scholarly journals Declining to Decline: Aged Tough Guys in 'The Expendables' and 'The Expendables 2'

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 41-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa-Nike Bühring
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Cultural Patterns ◽  
Cultural Narratives ◽  
Action Films ◽  
Liberal Ideology ◽  
Cultural Standards ◽  
Male Ageing ◽  
Shed Light

Old age in western cultures under current neo-liberal ideology is increasingly linked to notions of decline, frailty and dependence as it is often equated with being unproductive and a burden to society. This case study is based on the belief that in order to change socio-cultural patterns one must first understand them. Consequently, this article aims to analyse the socio-cultural (re)production of narratives of ageing in general and particularly of narratives of male ageing – a topic often neglected in academic debates of ageing.Mass media represent today a major source for the development and maintenance of hegemonic socio-cultural standards.  As such their products need to be taken seriously even if their content might seem superficial and frivolous. A critical analysis of the commercially highly successful Hollywood action films The Expendables and The Expendables 2 will shed light on the cultural narratives of male ageing revealed in the two films and subsequently support a better understanding of the strategies used to transform narratives of decline commonly linked to ageing into stories of success and progress.

White Writers, Race Matters

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory S. Jay
Keyword(s):  
Literary History ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Cultural Work ◽  
Cultural Narratives ◽  
Literary Forms ◽  
The Social ◽  
White Writers ◽  
American Literary History ◽  
Taking Action

White liberal race fiction has been an enduringly popular genre in American literary history. It includes widely read and taught works such as Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird along with period bestsellers now sometimes forgotten. Hollywood regularly adapted them into blockbusters, reinforcing their cultural influence. These novels and films protest slavery, confront stereotypes, dramatize social and legal injustices, engage the political controversies of their time, and try to move readers emotionally toward taking action. The literary forms and arguments of these books derive from the cultural work they intend to do in educating the minds and hearts, and propelling the actions, of those who think they are white—indeed, in making the social construction of that whiteness readable and thus more susceptible of reform. The white writers of these fictions struggle with their own place in systems of oppression and privilege while asking their readers to do the same. The predominance of women among this tradition’s authors leads to exploring how their critiques of gender and race norms often reinforced each other. Each chapter provides a case study combining biography, historical analysis, close reading, and literary theory to map the significance of this genre and its ongoing relevance. This tradition remains vital because every generation must relearn the lessons of antiracism and formulate effective cultural narratives for passing on the intellectual and emotional tools useful in fighting injustice.

scholarly journals Participative decision making in schools in individualist and collectivist cultures: The micro-politics behind distributed leadership

2021 ◽  
pp. 174114322110013
Author(s):  
Mor Hodaya Or ◽  
Izhak Berkovich
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Distributed Leadership ◽  
Multiple Case Study ◽  
Extreme Case ◽  
Public High Schools ◽  
Case Study Method ◽  
Case Selection ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Shed Light

Despite the popularity of distributed leadership theory, the investigation of the micro-political aspects of such models have scarcely been explored, and insights on the cultural variety of distributed practices in schools are limited. The present study aimed to explore what micro-political aspects emerge in participative decision making in collectivist and individualist cultures. To this end, a multiple case study method was adopted, focusing on four Israeli public high schools. Schools were chosen to represent an ‘extreme’ case selection rationale: two non-religious urban schools representing individualist cases, and two communal schools in religious kibbutzim representing communal schools. The analysis shed light on three micro-political points of comparison between the prototypes of participative decision making in collectivist and individualist cultures related to control, actors, and stage crafting. The findings and implications are discussed.

scholarly journals Towards DC Energy Efficient Homes

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 6005
Author(s):  
Daniel Villanueva ◽  
Moisés Cordeiro-Costas ◽  
Andrés E. Feijóo-Lorenzo ◽  
Antonio Fernández-Otero ◽  
Edelmiro Miguez-García
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Electric Vehicles ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Real Data ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Led Lighting ◽  
Shed Light

The aim of this paper is to shed light on the question regarding whether the integration of an electric battery as a part of a domestic installation may increase its energy efficiency in comparison with a conventional case. When a battery is included in such an installation, two types of electrical conversion must be considered, i.e., AC/DC and DC/AC, and hence the corresponding losses due to these converters must not be forgotten when performing the analysis. The efficiency of the whole system can be increased if one of the mentioned converters is avoided or simply when its dimensioning is reduced. Possible ways to achieve this goal can be: to use electric vehicles as DC suppliers, the use of as many DC home devices as possible, and LED lighting or charging devices based on renewables. With all this in mind, several scenarios are proposed here in order to have a look at all possibilities concerning AC and DC powering. With the aim of checking these scenarios using real data, a case study is analyzed by operating with electricity consumption mean values.

scholarly journals Becoming a Crorepati: From Glocal TV Game to Grobal Fiction

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 497-520
Author(s):  
Nicola Pozza
Keyword(s):  
Effective Means ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Cultural Products ◽  
Slumdog Millionaire ◽  
Interactive Nature ◽  
Tv Show ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
The Way

AbstractNumerous studies have dealt with the process of globalization and its various cultural products. Three such cultural products illustrate this process: Vikas Swarup’s novel Q and A (2005), the TV quiz show Kaun banega crorepati? (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?), and Danny Boyle’s film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). The novel, the TV show and the film have so far been studied separately. Juxtaposing and comparing Q and A, Kaun banega crorepati, and Slumdog Millionaire provides an effective means to shed light on the dialogic and interactive nature of the process of globalization. It is argued through this case study that an analysis of their place of production, language and content, helps clarify the derivative concepts of “glocalization” and “grobalization” with regard to the way(s) contemporary cultural products respond to globalization.

scholarly journals Education for Social Change: The Case of Teacher Education in Wales

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8574
Author(s):  
Rebecca Weicht ◽  
Svanborg R. Jónsdóttir
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Entrepreneurial Education ◽  
Constructive Learning ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
The University ◽  
Action Competence ◽  
Shed Light

Entrepreneurial education offers valuable opportunities for teachers to foster and enhance creativity and action competence, which are also important for sustainability education. The University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) is a leader in the development of entrepreneurial education in teacher education both in Wales and internationally. The objective of this article is to shed light on how an entrepreneurial education approach can help foster social change. The aim of this study is to learn from teacher educators at UWTSD about how they support creativity, innovation, and an enterprising mindset in their learners. A case study approach is applied. By analysing documentary evidence such as module and assignment handbooks, we explore how teacher educators at UWTSD deliver entrepreneurial education for social change. Our findings indicate that UWTSD’s development of entrepreneurial education in teacher training has enabled constructive learning, cultivating creativity and action competence. We provide examples that display how the intentions of the Curriculum for Wales and entrepreneurial education approaches of the UWTSD emerge in practice. These examples show outcomes of the entrepreneurial projects that evince the enactment of social change. The findings also show that the educational policy of Wales supports entrepreneurial education throughout all levels of the educational system.

Linguistic Evidence for ‘Romanization’: Continuity and Change in Romano-British Onomastics: A Study of the Epigraphic Record with Particular Reference to Bath

Britannia ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 35-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Mullen
Keyword(s):  
Online Database ◽  
Personal Names ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
Introductory Section ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
Roman Culture ◽  
Shed Light

Based on a new online database of Celtic personal names, this research demonstrates how the study of Romano-British onomastics can shed light on the complexities of linguistic and cultural contacts, complementing archaeological material and literary sources. After an introductory section on methodology, Part One analyses naming formulae and expressions of filiation as evidence for both continuity and change dependent on social and geographical factors. Confusion and contamination between the Latin and Celtic systems proved much less common than on the Continent, where earlier contact with Roman culture and the written tradition for Continental Celtic occasionally facilitated an unusual form of syncretism. Part Two examines the naming formulae attested at Roman Bath and the mechanisms by which Celts adopted Latin names. The case-study of Bath relates continuity and change in both naming formulae and nomenclature to an acceptance of, or resistance to, ‘Romanization’ in Britain.

Provision of public services by Slovak local governments - Case study social protection – old age: A supply demand mismatch?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomáš Černěnko ◽  
Klaudia Glittová
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Provision Of Services

The aim of the paper is to describe the supply of public services in the field of social protection - old age (represented by expenditures in group 10, class 2 of COFOG classification) in relation to the demand for these services represented by the population in the age group 62+ related to the size and region of the local government unit. The analysis of supply and demand takes place at the level of individual local governments and the results are then presented in relation to the size of the municipality and the region. Two approaches were used for the analysis. The first focuses on the description of the current situation through the categorization of local governments according to the approach to the provision of services, and the second consists in regression analysis. The results of the regression analysis suggest that the size of the municipality and the region do not play as important a role in terms of access to the provision of the examined services as indicated by the first, descriptive analysis. To find a "pattern" for local authorities to decide on access to services for the elderly, further research will be needed that takes into account several socio-economic indicators.

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