Digital Commons Network^™

Conceptual Change Resulting From Experiential Learning With Business Enterprise Software, Thomas F. Rienzo

Dissertations

This study examined business process concept changes in undergraduate business students through an active learning experience with commercial software that is used by industrial companies to optimize and control their business transaction processing. Students that participated in this study were enrolled in an introductory information technology course that employs enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to demonstrate interactions among business processes involved in purchase and sales processing cycles. Specifically, business process comprehension was examined through three interdisciplinary lenses: (1) conceptual change from the discipline of science education, (2) learning styles from the discipline of business management, and (3) technology acceptance from …

The Association Between School Choice And School Climate: Comparing School Climate In Private Relgious, Charter, And Public Schools, Mark Krommendyk

Dissertations

The association between school climate and school choice was examined by conducting discriminant function analyses on data gathered from the 1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey. This study asked the question, "Does school climate in private religious, charter, and public schools differ?" Teacher and principal responses to survey questions were grouped to measure six characteristics of school climate. The school climate characteristics measured were: (1) supportive principal leadership, (2) teacher collegiality, (3) teacher-principal relationships, (4) teacher satisfaction, (5) student behavior, and (6) teacher empowerment. The study found that the school climate in private religious schools could be statistically distinguished from the …

Cheating Death: The Demedicalization Of Cpr, Michelle Nicole Erwin

Masters Theses

My research explores cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as a case study of demedicalization. I will use an instrumental case study method to examine the history and setting of CPR. In order to gain a stronger understanding of CPR in particular, I will look in depth at the actors and organizations involved in the development, medicalization, and demedicalization of CPR. The purpose of this study is to better grasp how demedicalization occurs in a more general context by looking through the lens of CPR. I will adapt a framework that is used for examining medicalization authored by Peter Conrad (1980), to allow …

The Effects Of A Still-Photo Computer Module Without Feedback On Ergonomic Behaviors, Rhiannon M. Fante

Masters Theses

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of a still-photo computer training module without feedback on safe positioning of individuals performing an assembly task and a lifting task using a multiple baseline design across behaviors and tasks. The study took place in an analogue office setting and participants were 6 college students. The dependent variable was the percentage of observations scored as safe and each session was recorded via a hidden camera. During each session, participants completed a 5 minute assembly task followed by 2 lifts and this task sequence was repeated a minimum of four …

Stratigraphy And Organic Carbon Contents Of Glacial Deposits In The City Of Portage, Michigan, U.S.A., Nathaniel A. Barnes

Masters Theses

The objectives of this study are to characterize the stratigraphy of the glacial drift in an area located in Portage, Michigan using four complete rotasonic cores, and to determine the variation of organic carbon content in the drift that may explain the high iron concentrations in the groundwater typically obtained in moderate to deep wells in southwestern Michigan. The four cores were characterized in detail in terms of lithology, textural and statistical analyses, gamma ray logging, S¹³C variation and organic carbon analyses. Clay minerals were characterized using X-ray diffraction analysis.

Results of this study identified two main diamicton …

Banish Belly Bulge And Chisel Your Bis: A Semiotic Analysis Of Gender Representations In Fitness Magazine Advertising, Lauren A. Teal

Masters Theses

This study examined gender ideologies in the advertising of two popular fitness magazines, Shape and Men's Fitness, using Kress and van Leeuwen's visual semiotic theory (1996). The aim of this study was to determine how fitness magazine advertising participates in the construction of gender identities, and to identify what rhetorical and visual strategies are commonly employed.

Through an examination of the way gender identities are constructed by fitness magazines my research has concluded that advertising within both magazines promotes idealized body types and stereotypical gender identities for men and women. In Shape's advertisements, women are wives and homemakers; they …

Western News, March 29, 2007, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Math prof helps solve E8 puzzle; Oral history project comes to Kalamazoo; Obituaries for Ralph Chandler and Arthur Snapper; On Campus with John Winchell.

Developing Social Work’S Self-Efficacy Model Of Student Assessment, Yvonne Unrau, Melinda Mccormick

Assessment Grants

No abstract provided.

Western News, March 15, 2007, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Program connects alumni with prospective students; Haenicke pans higher ed funding proposal; Obituary for William Carlson; On Campus with James Adduci.

Prism #21, March 2007, Office Of The Provost

Prism: Western Michigan University's Newsletter for Academic Affairs

No abstract provided.

Engaging Children With Useful Words: Vocabulary Instruction In A Third Grade Classroom, Lynn Cohen, Katherine Byrnes

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This action research project investigated 2 different instructional procedures used for third grade students' vocabulary acquisition. We researched read-aloud trade books containing targeted vocabulary words with daily direct word learning strategies and compared that to a traditional definitional approach with 12 bilingual and 4 monolingual children. Instruction was limited to 6 words each week for 4 consecutive weeks. Findings suggested that children used more targeted words in oral and written communications when provided literature and word learning strategies.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 34, No. 1 (March 2007)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Letters to the Editor
• James Midgley, Harry and Riva Specht Professor, University of California, Berkeley
• Harris Chaiklin, Professor, emeritus, School of Social Work, University of Maryland
• Wilma Peebles-Wilkins. Dean Emerita, Boston University, Former Editor, NASW Children and Schools
• Jeanne Marsh, Former Editor, Social Work, Michael Sherraden, Editor, Social Development Issues
• Howard Karger, Professor, Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston,
• Cheryl A. Hyde, Temple University, Past Editor, Journal of Progressive Human Services
• David Stoesz, Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University, Executive Director, policyAmerica
• OUTSIDERS-WITHIN: CRITICAL RACE THEORY, GRADUATE EDUCATION AND BARRIERS TO PROFESSIONALIZATION - CarolAnn Daniel
• SOCIAL …

Review Of Quixote's Ghost: The Right, The Liberati And The Future Of Social Policy. David Stoesz. Reviewed By Stephen Pimpare., Stephen Pimpare

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of David Stoesz, Quixote's Ghost: The Right, the Liberati, and the Future of Social Policy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. $ 35.00 hardcover.

Controlling The Levers Of Power: How Advocacy Organizations Affect The Regulation Writing Process, Richard Hoefer, Kristin Ferguson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Federal regulation-writing process is vital to understanding how laws are translated into policy. This paper re-examines data on human services interest groups active in lobbying the executive branch to determine what factors influence their effectiveness. Building on findings from Hoefer (2000), structural equation modeling is used to re-analyze the original regression model of interest group effectiveness (IGE) on a sample of 127 Washington D.C.-based interest groups. Results indicate that some of the previous findings are not supported and an alternative model is proposed. A group's position, context and access to information and policymakers emerge as significant determinants of IGE. …

Review Of The Logic Of Social Research. Arthur L. Stinchcombe. Reviewed By Marvin D. Feit., Marvin D. Feit

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Arthur L. Stinchcombe, The Logic of Social Research. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2005. $ 20.00 papercover.

Letters To The Editor, James Midgley, Harris Chaiklin, Wilma Peebles-Wilkins, Jeanne Marsh, Michael Sherraden, Howard Karger, Cheryl A. Hyde, David Stoesz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

Domestic Violence And Human Rights: Local Challenges To A Universal Framework, Karen Morgaine

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Over the past 15-20 years there has been a dramatic increase in transnational social movements including the movement to eradicate violence against women. This paper examines the development of the transnational women's movement and the prioritizing of violence against women (VAW) as a universal women's agenda using the United Nations (U.N.) human rights conferences as a focal point. As one form of VAW, domestic violence (DV) has been placed into the human rights context by many organizations globally. The implications and possible limitations of universalizing a framework for DV are explored using salient examples from various areas of the world. …

Undermining Progress In Early 20th Century North Carolina: General Attitudes Towards Delinquent African American Girls, Tanya Smith Brice

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article examines efforts made to challenge progress towards adequate service provision for delinquent African American girls in early 20th century North Carolina. This article seeks to explore the nuances of aid, from the African American community and by progressive whites, as it relates to legislative efforts, economic backing and public health issues. It also seeks to examine motivations for engaging in undermining activities.

Sex Panic And The Welfare State, Benjamin Shepard

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

2006 marked the tenth anniversary of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. The 1996 law was the culmination of decades of erosion in backing for basic provisions of the U.S. social safety net. The following reviews the political campaign that undermined thefoundationfor this vital component of the New Deal/Great Society income supports. A series of panics diminished approval for the welfare state, leading to the 1996 "reform." Panic discourse increasingly accompanies policy debate. Examples of anti welfare, anti outsider panic discourses are explored.

Western News, Feb. 22, 2007, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Rozelle gets Distinguished Service Award; Three named "Emerging Scholars"; Obituaries for Robert Barstow, Charles Davis, Edwin Meader; On Campus with Frances Morrow.

Prism #20, February 2007, Office Of The Provost

Prism: Western Michigan University's Newsletter for Academic Affairs

No abstract provided.

Explaining Bureaucratic Optimism: Theory And Evidence From U.S. Executive Agency Macroeconomic Forecasts, George A. Krause, Kevin Corder

Political Science Faculty Publications

We offer a theory of intertemporal bureaucratic decision making which proposes that an agency’s forecast optimism is related to the extent to which it discounts future reputation costs associated with bureaucratic incompetence. Agency forecasts of the distant future are more likely to be optimistic than short-term forecasts. We claim that unstable organizations will discount reputation costs at a steeper rate than stable organizations, and therefore will produce more optimistic forecasts. We test our theory using macroeconomic forecasts produced by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) across six forecast horizons from 1979 to 2003. …

Wmu Board Of Trustees Annual Formal Session January 26, 2007, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

Minutes of the WMU Board of Trustees meeting include appendices:

• Acceptance of the Agenda
• Approval of Minutes
• Election of Officers
• Presidential Search Update
• Cole Gilmore Property Transfer

Western News, Jan. 25, 2007, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Open house showcases new Chemistry Building; Carlson and Johnston are new trustees; Service awards and retirements announced; On Campus with Jim Laser.

Western News, Jan. 11, 2007, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Ombudsman's office reopens; Grand opening set for new chemistry building; Obituaries for Henry Beam, David Flickinger, Maria Jonaitis; On Campus with Lee Smith.

Marginalized Literature In The English Classroom Working With Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel And Dimed, Noelle Carpenter

Honors Theses

Literature in the English classroom should give students the opportunity to explore the voices of a diverse range of people, especially in a school system that is becoming increasingly diverse itself. By exposing students to literature that engages them in important social issues, students become aware of a world beyond their own. Marginalized literature shows students different perspectives that exist in the world in which they live. Ehrenreich's autoethnography Nickel and Dimed is a window into the lives of the working poor based on her own personal experiences and research during a time when the views surrounding those in poverty …

Back In The Saddle Again: How To Prevent Cycling Saddle Sores, Michael G. Miller, David C. Berry

Human Performance and Health Education Faculty Research

Any individuals cycle, competitively or recreationally, for enjoyment or to increase fitness. Although cycling can increase overall cardiovascular fitness while imposing minimal stress on the lower extremity joints, cycling for an extended period of time may render an individual susceptible to undesirable conditions, including tendonitis, bursitis, nerve pathology, impotence, and more commonly, saddle (seat) soreness. Saddle sores usually present as skin lesions of the inner groin and inguinal fold, which are commonly classified into three categories on the basis of severity: (a) chafing, (b) skin ulcerations, and (c) furuncles and folliculitis. The purpose of this report is to discuss different …

Silenced Voices And Structured Survival: Battered Women's Help-Seeking, Angela M. Moe

Sociology Faculty Publications

Despite social and governmental responses to battering, many women continue to feel entrapped in abusive relationships. Using standpoint epistemology, this article examines the various aspects of help seeking, and the social and institutional responses to such efforts, through the narratives of 19 women in a domestic violence shelter. The findings are discussed with reference to Ptacek’s social entrapment perspective and Gondolf and Fisher’s survivor hypothesis, illustrating the socioeconomic and political context of the control tactics utilized by abusers and the structural impediments to battered women’s successful help seeking.

2006/07 Research And Development, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

Electrical and Computer Engineering Newsletter

• Swarm Behavior
• Expanding Your Horizons @ WMU Engineering
• Design of a Reconfigurable Digital Architecture for Fuzzy Automata
• Rehabilitation Engineering
• Integrated Smart Wireless SAW Sensors and Systems
• Early Detection of Prostate Cancer
• Michigan Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) conference provides research opportunities to WMU students

Emeriti News, Winter 2007, Emeriti Council

Emeriti News

Contents from Volume XII, Number 1:

• Wednesdays II
• Emeriti Council Forum
• Emeriti Council Textbook Scholarship
• Emeriti Theater Night
• Exploring Our Campus
• Off Campus Trip
• Western Association of Retired Faculty
• Other Dates to Watch For
• Emeriti Council Elections
• Invest in Your Health