, a survey in the Digital Periodical Library of the Brazilian National Library was realized where issues where the forementioned Institute were found. The research is of qualitative and exploratory nature and considered bibliographic and documentary strategies, through the analysis of the notes found in the newspaper. The research is as of a qualitative and exploratory nature, with bibliographic and documentary procedures, through the analysis of the notes found in the newspaper A Ordem newspaper. For data interpretation, the researched relied on works such as Barros (2019) that deals with newspapers as documental sources and not only as an empirical object. The research also considered works of Albuquerque Junior (2013) about documents, which emphasize life, feelings, emotions, and events from the life of a men in this period. In this context A Ordem newspaper published a diversified type of contents regarding the aforementioned institute. Some reports dealt with student enrollment period, beginning of the school year, exam results or students' recitals. Others were reports written by the institute´s director or mentioned the institute indirectly. Thus, the local newspaper proved to be an important ally in the broadcasting of the institution's activities. Keywords: Music Institute of Rio Grande do Norte. A Ordem newspaper. Document.

Gubernatorial Elections Change Demand for Local Newspapers

How do partisans react when their candidate wins or loses a gubernatorial election? Previous work shows that when parties win presidential elections, demand for their affiliated local newspapers decreases relative to the losing party’s newspapers. However, it is unclear if this negative link extends beyond presidential races into state-level elections. To test this relationship, we analyze demand for partisan and non-partisan newspapers in Virginia and New Jersey—two states that hold off-cycle gubernatorial elections with no competition from federal elections—from 1933 to 2005. We find demand for local newspapers associated with the winning party declines after gubernatorial elections compared to demand for other newspapers. The results also shed light on whether (and which) winning partisans are disengaging completely or shifting their consumption to independent newspapers. Taken together, our study suggests that state-level elections significantly influence local newspaper consumption and adds valuable local context to our understanding of the political dynamics of news demand.

Humane Protection of Animals Against the Effects of Fireworks Displays

This article is of a scientific and research nature. Its subject is the humane protection of animals, expressly declared by the Polish legislator in the provisions of the Animal Protection Act, as regarded in the context of wide access to individual use of fireworks by private persons. The author seeks an answer to the question whether the legislator’s high-sounding declarations expressed in the Animal Protection Act, providing for humane protection of animals in Poland, are reflected in respective national or local regulations which would make it possible for the owners or guardians of animals to protect them against the effects of fireworks, especially against noise. The aim of the research is to indicate who, if it has not already been done by the national legislator, is authorised to issue regulations limiting the use of fireworks, in a manner modelled for example on Australian solutions, where displays can be organised by licensed, authorised companies, or in a manner whereby the owner or keeper of the animal is informed in advance by an announcement on the Internet or in a local newspaper of the planned place and date of the pyrotechnic show, so that he or she can provide protection for his or her animal by moving away from the venue in advance. The analysis of national solutions aims to indicate how the shortcomings in this area should be addressed by the regional legislator.

Reading the Signs: A Brief Portrait of West Sumatra Democracy in the News Headline Discourse

Portraits of the implementation of democracy in a government can be seen from various parameters, one of which is the event report recorded in the daily mass media coverage. This study aims to examine the democratic portraits of West Sumatra province that were presented through the local newspaper Singgalang during the publication period throughout 2016. This study is significant for further investigation because West Sumatra’s Democracy Index for that year was categorized as ―the lowest. This study includes Critical Discourse Analysis, which focuses on examining the aspects of language that reflect the power relations between the government and the people. The analysis results imply that the Singgalang newspaper can present the face of West Sumatra democracy through titles that describe the actual situation and relationship between the government and citizens. This finding is in line with the Central Bureau of Statistics findings, which indicate the poor implementation of democracy in the province of West Sumatra.

“A verry poor place for our doctrine”: Religion and Race in the 1853 Mormon Mission to Jamaica

ABSTRACT This article examines the first Mormon mission to Jamaica in January 1853. The missionaries, facing opposition from both black and white Jamaicans, returned to the United States after only a month on the island, having made only four converts. Latter-day Saints did not return to Jamaica for another 125 years. Drawing on the missionaries’ personal papers, church archives, local newspaper reports, and governmental records, I argue that the 1853 mission played a crucial role in shaping nineteenth-century Mormonism's racial theology, including the “temple and priesthood ban” that restricted priesthood ordination and temple worship for black men and women. While historians have rightly noted the role twentieth-century missions to regions of the African Diaspora played in ending the ban, studies of the racial restriction's early scope have been discussed in almost exclusively American contexts. The mission to Jamaica, precisely because of its failure, helped shape the ban's implementation and theological justifications. Failing to make any inroads, the elders concluded that both Jamaica and its inhabitants were cursed and not worthy of the missionaries’ time, which anticipated later decisions to prioritize preaching to whites and to scale back and ultimately abandon efforts to proselytize people of African descent.