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4 results on '"Griffin, Nathan"'

1. Queering veganism : a biographical, visual and autoethnographic study of animal advocacy

Author

Griffin, Nathan David Stephens

Subjects
300
Abstract

I am vegan. This means I eschew animal products (such as meat, dairy and eggs) for ethical reasons. Academic interest in animal advocacy is expanding, as evidenced in the emerging field of Critical Animal Studies (Taylor and Twine, 2014). However, concurrent with a ‘criminalization’ of legitimate protest since 9/11 (Gilmore, 2013), empirical research suggests a tendency for mainstream media sources to ridicule, misrepresent and discredit vegans (Cole and Morgan, 2011). I examine the events and experiences that have been significant in shaping the biographies of vegan animal advocates. I use biographical interviews with twelve (12) vegans alongside visual methods, and autoethnography. Participants created comics -the narrative juxtaposition of words and images- about their lives, and I created an ‘autoethnographic’ comic about my biography as a vegan researcher, thus examining animal advocacy from a reflexive, situated vegan perspective. I found that vegan identity is often subject to normalizing processes (Foucault, 1977), and is necessarily fluid across social situations (as evidenced in descriptions of ‘coming out’ vegan). Vegan identity is performed and achieved in various embodied ways. These processes intersect with other social structures such as gender and sexuality. Access to cultural narratives about veganism is also significant in the experience of participants. The project contributes to the diverse fields of Biographical Research and Critical Animal Studies, adding rich biographical and visual data to existing empirical evidence around animal advocacy. It sets a precedent for the potential use of comics in research, particularly in connection with queer methodological approaches that challenge existing representational forms and focus on fluidity. It also offers novel applications for autoethnographic and visual biographical approaches.

Published
2015

2. A Millennial Methodology? Autoethnographic Research in Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Punk and Activist Communities

Author

Stephens Griffin, Nathan David, Griffin, Naomi Christina, Stephens Griffin, Nathan David, and Griffin, Naomi Christina

Abstract

In einem MailOnline-Artikel hat CLEARY die Generation Y als "narcissistic, self-interested, unfocussed and lazy" (2017, n.p.) bezeichnet. Diese Ausdrucksweise ist nahe der Kritik DELAMONTs (2007) an Autoethnografie, einem Forschungsansatz, bei dem soziale Welten durch die Linse der Erfahrungen der Forschenden untersucht werden (WALL 2016), eine Art eines akademischen "Selfies" (CAMPBELL 2017). Wir berichten in diesem Beitrag über zwei autoethnografische Studien, wobei sich eine der Punk-Kultur, die andere der Praxis des Veganismus widmete. Dabei fokussieren wir auch die Herausforderungen, denen wir im Rahmen unserer Insider-Forschung begegneten, indem wir Parallelen zu Kritiken an der sog. Generation Y hinzuziehen, insbesondere zu Vorwürfen der Faulheit und des Narzissmus (TWENGE 2014). Entgegen Schmähungen und Spott, die aus solchen Zuschreibungen an autoethnografische Forschung resultieren, erachten wir Autoethnografie als eine wertvolle und nützliche Strategie, mittels der versucht werden kann, reflexiv individuelles und gesellschaftliches Verstehen inmitten einer zunehmend unsicheren und prekären Welt zu generieren. Ausgehend von empirischem Material aus unseren Fallbeispielen plädieren wir mit WALL (2016) für eine "moderate" Autoethnografie, die zwischen analytischen und evokativen Traditionslinien angesiedelt ist., In a recent MailOnline article, CLEARY described millennials as "entitled, narcissistic, self-interested, unfocussed and lazy" (2017, n.p.). The language echoed DELAMONT's (2007) critique of autoethnography, an approach to research that examines the social world through the lens of the researcher's own experience (WALL, 2016), a form of academic "selfie" (CAMPBELL, 2017). We offer two case studies of autoethnographic projects, one examining punk culture, the other examining the practice of veganism. We highlight the challenges we faced when producing insider autoethnographic research, drawing a parallel with criticism frequently levelled at the so-called millennial generation, specifically notions of laziness and narcissism (TWENGE, 2014). We argue that, though often maligned and ridiculed based on its perception as a lazy and narcissistic approach to research, autoethnography remains a valuable and worthwhile research strategy that attempts to qualitatively and reflexively make sense of the self and society in an increasingly uncertain and precarious world. Using case study evidence, we offer empirical support to WALL's (2016) call for a moderate autoethnography, which seeks a middle ground between analytic and evocative autoethnographic traditions.

Published
2019

3. Next-generation sequencing reveals broad down-regulation of microRNAs in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis CD4+ T cells

Author

Sanders, Katherine, Benton, Miles, Lea, Rodney, Maltby, Vicki, Agland, Susan, Griffin, Nathan, Scott, Rodney, Tajouri, Lotti, Lechner-Scott, Jeannette, Sanders, Katherine, Benton, Miles, Lea, Rodney, Maltby, Vicki, Agland, Susan, Griffin, Nathan, Scott, Rodney, Tajouri, Lotti, and Lechner-Scott, Jeannette

Abstract

Background Immunoactivation is less evident in secondary progressive MS (SPMS) compared to relapsing-remitting disease. MicroRNA (miRNA) expression is integral to the regulation of gene expression; determining their impact on immune-related cell functions, especially CD4+ T cells, during disease progression will advance our understanding of MS pathophysiology. This study aimed to compare miRNA profiles of CD4+ T cells from SPMS patients to healthy controls (HC) using whole miRNA transcriptome next-generation sequencing (NGS). Total RNA was extracted from CD4+ T cells and miRNA expression patterns analyzed using Illumina-based small-RNA NGS in 12 SPMS and 12 HC samples. Results were validated in a further cohort of 12 SPMS and 10 HC by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Results The ten most dysregulated miRNAs identified by NGS were selected for qPCR confirmation; five (miR-21-5p, miR-26b-5p, miR-29b-3p, miR-142-3p, and miR-155-5p) were confirmed to be down-regulated in SPMS (p < 0.05). SOCS6 is targeted by eight of these ten miRNAs. Consistent with this, SOCS6 expression is up-regulated in SPMS CD4+ T cells (p < 0.05). This is of particular interest as SOCS6 has previously been shown to act as a negative regulator of T cell activation. Conclusions Ninety-seven percent of miRNA candidates identified by NGS were down-regulated in SPMS. The down-regulation of miRNAs and increased expression of SOCS6 in SPMS CD4+ T cells may contribute to reduced immune system activity in progressive MS.

Published
2016

4. CITES and the value of wildlife : on the visibility and victimisation of the minke whale, queen conch and Atlantic bluefin tuna

Author

Hutchinson, Alison, Wyatt, Tanya, and Stephens-Griffin, Nathan

Subjects
L900 Others in Social studies
Abstract

With the mounting pressures of biodiversity loss, ecological destruction, and species extinction, the protection of life on Earth is arguably the greatest challenge of the twenty-first century. As a critical perspective, green criminology is in the prime position to confront these emerging issues and broaden the recognition towards the harmful - yet not currently criminalised - impacts on the environment and living beings. This thesis advances a nonspeciesist green criminological position by incorporating cultural and Southern criminological perspectives to investigate how attitudes towards marine species shape the recognition of harm and victimhood for marine species listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). To achieve this objective, this thesis presents three case studies of marine species who are commercially exploited: the minke whale, the queen conch, and the Atlantic bluefin tuna. The conservation management and state of trade for each species has been assessed through a mixed method qualitative/quantitative survey (162 respondents) and interviews with 35 expert stakeholders grouped by: governing body (management), socio-cultural (local interest), fishery (industry), and conservation (research) sectors. I have also conducted a review of trade data, fishery statistics, and CITES documents. Together, these cases enable a narrow and specific examination of how socially defined perceptions surrounding each species relate to their treatment within CITES. The findings demonstrate how legal and moral perspectives diverge and are influenced by power asymmetries underlying the political, cultural, and economic value of each species. I develop on themes around cultures of consumption, and the combined yet conflicting motivations for economic growth and sustainable exploitation. In doing so, I demonstrate how these motivations have significant implications for species and environmental justice. Firstly, by devaluing and harming individual wildlife, and then through the joint victimisation and marginalisation of the people involved within these exploitative relationships.

Published
2021

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