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Western News, April 2, 1992, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Students help their peers achieve better grades through Supplemental Instruction Program, Page-Robin, Sharma elected to senate leadership, Survivor of Nazi twin experiments to relate her experiences, Poel leads project to better prepare elementary teachers

Performance Prediction In Track And Field, Ted James Dabbs

Masters Theses

The study investigated the degree to which predicting performance in track and field relates to individual performances of track athletes. Predictive scores were determined for 26 male and 14 female athletes using prediction equations and test procedures developed by Henson, Turner, and Lacourse (1989a; 1989b). Predictive scores were compared to athletes' individual event point scores published in International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) men's and women's multi-event scoring tables ("Scoring Table for Men's," 1962; "Scoring Table for Women's," 1971).

Each subject's height, weight and age were recorded as well as performances on the following tests: vertical jump, standing long jump, five …

A Comparison Of Junior High Schools To Middle Schools With Respect To Achievement And Attendance, Darrell Clay

Dissertations

During the past 30 years, the middle school movement has been a comprehensive effort to restructure middle level education. Literally thousands of school districts have chosen to change from junior high schools to middle schools for a variety of reasons. Research to support this massive reorganization of American schools has not been evident. The early research did not provide consistent evidence of improvement for middle school students. Most of this early research was based solely on the grade configuration of the schools being compared rather than the conceptual framework of the school.

The purpose of this study was to compare …

Mtv Ideology: Rocking To A Different Beat?, Janelle L. Wilson

Masters Theses

This study analyzed 30 of the most popular rock music videos aired on Music Television Network in the summer of 1991. Using a qualitative content analysis, six prominent themes in these videos were identified: (1) eroticism, (2) female gender roles, (3) Americana, (4) violence, (5) religious symbols, and (6) clothing fetishism. From these themes, five values were discerned in the videos: (1) carpe diem, (2) individual freedom, (3) nihilistic religiosity, (4) nationalism, and (5) consumerism. It was found that these values constituted an ideology in music videos which in some ways reflects dominant American ideology. Their focus on appearance, their …

From Welfare To Liberation: A Socio-Historical Analysis Of The Animal Rights Movement, Linda J. Rynbrandt

Masters Theses

This thesis is a socio-historical analysis of the animal rights social movement in the United States of America at the end of the 19th and 20th centuries. The theoretical model is resource mobilization theory, especially McCarthy and Zald's (1973) entrepreneurial model. The method, which contrasts this social movement at two points in time, is informed by Skocpol's (1984) interpretative historical sociology. In particular, leadership, ideology, organizational structure, and strategy tactics in both eras are examined. Comparing the two manifestations of animal rights protest, the data show that: (a) Leadership and organizational structure, though similar in many respects, are more professionalized …

Cognitive Disability Theory As A Basis For Activity Analysis For Elderly Persons With Dementia, Deborah S. Kaeser

Masters Theses

Allen's (1985) Cognitive Disability approach provides a guideline for modifying the cognitive demands of an activity to match the abilities of an individual. Thirty older adults with a mean age of 78.1 years and a diagnosis indicating an irreversible dementia were selected for the study. A counterbalanced design was used to compare the performance of 15 individuals with a Level Three cognitive ability and 15 individuals with a Level Four cognitive ability on two tiling craft activities: one with Level Three cognitive demands and one with Level Four cognitive demands. Analysis of variance indicated a significant interaction between cognitive level …

Western News, March 26, 1992, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Belson helps resolve concerns as University ombudsman, Pisaneschi says WMU contributes to health of community, Anthropologist to speak on 'relevant mysteries' as part of Mircea Eliade Lectures on Religion

The Reagan Legacy: Undoing Class, Race And Gender Accords, Mimi Abramovitz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The impact of Reaganomics on women, workers, and person of color is explored by looking at structural forces in the political economy that encourage business and government at one time to support and another time to undermine the welfare state. The expansion of the welfare state from 1935 to the mid-1970s meshed well with the needs of profitable production, political legitimacy and patriarchal control. With the economic crisis of the 1970s, the welfare state became too competitive with capital accumulation and too supportive of empowered popular movements and had to go. Women, persons of color, and the poor ranked high …

Introduction: American Social Policy And The Reagan Legacy, James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

With the retirement of Ronald Reagan from active political life; the long term effects of his policies and programs need to be addressed. This introduction to fire special issue on The Reagan Legacy and the. American Welfare State draws on the findings of the various contributors t"' provide an overview of the impact of Reagan administration's policies on various facets of the welfare stale, and an assessment of their likely longer term effects.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 19, No. 1 (March 1992)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• INTRODUCTION: AMERICAN SOCIAL POICY AND TIE REAGAN LEGACY - James Midgley
• SOCIETY, SOCIAL POLICY AND THE IDEOLOGY OF REAGANISM - James Midgley
• CHANGES IN PROPERTY, INCOME INEQUAIITY AND THE STANDARD OF LIVING DURING THE REAGAN ERA - Robert Plotnick
• INCOME MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS AND THE
• REAGAN DOMESTIC AGENDA - Howuard Jacob Karger
• AMERICA'S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM: THE REAGAN LEGACY - Terri Combs-Orme and Bernard Guyer
• THE REAGAN LEGACY: UNDOING CLASS, RACE, AND GENDER ACCORDS - Mimi Abramovitz
• UNHOUSING THE URBAN POOR: THE REAGAN LEGACY - Beth Rubin, James D. Wright, and Joel A. Devine
• THE FALL OF THE …

Changes In Poverty, Income Inequality And The Standard Of Living During The Reagan Years, Robert D. Plotnick

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The record of economic well-being in the 1980s belied Reagan's claim that Americans would be better off if they scaled back the welfare state and cut tax rates. Though the standard of living rose, its growth was no faster than during 1950-1980. Income inequality increased. The rate of poverty at the end qf Reagan's term was the same as in 1980. Cutbacks in income transfers during the Reagan years helped increase both poverty and inequality. Changes in tax policy helped increase inequality but reduced poverty. These policy shifts are not the only reasons for the lack of progress against poverty …

Income Maintenance Programs And The Reagan Domestic Agenda, Howard Jacob Karger

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Income maintenance programs are a key feature of the American welfare state. The impact of the Reagan administration’s social welfare policies are examined in this article, which also speculates about the long-term effects of his successes on the future of income maintenance programs. Specifically, this article provides a brief historical background of income maintanence programs, examines Reagan’s ideological and strategic approach to deconstructing the welfare state, evaluates the domestic successes of the Reagan administration, and explores the long-term impact of Reagan’s policies on the future of income maintenance programs.

America's Health Care System: The Reagan Legacy, Terri Combs-Orme, Bernard Guyer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Because of the dominance of the private sector in health care in the United States, health conditions are not as susceptible to changes in public policy as they are in other Western countries. however, the elderly and young children are directly affected by the federal government's health care policies and while both groups were the focus of major changes introduced by the Reagan administration, these changes were opposed buy Congress. Nevertheless, changes in health care funding and administrative arrangements have had a negative impact on the needy and, in addition, they have been exacerbated by the Reagan administration's wider social …

The Fall Of The Industrial City: The Reagan Legacy For Urban Policy, David Stoesz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Reagan presidency reversed a half-century of federal aid to cities. Poor minority comnnunities were particularly hard-hit, since this was accompanied by a white flight to the suburbs and the replacement of better paying industrial jobs requiring little education with poorer paying service jobs requiring iore education. Meanwhile wealthy communities prospered. To address urgent social problems, urban politicians are advocating strategies such as industrial policy, public entrepreneurship, and guerrilla welfare.

Social Work And The Reagan Era: Challenges To The Profession, Karen S. Haynes, James S. Mickelson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A priority item on the Reagan administration’s social policy agenda was the creation of a charity model of welfare, in which well-meaning volunteers provide services to the deserving poor and for-profit enterprises cater to the middle and upper class. This model was implemented because human service budgets of public agencies were slashed and subsidies for the not-for-profit sector. This reduction resulted in substantial unmet needs for social services, which have not been adequately addressed.

The authors contend that the profession of social work was not as directly affected by these changes as may be surmised since professional social workers did …

Society, Social Policy And The Ideology Of Reaganism, James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The complex historical and ideological themes which formed the basis for Reaganism in the 1980s are based on economic individualism, traditionalism and authoritarian populism. By creating an ideological formation which appealed to a wide constituency, right-wing activists sought to reverse the centrist consensus liberalism of the New Deal. These ideas also informed the Reagan administration’s social policies and, although not implemented as intended, have had a major impact on the American welfare state.

Unhousing The Urban Poor: The Reagan Legacy, Beth A. Rubin, James D. Wright, Joel A. Devine

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Reagan era was characterized by the popularity of individual level explanations and market based solutions for a range of social problems, including homelessness. We argue that such an approach was inadequate and may, in fact, have toorsened the housing situation. We claim that homelessness is fundamentally a housing problem linked to two key trends of the 1980s: the increasing rate of poverty and the declining supply'f low-income housing. Market approaches to housing policy have resulted in housing policies by default: gentrification, condo conversion and displacement as well as tax policies that explicitly favor the nonpoor. Those policies gehred towards …

Western News, February 20, 1992, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Speedy supercomputer to aid in groundbreaking research, Architects support feasibility of park, Satellite uplink opens window to global communication, WMU race team again seeking 'sun' more for the road, WMUK-FM garners five top news awards in Michigan Association of Broadcasters contest, Better communication could reduce burnout, solve nursing shortage, says faculty member, Pulitzer Prize-winning author to read from work, 'lead seminar on children's literature Feb. 26, Student-run restaurant open in Kohrman Hall

Western News, January 9, 1992, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story Highlights: Renovation to result in road changes; office relocations, Wolpe to discuss Cold War, alienation in Clark Lectures, Citizens group formed to support public higher education, Coyne honored as advocate for students with Distinguished Service Award from trustees, Retirement options for p/tJa staff members include incentive window and supplement plan, Stamm to direct budget and allocation process as executive assistant in academic affairs office, Beam book provides pointers on preparing successful reports for students and professionals

Western Michigan University Graduate Catalog 1992-1994, Western Michigan University

Western Michigan University Course Catalogs (1904-present)

Section I: General Policies and Procedures

Section II: Master's Degree Programs and Requirements

Section III: Specialist Degree Programs and Requirements

Section IV: Doctoral Degree Programs and Requirements

Section V: Description of Graduate Courses

Section VI: The Graduate Faculty

Western News, December 5, 1991, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Record number inducted into 25 Year Club at banquet, Prehistoric residents lived well; according to new book, Visiting professor from Eastern Illinois University to present convocation lecture Wednesday, Dec. 11, Teicherts write German language textbook

The Place Of Science In Social Work, Ann Weick

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A narrow concept of science has reduced rather than enlarged the scope of human inquiry. This paper considers the principles of quantum physics and the philosophy of Wilhelm Dilthey as two different ways of creating approaches to research more consonant with social work practice.

The Development Of An Instrument For Multicultural Counseling Effectiveness, Michael J. Laird

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop and administer an instrument designed to measure the participants' ability to identify cultural variables affecting the therapeutic process with individuals with and without training in multicultural counseling. The study also examined four areas of difference among trainees to determine their influence on the ability to identify cultural variables affecting therapeutic process: gender, age, undergraduate curriculum, and socioeconomic status of the biological family.

The sample consisted of 60 subjects between the ages of 21 and 52. All subjects were graduate students in the Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology Department at Western Michigan University, …

The Criminal Justice System: The Impact Of Legal And Extra-Legal Variables, Sanderson Charles Jeter

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the effect of legal and extra-legal variables on the processing and sentencing outcomes of defendants. The data for this study were extracted from the case files of Kalamazoo (Michigan) County Circuit Court. The sample population is comprised of criminal defendants randomly selected and who were processed in the circuit court from May, 1987 through May, 1988. The statistical procedure applied was cross - tabulation, utilizing a chi-square measure of association. Legal and extra-legal variables independently and collectively have different effects on the processing and sentencing outcomes of defendants. Results indicate that legal variables (e.g., type of crime …

“The Mirror Crack'd": Women As Mothers And Wives In Paternally Incestuous Families, Mary Deyoung

Dissertations

Women often are blamed for paternal incest. Although the notion of women's culpability is repeated so often in the literature that it has all the tranquility of an axiom, few studies have even used these women as subjects. This study sought to remedy that flaw by using as its subjects 20 women from paternally incestuous families. Each participated in an in-depth interview comprised of life history questions, and in a shorter follow-up interview.

The women reported a moderate degree of conflict between their roles as mother and wife. Their strategies for coping with that conflict were categorized according to the …

The Influence Of Junior First Grade On Academic Ability And Self-Concept Of Academic Ability, Mary Ann Boettger

Dissertations

The educational practice of retaining students in junior first grade for a year between kindergarten and first grade was the focus of this study.

Four groups of 1983-1984 students were compared in 1990-1991: (1) those recommended for first and placed in first grade (F-F), (2) those recommended for junior first and placed in junior first grade (JF-JF), (3) those recommended for junior first and placed in first grade (JF-F), and (4) those borderline between junior first and kindergarten, but placed in first grade (B-F).

The groups were compared on gender, birth month, retention, absences, and lunch status, as well as …

Interpretive Methods For Social Work Practice And Research, Edmund Sherman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

There has been a growing dissatisfaction with the apparent dominance of quantitative empirical approaches to the social sciences in general and to social work practice research in particular. This paper suggests an alternative or complementary approach which is based on modern hermeneutics, the science of interpretation. These interpretive methods are discussed in terms of their more promising applications to select areas of social work practice and research.

Democracy And Capitalism: The Issue Joined From Within, Christopher E. Bischoff

Masters Theses

This study utilizes contemporary and classical literature to illuminate the complexities of Western democracy. Of specific focus is American democracy and the effects that capitalism has had upon democracy in America. The achievement of democracy on the scale of the modern nation-state appears problematic even without the adversarial burdens posed by a capitalist economic consort. It emerges that American democracy is particularly compromised by its roots in liberal tradition. Forced by nature to depend upon the allocative abilities of its economic consort, democracy must endure a relationship that dramatically undermines its ideological orientation. Although American democracy is not yet in …

Spatial Distribution Of Hispanic Households In Holland, Michigan: 1960-1990, Cynthia J. Longstreet

Masters Theses

This paper examines patterns of Hispanic household concentration and segregation from non-Hispanic households in Holland, Michigan for the decades from 1960 to 1990 with some analysis of 1950 patterns. Household data were obtained from United States census reports and Polk directories, from which location quotients and indices of dissimilarity were calculated for census tracts and census blocks within the study area.

Data showed that most of Holland’s Hispanic households have been found in the three census tracts closest to the central city, but that deconcentration is occurring as more Hispanic families setde in peripheral areas of Holland. Data also indicated …

Technological Fix: Altering The Consciousness Of The Social Work Profession, Dennis Saleebey

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social work, like other professions, seeks a jolt of technology and technical sophistication into its theoretical and practical repertories. Such efforts have, thus far, ignored the considerable ethical and axiological freight that "Techne" brings with it. Ironically, many of the implicit values of techniques subvert the unique and defining values of the social work profession. This paper offers a cautionary note and a prescription for avoiding the "technological fix."