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An Examination Of The Leadership Practices Of Effective Rural Superintendents: A Multiple Case Study, Mark Forner

Dissertations

This research examined the leadership practices of rural superintendents who have led their districts to significant improvement in student academic achievement. The overall research goal was to examine how Waters' and Marzano's six correlates of effective superintendent leadership practice have been applied by school leaders who have successfully pursued academic reform in their rural school districts. A multiple case study approach was used to examine the work practices of seven superintendents leading rural school districts in Michigan where student academic performance was on the rise.

A criterion-based selection methodology was used to identify the superintendent subjects and their districts. A …

Perspectives Of Employed People Experiencing Homelessness Of Self And Being Homeless: Challenging Socially Constructed Perceptions And Stereotypes, Micheal L. Shier, Marion E. Jones, John R. Graham

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In a study that sought to identify the multiple factors resulting in homelessness from the perspective of 65 individuals in Calgary, Alberta, Canada who were both employed and homeless, we found that participants' perceptions of being homeless emerged as a major theme which impacts their entry to and exit from homelessness. Four sub-themes related to these perceptions were identified: (1) perceptions of self and situation; (2) impact of being homeless on self-reflection; (3) aspects of hope to consider; and (4) perspectives on having a permanent residence. Analytically, these findings help challenge present stereotypes about homelessness and usefully inform social service …

The Limits Of Social Capital: An Examination Of Immigrants' Housing Challenges In Calgary, Alina Tanasescu, Alan Smart

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A common explanation of immigrants' under-representation among the homeless population in Canada is that kinship and community networks act as a buffer to absolute homelessness. There are indications that immigrant homelessness is, however, increasing, suggesting that the buffering capacity of social networks reaches a limit. Further, evidence of precarious housing situations indicates that we should approach this form of housing provision with some caution. This paper draws on a larger study of housing difficulties among immigrants in Calgary to address the ways in which social capital serves a buffering role, and under what conditions it loses its ability to prevent …

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project Annual Report, 2009-10, Michael S. Nassaney

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

he Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project continues to build on a legacy of success in fieldwork, analysis, publication, public education, and outreach as we engage the community in the pursuit of a better understanding of the fur trade and colonialism in southwest Michigan. Over the past year (September 1, 2009 through August 31, 2010) several aspects of the project were expanded. Some of the year’s highlights include:

• A new membership program that provides special benefits for project supporters at varying levels
• The summer lecture series devoted to the “Women of New France”
• A grant of $8,100 from the Michigan Humanities …

Western News, Nov. 18, 2010, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: WMU, MCC to offer two joint academic programs; Researchers get $3.5 million education grant; Service anniversaries for December; On Campus with Cari DeLong.

Geosciences Newsletter - 2010, Department Of Geosciences

Geological and Environmental Sciences News

Vol. 4, No. 1

• Faculty Updates
• Publications
• MGRRE
• Grants
• Graduate News
• Awards
• Field Trips
• Alumni
• Advisory Board

Inquiry, Fall 2010, Office Of Vice President For Research

Research and Discovery News

Inside this issue:

• Former VP for research appointed as interim dean of WMU school of medicine (Jack Luderer)
• Message from the VP for research
• Research expenditures highlights for 2009-2010
• WMU gets $1 million award to prepare high school teacher-scientists
• Yearly summary of intellectual property and commercialization at WMU
• Internal funding support schedule
• Research awards and submissions for 2009-2010

My 21st Century Expedition: Following The Route Of Schoolcraft 1820, 1832 To The Source Of The Mississippi River, Lorah Patterson

Honors Theses

The journal of Lorah Patterson during her expedition from Schoolcraft, Michigan, to the source of the Mississippi River. Supplemental file contains complete Herbarium. The thesis includes only a few examples.

Western News, Sept. 23, 2010, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Enrollment surpasses 25,000 students; Transformation of Bernhard Center takes next step; Two academic centers created; On Campus with Ronald Schubot.

Western News, Sept. 9, 2010, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Convocation to feature State of University address, campuswide awards; WMU on magazine's new top-tier list; On Campus with Cara LaLumia-Barnes.

Prism #48, September 2010, Office Of The Provost

Prism: Western Michigan University's Newsletter for Academic Affairs

No abstract provided.

"Everything Has Changed": Narratives Of The Vietnamese American Community In Post-Katrina Mississippi, Yoosun Park, Joshua Miller, Bao Chau Van

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this qualitative study of the Vietnamese American community of Biloxi, Mississippi, conducted three years after Katrina, we attended not only to individual experiences but to the relationship of individuals to their collective and social worlds. The interlocked relationship of individual and collective loss and recovery are clearly demonstrated in respondents' narratives. The neighborhood and community of Little Saigon was significant not only as a symbolic source of identity but as a protected and familiar space of residence, livelihood, and social connections. The post-Katrina changes in the neighborhood are, in multiple ways, changing participants' experience of and relationship to their …

The Taifa Of Denia And The Medieval Mediterranean, Travis Bruce

Dissertations

This dissertation treats the Muslim kingdom of Denia on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. Through a singular political program, the eleventh-century rulers of Denia created a maritime kingdom based on the resources and networks of the Mediterranean. Denia played a unique role as a Mediterranean polity, developing economic links with Christian Barcelona, Sardinia, Pisa and Genoa that would connect Muslim and Christian populations over several centuries. The dissertation demonstrates the importance of economics in the Muslim-Christian relations of the western Mediterranean using Latin archival documents, Latin and Arabic narrative sources, and archaeological and numismatic evidence. It explores the extent to which …

Insider Vol. 10 No. 4 Summer 2010, College Of Arts & Sciences

College of Arts and Sciences news

Special Awards Edition

Western News, June 24, 2010, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: New Faculty Senate leaders; Carls Foundation gift will help kids hear; Retirement receptions for Kelley, Odehnal; On Campus with John Carr.

Western News, June 10, 2010 , Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Enyedi, Luderer selected for dean posts; New e-mail service being introduced; Service anniversaries for June; On Campus with Ruth DeYoung.

Skew Selection Theory Applied To The Wealth And Welfare Of Nations, Susan F. Allen, Deby L. Cassill

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

According to skew selection theory, working citizens who build wealth and, at the same time, share portions of their wealth with those in need are more likely to survive economic downturns than citizens who hoard wealth. In this article, skew selection is employed as a theoreticalframework to support governmental efforts to develop social policies that protect the income of working citizens and, at the same time, provide for vulnerable, non-working children and elders. To illustrate its applicability, the social policies of Japan, Sweden and the United States-all of which are challenged by decaying ratios of working to non-working citizens-are compared …

Prism #47, May 2010, Office Of The Provost

Prism: Western Michigan University's Newsletter for Academic Affairs

No abstract provided.

Curriculum Coherence: A Comparative Analysis Of Elementary Science Content Standards In People's Republic Of China And The Usa, Fang Huang

Dissertations

This study examines elementary science content standards curriculum coherence between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America. Three aspects of curriculum coherence are examined in this study: topic inclusion, topic duration, and curriculum structure. Specifically this study centers on the following research questions: 1) What science knowledge is intended for elementary students in each country? 2) How long each topic stays in the curriculum? 3) How these topics sequence and connect with each other? 4) And finally, what is the implication for elementary science curriculum development?

Four intended science curriculum frameworks were selected respectively for each …

The Effects Of An Inquiry-Based Earth Science Course On The Spatial Thinking Of Pre-Service Elementary Teacher Education Students, Kevin Douglas Weakley

Dissertations

This study examined the effectiveness of two geography courses at improving student spatial thinking skills. Spatial thinking is an important cognitive skill in the sciences and everyday life. A taxonomy of spatial thinking was constructed by Gersmehl (2008) in geography education which included core modes assessed in this study: comparison, region, transition, analogy, pattern, and association. Two additional modes related to space over time, change and movement, were also assessed. The central research question in this study is: What are the effects of a pre-service teacher education earth science content course (Geography 1900) that is conceptually designed and inquirybased on …

Opt Out: Women With Children Leaving Mid-Level Student Affairs Positions, Dana Hebreard

Dissertations

This phenomenological study is about the decision-making process of women with young children at the mid-level student affairs position who decide to opt out of their career for a minimum of one year, and for some, return to higher education. The study is based on interviews with 17 mid-level college administrators and mothers of young children, infant to pre-teen, who chose to opt out of their careers rather than continuing to balance family and career. Though the individuals interviewed were each unique in their socioeconomic status, education, and career path, their issues and concerns were similar. They openly revealed the …

The Northwest Forest Plan: Up To Our Neck In Owls?, Ashley N. Horvat

Honors Theses

Traversing across the vast Pacific Northwest with the Northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina), one would experience a dynamic landscape that ranged from areas shrouded with ancient forests, mountains dotted with dense young forests, large swathes of empty habitat from clearcuts, and corridors filled with canopies and a plethora of life. The once vibrant forests that blanketed the Pacific Northwest in an abundance of life and sheltered these rare owls in their canopies were threatened by the removal of these primordial giants in these forests. The wild salmon that journey in record numbers through the cold rivers and …

Western News, April 8, 2010 , Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Governor makes two trustee appointments for 2011; WMU administrator selected as ACE Fellow; Service anniversaries for April; On Campus with Scott Coy.

Inquiry, Spring 2010, Office Of Vice President For Research

Research and Discovery News

Inside this issue:

• Litynski appointed VP for research
• Research and Dessert draws researchers together at Fetzer Center
• Resaerch and Creative Activities Poster Day April 9
• Support for faculty scholars awards 2009-2010
• A message from... the vice president for research
• Technology development fund 2010 award winner
• Spring workshop and research day
• New program research officer appointed
• Medical school accreditation begins

Fort St. Joseph Post - Spring 2010, Department Of Anthropology

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Vol. 1. No. 1.
For friends of Western Michigan University’s Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Table of Contents:

• Letter from the Principal Investigator of the project
• What we do in the “off” season
• Laboratory Updates
• Undergraduate Perspectives: David Lang & Kelly Schulze
• Student News
• My Archaeological Experience By: Kyle Woods
• In Memoriam: Grafton (“Grif”) H. Cook, II
• Introducing… the Fort St. Joseph Archaeology Advisory Committee
• Watch for These Exciting Events this Summer!
• Fort St. Joseph Wish List
• Upcoming Events

Insider Vol. 10 No. 3 Spring 2010, College Of Arts & Sciences

College of Arts and Sciences news

No abstract provided.

Prism #45, March 2010, Office Of The Provost

Prism: Western Michigan University's Newsletter for Academic Affairs

No abstract provided.

Social Justice Implications Of The Organism Metaphor, Gerald V. O'Brien

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The denigration of marginalized groups is frequently supported through the widespread employment of metaphors that present a pejorative image of the group in question. The organism metaphor, wherein the target group is portrayed as a threat to the integrity of the social body, is a particularly important metaphoric theme in the advancement of social injustice. Drawing largely from primary source documents, this paper provides an overview of the organism metaphor as it has been employed historically to denigrate various social subgroups. Implications for the social work profession are discussed.

Western News, Feb. 25, 2010, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: New accords preserve WMU's aviation supremacy; Tolbert, Archer elected to lead Board of Trustees; Search launched for medical school dean; On Campus with Carolyn Lynn.

Wmu Board Of Trustees February 18, 2010 Session Supplemental Documents, Wmu Board Of Trustee

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

Supplemental documents for the WMU Board of Trustees session on February 18, 2010 include:

• Agenda
• Slate of offices to be elected
• Revised annuity and life income funds policy statement
• Personnel Report
• WMU Foiundation Gift Report
• Grant Report
• Various name change and academic program proposals
• Easement for underground electric line
• Authorization to confer degrees
• Board meeting dates
• M.U.S.I.C. (Michigan Universities Self-Insurance Corporation)