Digital Commons Network^™

Connections 02/2019, College Of Health And Human Services

College of Health and Human Services Newsletter

• 2019 Diversity and Inclusion Conference
• Public health organization awarded for service, research
• Volunteer for the 2019 Day of Caring
• Dr. Mark Nepo at the 2019 Burian Lecture
• Renowned Evaluation Center at WMU receives $4.9 million NSF grant
• Dunbar Hall to be transformed in $40 million renovation project
• University welcomes two explosive-detection K-9s to police force

Wmu Board Of Trustees Formal Session February 1, 2019, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

• Acceptance of the Agenda
• Public Comments Regarding Action Items
• Howard Street Easement
• Consent Items
• General Public Comments

The Road To Resilience: Traveling The Path Less Followed To Realize What Is Possible, Jennifer Fortuna

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Dr. Bernadette Mineo, PhD, OTR/L, an occupational therapist and mixed media artist based in Portland, Oregon, provided the cover art for the Winter 2019 issue of The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (OJOT). The piece, titled “Paper Dolls” (2009), consists of 37 individual paper doll sculptures made from mixed media. Dr. Mineo believes that being an artist is about connecting with one’s creative heart. Her art is about being playful, challenging oneself, and setting up experiments. Engaging in a daily creative art practice has brought joy to Dr. Mineo’s life. Art has empowered her to take risks, build resilience, and …

Increasing Functional Abilities Of People With Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Through Occupational Therapy, Jennifer R. Dochod, Cynthia A. Grapczynski

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

The level of functional impairment that people with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) experience is life changing. Reduced engagement in purposeful and meaning activities because of functional impairments increases the emotional impact of POTS and decreases quality of life. By including occupational therapy early on in treatment, people with POTS can learn ways to adapt, cope, and incorporate changes into their lifestyles. Increasing participation in purposeful and meaningful occupations that are of value to the individual leads to increased quality of life, increased participation in desired roles, increased sense of well-being, and increased perception of health.

The Role Of Occupational Therapy In Functional Literacy, Lenin C. Grajo, Sharon A. Gutman

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

In this Opinions in the Profession article we aim to uniquely articulate the distinct value of and need for functional literacy development in the clients we serve. Functional literacy, as coined in this article, is the ability to interpret common written materials needed to effectively carry out basic daily life skills and participate in meaningful occupations and social roles. We propose three specific strategies through which occupational therapists, across practice settings, developmental stages, and populations, can assume active roles in literacy support as it is embedded in occupation: literacy (a) as a form of occupational justice promotion; (b) as an …

Enhancing Collaborative Practices With Preprofessional Occupational Therapists And Early Childhood Special Education Student Teachers: A Pilot Study, Kathleen M. Farrand, Megan Troxel Deeg, Oaklee Rogers, Allison M. Mullady, Stephanie S. Williams, Bjorg T. Lesueur

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

This article presents the Collaborative Design Model as a tool for developing collaboration and self-efficacy for preprofessional educators and service providers. As student populations continue to become more diverse, preprofessionals entering the classroom must be prepared to collaborate with colleagues effectively and efficiently to address the variety of needs presented in the classroom. Little research exists on the collaboration among preprofessional teachers and preprofessional occupational therapists. The proposed model provides a method for supporting preprofessionals in collaborating to meet the needs of students at risk for or with disabilities. Initial pilot findings suggest the Collaborative Design Model could potentially increase …

A Scoping Review Of Challenges And The Adaptation Process In Academia: Implications For Occupational Therapy Educators, Maria Concepcion C. Cabatan, Lenin C. Grajo, Erlyn A. Sana

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

The fulfillment of role expectations and responsibilities as one builds an academic career can be challenging. Increased demand for occupational therapy faculty merits examination of academic experiences from the literature. This study describes the experiences of educators using adaptation models (Savickas & Porfeli, 2012; Schkade & Schultz, 2003) as a theoretical lens. Arksey and O’Malley’s Scoping Study Framework (2005) was used in the study. Researchers reviewed literature from 2005-2017 from four databases. Researchers analyzed 28 articles from higher education and the health professions using quantitative and qualitative methods. Twenty-two of the 28 articles were published from 2010-2017. The studies analyzed …

The Effects Of The Leisure Activity Of Coloring On Post-Test Anxiety In Graduate Level Occupational Therapy Students, Brittney N. Burton, Mary F. Baxter

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: This study examined the effects of the leisure activity of coloring on the anxiety levels of graduate level occupational therapy students after taking a high stress exam. This study also examined the effects of the leisure activity of coloring on the students’ perceptions of preparedness for and performance on the exam.

Method: The participants were recruited for this quantitative, pre/posttest study through a purposive convenience sample and randomly assigned to either the leisure activity or the control. A self-report assessment was used for data collection. The changes in anxiety levels were examined using a repeated measures analysis …

Older Adults And Photo-Elicited Perspectives On Shopping For Groceries In A Changing Community, Lori E. Breeden, Alessandra Planera, Lauren Kirchner, Samantha Asencio, Matthew Branden, Evan Dunlap, Alex Robinson, Samantha Stevens, Sally Wasmuth

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: A community experiencing gentrification created challenges for older adults and their ability to access food. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine barriers and facilitators perceived by three urban-dwelling older adults during their grocery shopping experiences.

Methods: The researchers conducted photo-elicitation supported interviews to gather information on grocery shopping from three older adults attending a local senior center. Photo-elicited interviews were conducted, and the thematic analysis examined the participants’ perspectives on their experiences.

Results: Thematic analysis revealed the participants’ experiences in a changing landscape. In the categories of community resources, transportation, and the store, …

The Sensory Processing 3-Dimensions Scale: Initial Studies Of Reliability And Item Analyses, Shelley Mulligan, Sarah A. Schoen, Lucy Jane Miller, Andrea Valdez, Deborah Magalhaes

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: The Sensory Processing 3-Dimensions Scale (SP-3D) is a performance-based measure for assessing sensory processing abilities and challenges, including sensory modulation, sensory discrimination, and sensory-based motor disorders. Initial studies of reliability were conducted, and item response theory was applied to assist in refining the measure.

Methods: Descriptive and correlational methods were used to examine internal consistency of the scales and inter-rater reliability. Item response theory using Rasch analyses was applied to examine unidimensionality of scales, model fit, and item difficulty.

Results: Internal consistency for most measures was acceptable, demonstrating the subtests, domains, and behavior scales as distinct …

Effects Of Partnerships Between Adolescents With Developmental Disabilities And Service Dogs, Terry K. Crowe, Jean C. Deitz, Melissa Y. Winkle, Rachel A. Nelson, Jennifer Woolf

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: With increasing frequency, service dogs are being placed with children with developmental disabilities (DDs). Occupational therapists and other professionals have advocated for the therapeutic use of service dog partnerships to facilitate greater independence and quality of life. There are no studies that examine service dog intervention with adolescents.

Method: This study focused on the effects of partnerships between service dogs and three participant dyads, each including an adolescent with DDs and a parent. A single-subject, alternating treatment design was used to compare the effects of two conditions (service dog present or not present). The effects were examined …

The Lived Experiences Of Occupational Therapists In Transitioning To Leadership Roles, Shawn Sasha Shams, Ravneet Batth, Andrea Duncan

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Several studies on leadership in occupational therapy have discussed the key qualities of leadership and its importance, even though little is known about the transition process into leadership roles. This research examined the lived experiences of occupational therapists who have transitioned from a clinical to a leadership role and identified the supports and challenges that were found to be important.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were used to gain insight into the transition process of five occupational therapy professional practice leaders. NVivo software was used to organize and analyze the qualitative data.

Results: Three common themes were identified as “supports” for …

Quiet: The Power Of Introverts In A World That Can't Stop Talking: A Book Analysis, Molly Goaley

The Hilltop Review

The topics addressed in Quiet are important to nonscholarly and academic audiences because introversion is a universal personality trait that affects us all in some way. If we are not introverts ourselves, we have colleagues, supervisors, family members, friends or children who are. Studies of extroversion and introversion in organizational teamwork (Zanin & Bisel, 2018), office environments (McElroy & Morrow, 2010), and leadership (Grant et al., 2011) therefore have practical implications regardless of personality type. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast Cain’s work with the existing scholarly research in order to gain a deeper understanding of …

Subjective Religiosity And Organized Religiosity As A Predictor Of Sexual Affect Among African Americans, Janelle B. Grant, Kyla Day Fletcher

The Hilltop Review

Historically, religiosity and attendance at a church with a majority African American or Black population was of practical value for African Americans, these branches of practicality extended to sexual health, such as delayed sexual intercourse and higher instances of using contraception. Overall, however, public sexual discourses show some African American communities as “at risk” regarding sexual health, which can make an African American individual feel negatively about their sexual experiences. The current study aimed to understand how subjective religiosity and organized religiosity influenced African Americans to experience a positive, negative, or shameful sexual affect, We found that higher levels of …

Pleasure In Virtue: The Possibility Of Willful Virtuous Behavior, Kaleb Terbush

The Hilltop Review

Virtuous behavior has often been construed as having three requisite elements: right action, done for the right reason, and also carried out with the “right feeling,” i.e. without the contrary inclination of Aristotle’s merely continent individual. Some have argued that even if the right motivating reason(s) for action might not be directly within our power to act on at will, there are a number of steps we can take in order to make ourselves more responsive to the appropriate reasons – thus giving us indirect control over which reasons we take to be compelling. However, I believe that such accounts …

There’S No “Me” In “Imgur”: Applying Side Theory And Content Analysis To Viral Posts On Imgur.Com, Ryan P. Castillo

The Hilltop Review

The Social Identity model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE) asserts that social (i.e., collective) identities are more salient under conditions of anonymity, prompting “deindividuation” as group members place more focus on community standards and downplay individual differences. As a result of deindividuation, social standards become the driving force of group interaction, and the successful practice of group norms identify individuals’ in-group status while reinforcing the social identity of the community. The current study applies the SIDE model to the anonymous image-sharing platform Imgur.com to ascertain whether self-referential posts are assessed more negatively than other-referential and non-directed content, and to examine whether …

The Hilltop Review, Vol 11, No 1, Fall 2018

The Hilltop Review

No abstract provided.

Blind Spots Of Knowledge In Shakespeare And His World, Subha Mukherji

Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Culture

A "blind spot" suggests an obstructed view, or partisan perception, or a localized lack of understanding. Just as the brain "reads" the "blind spot" of the visual field by a curious process of readjustment, Shakespearean drama disorients us with moments of unmastered and unmasterable knowledge, recasting the way we see, know and think about knowing. Focusing on such moments of apparent obscurity, this volume puts methods and motives of knowing under the spotlight, and responds both to inscribed acts of blind-sighting, and to the text or action blind-sighting the reader or spectator. While tracing the hermeneutic yield of such occlusion …

College Of Arts And Sciences: Winter 2019, College Of Arts And Sciences

College of Arts and Sciences news

• WMU part of $2.3 million program that boosts diversity in economics
• National association honors historian for service
• Researcher earns prestigious fellowship for brain cell regeneration study
• Three students win scholarships through Arts and Sciences Study Abroad Photo Contest
• Bronco Brewery Bus Tour
• WMU appoints proven leader as new VP for development and alumni relations

Truth 2018-2019, University Center For The Humanities

University Center for the Humanities Events

The truth is easy. Tell me it’s raining outside, or not. But we know the truth is easy only until it’s not. When it really matters, and when matters are complex, the truth is in question, contested, open to interpretation, subject to doubt, even strategically denied. On the big questions, truth functions as a fragile, even suspect ideal. For this reason, truth has long been a central theme of the humanities. What should we believe, whom should we trust, how can we capture and face deep truths about ourselves, our social lives, the fundamental conditions of life and well-being? This …

Research And Innovation, January 2019, Office Of Vice President For Research

Research and Discovery News

• The Office of Human Research Protections has set Jan. 21 for the Implementation of the Final Rule on the "Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects" (Common Rule)
• Undergraduate Award for Research and Creative Scholarship Excellence Recipients Named
• Changes in FY19 to NIH Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA)/R15 Program
• The Center for the Study of Ethics Speaker Series to feature talks on the Opioid Crisis and Addiction Prevention
• NSF CAREER Workshop Feb. 15
• Feb. 19 Discovery Acceleration Workshop
• Reminder of Internal Funding Deadlines for Spring 2019
• Federal Agencies Impacted by the Partial Government Shutdown
• Kay Mortellaro Selected as Research …

2019 Year In Review: Wmu College Of Arts And Sciences News, College Of Arts And Sciences

College of Arts and Sciences news

• College of Arts and Sciences News
• Student News
• Faculty News
• Alumni News

Counselor Education And Counseling Psychology 2019 News, College Of Education And Human Development

Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology News

• Craig appointed to Michigan Board of Counseling
• 2019 CECP Awards Reception
• 2019 Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology faculty publications and presentations roundup
• Schoolcraft Community Schools Walk to Western
• WMU enrollment is up in teacher preparation programs

Western Michigan University Graduate Catalog 2019-2020, Western Michigan University

Western Michigan University Course Catalogs (1904-present)

• General Information
• Colleges
• Course Descriptions (by prefix)
• Faculty

Western Michigan University Undergraduate Catalog 2019-2020, Western Michigan University

Western Michigan University Course Catalogs (1904-present)

• General Information
• Colleges
• Course Descriptions (by prefix)
• Faculty

Do Social Workers Support Nasw's Political Activism? Evidence From Texas, Richard Hoefer, Brandi Jean Felderhoff, Larry Watson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

According to the NASW Code of Ethics, social workers are called to engage in political activity at the micro, mezzo and macro levels for the advancement of social justice and human rights. NASW has mechanisms in place to aggregate the voices of individual social workers through political activity. Drawing on a model of civic voluntarism, the aim of this study was to examine the impact of political activity on decisions by Texas social workers to join or re-join NASW, as well as their opinions on the political engagement of NASW/Texas. This study employs a non-experimental, exploratory, cross-sectional survey design to …

Journal Of Sociology And Social Welfare Vol. 46 No. 1

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

Review Of Child Welfare: An Integrative Perspective. Cathleen A. Lewandowski, Yemo Duan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Cathleen A. Lewandowski, Child Welfare: An Integrative Perspective. Oxford University Press (2019), 320 pages, $65 (paperback).

Back To Addams And Richmond: Was Social Work Really A Divided House In The Beginning?, John B. Thompson, Richard Spano, Terry L. Koenig

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social work has experienced unique tensions related to its professional identity and dual purpose of social reform and individualized treatment. Scholars have represented this dual purpose, epitomized by Jane Addams and Mary Richmond, as indicating irreconcilable differences. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the writings and speeches of Mary Richmond and Jane Addams, and, based on this inquiry, to assert that their respective approaches to social work are much more unified than often suggested. Specific themes examined include: acceptance and need for each other’s perspectives; compatibility and unity of perspectives; and their collaboration as critical for effecting social …

Measurement Of Childhood Poverty In The United States And Its Enduring Influences, Zi Yang

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper measures childhood poverty in the United States and classifies it into three degrees based on different durations – persistent poverty, chronic transient poverty, and non-chronic transient poverty – using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) data and actual poverty thresholds in the United States. Then I examine the enduring influences of different types of childhood poverty on future performance, including academic achievement, income, and criminal behavior, utilizing OLS and logistic models as well as Mincer wage functions. The regression results show that childhood poverty has a negative impact on schooling years and earnings. Living in poverty increases …