Explorations the Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities for the State of North Carolina

Volume VI, 2011 Explorations The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities for the State of North Carolina

www.uncw.edu/csurf/explorations.html

[email protected]

Center for the Support of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships UNCW Honors College Randall Library University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC 28403 copyright © 2011 University of North Carolina Wilmington

Cover photographs: “Smoky Mountain Sunset” © Frank Kehren “Sunset Poplar” © BlueRidgeKitties “Outer Banks” © Patrick McKay

ISBN: 978-0-9845922-7-2

Original Design by The Publishing Laboratory Department of Creative Writing 601 South College Road Wilmington, North Carolina 28403 www.uncw.edu/writers Dedication

George Timothy Barthalmus (October 27, 1942- May 12, 2011)

We lost our good friend George last spring. He was the inspiration behind Explorations and the State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium, SNCURCS. George was known for his outreach to and support of student researchers- indeed, we feel he was the champion for undergraduate research in our state. We miss his infectious smile and bright, engaging eyes, his energy and excitement. Our hearts go out to his family, and we are glad for the time we shared with him. Volume VI of Explorations is dedicated to the memory of George Barthalmus.

Photo courtesy of http://www.ncsu.edu/faculty-and-staff/bulletin/2011/05/students-colleagues- remember-barthalmus/

Staff

Editor-in-Chief Katherine E. Bruce, PhD Director, Honors College and Center for the Support of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Professor of Psychology University of North Carolina Wilmington Managing Editor Tiffany Strickland Department of English University of North Carolina Wilmington

Consultants Emily Smith Director, The Publishing Laboratory University of North Carolina Wilmington

William Atwill, PhD Associate Director, Honors College Associate Professor of English University of North Carolina Wilmington

Web Production Assistants Jennifer Nguyen Department of Chemistry CSURF Graduate Assistant University of North Carolina Wilmington Kirk Mochrie Department of Psychology CSURF Graduate Assistant University of North Carolina Wilmington Layout Staff Christine Stark Department of Creative Writing Department of English University of North Carolina Wilmington 2011 Board of Reviewers

Adetayo Adedeji, PhD Nita Eskew, PhD Assistant Professor of Physics Assistant Professor of Chemistry Elizabeth City State University Salem College

William Atwill, PhD Elizabeth Fournier, PhD Associate Director, Honors College Assistant Professor of Political Science Associate Professor of English St. Augustine’s College University of North Carolina Wilmington Michael Funk Deckard, PhD Steven Benko, PhD Assistant Professor of Philosophy Assistant Professor of Religious and Ethical Studies Lenoir-Rhyne University Meredith College Jeffery Geller, PhD Jennifer Brubaker, PhD Professor of Philosophy Assistant Professor, Communication Studies University of North Carolina Pembroke University of North Carolina Wilmington Sujoy Ghosh, PhD Helen Caldwell, PhD Senior Research Investigator, Biotechnology Associate Professor of Social Work North Carolina Central University Johnson C. Smith University Thomas Hennessey, PhD Maurice Crawford, PhD Associate Professor, Government & History Assistant Professor of Biology Fayetteville State University Elizabeth City State University Russell Herman, PhD Paul Custer, PhD Professor, Physics & Physical Oceanography Associate Professor of History Professor, Mathematics & Statistics Lenoir-Rhyne University University of North Carolina Wilmington

Karen Daniels, PhD Blake Hobby, PhD Assistant Professor of Psychology Director, Honors Program University of North Carolina Wilmington Assistant Professor in Literature and Language University of North Carolina Asheville James Denniston, PhD Professor of Psychology Jennifer Horan, PhD Appalachian State University Assistant Professor of Political Science University of North Carolina Wilmington John Dogbe, PhD Assistant Professor of Chemistry Brian Jones, PhD Barton College Assistant Professor of History Johnson C. Smith University Kim Epting, PhD Assistant Professor of Psychology Elon University Eric Jones, PhD Vibeke Olson, PhD Research Scientist, Anthropology Associate Professor of Art University of North Carolina Greensboro University of North Carolina Wilmington

Joe Jones, PhD Jeanne Persuit, PhD Professor, Chair of Religion and Philosophy Assistant Professor of Communication Studies Barton College University of North Carolina Wilmington

Anthony Kennedy, PhD Jesse Peters, PhD Assistant Professor of Chemistry Professor of English East Carolina University University of North Carolina Pembroke

Melanie Lee-Brown, PhD Brian Railsback, PhD Associate Professor, Chair of Biology Dean, Honors College Guilford College Professor of English Western Carolina University Pat Lerch, PhD Professor of Anthropology Sharon Raynor, PhD University of North Carolina Wilmington Assistant Professor of English Johnson C. Smith University Muhammad Lodhi, PhD Associate Professor of Biology Sue Richardson, PhD Fayetteville State University Senior Lecturer of Film Studies University of North Carolina Wilmington Priscilla Manarino-Leggett, PhD Professor of Elementary Education Kim Rocha, PhD Fayetteville State University Assistant Professor of Business Barton College Jaime Martinez, PhD Assistant Professor of History Sophia Sarafova, PhD University of North Carolina Pembroke Assistant Professor of Biology Davidson College Mark McCallum, PhD Professor, Chair of Biology Tom Schmid, PhD Pfeiffer University Professor of Philosophy University of North Carolina Wilmington Louis McIntyre, PhD Instructor of Biology Tsvetanka Sendova, PhD Robeson Community College Assistant Professor of Mathematics Bennett College Hyunju Oh, PhD Assistant Professor of Mathematics Tesfaye Serbessa, PhD Bennett College Assistant Professor of Chemistry Elizabeth City State University Vinson Sutlive, PhD Molly Weise, PhD Professor of Exercise Science Assistant Professor of Sociology Pfeiffer University North Carolina Wesleyan College

Tatiana Tagirova, PhD Jarrett T. Whelan, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of English Assistant Professor of Biology Elizabeth City State University East Carolina University

Julie Taylor, PhD Betty Witcher, PhD Assistant Professor of Nursing Associate Professor of Psychology University of North Carolina Wilmington Peace College

Linda Tomlinson, PhD Sara Wrenn, PhD Assistant Professor of History Assistant Professor of Psychology Fayetteville State University Bennett College

Paul Townend, PhD Taek You, PhD Associate Professor of History Assistant Professor of Biology University of North Carolina Wilmington Campbell University

Julianne Treme, PhD Mark Zrull, PhD Assistant Professor of Economics Professor of Psychology University of North Carolina Wilmington Appalachian State University

Barbara Waxman, PhD With special thanks and appreciation to the faculty mentors and volunteer Professor of English blind reviewers. University of North Carolina Wilmington Table of Contents xi Letter from the Editor

Biological, Earth, and Physical Sciences

3 Ultrasound: Autism, Agriculture, and a Future Tool for Treating Neurological Diseases David Blake with Rebecca Panter

22 Lactate Dehydrogenase and Na+/K+ ATPase Activity in Leiostomus xanthurus (Spot) in Response to Hypoxia Betsy Brinson with David Huffman, Matthew M. Shaver, Rebecca U. Cooper and Lisa M. Clough

30 Correlation Between Fluoride Ion Levels in Harnett County Drinking Water and Students' Dental Health Bethany Starnes

Humanities and Fine Arts

41 First Hand Accounts of December 7, 1941 in Pearl Harbor William Brown

51 Some Things Never Change: Attitudes about the Foreign in Y tu mamá también and Rudo y Cursi Sheila Casalett

64 The Ghosts of Aktibistas Past: A New Generation of Filipino Women’s Rights Activists Faces a Daunt- ing Legacy of Inspiration, Expectations, Stigmas & Divisions Camila Domonoske

73 Discoveries in Encaustic: A Look through History Kristen Gallagher 86 Was Heidegger a Mystic? Jeff Guilford

95 Sam Phillips, Elvis, & Rock N’ Roll: A Cultural Revolution Trey Mayberry

105 U.S. Media Objectivity and Arab Issues: A Content Analysis of Cover- age of the Proposed “Ground Zero Mosque” Hannah Simpson

Mathematics

123 A Search for New Optimal Singly-Even Self-Dual Codes of Length 48 Kristy Mitchell

Social Sciences

135 Transitive Inference in Rats Using Odor Stimuli: Manual Versus Auto- mated Training Procedures Mary Beth Pacewicz

151 Children’s Support Networks After the 1999 Landslides in Teziutlán, Mexico Olivia Pettigrew

168 Working Class African American Women and Heart Disease: How Communication and Community Impact Prevention Knowledge and Behaviors Ranata Reeder

179 About the Student Authors

182 About the Faculty Mentors

186 Submission Process Letter from the Editor

he response for volume VI of others to support it. In 2005, the State of T Explorations was overwhelming. We North Carolina Undergraduate Research had three times as many submissions this and Creativity Symposium was first held, year as the previous two years, and the and educators from all colleges, universi- fourteen papers published in this issue are ties, community colleges, and high schools excellent. They represent a variety of fields were invited to participate. Now in its 7th of inquiry- from historical analyses to labo- year, SNCURCS offers a venue for under- ratory experiments, from global perspec- graduates to present their research and cre- tives to cross-species comparisons. ative efforts. Explorations was the brainchild I think our friend George Barthalmus of the 2005 meeting, and we are thank- would have been so proud of these student ful that Dr. Michael Bassman and East authors, and it gives me pleasure to remi- Carolina University organized and pub- nisce briefly here about George and the lished the first three volumes. Somehow beginnings of SNCURCS and Explorations. George talked me into moving Explorations I remember the first time I met George, to UNCW in time to produce the 2009 vol- as he hosted the Animal Behavior Society ume when ECU reorganized and had to meeting in the summer of 1985. I was a give up the journal. Come to think of it, he new assistant professor at UNCW, one year also talked me into hosting the SNCURCS post graduate school, and was scheduled to conference at UNCW the same year. And present my dissertation work at the confer- I am glad he did. It was hard to say “no, ence. I recall heading up to NCSU from thanks” to George, because you knew he Wilmington to be there in time for a con- saw the big picture and you knew he was ference cook-out the night before the meet- giving 110% himself. ing officially started. I did not know many So in the spirit of the excitement that people there, and George was immediately fresh approaches to research and dis- friendly and welcoming; it’s a nice episodic covery bring, we offer you volume VI of memory. When we got to know each other Explorations. I am indebted to my manag- later in our respective roles as coordinators ing editor and layout expert, Ms. Tiffany for undergraduate research at our univer- Strickland, and to the 53 ad hoc reviewers sities in about 2001, it was great to make who provided timely and thoughtful re- the animal behavior connection again, and views of the papers. see that we valued the same type of support for undergraduate students. SNCURCS began as an outgrowth of the Triangle Katherine E Bruce, PhD Undergraduate Research Symposium co- ordinated by Ms. Emily Heikamp, a student at Duke University, in 2003, and two years later, George urged the UNC undergraduate research consortium to take on the conference… and expand it. That is what George was about- expanding the scope of undergraduate research and encouraging Two Dr. B’s at SNCURCS 2009 photo by L.S. “Bo” Dean

Biological, Earth, and Physical Sciences

Ultrasound: Autism, Agriculture, and a Future Tool for Treating Neurological Diseases

David Blake with Rebecca Panter The University of North Carolina at Pembroke Faculty Mentors: William Brandon, Maria Pereira The University of North Carolina at Pembroke

ABSTRACT Ultrasound has become a ubiquitous and trusted tool of medicine while bioeffects researchers claim that the extent of ultrasound’s side-effects has not been fully assessed. Despite this, nearly every mother in industrialized nations receives at least one fetal ultrasound during pregnancy. It is possible that extensive fetal exposure to ultrasound may have unforeseen developmental side effects. In order to address this hypothesis, experiments exposing various biological models to therapeutic intensity ultrasound are presented. Ten min ultrasound exposures to seeds of Phaseolus lunatus, the lima bean, lead to a 300% increase in germination rate and enhanced growth. It is believed that this is due to ultrasound enhancing the activity of alpha-amylase, a glycoside hydrolase class enzyme. Lysozyme is a similar type of enzyme as alpha-amylase, but is present in animals. Sonication is demonstrated to increase the reaction rate of solutions of pure lysozyme in vitro. These studies should be expanded on using diagnostic parameters in order to investigate enzymes as a potential pathway through which diagnostic ultrasound could affect human fetal development. Further research is necessary to ensure that the maxim of medical ethics, “First, do no harm,” is followed by practitioners.

Abbreviations: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Output Display Standard (ODS), Mechan- ical Index (MI),Thermal Index (TI), High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), Spatial-PeakTemporal-Averaged Intensity (SPTAI), As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA), Control (C), Ultrasound (US), Magnet (M), Magnet+Ultrasound (MUS)

output intensities, frequencies and wave- INTRODUCTION forms in order to elicit a desired effect. ltrasound is a cyclic pressure wave The Spatial-Peak Time-Averaged Intensity U with a frequency higher than the typi- (SPTAI) of an ultrasound wave is a com- cal human ear can sense (>20,000 Hz). A mon unit to measure dosage, and is in units typical ultrasound transducer is composed of mW cm-2[3]. of piezoelectric crystals[1] that change For diagnostic sonography, ultrasound shape when an electrical current passes scanners typically use fast repetitions of through them[2]. Diagnostic and thera- short, high intensity pulses. Computer soft- peutic ultrasound devices have varying ware integrates the echoes of these waves

3 Explorations | Biological, Earth, and Physical Sciences into a picture. The SPTAI of prenatal still valid for exploration. It is the primary scans may not exceed 720 mW cm-2 due to goal of this study to investigate the side ef- Federal Drug Administration (FDA) regu- fects of ultrasound on Eukaryotic develop- lations[3]. Physical therapists use thera- ment, although further studies must be per- peutic ultrasound machines which produce formed using diagnostic equipment before a wave with an intensity that ranges from conjecture regarding clinical dangers can 500 mW cm-2 to thousands depending on be confirmed. the aim of treatment. Therapeutic ultrasound units operating at around 1 W cm-2 LITERATURE REVIEW are used to stimulate regenerative factors in soft tissue[4], cartilage[5] and bone[6]. The Increasing Incidence of Autism The mechanisms through which these ef- Spectrum Disorders fects occur are not clearly understood[7], In the United States, the incidence and as such the extent of ultrasound’s im- of ASD has risen from 1 person in 5000 pact on the human body has not been fully (0.02%) in the 1970’s to 1 in 110 (0.91%) in assessed. 2009[12](Fig 1). This exponential increase The potential for diagnostic ultrasound has resulted in the Centers for Disease to contribute to developmental disorders Control labeling autism a ‘national emer- has been considered by researchers since gency’ in 2006[11]. No studies to date before the 1980’s[8]; however, due to mod- have conclusively identified the source of ern medicine’s tenuous understanding of the accelerating prevalence. It is com- developmental physiology, the implications monly argued that the expansion of diag- of many observed side effects remain un- nostic criteria accounts for some, if not all clear[9]. Some studies suggest that ultra- of the increase[13,14,15]; however, others sound could possibly have a deleterious claim that there is a genuine pandemic de- impact on neurological development[10], spite this[16,17,18]. and therefore in this study the link between While it is likely that the increase is at prenatal sonography and the development least partially due to changes in diagnos- of autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders tic practices, the fact remains that the in- (ASD) is explored. More studies investigat- cidence has been consistently increasing at ing potential environmental factors which an exponential rate for 40 years[12] and may contribute to ASD are necessary, as the affects all industrialized nations. In May exponential increase of ASD has become a of 2011, the first study utilizing the entire threat to worldwide human health[11]. population of South Korea claims that To investigate the impact that ultrasound the incidence of ASD is 1 in 38 (2.64%) has on Eukaryotic growth experimentally, children aged 7-12[19]. When compared some biologically relevant models are ex- to the 2009 United States ASD estimates posed to therapeutic intensity ultrasound of 0.91%[12], the 2011 study claiming a and the side effects are examined. The use 2.64% incidence of ASD in South Korea of therapeutic ultrasound in lieu of diag- is staggering. It is imperative for world- nostics equipment is due to cost restraints, wide human health that we determine the although the SPTAI of the therapeutic de- source of this accelerating prevalence and vice is estimated to be less than twice as in- handle it appropriately, be it identifying the tense as the current maximum SPTAI limit causative agent or by definitively proving for fetal scans. Diagnostic and therapeutic that it is a virtual increase. ultrasound differs in intensity and wave- form, yet the proposed experiments are

4 David Blake

1 to 3[22]. Routine fetal ultrasounds are commonly said to be harmless by many doctors, yet the FDA has placed a ban on using diagnostics equipment for fetal keepsake videos[23]. Fetal keepsake videos are high resolution sonography sessions that are performed with a commercial drive for greater clarity of picture[24] rather than the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) principle practiced by diagnostic medicine[25]. This ban highlights some Does Ultrasound Contribute to the controversy, as better imaging is a strong Rise in Autism? monetary incentive and medicine is not Ultrasound was first introduced into di- immune to the commercial pressures this agnostics medicine circa 1958. As shown in presents. Fig 2, within 10 years of its inception, diag- The FDA’s regulations limiting the nostic ultrasound’s use in obstetrics and gy- SPTAI of fetal sonography were raised necology became accepted worldwide and 8-fold in 1992 to meet commercial de- commercial research took off heavily(a) mands for higher quality imaging. Prior to [20]. Coincidentally, the incidence of this change, there was an SPTAI upper end ASD began its ascent within the genera- output limit of 94 mW cm-2 for fetal scans. tion of people born in this time period(b) Currently in the United States there is a [21]. Research was necessary before diag- limit of 720 mW cm-2 for such scans given nostic techniques using ultrasound could be implemented into medical practice and become widely used, and as inferred from the trends, there is a distinct correlation(c). To date, diagnostic machines are capable of producing flush 3D images, allowing parents to look closely at their un- born children. Despite scientists claiming to not know the extent of side effects, the responsibility of interpreting the safety of ultrasound exposure is levied upon the individual practitioners[3]. This presents a danger, as bioeffects researchers claim that ultrasound is a possible teratogenic agent[8] – that is, it is capable of leaving a deleterious impact on an embryo. Despite this, the general trust of imaging practices held by doctors has led to an increase of ultrasounds suggested during pregnancy, and even more for at-risk parents. The FDA does not currently have a limit for the maximum number of ultrasounds prescribed, although the average number for a healthy pregnancy is typically

5 Explorations | Biological, Earth, and Physical Sciences that ultrasound machines follow regulation the increase in temperature. FDA ODS Output Display Standards (ODS)[3] and require that a MI and TI be displayed on display on-screen estimates of power out- the screens of diagnostic ultrasound moni- put in the form of a Mechanical Index (MI) tors after 1992. These indices are tools to and Thermal Index (TI). These indices help estimate the thermal and mechanical can be off by a factor of 2, up to 6 in some impact that the ultrasound exposure will situations[26,27]. As well, some studies have on tissue[26]; however, interpreting have shown that there are many practicing the actual bioeffects is a responsibility lev- radiologists and doctors who do not know ied upon the individual practitioner[3]. how to effectively utilize these indices[25]. The practitioners themselves rely on As evidenced by the commercialization researchers to inform them of safety con- of ultrasound, the monetary incentive to siderations. Regulations and ethics issues improve and make available ultrasound require that many researchers perform technology for public use is powerful. It a combination of in vitro and organismal has by far surpassed the regulation-limited model experiments to draw conclusions research investigating the side effects. This from for human health[32]. This raises has led to a situation where this highly some difficulty when looking for the subtle novel and useful tool has become ubiqui- side effects of ultrasound. One obstacle is tous in society before its safety could be that there are many differences between a definitively verified[3]. Similarly, not 30 human brain and the brain of a rat as an years ago X-Ray machines were used for organismal model. There are differences fitting shoes properly[28] - a practice that in size, molecular structure and function. had continued for many years before se- These variations in physical makeup and rious side effects were found. Studies do scale make it so that doses which are tera- not suggest ultrasound directly causes can- togenic to lab animals or cause effectsin cer[28,29,30] as X-Rays can, but the pos- vitro may not induce such insults in human sibility of harmful impact on fetal develop- tissue[26]. There are similarities, however, ment is evident[8]. There are a significant and some effects deserve note. number of trends that make the connection Excess heat has been shown to be terato- between diagnostic ultrasound and autism genic in animal models[27]. Because of the worthy of further investigation. known pathogenicity of increased temperature on organogenesis, bioeffects research- Side Effects of Ultrasound, as Dem- ers are more confident in saying that ther- onstrated by In Vitro and In Vivo mal dose considerations are more critical Studies than the mechanical impact of ultrasound Ultrasound mechanically moves physi- on development[33,34]. Irreversible neu- cal matter as it passes through a medium. rological damage is caused to a fetus when This movement occurs along with an in- its body increases 4°C above core tempera- crease in temperature. Both the physical tures for 5 min, or some dosage equivalent. motion and resultant heat can have an Pulsed Spectral Doppler Ultrasound is a impact on biological systems. Ultrasound diagnostic sonography technique that re- side effects can therefore be classified as quires the transducer to remain stationary, either ‘Mechanical’ or ‘Thermal’ in na- and can cause this 4°C increase in just a ture. Mechanical effects are those which little bit over 30 seconds[35]. are resultant of the physical interaction of There is a further possibility that factors ultrasound with a medium[31]. Thermal which increase the thermal dose of a fetus effects are those that are distinctly due to may compound one another, confounding

6 David Blake estimations of an ultrasound practitioner can be attributed to many types of homeo- for utilizing a “safe” dosage of ultrasound. static imbalance[47], and ultrasound has For example, during the third trimester fe- been experimentally shown to produce them tal temperatures raise 0.5°C above mater- in vitro[48] and in vivo[49]. What these ultra- nal core temperatures[34], the mother may sound promoted free radicals are capable of be ill, have been in hot weather, and it may doing in the scope of human health remains be possible for a fetus to elicit its own fever to be further investigated[50]. This is im- response due to pathogenic exposure[36]. portant to consider, as fetal development is Ultrasound machine displays are required very sensitive to chemical balance[51]. to only list a TI based off of a factory stan- Some studies show that DNA regulation dard, giving no real time estimate of actual can be affected by diagnostic ultrasound internal temperatures[26]. in a variety of ways[52,53,54]. It has also Thermal dose is imperative to consider been demonstrated that there are side ef- during fetal scans; however, the more subtle fects that are detectable across generations mechanical effects may have an insidious in some cell lines. A study performed in impact. The mechanical effects of diag- 1982 claimed that, in fibroblast cells, di- nostic ultrasound are not always obviously agnostic intensity ultrasound induced a pathogenic: there are no exogenous materi- change in motility that was detectable in als presented to the body, and no overt vis- progeny upwards of ten generations after ible physical damage indicative of trauma. exposure. Other physical influences such as Physical therapists utilize ultrasound’s me- ultraviolet radiation and heat were able to chanical effects when they report that treat- cause a similar effect, as well[55]. ment increases the growth rate of many tis- In vitro studies have shown that pulsed sues[6], yet they admit that the mechanisms ultrasound changes the binding affinity of are not well understood[9]. The extent of hemoglobin to various molecules[56]. To which mechanical side effects have on hu- what extent this could possibly affect liv- man long-term development is largely un- ing organisms is uncertain, but it is known known[37], and is difficult to quantify given that proper gas exchange is imperative for that mechanical effects are many, varied, maintaining a healthy internal equilibrium circumstantial and medium dependent. across the placental barrier[57]. Another Some discrete side effects have been finding from this study is that insonation can documented. Mechanical stimulation from alter blood pH. Given that this study was ultrasound exposure can cause changes in performed in in vitro conditions, further re- biochemical reactions[38] and may stimu- search is required so that these risks as per- late the formation of cavitation bubbles[39]. tains to clinical settings can be more clearly Under appropriate stimulation cavitation assessed. bubbles can implode, creating fluid micro- jets that can reach upwards of 500 atm[40] Ultrasound and the Brain and 7000 Kelvin[41] - consequently having In experimental studies that date back the potential to be very destructive. These over half of a century, ultrasound has been small but powerful implosions can propa- shown to induce a wide variety of side ef- gate further cascades of thermal and me- fects on the brain and central nervous sys- chanical effects[42,43], damage proteins, tem[7]. There have been experiments de- induce localized changes in biochemical tailing selective upregulation or suppression reactions and so forth[44]. of neurons[58], ways to stimulate or alter Cavitation may also lead to the produc- sensory signals[59], even techniques to treat tion of free radicals[45,46]. Free radicals symptoms of Parkinson’s disease[60] and

7 Explorations | Biological, Earth, and Physical Sciences epilepsy[61] using ultrasonic stimulation. to effectively focus ultrasound through A study performed in 1987 showed that the skull[67] and so the technique was diagnostic ultrasound damaged myelin in not heavily invested in. That technology rat models. A very low SPTAI relative to is available today, and so the potential for today’s maximum limits were used, and ultrasound to treat many mental illnesses symptoms were evident 24 h after expo- noninvasively is on the horizon[68]. sure. The rats in this study were in a stage of development that is similar to that of a MATERIALS AND METHODS human fetus in the second trimester[62]. This is relevant for mental health, as my- There is a gap in research investigating elination is a critical part of neurological how ultrasound impacts the long-term de- development and the integrity of myelin velopment of Eukaryotes. To address this, sheaths are important for mental fitness. these experiments demonstrate that expo- Multiple sclerosis[63] and schizophre- sure to therapeutic intensity ultrasound to nia[64] are some disease states that exhibit a seed has a lingering impact on the plant’s some myelin related symptomatology. growth and development. It is thought that In 2006, an experiment used radioactive this change is due to ultrasound enhanc- dyes to follow the paths of growing neu- ing the chemical reactivity of alpha-am- rons of mice under exposure to high inten- ylase[69]. These experiments then make sity diagnostic ultrasound. It is shown that the connection from plant to animal by extended periods of diagnostic ultrasound testing an analogous enzyme which utilizes exposure during organogenesis can cause a similar chemical mechanism but is pres- errors in neuronal migration. This study ent in both hens and humans. reports that a statistically significant num- The ultrasound machine used in these ber of neurons were found at inappropriate experiments is a facial cosmetic ultrasound locations after exposure to ultrasound, evi- unit operating at 1 MHz with a wave train dence of an impact on neurodevelopment composed of 5 millisecond pulses, a 40% that could have potentially many conse- duty cycle and an intensity of 1.25+0.35 quences[10]. A factor that should further W cm-2. The results of these experiments be considered about this study is that the were not collected using a diagnostic ul- resolution of the experiment only detected trasound scanner, and are expected to neurons found outside of a specific zone; exaggerate some possible side effects rela- any neurites that were displaced but within tive to fetal scans. Regardless, the results their expected zones are not discernible. should highlight some potential dangers of Considering that neuronal connections increasing fetal SPTAI limits any higher build upon foundations set by other neu- and also bring attention to the impact that rons[65], this small number of displaced therapeutic intensity ultrasound can have connections during early development de- on Eukaryotic development. serves acknowledgment. The use of a 0.5 tesla magnet in these As mentioned earlier, not all effects are experiments was originally motivated by overtly pathogenic in nature. With fur- recent studies debating why plants are sen- ther research it is likely that ultrasound will sitive to the Earth’s geomagnetic fields[70], become a potent neurotherapeutic mo- which was first suggested by Louis Pasteur. dality[66]. The treatment of Parkinson’s During experimentation, it was observed disease using ultrasonic stimulation in the that there was a deleterious impact on 1960’s was progressive and novel; how- Phaseolus lunatus, the lima bean, when seed ever, technology at the time was not able treatment included magnets combined

8 David Blake with ultrasound. The use of magnets the middle of a laboratory. The CE group was included in the methodology of the was separated into another room, and had other experiments as well for exploratory its own control group that was positioned purposes. several feet away. All groups received an equal amount of light exposure from an in- I. Brief Ultrasound Exposure to candescent ceiling light for several hours a Seeds Induces Lifelong Changes in day relative to their control, although this Plant Development was not carefully monitored. There were The seed represents a critical period of no obstructions that would selectively block development for plants, similar to a fetus light to any of the plant groups. All water- for humans. There are many differences ing was performed by pouring water into between a fetus and seed, but plants and the bottom baking sheet layer, with perfo- animals are both eukaryotic. All eukary- rations in the top sheet allowing water to otes share some biological similarities[71], seep into the soil. The amount of water and as such, plants may serve as a useful delivered to each group was carefully mea- model for exploring the effects of ultra- sured and consistent. sound on development. Magnets have also The C groups received no pretreatment. been reported to have a beneficial impact US groups received 10 min of therapeu- on plant growth[72], and so an experiment tic ultrasound: first, the US seeds were set was performed to investigate possible syn- on top of a small seat of gel in order to ergism between the two effects. improve coupling between transducer and In this experiment, seeds (n=360) of seed. The seeds were then sonicated in Phaseolus lunatus, the lima bean, were ex- groups of 4 for 10 min each. As each treat- posed to various treatments before plant- ment group was not divisible by 4, each fi- ing. The seeds were split into 4 treat- nal sonication received 2 extra placeholder ment groups composed of 30 seeds each seeds to ensure similar mass to absorb ul- [Control (C), Ultrasound (US), Magnet trasound for all treatments. After pretreat- (M), Magnet+Ultrasound (MUS)] over ment, the seeds were soaked in water for 24 3 replications. A single group of seeds h and then planted. (n=30) received Constant Exposure (CE) to M groups received 10 min of exposure to four 40 kHz ultrasound transducers posi- a moving 0.5 tesla neodymium magnet. All tioned above them, suspended by c-clamps. 30 seeds of each magnet group were placed The transducers were positioned to give in plastic bags with the magnet and shaken approximately even distributions of ultra- for 10 min. MUS groups received 10 min sound throughout the tray. Each group of magnet treatment followed by ultra- was planted in a controlled environment, sound. After treatment, the seeds were and received carefully measured amounts soaked in water for 24 h and then planted. of water and minimal additives. All seeds The CE group was initially soaked in wa- were planted in a double-layered aluminum ter for 24 h and then planted. Following, baking tray, with non-fertilized organic pot- the seeds were exposed to four 40 kHz ul- ting soil. Each seed was carefully planted trasound transducers during the entire pe- at a similar depth, with one inch of space riod of germination and growth. separating seeds on all sides. Each group of seeds in each replica- II. Exposure to Therapeutic Ultra- tion was planted in their own individual sound Increases Lysozyme Reaction baking tray. The 4 pretreatment groups’ Rate in vitro trays remained side by side on a table in It has been demonstrated that ultrasound

9 Explorations | Biological, Earth, and Physical Sciences enhances the germination rate and ob- medium according to the Beer-Lambert served that there were visual distinctions Law is described as: in plants treated with ultrasound at seed. A=εlc It is believed that this is caused by, in part, where A is absorbance, ε is the molar ab- ultrasound enhancing the reaction rate of sorptivity, l is the path length of light and alpha-amylase, a glycoside hydrolase[69]. c is the concentration of solution. The An enzyme that is present in animals, ly- change in absorbance over time is propor- sozyme, is also a glycoside hydrolase class tional to the rate of enzyme activity in this enzyme. As these two enzymes have a case, as lysozyme breaks down M. luteus cell similar chemical mechanism, an experi- walls and allows more light to pass through ment was carried out in order to investigate as the reaction continues. the impact of therapeutic ultrasound and magnets on the reactivity of pure solutions RESULTS AND DISCUSSION of lysozyme. Sample aliquots of lysozyme and I. Brief Ultrasound Exposure to Micrococcus luteus bacteria were prepared Seeds Induces Lifelong Changes in according to the Worthington Enzyme Plant Development Manual assay for lysozyme[73] in 0.1 M Over 3 replications, the data suggests solution of potassium phosphate buffer, pH that 10 min application of either therapeu- 7.0. Aliquots of lysozyme were diluted to tic intensity ultrasound or magnetic field 350 units mg-1 in deionized water. M. luteus independently to seeds lead to an increase was diluted to a concentration of 0.3 mg in germination rate and enhanced growth. ml-1 in buffer. Some aliquots of lysozyme Combination therapies appeared to negate were treated with ultrasound, magnets, or the positive impact of either treatment in- a combination of both: the C group re- dividually on the plant’s germination rate ceived no treatment. The M and MUS (Fig 3). These changes were not statistically groups were placed next to a rotating 0.5 significant at a 95% confidence interval due tesla neodymium magnet for 10 min. The to the small number of replications so far; US and MUS treatment groups were then however, each treatment group visually ex- placed on top of the ultrasound transducer hibited distinctly different visual character- in a polymer cuvette, with a drop of ultra- istics that were loyally reproduced between sound gel to improve coupling between cu- each of the replications. vette and transducer and received 10 min The M group seeds grew healthy and full. of ultrasound. US group seeds grew even larger, with in- In each test, the control and treated en- creased foliage and size relative to control. zymes both came from the same batch dilu- Seeds from the MUS group appeared to tion to ensure consistent concentration of enzyme between groups. After pre-treatment of the enzymes 5 and 10 min, the lysozyme was then added to the M. luteus to start the reaction. In the constant sonication experiment, the enzymes were tempo- rarily removed from the ultrasound device in order to take spectrophotometric assay with a Spectronic 20D spectrophotometer at 450nm. The absorbance of light through a liquid

10 David Blake exhibit inefficient growth patterns. Not Some qualitative observations were made only did the germination rate of the MUS about the CE group: (1) the CE group had groups drop significantly relative to other the highest germination out of all groups in treatment groups, the MUS groups’ hypo- any single replication (26.6%); (2) all of the cotyls were very thin and wiry and they ex- seedlings’ hypocotyls in the CE group grew hibited very poor foliage production. towards the ultrasound transducers (this is The observed changes are partially enzy- a phenomenon that we colloquially refer matic in nature. Studies have shown that to as “sonotropism”); (3) the CE group was exposure to ultrasound waves promote the a more livid and healthy green color than activity of alpha-amylase – an enzyme both control and pre-treatment groups. responsible for breaking down the endo- sperm of seeds into nutrients for the de- II. Exposure to Therapeutic Ultra- veloping seedling[69]. Other effects likely sound Increases Lysozyme Reaction contribute to the change in development, Rate in vitro as extrapolated from the fact that exposure After exposure to ultrasound, lysozyme to a magnetic field also increased germina- was shown to have an enhanced reaction tion rate but did not alter the catalytic ef- rate for some duration. Exposure to the ficiency of pure lysozyme. ultrasound wave imparts energy that en- A second experiment was performed in hances mixing and mass transfer, but the order to study plants exposed to constant mechanism through which the enzyme re- ultrasound. Several 40 kHz transducers action continues to occur at an enhanced were arranged by clamps above one rep- rate afterwards (Fig 6) is not completely lication tray, in a separate room from the clear. There are theories as to how ultra- other experiments and with its own control (Fig 4,5).

sound may impact enzymatic reactions; however, studies are inconclusive regarding proof of mechanism[44]. Fig 7 describes the enhancement of lysozyme chemical reaction rates with ultrasound pretreatment. Sonicating the enzyme prior to adding to substrate appeared to increase the reaction rate in a dose de- pendant relationship. This reaction rate

11 Explorations | Biological, Earth, and Physical Sciences enhancement continued after the solution reached apparent thermal equilibrium.

Treatment 1: 5 min pre-treatment before reaction A 5 min pre-treatment of lysozyme by therapeutic ultrasound prior to adding the enzyme to substrate increased the rate of enzyme catalysis by 119% (a). Treatment 2: 10 min pre-treatment before reaction Ten min of ultrasonic pretreatment prior fields have no distinct change for solutions to adding the enzyme to substrate increased of pure lysozyme. the rate of enzyme catalysis by 160% and 142% respectively (b). III. Comprehensive Discussion Treatment 3: Constant exposure Some studies have shown there to be a during reaction positive correlation between the prevalence The groups that were insonated while of ASD and socioeconomic status[74], the reaction took place catalyzed over twice suggesting that ASD is more likely to affect as many reactions compared to control. people who have better access to medical The efficiency of enzyme catalysis was in- facilities[75]. It may be that more well-to- creased 210% in both cases (c). do families are more likely to report a case Some heat studies were performed. It of autism; however, it is also important to was concluded that although heat does not dismiss possible factors that would se- increase the reaction rate of lysozyme, ul- lectively target these populations, such as trasound appeared to have a larger impact. medical practices. As well, ultrasound appeared to leave a lin- As ultrasound has been shown to im- gering effect that continued to enhance the pact organismal physiology in measurable rate even after the solution cooled down. ways, extensive exposure during critical Solutions of pure buffer raised 12.2°F, or periods of development for humans could 5.1°C over 10 min of constant ultrasound feasibly cause unintentional side effects. exposure (Fig 8). Environmental teratogens are thought to Over several experiments, exposure to trigger the development of ASD in some magnets did not change the reaction ef- cases[16], with genetic predisposition play- ficiency of lysozyme. Similarly, the MUS ing a large role in whether a person is sus- groups exhibited activity similar to US ceptible or not[76]. If ultrasound itself is alone groups, suggesting that magnetic

12 David Blake a direct contributor to autism symptoms or being a common day occurrence, a market not has yet to be proven, but the fact that has opened for the sale of ultrasound for ultrasound is such a prominent medical personal vanity purposes. One such de- procedure adds weight to how important it vice, the ultrasonic “wrinkle remover” that is to better understand its side effects. was used in our experiments, may have un- There is a large bit of undue trust in the foreseen consequences of its own. medical industry regarding the potential These hand held devices operate at ther- side effects of ultrasound. Modern medi- apeutic intensities and their intended use cine is struggling to make sense of human is direct application to the face wherever biology and neurodevelopment, and our wrinkles are present. Ultrasound “wrinkle medical practices are still in an infantile removers” are advertised to fight wrinkles state. Radiologists and ultrasound prac- by stimulating collagen production[78] to titioners should definitely give respect to rejuvenate skin. Therapeutic ultrasound the instrument where it is due, however. can penetrate inches into soft tissue; and Ultrasound is a powerful tool, and learning although the skull has high impedance[79], how the machines work is a very important direct application of therapeutic intensity part of understanding ultrasound itself. In ultrasound to it may in some way affect the light of research articles that claim a defi- brain[7]. Reason suggests that any product cit in appropriate training with ultrasound that willingly exposes the brain to thera- equipment[25], a greater emphasis should peutic intensity ultrasound should be heav- be placed on technical studies in order to ily scrutinized. master the equipment. We conducted a preliminary study in col- Even for practitioners that are well laboration with the Bahr laboratory (The learned, there is a lack of epidemiology University of North Carolina at Pembroke), studies on developmental side effects of di- where combination therapeutic ultrasound agnostic ultrasound. If a radiologist were and magnetic fields were applied to or- to study the bioeffects of diagnostic ultra- ganotypic rat hippocampus slice cultures. sound in depth, he or she may be unduly Ex vivo slices of rat hippocampus[80] were comforted by the lack of solid scientific exposed to combined ultrasonic and mag- data investigating the mental fitness and netic stimulation for varying times, and health of populations later in life who had several tests for synaptic markers of neuro- been exposed prenatally. Because of this logical toxicity and changes in myelination gap in research, there is insufficient data to were performed. It was found that synaptic draw upon to determine whether diagnos- markers synaptophysin, GluR1 and myelin tic ultrasound is truly safe or not. Further proteolipid protein were unchanged after confounding, there would be many com- up to 1 min 30 sec of exposure. All treated plications in epidemiological data analysis samples became thick and whitely colored given the wide breadth of variables be- 24 h after treatment, although the nature tween ultrasound sessions such as location, of this is unclear. environmental conditions and genetic differences between patients. Even the angle IV. Sources of Error at which a practitioner holds the transducer Obtaining the actual output intensity of at any given time during a session will alter the ultrasonic “wrinkle remover” unit has the delivered dosage to a fetus[77]. proven difficult without sufficient equip- Despite the lack of studies arguing for the ment funding. The reported intensity of safety of ultrasound, society is fairly com- 1.25+0.35 W cm-2 is based off of an esti- fortable with the idea of it. With fetal scans mation using an advertised intensity output

13 Explorations | Biological, Earth, and Physical Sciences from a similar model that performed closely as well. This hints at a possible mechanism in some tests. It was not clarified in the in- through which ultrasound may impact struction manual if this is Spatial-Peak/ metabolic biochemical cascades. Further Average Temporal-Peak/Average Intensity, studies on how ultrasound interacts with although the trend is for companies to re- biologically active enzymes should be port their SPTAI. performed using diagnostic equipment. Our zero point for the enzyme studies Further, ASD is believed to have a heavy were off in some of the enzyme data sets genetic basis[76], and how diagnostic so- presented here due to solution settling or nography affects both gene regulation and drawing from incompletely mixed dilution the physical structure of the involved mol- aliquots. This should not dramatically af- ecules deserves to be further studied. fect the reported outcomes. On a positive note, magnets appear to Due to the small number of replications, improve plant growth. Further studies statistical analysis cannot prove that the should be performed in order to investi- enhanced germination rate is statistically gate the potential of this to improve major significant at the 95% confidence interval. crops. Using magnets would be a green, New studies will be performed to confirm cost efficient way to enhance plant yield the results of these experiments and to im- without the use of exogenous additives. prove statistical analysis. There are many questions still to be answered. Above all, the presented material is CONCLUSIONS meant to provoke thoughtful consideration. The incidence of ASD began to expo- nentially increase during the time when ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ultrasound came into use in diagnostics medicine. Correlation is not causation, but The authors would like to extend their further investigation is warranted. If diag- gratitude to the faculty of the University of nostic ultrasound is not a contributing fac- North Carolina at Pembroke for their assis- tor to ASD specifically, further study into its tance and guidance, especially for the help side effects is still necessary to ensure that of Dr. William Brandon. Much apprecia- the actual risk is better known. tion is given to Dr. Maria Pereira for her The presented experiments were per- assistance with plant studies and consulta- formed using therapeutic intensity ultra- tion. Thank you to all of the individual sound, estimated (with this particular de- professors, friends and family who have vice) to have an SPTAI roughly 130-175% volunteered time for discussion. the maximum limits of fetal scanning. The We appreciate the collaboration of Dr. waveforms are also different, and without Ben Bahr, Ana Charalambides and Josie further investigations using a modern di- Torrence in the study of neurological tissue. agnostic scanner it cannot be definitively Sincere appreciation is given to the claimed that diagnostic ultrasound indeed National Institute of Health for funding produces this same effect. the pilot stages of this research through the Two glycoside hydrolase class enzymes NIH EARDA mechanism. have been identified that are upregulated Lastly, thank you to everyone who dedi- by sonication. This has been demonstrated cates a part of him or herself to furthering to alter the development of plants, and causes intended to prevent and find cures may be relevant to human organogenesis for mental illness.

14 David Blake

BIBLIOGRAPHY [1] Chapelon JY, Cathignol D, Cain C, Ebbini E, Kluiwstra JU, Sapozhnikov OA, Fleury G, Berriet R, Chupin L & Guey JL. (2000), New piezoelectric transducers for ultrasound. Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology, 26(1): 153-159. DOI: doi:10.1016/ S0301-5629(99)00120-9

[2] Mindlin RD. (1971), High Frequency vibrations of piezoelectric crystal plates. International Journal of Solids and Structures, 8(7):895-906. DOI: 10.1016/0020-7683(72)90004-2

[3] Nelson TR, Fowlkes JB, Abramowicz JS & Church CC. (2009), Ultrasound biosafety considerations for the practicing sonographer and sonologist. American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, 28(2): 139-150. PMID:19168764

[4] Binder A, Hodge G, Greenwood AM, Hazleman BL & Thomas DP. (1985), Is therapeutic ultrasound effective in treating soft tissue lesions? British Medical Journal, 290(6467):512-514. PMCID: PMC1418052

[5] Min BH, Choi BH, Park SR. (2007), Low intensity ultrasound as a supporter of cartilage regeneration and its engineering. Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering, 12(1): 22-31. DOI: 10.1007/BF02931799

[6] Claes L & Wilie B. (2006), The enhancement of bone regeneration by ultrasound. Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, 93(1-3): 384-398. DOI: 10.1016/j. pbiomolbio.2006.07.021

[7] Tyler WJ. (2011), Noninvasive neuromodulation with ultrasound? A con- tinuum mechanics hypothesis. The Neuroscientist, 17(1): 25-36. DOI: 10.1177/1073858409348066

[8] Bolsen B. (1982), Question of risk still hovers over routine prenatal use of ultrasound. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 247(16): 2195-2197. DOI: 10.1001/jama.1982.03320410003001

[9] Baker KG, Robertson VJ & Duck FA, (2001), A review of therapeutic ultrasound: biophysical effects. Physical Therapy, 81(7):1351-1358. PMID: 11444998

[10] Ang ES, Gluncic V, Duque A, Schafer ME & Rakic P. (2006), Prenatal exposure to ultrasound waves impacts neuronal migration in mice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 103(34): 12903- 12910. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0605294103

[11] Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee. 2009 Strategic Plan for Autism Spectrum Disorder Research [Internet]. Available from: http://iacc.hhs.gov/ strategic-plan/2009/

15 Explorations | Biological, Earth, and Physical Sciences

[12] AutismSpeaks.org, Inc. Autism Prevalence on the Rise [Internet]. c2005-2011 [cited 2011 Jun 1]. Available from http://www.autismspeaks.org/docs/Prevalence_ Graph_12_18_2009.pdf

[13] Gernsacher MA, Dawson M & Goldsmith HH. (2005), Three reasons not to believe in an autism epidemic. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(2): 55-58. DOI: 10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00334.x

[14] Prior M. (2003), Is there an increase in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders? Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 39(2): 81-82. DOI: 10.1046/j.1440-1754.2003.00097.x

[15] Wing L & Potter D. (2002), The epidemiology of autistic spectrum disorders: is the prevalence rising? Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 39(2): 81-82. DOI: 10.1046/j.1440-1754.2003.00097.x

[16] Deth R, Muratore C, Benzecry J, Power-Charnitsky VA & Waly M. (2007), How environmental and genetic factors combine to cause autism: a redox/ methylation hypothesis. NeuroToxicology, 29(1): 190-201. DOI: 10.1016/j. neuro.2007.09.010

[17] Leonard H, Dixon G, Whitehouse AJ, Bourke J, Alberti K, Nassar N, Bower C & Glasson EJ. (2010), Unpacking the complex nature of the autism epidemic. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 4(4): 548-554. DOI: 10.1016/j. rasd.2010.01.003

[18] King M & Bearman P. (2009), Diagnostic change and the increased prevalence of autism. International Journal of Epidemiology, 38(5): 1224-1234. DOI: 10.1093/ ije/dyp261

[19] Kim YS, et al. (2011), Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders in a Total Population Sample. American Journal of Psychiatry, DOI: 10.1176/appi. ajp.2011.10101532

[20] Woo J. A short history of the development of ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology [Internet]. c1998-2002. Available from: http://www.ob-ultrasound.net/his- tory1.html

[21] California Department of Developmental Services. (2009), Distribution of Birth Dates of Regional Center Eligible Persons with Autism [internet]. [cited 2011 Jun 3] Available from: http://www.dds.ca.gov/Autism/docs/2background.pdf

[22] Siddique, J. (2009), Trends in Prenatal Ultrasound Use in the United States 1995- 2006. Medical Care, 47(11): 1129-1135. PMID: 19786915

[23] US Food and Drug Administration. Avoid Fetal “Keepsake” Images, Heartbeat Monitors [Internet]. US Food and Drug Administration [modified 2011 Jun

16 David Blake

19. Cited 2011 Jun 5]. Available from: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ ConsumerUpdates/ucm095508.htm

[24] US Food and Drug Administration. Fetal Keepsake Videos [Internet]. US Food and Drug Administration [modified 2011 May 12. Cited 2011 5 Jun]. Available from: http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/AlertsandNotices/PatientAlerts/ ucm064756.htm

[25] Maršál K. (2005), The output display standard: has it missed its target. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 25(3): 211-214. DOI: 10.1002/uog.1864

[26] ter Haar G. (2010), Ultrasound bioeffects and safety. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 224(2):363-373. DOI: 10.1243/09544119JEIM613

[27] Miller MW, Nyborg WL, Dewey WC, Edwards MJ, Abramowicz JS & Brayman AA. (2002), Hyperthermic teratogenicity, thermal dose and diagnostic ultrasound during pregnancy: implications of new standards on tissue heating. International Journal of Hyperthermia, 18(5): 361-384. DOI: 10.1080/02656730210146890

[28] Duffin J & Hayter CRR. (2000), Baring the sole: the rise and fall of the shoe-fitting fluoroscope [Internet]. Isis, 91(2): 260-282 [cited 2011 Jun 7]. Available from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23691

[29] Shu XO, Potter JD, Linet MS, Severson RK, Han D, Kersey JH, Neglia JP, Trigg ME & Robison LL. (2002), Diagnostic X-rays and ultrasound exposure and risk of chilhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia by immunophenotype. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 11:177-185. PMID: 11867505

[30] Wilson LMK & Waterhouse JAH. (1984), Obstetric ultrasound and childhood malignancies. The Lancet, 324(8410): 997-999. DOI: 10.1016/ S0140-6736(84)91104-8

[31] Dalecki D. (2004), Mechanical bioeffects of ultrasound. Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering, 6:229-248. DOI: 10.1146/annurev. bioeng.6.040803.140126

[32] Office of Research Integrity – Human Subjects Research. (2011), History of Research Ethics [internet]. University of Nevada. [cited 2011 Jun 06]. Available from: http://research.unlv.edu/ORI-HSR/history-ethics.htm

[33] Church CC & Miller MW. (2007), Quantification of risk from fetal exposure to diagnostic ultrasound. Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, 93(1-3): 331-353. DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2006.07.015

[34] Miller MW, Church CC, Miller RK & Edwards MJ. (2007), Fetal thermal dose considerations during the obstetrician’s watch: Implications for the pediatrician’s observations. Embryo Today, 81(3): 135-143. DOI: 10.1002/bdrc.20096

17 Explorations | Biological, Earth, and Physical Sciences

[35] Barnett SB. (2001), Intracranial temperature elevation from diagnostic ultrasound. Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology, 27(7): 883-888. DOI: 10.1016/ S0301-5629(01)00367-2

[36] Lapburn HP, Faurie A & Mitchell D. (2002), The fetus and fever. Journal of Thermal Biology, 28(2): 107-116. DOI: 10.1016/S0306-4565(02)00050-5

[37] Haire DB. Ultrasound in obstetrics: a question of safety [Internet]. Alliance for the Improvement of Maternity Services. c2000 [cited 2011 Jun 5]. Available from: http://www.aimsusa.org/ultrasnd.htm

[38] Karagöz I, Biri A, Babacan F & Kavutçu M. (2007), Evaluation of biological effects induced by diagnostic ultrasound in the foetal tissues. Biomedical and Cellular Biochemistry, 294(1-2): 217-224. DOI: 10.1007/s11010-006-9262-z

[39] Holland CK, Deng CX, Apfel RE, Alderman JL, Fernandez LA, Taylor KJW. (1996), Direct evidence of cavitation in vivo from diagnostic ultrasound. Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology, 22(7): 917-925. DOI: 10.1016/0301-5629(96)00083-X

[40] Suslick KS. (1990), Sonochemistry. Science, 247(4949): 1439-1445. DOI: 10.1126/ science.247.4949.1439

[41] Taleyarkhan RP, West CD, Cho JS, Lahey RT, Nigmatulin RI & Block RC. (2002), Evidence for nuclear emissions during acoustic cavitation. Science 295(5561): 1868-1873. DOI: 10.1126/science.1067589

[42] Storey BD & Szeri AJ. (2000), A reduced model of cavitation physics for use in sonochemistry. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 107(5): 2866-2866. DOI: 10.1121/1.429292

[43] Wu J & Nyborg WL. (2008), Ultrasound, cavitation bubbles and their interaction with cells. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 60(10): 1103-1116. DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2008.03.009

[44] Johns LD. (2002), Nonthermal effects of therapeutic ultrasound: the frequency resonance hypothesis. Journal of Athletic Training, 37(3): 293-299. PMCID: PMC164359

[45] Weissler A. (1959), Formation of hydrogen peroxide by ultrasonic waves: free radicals. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 81(5): 1077-1081. DOI: 10.1021/ja01514a015

[46] Edmonds PD & Sancier KM. (1983), Evidence for free radical production by ultrasonic cavitation in biological media. Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology, 9(6): 635- 639. DOI: 10.1016/0301-5629(83)90009-1

18 David Blake

[47] Zhang Y, Yu T & Huo Y. Free radicals involved in ultrasonic therapy. In: Handbook of free radicals: formation, types and effects [Internet]. Kozyrev D & Slutsky V. Nova Science Publishers, Inc. c2010 [cited: 2011 Jun 5] 569-581. Available from: https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=14502

[48] Gong C & Hart DP. (1998), Ultrasound induced cavitation and sonochemical yields. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 104(5): 2675-2682. DOI: 10.1121/1.423851

[49] Bertuglia S, Glusti A & Picano E. (2003), Effects of diagnostic cardiac ultrasound on oxygen free radical production and microvascular perfusion during ischemia reperfusion. Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology, 30(4): 549-557. DOI: 10.1016/j. ultrasmedbio.2003.12.008

[50] Aruoma OI. (1998), Free radicals, oxidative stress, and antioxidants in human health and disease. Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society, 75(2): 199-212. DOI:10.1007/s11746-998-0032-9

[51] McEwen, BS. (2003), Early life influences on life-long patterns of behavior and health. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 9(3): 149-154. DOI:10.1002/mrdd.10074

[52] Liebeskind D, Bases R, Elequin F, Neubort RL, Goldberg R & Koenigsberg M. (1979), Diagnostic ultrasound: effects on the DNA and growth patterns of animal cells. Radiology, 131:177-184. DOI: 10.1148/131.1.177

[53] Liebeskind D, Bases R, Mendez F, Elequin F & Koenigsberg M. (1979), Sister chro- matid exchanges in human lymphocytes after exposure to diagnostic ultrasound. Science, 205(4412): 1273-1275. DOI: 10.1126/science.472742

[54] Garaj-Vrhovac V, Kopjar Nevenka, Besendorfer V & Papeš. (1999), Induction of micronuclei in human lymphocytes after occupational exposure to ultrasound. Chemosphere, 38(15): 3541-3553. DOI: 10.1016/S0045-6535(98)00568-2

[55] Liebeskind D, Padawer J, Wolley R & Bases R. (1982), Diagnostic ultrasound: time- lapse and transmission electron microscopic studies of cells insonated in vitro. The British Journal of Cancer, 5: 176–186. PMCID: PMC2149293

[56] Krpinar MA & Erdinçler D. (2002), The effect of pulsed ultrasound exposure on the oxygen dissociation curve of human erythrocytes in in vitro conditions. Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology, 28(11-12): 1565-1569. DOI: 10.1016/ S0301-5629(02)00611-7

[57] Meschia G. Placental respiratory gas exhange and fetal oxygenation [Internet]. In: Creasy R, Resnik R & Iams JD, editors. Maternal-fetal medicine: principles and practice, 5th ed.; Philadelphia (PA): Saunders c2004 [cited 2011 Jun 9];

19 Explorations | Biological, Earth, and Physical Sciences

pages: 199-207. Available from: http://books.google.com/books?id=ioyvuitdX HcC&lpg=PR1&ots=La2yrtw6z6&dq=Maternal-fetal%20medicine%3A%20 principles%20and%20practice%20&lr&pg=PA199#v=onepage&q&f=false

[58] Bachtold MR, Rinaldi PC, Jones JP, Reines F & Price LR. (1998), Focused ultrasound modifications of neural circuit activity in a mammalian brain. Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology, 24(4): 557-565. DOI: 10.1016/S0301-5629(98)00014-3

[59] David H, Weaver JB & Pearson JF. (1975), Doppler ultrasound and fetal activity. British Medical Journal, 2:62. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.2.5962.62

[60] Fry WJ. (1958), Use of intense ultrasound in neurological research. American Journal of Physics, 37(3): 143-147. PMID:13545380

[61] Byoung-Kyon, et al. (2011), Focused ultrasound-mediated suppression of chemi- cally-induced acute epileptic EEG activity. BMC Neuroscience 2011, 12(23). doi:10.1186/1471-2202-12-23 [open access at: http://www.biomedcentral. com/1471-2202/12/23/abstract]

[62] Ellisman MH, Palmer DE & André MP. (1987), Diagnostic levels of ultrasound may disrupt myelination. Experimental Neurology, 98(1): 28-92. DOI: 10.1016/0014-4886(87)90073-2

[63] Lucchinetti C, Brück W, Parisi J, Scheithauer B, Rodriguez M, Lassmann H. (2000), Heterogeneity of multiple sclerosis lesions: implications for the pathogenesis of demyelination. Annals of Neurology, 47(6): 707-717. PMID: 10852536

[64] Hakak Y, Walker JR, Li C, Wong WI, Davis KL, Buxbaum JD, Haroutunian V & Fienberg AA. (2001), Genome-wild expression analysis reveals dysregulation of myelination-related genes in chronic schizophrenia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 98(8): 4746-4751. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.081071198

[65] Bliss, TVP and Collingridge, GL. (1993), A synaptic model of memory: long term potentiation in the hippocampus. Nature, 361: 31-39. DOI:10.1038/361031a0

[66] Tyler WJ, Tufail Y, Finsterwald M, Tauchmann ML, Olson EJ & Majestic C. (2008), Remote excitation of neuronal circuits using low-intensity, low-frequency ultrasound. PLoS ONE 3(10): e3511. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003511

[67] Hynynen K, Clement G. (2007), Clinical applications of focused ultrasound – the brain. International Journal of Hyperthermia, 23(2): 193-202. DOI: 10.1080/02656730701200094

[68] Kennedy JE, ter Haar GR & Cranston D. (2003), High intensity focused ultrasound: surgery of the future? British Institute of Radiology, 76(909): 590-599. DOI: 10.1259/bjr/17150274

20 David Blake

[69] Yaldagard, M., et al. (2010), The Effects Of Ultrasound On The Activity Of Alpha- Amylase During Barley Germination. Proceedings 10th Asean Food Conference 07, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 21-23. FB 40.

[70] Minorsky, Peter. (2006), Do geomagnetic variations affect plant function? Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, 69(19): 1770-1774. DOI: 10.1016/j. jastp.2006.12.004

[71] Bürglin, Thomas. (1997), Analysis of TALE superclass homeobox genes (MEIS, PBC, KNOX, Iroquois, TGIF) reveals a novel domain conserved between plants and animals. Oxford Journals, 25(21): 4173-4180. doi: 10.1093/nar/25.21.4173

[72] Aladjadjiyn A. (2007), The use of physical methods for plant growing stimulation in Bulgaria [Internet]. Journal of Central European Agriculture, 8(3):369-380. Available from: www.agr.unizg.hr/jcea/issues/jcea8-3/pdf/jcea83-12.pdf

[73] Worthington Biochemical Corporation. Lysozyme Assay [internet]. [modified 2011 Jun 19. Cited 2011 Jun 5]. Available from: http://www.worthington-biochem. com/LY/assay.html

[74] King MD & Bearman PS. (2011), Socioeconomic status and the increased prevalence of autism in California. American Sociological Review, 76(2): 320-346. DOI: 10.1177/0003122411399389

[75] Blackwell, DL. (2009), Socioeconomic Status and Utilization of Health Care Services in Canada and the United States. Medical Care, 47(11): 1136-1146. PMID: 19786920

[76] Beaudet A. (2007), Autism: highly heritable but not inherited [Internet]. Nature Publishing Group, 13(5): 534-536. Available from: http://www.albany.edu/psychology/bcd/share/CNV/reviews_commentary/beaudet_2007.pdf

[77] Ernest, N. (2005), Ultrasound physics for the physician a brief review. Journal of Clinical Ultrasound, 3(1): 69-75. DOI: 10.1002/jcu.1870030115

[78] Doan N, Reher P, Meghji S & Harris M. (1999), In vitro effects of therapeutic ultrasound on cell proliferation, protein synthesis, and cytokine production by human fibroblasts, osteoblasts and monocytes. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 57(4): 409-419. DOI: 10.1016/S0278-2391(99)90281-1

[79] Hynynen K & Jolesz FA. (1998), Demonstration of potential noninvasive ultrasound brain therapy through an intact skull. Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology, 24(2): 275-283. DOI: 10.1016/S0301-5629(97)00269-X

[80] Bahr BA. (1995), long-term hippocampal slices: a model system for investigating synaptic mechanisms and pathologic processes. Journal of Neuroscience Research, 42(3):294-305. DOI: 10.1002/jnr.490420303

21 Lactate Dehydrogenase and Na+/K+ ATPase Activity in Leiostomus xanthurus (Spot) in Response to Hypoxia Betsy E. Brinson with David Huffman, Matthew M. Shaver, Rebecca U. Cooper, and Lisa M. Clough East Carolina University Faculty Mentor: Mary A. Farwell East Carolina University

ABSTRACT The purpose of this experiment was to study the effects of hypoxic environments on two main enzymes in Leiostomus xanthurus (spot). The spot were placed in containers containing low dissolved oxygen contents for varying time periods. Soon after, tissue samples were taken to study lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and sodium-potassium ATPase (i.e, sodium potassium pump) activity. Our results showed quite a bit of inter-individual variation among samples. Regarding LDH activity, enzyme activity appeared to increase initially in muscle tissue, but it did not remain elevated over time. In gill tissue, LDH activity decreased over time, possibly due to a shut-off of metabolic activity after low oxygen exposure. ATPase activity also showed an increase in activity in liver tissue, but like with LDH activity in muscle, this did not maintain over time. Overall, this experiment was successful in studying the effects of hypoxia on enzyme activity in spot, however, more experiments should be conducted in order to decrease the inter-individual variation we found.

INTRODUCTION spot, Leiostomus xanthurus, because like many quatic environments can pose a vari- estuarine organisms, they are moderately A ety of stresses to resident organisms. hypoxia-tolerant (1). A major stress that aquatic organisms of- Anaerobic respiration can be measured ten encounter is hypoxia, or a reduced by an enzyme known as lactate dehydro- dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration. A genase (LDH). LDH catalyzes the conver- hypoxic environment is defined as one con- sion of pyruvate (the product of glycolysis) taining less than 2 mg/L DO (1). Estuarine to lactate with concomitant conversion of fish who live in the regions between rivers NADH to NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine di- and oceans encounter the lowest dissolved nucleotide), which can be measured spec- oxygen concentrations when temperatures trophotometrically. It is therefore hypoth- are high (during the summer) and at night- esized that lactate dehydrogenase activity time. Given that hypoxia is a major stress will increase after prolonged exposure to to estuarine organisms, we are interested in hypoxic conditions. In fact, one study per- how it affects their physiology, specifically formed in vascular smooth muscle cells of metabolic respiration. We chose to look at rats concluded that cells exposed to hypoxia

22 Betsy Brinson for 24 hours had a two-fold increase in LDH into six of the tanks via a gas mixer to a dis- activity (2). Another study performed in solved oxygen concentration of ~2 mg/L liver tissue of the killfish Fundulus heteroclitus or 25% oxygen saturation. These tanks also concluded a two-fold increase in LDH were to serve as experimental tanks. Air activity, this time after two days of hypoxia was introduced into two of the tanks to a (3). In this study we report an initial in- concentration of 8-9 mg/L oxygen (100% crease in LDH activity, but this increase is saturation) to serve as control tanks. Three inconsistent over time. fish were placed in each of the six experi- Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the major mental tanks. Sizes and weights were simi- energy currency of the cell, is hydrolyzed lar between fish used. One fish from each by Na+/K+ ATPase, otherwise known as tank was removed at periods of 24, 48, and the sodium potassium pump. This mem- 72 hours, dissected, and gill, muscle, and brane-bound enzyme uses energy from liver tissue removed for homogenization ATP hydrolysis to pump three Na+ ions out and assay analysis. Three fish were placed of the cell and two K+ ions into the cell. in each of two control tanks and removed These gradients are necessary for sustain- at the same time periods. In addition, six ing membrane potential, cell volume, and fish were removed from the holding tank at secondary transport of solutes. The Na+/ time zero. K+ pump alone accounts for approximately Tissues were suspended in 50 mM Tris- 30% of ATP consumption in the cell (4- HCl buffer with 0.1% Triton, 0.1mM 6). It was therefore hypothesized that the phenylmetylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) activity of this pump is decreased with and 0.5mM EDTA (pH 7.5). The tissues prolonged exposure to hypoxic conditions were placed in homogenization tubes and to preserve ATP concentrations within homogenized on ice with a Virtishear the cell. Using ouabain-sensitive Na+/K+ Cyclone I.Q. homogenizer. After homog- ATPase, the absorbance of p-nitrophenol enization, the samples were centrifuged in produced from the reaction of the ATPase an Eppendorf microcentrifuge at 11,250 with p-nitrophenylphosphate was used as revolutions per minute for thirty minutes indicator of ATPase activity. Previous ex- and then a protein dilution of each super- periments have shown the activity of Na+/ natant was made. Supernatant and protein K+ ATPase to decrease after acute deoxy- dilutions were then frozen at -80°C for fu- genation, particularly in hepatocytes (liver ture use. cells) and alveolar epithelial cells (4), while For LDH analysis, homogenized muscle others show only a decrease in Na+/K+ and gill samples were thawed and centri- ATPase activity in alveolar epithelial cells fuged for five minutes to clear. Ten-fold di- after prolonged exposure with no response lutions of muscle and five-fold dilutions of to acute hypoxia (6). In this experiment, gill were made in 50 mM potassium phos- we report an initial increase in Na+/K+ phate buffer pH 7, 2.5 mM EDTA and kept ATPase activity after 24 hours of exposure, on ice. A small amount of homogenate followed by a decrease at 48 and 72 hours (between 5-20 µL) was combined with 0.4 in liver samples. milliliters of 50 mM imidazole/1.0 mM potassium cyanide (pH 7.5) along with 0.5 PROCEDURE milliliters of 50 mM Imidazole/0.15 mM For each of three experiments, eight NADH. Absorbance was recorded in trip- eleven-liter tanks were filled with water con- licate to serve as the control. Next, 0.1 mil- taining Instant Ocean® to 5.7% salinity. A liliters of 5 mM pyruvate was added to each mixture of nitrogen and air was introduced solution and change in absorbance over a

23 Explorations | Biological, Earth, and Physical Sciences one minute time frame was immediately the p-nitrophenol absorbance of Solution recorded. This rate was then converted to A, giving the Na+/K+ ATPase activity re- LDH activity by multiplying by a factor of ported in nmoles min-1 mg-1 of protein. -0.1660 based on the extinction coefficient The absorption coefficient of p-nitrophe- of NADH (7). Dilutions and sample vol- nol is 13,200 M-1 cm-1. ume were then used to determine LDH activity per milliliter of sample. Protein RESULTS AND DISCUSSION activity of each tissue sample, which was previously calculated, was then used to find LDH Analysis in Muscle and Gill the LDH activity per milligram protein. When oxygen supply is low, many organ- For Na+/K+ ATPase analysis, homog- isms switch from aerobic metabolism to enized liver samples were thawed and cen- anaerobic metabolism in order to main- trifuged for five minutes at 13,000 rpm to tain their function. Because LDH is an settle fat from the samples. Five-fold di- enzyme used under anaerobic conditions, lutions of liver were made in 1.0 M Tris- we expected that the LDH activity in spot HCl buffer pH 7.5, and kept on ice. The would increase after being exposed to hy- assay consisted of two solutions, A and poxic conditions. Data were evaluated us- B. Solution A, which contained 50 mM ing ANOVA statistical analysis and graphs

Tris-HCl pH 7.5, 5 mM MgCl2, 10 mM are shown below. The exposed fish can be p-nitrophenylphosphate (p-NPP), and 25 compared to the time-zero fish. It appears mM KCl was used to determine the total that LDH activity initially increases after ATPase. Solution B, which contained 50 24 hours and then decreases after 48 and mM Tris-HCl pH 7.5, 5 mM MgCl2, 10 72 hours (shown in panels A and C). We mM p-NPP, and 3 mM ouabain was used concluded that spot exposed to hypoxia to measure total ATPase minus Na+/K+ show an initial increase in the activity of ATPase. Twenty microliters of the diluted LDH (and possibly other enzymes) in mus- liver homogenate were pipetted into the cle tissue, but activity level does not remain appropriate wells in a Microlite® plate, fol- elevated after 48 hours. lowed by 120 microliters of solution A or Panels D through F show the average B. The reaction between each homogenate LDH activity occurring in the gill tissue of sample and each solution was carried out spot. The LDH activity in gill tissue is sig- in triplicate. After incubating at 25°C for nificantly lower than the activity in muscle ten minutes, the reactions were stopped by tissue (approximately 1/10 the activity). In the addition of 80 microliters of 1 M so- panels D and E, it appears that LDH activ- dium hydroxide (NaOH). The absorben- ity decreases over time, specifically after 24 cies of the samples were then taken using and 48 hours. One hypothesis is that there a SpectraMAX 250 microplate spectro- is a shut-down of specific metabolic activi- photometer running SOFT MAX Pro 2.1 ties in gill after hypoxia exposure. Alias software. Blank NaOH absorbance Due to a large amount of inter-indi- was subtracted from the total absorbance vidual variation among the spot, we were to give absorbance of p-nitrophenol. The unable to come to a significant conclusion formation of p-nitrophenol from p-NPP regarding LDH activity in muscle and gill during Na+/K+ ATPase activity was the tissue of spot. basis for absorbance. The ouabain in solu- LDH Analysis in Pooled Muscle tion B inhibited the reaction. Therefore, Tissue the p-nitrophenol absorbance of the reac- Muscle tissues samples were pooled for tions with solution B were subtracted from analysis. In the pooled tissue analysis, we

24 Betsy Brinson expected an increase in LDH activity as we experienced hypoxic conditions for either expected in the muscle and gill tissue. We 24, 48, or 72 hours also seem to remain at a hypothesized that the pooling of samples constant LDH activity level. This suggests would decrease the inter-individual varia- that the pooling of samples decreases the tion originally present. Panels G-I show variation originally present in individual the average LDH activity occurring in the samples. pooled muscle samples of spot that have ATPase Analysis in Liver experienced hypoxia for various time inter- Hypoxia-tolerant organisms typically vals. In Experiment 1 and Experiment 3, down regulate their major ATP consuming it is very evident that the amount of LDH pathways when presence of oxygen is low. activity in fish exposed to hypoxia is much Na+/K+ ATPase uses a large amount of greater than that of time zero fish. In addi- ATP, and it was expected that spot would tion, control fish do not change over time. down regulate this pathway after being ex- However, because the individual samples posed to hypoxia. The results that we found were pooled, statistical analysis could not did not match those that were expected. be carried out to determine any significant Panels K through M show the average differences. ATPase activity occurring in the liver tissue Panel J shows the average of pooled of spot. In all three experiments, it appears sample data of Experiments 1 through 3 as if the ATPase activity initially increases in muscle tissue. The LDH activity of the (after 24 hours) from time zero, and then time zero fish and control fish seems to re- drops after 48 or 72 hours. This initial in- main at a constant level of approximately 3 crease, which also occurred with the LDH units/mg protein. The fish exposed to hy- activity in muscle, may be the result of an poxia, however, have an average activity of increase in enzyme activity after being ex- close to 6 units/mg protein after 24 hours posed to hypoxia, but the increase was not of exposure. The LDH activity in fish ex- maintained after 48 or 72 hours. posed to hypoxia are almost double that of Overall, this experiment was successful in fish who experienced no hypoxia. Error comparing both LDH activity and ATPase bars are not shown in this graph because activity in various tissues of spot that were n=3, therefore any trends of significant exposed varying levels of hypoxia. Future difference are not able to be determined. experiments are needed in order to deter- Therefore, it can be suggested that hypoxic mine more significant differences between conditions increase anaerobic respiration tissue samples. in spot, but more data need to be gathered to confirm these results. Lastly, the pooling of samples seems ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS to decrease the effect of inter-individual The authors thank Michael Ritchie for variation. As shown in panel J, the con- technical expertise. This work was sup- trol and time zero fish seem to remain at a ported by a grant from NC Sea Grant. constant LDH activity level. The fish that

25 Explorations | Biological, Earth and Physical Sciences

REFERENCES

1. Ross, SW, DA Dalton, S Kramer, and BL Christenson. 2001. Physiological (an- tioxidant) responses of estuarine fishes to variability in dissolved oxygen. Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol 130(3): 289-303.

2. Marti, H, H. Jung, J. Pfeilschifter, and C. Bauer. 1994. Hypoxia and cobalt stimulate lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in vascular smooth muscle cells. Pflugers Arch 429:216-222.

3. Morton, J. 1995. Short term response of LDS activity to hypoxia in Fundulus herteroclitius. Hopkins Marine Station Student paper

4. Bogdanova, A., B. Grenacher, M. Nikinmaa, and M. Gassmann. 2005. Hypoxic responses of Na+/K+ ATPase in trout hepatocytes. J Exp Biol 208:1793-1801.

5. Comellas, A. P., L. A. Dada, E. Lecuona, L. M. Pesce, N. S. Chandel, N. Que- sada, G. R. Budinger, G. J. Strous, A. Ciechanover, and J. I. Sznajder. 2006. Hypoxia-mediated degradation of Na,K-ATPase via mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and the ubiquitin-conjugating system. Circ Res 98:1314-1322.

6. Dada, L. A., N. S. Chandel, K. M. Ridge, C. Pedemonte, A. M. Bertorello, and J. I. Sznajder. 2003. Hypoxia-induced endocytosis of Na,K-ATPase in alveolar epithelial cells is mediated by mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and PKC- zeta. J Clin Invest 111:1057-1064.

7. Hansen, C. A. and B. D. Sidell. 1983. Atlantic hagfish cardiac muscle: metabolic basis of tolerance to anoxia. Am. J. Physiol. Regul. Interg Comp Physiol 244: R356-362.

26 Betsy Brinson

GRAPHS

Graphs shown below are separated by tissue analysis (muscle, gill, liver) as well as enzyme studied (LDH versus ATPase). Letters above the bars represent statistically significant differences (unlike letters, such as a and A) or no significant differences (similar letters, such as A and A).

Panels A-C: Average LDH activity occurring in muscle tissue in exposed, control, and time-zero fish

Panels D-F Average LDH activity occurring in gill tissue in exposed, control, and time-zero fish (Exp 1)

27 Explorations | Biological, Earth and Physical Sciences

Panels G-I. Average ATPase activity occurring in liver samples of spot that have experienced hypoxia for various time intervals.

Panel J. Average LDH activity occurring in pooled muscle samples (Exp 1-3) of spot that have experienced hypoxia for various time intervals.

28 Betsy Brinson

Panels K-M. Average LDH activity occurring in pooled muscle samples of spot that have experienced hypoxia for various time intervals.

29 Correlation Between Fluoride Ion Levels in Harnett County Drinking Water and Students' Dental Health

Bethany C. Starnes Campbell University Faculty Mentor: Lin Coker Campbell University

ABSTRACT North Carolina ranks forty-fifth in the nation in total number of dentists per capita. With 0.45 dentists per 1000 residents, this value is dramatically lower than the national average of 63.6 dentists. Since dentists typically concentrate in urban areas, residents in rural counties such as Harnett have limited access to quality dental care. As a result, most rural US counties fluoridate their drinking water. However, studies indicate that the benefits of drinking fluoridated water may be outweighed by other sources of fluoride, such as toothpaste and mouth rinses. Elementary and high school students (n=383) in Harnett County were surveyed about their oral hygiene, including: participation in fluoride rinse programs, number of oral cavities, and brushing habits. Fluoride ion standards were prepared using sodium fluoride and Total Ionic Strength Adjustment Buffer (TISAB). Household water fluoride levels were sampled and measured using a fluoride ion selective electrode (ISE), and the resulting fluoride levels were determined using a calibration curve of the standards. Results indicate no correlation between fluoride levels in public drinking water and number of cavities in these students. Also, there was no significant difference in the number of cavities regardless of participation in the school’s fluoride rinse program.

INTRODUCTION 3D structure. Normally, hydroxide ions ince the early twentieth century water can degrade over time when protons (such S has been publically fluoridated; how- as those found in sugars) bind, and water ever, its widespread use was not put in molecules are formed.3 Fluoride, however, place until the 1950s.1 Public fluoridation acts on the enamel by trading places with of water in America is believed to play a hydroxide ions, located on the outer edges vital role in the maintenance of dental of the molecule. Therefore, when fluoride health, which is especially important to ru- builds up on the enamel the formation of ral communities, such as Harnett County, water molecules does not occur as often. that have less access to dental health care.1-2 In other words, fluoride forms a protec- Fluoride acts on the enamel, which is pri- tive barrier on the tooth’s enamel. It is pre- marily composed of a molecule known as dicted that individuals who drink county hydroxyapaptite.1 Figure 1 is an x-ray crys- fluoridated water (as opposed to bottled tallograph of this molecule that shows its water or well water) will have better dental

30 Bethany Starnes

at a potential correlation between a child’s parent cavity history and the child’s incidence of oral cavities. It is predicted that students whose parents have a greater number of cavities are also likely to have a greater number of cavities. Economic trends were also studied. According to the 2010 United States Census, the average annual household income for Harnett County was $35,105.7 Additionally, 17% of children ages 18 and

Figure 1- Crystal Structure of Calcium Hydroxyapatite under in Harnett County live below the poverty line.7 Because of the low access to health, thus yielding fewer cavities.1 dental health in Harnett County mentioned With only 0.45 dentists per 1000 resi- previously, it is predicted that students who dents, Harnett County ranks as a prime live in low income households are also at example of a target rural community for greater risk for cavity formation. This too the use of public water fluoridation.2, 4 The masks the effects of the consumption of effects of fluoridation in the rural county household fluorinated drinking water. of Harnett have never previously been The average fluoride ion concentration studied in detail. This project initially be- (in ppm) was also determined from the gan as a survey that was sent home to the student’s home water samples in order to parents of students grades K, 3rd, and 5th. determine if the average met the recom- The survey was completed by 146 students. mended U.S. Public Health Service level Due to the fact that dental health has many of 0.7-1.2ppm.1,5 According to the 2009 contributing factors, students were asked Harnett County Water Quality Drinking questions regarding their brushing hab- Report, the fluoride level in drinking water its, type of water consumed, frequency of was found to be 0.66ppm;8 however, a rep- dental cleanings, and more.5 In addition to resentative of the Harnett County Regional drinking county water, it was predicted that Water Treatment Plant ascertained that the students who have healthy dental habits, such as regular tooth brushing and dental cleanings, will have fewer cavities than their classmates who do not drink county water or have healthy dental habits. Elementary school students in Harnett County and across the state also have access to a weekly fluoride rinse program. Since this is a program that costs North Carolina about five dollars per year per child, or roughly $376,805, according to an e-mail from Bonnie Johnson who is a public health dental hygienist in North Carolina,6 its effectiveness was included in this study. Furthermore, in order to rule out the Figure 2- Household Fluoride Ion Concentrations for contributing factor of genetic makeup and Harnett County Middle/High School Students and its effect on dental health, the study looked Total Number of Cavities for Each Student

31 Explorations | Biological, Earth and Physical Sciences average level of fluoride in drinking water creating a more direct correlation. is 1.00ppm.9 As a cost effective measure Based off the surveys alone, the con- and in response to the rising levels of fluo- sumption of county drinking water was ride available to children via toothpastes, not shown to have a correlation with den- mouth rinses, and fluoride supplements, tal health despite the fact that the aver- the US Department of Health and Human age fluoride ion concentration level was Services (HHS) has recently announced near the recommended 1.00ppm level that the recommended level of fluoride be recommended by the ADA.1 This was an changed from the current range of “0.7- unexpected result; however, it further con- 1.2ppm” to a single value of 0.7ppm.10 The firmed the earlier results from the first set HHS believes that this lowered fluoridation of surveys. Additionally, students who par- level will be cost saving yet high enough to ticipated in the fluoride rinse program were maintain oral health among the popula- not shown to have an improvement in den- tion.10 Since this topic is of great interest to tal health. Students who were from low in- a rural area such as Harnett, it was impor- come families, as indicated by their partici- tant for the fluoride levels in the drinking pation in the free/reduced lunch program, water to be analyzed in this study. were shown to have a greater number of Several of the trends in the initial survey cavities, as expected. Furthermore, this were not as expected, which was assumed study proved that students whose parents to be due to small sample size. For example, had an increased number of cavities were there was no definite correlation between more likely to have increased cavities. either the school fluoride rinse program or the consumption of county water on dental MATERIALS AND METHODS health. Therefore, the survey was extended Surveys were distributed to an elemen- to middle and high school students, as well tary school in Harnett County to all kin- as modification of the wording of a few dergarten, third, and fifth grade teachers of the questions for clarification purposes to be distributed to the parents of the stu- (Figure 3). Additionally, the surveys were dents. The middle and high school surveys coupled to individual water samples from were sent to one of each school type in the the student’s home water supply, which county to the science teachers to be com- were tested for their fluoride content. In pleted by their students. (All surveys avail- this manner, the exact concentration of able from the author or faculty mentor.) fluoride in the student’s water could be In addition to the survey, the middle compared to the student’s dental health, and high school students were given a sample collection bottle (disposable plastic scintillation vial) with a bottle number that matched the student’s survey number. Teachers were asked to instruct the students to collect water from drinking water in the home, ideally the kitchen, and to rinse the water through the vile prior to filling the vile thoroughly. Rinsing a collection vial prior to its use is most important when using glassware; however, it is also advised for sampling plastics as well.11 Also, uniformly Figure 3- Oral Hygiene Habits of School Aged Students instructing students to collect samples from (K-12) by Percentage the drinking water faucet of the home

32 Bethany Starnes helped ensure validity of this research. For and ensures standard “drift” does not skew example, if students collected samples from the results.14 Furthermore, the manufac- a faucet in their home not used for drink- turer indicates that a slope of -54 to -60mV ing, such as the bathroom sink, the results indicates “correct electrode operation.”14 In would not be as applicable as that of the order to ensure proper function of the elec- kitchen sink, and this could introduce some trode, the slope was checked daily when the sample bias. calibration was performed to ensure that it Several acceptable methods are plausible fell within the accepted range. for measuring fluoride in water samples;12 The data from the samples collected however, the following method using an from the students, as well as the survey accumet® fluoride combination ion selec- results were tabulated in an Excel spread- tive electrode (ISE) was employed due to sheet, and Systat software was used to ana- its cost effectiveness and the fact that the lyze results. To determine if two numeri- department had access to fluoride ISEs, as cal variables were correlated, a Pearson opposed to other equipment, such as an ion Correlation test was used. A linear regres- chromatograph. Furthermore, the limit of sion line was applied to each correlation to detection of a fluoride ISE is on a range test for significance. To test for significant of 10-6M to 1M.13 The lower limit of de- differences across categories, a Studentized tection was an acceptable concentration, T-test was used (for two categories), or an due to the fact that the fluoride samples ANOVA was used (for more than two cat- were expected to have a concentration of egories). An alpha=0.05 (95% confidence about 1.0 ppm based on previous studies interval) was used to determine significant of Campbell University’s water conducted differences between categories. earlier over the course of the project. Seven sodium fluoride standards of DISCUSSION OF RESULTS known fluoride ion concentration, rang- Excluding well water samples, the av- ing in even increments from 1.5x10-5M erage fluoride concentration in Harnett to 1x10-6 M were prepared in Total Ionic County was found to be 0.999ppm with Strength Adjustment Buffer (TISAB), and a standard deviation of 0.52ppm (N=91); the mV reading of the standards was mea- this value is within range of the suggested sured using a fluoride ISE. A calibration daily intake of 1.00ppm set by the ADA. curve of the standards was created by plot- Our study aimed to analyze if the fluoride ting the log of the fluoride ion concentra- levels in the drinking water were significant tion versus the mV reading. Water samples enough to reduce cavities among the stu- were prepared by diluting the sample in a dents surveyed. Figure 2 shows a Pearson 10mL volumetric flask up to a 20% (w/v) Correlation for number of dental cavi- solution in TISAB. The mV reading of the ties and household fluoride ion levels. As samples was measured using a fluoride ISE. shown in the graph, most of the fluoride A calibration curve of the standards was ion levels center around the 0.7-1.2ppm plotted, and, the NaF concentration of the range; however, there are a few outliers samples was interpolated from the graph. that may be due to student sample collec- Samples were re-calibrated on a daily tion error. The R2 value of the regression basis prior to measuring test samples, or was found to be 3.3, which means that every two hours if samples were tested over only 3.3% of the variation in cavities can greater than a two hour range in a single be explained by the household water levels. day. This calibration procedure follows that Furthermore, the P-value (slope of the line) of the manufacturer of the fluoride ISE, is not less than 0.5; therefore, fluoride levels

33 Explorations | Biological, Earth and Physical Sciences in the student’s homes are not correlated to number of cavities. A total of 381 surveys were completed by school age students in grades K-12, 146 of which were completed by students in grades K-5. As observed in Figure 3, there is a direct linear correlation between students who brush their teeth regularly, visit the dentist regularly, and use a fluoride rinse weekly (aside from the fluoride rinse program at school). These results are as Figure 4- Number of Dental Cavities of Middle/High School Students Who Did and Did Not Participate in predicted; however, this graph only serves the Fluoride Rinse Program While in Elementary School the purpose of showing some trends in student’s habits and cavity numbers. ANOVA tests were performed to determine if these trends were statistically significant. Figure 3 does not clearly indicate a trend between participation in the fluoride rinse program at school and a lowered incidence of cavities; therefore, an ANOVA was performed, and the use of the fluoride rinse program was not shown to have a significant difference in reducing cavities. Figure Figure 5- Number of Dental Cavities for Harnett County 4 compares the responses of middle and Middle/High School Students and Their Household high school students to their participation Income Level in the fluoride rinse program and their proclaimed number of dental cavities. Although it can be determined from Figure 4 that the fluoride rinse program did lower cavities among those surveyed, the ANOVA test yielded a P-value of greater than 0.05; therefore, the two groups, cavities and participation in the fluoride rinse program, are not different from one another. The correlation between student’s household income level and dental health was Figure 6- Number of Dental Cavities for Harnett County also observed in this study. It is expected School-Aged Students and Parents that students from lower income households will have a greater incidence of income students. The ANOVA test yielded cavities due to a lack of exposure to qual- a P-value of 0.026, which means that the ity dental care. Household income level two groups, cavities and income level, are was analyzed by student’s participation in not different from one another. the free/reduced lunch program, which is This trend is similar to that of parent’s set-up for students who are categorized as history of cavities and students incidence being from low income homes. As appar- of cavities. Students whose parents had ent in Figure 5, low income students have greater than 15 cavities were found to have a higher cavity incidence than non low significantly more cavities than that of

34 Bethany Starnes their fellow classmates. Figure 6 shows the being administered to the students. It is fact ANOVA for this category, in which the y- that this program costs the school system axis indicates the student’s number of cavi- a significant amount of money each year, ties. The error bars for the two groups do and if it is being used improperly, coupled not overlap (the P-value is less than 0.05); with the fact that it has been shown to be therefore, there are significant differences ineffective, than the money spent is to no in cavities across the parent cavity category. avail. Furthermore, the study suggested that students whose parents have a greater CONCLUSIONS incidence of cavities are likely to also have This multi-layer study was successful in more cavities than that of their peers. With analyzing many factors contributing to this knowledge, it would be suggested to the dental health of school aged students put in place a program to monitor these in Harnett County, yet there is still much students dental health in order to reduce work to be done. Although the fluoride ion their risk of cavity development. levels in Harnett County have been shown Fluoride consumption in drinking wa- to meet the recommended guidelines for ter and the incidence of cavities in school good dental health, the consumption of aged children has many contributing fac- the drinking water is not shown to have an tors. However, with the knowledge gained impact on cavity levels. Many factors that from this study, its results could be used could mask the true effects of drinking to help modify practices in rural counties county water, such as diet, amount of water similar to Harnett, and also help educators consumed daily, and the onset of cavities, and county leaders make important deci- were not analyzed in this study. Therefore, sions about water treatment with fluoride, we still do not have a good grasp on the as well as school dental programs. Through true effects of drinking water on Harnett this study, fluoridation of drinking water County school student’s dental health. has been shown to play a role in reducing This needs to be taken into consideration the incidence of cavities, but this in itself when conducting future work on this proj- will not make a change; parents, educators, ect because the HHS’s suggestion to lower and students need to be informed about the the recommended fluoride ion concentra- effects their diet and dental health habits tion necessary for good dental health from play on their dental health so that student’s 1.00ppm (Harnett County) to 0.7 ppm dental health can improve county-wide. would mean a possibility for a significant Future research would include some reduction in daily fluoride consumption for revisions to the procedure, as well as a these students. This is of special interest to change in the surveying process and ques- the rural county of Harnett. This study has tions asked, in order to gain more accu- suggested that the low income students in rate and pertinent results. For additional Harnett County do indeed have a higher samples collected, samples will be stored incidence of cavities than that of their in a controlled refrigeration environment. peers. Thus, the reduction of fluoride ion The laboratory used during this project is concentration in the drinking water could now equipped with a refrigerator, but was mean these students would potentially de- not at the time of the experimentation. velop even poorer dental health. Furthermore, additional studies would The study has also suggested that the look at factors not studied in this project, fluoride rinse program in Harnett County such as that of race, dietary habits, and is ineffective. A careful look needs to be outstanding dental issues. Race and “his- taken at how the fluoride rinse program is tory of dental problems” were asked of the

35 Explorations | Biological, Earth and Physical Sciences participants in this survey; however, there consideration, or by having a dental exam was such little feedback to these questions conducted on each student to be surveyed, that their results were not useful to include which would increase the cost of the proj- in this paper. For example, many students ect itself. wrote down several races in the blank “indicate your race,” did not answer the ques- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS tion at all, or wrote and erroneous race, We would like to thank the Campbell such as “brown.” Also, many students did University Department of Chemistry and not answer the very last question regarding Physics as well as the Campbell University history of dental problems. These factors, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences as well as that of dietary habit would be for lab space and resources. We would also good to study in the future in order to ob- like to thank Dr. F. Serio, Associate Dean tain a better grasp on the issues surround- of Clinical Affairs of the East Carolina ing cavity numbers in school aged children. University Dental School, for his assistance. Another issue that would need to be We would like to thank student interns addressed is that of self-reported cavity Jacob Bartlett (Harnett Central High numbers. With a limited budget for this School) and DeVante Monds (Triton High project, the simplest and cheapest way to School). Other acknowledgements include obtain an indication of a student’s dental Harnett County Schools, The Burroughs health, as related to cavity numbers, was Wellcome Fund, Dr. J. Bartlett (C.U. to simply have the students self-report the Biology), Dean Mark Hammond and the number of cavities the student had in his/ Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences her lifetime. This of course could have led at Campbell University, Mrs. Brandy Coker to an issue of under-reporting values, but (Boone Trail Elementary School), and Mrs. also, it is possible that some students could Emily Bloom (C.U. Pharmacy). have never visited a dentist and would not have a way of knowing how many cavities All surveys available upon request from the he/she had. This issue could be addressed student author or faculty mentor. by gaining access to a student’s dental record, which would take a great deal of time [email protected] and may bring some legal question into [email protected]

36 Bethany Starnes

BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Fluoridation Facts. American Dental Association [Online] 2005. http://www.ada.org/ sections/newsAndEvents/pdfs/fluoridation_facts.pdf (accessed Jan 19, 2010).

2. National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, Highlights from the Health Workforce Profile. HRSA Bureau of Health Professions [Online]. http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthwork- force/reports/statesummaries/northcarolina.htm (accessed online April 9, 2011).

3. Serio, Francis G. East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine, Greenville, NC. Personal Communication, 2010.

4. The North Carolina Health Workforce: Highlights from the Health Workforce Profile. HRSA Bureau of Health Professionals [Online] 2011.ftp://ftp.hrsa.gov/migrated/bhpr/ workforceprofiles/Northcarolina.pdf (accessed online June 17, 2011).

5. Oral Health in America; Office of the Surgeon General [Online] 2000. http://silk.nih. gov/public/[email protected] (accessed online June 3, 2010).

6. Johnson, Bonnie. Dental Hygienist NC Oral Health Section, Lillington, NC. Personal Communication, 2011.

7. Harnett County, North Carolina. US Census Bureau [Online] 2010. http://quick- facts.census.gov/qfd/states/37/37085.html (accessed April 18, 2011).

8. Water Quality Report 2009: Harnett County Regional WTP; Harnett County [On- line] 2010.http://www. harnett.org/utilities/downloads/waterreport2009.pdf (accessed online June 6, 2010).

9. Talent, Tracy. Harnett County Public Utilities, Lillington, NC. Person Communica- tion, 2010.

10. Federal Agencies Announce Scientific Assessments and an Update to the Recom- mended Community Water Fluoridation Level; American Dental Association [Online] 2011.http://www.ada.org/5290.aspx (accessed June 17, 2011).

11. Harris, Daniel. Sample Preparation. Quantitative Chemical Analysis; W.H. Freeman and Company: New York, 2007; pp 644-645.

12. Toxicological Profile for Fluorides, Hydrogen Fluoride, and Fluorine; Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry [Online] 2003. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/Tox- Profiles/tp11.pdf (accessed online Aug 6, 2011).

13. Harris, Daniel. Electrodes and Potentiometry. Quantitative Chemical Analysis; W.H. Freeman and Company: New York, 2007, pp 299-305.

14. Accumet® Fluoride Combination Ion Selective Electrode: Instructions. Fischer Scien- tific: Pittsburgh, PA, 2008.

Humanities and Fine Arts

First Hand Accounts of December 7, 1941 in Pearl Harbor

William Brown East Carolina University Faculty Mentor: Wade Dudley East Carolina University

ABSTRACT This project involves researching and writing a narrative combining the first-hand accounts of sailors in the United States Navy at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941. The goal of the project is to gather the personal accounts provided in oral histories and to synthesize those into a narrative describing the emotions of that morning. This has been accomplished by examining the oral histories provided by five men who graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1941 and survived the Japanese attack. A sixth account is provided by Lt. Alexander B. Coxe, Jr., who was the executive officer aboard the U.S.S Breese. Each individual perspective provides a different angle to the horror that surrounded Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The research highlights the raw emotions as the Japanese planes flew above and the destruction and death surrounding these men.

n the morning of December 7, by documenting their memory of the at- O 1941, the naval and aerial forces of tack. Each of these men graduated from the Japanese Empire secretly attacked the the United States Naval Academy in 1941 United States Navy at the naval base of with the newly bestowed rank of Ensign, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. For over two hours, except for Lt. Coxe. These men would two waves consisting of over three hundred begin their naval careers with the defin- Japanese aircraft destroyed the Pacific Fleet ing moment of Pearl Harbor. This group of the United States Navy. Every ship along held a special bond as recent graduates of Battleship Row either took significant dam- the academy and a new bond as survivors age or sank during those early morning of December 7, 1941. Archie Kelly noted hours. Thousands of sailors in the United that a battleship is a “world in itself. You States Navy witnessed in horror as the can be in the bow…and I can be in the Japanese bombed and destroyed their ships. stern and write down an entirely different These men, including Charles Merdinger history of what is going on.”1 By piecing and John Landreth of the U.S.S. Nevada, together these first-hand accounts, it is pos- Archie Kelly of the U.S.S. West Virginia, sible to gain a better understanding of the Richard Wright of the U.S.S. Tennessee, surprise attack and discover the emotions, Joseph Spitler of the U.S.S. Oklahoma, and Alexander Coxe, Jr. of the U.S.S Breese, witnessed the events of December 7, 1941 and 1 From the Archie Parmalee Kelley Oral History, Collection No O.H. 197. East Carolina Manuscript provide a glimpse into that tragic morning Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C. 14.

41 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts feelings, and events that American sailors China for its expansive reserves of natural experienced at Pearl Harbor. resources. Japan officially acknowledged The prelude to the events at Pearl Harbor in November 1938 that it would “not give that began in 1937 as a standoff between assurances to the preservation of the open the United States and the Japanese Empire door.” 4 This allowed for the Japanese to be took place over national interests in China. “self-sufficient” and immediately decreased The Japanese advanced into northern American trade in both China and Japan.5 China and Manchuria, breaching the long The American government refused to al- standing open door policy in China held low Japan to become increasingly power- supported by the government of the United ful with the capture and exploitation of States. If the government maintained the Chinese resources. While this hardening open door policy by providing the Chinese of Far East policy was clearly taken with with significant financial help, it would lead the risk of future war, the concern for to further escalation with Japan. The other American interests in China resulted in the possibility involved the government of the government of the United States requir- United States allowing Japanese aggres- ing the open door policy to remain open, sion, maintaining its neutral status, but also therefore aggravating an already frustrated risking all property and rights invested in Japanese Empire. China. For over one hundred years, the United The government of the United States re- States adhered to the Monroe Doctrine, mained undecided between these two op- which interprets any attempt at coloniza- tions as late as the end of 1937. Members tion in the Western Hemisphere as an at- of the government were unwilling to chal- tack on the interest of the United States, lenge an ever-growing Japan, but refused to requiring intervention. In the beginning forfeit all interests in China. In October of the twentieth century, the Japanese of 1937, President Roosevelt announced a Empire wanted to adopt this same form recommendation that“peace-loving states of continent monopolization on the Asian isolate aggressor states” in an attempt to continent. Due to personal interests in limit possible Japanese advances.2 The China, the United States refused to allow decision to avoid immediate relief to the the Japanese to have free reign over the Chinese would have possibly appeased the Pacific, in fear that the Japanese would be- Japanese long enough to avoid armed con- come too powerful. While the government flict. Instead, President Roosevelt refused of the United States gave themselves free to invoke the Neutrality Act and Secretary reign in the Western Hemisphere, eventu- of State Cordell Hull announced that “the ally extending their reach to the Pacific, existence of serious hostilities anywhere they refused to give this same power to in the world affected the interests…of the the Japanese Empire. The United States United States.” 3 wanted to “claim an ‘open door’ in China, This policy towards the Japanese aggres- while maintaining a ‘closed door’ in the sion was necessary for the United States as Western Hemisphere.”6 Stanley Hornbeck, the Japanese planned to exploit northern the head of the State Department’s Far

4 Ibid., 92. 2 Frederick C. Adams, “The Road to Pearl Harbor: A Reexamination of American Far Eastern Policy. July 5 Ibid., 77. 1937-December 1938,” The Journal of American History 58, no. 1(1971): 76. 6 John Murnane, “Japan’s Monroe Doctrine?: Re- Framing the Story of Pearl Harbor,” The History Teacher 3 Ibid., 75. 40, no. 4 (2007): 508.

42 William Brown

East Division, refused to acknowledge any graduated from the United States Naval form of a Japanese Monroe Doctrine by Academy in 1941 and immediately took “dismissing any parallels between United residence aboard the U.S.S Nevada as an States policy in the Americas and Japanese Ensign . His post on the ship was in the 7 policy in Asia…” The Japanese recog- fire control division that “basically did the nized this immediate double standard calculations for firing the main battery.”9 resulting in a defensive posture from the This kept Merdinger in the bottom of the Japanese Empire with increased aggression ship while the Japanese sprung their attack. and hostility against the United States. Merdinger was still in his bunk as the bom- The Japanese began to develop a strike bardment began, so he went to his station force in late 1941 to annihilate the Pacific in his bedroom slippers.10 He struggled in Fleet of the United States Navy. While the bottom of the ship until three in the the United States tracked Japanese naval afternoon relaying messages, keeping com- movements and anticipated a Japanese munication lines open on the ship. attack, it was impossible to know the date As the Japanese fighters gunned or time of the attack. The United States down American sailors on the top deck, Navy used radio intelligence to track the Merdinger sent half of his men to man activities of the Japanese military in 1941. the anti-aircraft guns.11 These sailors faced Radio intelligence officers focused their -ef a horrific dilemma because “the people forts with the use of cryptanalysis, naval who were going up thought they were go- traffic analysis and intelligence reporting ing to get shot, and the ones who stayed to gain knowledge of Japanese tactical thought they were going to get drowned.”12 plans. While many of these decoded mes- Merdinger’s men were incredibly disci- sages revealed that “a strike force had been plined and immediately answered his call 8 formed,” no exact data ever surfaced. The to replace their fallen comrades. The re- United States Navy continued to track the maining men continued to work the lines strike force’s movements, but the date of at- of communication despite loss of power, tack was unpredictable. Many Americans flooding, and loss of oxygen in the lower assumed that war with Japan was inevita- deck. ble, but had no way to guess the date and At three in the afternoon, long after the time of a Japanese attack. Without know- Japanese planes left the island, Merdinger ing the precise moment of the attack, these and his men realized they had to evacuate. intelligence reports were useless to naval The metal plates surrounding the men be- commanders. The Japanese struck swiftly gan to buckle to water pressure and the rein the early hours of December 7, 1941, maining oxygen supply quickly became ex- preventing the American sailors from be- hausted. Merdinger relayed the dramatic ing fully prepared for the bombardment. situation to the executive officer, informing This attack would forever change the lives him that his crew could “hold it about five of American sailors as they were suddenly more minutes” and requested permission shaken from sleep and thrown into the hell- ish morning of December 7, 1941. 9 From the Charles J. Merdinger Oral History, For Charles Merdinger, the events of Collection No O.H. 121. East Carolina Manuscript Pearl Harbor served as a brutal entry Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, into the United States Navy. Merdinger Greenville, N.C. 47. 10 Ibid., 53.

7 Ibid., 512. 11 Ibid., 49.

8 Wilford, 38. 12 Ibid., 50.

43 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts to come to the surface.13 The men aban- on his way to breakfast as the alarm on doned their stations with discipline as they the ship sounded. He thought this to be would in a normal drill. As they climbed a “low blow, having a fire drill (on) Sunday to the surface, the magnitude of the day’s morning.”16 The Nevada conducted numer- events quickly dawned upon them. ous drills in the weeks before December 7 Merdinger faced the conflict of smell- and he assumed this to be yet another drill. ing “the most wonderful air” and looking As Landreth “half-heartedly loped up” the across to see the harbor aflame due to the hatch to the main deck, machine gun fire massive leakage of oil.14 He witnessed hun- assaulted the deck.17 When he heard the dreds of dead bodies covered in oil litter- firefight taking place above him, he quickly ing the waters of Pearl Harbor. As he wit- rushed to his post at the anti-aircraft guns. nessed the horror, he accepted the fact that As he commanded his station, he caught he survived while thousands of others did his first glimpse of the horror that sur- not. An ironic thought struck Merdinger rounded him. Landreth stood witness from as he stood in awe of the “perfection” in his post as the U.S.S. Oklahoma capsized and which the Japanese executed their brutal the U.S.S Arizona exploded directly in front attack.15 He also witnessed the anxiety of of him. the naval forces on the island as American Japanese dive bombers began to attack planes attempted to return to the island, the Nevada as Landreth took his station at the but were shot down in the assumption that anti-aircraft guns. Commander Robertson, these were Japanese fighters returning for leader of the Nevada, ordered that all am- another attack. munition boxes remain completely filled One of Merdinger’s comrades on the and guns remain in the ready position as U.S.S. Nevada was John Landreth. Landreth, he sensed the imminent attack. This order, also a member of the United States Naval although against Navy regulations, allowed Academy class of 1941, specifically asked Landreth and the other gunners to return for a commission on the Nevada due to its fire faster than any other ship on the island. fame as a great ship for wrestling. Landreth While the dive bombers began to swarm was a wrestler at the Naval Academy, so the ship, they dropped their bombs with this ship was a perfect fit for him. In the little accuracy. Landreth survived these summer and autumn preceding the attack close encounters as two bombs missed the at Pearl Harbor, Landreth and the other Nevada with a third hitting the ship, landing members of the crew held wrestling tour- “eleven inches away” from him inside the naments on board as a means of friendly protective deck of the ship.18 While one of competition and a way to stay fit. Wrestling his friends on board congratulated him for became part of Landreth’s official duties being “cool under fire” by turning to ad- on the ship as he was the wrestling coach just a setting in the ship’s director, Landreth for the other sailors. insisted that he only turned to “keep from Ensign Landreth was the eighth junior watching that thing hit me.”19 officer in the Sixth Division of the anti-aircraft unit aboard the Nevada on the morn- 16 From the John L. Landreth Oral History, Collection ing of December 7, 1941. Like many of No O.H. 119. East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. the sailors that morning, Landreth was Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C. 23.

13 Ibid., 52. 17 Ibid., 24.

14 Ibid., 53. 18 Ibid., 26.

15 Ibid. 19 Ibid., 27.

44 William Brown

As the Nevada attempted to escape the har- the rest of his shipmates viewed the call bor, Landreth was clueless as to any move- with skepticism. Immediately, a second ments the ship made. Landreth was on the call came, saying “General Quarters. Man port side of the ship while any landmarks to your battle stations. No [expletive]!”23 This identify movement were on the starboard use of language was necessary as the call side. He also did not give any meaning or to man battle stations occurred throughout importance to the movement as “all (he) the summer to initiate drill sessions and this was doing was looking up at planes” as he was no drill. attempted to shoot any Japanese fighter out Kelley rose quickly and hurried to his of the sky.20 In Landreth’s opinion, if the battle station. His job was to make sure Nevada remained in the harbor, and stayed that all watertight doors were closed to pre- under the cover provided by the smoke vent further flooding in the ship. TheWest from the Arizona, Japanese dive bombers Virginia, like the other battleships, received would not have seen the Nevada.21 Instead, seven torpedoes and three bombs.24 The the ship took numerous machine gun hits ship did not sink because of the quick re- and absorbed many casualties, before run- action to close the watertight doors below ning aground at Hospital Point, as a result deck. Kelley made this quick decision be- of the attempted escape. cause, as soon as he reached his post, he Archie Parmalee Kelley had a family his- discovered the compartment on the oppo- tory of service to the United States Navy. site side of his post flooding rapidly. His uncle, Bruce Kelley, graduated from the As Kelley closed the watertight seal, he Naval Academy in 1925 while Archie grad- immediately noticed four men entering uated in 1941. They were both stationed the compartment. These men attempted in Pearl Harbor with Bruce serving aboard to undo Kelley’s work by opening the wa- the U.S.S. Arizona and Archie aboard the tertight door, but could not because of U.S.S. West Virginia. Bruce Kelley switched the many sailors locking it in place on the duties the night of December 6, so he could opposite side. Kelley faced a horrific mo- be with his wife since she was also on the ment away from the machine gun fire and island. This type of switch was quite com- bombs on the upper deck. He looked at mon while ships were in the harbor. The his commanding officer with “the unspo- sailor who switched with Bruce Kelley died ken question of ‘Shall I open the door?’”25 on December 7, leaving Bruce with incred- Commander Harper looked at Kelley with ible guilt for the rest of his life. a face that implied he wanted the door to At 7:45 on the morning of December 7, remain shut. Kelley then heard the tortur- calls of “Away, fire and rescue party” rang ous sounds of the men screaming as they from the top deck as bombs burst on Ford frantically fought for their lives. Island, presenting the sailors with their first Although the decision to shut the door encounter with the beginnings of war.22 was a bloodcurdling choice, Kelley made The “away, fire and rescue party” call in- the correct decision. This watertight door formed the sailors that there was fire on was the only available door to the central a nearby ship. Ensign Kelley was an as- station of the lower deck, so it was neces- sistant damage control officer on the low- sary to keep that area from flooding for est deck of the West Virginia. Kelley and as long as possible. Kelley also had forty

20 Ibid., 30. 23 Ibid.

21 Ibid., 27. 24 Ibid., 10.

22 Kelley, 9. 25 Ibid., 12.

45 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts men under his command in the central obstacles.”28 Kelley held the responsibil- station. If he had attempted to save the ity of continuing the logbook of the West four trapped men, the rapidly moving wa- Virginia. For normal log records while at ters would have killed all of the men in the sea, the writer would start with “steaming lower deck. These men were then able to as before…” but in the case of the West escape, one at a time, through an escape Virginia, Kelley had no other choice but to tube to the top deck. They remained in the write “sunk as before.”29 lower deck for an hour until the flooding Joseph Spitler reported to the U.S.S water and oil reached their shoulders, forc- Oklahoma with the rank of Ensign after ing them to search for an escape. Drawing his graduation from the United States from the discipline instilled in him by the Naval Academy in 1941. Before going to Naval Academy, Kelley made the difficult, Pearl Harbor, the ship took station in San but correct decision for the greater good of Francisco, California for a holiday trip. The the men under his command. ship then proceeded to Pearl Harbor, arriv- After the men in his command reached ing just before December 7. Spitler went the surface, Kelley and his crew immedi- ashore on December 6 and passed by the ately began fighting fires on board the ship. impressive sight of every battleship in the The U.S.S Tennessee docked directly beside Pacific Fleet docked in the harbor. Spitler the West Virginia in the harbor. This loca- received an eerie order on December 6 to tion prevented any damage to theTennessee , attack “any unidentified submarine,” sug- keeping its water supply clean. Kelley and gesting that“somebody knew something.”30 his men attached hoses to the ship from As the Japanese bombardment began, the Tennessee to provide clean water for Spitler walked to his living quarters after all firefighting efforts. They continued to being relieved from working his early morn- battle the flames onboard theWest Virginia ing duty. Before Spitler could get settled, until Commander Harper issued a call to the call to man battle stations rang over “Abandon Ship” at 1:30 in the afternoon.26 the ship. As in the case of Archie Kelley, a For Kelley, life in Pearl Harbor was never few expletives from the division officer -ex the same after the events of December 7, plained the severity of the situation to the 1941. The island soon went under mar- sailors. Spitler hurried to his post in the tial law with all cargo ships being used for fourth division in the number four turret. military purposes. The government de- As he raced past the junior officer’s quar- livered gas masks and required people to ters, he noticed that many of them were have one with them at all times. As for still asleep, ignoring the call to battle. A few the younger members of the island popu- moments after he ran past these quarters, a lation, they “soon removed the mask and torpedo ripped through the room produc- used the carrying bag for swimming trunks ing many casualties. This was a mistake in and towels.”27 As citizens with Japanese the Japanese attack plan resulting from a heritage on the island disappeared in fear failure in reconnaissance. The Japanese of internment, fear of a possible Japanese used a scout plane to investigate whether invasion swept the island in the days following the attack. The beaches of Hawaii re- sembled the famed beaches of Normandy 28 Ibid. with “barbed wire fences and landing craft 29 Ibid.

30 From the Joesph C. Spitler Oral History, Collection 26 Ibid., 17. No O.H. 125. East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, 27 Ibid., 19. N.C. 9.

46 William Brown the American carriers were docked at Ford torch due to concern for setting the oil in Island. The signal used to tell the attack tanks and surrounding the ship on fire. squadron became compromised as one of They began to carefully cut a hole into the flares used as a signal “went into the the metal to prevent the hole from flood- clouds.”31 The Japanese, under the as- ing and drowning the sailors. The sailors sumption the carriers were at Pearl Harbor, then took a large sledgehammer to knock attacked Ford Island, providing a small the plate out and create an opening to res- warning to the men on Battleship Row. cue the trapped men. As the plate broke, In his sprint to his post, Spitler noticed five men immediately “popped out of the the Oklahoma beginning to turn over. The shaft.”34 The men had been trapped in the Japanese torpedoes were pummeling the hull of the Oklahoma from Sunday morning forward section of the ship because this to Wednesday afternoon. Spitler and the was the only section of the ship open to the crew rescued thirty men from the horror of harbor channel. As he ran, Spitler could being trapped inside the capsized ship. feel the ship “jump up a bit” with each suc- Richard Wright graduated from the cessive torpedo strike. As Spitler finally United States Naval Academy with less reached his post in the turret, the water than stellar marks. He struggled academi- level had already reached the middle of the cally while at the Academy and was a “very deck and the commanding officer gave the ordinary midshipman,” graduating with a order to abandon ship. 2.7 grade point average.35 Wright gradu- As he escaped from the capsizing ated in February 1941 and went to serve on Oklahoma, Spitler faced numerous close en- the U.S.S. Tennessee with the rank of Ensign. counters with death. As he jumped in the Despite his academic struggles, he was oily water, he turned to look over his shoul- more than adept as a sailor because “class der and saw the gigantic ship directly over standing did not have much to do with his head. Spitler cleared the ship’s edge what you did afterwards.”36 by a mere ten feet.32 Once he passed this On the morning of December 7, Wright threat, he noticed Japanese bombers flying awoke from sleep as the alarm rang at overhead preparing to drop bombs on them 7:55. Wright was furious that the alarm as he swam away. Luckily for Spitler, the would sound so early because the Navy Japanese did not drop any bombs then, as was not allowed to hold drill sessions on they “lost their point of aim.”33 As Spitler Sunday mornings. As he arose from bed, finally reached land, the Japanese began to he heard the first explosion, informing him fire machine guns at survivors, but he es- that this was a real attack. Wright sprinted caped injury. to his battle station, but passed by the anti- Once the Japanese attack ceased, Spitler aircraft battery and noticed there was no and others returned to the Oklahoma; but officer on duty. He then took this post, due to the ship capsizing, they walked onto as it was vital to the defense of the ship the hull of the ship. As Spitler and the and the harbor. As the Japanese planes other sailors walked, they heard tapping swarmed the harbor, Wright realized that from inside the hull. Sailors, trapped inside the hull, and cried to be rescued. The sailors could not use the typical cutting 34 Ibid. 35 From the Richard M. Wright Oral History, 31 Ibid., 14. Collection No O.H. 202. East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, 32 Ibid., 11. Greenville, N.C. 6.

33 Ibid., 12. 36 Ibid.

47 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts there “was no time to analyze” and that he one, a professional wants to be in it.”40 had to do “what seemed like the right thing While the ships on Battleship Row re- to do.”37 Wright and the other sailors of ceived most of the notoriety following the the Tennessee had no warning of the events attack, there were many other ships in the unfolding around them. The sailors had a harbor. Pearl Harbor was the home of the “general sense…that a war with Japan was Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy, so inevitable.”38 Wright was not surprised there were many other ships present that that the Japanese attacked, but date and morning besides the battleships. One location of a possible attack had remained of the ships was the U.S.S. Breese, a light unknown. minelayer. Alexander Coxe, Jr. was the As Wright climbed to his spot on top of Executive Officer of the USS Breese on the anti-aircraft battery, the reality of the Dec. 7, 1941 and wrote a detailed report of war’s beginnings dawned upon him. From the actions of the Breese. this post, he watched as the Arizona ex- Coxe called “away fire and rescue party” ploded, the Oklahoma capsized, and theWest five minutes after eight on December 7, Virginia sank right beside the Tennessee. As 1941 after seeing a loud explosion on Ford theWest Virginia sank, it wedged theTennessee Island. 41 After watching another bomb against the concrete pylons anchoring the explode, he sounded the general alarm ship. These pylons eventually had to be de- and the Breese began to return fire at the stroyed to allow theTennessee to escape the Japanese planes at approximately 7:57 that harbor. While at his battery, Wright and morning, the first ship to return fire in the other sailors fired back at the Japanese dive harbor. As he observed the events occur- bombers, hitting many planes, with some ring in the harbor, Coxe estimated seventy being shot down. Wright gained incredible or eighty Japanese planes engaged in the pride from the fighting spirit of his crew as bombardment. The Japanese planes were he never noticed a sense of panic “or even painted with white underbellies to blend fear.”39 with the white clouds of the harbor, mak- After the Japanese bombardment ended, ing them virtually invisible to the anti- only three of the eight battleships in the har- aircraft batteries. Coxe watched as three bor remained usable. The Tennessee, along Japanese planes burst into flame alongside with the Maryland and the Pennsylvania, left the Breese because of the anti-aircraft fire. the harbor and sailed to San Francisco, One of these planes took a direct hit and California and Bremerton, Washington for burst into pieces in mid-air while another minor repairs. Once receiving all neces- plunged violently into the water directly in sary repairs, the ships sailed aimlessly, or so front of the ship. The third plane, still fly- it seemed, through the Pacific until 1943. ing despite fire protruding from the body, As Wright realized that the Tennessee was enacted kamikaze tactics by intentionally not getting close to the action of war, he re- flying into the side of theU.S.S Curtis. 42 quested a transfer to a submarine division. While the attack continued from the air, While Wright did not want to have a war, he decided that “if there was going to be 40 Ibid., 10.

41 Alexander B. Coxe, Jr., [Report on Japanese air raid], 9 December 1941, Alexander B. Coxe, Jr. 37 Ibid., 7. Papers. East Carolina Manuscript Collection, Special Collections, Joyner Library, East Carolina University, 38 Ibid. Greenville, NC 27858 USA. #194.3b.

39 Ibid., 8. 42 Ibid.

48 William Brown the Breese received reports of a Japanese the radio intelligence crew did not give a submarine in the channel of Pearl Harbor. clue as to the date or the time the Japanese The Breese and the destroyer Monaghan im- force would strike. mediately left their post in search of the These six interviews allow for a greater submarine. The Monaghan attempted to understanding of the personal experiences ram the submarine while it was above the of American sailors during the attack on water, but as the ship approached, the sub- Pearl Harbor. The overwhelming feeling marine submerged before contact could of surprise forced the sailors to immedi- be made. A barrage of depth charges was ately rely on their disciplined training in then dropped in the area, but did not result order to survive. Their individual stories, in sinking the submarine. A PT boat then from Archie Kelley making the gut wrench- informed the Breese that the submarine es- ing decision to close the watertight doors caped to a different area. The ship sailed to to Joseph Spitler rescuing thirty men from this location and its sonar operator quickly a watery grave on the Oklahoma, are cap- discovered the location of the submarine. tivating. Nearly seventy years later, these The Breese proceeded to drop five depth stories provide incredible insight into that charges in the area, resulting in a massive terrifying day and serve as a reminder of amount of debris rising to the surface, im- the events that took place at Pearl Harbor. plying the charges struck the submarine.43 Each of these young men were newly The interviews of these five men and graduated Ensigns from the United States the report from Lt. Coxe provide just a Naval Academy in 1941. Their rigid train- glimpse into the horrific Sunday morning and preparation at the Academy al- ing of December 7, 1941. The Japanese lowed for their individual survival and their strike force bombarded Pearl Harbor for excellent response in the face of the enemy. over two hours, crippling the Pacific Fleet These green ensigns set an example for of the United States Navy. Increased hos- American warriors to follow as they held, tilities between the United States and the then forced, the Japanese tide to recede. Japanese Empire, beginning in 1937, cul- Without these first-hand accounts, the true minated in the brutality unleashed on the experiences of American sailors would Pacific Fleet and its sailors. While the be lost and the world would never know United States held the ability to track the the true terror of the horrific events that Japanese fleet and decode their communi- took place on December 7, 1941 in Pearl cations, these sources proved to be unreli- Harbor, Hawaii. able. The intelligence reports provided by

43 Ibid.

49 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

Bibliography

Primary Alexander B. Coxe, Jr. Papers. #194.3b. East Carolina Manuscript Collection, Special Collections, Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858 USA.

Archie Parmalee Kelley Oral History, Collection No O.H. 197. East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.

Charles J. Merdinger Oral History, Collection No O.H. 121. East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.

Joesph C. Spitler Oral History, Collection No O.H. 125. East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.

John L. Landreth Oral History, Collection No O.H. 119. East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.

Richard M. Wright Oral History, Collection No O.H. 202. East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.

Secondary Adams, Frederick C. “The Road to Pearl Harbor: A Reexamination of American Far Eastern Policy, July 1937-December 1938.” The Journal of American History 58, no.1 (1971): 73-92.

Murnane, John R. “Japan’s Monroe Doctrine?: Re-Framing the Story of Pearl Harbor.” The History Teacher 40, no. 4 (2007): 503-520.

Wiliford, Timothy. Pearl Harbor Redefined: USN Radio Intelligence in 1941. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, Inc., 2001.

50 Some Things Never Change: Attitudes about the Foreign in Y tu mamá también and Rudo y Cursi

Sheila Casalett Meredith College Faculty Mentor: Kevin Hunt Meredith College

ABSTRACT This paper examines representations of foreign elements as part of modern, or post-Revolutionary, Mexican national identity in two recent Mexican films, Y tu mamá también and Rudo y Cursi. While the filmmakers succeed in presenting modern realities about the pervasiveness of the foreign in Mexi- co, traditional attitudes prevail throughout. To facilitate interpretation of the films, the paper begins with an historical framework that includes a brief history of modern Mexican national identity, highlighting contributions by traditionalist scholars Vasconcelos and Paz as well as modern critics Bartra and Monsiváis. While Mexicans have historically denied foreign influence, going as far as to do so by legal means, the realities of globalization have made its removal from the country impossible and lend weight to the idea of a Mexican identity in transition. While both films demonstrate this reality, suggesting an inevitability of the impact of the foreign, the overall treatment of such elements suggests a negative, traditionalist outlook, alluding to Mexico’s reluctance to adopt progressive attitudes in the face of its changing cultural landscape.

We tried not to make a judgment; we just tried (mixed European and indigenous) cultural tomake an observation. For us, this movie is about influences, the Cuaróns perpetuate a care- identity… an observation of a country that in our fully constructed idea about mexicanidad opinionis a teenage country looking for its identity as (“Mexicanness”) that has been cultivated agrown-up country…This transition toward a new since the Revolution of 1910. To whatever identityis part of what Mexico is going through now. extent they succeed in presenting these – Alfonso Cuarón, Director,Y tu mamá también ideas as accurate reflections of mexicanidad falls outside the scope of this paper, how- n various interviews, Alfonso and Carlos ever, as this study exclusively examines the I Cuarón, the filmmakers behindY tu role of foreign influence in Mexico as pre- mamátambién ( AndYour Mother, Too )and Rudo sented in each film. The analysis establishes y Cursi (Rude and Tacky), have signaled their that while the films do appear to reflect a intention to accurately reflect Mexico’s na- changing Mexican identity in a general tional identity. In highlighting aspects such sense, they fail to let go of traditional senti- as a unique relationship with death, a cyni- ments with regard to the foreign. cal view of politics, and appreciable mestizo This paper focuses on the foreign as a

51 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts key element to the presentation of Mexican welcomed foreign investment, and its elite national identity each film. While some maintained a long-standing tradition of scholars (e.g., Hind, Acevedo-Muñoz, sending their children to be educated in Saldaña-Portillo) have alluded to this facet Europe and the United States. Under dic- of identity in their studies of Y tu mamá tam- tatorial president Porfirio Díaz, in power bién, such consideration has yet to be given from 1876 to 1911, the government opened to Rudo y Cursi. Further, while extant analy- up large parts of Mexico to foreign invest- ses of Y tu mamá también tend to focus on a ment, a major contributing factor to the broader picture of national identity or on Revolution. After thirty years of dictator- combinations of more well known themes ship and seeing their rights diminished and (e.g., sex, class, gender roles), this study ex- their lands stripped in favor of foreign in- clusively considers the lesser-acknowledged vestment and industrialism, Mexico’s work- but foundational role of the extrinsic and ing classes revolted. its representations in each film. By the time the Constitution was ratified A general understanding of the role of in 1917, the power elite had recognized foreign influence in Mexico’s modern, or a shared distrust of the foreign as a way post-Revolutionary, national identity is vi- to help unite the country. A common re- tal to best interpret such representations. sentment toward the foreign would trans- As such, this paper first provides a brief late into a political rejection of it, a cause historical overview, citing contributions Mexicans of all races and cultures could made by leading Mexican cultural figures embrace, despite their differences on socio- Vasconcelos, Paz, Bartra and Monsiváis economic and other levels. Excerpts from and focusing their opinions about the for- the Constitution of 1917, as published by eign that have helped shape this vital fea- the Organization of American States, illus- ture of mexicanidad. This historical frame- trate the effort: work, as well as a brief introduction to each …Only Mexicans by birth or naturaliza- film that includes critical and popular re- tion and Mexican companies have the right ception, makes way for an informed analy- to acquire ownership of lands, waters, and sis of how foreign elements are presented their appurtenances, or to obtain conces- in each film and whether such representa- sions for the exploitation of mines or of tions take a traditional or modern view. waters… Under no circumstances may for- Just after the Revolution of 1910, in the eigners acquire direct ownership of lands early 1920s, Mexico’s ruling elite identified or waters within a zone of one hundred ki- the need to unify the country as a means lometers along the frontiers and of fifty ki- of preventing further uprisings. To ac- lometers along the shores of the country… complish this, they set to constructing a (art. 27) new national identity that would give the …Mexicans shall have priority over for- country a shared sense of history and cul- eigners under equality of circumstances for ture, incorporating the country’s attitude all classes of concessions and for all em- toward the foreign as a major component. ployment, positions, or commissions of the Since the Conquest, Mexico had always Government in which the status of citizen- been influenced by external forces, first as ship is not indispensable. In time of peace a Spanish colony for 300 years and then as no foreigner can serve in the Army nor in an independent nation greatly influenced the police or public security forces… (art. by Western Europe and the United States. 32) During the century between Independence …Foreigners may not in any way partici- and the Revolution of 1910, Mexico pate in the political affairs of the country.

52 Sheila Casalett

(art. 33) rather than created. Long since rid of Spanish imperialism The dissimulation on the part of and now also free from the foreign influ- Mexican elites vis-à-vis their personal in- ence of the more recent past, Mexico volvement with foreign education and would stand on its own for the first time. business went unchecked at the time, and To help lead the transition of the new na- the new national identity began to flour- tional identity from idea to policy, Mexican ish. The lasting effects of this cultural re- philosopher and educator José Vasconcelos invention can easily be spotted today in was appointed head of the Secretariat of the murals that adorn public buildings, the Public Education (SEP) in 1924. As head “native” Mexican handicrafts that fill tour- of the SEP, Vasconcelos oversaw not only ist markets, and the structure of Mexico’s the nation’s education system but also the educational system. Much of the credit for national arts and libraries, making him the this goes to Vasconcelos and the ideas set de facto minister of culture. Perhaps the forth in La raza cósmica. Decades later, an- single most influential person in Mexico other work would come along that would when it came to forming a nationally rec- prove instrumental to sustaining post-Rev- ognized cultural identity, Vasconcelos’s olutionary ideas about mexicanidad through philosophy about Latin American cultures the twentieth century. became foundational to the SEP’s work. By the time Mexican Nobel laureate This philosophy – outlined in his highly Octavio Paz first published his influential influential workLa raza cósmica (The Cosmic set of essays El laberinto de la soledad (The Race) – touted Mexico as a standalone cul- Labyrinth of Solitude) in 1950, he was al- ture that was to reject “white” ways. North ready a well-known author, poet and cul- Americans, as Vasconcelos saw it, were ture critic. Today Paz’s work – like that of “mere continuators of Europe in the re- Vasconcelos – figures into the education gion of the continent they occupied” (21). of all Mexican students in one form or an- By contrast, Latin Americans were creating other, indicating how influential these two an entirely new race and culture inspired men’s ideas still are. The essays that com- from within. prise El laberinto examine different aspects Under the direction of Vasconcelos, the of Mexican culture, all of which Paz asserts SEP built schools, printed books at astonish- are influenced by an underlying sense of ing rates, implemented literacy programs inferiority to white cultures that has been in among the poor and indigenous, started the works since the Conquest. The “laby- the Mexican Muralist movement, and initi- rinth of solitude” that gives the collection ated a revival of indigenous arts and mu- its title refers to a complicated and lonely sic that ultimately flourished. In school, history in which Mexican notions about children were taught Mexican songs and culture have always been at odds with those dances while they learned about the great of European-descended cultures, what Paz indigenous contributions to their culture calls the “white” or “Western” cultures. and the mestizo leaders who helped shape Throughout, Paz demonstrates that the their country into the sovereign nation it Vasconcelos-inspired, post-Revolutionary had become. Apart from acknowledging push to distance Mexico from the foreign the Conquest and colonization, little men- other has had a lasting impact.1 tion was made of the tremendous foreign influences that had shaped the country in 1 In his chapter “The Day of the Dead,” for example, reality, making it seem as if Mexico’s na- Paz distinguishes between attitudes about death in New tional identity were being re-discovered York, London and Paris versus those prevalent in Mexico (57-58).

53 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

Among the several passages reinforcing opinions vary about whether this effort the idea of Mexico as a stand-alone cul- will see continued success, but it is clear ture is Paz’s exploration of the legacy of that Mexico did see a significant decline in Malinche.2 Her legacy, argues Paz, is two- foreign investment between the Revolution fold: she is the traitorous tramp who be- and the 1990s and that Mexican identity trayed her own people by interpreting for is still closely associated with indigenous Cortés and living as his lover, and she is the influences. The doubts that come into betrayed mother-figure used and abused play regarding Mexico’s continued cul- by her Spanish oppressors. The Mexican tural sovereignty primarily come from two word malinchista also comes from the leg- significant changes that have taken place end of Malinche. An insult for a person since the 1990s. In 1992, the government who prefers foreign things, malinchista la- enacted constitutional reforms intended to bels Mexican xenophiles as little more than increase foreign investment, and two years traitors, exhibiting an us-or-them mental- later saw the ratification of NAFTA, the ity that again echoes Vasconcelos’s ideas of North American Free Trade Agreement. separateness. The combination of these two events con- Mexican policy has also been argu- tinues to have a marked impact on Mexican ably hostile toward the foreign since the culture. According to modern culture crit- Revolution, always giving preference to ics, these changes have led to a national the internal over the external, in an effort identity in transition, lending weight to to restrict outside influence. Some provi- what scholars call a hybrid culture – a mix sions have changed over the years, but of urban and rural, traditional and mod- many policies are as strictly adhered to ern, internal and external. today as they were in 1917. In May 2002, NAFTA has been cited as a major con- for instance, seventeen American college tributor to these changes in the Mexican students and their professor saw their visas cultural landscape and to the idea of an revoked and were on their way home one emerging hybridity, as much of Mexico’s day after attending a political demonstra- economy has become NAFTA driven, not tion (Eskenazi). Though they insisted their to mention the accessibility of foreign goods interest in the demonstration was purely such as fashion, music, movies and other academic, the government quickly acted cultural instruments. As María Josefina under the authority of Article 33 of the Saldaña-Portillo points out, NAFTA Constitution, which bars foreigners from has “radically altered…the character of participating in politics in any way and for Mexican sovereignty,” a key component of any reason. Such cases of visa revocation Mexican national identity extending back and visitor expulsion make clear Mexico’s to the Constitution of 1917 (753). Two of continued take-no-chances approach to Mexico’s foremost modern culture critics, foreign influence in political matters and Roger Bartra and Carlos Monsiváis, bolster underscore Revolutionary Mexicans’ effec- this perspective. tiveness in making it a permanent part of Bartra, Mexican sociologist and anthro- the country’s national identity. pologist, argues that what was presented in Owing to more recent changes in the first half of the twentieth century as a Mexico’s policy about land ownership, unified Mexican identity cannot exist or- ganically. Regional and cultural differences 2 The chapter “Sons of La Malinche” discusses the throughout Mexico make the idea of a legacy of Malinche, a legendary (but real) indigenous unified, monolithic Mexican culture noth- woman best known for her role in history as interpreter ing more than a constructed myth, what and lover to Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés.

54 Sheila Casalett he refers to as “un espejismo,” or “mirage” accepting of the foreign, as supported by (Moore 498). Instead, he points to what Bartra and Monsiváis. he calls the “post-Mexican condition,” Written by brothers Alfonso and Carlos summed up by Josh Kun as a “post-NAFTA Cuarón, and directed by the former, Y tu reconsideration of the basis of Mexican mamá también was released in Mexico in identity and re-visioning of Mexico as a 2001 to critical acclaim and commercial multicultural constellation of multiple tra- success. Nominated for more than 40 ditions that do not necessarily add up to a awards – over half of which it won – today singular, integrated whole” (273). Y tu mamá también holds the distinction of Monsiváis, Mexican writer and culture being one of Mexico’s top-grossing films of critic, also promotes the view of a Mexican all time. The basic plot centers around two identity in transition toward hybridiza- Mexican best friends – Julio and Tenoch tion. He argues that long-held ideas about – and Luisa, the Spanish wife of Tenoch’s Mexican identity have been broken down pretentious cousin. The boys, each about thanks in large part to globalization and a 18 years old, see their girlfriends off to Italy greater awareness of the plight of indig- for the summer, and a few days later they enous Mexicans, often calling attention meet Luisa at a family wedding. Because to the whitewashing of history for which Luisa is new to Mexico, the three make the education system under Vasconcelos small talk about things for her to do while is now criticized. In a 1999 interview with her husband goes to a conference. In try- The Journal of American History, he asserts ing to impress the alluring 30-year-old, that the old ideas of nationalism ignored Julio and Tenoch tell her they know of an contemporary indigenous groups in favor idyllic beach that hardly anyone visits and of a unified Mexican front that rejected that she should join them on a trip there. Americanization and idealized an indig- A few days after this conversation, Luisa’s enous past. Now, says Monsiváis, young husband confesses infidelity by telephone, Mexicans want the internet, technology and the next day she desperately accepts and American fashions: “Youngsters are the boys’ false invitation. Stunned by her fed up with tradition… all of this is trans- sudden acceptance, they scramble to put forming and eroding what we used to know. together a road trip to the fictitious beach And that is unavoidable” (qtd. in Thelen and the three take off in a matter of hours. 618). A couple of days into the trip, Luisa has Given this background, there are cur- sex with Tenoch, and Julio catches them in rently two dominant, contrasting schools the act. He becomes terribly jealous, threat- of thought regarding Mexican national ening his lifelong friendship with Tenoch. identity, both of which are examined here The next day, Luisa decides to even the in the context of the filmsY tu mamá también score by also having sex with Julio, and the and Rudo y Cursi. The words “traditional,” boys tell one another that they have slept “modern” and “hybrid” are applied with each other’s girlfriends. In the end, throughout to describe the dominant points they discover that the fictitious beach they of view. For the purpose of this analysis, were looking for is actually real, the three “traditional” refers to a Vasconcelos-Paz participate in an alcohol-saturated ménage model of mexicanidad that rejects the foreign à trois, the boys discontinue their friend- and views foreign influence in a negative ship, and Luisa is out of the picture for light, while “modern” or “hybrid” synony- good, having died of cancer. Throughout mously refer to recent ideas about hybridity the film, the boys’ relationship is tested and an identity in transition that is more and some recurrent Mexican themes of

55 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts sexuality and masculinity come into play. thanks to his crude personality and play- Such a reductive summary substantiates ing style, becomes known as Rudo (“tough” the popular view of the film, which includes or “rude”) Meanwhile, his brother Tato, descriptions of it as a “lighthearted, risqué a talented striker with a passion – but not romp” (Puccio) and a film featuring “friv- talent – for music, is dubbed Cursi (“tacky” olous exploration of sexuality” (Keller). or “corny”) by the media, thanks to his Other critics, meanwhile, deride it as little silly post-goal dances and garish personal more than soft-core pornography, with one style. After a chance meeting with a scout reviewer suggesting that potential viewers who recruits them, the brothers rise to “skip this mild stuff and rent some honest- short-lived fame as soccer players, and it to-God porn” (Scribbs). These perceptions is against this backdrop that the viewer ex- notwithstanding, Mexicanists view the film periences the main themes of the brothers’ as a treasure trove of mexicanidad, as it show- love-hate relationship and their rise and fall cases such well known Mexican themes as from working-class rancheros to top-seeded a prevalence of death, challenging gender soccer stars and ultimately back to rancheros. roles, and the cultural disparities between Also prevalent in this film, however, are the urban and rural Mexican populations. Also marked influences of the foreign over the notable in the film, as this paper examines, characters, the story and Mexico itself. is the role of foreign influence on the char- Throughout both films, representations acters and on Mexican culture in general. of foreign influence are evident, beginning Rudo y Cursi, released in Mexico in 2008, with the character of Luisa in Y tu mamá was written and directed by Carlos Cuarón, también. Luisa’s symbolic connection to the co-writer of Y tu mamá también and also Conquest in Y tu mamá también becomes opened to critical acclaim and commercial clear almost immediately from the time she success. According to Cuarón, the ideas is introduced. Best friends Julio and Tenoch that would become Rudo y Cursi began to first meet her at a wedding held in a bull- develop during promotional tours for Y tu ring, “[emphasizing] her Spanishness and mamá también (El Meikin, Cuarón). Because the Mexican nation’s cultural heritage” the films share several cast and crew mem- (Acevedo-Muñoz 42). In a Pazian fashion bers, as well as a few basic themes, Rudo y that recalls the “labyrinth” that is mexicani- Cursi is often referred to as the follow-up dad, Luisa is presented throughout the film film toY tu mamá también, though the two as a symbol of two seemingly oppositional share no characters or storylines (Arroyo). roles: that of the Spanish conquistador and Both films, however, were written by Carlos that of Malinche-as-mother. Luisa’s repre- Cuarón; both star Gael García Bernal sentation as Spanish agent of conquest lies and Diego Luna; both saw involvement in her Spanish nationality and surname by famed Mexican filmmakers Alfonso of Cortés, which she shares with Spanish Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu and conquistador Hernán Cortés, famous for Guillermo del Toro; and both also saw a leading the conquest of the Aztec empire concerted effort on the part of the film- as well as for being Malinche’s lover. makers to accurately depict Mexican life It is Luisa who seduces the boys and and society. captivates their imagination, sparking the The story follows two talented, soccer actions that will ultimately destroy their playing half-brothers who live and work friendship. In this regard, she is associ- on a banana plantation. Beto, the older of ated with the Spanish conquistadors whose the two, is an unbeatable goalkeeper with aims were not initially understood by the a passion for soccer and gambling who, Aztecs but who eventually toppled their

56 Sheila Casalett empire. This same explanation can be used town where Rudo and Cursi are headed to justify Luisa’s representation of Maliche- to a soccer match. Here the narrator, as-mother: “she is the one who shows the none other than Batuta himself, says, “… boys their true desire… she is the one who and this... is where I enter into this story.” births their consciousness…” and brings 4 Leaning on the car next to Batuta is a together old world and new (Kemet). And younger, voluptuous woman, who we soon just as historically it is difficult to separate find out is one of his many female com- Cortés from Malinche – or Spain from panions. Throughout, he is featured with Mexico – so is it difficult to separate them no less than six such women, all notice- in the character of Luisa. Her death and ably younger than he, all of different races, the disintegration of Tenoch and Julio’s and all seemingly uninterested in anything friendship, however, create a final separa- deeper than being seen with him in public. tion, suggesting Mexico’s independence Batuta’s entry with the red Corvette is the from Spain. Her influence does last, how- first time any bright color is featured, an ever, as the boys never speak again, indicat- intentional move on the part of the film- ing Spain’s lasting impact on Mexico even makers, as pointed out by Artistic Director after Independence. Eugenio Caballero in the film’s DVD mak- That Luisa has had cancer throughout ing-of featurette. This classic American and later dies from it alludes to what Emily status symbol, and its noticeable contrast to Hind calls the “contaminated character” the color scheme, serves to emphasize the whose removal is necessary to facilitate a excitement and modernity of the foreign. “return to order” (108). This suggests the His many women, on the other hand, point foreign influence that has helped shape to a fast-and-loose foreigner who lacks sta- modern Mexico, but whose interference bility and takes advantage of the land in has been halted, allowing for Mexico’s own which he inserts himself. return to order, just as the framers of the At their first encounter, the blue-eyed Constitution of 1917 and identity archi- Argentine – smiling enthusiastically and tects like Vasconcelos sought to guarantee. donning an aloha shirt and a straw fedora In this case, a complete break has been – asks the brothers for help, using decid- made not only from Mother Spain, but also edly Argentine vocabulary to explain that from the United States and the “contami- he has a flat tire. He uses the word goma for nating” influence they exerted, allowing for “tire” – which Mexicans use for “chewing an “independent national identity” (Hind gum” – so when Batuta asks if there is a 108). This sets Mexico free to stand on its gomería (“tire shop”) where he can get the own and, as writer-direct Alfonso Cuarón tire repaired, Rudo asks if he is planning to would say, to grow up. 3 fix it with gum, asgomería in Mexico would In the case of another foreign character, be something akin to “chewing gum store.” this time from Rudo y Cursi, no such break is He chuckles at the thought as he asks, but made, though his end also suggests a nega- it is also clear by his face that he does not tive view of foreign influence on the pro- understand the stranger’s real meaning. tagonists. The character of Darío “Batuta” Batuta explains himself and, with ample Vidali enters Rudo y Cursi for the first time cash in hand, offers to “pay well” for their some ten minutes into the film as his cherry help, though unnecessarily. Cursi has wel- red Corvette has a blowout just outside the comed his presence from the beginning

3 This phrasing borrows from Cuarón’s comparison 4 Throughout this analysis, all of the English quotes of Mexico to an adolescent looking for its identity, as from dialogue and narration in the films come directly noted in the opening quote of this paper. from the films’ subtitles on their respective DVDs.

57 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts and gladly leads him into town to get the consequences of foreign influence on tire repaired. Mexico. But in contrast with Luisa in Y tu Batuta’s appearance alone draws an mamá también, the Rudo y Cursi character of obvious contrast between the well-to-do Batuta will repeat his actions, perhaps sev- foreigner and the homely Mexican ran- eral times. cheros. The difference suggests a poorer, Luisa, like Mother Spain and the less-educated Mexico in comparison with Conquest, will continue to have a psycho- a tantalizing, worldly foreigner. The mere logical impact on those whose lives she foreignness of Batuta, underscored by the affected, but her death precludes the pos- verbal exchange between the characters, sibility of her repeating her actions, mak- also speaks to the difference between the ing her future direct influence limited in protagonists and their new acquaintance. comparison with that of Batuta, who is Batuta’s noticeable Argentine accent and alive and well. Luisa’s influence – not un- use of colloquialisms – and the brothers’ like Spain’s – remains strong, but at least failure to understand them – serve to em- she cannot not build upon it or continue phasize Batuta’s otherness and the cultural with her actions in an active capacity. In distance between Mexico and the foreign. Luisa’s case, Mexico can begin to heal and In the cases of both Luisa and Batuta – move on while living with her memory. white outsiders5 – the foreign characters Batuta’s influence, however, may continue lead the characters down a path of self actively and repeatedly for years to come, destruction. In both films, a desire to expe- leaving Mexico to struggle with his contin- rience their respective journeys already ex- ued presence. The last couple of scenes of ists in the protagonists, but it is the foreign Rudo y Cursi provide a final comment on this characters that help make these journeys future. possible and act as enablers for their be- While Rudo and Cursi stand peacefully haviors. InY tu mamá también, Luisa encour- on a beach singing Cursi’s ranchera cover ages the boys to experience their fantasies of “Quiero que me quieras” (“I Want You to of having sexual relations with her while Want Me”), Batuta is shown driving the in Rudo y Cursi, Batuta opens the door to countryside in a red Volkswagen Beetle professional soccer for both men. In both that looks to be a 1980s model or older – cases, however, things turn out badly for still red, but definitely not the status symbol the protagonists as well as for the foreign- of the Corvette. The age of the car and its ers. Julio and Tenoch are so embarrassed ubiquity in Mexico could be interpreted as over their experience that they never speak a humbling of the foreign character, but again, and Rudo and Cursi end up back its color and the events to come render it on the banana plantation, minus half a leg more a statement about the persistence of in Rudo’s case. Luisa dies of cancer and the foreign. Here Batuta-as-narrator ex- Batuta loses everything, including the red plains that though he lost everything, he is Corvette – suggesting long-term negative still “gallivanting around” looking for “dia- monds in the rough.” The last scene shows him looking on with interest at a rural soc- 5 Though Luisa and Batuta are part of the Hispanophone world, it is worth noting that Luisa is cer field, not unlike the one where he found wholly European and Batuta, while South American, Rudo and Cursi, asking another onlooker is European descended, as indicated by his physical who two of the players are. Upon being appearance and Italian last name. While both characters speak the same language as the Mexican protagonists, informed that those are the Morales twins, the two foreigners are part of what the Vasconcelos-Paz the best players in the state, Batuta looks model of mexicanidad would call “white” or “European- directly into the camera with a mischievous descended” cultures.

58 Sheila Casalett smirk and raised brow, shrugging his shoul- That Chuy and his family will meet such ders as if to say, “Hey, what can I say?” a life-altering fate at the hands of develop- From this action, we instantly infer that ers speaks to the negative influence of for- Batuta will repeat his actions at least once eign investors on local populations.Though more – and that possibly Rudo and Cursi the film does not specifically recognize the were not his first exploits – indicating the developers as foreign, it is reasonable to active influence the foreign will continue surmise that most of the money for the to have on Mexico and the disruption it project will be, an intended result of the will cause, perhaps mirroring the inescap- 1994 changes in the Mexican Constitution able post-NAFTA influence of the United aimed at boosting foreign investment in the States and suggesting negative future Mexican tourism industry and economy at consequences. By contrast, the peace the large. It is also likely that a great many of brothers find together on the beach con- the tourists visiting the hotel will be foreign notes a happier Mexico without the for- as well, given Mexico’s widely recognized eign, despite being unable to ascend eco- status as an international tourist destina- nomically, and gives an optimistic view of tion known for its beaches. In this scene, Mexicans’ ability to overcome the devasta- the developers – as well as perhaps the tion the foreign can bring if they can ever future tourists – are embodied in the pigs rid themselves of it. that take over the protagonists’ humble Both films present other post-NAFTA camp and leave it an uninhabitable mess aspects to Mexican culture, sometimes sug- (Acevedo-Muñoz). gesting commentary and sometimes simply The detail that the hotel will be built presenting it as a reality of Mexican life. on a nature preserve is notable as well, as One obvious commentary on this influ- here a parallel to Mexico at the time of the ence is found in the character of Chuy in Conquest is apparent. Given that a nature Y tu mamá también. During a boat ride to- preserve is generally an undeveloped swath ward the protagonists’ camp, the narrator of land set aside to preserve the indigenous explains: flora and fauna of the area, this land par- At the end of the year, Chuy and his fam- allels the ostensibly pristine Mexico of the ily will have to leave their home to make Aztecs. That investors would be willing to way for the construction of an exclusive destroy a nature preserve in the interest of hotel to be built on the nature preserve of economic gain suggests a foreigner who San Bernabe. They will relocate to the outtakes without considering the lasting local skirts of Santa Maria Colotepec. Chuy will impact, further emphasized by the fact that attempt to give boat tours, but a collective Chuy will never fish again. Not only will he of Acapulco boatmen, supported by the be forced to succumb to the foreigners on local tourism board, will block him. Two an economic level, becoming a janitor at years later, he will end up as a janitor at the the hotel, but he will be so affected by it that hotel. He will never fish again. he will never fish again. This emotional and The boat then pulls up to shore where we economic toll reflects the burden that such see that the camp has been overrun by pigs, foreign investment has on Mexico’s poorer which the narrator explains had recently populations, again suggesting an emotion- escaped from a nearby ranch. He tells us ally healthier Mexico when left on its own. that fourteen of them will be slaughtered Further commentary is made in Y tu over the next two months and that three mamá también as well on the negative impact will cause an outbreak of trichinosis in at- of post-NAFTA foreign influence as the tendees at a local festival. narrator reveals the fates of the bricklayer

59 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts from Michoacán and Luisita, the girl rep- influence among the urban in 2001,Rudo y resented by a stuffed mouse, both of whom Cursi offers a more widespread view seven are suggested to have died indirectly due years later. Examining the soundtrack of to the impact of Mexico’s post-NAFTA Y tu mamá también partly reveals its urban- economy. As Saldaña-Portillo notes, sev- only foreign influence, as nearly half of the eral hundred thousand jobs were lost in songs featured in the film are from English- Mexico, mostly in the agricultural sector, as speaking artists, but in the film it is the a result of NAFTA, forcing an in-country urban teenagers who listen to this music. migration of many rural workers into the Once out of the city and in rural settings, cities as well as an influx of workers headed all music becomes Mexican. north to the United States and Canada Several details about Tenoch and his looking for work (756). The bricklayer, a family also suggest an elite Mexican class “migrant worker from Michoacán” whose significantly impacted by foreign influence: body is not identified for four days, and Tenoch’s choice of music, his intermittent Luisita, who “had died of a heat stroke… use of English words where Spanish ones crossing the Arizona border with her par- would be equally appropriate, his family’s ents, seeking a better life,” represent both vacation to Tahoe, their stint in Vancouver sides of this post-NAFTA migration, while when his father – the Harvard-educated their tragic deaths suggest the devastat- Undersecretary of State – was forced into ing impact such influence has on Mexico’s exile. These examples, especially in light of working poor. Tenoch’s professed support of the Zapatista Rudo y Cursi, while less editorial in its post- movement, suggest the extent to which NAFTA commentary, makes use of story Mexico’s elite are still influenced by the line to suggest a certain inevitability of foreign and recalls the post-Revolutionary foreign influence in Mexico. The opening leaders’ similar ties to the foreign and thus scene depicts a dirty, sweaty Cursi in soccer hypocritical actions. Other details showing gear running through a banana plantation the prevalence of foreign influence include with a large, heavy bunch of bananas to- minor ones such as the teenagers eating ward a truck. As he gets there, Rudo tells Ruffles potato chips in the car, rather than him not to run because he will bruise the a Mexican brand, and the boys’ nicknames bananas. “These are for export,” he says. of Charolastra, which comes from their Here we are presented with a look into the friend’s misunderstanding the lyrics of an reality of many Mexican lives. The film- English-language song. makers remove any doubt that this produce These details combine to lend weight to is for export, indicating the economy of the the idea of an increasingly hybrid Mexican Mexican countryside. Later in the film, the culture. Taking a Bartra-Monsiváis view, protagonists both fail to make a lasting ca- it is the small details in particular, such reer in Mexican soccer and they return to as the potato chips, clothing and music, the banana plantation, destined to live out which reveal this hybridity. The foreign is their lives there, suggesting a stronghold of so ingrained in the minutiae daily life that foreign interests that is unavoidable in the it is almost unnoticeable and therefore a lives of many rural Mexicans. true part of everyday culture. Where eat- Other indicators of the prevalence of ing Ruffles potato chips might have been foreign influence come in the many allu- rare in 1960s Mexico, now it is just one of sions in both films about the reality of the several brands available that no one thinks foreign in the daily lives of Mexicans. And twice about. whileY tu mamá también places most of this Rudo y Cursi also provides several

60 Sheila Casalett examples of the prevalence of foreign in- Mexico since just eight years prior, when fluence, though such influence extends into such examples were revealed only in the the rural as well as the urban. The theme urban settings of Y tu mamá también. song to the film is Rudo’s Spanish-language In the end, a study of both films in view ranchera-style cover of “I Want You to Want of Mexico’s post-Revolutionary identity Me” by American band Cheap Trick. Early building suggests that overall, the filmmak- in the film, before moving to the city, Rudo ers portray foreign influence in a negative asks his friends if they would rather him light and thus, cling to a traditionalist atti- play “Tea for Two” or “Goodbye Girl” on tude about this aspect of mexicanidad.While the accordion, rather an a Mexican tune, some representations of foreign influence of which there are many written for the in Y tu mamá también and Rudo y Cursi are accordion. Later, Cursi buys his girlfriend presented in a neutral fashion, seeming to Maya a Hummer, Rudo’s wife, Toña, sells acknowledge a reality rather than com- WonderLife products back in their ru- menting on it, there is still an overall sense ral town, and nearly all of Rudo’s gam- of the negative impact of foreign influence bling takes place at the club of a Mexican on Mexico. The several tragic deaths, the bookie-entrepreneur who provides what he dismantling of friendships and livelihoods, calls“ entretenimiento tipoVegas ” (“Vegas-style and the mostly self-serving nature of the entertainment”). foreign characters and entities presented Several characters, such as the Rudo’s in the films maintain a nationalistic, post- bookie and Cursi’s girlfriend, also use Revolutionary negative outlook regarding English words where Spanish ones would the influence of the foreign in Mexico. suffice, and Rudo goes to the store with his While not ignoring a modern, Monsiváis- bookie looking specifically for Pampers, Bartra style reality of a hybrid identity in an American diaper brand. The bookie is the works thanks to unavoidable foreign under instruction from his wife not to get influence, the Cuaróns ultimately present any other brand and ends up having to a dominant traditional Vasconcelos-Pazian look at another store because the one he attitude regarding the effects of such for- goes to first is out. Again these details are eign influence. With this in mind, it is safe presented in passing, as part of everyday to say that at this time, while Mexico’s real- life, and serve as indicators of how perva- ity may be changing, its perception of for- sive this influence has become throughout eign influence has yet to follow suit.

61 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

Works Cited

“A Conversation with Director Carlos Cuarón.” Weekend All Things Considered 9 May 2009: Gale: Literature Resource Center. EBSCO. Web. 27 Sept. 2010.

Acevedo-Muñoz, Ernesto R. “Sex, Class, and Mexico in Alfonso Cuarón’s Y tu mamá también.” Film & History (03603695) 34.1 (2004): 39-48. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 15 Sept. 2010.

Arroyo, Chiara. “México en un platanero.” El País. 29 June 2007. Web. 16 Oct. 2010. .

Bartra, Roger. The Cage of Melancholy: Identity and Metamorphosis in the Mexican Character. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1992. Print.

“Constitution of Mexico.” OAS - Organization of American States: Democracy for Peace, Security, and Development. Web. 06 Apr. 2011. .

Cuarón, Carlos, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, and Alfonso Cuarón. “Rudo Y Cursi + In Conversation.” Interview by Geoff Andrew. In Conversation Series. British Film Institute, 22 June 2009. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. .

Eskenazi, Stuart. “Mexico Expels Evergreen Students; Group Accused of Violating Political activities Ban.” The Seattle Times. 4 May 2002. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. .

Hind, Emily. “Post-NAFTA Mexican Cinema, 1998-2002.” Studies in Latin American Popular Culture23.(2004): 96. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 20 Nov. 2010.

Keller, Louise. “Y Tu Mamá También Movie Review.” Urban Cinefile. Web. 14 Mar. 2011. .

Kemet, Mateen O. “Y Tu Mamá También (And Your Mother Too, 2002): An Examination of Race and Class in Modern Mexico.” Runaway FilmworX. 2009. Web. 12 Oct. 2010. .

Kun, Josh. “File Under: Post-Mexico.” Aztlan 29.1 (2004): 271-77. EBSCO. Web. 24 Mar. 2011.

“El Meikin: Making-of Featurette.” Rudo y Cursi. Dir. Carlos Cuarón. Perf. Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna. Cha Cha Chá Films, 2009. DVD.

62 Sheila Casalett

Moore, M. “From Reflection to Refraction: Rethinking Paradigms of Cultural Interaction and Identity in Peru and Mexico.” Bulletin of Latin American Research 21.4 (2002): 490-506. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 6 Apr 2011.

Noble, Andrea. Mexican National Cinema. London: Routledge, 2005. Print.

Paz, Octavio. The Labyrinth of Solitude and Other Writings. Trans. Lysander Kemp, Yara Milos, and Rachel Phillips Belash. New York: Grove, 1985. Print.

Puccio, John. “Y Tu Mamá También (Unrated Version) Movie Review.” DVD Town. 18 Oct. 2001. Web. 14 Mar. 2011. .

Rudo y Cursi. Dir. Carlos Cuarón. Perf. Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna. Cha Cha Chá Films, 2009. DVD.

Saldaña-Portillo, María Josefina. “In the Shadow of NAFTA: Y tu mamá tam- bién Revisits the National Allegory of Mexican Sovereignty.” American Quarterly 57.3 (2005): 751-777. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 20 Nov. 2010.

Scribbs, Martin. “Y Tu Mamá También Movie Reviews.” Rotten Tomatoes. 7 July 2004. Web. 14 Mar. 2011. .

Thelen, David. “Mexico’s Cultural Landscapes: A Conversation with Carlos Monsiváis.” Journal of American History 86.2 (n.d.): 613-622. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 6 May 2011.

Vasconcelos, Jose. The Cosmic Race: a Bilingual Edition. Trans. Didier Tisdel. Jaen. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins UP, 1997. Print.

Williams, Phillip. “From Mexico to Hollywood and Back.” Movie Maker. 3 Feb. 2007. Web. 22 Apr. 2011.

Y tu mamá también. Dir. Alfonso Cuarón. Perf. Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, and Maribel Verdú. IFC Films and MGM, 2001. DVD.

63 The Ghosts of Aktibistas Past: A New Generation of Filipino Women’s Rights Activists Faces a Daunting Legacy of Inspiration, Expectations, Stigmas & Divisions

Camila Domonoske Davidson College Faculty Mentor: Shireen Campbell Davidson College

ABSTRACT For young Filipinos activists like Judy, a leftist working for women’s rights, the Filipino activist tradition is a complicated inspiration and a mixed legacy. In the 1980s, now-revered aktibistas successfully overthrew Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship. Today, those working towards social change are frequently and negatively compared to the anti-Marcos activists, who had the benefit of a single, easily defined enemy. Young activists have also inherited a division within the left, born after the collapse of the Marcos coalition that stigmatizes all activism as “communist” while creating tensions between individual organizations. Judy’s story shows the impact of these expectations, stigmas and divisions.

n an upscale pastry shop in one of women’s rights is like a centimeter a year, I Manila’s many shopping malls, Judy, a just a centimeter.” 23-year-old women’s rights activist, leans Her words seem pessimistic, but Judy’s across the table and says that she does not passion for her work drives her to speak for offer clients hope. As a full-time counselor hours. All I have to do is listen. I’ve been do- and paralegal assisting victims of rape and ing a lot of listening; I am in the Philippines assault, what she offers is a choice. conducting interviews with young women’s “I just tell them that the justice system rights activists and asking them about what here sucks and we all know it. Now, what brought them to activism. I’ve recorded do you want to do? You want to continue story after story, and I’m meeting Judy to fighting for your rights, no matter what the discover hers. ending? At least you can tell people that you As a young white woman without the fought for your rights. Or just go back out ability to speak a word of Tagalog, I feel and continue with your life.” She pauses. conspicuously out of place everywhere I “The longest-running case I ever en- go, but Judy doesn’t bat an eyelash when I countered went for twelve years. Incest. It reach out to shake her hand. I mention my got dismissed.” Bitterness haunts her voice. Filipino grandfather, my feminist mother, “That’s reality… The progress we make on my research interests, but she doesn’t seem

64 Camila Domonoske to need my justifications. I want to hear in particular. At first, my goal was to col- about why she’s an activist. That’s all she lectively describe what had inspired these needs to know. young people to pursue women’s rights ac- Judy gestures to our pastries and informs tivism. But as I conducted my interviews, me that their price could pay a family of I realized that interviewing the youngest four for a day, an example of the economic generation of Filipino women’s rights ac- inequality crippling her nation. Picking at tivists had given me a fascinating cross- her roll, she castigates colonialism, corrup- section of stories about an ongoing activ- tion, inadequate laws, sexist social struc- ist legacy. Judy’s story was one response to tures, and complacency. She’s full of facts a generation-wide, highly contradictory and figures, well-briefed by her organiza- inheritance. tion, GABRIELA – the General Assembly In the 1980s, after decades of resistance, Binding Women for Reform, Integrity, Filipino activists overthrew the Marcos Equality, Leadership and Action, an leftist dictatorship. While today’s young activists umbrella organization with operations are cannot remember this seminal event, it pro- almost as expansive as its name. foundly influences their activist work. The Judy blends her training, knowledge and impressive achievements of earlier activists experience to explain the forces she is fight- both inspire Filipino youth and give them ing. Her voice is steady, frustrated. She has an impossible standard to live up to, now turned down promising job offers in order that the struggle against a single, specific to fight for women’s rights, for social and opponent has been replaced by attempts political equality, for the justice she cannot to change more subtle societal structures. promise the women who come to her. But Meanwhile, the shifting post-Marcos po- she is tired. litical landscape has linked the word “activ- In my time in the Philippines, I learned ist” with Maoist communist doctrine and that young women’s rights activists across sharply divided organizations with differ- this archipelago feel similarly mixed emo- ent political philosophies; both the stigma tions towards the social justice movement of activism and the split within it continue driving their lives. Many of those conflicted to haunt young activists. feelings are tied to a complex relationship The complex inheritance is implicit even with the Filipino activist tradition. I inter- in the language of Filipino activism: akti- viewed 53 self-identified women’s rights bista and tibak, the two Tagalog words for activists or advocates under the age of “activist,” directly invoke the popular social 30, with a variety of socioeconomic back- movements of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Once grounds, educational experience, and fam- valued, today the words have negative con- ily histories, from five different islands and notations. The mingled associations of ak- eleven cities. Their organizations ranged tibista and tibak, like Judy’s blend of passion politically from communist to moderate, and cynicism, reflect the paradox lived by and covered women’s issues from angles in- young Filipino activists: their work, follow- cluding women in politics, working women, ing a revered tradition, is often denigrated reproductive right, religious issues, wom- in the modern world. en’s health, indigenous women’s rights, and antiprostitution work. Activism as Inspiration, Activist as In one-on-one and group interviews, I Insult asked these diverse activists and advocates Judy’s generation of Filipinos was to tell me about their history with activ- raised in a world transformed by activism and what drew them to women’s rights ism. Dictator Ferdinand Marcos, president

65 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts of the country since 1965, had declared “If you were an activist in the 1970s and martial law in 1972 and maintained an 1980s when there was martial law, you authoritarian and corrupt government for were viewed as being a patriot because twenty years. During that time, covert op- your intention was very clean: to uplift the position groups included armed resistance country, to free it,” explains John, 22, an as well as moderate, non-violent organi- interior design student not associated with zations. In 1983, senator and opposition any activist organizations. “But now...” leader Benigno Aquino was assassinated He hesitates. “People doubt your inten- and Marcos accused of masterminding tions. Nowadays it’s not so patriotic to be his death. Aquino’s martyrdom fueled a an activist.” widespread uprising, bringing decades of “There is a connotation that you smell,” civil resistance and armed struggle to an says Maria, a 24-year-old researcher who astonishing finale. In the People Power studies gender issues. “That you are al- Revolution of 1986 massive nonviolent ways on the streets. That you are very demonstrations on the main highway of hard-core.” She glances around her quiet Manila resulted in Marcos fleeing the coun- office at a collegiate Women and Gender try. Democracy replaced autocratic martial Institute, filled with pamphlets and proj- law, Aquino’s widow, Corazon Aquino, ect reports, and smiles ironically. “I think became the new president, and the activ- I don’t fit well in that stereotype. But I see ists who led the revolution were national myself as an activist.” heroes. This peaceful revolution set a high The legacy of the martial law heroes standard for future activists to meet – in the both inspires and burdens the new activist Filipino memory, successful activism brings generation. Young protestors have a level democracy back to a long-suffering nation.1 of respect for the Marcos-era revolutionar- Today, the public still venerates these ies that borders on the worshipful. But the martial law activists. Aquino’s face graces pressure of constant comparisons with the reverential t-shirts, and the names of both original protestors – and the unquestioned Benigno and Corazon Aquino are invoked validity of their cause – haunts contempo- in political conversation on a daily basis. rary activism. Their son, Noynoy Aquino, won the 2010 presidential elections based primarily on From Overthrowing a Dictator to his patriotic pedigree. The most moderate, Changing a Society respectable middle-class Filipinos will wax Today, many Filipinos think that activ- rhapsodic about the joy they felt marching ism became obsolete after Marcos fell. En during the People Power Revolution. But route to interviews, taxi drivers inform me the same people who adore the old aktibi- that the activists I’m visiting are holding the stas look with suspicion upon the activists Philippines back. In the pastry shop, Judy of today. lays out their logic: “During the martial law era, there were a lot of abuses, very blatant human rights violations, and after martial 1 For more information on the People Power law there was a lot of hope that things Revolution from an activist’s perspective, see Mendoza, Amado, ‘”People Power” in the Philippines, 1983-86’, would change. I would say people are no in Adam Roberts and Timothy Garton Ash (eds.). Civil longer in favor of activism because they Resistance and Power Politics:The Experience of Non-violent would say Marcos was evil. And now he is Action from Gandhi to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. For a political history of Marcos’ rule during gone. It’s okay!” the martial law era, see Celoza, Albert F. Ferdinand Marcos Anti-Marcos activists fought a dictator and the Philippines: the political economy of authoritarianism. with the promise that if they threw him Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing, 1997.

66 Camila Domonoske out of power, the country would change interests.4 But this “rebirth” of the women’s forever. Today’s Filipino activists can make rights movement occurred at a time when, no such claims. They fight against colonial according to the activists I interviewed, influences, political and economic inequal- larger culture viewed activism in general as ity, environmental destruction, corruption, no longer necessary. poverty, poor health, sexism, and a host of Elisa, a 30-year-old activist and advo- other issues; women’s rights activists, many cate, remembers the aftermath of the fall of whom embrace intersectionality, often of Marcos and has seen the role of activism protest all at once. But they cannot point evolve since then. She sighs when she talks to a single issue or individual as the root of about the growing mistrust of activists and the nation’s evils. their intentions. “The problem is that the The efficacy of a common enemy in issues now are not as manifest as they used building a coalition or movement has been to be,” she says. “Young people might think well-established since Émile Durkheim first that there’s nothing wrong, but that’s pre- started theorizing about social integration, cisely it. When young people stop question- and continues to be acknowledged con- ing and stop wondering why certain things temporary social movement theory.2 As are, that’s a huge problem.” James M Jasper writes in The Art of Moral Even when people are aware of the Protest, “it seems easier to forge consensus Philippines’ many modern struggles, they around an analysis of what is wrong with may still choose to dismiss modern activ- current policies than around directions for ists on the basis of the martial-law history. the future.”3 For Filipino activists, this gen- Continued social and political problems eralization seems to hold true; activists en- lead some citizens to conclude that ac- joyed stronger coalitions and a broader base tivism, even activism as successful as the of support when they fought against Marcos People Power Revolution, simply does not than when they fought for any cause. work. After protests overthrew Marcos and For woman’s rights activists, their sense later president Joseph Estrada, corruption of decreasing popular support post-Marcos remained. Poverty remained. Abuses of is almost completely disconnected from the power, violent conflict, and failures of the actual effectiveness of activists. In many justice system remained. ways, after Marcos’ fall the women’s rights “When you hope so badly for change movement leaped forward more dramati- and you don’t get it,” Judy tells me, “you cally than ever; new organizations arose, learn that if you want to get justice, you and women gained new power within an have to be rich. You see that there’s no al- activist community that had previously em- ternative to the society that you’re living in. phasized the“national good” over women’s You know that, ‘oh, well, this is life.’ People are apathetic, but to be honest, the primary need of the Filipinos is to survive.” She 2 For instance: “It is only when independent groups shrugs. “It’s understandable.” have been forced, particularly in order to defend themselves against a common enemy, to draw closer The perceived complacency of the together and keep the peace with one another, that general public, the same people who a group was able to repress an assault by one of its were on the streets during the People members upon another group...” Durkheim, Émile. “Political Obligation, Moral Duty and Punishment.” Power Revolution, continually frustrates Durkheim on politics and the state. Ed. Anthony Giddens. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1986. 167. 4 For an extensive description of this process, see 3 Jasper, James M. The Art of Moral Protest: Culture, Kwiatkowski, Lynn. “Feminist struggles for feminist Biography and Creativity in Social Movements. Chicago: nationalism in the Philippines.” Feminist Nationalism. New University of Chicago Press, 1997. 362-363 York: Routledge, 1997. 147-168

67 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts present-day Filipino activists. They want to Many activists and organizations work to transform their country from the inside out, improve the lives of the nation’s poor and moving beyond a model in which interna- marginalized while denouncing both the tional NGOs and aid agencies reach out politics and the methods of the far left. To to the Global South. Without the muscle complicate matters, however, other activists and bank accounts of foreigners, though, believe that communist organizing, follow- they need a broad base of local support. ing Maoist philosophy and upholding the Every day they fight to overcome what they primacy of armed revolution, is the only identify as their twin ailments in the pub- valid type of activism. These leftist activists lic’s eye: general apathy and activism’s bad embrace the derogatory connotations of reputation. aktibista and promote the blanket stereotype that more moderate activists try to resist. Activism and the Left The divide within the activist commu- Adding to the stigma of activism, popu- nity goes far deeper than this disagree- lar opinion indelibly links contemporary ment over the validity of stereotypes. After activism, including women’s rights activ- the Marcos regime fell, the community of ism, with leftism. The anti-Marcos move- Filipino leftists split between those who re- ment was not exclusively leftist: it included affirmed the armed struggle and those who a somewhat fractious coalition of the chose to work with the new government. Catholic Church, the military, moder- “National Democratic” organizations carry ate political organizations, and the intel- the standard for the ‘reaffirmists’ and stick lectual elite, as well as armed communist to Maoist communist principles, and an groups. After Aquino became president, array of more moderately socialist groups most groups chose to cooperate with the stand with the ‘rejectionists’. In the world new government; a communist faction, of women’s rights activism, GABRIELA – however, was excluded from the new gov- Judy’s organization – represents the most ernment and continued armed resistance powerful NatDem women’s rights group. to authority even after the fall of Marcos. These inherited, post-Marcos tensions still Today, many Filipinos closely associate hamper attempts at cooperation between the word “activism” with the New People’s GABRIELA members and rejectionists, Army, or NPA – communist guerillas, hid- even those who once worked side by side. ing in the mountains, opposing democrati- Activists from both sides of the split told cally elected presidents. When I mentioned me, plaintively, that the conflict impedes to one cab driver that I was visiting an activ- the development of effective coalitions that ist, he said with concern, “Why would you fight for women’s interests. Others saw the want to talk to them? Isn’t that dangerous?” split as simply dividing right from wrong. Any type of social justice work can open Irene, 22, a student activist with activists, advocates and non-profit employ- GABRIELA, bluntly frames her opinion ees up to accusations of communist lean- of the division between moderate activists ings. Elisa, 30, has faced this stereotype for and the far left: “There are many people so long that she responds with amusement. who claim to be activists, but they are not “After college,” she says, “I wanted to get National Democratic activists and they into human rights work. My mother said, can’t define themselves as activists... to be ‘Why, do you want to be mistaken for a a real activist, I mean the ones who can leftist?’ ” Elisa shrugs. “That stigma is very really stand for the interests of Filipinas, limiting to a lot of people. I just tried to you have to be Nat Dem.” The split be- change it.” tween the left and the far left, which had

68 Camila Domonoske combined forces during the days of martial an activist, saying to herself: “I want to do law activism, defines the very meaning of something that’s worthy, that’s important in aktibista for many of today’s young activists. my life. I want to do something so even if I died right now I would say - I do this thing.” The Path to Activism – And The Price She lied to her parents and told them she Like Irene, Judy considers all non-Nat- had to keep working with GABRIELA to Dem groups “an enemy” to her cause; get her degree. Long after she’d finished she, too, does not believe that members her practicum, she kept volunteering. In of non-communist groups deserve the title women’s rights advocacy she did reward- of “activist.” But she is more diplomatic ing work, used her psychology degree, and than Irene, saying, “We all have different found a community that supported her as perspectives based on our experiences in a woman, as a lesbian, and as an activist. life.” Judy herself was born into an upper- Her non-activist parents were not middle-class family and supported by her pleased. “If your father worked his ass off father’s work overseas, a common path to to give [you] a great education… get you Filipino prosperity. She was as surprised as to study in a very expensive school, let you her family by her journey from a comfort- choose whatever courses you want, and able childhood into the world of activism then suddenly you work in a nongovern- and its complex divisions and challenges. ment organization with no pay, no salary, Educated at one of the Philippines’ top you go to the streets to protest and rally…” private colleges, Judy first encountered Judy says, “Nobody wants that.” Marxism in a sociology class. As she learned Life as an activist comes with risks as well more about leftist political ideology, and as as financial costs. Filipino activism has al- her psychology practicum led her to work ways been dangerous.5 While many orga- with GABRIELA, she soon turned away nizers hope for a safer environment under from her original goal of being a doctor President Aquino, the son of two activists, and became interested in activist causes. such improvement is hardly guaranteed. Meeting victims of rape and incest led Journalists who uncover injustices routinely her to woman’s issues in particular. “I real- disappear, and activists fighting those injus- ized Sex and the City didn’t do much when tices are equally vulnerable; a U.N. investi- it came to women’s liberation,” she says gation cited a Karapatan report claiming wryly, as the pastry shop starts to close. She that 885 left-leaning activists and political describes how devastating poverty, an un- leaders were killed over six years, includ- responsive police force, and the lack of re- ing human rights defenders and unionists.6 productive health care services exacerbate many problems facing Filipinas, particu- 5 “Arbitrary, unlawful, and extrajudicial killings by larly problems of assault and abuse. Sexist elements of the security services and political killings, cultural and social institutions also abound. including killings of journalists, by a variety of state The waitresses in our pastry shop – there and nonstate actors continued to be serious problems. Concerns about impunity persisted… Leftist and human are no waiters – wear a uniform featuring rights activists reported harassment by local security short skirts and tall socks. Judy looks point- forces.” U.S. State Department. “Philippines.” Country edly at their clothes and asks, “Do you Reports on Human Rights Practices 2010. The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. . that?” She sighs. “I just want to live in a so- Accessed September 14, 2011. ciety where people are not raped and won’t 6 UN Human Rights Council. Report of the Special experience sexual harassment.” Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, When she was 18 years old, Judy became Philip Alston : Addendum : Mission to Philippines. 16 April 2008. A/HRC/8/3/Add.2,

69 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

While I was in the Philippines a prominent rallies? More fundamentally, how can doz- party-list leader was assassinated in broad ens of separate political causes be pulled daylight, and many of the activists I spoke together into a sustained movement? to expressed anxiety over his killing.7 And, given the high expectations, harsh Kim, who once served as a spokeswoman stigma, lack of mainstream support, con- for GABRIELA and now holds a more flicts between activist groups, and physical moderate rejectionist stance, describes risks, is life as an activist still worth it? the daily fears of activists: “Especially un- I interviewed over 50 young women’s der the previous administration--Gloria rights activists, and almost all answered Arroyo’s--it was very, very tense time for that question, explicitly or implicitly, with activists. I was coming home, always look- yes. They didn’t deny the challenges they ing over the shoulder to see if someone was faced, and some had lowered their own following me. Every week could be three to personal expectations of success, but all five people dead,” she says. “There’s a lot were unambiguously committed to their of worrying, should I continue or should I fight. Except one- Judy. just let things mellow for a while? I want to By the end of our interview, Judy and I sit preserve myself...” outside the mall, after the pastry shop wait- “A lot of activists actually went to hid- resses locked the doors and the mall police- ing for a while,” she says, “but I couldn’t go men pushed us out. The sun has long since into hiding at the time. I was the only pub- gone down, but Judy isn’t done talking. lic figure of GABRIELA in my area. Plus, She jokes lightheartedly that as the young- why would I hide? I’m not doing anything est woman at her office, the other activists wrong!” treat her like she’s crazy. “But I have a right “But I was crossing my fingers every time to get crazy,” she says, less jokingly, “I get I left to go home.” an average of ten calls a day from women talking about their abuses. Who wouldn’t Bringing Filipino Activism Into the get crazy?” Future Entirely serious now, she stutters to a Today’s young Filipino activists, carrying stop. After three hours of talking cease- both the burden and the banner of their lessly about why she works with women, martial-law forebears, face big questions. day in and day out, listening to their pain Will the rejectionist/reaffirmist split be and giving them emotional support and le- bridged by cooperation? Should activists gal advice, she now has to pause to choose continue street organizing and rallies, or her words. turn to online organizing and social media? “What if I tell you that I want to stop?” Can these two organizing approaches be I wait. The Manila heat is finally dissipat- integrated, or does the Internet only create ing into the night air, and a cooler breeze “armchair activists” who will not appear at hits our faces. “Sometimes you want to explore other things,” she says as if apologizing. “Of refworld/docid/484d2b2f2.html>. Accessed September 14, 2011. course I’d still be a woman’s rights advocate. Just maybe not an activist.” 7 See Kowk, Abigail and Nestor P. Burgos, Jr. “First killing of activist under Aquino condemned.” Philippine Judy told me that any time spent promot- Daily Inquirer. July 5, 2010. . Accessed September 14, 2011. framework of a NatDem organization. She is convinced that only a NatDem strategy

70 Camila Domonoske has any hope of creating substantive, posi- were inspired; where she embraces the tive changes for her country, so any other post-Marcos link between communism and type of activism – or labor – is futile. If she activism, many others try to erase that as- leaves GABRIELA, by her definition she sociation. But every activist I spoke to was, will no longer be an activist. in some way, navigating this relationship As we sit on the steps, I feel the urge with the glorified activist history. In that to comfort Judy, who looks bereft at the sense, Judy’s struggle is entirely represen- thought of losing that aspect of her identity. tative: even the most committed and pas- I tell her about another woman I recently sionate activists struggle with the standards interviewed, Michelle, a researcher and ac- imposed by the past, and the divisions that tivist who works with high school girls to have arisen within old alliances. promote self esteem and gender conscious- For Judy, that struggle may end in a ness. Michelle had told me, “Activism is change of lifestyle, but as her stubborn a lifestyle. It’s not just something you do. glance makes clear, that doesn’t make her If you’re an activist, if you are a feminist, any less of an activist now. She won’t be then you are an activist for the rest of your leaving GABRIELA today, or this week. life.” She won’t make this decision overnight. Judy’s face is somewhat doubtful. When Tomorrow she’ll go back into work, she talks about stopping, about moving greeting her patients and clients. She’ll an- from the world of activism to the world of swer calls from new victims, hoping she will paid labor, her voice wavers with the fear not hear more terrible stories than she can of something ending forever. Michelle’s bear. Unable to offer those victims a prom- eyes shone when she talked about the frus- ise of justice, she’ll tell them about their trating challenges she faces. Judy just looks choices. It will be a long day’s work, and pensive. But after a long moment, she to carry her through it, Judy holds on to smiles again. a humble hope, smaller and yet somehow No activist I spoke to could stand as more profound than the old vision of a top- a representative of “the young Filipino pling dictatorship. Knowing all the limita- women’s rights activist experience, ” and tions on her achievements, on her mission, certainly not Judy, the only activist who and on her nation, tomorrow she’ll keep told me of plans to leave the field. Where seeking a centimeter’s worth of progress. she is frustrated by what she sees as an apathetic post-Marcos public, some activists Names have been changed to pseudonyms.

71 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

REFERENCES

Celoza, Albert F. Ferdinand Marcos and the Philippines: the political economy of authoritarianism. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing, 1997.

Durkheim, Émile. “Political Obligation, Moral Duty and Punishment.” Durkheim on politics and the state. Ed. Anthony Giddens. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1986.

Jasper, James M.The Art of Moral Protest: Culture, Biography and Creativity in Social Movements. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997

Kowk, Abigail and Nestor P. Burgos, Jr. “First killing of activist under Aquino condemned.” Philippine Daily Inquirer. July 5, 2010. . Accessed September 14, 2011.

Kwiatkowski, Lynn. “Feminist struggles for feminist nationalism in the Philippines.” Feminist Nationalism. New York: Routledge, 1997.

Mendoza, Amado, ‘”People Power” in the Philippines, 1983-86’, in Adam Roberts and Timothy Garton Ash (eds.). Civil Resistance and Power Politics:The Experience of Non- violent Action from Gandhi to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.

UN Human Rights Council. Report of the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Philip Alston : Addendum : Mission to Philippines. 16 April 2008. A/ HRC/8/3/Add.2, . Accessed September 14, 2011.

U.S. State Department. “Philippines.” Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2010. The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. . Accessed September 14, 2011.

All other quotes and data are from personal interviews conducted in the Philippines in June and July of 2010.

72 Discoveries in Encaustic: A Look through History

Kristen Gallagher Meredith College Faculty Mentor: James Boyles Meredith College

ABSTRACT Discoveries in Encaustic: A Look through History examines the techniques and history of encaustic art, a painting medium using melted beeswax and mineral pigment. This paper brings attention to encaustic so that it can be understood as an important art historical topic and as a viable medium. Additionally, it sheds light on the encaustic artists who practiced before American artist Jasper Johns popularized the medium. Though critical and historical literature on the subject is slim, encaustic formulas, methods, and subject matter have changed drastically since the medium’s ancient origins. In addition to these historical considerations, this paper examines modern innovations which are fostering a renaissance of encaustic as an important art form. Both historical and contemporary ideas about encaustic through research and experimentation were explored. This project seeks to place a centuries-old technique in a contemporary light, to recognize its changes, and to appreciate its relevance in art today.

ncaustic painting, though not often melt and fuse layers of beeswax.2 Burning E discussed in art historical literature, in is the part of encaustic that literally has served an important role in the creation separates the medium from other paint- of art throughout the past several centu- ing styles that use wax (such as ganosis and ries. Although encaustic as a medium has wax emulsion), as heat is included in every changed little in its formulation, it has gone stage of encaustic painting. As Danielle through multiple stylistic changes. A closer Rice speculates in her essay, “Encaustic look through art history will yield a diverse Painting Revivals,” the “magic” of encaus- and complex past of the medium – a past tic has caused much debate, as art histo- not easily plotted or pieced together. rians struggle to categorize this complex Encaustic uses wax, heat, and usu- medium.3 Yet, artists have found encaus- ally pigment to create a work of art or to tic as a means to visually express a unique varnish a work of art or sculpture.1 The poetic beauty. Plutarch wrote, “A beautiful term is derived from the Greek enkaustikos, woman leaves in the heart of an indifferent meaning to inust, that is to “burn in”; thus encaustic is marked by the use of heat to 2 Joanne Mattera, The Art of Encaustic Painting: ContemporaryExpression in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented 1 Agneta Freccero, Encausto and Ganosis: Beeswax as Wax (New York: Watson-Guptill, 2001) 17. Paint and Coating during the Roman Era and its Applicability in Modern Art, Craft, and Conservation (Sweden: ACG, 2002) 5. 3 Danielle Rice. “Encaustic Painting Revivals.” Waxing Poetic: Encaustic Art in America (New Jersey: Rutgers UP, 1999) 5.

73 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts man an image as fleeting as a reflection on with a brush.7 Each of the three methods water, but in a lover’s heart, the image is was suited to one particular outcome: the fixed with fire like an encaustic painting first was meant to produce murals; the sec- that time will never erase.”4 This roman- ond to produce small, flat, engraved ivory tic notion pairs well with the medium he works similar to cameos; and the third to chooses as his comparison; the very in- paint and seal ships.8 Homer wrote that gredients of this medium cause encaustic the second method “was invented in Asia works to have a permanence not present Minor and brought to Greece,” while the in other works Plutarch may have encoun- first and third methods were invented in tered, such as frescoes that could chip and Greece.9 statues that could crack. Encaustic is based There were apparently four primary uses upon the layering and fusing of wax and for encaustic. Probably the most common pigment, and because wax becomes inert was ship painting, a practical solution to when hardened, an image will remain fixed both decorating as well as waterproofing within its wax “shell.” the wooden sides of the ship. Panel, or mu- The origins of encaustic are unknown, ral, painting was another format. A third though the Greeks may have learned to use was ganosis, the use of encaustic to color wax for utilitarian purposes, such as caulk- the white marble of statuary, to polish it ing and painting ships, from the Egyptians, and provide a sheen, and to coat it with a only to pass it down to the Romans.5 There chip-resistant sealant. A 4th-century krater, are no known existing examples of either now in the collection of the Metropolitan early Egyptian or ancient Greek or Roman Museum of Art, illustrates ganosis, or paint- encaustic art; only those works called the ing wax on sculpture for surface protec- Fayum portraits exist, and the earliest of tion.10 The red-figured krater pictures an these dates from the first century of the artist dipping a brush in a vat that resembles Common Era. However, ancient textual those described by Pliny. Ganosis has been and visual sources, beginning with Homer’s viewed by some as the start of encaustic reference in The Iliad to the Greeks’ “ver- painting and by others as an offshoot of it. meil-painted ships,” 6 provide some evi- A fourth use for encaustic was decorating dence of early encaustic methods and us- fabric. In De Architectura, Vitruvius noted, ages. In Pliny the Elder’s Natural History “Punic wax (is) melted in the fire…let it be (77-79 CE), the author devotes Book 35 to smoothed over with waxed cord and clean art, and specifically focuses on encaustic: linen cloths, the same way as naked marble “We do not know who first invented the art sculptures.” 11 of painting with wax colors and burning No works and few references to works or in the painting.” Pliny’s writings describe artists have survived; the information we three separate methods of using encaustic: have on a few famous works of the time 1) application of wax with a cauteria, 2) en- is solely based on literature. “Waxes,” as graving on ivory and filling with wax using the works were called, would have held a cestrum, and a rhabdion, and 3) wax colors dissolved in naptha and applied warm 7 Cauteria: a tool used to heat wax, Cestrum: long tool with a spoon-like end, Rhabdion: stove.

4 Gail Stavitsky, Waxing Poetic: Encaustic Art in America 8 Pratt and Fizel, p. 9 and Rice, p. 6 (New Jersey: Rutgers UP, 1999) 5. 9 Freccero, p. 5 5 Frances Pratt and Becca Fizel, Encaustic Materials and Methods (New York: Lear, 1949) 10. 10 Mattera, p. 17 and Freccero, p. 6

6 The Iliad, book II, verse 79 11 Rice, p. 6

74 Kristen Gallagher up well against normal wear and tear, as painting did spread into Rome and Europe. beeswax is generally insoluble and quite Pliny’s in-depth description of en- durable; but unfortunately due to various caustic suggests that the art form continued wars and natural disasters, none are ex- to be a vital medium in Rome well into tant today. Despite this, there are several the first century CE. It is from the cen- accounts that cite ancient works found re- turies that followed this that we have our cently. The first is of Eugenio Latillo, who, first surviving examples of ancient encaus- between 1838 and 1840, wrote a treatise tic, but they come from another region of which hinted that he owned an encaustic the Roman Empire: Egypt. While this was work from Pompeii, and mentions the evi- geographically a dramatic shift, the styles dence of the use of a cestrum and impasto found in Egypt appear to be continuations effects.12 The second is of a peasant farmer of the Greco-Roman tradition of the pre- who unearthed an encaustic painting, now vious centuries. Prior to the immigration titled “The Muse of Cortona,” in 1732 of Hellenistic peoples, the use of wax in in Cortona, Italy.13 The third account re- Egyptian funerary services does not appear lates to a “Death Portrait of Cleopatra of to have been for artistic purposes. Egypt,” which would have been painted All of the Egyptian encaustic works that in honor of Augustus Caesar’s defeat of survive today and all that are mentioned in Mark Antony and Cleopatra. This was ancient writings are funerary art. Generally found near Emperor Hadrian’s villa in called Fayum portraits because the first 1818.14 There is supporting evidence that portraits were excavated from this area in the “Muse” and “Cleopatra” are in fact an- the late 1880s, this group of works is unlike cient Roman, as they were both found at typical Egyptian art. Before Greco-Roman Roman sites, and were passed through sev- occupation, this application of encaustic eral hands. It is known that Julius Caesar did not exist in the region.17 Done primar- purchased an encaustic painting from the ily between the first and fourth centuries artist Timomakos for 80 talents15 and later of the Christian era, these portraits were bought another work, both of which were designed to adorn wrapped mummies and to adorn temples. A site excavated in St. convey the likeness of the deceased into the Medard, France in 1895 revealed a female future.18 Most of the Fayum portraits were artist’s tools, several of which were associ- done on wood and “show their subjects ated with wax painting, such as cauteria, nearly at bust length.”19 Although some a burner, and containers of wax and res- portraits were created after the death of the in.16 These accounts and works provide subject, others were made before the per- evidence that Greek traditions of encaustic son died and may have served as a symbol of status in the community while he or she 12 Pratt and Fizel, p. 16

13 Pratt and Fizel, p. 13 17 However, there is some evidence to suggest that the Greeks learned of the use of beeswax for other 14 When Hadrian ruled Rome in 117 B.C.E., he is applications, such as use as an adhesive and sealer. said to have moved several treasures to his villa. Pratt and Fizel, p. 15 18 Images of Fayum portraits, as well as the mummies they graced, can be found in Doxiadis and Rice. 15 About $350,000 in 1949, when Pratt and Fizel published their book, and a sum of $3,150,000 in 19 Note that not all Fayum portraits are encaustic: 2009. Williamson, Samuel H, Seven Ways to Compute some were made on cartonnages (funerary masks) of the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1790 to Present linen, plaster and stucco. David L. Thompson and (MeasuringWorth: 2010) 10-11. Haskell V. Hart, NCMA Bulletin. XIV.1 (NCMA, 1977) 5 and Euphrosyne Doxiadis,The Mysterious Fayum Portraits: 16 Victor R. Stephen, Wax—Materials, Equipments, and Faces from Ancient Egypt (Great Britain: Thames and Techniques (Pennsylvania, Penn State UP: 1963) 12. Hudson, 1995) 13.

75 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts was still living.20 from persecution, the faithful would have Fayum portraits can all be loosely clas- taken the portraits with them as they fled.24 sified based on the substrate shape: most Thus the practice of painting a small, easy- stepped panels come from Antinoopolis, to-transport eikon (Greek for icon) in Egypt rounded panels come from the Hawara re- may have developed into the Byzantine icon gion, and angled panels originated mostly tradition.25 Prior to Constantine’s decree, in Er-Rubayyat.21 Doxiadis separates the Christians might also have used encaustic portraits into four categories outside of painting in rituals in the catacombs under their shape. Those of the first category, Rome.26 Pratt and Fizel also suggest a link “the highly sophisticated portraits,” are all between funerary portraiture of Egypt and based in the Greek naturalistic tradition, the practice of icon painting: “The prac- handed down in the Alexandrian school. tice of painting and hanging the portraits The second group is characterized by a less anterior to death seems to have led into the intricate rendering of the face and expres- painting of icons, or images, of the saints sion. The third category shows portraits as objects of veneration.”27 Of express that are schematic and most likely not concern to early Christians was the repre- painted from life. The final group shows sentational element of portraiture, as “ra- portraits that are dramatically less sophis- tionalizing their image veneration.”28 The ticated and exhibit little artistic skill.22 The subject matter, medium, and portability of panels range in size from small to medium icons transformed these art pieces into per- panels of wood or wood wrapped in linen. sonal, symbolic, and powerful objects. The panels were prepared with a thin layer The Byzantine Empire, which flourished of rabbit skin glue, which functioned as a between the 4th century CE and the fall of sealant, and then finally painted with bees- Constantinople in 1453, has come to be wax mixed with ground mineral pigments. intimately associated with icon painting. After the wax paint was applied, often in an Though few of the early Byzantine en- impasto-like manner, gilt garlands were ap- caustic icons survive today, the Monastery plied over the person’s head, or gilt stucco of Saint Catherine at Mt. Sinai houses frames were affixed to the panel. Unlike well-preserved encaustic wall paintings in the Greek encaustic portraits (according addition to some encaustic icons.29 The to descriptions), gold leaf was added to monastery and the area around it have pro- Fayum portraits to make the mummies fit vided many encaustic icons and pre-icon- more in line with their traditional Egyptian ographical works. Thomas Mathews notes funerary mask counterparts.23 that the Byzantine icon represents the mar- Doxiadis contends that Christians who riage of the pagan icon genre with “the lived in Egypt during times of persecution set up martyria for mummified martyrs. These mummies were housed in shrines, and portraits, very similar to and quite pos- 24 Doxiadis, p. 90 sibly actually some of the Fayum portraits, 25 Mathews, Thomas F. Byzantium: From Antiquity to would have been affixed to them. Escaping the Renaissance. New York, New York: Harry N. Adams, 1998. 6.

26 Pratt and Fizel, p. 15 20 Doxiadis, p. 12 and 83 27 Pratt and Fizel, p. 16 21 Corcoran, p. 44 28 Mathews, p. 10 22 Doxiadis, p. 83 29 Margaret Perivoliotis, Wax Resist Decoration, An 23 Doxiadis, p. 84 Ancient Mediterranean Art (Artciencia 2.4: Web, 2006) 3.

76 Kristen Gallagher tradition of ancient Roman painting.”30 dition, the palette with which the Fayum Not all of the icons found in the monas- portraits were painted was primarily white, tery are Christian, and clear pagan ties yellow ochre, red, and black. This provides provide information about Egyptian influ- evidence that the two eras shared mineral ences on early Christian icon painting and pigments and color patterns.34 One spe- style. This fact suggests that icon painters cific encaustic icon of St. Peter from the who worked in the monastery of Saint monastery upholds these ideas: St. Peter is Catherine were familiar with the Fayum pictured sitting in a frontal position, with portraits, thus supporting the spread of en- his face slightly angled to the left. He is caustic from the Fayum in Egypt through adorned with gilt additions and painted the Sinai Peninsula into the monastery. A using the traditional palette. It is even de- 200 CE pagan work, Suchos and Isis, described as having an “expressive and spiri- picts Egyptian gods seated on a double tual face”.35 The formula for the paint, throne, clutching their attributes (Suchos essentially the same as Punic wax, differs holds a crocodile, sacred to the Nile, and only in the addition of resinous material.36 Isis holds a sheaf of corn, representing her This variation of Punic wax may have been fertility).31 A telling element of the work is the preferred formula in the Sinai region, that the faces are encircled with gilt haloes as natron, a salt described by Pliny and vital and the physical form of the icon is very to wax paint production, was particularly similar to later Christian icons as well as abundant in the Birket Quarun salt lake in earlier Fayum portraits.32 The pose of Isis, the Fayum District and not in the Sinai.37 the mother goddess of Egypt, predates The connection between the wax formulas portraits of the Virgin Mary but seems to was most likely to the continued use of for- define a generalized pose for her, as seen mulas already perfected by Fayum artists in later icons. These works, though not and brought to the monastery. encaustic or explicitly Byzantine, serve as While Egyptian encaustic portraits had precursors to the technique and serve as the greatest impact on the development of evidence of the spread of Greco-Roman Byzantine icons, artists in the Crimea may artistic methodology. have begun working in encaustic as early Byzantine encaustic icons share four as the 4th century BCE. Paintings on a sar- distinct features with portraits from the cophagus found at Kertch, now modern- Fayum district. The first feature is that of day Ukraine, support this.38 The images on the similarity in facial structures, the sec- the sarcophagus are thought to be in en- ond the pose of the sitter, the third the caustic medium. This early example of en- color palette, and fourth the use of the caustic in eastern Europe can be seen as ev- Punic wax and salt variant formula. Greek idence of another influence on Byzantine artists imported facial expressions as well wax painting, and may also have served as as frontal and three-quarter poses to the inspiration for some of the famous Russian Fayum district and combined their style with that of their Egyptian hosts.33 In ad- 34 Doxiadis, p. 91 35 For an image of “Saint Peter” see Jens Fleischer, 30 See Mathews for images of various Byzantine John Lund, and Majatta Nielsen, Late Antiquity: Art in encaustic icons. Mathews, p. 4. Context (Copenhagen: MuseumTusculanum Press, 2001) 59. 31 Mathews, p. 6 36 Freccero, p. 68 32 Though the icon was destroyed in the Second World War, photographs of it remain. Mathews, p. 6 37 Freccero, p. 51

33 Doxiadis, p. 91 38 Stephen, p. 14

77 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts icons, some of which were also done in en- that “the encaustic medium would offer caustic. Historian A.P. Laurie’s 1935 text, certain advantages” such as strength, dura- The Painter’s Methods and Materials, notes bility, and brilliance of color. Rice specu- that “the examination of Russian icons lates that for Caylus and Diderot encaustic may reveal some other early examples of was a means to return art to the “ancient wax painting in addition to the well known style.”45 Several other artists began to try Egyptian ones.”39 both Caylus’ and Diderot’s methods, and It appears that encaustic as a mode of artists such as Alexander Roslin and Louis- painting fell out of fashion at the end of the Joseph Le Lorrain exhibited encaustics in 7th century. Very few icons were painted in France during the late 1700s. The idea that encaustic after the iconoclastic controversy French painting – regularly done in oil – began around 726, though a post-Byz- had become corrupt pushed these men to antine icon from the 17th century was re- champion an art medium that demanded ported in 1935 to be owned by a professor discipline and great attention to detail, at the Royal Academy of Art in London.40 and secretly, a demolition of the “painterly Interestingly, Pratt and Fizel report that style” then popular. In effect, the revital- “encaustic is said to have flourished…until ization of encaustic caused attitude shifts some time between the 14th and 17th centu- in the European art world that began to ries,” but give no specific details about art- favor the antique style, also known as the ists or works created between the 7th and “goût grec.”46 Encaustic began to appear 14th centuries.41 However, another source in Sweden, England, Germany, and Italy.47 postulates that Lucas Cranach the Elder, Jacques-Louis David, the master of the Andrea Mantegna, and possibly even neoclassical style and student of Vien, was Leonardo da Vinci experimented with the no doubt familiar with encaustic. He com- medium during the Renaissance.42 missioned the American artist Rembrandt In the early 18th century, Comte de Peale in 1810 to paint his portrait in oil Caylus, a French antiquarian interested in and encaustic.48 In turn, Peale learned the Pliny’s writings on encaustic, began to ex- technique from David’s student, Jacques periment with the medium. Caylus hired Nicolas Paillot de Montabert, whom Rice chemist and artist Joseph-Marie Vien to gives the honor of bringing encaustic into test several formulations and applications the 19th century. In 1829, Paillot published of wax medium. Vien eventually painted a nine-volume treatise on painting meth- and exhibited his own encaustics.43 Another ods, with one devoted only to encaustic. intellectual of the day, Denis Diderot, After learning from Paillot in Philadelphia “condemned Caylus…and championed instead the experiments (in encaustic) of Jean-Jacques Bachelier.”44 Both agreed 45 Rice, p. 8 46 Rice, p. 8

39 Stephen, p. 20 47 Specific artists who pioneered encaustic in these countries: Carl Gustaf Pilo (Sweden), George Edwards 40 Pratt and Fizel, p. 16 and Johann Heinrich Müntz (who worked under Horace Walpole’s supervision at Strawberry Hill and translated 41 Pratt and Fizel, p. 12 Caylus’ treatise into English) and John Francis Rigaud 42 GeraldWard, The Grove encyclopedia of materials and (England),Benjamin Calau and Julius Schnorr von techniques in art (NewYork: Oxford University Press, 2008) Carolsfeld (Germany), and Vincenzo Requeno and 192-193. Christoph Unterberger (whom Catherine the Great commissioned to paint a cabinet in encaustic) (Italy), 43 Ward, p. 192-193 Ward, p. 192-193

44 Ward, p. 192-193 48 Rice, p. 9

78 Kristen Gallagher in 1793 and in Paris in 1809, Peale soon 20th century fueled interest in the medium “became an authority on the medium” and and led many artists to work with wax. The painted several portraits, including ones experimentation occurring at the turn of of the Marquis de Lafayette and François the century led to a revolution in several ar- Gérard. tistic media. Encaustic in particular greatly In London in 1847, W. B. Sarsfield Taylor benefitted from the availability and acces- published his findings and theories on en- sibility of “electrically heated equipment caustic methods in A Manual of Fresco and and commercially prepared materials.”52 Encaustic Painting. Artist Henry Styleman Encaustic had always been a difficult Le Strange studied the manual, and taught and cumbersome painting material, and the American artist John La Farge the though several artists in its history capital- process of encaustic painting as they trav- ized on its complex nature, encaustic never eled in Belgium. La Farge began to work became as popular as other painting styles on decorative works in encaustic, and later because of this. However, several artists of painted encaustic murals at Trinity Church the 20th century, emboldened by the recent in Boston, beginning around 1876.49 In interest in ancient history and in encaustic four months, La Farge had completed the paintings and aided by new technologies murals, several of which were done in “du- that made the method easier, found work- rable, water-resistant encaustic, consisting ing in encaustic to be a unique experience. of wax melted with turpentine, alcohol, In 1934, a German artist named Karl and Venice turpentine and applied directly Zerbe came to America, fleeing Nazi per- to the walls.”50 Though La Farge’s medium secution. In 1935, the artist went on to be- was more of a heated wax emulsion, his come the head of the painting department paintings do represent a bridge between at the Boston Museum School and began Peale and later American encaustic artists. to search for ways to explain “what makes With a kind of circular motion, artists a picture.” His search led him to wax, a me- in Europe encouraged a return to ancient dium that allowed him to layer paint with- styles while academics explored ancient out the long drying periods of oils, and he encaustics. Viennese art dealer Theodore discovered that applying it hot onto canvas Graf and British archaeologist Flinders or board gave him immense flexibility.53 His Petrie shared a great interest in early en- experimentation eventually led him to“the caustics. Graf purchased almost one hun- right mixture: ninety percent beeswax and dred Fayum portraits in 1887, and Petrie’s ten percent of sun-thickened linseed oil, publications on the topic spurred great in- heated to 225 degrees Fahrenheit” which terest in the subject.51 Many artists saw a he achieved with an electric palette and deeply emotional and contemporary aes- fused with blow-torches and hand-lamps. thetic in the funerary portraits, but were He demonstrated his process in a 1957 film also able to relate to the ancient style of the he created and later shared with students. medium, thus encouraging the upward spi- While Zerbe created his groundbreaking ral of encaustic. The dialogue between art Symbolist encaustics, American modernist and history that occurred at the turn of the Arthur Dove also began to work with encaustic. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Dove painted several wax emulsion works. 49 Rice, p. 10-11

50 For images of La Farge’s cathedral paintings, see Henry Adams et al, John La Farge (New York: Abbeville 52 Stavitsky, p. 1 Press, 1987) 165. 53 Amnon Goldman, Karl Zerbe - Biography (Rockport: 51 Rice, p. 12-13 Mercury Gallery,Web, n.d.)

79 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

Working from Max Doerner’s 1921 book, so appropriate to the visual and textural The Materials of the Artist and Their Use in aims of many modern tendencies.”56 In Painting, Dove explored encaustic as a ma- 1955, four years after Mayer’s article was terial for expressing his “vision of the un- published, Robert Knipschild showed a derlying material and spiritual essence of group of fourteen encaustic abstractions nature.” He began to use beeswax in two at the Alan Gallery in New York City. In ways, either dissolved with turpentine or the same year, Jasper Johns’ first significant mixed with oil paint, creating wax emul- encaustic painting Flag propelled him into sion; because it can be applied cold this is the limelight. not considered true encaustic. However, his Easily the most recognizable American interest in wax emulsion led him to paint encaustic artist, Jasper Johns’ foray into with it as his principal medium during the encaustic seems to have begun in the last eleven years of his career.54 early 1950s. Prior to painting Flag, Johns American Abstract Expressionist painter destroyed many of his works from before Jackson Pollock began to experiment with the mid 1950s and left only one encaustic wax in the early 1940s. In 1947, he created untouched.57 That work, Star, was painted several works on paper that are known to be with wax and house paint in 1954. Johns wax-resist, again not true encaustic. Pollock experimented with different painting meth- may have learned about wax-resist from his ods and tried to combat the slow-drying former teacher, Thomas Hart Benton, but nature of his oil paints by mixing beeswax may have also seen Zerbe’s film. In 1950 with tube paint and melting it on a hot Pollock created two works that employed plate. When he found that process ineffec- wax as a major element. Just a year before tive, he secured the hot plate to a stick so the creation of the two mysterious works, that he could easily move the plate around the first comprehensive book on encaustic without getting burned. Johns claims his was published by Frances Pratt and Becca work “had nothing to do with Zerbe,” Fizel, Encaustic: Materials and Methods, which though publications and other artists of the documented the history of the medium time (and especially Zerbe) had referenced from Pliny to 1949. Stavitsky notes that the media. the book was extremely well received in Johns’ process combined layer after layer the art community, and served to further of paint, wax medium, newspaper and col- fan the flames of an encaustic revitaliza- lage items to create a sensation evoking a tion.55 In addition to the Pratt and Fizel personal history. After making a prelimi- book, Pollock may also have been inspired nary charcoal sketch, he would dip strips by his friend and mentor, Antonio Ossorio, of newspaper into wax, either pigmented who used wax-based techniques in his own or clean, and adhere them to the canvas work. with the same medium. He would then ap- In 1951 Ralph Mayer published a short ply strokes of wax with brushes and palette article in Art Digest on encaustic. It defined knives to create varied surfaces. Adding the process, denoted supplies, and gave a oil pigment and more newsprint, he could brief history of the medium. Mayer noted in his first paragraph that the medium 56 Ralph Mayer. “Encaustic Painting.” Art Digest. was undergoing a revival among modern 25.27 (1951): 27. Print. painters, mostly “because its effects are 57 Johns “methodically destroyed all the work in his possession” in 1954, the year his first encaustics 54 Stavitsky, p. 1 appeared. Johns may have painted more prior to 1954. For an image, see Michael Crichton, Jasper Johns (New 55 Stavitsky, p. 2 York: Harry N. Abrams, 1994) 29.

80 Kristen Gallagher build up the surface indefinitely, hiding to seriously consider the topic. Thelma and obscuring certain sections as he went. Newman’s 1966 book Wax as Art Form Through a continual dialogue between the and the 1972 film Painters Painting empha- medium, subject, and composition, Johns sized encaustic, and Victor Stephen’s mas- was able to create a unique “amalgam of ters’ thesis on encaustic was completed in image/symbol, concept, and material.”58 1963.61 Artist Brice Marden also began In other words, this meant that he could working in encaustic in the 1960s after see- make the wax part of the meaning, not just ing Zerbe’s film. Marden researched the the vehicle for its creation. By allowing the Fayum portraits on his own and sought out newsprint to show through the wax veil just Johns’ work as well. In 1966, he created enough for the viewer to realize what it is his first encaustic work, a monochromatic but not enough to read it, Johns called at- painting. Marden noted, “I am never ex- tention to the medium as part of the piece. actly sure of how much wax is added to the Stavitsky notes that encaustic “played oil paint in the final surface, but oil remains a significant role in Johns’ fundamental the primary binder as opposed to encaustic change of spirit and attitude… in terms where the wax is the binder.” As early as of what he has referred to as ‘a sense of 1965, Marden began to vary his formulas becoming more independent and more fo- by combining graphite and beeswax to cre- cused, recognizing private strengths, doing ate works on paper. These works were di- something which was my own.’” Encaustic vided into two sections, with one half cov- proved to be an especially important me- ered in clear wax and the other covered but dium for Johns, and several of his most scraped down and rubbed thoroughly with famous works were encaustics, made be- powdered graphite to create an opaque tween 1954 and 1958, though he did use surface with no visual texture.62 the medium well into the 1980s.59 Working American artist Lynda Benglis began to with encaustic allowed Johns the freedom experiment with encaustic in the 1960s. to create work that hardened rapidly. It also Aware of the encaustic works of Johns and offered him the ability to work in sections Marden, she purchased wax from a lipstick without the possibility of ruining other company and mixed it with damar resin areas of the canvas or substrate. His work crystals and powdered pigments. Benglis makes use of the texture of each brush- appears to be the first artist to use this par- stroke and the gestural qualities the wax ticular formula. Her work from 1966 to contained. Each stroke became “distinct 1975 became a “landmark” group of paint- rather than blurred.”60 In addition to ex- ings that “were soon recognized as declar- ploiting encaustic for its textural and painting ‘a very strong female sensibility, image erly qualities, Johns used wax as a mask in and process... experienced as one.’”63 Her many of his compositions. The wax’s abil- early work in encaustic mainly consisted of ity to simultaneously shield and emphasize wax layered into sculptural forms on ma- certain visual elements gave Johns the flexi- sonite. Benglis’ contribution to feminism bility to control the amount of information in the visual arts and her innovation in en- viewable to the audience. caustic make her an undeniably vital part Johns’ prominence may have inspired of the American revival of encaustic. Her others, including academics, to begin work would have (and continues to have) a

58 Stavitsky, p. 2 61 Stavitsky, p. 3

59 Stavitsky, p. 2 62 Stavitsky, p. 3

60 Stavitsky, p. 2 63 Stavitsky, p. 3

81 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts profound influence on the work of Martin of encaustic painting, even in the mid to Kline, an artist who began working in the late 20th-century, by working with new sub- 1980s. strates, pigments, and techniques. The 1970s saw a downturn in the interest Twenty years after Benglis began us- in encaustic, though the medium did not ing wax, Martin Kline began working in become obsolete. Artist Nancy Graves cre- similar styles. He continues to paint with ated a group of encaustic paintings from encaustic medium to create heavily tex- 1977 to 1984. These works are little-known tured, built-up surfaces that can rise sev- and under-researched due to the fact that eral inches off the base, in a style that is many of them may no longer exist. She strikingly similar to that of Benglis. Artists later began to overtly use wax in her sculp- have also challenged the idea of working tures. During the same period but halfway small, or large with collage as support: across the country, Noah Jemison also Tony Scherman’s large scale portraits use began to work in wax. Familiar with the a painterly style to present a textural, lay- Fayum portraits, Jemison also looked at the ered approach to figural story telling. Byron works of Zerbe, Dove, and Johns for inspi- Kim, a Korean-American artist, notes that ration; in 1971, he created his first encaus- encaustic is “long-lasting yet so fragile... tic painting. Jemison still works in encaus- like the human body in some ways.” Kim’s tic, drawing upon his African-American work pushes the boundary between paint- heritage and love of jazz to create large- ing and sculpture, as his process of pouring scale works characterized by organic lines wax medium into a rubber “sheath” allows and heavy layering of wax. His 1973 move the medium to pucker in “a rotund, belly- to Brooklyn served to spread the influence like manner.” Many have now branched of encaustic.64 out into three-dimensional work. Of note Encaustic supplies became more com- are Sylvia Netzer’s wax-on-ceramic works, mercialized and accessible in the 1980s which possess an organic, sculptural qual- and 1990s, perhaps leading to an interest- ity that allows even heavy materials to seem ing debate about the high-art versus low- almost weightless. art nature of the medium today. Interest in In addition to newer encaustic artists, the medium grew rapidly as exhibitions in- others discussed earlier, such as Johns and cluded more encaustics and as literature on Jemison, still work in encaustic but have the technique became more widespread. adapted their styles as current issues change The 1990s saw an increase in encaustic and impact their lives. Topics such as sexu- exhibitions, including shows at New York’s ality, AIDS, sexism, the human body, and Tibor De Nagy Gallery, the Palo Alto social injustice provide rich material for Cultural Center, the Contemporary Arts encaustic painters already familiar with the Center of Cincinnati, and the Montclair Art layering effects of the medium.66 As alluded Museum. When Gail Stavitsky began orga- to earlier, there exists a sort of break be- nizing her exhibition entitled Waxing Poetic: tween high art encaustic artists and “hob- Encaustic Art in America at the Montclair Art byist” encaustic artists. The cyclical motion Museum, she received over two hundred that has occurred throughout the history of submissions.65 Several artists included in encaustic is present yet again in the cycle the show challenged the still-young norms of learning, understanding, and producing encaustic art. While many opportunities have been created so that current encaustic 64 Stavitsky, p. 3

65 For images of the work of Byron Kim and Sylvia Netzer, see Stavitsky, p. 4. 66 Stavitsky, p. 5-6

82 Kristen Gallagher artists can support and learn from one an- accomplished encaustic artists. other, some other artists whose work has The study of encaustic art itself has already been well received in galleries tend evolved over the years, as formal research to distance themselves from what many has been published since Pliny’s time all the consider “hobbyist” artists. These hobbyist way up to the present year. However, the artists learn from the multitude of videos decided lack of scholarly research on the online, basic wax art books on the shelf, subject published in the last decade calls for and the classes offered by community cen- a well-researched, stringent article. It is the ters in response to the explosion in popu- goal of the author to increase the under- larity. This “easy access” may cause resent- standing and knowledge of the subject, as ment in the art community, as some artists, well as to encourage further investigation whose artistic caliber may not be as high as of encaustic art across the globe. that of others, attempt to join ranks with

83 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

Bibliography

Adams, Henry, Kathleen A. Foster, Henry A. La Farge, H. Barbara Weinberg, and Linnea H. Wren, James L. Yarnall. John La Farge. New York: Abbeville Press, 1987. Print.

Brooks, Sarah. “Icons and Iconoclasm in Byzantium.” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, n.d. Web. 29 Dec 2011. .

Corcoran, Lorelei H. Portrait Mummies from Roman Egypt (I-IV Centuries AD). The Oriental Institute. Chicago: UP Chicago, 1995. Print.

Crichton, Michael. Jasper Johns. New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1994. Print.

Doxiadis, Euphrosyne.The Mysterious Fayum Portraits: Faces from Ancient Egypt. Great Britain: Thames and Hudson, 1995. Print.

Freccero, Agneta. Encausto and Ganosis: Beeswax as Paint and Coating during the Roman Era and its Applicability in Modern Art, Craft, and Conservation. Sweden: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis, 2002. Print.

Fleischer, Jens, John Lund, and Majatta Nielsen. Late Antiquity: Art in Context. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 200. 59. 2001. Print.

Goldman, Amnon (Director). “Karl Zerbe - Biography.” Mercury Gallery. Mercury Gallery, Rockport, n.d. Web. 3 Jan 2011. .

Gottsegen, Mark David. The Painter’s Handbook. New York: Watson Guptill, 2006. 234. Print.

Mathews, Thomas F. Byzantium: From Antiquity to the Renaissance. New York, New York: Harry N. Adams, 1998. Print.

Mattera, Joane.The Art of Encaustic Painting: Contemporary Expression in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax. New York: Watson-Guptill. 2001. Print.

Mayer, Ralph. “Encaustic Painting.” Art Digest. 25.27 (1951): 27. Print.

Müntz, J.H. Encaustic: or, Count Caylus’ Method of Painting In the Manner of the Ancients. London: A. Webley, 1760. 8-37. Print.

Perivoliotis, Margaret. “Wax Resist Decoration, An Ancient Mediterranean Art.” Artciencia 2.4 (2006): 1-15. Web. 9 Oct 2010. .

84 Kristen Gallagher

Pratt, Frances and Becca Fizel. Encaustic Materials and Methods. New York: Lear, 1949. Print.

Rice, Danielle. “Encaustic Painting Revivals.” Waxing Poetic: Encaustic Art in America. New Jersey: Rutgers UP, 1999. Print.

Stavitsky, Gail. Waxing Poetic: Encaustic Art in America. New Jersey: Rutgers UP, 1999. Print.

Stephen, Victor R. “Wax—Materials, Equipments, and Techniques.” Thesis Pennsylvania State U, 1963. Print.

Thompson, David L. and Haskell V. Hart. NCMA Bulletin. XIV.1, 1977. Print.

Ward, Gerald W.R. The Grove Encyclopedia of Materials and Techniques in Art . New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.

Williamson, Samuel H. “Seven Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1790 to Present,” MeasuringWorth, 2010. http://www.measuringworth.com/uscompare.com/

85 Was Heidegger a Mystic?

Jeff Guilford North Carolina State University Faculty Mentor: Marina Bykova North Carolina State University ABSTRACT The goal of Martin Heidegger’s philosophy is to lead his readers to an experience of Being. Because Being is not conceived of as a thing, but as that which ‘transcends’ things, thinking and talking about it in traditional terms becomes impossible. Such a goal is strikingly similar to the goals of many of the world’s most prominent mystical traditions, and prompts the question, was Heidegger a mystic? In this paper I seek to answer this question by comparing the ways in which Heidegger believes that an experience of Being may be attained to the ways that mystics from many cultures have gone about bringing themselves to an experience of the transcendent. After demonstrating the strong analogies between the methods of Heidegger and of the mystics, I conclude that Heidegger is indeed a mystic and that the experience that he hopes to help people attain is probably the same experience toward which the mystics have traditionally striven.

“There is a thinking more rigorous than the not red,’ the house is presented as an ob- conceptual” ~Martin Heidegger ject that lacks the property of redness. Similarly, in the statement, ‘Being is not a “The Tao is beyond is and is not. How do I thing,’ Being is presented as an object that know this? I look inside myself and see.” lacks the property of thing-ness. But this is ~Lao Tzu a misunderstanding, and we must learn to think differently if we want to understand dmittedly, grasping the objective of and experience Being. In short, this is the A Heidegger’s philosophical inquiries primary goal of all of Heidegger’s philoso- is not easy. When we are first approached phizing: He hopes to lead those who will by his question, “What is the meaning of listen to him into a new mode of thinking Being,” many of us smile at such a seem- and speaking in which Being can be fully ingly naïve question. “Being is obvious”, thought and clearly spoken, and thus truly we laugh, perhaps pointing to a rock in experienced. Essential to this goal is his order to prove our point. But according to critique of metaphysics, which he claims Heidegger that rock, and indeed any thing, has been mistaken in the West for thought is not Being, but a being (note the capi- itself ever since the time of Plato, and which talization). Being is not a thing, but that he claims can deal only with beings and which‘transcends’ things,“the transcendens never with Being. In place of metaphysical pure and simple” (Letter on Humanism, thought he proposes a different way to ap- 251). Without Being, no thing could be. But proach Being. But Heidegger is not the first in the very fact that being is not a thing, to abandon the metaphysical project and to not an object, it becomes difficult to talk pursue an underlying reality through alter- about, for the structure of language forces native means. In fact such pursuit has ex- whatever we speak about into a state of isted for at least as long metaphysics itself, objectivity. In the statement, the ‘house is and has been given the name of mysticism.

86 Jeff Guilford

Like Heidegger, mystics reject metaphysi- appellation, for he himself once said that cal thought as an inadequate means by “the most extreme sharpness and depth of which the Absolute may be pursued, and thought belongs to genuine and great mys- seek different routes by which this pursuit ticism” (Caputo, 6). may be carried out. Still the question remains, what exactly In this paper I will demonstrate that is mysticism? Doubtlessly, giving a concise the affinity between Heidegger’s philoso- definition of this rich and multi-cultural phy and mystical thought is so deep and phenomenon will result in over-generaliza- thoroughgoing that one may accurately tion, but unfortunately the boundaries of label Heidegger’s philosophy as mysti- this paper demand that we treat the subject cal. At their hearts, both mysticism and briefly, and, therefore, I offer the definition Heidegger’s philosophy have direct knowl- that was put forth by a prominent expert edge of an ultimate reality as their final on the subject, Evelyn Underhill, who says goal, but since both Heidegger’s Being and that “what the world calls ‘mysticism’ is the the mystic’s Absolute are held to be inef- science of ultimates… The science of self- fable and transcendent, and thus impos- evident Reality, which cannot be ‘reasoned sible to express in ordinary language, a di- about’…” (25). A mystic is one who yearns rect comparison of these goals cannot be for firsthand knowledge of that which is performed. Instead I will compare the ways Ultimate, but one who recognizes that in which Heidegger and the mystics claim this Ultimate may not come to be known that the Ultimate may be recognized and through the use of the intellect alone. approached. Because there are so many Rational thought is, as a general rule, seen striking analogies between the methods of by the mystics as an inadequate guide to Heidegger and those of the mystics, I will the spirit, and so they employ other types conclude that Heidegger’s philosophy is in of mental activity in order to approach the fact mystical, and that it is reasonable to elusive Absolute. Every culture has its share think that the experience of Being to which of mystics, and though the names given Heidegger seeks to lead us, is essentially the to the Ultimate and the means by which same as the experience of the Absolute to- it is sought vary, the core of each tradi- ward which the mystics of all cultures have tion remains true to Underhill’s definition. persistently striven. Vedanta Yogis seek Moksha (the realiza- Before initiating this comparison though, tion of the soul’s oneness with Brahman) we must take a moment to clarify what is through ascetic and meditative practices; meant by the word mysticism. Often in Zen Buddhists seek to attain Satori (cos- philosophical circles the word is used as an mic consciousness) through strict medita- insult for a system that is deemed vague or tion in which dualistic thought is willfully overly sentimental. In this paper, however, eliminated from the practitioner’s mind; such derogatory connotations are not in- Sufis seek to experience the “transport of tended, and indeed, for a system to garner the soul” (direct experience of the divine) the label of mystical is, if anything, to be through lives of solitude, poverty and piety, considered an honor, for such a label would which are intended to “[detach] the heart signify that system’s participation in one of from all that is not God” (James, 455); the oldest and most venerable of human- and Catholic saints, seek the Unio Mystico ity’s intellectual and spiritual traditions. (unification of the soul with God) through Perhaps Heidegger himself might have ob- prayer, contemplation, and fasting. These jected to being labeled a mystic, but he cer- are only a few of the most well-known tainly would not have taken offense at the branches of mysticism, but the list could be

87 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts extended indefinitely. The question now is supplement to a life otherwise centered in whether Hedeggerians, who seek to experi- the natural world. For the mystic, on the ence theTruth of Being through“meditative other hand, the experience of this feeling is thought”, disentanglement from the world so intense that when it occurs it initiates a of things, and distinction from das man, total reorganization of her world view and also participate in the mystical tradition a reorientation of her priorities around the (Discourse onThinking , 46). A more detailed transcendental Reality that the experience comparison of Heideggerian and mystical reveals to her. Underhill calls this acute thought should yield our answer. experience awakening, and says that this is The first strong analogy that exists be- almost always the catalyst of the mystic’s tween the mystical quest for the Ultimate journey from “things of the flesh … to and the Heideggerian quest for Being is things of the spirit”. She describes it in the that even before a true understanding following way: and experience of the Transcendent is at- The awakening usually involves a sudden and tained, it may be sensed in a preliminary, acute realization of the splendor and adorable partial way. It is this initial “taste” of the Realityof the world—or sometimes of its obverse, Transcendent that motivates the subse- theDivine sorrow at the heart of things—never be - quent, ardent, often life changing search foreperceived. In so far as I am acquainted with the for total attainment of it. In the mystical resourcesof language, there are no words in which tradition and in Heidegger’s thought there this realization can be described1. It is of so actual are two ranks of these preliminary experi- anature that the normal world of past perception ences of the Ultimate, a lesser one, which seemsbut twilit at best. Consciousness has suddenly is mild but commonly experienced, and a changedits rhythm and a new aspect of conscious - greater one, through which the person’s en- ness rushes in.The teasing mists are swept away tire perception of the world is transformed and reveal the sharp outline of the Everlasting and a strong desire for an even more com- Hills (178). plete experience is kindled. This quote highlights three essential as- In her general study of mysticism, pects of the awakening experience: it is Evelyn Underhill calls “the power to per- sudden and powerful; it leads to a detach- ceive the transcendent Reality” “a power ment from worldly concerns; and motivates latent within the whole [human] race.” an intense drive toward further knowledge and says that “few people pass through life of that which has been revealed in the ex- without knowing what it is to be touched perience. It is important to remember that by the mystical feeling” (Underhill, 73). while the awakening experience is often de- Be it triggered by the sight of the sun on scribed as joyous and liberating, it can also distant mountain peaks, the sound of a be a fearful and sorrowful realization. Two symphony, the embrace of a long missed examples, one joyous, one anguished, will loved one, or the sight of a suffering beg- serve to illustrate this phenomenon. The gar, this “transcendental feeling wells up first is that of a little known monk named from another part of the soul and whispers Brother Lawrence, who reported that in to Understanding and Sense that they are his youth, as he was “seeing a tree stripped leaving something out” (74). But though this feeling is familiar to many, the mystics are distinguished from the common folk by 1 Heidegger’s anxiety also is a phenomenon that occurs beyond the realm of language. He says that their exceptional attunement to it. While “Anxiety robs us of speech. Because beings as a whole for the common person this feeling may be slip away, so that just the nothing crowds around, in the momentarily edifying, it remains at most a face of anxiety all utterance of the ‘is’ falls silent” (What is Metaphysics? 103).

88 Jeff Guilford of its leaves and considering that within a characteristic of Da-sein, tends nowhere little time the leaves would be renewed … else but “in the direction of bringing man he received a view of that Providence and back to his essence” and this essence is Power of God, which [had] never since called “the ecstatic inherence of the Truth been effaced from his soul” and that “this of Being” (Letter on Humanism, 245) So, view had set him perfectly loose from the for Heidegger, every human being has an world…” (190-191). The second is that of instinctual notion of Being and a drive to St. Catherine of Genoa, whose “inward experience the Truth of Being, i.e., to grasp revelation” was characterized by ... “its “the transcendens pure and simple” (Letter anguish and abruptness, its rending apart on Humanism, 251). This is strongly anal- of the hard tissues of I-hood and the vivid ogous to Underhill’s observation that hu- disclosures of the poverty of the finite self.” manity has an instinctual attraction toward Catherine herself describes this experi- the Ultimate. ence as the “wound of Unmeasured Love” Heidegger also speaks of a greater type (196). An additional example of an awak- of preliminary transcendental experience, ening experience from a nonwestern source calling it “original anxiety” which “re- is that of The Buddha, who after seeing veals the nothing” lying ‘within’ all inner- earthly manifestations of age, sickness and worldly beings (What is Metaphysics, 103). death, realized the ephemeral nature of This type of experience can be seen to be worldly pleasures and gave up his luxuri- strongly analogous to the experience of ous life as a prince to practice asceticism in awakening as described by Underhill, and the forests of India. These three examples could be considered an example of it. Like show that the awakening experience is trig- awakenings, original anxiety is a sudden, gered suddenly, can be either rapturous or often unexpected occurrence, which causes unpleasant, and leads one away from ma- a withdrawal from worldly things and of- terial, worldly pursuits, toward spiritual ten results in the long term rearrangement work. of a person’s activity toward transcenden- Heidegger also describes two levels of tal goals. Original anxiety, he says, “Can experience in which Being itself may be awaken in existence at any moment [and] revealed, which can be seen to be highly needs no unusual event to arouse it” (108). analogous to the awakening experiences During this experience beings “become described by Underhill. Of the lesser, more wholly superfluous”, “slip away” and “pure common experience he says that an “av- Da-sein is all that is there”3 (103). During erage and vague understanding of Being such an experience there is only there-be- is a fact” and defines Da-sein2 as the being. It is precisely during this sudden and ing that has “a relation to the question of unsettling occurrence, when beings slip Being itself” (Being & Time, 5). Elsewhere away, that Da-sein awakens to a new under- he says that care, which is an essential standing of reality and of its potentialities within it. “In the Clear night of the noth- 2 Da-sein is an important, but confusing term in ing of anxiety”, for the first time, Da-sein Heidegger’s philosophy. It literally translates to here- being or there-being, and he believes that Da-sein is the essence of a human being. What is special about humans 3 Similarly to St. Catherine’s experience, the is that they are capable of being here, in a situation, in experience of pure anxiety undoes “I-hood,” for relation to other things. He also believes that Da-sein as Heidegger says, “we ourselves … slip away from stands in relation to Being itself, but that this relation is ourselves. At bottom therefore it is not as though ‘You’ usually veiled by our everyday mode of relating to things or ‘I’ feel ill at ease; rather it is this way for some ‘one’” in the world. (What is Metaphysics? 103).

89 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts experiences beings as they really are, as Absolute of the mystic is lovable, attainable and things that are distinct from the nothing- real (Mysticism, 24). ness that it has just witnessed. Additionally In a similar tone, appealing to philoso- it reveals to Da-sein that it itself is not a phers on behalf of all mystics, Coventry mere being, but is instead a transcendence Patmore says: of beings in that it is a “being held out into Leaveyour deep and absurd trust in the senses, nothingness,” or, as Heidegger puts it in with their language of dot and dash, which may a later work, “a standing out in the clear- possibly report fact but can never communicate ing of Being” (What is Metaphysics, 105; personality.If philosophy has taught you anything Letter on Humanism, 248). Thus it is only it has taught you the length of its tether, and the through original anxiety that man can real- impossibility of attaining to the doubtless admi- ize Being for the first time, realize his “en- rable grazing land which lies beyond it. One after snarement” among beings and his “forget- another,idealists have arisen who, straining franti - fulness of Being”, and then to begin to take callyat the rope, have announced to the world their up an “authentic” relation to Being itself. approaching liberty; only to be flung back at last From all this, it should be clear that what intothe world of sensation… Philosophy tells you Heidegger calls original anxiety can accu- thatit is founded on nothing better than sensation rately be labeled as an awakening experi- andthe traditional concepts of the race. Certainly ence as described by Underhill: it is a sud- it is imperfect, probably an illusion; in any event; it den acute experience; it reveals the relative nevertouches the foundation of things (Mysticism, unreality of worldly beings; and opens one 24-25). to a transcendent reality, often motivating Mystics from every tradition can be seen one to attempt to relate oneself to this real- to be in agreement with the two above ity more fully. quotes, and acknowledge the impotence This leads us to our next point of anal- of conceptual thought in bringing the indi- ogy between Heideggerian and mysti- vidual into contact with the Ultimate. The cal thought. In both types of thinking the Sufi writer Al-Ghazali says: transcendent reality that the awakening Irecognized that what pertained most exclusively reveals is understood as being unattainable tothe Sufi’s method is just what study cannot grasp, by means of traditional rational or meta- butonly transport, ecstasy and the transformation physical thought, because it is beyond any of the soul … Just as the understanding is a stage relational concept which such thought may inhuman life in which the eye opens to discern vari - seek to enclose it within. Underhill says ousintellectual objects uncomprehended by sensa - that: tion; just so in the prophetic the sight is illumined Themystics find the basis of their method not in bya light which uncovers hidden things and objects logic but in life: in the existence of a discoverable which the intellect fails to reach (TheVariety of ‘real,’ a spark of true being within the seeking sub- Religious Experiences, 439-441). ject,which can in that ineffable experience which The Neoplatonic philosopher Plotinus they call the‘act of union’ fuse itself with, and agrees, saying: “In seeing God, what sees is thusapprehend, the reality of the sought Object… not our reason, but something prior to and Inmysticism that love of truth which we saw as the superior to our reason” (458). St. John of beginningof all philosophy leaves the merely intel - the Cross does also: “We receive the mysti- lectual sphere and takes on the assured aspect of cal knowledge of God clothed in none of apersonal passion. Where the philosopher guesses the kinds of images, in none of the sensible and argues, the mystic looks and lives… Hence, representations, of which our mind makes whilstthe Absolute of the metaphysician remains use in other circumstances” (444). As does adiagram—impersonal and unattainable—the Lao Tzu: “The Tao is ungraspable/ How

90 Jeff Guilford can [the master] be at one with it? Because concealed from metaphysics” (248). This she does not cling to ideas,” and “My teach- realization in turn leads him to conclude ings are easy to understand … yet your in- that “in order to learn how to experience tellect will never grasp them” (Tao Te Ching, the … essence of thinking purely … we 21, 70)4. This list could be extended indefi- must free ourselves from the technical in- nitely, for the Mystics are nearly unanimous terpretation of thinking” (238). What new in their decision against the path of reason type of thinking must replace the techni- as one that can possibly lead to the summit cal in order that the truth of Being may be of the Holy Mountain. thought will be discussed in the subsequent In a similar manner, Heidegger comes paragraphs, but what should be noted now to denounce representational and meta- is that the transcendental experience that physical thought as wholly incapable of Heidegger seeks to lead us toward is un- leading man to an experience of Being. graspable by conceptual thought, just as This attitude is perhaps most clearly seen the mystic’s Absolute is ungraspable. in Heidegger’s condemnation in his later Now the question arises, how should works of his early work Being and Time, in one go about seeking and attaining the which he sought to lead readers into an Transcendent if not by means of traditional understanding of Being. In this work, philosophical inquiry? Both Heidegger and Heidegger sought to remain within the the mystics propose similar answers to this “language of metaphysics,” in order to question: entering into a meditative men- “make the attempt at thinking recognizable tal state in which the dualistic judgments and at the same time understandable for of reason are muted and openness to the existing philosophy…” (Letter on Humanism, Transcendent is cultivated. Underhill calls 246, 263). But he later acknowledges that this state “contemplation,” and labels it “the such language “falsifies itself” and fails education which tradition has ever pre- because it “does not think the truth of scribed for the mystic…” (Mysticism, 302). Being and so fails to recognize that there She describes this as a “humble receptive- is a thinking more rigorous than the con- ness, [a] still and steady gazing, in which ceptual (263)”. In his later works he recog- emotion, thought and will are lost and fused nizes the inadequacies of traditional philo- … [in which occurs a] breaking down of the sophical thought which leads to his saying: surface-self and those deeper levels of per- “philosophy … always follows the course sonality where God is met and known ‘in of metaphysical representation; it thinks our nothingness’…” (304)5. The revelation from beings back toward Being,” which of the Ultimate through this state of recep- “means that the truth of Being … remains tiveness is central to all mystical traditions. St. Theresa reports such a revelation saying “One day, being in orison, it was granted 4 Another relevant passage: “Above it isn’t bright/ to me to perceive in one instant how all Below it is not dark/ Seamless, unnamable/ It returns to the realm of nothing/Form that includes all form/ things are contained in God…” (Varieties of image without an image/ subtle beyond all conception/ Approach it and there is no beginning/ follow it and 5 An additional aspect of contemplation that there is no end/ You can’t know it, but you can be it/ Underhill notes is that it requires practice. “In its early at ease in your own life/ just realize where you come stages,” she says, “contemplation is voluntary, deliberate from/ This is the essence of wisdom” (Tao Te Ching, and difficult” (Mysticism, 302). Similarly Heidegger 14). It should be known that Heidegger was extremely says that meditative thought, “does not just happen by interested in Taoist thought and at one point even itself any more than does calculative thought. At times attempted to translate the work into German, but it requires a greater effort. It demands more practice” abandoned the project having only completed the first 8 (Discourse on Thought, 47). chapters. This fact helps to explain the striking affinities that exist between Heidegger’s later thought andTaoism.

91 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

Religious Experience, 448), and St. John of the of indulging is a special sort of profundity Cross confesses similarly “that a single hour and of building complicated concepts; of meditation had taught him more about rather, it is concealed in the step back that heavenly things than all the teachings of the lets thinking enter into a questioning that doctors…” (447). Al-Ghazzali describes a experiences…” (Letter on Humanism, 255). In similar process, saying, “The first condition yet another work, Heidegger describes the for a Sufi is to purge his heart entirely of all kind of thought which alone allows access that is not God. The next key of the con- to Being, as a kind of will-less waiting, or templative life consists in humble prayers as he says, a kind of “releasement,” and which escape from the fervent soul, and says that only through this kind of thought in meditations on God in which the heart can that-which-regions6 be experienced is swallowed up entirely” (440). An addi- (Discourse on Thought, 62, 66). It should be tional similar state is clearly recommended clear from these few descriptions that the by Lao Tzu when he asks, “can you coax kind of thought that Heidegger proposes to your mind from its wandering, and keep to be the means by which Being can be expe- the original oneness… can you step back rienced is very similar to the contemplative from your own mind and thus understand method of the mystic. all things,” and again when he asks, “Do Let us now look back upon what has you have the patience to wait till the mud been established. Three essential aspects settles and the water is clear” (Tao Te Ching, of mysticism are, a sudden awakening to 10, 15). In all these varied instances of the Transcendent in which worldly beings contemplation, the operations of the ordi- fall away, the acknowledgement that logi- nary mind are suppressed, in order to cre- cal thought is incapable of bringing about ate an openness to a greater reality which a full experience of this Transcendent, and the ordinary mind cannot perceive. the prescription of a non-conceptual type In order to experience Being, Heidegger of mental activity, which stresses receptiv- prescribes the same sort of mental exer- ity, as a means by which the Transcendent cise, which he sometimes calls meditative can be attained. Heidegger’s thought can thought, in contrast to calculative thought. be seen to be strongly analogous to mysti- Whereas calculative thought “computes cism on all three points: he speaks of origi- ever new, ever more promising … possibili- nal anxiety as the experience by which da- ties … races from one prospect to the next sein is revealed to itself in its transcendence; … [and] never stops, never collects itself,” he condemns representational, metaphysi- meditative thought, “contemplates the cal thought as capable only of thinking of meaning which reigns in everything that is” beings, never of Being, and he proposes (Discourse on Thinking, 46). This form of meditative openness and dwelling-with as thought, he says, need not be “high-flown,” a means by which Being itself can be ex- but can consist simply in “dwell[ing] on perienced. From these strong analogies what lies close to us and meditate[ing] we can conclude that the transcenden- on what is closest…” (47). Elsewhere, tal experiences, which both mystical and Heidegger says of the kind of thought that Heideggerian thought seek to approach, allows for the entering into the Truth of Being, that “because there is something 6 In Heidegger’s later thought this term, “that which simple to be thought in this thinking it regions,” seems to have replaced the idea of the “clearing seems quite difficult to the representational of being” but functions similarly to it. So to experience purely that-which-regions can be identified with the old thought that has been transmitted as phi- goal of experiencing Being. losophy, but this difficulty is not a matter

92 Jeff Guilford are probably identical. Though there are and, therefore, we may conclude that these surface differences between Heidegger’s experiences are of essential equivalence as thought and the various forms of mysti- well. I have shown the method by which cism, there are similar surface differences Heidegger seeks to experience the truth between all the other forms of mysticism of Being to be essentially the same as the as well7. And though Zen’s Satori and method by which the mystics seek to expe- Christianity’s Unio Mystico are described in rience the Ultimate, and therefore we are totally different terms, the means by which justified in concluding that the two experi- they are attained are essentially the same, ences are probably one and the same.

7 One important disanalogy between Heidegger and mysticism that deserves further study is that while all mystics affirm that the Ultimate is absolutely ineffable, one of Heidegger’s main goals is to bring the Truth of Being to language. Does this mean that Heidegger’s goal is different than the mystics? Possibly, but I rather think that it is simply a reflection on the fact that Heidegger seeks to restructure language so that it can speak the truth of being, which is simply a task that no mystic has ever thought to take upon himself. In terms of ordinary language both are in agreement, that such talk never touches upon the Absolute.

93 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

Works Cited

Caputo, John D. The Mystical Elements of Heidegger’s Thought. New York: Fordham University Press. 1986.

Heidegger, Martin. (1926). Being and Time. Translated by Joan Stambaugh. New York: State University of New York Press. 1996.

Heidegger, Martin. “What is Metaphysics?” Basic Writing: from Being and Time to The Task of Thinking. Krell, David Farrell. New York: Harper & Row Publishers. 1977.

Heidegger, Martin. “Letter on Humanism.” Basic Writing: from Being and Time to The Task of Thinking. Krell, David Farrell. New York: Harper & Row Publishers. 977.

Heidegger, Martin. Discourse on Thought. New York: Harper & Row Publishers. 1966.

James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience. New York: Modern Library. 1902.

Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching. Translated by Stephan Mitchell. Perennial Classics. 1988.

Underhill, Evelyn. Mysticism:The Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. 1911.

94 Sam Phillips, Elvis, & Rock N’ Roll: A Cultural Revolution

Clifford Eugene (“Trey”) Mayberry Mars Hill College Faculty Mentor: John Gripentrog Mars Hill College

ABSTRACT In the 1940’s, major record companies in the North failed to capitalize on a growing interest in Rhythm and Blues with musicians such as Fats Domino, Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard. A young man from rural Alabama, however, sensed what the major labels could not. Although Sam Phillips could not wholly articulate what that “something” was, he nonetheless saw potential in a cross-pollination of blues and country music. Phillips thus set out to create a new genre of music tailored to America’s booming postwar teenage population. Lacking capital and the newest technological recording devices, Phillips relied instead on unique cultural experiences and a fire in his heart, fueled by early childhood encounters with the blues. Not only was Phillips one of the major creators of Rock ‘n’ Roll, but his success in tapping the new teenage consumer through Elvis Presley contributed to jump-starting a cultural revolution.

ohn Lennon once said: “Before Elvis with their search in the North, a young Jthere was nothing, after Elvis nothing man in the South believed he knew what was the same.” While Lennon may have that “something” was. Although at first he been right, major record companies in the could not define or articulate this musical North, like RCA, Columbia, and Decca, element, Sam Phillips knew that the an- had been hard at work attempting to create swer, however amorphous, would come to “something.” The problem was that they him in time. did not know what that “something” was. As a young adult in the 1940s, Phillips be- Fats Domino, Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, came acutely aware that no genre of music and Little Richard had been on the music existed primarily for teenagers. Eventually, scene since the late 1940s trying to capital- Phillips saw potential in a cross-pollination ize on a growing interest in Rhythm and of blues and country music, a new sound Blues music, but to no avail. Fats Domino that America’s booming postwar teenage was considered too “laid-back,” Bill Haley population would connect with and call its was in his late twenties and lacked “youth- own. He also grasped the financial ben- ful charisma and sexual swagger,” Chuck efits that would result from this audience. Berry struggled with the law and was “too Although he did not have the money or the black,” and Little Richard was viewed as newest technological recording devices that too outrageous, “too raw,” and also “too the major labels had, he did have unique black.”1 While the major labels struggled cultural experiences and the knowledge

1 Paul Friedlander, Rock and Roll A Social History (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1996), 28-37.

95 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts to work with what he had. He also pos- also was influenced by gospel music heard sessed a fire in his heart that had been fu- in his church. Ultimately, however, it was eled by his early childhood encounters with not the white expression of gospel music blues music through his family’s African that appealed to him; but rather, the black American farm workers and an inspiring expression. Phillips recalled walking home trip to Memphis, Tennessee. Ultimately, one Sunday from services and passing by a Phillips would use Elvis Presley to create a black church: “Their windows were open,” style of music so innovative and alive that he said, “and their choir was just getting it would become a revolutionary force.2 going good.”5 The dancing, the beat, and Not only was Phillips one of the major the excitement radiating from the congre- creators of Rock n’ Roll, a genre of music gation captivated Phillips. In addition, created for teens, but his success in tapping Phillips was a devoted listener of regional the new teenage consumer would contrib- radio, regularly tuning in to Memphis sta- ute to jump-starting a cultural revolution, tions WMC and WREC, and Nashville’s one that would change forever the face of WSM—home of the legendary Grand Ole American life. Opry.6 Radio allowed him to “travel in his Sam Phillips was born in Florence, mind.”7 He was especially interested in one Alabama in 1923. The youngest of eight particular street in Memphis where he be- siblings, he was raised comfortably on a lieved his musical mind could roam freely. three-hundred-acre farm until the stock In 1939, at the age of sixteen, Sam market crash of 1929. Growing up dur- Phillips took a road trip to Memphis with ing the Depression, Phillips learned to pick some of his friends. He had always heard cotton alongside of his family’s black farm stories about the music scene that thrived workers. The black workers would often in Memphis and, more specifically, the sing gospel and blues songs while working music heard around Beale Street. As a in the fields, and it was here that Phillips curious teen with a burning passion for was introduced to this “race” music that music, Phillips wanted to witness the city reflected subjects of heartache and de- where there was, as he said, “a meeting of spair, love and loss, loneliness, longing for musics.”8 Arriving on Beale Street, Phillips home, and hope of better times to come.3 recalled, “It was rockin’! The street was Silas Payne, a worker that Phillips con- busy. It was active both musically and sidered a father figure, routinely sang the socially. God I loved it!”9 The unique blues to him. In an interview with Rolling vibe that resonated around Beale Street Stone, Phillips stated, “I saw how [workers convinced Phillips that he would one day like Payne] kept their spirituality. They felt make Memphis his home—and to further hope, and that said something to me. He taught music to me. Not musical notes or reading, but real intuitive music.”4 Phillips 5 Kevin and Tanja Crouch, Sun King, 6. 6 Radio was the cheapest form of entertainment available, and offered an escape to Depression-stricken 2 Sam Phillips, interviewed by Elizabeth Kaye, “The Americans like Phillips. Rolling Stone Interview,” Rolling Stone Magazine, February 13, 1986. 7 “Sam Phillips: Sun Records—The Man Who Invented Rock & Roll,” Elvis Australia, www.elvis.com. 3 Kevin and Tanja Crouch, Sun King: The Life and Times au/presley/articles_samphillips.shtml. of Sam Phillips, the Man Behind Sun Records (Great Britain: Piatkus, 2008), ix. 8 Colin Escott, Good Rockin’Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock N’ Roll (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991), 4 Sam Phillips, interviewed by Elizabeth Kaye, 1. “The Rolling Stone Interview;” from Kevin and Tanja Crouch, Sun King, 5. 9 Ibid., 1.

96 Trey Mayberry explore his passion for music by getting into Royal Recording, which had opened in radio. Through radio, Phillips realized he Memphis two years earlier but went bank- could expose listeners to the music he grew rupt within a year. But Phillips was bored up with and loved, and hopefully deliver by the popular music of established sing- the same impact that radio hosts had made ers such as Bing Crosby, Perry Como, and on him during his childhood. Frank Sinatra, and wanted to record the Phillips immersed himself profession- style of music that he heard growing up: ally in the world of music by taking au- blues, country, and gospel.12 Although a dio engineering courses at the Alabama few friends were wary of Phillips associat- Polytechnic Institute in Auburn, and win- ing with blacks, the young would-be pro- ning a couple of radio jobs in Muscle ducer was insistent, saying he “wanted to Shoals, Alabama and Nashville, Tennessee. record black people, those folks who never Then, in 1945, at the age of twenty-two, had the opportunity to record. My un- Phillips’ dream came true as he was of- conscious mind was just saying I should fered a job at WREC, just blocks away do it.”13 This was not part of a social or from Beale Street in downtown Memphis. political agenda; Phillips had no desire to Here, he gained valuable engineering skills speak for the black community. To him, it (pre-recording programs on to sixteen- was simply about the music.14 Memories inch acetate discs to be played later on air), of Uncle Silas Payne, his family’s black and broadened his own tastes and the sta- farm workers, and the black church back tion’s playlist (routinely shopping at record at home turned the musical wheels of his stores for “daring” records that other sta- mind. “People didn’t look upon black blues tions overlooked).10 On his WREC show, as real artistry,” Phillips told Bob Edwards “Saturday Afternoon Tea Dance,” Phillips in a 1993 interview for NPR.15 However, became known for his eclectic mix of jazz, Phillips knew that the abilities of black mu- pop, and blues. Eventually, the vibrant sicians had been overlooked, and he saw sounds of these overlooked records inspired potential in their unique talents. “The Phillips to open his own recording studio, only thing I wanted to do,” he said, “is to where he could record the music that he see if I was right or wrong. I wanted to loved, with no boundaries to creativity. record it, get it out on the market, and see On January 1, 1950, Phillips opened if the people would accept it or reject it.”16 Memphis Recording Service, in downtown Phillips, a commercial entrepreneur, aimed Memphis, as a side job to supplement his to capture and secure a kind of music that income. This type of business had re- might become lost: “With society chang- mained unproven in Memphis.11 Indeed, ing, I knew that this music wasn’t going Phillips’ co-workers at WREC claimed to be available in a pure sense forever.”17 his idea was crazy and reminded him of Memphis, Phillips became convinced, was

10 Kevin and Tanja Crouch, Sun King, 12; Escott, Good 12 John Floyd, Sun Records: An Oral History (New York: Rockin’ Tonight, 10. Avon Books, 1998), 33.

11 Colin Escott, Good Rockin’ Tonight, 13. The studio, 13 Kevin and Tanja Crouch, Sun King, 15. located on 706 Union Ave. is still in operation today, not only as a recording studio, but as a tourist attraction 14 Ibid., 18. that hosts tours for fans. When Phillips purchased the 15 Sam Phillips, interviewed by Bob Edwards, Morning building, the lease was $150 a month. Phillips and his Edition, NPR, September 24, 1993. only assistant, Marion Keisker, renovated the building themselves. This included the creation of a control 16 Kevin and Tanja Crouch, Sun King, 18. room, laying floor tiles, painting, carpentry work, and the installation of sound equipment. 17 Colin Escott, Good Rockin’ Tonight, 19.

97 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts where that amorphous “something” could to hear. be found and made concrete. Phillips started by recording artists from By the 1940s, Beale Street in Memphis WDIA, which was a black-oriented ra- had become a center for African American dio station in Memphis. His first success culture and urban life as blacks traveled came from recording B.B. King for RPM from the Delta to load cotton, find work, Records. As word spread, Ike Turner and and play the blues. Beale Street became the his band drove from Mississippi to see black musical equivalence of the Grand Ole Phillips. During the trip, a guitar ampli- Opry. The jug band music, jazz, and blues fier fell off the top of the car, damaging played in juke-joints, saloons, and clubs the speaker cone. When the band arrived, brought Beale Street to life. Blues music at Phillips began to play with the amp, stuffed this time had fallen into a period of tran- paper into the broken cone, and proceeded sition as it dropped its acoustic sound for to record “Rocket 88.” The amp produced an electric sound, characterized by a thriv- the sound of a saxophone. Phillips maxed ing rhythm. As Phillips told NPR’s Bob out the volume of the amp which ulti- Edwards, “Beale Street convinced me that mately allowed this unique sound to drive with all the talent coming out of the Delta, the song. Phillips told Rolling Stone, “the I wanted to do something with the music.” more unconventional the sound, the more Phillips’s studio, located seconds away from interested I become in it.”19 Phillips sold Beale Street, was perfectly situated to tap the masters to Chess Records in Chicago, into this vibrant musical atmosphere. and “Rocket 88” rocketed to number one The motto of the Memphis Recording on the R&B charts. Sam Phillips had his Services was “We Record Anything – first hit record.20 Still, despite this success, Anywhere – Anytime.” Phillips’ first re- Phillips felt as though that special “some- corder, a portable Presto five-input mixer, thing” had eluded him. allowed him to record outside of his stu- Before World War II, major record la- dio; he therefore recorded weddings, bar bel companies had abandoned race music mitzvahs, speeches, and even funerals until and country music, deeming it unprofit- he had accrued enough capital and public able. Instead, they had focused on popu- profile to produce blues records for inde- lar music by introducing musicians such pendent record labels. As blues is a cre- as Bing Crosby, Perry Como, and Frank ative response to oppression, Phillips was Sinatra. Popular music had been estab- adamant in his desire to record the feeling lished in the North for the white-middle of the oppressed. He wanted to capture class; country music was established for the emotions on record, because the blues, in white working-class of the South; and now, his words, “is a symphony of the soul.” rhythm and blues had become established More pleasingly, he said he “wanted to feel in the South for the African American au- what was inside of the black artists’ soul.” Phillips recalls some artists thinking, “that white man behind the glass don’t want to hear what I do out on the back porch.”18 In 19 Sam Phillips, interviewed by Elizabeth Kaye, “The reality, that is exactly what Phillips wanted Rolling Stone Interview.” 20 Phillips and most music historians consider “Rocket 88” to be the first Rock N’ Roll song. Phillips 18 Good Rockin’ Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records, also considered Howlin’ Wolf his greatest discovery and produced by Bruce Sinofsky, 112 minutes, American favorite artist, putting him above the likes of Johnny Masters, 2001, dvd; Sam Phillips, interviewed by Rita Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and even Elvis Presley. Curiously, Houston, Words and Music from Studio A, 90.7 FM WFUV, Howlin’ Wolf was signed away by Chess Records, which July, 2003; Kevin and Tanja Crouch, Sun King, 29. recorded Wolf by attempting to recreate Phillips’ sound.

98 Trey Mayberry dience.21 Some radio stations began to pick in capturing the image of teens through up on this new African American market, their actors. In response, teens idolized ac- abandoning their country and popular tors such as James Dean, whose attitude, music programs for the blues. The blues indifferent shrugs, confused postures, inar- helped broaden the base of music because ticulate mumblings, and antiauthoritarian a cross-pollination emerged: whites began stances paralleled their own.24 Teens, how- listening to blues, and blacks to country ever, begged for more. They longed for a music. As an early advocate of this cross- new form of entertainment that communi- pollination, Phillips was not surprised. In cated specifically with them. fact, he believed that whites, up to this In the early and mid-1950s there was point, had been secretly listening to the little in mainstream popular culture that blues, as if it were socially unacceptable. teens could truly identify with. Popular “It hadn’t occurred to too many people that music could not satisfy their crave for ex- white people would listen to black singers,” citement. Ahmet Ertegun, founder of Phillips told Rolling Stone. “I was in it to re- Atlantic Records, reflecting on those times, cord something I felt, something I thought stated, “When we were making the music other people ought to have an opportunity we made, we hoped to reach the large seg- to render a judgment on.”22 But it was not ment of the black American population, white adults who became excited about this which we did, but we also reached a lot of music; it was white teenagers. white kids.”25 The radio, unlike schools In the 1940s, the word “teenager” be- and churches, could not be segregated. So came the standard term for young people it was through the airwaves that teens were from the ages of thirteen to eighteen. It exposed to the blues and began raiding started as a marketing term that reflected record stores for albums. With its throb- the newly visible spending power of ado- bing backbeat and sexual lyrics the blues lescents.23 During postwar years, the new appealed to teens, and Sam Phillips looked teen market exploded. Declaring inde- to capitalize. pendence from their parents, in search of The teen phenomenon of the 1950s gave their true identity, teens looked for symbols Phillips a new idea: to create a new genre and entertainment that mirrored their exis- of music tailored to teens. “Before Rock tence. Hollywood, in particular, succeeded N’ Roll,” said Phillips, “teens didn’t have any type of music they could call their own, once they got over four or five years old, 21 By the beginning of World War II, there were 26 essentially only three record companies: Victor, until they were in their twenties.” Simply Columbia, and Decca. They recorded country and hoping to make profit, the major record la- blues music on subsidiary labels, such as Bluebird bels had their popular singers cover blues (Victor) and Okeh (Columbia), issuing records for black or Southern white audiences only. The big jazz band songs; their attempt to establish a firm grasp leaders like Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, and on this new phenomenon, however, was crooners such as Bing Crosby, Perry Como, and Frank mostly unsuccessful. Conversely, Phillips Sinatra were the pop stars for the mainstream audience. See Andre Millard, America on Record: A History of Recorded Sound (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 24 Bill C. Malone, Southern Music American Music 252, and Robert Palmer, Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural (Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 1979), 97. History of the Mississippi Delta (NewYork: Penguin, 1981), 135, 145. 25 Good Rockin’ Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records, produced by Bruce Sinofsky. 22 Sam Phillips, interviewed by Elizabeth Kaye, “The Rolling Stone Interview.” 26 Douglas Martin, “Sam Phillips, Who Discovered Elvis Presley, Dies at 80,” New York Times, www.nytimes. 23 Jon Savage, Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture com/2003/08/01/arts/sam-phillips-who-discovered- (New York: Viking, 2007), XV. elvis-presley-dies-at-80.html?pagewanted=all.

99 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

(though he, too, was keen on tapping into tell their story with feeling and simplicity. the vast teenage market) wanted most of all In the first four years, Phillips recorded to create a genre of music that teens could the likes of Walter Horton, Little Junior identify with, one that would bring together Parker, the Prisonaires, Little Milton, and the booming generation. As Phillips noted, Roscoe Gordon. But because of their fail- “[Teens at the time] had emotional starva- ure to make an impact on the charts, Sun tion, and the most active, imaginative years began to face financial burdens.30 To rem- of your life were going to waste because edy his financial situation, Phillips would, you didn’t have a thing for just shear enjoy- for $1.99 per side, record a personal record ment, or an ability to say hey this would for anybody who walked in the door. At the help me make contact with this girl or boy.” same time, blues started to lose commercial Believing that the vehicle would come from acceptance. For example, white retailers blues music, Phillips reflected, “Thank God told Phillips that black music was ruining that the statue of limitations didn’t run on their children. Phillips therefore contem- the blues and what came from it.”27 plated on how he could take the element In February 1952, Phillips created Sun of “feeling” from blues music and make it Records and quit WREC so he could fully appeal to teens. According to Phillips, his commit himself to running his own record philosophy at the time was, “If I can find label.28 Phillips’ own design for his label a white person who can give the feel and was a rooster with a rising sun behind it. the true essence of the black blues-type Symbolically, the sun is universal and rep- song, then I’ve got the chance to broaden resents a new day for a new opportunity, so the base and get plays that otherwise we Sun Records would offer an opportunity to couldn’t.”31 Phillips had seemingly tried it black artists who could not make the trip all: he had perfected his sound skills, he had north to Chicago, or who were rejected by succeeded with the blues, and he had even major record labels. Phillips could now made an unsuccessful attempt at recording release records on his own label and avoid white country artists, but he was still miss- dealing with the politics of major labels. ing that “something.” Unbeknownst to Looking for a new raw sound characterized Phillips, that “something” had been roam- with feeling, Phillips held open auditions in ing in the vicinity of Sun Records for quite an unsophisticated, informal atmosphere. some time; in the summer of 1953, he fi- Phillips recalled that he“wanted something nally worked up enough courage to enter ugly and honest. They’d [blacks] look at the Sun Studios. recording booth and see a white man, and He was an eighteen year old named they’d start trying to be like [popular white] Elvis Presley. Presley walked into Sun singers.”29 Phillips wanted the opposite. Studio wanting to record a song for his He was interested in the music that major labels turned away. As such, he urged his musicians to play with the enthusiasm of 30 Perhaps one of Phillips’ most unique musical talents was a group called the Prisonaires. They consisted of playing in front of a live audience—and to five inmates of the Tennessee State Penitentiary, whom Phillips would record inside the prison walls. In light of such recordings, what’s clear is that although Phillips’ 27 Good Rockin’ Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records, business had evolved, his musical integrity remained produced by Bruce Sinofsky. in tact--he still embraced his “Anything – Anytime – Anywhere” motto. 28 When Phillips quit WREC, he still had to support his wife, two sons, his mother, and his deaf aunt. 31 Sam Phillips, interviewed by Barbara Schultz. Other stories say that Phillips said something to the likes 29 Ibid.; David Halberstam, The Fifties (New York: of “If I could just find me a white boy that could sing like Fawcett Columbine, 1993), 470. a black person, I could make myself a million dollars.”

100 Trey Mayberry mother’s birthday. Phillips’ secretary, remembers a Crown Electric truck periodi- Marion Keisker, asked Presley, “Who do cally driving by. A year later, Phillips finally you sound like?” Elvis replied, “I don’t gave Presley a call to come in for a record- sound like nobody.” Phillips proceeded ing session. to record Presley singing two popular bal- During his first session, Presley sang lads: “My Happiness,” and “That’s When numerous pop ballads which amounted Your Heartache Begins.” Phillips later to nothing. “I guess I must have sat there remarked, “The only lie [Elvis] ever told at least three hours,” Elvis told Memphis me was that he wanted to make the record reporter Bob Johnson in 1956. “I sang for his mother’s birthday.”32 His mother’s everything I knew – pop, spirituals, just a birthday actually was in April, which was few words of anything I remembered.”34 five months earlier (in later years, it was Presley felt inferior, and due to his shyness also discovered that the Presleys did not and insecurity, his session ended in failure. own a record player). Elvis simply wanted Presley’s voice, nonetheless, showed poten- to be heard—and had either saved enough tial, and Phillips saw something “differ- money to make a record, or finally worked ent” in him, although he could not define up enough courage to visit Sun. Phillips exactly what it was. As a result, Phillips saw some potential in Elvis, took the young asked Presley back for another session with singer’s information, and told him that he accompaniment. would give him a call. Phillips was so fo- On July 5, 1954, Phillips paired Presley cused on the blues that he let “something” with guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill walk right back out the door. Black. As usual, the session was informal, Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, Presley and the band was told to play whatever had moved to Memphis with his family in came to mind; however, the early results 1945. Similar to Phillips, Presley grew up were to no avail. Phillips lightheartedly ex- listening to the radio and was heavily in- claimed to Presley, “there ain’t a damn song fluenced by the gospel music that he heard you can do that sounds worth a damn.”35 at his church. At school, Elvis was bullied But as they took a break, some magic hap- and had few friends. When not working at pened. Elvis recalled, “This song popped the Precision Tool Company in Memphis into my mind that I heard years ago, and I or driving a truck for Crown Electric, he started kidding around with it.” As Moore visited Beale Street to listen to the blues tells it, “Elvis started singing this song, singers, and frequently attended gospel jumping around and acting a fool, and then programs. As Phillips recalled, “[Elvis] Bill picked up his bass, and he started acting didn’t play with bands, he didn’t go to this a fool too, so I started playing with them.”36 little club and pick and grin. All he did was The song was Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup’s sit with his guitar on the side of his bed at 1946 release, “That’s All Right Mama.” home.”33 Presley’s physical appearance Phillips remembered, “It came through was also different: he bought his clothes loud and clear. It was like a big flash of from Beale Street and greased his hair lightning and the thunder that follows. I into a pompadour style that sported long sideburns. Phillips remembers seeing Elvis walk by the studio many times and even 34 Ibid., 85.

32 Sam Phillips, interviewed by Rita Houston. 35 Sam Phillips, interviewed by Elizabeth Kaye, “The Rolling Stone Interview.” 33 Peter Guralnick, Last Train To Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley (New York: Back Bay Books, 1994), 120. 36 Guralnick, Last Train To Memphis, 94-95.

101 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts knew it was what I was looking for.”37 Elvis bluegrass. Bluegrass is kind of sacred, you was the living vision of the dream that k now.” 39 But Elvis had just re-created a hit lingered in Phillips’ mind ever since leav- for Sun Records. After adding “slapback,” ing Alabama. Shocked that Presley knew the main element of “the Sun sound” this old blues song, Phillips asked Presley, which was a tape delay that added echo to “Why have you been holding out on me the performer’s voice, Phillips exclaimed, this whole time?” An unconfident Presley “That’s fine! Hell that’s different! That’s a responded, “You liked that Mr. Phillips?”38 pop song now, nearly about!”40 Based on Elvis’ past pop ballad sessions, Phillips did not know what to do with the Phillips was unaware that Presley was in- record, or even how to categorize it, so he terested in blues music, and that night, they called his close friend, Dewey Phillips, for recorded “That’s All Right.” advice. In 1948, the Memphis radio sta- Elvis’ rendition was original and exciting. tion WHBQ debuted a show hosted by Phillips did not know what to make of it; it Dewey Phillips (no relation to Sam) called was not black, white, pop, or country. Not “Red Hot and Blue.” Dewey programmed even were blues characteristics evident. Bill an eclectic mix of blues, hillbilly, and popu- Black played a bass rhythm that consisted lar white crooners that would become an of both tone and a slap beat, while Moore institution in Memphis.41 His slang, “hip” delivered a simple guitar rhythm that com- voice-overs made the show “insane,” “cha- bined a blues style with a country style. otic,” and “inspiring.”42 The “Red, Hot, Presley started the song off by strumming and Blue” Show was popular among his acoustic guitar to an upbeat tempo. His white teens like Elvis, because Dewey voice boasted the confidence that his per- Phillips played the music that most adults sonality had lacked. The finished product had forbidden their teens to listen to. If satisfied Phillips’ need for something raw Dewey liked a song, he would tell his lis- and ragged. A few days later, another ses- teners they were hits; songs that he did not sion was held to record the B-side. Once like, he would smash to pieces, live on the again joking around during a break, Black air. Excited over Presley’s unique sound, began playing Bill Monroe’s 1946 blue- Dewey agreed to play “That’s All Right” grass hit “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” imi- on his program. As soon as the song hit tating Monroe’s high pitched voice. When the airwave, Dewey was bombarded with Presley and Moore joined in, the time sig- nonstop telephone calls from his listeners. nature changed, the tempo was picked up, Presley recalled, “I was scared to death; I and Phillips hit the recording button. was shaking all over, I just couldn’t believe The two sessions broke musical boundaries and left Moore and Black nervous about 39 Sam Phillips, interviewed by Elizabeth Kaye, “The their version of “That’s All Right,” claim- Rolling Stone Interview.” ing it was so different that they would be 40 Phillips’ quotation culled from an outtake of Elvis run out of town. Phillips disagreed, think- Presley’s recording of “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” on Elvis: A Golden Celebration, RCA compact disc 1, track ing that if he was run out of town, it would 3. Phillip’s new equipment consisted of two Ampex be due to “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” 350 recorders and a RCA 76-D radio console. He also because he said, “you don’t mess with switched to magnetic tape, which allowed him to issue on 45 rpm records with better sound quality. Because the magnetic tape was reusable, he would record over outtakes to save money; therefore, not many outtakes 37 Sam Phillips, interviewed by Elizabeth Kaye, “The from Elvis’ sessions exist. Rolling Stone Interview.” 41 Escott, Good Rockin’ Tonight, 5. 38 Good Rockin’ Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records, produced by Bruce Sinofsky. 42 Floyd, Sun Records, 35.

102 Trey Mayberry it.” 43 “something”—a singer whose sound and After Sun Records released Elvis’ first appearance could not be categorized. record in July 1954, Presley and his band Elvis was in fact the total package that mates embarked on a journey of scheduled would soon revolutionize American cul- appearances that would take them from ture. Realizing, however, that Elvis was county fairs to the Grand Ole Opry and, headed for national and international in the process, popularize Presley’s image.44 fame, and also that he had other talented Sam Phillips recalls that Billboard’s re- artists to produce (like Carl Perkins, Jerry sponse to Elvis’ record was that Phillips had Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash), Phillips, in to be either a genius or an idiot, because 1955, agreed to sell Elvis’ contract to RCA he had taken a black blues song and paired Victor Records for $35,000.47 it with a classic bluegrass hit. Phillips’ re- Meanwhile, in the 1950s, teen purchas- sponse was, “I ain’t a genius, maybe we got ing power exploded. Part-time jobs be- lucky.”45 Although luck may have been on came readily available, and teens had few his side, considering the two songs were responsibilities other than school. During stumbled upon, Phillips was, in fact, a ge- the fifties, teens spent more than nine bil- nius. He had explored the music of down- lion dollars a year—six billion coming trodden people, recorded music without from allowances, three billion from their racial bias, experimented with sound, bro- own earnings.48 This mass audience of ken musical boundaries, and was able to teens with disposable income was exactly extract feeling and raw emotions from his what Phillips had hoped to exploit, and in musicians. Had Phillips not accomplished the 1950s, it all came together. Phillips’ these things or given anybody the oppor- new genre of music had been established tunity to be heard, perhaps Elvis would in the South, but soon began to spread to have remained an unknown truck driver, the North where it had failed years ago. and the future of teen-oriented pop music Helped along by a few key factors, DJ’s might have been different or non-existent. and television, this nameless style of music Former Sun recording artist Jack Clement would gain a name and begin to rock teens stated, “Sun Records influenced the world all across the nation. in a pretty spectacular way. Without it, Alan Freed, a Cleveland disc jockey, be- there wouldn’t have been any Elvis, might came famous in the early 1950s among teens have been Beatles, but they sure would have in the north for playing R&B. Interestingly, been different. It was a hell of a thing.”46 his first impression on “race music” was Sam Phillips now had that that it was too raw for his audience. But as young listeners called in with approval, Freed decided to create a program espe- 43 Guralnick, Last Train To Memphis, 101. cially for the blues. In 1954, Freed moved 44 When Presley was a guest performer on the Grand to New York and coined the term Rock N’ Ole Opry, Monroe remembers, “he come around, Roll as the name for this nameless music, apologized for the way that he changed “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” Monroe’s response to Presley’s version like Presley’s, that mixed blues with coun- was positive, and it led Monroe to re-record his version, try. Freed’s popularity with teen listeners starting with the original 3/4 time signature and then would help Rock N’ Roll spread through speeding up to a 4/4 time just like Presley. Neil V. Rosenberg, Bluegrass: A History (Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1985), 121. 47 RCA also reverted to earlier blues songs, including Presley’s recording of Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound 45 Sam Phillips, interviewed by Bob Edwards. Dog.”

46 Good Rockin’ Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records, 48 Brash & Britten, eds, Rock & Roll Generation: Teen produced by Bruce Sinofsky. Life in the 50’s, 98.

103 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts the North as well as nationally. Indeed, Saturday night.52 Former Beatles member Freed would become known as an “entre- Paul McCartney remembers, “In England, preneur of entertainment for the new teen until Rock N’ Roll had arrived, it had been market,” but a new form of entertainment popular ballads, and then suddenly this signaled the death of the radio.49 stuff is coming over. The sailors [brought] The new medium of television also it in from the states, and it started to creep helped promote Rock N’ Roll. In 1955, onto the radio. We’d hear some of the stuff nearly two-thirds of American homes you guys were doing [talking to Moore and had a television set. Shows like the Steve Black]. Just wow! What is this?”53 Allen Show, American Bandstand, and the Ed Most record executives in the fifties had Sullivan Show helped popularize music as viewed Rock N’ Roll as another musical it allowed viewers to actually see their fa- trend; however, Sam Phillips saw it as a cul- vorite singers. Adult disapproval of Rock tural revolution—one that could be used N’ Roll music led to censorship, including by generation after generation to express Elvis’ appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, deeply felt aspirations and ideas.54 “It’s re- which only showed Presley from the waste ally mind-boggling sometimes to think of up. However, in 1959, three years after his how Rock N’ Roll enabled us to bring this Ed Sullivan Show performances, Elvis had big world a little closer together,” Phillips sold 25 million copies of single records in said during an interview. By tapping into four years, an all-time high.50 Significantly, the musical atmosphere of Memphis teens were spending $1.5 billion a year Tennessee, Sam Phillips created a new on music, record sales tripled, and by the form of entertainment for teens, Rock end of the decade the teenage market had N’ Roll music, and helped revolutionize amounted to $10 billion.51 Rock N’ Roll American culture. When asked in an in- not only changed the way teens spent terview if he thought Rock N’ Roll would money, but it changed the way they walked, have happened without Sun, Phillips re- talked, dressed, and wore their hair. A plied, “I think that there might have been, catchy, insistent Rock N’ Roll encouraged but it would’ve been a long time coming.”55 teens to resist their parents’ authority, be Sam Phillips died in 2003, but inherent in more sexually adventurous, and learn from the music of Sun Records is a vibrancy their peers about what to wear, watch, and that has stood the test of time and reached listen to, when to study, and where to go on across race and age.

52 Glenn C. Altschuler, All Shook Up: How Rock ‘N’ Roll Changed America (New York: Oxford, 2003), 185.

53 Good Rockin’ Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records, produced by Bruce Sinofsky. Towards the end of the fifties, Rock N’ Roll music went into a period of decline, and it would not be until the early sixties that Rock N’ 49 Ibid., 20. Roll would regain popularity due to the British Invasion 50 “A Young $10 Billion Power: The Teen-age and the birth of Motown. Consumer Has Become a Major Factor in the Nation’s 54 Spencer Leigh, “Sam Phillips: Proprietor Who Economy,” Life, August 31, 1959, 78-84. Discovered Elvis Presley,” Elvis From Poland, www.kki.pl/ 51 Brash & Britten, eds, Rock & Roll Generation: Teen elvisal/ Life in the 50’s, 27. Teens were able to buy a wide variety sun_209.htm. of consumer electronics, among other gadgets. For example, teens could purchase a transistor radio for $25. 55 Keith Phipps, “Sam Phillips,” The Official For $50, they could buy an Elvis Presley portable record Rockabilly Hall of Fame, http://www.rockabillyhall.com/ player. SamPhillips1.html.

104 U.S. Media Objectivity and Arab Issues: A Content Analysis of Coverage of the Proposed “Ground Zero Mosque”

Hannah G. Simpson University of North Carolina at Pembroke Faculty Mentor: Judy Curtis University of North Carolina at Pembroke

ABSTRACT This study examines whether national television and newspaper media is biased in favor or opposition to the proposed Cordoba Project, also known as the “Ground Zero Mosque”. The content and headlines of news articles from five national newspapers and two networks were studied to determine if there was a bias. This study analyzes the number of graphs dedicated to the sides in opposition and in favor of the Cordoba Project; the number of persons mentioned or quoted in favor or opposition; the type of person mentioned, be it a citizen, national politician, city official or organization; the number of stories that appeared to favor a single side; and the neutrality of the headline. The study finds that a majority of the news organizations appear to cover the opposition more often than supporters, regardless of the organization’s perceived political stance. It is not immediately clear if this is due to the bias of the news organization or to boost ratings. This study also finds the debate is not as prominent in the media as first perceived.

he proposed New York community articles from various media organizations T center, dubbed the Cordoba Project can attempt to answer these questions. and located in lower Manhattan two blocks The first section of this paper discusses from where the World Trade Centers previous studies on media bias and a history stood, has captured media attention since of prejudice against minorities, specifically its announcement in early 2010. The me- Arabs and Muslims in the United States. dia have reported on questions raised con- The second section discusses the method- cerning the intrinsic right to locate in such ology by which this content analysis is con- an area, from where the funding would be ducted. The third section provides the data derived, as well as the political and ideolog- from the content analysis, and the fourth ical affiliations of the main Arab backers of section summarizes the findings in respect the community center. The question arises to the historical treatment of Muslims and whether the media are biased in its cover- Arabs. age of this issue and if it is truly of national importance, as network hype might lead one to believe. A content analysis of news

105 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

Literature Review prior to 9/11 were reinforced by events Media Bias that occurred in the Middle East but were Studies on media bias reveal relative reported in the U.S., such as car bombings. equality in coverage of political parties, Events in the U.S., such as the hijacking but omission or negative coverage pertain- of PanAm 109 in 1988 and the initial at- ing to gender and race. Studies that look tack on the World Trade Center in 1993, at election coverage for Republicans versus led many of the media to inappropriately Democrats typically find that both sides assume Arabs were responsible for the were represented equally (Niven, 2003, p. Oklahoma City bombing (Weston, 2003, p. 313; see also Niven, 2004; Hofstetter, 1972; 3). Following 9/11, Weston found newspa- Domke et al., 1996). While some stud- pers tended to focus on local Arab commu- ies have found bias in favor of one party nities and represent Arabs as “doubly vic- or another, a meta-analysis of studies of timized” as both Americans mourning the election coverage reveals almost total equal loss of loved ones killed in the attack and coverage for each candidate in all cases as persons discriminated against by their (D’Alessio, & Allen, 2000). Although Niven neighbors and the government (pp. 1, 3). (2004) found similar treatment of cover- Nacos and Torres-Reyna (2007) note age for Republicans and Democrats, his that positive depictions of Arabs in the study found whites and males typically re- media following Sept. 11 experienced an ceive more favorable coverage than African eight percent increase, revealing the de- Americans and women. Election coverage sire to depict Arabs and Muslims as patri- has also been proven to be stereotypical of otic and victims of hate crimes (pp. 11-12, gender and race of non-white candidates 15). Prior to 9/11, “twice as many” news pursuing an office against a white male articles tended to allege a support by Arab candidate (Major, & Coleman, 2008; for a Americans for terrorism than those that list of other relevant studies, see Major, & didn’t. Following Sept. 11, this reversed, Coleman, 2008, p. 315). with two times the number of articles re- Beyond politics, studies show that mi- futing Arab Americans’ support of terror- norities are either ignored or depicted ism (p. 14). Studies of editorial coverage negatively, typically in stories of criminal of Arabs and Muslims have found that or violent acts (Avraham, 2003). An exam- editorials have been “more fair minded ple of bias via omission includes studies on and measured” in discussion on Muslims missing children, where it has been found and Arabs following Sept. 11 than prior that white children, particularly females, (Trevino, Kanso, and Nelson, 2010, p. 14). receive the most coverage despite a nearly Ross and Lepper (1985) posit that media 50/50 ratio of missing white and minority bias may be individual perception, which children (Min, & Feaster, 2010). creates a “hostile media phenomena”. In Arabs in the Media an analysis of pro-Israeli and pro-Arab There do not appear to be many jour- supporter reactions to television coverage nal articles contrasting media bias against of the 1982 Beirut massacre, each group Muslims prior to and following Sept. 11, perceived biases against their ideology although many studies exist concerning in the form of more negative references; public opinion. those with greater knowledge of the mas- According to Weston (2003), newspa- sacre exhibited a greater degree of belief per articles about Arabs prior to Sept. 11, in media bias (p. 1). The “results provide a 2001, were few and generally stereotyped compelling demonstration of the tendency Arabs negatively. The images of Arabs for partisans to view media coverage of

106 Hannah Simpson controversial events as unfairly biased and to study hard-news and purely journalistic hostile to the position they advocate,” the work. The study also attempts to ignore ar- study concluded (p. 584). ticles that were not directly related to the community center or the debate concern- Methodology ing the project or the site. This study examined whether or not cov- Each of the stories was examined apply- erage through news articles from various ing the following criteria: media organizations of the proposed New • Headline bias. This study attempts to York community center was biased by con- identify bias in two ways: first, ducting a content analysis of the coverage. intent to mislead by choice of words; sec- The content analysis was conducted on the ond, the use of unnecessary adjectives, following newspapers: perceived liberal • If the coverage appeared biased. This is newspapers The New York Times, the LA determined by the number of paragraphs Times and the Washington Post, and per- dedicated to each side, ceived conservative newspapers the New • The number of persons mentioned York Post and the Chicago Tribune. Articles and/or quoted in favor of or opposition to from the following networks were also stud- the location or project, ied: perceived conservative Fox News and • Whether the person quoted/mentioned perceived liberal CNN. The specific arti- is a citizen, a national politician, a repre- cles were found online using Google Search sentative of an organization or a New York and each media organization’s individual City official, and website. • The number of stories by the same news The first five articles on the topic of the organization that are positive or negative Cordoba Project, Park 51 or the “Ground The breakdown of peoples mentioned/ Zero Mosque” were chosen as a sample of quoted is meant to reveal trends in report- each network’s coverage. Originally, ten ing content bias and is useful as a measure stories were to be chosen from each news- in the following way: citizens lend emo- paper or television network; however, more tional power to the story. It is assumed those than five articles could not be found in most who are mentioned will likely be those who papers. Some, notably the Chicago Tribune are connected to the Sept. 11, 2001 attack, and the LA Times, did not have more than either as a public servant or family of a lost two or three news stories. loved-one, thus lending emotional power Articles were found by searching the to the article. Nationally recognized poli- website of a news organization and by ticians hold sway over the opinions of the using search engines. The Google search mass population. In this way, the use of poli- for news stories were generally conducted ticians may be a means by which the media with the key words “New York Mosque,” attempt to set a national agenda. New York “Ground Zero Mosque,” or the street- City officials represent the “control group” name-turned-nick-name “Park 51” in con- such that s/he will be representative of the junction with the name of a specific news city population and local government apart organization. The first five articles written from the selected citizens mentioned in the about the community center were selected article and national politicians with larger in an attempt to discover uniformity in the agendas; the organizations represent civil content covered among the news organiza- society-actors that have the ability to influ- tions. Articles from wire sources such as the ence government and citizens separately. Associated Press, editorials, and columns or Non-profits have no direct emotional effect opinion pieces were ignored in an attempt or political power, but can be influential.

107 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

Definition of Terms news is unconsciously framed according to Bias the perceptions of journalists, media orga- D’Angelo and Kuypers (2010) define nizations and the audience. content bias as: “consistent patterns in Liberal/Conservative Bias the framing of mediated communication Webster’s Dictionary defines “partisan” that promote the influence of one side in as “adherent, often prejudiced, of a party or conflicts…” (p. 338). Thus, for the media cause,” and “adhering to a faction” (2001). to be biased, a consistent trend of fram- Thus, politically partisan bias in the media ing content to influence audiences must is the selection or distortion of information be identifiable. This definition is an amal- motivated by politically ideological views. gamation of other definitions, such as bias A liberal bias would be a bias that favored based on perception (Ross, & Lepar, 1985; “liberal”, “left” or “Democrat” beliefs. A Watson, & Hill, 2000); the idea that there is conservative bias would be one that favored not one definition of bias, but various types the views and opinions of the “conserva- and thus various definitions (Baker, 2004); tives”, “right-wing” or “Republicans”. In and that the news creates a misperception this study, liberal bias would correlate with about reality, favors one side of a conflict favorable views of the Cordoba Project, over another, or that journalists choose while conservative bias would be in opposi- to produce biased material (D’Angelo, & tion to the project. Kuypers, 2010). Content Analysis D’Angelo and Kuypers (2010) define Krippendorff (2004) describes content framing communications as the conscious analysis as “a systematic reading of a body or unconscious effort to present a story in of texts, images and symbolic matter, not a specific light. Sources present informa- necessary from an author’s or user’s per- tion to the media in a certain perspective, spective” (p. 3). Thus, it is the analysis of which is then passed on via the media to a a collection of material such that the con- broader audience; the media may or may tent is deciphered and categorized to deter- not impose its own slant (p. 1). An exam- mine certain trends or patterns within the ple of story framing would be defining the material. Cordoba Project community center as the “Ground Zero mosque” when it is neither Assumptions located at Ground Zero nor a mosque. At the beginning of this study, the amount Depicting the community center as solely of attention this issue received by both lib- a Muslim house of worship at what many eral and conservative networks such as Fox consider a sacred site frames the story in a and CNN led to the assumption that the is- negative light. sue truly was a national debate. A look into Despite sticking to an overarching defi- newspapers across the nation found that nition, it may be important to note this this was not so: the LA Times and Chicago study does focus on types of bias, including Tribune were slated to be used in the study, source selection, which attempts to cite spe- but more than a couple original stories (i.e. cific sources that align with the story’s in- articles written by staff as opposed to wire tended angle. It is also important to reiter- stories) could not be found. This was found ate that not all, or perhaps even most, bias to be true for major newspapers in U.S. is intentional. Goffman (1974) argues that with the exception to those in proximity of framing is a cognitive function that guides the Cordoba Project. This made it difficult perceptions of reality in which all humans to find an equal number of newspapers to unconsciously participate. In this light, all represent both the conservative and liberal

108 Hannah Simpson bias and leads to the conclusion that the favor, as well as more politicians. Only non- issue did not receive as much national at- profit organizations were mentioned more tention as first assumed or perhaps as the in support of the project and city officials media would lead one to believe. were not mentioned at all. The number of articles used in this These findings are surprising; despite study also changed; at one point, the ob- the liberal stereotype, CNN dedicated jective was to find ten articles to analyze. more space to those who opposed the proj- Unfortunately, this number of news articles ect than to those who supported it. CNN was hard to find, as they were quickly re- did use citizens more often as representa- placed with blogs or columns. Thus, the tives of the opposition, followed closely by news worthiness of the story lessened over politicians. time or that the organization wanted to Newspapers: New York Times present a more opinionated approach than The New York Times’ articles were far a news article would ethically allow. lengthier than those of the other media organizations used in this study. Table 3 Results reveals the number of graphs dedicated This section analyzes the articles of the to each side is practically even, but the previously mentioned news organization Times mentioned more persons in opposi- under the aforementioned criteria. tion than in support for the project. The Network: Fox Times preferred to mention the numerous As Table 1 portrays, Fox consistently ref- politicians who opposed the project above erenced opposition more than support in the other groups recorded, followed by both the number of graphs and the per- citizens and organizations. While organiza- sons quoted or mentioned. In five stories, tions were overwhelmingly mentioned in 11 people were mentioned or quoted in support, more than 50 percent of persons support of the community center, while mentioned or quoted were representatives 18 were mentioned or quoted in opposi- of the Cordoba Project. Only two politi- tion. Also interesting is who was chosen cians were mentioned in support through- to represent each side: those mentioned out the five stories. in support were typically President Barack Newspaper: The Washington Post Obama, New York City Mayor Michael The Post’s coverage appears to lean in fa- Bloomberg and persons directly related to vor of the support for the community cen- the Cordoba Project (labeled as organiza- ter. The number of persons in favor tends tion representatives). Several other orga- to be higher than those who oppose, and nizations were mentioned in support, but the number of graphs in support is equal no citizens were mentioned. In contrast, to or higher than the graphs in opposition. politicians, most notably Sarah Palin and Table 4 reveals politicians were still men- Newt Gingrich, most often represented the tioned most often for both opposition and opposition. Organizations were the second support. What is most interesting, though, largest party mentioned in opposition, with comes in the stories written for 8/20/10. In only two citizens mentioned. 8/20/10_1, the number of graphs in sup- Network: CNN port or opposition is misleading: the article CNN also dedicated more paragraphs to spent 13 paragraphs chastising politicians the opposition, and quoted or mentioned for their rhetoric against the community more persons in opposition than in support center. This includes not only their stance of the project. As Table 2 shows, more citi- against the project, but also specific in- zens were mentioned in opposition than in stances of speech. The nature of the article

109 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts criticized only Republicans, showing a bias mentioned more persons in favor of the towards support for the project, but not in site or project than against, although both a way this study was prepared to measure. sides of the debate were represented solely The story on 8/20_2 had similar find- by citizens and politicians. It is difficult to ings. Nearly every graph was a criticism of make conclusions with only two articles the “Republican” rhetoric, including the from which to draw information. term “Ground Zero Mosque.” Clearly bi- Newspaper: The Chicago Tribune ased in favor of the Cordoba Projects’ loca- The Tribune also had only two original tion, it was not a bias measurable in the cri- articles found at the time of this study. teria used for this study. The ridicule on the Table 7 shows the Tribune dedicated more attack of the Cordoba Project was blatant, space to the opposition than the sup- although the article was without quotes port, but mentioned more persons in fa- from any parties, and there were no graphs vor with the project than against. Those dedicated to the opposition of the debate. mentioned in support were citizens and Newspaper: The New York Post politicians in equal number, followed by The New York Post appears to favor sup- organizations. Only politicians were men- porting the community center. Table 5 tioned in opposition. As mentioned with notes the first three articles feature more the LA Times analysis, it is difficult to graphs in favor and/or more persons men- draw conclusions with only two articles. tioned or quoted in favor of the project. The Post typically featured a person from Headlines the Cordoba Project to represent the sup- As noted previously, bias is measured in portive side. Politicians were cited most in two ways: first, intent to mislead, and sec- opposition, although this occurred in only ond, unnecessary use of adjectives. There the story written on 8/19/10. No other ar- are several instances in which a headline ticles mentioned opposition. may be deemed biased pertaining to in- The article on 9/10/10 was almost per- tent to mislead. One such possible bias is fectly balanced, only noting three persons the term “Ground Zero Mosque”, which who disagreed with the protests set to take is used by most of the news organizations, place at Ground Zero for the anniversary with exception to the New York Times and of Sept. 11, 2001. There was little men- the Washington Post. Shown in Table 8, tion of support or opposition for either side each of the news organizations cited it as of the debate, as the story centered mostly “the mosque near Ground Zero” prior to on facts about the protests. The article on removing the word “near”. The site is five 9/24/10 was in favor of the community city blocks from Ground Zero site. center and was dedicated to a group of Furthermore, terming the community Muslims who met to discuss the perception center a “Mosque” could be considered of Muslims in the U.S. and to issue a call biased, as well. The project is described as of support for the Cordoba Project. Five a “community center” which will include organizations were mentioned in support; a “prayer space…500-seat performing no opposition was mentioned. arts center, a culinary school, a swimming Newspaper: The LA Times pool, a restaurant and other amenities” The LA Times had only two original (Hernandez, 2010a, para 8 ). articles that could be found at the time Concerning unnecessary use of adjec- of this study. As Table 6 shows, the Times tives, CNN’s headlines appear neutral referenced support slightly more than op- individually, as each lack emotionally position to the project in both cases; it also charged or opinionated language. When

110 Hannah Simpson placed together, a trend is noticed: four of Mosque”, suggesting the project is located the five headlines focus on the opposition. at the site of the attacks, and describing the The New York Post headlines don’t appear community center as solely a mosque. Use to be particularly biased individually or of adjectives to incite does not occur of- grouped. The New York Times also appears ten, with exception to the Washington Post neutral. It refrains from calling the proj- which calls non-New Yorkers “rabble-rous- ect the “Ground Zero Mosque” and has ers”. Grouped, however, the study finds no signs of words to incite emotion. The that the headlines mostly trend coverage of Washington Post is supportive of the project the opposition. in the headline on 9/10/10. It also calls the Upon examination, it became appar- inclusion of non-New Yorkers in the de- ent that original stories concerning the bate as “rabble-rous[ers]” on 8/20/10_1, Cordoba Project were limited to only se- revealing a negative perception of outside lect newspapers in the U.S., typically those debate. Other headlines appear neutral. within a close proximity of the site, and that the coverage in the form of news ar- End Results ticles diminished and switched to blogs or Table 9 displays the summary findings columns by August 2010. As noted previ- concerning coverage and paragraph usage, ously, the lack of news coverage by indi- which notes that four organizations – Fox vidual organizations suggests the debate News, CNN, The New York Times and the was not as prominent as initially believed. Chicago Tribune - gave greater coverage to The fact that five news stories could not the opposition, although it was sometimes be found in the Chicago Tribune or the LA by a slim margin. The Washington Post, Times at the time of this study suggests that The New York Post and the LA Times were the issue did not gain national importance. more supportive of the project, although This leads to the conclusion that the issue also by slim margins. With only two stories did not sustain a national following as ini- to analyze, the results from The Chicago tially perceived and the newsworthiness di- Tribune and LA Times should be considered minished overtime. inconclusive. Regardless, opposition was While this study reveals a television and covered more by the media regardless of newspaper trend of discussing the opposi- perceived political affiliation. tion, it is important to note that this does Summarized in Table 9, those most not necessarily mean the news organization notably mentioned in opposition were is biased. More coverage of the opposition politicians, followed by citizens. Those may occur due to the contentious nature of most mentioned in support included or- the story, which will assist ratings and read- ganization representatives (many of which ership numbers. If the coverage bias were belonged to the organization over the intentional due to the ideology of the news Cordoba Project), followed by citizens. The organization itself, it would be a continua- city officials were consistently in support, tion of the findings of earlier studies con- with the exception to one Fox article, when cerning perceptions and portrayal of Arabs the former mayor of New York stated his and Muslims in the U.S. This determina- opposition to the location of the center. tion is inconclusive, however; another study Independently, most headlines appear focused specifically on bias, as opposed to unbiased. It is worth noting that many simply coverage, will shed greater light on of the headlines can be considered mis- the media’s intent concerning this story and leading – or, at the very least, inaccurate the treatment of Arab and Muslim issues. - when considering the term “Ground Zero

111 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

References

Avraham, E. (2003). Press, politics, and the coverage of minorities in divided societies: The case of Arab citizens in Israel. Harvard International Journal of Press and Politics, 8(4), 7_27.

Baker, B. (2004) How to identify, expose and correct liberal media bias. Alexandria, VA: Media Research Center.

Barbaro, M., & Hernandez, J. (2010, August 4). Mosque plan clears hurdle in New York. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes. com/2010/08/04/nyregion/04mosque.html?_r=1&ref=us on November 10, 2010.

Barbaro, M. (2010, July 21). Debate heats up about mosque near ground zero. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/31/nyregion/31mosque. html?ref=park51 on November 10, 2010.

Bennett, C. (2010, September 10). Army of NYPD cops to try to keep peace at opposing 9/11 rallies near mosque site. The New York Post. Retrieved from http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/nypd_army_for_protests_ GRKi9cUIam9RT8ZUayUHxM on November 15, 2010.

Berelson, B. (1952). Content Analysis in Communication Research. New York, NY: Free Press.

Bliman, N. (2010, May 7). Mosque to go up near New York’s ground zero. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/07/new.york.ground.zero. mosque/index.html?iref= storysearch on November 14, 2010.

Brachear, M., & Garcia, M. (2010, August 20). Leave mosque debate out of politics, Muslims urge Quinn. The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-quinn-mosque-reaction-20100820,0,488763. story November 15, 2010.

D'Alessio, D., & Allen, M. (2000). Media Bias in Presidential Elections: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Communication, 50(4), 133. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

D'Angelo, P., & Kuypers, J.A. (2010). Doing news framing analysis. New York, NY: Routledge.

Daragahi, B. (2010, August 23). New York mosque controversy worries Muslims overseas. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2010/ aug/23/world/la-fg-0823-mosque-muslim-react-20100823November 15, 2010.

Domke, D., Fan, D., Fibison, M., Shah, D., Smith, S., & Watts, M. (1997). News media,

112 Hannah Simpson

candidates and issues, and public opinion in the 1996 presidential campaign. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 74, 718-37.

Goodstein, L. (2010, August 7). Across Nation, Mosque Projects Meet Opposition. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/ us/08mosque.html on November 10, 2010.

Goffman, E. (1974). Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience. New York, NY et al.: Harper & Row.

Gowen, A. (2010a, September 11). Crowds face off at ground zero. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/11/AR2010091102192.html on November 15, 2010.

Gowen, A. (2010b, September 10). Near ground zero, mosque supporters gather to show their support. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2010/09/10/ AR2010091007132.html on November 15, 2010.

Green, L. (2010, August 14). Plan to build mosque near ground zero riles families of 9/11 victims. Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/14/ plan-build-mosque-near-ground-zero-riles-families-victims/ on November 14, 2010.

Ground zero mosque developers deny talk of relocation. (2010, August 17) Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/17/ny-governor- meet-nyc-mosque-developers/ on November 14, 2010.

Hernandez, J. (2010a, May 26). Vote endorses Muslim center near ground zero. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/ nyregion/26muslim.html?ref=park51 on November 10, 2010.

Hernandez, J. (2010b, July 14). Planned sign of tolerance bringing division instead. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/ nyregion/14center.html?ref=park51 on November 10, 2010.

Hook, J., & Hamburger, T. (2010, August 18). New York mosque debate splits GOP. The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nation- world/la-na-mosque-politics-20100818,0,210546.story on November 10, 2010.

Hostetter, C.R. (1972). Bias in the news: network television coverage of the 1972 campaign. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press.

Horowitz, J. (2010, August 19). Mosque debate: New Yorkers take dim view of rabble- rousing outsiders. The Washington Post. Retrieved from

113 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

Imam: I wouldn't have picked the mosque site if I'd known fight it would cause. (2010, August 12). FoxNews. Retrieved on http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/12/imam-wouldnt-picked-mosque-site-id-known-fight-cause/ October 20, 2010.

In battle to build mosque near ground zero, opponents ask 'why there?’. (2010, July 21). CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/14/new.york.ground. zero.mosque/index.html?iref=storysearch on November 10, 2010.

Islamic leaders not abandoning ground zero mosque plans, says property owner. (2010, August 16). The New York Post. Retrieved from http://www.nypost.com/p/ news/local/Islamic_leaders_owner_abandoning_kG0XF7BKAXIjStoNC- SxKpL on November 14, 2010.

Krippendorff, K. (2004). Content analysis: an introduction to its methodology. London, England: Sage Publications.

Mann, J. Manhattan mosque plan stokes controversy. (2010, August 6). CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/08/06/mann.mosque.ground. zero/index.html?iref=storysearch on November 14, 2010.

Major, L., & Coleman, R. (2008). The Intersection of Race and Gender in Election Coverage: What Happens When the Candidates Don't Fit the Stereotypes?. Howard Journal of Communications, 19(4), 315-333. doi:10.1080/10646170802391722

Min, S., & Feaster, J.C. (2010). Missing children in national news coverage: racial and gender representations of missing children cases. Communications Research Reports, 27(3), 207-216.

Nacos, B., & Torres-Reyna, O. (2007). Fueling our fears: stereotyping, media coverage, and public opinion of Muslim Americans. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

New York City panel clears way for mosque near ground zero. (2010, August 3). Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/08/03/new-york-city- panel-clears-way-mosque-ground-zero/ on November 14, 2010.

Nicholas, P., & Love, J. (2010, August 14). Obama supports plan for mosque near ground zero. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2010/ aug/14/nation/la-na-obama-mosque-20100814.

Niven, D. (2003). Objective evidence of media bias: newspaper coverage on congressional party switchers. Journalism and Mass Communications Quarterly, 80(2), 311-326.

Niven, D. (2004). A fair test of media bias: party, race and gender in coverage of the 1992

114 Hannah Simpson

house banking scandal. Polity, 36(4), 637-649.

Offer rejected to move mosque away from ground zero to 'state property'. (2010, August 11). FoxNews. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/11/ ny-governor-offer-state-property-mosque-built-farther-away-ground-zero/ on November 10, 2010.

Pereira, I. (2010, September 24). Muslim leaders meet in queens to discuss park51 Islamic center. The New York Post. Retrieved from http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/muslim_leaders_meet_in_queens_to_ WoM7nM1rPqEiFtQAMwsolL on November 15, 2010.

Protesters descend on ground zero for anti-mosque demonstration. (2010, June 6). CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/06/new.york.ground.zero. mosque/index.html?iref=storysearch on November 14, 2010.

Rauf: move would spur a Muslim backlash. (2010, September 9). The New York Post. Retrieved from http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/rauf_move_ would_spur_muslim_backlash_vHnEtuAvT4ZAatCuzXDuGM on November 10, 2010.

Sonmez, F. (2010, August 15). Democrats, republicans spar over mosque near ground zero. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/15/AR2010081502756.html on August 24, 2010.

Trevino, M., Kanso, A. M., & Nelson, R. (2010). Islam through editorial lenses: How American elite newspapers portrayed Muslims before and after September 11, 2001. Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research, 3(1/2), 3-17. doi:10.1386/ jammr.3.1-2.3_1

Vallone, R., Ross, L., & Lepper, M. (1985). Hostile media phenomenon: biased perception and perceptions of media bias in coverage of the Beirut massacre. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 49(3), 577-85.

Watson J., & Hill, A. (2000). Dictionary of Media & Communication Studies, 5th edn. London: Oxford University Press.

Partisan. (10). (2001). Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Springfield, MA: Encyclopedia Britannica.

Weston, M. (2003). Post 9/11 Arab American coverage avoids stereotypes. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3677/is_200301/ai_n9224266/ on November 14, 2010.

Zeiger, E. (2010, August 4). Lawsuit challenges ground zero mosque. CNN. Retrieved from http://cnn.com/2010/08/04/

115 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

lawsuit-challenges-ground-zeromosque/?iref=storysearch on November 14, 2010.

116 Hannah Simpson

117 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

118 Hannah Simpson

119 Explorations | Humanities and Fine Arts

120 Mathematics

A Search for New Optimal Singly- Even Self-Dual Codes of Length 48

Kristy Mitchell Fayetteville State University Faculty Mentor: Vassil Yorgov Fayetteville State University

ABSTRACT The best binary self-dual singly-even codes of length 48 have minimal weight 10 and are called optimal. There are 75 such codes found by Harada at al. in 2005. We use the method for constructing self-dual codes via automorphism of order three to find 102 optimal self-dual singly-even codes of length 48. We use computer algebra system Magma to construct the codes to compute their weight enumerators and automorphism groups. Each of our codes has exactly 768 vectors of weight 10 and automorphism group of order 3 or 6. As a result, the pool of known optimal singly-even self-dual codes of length 48 is increased to 177. We check that all these codes are pair wise inequivalent.

123 Explorations | Mathematics

PRELIMINARIES

Prior to the start of this paper, it is necessary that certain terms be defined. We assume the reader has a background in Linear Algebra and Modern Algebra. Let be a finite field with q elements (where and is prime) and be a positive integer. Let denote the vector space of all n-tuples with �� entries� from Any dimensional linear subspace of � is called a code. The number �� is called the block length of the code. Any by matrix with row �space equal to an code is called �� , �� a generator matrix of . The weight of a vector , is the number of nonzero entries of . � � ��, �� The smallest weight of the nonzero code vectors is known as� the minimum weight of the code. An � � � �� , �� code is called an code if its minimum weight is . Codes are used for error correction when ��, �� information is sent via noisy channels. Example.��,�,�� The matrix �

11100010 00011101 �� generates an self-dual binary over 01101100 code, . We will illustrate how error correction works with . For us, a piece of information which10110100 has to be transmitted is a binary vector, , of length . We �8,4,4� � ��2�� encode into a vector from , where is the usual multiplication of a vector and a matrix �� 4 over . Then we send through the channel. The noise introduces errors and the received vector is � � � �� , where is the error vector of bits. In general, is not in . The Hamming distance ��2� � between� two vectors and from is � . In other words, equals the � �� 8 � �� number of entries where and differ. We� decode to a closest vector from with respect to the � � ��2� ��, �� , �� Hamming distance. That vector corresponds to a unique� vector of four bits under reversed encoding. We � � � �� will show that when , that vector is exactly . It can be checked that the distance between any two different vectors in is at least 4. It follows that the spheres in with radius one centered at the �� 1 � code vectors of are disjoint. As , � is in a unique sphere of radius �� 2� one centered in . Therefore, the procedure� described� above recovers the vector . Thus the code can �� ,�� 1 �� correct one error. � For any �real number , let denote the largest integer not greater than .� In general, an � code over can correct up to errors [8]. Codes with larger minimum weight have better � �� ,�,�� error-correcting capabilities. Many of the known good codes have additional properties as being self-dual or �� 1��2� having automorphisms. Under the inner product in , the dual code of is A code is self-dual if . Furthermore,� a doubly- 〈�, �〉 �� 2� even code⟘ � is a self-dual �code that has only weights divisible by ; otherwise⟘ � the code is known as singly- � � � �� 2� | 〈�, �〉 � 0 � � � �� even. 4 The following bound on the minimum distance of a binary self-dual code is obtained in [9]: � ��,��2,��

4��24� � � �� 22 �mod 24�; �� If a self-dual code meets the upper bound,4��24 it� is� known 4 o�� as extremal. Any extremal code of length a multiple of must be doubly-even [9]. Two binary codes are called equivalent if one can be obtained

124 Kristy Mitchell

from the other by only permuting the entries of its vectors using a single permutation. Up to equivalence, there are unique extremal codes of length and [8], [5]. The best codes in the class of singly-even self-dual codes of length have minimum distance 24 48 [3]. Such codes are called optimal. We investigate the optimal self-dual singly-even codes. 48 10 Let be the number of words of weight in a code . Then the polynomial �48,24,10� � � �� of the variable is called the weight enumerator �of . � The� weight enumerator provides information about �� the distribution of weights in the code. Since permuting entries in a vector does not change its weight, equivalent codes� have equal weight enumerators. � Example. The weight enumerator of is because this code has the zero vector, the all one vector, and vectors of weight . � � �� 1 � 14� �� There are two possible weight enumerators for optimal self-dual singly-even codes [3]: 14 4 and �48, 24,10� �� . ��,� � 1 � 704� � 8�76� � 568�6� �� All self-dual codes which have weight enumerator�� are known.�� Proposition 3.7 from [4] states ��,� � 1 � 768� � 85�2� � 57600� �� that there are exactly ten inequivalent such codes. Each of these ten codes is a neighbor of the unique ��,� extremal code of length , [8, section 6.5]. A neighbor of is any code generated by and for some , where is the code generated by . All neighbors of are 48 �� ∩ 〈�〉 determined in [4]. There are such codes up to equivalence. The first ten of the neighbors of have � � ∉ �� 〈�〉 � �48, 24, 10� �� weight enumerator , and the remaining of them have weight enumerator . A self- 74 �� dual code with weight enumerator which is not a neighbor of is also provided there. ��,� 64 ��,� �48, 24,10� In this work, we show that there are new, previous unknown self-dual codes with ��,� �� weight enumerator . We find such codes. �48, 24, 10� ��,� METHODS � 102

We use the method of constructing self-dual codes with automorphisms developed in [6] and [10]. A permutation is called an automorphism of a code if it sends the code to itself. We look for codes which have automorphism of order with no fixed coordinate positions. Let be a binary self-dual code having length and automorphism 3 �

48 of order with disjoint -cycles. ��1,2,3��4,5,6� � �46,47,48� We denote the cycle position sets by . Let 3 16 3 and � Ω� � �1,2,3�,… ,Ω�� 46,47,48�

�� where is the restriction of to . For example, if is a vector from , then �� |Ω�� ≡ 0 �mod 2�, � � 1,2, … ,16� , , …, are vectors of length three of even weight. If �|Ω� � Ω� � � 101000 … 110 �� is a vector from , then , , …, are �|Ω� � 101 �|Ω� � 000 �|Ω�� 110 repetition vectors of length three. �� 000111It is known … 111 [6], that and� � are�|Ω linear� subspaces 000 �|Ω and� the 111 following�|Ω lemma� 111 holds.

��

125 Explorations | Mathematics

Lemma 1 The code is a direct sum of the subcodes and

�� Example. The� code has automorphism � � � � of. order with two -cycles and two fixed points. The subcodes and are generated by the matrices �� 1,2,3��4,�,6� 3 3 and�� correspondingly. Because has two 11100010 01101100 �fixed points, the vectors from � � must end with two zeros by an� extension of the definition. � 00011101Knowing and , we10110100 can recover . For that reason, we consider some additional �� properties of these two subcodes. A vector belongs to if and only if belongs to and is �� constant on each cycle. We use a projection by for some � �� . The map is called a contraction map because ��for each� set of cycle positions, , replaces �� →�� Ω�,�� the three equal entries of with one of them. 1,2, … ,16 � Ω� � Example. The matrix� generates the contracted code . One can check 1010 that this is a binary self-dual� code. As we� will see in the next theorem, the�� contracted�� code is always self-dual. 0101 �4,2� Let be the subset of the factor ring consisting of all even weight polynomials. Denote , , and . It is easy� to check that is a field � ��2�� 1� with elements. Hence,� is isomorphic� � to For in and for in �, we map the �� 1 � � � ��1�� 0,�,��,� �� restriction into . This polynomial belongs to because 4 � ��4�. � �� 1,2, … ,16� the weight of is even. Thus, we define a map � . �� ,��,�� , �� A Hermitian inner product in is defined with �� ,��,�� → � �� A Hermitian self-dual code is self-dual with� respect� to this inner� product. The inner product is � � � � �� similar to the Hermitian inner product〈�, � 〉in�� complex� �� vector� spaces.�� Complex� conjugation is an automorphism of order two in the complex number field. In the definition above, it is replaced with squaring which is an automorphism of order two of . Example. Lets delete the last two coordinates of and denote the result by . The � � ��4� ∗ code is generated by the matrix ��. Replacing the restrictions� �of�� the�� rows on ∗ 011011 and� �� with� the corresponding elements� from produces the� matrix . Since the second row 101101 is a multiple of the first row, this matrix generates a code over .�� One can check that this is a �� Hermitian self-dual code. �� The method we use relies on the following �theorem2,1� which is��4� a specialization of a result in [6].

Theorem 2 A binary code of length with an automorphism σ is self-dual if and only if the following two conditions hold: � 48 (i) is a self-dual binary code of length ; (ii) is a Hermitian self-dual code of length over . �� 16

�� 16 ��4� Complete classifications of the binary self-dual codes of length and of the Hermitian self-dual codes of length over are presented in [7] and [2]. By selecting one code of each type, applying 16 16 ��4�

126 Kristy Mitchell

the inverse maps of and , and combining them in different ways we can obtain many self-dual binary codes with automorphism can be obtained in this way. � � �48�24�

RESULTS �

Let be an automorphism of a self-dual code with weight enumerator .

� �48�24�10� � �� Lemma 3 The code is equivalent to the binary self-dual code given in [7].

� �� Proof. It is pointed out� in the previous section�1��8�4� that is a binary self-dual� code of length 16. A weight 3 vector from corresponds to a weight vector from . Since the minimal weight of is , the minimal �� weight of is at least . Up to equivalence, there are three such codes [7]. The first two of them have �� 9 � � 10 weight enumerator �� 4 . The third one, , has weight enumerator � � �� 1 � 28� � 198� � 28� �� . �� Let and be the number of vectors� of weight� in the �code and�� , correspondingly.�� The orbit �� 1 � 12� � �4� � 102� � �4� � 12� �� of a vector from under has length or because the order of is . The length of the �� orbit � is one if and only if is in . These orbits form a partition . Hence, �� 1 3 � 3 for � . These conditions do not hold for since and �� ≡ An easy check shows that the conditions hold for ��mod 3� 0 � � � 1� �� ≡ 8�92 ≡ 0�mod 3�

� � � �28≡1 �mod 3�. � . We use

1111111111111111 1001111111000000 � � 1000011111110000 � � 1000000111111100 �� 1000000001111111� �1101000000010011� as a generator matrix of .1100010000000111 Lets denote the automorphism group of . Applying the Magma � � function AutomorphismGroup1010000100000001 shows that the order of is . ��

� Lemma 4 The code is a Hermitian self-dual� code72728 over equivalent to one of the codes , , given in [2]. �� 1��8�� 4�

�� 2 � � � �� Proof. Each nonzero entry of a vector from contributes 2 to the weight of the corresponding vector from . Hence the minimum weight of is at least 5. Any Hermitian self-dual code contains only �� vectors of even weight. Thus, the minimum weight of is at least 6. Among all Hermitian self- �� dual code over listed in [2], only the codes , , meet this requirement. �� 1��8�

��4� �� 2 � � � �� The following generator matrices for the codes , , are provided in [2]:

�� 2 � � � ��

127 Explorations | Mathematics

100000000 1 1 1 1� 1� 1 1 010000001 0 1 � � � �1 � � � � 001000001 1 0 1 � � � � � � �� 000100001 � 1 0 1 � � � �� 000010001�� 101�� 000001001� �� 101�� 000000101 � � �� 101� �000000011 1 � � � �10� � � 1100000�00�00�� 0� 101000�0�00000�� 10 0 1000�0�0�� 0� 0 0�� 10 0 01000�0 �� 000� � �10 0� 001�00�� 0 0� �� 00� �00�� 0� 0� 0�0� 000�� 0�� 0� 0� 0000�0� � 0� 0� 0 �00 0 0001�00 � 1� 00�� 1100000��00000�� 10100000�� 0000 � � � � �100100�00�� 0� 000� � �� 100010��00�00�� 00� � �100001�� 00000� 0 � �010� 0� � 1� 0000000�� 0� 1 0 � 0� 0 1� 00�0000� �00� 1 0 � 0 0 1� 00�000�

� 1 � 0 100000100010 1 0 0 0 �1�010000010 � � 1 0 0 0 1000�1�01000 � � 0 0 1 0 10001000�1�0 �� 0 � 1 001010001000� �0 0 1 0 �0�100101000� 0 0� 1 0� 0010�0�10010 Here �1� with 0� 010001000001. � Let be� the by� matrix obtained from by repeating each coordinate three ��4� ��0�1�� 1�� times. Let be�� a permutation from the symmetric group of degree , and let be the matrix with � �� 8 48 �� columns permuted with where . Let denote the � by matrix obtained � 16 �� from by replacing each of its entries with a matrix block according�� to the map � � � � � ��4�� 16 48 �� , , , . 000 011 101 � 110 0→� � 1 → � � �→� � � → � � Then the code000 generated by the101 rows of 110 and is a011 binary self-dual singly- even code. �� 48��4�

128 Kristy Mitchell

Lemma 5 If and belong to the same left coset of the automorphism group of , then the codes and are equivalent. ��

�� Proof. Let where is in . The codes and are generated by the matrices

�� and�� . �� The matrices � ��

�� and � ��

�� Generate equivalent codes. Since � is�� in the�� automorphism� �� group�� of the� code , � �� The Lemma follows. � �� A computer search with Magma [1] over a large number of representatives of left cosets of in the symmetric group of degree produced permutations which determine optimal codes , �� permutations which determine optimal codes , 5 permutations which determine optimal codes 16 73 � �� 7 , and 17 permutations which determine optimal codes . The 102 permutations are given in � �� Table�� 1 through Table 4 in the Appendix. �� CONCLUSION

We used the Magma function IsEquivalent [1] to check that all of the 102 optimal codes we found in this work are pair wise inequivalent. They are also inequivalent to any of the codes found in [4]. We computed the weight enumerators and automorphism groups of the codes. Each code has weight enumerator , and automorphism group of order 3 or 6. To the best of our knowledge, these codes are previously �� unknown. As a result of this work, the pool of optimal self-dual codes of length is increased by new codes. 48 102 Acknowledgment

The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers. Due to their criticism, the quality of the paper was considerably improved.

129 Explorations | Mathematics

REFERENCES

[1] W. Bosma and J. Cannon, “Handbook of Magma Functions,” University of Sydney, 2001.

[2] J.H. Conway, V. Pless, N.J.A. Sloane, “Self-dual codes over GF(3) and GF(4) of length not exceeding 16,” IEEE Trans. Info. Theory 25 (1979), 312-322.

[3] J.H. Conway and N.J.A. Sloane, “A new upper bound on the minimal distance of self- dual codes,”IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory IT-36 (1990), 1319-1333.

[4] M. Harada, M. Kitazume, A. Munemasa, and B. Venkov, “on some self-dual codes and unimodular lattices in dimension 48,” European Journal of Combinatorics 26 (2005), 543-557.

[5] S.K.Houghten, C.W.H. Lam, L.H. Thiel and J.A. Parker, “The extended quadratic residue code is the only (48, 24,12) self-dual doubly-even code,” IEEE Trans. Info. Theory 49 (2003), 53-59.

[6] W.C. Huffman, “Automorphisms of codes with application to extremal doubly-even codes of length 48,” IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory 28 (1982), 511-521.

[7] V.Pless, “A classification of self-orthogonal codes over GF(2),” Discrete Math 3 (1972), 209-246.

[8] V. Pless, “Introduction to the theory of error-correcting codes,” Wiley, John & Sons, 1998.

[9] E. M. Rains, “Shadow bounds for self-dual codes,” IEEE. Trans. Inform. Theory IT-44 (1998), 134-139.

[10] V.Y. Yorgov, “A method for constructing inequivalent self-dual codes with applications to length 56,” IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory 33 (1987), 77-82.

130 Kristy Mitchell

APPENDIX

Table 1: The Codes

ହଶǡఈ Code ܥ Code 1 (9, 12, 14, 15, 13, 11) 2 (9, 12, 15, 13, 11, 10) 3 ߙ(9, 14, 12, 15, 13, 11) 4 ߙ (9, 15, 13, 10) 5 (8, 9, 15, 13, 10, 11) 6 (8, 12, 15, 13, 11) 7 (7, 11, 13, 8, 10, 15) 8 (7, 11)(8, 10, 9, 15, 13) 9 (7, 11, 8)(9, 15, 13, 10) 10 (7, 10, 14)(9, 11, 15) 11 (7, 10, 15, 13, 11) 12 (7, 10)(8, 15, 9) 13 (7, 10, 13, 11, 14, 12)(8, 15, 9) 14 (7, 10)(8, 9)(11, 14, 12, 13) 15 (7, 12)(8, 11)(9, 15, 13, 10) 16 (7, 9, 11, 13, 10) 17 (7, 9, 11, 13, 14) 18 (7, 9, 11)(13, 14) 19 (7, 9, 11, 10, 13) 20 (7, 9, 11)(10, 13) 21 (7, 9, 13)(10, 11) 22 (7, 9, 13, 11, 10, 15) 23 (7, 9, 13, 14, 11)(10, 15) 24 (7, 9, 15, 10)(11, 13) 25 (7, 9, 14, 12, 13, 11) 26 (7, 9, 14, 12)(11,13) 27 (7, 9, 10) 28 (7, 9, 12, 14)(11, 13) 29 (7, 9, 13, 8, 12, 14)(10, 15) 30 (7, 9, 11, 13, 8, 14)(10, 15) 31 (7, 9, 12)(8, 13, 11) 32 (7, 9, 15)(8, 13, 11) 33 (7, 9, 8, 10, 11, 13) 34 (7, 15, 9, 10) 35 (7, 15, 9, 10, 13) 36 (7, 15, 10)(11, 13) 37 (7, 15, 9, 13)(10, 11) 38 (7, 15, 10, 14)(9, 13, 11) 39 (7, 15)(8, 13, 11) 40 (7, 15, 9, 12)(8, 13, 11) 41 (7, 15, 9)(8, 10, 11) 42 (7, 13, 14, 9, 11, 15) 43 (7, 13, 14)(9, 11) 44 (7, 13, 14, 15)(9, 11) 45 (7, 13, 11, 9, 14, 12, 15) 46 (7, 13, 12, 15)(9, 14, 11, 10) 47 (7, 13, 11)(10, 15) 48 (7, 13, 11, 9, 12, 14, 15) 49 (7, 13, 15)(9, 10, 11) 50 (7, 13, 10, 9, 15) 51 (7, 14, 11, 15, 9, 8, 12) 52 (7, 8, 13, 11)(9, 10, 15, 12) 53 (7, 8, 13, 11, 9, 14, 15) 54 (6, 11, 7, 10)(8, 15, 9) 55 (6, 11, 15, 10, 13) 56 (6, 11, 13)(12, 14) 57 (6, 11, 8, 13)(9, 15) 58 (6, 10, 7, 15, 9)(11, 12, 13) 59 (6, 10, 13, 11, 12, 7, 9) 60 (6, 10, 9, 14)(11, 12, 15, 13) 61 (6, 10, 15, 13, 11, 12, 9) 62 (6, 12, 14)(9, 15, 13, 10, 11) 63 (6, 12, 13, 10, 11, 8, 15) 64 (6, 9, 13, 11, 10, 14, 15) 65 (6, 9, 15, 13, 14) 66 (6, 9, 11, 10, 14, 15, 13) 67 (6, 9)(7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 13) 68 (6, 9)(7, 10)(11, 14)(13,15) 69 (6, 15, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 9) 70 (6, 15, 7, 10, 13, 9)(11, 14) 71 (5, 10, 11, 6, 9)(7, 12, 14, 15) 72 (5, 10, 11, 6, 15, 13, 7, 12, 14, 9) 73 (5, 10, 6, 15, 12, 7, 8, 9)(11, 14, 13)

131 Explorations | Mathematics

Table 2: The Codes

ହଷǡఈ Code ܥ Code 1 (8, 14, 10, 13, 9, 15, 12) 2 (8, 14)(9, 10, 13)(12, 15) 3 ߙ(8, 14, 10, 13, 9, 12) 4 ߙ (7, 13, 14, 10, 9, 15, 12) 5 (7, 12, 8, 14, 10, 9, 13, 15, 11) 6 (6, 15, 9, 11, 10, 13, 12, 8) 7 (6, 12, 8, 13, 9, 14, 10, 15)

Table 3: The Codes

ହସǡఈ Code ܥ Code 1 (7, 9)(8, 12)(10, 15 ,14, 11) 2 (6, 8, 15, 10, 9)(11, 13, 14, 12) 3 ߙ(6, 8, 15, 10, 9, 14, 12, 11, 13) 4 ߙ (6, 8, 15, 9, 14, 12, 11, 13) 5 (6, 8, 9, 13, 14,11, 10)(12, 15)

Table 4: The Codes

ହହǡఈ Code ܥ Code 1 (7, 12, 15)(8, 11, 14, 10) 2 (7, 11, 9, 13, 10)(8, 14)(12, 15) 3 ߙ(7,11)(8, 14)(9, 15, 12, 13, 10) 4 ߙ (7, 11, 9)(8, 14)(10, 13)(12, 15) 5 (7, 8, 11)(9, 13, 12)(10, 15, 14) 6 (7, 8, 13, 11, 9, 14, 10)(12, 15) 7 (7, 10, 15, 11)(8, 14, 12, 9, 13) 8 (7, 15, 8, 11, 14, 12, 9, 13) 9 (7, 14, 8, 11, 12, 15)(9, 10) 10 (7, 14, 8, 10, 12, 13, 11, 15) 11 (6, 11, 9, 10, 14, 8, 15, 12, 13) 12 (6, 11, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15) 13 (6, 11, 15, 7, 12, 14, 10) 14 (6, 12, 13, 14, 10)(7, 11, 15) 15 (6, 10)(8, 11)(12, 13)(14,15) 16 (5, 15, 12, 7, 9, 14, 10, 11, 8) 17 (5, 15, 14, 10)(8, 13, 11)(9,12)

132 Social Sciences

Transitive Inference in Rats Using Odor Stimuli: Manual Versus Automated Training Procedures Mary Elizabeth Pacewicz University of North Carolina Wilmington Faculty Mentor: Kate Bruce University of North Carolina Wilmington

ABSTRACT Transitivity is a type of higher-order learning that is demonstrated when untrained relations emerge after specific relations have been trained. The formation of a hierarchy is required to determine the transitive relations between stimuli. To train the hierarchy A

INTRODUCTION with one another (Lazareva & Wasserman, oncept learning is a type of higher-or- 2008). For example, if it has been trained C der learning requiring the formation that stimulus A equals stimulus B (A=B) of categories. Categories are formed by and stimulus B equals stimulus C (B=C), utilizing features, such as shape or function, the presentation of stimulus A and C would to group stimuli (Lazareva & Wasserman, create a novel situation. However, by uti- 2008). Perceptual concepts, nonsimilarity- lizing information from previously trained based concepts, and abstract concepts are pairs, a relation between the two could be three types of concepts used to evaluate made. This relation would be that stimu- and categorize stimuli. Perceptual con- lus A equals stimulus C (A=C) (Sidman, cepts are shown when physical dimensions Rauzin, Lazar, Cunningham, Tailby, & of the stimuli are the basis for categoriza- Carrigan, 1982). The example of the re- tion. Nonsimilarity-based concepts include lation between stimulus A and C is an ex- stimuli that are physically different but have ample of transitivity, one of the properties a similar function (Lazareva & Wasserman, of the equivalence concept. 2008). Equivalence involves making rela- Abstract concepts are demonstrated tions about items that have never been when the relations among the stimuli are trained together (Davis, 1992; Lazareva used to categorize the stimuli in context & Wasserman, 2006). For example, if the

135 Explorations | Social Sciences pairs A=B and B=C are trained during B=C pairs. After this symmetry training baseline training, they are grouped into one (C=B), the same 12 potential equivalence class. A class is a group of specific stimuli classes were tested and trained for transi- that are interchangeable (McIntire, Cleary, tivity (A=C). Following this training, those & Thompson, 1987). Training that classi- 12 potential equivalence classes were tested fies stimuli A, B, and C as one class allows for C=A symmetry. This extensive train- novel probe tests to be given to test the rela- ing provided multiple exemplars for the sea tions that have been formed between the lion before the final test of equivalence was stimuli. The emergence of untrained re- conducted. lations between novel pairs such as reflex- A higher-order learning task that in- ivity (A=A, B=B, C=C), symmetry (B=A, volves the presentation of novel pairs of C=B), and transitivity (A=C, C=A) repre- stimuli to determine the relations that sents equivalence; the stimuli have never have been made is a test for transitive in- been presented together or in that order, ference. In a typical procedure to test for yet subjects may respond as if the stimuli transitive inference, a hierarchical order of are related (Sidman, 2000). Nonhumans the stimuli is trained. For example, given do not typically show the formation of all the two statements “Alex is shorter than equivalence relations. In fact, the forma- Brad” and “Brad is shorter than Chris,” tion of equivalence relations has been con- the hierarchy in terms of height would sidered a form of higher-order learning be Alex

A1-A30 as samples and B1-B30 as compari- are always reinforced and responses to A sons. An example of this training is pre- are never reinforced. With the pair B-C, senting A1 as the sample and B1 and BX as responses to C are always reinforced and comparisons. Responses to B1 were rein- responses to B are never reinforced. Once forced and responses to any other B stimu- the training of the hierarchical order is lus (BX) would not result in reinforcement. complete, the test for transitive inference After this training, 12 of the A=B pairs can be presented. This involves the pre- were tested and then trained for symmetry sentation of the novel pair A-C. Using the (B=A). Not until the sea lion performed at trained hierarchy, a relation between stimu- a high level on presentations of B=A did lus A and stimulus C can be made (A

136 Mary Beth Pacewicz

Though a hierarchical order can be es- in the transitive inference tasks even though tablished using three stimuli, the novel the olfactory stimuli were not orderable on pair (A-C) does not represent a true test of any dimension other than reinforcement transitive inference. Stimuli A and C are history. called end stimuli, and success on a novel Davis (1992) trained four rats with the pair containing end stimuli can be ex- series A-B+, B-C+, C-D+, and D-E+ to plained by reinforcement histories (Dusek establish the hierarchy AB>C>D>E). Pairs were trained in five of transitive inference because two of the phases similar to Davis (1992). Transitive middle stimuli have equal reinforcement inference was tested with 10 trials of the histories and have never been presented to- B-D pair and 10 trials of the A-E pair. gether (stimulus B and stimulus D). Success New scents (W-X and Y-Z) were also pre- on B-D+ demonstrates transitive inference sented to measure the rate at which the rats because both B and D have been previously learned novel pairs. The rats demonstrated reinforced 50 percent of the time they were transitive inference when tested on the B-D presented and not reinforced the other 50 pair and showed some evidence for learn- percent of the time. B and D have equal ing the novel scent pairs. reinforcement histories and therefore, dur- Jordan (2009) replicated Dusek and ing a transitive inference test, the choice of Eichenbaum’s (1997) methods to train three D+ indicates that a relation between stimuli rats on two five-item lists. She reported re- has been formed (Weaver et al., 1997). sults from two rats and demonstrated tran- Transitive inference has been demon- sitive inference. In the current study, I will strated in a number of non-human spe- present results from the third rat trained cies including chimpanzees (Gillan, 1981), with the Jordan (2009) procedure. Her pro- rhesus macaques (Treichler & Van Tilburg, cedure involved the manual presentation 1996), hooded crows (Lazareva et al., of all stimuli, and I will also compare her 2004), pigeons (von Fersen, Wynne, Delius, findings related to transitive inference us- & Staddon, 1991; Lazareva & Wasserman, ing a manual procedure to those obtained 2006), and rats (Davis, 1992; Dusek & using an automated procedure. Eichenbaum, 1997). Davis (1992) and Success with olfactory tasks has been Dusek and Eichenbaum (1997) used olfac- demonstrated with rats in automated ap- tory stimuli to test transitive inference in paratuses. Otto and Eichenbaum (1992) rats. In both studies, rats have successfully trained rats in a delayed non-match-to-sam- performed tasks using olfactory stimuli ple task using odor stimuli that were pre- rather than visual stimuli. Rats succeeded sented through a nose poke in the operant

137 Explorations | Social Sciences chamber. The rats rapidly learned the task. Lionello-DeNolf and Mihalick (2006) used an automated olfactory apparatus to tests rats’ ability to learn a simple discrimination task, followed by a reversal. The results of the study supported the use of an automated apparatus in olfactory tasks and suggested that more complex tasks could be tested using an automated apparatus. The use of an automated apparatus increases both efficiency and objectivity, and therefore, is a preferred method to manual procedures. Transitive inference tasks have never been tested in an automated apparatus, and the objective of this study was to train rats to form a hierarchy with five scents and test the performance on a transitive inference task. We expected that transitive inference would be apparent using the manual and Figure 1. Manual apparatus. The operant chamber is automated apparatuses. We hypothesized shown in top photograph. The rat making a response is that rats’ performances on the B-D+ probe shown in lower photograph. would be above chance levels, and the rats would choose the D stimulus over the B gap allowing a Plexiglas tray to be pushed stimulus. We also expected that rats would into the chamber to deliver the stimuli dur- learn the B-D+ relation more rapidly than a ing testing (see Figure 1). relation between two unfamiliar, untrained Stimuli were lids scented with spices pur- scents. chased from the Great American and the Rocky Mountain Spice Companies. Lids METHOD were stored for at least 24 hours before use Manual Procedure in containers with spices (caraway, marjo- Subjects ram, celery, mustard, allspice, lime, anise, Three male Sprague-Dawley rats were sage, onion, paprika, raspberry, thyme, trained using a manual procedure described cinnamon, garlic, savory, coriander, bay, by Jordan (2009). Jordan reported data carob, Worcestershire, tomato, fennel, beet, from two rats (P39 and P23), and data from ginger, turmeric, cumin, nutmeg, clove, rat S16 is reported here. Rats were kept and dill). at 85-90% of their free-feeding weight with Scented lids were placed on top of unlimited access to water. Approximately 2-ounce plastic cups. A layer of sand was 30 minutes after finishing their session, placed in the bottom of each cup. Sucrose the rats were fed 10-15 grams of Purina® pellets (.45 mg) were used as reinforcers Rat Chow. They were housed individu- and were buried 0.5-0.8 millimeters below ally in a colony room that was illuminated the surface of the sand underneath the on a 12- hour reversed light/dark cycle. scented lids. The cups with scented lids Apparatus on top were placed in two holes (5 cm di- Testing occurred in an operant chamber ameter) cut in the Plexiglas tray. All hous- with a modified front wall. The wall had a ing and testing procedures were approved

138 Mary Beth Pacewicz by the Institutional Animal Care and Use in phase three. Each block had one A-B+, Committee. B-C+, C-D+, and D-E+ pair presented in a Procedure random order. Phase four consisted of 24 Shaping trials with pairs presented in a random or- The rats were first trained to dig for der. Six trials of each pair were presented the sucrose pellets. The first step in this with no more than two identical trials oc- training involved putting the sucrose pel- curring in a row. lets on top of the cups containing sand. Once phase four criterion was met, a Eventually, the pellets were buried be- probe session followed. The session between 0.5- 0.8 mm below the surface. gan with eight baseline pair trials. Two of The rats were then trained to remove lids each pair were presented, and 7/8 correct by pushing them off of the sand cups. was required for the rat to be given novel Five-Item List Training pairs. If 7/8 correct was not achieved, the Two five-item lists were trained as de- remainder of the session consisted of phase scribed in Jordan (2009). List one consisted four training. If the criterion of 7/8 was of scents A-E, and list two consisted of reached, the probe test was given. Probe scents F-J. Scents were presented in pairs testing included two presentations of A-C+, of two (A-B+, B-C+, C-D+, D-E+, F-G+, A-D+, A-E+, B-E+, C-E+, B-D+, X-Y+, and G-H+, H-I+, and I-J+), to create a hierar- one trial of each baseline pair. The X-Y+ chy (A

139 Explorations | Social Sciences

Figure 2. Automated apparatus. The operant chamber is shown in top left. The nose pokes on the left side of the chamber are shown in lower left. The top right image shows the olfactometers (where scented oil was stored). The lower right image shows the solenoids.

Figure 2A). The left side of the chamber to the olfactometers by a lid that was con- had three nose pokes, with photo beam nected to a pump. There was one pump sensors that indicated when a response was per jar, and each pump was attached to a made (see Figure 2B). Nose pokes were solenoid (see Figure 2D). Solenoids could the response ports where scented air was be opened or closed, allowing for the cor- pumped in. Only the left and right nose responding scent to be pumped into the pokes were used in the transitive inference nose poke. A vacuum pump was used to procedure. The right side of the chamber constantly remove the scented air from the stored a pellet dispenser. Correct responses nose pokes to ensure that it did not spread were reinforced by the presentation of a su- into the chamber. crose pellet. A house light was used to in- MedPC software was used to create the dicate the beginning and end of the session transitive inference programs. Four dif- and to indicate a timeout after an incorrect ferent programs were used in each phase. response. The programs were executed on a Dell The stimuli used were scented oils from desktop computer which was connected to the Great American Spice Company. the operant chamber. Peach, grape, bubblegum, strawberry, and Procedure banana were the scents used during base- Magazine Training line training and probe testing. Raspberry, One pellet was delivered and the hopper vanilla, blueberry, and pineapple were light turned on. The hopper was where used as unfamiliar scents during probe the pellets were delivered, and the light was testing. Five ml of each scent was poured turned on to cue the rats that reinforce- into each of three glass jars. One jar was ment had been delivered. The hopper light attached to each olfactometer (see Figure remained on for 45 seconds. After an inter- 2C). One olfactometer was assigned to trial interval of 15 seconds, another pellet each nose poke. The jars were connected was delivered and the hopper light turned

140 Mary Beth Pacewicz on. This procedure was repeated 25 times, five second timeout, the next session began. with a total of 25 pellets delivered. After This non-correction procedure was utilized the completion of the session, the pellets throughout all phases. remaining in the hopper were counted. Each rat was trained with the five scents: Criterion to move to any nose poke shap- peach (A), grape (B), bubblegum (C), straw- ing was the consumption of all 25 pellets. berry (D), and banana (E) during the 48 Any Nose Poke Shaping daily trials. Phase one consisted of four Sessions ran for 25 minutes. Both the left blocks of 12 trials. Only the A-B+ pair and right nose pokes were activated, and a was presented in block one, followed by the response to either nose poke resulted in re- B-C+ pair in block two, the C-D+ pair in inforcement. One pellet was delivered and block three, and the D-E+ pair in block four. the hopper light remained on for five sec- Correct responses were reinforced with one onds. One disruption of the photo beam sugar pellet which was released into the was counted as one response. Criterion to hopper. The hopper light remained on for move to nose poke shaping was set at 25 five seconds. Incorrect responses resulted responses in one session. in a five second timeout. Criterion to move Nose Poke Shaping to each phase was set at 10/12 (83%) cor- Sessions consisted of 48 trials. For a rect on each type of pair for two consecu- trial, either the left or right nose poke tive days. In phase two, each pair was pre- was activated. A response to the acti- sented in blocks of six. A-B+ was the first vated nose poke resulted in reinforcement. block, followed by B-C+, C-D+, and D-E+ Reinforcement consisted of the delivery of respectively. The blocks were then repeated a pellet. The hopper light was turned on so a total of 12 trials of each pair was com- and remained on for five seconds. A re- pleted. Phase three consisted of blocks of sponse was defined as breaking the photo four trials. A-B+ was the first block of, then beam in the nose poke. For the first day of B-C+, C-D+, and D-E+. Once four trials of nose poke shaping, only one response was the D-E+ pair were completed, A-B+ pairs required to receive reinforcement (FR1). were presented again, followed by B-C+, Each day, the fixed ratio was increased by etc. This order was repeated three times one (e.g. FR2 on day two). If responding for a total of 12 trials of each pair. In phase slowed or stopped, the fixed ratio was de- four, each pair was presented once, starting creased. Criterion was set at 45 rewards on with A-B+ and ending with D-E+. This se- a fixed ratio of five responses. quence was repeated twelve times. The fi- Five-Item List Training nal phase, phase five, consisted of blocks of Rats were trained to form a hierarchy of four trials in which each pair was presented five scents (A, B, C, D, and E) by present- once but in a random order. For example, ing the scents in four pairs (A-B+, B-C+, the first block may be B-C+, A-B+, C-D+, C-D+, and D-E+). In each pair a response and then D-E+ and the next block could be to one scent was always reinforced and re- C-D+, D-E+, B-C+, and A-B+. Each pair sponse to the other scent never reinforced. was presented twelve times for a total of 48 Responses were counted when the rat broke trials. a photo beam in the nose poke. A correct Probe Testing response resulted in the hopper light turn- Once criterion was met during phase ing on for five seconds as a pellet was deliv- five, probe tests were given. Probe tests ered. If an incorrect response was made, consisted of the presentation of B-D+ and the house light immediately turned off and X-Y+. The pair X-Y+ consisted of two resulted in a five second timeout. After the novel scents which were used to control for

141 Explorations | Social Sciences learning the novel pairs. Twenty-four trials of both pairs were presented each session for three sessions. Following B-D+ and X-Y+ tests, retrain- ing on phase five was given. Once the rat met criterion, more probe tests were given. End anchors A and E were presented (A- + E ) and two novel stimuli were also pre- Figure 3. This graph shows the number of sessions per sented (W-Z+). Twenty-four trials of both phase in the manual procedure for List One. pairs were presented each session for three sessions.

RESULTS Manual Procedure S16 met baseline training criterion in 90 sessions. Figure 3 shows a breakdown of the number of sessions per phase. After meeting criterion for List One Training, S16 was given probe testing with Figure 4. This graph shows the number of sessions per every possible combination of stimuli. phase in the manual procedure for List Two. Table 1 shows the number of trials correct for each pair for S16 and two rats from Jordan’s (2009) study, P39 and P23. All rats performed at above 90% correct for all transitive pairs. S16’s total percent correct out of the 24 trials, including baseline trials but excluding the two trials with unfamiliar scents, was 100%. On the two presentations of B-D+, S16 scored 2/2 (100%); that is, he chose D over B both times. The number of correct trials with the unfamil- Figure 5. This graph shows the number of sessions per iar scents (X-Y+) is also presented in Table phase in the automated procedure for each subject, Y9, 1. S16 performed better on the tests with Y10, Y19, and Y20. transitive pairs compared to the tests with unfamiliar scents, was 90.91%. On the unfamiliar scents (1/2, 50% correct). two presentations of G-I+, S16 scored 2/2 S16 also met criterion in all four phases (100%). The number of correct trials with during List Two training. The total num- the unfamiliar scents (W-Z+) is also pre- ber of training sessions was 59. Figure 4 sented in Table 2. S16 performed better shows a breakdown of the number of ses- on the tests with transitive pairs compared sions per phase. to the tests with unfamiliar scents (0/2, 0% Table 2 shows the number of trials cor- correct). rect for each pair during probe testing Automated Procedure for S16 and two rats from Jordan’s (2009) None of the rats trained with the au- study, P39 and P23. All rats performed at tomated procedure met criterion during above 90% correct for all transitive pairs. baseline training. The mean number of S16’s total percent correct, including base- sessions completed before training was ter- line trials but excluding the two trials with minated and subjects were either dropped

142 Mary Beth Pacewicz from the study or given probe tests was while performance on the A-E+ trial finally 82.25. Figure 5 shows a breakdown of reached significance on day three, it was the number of sessions per phase each rat not striking. Overall, learning appeared to completed. be similar to learning the relation between Y19 was dropped from the study using the unfamiliar scents, W and Z. the automated procedure because of a fail- Y10 was also presented with the A-E+ ure to meet criterion in phase two. and W-Z+ probe test with three days of Y9 was presented with the A-E+ and probe testing. Again, the binomial test W-Z+ probe test in three days of probe for choice of E on A-E+ trials was not sig- testing. A binomial test was conducted for nificant on day one (16/24,p> 0.05), but each day for percent correct on A-E+ trials was on day two (17/24, p<0.05) and three and W-Z+ trials. However, the binomial (19/24, p<0.01). However, the binomial test for choice of E on A-E+ trials was not test for choice of Z on W-Z+ trials was sig- significant on any of the three days (15/24, nificant on all three days (17/24, 17/24, 15/24, 18/24, respectively, all p>0.05). and 22/24, all p<0.05). Figure 7 shows the The binomial test for choice of Z on W-Z+ percent correct on the final day of baseline trials on was not significant on days one training and all three days of probe testing. and two (13/24 and 16/24, p>0.05). On Y10’s improvement in performance across day three, Y9’s performance for choice of the three days of probe testing provides Z on W-Z+ trials was significant (17/24, some evidence for learning, however, no p<0.05). Figure 6 shows the percent cor- evidence for transitive inference. His per- rect on the final day of baseline training formance was the same for A-E+ and W-Z+ and all three days of probe testing. Y9 trials. shows little evidence of transitive inference; Y10 was also presented with the B-D+

Figure 6. Y9’s percent correct on the final day of baseline Figure 8. Y10’s percent correct on the final day of training and on each day of probe testing. baseline training and on each day of probe testing.

Figure 7. Y10’s percent correct on the final day of Figure 9. Y20’s percent correct on the final day of baseline training and on each day of probe testing. baseline training and on each day of probe testing.

143 Explorations | Social Sciences

and X-Y+ probe test over three days. A bi- all p>0.05). Thus, Y20 showed no clear nomial test was conducted for each day for evidence of transitive inference or learning percent correct on B-D+ trials and X-Y+ across the probe trials. trials. The binomial test for choice of D on B-D+ trials on day one was not sig- DISCUSSION nificant (13/24,p> 0.05), but was on days Manual Procedure two (18/24, p<0.01) and three (21/24, Overall, the results from the manual p<0.01). The binomial test for choice of Y procedure show that S16 was able to make on X-Y+ trials on day one was not signifi- transitive inferences with both five-item cant (14/24, p>0.05), but was on day two lists. When presented with the novel pair (19/24, p<0.01) and three (21/24, p<0.01). B-D+, S16 chose D over B both times. Figure 8 shows the percent correct on the Also, when presented with the novel pair final day of baseline training and all three G-I+, S16 chose I over G both times. The days of probe testing. Y10 shows evidence relations between novel pairs that emerged for learning over days. However, perfor- indicate that a hierarchy had been formed mance was identical for B-D+ and X-Y+ for both List One and List Two. trials, so there is no evidence for transitive Automated Procedure inference. The results from the automated pro- Y20 was presented with the B-D+ and cedure were not very promising. Two of X-Y+ probe test for three days. Figure 9 the four rats in the automated procedure shows the percent correct on the final day never reached phase five, and of the two of baseline training and all three days of rats that reached phase five, only one was probe testing. The binomial test for choice close to meeting criterion in phase five. of D on B-D+ trials was not significant on Performance on the transitive inference day one (13/24, p>0.05) or two (16/24, probes was at chance levels. p>0.05), but was on day three (17/24, Due to Y20’s health, it was unclear how p<0.05). The binomial test for choice of much longer he would be able to test, so he Y on X-Y+ trials was not significant on any was given the B-D+ probe test before he met of the three days (14/24, 15/24, 16/24, training criterion. His poor performance

144 Mary Beth Pacewicz during training and on the probe tests may per session for 90 sessions. Rats in the au- be attributed to old age. Y9 was presented tomated procedure were trained with 48 with A-E+ probe tests because he reached trials per session for an average of 82.25 phase five but could not meet criterion. Y9 sessions. Despite the increased amount of had achieved 10/12 on each pair, just not training, the rats in the automated proce- on the same day. Y9 had been trained in all dure did not meet criterion to receive probe five phases, and we believed he would have tests, whereas S16 met criterion. This been successful at the A-E+ pair. The A-E discrepancy between increased amount + pair contains two end stimuli, and there- of training in the automated procedure fore, should be the easiest of all novel pairs and failure to meet criterion suggests that to respond correctly to because the choice amount of training does not account for can be made based on reinforcement histo- the automated procedure’s failure. By ex- ries alone (Weaver et al., 1997). Y10 was amining some of the differences between the only rat to be tested on both the A-E+ the manual and automated procedure, pos- and B-D+ pairs. He did not meet criterion sible errors and improvements for future in phase five. The decision to test Y10 on training in the automated procedure can the B-D+ pair was made because he had be discussed. met criterion of 10/12 on each pair on sev- Comparing the Two Procedures eral days, just never consecutively. One difference between the manual and The rats’ poor performances on novel automated procedure was the spatial dif- probes in the automated procedure may be ference between response and reinforce- attributed to their failure to meet criterion ment. Rats trained in the manual proce- during training. Other studies that involve dure received reinforcement immediately abstract concepts, such as Schusterman after making a response. Rats in the au- and Kastak (1993), have shown that ani- tomated procedure were required to make mals require extensive training before a response on the left side of the chamber, probe testing. Schusterman and Kastak but the reinforcement was delivered on demonstrated that a California sea lion the right side of the chamber. The spa- was capable of forming equivalence rela- tial distance between where the response tions, but only after extensive training. The was made and reinforcement was received California sea lion was extensively trained also increased the time between making a with multiple exemplars to criterion be- response and receiving reinforcement. In fore novel tests of transitivity, symmetry, Otto and Eichenbaum’s (1992) study us- and equivalence were given. The success ing an automated apparatus to test delayed on the equivalence task may be due to the non-match-to-sample tasks, there was not extensive training which prepared the sea a long time or spatial delay between re- lion for the probe tests. The rats in our sponse and reinforcement. Access to water automated procedure failed to fully meet was used as reinforcement, and the water the criterion for probe testing. Therefore, port was located directly above the nose it may be argued that they did not receive poke. After making a correct response, the the extensive training needed to form the rats’ response was immediately reinforced. five-item hierarchy. Otto and Eichenbaum’s success in training Though the rats in the automated pro- rats on delayed non-match-to-sample tasks cedure did not reach criterion, they re- using an automated apparatus may be at- ceived much more training than the rats tributed to the minimal time between when in the manual procedure. In the manual rats made a response and when they were procedure, S16, was trained with 24 trials reinforced. Moving the pellet dispenser

145 Explorations | Social Sciences between the nose pokes in the automated traditional key-peck training methods are procedure would decrease the spatial dis- used. Traditional key-peck training with tance and time between when the rat visual stimuli requires pigeons to peck at makes a response and when reinforcement lights on a screen. The key-peck method is is delivered. relatively “two-dimensional”, not allowing Using a photo beam may have also af- extensive manipulation with the screen, but fected the rats’ performances in automated Wright and Delius (1994) found that by us- apparatus. Rather than having to make an ing three-dimensional stimuli that could be explicit response, such as pushing a lid in manipulated, the pigeons learned the task the manual procedure, rats were required much quicker. These findings are similar to make a less salient response. The photo to the findings in our transitive inference beam was not visible to the rats, nor could study. The manual apparatus that used disrupting it be heard or felt. If the rats three-dimensional scented lids was much had difficulty learning what response was more successful and faster at training rats required, this may have lengthened the to form a five-item hierarchy. amount of training needed. Delius (1992) trained pigeons to discrim- The manual procedure also trained rats inate between spheres and non-spheres. with different scents than the automated The stimuli were three-dimensional ob- procedure. The manual procedure used jects made of various materials and tex- spices whereas the automated procedure tures. Acquisition was very fast compared used scented oils, and all of the oils used to other procedures using two-dimensional were fruity (e.g., strawberry, grape, and ba- stimuli. Once the pigeons were trained, nana). Though to us the oils were distin- they were presented with novel stimuli and guishable, we do not know how the scents were able to discriminate between novel smelled to the rats. If this procedure was spheres and novel non-spheres. Pictures of repeated, it would be useful to use scents the objects were also tested, and though the that are more different (e.g., pecan, butter, pigeons did discriminate between spheres and champagne). In addition, it may be and non-spheres, performance was lower useful to standardize the types of scents than performance with the three-dimen- (fruits vs. spices) across procedures. This sional objects. The results from Delius was not done in the current study because (1992) suggest that the pigeons learned to of the limited variety offered by the manu- discriminate between three-dimensional facturers we used. object more quickly because the stimuli Ecological Significance were more similar to stimuli found in the Another difference between the manual pigeons’ natural environment. The pi- procedure and the automated procedure geons’ high performance and fast acquisi- is the ecological significance of the re- tion demonstrates the importance of using quired response. The importance of uti- stimuli that are relevant to animals’ envi- lizing ecologically significant procedures ronmental experiences. It is possible to ex- was demonstrated in a study by Wright plain our results in terms of three-dimen- and Delius (1994). In this study, pigeons sional and two-dimensional stimuli. In the were trained on match and non-match-to- manual procedure, the scents were on the sample tasks using different gravel types as three dimensional objects, Plexiglas lids. In stimuli. The stimuli were chosen by ob- the automated apparatus, the stimuli could serving pigeons’ natural behavior of dig- be considered two-dimensional, like the ging to find food. The pigeons learned pictures in Delius (1992). In order to make the task at a much quicker rate than when a response in the automated apparatus, the

146 Mary Beth Pacewicz rats did not have to manipulate the stimuli. on a probe day may be a useful addition to Delius found that acquisition and perfor- the automated procedure. mance were higher with three-dimensional The wide range of species (e.g., macaque stimuli compared to two-dimensional stim- monkeys (Treichler & Van Tilburg, 1996), uli. These results are similar to our find- pigeons (von Ferson, Wynne, Delius, & ings that the manual procedure succeeded Staddon, 1991; Lazareva & Wasserman, in training a five-item hierarchy, but the 2006), and rats (Davis, 1992; Dusek & automated procedure required more train- Eichenbaum, 1997)) that have succeeded ing and was not successful in training a on transitive inference tasks may be re- hierarchy. lated to abilities required for living in so- If the automated procedure was more cial groups. Animals living in social groups difficult for the rats to learn because it is not must be able to recognize others in their ecologically significant, rats in this proce- groups as well as monitor social rank and dure may require more extensive training. status. For example, male elephant seals Training the rats with different programs fight for access to females and less than may help them learn the hierarchy more one-third of them actually mate each sea- quickly. For example, Davis (1992) trained son (LeBouef, 1974). Body size is one of rats to form a five-item hierarchy by train- the factors that influences each males social ing one pair at a time. In phase one, only rank. Central males are usually the largest the A-B pair was presented. In phase two, and most experienced fighters. Peripheral only the B-C pair was presented. Phase males are restricted to the periphery of the three trained rats on the A-C pair, and social group, and outside males have little, phase four only presented the C-D pair. if any access to females (Modig, 1996). Phase five presented the D-E pair, phase Instead of fighting every male in the group, six trained the C-E pair, and phase seven a newcomer can determine his place in the trained the A-E pair. The rats received hierarchy based on his interactions with extensive training on each adjacent pair as just a few individuals. well as nonadjacent pairs. This procedure Male elephant seals may utilize physi- may have been successful because the rats cal characteristics of group members to were given experience with nonadjacent form a hierarchy. However, hyenas are pairs before the transitive inference test. an example of a species that does not use Similarly, before the test of equivalence physical dimensions when monitoring so- in Schusterman and Kastak‘s (1993) study, cial rank. The social status of male hyenas the California sea lion was given multiple is not based on physical characteristics, exemplars and had been trained and but is determined by the hyena’s “place in tested on tests or symmetry, transitivity, and line.” Males essentially wait to rise in status equivalence. By first training the sea lion rather than fight each other. Male hyenas with symmetry, transitivity, and equiva- that join a new group rarely use physical lence, the sea lion was familiar with these means to secure status. Rather, they are types of tests. Familiarizing our rats with made aware of their status by a greeting the type of test that will be given on a probe ceremony. During the greeting ceremony, day may be a useful addition to the auto- the new male is approached by another mated procedure. Our automated proce- male of similar social status. By evaluat- dure could be modified to train rats in a ing the male’s relationship with all of the similar way as Lazareva and Wasserman other members of the group, the new male (2006) and Davis (1992). Familiarizing our is able to determine his social status (Slater, rats with the type of test that will be given Rosenblatt, Snowdon, & Roper, 2002).

147 Explorations | Social Sciences

The need to monitor and evaluate social transitive inference in laboratory settings. status based on relationship to other group While our results do not provide evidence members requires the formation of hier- that an automated apparatus is an effective archies. The formation of hierarchies in tool for training rats in transitive inference novel situations allows an animal to deter- tasks, Jordan’s (2009) success in training mine rank without fighting several group rats in two five-item lists suggests that using members. Rodents such as meadow voles, a manual procedure is a preferred training African striped mice, and rats have complex method. However, using an automated ap- social interactions that result in the forma- paratus has several advantages compared tion of dominance hierarchies (Spritzer, to using a manual procedure. For example, Meikle, & Solomon, 2004; Kinahan & objectivity and efficiency are increased. Pillay, 2008; Calhoun, 1963). This capabil- Therefore, improvements to the automated ity is an adaptive strategy that requires the apparatus should be made before it is de- use of properties of transitive inference. termined that the automated procedure Conclusion should not be used in training rats in tran- Thus, it is important to continue studying sitive inference tasks.

148 Mary Beth Pacewicz

REFERENCES Calhoun, J. B. (1963). The Ecology and Sociobiology of the Norway Rat. Bethesda, Maryland: US Department of Health, Education, & Welfare.

Davis, H. (1992). Transitive inference in rats (Rattus norvegicus). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 106(4), 342-349.

Delius, J. D. (1992). Categorical discrimination of objects and pictures by pigeons. Animal Learning and Behavior, 20(3), 301-311.

Dusek, J. A., & Eichenbaum, H. (1997). The hippocampus and memory for orderly stimulus relations. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 94, 7109-7114.

Gillan, D. J. (1981). Reasoning in the chimpanzee: II. Transitive inference. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 7(2), 150-164.

Hayes, S. C. (1989). Nonhumans have not yet shown stimulus equivalence. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 51(3), 385-392.

Jordan, L. (2009). List linking as a tool to test transitive inference in rats. Explorations: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities for the State of North Carolina, 4, 85-107.

Kinahan, A. A., & Pillay, N. (2008). Dominance status influences female reproductive strategy in a territorial African rodent Rhabdomys pumilio. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 62, 579-587.

Lazareva, O. F., Smirnova, A. A., Bagozkaja, M. S., Zorina, Z. A., Rayevsky, V. V., & Wasserman, E. A. (2004). Transitive responding in hooded crows requires lin- early ordered stimuli. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 82, 1-19.

Lazareva, O. F., & Wasserman, E. A. (2006). Effects of stimulus orderability and reinforcement history on transitive responding in pigeons. Behavioural Processes, 72, 161-172.

Lazareva, O. F., & Wasserman, E. A. (2008). Categories and concepts in animals. Learning and Memory: A Comprehensive Reference, 1, 197-226.

LeBouef, B. J. (1974). Male-male competition and reproductive success in elephant seals. Amer. Zool., 14(1), 163-176.

Lionello-DeNolf, K. M., & Mihalick, S. M. (2006). An automated olfactory discrimination procedure with rats. The Behavior Analyst Today, 7(4), 560-571.

McIntire, K. D., Cleary, J., & Thompson, T. (1987). Conditional relations by monkeys: Reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity.Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 47(3), 279-285.

149 Explorations | Social Sciences

Modig, A. O. (1996). Effects of body size and harem size on male reproductive behavior in the southern elephant seal. Animal Behaviour, 51(6), 1295-1306.

Otto, T., & Eichenbaum, H. (1992). Complementary roles of the orbital prefrontal cortex and the perirhinal-entorhinal cortices in an odor-guided delayed-nonmatching- to-sample task. Behavioral Neuroscience, 106(5), 762-775.

Schusterman, R. J., & Kastak, D. (1993). A California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) is capable of forming equivalence relations. The Psychological Record, 43, 823-839.

Sidman, M. (2000). Equivalence relations and the reinforcement contingency. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 74(1), 127-146.

Sidman, M., Rauzin, R., Lazar, R., Cunningham, S., Tailby, W., & Carrigan, P. (1982). A search for symmetry in the conditional discriminations of rhesus monkeys, baboons, and children. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 37(1), 23-44.

Slater, P. J. B., Rosenblatt, J. S., Snowdon, C. T., Roper, T. J. (2002). Advances in the study of behavior. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Spritzer, M. D., Meikle, D. B., & Solomon, N. G. (2004). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 118(3), 332-339.

Treichler, F. R., & Van Tilburg, D. (1996). Concurrent conditional discrimination tests of transitive inference by macaque monkeys: list linking. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 22(1), 105-117.

Von Fersen, L., Wynne, C. D. L., Delius, J. D., & Staddon, J. E. R. (1991). Transitive inference formation in pigeons. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 17(3), 334-341.

Weaver, J. E., Steirn, J. N., Zentall, T. R. (1997). Transitive inference in pigeons: control for differential value transfer.Pyschonomic Bulletin & Review, 4(1), 113-117.

Wright, A. A., & Delius, J. D. (1994). Scratch and Match: pigeons learn matching and oddity with gravel stimuli. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 20(1), 108-112.

150 Children’s Support Networks after the 1999 Landslides in Teziutlán, Mexico

Olivia Pettigrew University of North Carolina Greensboro Faculty Mentors: Eric Jones, Arthur Murphy University of North Carolina Greensboro

ABSTRACT Within the broader topic of disaster recovery, the project examined the relationship between personal networks and types of social support received by young women who were children when they experienced the 1999 landslides in Teziutlán in the state of Puebla in Mexico. I hypothesized that received support at the time of the event would be most frequently associated with familial relationships. I lived and conducted my research in the small resettlement community of Ayotzingo at the edge of Teziutlán, where many affected people relocated after the disaster, including children. While there I engaged in participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and a network questionnaire. I interviewed seventeen young women about their experience in the disaster and about their personal networks, paying particular attention to network content (level of closeness and relationship type) and type of social support received (material and emotional). In analyzing the data, I dichotomized the relationship types into either family or non-family, received social support as either material or emotional, and then classified the level of emotional closeness between the interviewee and each of the people within their network. The results indicate a relationship between closeness and material support, as well as a relationship between type of relationship (family or non-family) and material support; however, there is no significant association with emotional support. The results also reveal that age is a factor in determining type of support received, as the data shows older peers of children tended to give more material support while younger peers were more likely to give more emotional support.

INTRODUCTION networks, they may have at their disposal. atural disasters affect entire popula- They are instead often left to cope by them- N tions, including children. However, in selves leading to possibly severe behavioral the aftermath of disaster, children are often and mental health, lasting for years after overlooked and pushed aside as adults deal the event. with the larger and more important mat- There is an increasing interest in re- ters at hand. Children are seen by adults as searching social networks in regards to resilient and able to quickly bounce back disaster recovery; however, there has not from anything. They are viewed as being been as much attention given to children’s too young to be affected. However, chil- networks. This study examines the relation- dren are impacted just as much as, if not ship between personal networks and types more than, adults. Children may not know of social support received by young women how to use the resources, such as social who were children when they experienced

151 Explorations | Social Sciences the 1999 landslides in Teziutlán in the state within their own age group are equally im- of Puebla in Mexico. portant, especially in regards to emotional LITERATURE REVIEW support. The level of closeness within these To provide a framework for my study of relationships is also imperative in regards to social support for children in disaster set- the tightness of the network and the level tings, my literature review first discusses of support received. Oswald et al. (1994) previously conducted research on children discuss social support among peers of chil- and social support in normal settings, and dren, focusing on the closeness of their then examines children and social support relationship with the assumption that the in disaster settings. It is essential to first de- degree of closeness in a child’s relation- fine social support. In the article “Social ship determines specific behaviors, includ- Support Mobilization & Deterioration af- ing offering support. He concluded that ter Mexico’s 1999 Flood” the authors de- the closer the relationship (e.g. best friend fined social support, as “…social interac- versus playmate) determines a higher level tions that provide individuals with actual of support including protection against assistance and embed them into a web of ridiculing peers, encouragement in case of social relationships perceived to be lov- sadness, and others. ing, caring, and readily available in times In my study, I also examine the factors of need” (Norris et al. 2005:16). In cop- of relationship type and closeness studied ing with life’s stressors including natural by other researchers; however, I also exam- disasters, children rely on these webs of ine the factor of age, which proved to be a social relationships and the support offered determining point as same-age peers were through them. found to have given more emotional sup- Children and Social Support port while older adults gave more material. Much of the research conducted on Children and Social Support in Di- children and social support is about the saster Settings important effect social support has on a Considerable research has been con- child’s psychosocial development (Bryant ducted on adults in disaster settings, but 1994) as well as physical and mental health much less research has focused on children. (Kana’iaupuni et al. 2005; Baker et al. 2009) Prinstein and colleagues studied children’s and other functional abilities (Wolmer et al. coping assistance after natural disasters. 2005). The social support examined in this Their findings indicated that children em- research examines the web of social rela- bedded in strong and supportive social ties tions referred to by Norris, et al (2005). are better equipped and more apt to cope Some of the factors examined by re- well with stressful or traumatic situations searchers interested in children’s social than are children without those supportive support include relationship type, close- networks (Prinstein et al. 1996). In their ness, and generational differences. These study, three different methods of coping as- factors are seen as having the greatest po- sistance (emotional processing, reinstitution tential to affect the type and level of social of familiar roles and routines, and distrac- support offered and received within chil- tion) were examined as well as three differ- dren’s personal networks. Family relation- ent groups (family, teachers and friends.) ships are particularly important within the The results found that for emotional pro- child’s network, as family members typi- cessing, most support was received by cally are providers of important resources friends, while the parents most frequently including emotional and financial support gave support through the last two methods. (Kana’iaupuni et al. 2005). Children’s peers As I did not measure coping in my study, I

152 Olivia Pettigrew was more interested in the types of coping (neighborhood) of Lomas de Ayotzingo, assistance and their association with vari- located on the outskirts of the hillside city ous relationships. This study focuses on the of Teziutlán in the northern mountains type of relationship the child has with the of the state of Puebla in Mexico. The city person giving emotional support, including of Teziutlán is a factory town and one of age as a variable, although it does not pro- the biggest producers of blue jeans in the vide information on the levels of closeness world. Of those who work in this industry, between the child and those giving support. about half work in the factories, their hands This study also excellently examines types practically dyed blue with the indigo. The of emotional support, which leads us to ask other half of the workers (usually women) about the material aspect, including how work from their homes, cutting loose strings and from whom a child receives material or sewing on buttons, and are paid by the support in the wake of a disaster. piece. The downtown area of Teziutlán Belfer (2006) also studied child care and is bustling with people who come in from support after natural disasters, using the the surrounding colonias—to work and/or 2004 Southeast Asia tsunami as a case shop. Teziutlán is located in the mountains, study. Recognizing the unique needs of so the climate is rather cool. It also receives children and adolescents, Belfer outlined a large amount of rainfall throughout the various methods of providing support that year. This region supposedly has two sea- are necessary to the child’s mental health, sons: wet and dry, however many residents emphasizing the disabling affects and im- joke that they are really wet and wetter. pacts of losing members of the child’s per- In October of 1999, this region expe- sonal network, not only on the child, but rienced devastating floods and landslides also on the community at large. Belfer spe- as a result of several days of unrelenting cifically discusses the importance of sup- rain. In fact, in just a two day period over port from family and kin groups. To round October 4th and 5th, Teziutlán received the out our understanding of the role of rela- same amount of rainfall that they usually tionship type in terms of social support, I receive over a gradual six-month period looked at other key aspects of supporting (Olazo Garcia 2000). This caused tremen- children in the wake of disaster, such as dous damage in Teziutlán and in many of material support, as well as looking at sup- the surrounding villages that were built on port received from non-kin sources. mountainous terrain and unstable slopes. The focus of this manuscript concerns More than 400 people died and at least how social network content (i.e., type of 200,000 people were left homeless in east- people in one’s network) affects the level ern Mexico as a result of the landslides and type of support given to a person. Of and flooding, and majority of those were particular interest is from where children rein Teziutlán (Norris 2005). However, these ceived emotional support, and from where numbers do not include those who were they received material support, which is never found or recovered among the de- not commonly researched. I was also inter- struction. Many people lost everything, in- ested in assessing how the source and type cluding family members. As many of my of support changed over a ten year pe- informants recollected their different expe- riod as the children became young adults. riences, they all agreed that it was an experience that is impossible to forget. SITE The colonia of Ayotzingo was built by the The fieldwork for my research was government as a location for residents from conducted in the cool and rainy colonia the various neighborhoods in Teziutlán

153 Explorations | Social Sciences who had lost their homes, felt in danger most of her time working in a factory in after the disaster, or who could not afford Teziutlán. Living among the residents, eat- to rebuild or purchase a new home else- ing with them, and interacting with them where. In the beginning, it consisted of on a daily basis gave me an extraordi- basic cinder block houses, no electricity or nary opportunity to not only get close to running water, and unpaved roads. During them, but also to witness their day-to-day the next two years, the government contin- lives within Ayotzingo, including the many ued to support Ayotzingo by paving roads, hardships that this relocation has brought. installing electricity, plumbing, and other The colonia of Ayotzingo is geographi- necessary services, and building a primary cally isolated from the larger city of school. Since the government withdrawal Teziutlán, which has proven problematic. in 2002, members of the Ayotzingo com- It was built by the government upon a sep- munity continue to develop their colonia arate hilltop on the outskirts of the city. For by remodeling their homes, building other most, a combi (local bus/van) is the primary schools, small shops or tienditas, and con- means of getting to town, although some structing a church. Over the past ten years, people occasionally must take taxis. In the Ayotzingo has experienced slow, but defi- early years of its foundation, people stated nite material progress; however, the people that transportation was extremely difficult of Ayotzingo are still trying to make the since roads were not fully developed and colonia their home. Many do not want to the transportation cost many people money live there, but it is for many, their only op- that they did not have. The people living in tion. Relocating to Ayotzingo was a major Ayotzingo were also socially isolated from adjustment for everyone, and some people the larger city, including family members, continue to struggle with it to this day. old friends, and neighbors. I observed that Ayotzingo is a small neighborhood with social isolation was a major factor influenc- a population of no more than 250 house- ing the social networks of the young women holds and 1607 residents (based on a 2007 I interviewed, causing their networks to be community health census) living within closed and restricted to the confines of the fourteen blocks of tightly packed-in houses colonia. With the exception of the women and a few corner stores scattered around. who worked in a factory (or maquila) many There is a primary school as well as a sec- women do not leave the colonia on a regu- ondary school in Ayotzingo, but to attend lar basis. Also observing and conducting high school adolescents must travel outside research within this region, Norris et al of the colonia to another neighborhood or stated: “[o]verall, isolation from, or even to Teziutlán. There is one small communal loss of, primary attachments was more farming area as well as a small grassy area common than not, making it quite predict- for the kids to play. However, the colonia is able that Teziutlán survivors would find it still rather bare; the majority of the houses difficult to feel reliably connected to oth- have only cement walls with no insulation ers” (Norris 2005:17). from the cold and wetness caused by the A typical day for residents of Ayotzingo constant rainfall. For the duration of my starts with waking up at first light. Those fieldwork, I lived in Ayotzingo with my col- that work in the factory wake up even ear- leagues (a fellow student from the US con- lier, as they take the combi into town to work, ducting similar research, and the field co- where they remain until nightfall. Many ordinator for our advisors’ study) in which will run errands on their way home or stop we rented a small room in a house owned to visit friends and relatives. Those that stay by a single middle-aged woman who spent within the colonia enjoy a more relaxed, but

154 Olivia Pettigrew equally productive day. Residents will open of death, but rather due to relocation. their businesses and get to work, whether For many of the children, relocation to it is at a store, making and selling food, or Ayotzingo was a long, arduous transition. running the small laundry service. Women They had to make new friends. Many were tend to the house and children, all the while delayed in their return to school and almost preparing the main afternoon meal, after all of the girls I interviewed said that it took which the pace slows down a bit. During at least a year to reach a point of stability this time residents will visit with one an- and “normalcy.” other, go into town, or simply rest. I did not have much interaction with A typical day of my younger female in- the children of Ayotzingo; however, be- formants varies slightly. During the school cause they were out of school for summer season, they get up early to go into town vacation, I was able to observe them a bit for school, since the only two schools in the within the colonia. They seemed to break colonia are for lower levels. Sometimes, they the boundaries of non-engagement. When will return for the main meal, or stay in they are not helping out in their home, they town until returning home later in the eve- interact with one another, forming friend- ning where they help out in the house, do ships. During the rare non-rainy moments, their homework, and socialize. However, large groups of children run through the during periods of vacation from school, streets chasing a make-shift soccer ball or if not attending school, young women or play together on the small rusty play- spend more time at home helping with ground, which is the only place in the co- the responsibilities of the house. They also lonia where grass can be seen. Most of spend a great deal of time socializing, both these younger children did not experience within and outside of Ayotzingo. In the the trauma of the landslides or relocation. evenings they can be found chatting online They were born in Ayotzingo; it is their fa- at the local internet café, or when it is not miliarity, their home. raining, socializing in the street. As a resettlement community for people METHODOLOGY affected by the landslides, people from sev- Participants and Sampling eral different areas were brought to live to- The participants were 17 unrelated gether in Ayotzingo. Due to the differences young females aged 17-33 living in the in origin, people tend to stick together resettlement colonia of Ayotzingo that had with those from their previous commu- experienced the 1999 disaster and subse- nity, and do not rely on others for support. quent relocation. My actual sample had For the most part residents are pleasant an age range only slightly larger than my to one another but tend not to form deep desired sample. My interest was in talking relationships. with women who had been 7-17 years old Children were also affected by this re- when the landslides occurred. Since this location. Not only did they suffer loss of research took place in 2010, the women possessions and loved ones, they were also at the time of my research would be ap- uprooted from everything familiar to them proximately 18-27 years old, which was my and relocated to a new, under-developed intended sample. I chose the ages 7-17 (at area where nothing was familiar. My inter- the time of the landslides) because their views focused on female residents who were memories would have been stronger than children at the time of the landslides. Many those of smaller children under the age of young girls interviewed stated that they seven, whose brains and memories are less suffered loss of dear friends, not because developed.

155 Explorations | Social Sciences

In selecting participants, I used various last year of high school, but other occu- sampling methods including purposive, pations included factory worker, teacher, convenience, and snowball. I solicited help homemaker and street food vendor. My from older adults in the colonia that may sample population also represented a vari- have known young women in the appropri- ety of former neighborhoods in Teziutlán. ate age group that experienced the disas- My informants relocated to Ayotzingo after and relocation. I also used the personal ter the disaster from the following neigh- networks elicited from initial interviewees borhoods: Aurora, Francia, Xoloco, Aire to locate other young women of the ap- Libre, Chignaulingo, Huehuemico, Avila propriate age range living in Ayotzingo. Camacho, Colonia Juarez, La Legua, El Of those solicited, seven of the twenty- Estadio, Campo Verde, and Fresnillo. The eight refused, were too busy, or couldn’t be young women in my sample also come from contacted. Of the twenty-one I originally varying family sizes, which is a possible fac- interviewed, seventeen were available for tor in their support networks. The range of follow-up questions. family sizes includes three to ten members, The majority of the women within my with a median of six people. This variance sample were eighteen or nineteen years of within my sample reflects the variance age at the time of the interview. I chose this within Ayotzingo, which affects social ties population of young females not only be- and social support as family and neighbor- cause they were the most available within hood ties are critical to social support. the colonia of Lomas de Ayotzingo, but also Participant Observation because it was a population easier for me to For the duration of my fieldwork, I lived identify with, as they were of my same gen- in Ayotzingo which allowed me to conduct der and age group. Table 1 demonstrates participant observation by living, eating the variety within my sample. and interacting with the local residents on The sample population represented a a daily basis. A typical morning was spent variety of social, economic and educa- by waking up early and hitting the streets, tional backgrounds. The majority of the greeting neighbors and chatting with people young women I interviewed were in their while occasionally conducting a structured

Table 1. Demographic Description of Sample

156 Olivia Pettigrew interview (see description below), though were the best times to interview the young most of the structured interviews occurred women. My structured interviews consisted in the afternoon. At the main meal around of two parts, spread out over two separate 2 p.m., my two colleagues and I ate with interviews. an older woman and her grandchildren, The first interview with each woman chatting and getting extra information and lasted approximately one hour. In this part, explanation about both the disaster and the I collected qualitative data using a ques- social and political nature of Ayotzingo. tionnaire of eight multi-part questions in Afternoons were spent conducting, or at- which they described their situation before, tempting to get, structured interviews and during, and after the disaster, as well as how typing up field-notes. On the occasions they dealt with the relocation and the af- when we had no interviews, we took the termath of the landslides, plus what they bus into Teziutlán or visited other neigh- learned from their experience and how borhoods that had been affected by the they moved on afterward. (All question- 1999 landslides. In the evening we either naires available from the author or faculty went to the local internet café, which was mentor on request.) one of the hot spots for the young people The second part of the structured inter- of the colonia, or enjoyed a coffee and snack view involved collecting more data about with various members of the community. their social support networks.This second I gained a lot of insight and informa- interview lasted thirty to forty-five minutes. tion through my participant observation in With each participant, I asked them to re- Ayotzingo. Upon arrival in the colonia, my call their personal network from 1999 at colleagues and I familiarized ourselves with the time of the disaster, as well as provide the area and people. I was able to observe a separate current personal network from the children in the colonia and their daily 2010. activities and interactions. We conversed In the 1999 network, I asked for the often with the woman from who we rented names of ten people of their age with whom our room when she returned at night from they associated most immediately following work. I received a great deal of background the landslides. This resulted in the 17 inter- and social information from the woman viewees naming a total of 170 people with with whom we ate on a daily basis, as she varying demographics and different ways became one of my key informants. Not of offering support. I asked about the type only did she serve as a source of reference of relationship, how emotionally close they for the disaster and Ayotzingo, but I was were, where they lived, and whether they also able to interact with and observe her had received any type of support (material grandchildren, their personal relationships, or emotional) from that person during the and the social support available to them. I time period of the disaster and relocation. also gained quite a bit of insight and back- Then I recorded the connections within the ground information through accompany- personal network by asking how much they ing my colleague on her interviews with felt each of the ten people mentioned inter- older women and with the authority figures acted with one another during the period of Ayotzingo. following the landslides. The scale used for Structured Interview estimating the level of interactions between All interviews were conducted in people in their network was: a lot, a little, Spanish, usually in the participants’ badly, or not at all. In terms of the total homes. Often during the day, many were possible ties that would be possible between not home, so late afternoons and Sundays the 10 people in each network, it is 45 of

157 Explorations | Social Sciences

(10*10-10)/2 because it is assumed that if contextual information regarding the land- A interacts with B, then B interacts with A; slides, the immediate period of relocation there is no directionality and thus the other to Ayotzingo, and the subsequent years of half of the NxN matrix is not needed. In hardships and adjusting. total, across all 17 interviews, there could Measures and Variables have been 765 ties, or 17*45). The overarching goal of the analysis was With the personal network for 2010, I to look at how network content predicts lev- used the same format and questions as els of support with the context of the 1999 stated above; however, I only asked for the landslides and resettlement in Teziutlán. names of five people in order to decrease Attributes of Interviewee: As potential corre- respondent burden, giving me half as many lates or independent predictors of received network individuals and network attributes. social support, I gathered the following in- I asked the same questions from the first formation about each person I interviewed: network with this second contemporary set occupation since it gives an idea of a per- of relationships. I was hoping to observe son’s wealth and even type of work net- variation in the degree to which types of work; previous residence since it gives an relationships and levels of social support idea of wealth because of neighborhood; from their 1999 personal networks contin- family size because more family could give ued into the 2010 personal networks. more support; and gender because women After collecting the personal networks, I and men can receive different levels of sup- followed up on the two different types of port, with most studies concluding that social support (material and emotional) women typically better utilize relation- that was received from their networks. If ships and therefore are more likely to re- they had answered“yes” to having received ceive support in time of need than are men a type of support from a specific person (e.g.Taylor et al. 1988; Beggs et al. 1996). from their networks, I asked them specifi- However, in Burke’s (2010) study on social cally in what way they were supported and support after the 2006 volcanic eruption in for what time period they had received that Ecuador resulted in a different conclusion support. that men reported having received support Informal Interviews more than did women. My informal interviews were usually Network Structure: As potential indepen- during meal times or as a result of casual dent predictors of received social support, interaction on the street or a bus. In con- I included a couple of measures of social versation, I would ask about their experi- network structure, which refers to the pat- ence in the landslides and who, if anyone, terning of relationships for any given net- had helped them. Informal interviews work. When I asked the informants for were normally with older female adults. the names of 10 people and then whether Occasionally they were the result of ac- each of those 10 people knew one another, companying my colleague on her inter- this produced a personal network—or a views, though occasionally interactions network from the point of view of some- outside on the street or during meals. Once one about people in their life—that has the residents of the community under- structure as characterized by how dense stood my purpose for being there, most or sparse or connected it is, etc. I used two were willing to talk and share their stories measures of structure of their individual and perspectives. Since my focus was on personal networks: centralization of the younger women, I did not use the informa- network because this would give me a sense tion in my data analysis, but it did serve as to which an informant’s network revolved

158 Olivia Pettigrew around one or a couple of key people; and Quantitative Data Analysis number of components (disconnected in- In analyzing the quantitative data I ran dividuals or subgroups) because this would several statistical analyses using SPSS soft- give me an idea of how hard it might be to ware in order to find significant correla- move support through a network. tions between the type of received support Network Content: There are three inde- (material or emotional) and the indepen- pendent variables that I chose to focus on dent variables. This included several de- in this study relating to network content. scriptive analyses, means tests (ANOVA), Network content refers to the nature of the and means-ranking tests (Kruskal Wallis). I people in a network, such as demographic tested several different variables including characteristics or the nature of their rela- level of closeness, age, relationship type, tionships with others. The three variables occupation, previous residence, family size, were the age of people the interviewee gender, centralization of the network, and named as part of their personal network number of components (disconnected in- because I expected age to matter for youth dividuals or subgroups) of the network as networks, the closeness the interviewee felt correlates of social support. The resulting to each of the people they named as part of significant correlations were age, relation- their personal network (0=none, 1=some, ship type, and level of closeness. 2=a lot) since I expected the strength of Qualitative Data Analysis the relationship to predict social support In analyzing the qualitative data I gath- provided, and the relationship with each ered, I first used Microsoft Excel to com- of the people they named as part of their bine the data from the structured interpersonal network—coded as family ver- views, according to the organization of the sus non-family—since I expected family questionnaire. I was then able to conduct to provide more social support than did textual analysis of the data, in which I ex- not-family. amined the responses of each of my inter- Received Support:The dependent variables viewees and searched for their intended focused on in this study were the two types meaning. I individually analyzed each of of support received by the interviewee: ma- the quotes given as responses to the ques- terial support and emotional support. After tions, with my primary intention being my interviewee had named ten people, of to draw out the unstated emotion. In this each one I asked whether she had received analysis I aligned the quoted text with side material support (e.g.: money, food, lodging, notes I had made during the interview clothing, toys, etc) or emotional support about facial expressions, tone of voice, and (e.g.: kind words, encouragement, someone other forms of body language. In my tex- to talk to and/or share experiences, etc). tual analysis I also compared the individual Received emotional support and received quotes to the responses of the other par- material support (from network member ticipants for each question in order to de- to interviewee) were elicited as present/ab- termine what the norm was, if one existed. sent (yes = 1, no = 0). In addition, the type This analysis also provided me with an ef- and duration of social support were inves- fective means to draw out specific quotes tigated more in depth through follow-up from the interviews to apply to the quan- open-ended questions, including to whom titative data and the findings that resulted they went for help, what specific support from the quantitative analysis. they were given, and what their general Some themes of analysis that I focused experience was during the period of land- on from the qualitative data include peo- slides and relocation. ple/relationships mentioned that my

159 Explorations | Social Sciences informants had gone to for support as Age and Received Support children (e.g. immediate family, other rela- While age was not originally a variable I tives, friends, teachers, etc), ways in which was searching for in terms of received so- they felt they were supported (materially or cial support, it seemed to be a factor as I emotionally), as well as their description of analyzed my qualitative data. According to their experience of the disaster and period the interviewees, they received emotional of relocation and restoration. I chose these support mostly from people their own specific points of analysis not only because age, while adults were more focused on they provided supplementary information providing them with material needs. One to the quantitative data, but also because young woman stated, “Adults didn’t pay it allowed me to compare and contrast the much attention to children due to all of the experiences and social support networks of problems they already had to deal with.” young females in Ayotzingo and develop Another woman, while talking about only a generalized understanding of this spe- receiving emotional support from peers of cific gender and age group. According to her own age group stated, “I didn’t receive Schensul (1999), personal network research emotional support from anyone else be- and the information it provides is helpful cause they were all older.” in quickly establishing the important traits To analyze this variable, I ran a means (e.g. network size, closeness and duration of test (ANOVA) using the total number of relationships) of typical networks in a given network members provided by the 17 inter- culture and/or age or gender group. It is viewees. I first removed the five oldest peo- further explained that the traits of the typi- ple, between the ages of 39 and 60 (thus, cal networks can then be related to other n=165) because it would have skewed the characteristics associated with people’s lives results and because I really was not looking in that culture (e.g. level of social support, for peers older than 39 years of age. In so- quality of life, success in personal relation- liciting the personal networks, I had asked ships, etc). my informants to name people within their own age group, and some people did not. I RESULTS AND DISCUSSION interviewed women who were 18 years or My results for this manuscript cover the younger at the time of the disaster, so eleven relationship between the dependent vari- years later the oldest interviewee would be ables of received emotional and material 29. I then allowed a 10-year range in ei- support and the independent variables of ther direction for the peer group, so anyone age, relationship type, and level of close- older than 38 on the list was removed from ness. I present each of the independent the data set for analysis because I am more variables and discuss the correlation (if interested in the peers of these women/ present) with the dependent variables. children. The results as displayed in Table 2 Table 2. Age of Alters Giving Support (1999)

160 Olivia Pettigrew supported what was emerging from my this information into either family or non- semi-structured interviews and unstruc- family relationships. During the semi-structured interactions in the community. The tured qualitative portion of the interview, relationship between these two variables is most of the young women stated that they clear, showing that 12 was the average age looked only to their families for support. of peers who gave emotional support, and One woman said “family during that time a slightly older average age of 16 for peers was the most important. We stuck together giving material support. and helped each other. We didn’t have This result is important, especially when anyone else.” Many others echoed simi- researching children’s mental health after lar sentiments. This included both forms disasters. It is first necessary to know where of support; material support in the form children go for emotional support before of food, shelter, clothing, and money; and one can begin to implement strategies for emotional support in the form of soothing emotional coping. Children and adoles- words, explanation, encouragement, and cents in Mexico looked to their parents and distraction. For example, the majority of older adults for emotional support; how- the young women I interviewed recollected ever, due to a variety of factors, they sought hearing the words “everything is going to and found their emotional support more be okay.” Others even got together with often with people their own age, perhaps others their own age to share their indi- because they could better relate to and vidual experiences as a form of emotional disclose feelings and worries and because support. adults were more focused on making ends However, in gathering the data from meet and getting families back on their feet. their social networks, each of the seventeen Many of my informants stressed how they young women listed at least one non-family engaged in activities that allowed them to relationship, and a couple of them listed all take their minds off the disaster, which they non-family relations and reported receiving did with other children who were also try- one or both types of support from them. ing to do the same thing. Others also men- The ties listed in the personal networks tioned sharing memories and experiences consisted of approximately half familial with friends and cousins of their own age, ties (44%) and half non-familial ties (56%). so that they could know that there were I asked that interviewees “please name 10 others going through the exact same hard- people of your age with whom you associ- ships and difficulties. ated most immediately following the land- However, due to their young age, these slides,” so people were not limited to nam- children and adolescents were unable to ing family, nor were they limited to naming support each other materially. They there- people who had provided support of some fore looked to parents and older adults, of kind. working age, to provide these needs. While Based on 170 ties for 1999 (17 people they did occasionally report receiving ma- that named 10 individuals each) and 82 ties terial support from people within their age for 2010 (17 people that named 5 individu- group, this support most likely came from als each), I ran a Kruskal Wallis test, or a the parents of that reported person. means-ranking test, on whether the level of Relationship Type and Received social support offered through these ties dif- Support fered based on the dichotomized relation- In soliciting the interviewees’ social net- ship type (family vs. non-family). In Table works, I asked for their specific relationship 3, I show the average levels of support from to each of the people listed. I dichotomized 0-1 rather than means-ranking for family/

161 Explorations | Social Sciences

Table 3. Relationship Type and Received Support (1999 / 2010)

non-family, but then provide Kruskal Wallis same hardships. One of my informants levels of significance for 1999 and for 2010. stated “It was difficult to get help from anyone because we were all in the same For material support, the type of relation- situation.” ship was significant in both 1999 (p=.005) However, average levels of received emo- and 2010 (p<.001), however emotional tional support were high, with an average support did not correlate with relation- of .7 among familial relationships and a ship type for either year. The results also slightly higher average of .8 with non- indicate that received material support was family relationships. The lack of a signifi- higher among family-relationships for the cant correlation between relationship type present and the recalled past of a decade and emotional support simply suggests ago. that during the time of disaster as well as There exists a significant relationship be- currently, these young women are receiv- tween relationship type and material sup- ing emotional support from a variety of port, with familial relationships providing sources. One informant stated “With my the most support. This relationship is ex- family, I always found the emotional sup- emplified in a quote by one of my infor- port I needed. I felt safe with them and mants as she stated “My cousins helped everyone around me.” However, while talk- my family. They brought us food, toys and ing about returning to school, another in- clean clothes, and gave us a place to live. formant describes receiving her emotional One cousin…even gave us money.” Other support from a different source: “when I informants echo this pattern, reporting to returned to school, I began to receive emo- have received material support from fam- tional support from my friends.” ily members including, but not limited to, This result is important in understand- money, shelter, food, medicine, clothes, ing the social networks of young girls and toys, and help in finding a job. Therefore, women in Mexico, especially in times of di- although my informants listed a larger saster. Kinship and the expected obligations percentage of non-family ties within their associated with familial ties are extremely personal networks, it was from their fam- important among Mexicans (Norris 2005). ily ties and bonds that they received the Each of my interviewees stressed the im- most material support. However, although portance and value of family and how they received support among familial relation- looked to one another in time of need. ships was higher than in non-familial ties, Therefore, for these young women who suf- the average levels of received support were fered this disaster as children, it is impor- not extremely high, the highest being only tant to have networks containing members .5 on a scale of 0-1. This is most likely due of their kin group, and to be able to rely on to the fact that the people listed within the them for material support. personal networks were also enduring the

162 Olivia Pettigrew

Closeness and Received Support and in the present in that people either feel Finally, I looked at the variable of close- close to those who have supported them, or ness. In soliciting personal networks, I asked they are helped by those with whom they how close they felt to each of the people have close relationships. However, as was they named, asking them to choose be- the case with the variable of relationship tween “not very,” “somewhat,” and “very.” type, the average reported levels of re- I originally hypothesized that this variable ceived material support are extremely low. would have a significant relationship be- Although the level of closeness did make tween both types of received support. a major difference in the level of received I ran a Kruskal-Wallis test on whether material support, people simply did not the level of support offered through these have enough to give. 170 ties (1999) and 82 ties (2010) differed This variable of closeness is only asso- based on levels of closeness, or how close ciated with received emotional support in the interviewee felt to each of the people 2010. This means that as children, these they named. In Table 4, I show the aver- young girls are receiving emotional support age level of support from 0-1 and the levels regardless of how tight the bond is; but as of significance for 1999 and 2010. adults, they are choosing close relation- The relationship between material sup- ships for receiving emotional support. As port and closeness was significant for both displayed in the table, the average reports 1999 (p=.003) and the present of 2010 of received emotional support in 1999 (p<.001). There is also a linear relationship were equally high (.7) among the varying between receiving material support and degrees of closeness within the various re- how close the interviewee felt to the per- lationships listed. Though in the 2010 data son they listed in both 1999 and 2010. For set where there occurs a correlation, the av- example, one of my informants stated “I erage levels of received emotional support did not receive material support from any- are higher among the relationships claimed one else because we were not very close.” to be very close. An interesting point for However, this is not the case for emotional further research would be to investigate support when the children were little in why the average levels were higher among 1999 (p=.346), but as adults (in 2010) there relationships claimed to be not very close, is a strong association between emotional than relationships claimed to be quite close. support and closeness (p<.001). In addition, as kinship ties are important Therefore, closeness is associated with in whether young women receive material received material support both in 1999 Table 4. Closeness and Received Support (1999 / 2010)

163 Explorations | Social Sciences support in Mexico, having tight, close re- usually in the form of emotional support. lationships, whether with kin or non-kin, It may therefore be concluded that while is equally important for receiving material important, personal networks that are a support. bit wider to include people from different CONCLUSION regions would perhaps be more helpful in To summarize my results, age deter- terms of receiving social support, especially mined the type of support given as peers material support. gave more emotional support and adults This study reaffirms the research that more material support. Relationship type family relationships are very important in determined that it was the family relation- a child’s network, especially in the wake of ships that gave more material support, disaster. However, my research adds that while emotional support had no significant non-kin relationships within a child’s net- relationship to this variable. And finally, work is also important, especially with peers closer relationships provided more material within their own age group. This study also support across the board, while closer rela- reaffirms previous studies in that peers give tionships did not predict emotional support more emotional support and that close, for children, but did once those children meaningful relationships as adults also became adults. provide more emotional support. This re- One major conclusion that can be drawn search also adds to the literature in that all from these results is a difference between three of these variables (age, relationship emotional and material support, in that type, and closeness) predict material sup- emotional support is not well-predicted for port, which is equally important in times children (with the exception of the variable of loss and disaster. One difference that I of age), while material support is. As adults, found between my study and existing re- people choose with whom they want to be search is that the factor of closeness in a re- close and are presumably more readily ac- lationship is not necessarily a deciding fac- cepting of both material and emotional tor of receiving or not receiving emotional support. Family is more likely to help with support; however this may be amounted to material support than are non-family, but the difference between a disaster versus a are not more likely to provide emotional normal set of circumstances. support. This study can be useful for governments Another conclusion is that average lev- to bear in mind when rebuilding after di- els of reported emotional support were sasters. People’s social networks are critical repeatedly higher than the average levels to the type and amount of support they of reported material support. Natural di- will receive. It is important to look at the sasters like the landslides that occurred in resettlement community of Ayotzingo as Teziutlán do not only affect individuals, but an example of a socially non-unified com- rather the entire community. While some munity and to consider that perhaps people were affected more than others, the whole from a variety of neighborhoods may not region suffered loss, greatly limiting their want to live with one another and that once ability to provide for themselves, much less resettled, they may feel isolated and alone help others materially. Instead, the majority and not receiving the social support they had to look to the government for material need. Future points of further examination needs, which were provided in shelters and may include a stronger emphasis on the open to whoever needed them. However, structure of the personal networks and the the people of Teziutlán during this time influences that has on received social sup- helped each other however they were able, port, including people with wider personal

164 Olivia Pettigrew networks able to receive outside support in analyzing and writing up the results. I from those unaffected network members. also thank Ashlin Soltys and Fabiola Juarez It would also be enlightening to study and Guevara for their support in the field. compare the results from a differing age Mostly, I am indebted to the young women and/or gender group. of Ayotzingo for their time and for offering their stories from their childhood and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS experience in the disaster. I conducted this research with support from the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates StructuredInterview Questionnaire and Personal supplement to my advisors’ larger study NetworkSheets are available upon request from the (NSF BCS-0620213) “Social Networks and author or faculty mentor. Mitigation in Areas of Chronic Disasters.” I am grateful to my advisors Drs. Arthur [email protected] Murphy and Eric Jones for their support [email protected] in developing my own research project and

165 Explorations | Social Sciences

REFERENCES

Baker, Charlene K., and F.N. Norris, and E.C. Jones, and A.D. Murphy. 2009. Childhood Trauma and Adulthood Physical Health in Mexico. Journal of Behavioral Medicine 32(3): 255-269.

Beggs, J.J., V.A. Haines, And J.S. Hurlbert. 1996. Situational Contingencies Surrounding the Receipt of Informal Support. Social Forces. 75(1):201-222.

Belfer, Myron L. 2006. Caring for Children and Adolescents in the Aftermath of Natural Disasters. International Review of Psychiatry 18(6): 523-528.

Bryant, Brenda K. 1994. “How does Social Support Function in Childhood.” In Social Networks and Social Support in Children and Adolescence: Prevention and Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence. Frank Nestmann and Klaus Hurrelmann, eds. Pp. 23-36.

Burke, Brittany A. 2010. Forms of Social Support by Non-Relatives in Emergency Situations: Ecuador. Explorations 5: 65-79.

Kana’iaupuni, Shawn, and K.M. Donato, and T.Thompson-Colon, and M. Stainback. 2005. Counting on Kin: Social Networks, Social Support, and Child Health Status. Social Forces 83(3): 1137—1164.

Olazo Garcia, Jose Luis. 2009. Lo de Ayer y lo de Hoy: Teziutlán a 10 Años de la Tragedia. 2000. Tezuitlán: Historia y Tragedia. Puebla: Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. 1998. Tezuitlán: Mi Patria Chica. México, D.F: Jose Luis OlazoGarcia.

Oswald, Hans, and L. Krapmann, and H. Uhlendorff, and K. Weiss. 1994. “Social Relations and Support Among Peers During Middle Childhood.” In Social Networks and Social Support in Children and Adolescence: Prevention and Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence. Frank Nestmann and Klaus Hurrelmann, eds. Pp.171-190.

Norris, Fran H., and C.K. Baker, and A.D. Murphy, and K. Kaniasty. 2005. Social Support Mobilization & Deterioration after Mexico’s 1999 Flood: Effects of Context, Gender, and Time. American Journal of Community Psychology 36:15-26.

Prinstein, Mitchell J., and A.M. La Greca, and E.M. Vernberg, and W.K. Silverman. 1996. Children’s Coping Assistance: How Parents, Teachers, and Friends Help Children Cope After a Natural Disaster. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology 25:463-475.

Schensul, Jean J., et.al. 1999. Mapping Social Networks, Spatial Data and Hidden Populations. WalnutCreek, CA: AltaMira Press.

166 Olivia Pettigrew

Taylor, R.J., L.M. Chatters, and V.M. Mays. 1988. Parents, Children, Siblings, In-Laws, and Non-Kin as Sources of Emergency Assistance to Black Americans. National Council on Family Relations 37(3):298-304.

Wolmer, Leo, and N. Laor, and C. Dedeoglu, and J. Siev, and Y. Yazgan. 2005. Teacher- Mediated Intervention after Disaster: a Controlled Three-Year Follow up of Children’s Functioning. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 46(11): 1161-1168.

167 Working Class African American Women and Heart Disease: How Communication and Community Impact Prevention Knowledge and Behaviors

Ranata Reeder North Carolina State University Faculty Mentors: Kami Kosenko , Sinikka Elliott North Carolina State University

ABSTRACT Heart disease is the number one killer of women in America. Obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure are all contributing, or resulting, illnesses of heart disease. African American women are disproportionately affected by heart disease and its accompanying illnesses, and this is especially the case for African American women in the South. This study evaluates the impact that communication and community have on the prevention knowledge and behaviors of sixteen African American women in North Carolina. The women were from working class and middle class backgrounds. Overall, there was a knowledge gap between the health practices and behaviors of working class and middle class participants. Working class participants also were more likely to be overweight than the middle class participants. Participants attributed their eating and exercise practices to various interpersonal and environmental factors, including access to grocery stores and a workout partner.

eart disease is the number one killer living with high blood pressure, 17 million H of women and men in the United were living with coronary heart disease, States (Centers for Disease Control and eight million had a heart attack, six million Prevention, 2011). The Centers for Disease experienced a stroke, and 5.8 million were Control and Prevention (CDC) projects in heart failure (AHA, 2011). Reducing that “about every 25 seconds, an American one’s controllable risk factors “could pre- will have a coronary event.” Heart disease vent or postpone substantially more deaths also can result in debilitating illnesses. In from CHD” (Capewell et al., 2010, p. 120). 2006, an estimated 81 million people had Heart disease, which researchers may at least one form of cardiovascular disease- refer to as coronary artery disease (CAD), -the most common forms being high blood CHD, or cardiovascular disease (CVD), can pressure, coronary heart disease (CHD), be avoided or “reduced by taking steps to stroke, and heart failure (American Heart prevent and control factors that put people Association, 2011). In the same year, ap- at greater risk” (CDC, 2011). Risk factors proximately 73 million Americans were that correlate with heart disease include

168 Ranata Reeder

“high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obe- a barrier to reducing morbidity and mor- sity, diabetes, tobacco use, unhealthy diet, tality in this population.” The researchers physical inactivity, and secondhand smoke” also stated that “women receive less cho- (AHA, 2011). All of these risk factors are lesterol screening, less lipid-lowering thera- controllable through reducing alcohol and pies, less use of heparin, beta-blockers and tobacco intake, increasing physical activity, aspirin during myocardial infarction (MI), consuming healthy foods, controlling one’s and fewer referrals to cardiac rehabilitation weight, and being aware of one’s heart compared with men” (Pleglar et al., 2009, health (AHA, 2007). Risk factors that con- p. 1542). tribute to heart disease that are less control- African American women, in particular, lable at the individual level are age, sex, in- are greatly impacted by heart disease. For come, and hereditary factors (AHA, 2007). African American women, the “death rates As people age, their risk for heart disease from heart disease and cerebrovascular dis- increases. Heredity, or genetics, is also a ease exceed those of all American women- major factor in heart disease risk. In terms -Caucasian, Latino, Native American, and of ethnicity, “African Americans are more Asian and Pacific Islander” (Fleury & Lee, likely than Caucasians to have high blood 2006, p.130). For this population “heart pressure, and they tend to have strokes ear- disease and stroke remain the first and third lier in life and with more severe results” leading causes of death” (Lutfiyya et al., (AHA, 2007). 2008, p. 86). Several factors might account Gender also plays a major role in the for the increased risk of heart disease and development of heart disease. Researchers stroke among African American women. have found that “coronary artery disease In terms of weight, “African American (CAD) kills more women than all can- women and girls are more overweight and cers combined and is the leading killer of obese than those of other ethnic groups” women in the United States.” There are a (Taylor et al., 2009, p. 53). Among African large number of women living with heart American women, 50.8% are obese, and disease. An estimated “one in three women 78% are overweight (Taylor et al., 2009, in the United States suffers from CAD” p. 54). Along with weight management, (Shirato & Swan, 2010, p. 282). Women physical activity is a controllable risk fac- are also disproportionately affected by tor to help prevent heart disease in women. heart disease’s accompanying illnesses. For Adversely, not being physically active is “a example, Shirato and Swan reported that major independent risk factor for CHD “more women than men with CAD have in women” (Lefler & Nuss, 2006, p. 350). diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterol- African American women are less physi- emia, and a family history of CAD” (p. cally active than other population groups. 282). Theorists projected that these trends The level of physical activity correlates in obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure with heart health for African American among American women caused 30,000 women: “African American women have additional deaths from heart disease in lower levels of physical activity and higher 2010 (Capewell et al., 2010). Though heart levels of cardiovascular health risk com- disease greatly affects women, it is seen as pared to other population groups” (Fleury a man’s disease. In a health study assessing & Lee, 2006, p.135). doctor-patient communication, research- Education level and socio-economic ers found that “lack of healthcare provider status have been identified as factors in- knowledge of the guidelines for prevention fluencing physical activity among African of CVD in women has been identified as American women. For example, Fleury

169 Explorations | Social Sciences and Lee found that African American friends, and support networks can contrib- women “with low levels of education ute (and, in some cases, undermine) heart tended to be more physically inactive” health among African American women. (p.132). Socio-economic status also corre- As such, this study focuses on the influ- lates with levels of physical activity. Income ence of communication and community level has “a significant impact on the initia- on African American women’s knowledge tion and maintenance of health promoting and awareness of heart disease risk factors. behaviors, including participation in regu- Researchers have determined that “aware- lar physical activity” (p.131). In addition, ness and acceptance are necessary first socioeconomics influence food options and steps in controlling and managing CVD choices. Demographically, the population risk factors” (Khavjou, 2009, p. 673). Thus, group that is “least likely to meet the USDA I aimed to assess African American wom- guidelines for the recommended daily serv- en’s awareness and acceptance of heart dis- ings of fruits and vegetables is non-His- ease risk. Specifically, I sought information panic Blacks and individuals with lower in- about diet, physical activity, heart health comes” (Robinson, 2008, p. 395). Overall, knowledge, communication patterns, and socioeconomic status is a powerful indica- community-level influences to address the tor of health practice. African Americans following research question: What fac- have the highest rates of poverty in the tors influence health heart knowledge and United States of any ethnic group. In 2009, health behaviors among African American the Census Bureau reported that 25.8% of women in the South? African Americans were below the poverty line (Census Bureau, 2009). Although there are many studies on how METHODS uncontrollable risk factors impact heart Procedure health, there is little research on how social This study received approval from (and potentially controllable) factors influ- the North Carolina State University ence heart health knowledge and behaviors. Institutional Review Board. This study in- Existing research places an emphasis on volved semi-structured interviews with six- community support. Community expecta- teen African American women living in the tions about physical health “may enhance Southeastern United States. Recruitment efficiency in goal formation and motiva- entailed the use of convenience and snow- tion related to physical activity” (Fleury & ball sampling. To recruit participants, I Lee, 2006). Scholars have argued, “Social posted study announcements on commu- factors play a dominant role in influencing nity websites, social networking sites, and individual and community goals, strategies, online listservs that catered to persons of and opportunities for behavioral change” color and women, and I distributed fliers (Fleury & Lee, 2006). A community mes- at area colleges and centers for persons of sage about health must be set in place to color. As an incentive, I offered individuals enact positive change at the community free entrance into a raffle for a $50 Amazon level. Community communication must gift card for their participation. When a “include culturally relevant social support person responded to the study announce- as well as social norms that may facilitate ment, I assessed his/her eligibility. To be behavioral capacity and health behavior able to participate, the individual needed change” (Fleury & Lee, 2006). Given the to meet the following criteria: (a) be at least above findings it is important to do more 18 years of age, (b) read and write English, research on how messages between family, and (c) self identify as an African American

170 Ranata Reeder woman. After an individual was deemed el- Participant Characteristics igible to participate in the research study, I The sample consisted of 16 women. scheduled an interview at a time and place All research participants self-identified as convenient for the research participant. African American women. Participants’ I began the interview by reading the in- ages ranged from 20 to 60 years of age. formed consent form to the participant, The mean age of the participants was and both she and I signed a copy. After giv- 28. Socioeconomic status was placed on a ing the participant a copy of the informed Likert-type scale from one to seven with the consent form, we transitioned into the for- average number reported being 3.6, mak- mal interviewing process. These one-on- ing the average participant working class. one, semi-structured interviews ranged in All participants had some post high school length from 15 minutes to one hour. The education. All participants reported having interview schedule consisted of five parts. a family history of heart disease, diabetes, The interview sought to gain information high blood pressure, or obesity. about each participant’s: (a) environment, (b) knowledge of heart disease and its ac- RESULTS companying illnesses, (c) diet and eating As expected based on the literature, this habits, (d) health practices, and (e) commu- study indicated that income and class are nicative practices with regard to diet and important factors shaping participants’ exercise. The interview consisted mostly weight, diet, and levels of exercise. Income of open-ended questions designed to gain also strongly influenced participants’ greater insight into the participant’s life- knowledge about heart disease. Within this style, field of experience, and attitudes research population, there was a knowledge toward health. All participants consented gap between working class and middle class to having their interviews audio-recorded. participants. Less than half of the partici- After the interview, participants completed pants were able to correctly identify all of a two-page questionnaire that assessed de- the diseases related to heart disease for mographic information, health informa- which they were at increased risk. Those tion, and health knowledge about diseases who were able to identify these diseases currently affecting African Americans. The had a median familial socioeconomic sta- interview process ended with me thanking tus of 4.4, compared to the median group the participants for participation in this re- status of 3.5. This finding suggests that search study. I also informed participants African American women of higher socio- that they would be notified if they won the economic status might be better educated raffle for the $50 Amazon gift card. about the diseases that place them at risk I reviewed the interviews for transcrip- for heart disease and, thus, better equipped tion after the data collection process and to prevent heart disease and its associated transcribed sections of the interviews based illnesses. upon their pertinence to the research study. Although the majority of participants The annotated notes I took during each talked with others within their community interview allowed for better analysis of the about food, most did not discuss exercise, audio-recorded interviews. I placed the and over half did not exercise regularly. information from the questionnaire into a Four participants had open dialogue about spreadsheet. Once this was done, I was able their exercise routine; whereas, 14 partici- to compare and contrast the data based on pants had open dialogue about their diet. education level, age, and income level. Only seven of the 16 research participants engaged in a weekly exercise routine,

171 Explorations | Social Sciences with six of the seven participants exercis- true for the participants’ reports of their ing alone. Physical inactivity is a risk fac- mothers’ weight. Six of the participants’ tor for heart disease. My findings suggest mothers would be considered obese, but that beginning community conversations only two participants identified their moth- about physical activity may “create chan- ers as obese. nels through which information related I asked participants to complete a Heart to activity may be disseminated” (Fleury Health Quiz I made as part of the post-in- & Lee, 2006, p.133). Creating an exercise terview questionnaire. The questions were support system or network among African based on facts given by the American Heart American women may also prove to have Association. The quiz assessed each par- sustainable impact on the physical activ- ticipant’s knowledge of heart disease risk ity levels of African American women, as factors for ethnic groups. The participants many of those who reported not exercising were asked what disease was the number cited lack of exercise partners as a reason. one killer of women and which ethnic Obesity and Heart Disease Risk group had the highest instances of heart Awareness disease, obesity, diabetes, heart attack, and Obesity is a major risk factor for heart stroke. Only seven of the 16 participants disease. Based on the participants’ self- were able to answer all of the questions reported height and weight, body mass correctly. The average socioeconomic sta- index values were calculated. According to tus for these seven participants was 4.4, the body mass index calculations, nine of which indicates lower middle class. Thus the 16 participants were overweight, with the working class women in my study were seven classified as obese based on their more likely to be overweight and less likely self-reported height and weight. Although to be knowledgeable about heart disease seven participants would officially meet the compared to those whose income range criteria for obesity, only three self-identified was closer to middle class. as obese. The average socioeconomic class Exercise Practices ranking of the overweight participants I also asked the participants about their was 2.5, which signifies working class, but levels of physical activity. Seven of the 16 is lower than the overall average income participants participated in regular exer- of the participants. I also asked the par- cise routines, such as going to the gym for ticipants for their mothers’ height and 45 minutes, five-six times a week or walk- weight as researchers have found a similar- ing two miles, three times a week. These ity between mother and daughter weight seven participants, who came from varied and health habits (Francis & Birch, 2005). socioeconomic backgrounds, exercised on Twelve of the 16 participants’ mothers average four days a week. Six of the seven could be classified as overweight, with six participants who participated in an exercise meeting the criteria for obesity. One par- routine exercised alone, but four of these ticipant’s mother was deceased. participants shared that they discussed their The women also provided me with their exercise routine with their mother, family mothers’ socioeconomic background char- members, and/or friends. The majority of acteristics. Of the nine overweight partici- the participants who did not participate in pants’ mothers, the average socio-economic an exercise routine cited time constraints class ranking was 3.5, which also signifies and not having a workout partner as rea- working class. As stated earlier, most par- sons for not exercising. ticipants did not identify as obese, regard- All participants reported feeling that ex- less of their weight. This pattern also held ercise was part of a healthy lifestyle and

172 Ranata Reeder that they should exercise. Participants re- intake. Katie’s diet and health practices ported exercising to “burn calories,” “ex- might indicate that messages about health ercise your heart,” “be healthy,” “relieve are transmitted inter-generationally and stress,” “be more upbeat,” “prevent dis- might have a more powerful influence than eases,” “strengthen heart,” and to “pre- income level. serve muscles.” Although all participants Rosanna reported learning about healthy reported that they felt exercise was part of eating as a child. Rosanna’s mom also pro- a healthy lifestyle, less than half reported vided home-cooked meals. A vegetable participating in a regular exercise routine. dish within Rosanna’s household consisted Eating Habits of “collard greens with a bone, or piece of In addition to asking the participants meat. And sometimes corn with bacon.” about their physical activity levels, I asked Rosanna and her mother are considered them about their eating habits and whether obese. Rosanna described her diet as “hor- they had discussed those habits with others. rible.” Rosanna does not talk about her Fourteen of the 16 participants discussed diet with anyone except her mother. When their diet and eating habits with their asked what those conversations centered mother, family, and/or friends. Nine of around, Rosanna responded, “Just weight.” the 16 participants described their diets as Rosanna said that her mother tells her she’s healthy; however, about half also described “getting fat.” Here is what Rosanna eats in eating fast food regularly and skipping a normal day: breakfast. Two participants who described Breakfast their diets as healthy ate very restricted Water or Sprite items, such as a box of cereal throughout Lunch the day or a can of spinach for a meal, sug- Hard Beef Taco and a Chicken Quesa- gesting that healthy eating for these partici- dilla from Taco Bell pants was equated with deprivation. As a Sprite part of the interview, I asked the partici- Dinner pants to take me through what they ate in An eight-inch club on white w/ ham, tur- a normal day. Below I will share what two key, bacon, provolone cheese, and mayon- participants described eating in a normal naise day; participant names are pseudonyms. Water or a Watermelon Arizona Tea Rosanna and Katie are both college stu- Snack dents. Rosanna and Katie both describe A chocolate chip cookie two-three times a their diets as unhealthy and do not partici- week pate in a regular exercise routine. Rosanna Katie reported learning about healthy is working class, and Katie is middle class. eating in a high school health class. Due Although Rosanna and Katie are both to Katie’s parents’ busy schedules, eating from different social classes their eating and out was “quick and easy.” Katie described exercise habits are similar. Katie is middle her diet as unhealthy. She cited her busy class, but she revealed that her mother schedule as a contributing factor to her grew up “extremely poor.” Researchers unhealthy diet. She reported eating out at have found that “women perform the ma- least two-three times a week. As previously jority of food related work” (Allen & Sachs, stated, Katie reported eating out frequently 2007, p. 1), thus Katie may have learned as a child, due to her parent’s busy sched- much about food from her mother. As pre- ule. Katie and her mother are considered viously stated, low-income levels negatively obese. Katie does not participate in a regu- affect children’s dietary and nutritional lar exercise routine. Here is what Katie eats

173 Explorations |Social Sciences on a normal day: Laura’s Story Breakfast Laura’s experience is an excellent illus- Egg and cheese sandwich, or egg and tration of the general trends identified in cheese English muffin the data. Laura is a middle-aged woman Water who said she grew up with access to healthy Lunch foods but not healthy behaviors. Laura is Four-piece chicken finger meal working class and grew up working class. FriesSoda Her family comes from the South. Laura Dinner is considered obese. Within the African *Dinner meal is dependent on time avail- American community, Laura said food able to cook meal. If there is not time: can be a “comfort” to ease “depression” Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich – no let- and “stress.” Laura also revealed her per- tuce ception that within the African American Baked potato with butter and sour cream family there is an emotional attachment Medium Sweet Tea to food. Laura reported learning about *If there is time to prepare a meal: healthy eating later in life, although not un- Italian grilled chicken til she reached her late 50s. Baked potatoes Interviewer: Tell me what you know Velveeta shells and cheese about heart disease. Water Laura: I know that I am very prone to Environmental Influences it. I know that it is in my family. Well, in Community attitudes about exercise con- the African American community, it stems tribute to social norms regarding physical from a lack of knowledge. Um, eating, activity for a population of people. Seeing obesity, um, lifestyle, irregular visits to the one’s community members participating in doctor, you know just all the things that regular exercise might have an impact on low socio-economic groups incorporate. So the exercise practices of individuals within um, I believe that it is something that can that community. As such, I asked the par- be prevented in most cases. But, usually in ticipants about possible environmental my family, it has been a matter of fixing it, influences, such as whether people within instead of preventing it, unfortunately. their communities walk for exercise and/ Interviewer: And how do you think it or whether their neighborhoods have play- can be prevented? grounds to help promote activity among Laura: Early intervention is the key. I children. Almost all of the participants think it has, well I think it’s actually very reported having a playground, or an area complicated because the questions you that children could play in, while they were were asking earlier I thought were excellent growing up. Thirteen of the 16 partici- questions. You know if there’s not--well let pants reported that people walked in their me go back. First of all, earlier if African neighborhoods. However, three of the 13 Americans had more education, we had participants revealed that people walk, not the food to be healthy. We were farmers; we for exercise, but for functionality or trans- had organic foods that people are paying so portation. One participant, who reported much money for, but what we didn’t do is that people did not walk for exercise in her prepare them well. You know I think of all neighborhood, also reported her neighbor- the fresh vegetables I had access to grow- hood not having sidewalks. All of the par- ing up, but then when you put a ham hock ticipants described their neighborhoods as in it with a fat back, you’re killing it. And, safe. we had all the fresh cured meats, but when

174 Ranata Reeder they were fried--you know nobody baked food and never discussed other components anything much. And then even if there was of health, such as exercise, her story also any baked fish or baked chicken you know suggested that there might be more salient it had gravy, and then you had mashed po- messages about food than about exercise tatoes with butter. So you know all these within the African American community. things that could have been healthy had they’d been prepared differently, ended up DISCUSSION being unhealthy because of the way we Nearly 26 percent of African Americans serve them and timing. You know you work are living below the poverty line (Census all day, eat, then watch TV, and go to bed. Bureau, 2009). The South has the highest All of that’s unhealthy. So I think that the rates of poverty in the United States (De- government, well, should be intentional, as Navas-Walt et al., 2009) and heart disease to why there are 15 liquor stores in some is the number one killer of women in the communities, and no grocery stores. Or if South. Statistically, it is understandable the grocery stores are there, there’s not fresh why low-income African American women fruit and fresh vegetables. And if they are in the South are greatly affected by heart there, you have to think about--I know like disease. But, what are the processes at work now I work a whole lot, and I need more that exacerbate these women’s chances balance in my life. And, I fortunately have for heart disease? Researchers suggest the resources that I can go buy a salad, or that knowing that one is at increased risk I can go to Whole Foods and get the vegan for heart disease can decrease the acquisi- collards. But, if I still had children at home tion of heart disease and its related illness. it would be very difficult because vegetables By examining knowledge of heart disease and fruit don’t last you know, more than a risk factors and health education within few days. So that means you can go to the the African American community, I have grocery store once a month and get all of begun to investigate the factors that place these frozen packaged stuff that you can fix African American women at risk for heart quickly or you can learn how to do it an- disease. other way. And I think that for people who From participant reports, there is a gap have to work a lot, and don’t have balance between actual and perceived risk for heart in their lives with children, you have to be disease. This theme can be seen in the case very intentional. And so when you’re deal- of obese participants. Of the participants ing with bills and budget, and homework, considered obese, less than half knew they and all of that it’s easier if you learned it were obese. This held true for identifying early. Because that’s what I see, it’s what others as obese, as well. Of the participants you teach your children and make acces- with obese mothers, less than half identi- sible to them early. fied their mothers as obese. There was also I chose Laura’s story because it high- a correlation between obese mothers and lighted how communication and commu- daughters despite current income level, nity can influence diet and exercise prac- which indicates the mother’s importance in tices. Laura did not learn about healthy sharing positive health behaviors with her eating until she had reached her late 50s. children. I also found that despite current Laura reported having access to healthy income level, a mother who grew up poor food, such as fresh vegetables, when she passed down her initially learned ideals was a child but said that, when the food about food and exercise to her middle-class was prepared incorrectly, it was no longer daughter. healthy. Because Laura focused solely on Overall there was a knowledge gap

175 Explorations | Social Sciences between working class and middle class respond to the research advertisements. participants. Middle class participants were The majority of the advertisements were able to identify all of the risk factors asso- located on and near area university cam- ciated with African American women and puses. The placement of the fliers allowed heart disease on the Heart Health Quiz. for a greater number of individuals with Most of the participants reported speaking post high school education to participate about food with others within their commu- in the study, even though many still identi- nity, but less than half of the participants fied as working class. The percentages of reported talking about exercise. Physical African American women with post high activity and weight management are ma- school education in this study are not in- jor preventative factors for heart disease. dicative of the entire population. Future re- Having conversations about healthy foods, search should attempt to solicit a larger and physical activity, and heart disease in the more diverse sample of African American African American community can prove women to fully understand the pathways beneficial to reducing this disease among by which being poor, being a woman, and this population. Educating mothers, as well being African American shape heart health as future mothers, may also prove benefi- behavior. Future research should also cial given that “women bear the responsi- analyze the variations in communicative bility for nourishing others” (Allen & Sachs, practices among varying linguistic groups 2007, p. 1). within the African American community. There were limitations to this study. The As revealed through the research there was sample size of this study did not allow for a a heart disease knowledge and awareness great number of African American women gap between middle and working class to share their stories. A bigger sample would African American women. This signifies also allow for a greater diversity within the that class, or income level, affects the kinds sample population. This research study was of conversations that African American a convenience sample. Only participants in women have about health. the recruitment area were able to see and

176 Ranata Reeder

REFERENCES

Allen, P., and Sachs, C. (2007). Women and food chains: The gendered politics of food. International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture, 15, 1-23.

American Heart Association. (2011). Cardiovascular statistics. Retrieved from http:// www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4478.

American Heart Association & American Stroke Association. (2007). Know the facts, get the stats. Retrieved from http://www.americanheart.org/downloadable/ heart/116861545709855-1041%20KnowTheFactsStats07_loRes.pdf.

Capewell, S., Ford, E. S., Croft, J. B., Critchely, J. A., Greenlund, K. J., & Labarthe, D. R. (2010). Cardiovascular risk factor trends and potential for reducing coronary heart disease mortality in the United States. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 88, 120-130.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011, Jan 31). February is American heart month. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/features/heartmonth.

Census Bureau. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/ data/incpovhlth/2009/table4.pdf

Fleury, J., & Lee, S. M. (2006). The social ecological model and physical activity in African American women. American Journal of Community Psychology, 37, 129-140.

Francis, L. A., & Birch, L. L. (2005). Maternal weight status modulates the effects on restriction on daughter’s eating and weight. International Journal of Obesity, 29, 942-949.

Khavjou, O. A., Finkelstein, E. A., Farris, R., & Will, J. C. (2009). Recall of three heart disease risk factor diagnoses among low-income women. Journal ofWomen’s Health, 18, 667-675.

Lefler, L. L., & Nuss, R. L. (2008). Double jeopardy! Heart disease risk factors for older African American and Caucasian women. MEDSURG Nursing, 18, 347-354.

Lutfiyya, M. N., Marites, T. C., McCullough, J. E., Barlow, E. L., & Lipsky, M. S. (2008). Disparities in adult African American women’s knowledge of heart attack and stroke symptomatology: An analysis of 2003-2005 behavioral risk factor surveil- lance survey data. Journal of Women’s Health, 17, 805-813

Moulton, S. A. (2009). Hypertension in African Americans and its related chronic illnesses. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 16, 165-170.

Muñoz, L. R., Etnyre, A., Adams, M., Herbers S., Witte, A., Horlen, C., & Jones, M. E. (2010). Awareness of heart disease among female college students. Journal of

177 Explorations | Social Sciences

Women’s Health, 19, 2253-2259.

Pregler, J., Freund, K. M., Kleinman, M., Phipps, M. G., Fife, R. S., Gams, B., . . . & Sarto, G. (2009). The heart truth professional education campaign on women and heart disease: Needs assessment and evaluation results. Journal of Women’s Health, 18, 1541-1547.

Robinson, S. (2008). Applying the socio-ecological model to improving fruit and vegetable intake among low-income African Americans. Journal of Community Health, 33, 395-406. Shirato, S., & Swan, B. A. (2010). Women and cardiovascular disease: An evidentiary review. MEDSURG Nursing, 19, 282-286

Taylor J. Y., Maddox, R., & Wu, C. Y. (2009). Genetic and environmental risks for high blood pressure among African American mothers and daughters. Biological Research for Nursing, 11, 53-65.

US Census Bureau. (2009). Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2009.

178 About the Student Authors

David Blake Sheila Casalett is currently seeking a degree in biomedi- is currently completing her last semester at cal chemistry with a minor in physics Meredith College in Raleigh, NC, where at the University of North Carolina at she is pursuing a BA in Spanish. She plans Pembroke. He is very interested in hu- to continue with higher education by pur- man physiology, and his goal is to pursue suing a PhD specializing in Latin Ameri- a career in mental illness research. His can studies. In addition to her studies, she experimental studies have progressed into currently volunteers with Wake Technical the realm of ultrasound research, where Community College’s ESL program and he is studying the effects of ultrasound on the North Carolina Society of Hispanic metabolism. He would like to pursue a Professionals’ after school tutoring pro- PhD in a biophysical related science that is gram in an effort to help foster cultural in line with his career goals and is current- understanding between immigrant and ly exploring potential graduate programs. local populations and to promote education among Hispanic youth. Her research interests include Mexican identity studies, Betsy Brinson Latin American colonialism, and U.S.- graduated magna cum laude and received Mexico relations. her BS in biochemistry from East Carolina University in 2007. She then went on to pursue a Doctor of Pharmacy at The Camila Domonoske University of North Carolina at Chapel is currently a senior at Davidson College, Hill. She graduated with her PharmD in where she is pursuing a BA in English. 2011 with University Honors. She currently In the summer of 2010, she traveled to practices as an oncology pharmacist at an the Philippines on grants from the Dean outpatient oncology clinic in Sanford, NC. Rusk International Studies Program, She enjoys patient care and has an interest the George L. Abernethy Endowment, in pharmacogenomics, where medication the Thompson S and Sarah S Baker can be individualized based on a patient’s Scholarship, and the Bank of America/ genetic makeup. Kemp Scholars Program. She is currently working on an honors thesis on ironic poetics in 20th-century American poetry. William Brown Her research interests include postcolonial is currently an undergraduate student theory, irony and satire, and modern and at East Carolina University, where he is contemporary American literature. pursuing his degree in History Education. Presently, he is anticipating his student teaching at J.H. Rose High School in Kristen Gallagher Greenville, NC. He hopes to continue his is currently an undergraduate student at studies and plans to pursue a master’s de- Meredith College in Raleigh, North Caro- gree in education. His research interest is lina. She is studying Museum Studies and American History and is a member of the Art History, and plans to pursue a master’s Lambda-Eta Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta. in Museum Education after graduation.

179 Explorations

Currently, she is concluding research on in May 2011 and received her BS in the contemporary art of Cambodia. She is mathematics. She was as a member of the involved in many museums within North FSU Honors Program and Phi Eta Sigma Carolina, and has served as an intern Honors Society, and held an internship or volunteer at art, history, and science with the National Science Foundation museums. Her research interests include in Washington, D.C . Kristy is currently furthering her work in encaustic painting a graduate student at Wake Forest Uni- and history, Cambodian contemporary versity, where she is pursuing a Master’s art, the interaction of art and science, and Degree in mathematics. Upon gradua- new methods in museum education. tion, she plans continue her education and pursue a PhD in Mathematical Biology. Her research interests are in the area of Jeff Guilford algebraic coding theory and mathematical graduated at the top of his class in 2011, biology. receiving a BA in philosophy with a minor in Spanish from North Carolina State University. He is currently working on Mary Beth Pacewicz applications to various graduate programs, graduated from the University of North as well as on a short book that will offer Carolina Wilmington with a Bachelor of a critical analysis of Richard Dawkins’ Science degree in marine biology and a book, The God Delusion. Though he is un- Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. certain of exactly where his future studies She graduated with University Honors of philosophy, religion and history will with honors in psychology. She is now lead him, he hopes above all that they will attending Humboldt State University and continue to help him to understand and working on her master’s degree in Biol- appreciate the great mystery of human ogy. She is studying the marine mammals existence. His research interests include that strand along the coast of Northern European intellectual history, philosophy California. of religion, and existentialism. Rebecca F. Panter Clifford Eugene “Trey” is currently seeking a degree in Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Mayberry III Pembroke. She is a student researcher received his Associate in Arts degree in who is studying under both Dr. Brandon 2009 from Mitchell Community College and Dr. Pereira. Her research with Dr. in his hometown of Statesville, NC and a Brandon involves engineering optical in- Bachelor of Arts degree in history from struments for chemical analysis, and acting Mars Hill College near Asheville, NC in as logistics team leader for an undergradu- 2011. He performs as an Elvis Presley, ate physics research group. Her collabora- Buddy Holly, and Johnny Cash tribute art- tions with Dr. Pereira include horticultural ist, and plans on attending graduate school studies investigating physical methods in the near future. to enhance plant growth without using chemical additives. Kristy Mitchell the Salutatorian of Fayetteville State University, graduated summa cum laude

180 About the Student Authors Olivia Pettigrew Bethany Starnes is a recent graduate from the University of is a 2011 graduate of Campbell University North Carolina Greensboro. She gradu- in Buies Creek, NC. She graduated magna ated summa cum laude in 2011, receiving her cum laude with her BS in biochemistry and BA in anthropology and Spanish. Present- chemistry and minors in general science ly, she is spending a year in the Dominican and biology. Starnes is currently attending Republic doing volunteer work. Upon her NC State University in Raleigh, NC to return, she hopes to continue in higher pursue her PhD in chemistry. She hopes to education and plans to pursue a Master’s study analytical and biological chemistry. of Public Health in International/Global After obtaining her degree she plans to Health. Her research interests within work as a chemistry professor at a teaching social anthropology include genocide and university. political violence and disasters and their aftermath.

Ranata Reeder is a recent graduate of North Carolina State University, where she earned a BA in communication, with a minor in Spanish. She graduated with cum laude honors on May 14, 2011. Currently she is completing an internship with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in Washing- ton D.C. She intends to attend graduate school in the Fall of 2012, where she hopes to pursue an MA in communication.

Hannah Simpson graduated magna cum laude in 2010 with a BA in political science, a BS in journalism and a minor in economics from the Uni- versity of North Carolina at Pembroke. She plans to pursue a Master’s degree in international economic development. She is currently preparing to relocate to Japan to gain experience in international community development. Her research interests include the political economy of transition countries, including transition policies and the effects of traditional culture on emerging social and economic institutions.

181 About the Faculty Mentors

James C. Boyles, PhD Marina Bykova, PhD teaches modern, American, and medieval is professor of philosophy in the art history at Meredith College and North Department of Philosophy and Religion Carolina State University. He received his at NC State University. She specializes BA, MS in LS, MA and PhD in art history in the history of philosophy. Her main from the University of North Carolina field of interest is the nineteenth century at Chapel Hill. His research focuses on continental philosophy, with a special nineteenth-century American art, with a focus on German idealism and theories concentration on American artists’ inter- of subject and subjectivity. She was pretation of Native America. awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship (1989-1990, Germany) and a Lisa Meitner Fellowship (1995, Austria). William D. Brandon, PhD She taught at the Institute of Philosophy serves as an assistant professor at the Uni- of the Russian Academy of Sciences and versity of North Carolina at Pembroke held visiting professorships at the Moscow (UNCP). He graduated from the Univer- Lomonosov University (Russia), University sity of Tennessee with a BA in physics and of Marburg (Germany), and University of mathematics and later earned a PhD in Vienna (Austria). She has authored three experimental physics. He often works with books and numerous articles on Hegel UNCP’s RISE program as a mentor to stu- and German idealism. Her works have dents that are interested in physics. He is been published in Russian, German, and an experimentalist, and collaborates with English. She is currently working on the students in areas of optics, hardware and concept of Enculturation (Bildung Ger.) in software engineering and other technical German idealism. fields. Shireen E. Campbell, PhD Kate Bruce, PhD serves as a full professor and directs the is Professor of Psychology at University of Writing Center at Davidson College. North Carolina Wilmington. She is col- Before joining Davidson College, she laborating with Dr. Mark Galizio and sev- graduated from Florida Atlantic Univer- eral fantastic students to study compara- sity with a BA in English and then earned tive cognition in rats. In the lab, the group a PhD in Modern Literature from Tulane uses olfactory stimuli to test whether or University. Professor Campbell’s research not rats can form abstract concepts such as and teaching interests range from writing identity, oddity, and transitivity. Her train- center theory and practice to creative non- ing in animal behavior and comparative fiction, young adult fiction, and modern psychology has set the stage for studying American and British literature. learning in nonhumans from a evolution- ary and functional perspective. She also directs the UNCW Honors College. W. Lin Coker III, PhD serves as an assistant professor at Camp-

182 About the Faculty Mentors bell University. Before joining Campbell he specializes in naval and North Carolina University, he graduated from Saint history. He also serves as the Director of Andrews Presbyterian College with a BS the Carolinas Region for Phi Alpha Theta in chemistry and then earned a PhD in History Honor Society and as faculty analytical chemistry from North Carolina advisor to the Lambda-Eta Chapter of Phi State University. He is currently a mem- Alpha Theta. ber of the Campbell University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chem- istry and Physics. His research interest Sinikka Elliott, PhD includes elemental analysis of real world is assistant professor of sociology at North samples and methods comparisons. Carolina State University. Her research interests include family dynamics, gender, sexuality, and social inequality. Her cur- Judith G. Curtis, PhD rent project examines how low-income serves as a tenured associate professor in families negotiate food access in rural and the Department of Mass Communication urban neighborhoods. at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. She earned a BA in journalism from the Pennsylvania State University, an Mary Farwell, PhD MA in political science from Hood Col- holds an ScB in biology from Brown lege, and a PhD in mass communication University and PhD in biochemistry from from the Union Institute and University. University of California, Berkeley. She Prior to beginning her university teaching began at East Carolina University in 1994 career, she worked for several decades as a as an assistant professor in the Biology professional journalist, editor, and execu- Department and rose to full professor in tive in the newspaper, magazine, and book 2010. Her research centers on mitochon- publishing industries. At UNC-Pembroke, dria and cell death, with an interest in she is the faculty advisor of the student oxidative stress. She is also part of a team newspaper, which wins yearly awards studying the role of technology in science from the American Scholastic Association teaching and learning. Since 2008, Dr. and the North Carolina College Media Farwell has served as the Director of Un- Association. She also oversees the journal- dergraduate Research in the Division of ism curriculum at UNC-Pembroke. Her Research and Graduate Studies at ECU. research area focuses on Agenda Setting Theory and its extension to social issues. John Gripentrog, PhD received his PhD from the University of Wade G. Dudley, PhD Wisconsin-Madison in 2006 and is now an serves as an associate professor at East Associate Professor of History at Mars Hill Carolina University. He holds a BS in College near Asheville, North Carolina. social studies (East Carolina University), His article, “The Transnational Pastime: an MA in maritime studies and nautical Baseball and American Perceptions of archaeology (ECU), and a PhD in history Japan in the 1930s,” appeared in the April from the University of Alabama at Tusca- 2010 issue of Diplomatic History. He is cur- loosa. Dr. Dudley spent two decades with rently working on a study of U.S.-Japanese Procter & Gamble Manufacturing before relations in the interwar period. returning to academia. Author of eight books and numerous chapters and articles,

183 Explorations Kevin Hunt, PhD Carolina State University. She earned her is an assistant professor of Spanish and PhD in communication from the Univer- head of the Department of Foreign Lan- sity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in guages and Literatures at Meredith Col- 2008 after completing her MA at the Uni- lege in Raleigh, NC. Before joining Mere- versity of Texas at Austin. Her research dith College, he earned a BA from George centers on the role of communication in Mason University and later an MA and the management of stigmatized identi- PhD from the University of North Caro- ties and conditions, and she has published lina at Chapel Hill. He regularly teaches in top communication and biomedical language and literature courses, as well journals. as courses in film and business Spanish. His research interests include 20th and st Arthur Murphy, PhD 21 century Mexican literature, including head and professor of anthropology, representations of indigenous cultures. University of North Carolina at Greens- boro, received his doctorate from Temple Eric Jones, PhD University in anthropology. Murphy’s research scientist, University of North research involves urban economic systems, Carolina at Greensboro, received his as well as the cultural and social dynamics doctorate at University of Georgia in of disaster recovery. His disaster research ecological and environmental anthropol- covers floods, volcanic eruptions, and ogy. Jones has focused his recent work hurricanes in the United States, Mexico, on understanding how the structuring of and Ecuador. He is the coauthor of Social social relations following extreme events Inequality in Oaxaca (1991, Temple Univer- (e.g., natural disasters, pioneer coloniza- sity Press), The Mexican Urban Household tion, and immigration) impact individual (1990, University of Texas Press), and outcomes and recovery. He is the co- coeditor ofThe Political Economy of Hazards editor-in-chief of the Journal of Ecological and Disasters (2009, AltaMira Press). Anthropology, coauthored the edited volume The Political Economy of Hazards and Disas- Maria J. Pereira, PhD ters (2009, AltaMira Press), published the serves as an associate professor at the Uni- innovative methodological piece‘‘Extreme versity of North Carolina at Pembroke Events, Tipping Points and Vulnerabil- (UNCP). Before joining UNCP, she grad- ity: Methods in the Political Economy uated from the Universidade Eduardo of Environment’’ in Environmental Social Mondlane (Mozambique, Africa) with a BS Sciences: Methods and Research Design (2010, in agronomy, and then earned a MS and Cambridge University Press), and applied a PhD in agronomy from the University social network analysis to the study of of Florida (Gainesville, FL). She is very in- cooperation among pioneer colonists in terested in new curriculum development. ‘Wealth-Based Trust and the Development Currently, she is working on a new track in of Collective Action’ (2004) in the journal Sustainable Agriculture after developing a World Development. BS Degree Program in biotechnology. Her interests extend to working with the re- Kami A. Kosenko, PhD gional community. She is involved in Com- serves as an assistant professor in the munity Grant Writing and also created the Department of Communication at North Outreach Biofuels Project at UNCP.

184 About the Faculty Mentors Vassil Yorgov, PhD is a professor in mathematics at Fayette- ville State University. He graduated from Sofia University, Bulgaria, with master in mathematics and earned a PhD in mathematics from Sofia University. Before joining the Fayetteville State University he was with Shoumen University and Michigan Technological University. His research interests are in the area of algebraic coding theory and combinatorics.

185 Explorations Submission Process Who is eligible? The primary author or authors must be undergraduates at a 2 or 4 year college or university in the state of North Carolina working on original research under the direction of a faculty mentor. Works may be co-authored. Students at NCSSM are also eligble. What to Submit? We are seeking research papers, critical essays (literature/research reviews, articles written on a particular topic), or media submissions of performing/fine art endeavors. Text of papers should be no more than 600 words. Explorations,the Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities for the State of North Carolina , provides opportunities for a variety of text and media submissions in the following disci- plines:

Biological, Earth, and Physcial Sciences Performing Arts Business and Legal Social Sciences Creative Writing and Discourse Technology and Engineering Humanities Visual Arts and Design Mathematics How to Submit? Guidelines for publication:

1. Submit all articles (without images) in Word documents (.doc or .docx) only, and indicate where images, graphs, maps, or charts should appear. 2. Submit images, graphs, maps, and charts as separate files. For creating graphs and charts (in Excel, Illustrator, or Paint): make the image as LARGE as possible. This will ensure its visibility in the publication. 3. Images need to be saved as .jpgs, preferably at high resolution (300dpi). 4. If images are not yours, please obtain permission in writing and cite the copyright owner. 5. Use grayscale (no colors) on all charts, tables, graphs. 6. Submit everything in its original file. (Example: article as Word doc, image as .jpg.) Do not convert files. Do not embed images into your article. Create an Appendix to indicate image placement.

Please attach your submissions and all additional forms in an email addresed to: [email protected].

Deadline: June 1, 2012

186 Suggestions for Success 1. Make sure your name is on everything you submit

2. Use your initials and submission title as the title of your paper and/or any other email attachments, this way everything can be easily identified.

3. Turn in your required forms with your submission. Submissions sent without all required forms will not be accepted. Detailed information at www.uncw.edu/csurf/explorations. html.

4. Once your work has been blind reviewed, you may submit your work yourself or your faculty mentor may submit it. If you are a single author, you will be the main contact. If you are one of multiple authors, decide who will be the main contact and have him/her submit on behalf of all.

187