Digital Commons Network^™

Arts & Sciences Enews: Fall 2018, College Of Arts And Sciences

College of Arts and Sciences news

• A deep dive into freshwater science and sustainability
• Testing the interdunal waters
• Battling toxic blooms
• Managing water wisely
• Michigan's salty lakes
• World-renowned economist to receive distinguished scholar award
• Three high-profile graduates to receive WMU's top alumni honor
• 2018 Alumni Achievement Awards
• A Physics approach to stroke rehabilitation
• Alumnus, storyteller brings American legend to the screen
• WMU Giving Day

Emeriti News, Fall 2018, Emeriti Council

Emeriti News

No abstract provided.

The Socializer - Fall 2018, Department Of Sociology

The Socializer

Fall 2018 Sociology departmental newsletter.

Western Michigan University Magazine, Fall/Winter 2018-19, Western Michigan University

Western Michigan University Magazine (1997-present)

• Harnessing the Future of Product Design
• Bronco's Billion-dollar Impact
• MLK Academy: 50 Years of Achievement
• All in for Student Success
• Esports: State of Play
• Medicine + Engineering
• Orchestral Fellow
• First Person
• Alumni Profile
• Classnotes
• In Memoriam
• In Print

Contemplative Pedagogy In The Classroom: Engaging Students’ Self-Awareness To Enhance Learning, Michele Mcgrady

Academic Leadership Academy

Contemplative pedagogy offers unique opportunities for students to deepen their understanding and focus through introspection, reflection, and stillness. Contemplative practices, such as meditative exercises, movement, and writing allow students to understand the nature of their minds and the learning process. Through the use of contemplative practices, students experience increased attention, connection, creativity, as well as a deeper understanding of course material. Although critics may question the appropriateness of these practices in the classroom, contemplative pedagogy has the ability to positively impact students’ learning. This presentation invites participants to explore contemplative pedagogy and discuss ways to integrate practices into learning activities.

Contemplative Pedagogy In The Classroom: Engaging Students’ Self-Awareness To Enhance Learning, Michele Mcgrady

Instructional Development Grants

Contemplative pedagogy offers unique opportunities for students to deepen their understanding and focus through introspection, reflection, and stillness. Contemplative practices, such as meditative exercises, movement, and writing allow students to understand the nature of their minds and the learning process. Through the use of contemplative practices, students experience increased attention, connection, creativity, as well as a deeper understanding of course material. Although critics may question the appropriateness of these practices in the classroom, contemplative pedagogy has the ability to positively impact students’ learning. This presentation invites participants to explore contemplative pedagogy and discuss ways to integrate practices into learning activities.

Fall Convocation 2018 Program, Office Of Faculty Development

Fall Convocation

A program for the Fall 2018 convocation, giving information on programs to improve student learning, including Creating Effective Teaching Environments, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Experiences, Assessment as Ally. It also includes the Convocation Ceremony with 2018 Faculty and Staff Award winners and the State of the University Address by President Edward Montgomery.

Wmu Board Of Trustees Formal Session September 12, 2018, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

• Acceptance of the Agenda
• Approval of the Minutes
• Remarks by the Chair
• Remarks by the President
• Comments by the Faculty Senate President
• Comments by the Western Student Association President
• Comments by the Graduate Student Association President
• Transforming Undergraduate Experiences Through Research and Creative Scholarship
• Economic Impact of Western Michigan University
• Public Comments Regarding Action Items
• Capital Outlay Priority List
• BOT Meeting Dates 2019
• Proclamation - Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Gamma Beta Chapter
• Proclamation - Upsilon Gamma Chapter 50TH Anniversary Celebration
• Proclamation - MLK Academy Celebrating Program Founder, Dr. Roger Pulliam
• Consent Items
• General Public Comments

Grandparent Caregivers’ Perceptions And Lived Experiences: Their Health And Wellbeing, Access To Health And State Of Health Services In Zimbabwe, Magen M. Mutepfa Dr

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

The study explored the perceptions and lived experiences of self-rated health, access to health, and state of health services for grandparent caregivers in Zimbabwe. In–depth interviews using semi-structured interview guides were carried out to elicit perceptions of lived experiences from grandparent caregivers (N=31; Mean age= 65.7; SD= 10.7). The data was thematically analysed and the software Nvivo 10 was used to help categorize emergent themes. The study found that grandparent caregivers experienced multiple chronic and complex self-rated health conditions (e.g., High blood pressure (HBP), arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, back pain, and heart problems), which influenced their health and Quality of Life …

Caregiving In Sub-Saharan Africa And Older, Female Caregivers In The Era Of Hiv/Aids: A Namibian Perspective, Eveline N. Kalomo, Fred H. Besthorn

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) have created an unprecedented ‘orphan crisis’ in sub-Saharan Africa. They have had a devastating impact on elder caregivers. Over 60% of children affected by HIV/AIDS are being care for by aging, often impoverished, grandmothers (AVERT, 2015). Yet there is a dearth of empirical work on the devastating impact of this pandemic on grandmothers. This article offers an overview of the literature with respect to what is currently known about caregivers generally and, specifically, older caregivers of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in sub-Saharan Africa. It addresses emerging policy …

Conflicts, Concerns And Family Circumstances In Custodial Grandmothers Over 8 Years, Cristina Noriega, Carol Musil, Jaclene Zauszniewski, Camille Warner

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Although many grandmothers raising grandchildren experience transitions in their roles as family strains and circumstances change, little longitudinal data has been examined. This qualitative study assessed the relationships between custodial grandmothers’ appraisals of their family conflicts and concerns and family circumstances across eight years. Participants were thirty-five Ohio grandmothers who were raising their grandchildren in 2006-2007 and provided additional self-report survey data in 2008-2009 and 2014-2015. Data were gathered from open-ended questions that were analyzed through conventional content analysis. The reported concerns were financial and emotional difficulties, grandchildren outcomes, mental and physical health of the grandchild and other family members, …

Kinship Diversion In The District Of Columbia: A Review Of Local Practice To Inform National Policy, Marla P. Spindel, Beth A. Stekler, Stephanie Ridgway Mcclellan

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

This article addresses a practice commonly known in the child welfare community as “kinship diversion,” where a child welfare agency informally places children with relatives as an alternative to foster care. While evidence predominantly shows that abused and neglected children have better outcomes when they are placed with relatives when they cannot remain safely at home, serious concerns about these children’s safety and well-being arise when the placement with relatives is informal. Indeed, it is often not understood that these same relatives can be approved as foster parents and can receive essential financial assistance and supportive services to help safely …

Complete Issue: Volume 5, Issue 1

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Complete Issue, Volume 5, 1 (2018)

Globally Engaged September 24, 2018, Haenicke Institute

Global News

Global Engagement Opportunities for Monday, September 24th to Monday, October 1st, 2018.

September 2018 Cehd Newsletter, College Of Education And Human Development

College of Education and Human Development News

• CEHD Graduate Named Top Teacher
• Giving Day
• Golden Apple Award Winners
• Emerging Scholar Award
• Night of Excellence
• A Coach's Quiet Ascent

16-03 The Effects Of High Visibility Enforcement On Driver Compliance To Pedestrian Stop Right-Of-Way Laws In Ann Arbor, Mi, Ron Van Houten, Jun-Seok Oh, De'lon Dixon

Transportation Research Center Reports

The purpose of this study was to replicate the findings of Van Houten et. al. (2013) demonstrating that a multifaceted program could increase the percentage of motorist’s yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks on a community basis in Gainesville, FL, and that these changes actually improved further over a four year follow-up period (Van Houten et. al. (2017). The current study replicated the original findings in a similar sized city in a different region of the US (Ann Arbor, MI). Stopping for pedestrians in Ann Arbor increased from a mean of 28.5% to 65.2% at the treatment sites, which also received …

Western News, August, 30, 2018, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Vol. 45 No. 1

WMU goes all in to promote student success

New administrators named, VP search launched

Around campus and beyond

Summer News

Fall News

On Campus

Green Burials: The Deinstitutionalization Of Death, A A. Bouverette 3906173

The Hilltop Review

Abstract

Methods for preparing and burying the dead vary widely across time and cultures, but an enduring theme persists in ritualistic deposition. Some forms of disposal include inhumation, cremation, entombment, sea submersion and methods of exposure (Spellman, 2014). For many cultures, an exposed corpse or one that had not been given ritualized funeral rites was viewed as improper or neglectful. Exposed or rotting bodies is also associated with disease and illness (Feagan. 2007).

The transition from natural burial to preservative practices is a recent invention created in response to mass death during a wartime period (Stowe, Schmidt & Green, 2001). …

The Unpardonable Reader, Ariel Berry

The Hilltop Review

Hawthorne’s prefaces to his romances, though largely ignored as a composite body of work, contain key insights into reading his fiction. Each preface is a sort of instruction manual directed toward the reader. He expects empathy from his readers and openness to his version of magical realism. A study of Hawthorne’s concept of the “Unpardonable Sin” as presented in “Ethan Brand” reveals that these reading instructions warn against a similar crime, that of a cold lack of empathy and tendency toward disbelief. On a much smaller scale, then, it becomes clear that a reader who does not follow Hawthorne’s instructions …

The Hilltop Review, Vol 10, No 1, Fall 2017

The Hilltop Review

No abstract provided.

Emerging Issues On Research On Conflict, Terrorism And Development, Adesoji Adelaja

International Conference on African Development

No abstract provided.

How To Help Kids Succeed - School-Based Programs And Social Mobility, Theresa Bell

Honors Theses

Education is the key to Social Mobility and unless children from poor families get a college degree, their economic mobility is severely restricted (Tough, 2016 pg 2). In November of 2005, the City unveiled a college tuition incentive to Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS) graduates, The Kalamazoo Promise. According to the Kalamazoo Promise website (2017), the purpose of the Promise is to, “provide a real meaningful and tangible opportunity for all students,” as “education is an important key to financial wellbeing.” Though access to an affordable college education is possible for Kalamazoo students eligible for The Promise, the numbers show that …

Wmu To Expand Offerings In Youth And Community Development, College Of Education And Human Development

Family and Consumer Sciences News

Youth and community development (YCD) is a quickly-professionalizing field, and WMU’s new master of arts degree and graduate certificate program in the College of Education and Human Development complete a continuum of community-based professional development opportunities available at the university.

Black Graduate Students’ Experiences Of Stress And Coping, Shealyn J. Blanchard

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of Black graduate students related to stress and coping. Specifically, this study seeks to further examine the concept of cognitive appraisal and help-seeking intentions among Black graduate students. Research has indicated that Black graduate students face unique stressors related to race, in addition to general stress demands that can be experienced in graduate education programs. Regarding help-seeking, the literature has tended to focus on psychological help-seeking attitudes with African American populations and undergraduate students. This present study utilizes theories from stress and coping, as well as help-seeking and planned behavior, …

Using Mindset Pedagogy To Promote Growth And Increase Efficacy In Student Writers, Sara Hoeve

Dissertations

This dissertation offers four in-depth, vivid profiles of twelfth grade writers and the ways in which writing mindsets impact self-beliefs and inform the writing process. The multiple case study explores the impact of a mindset pedagogy, which is defined as an instructional paradigm that emphasizes the malleable nature of writing, as an ability that can be developed with effort, learning, and dedication over time. This belief contrasts the notion that writing ability is fixed trait that cannot be significantly developed over time.

Derived from Dweck's mindset theory, my dissertation argues for a discipline-specific construct of the "writing mindset,” which refers …

Training Pediatric Primary Care Providers In Behavior Management Strategies, Kate Burger

Dissertations

Childhood mental health disorders are a significant public health concern in the United States. It is estimated that every year 13 to 20% of children living in the United States experience a mental health disorder (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2009). Despite the clear need for mental health care, less than half (45.6%) of children with one or more emotional, behavioral, or developmental conditions receive treatment from a mental health professional (The National Survey of Children's Health, 2007). There is growing evidence that integrating mental health services into pediatric primary care can result in increased treatment access as …

Qualitative Analogue Study On Student Therapist’S Reactions To Client Suicidality, Cynthia A. Beevers

Dissertations

Suicidal clients are a reality for both professional and student therapists providing counseling (Chemtob et al., 1988; Dexter-Mazza & Freeman, 2003; Goodman, 1995; Howard, 2000; Jacobson, Ting, Sanders, & Harrington, 2004; Kleespies, Penk, & Forsyth, 1993; Kleespies, Smith, & Becker, 1990; Mackelprang, Karle, & Cash, 2014; McAdams & Foster, 2000). Previous research has investigated the experiences of professional therapists working with suicidal clients, but little is known about student therapists’ experiences with suicidal clients. Only two studies were found investigating the experiences of student therapists working with suicidal clients (Kleespies et al., 1993; Kleespies et al., 1990). However, in the …

Perspective Taking, Multicultural Course Completion, And Political Ideology Affiliation Effects On Zero-Sum Belief Endorsement By White Counseling Trainees, Lindsay A. Okonowsky

Dissertations

Research suggests many Whites tend to see racism as a zero-sum game, which means they believe gains for one group necessitate losses for another group (Wilkins, Wellman, Babbitt, Toosi, & Schad, 2015). Given the theoretical underpinnings of multicultural competence, and the notion that beliefs drive actions, adherence to zero-sum game-oriented beliefs may interfere with individuals in helping professions’ abilities to provide multiculturally competent services to their clients. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of perspective taking and multicultural course completion as interventions with White, master’s level, counseling trainees’ endorsements of zero-sum beliefs (ZSBs). A secondary …

Counselor Educators’ Perceptions Of Nontraditional Master’S-Level Counseling Students And How Those Perceptions Shape Teaching Practices, Pamela J. Jordan

Dissertations

Graduate students age 40 and older, defined as “nontraditional” for this study, consistently represent approximately 20% of the graduate student population (United States Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics, 2015). Master’s degree programs in counseling may attract a higher percentage of these students, as some studies suggest that careers in fields such as counseling are sought out by adults changing careers at midlife and later (Bluestone & Melnik, 2010; Schaefers, 2012). These nontraditional students bring to the classroom their own characteristics of age, life stage, and experience, and they have distinct strengths and challenges that set them apart …

Treatment Preference, Changes In Preference, And Quality Of Life, Chelsea Sage-Germain

Dissertations

The current study investigates whether treatment preferences prior to beginning treatment are different from treatment preferences at later points in treatment, and whether preferences are related to treatment outcome. While research to date supports the notion that matching clients to treatment in line with their preferences can improve retention and outcomes, results have been equivocal. Further, this research is typically conducted by measuring preferences just one time, prior to starting treatment. It is conceivable that preferences for treatment change over time as patients become more knowledgeable about their presenting problems and about the therapy process. A total of 969 participants …