Category: Oral Presentation

The Growth and Function of Gourmet Coffee Culture in the United States and Historic London and the Use of the Coffee House in Eugene, Oregon

Presenter: Sarah Frey-Wyer (Anthropology)

Mentor: Lamia Karim

Oral Presentation

Panel B: “Cultural Expressions” Oak Room

Concurrent Session 2: 10:30-11:45am

Facilitator: Lou Vijayakar

Focusing primarily on Eugene, Oregon, I have created an overview via participant observation of how people use the communal space within a coffee house and use the historic position of coffee houses in London, England as a basis for comparison. How did people use the space of a coffee house in the 17th and 18th centuries in London, and how does that compare to how people use this “third place” (neither home nor work) in Eugene, Oregon today? This project also explores the evolution of coffee culture in the United States and how coffee has become both gourmet and a cultural commodity in the present-day, primarily considering the growth of Starbucks. Extensive research was done on coffee houses in London spanning three centuries (from the mid-1500s onward). Research in Eugene was completed via participant observation, where I went to several local cafes and spent hours observing how people interacted within them. The outcome of this research shows that people make an effort to privatize space while they are in public, communal areas. With the backdrop of historic London’s coffee houses, I compare the two environments and have found gaping differences in the function of a café. This body of work has value because coffee houses are a dominant “third space” in the world today, and how we use them and interact within them is an important facet of our cultural environment.

Moroccan Immigration in Spain: A Discourse Analysis of Anti-Immigrant Sentiments from the El Ejido Riots

Presenter: Meredith Comnes (Spanish and Geography)

Mentor: Lise Nelson

Oral Presentation

Panel B: “Cultural Expressions” Oak Room

Concurrent Session 2: 10:30-11:45am

Facilitator: Lou Vijayakar

On February 5, 2000, El Ejido, Spain, a small town on the Southern Mediterranean coast, erupted in violent conflict with a large riot by local Spanish nationals towards Moroccan immigrants. This riot represents a major explosion of tension between Spanish nationals and Moroccan immigrants that had been escalating since the early 1990s. By completing a discourse analysis of major themes of Spanish media sources, the El Ejido riots show that anti- immigrant discussions evolved in this brief time period. Spanish rioters defined Moroccan immigrants as the “other,” which strengthened Spanish national identity and excluded Moroccans and other immigrant nationalities from peaceful coexistence in Spain. Within the context of Spanish immigration legislation at that time, the discourses surrounding the El Ejido riots show that integration of immigrant groups into civil society is essential to prevent future large-scale ethnic conflicts.

Clientelism as Compensation: How Clientelism facilitates Capital Account Liberalization in Latin America

Presenter: Jonathan Weiland (Political Science, Economics)

Mentor: David Steinberg

Oral Presentation

Panel B: “Cultural Expressions” Oak Room

Concurrent Session 2: 10:30-11:45am

Facilitator: Lou Vijayakar

The general embrace of liberal economic policies throughout the developing world has been noteworthy for its social and political implications. The purpose of this paper is to explore the political dynamics of capital account liberalization (i.e. the free movement of capital across countries) in Latin America since the 1980s. In particular, I study how policymakers were able to enact economic policies like capital openness that imposed severe costs on certain domestic actors. I theorized that the ability of policymakers to compensate those actors hurt by capital openness could help explain the lack of resistance to such policies. The results of a case study of Argentina’s capital account liberalization in the early 1990s and an empirical analysis of 19 Latin American countries give support to this hypothesis. Hence, the analysis conducted in this study has given strong reason to pursue additional research on the relationship between informal interactions among policymakers and citizens (like compensation) and the likelihood of economic reforms throughout the developing world.

Las excelencias de los Hebreos: A Translation of Isaac Cardoso’s Seventeenth-Century Jewish Apologetic Treatise

Presenter: Sarah Shindelman (Spanish)

Mentor: David Wacks

Oral Presentation

Panel B: “Cultural Expressions” Oak Room

Concurrent Session 2: 10:30-11:45am

Facilitator: Lou Vijayakar

The project presents a critical translation of a seventeenth-century Jewish apologetic. The author of the apology, Isaac Cardoso, emigrated from Catholic Spain to the Verona Ghetto in order to convert to his ancestral religion, Judaism. His work, the “Excelencias,” represents the culmination of his spiritual and physical journey to identify his place in society, and he wrote the “Excelencias” to help other conversos like him make the difficult transition from Christianity to Judaism. As an apology, the work attempts to explain Judaism from a Jew’s point of view to non- Jews, namely Christians. The project consists of an introduction giving a short biography of Cardoso, an analysis of the “Excelencias,” a comparison to three other prominent Jewish apologists of the seventeenth century, and a comparison between the Verona ghetto and the Jewish community in Amsterdam (where the text was printed), afterwards follows a translation with supplementary footnotes of the first two chapters of the “Excelencias:” ‘A People Chosen by God’ and ‘One People.’

Show Me Your Moves!: Japanese Music and Dance as a Global Culture through Dance Dance Revolution

Presenter: Edward Ly (Japanese, Mathematics)

Mentor: Alisa Freedman

Oral Presentation

Panel B: “Cultural Expressions” Oak Room

Concurrent Session 2: 10:30-11:45am

Facilitator: Lou Vijayakar

Is Dance Dance Revolution (Konami, 1998) the true dance game for the masses? Ever since its arcade release in Japan, the game has sparked a cultural phenomenon not just in its home country, but also throughout the world within the following years. Numerous spin-offs and rival dance games have been offered up to this day, but Dance Dance Revolution has remained one of the most popular dance games around the world. The success can be attributed to many factors, but it is ultimately the result of the players themselves as part of a growing dance culture that embodies much more than what the game offers on the surface. I will first examine the core gameplay as, while it looks deceptively simple at first, it is as infinitely complex as the practice of dance itself. Then I will briefly look at the history of the game through its music offerings, from the inclusion of Western dance music when it was first released to the recent inclusion of J-pop and anime songs, and how players interact with such music. Finally, I will argue for music arcade games as a form of public art and expression as they create a kind of intrinsic connection between the player, the gameplay, the music, and the social space that arcades provide. In addition, with the use of both popular music and original, diverse music made specifically for the game, there will surely be at least one song that anyone will like and be able to dance. The result is a series that continues to captivate players and that Konami continues to support even today.

Freedom from Guantanamo: How the Court Curtailed Prerogative Powers and increased Civil Liberties for Detainees

Presenter: Lindsay Thane (Political Science)

Mentor: Dan Tichenor

Oral Presentation

Panel A: “Culture and Education” Maple Room

Concurrent Session 2: 10:30-11:45am

Facilitator: Nedzer Erilus

During the post 9/11 era the President made claims to expansive Commander-in-Chief Powers, yet the United States’ functioning as a constitutional democracy necessitates a sharing of power among all three branches. Executive claims to prerogative powers were scrutinized by the Court for disregarding civil liberties, most noticeably those of the detainees at Guantánamo Bay. The Court’s unprecedented step to place checks on Executive power led to this inquiry of whether the Court’s post 9/11 decisions curtailed unilateral Executive policy making and safeguarded the civil liberties afforded to detainees at Guantánamo Bay? This study looked at the Court’s decisions in the terror cases and analyzed their effect on Executive policies, as well as Congress’ activeness in shaping detainee policy and placing checks on the Bush Administration’s prerogative powers. Traditionally, the Supreme Court has deferred to the President in times of war; however, following 9/11 the Court took an active role in placing limits on the President’s unilateral powers. The Court’s decisions in these cases were effective in restraining Executive power, but they only somewhat protected and restored the detainees’ civil liberties. The protection of certain individual rights has been followed by the curtailment of others. Currently, the Obama Administration is facing criticism for the indefinite detention of detainees, and this study provides a framework which outlines how civil liberties can again begin to be restored.

The Road to a Smoke and Tobacco Free Campus: A Case Study of the University of Oregon

Presenter: Inga Suneson (Planning, Public Policy and Management)

Mentor: Richard Margerum

Oral Presentation

Panel A: “Culture and Education” Maple Room

Concurrent Session 2: 10:30-11:45am

Facilitator: Nedzer Erilus

Many college campus environments have changed dramatically in the past ten years. Prior to 2003, the smoke free campus did not exist. Before 1999, such an idea had never been seriously considered. As of November 2012, there were over 700 colleges and universities with some sort of smoke free policy, and 209 that are entirely smoke and tobacco free. Such a rapid and dramatic policy shift needs exploration. As it stands, there are very few studies of these university policy changes. At this point, it could be very beneficial for future institutions to have an understanding of general best practices, as well as the many possible issues and stakeholders involved in making a decision to become smoke free and then implementing that decision. For this reason, I have chosen to ask the questions: What are the processes, approaches, and barriers to successful policy creation and implementation that ultimately contribute to a smoke free environment?

Feeding Democracy: Protection, Defense, and Scientific Nutrition in the National School Lunch Program

Presenter: Phoebe Petersen (History)

Mentor: Ellen Herman

Oral Presentation

Panel A: “Culture and Education” Maple Room

Concurrent Session 2: 10:30-11:45am

Facilitator: Nedzer Erilus

The text of the 1946 National School Lunch Act (NSLA) asserts three central reasons for enacting National School Lunch Program (NSLP): it was “a measure of national security, to safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation’s children and to encourage the domestic consumption of nutritious agricultural commodities and other food”. Rooted in twentieth century ideas about the rights of childhood and the government’s interest in protecting children for national security, the implementation of scientific nutrition standards, which also developed around the turn of the twentieth century, was the means through which the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) set out to use the NSLP to protect children. An analysis of the evolving nutrition standards set out in twentieth century USDA food guides for all Americans in conjunction with the primarily static NSLP food standards provides evidence of the rigor with which the USDA pursued its goal of using scientific nutrition to protect children. By tracing the evolution and implementation of scientific nutrition in the NSLP through USDA documents and other public accounts, it becomes clear that despite placing agriculture, the protection of children, and national security as equals, the NSLP has shown overwhelming loyalty to agriculture at the expense of children’s health.

The Effects of Screen-Based Media on Young Children’s Social Understanding Skills

Presenter: Piper Arnold (Psychology)

Mentor: Marjorie Taylor

Oral Presentation

Panel A: “Culture and Education” Maple Room

Concurrent Session 2: 10:30-11:45am

Facilitator: Nedzer Erilus

Screen media is now a pervasive part of children’s lives, but little is know about its effects on young children’s developing social understanding skills. The goal of this study was to examine the association between frequency of screen media use and social understanding skills in children ages 4- to 6-years-old. Using a computerized questionnaire, parents (n = 50) reported on their children’s general media use, media use on a typical day, media culture in the household, and their social understanding skills. No relationship was found between the frequency of general media use and social understanding skills or between total screen time on a typical day and social understanding skills. However, there was a significant negative association between television culture in the household and children’s social understanding skills. This finding is consistent with previous research indicating that household media practices have the potential to influence early developmental processes.

Cultural Differences in Student Perceptions: Student Evaluations of Online Discussion Forums

Presenter: Xiaoying Chen (Sociology)

Mentor: Ryan Light

Oral Presentation

Panel A: “Culture and Education” Maple Room

Concurrent Session 2: 10:30-11:45am

Facilitator: Nedzer Erilus

Cultural diversity and technical development have changed students’ learning experiences in American higher education. This research explores the relationship between cultural influences on students’ perceptions of higher education and students’ evaluations of their experiences with the use of online discussion forums in college. By employing both survey and interview, this case study on Asian international students and American students at University of Oregon examines three aspects of student evaluations: their expectation of the instructor’s role, self- evaluation of their own participation, and overall evaluation of their online discussion forum experiences. The results indicate that compared with American students, Asian international students tend to expect less in terms of the instructor’s role and provide lower self-evaluations of their own participation in online discussion forums. Meanwhile, both American students and Asian international students have positive evaluations of their online discussion forum experiences. The findings suggest that college administrators and instructors should take cultural orientation into account to promote a diverse and understanding learning environment in future course design.