Digital Commons Network^™

Western Michigan University Commencement Exercises-9am, John M. Dunn

WMU President John Dunn

No abstract provided.

Western News, June 22, 2017, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: WMU president to be inaugurated Sept. 15, Law school frees man unjustly jailed for 42 years, Archaeological activities at Fort St. Joseph enthrall young; old, Linda Dunn honored by women’s groups, College of Health and Human Services to celebrate new program’s first cohort

A Brief History Of Tsetse Control Methods In Zimbabwe And Possible Effects Of Climate Change On Their Distribution, Rory Pilossof

International Journal of African Development

African trypanosomiasis, which affects wildlife, domesticated animals and humans, remains widespread across Africa. Approximately 8 million km², covering 37 African counties, are infested with tsetse flies (Glossina) that carry the disease (Allsopp 2001). The first part of this paper looks at the history of tsetse control on the northern fly-belt in Zimbabwe, affecting the Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland West provinces. In Zimbabwe, tsetse control has shifted and evolved in the twentieth century, ranging from the initial methods of game destruction and bush-clearing, to ground and aerial spraying of insecticides, the sterile insect technique (SIT), …

Sub-Regionalism Within The African Union: Does It Enhance Regional Integration?, Sandra Ochieng'-Springer

International Journal of African Development

The African continent renewed its commitment to regional integration in the post-1990s period in keeping with the global changes at the time. As part of this revitalization, the Organisation of African Union was transformed to the African Union which has broader aims, and sub-regionalism was also embraced with the establishment of regional economic communities that act as stepping stones to greater regional integration. Both continental and sub-regional efforts have placed emphasis on economic integration with states as key players in the integration projects. The relationship between these two groupings is complex as the AU, which is meant to coordinate the …

China And Post-Millennium African Economic Development Strategy As A Non-Zero-Sum-Game, Paul Milkias

International Journal of African Development

This paper will probe Africa's and China’s historical trajectory regarding economic development. It analyzes China's and Africa's creative leap, particularly since the millennium, into a new paradigm, a new way of economic relationship totally different from that with the West. The focus is on analyzing China’s heavy economic investment in Africa based on the assumption that the relationship is mutually beneficial rather than being exploitative as some scholars suggest. The hypothesis draws from Decision Theory’s concept of a Zero-Sum Game. It is understood that in a two partnered non-zero sum game theory, one partner’s gain or loss does not necessarily …

Africa In Global Climate Change Governance: Analyzing Its Position And Challenges, Anwar Hassen Tsega

International Journal of African Development

Climate change has emerged as a major global issue that affects all nations and has become a phenomena requiring global governance in the modern globalized world. Though the African contribution to the increase Greenhouse Gas (GHG) is very small, climate change is a concern of African countries. This paper is aimed to analyze the African position and challenges in the governance of climate change. Nonetheless, there are opportunities created for adaptation and mitigation, the implementation of these measures is constrained by lack of financial, institutional and human capacities. Accordingly, the Africans position in the international system and lack of the …

Editorial Note, Sisay Asefa

International Journal of African Development

No abstract provided.

International Journal Of African Development, Vol. 4, Issue 1

International Journal of African Development

Complete issue of International Journal of African Development, Volume 4, Issue 1 - Fall 2016.

Western News, June 8, 2017, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Heritage Hall gets highest LEED ranking, Agreement gives K students head start on grad degrees, Dance students return from moving service trip in Panama, Summer facilities-related projects underway, Goat woodlot management crew returns for second helping, On Campus with Tammi Maner

Quantifying The Spiritual: Incorporating Subjective Spirituality In Biomedical Research, Joseph R. Schuetz

The Hilltop Review

Biomedical objectivity is a dominant health paradigm in the United States today. This paradigm views the body mostly as an object to be studied by objective means. These objective means are taken for granted as universal categories for comprehending truth in biomedicine. Lack of theoretical reflection leaves vital subjective attributes of experience out of the picture of health and healing, including lived subjective spiritual experience. This partly stems from definitions of spirituality that are lacking in explicating many elements of lived spiritual experience. Flawed definitions of spirituality are the result of both unchecked biomedical authoritative theoretical assumptions, and a lack …

Acetone Production, Ali Ibrahim Neamah

The Hilltop Review

Iraq struggles with a lack of acetone production. This overall deficiency impacts the economy of countries like Iraq. Inasmuch, acetone is a vital chemical component for many items imported into this country such as nail polish remover. Therefore, a process of acetone production is proposed in this study.

The ideal process of producing acetone with 90.0% isopropyl alcohol (IPA) decomposition method is proposed within this study. The feed of the process is 100000 ton/ day. This amount of feed is suggested due to the demographic need of acetone for the Iraqi population as well as the surrounding Middle Eastern region. …

Mechanized Identity: The Blood-Mill Of Richard Coer De Lyon, Andrew S. Thomas

The Hilltop Review

The seven-thousand-line Middle English romance, Richard Coer de Lyon, is not often read as a text fascinated with machinery. The semi-historical, superlative, titular character and his various marvelous and deeply disturbing deeds usually claim most attention, and not without reason. There is much to examine in the heroically cannibalistic Richard, who presents a complex and often troubling vision of the ways both Englishness and the Saracen Other can be constructed within romance. Alongside these well-studied qualities, however, is a strange attention within the text to sieges and siege engines. Richard’s army is accompanied by a large, named siege tower …

Academic And Social Engagement Of Students With Psychiatric Disabilities, Nizoramo M. Haitova, Asia Rivers, Andrea E. Bau

The Hilltop Review

The attendance of students with psychiatric disabilities has significantly increased over recent decades and these students represent the largest group of students with disabilities across college campuses (Madaus, 2011). It is important for higher education administrators and student affairs professionals to understand the experiences of students with psychiatric disabilities in order to better support their academic and social engagement in higher education. Further analysis of research related to the student experience reveals issues faced by students with psychiatric disabilities and the coping techniques used to navigate through college. The purpose of this paper is to bring forth recommendations for postsecondary …

Liturgical Processions In The Black Death, Eric A. Gobel

The Hilltop Review

The popularity of the flagellant movement in the German speaking lands during the Black Death is due to a number of factors. Flagellation may seem like a nonsensical reaction to despair from a modern perspective, but for medieval people, the itinerant processional penitent pilgrims represented more than a bloody, painful spectacle. Rather, it was a rational and emotion reaction to their troubles. The success of the flagellants lays, not in the grotesquerie of their performances, but instead in their ability to provide people with familiar, engaging ways to perform and observe penance while also departing from ecclesiastical norms that had …

Biographies

The Hilltop Review

No abstract provided.

The Hilltop Review, Vol 9, No 2. Spring 2017

The Hilltop Review

No abstract provided.

Connections, 06/2017, College Of Health And Human Services

College of Health and Human Services Newsletter

• Public health summit seeks urgent action against opioid crisis
• Ph.D. student presents immunization exemption data to CDC
• Professors receive grant to improve health professionals' skills for serving Native American communities
• Professor's art on display in second floor CHHS gallery
• Psychology practicum making strides at Senior Day Services

June 2017 News Items, Office Of Vice President For Research

Research and Discovery News

• Save the date for Fall Convocation
• Grants to WMU soar past $3.7 million mark in April, May

Birth Record Analysis Of Gestational Diabetes: Applications For Intervention Planning, Elizabeth L. Macquillan

Dissertations

Gestational diabetes (GDM) rates in the U.S. and in Michigan have increased over the past several decades, along with the increases in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and obesity. GDM is associated with adverse health outcomes for mothers and their offspring. Many current maternal-infant health (MIH) programs in Michigan do not target women with GDM. This study aims to assess state-level rates of GDM in pregnancy with a combination of statistical and spatial analyses using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for the purpose of informing content and location of public health interventions.

Existing data from 2013 Michigan birth records (107,743 births) were …

Social Health Insurance And Maternal And Child Health Outcomes In Developing Countries: The Case Of Ghana, Ama Agyeiwaa Abrokwah

Dissertations

About 25% of all maternal deaths occur during pregnancy; 99% of these maternal deaths occur in developing countries and half of these occur in Sub-Saharan Africa (WHO 2015). Two of the eight Millennium Development Goals are to reduce infant mortality and improve maternal and child health outcomes. To improve health outcomes and reduce the financial burden on households, a number of developing countries, including Ghana, Botswana, and Croatia, have introduced social health insurance programs which are heavily subsidized. This dissertation is a collection of three essays evaluating how maternal and child health care-seeking behavior, utilization and outcomes changed as a …

Cto Updates - 06/2017, Office Of Information Technology

Tech Talk

• Phishing attacks
• Symantec for Android
• Adobe Creative Cloud
• Audio conferencing support
• Web conferencing support
• Technology Help Desk "Chat"
• OIT staff vacancies
• 105 rooms, wow!
• ImageNow and Banner Workflow support

Alessandra Macinghi Strozzi, Letters To Her Sons (1447-147)), Lynn Blanchfield

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Spatial Analysis Of Time Between Two Consecutive Dental And Two Consecutive Well-Child Visits For Foster Care Youth, Chenyang Shi

Dissertations

Foster care youth is a medically vulnerable population. Poor dental health and irregular well-child visits may cause serious health-related issues, such as mental disorder, nutrition imbalance, tooth damage, etc. Michigan requires all youth in foster care to receive annual dental and well-child visits. Usually, the study of foster care well-child and dental visits include two parts: time between two consecutive visits (gap time) and number of visits. For this study, a longitudinal-spatial model that has the flexibility to analyze the well-child/dental gap times and number of visits was developed. The longitudinal data (2009-2012) on Michigan foster care youth from 10 …

Chemotypic Variation Of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds In Midwest Forest And Atmospheric Role Of Peroxyacyl Nitrates In Southeastern U.S., Shino Toma

Dissertations

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOC), including isoprene and terpenes, impact atmospheric processes such as production of tropospheric ozone, formation and growth of secondary organic aerosol (SOA), global climate change, and human health. Although estimated emission rates of total biogenic VOC exceed anthropogenic emissions, there are many challenges to direct measurements because they are very reactive with atmospheric oxidants and some are still difficult to detect by current analytical techniques. Therefore, high uncertainties lead to discrepancies between individual and total biogenic VOC budget with atmospheric oxidants and an underestimation of SOA formation.

White pine (Pinus strobus) was once a dominant species …

Structures Of Metallacarboranes And Coordination Complexes: Coordination Sensors Based On Rhodamine B And Quinolines, Agozie Nnaemeka Oyeamalu

Dissertations

Rhodamine-based ligands that can complex different metals has been designed and synthesized. Using Rhodamine B as starting material, we synthesized and characterized quinoline precursors as well as successfully carried out the oxidation of methyl and aldehyde groups on the quinoline ring, and on the hydroxyl moiety of the quinoline spirolactone ring. These turn-on/off rhodamine fluorescence probes sense Cr³⁺ and Ni²⁺ with high selectivity and sensitivity. These probes can be applied to detect other metal ions that are present in chemical, biological and environmental settings. They were designed to fluoresce when bonded to ions such as cyanide in detecting …

Discriminative And Reinforcing Effects Of Cocaine-Levamisole Combinations, Zachary J. Zimmermann

Dissertations

The behavioral and neurochemical effects of cocaine are well established, and it is one of the most widely abused illicit drugs. Illicit cocaine is often adulterated with levamisole, which is an anthelmintic that was withdrawn from the U. S. market in 2000. It has been hypothesized that levamisole, unlike other common adulterants which are added as simple bulking agents, has effects of its own which may be responsible for its use as an adulterant. Although these effects are speculative, the addition of levamisole to cocaine has become an increasing public health concern, as serious adverse effects (e.g., vasculitis, neutropenia) of …

Development Of Traditional And Rank-Based Algorithms For Linear Models With Autoregressive Errors And Multivariate Logistic Regression With Spatial Random Effects, Shaofeng Zhang

Dissertations

Linear models are the most commonly used statistical methods in many disciplines. One of the model assumptions is that the error terms (residuals) are independent and identically distributed. This assumption is often violated and autoregressive error terms are often encountered by researchers. The most popular technique to deal with linear models with autoregressive errors is perhaps the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA). Another common approach is generalized least squares, such as Cochrane-Orcutt estimation and Prais-Winsten estimation. However, these usually have poor behaviors when fitting small samples. To address this problem, a double bootstrap method was proposed by McKnight et al. …

A Meta-Analysis Of Energy Savings From Lighting Programs In Michigan, Teryila Ephraim Amough

Dissertations

In order to fill the gap in aggregates savings, the challenges faced by electric utilities for the demand of lighting energy are addressed by lighting efficiency programs. The shrinking capacity and electrical grid reliability call for improved ways to evaluate energy saving programs with evaluation methods that are robust in determining the impact of lighting programs. This study employed meta-analysis as an evaluation method to determine energy savings, impact, emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), pollutants, and health effects from lighting programs in Michigan. The findings of the study showed the programs impact in Hedges’ g of 0.36 for the overall …

The Impact Of Heart Rate Monitor Use On Student Intensity In Elementary Physical Education, Gerrit J. Van Klaveren

Masters Theses

Heart rate monitors (HRM) were used with 80 fifth grade students during an eight-day basketball unit in one elementary school located in Otsego County, Michigan to see if the implementation had any effect on increasing the intensity of the participating students. Specifically, the HRM measured the amount of time the students were engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). It was hypothesized that with the use of HRM, students would increase their MVPA and maintain that time in MVPA by the eighth day. The eight days were split into four levels where students were introduced to a new feature …

Economic Impact Analysis Of Bridge Construction, Funda Yavuz

Masters Theses

Traffic disruption due to bridge construction has been reduced to several hours with the development of methods characterized as Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC). Associated risks and additional activities involved with the accelerated construction result in an increased initial project cost. This additional cost is offset by the benefits of reduced mobility impact time such as maintenance of traffic cost, life-cycle cost, and economic impact on surrounding communities and businesses as well as the ability to address seasonal limitations. Traditionally, the savings in user cost from reduced mobility impact time is used to justify the additional cost of accelerated construction implementations. …