Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Review Of Indigenous Social Work Around The World: Towards Culturally Relevant Education And Practice. Mel Gray, John Coates, And Michael Yellowbird (Eds.). Reviewed By Jon K. Matsuoka., Jon K. Matsuoka

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Mel Gray, John Coates and Michael Yellowbird (Eds.), Indigenous Social Work Around the World: Towards Culturally Relevant Education and Practice. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2008. $99.95 hardcover.

Review Of Our Bodies, Our Crimes: The Policing Of Women's Reproduction In America. Jeanne Flavin. Reviewed By Debra Durham., Debra Durham

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Jeanne Flavin, Our Bodies, Our Crimes: The Policing of Women's Reproduction in America. New York: New York University Press, 2009. $36.00 hardcover.

Review Of Children Families And Social Exclusion: New Approaches To Prevention. Kate Morris, Marian Barnes, And Paul Mason. Reviewed By James Midgley., James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Kate Morris, Marian Barnes and Paul Mason, Children, Families and Social Exclusion: New Approaches to Prevention. Bristol: Policy Press, 2009. $36.95 papercover.

Review Of Childhood, Youth And Social Work In Transformation: Implications For Policy And Practice. Lynne M. Nebell, Jeffrey J. Shook, And Janet L. Finn. Reviewed By Ann Reyes Robbins., Ann Reyes Robbins

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Lynn M. Nybell, Jeffrey J. Shook, and Janet L. Finn (Eds.), Childhood, Youth and Social Work in Transformation: Implications for Policy and Practice. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009. $60.00 hardcover.

Review Of The Legacy Of Edward W. Said. William Spanos. Reviewed By James Midgley., James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of William Spanos, The Legacy of Edward W. Said. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2009. $25.00 papercover.

Twenty Years Of Forest Service National Environmental Policy Act Litigation, Amanda M.A. Miner, Robert W. Malmsheimer, Denise M. Keele, Michael J. Mortimer

Political Science Faculty Publications

The USDA Forest Service is sued more often than any other federal agency under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). This analysis examines Forest Service land management cases initiated from 1989 to 2008 to understand how the agency fared in NEPA cases. Of the 1,064 completed cases, 671 (63.1%) involved a NEPA challenge. The agency won the final outcome of 343 cases (51.1%), lost 176 (26.2%), and settled 152 (22.7%). Case characteristic analyses indicate that case decisions peaked at the end of the 1990s, occurred mostly in the Ninth Circuit, and predominately involved vegetative management, forest planning, roads, …

Curriculum Coherence: A Comparative Analysis Of Elementary Science Content Standards In People's Republic Of China And The Usa, Fang Huang

Dissertations

This study examines elementary science content standards curriculum coherence between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America. Three aspects of curriculum coherence are examined in this study: topic inclusion, topic duration, and curriculum structure. Specifically this study centers on the following research questions: 1) What science knowledge is intended for elementary students in each country? 2) How long each topic stays in the curriculum? 3) How these topics sequence and connect with each other? 4) And finally, what is the implication for elementary science curriculum development?

Four intended science curriculum frameworks were selected respectively for each …

Assessing Michigan School Counselors' Preparedness To Meet The Needs Of Attractional/Sexual Minority Students, J. Frederick Bland

Dissertations

This study assessed the attitudes, skills, knowledge, graduate counseling training, and willingness to engage in professional development of Michigan school counselors regarding issues and concerns of students who identify as lesbian, gay, biattractional, transgender, and students who are questioning their attractional orientation (LGBTQ).

A total of 120 Michigan school counselors completed useable surveys either online or a paper-and-pencil version at a Michigan school counseling conference. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the demographic variables age, gender, ethnicity, attractional/sexual orientation, and professional characteristics such as years of school counseling experience, school level, and school location (urban, suburban, rural). One-way ANOVAs were used …

Paths To Citizenship: A Comparative Study Of Japan, Germany And Sweden, Marisha L. Lecea

Masters Theses

This paper examines citizenship policy in Japan, Germany and Sweden in an attempt to explain why some rich, democratic nations have high rates of naturalization and non-restrictive paths to citizenship, while others have negligible rates of naturalization and very restrictive policies. Japan has a very restrictive policy while Sweden has a very open policy. Germany is a mid-level case that has moved from more restrictive to less restrictive over the last several years. In this paper I look at the explanatory potential of internal, institutional, and external variables. I use data from the W orId Values Survey to compare domestic …

Competing Formal And Informal Institutions In A Democratizing Setting: An Institutional Analysis Of Corruption In Romania, Mihaiela Ristei

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the interaction between formal institutions and the informal institution of corruption in Romania from 1997 until 2006. I argue that corruption is an informal institution that creates incentives incompatible with the formal rules, alters the effectiveness of formal institutions, undermines the rule of law, and threatens democratic consolidation. Specifically, I test the capacity of formal institutions to counteract the informal institution of corruption and thus to reduce corruption in four sectors: the judiciary, customs, health care, and public procurement. The research project investigates the methods to restructure incentives and increase the effectiveness of formal institutions, the factors …

Implementing An Asca-Informed School Counselor Supervision Model: A Qualitative Field-Based Study, Janet M. Glaes

Dissertations

The American School Counseling Association's (ASCA) National Model has been recognized in the field of professional school counseling as an effective framework for the training and supervision of school counselor interns. Despite this recommendation, school counselor supervision models which incorporate the ASCA model have until recently been rare and are still in the early stages of development. This qualitative study describes the supervision experiences of six pairs of school counselor supervisors and their interns (at the elementary, middle, and high school levels) as they employed an ASCA-based school counselor specific supervision model in their internship practices. The supervision model utilized …

Essays On Export Destination Decisions And Spillovers From Inward Fdi: Evidence From Chilean Manufacturing Plants, Ivan A. Duran Diaz

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the relationship between destination country characteristics and Chilean firm characteristics on the export destination decisions of Chilean firms. Additionally, it explores the impact generated by inward foreign direct investment (FDI) on Chilean firms' export decisions, wages, and productivity.

For the first study, a random coefficients logit approach is employed to model export likelihood to a particular destination country. From this, estimates of export substitution elasticities among destination countries are obtained, given changes in some of their macroeconomic variables such as GDP. Both destination country and the Chilean firms' characteristics are shown to be relevant in the export …

The Abortion Attitudes Of Counselor, Social Worker, And Nursing Trainees, Mary J. Ball

Dissertations

This study examined the similarities and dissimilarities in abortion attitudes among counselors (CTs, n = 51), social workers (SWTs, n = 42), and nurses in training (NTs, n = 78), based on profession, age, race, gender, and religion. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance and standard multiple regression. It was predicted that profession, religion, age, gender, and race would predict the abortion attitudes of CTs, SWTs, and NTs in training. It was also predicted that the attitudes of CTs and SWTs would be most similar, and that both of these groups would hold more positive abortion attitudes than NTs. …

Evaluation Of Medication Effects On Academic Performance, Sleep, And Core Adhd Symptoms In Children, Tina K. Head

Dissertations

Idiosyncratic effects of Vyvanse™ (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) and placebo were evaluated in a double-blind alternating treatments experimental design in this 4-week study. Direct, objective measures were combined with traditional behavior ratings to provide data sets to assess whether or not the prescribed stimulant medication showed detectable therapeutic effects for a child whose positive response to medication was not obvious via traditional subjective methods. Effects of medication on core ADHD symptoms, academic performance, and sleep in four children ages 10-12 with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder. Potential side effects were also measured. Daily measures included parent rating scales, side effects checklist, sleep journal …

Opt Out: Women With Children Leaving Mid-Level Student Affairs Positions, Dana Hebreard

Dissertations

This phenomenological study is about the decision-making process of women with young children at the mid-level student affairs position who decide to opt out of their career for a minimum of one year, and for some, return to higher education. The study is based on interviews with 17 mid-level college administrators and mothers of young children, infant to pre-teen, who chose to opt out of their careers rather than continuing to balance family and career. Though the individuals interviewed were each unique in their socioeconomic status, education, and career path, their issues and concerns were similar. They openly revealed the …

Trial And Error, Delayed Prompting, And Reinforcement Of Prompted Responses In Teaching Receptive Identification Of Pictures, Kristen Lynn Gaisford

Dissertations

Three strategies to train receptive identification of pictures were compared: (a) trial and error, (b) delayed finger-point prompt followed by a reinforcer, and (c) delayed finger-point prompt followed by the spoken word, "good". These three strategies were compared using a multi-element design, assessing the performance of four children, ranging from two to four years of age, selected from a classroom that provides services to children with Early Childhood Developmental Delays (ECDD). Two children mastered the receptive identification of pictures at the same rate regardless of the strategy. For the remaining two participants, the rate of mastery was the same for …

On Robustification Of Some Procedures Used In Analysis Of Covariance, Kuanwong Watcharotone

Dissertations

This study discusses robust procedures for the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) models. These methods are based on rank-based (R) fitting procedures, which are quite analogous to the traditional ANCOVA methods based on least squares fits. Our initial empirical results show that the validity of R procedures is similar to the least squares procedures. In terms of power, there is a small loss in efficiency to least squares methods when the random errors have a normal distribution but the rank-based procedures are much more powerful for the heavy-tailed error distributions in our study.

Rank-based analogs are also developed for pick-a-point, adjusted …

What Role For Ethnicity? Political Behavior And Mobilization In Post-Conflict Sierra Leone And Liberia, Fodei Joseph Batty

Dissertations

This dissertation examines political behavior in Sierra Leone and Liberia following the end of their civil wars. Dominant theories on politics in African societies suggest that ethnic interests underpin political behavior and elections are mere censuses of ethnic support for co-ethnic party elites. Yet, while using a proportional representation electoral system that is expected to result in splintered vote shares for multiple political parties, Sierra Leone's elections in 2002 concentrated votes around one presidential candidate and political party. Conversely Liberia's elections in 2005, held using a first-past-the-post electoral system that expectedly discourages multiple vote shares, diffused votes among several political …

Experimental Analysis Of Gambling Using A Concurrent-Schedules Procedure, Andrew Ellis Brandt

Dissertations

Gambling has been experimentally investigated using various types of gambling simulations designed to mimic the contingencies found in real-world games of chance. Findings from past risky choice research suggest that certain procedures used in existing gambling simulations may systematically increase levels of gambling. Two of these characteristics, the use of a participant stake and the type of options available during gambling, were tested in four experiments in which participants had the opportunity to gamble using tokens exchangeable for entries into a $50 lottery. Experiments 1 and 2 tested persistence on a gamble option when either a single-option or a concurrent …

Wmu International News Spring 2010, Haenicke Institute For Global Education

WMU International News

In this issue:

Confucius Institute opening ceremony dazzles campus and community

Japanese alumni reunion celebrates successful fundraising campaign

Former Dominican Republic swimmer head recruiter for WMU

Childhood experiences overseas spark interest in global studies

Participant/Observer Vol. 3. No. 1 Spring 2010, Anthropology Department

Participant/Observer

A Newsletter for Friends of the Western Michigan University Department of Anthropology

Table of Contents:

• WMU Anthropologist and NSF Awardee, Bilinda Straight is Featured Author at Conference on Global Health and Violence
• Letter from the Chair
• Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2009 Field Season Summary
• Kalamazoo Valley Museum hosts RACE exhibit
• A Magic Field Season in the Eocene of Wyoming
• Mastodon Bones Identified in Biological Anthropology Lab
• In The Spotlight: Brent Metz is the Distinguished Alumni Award winner
• Meet LouAnn Wurst
• News from the Lewis Walker Institute
• Conference Participation
• Faculty News
• Mammoth in Allegan County
• Alumni News

Fort St. Joseph Post - Spring 2010, Department Of Anthropology

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Vol. 1. No. 1.
For friends of Western Michigan University’s Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Table of Contents:

• Letter from the Principal Investigator of the project
• What we do in the “off” season
• Laboratory Updates
• Undergraduate Perspectives: David Lang & Kelly Schulze
• Student News
• My Archaeological Experience By: Kyle Woods
• In Memoriam: Grafton (“Grif”) H. Cook, II
• Introducing… the Fort St. Joseph Archaeology Advisory Committee
• Watch for These Exciting Events this Summer!
• Fort St. Joseph Wish List
• Upcoming Events

Gatherings No. 44 Spring/Summer 2010, Friends Of The University Libraries

Gatherings: Friends of the University Libraries Newsletter

Complete issue of Gatherings no. 44. Edited by Laurel Grotzinger.

Words To The Wise: Web Managers And Librarians Working It Out, Patricia F. Vander Meer, Maria A. Perez-Stable, Maira Bundza

University Libraries Faculty & Staff Presentations

What works well and what presents a challenge in managing an academic library Web site? We decided to ask Web managers and public services librarians at 149 colleges and universities in order to gain their perspectives. Key issues and challenges that emerged as a result of our online survey included the importance of administrative support, staffing, content management systems, distributed versus centralized work environments, decision-making, collaboration across work cultures, and user involvement.

Review Of Health Disparities In The United States: Social Class, Race, Ethnicity, And Health. Donald A. Barr. Reviewed By Krista Drescher-Burke., Krista Drescher-Burke

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Donald A. Barr, Health Disparities in the United States: Social Class, Race, Ethnicity, and Health. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008. $40.00 papercover.

Social Justice Implications Of The Organism Metaphor, Gerald V. O'Brien

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The denigration of marginalized groups is frequently supported through the widespread employment of metaphors that present a pejorative image of the group in question. The organism metaphor, wherein the target group is portrayed as a threat to the integrity of the social body, is a particularly important metaphoric theme in the advancement of social injustice. Drawing largely from primary source documents, this paper provides an overview of the organism metaphor as it has been employed historically to denigrate various social subgroups. Implications for the social work profession are discussed.

The Changing Nature Of Accountability In Administrative Practice, Lawrence L. Martin, Kathryn Frahm

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article looks at the subject of accountability in the administration of the human services. The history of accountability over the last four decades is chronicled and discussed. The point is made that during this period, funders have largely determined the nature of accountability. Because funders have been primarily concerned with funding, accountability has tended to be financial in nature. The authors argue that the focus on financial accountability had two major detrimental effects. First, programmatic accountability was reduced to secondary importance. Second, a wedge was driven between macro administrative practice and micro direct practice as social work managers and …

Review Of Reassembling Social Security: A Survey Of Pensions And Health Care Reforms In Latin America. Carmelo Mesa-Lago. Reviewed By James Midgley, James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Reassembling Social Security: A Survey of Pensions and Health care Reforms in Latin America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. $150.00 hardcover.

Review Of The Politics Of Identity: Solidarity Building Among America's Working Poor. Erin E. O'Brien. Reviewed By Robert D. Weaver., Robert D. Weaver

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Erin E. O'Brien. The Politics of Identity: Solidarity Building Among America's Working Poor. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2008. $80.00 hardcover, $28.95 papercover.

Review Of Against The Wall: Poor, Young, Black And Male. Elijah Anderson. Reviewed By Paul G. Wright., Paul G. Wright

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Elijah Anderson, Against the Wall: Poor, Young, Black and Male. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania University Press, Reissue edition, 2009. $24.95 papercover.