Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Mission Santa Clara In A Changing Urban Environment, Lee M. Panich

Faculty Publications

Since its secularization in the 1830s, Mission Santa Clara de Asís and its associated grounds have seen major transformations. These changes include the gradual abandonment of the mission by its native inhabitants, the Californio and early Anglo-American use of mission structures, as well as the founding and growth of Santa Clara College (now Santa Clara University) and the City of Santa Clara. Through the analysis of historic maps, photographs, and archaeological findings, this paper provides an overview of the far-reaching physical changes that have fundamentally altered the original mission-era landscape, including the mission churches, cemeteries, and neophyte village. Information is …

Sustainability, Ideology, And The Politics Of Development In Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Ryan B. Anderson

Faculty Publications

Based upon twelve months of anthropological fieldwork in Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, this article uses political ecology and theoretical work on ideology to examine how local residents use the concept of sustainability to advocate for alternative visions of development. Conceptually, the idea of sustainability has a long, often conflicted history. As political ecologists have pointed out, sustainability can be everything from a tool of dominance and pacification to a strident defense of environment, place, and local rights. Between 2010 and 2012, the residents of Cabo Pulmo waged a campaign against a large-scale tourism development that was perceived as …

Lexical Processing And Affix Ordering: Cross-Linguistic Predictions, Jeffrey R. Parker, Andrea D. Sims

Faculty Publications

Rich cross-linguistic variability in the strictness of affix ordering raises questions about how universal and language-specific factors interact to determine affix combinability patterns. While focus has been primarily on the interaction of semantic scope and language-specific formal factors, in this paper we take a first step towards a cross-linguistic, typological perspective on a different potential influencing factor: lexical processing. Based on a corpus study, we show that derivational suffix ordering is less constrained in Russian than in English. And significantly, statisticaldistributional evidence also suggests that Russian words are overall more likely to be decomposed during lexical access. This hints that …

Ontology-Based Information Extraction With A Cognitive Agent, Deryle W. Lonsdale, David W. Embley, Peter Lindes

Faculty Publications

Machine reading is a relatively new field that features computer programs designed to read flowing text and extract fact assertions expressed by the narrative content. This task involves two core technologies: natural language processing (NLP) and information extraction (IE). In this paper we describe a machine reading system that we have developed within a cognitive architecture. We show how we have integrated into the framework several levels of knowledge for a particular domain, ideas from cognitive semantics and construction grammar, plus tools from prior NLP and IE research. The result is a system that is capable of reading and interpreting …

The Competency Pivot: Introducing A Revised Approach To The Business Communication Curriculum, Jacob D. Rawlins, Kristen Lucas

Faculty Publications

In this article, we outline a competency-based approach to teaching business communication. At the heart of this approach, classroom instruction, assignments, and evaluation center on a goals-oriented and receiver-centric understanding of communication in which students are taught strategies for meeting five core competencies of business communication: professional, clear, concise, evidence driven, and persuasive. This is not a reinvention of the curriculum but instead a pivot that positions existing disciplinary knowledge and best practices into a clear, memorable, and professionally oriented framework to help students build critical communication skills that can be applied strategically across a range of business situations.

Measuring Worth: Relative Worth Calculators And Data Sets, Leticia Camacho

Faculty Publications

Measuring Worth was founded in 2006 by Lawrence Officer and Samuel Williamson (both, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago). They are also the founders of the Economic History Association's EH.net (CH, May'04, 41-5036). Measuring Worth explores alternative ways to compare and measure the relative worth of things. The site includes historical data on economic aggregates from the US, UK, and Australia, and to a lesser extent, Japan and China.

Use Existing Data First: Reconcile Metadata Before Creating New Controlled Vocabularies, Jeremy Myntti, Anna Neatrour

Faculty Publications

The use of controlled vocabularies is essential in the creation of metadata for digital collections in order to provide consistency and ease of use for patrons and researchers. The University of Utah has been working to clean up metadata for digital collections to ensure that data adheres to best practices with the use of specific, controlled vocabularies. This has included a major data-cleanup project utilizing multiple approaches including a vendor's authority control service, data reconciliation in OpenRefine, and the exploration of different tools used for the creation and maintenance of local controlled vocabularies.

Reference Service Evaluation At An African Academic Library: The User Perspective, Lili Luo, Viscount Buer

Faculty Publications

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a detailed discussion of a large-scale library reference evaluation study conducted at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) in Ghana. The study seeks to evaluate the reference service from the user perspective, focusing on how users use and perceive the service. Design/methodology/approach – Self-administered survey was used as the data collection instrument. One thousand questionnaires were distributed to library users in a three-week period, and the response rate was 63.7 per cent. Findings – The reference service had a high non-use rate of 42.6 per cent, which was primarily attributed to library users’ …

Student Interactions During Study Abroad In Jordan, Dan P. Dewey, Jennifer Brown, R. Kirk Belnap

Faculty Publications

For many years, researchers have assumed that studying abroad produces “fluent” speakers of a given language. However, in the past several decades, researchers have recognized that learners do not always avail themselves of opportunities to interact in the target language, and even when they do, success is not guaranteed. Scholars have begun to recognize that the quality of learners’ interactions during study abroad may be more important for ultimate language gains than the quantity of language use. This qualitative study documents the interactions of 82 students of Arabic studying in Amman, Jordan, as well as the factors that influenced the …

How Are Brand Names Of Chinese Companies Perceived By Americans?, Marc Fetscherin, Adamantios Diamantopoilos, Allan K.K. Chan, Rachael Abbott

Faculty Publications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to conduct an experimental design of Americans’ preferences for the English version of Chinese brand names by drawing from prior research in psychology, linguistics and marketing. The impact of string length and semantic relevance to English on meaningfulness, memorability and likeability of brand names from Chinese companies was assessed. Design/methodology/approach – A 2 × 2 experimental design was used, whereby brand names are categorized by string length (short vs long) and semantic relevance to English (with vs without). Respondents’ perception of the Chinese language in terms of pronounceability, language familiarity and language …

Meaningful Relationships: Collaborative Anthropology And Mentors From The Field, Sarah Ashley Kistler

Faculty Publications

In this article, I explore my collaboration with my long-time colleague in ethnographic research, Sebastian Si Pop, and our work on a collaborative ethnohistory project in Chamelco. In doing so, I examine the role that indigenous colleagues play in mentoring anthropologists. I argue that anthropologists develop the most meaningful relationships of their academic careers with the people that they meet in the field. These colleagues and friends often go underappreciated and unacknowledged in our resulting scholarship, even when they play crucial roles in our lives.

Father's Blessing: Ethnographic Drama, Poetry, And Prose, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Following interpretivist traditions focusing on how individuals make sense of and make meaning from their lived experience, the author, a heterosexual woman, travels with a gay male friend/participant to visit his estranged father, a retired Air Force pilot and elder in the Mormon Church. The work attempts to show the dialogic construction, negotiation, and transformation of identities and relationships.

Remembering A Cool September, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

This ethnographic short story chronicles the author’s emotional journey following September 11, 2001. After weeks of disconnection, she encounters a display of patriotism by two gay male friends, provoking her to process what it means to be both patriotic and gay in contemporary U.S. culture.

Revisiting Don/Ovan, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

In this piece, the author, a heterosexual woman, travels to her hometown of Lake City, MN to reconnect with Donovan Marshall, a gay man she last saw in 1986. "Revisiting Don/ovan" explores opportunities and challenges of coming out, leaving, and returning to live in a small town.

State Of Unions: Politics And Poetics Of Performance, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

At the 2005 International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, the author delivered a poem and slide show, “The State of Unions: Activism (and In-Activism) in Decision 2004.” The performance processed the election in the context of her research community, a network of gay male friends—marginalized by sexual orientation but privileged by sex, gender expression, race, class, and education. Audience members offered mixed responses, some praising its provocative content, others criticizing the author’s position and tone, which some perceived as hostile, even as “gay bashing.”

Recognizing Campus Landscapes As Learning Spaces, Kathleen G. Scholl, Gowri Betrabet Gulwadi

Faculty Publications

American higher education institutions face unique twenty-first century changes and challenges in providing good, holistic learning spaces for the diverse and evolving needs of today’s college student. Continued enrollment growth, societal and technological changes, financial challenges, and a need for increased universal and open access create ever more diverse, changing and complex US university systems. In 2009, 20.4 million students were enrolled in 2- or 4-year colleges and universities. By 2019, enrollments are expected to rise 9% for students under age 25, and rise 23% for students over the age of 25 (Snyder & Dillow, 2011). Questions of where, when, …

Consumer Health Reference Interview: Ideas For Public Librarians, Lili Luo

Faculty Publications

This two-stage study seeks to help public librarians become better prepared, and more confident and competent, when answering medical/health questions. At the first stage, eleven barriers that public librarians often encounter in the consumer health reference interview were identified through a comprehensive literature review, and at the second stage, input from professional consumer health librarians on how to overcome the barriers was gathered via a qualitative survey. Findings of the study provide concrete and practical strategies that will help public librarians more successfully conduct the reference interview to assist library users in their health information-seeking journey.

Effective Innovation Policies For Development: Uganda, Julius Ecuru, Dick Kawooya

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Exploring Barriers To Ict Use By Middle Class Indian Women, Anindita Paul, Kim M. Thompson, Jannica Heinstrom

Faculty Publications

Nations have made great strides in providing physical access to digital technologies and educational opportunities, yet barriers still exist that prevent those who have strong physical and intellectual access to information and communication technology from taking full advantage of the information and opportunities the technology offers. Women in particular are affected by social barriers which may be quite subtle and are easily excluded from taking an active role in the information society. This study explores how Indian women incorporate information and communication technology (ICT) into their daily lives and what aidsor barriers they face in the process. This study contributes …

Goals And Information Behavior In Religious Sermons, Darin S. Freeburg, Daniel Roland

Faculty Publications

This study utilized Steven R. Wilson’s (1999) cognitive rules model to analyze persuasion goals in American religious sermons that address obligation situations as well as the information used to support these goals. We coded a purposive sample of thirty sermons that were given in 2013 and 2014, gathered from an extensive sermon database, for evidence of goals and information use. Qualitative content analysis of these sermons revealed rich descriptions of several types of pastors based on their use of persuasion goals in addressing each topic. Analysis supports the claim that the activation of a goal likely occurs after the selection …

Friendship As Method, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

“Friendship as Method,” appendix of the book In Solidarity: Friendship, Family, and Activism Beyond Gay and Straight (Routledge 2015), overviews the author's approach to and philosophy of research. She defines friendship, posits it as a kind of fieldwork, and lays the methodological foundations of friendship as method. After arguing that friendship as method involves researching with the practices, at the pace, and in the natural contexts of friendship, the author describes this approach’s strengths and considerations for both researcher and participants. To learn more, visit the book's website: http://www.insolidaritybook.com.

Being Earnest With Collections: Investing In Open Access At A Small Academic Library, Jonathan H. Harwell

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Writing About Aj Pop B'Atz': Bruce Grindal And The Transformation Of Ethnographic Writing, Sarah Ashley Kistler

Faculty Publications

The works of Bruce Grindal teach us many things about anthropology’s humanistic tradition. With examples such as Redneck Girl and “Postmodernism as Seen by the Boys at Downhome Auto Repair,” Bruce Grindal demonstrated how we can creatively engage our ethnographic writing to reflect lived experiences. In this article, I examine Bruce’s influence on my ethnographic writing and collaborative research in the Maya community of San Juan Chamelco, Guatemala. Since 2006, I have worked collectively with a group of Chamelqueños to investigate the story of their local hero, Aj Pop B’atz’. In the sixteenth century, Aj Pop B’atz’ welcomed Spanish invaders …

Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Coming Out In An Alcoholic Family, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

This piece invites readers inside emotional and relational dynamics of coming

out as gay in an alcoholic family system. Taking an interpretive approach to

research, focused on how participants make sense of and make meaning

from their lived experience, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” offers a longitudinal and

narrative ethnographic account of family secrecy and disclosure.

In Solidarity: Collaborations In Lgbtq+ Activism, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D., Kathryn L. Norsworthy

Faculty Publications

What follows is a fictional account. Our “characters” bear our real names; the other eight are composites of students we have taught and from whom we have learned; activists with whom we have worked; and staff, faculty, and administrators we have trained in venues such as Safe Zone. We portray our ally (Lisa)-lesbian (Kathryn) relationship this way for two reasons: one, we had not secured permission from real students, colleagues, or community members to represent their lives and experiences, and two, we seek a way to show our partnership, both personal and professional since 2000, in action. To each of …

Passings, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

The author, a heterosexual woman, and Gordon Bernstein, a gay man, have been friends and research collaborators since 1995. In 2004, the author accompanied Gordon on a trip to his hometown of Philadelphia to conduct fieldwork and interview family members. This project ethnographically explored personal and relational opportunities and challenges associated with coming out in a family system defined by avoidant communication, hegemonic masculinity, and terminal illness.

Wedding Album: An Antiheterosexist Performance Text, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Historical and personal snapshots of weddings become poetic stanzas that advocate for marriage equality and for a social safety net strong enough to protect the human rights and meet the human needs of everyone, regardless of relational—or any other—status

In Solidarity Epilogue, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

This piece offers a postscript to the book In Solidarity: Friendship, Family, and Activism Beyond Gay and Straight (Routledge, 2015).

Why Women Don’T Run: Experimental Evidence On Gender Differences In Political Competition Aversion, Jessica Preece, Olga B. Stoddard

Faculty Publications

Women's underrepresentation in leadership positions has been well documented, but the reasons behind it are not well understood. We carry out a field experiment to test a prominent theory about the source of the gender gap in leadership ambition: women's higher aversion to competitive environments. Using politics as a context for our study, we employ two distinct subject pools – highly politically active individuals and workers from an online labor market. We find that priming individuals to consider the competitive nature of politics has a strong negative effect on women's interest in political office, but not on men's interest, hence …

Does The Message Matter? A Field Experiment On Political Party Recruitment, Jessica Robinson Preece

Faculty Publications

Do men and women respond to various party recruitment messages similarly? Working with the Utah County Republican Party, we designed a field experiment in which we invited over 11,600 male and female party activists to attend a free, party-sponsored “Prospective Candidate Information Seminar” by randomizing different invitation messages. We found that women were half as likely as men to respond to recruitment—log on to the seminar website for more information, register for the seminar, and attend the seminar. While we found some suggestive evidence about what recruitment messages may particularly motivate women or men vis-a-vis a control message, our findings …