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Japanese Students' Perceived Need For Communicative English And Their Perceived Proficiency Levels, Takanori Mita

Dissertations

Japanese students of English need to develop their proficiencies not only in oral aspects but in overall practical language aspects. English programs from junior high school to college levels need to be improved in consideration of current needs of students.

This study was conducted to assess college students’ perceived need for changes in the English curricula enhancing communicative competence and to seek their perceived levels of proficiency at graduation in the four skill areas (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) in relationship with students’ majors, academic experience in English-speaking countries, and lengths of such experience.

The research was conducted in Tokyo …

Kathleen Biddick, The Shock Of Medievalism. Duke University Press, 1998 , Ruth Mazo Karras

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Murdering The Narrator Of The Wife's Lament, Berit Ǻström

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Gender, Skin Color, And The Power Of Place In The Medieval Dutch Romance Of Moriaen, Cathy C. Darrup

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Organizational Culture And The Practice Of Program Evaluation In Human Service Organizations, Lorraine Marais

Dissertations

There are many obstacles for human service organizations in evaluating programs. Some of these barriers are the difficulty in defining human behavior and the change that needs to be evaluated, human service programs that take a long time to show results, agency capacity to do evaluation, and cost (Young, Hollister, Hodgkinson, & Associates, 1993). Another subtle yet powerful influence on the practice of evaluation in nonprofit organizations may be organizational culture (Schein, 1990). If an organization is going to employ self-evaluation, an organizational culture may be needed that will support such efforts. This study was designed to assess the relationship …

Visitor In A Foreign Land: Reflections On Intercultural Adjustment In The Republic Of Armenia, Jerry L. Johnson

Dissertations

This first person, autobiographical account of one American citizen’s nine-week experience covering two years in the Republic of Armenia answers the question, aIs it possible to become resocialized in a foreign culture?’ Employing the experimental writing method called personal experience narrative, the author uses personal journal accounts and autobiographical stories as primary data to demonstrate his movement from ’modem tourist’ (MacCannell, 1976; 1992) to resocialized individual and provide a rich and detailed description of the Armenian homeland undergoing significant social changes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

This study offers a model of socialization called ’life-learning’ to …

Women In Courtly Culture: Teaching From A Cross-Cultural Perspective, Nancy A. Jones

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Ideological Change In Reggae Music From 1971 To 1993, William H. Stanley

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to see if the reggae music that became popular in the United States was ideologically different from the reggae that originated in Jamaica. The hypothesized change was derived from a model developed by Humphrey Regis (1994, 1988) labeled “cultural domination by re-exportation”. It was determined that early reggae music and the Rastafarian religion had very similar ideologies. The change within reggae music was measured against the Rastafarian belief system.

A content analysis of twenty-five songs was undertaken. The method of doing ideological analysis of the reggae lyrics was derived from Cormack (1992). The sample …

History, Mission, And Visitors At The Kalamazoo Valley Museum In Kalamazoo, Michigan: A Study Of The Museum As Cultural Practice, Lynnette Z. King

Masters Theses

This study investigates the interrelationship between the museum, its mission, and its visitors. The history of museums in general and the Kalamazoo Valley Museum in particular shows how the mission developed in relationship to culture, community, and individuals. Observations and ethnographic interviews of visitors and staff, as well as drawings made by school children who had visited the museum were used to identify viewers' perceptions of the museum and its mission. The museum is guided by an official stated mission as well as various staff and administrative interpretations of the mission. Although the museum and its mission have changed through …

Toward An Authentically Anti-Racist Curriculum, Jeremy D. Dowsett

Honors Theses

Below I will address the failure of racial essentialist multiculturalism's approach toward combating racism, the confining and backward logic upon which identity politics multiculturalism is founded, the excesses of poststructuralist multiculturalism, and finally, in an attempt to show these theories in practice, I will move to the classroom and explore the ramifications of these strands of multiculturalism on the teaching of history and English. Part Two of this essay consists of a curriculum designed to address the shortcomings of the pedagogies mentioned above.

Acculturation Differences Among International Students At Western Michigan University, Kemal Aydin

Masters Theses

The acculturation of international students at Western Michigan University was studied in this thesis. Acculturation variables of perceived prejudice, observance of cultural practices and social ties, and language usage were measured. The results of this study shows that in terms of perceived prejudice, Western Michigan University's international students (except European and Hispanics students) tend to move away from a stimulus. Acculturation and language usage, however, indicate that there is no significant acculturation differences among the respondents. International students at Western Michigan University seem to prefer integration as reflected in a commitment to pluralism. In summary, international students at Western Michigan …

Western News, Nov. 7, 1996, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: 'Groundbreaking' technology barely scratches the surface, Local students to join in national discussion on diversity issues through satellite broadcast, Book explores culture and traditions of Asia and Africa, Kuttner named to skills center post, Office branching out into programs for professional growth and development.

Traditional Culture And Science Education In Africa: Merely Language Games?, William W. Cobern

Scientific Literacy and Cultural Studies Project

I want to begin today with two short personal remarks. My field of research at home is the cultural study of science education. In other words, I am interested in what is commonly called the culture of science and how that becomes interpreted in science education by teacher and curriculum. I am interested in the variation of culture among American students, cultural variations grounded in family and community and brought to the classroom. I am interested in the cultural interactions that are precipitated by the meeting of cultures in the science classroom. In my current work I use worldview concepts …

Joan Of Arc: Maneuverable Medievalism, Flexible Feminism , Nadia Margolis

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Medieval Art As Nostalgia For The Future, Madeline H. Caviness

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Integrating Art And Literature Through Multicultural Studies: Focusing On Native American Sioux Culture., Barbara Erwin, Pat Smith Hopper, Marcia Kauffman

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The fourth-grade classroom brims with movement and noise. One group of students — Angel, Cheryl, Qwatwana, Lee P., Christy, and Paul — sit at a table formed by pushing desks together. The group brainstorms with the professor the title and content of their story about Iktomi the Trickster. They ultimately decide to call their story Iktomi and the Blanket. The story begins as Paul Goble suggests in his retelling of Iktomi and the Boulder, "Iktomi was walking along." By the end of the day, they have written a first draft of their story.

Recent Bibliography On Women And Gender, Chris Africa

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Leaving Elementary School With A Sense Of Order In Nature, William W. Cobern, Adrienne T. Gibson, Scott A. Underwood

Scientific Literacy and Cultural Studies Project

Ninth graders in Arizona high schools have just left their elementary, general science education and are at the start of more specialized secondary science education. They are beginning a course of study that will form the foundation for tertiary education and employment after high school graduation. The research asked, Who are these kids entering high school science courses? The researchers noted that one of the key objectives of elementary education is to foster in children the concept that nature is inherently orderly and thus amenable to scientific investigation. Since the concept of order or disorder is fundamental in one’s perception …

The Different Worlds Of High School Biology And Physical Science Teachers, William W. Cobern, Adrienne T. Gibson, Scott A. Underwood

Scientific Literacy and Cultural Studies Project

A science teacher not only presents scientific concepts, but tacitly creates a context in which scientific concepts are presented to the class. This context can be strongly influenced by teacher beliefs or worldview. In the current research, teacher worldviews with respect to the essence of nature were examined. Two biology and two physical science teachers individually sat for qualitative interviews. The same interview protocols were used in a concurrent study involving ninth graders at their high school. The analysis led to three assertions: (1) When compared with their students, the science teachers had a much more focused and less diverse …

The Liberal Democratic Party Of Japan: Its Organization And Decision Making Process, Hiroyuki Ikeba

Masters Theses

This study analyzes the behavior of the politicians of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP) and the decision making process of the LDP. This study draws heavily on Japanese language sources as well as interviews with leading Japanese Diet persons.

The characteristics of Japanese culture are explained by introducing the works of three scholars. They are: Ruth Benedict, Chie Nakane, and Takeo Doi. It was discovered that the relationships among LDP Diet persons and between supporters and Diet persons are based on traditional societal norms. Furthermore, it was found that the decision making process of the LDP was in …

Toward A Theory Of Gendered Reading, Larry Edward Schoenholtz

Masters Theses

Sociolinguistic studies have long acknowledged that men and women sometimes read, write, speak, and view differently. This is often recognized as a cultural phenomenon, but there are increasing reasons to suppose that biology may play a larger role in these differences than was suspected two or three decades ago. Over the last fifteen to twenty years, in particular, evidence has continued to mount in that direction from studies in neurophysiology, endocrinology, and infant behavior. In addition, sociobiological perspectives first proposed in the 1970s seem to have met with large success in being confirmed by cross-cultural studies done in the 1980s. …

Teachers' Perception Of Instructional Leadership And Student Achievement, David Anspaugh

Dissertations

The focus of this study was to investigate the teachers' perceptions of the principal's leadership behaviors and how the achievement level of the students was affected. Three middle schools representing the Prairie View Public Schools were used in the study. These middle schools were Sparta Middle School, High Plain Middle School, and Middleville Middle School.

A staff survey was given to the 33 teachers in each of the buildings. The survey dealt with 18 leadership behaviors of the principal. The teachers were asked to rate the behaviors as to their importance to them and if the behaviors existed. The survey …

Lost In The Fifties: A Study Of Collected Memories, Janelle L. Wilson

Dissertations

This is a study of ordinary people's recollections of the decade of the nineteen fifties. The theoretical concepts of collective memory and collected memories guide design and analysis. Unstructured interviews with 33 individuals who grew up in America in that decade were conducted. The snowball method identified potential informants. The data from these interviews, combined with secondary sources on that time period, served to reconstruct this decade. A number of themes emerged from the data; the decade was seen: as an apolitical time, as fun and innocent, as fearful with respect to atomic weaponry and Communists, as problematic for race …

Cultural Values And Minority People Of Color, Doman Lum

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article delineates various dimensions of culture, factors influencing acculturation, majority and minority values, and etic and emic dimensions of cultural values. It contributes to the debate about whether there are distinctive minority people of color values or whether these values are a function of migration and social class. It introduces the concepts of transcultural, cross cultural, paracultual, metacultural, and pancultural as well as cultural ethclass.

Presumed Relevant: Feminism Taken For Granted In A Medievalist's Orals, Moira Fitzgibbons

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Past Watchful Dragons?: Thoughts On The Med-Fem Job Market, Patricia C. Ingham

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Western News, February 9, 1995, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story Highlights: Senate report recognizes continuing education as 'large and important component' of WMU, Haworth donates office furnishings for clinics, Contributions of student workers will be honored during Student Employment Week, State project sends botanist barking up the right tree, Health honorary cites faculty member and student group

Western News, February 2, 1995, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story Highlights: WMU again calls for Carnegie recognition in legislative budget process, First campus wide drive to identify potential bone marrow donors scheduled for Feb. 8, Events planned in observance of Black History Month, One-stop Career Center opens in Ellsworth

Worldview--Reality As Viewed By Students: Additional Methodologies, William W. Cobern

Scientific Literacy and Cultural Studies Project

We are basically asking 1) to what extent people see themselves as a natural part of nature; 2) whether or not people are perceived as being qualitatively different from other aspects of nature; 3) to what extent, if any, control over nature by people is appropriate. The interview description given for the first interview sequence applies here as well.

An interview begins with the grand tour question, "If there is any kind of order in the world, where do people fit in that order?" The informant's response is followed with three elicitation devices.

The Westerner Vol. 15 No. 1, Western Michigan University

The Westerner (1980-1997)

• Savvy graduates assess blistering pace of change in today's business world • Haworth College of Business is marketplace of teaming, technology, vision, and expertise • University News in Brief • Team spirit pays off • Friendship, determination lead to success for five prominent Detroit-area alumni • Budget shortfall may require four sports to be eliminated • WMU supporters encourage lawmakers to pursue funding equity • Business college well positioned for the future • Vellenga brings varied background to college's administration • Alumnotes • Tong Award nomination boosts Marin Mazzie's star heavenward • WMU Alumni show their spirit