Digital Commons Network^™

Reassurance In Negative Space, Elizabyth A. Hiscox

Dissertations

This dissertation, Reassurance in Negative Space, is a poetry manuscript that deals with intersections of grief, gender, environment, and art in contemporary society. One of its guiding properties is an interest in the ekphrastic mode of composition: poetry in response to a work of visual art. American Hybrid poet-editor Cole Swensen discusses what has emerged as a new “hybrid” poetry that combines conventional approaches with more experimental forms; a stable first person narrator with fragmentation or juxtaposition, for example: “Hybrid poems often honor the avant-garde mandate to renew the forms and expand the boundaries of poetry—thereby increasing the expressive …

Battling The Separate Spheres: New Woman Writers And British Women Writers Of World War I, Christine Haskill

Dissertations

In “Battling the Separate Spheres,” I argue that New Woman writers’ interventions into gender discourse at the end of the nineteenth century shaped the feminist pacifist protests of World War I. This analysis illustrates that the discourses of gender and war are intertwined: the rise of the women’s movement in the nineteenth century was positioned as a sex war, and the gender ideology of the separate spheres helped to justify World War I. I examine two New Woman interventions into the separate spheres debates—the “sex war” of the fin de siècle. Olive Schreiner propels women into the public sphere, encouraging …

An Evaluation Of Various Safmeds Procedures, Shawn Patrick Quigley

Dissertations

Lindsley developed Say-All-Fast-Minute-Every-Day-Shuffled, or SAFMEDS, in the late 1970’s to enhance the typical use of flashcards (Graf & Auman, 2005). The acronym was developed specifically to guide the learner’s behavior when using flashcards. A review of SAFMEDS research indicates it has been utilized with children, college students and older adults with and without disabilities. The literature also indicates the SAFMEDS procedures used are not well documented or have multiple variations limiting practitioners’ ability to know what procedure to use and when. Furthermore, future SAFMEDS research is hampered by variations in the independent variable (i.e., SAFMEDS). The purpose of this study …

Wielding Eden: Early Modern Voices And The Appropriation Of Paradise, Adrienne Redding

Dissertations

This research considers images of gardens and the unavoidable connections such images have to the Garden of Eden. It investigates images of gardens in early modern England, as seen in three different categories of textual artifact: popular prose publications, dramatic texts, and the resurrected poetic epic. It investigates the construction of gender, observing how Edenic iconography functions both to support and to undermine the dominant ideology’s work to naturalize and universalize gender attributes and societal roles. This iconography, dependent upon a variety of interpretations of the first three books of Genesis, has been referenced (and continues to be referenced) by …

Textual Appropriation And Attribution In Engineering Theses And Dissertations: An Exploratory Study, Edward J. Eckel

University Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

This exploratory study seeks to build a clearer picture of the extent to which engineering graduate students use and attribute unquoted verbatim source text in the literature review sections of their theses and dissertations. In addition, it explores whether or not there are differences between master’s and doctoral engineering students in these patterns of copying and attribution and what this might indicate about their potential skill levels in source use.

The study asks the following research questions: (1) Do the literature review sections of engineering master's theses contain longer average verbatim text matches than the corresponding sections of engineering doctoral …

The Monastery Of Saint-Michel Du Tréport And The Borderlands Of Northeast Normandy, 1059-1270, Eric Callender

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Michel du Tréport, situated in the county of Eu in Normandy’s northeast corner, from its foundation in 1059 until the death of Louis IX of France in 1270. Utilizing as its main source base the charters in the Cartulaire de L’abbaye de Saint-Michel du Tréport of P. Laffleur de Kermaingant, this project seeks to situate the monks of Saint-Michel du Tréport within their ecclesiastical context, to understand the monastery’s lay patronage, and to examine the secular and ecclesiastical borders of northeast Normandy and the lands surrounding them, particularly the relationship of the Norman …

Of Tribes, Wars, And Jungles: A Study Of U.S.College Students’ Perceptions Of Africa And Africans, Seseer P. Mou

Masters Theses

This study examined American college students’ perceptions of Africans. Knowledge Gap and Systems Theory were applied to creating and discussing the research questions. Systems Theory addresses processes and levels of information transfer (Westley & Maclean, 1965). It requires an understanding of the sources, channels, messages, and the people who receive information in a communication encounter. Knowledge Gap Theory, on the other hand, states that when information circulates in a system, gaps in knowledge are formed and these gaps increase as more information enters the system (Tichenor, Donohue, & Olien, 1970). The results showed that consumption of radio and newspaper news, …

The Social And Cultural Meanings Of Names In Late Antique Italy, 313-604, Eric Ware

Masters Theses

This thesis examines many uses of names in Italian culture and society between the years 313 and 604. Through an anthroponymic study of names in Late Antique Italy, I explore the relationships between names and religion, social groups, gender, and language. I analyze the name patterns statistically and through micro-historical studies. This thesis argues that, contrary to studies emphasizing the late antique decline of the Roman trinominal system, Italian names demonstrated continuity with classical onomastic practices. The correlations between saint’s cults and local names and the decline of pagan names suggests that saints’ names replaced pagan ones as apotropaic names …

Informal Institutions And Women’S Rights In Afghanistan, Mariam Amiri

Masters Theses

In political science a lot of attention is given to institutions and their role in shaping behaviors in a polity and society. In this thesis I examine the conflict between formal and informal institutions. I believe in many societies informal institutions play a major role in shaping political behavior. In Afghanistan these informal institutions can easily undermine formal institutions. Many of the studies that are conducted about informal institutions in Afghanistan have prized them for being capable of dealing with different problems. However, it is also important to find out whether the way they deal with different problems and solve …

Faculty Retirement Recognition Dinner 2014, Western Michigan University

Faculty Recognition

Faculty Retirement Recognition Dinner Program

May 29, 2014

Honored Guests:

• Larry Ahleman
• Robert Balik
• Nora Berrah
• Dwayne Channell
• J. Gregory Fitzgerald
• David Guth
• Dean Halderson
• Eva Jerome
• Stephen Jones
• Peter Judd
• Peter Krawutschke
• Leonard Lamberson
• Albert LaVergne
• Gary Lawson
• Ronald Miller
• Dasha Nisula
• Donna Ring
• Nancy Schullery
• Gerald Sievers
• Robert Spradling
• Leo Stevenson
• Karen Thomas
• Donald Thompson
• Neal Turner
• Charles Warfield

Alison’S Antithesis In The Marriage Of Sir Gawain, Kristin Bovaird-Abbo

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Barking Abbey And Medieval Literary Culture: Authorship And Authority In A Female Community, Mary Dockray-Miller

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Medieval Feminist Forum, V.49 No.2 2014

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Female Intercession And The Shaping Of Male Heroism In The Roman D’Enéas And Le Chevalier Au Lion, Gillian Adler

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Back Matter, Medieval Feminist Forum, V.49 No.2 2014

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

How The Axe Falls: A Retrospective On Thirty-Five Years Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Performance, Linda Marie Zaerr

Accessus

This retrospective represents a new approach to using historical performance as a tool for understanding medieval narrative performance. The core of the article traces how an individual performer’s interaction with a stable medieval text both indicates directions medieval performers may have taken and suggests the limitations imposed by modern performance conventions. The discussion touches on issues of adaptation and translation, variation in troupe composition and audience, expectations of modern audiences, impact of costume choices, and limitations of audio and video recordings as documentation of live performance. Juxtaposing eight performances of a single passage clarifies how performance can transform a text, …

Semper Venalis: Gower's Avaricious Lawyers, Robert Meindl

Accessus

The first three chapters of the sixth book of the Vox Clamantis (lines 1-248) comprise a harsh critique of the many avaricious lawyers who, in Gower’s opinion, have come to dominate their profession to the disadvantage of English society in the late fourteenth century. Driven exclusively by their appetite for possessions, they have forgotten the biblical model presented in Psalm 14 that specifies the obligation of the good man to assist without recompense his neighbor’s search for justice. Falsely claiming to be men of law and inheritors of the biblical model of the good man, the causidici (as Gower calls …

Preface, Georgiana Donavin, Eve Salisbury

Accessus

Co-editors Georgiana Donavin and Eve Salisbury thank the readers of Accessus for an enthusiastic reception of the first issue and summarize the contents of this second issue. The second issue showcases opportunities inherent in online publishing, such as the ability to produce extended commentaries and offer video streams. Robert J. Meindl's "Semper Venalis: Gower's Avaricious Lawyers" and Linda Marie Zaerr's "How the Axe Falls: A Retrospective on Thirty-five Years of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Performance," respectively, realize these possibilities in online publishing while adding substantially and insightfully to our knowledge of important fourteenth-century poems from England.

Western News, May 8, 2014, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: WMU-Air Zoo relationship being enhanced; Advisory group to guide teacher preparation programs; Researchers get major grant to improve canes used by blind; On Campus with Doreen Brinson.

May 6, 2014: Newberry Grad Seminar, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

Ceremonies Of Storytelling, Grace C. Beverage

Best Midwestern High School Writing 2014 Winners

Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko is undoubtedly brilliant - written in beautiful and disjointed prose as to force the reader to sympathize with the main character's confused stream of conscience. I believe my paper to be outstanding because it achieves empathy with Tayo's illness by addressing how the art of storytelling works to counteract the categorization and mistreatment of people, especially on the topics of race, class and culture. As John Green, a favorite author of mine once wrote: "it is easy to forget how full the world is of people, full to bursting, each of them imaginable and consistently …

The Indians' Longest Yard, Zoe N. Melnyk

Best Midwestern High School Writing 2014 Winners

What is outstanding about this piece is how it pulls at the emotions of the reader. The piece can be relatable by nearly anyone who has come up short of a victory, or reaching a goal. The story includes over coming loses and remaining optimistic when it seems as though all hopes are lost.

Liberty Swan, Sophia M. Whittemore

Best Midwestern High School Writing 2014 Winners

Liberation.

The title in itself represents the irony for the characters presented in this fictional piece. In this story, one is presented with the mind of a young child during a terrible time in her family's history. She witnesses the Japanese Internment firsthand as her family is locked away behind barbed wire, seemingly never to see the outside world again. Yet, even as she yearns for her freedom, she finds her mind slowly slips towards the place where darkness lies. She begins to wish that she can fly away, just like an origami swan.

A Piece From My Room, Miranda P. Hogan

Best Midwestern High School Writing 2014 Winners

This is a piece that reflects upon the day that I was diagnosed with Leukemia. The story is told from my point of view. Along with recounting the events of that day it also explains some of my inner reflections. In this story I've used a wide range of literary devices including metaphors, similes, and anaphora. My essay not only displays the surface level story but also has a deeper message to portray. I hope you gain something from reading it.

Shadow Master, Morgan Gebhardt

Best Midwestern High School Writing 2014 Winners

The creativity, as well as the originality of the plot and characters.

Stand Strong, Akanksha Panda

Best Midwestern High School Writing 2014 Winners

This happened to me a little while ago and the fact that it is a real life story makes it interesting.

Janus Faced Journalism, Sophia M. Whittemore

Best Midwestern High School Writing 2014 Winners

This piece became the abstract and under the "audience" the author had written: "The audience is an average teenager, therefore, the style is written specifically for teenagers. Taken by the context and language for teens."

Prism #80, May 2014, Office Of The Provost

Prism: Western Michigan University's Newsletter for Academic Affairs

No abstract provided.

Video Games: Beyond The Violence, Bradley M. Gardner

Best Midwestern High School Writing 2014 Winners

This piece does a very good job of providing the people's voice instead of simply just placing fact after fact, which helped to increase the impact the piece had upon the student body. The evidence and demonstrations used within the piece also help to make this piece. For example the use of references to the Supreme Court decision as well as the process of how a video game is actually made.

A Biological Analysis Of Malthusian Law, William Chen

Best Midwestern High School Writing 2014 Winners

Written as a comparative literary analysis, this piece takes two nonfiction writers, Thomas Malthus and Charles Darwin, from two different fields, political economy and biology, and uncovers thematic ideas behind the positions of both writers. This essay grapples with such ideas as laissez-faire capitalism, morality, and even socialism by analyzing parallels between the two authors' works and using these parallels to develop arguments about Malthus's stance on social reform. As a literary critique, however, this work does not attempt to use fictitious or creative elements to develop itself; it relies solely on analysis and argument to articulate its conclusions about …