Towards a multimodal ethnohistorical approach: a case study of bookplates

ABSTRACT

This study uses four examples of bookplates printed in Edwardian Britain (1901–1914) to demonstrate how the adoption of an ethnohistorical approach to social semiotics can vastly strengthen multimodal analysis. It argues that situating choices of image, colour, typography and materiality in archival research and the broader sociohistorical context of the Edwardian period can help to uncover the external motivations for a bookplate’s structure. The case study reveals that bookplate designs were primarily influenced by the social status and wealth of owners, as well as the specific, well-established norms of the bookplate genre. It also highlights the significance of connecting semiotic choices to the traditions of Edwardian society and the ways in which meanings can shift over time. The findings demonstrate the importance of grounding hypotheses concerning the function and form of artefacts in concrete historical documents, in addition to the vast potential of this methodology for exploring other texts within a particular historical period.     

Of Time and Causality: A Simple Test of the Requirement of Social Capital in Making Democracy Work in Italy

Using survey data from The Civic Culture study, this research note revisits the idea that institutional development across the regions of Italy differs because of varying levels of social capital. The findings indicate that – according to the earliest survey data available from Italy – it is unlikely that differences in the development of regional institutions between the North and the South were a result of differences in social capital between the two regions. The article ultimately contends that social capital is likely to be important for institutional (and economic) development, but that (a) it does not appear to be a prerequisite for either and that (b) it can develop far more quickly than expected; this implies that impersonal trust and a participatory culture are not resources that societies must wait for several centuries to acquire, but that perhaps they can be fostered by the development of powerful democratic institutions.     

Partisan News and Political Participation: Exploring Mediated Relationships

This study examines mediators of the relationship between news consumption and political participation in the contemporary news environment. We test the differential effects exerted by pro- and counter-attitudinal news compared with balanced news on intended participation. Our primary objective is to model three paths that may link news exposure and participation: cognitive (i.e., perceived issue understanding), affective (i.e., emotions evoked by a news story), and attitudinal (i.e., attitude strength). We compare these paths across four issues, testing which is strongest. Relying on a large survey-based experiment on a representative sample of the American population (N = 2,300), we find that pro-attitudinal exposure increases intended participation relative to balanced news exposure, while the effects of counter-attitudinal news do not differ from those exerted by balanced news. Issue understanding, anger, positive emotions, and attitude strength all mediate the relationship between pro-attitudinal exposure and intended participation, with the route via attitude strength being strongest. These effects do not depend on whether exposure is self-selected or experimentally assigned.     

Understanding Drivers of Crime in East Baltimore: Resident Perceptions of Why Crime Persists

Urban neighborhoods are frequently associated with high rates of crime, unemployment, poor educational systems, poor housing conditions, and health related problems. Theories of social disorganization, social isolation, and broken windows all explain how and why social problems develop and persist within urban settings. Drawing on these theories, this study examines how residents perceive local community problems in an East Baltimore neighborhood. Eight focus groups were conducted with participants who live and/or work in the area to identify common neighborhood issues. Problems commonly identified were: the presence of physical disorder, issues related to crime and law enforcement, lack of employment opportunities, and limited youth activities. Embedded under many of these themes was the recognition that the neighborhood lacks collective efficacy to fix community problems and maintain social control. Implications for improving neighborhood disadvantage will be discussed.     

Fate and Behavior of Gunshot Residue—A Review

A review of the literature concerning the fate and behavior of gunshot residue (GSR) is presented. A number of concomitant parameters including firearm and ammunition type, plume and GSR material characteristics, travel distances, chemical composition and GSR morphology are critically discussed in relation to their effects on the distribution and deposition, transfer and persistence processes of GSR. The underlying mechanisms associated with such processes are also considered. Knowledge of these processes on GSR materials could provide valuable information concerning scene preservation and subsequent forensic sampling. The number of GSR particles deposited can vary significantly with each firearm discharge, highlighting the potential to produce distinctive data in each individual case. With the continual development and compositional changes of new ammunition types, further evaluation of the effect these processes may have on GSR evidence and their possible influence on the interpretation of the analytical results should be given due consideration.     

Examining the Role of School Resource Officers on School Safety and Crisis Response Teams

School resource officers (SROs) are being increasingly employed in schools to respond to incidents of school violence and to help address safety concerns among students and staff. While previous research on school safety and crisis teams has examined the role of school mental health professionals’ and administrators, fewer studies have evaluated the role of the SRO. The current study examined differences between SROs, school administrators, and school mental health professionals (i.e., school psychologists, school counselors, social workers) regarding experiences with crisis events, as well as perceived effectiveness of crisis prevention and response strategies. The most common crisis events across professionals included student assaults, drug offenses, and mandated child abuse and neglect reporting. While SROs and school mental health professionals had similar ratings of school safety strategies, school administrators had less effective appraisals of crisis response plans and crisis postvention activities. Implications for practice and future directions for research are reviewed.