Mediated absent presence in forced displacement

ABSTRACT

For many forcefully displaced people worldwide, notions around one’s sense of “home” and “place” in the world are perpetually unsettled. This article explores how digital technologies interact with embodied, material experiences within the geographical location refugees are residing in. Empirical examples from ethnographic research conducted among Iraqi urban refugees, living in prolonged uncertainty in Jordan, shows how situated experiences of legal, material, and social uncertainty reinforce particular mediated socialities. Pivotal studies have shown how digital connections engender virtual home-making practices and a wide variety of connected presences. This study points to the other side of the same coin: the cultivation of “absent presence.” “Absent presence” refers to feelings—the ambivalence that experiences of prolonged displacement bring about—but also to active disengagement and affective tactics in response. These engender a further separation from the physical world where forced migrants are not deemed welcome.     

学术论文研究亮点的语言学特征与分布规律研究

[目的/意义] 论文出版过程中，若能够合理有效地呈现出一篇学术论文的核心观点，不仅可以大大减少科研人员在查找和筛选文献上花费的时间，而且有助于阅读与理解。[方法/过程] 通过标注385篇XML格式期刊论文，构建了研究语料库，再利用关键词分析法对亮点的语言学特征进行分析，借助自然语言处理算法探索亮点的分布特征。[结果/结论] 亮点是一组规范的、语义明确的短句的集合，是一篇学术论文与其他论文相比较的新观点、新视角、新方法、新思路、新结果、新结论等内容的体现。亮点具有新颖性、简明性、易读性、"宣传"性等特点。亮点分为研究创新型亮点、研究方法型亮点、研究过程型亮点与研究结论型亮点，本文发现了亮点在正文和各章节的分布情况。     

Olfaction and emotion: The quest for olfactory restoration in two speech communities

ABSTRACT

Olfaction has been described as one of the least studied of the senses. This has certainly proven true in Communication. This project applies Ethnography of Communication and Cultural Discourse Analysis to examine the role that olfaction plays in the cultural meaning systems of two speech communities: residents surrounding the Gowanus Canal and bereaved parents. The cultural hub used to explore the cultural significance of olfaction in both speech communities is feeling. The analyses illustrate how emotions are tied to associated sensations and further become activated through radiants of dwelling, relating and acting. The analysis also shows how olfaction may serve to unify and separate members of a community. The significance of this research encourages stretching the boundaries of communication studies by examining the less studied physical senses and the boundaries of Cultural Discourse Analysis by providing distinctions that others can incorporate when examining feelings.     

Data Visualization as Participatory Research: A Model for Digital Collections to Inspire User-Driven Research

The emerging creative practices of digital collections are increasing in prominence thanks to the access to, and appeal of, data visualizations. Interactive data visualizations, such as a map, timeline, chart, graph, or artist’s rendering of data, enable users to pursue their own research interests within a collection and participate in new areas of research. Use of these data visualizations enhances the scope of the collection and enables a modern and diverse thematic collection to emerge. This article considers the question: Does the addition of data visualizations affect how users participate with a research collection? Impacts on collection development, application of user-centered design, and analysis of users’ exploratory strategies are discussed. Examples of data visualizations used in digital humanities projects and digital collections are presented as case studies.     

Deep teaching in a college STEM classroom

Cultural Studies of Science Education - The retention of underrepresented students remains a significant challenge in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) disciplines. A broad range...     

Digital Module 16: Longitudinal Data Analysis

In this digital ITEMS module, Dr. Jeffrey Harring and Ms. Tessa Johnson introduce the linear mixed effects (LME) model as a flexible general framework for simultaneously modeling continuous repeated measures data with a scientifically defensible function that adequately summarizes both individual change as well as the average response. The module begins with a nontechnical overview of longitudinal data analyses drawing distinctions with cross-sectional analyses in terms of research questions to be addressed. Nuances of longitudinal designs, timing of measurements, and the real possibility of missing data are then discussed. The three interconnected components of the LME model—(1) a model for individual and mean response profiles, (2) a model to characterize the covariation among the time-specific residuals, and (3) a set of models that summarize the extent that individual coefficients vary—are discussed in the context of the set of activities comprising an analysis. Finally, they demonstrate how to estimate the linear mixed effects model within an open-source environment (R). The digital module contains sample R code, diagnostic quiz questions, hands-on activities in R, curated resources, and a glossary.     

Getting What You Pay For: Children's Use of Market Norms to Regulate Exchanges

Children are sensitive to a number of considerations influencing distributions of resources, including equality, equity, and reciprocity. We tested whether children use a specific type of reciprocity norm—market norms—in which resources are distributed differentially based strictly on amount offered in return. In two studies, 195 children 5–10 years and 60 adults distributed stickers to friends offering same or different amounts of money. Overall, participants distributed more equally when offers were the same and more unequally when offers were different. Although sensitive to why friends offered different amounts of money, children increasingly incorporated market norms into their distributions with age, as the oldest children and adults distributed more to those offering more, irrespective of the reasons provided.