Motivational Situations of Choice

The present research explores situations that demonstrate enhancing effects on motivation based on the amount of choice seen by individuals. Individuals who are intrinsically motivated see more choice in certain academic settings, including those that foster self-regulation and autonomy. Extrinsically motivated individuals are predicted to see more promise in reward and external regulation strategies. We identified six separate situations: a free will situation, a learning of materials situation, an instructor feedback situation, an extra credit situation, and two time-based situations. Four of these situations target a certain type of motivation, either intrinsic or extrinsic. The other two situations were used as a means to analyze pressure and tension due to time constraints. The goal of the present research was to identify correlations in these crafted situations with motivational measures from previous studies which examined choice and autonomy.

Differentiating the Transnational from the National in a Multicultural Setting: Identity in Persepolis and Rush Hour

This essay explores the differences between transnational identities and national identities in a multicultural setting by juxtaposing the films Persepolis and Rush Hour. Furthermore, it examines the characteristics of both transnational and national identities and how they are represented in film. In an increasingly globalized world, it is important to distinguish these two types of identity and consider how these individuals interact with today’s society; thus, this essay asks readers to think about the influence that the commingling of transnational and national identities has on the modern world.

Silhouettes of a Silent Female’s Authority: A Psychoanalytic and Feminist Perspective on the Art of Kara Walker

The focus of my research centers on the contemporary work of Georgia-based artist, Kara Elizabeth Walker. In conducting extensive research on the life of the artist as well as three select artworks which recall the antebellum slave era within the south, I argue the explicit presence of the power of the enslaved prepubescent girl and young woman. The three select works that I intend to analyze are Burn, a cut-paper silhouette on canvas created in 1998, The Invisible Beauty, a mixed media piece made in 2001, and Cut, a paper cut-out silhouette made in 1998. In a time where one’s power and freedom were both stripped away upon entering the prison-like confines of a plantation home, the life of a slave (a female slave in this case) was committed to grueling housework, the rearing of her slave master’s children in the place of her own, sexual exploitation and merciless beatings, humiliation, submission to her white counterparts, and in many cases, the occasion of rape. Walker’s intense, overtly erotic and disturbing life-size (and larger than life size) interpretations of the Antebellum south force a stirred emotion within her viewers, so as to implicate them upon viewing. Utilizing methodologies such as formal analysis, feminist deconstruction, semiotic analysis, and psychoanalytic theory, I will prove that Walker’s work is not only a provocative rendition of the horrors of the slave era, but also a way to deconstruct the notion of the female slave as a powerless individual and counter that thought process with a more powerful, authoritative, aggressive, and sexually autonomous image of a female slave, as well as the authority reflected in herself as a contemporary African American artist. *As a disclaimer and out of personal respect to my readers, I caution that there are phrases in my article that may be considered offensive, given their racial nature. The artist has used these terms as a way to describe the figures in her works of art. While they may be offensive, I feel they are necessary to bolster my arguments of racial stereotypes of enslaved females, which over time have been socially constructed and historically situated.

Does Oppressed Religious Liberty Cause an Uprising in Terror Attacks?

The political community's research comes across as inconclusive in regard to the relationship between liberty and terrorism, given the differing opinions on what defines 'liberty' and 'terrorism.' Having stated that, this research tries to the idea of religious liberty in regards to overall terrorism. Most research up to 2016 has been done on terrorist data after 2001 until 2010 (in some cases 2012.) This research expands to the year 2014 to analyze the connection between religious oppression by country governments and their effect on the number of terror attacks in each country in the span of one year. My research does not support my hypothesis that there is a relationship between these two variables, however, other religious factors included as controls showed a surprising positive correlation with the number of terror attacks in 2014.

Reading Cleopatra VII: The Crafting of a Political Persona

The purpose of this paper is to examine the history of Cleopatra VII, as well as how and why she wanted to be depicted in a certain manner with respect to visual art. As the last noble of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, her images communicate her political abilities, her religious fervor, her maternal obligations and obstinacy in perpetuating royal lineage, and her direct connection to ancient Egyptian gods. Additionally, by consummating relationships with two of the most powerful men in ancient Roman history (Julius Caesar and Mark Antony), she was able to cultivate her skills as an influential pharaoh, equal to that of her male counterparts, and solidify her status as pharaoh. In exploring the multicultural facets of her images, I argue that not only did they not function solely as objects of aesthetic pleasure, they also appealed to a broad audience so as to communicate her level of influence as recognized not only in Egypt, but throughout the Mediterranean world.

Wonder Woman: Feminist Icon of the 1940s

The purpose of my research concerning the super heroine Wonder Woman is to identify the circumstances under which the comic was created, why its creator was set on using the medium of comics, the messages he was trying to communicate to American society regarding the roles of women, and why it has maintained its fan base from the 1940s to the present. My use of feminist and iconographic analysis provided me with a wealth of information concerning how this avant-garde comic series contested the widely accepted conventions concerning women with its sarcastic images and pejorative text. Creator William Moulton Marston in collaboration with comic artist Harry Peter set into motion a wave of feminist nuances within their comic run of Wonder Woman that aided the epoch of female empowerment during the 1940s. The text coupled with the artwork created a cohesive whole upon which the creative team could instill their views on contemporary society. Wonder Woman's personage gave both men and women an icon of what a woman was capable of should she possess an air of social, political, and sexual autonomy. I came to the conclusion that upon creation, Marston infused an image of a strong-willed woman among his contemporaries that he hoped would one day overtake its widely traditional submissive counterpart, and not only in the realm of comics.

Attitudes Toward Monsters

The concept of monsters is ubiquitous across cultures, but there has been little research on monsters themselves and what factors shape people’s attitudes toward them. Kennesaw State University undergraduate psychology students (N = 450) read unbiased, positively biased, or negatively biased reports of one of 15 fictional monsters before all participants read identical stories about an encounter with the monster. Questionnaire responses indicated that reading a negatively biased report results in significantly more negative attitudes toward a monster than reading an unbiased report, that attitudes toward animals positively correlate with attitudes toward monsters, and that attitudes toward monsters differ depending on what real-life animals they most resemble. The results provide a greater understanding of how humans perceive and react to unfamiliar nonhumans, specifically those with characteristics of various animals, and suggest that research on animal-like monsters can elucidate human perceptions of real-life animals. Applications include identifying the best methods to counteract negative media images of animals, discovering a culture’s views on animals through the monsters in its folklore, and identifying in advance which unfamiliar endangered animals likely need the most publicity in order to engender public support.

The Story of Taste: Using EEGs and Self-Reports to Understand Consumer Choice

The authors investigate consumers’ willingness to switch from a preferred manufacturer brand to an unfamiliar private-label brand if taste is perceived as identical. Consumer decisions are examined through recordings of electrical brain activity in the form of electroencephalograms (EEGs) and self-reported data captured in surveys. Results reveal a willingness of consumers to switch to a less-expensive brand when the quality is perceived to be the same as the more expensive counterpart. Cost saving options for consumers and advertising considerations for managers are discussed.

Repatriating the Bust of Nefertiti: A Critical Perspective on Cultural Ownership

Who owns antiquities? This question has plagued the global community in recent times and has opened dialogues between former colonial Western countries and their past colonized nations whose property is exhibited. This essay examines the conflicting perspectives of ownership in the repatriation of the Bust of Nefertiti between Berlin, Germany and Egypt. By analyzing the effects of European occupation in Egypt and the Western dominance in foreign cultures during the Age of Imperialism, a moral argument arises questioning the legality of the Bust’s removal. This article will review the historical significance of the Bust of Nefertiti in terms of its original intent as well as its removal to Germany and transformation into a global artwork and how this has affected her proposed return to Egyptian ownership.

The Action of Grace in Territory Held by the Devil: Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy

This paper compares the lives and work of Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy. The two authors share similarities in their backgrounds, careers, and work. The paper begins with an examination of biographical information of both authors to contextualize their work and note commonalities in their lives and careers. The central idea is that Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy both create grotesque characters to reveal the depraved condition of humanity in order to highlight the need for redemption and the possibility of divine grace. To prove this, examples are discussed from multiple pieces of work by O’Connor and McCarthy including The Misfit, from O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” and Anton Chigurh, from McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men. Following this is a review of the visual presentation of No Country for Old Men through the Coen brothers’ film adaptation of the novel.