Digital Commons Network^™

Not Working: Latina Immigrants, Low-Wage Jobs And The Failure Of Welfare Reform. Alejandra Marchevsky And Jeanne Theorharis., Rose Barretto

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Rik Pinxten and Ellen Preckler, Racism in Metropolitan Areas. New York: Berghahn Books, 2006. $70.00 hardcover, $22.50 papercover.

Interpersonal Violence And Animals: Mandated Cross-Sector Reporting, Dennis D. Long, Joan H. Long, Shanti J. Kulkarni

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Research indicates an association between interpersonal violence and animal cruelty. This article examine the virtues and limitations of creating statutory authority requiring professionals to report substantiated abuse, neglect, and cruelty across service delivery systems (e.g. child and adult protect services and humane societies). Such a legislative approach authorizes and legitimizes "mandated crosssector reporting." The probative and research value of this type of initiative is examined as well as ethical and political considerations.

Astroturf, Technology And The Future Of Community Mobilization: Implications For Nonprofit Theory, John Mcnutt, Katherine Boland

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Nonprofit Organizations advocate for the poor, the disenfranchised and the oppressed. This process is thought to build social capital and civil society, while engendering the development of social skills and deliberation. In recent years, scholars have observed that nonprofit advocacy organizations have moved from membership associations to professionalized policy change organizations. Virtual advocacy will move the process farther afield. Astroturf, the creation of synthetic advocacy efforts, continues this process further. All of this has troubling implications for nonprofit organizations and nonprofit theory. This paper describes the astroturf phenomenon, reviews pertinent nonprofit theory and speculates on the impact of astroturf for …

Racism In Metropolitan Areas. Rik Pinxten And Ellen Preckler., Rose Barretto

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Rik Pinxten and Ellen Preckler, Racism in Metropolitan Areas. New York: Berghahn Books, 2006. $70.00 hardcover, $22.50 papercover.

Activism, Public Relations, And The Internet: A Case Study Of Moveon.Org, Erich Sommerfeldt

Masters Theses

This thesis explores how an activist organization, MoveOn.org, is using the Internet to meet its public relations needs. MoveOn.org's Web site was analyzed to the extent that MoveOn engaged in three basic functions of public relations. Accordingly, this inquiry asked how MoveOn.org engaged in relationship-building with publics via email action alerts; agenda-stimulation through online information subsidies (press releases); and how MoveOn mobilized organizational resources on its Web site. Results show that MoveOn.org regularly engages in rhetorical relationship building through action alerts with its publics, mainly through Burke's identification by antithesis identification strategy. Keywords from MoveOn's press releases were used in …

Challenges Of Regional Peace After The Comprehensive Peace Agreement In Sudan, Elke Grawert

International Conference on African Development Archives

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), concluded between the Government of Sudan and the leadership of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in January 2005, ended a 22 years lasting civil war. The core of the CPA document is the agreement on power and wealth sharing, tackling the main causes of the conflict: unfair distribution of power and marginalization of the majority of the population. The conclusion of the CPA is not only the merit of the two warring parties but also an outcome of the commitment of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the special envoy of the Kenyan government, …

What Role Should Civil Society Organizations Play To Address Ethnic Conflicts In Ethiopia?, Sisay Gebre-Egziabher

International Conference on African Development Archives

The Ethiopian people are ethnically heterogeneous, speaking multiplicity languages comprising of more than 100 groups. Hence, the country presents a mosaic of nationalities, each speaking a dialect of one of more than 70 languages and has a long history of rich culture and strong social values. Although there were some ethnic-conflicts, that go back a long way, among few of the ethnic groups (mainly for control over resources, such as grazing land, water points, cultivable land), people solved such conflicts using their own conflict resolution mechanism; for instance elders meeting and community tribunal system. The indigenous civil society groups have …

Party Politics, Political Polarization And The Future Of Ethiopian Democracy, Merera Gudina

International Conference on African Development Archives

A closer glance at the source of what appears to be a curse of history can be explained largely by the political polarization and fragmentation between and among Ethiopian political parties, which time and again failed to set a common agenda and mobilize millions for a common good.

Determinants Of Institutional Quality In Sub-Saharan African Countries, Eyerusalem G. Siba

International Conference on African Development Archives

In this study, a number of factors have been considered as potential determinants of institutional quality in sub-Saharan African countries. The empirical analysis has shown that historical factors such as state legitimacy determine the quality of current institutions in the region. Foreign aid dependence is found to erode quality of governance as measured by rule of law, government effectiveness and control of corruption. Variability of aid is found to counterbalance the destructive nature of high level of aid dependence. However, the last result is not retained in the robust regression analysis performed. Countries with strong political constraints on the ruling …

U.S. Policy In The Horn Of Africa, James Swan

International Conference on African Development Archives

No abstract provided.

Households’ Willingness To Resettle And Preference To Forms Of Compensation For Improving Slum Areas In Addis Ababa City, Alebel Bayrau, Genanew Bekele

International Conference on African Development Archives

The spatial, physical and socio-economic condition of Addis Ababa City, in general, is by far behind the requirements fundamental to sustain the livelihood of the City population. The limitations of its current developmental trend and the depth of the existing environmental problems, coupled with the requirements of the projected population of more than 3.5 million people by the year 2010, entail reexamination of constraints and opportunities with the aim of devising appropriate measures and strategies for action. The suggested government intervention strategies, as stated in the report by ORAAMP, include: Relocation and resettlement of residents for efficient utilization of potential …

Security Printing: Towards Hologram Printing, Sachin Ravindra Agate

Masters Theses

Today we are facing many situations where the genuineness of the products and documents is questioned. Counterfeiting the original products has become a business of few people, which result in the degradation of quality of products, loss of money and loss of faith of end user. To prevent such malicious act, security features are added in the final product. Security printing is one of those methods that help in preventing counterfeit products and treachery. There are many different security features, which can be added in the security printing. Apart from those features, an embossed hologram is also included in prints …

The Greater Horn Or Africa: Priming A Strategy And Mechanism For Greater Horn Of Africa Peace, Security And Development, Bt Costantinos

International Conference on African Development Archives

The paper will address threats to national security, real and potential, that include, among others: lack of constitutional order; incapacity to manage disputes; threats of invasion and destabilisation; terrorism; contested borders and natural resource jurisdiction – blood diamonds; small arms; poverty related unrest; ethnic conflicts; feeble governance institutions; human displacement and pandemics.

2 Building Democratic Institutions Of Governance & Civil Institutions, Erku Yimer

International Conference on African Development Archives

The purposes of this paper are threefold. 1. To create a basic understanding of the nature of civic organizations and the role they play in democratization of society as practiced in Western societies. 2. To examine the scope and diversity of some traditional organizations like Idir and Shimglena/Mehal Sefari as practiced in various regions of Ethiopia. 3. To develop ways and means of incorporating and integrating some selected and important civic functions particularly into Idir and Shimglena.

Examining The 2005 Ethiopian Parliamentary Election Results Under Alternative Electoral Rules, John Ishiyama

International Conference on African Development Archives

As many scholars have noted, electoral systems exert a powerful influence on the process of democratization (Taagepera and Shugart, 1989; Horowitz, 1985; Ishiyama 1997). Indeed first competitive or “transitional” elections are crucial moments for newly democratizing countries. Although these elections mark only a beginning point in an often arduous journey, their outcomes crucially affect the future course of democratic transition and democratic consolidation (Olsen 1993; Schmitter 1992; Bermeo, 1987). Indeed, whoever wins the transitional election often has the opportunity to re-write the rules of the game to their advantage and, hence, significantly influence future political developments.

An Ethiopian Dilemma: Deep Structures, Wrenching Processes, Donald N. Levine

International Conference on African Development Archives

Please find attached my keynote address presented August 3 at the 4th International Conference of Ethiopian Development Studies at Western Michigan University. Organized by Professor Sisay Asefa, the Conference assembled an edifying blend of thoughtful, forward-looking Ethiopian scholars, and culminated with inauguration of the new Ethiopian Development Studies Association.

Investors' Willingness To Pay For Urban Land: The Case Of Addis Ababa City, Alebel Bayrau, Genanew Bekele

International Conference on African Development Archives

The spatial, physical and socio-economic conditions of Addis Ababa City, in general, is by far behind the requirements fundamental to sustain the livelihood of the city. In addressing the problems of the city, the suggested government intervention strategies include, among others, the relocation and resettlement of residents for efficient utilization of potential sites, and bringing balanced and coordinated investment/development in different parts of the city. These strategies, so far, seam to concentrate on the supply side and neglected the effective demand of the majority of investors. This study, therefore, aims to assess determinants of investors' willingness to pay for a …

A Post-Marxist Perspective On Chuck Palahniuk’S Early Novels And The Four Plays Of Incarcerated, Ron Riekki

Dissertations

Incarcerated: a collection of four plays includes the plays Home Schooling, Good Behavior, 2 Mics, and All Saints' Day. Incarcerated explores Foucault's carceral networking and Althusser's Ideological and Repressive State Apparatuses as exemplified in characters faced with such cataclysmic events as the Holocaust (Home Schooling and All Saints' Day) and the degradation/slavery of the American prison system (Good Behavior and 2 Mics). In this RCG-centered working class playwriting, we see how performativity is in inherent in carceral sociology, where each character in all four plays has to take masks and costumes and roles in order to …

A Phenomenological Study Assessing African American Women’S Perspectives On Successful Heterosexual Relationships, Shamika Yolanda Latrell Hall

Dissertations

This study seeks to understand successful African American relationships from the perspective of African American females. Recognizing the impact of structural factors on African Americans, as well as the limits of imposing Eurocentric definitions of successful relationships, this study seeks to understand how African American women themselves describe successful relationships and to identify factors that have influenced their ideas about what is required for them to have healthy, happy, long-lasting, nurturing relationships. Design of the present study is informed by findings from Stephens-Williams' (1992) study of successful African American relationships, as well as a broader review of structural, sociological, and …

Evaluation Of A School-Based Program Targeting Pediatric Asthma Self-Management Skills In An Urban Population, Dawn J. Dore-Stites

Dissertations

Asthma is the most commonly diagnosed chronic disorder in childhood and is linked with several problematic outcomes including frequent school absences, increased hospitalizations and decreased quality of life. Further, urban populations struggling with low socioeconomic status are disproportionately represented in prevalence statistics and suffer from increased functional morbidity relative to other children with asthma. These findings exist in the midst of largely effective pharmacological interventions.

Asthma self-management programs (SMPs) target several behaviors linked to improved outcomes and are often used as an adjunct to medication management. SMPs have been employed using a variety of techniques and treatment targets in a …

Wireless Passive Surface Acoustic Wave (Saw) Sensing System, Sridevi Krishnamurthy

Dissertations

Due to their small size and ruggedness, Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) devices have been widely used as part of wireless sensing or identification system especially in inaccessible and inhospitable environments. In addition, SAW devices find widespread applications as filters in communication systems and also as physical, chemical and bio-sensors and ID tags. The passive wireless SAW sensing system mainly consists of a passive SAW sensor and an interrogation unit which sends a burst signal to the SAW sensor and processes the sensor response. Theobjectives of this work were designing, prototyping and fabricating the interrogation unit on a PCB and also …

Women And Hostile Sexism: Effect Of Identification With The Humor Target On Women's Responses To Sexist Jokes, Jessica R. Edel

Masters Theses

This study was designed to contribute to the literature on sexist humor by attempting to establish identification with the humor target as a critical variable mediating the relationship between hostile sexism and women's amusement with sexist humor. Past research has shown a positive relationship between hostile sexism - antagonism towards women (Glick and Fiske, 1996) - and amusement with sexist humor (Ford, 2000; Greenwood & Isbell, 2002). It is possible, however, that this relationship is more complicated for women, who are both the recipient and target of the sexist joke. This study attempted to provide an explanation for why this …

Metaevaluation Case Study Of Four Evaluations Of Osha Vpp Programs, Jafar Momani

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the controversy about shifts in the U.S. Administration's policy related to the Labor Department (OSHA) shift from enforcement to partnerships and voluntary protection programs (VPP). A metaevaluation of four OSHA VPP evaluation reports was conducted and included the investigation of objectives, methodologies, strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Conducting a crosswalk of the 1994 Joint Committee evaluation standards (JCS) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) standards was an opportunity to provide additional validity to the evaluation standards, evaluation reports findings and conclusions, and to highlight the importance of the shared elements between …

Emeriti News, Summer 2007, Emeriti Council

Emeriti News

Contents from Volume XII, Number 2:

• Coming Attractions
• Exploring Our Campus
• Emeriti Flu Clinic
• Emeriti Theatre Matinee
• Election Results: The 2007-2008 Emeriti Council
• The Emeriti Council Webpage
• The Year in Review
• Invest in Your Health

The Western Michigan University Magazine, Summer 2007, Western Michigan University

Western Michigan University Magazine (1997-present)

• Inside and out, it’s a masterpiece
• This year marks WMU’s 50th anniversary as Michigan’s fourth university.
• StoryCorps plumbs local oral histories
• For the love of the game
• Athletics
• College news
• Campus places
• Classnotes/Obituaries

Global Connections—Online!, Maira Bundza

Gatherings: Friends of the University Libraries Newsletter

No abstract provided.