After its abandonment in the 1980s, threat has re-emerged as an area of theoretical importance in understanding social movement mobilization (Jasper 1998). This case study examines the role of threat in mobilizing members of a movement to empower the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation (a small tribal community in NC). The study explores threats and the emotions that make them up, while also investigating the relevance of other prominent assumptions embedded in mobilization theories. The study employed mixed methodologies including focus groups, individual interviews, and participant observation. Findings supported the idea that threats may be partially responsible for creating mobilization, but also suggest that prominent threats faced by this community complicate the ways in which threat is understood. The findings also shed light on limitations of the prominent Weber-Michels model for movement growth/decline, and highlight potential areas of interest for future research with Indigenous communities.

The US anti-nuclear movement formed in opposition to the development of nuclear weapons and energy. Anti-nuclear activists have rallied since the late 1970’s opposed to the construction of Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, Georgia due to the social and environmental justice issues related to the nuclear industry. In 2010, the nuclear industry proposed a nuclear resurgence in the US, proposing to construct new reactors at Plant Vogtle. This represented the first time new nuclear reactors had been proposed since the moratorium on new reactors as a result of the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island in 1979. The aim of the study is to understand the experience of “first wave” anti-nuclear activists in Georgia (those engaged for twenty years or more). Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Framework was employed to locate anti-nuclear activists’ perceived facilitators and barriers to their activism. Semi-structured interviews with these activists yielded rich descriptions about their experience in the anti-nuclear movement. Activists endorsed facilitators and barriers related to individual characteristics however, the majority of activists perceived facilitators and barriers beyond the individual level. Specifically, the majority of activists mentioned facilitators and barriers relating to the media and political systems and the power and resource imbalances within society. The role of community psychology is discussed in relation to this field of inquiry.

A largely overlooked chapter of American history is the struggle of Mexican Americans to achieve equal civil rights and humane working conditions. Although much ink has been spilled on the struggle of African-Americans to achieve civil rights and throw off the yoke of racial oppression, little attention is paid to the similar struggle carried out by Mexican Americans and the similarities and differences between them. It has been my desire to shed light on this forgotten story, because it is still relevant in the current political climate, given the explosive growth of Latinos in the United States today (50 million), their increasingly important role in presidential elections, and given their struggle for comprehensive immigration reform. What Mexican Americans have contributed to America is present in almost every facet of American life. Their presence in this country pre-dates the expansion of the United States from the Atlantic (Florida) to the Pacific (California) and is evident in national holidays, festivals, and our favorite restaurants. However, I have to admit that I was completely unaware of Mexican American history and the Chicano Movement of the 1960s prior to taking on this project. The only things that I knew about Mexican Americans ended around the Texas Revolution in 1836 and the little I learned about my Chávez in my American Religious History class. This thesis has succeeded in correcting stereotypes that I previously held about not only the Mexican American community, but also the critical role that religion played in one of its most important and iconic figures. Religion has been always been an important component of life in America. Christianity has contributed to the way that government in the United States was formed and in the moral values that Americans consider important in leadership. Religion has been the driving force behind many of the most groundbreaking and momentous shifts in this nation from the abolition of slavery to the African American Civil Rights Movement. The Farm Worker’s struggle and larger Chicano Civil Rights Movement are no exception. César Chávez stood out not only as the leader of a secular movement, but a moral guiding light for Mexican Americans within this movement. Chávez's popular legacy within the Mexican American community exalts him as a moral and political leader, but scholarship has until recently painted him and the movement he championed in a secular light. This thesis hopes to help correct this imbalance.

“Heavy” file sharers’ and “heavy” activists’ values and attitudes toward file sharing and intellectual property rights are analyzed in this thesis, with a focus on the conflict between property owners and non-owners. The purpose of this MA thesis is to investigate the perception of file sharing and intellectual property rights on the Internet. The main research questions is: How do “heavy” file sharers and “heavy” activists perceive file sharing and intellectual property rights on the Internet?. For answering it, critical political economy and both qualitative and quantitative methods are used. Therefore, the paper consists of two major parts. In the first part, the theoretical framework is introduced. In the second part, empirical research is presented and the theoretical framework is applied to the analysis of the gathered data. Data were collected with the help of a survey. The main results of the study suggest that “heavy” file sharers and “heavy” activists tend to have left-wing values and a left-wing political agenda behind file sharing, and perceive culture, and information and knowledge as “public goods”. Furthermore, “heavy” file sharers and “heavy” activists tend to contribute to the Net gift economy and share their created content in a way that constitutes an alternative to intellectual property rights, which they see as out-of-date.

This research is intended to contribute to critical discussion concerning the development of independent visual culture initiatives giving voice to human justice concerns within the context of globalized, corporate-controlled media. The problem is how to devise visual strategies for effective cultural production that addresses contemporary social and political issues. This thesis examines two case studies of activist art, one American and the other Canadian, that utilize documentary modes to intervene in hegemonic discourses of neo-colonialism and new forms of imperialism: Michael Moores documentary film Fahrenheit 9/11 and Liz Canners digital video public art project Bridges. Analyzing the artists background, the political context, the intentions behind the project, the visual strategies, and the effectiveness of the work, the thesis concludes that there are barriers to creating works that function catalytically in service of social change. The limits of discourse in democratic societies, the difficulties of developing participatory audiences, the challenges of transforming the projection site into a democratic arena of discourse--these are some of the general factors that inhibit a works effectiveness. The case studies also show that strategies of political subjectivity are needed to counter the official narratives of power, while performance as an activist tactic, particularly if combined with technologies of mass media, engages audiences and helps to break down a separation between entertainment and activism.

The goal of nursing is to promote health and alleviate suffering. Using Appreciative Inquiry, this study explored the possibilities for the nursing profession to reduce the health implications of poverty. Select Saskatchewan registered nurses (RNs) engaged in appreciative interviews that identified positive experiences working with low income clients. The participants were activists challenging the status quo through their practice. Analysis illuminated the best practices of these RNs, constructing a vision for change rooted in their understanding clients realities and communicating those realities through advocacy. By bringing their personal passions to client interactions, and connecting with a broader social justice context, RNs create an opportunity to respond to the effects of income inequities on health.

Latterly, ¡§corporate governance¡¨ has become an important idea all over the world. There are many companies around the world went bankrupt. Those are often because that their directors or CEOs did not manage the company for the profit of their shareholders, but for their self. In order to make their benefits, the directors and CEOs even did many things illegally to harm the interest of the company. In order to stop this trend, the administration all over the world attempts to reform their corporate governance system. Although the corporate governance system of Taiwan has also been improved during the recent years, it is hard to say that our system is in the perfect condition. Hence, the purpose of this thesis is to try to analyze the corporate governance system of Taiwan, and to give some suggestion for the governance system in the future. There are six chapters in this thesis. Next segment is the introduction of these chapters. Chapter 1: Descript the incentive, purpose, range and structure of this thesis. Chapter 2: Discuss the agency theory, introduce the idea of ¡§corporate governance¡¨, and realize the capital structure of the company in Taiwan. Chapter 3, 4, 5: Analyze the self-governance mechanisms in Taiwan. The self-governance mechanisms include shareholder, board and supervisory board. At the end of each chapter, the thesis will give some suggestion about our corporate governance in the future. Chapter 6: Summarize all the viewpoints and suggestion in this thesis.

This study argues that the art of dance can be used as a tool for sustainability, including matters of human rights, political oppression, awareness in environmental and ecological destruction.This thesis explores possible ways for dance to contribute to sustainable development and whether these ways are effective. It also seeks to locate the possibilities and limits of dance in comparison with other forms of art that can also be used to promote sustainability. The research was conducted by gathering data from a variety of sources including interviews, videos, a literature review and personal observation.Dance was found in many instances to be a successful way of addressing sustainability issues. The advantages of dance over other forms of art include its familiarity for most people; its capacity to uplift people’s feelings; the ease of combination with other forms of art; and the variety of choices in moves, styles and ways of addressing pressing issues. The drawbacks of dance, include the fact that dance is nonverbal and not easy to preserve or describe; as well as practical limitations facing the people involved with dance and not the art form as such.The findings from this research offer insight into the current and potential future impact of dance on sustainability issues. Dance can contribute to diverse dimensions of sustainable development, though this impact is somewhat constrained by the low status of dance in many educational systems.andriana.christina@gmail.com

In this thesis I address current debates on the perceived lack of contemporary feminist activism and concerns of Women's Studies as existing within university institutions. I propose that Women's Studies programs and departments serve as locations useful for feminists interested in participating in feminist activism in and beyond the university. By viewing Women's Studies programs and departments as contemporary abeyance structures in feminist movements, I revisit the ways in which debates on differences between second and third wave feminisms have contributed to social change. In doing so, I highlight how the feminist movement maintains itself between upsurges in mass-based visible collective action. I argue that Women's Studies programs and departments are contemporary locations in which the feminist movement continues to raise feminist consciousness, create feminist activists, produce feminist theory, and contribute to social change. Through a series of interviews with Women's Studies undergraduate majors and minors, I discuss the ways in which feminist activism is occurring, and address concerns of contemporary feminists with regards to organizing and focusing their activism. I propose a "matrix of activism," comprised of four pillars in which contemporary activism occurs: structural activism, community activism, discursive activism, and activism of the self. The matrix of activism, including its four pillars, can be utilized in Women's Studies classrooms to clearly discuss how activism is currently done rather than focus on an undefined mass-based feminist movement.

"Occupying Memory: Rhetorical Studies for the 99%" revitalizes rhetorical memory by emphasizing memory's rhetorical production and non-declinable relationship to forgetting, the persuasive force of local genealogy, and the capacity of memory to spur invention and civic intervention. "Occupying Memory" performs its revival of memory through theorization of the contemporary Occupy Movement. The first chapter, "Becoming Activist," argues that memories are rhetorically produced, and supports this supposition by analyzing various activist practices, icons, and experiences. I consider the discursive production of memory through Occupy's practice of the "human microphone," and the imagistic production of memory through images such as the Guy Fawkes Mask. I also consider forgetting in the production of memory, and analyze how subjects are compelled to action through "forgotten" affects and traumas that drive one to compose self-narratives. "Giving an Account of One's Wealth," strives to develop a strategy for teaching writing called "im-personal writing," and employs Percentile Narratives from the Occupy Movement throughout its implementation. I analyze existing narratives from multiple theoretical perspectives, and focus on how students can consider the rhetorical production of their memories while avoiding the pitfalls associated with "personal writing" such as the quest for authenticity. "The Infinite Archive," considers how the binary opposition between so-called "live" and "technological" memory deconstructs, and avers that the digitization of memory is an instance of "hyper-extension" rather than "externalization." I consider multiple cases of such extension in the form of social media archives including Twitter, live streaming video, and viral memes. The problem of digital forgetting and networked multitudes is likewise engaged. "Stiller than Still" contends that (singular) bodies and specific living structures can function as monuments oriented toward the future. I argue that the type of memory such monuments produce is a "common" rather than "public" memory, one that entails resistance to state control, participatory democracy, and the preservation of difference. I also consider the nature of "common" forgetting in relation to affirmation. The text culminates with "Beginning(s)," as I consider how rhetorical memory and the Occupy Movement open onto the future, as well as the relation between memory, social movements, nostalgia, and hope. / text