Sourcing In and Out: The Competitive Position of Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneurs from Milwaukee

Media and political attention on outsourcing from the U.S. keeps hitting a raw nerve of those who fear unwelcome wage and employment effects at home. The process of transnational production sharing encompasses a variety of dimensions, including the outsourcing of various components and business services in arms-length relations, the establishment of foreign subsidiaries to undertake activities such as assembly and marketing, the entry into long-term and possibly exclusive licensing agreements, and the establishment of joint ventures for production and marketing. The main objective of this project is to put together and analyze a unique and reliable data-set on "sourcing in and out" that will be valuable to the small and medium scale entrepreneurs of Milwaukee as well as academic researchers.

The Well-Being, Identity, Social Support, and Education in Middle School (WISE) Project

This study examines factors that shape the lives of middle school students, particularly focusing on school belonging, social support, and ethnic-racial identity development during adolescence, recognizing the pivotal role of the school environment in shaping students' identity. By investigating these relationships, the project aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of well-being and identity development during the transition from childhood to adolescence, thereby bridging a critical gap in understanding within middle school education.

Fandoms and Digital Communities

They will use methods from textual and discourse analysis to examine archives and communities built around particular fandoms. Fandoms are a collective of people with a common interest in specific cultural artifacts, such as pieces of art, music, literature, videos games, or entertainment media. Wikis are one particular area of interest where fandoms thrive, and their analysis will help to uncover the marks of construction of these online communities. Within the archiving and performance of the artifacts, they will look specifically and concepts such as "truth" and "authenticity" imagined and articulated in internet realms.