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Community In Liberal Thought, Richard C. Brill

Masters Theses

The aim of this thesis is to research the role of community in liberal thought. The problem that has initiated this research is the erosion of traditional communal bonds in contemporary liberal society. This problem has been the focus of the debate between communitarians and liberals for the past two decades. The research problem will be to discover workable definitions of community and liberalism which have been plagued with multiple interpretations throughout the debate.

The method of this thesis will be to first frame in the environment of the original problem. The second chapter will address the precedents set by …

Privacy And Information Technology, Judith Wagner Decew

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented March 17, 1997 for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society

Fuzzy Based Forebody Vortex Flow Controller For The X-29a Aircraft, Jin Suzuki

Masters Theses

This paper demonstrates the development and performance of A Fuzzy Logic based regulator for an aircraft which is equipped with pneumatic forebody Vortex Flow Controller at high angle-of-attack flight condition. The VFC provides the pilot additional control power at flight conditions where conventional effectors such as rudder and differential flaps lose effectiveness.

Fuzzy Logic Control (FLC) is applied to a mixed bang-bang and conventional type control system. This unique configuration ensures robustness of the system and simplifies the controller design. Performance of the FLC based regulator shows a 10.3% reduction in cost function compared to the system controlled by a …

Assessing The Pragmatic Skills Of Adolescents With And Without Learning Disabilities On A Dramatization Task, Amy L. Juergens

Masters Theses

This study was designed to compare the pragmatic skills of adolescents with and without learning disabilities as measured by a dramatization task. Seventeen high school students with learning disabilities and 17 normal-achieving high school students participated in this study. Twenty scenes were presented verbally to the participants who were instructed to act out the part of a character in each scene, making up the dialogue to fit the scene. The responses were scored for their pragmatic appropriateness and linguistic quality. Task reliability and validity analyses indicated that the dramatization task was an effective measure of key aspects of pragmatic skills. …

Women In The Fuero Real Of Alfonso X El Sabio: Thirteenth-Century Law And Society, Michelle Martin De Figueroa

Masters Theses

The history of Iberia, unlike her European counterparts, was formed through the interaction of Christians, Jews and Mouslims. Thirteenth-century life, influenced by the Reconquest and friction between these groups, adapted to the turbulent nature of Castilian frontier society. With each military contest, Castilian society evolved to meet the demand placed upon her strained resources and citizenry. Women played a paramount role in this process. Through the use of legal codes as historical sources, the roles, rights and responsibilities of women can be established and assessed. This provides historians with an opportunity to view this period of time and the social …

Little Golden Bookstm: An Analysis Of Every Child’S Literature, Sandra Ballman-Burke

Masters Theses

Modeling theory proposes that consequences received by the model are considered critical in determining whether or not modeled behaviors will be imitated (Bandura, Ross & Ross, 1961).

Despite the apparent significance of consequences, analyses of children's literature have failed to explore this link. Utilizing feminist research perspectives, I sought to examine variables explored in previous analyses of picture books, with emphasis on consequences received by models. I was interested in (a) consequences received by female and male characters when engaged in instrumental/independent activities (Kortenhaus & Demarest, 1993); (b) the ways in which female and male characters are stereotyped; and (c) …

The Implications Of Deweyan Pragmatism For Liberal Democracies, Robert B. Fenneuff

Masters Theses

My research explores John Dewey's political theory in order to determine what practical and theoretical significance it has for liberal democratic nation-states that face significant problems in a number of areas. The problems Dewey's political theory is most concerned with stem from the impact of highly complex modern technology upon the ability of a democratic society to strive closer towards its ideals of freedom , equality, and community. My research shows that Dewey's theory calls for an experimental re-creation of social and political institutions with the purpose of creating an effective means by which society can organize the complex technology …

Women's Autonomy In Late Anglo-Saxon England Based On The Place-Name Evidence, Norman B. Frost

Masters Theses

My thesis discusses two related and highly significant points and then demonstrates the usefulness of a new methodology, in the form of place names. Firstly it elaborates the importance of presenting accurate women's history to both women and the historical profession as a whole and the necessity for making every attempt to explore any possible resource for accomplishing that goal.

Secondly it addresses the importance of language as an historical tool that can represent a very broad base of a past society in revealing the common cultural thoughts, morals, and ethics of the population within a specific area and time …

Western News, May 22, 1997, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: 'The numbers just don't add up, ' Haenicke tells senate, Baxter; Powell recognized as Women of Achievement, Kynaston noted for work in instrumental jazz program, Internationalization efforts moving ahead with creation of new center and department, $11.2 million from NSF adds up to mathematics revolution, Hampton joins Employee Assistance Program, WMU faculty member checks in with media around the world following chess match.

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.

Teaching Pragmatic Languageawareness As An Integral Aspect Of Reading And Language Arts Instruction, Monica Gordon Pershey

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Many teachers are continually refining their instructional practices to offer an integrated language arts approach that engages learners in a variety of opportunities to interact with literature and its linguistic components. As Sawyer and Sawyer (1993) suggest, integrative classroom approaches involve lengthy and varied discussion about literature, use readings that are meaningful to learners, and help students overtly examine their own processes of thinking about language.

Reading Horizons Vol. 37, No. 4

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Complete issue of Reading Horizons volume 37, issue 4.

Improving Parental Involvement In Children's Literacy, Kathy Everts Danielson

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The influence of the home environment on children's learning has long been recognized as significant. While many schools strive to involve families, others complain about parent apathy. Mavrogenes (1990) points out that teachers andprincipals need to question their assumption that low-income parents do not care about their children's education. It is likely that many parents are willing to help, but have few ideas about how to provide help, or have negative memories of school themselves. Parents' insecurity in the school setting may indeed be read as parental apathy (Greenberg, 1989; Moles, 1982).

The Military-Bureaucracy Relationship In Nigeria: A Study Of Public Policy Making And Implementation, Robert Aziakpono Dibie

Dissertations

The Federal Government of Nigeria’s Structural Adjustment/Make-or-Buy policy was introduced in July 1986 to accelerate the development of Nigerian industrial capacity by contracting government R & D out to the private sector. This study expands the empirical and theoretical analyses of development policy and its implementation that have traditionally relied on motives of "rationality" (costs/benefits) to explain bureaucratic behavior. It examines and juxtaposes the military-dominated policy making apparatus with the traditional bureaucracy, which has the responsibility for the execution of public policy. It also attempts to make some contribution to Nigerian and comparative literature in the field of industrial development …

Western News, March 27, 1997, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Saturn executive to speak as part of Haworth series, Faculty; students honored for outstanding achievements, Scholarship for social work students established in honor of longtime WMU faculty member, Grants exceed $15.5 million at eight-month mark, Economist to discuss the sources of Fed bias, Eighth annual pow wow expected to draw nearly 5,000 to University Arena April 5-6, EduCABLE carrying Michigan Government TV.

Domestic Violence In The Korean Immigrant Family, Siyon Rhee

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article was supported in part by the University Research Grant from California State University, Los Angeles.

This study examines the prevalence of wife abuse among Korean immigrant families in the United States and factors contributing to domestic violence in this population. One of the most serious problems facing the Korean community is spouse abuse. Immigrant Korean families are reported to experience the highest rate of domestic violence among diverse Asian American groups in Los Angeles. Research findings indicate that wife abuse is much more prevalent among the immigrant Korean population in comparison to other ethnic groups. Correlates and factors …

Pasolini's Decameron And Teaching The Middle Ages, F. Regina Psaki

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Women In The Vernacular And The Periodization Of Medieval German Literature , John M. Jeep

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Sheri Holman, A Stolen Tongue. Atlantic Monthly Press, 1997 , Lara Farina

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Reading Horizons Vol. 37, No. 3

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Complete issue of Reading Horizons volume 37, issue 3.

A Kindergarten Writing Workshop: How Kindergarten Students Grow As Writers, Marjorie Hertz, Warren Heydenberk

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The emergence of process writing and the advent of whole language during the 1980's challenged the 50 year practice of focusing on reading before teaching writing to young children. Today, writing as well as reading is clearly of great interest from the earliest stages of literacy development.

Literacy Development Of Rural Appalachian Five Year Olds, Connie Green

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

As a teacher and researcher in a kindergarten classroom, I was interested in documenting the literacy development of several of the children in my class to determine the impact of the social and cultural environment. In the early 1980's, Heath (1983) researched the language and literacy development of three cultural groups in the Piedmont Carolinas. Her work revealed distinct differences in approaches to language and literacy among working class Anglo-Americans, working class African-Americans, and middle class Anglo-Americans. The observations discussed in this paper seek to ascertain whether there are unique approaches to early literacy among children reared in a rural …

Cultural Aspects Of Learning Science, William W. Cobern, Glen Aikenhead

Scientific Literacy and Cultural Studies Project

Over the past few decades our focus on learning science has evolved (Aikenhead, 1996; Cobern, 1993, 1994; Solomon, 1994). The psychological perspectives on the individual learner of earlier years, such as Piaget, Ausubel, and personal constructivism (West and Pines, 1985), have expanded to encompass sociological perspectives that contextualize learning in social settings; for instance, social constructivism, science for specific social purposes, and situated cognition (Goodnow, 1990; Hennessy, 1993; Layton, Davey and Jenkins, 1986; O'Loughlin, 1992; Solomon, 1987; Tharp and Gallimore, 1988). This chapter addresses the next stage in the evolution of our focus on learning science—an anthropological perspective that contextualizes …

Faculty Senate Yearbook, 1997-98, Wmu Faculty Senate

WMU Faculty Senate Yearbooks

No abstract provided.

Case Study Analysis In Reding/Language Arts: Getting To The "Nitty-Gritty", Janet H. Towell

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

On the first day of class in a graduate reading assessment and evaluation course, my students were asked to formulate a list of questions in cooperative groups that should be considered when doing a case study on a student to assess his or her skills and abilities including strengths and needs in read ing/language arts. They were asked to think of any areas of concern that may affect the student's academic performance such as social or emotional factors. The following table of 20 questions was compiled by this group of 16 inservice teachers with varying levels of experience and expertise. …

Reading Horizons Vol. 37, No. 2

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Complete issue of Reading Horizons volume 37, issue 2.

Illustrations, Text, And The Child Reader: What Are Pictures In Children's Storybooks For?, Zhihui Fang

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Picture books are profusely illustrated books in which the illustrations are, to varying degrees, essential to the en joyment and understanding of the story (Tomlinson and Lynch-Brown, 1996). As the most characteristic form of children's literature (Nodelman, 1996), picture books hold a prominent place in children's literature because of the juxtaposition of pictures and words. Thanks to the public's acute awareness of the importance of childhood in human devel opment, to professional critical evaluation of children's literature, as well as to the advances in printing technology and art reproduction, children's literature has witnessed a dramatic increase in well-illustrated picture books.

Simple Lessons From Multicultural Children, Joanne Cunard

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

After designing, initiating, and collecting observational data for two years from a program for a kindergarten class of children representing several different ethnic groups, we present you with some insights to be considered by teachers and faculty.

The Relationship Of Crime Patterns To Social And Ecological Conditions In Grand Rapids, Michigan: 1980-1990, Christine L. Mcgavin

Masters Theses

The spatial distribution of the relationship between crime rates and urban ecology in Grand Rapids, Michigan over time is the focus of this study. Urban ecology can often be measured by indicators of social disorganization. Five crimes (larceny, burglary, robbery, aggravated assault, and homicide) were regressed with several indicators of social disorganization. The independent variables were poverty, transience, family disorganization, the percentage of youth in the population, race, and household density. Both violent and property crimes were strongly related to race while specific crimes were related to poverty, family disorganization, the percentage of youth in the population, and transience. Property …

On Interpreting Strong Supervenience, Zachary J. Ernst

Masters Theses

Jaegwon Kim's definition of strong supervenience has found application in such areas as the mind-body problem, aesthetics, morality, and the relationship between physics and the special sciences. The main reason for the popularity of supervenience is that it purportedly has a long laundry list of virtues. For instance, it has been claimed that supervenience accounts are non-reductive, capable of empirical verification, simple with respect to ontology, and explanatorily powerful.

In this paper, I examine Kim's definition of strong supervenience, arguing that a fundamental ambiguity in the definition makes it impossible for strong supervenience to possess all of these virtues simultaneously. …