Academic Scholarship Research Articles

Bridges for Transgression: How Community Engagement Strengthened My Conocimiento

This article is an expansion of the Feminist Lecture that I gave at the Sociologists for Women in Society Meetings in April 2021. I map my journey toward conocimiento, highlighting the centrality of my volunteer work with asylum seekers, traveling to their sponsors after being released from ICE detention, for the development of my identity as a scholar activist. I rely on two theories, intersectionality and spiritual activism—both developed by women of color scholars to guide our efforts toward social change—to illustrate how scholars can reconcile their roles as community activists with their roles as scholars in academia. I bring intersectionality and spiritual activism together, as distinct (albeit complementary) resistant knowledge projects that, in tandem, support my critique of sociology’s competing commitments to objective empirical research and social justice. I chronicle how strengthening my conocimiento has served as a tool in my efforts to transgress the discipline and ultimately how it helped me find a more authentic existence within the academy.

The idea of protecting cultural heritage for the benefit of future generations in international cultural heritage law

Abstract Much of today’s academic scholarship of international cultural heritage law circles around cultural heritage’s protection for the benefit of future generations. Despite this, the efforts to systematically examine the concept in more detail are scarcer. This paper seeks to fill this gap by taking a closer look at the ways in which the notion of future generations features in the body of international cultural heritage law. This contribution firstly illustrates how central the idea of protecting cultural heritage for the benefit of future generations is in international cultural heritage law. Despite this centrality, evidenced by an extensive analysis of international and regional hard and soft law, national law, case law, and policy options, its precisely contours the second argument of this paper, is that they remain elusive. Finally, skepticism is voiced over the concept’s potential ambivalent use with respect to the protection of cultural heritage.

Purity and pollution: faith vegans’ categorizations of plant-based foods as pure and animal-derived foods as polluting

ABSTRACT Veganism has increased exponentially in the UK in recent years and whilst studies have attended to the redefinition of edibility and the adoption of new relationships with foodstuffs, one area that is noticeably absent from academic scholarship is the intersection with religion. Considering the influence that religion has on understandings of edibility, permissibility, and consumption, research gaps emerge pertaining to how religion and veganism come together to reshape the perceptions and categorizations of food types by vegans of faith. This article draws on a sociological study which recruited 12 Muslim vegans, 12 Jewish vegans, and 12 Christian vegans in the UK and conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews, diary methods, and virtual participant observation to gain a holistic understanding of the faith vegan experience. This article’s main finding is a dichotomous categorization of food types by faith vegans, with plant-based foods being seen as pure and animal-derived products being seen as polluting and inedible. Further, these understandings are intertwined with religious ethics, principles, and teachings in order to construct veganism as both God’s ideal diet and correct religious observance, whilst animal consumption is constructed as human greed, weakness, and a violation of what is perceived to be the ethical spirit of religion.

Election Interference and Online Propaganda Campaigns: Dynamic Interdependencies on Facebook, Google Trends, and the New York Times

The relationship between propaganda campaigns, news outlets, and search patterns is of significant interest to political authorities and academic scholars from various disciplines. We explore these dynamic relationships using 3,500 Facebook propaganda advertisements, 167,000 New York Times stories, and hundreds of Google Trends searches for terms from the advertisements and articles in the two years preceding the 2016 US presidential election. The data indicate that propaganda campaigns utilize random content infrequently and instead follow specific Google search patterns. Depending on the subject matter, Facebook advertisements can anticipate the New York Times. In the contexts of immigration, racism, and the LGBT community, such patterns of content adaptation are more prominent. We use the results to provide policy and research recommendations.

Empowerment Through Sustainable Journalism Practices in Africa: A Walkthrough of EcoNai + and Ushahidi Digital Platforms

ABSTRACT In this article, we address the question of sustainable journalism through the case studies of two leading digital journalism platforms in Africa: Ushahidi and EcoNai + . We draw on the walkthrough method to examine the extent to which these two journalism platforms address social, economic, and environmental crises in Africa and how they co-balance these issues with the crisis facing media and journalism itself. We achieve this by examining how audiences use these platforms. This method guarantees direct engagement with an app's interface to examine its technological mechanisms and embedded cultural references, thereby understanding how it guides users and shapes their experiences. Findings suggest that both platforms demonstrate sustainable journalism practices that align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and emphasize citizen engagement. Challenges include functionality issues and sustainable business model concerns. Nonetheless, they contribute significantly to journalism practices addressing the SDGs. As a result, this study makes three important contributions to academic scholarship and practices. First, it provides meaningful insights into how African digital media platforms uniquely cover sustainability issues. Second, it examines the user experience issues surrounding the applications. Finally, it contributes to the growing body of research on sustainable journalism, especially in the Global South.

‘If You Do Not Write, You Dry Up’: Tensions in Teacher Educator Research and Academic Writing

Teacher educators struggle to balance heavy teaching loads, research, writing, and institutional service. This qualitative study uses institutional ethnography to question how college leadership understand the significance of academic scholarship in the professional lives of college-based teacher educators in Israel. Data from interviews with eight college position holders shed light on the working lives of college-based teacher educators and how they are positioned as researcher-writers in an institution where scholarship expectations are blurry. Findings reveal three themes: the importance of academic activity for institutional prosperity, the difficulties in academic scholarship experienced by teacher educators, and the support the institution provides to encourage and maintain academic activity. The discussion contemplates the tensions between institutional and individual teacher educator advancement. The complexity of the institutional structure deserves attention to achieve institutional aims and attend to individual faculty’s professional needs and desires. The implications of this study are significant for leadership in teacher education and higher education around the world, prompting leaders to rethink ways of supporting faculty involved in research and writing alongside teaching and additional roles. Balancing conflicting roles, providing clear expectations, and maintaining an ongoing dialogue between teacher educators and leadership regarding professional development needs can lead to institutional prosperity alongside individual professional advancement.

Impact of Regulatory Reforms on Business Transformation: A Study of Indian Industries

This study explores the intricate interplay between regulatory reforms and business transformation in the context of Indian industries. Specifically, the research delves into recent changes in taxation, labor laws, and corporate governance, aiming to discern their impact on organizational strategies, structures, and operations. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, which involves qualitative analyses of regulatory shifts and quantitative assessments of business performance metrics, the study seeks to provide holistic insights. By examining sectoral variations and conducting in-depth interviews and case studies, this research contributes original knowledge to academic scholarship and imparts practical implications for businesses navigating dynamic regulatory landscapes. The anticipated findings aim to illuminate the adaptability and resilience of Indian industries, thereby advancing our understanding of the complex relationship between regulatory reforms and business transformation in this distinctive context.

I Know It When I Hear It

In the following article I consider a catalog of audio description porn videos available on the online adult entertainment platform Pornhub. Attending to the visual and aural elements of the original source video and their simultaneous narration in the audio descriptive tracks, I argue that this transcription offers us, the viewer/auditor, an ekphrastic encounter with the pornographic moving image mediated by the acousmatic gendered voice of the audio describer. While academic scholarship on pornography informs my discussion of the source videos, theories of ekphrasis ranging from its usage in Ancient Greek rhetoric, to its formulation in twentieth-century anglophone literary theory, and finally to its application in digital visual culture, will underpin my analysis of the audio description. Through ekphrasis I ultimately distinguish the audio description of pornography as a creative genre in its own right, as well as offer an extensive and interdisciplinary approach that extends beyond the recursive or self-reflexive lens of porn studies scholarship, and newly positions hardcore film pornography within a larger body of academic inquiry in conversation with epic poetry and art history.

중세 유럽 대학의 운영과 조선후기 서원의 경제 운영 - 이탈리아 볼로냐 대학과 상주 옥동서원을 중심으로

There is a prevailing agreement among academic experts that medieval universities in Europe underwent a transformation from parochial and monastic schools to institutions recognized as universities during the 11th or 12th century. However, the date of the university's founding is less clear, due to a lack of empirical evidence. This is because early European medieval universities were not established by royal or ecclesiastical decree, but rather slowly developed out of the existing parochial or monastic school system. Furthermore, the understanding of higher education at the University of Bologna in Italy, University of Paris, and University of Oxford during this era differed from the contemporary notion of a university, referred to as a studium or studium generale. The studium functioned as a “studium generale,” gathering students from various regions, rather than the modern concept of a “universal study center” in universities today. The universities founded in the late 12th century were perceived as distinctively European institutions, lacking direct connections to Greek, Roman, Byzantine, or Arab educational traditions. This indicates that prior to the Middle Ages, universities as institutions comprising professors and students with specific privileges, including administrative independence, curriculum development and implementation, and degree conferral, had no precedent elsewhere in Europe. Many academic studies have found that medieval universities in Europe emerged and developed in a distinctive manner. The origins of medieval universities in Korean history can be traced back to the state-sponsored establishment and operation of Taehak and Gukhak in ancient society. These institutions were passed down and evolved into Gukjagam (國子監) during the medieval Goryeo Dynasty. The Gukjagam underwent several name changes, becoming Gukhak in 1275(King Chongryeol's first year), Sungkyunkam(成均監) in 1298, Sungkyunkwan(成均館) in 1308, respectively, and undergoing subsequent renamings until it was succeeded by Sungkyunkwan following the establishment of the Joseon Dynasty. In the early Joseon Dynasty, the state promoted the policy of Sungkyunkwan and Sahak(四 學)in the central capital, and Hyanggyo(鄕校) in the provinces, which greatly encouraged the growth of learning, with Confucianism as a national policy. However, as the hall of higher education in the Joseon Dynasty, Sungkyunkwan, which was responsible for academic education and the recruitment of officials, began to show its limitations in the late Joseon Dynasty due to the decline in the quality of its instructors and the induction of students into the dutiful ranks of the royal army(忠順衛). The decline of the governmental school(官學) became a factor in the emergence and growth of private schools(私學). Many students chose to leave the governmental school to pursue their studies in the private schools, and the purpose of the private schools was to promote education based on the political ideology of learning of way(道學), rather than to promote education as a means of promoting to educate officials. In addition, if the main cause of the decline of governmental education was the lack of academic virtue of professors, private schools were opened with the power of teachers and scholars who had both academic virtue and scholarship, and were able to grow rapidly.

An Analysis of Women Rappers’ Lyrical and Video Performances in Hip Hop Collaborations

Women in Rap often occupy spaces in which they are marginalized or pitted against one another. Yet, recently, more popular women artists are working together, instead of attempting to commodify their rap beefs. With this historic shift in mind, it is critical to take a moment to investigate the collaborations that have occurred in the past, as they are rare. These collaborations allowed a space for women to work alongside other women, when it was not popular or often profitable to do so, and men, who dominated the hip hop music genre and often did not find value in collaborations. Therefore, this study intentionally seeks the elevation of women’s narratives and representations in hip hop culture and academic scholarship by focusing on collaborations and women’s voices within them. It works to add to women’s studies by investigating representations of women rappers in both their lyrics and music videos. The latter of which are ripe with visual message often ignored in scholarship that heavily focuses on lyrics.

SPEAKING BODIES, VISIBLE VOICES: NARRATIVE TENSION IN COPPOLA’S APOCALYPSE NOW: REDUX (2001)

Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now: Redux (2001), a 2001 re-release of his 1979 Vietnam War epic, sparked significant discussions among both academic scholars and mainstream media. The extended version, which features almost an hour-long addition of new scenes, challenged the question of the film’s continued relevance within the evolving Hollywood industry. While the original version may have highlighted the horror and dehumanization of the Vietnam War, it was also criticized for depicting women as one-dimensional sexual objects and effectively silencing their voices. However, by utilizing Verstraten’s notion of filmic narrative, Mulvey’s visual pleasure, and Stark’s narrative voicelessness, this research aims to show how narrative tension is displayed in Apocalypse Now: Redux and how it highlights the representation of the female characters’ subjectivity. We argue that the Redux version offers a notable difference from the stereotypical portrayal of women in war film. By incorporating the newly added scenes, Apocalypse Now: Redux provides the female characters with more agency and individuality, allowing them to move beyond the limitation of being mere decorations.

Oceans sing, are you listening? Sounding out potentials for artistic audio engagements with science through the Polar Sounds project

Acknowledgement of the growing crises facing our oceans has seen the increased visibility of watery spaces in policy initiatives and governance strategies. A good example is the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030). This international effort is designed to coordinate activities (from regional to national levels and beyond) that promote and develop knowledge of our seas and oceans to manage them for future generations. Societies everywhere, the Decade admits, are disconnected from these issues and despite the apparent growth of awareness (through popular televised documentaries and other public outputs that highlight the plight of ocean worlds) finding avenues to increase public understanding of ocean science in innovative and inspirational ways is being seen as critical for further engagement. In this article, we discuss efforts to connect society with the sea, focusing on how sound is a productive sensory medium for promoting ocean understanding. Drawing from a worldwide art-science collaboration, Polar Sounds, which united scientific acoustic data with musicians and sound artists around the globe, we make audible the potentials of embracing what is heard in our ocean worlds. The Ocean Decade alongside growing academic scholarship posits that ocean engagement, citizenship and connection is crucial to harness change that can improve the fate of flailing seas and that art-science collaborations can be crucial in building such bridges. We outline the Polar Sounds project, before arguing the need for further work that sounds out the potentials for engaging and inspiring alternative oceanic understandings and connections.

Research and publication at crossroads

Writing and publishing scientific and rigorous work needs a high level of integrity and adherence to ethical guidelines. Several publications have been rejected by authentic journals as a result of not adhering to a deontological standpoint. This laxity has posed deadly repercussions to the beholder including ruining its institutional image in academic scholarship. Notwithstanding, numerous writers are acquainted with the consequences of not observing ethical standards in research and publication, yet in trying to put up their pieces of work get caught in the same quandary. Anchored on a thematically oriented review of literature, it was imperative to try to explain the key ethical misconduct bases in research and publication. To fulfil this quest many journal articles were analysed. It was found that numerous aspects form the basis for misconduct in research and publication including; the pressure to ‘publish or perish’, the limitation of mentorship and guidance programs, knowledge on research and publication, promotion and academic advancement, competition among colleagues, workload pressure, financial motives, pressure from individual morality, and the challenge of research culture. Consequently, it is imperative to note that to publish a scholarly piece of work, adhering to ethical standards is non-negotiable.

Application of the PROMETHEE Method in Determining Scholarship Recipients at University

This study aims to use the PROMETHEE method as a decision support system in determining the recipients of the Academic Achievement Improvement Scholarship at Universitas Dharmas Indonesia (UNDHARI). The methodological steps include problem identification, analysis, goal setting, and application of the PROMETHEE method. In this study, criteria and alternatives have been identified to evaluate achievement improvement scholarship recipients. The criteria weights are set, and the criteria preference types are determined. After obtaining baseline data from questionnaire assessments, pairwise preference values and multicriteria preference index values are calculated. Then, ranking is performed using the Leaving Flow, Entering Flow, and Net Flow methods, resulting in the priority order of Achievement Improvement scholarship recipients. The ranking results show that Irza Silvia (IS) has the highest Net Flow value (0.30), while Aldian Virgo Vani (AV) has the lowest Net Flow value (-0.35). Thus, the priority order from highest to lowest is IS (Irza Silvia), AV (Abdullah Gimnastiar), RD (Rini Damayanti), YM (Yesnia Marni), and AV (Aldian Virgo Vani). In the context of Net Flow scores, these results indicate that Irza Silvia (IS) has the greatest chance of receiving the achievement improvement scholarship. This study provides important insights for UNDHARI in the scholarship recipient determination process using the PROMETHEE method as a decision-making tool.

Investigating the impact of adopting big data and data analytics on enhancing audit quality

Purpose This study aims to empirically investigate the impact of adopting big data and data analytics (BD&A) on audit quality (AQ). Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was distributed among audit practitioners working at audit firms in Egypt and 205 responses were collected. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze and test research hypotheses. Findings The results reveal that BD&A has a direct significant positive effect on the audit process (AP) and auditor competence (AC). However, an insignificant impact of BD&A is found on audit fees (AF). In addition, the results indicate that BD&A has significant positive direct and indirect impacts on AQ. Research limitations/implications The results of this study will benefit several auditing stakeholders, such as audit firms, audit regulators, novice financial auditors and academic scholars. Originality/value This research is one of the earliest to empirically address the role of BD&A in enhancing AQ. It incorporates AP, AC and AF as mediators into a single model to explain the impact of BD&A on AQ. Also, it attempts to provide empirical evidence from a developing country with a less-regulated audit environment.

On Crafting Effective Theoretical Contributions for Empirical Papers in Economics of Information Systems: Some Editorial Reflections

The terms theory and theoretical contributions evoke mixed reactions in the information systems discipline, especially among empirical researchers in the economics of information systems (Econ-IS) area. Although some see such contributions as the raison d’etre for academic scholars engaged in research, others feel that the discipline has developed a fetish for theory, with reviewers and editors often demanding an unreasonable level of theoretical contributions for empirical manuscripts to succeed in the review process. Moreover, there exists a great deal of diversity in the conception of what constitutes a reasonable theoretical contribution, especially within empirical work, across editors and reviewers, leading to frustration with the review process and disappointment with editorial decisions. Given the different types of theoretical contributions that may be suitable for a given manuscript and recognizing the changing nature of empirical work within Econ-IS, we attempt to shed some light on theoretical contributions within empirical Econ-IS research, paying attention to their nature, types, and impact. Specifically, we start by reflecting on the typical theory-related comments we have seen in review packets that we generalize to a set of critiques often related to empirical papers. Subsequently, we provide a working definition of a theoretical contribution and the components that make up such a contribution. We then propose a taxonomy of theoretical contributions typically observed in Information Systems Research (ISR). Based on this taxonomy of contributions, the typical critiques observed in empirical Econ-IS papers, and a set of published papers, we provide some broad guidelines for how authors may craft an effective theoretical contribution for submission to ISR. We also discuss a pathway for manuscripts that do not (seek to) offer significant theoretical contributions. Such manuscripts are welcome, but we believe that a very high bar of practical impact must be met for them to succeed in the review process. Based on the guidelines and suggestions made here, our hope is that authors and evaluators will participate in the review process with a shared understanding of the elusive notion of theoretical contributions.

"We just take care after each other": Relational health strategies of nurses and nursing aides working in residential long-term care as a mechanism of in- and exclusion in care teams.

The health of care workers in residential long-term care (LTC) is under pressure. Scholars emphasize the importance of gender-sensitive and intersectional approaches to occupational health. To unravel how the health of nurses and nursing aides is shaped by gender, class, age, sexuality and race. A qualitative participatory study. A participatory research team, consisting of academic scholars and nursing aides, conducted semi-structures interviews (N = 20) and one natural group discussion (N = 8 participants) to validate our findings. Thematic data-analysis was guided by gender and intersectionality theory. Empirical findings suggest that gendered norms limit possibilities for self-care for female nurses and nursing aides. Feeling uncared for by society and LTC organizations, paid care workers describe how they take care of each other. These relational health strategies require a feeling of sameness, limiting space for diversity and disability within care teams. Care workers seen as 'cultural other', or those who experienced (chronic) health issues, financial struggles or informal caregiving, risked being excluded from relational care within care teams, which negatively impacted their health. Care workers' relational health strategies are a gendered and care ethical response to the lack of societal and political care for LTC, but can become mechanisms of exclusion within care teams. This can be understood as a sign of exhaustion, shaped by adverse working conditions and leading to moral stress. The lack of societal appreciation needs to be addressed by occupational health physicians and LTC organizations, to counter mechanisms of exclusion among paid care workers.

ESG and supply chain finance to manage risk among value chains

The purpose of this research is to systematically review the state-of-the-art literature on Supply Chain Finance (SCF) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Value Chain within the supply chain management domain. We meticulously screened closely related themes through a systematic literature review of selected fifty-one manuscripts using the PRISMA method. Three-phase approach of planning, conducting and reporting is considered in this review. The outcomes of our review demonstrate the contributions of SCF to decision-making within the supply chain domain. This review highlights synergies, distinctions, and intersections in SCF, ESG, and value chain. Based on themes, the study led to four propositions to develop a comprehensive framework. Additionally, the literature is elucidated based on the approaches employed for SCF development, accompanied by the underlying theories. The categorization primarily separates the literature into two main groups: one focused on theory development, and the other on practical applications, revolving around SCF, ESG, and the value chain. Professionals in corporate settings and academic scholars will likely derive significant value from this review. The study thoroughly reviews, categorizes, and analyzes existing research and offers an integrated framework on SCF, ESG, and the value chain, which can be helpful for professionals. This is the first research that uses a structured approach to analyze studies on a novel topic and propose a framework for SCF, ESG, and value chain.

The Salvetti Project: A Journey Toward Digital Approaches and Public History

This article offers an in-depth exploration of The Salvetti Project, a groundbreaking initiative dedicated to the digitisation and analysis of handwritten newsletters from the Medici Residents in London between 1640 and 1660. It chronicles the project’s development, emphasising its conceptual foundation and the collaborative efforts that brought it to fruition. The Salvetti Project merges academic scholarship with practical application, combining traditional research methods, digital approaches, and public history to create a comprehensive and accessible historical resource.

‘I Like Just to be Me’: Women’s Work and Cadbury’s Flake Television Advertising

Academic scholarship on the representation of women in British screen advertising from 1955 onwards has focused on issues related to the housewife, domestic labour and gender stereotypes. Taking Cadbury’s advertising for its chocolate bar Flake as a case study, this article asks whether the hypersexualisation attributed to the late twentieth century television commercials was inherent in the brand’s first television campaign of the 1950s. It finds that it was not, and the sexualisation of the ‘Flake girl’ arose both from the development in the late 1960s of a cluster of production companies and directors in London emulating American film styles, and from the merger of Cadbury with Schweppes in 1969. The article examines representations of women’s work in the early chocolate television commercials of both the Quaker companies Rowntree and Cadbury, and finds that, contrary to popular assumption, they offered representations of female identity and value aligned to the early advocates of women’s rights, economic independence, and freedom from domestic labour.