Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Klipsun Magazine, 2006, Volume 37, Issue 02 - November, Taune Sweet

Klipsun Magazine

In the face of opposition, it is often hard for a person to stay true to his or herself. We've all faced personal challenges that make us question who we are or what we're doing. For me, that challenge was believing in myself. When I first started taking journalism courses Spring quarter 2005, I wasn't sure if I was cut out for the major - the workload seemed too much. But I stayed with it, knowing that writing is one of my grea­test skills and passions. Now, only a quarter away from graduation. I'm seeing more and more each day …

The Planet, 2006, Fall, Shawn C. Query, Huxley College Of The Environment, Western Washington University

The Planet

No abstract provided.

Life As An Intern: Working At The Juvenile Public Defenders Office, Kelly Szymborski

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

When I was freshman at Westem I joined the Honors Program for the challenge. I wanted to do something that would help me get the most of out my college experience by pushing me to succeed beyond all my expectations. Today, I feel that I have met that goal through my final project. It has come to symbolize everything I have learned at Western, and everything I hope to become in my future. For my final project I was an investigative intern with the Whatcom County Public Defenders Office. I dedicated over 250 hours of work into reading cases, talking …

Encouraging The Returner: Maximizing Benefits From Training Investments In High Turnover Industry, Karl R. Geisler

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

No matter what they make, do, or sell, every single organization in the world relies ultimately on one thing: people. Whether working for a company, a campaign, or a cooperative, the quality of the people involved has a direct impact on the success achieved therein. In an attempt to make the most of the workers that they have nearly every organization across the globe undertakes some level of training. Whether demonstrating how to use a hammer or holding a week-long retreat on corporate culture and structure, it is difficult to find an organization that does not have some form of …

Misspent Youth: An Analysis Of The Youth Vote In America, Stacy Pederson

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In 1971 the voting franchise in America was extended to cover all citizens aged eighteen and older. Politicians often cite young people as being the future of the nation and an example of what the promise of America has to offer the next generation. Rep. Richard Gephardt once declared that, “The most important thing we have to do is invest in the mental capacity of young people.”^ However, the stigma surrounding the notion that youth cannot be counted on to cast their votes on Election Day has created an uneasy disconnect between elected officials and the youngest sector of the …

Klipsun Magazine, 2006, Volume 37, Issue 01 - September, Kate M. Miller

Klipsun Magazine

I can still remember how eager I was to come to college my first quarter at Western four years ago. I don't think I slept more than a few hours the night before. Not because I was scared, and not because I was nervous. It was because I couldn't wait to explore life through the eyes of a college student.

I didn't believe people when they said it would go by fast. Four years seems like a long time to an 18- year-old. Well it isn't.

I can't help but feel excited when I think that the stories in this …

Direct Democracy: Actually Democratic? An Evaluation Of Initiatives Based On The Fundamental Principles Of Democracy, Darcey Julia Goelz

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Direct democracy in the form of the initiative is seen by many as a panacea for all that ails democracy.’ Frustrated with the give and take of the deliberative process inherent in legislatures, liberal and conservatives alike have resorted to direct pleas to the people. Initiatives are not a neutral or benign influence on the quality of democracy in the United States. The results of initiatives can be significant, indeed momentous, with particular issues for individual states.

Illegal Immigration In The United States: An Economic, Social And Political Overview Of The Current Debate, Robin Colleen Ledbetter

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In the last year, much has been made of the current immigration situation in the United States. With the debut of George Bush’s ambitious proposal to reform current immigration legislation, the attention of both lawmakers and the nation has been drawn inexorably toward this thorny, complex topic. In response to Bush’s proposal, economists have calculated the costs and benefits of illegal immigration, conservatives have spoken out against illegal immigration and any perceived amnesty offered to those here illegally, liberals have struggled to support immigrant rights as well as the rule of law, and the immigrants themselves have come together to …

Japan's Worker Co-Operative Movement Into The 21st Century, Robert C. Marshall

Anthropology Faculty and Staff Publications

The pace of Japan’s economy is picking up again after more than a decade of stasis. During this long period of economic stagnation, the many personnel practices favoring employees known by the rubric “lifetime employment” have been subjected to increased criticism by pro-investor, neo-liberal voices. Yet other less-well-amplified voices in Japan offer an alternative criticism of, and look for opportunity in, the changing status quo as well. In the last quarter of the 20th century efforts to create worker-owned and democratically governed businesses in Japan began to emerge with the support of a wide variety of economic actors -- among …

Klipsun Magazine, 2006, Volume 36, Issue 06 - May, Kate M. Miller

Klipsun Magazine

Change is scary. Staying in the comfort of the familiar is always easier than venturing into the unknown. That is why I am always inspired by people willing to innovate. It takes courage to look toward the new to amend the old.

Stories such as "Wave of the Future" and "Baker's New Breakfast" show how finding new ways to accomplish old goals can be a good thing. From the first bilingual school north of Seattle to an animal shelter that found an alternative to euthanizing, people are thinking outside of the box.

I hope readers, when reading this issue of …

Why Politicians Like Electoral Institutions: Self-Interest, Values, Or Ideology?, Todd Donovan, Shaun Bowler, Jeffrey A. Karp

Political Science Faculty Publications

We examine whether MPs and candidates for parliament are motivated by electoral self-interest, values, ideology, or all of these when evaluating proposals for changing electoral institutions. Using survey data from four countries (Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, and New Zealand), we find that candidates who won election are less supportive of proposals to change institutions, while those who lost elections are more supportive of institutional changes. Winning candidates share preferences for institutions that are independent of whether they are affiliated with a governing or opposition party. This self-interest effect is attenuated by ideology and attitudes about democracy. Pure self-interest, then, is …

Klipsun Magazine, 2006, Volume 36, Issue 05 - April, Shannon Barney

Klipsun Magazine

I read somewhere how the greatest gift in life is having the serenity to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can, and, most importantly, the wisdom to know the difference.

Granted, it's easier said than done, but in life we do make choices, and each one is part of a bigger picture. Therefore, make each choice with courage and conviction — without looking back.

You never know where your choices will lead you. They could direct you to a career in glass blowing, into the depths of the sea in a submarine, or …

The Planet, 2006, Spring, Sarah M. Kuck, Huxley College Of The Environment, Western Washington University

The Planet

No abstract provided.

Sticks And Stones Can Break My Bones, But Words Can Mold My Society: How Metaphors Influence The Immigration Debate In Spain, Nicole Miller

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Two different worlds converge on the Strait of Gibraltar, that of two continents and that of two religions. Yet despite the strait's relatively short distance of only 14 kilometers, the cultural proximity between Spain and Morocco seems even closer as thousands of immigrants arrive in southern Spain each year from North Africa. Many come from Sub-Saharan Africa and have spent years waiting in Tangiers or outside Ceuta and Melilla to cross the border, if they are lucky, they will "jump" the fences and enter Spain through the Moroccan enclaves. Others, however, save enough money to hire a guide to ferry …

The Failure To Move: The Role Of Participant Beliefs In Social Movement Success, Mimi Gentry

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Social movement theorists have identified three elements that greatly affect the likelihood of emergence and growth of a movement: resources, political opportunity, and participant motivations or beliefs. Of these three, resources are often held as the most important factor in the success of a movement, particularly in resource mobilization theory. This essay seeks to address and evaluate the often undervalued role of beliefs in the participant mobilization process and to refute claims that a favorable environment alone can ignite and sustain a movement regardless of participant attitudes.

Moneysense, Angela Martin

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Money is something that permeates everyone’s daily lives. No matter who you are, rich or poor, white or black, college educated or a high school drop out, everyone has to deal with money at some level. Getting a job, opening a savings account, budgeting for one’s monthly bills, and using a credit card are activities that most men and women will experience at some point in their lives. Everyone has to deal with money but few actually receive any type of formal training or education on exactly how to do these things.

Learning by ones mistakes is common when it …

Evolution And Intelligent Design In Biology Curricula: Secular Science In A Multicultural Public Education System, Morgan Leona Hopson

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Science and religion tend to provide conflicting explanations for natural phenomena, such as the origin of man, as they rely on different epistemological foundations. In the United States, the government is required to maintain a secular presence, while acknowledging and protecting individuals and minority groups of varying faiths and cultures. This becomes problematic as the provision of primary goods by the federal government necessarily implies that the institutions representing these goods must remain secular, whilst not impeding upon cultural and individual rights. Due to the heterogeneous nature of the U.S. populace, it would be impossible to provide a perfectly multicultural …

Democracy In Senegal: A Case Study Of Democratic Success In Africa, Rachael Lambert

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Democracy as an ideal is an integral part of the Western understanding of the world. The spread and growth of democratic governments is seen as a victory of Western values. Democracy, however, has not been an easy transition for many developing countries. The troubles facing emergent democracies are numerous and multifaceted. For the continent of Africa, the last four decades have been a testament to the difficulty of building a stable democracy in former European colonies. With fifty-three countries dividing Africa, only a handful can claim the status of being a consolidated democracy. Senegal is an example of a former …

Why Are The Homeless Without Homes?, Nathaniel V. C. Young

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Today a universal fixture in American cities is the visibly homeless. They are Americans who catch sickness, starve, live, and die on the street. This paper examines a possible explanation for why some Americans experience homelessness.

The common explanation during the last two decades of the 20th century was circumstantial in nature rather than structural. Mental illness and substance abuse often dominated the discussion on homelessness (Quigley et al. 2001). These responses are correct to a large extent. Shoeni and Koegel reported approximately 25% of a surveyed sample of Los Angeles homeless in 1990 were mentally ill. Two thirds of …

Klipsun Magazine, 2006, Volume 36, Issue 04 - March, Shannon Barney

Klipsun Magazine

To scrap literally means to fight with fists. To me, however, the term “scrapper” encompasses a certain attitude.

Genuine scrappers take each day in stride, no matter how discouraged they might be. Life isn’t predictable, but instead of hating, complaining or seeking sympathy, they face the changing events before them. They play the cards they are dealt and, win or lose, don’t hesitate to ante up for the next game. It’s an attitude defining them.

Among the stories, I encourage readers to direct their attention to “Solace” or “A Light Within.” These stories deal with unexpected life events and how …

The Impact Of Sports On Female Adolescent Development: The Importance Of Title Ix, Dana C. Jack

Dana C. Jack

Adolescence is a time of crisis for girls, a time when girls become psychologically vulnerable. While boys are at risk in childhood, girls undergo a sudden drop in resiliency at age 11 (Block, 1990). Not only girls with family problems, but a wide range of lively, outspoken, and intelligent girls face marked increases in depression, poor body images, eating disorders, and a fall in self-esteem significantly more often than do boys. Seligman (1991) finds that “girls, at least up to puberty, are more noticeably optimistic than boys, (p.125) and concludes that “whatever causes the huge difference in depression in adulthood, …

Klipsun Magazine, 2006, Volume 36, Issue 03 - January, Jessica R. Evans

Klipsun Magazine

Time flies. For example, I can't believe my baby sister just turned 5. She's starting to ask those hard-to- answer "why" questions like "Why is the sky blue?"

After a series of these questions, I experienced an "ah-ha" moment when I recognized her constant curiosity — and my lack of it.

In today's information-cluttered world, I think we coast too much. We need to ask more questions, seek more answers and initiate more change — starting in our own lives.

From the slums of Africa to Memorial Park In Bellingham, these Klipsun articles are stories of peo­ple living on a …

The Planet, 2006, Winter, Sarah M. Kuck, Huxley College Of The Environment, Western Washington University

The Planet

No abstract provided.

2010 Olympics Spillover Into Washington, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia, 30 miles north of the Canada – U.S. border. Vancouver is the northern terminus of a highway corridor that extends south to nearby cities in Washington State, including Bellingham, Mt. Vernon, Everett, and Seattle. Based upon existing analyses and data, together with knowledge gained from prior Olympic games, this report discusses certain cross-border Olympics-related impacts that could occur along that corridor. The report focuses upon the period immediately surrounding the games, but includes brief comments regarding pre– and post-games effects.

Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

On January 1, 2008, U.S. legislation known as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) will become effective at land ports-of-entry on the Canadian border. On that date, all persons entering the U.S. must possess either a passport or another federally-approved form of secure documentation, whereas at present, Canadian and American citizens crossing into the U.S. are able to rely upon documents such as a driver’s license and birth certificate.

Canadian Natural Gas & Washington State, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

This report examines the natural gas relationship between Canada and Washington State, emphasizing the regulatory and economic changes that have influenced past availability of this energy source, and identifying some future challenges.

Immigration Near The Washington-Bc Border, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

There are social and economic consequences associated with integration of immigrants, particularly when immigration occurs at a rapid pace, as has been the case in the Pacific Northwest. An understanding of underlying trends can be useful to policy-makers. This report examines recent trends in immigration near the Washington—British Columbia border, with a particular emphasis upon Whatcom County and the Lower Fraser Valley.

Governance Of Canadian And American Ports, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

This article discusses differences in the governance of seaports within the U.S. and Canada, with particular emphasis upon ports located on the Georgia Basin – Puget Sound waterway shared by the State of Washington and the Province of British Columbia. The article reveals how regulatory contexts affect the ability of ports to compete within and outside the region and concludes with an assessment of the advantages of regional port cooperation.

Overview Of The Perimeter Clearance Paradigm, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

This article discusses the perimeter clearance paradigm (“PC Paradigm” hereafter), with emphasis upon how the paradigm relates to current and proposed U.S. and Canadian border-control programs and policies.

Explaining The Decline In Border Crossings Since 1990, Border Policy Research Institute, Hart Hodges

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

For many years it was believed that the US-Canada exchange rate was the dominant factor affecting the number of Canadians driving south to visit Washington State. When the Canadian dollar was strong in the early 1990s, border crossing were high. The Canadian dollar weakened relative to the US dollar in the mid and late 1990s, and border crossings likewise fell. However, when the Canadian dollar began to strengthen in 2003, border crossings did not increase as expected. While a number of possible reasons have been suggested, most attention has been given to increased border security in the wake of 9/11.