International and Area Studies Commons^™

Sarah Mills, Linda J. Hanes

Study Abroad Alumni

Orphanages in Panama are overflowing with kids wishing they had homes and a loving family, and often there’s an unmet need for a creative outlet for these atrisk children. One WMU student spent her summer to help rectify that situation through teaching orphaned children about expression through movement.

Martha Councell-Vargas, Christine Lena

International Faculty Researchers

Travelling to Central America in college is all it took to inspire Martha Councell-Vargas to begin a career of teaching, researching, and performing flute music of the Americas.

Language Policy In Turkey And Its Effect On The Kurdish Language, Sevda Arslan

Masters Theses

For many decades the Kurdish language was ignored and banned from public use and Turkish became the lingua franca for all citizens to speak. This way, the Turkish state sought to create a nation-state based on one language and attempted to eliminate the use of other languages, particularly Kurdish, through severe regulations and prohibitions.

Firstly, this thesis traces the language planning policies in the 20th century which resulted in the invisibilization and denial of Kurdish through an attempted linguicide. Through decade long oppressions which resulted in mass killings, arrests, re-location of Kurds, monopolization of education in Turkish and eventually the …

Examining The Outcomes Of The Balanced Scorecard (Bsc) As An Integral Tool Of Public Sector: Reform In Selected Sectors Of The Oromia Regional Government, Tolla Berrisso Geda, Daniel Beyera

International Journal of African Development

Over the last two decades Ethiopia has been actively engaged in reforming its public sector in an attempt to make it more responsive, transparent, flexible, and compatible with the demand of its public and its constituencies to ensure good governance. Nevertheless, despite repeated comprehensive reform programs applied and acclaimed success stories by public authorities, the public outcry for responsive public service remains an outstanding challenge. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the application of the Balanced Score Card (BSC) using a blend of survey and case study methods in 12 organizations selected from three major sectors in four major cities. …

Convalescent Serum Therapy As Rapid Advance Treatment For Ebola In West Africa, J Bankole Thompson Md, Phd, Patricia F. Mejabi Msc., Olugbenga O. Mejabi Phd, S Ahmed Tejan-Sie Md

International Journal of African Development

The 2014 public health crisis in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone has brought Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) to everyone’s attention. Discovered in 1976, this deadly disease infrequently struck in remote areas of Africa. This article will critically review the literature and describe the pathobiology, transmission, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of EVDwhich, was predicted by the Centers for Disease Control to potentially infect 1.4 million persons in Liberia and Sierra Leone by January 2015 (“Questions and Answers”, 2014). Thankfully this worst case scenario did not occur and we may be experiencing natural burn out of the outbreak along …

Determinants Of Farm And Non-Farm Family-Controlled Child Labor, Kofi Acheampong

International Journal of African Development

Ninety five percent of the child labor in Africa takes place in private households where children are controlled by their relatives. While this is a major problem, the literature provides little discussion on the determinants of this form of child labor. To fill this gap, I examine the determinants of farm and non-farm family-controlled child labor using data from the 2009 Ghana Time Use Survey. The findings indicate that school networks, the education level of the head of household, and religion play important roles in determining children’s activities in both farm and non-farm work.

Ethnographic Study To Understand The Culture Of Technology Manufacturing In Ghana, Yao-Martin Donani

International Journal of African Development

Sub-Saharan African countries are characterized by low or absent technological growth. Scholars and the international community have endeavored to solve the long-standing problem, but none of these have produced the expected growth. While the rest of the world is advancing rapidly, Africa is noticeably lagging, even in comparison to other developing regions. It is apparent that previous international strategies cannot solve Africa’s technological underdevelopment This study argues that a solution to the problem depends on Africans, who must choose to want a solution and work towards it. An ethnographic study was therefore conducted to investigate the attitudes and worldview of …

Icts And Regional Economic Integration: An Anticipatory Scenario For The Horn Of Africa, Ali Noor Mohamed

International Journal of African Development

Development experts are telling increasingly fascinating stories about how human development indices (HDI) among the poor in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have been buoyed by the diffusion of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) over the last two decades. According to data compiled by the World Economic Forum, ICTs have facilitated faster and more reliable communication with regard to almost all important spheres of life including healthcare, education, agriculture, commerce, e-banking, the environment, etc. Perhaps the greatest impact of ICTs has been in their democratizing effect and their role in promoting gender equity, especially with regard to access to information …

False Consciousness As A Major Hindrance To Control Of Corruption In Africa, John O. Ouko

International Journal of African Development

Corruption is rampant in Africa despite the effort to fight it. An effective fight against corruption requires a clear and firm understanding of the factors that cause and conduce it. Using Kenya as an example, I will examine some of the social, economic, political, and legal factors that have been given as causal explanations of corruption. By focusing primarily on political corruption, I will argue that false consciousness among the masses and leaders has to be overcome for the fight against corruption to be effective, and, by extension, for meaningful development to take place in Kenya and many other African …

Challenges Facing Female Leaders Of Color In U.S. Higher Education, Fredah Mainah, Vernita Perkins

International Journal of African Development

Despite a myriad of challenges including the slow pace of rising to the top and the low compositional diversity in most university leadership, women of color are becoming increasingly visible in higher education leadership. This paper investigates the phenomena of the growing numbers of women of color in top positions, with the aim of debunking the myth of the invisibility of black women in leadership positions in higher education. The findings indicate that although women in the U.S. earn the majority of postsecondary degrees and 26.4% of college presidents are women, with 4.5% of them being women of color, women …

Editorial Note, Sisay Asefa

International Journal of African Development

No abstract provided.

International Journal Of African Development, Vol. 2, Issue 2

International Journal of African Development

Complete issue of International Journal of African Development, Volume 2, Issue 2 - Spring 2015.

Wmu International News Summer 2015, Haenicke Institute

WMU International News

• Bronco Athletics and Hall of Famers
• World Cup play preps Colombian for Bronco pitch
• Midfielder from Seville finds home on Bronco pitch
• Top-ranking Chilean a pro on and off the courtX
• Champion is the name and aim for this Bronco golfer
• Former NHL coach and international hall of famer leads Bronco Hockey
• Coaches worldwide keeping an eye on this German
• Freshman forward already signed to NHL’s Oilers
• Canadian gold medalist now a Bronco V-baller
• European standout takes the court at WMU
• Nationally ranked Croatian chooses WMU for education and athletics
• Seven-foot Senegalese center ready to dominate Bronco basketball

State Of Memory: National History And Exclusive Identity In Contemporary Denmark, John Terrell Foor

Masters Theses

Increased rates of immigration to Western European states over the past three decades have yielded a wealth of literature in the social sciences, much of which has focused on cases of individuals from so-called ―non-Western‖ countries of origin. Immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia often bring with them cultural and religious traditions that are unfamiliar to the citizens of states which receive them. Tensions between majority populations and growing minorities in Western Europe have resulted in skepticism—and, increasingly, hostility—toward immigrants, particularly those regarded as ―"Islamic."

But is this type of tension inevitable? Are difference and …

Ways In Which Community Involvement May Influence Girls’ Education In Senegal, Babou Ndiaye

Masters Theses

This study attempts to examine through the lens of social feminist theory the ways in which community involvement may influence girls’ education in Senegal. It highlights the extent to which networking, advocacy, and meaningful interactions between community and school may contribute to improving access, learning conditions, and academic achievements for girls. The paper also provides an analysis of the adverse effects of community involvement on girls’ education in Senegal. It underscores the extent to which patriarchy and class interfere to shape community involvement and undermine girls’ education, in terms of both access and quality. The paper further sketches a combination …

Understandinq Second Generation Southeast Asian Americans' Lived Experience Of Lnterracial Romantic Partnerships With White European Americans, Sophia K. Rath

Dissertations

Scholars and mental health professionals whose work involves interracial romantic partnerships (IRPs) have a responsibility to be sensitive to the racial, ethnic, and psychological diversity that characterizes these relationships. Although a growing body of research exists about IRPs, no study to date has explored how being a second generation U.S.-born Southeast Asia American (SEAA) impacts individuals’ experiences in IRPs with White European Americans (WEAs). The present study employed qualitative, phenomenological methods to explore how second generation SEAAs make meaning of their personal and relational experiences in IRPs with WEAs. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 participants.

Data were analyzed …

Three Essays On Racial Wage Differentials In South Africa, Ochas Kashinge Pupwe

Dissertations

Wage gaps amongst the different racial groups in South Africa, have remained high post-apartheid. With the enactment and implementation of several empowerment programs aiming at reversing racial marginalization, it is puzzling to see the persistent wage gaps between the white minority and non-white majority. This dissertation seeks to ascertain factors that may account for the persistent wage gap.

The first essay tests for the presence of over-education and its effects on wage determination amongst South Africa’s racial demographic groups. The results indicate that whites were over-educated whilst marginalized populations exhibited significant levels of under-education in 1991 and 2011 and hence …

Innovative Governance And Natural Resource Management In Kenya: Procedural And Substantive Outcomes Of Civil Society Participation, Jane Omudho Okwako

Dissertations

Kenya’s environmental sector is embracing co-management to address major threats to wildlife. In the past two decades, the Municipal-Community-Private Sector Partnership (MCPP) model evolved to address the threats. This dissertation seeks to explain variations in partnership outcomes. It evaluates whether the model as introduced empowers communities to be conservation stewards.

This study hypothesized the impact of five variables. These are decentralization of power, elite support, capacity of community organizations, partnership formalization, and resources expended. The findings confirm that three variables are indispensable and two minimally influence empowerment. More decentralized management structures are enabling and supportive of empowerment. However, empowerment is …

Family Resilience And Sojourning Japanese Families In The U.S., Mitsuyo Izumi

Dissertations

This study examined processes of family resilience sojourning Japanese parents reported using while raising children (between the ages of 4 and 8) in the U.S., the relationship between family resilience and child behavior and impact of stressful life events, and predictors of the impact of stressful life events and child behavior. Seventy mothers and 37 fathers from six Japanese educational institutions completed self-report questionnaires. Measures included Japanese translations of the Family Resilience Assessment (Duncan Lane, 2011), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1997), the Impact of Stressful Life Events Scale (Hasui et al., 2009), the Kansas Marital Satisfaction (Schumm et al., …

Environmental Change And The Emergence Of New Livestock Production Systems In Central Gansu Province, China, Gregory Veeck

Faculty Research and Creative Activities Award (FRACAA)

Post-2000 efforts to protect China’s grassland areas are distinct from earlier efforts in that funding for the most recent round of policies and programs is commensurate with the task. Among the most controversial of the current policies is the provision of an annual subsidy ranging from 2 yuan to 20 yuan/mu (1/15 hectare) to herders to not graze livestock contracted by their families for periods from 3-10 years. Many other recent policies, such as fencing programs and hunting and burning bans to protect keystone species are also controversial. Ideally, the policies are intended to protect grassland ecological systems while assuring …

Devoile Ou Degage: An Examination Of The Debates Surrounding Female Islamic Dress In France, Kristen Canavan

Honors Theses

In 2003, the French state appointed the Stasi Commission to determine whether or not “ostentatious symbols” should be banned in public schools. Their investigation concluded that the wearing of Muslim headscarves in public schools defied the principle of secularism and in March of 2004, legislation was passed banning all religious symbols, including the Muslim hijab in public schools. Six years after Law No. 2004-228 was passed, the Sarkozy administration passed a similar law also targeting Muslim women. Known as the “burqa ban” (an erroneous term used to describe the niqab) Law No. 2010-1192 forbids the concealing of one’s face …

Steve Durbin, Margaret Von Steinen

International Faculty Researchers

For a researcher at a globally engaged university, international collaboration comes naturally. When Dr. Steve Durbin, professor and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation to explore the synthesis and characterization of a new semiconductor (ZnSnN2) comprised solely of earth-abundant elements, he and his students embarked on this project with partners in the United Kingdom, Finland, and New Zealand, as well as Colorado, Michigan and Florida.

Sudesh Woodiga, Linda Hanes

International Alumni

Holder of three degrees from Western Michigan University— bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate—alumnus Sudesh Woodiga has achieved much success as an aerodynamics engineer at the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Mich.

Rajesh Voddiraju, Margaret Von Steinen

International Alumni

Serial entrepreneur and angel investor are two labels that describe the significant contributions WMU alumnus Rajesh Voddiraju, a native of Hyderabad, India, has made to the computer science industry since completing his master’s degree at Western Michigan University in 1993. He was honored in October 2014 by WMU’s Department of Computer Science when he was selected as the recipient of the department’s annual Computer Science Alumni Excellence Award.

Deepak Ravindra, Margaret Von Steinen

International Alumni

Dr. Deepak Ravindra became a business owner at the same time he completed his Western Michigan University doctoral degree through a unique collaboration with a faculty researcher focused on developing methods to cut extremely hard and brittle materials.

Ala Al-Fuqaha, Margaret Von Steinen

International Faculty Researchers

A wide range of road safety and driver assistive applications— Intelligent Transport Systems—could result from a collaborative research project that Dr. Ala Al-Fuqaha, WMU professor of computer science, is working on with Dr. Elyes Hamida at the Qatar Mobility Innovation Center and Dr. Bharat Bhargava at Purdue University.

Wmu International News Spring 2015, Haenicke Institute

WMU International News

• New sensor to monitor impacts on the gridiron
• Dominican Republic Ph.D. candidate a leader in green manufacturing at WMU
• Delivering fuel efficiency and reduced emissions key for Ford engineer
• Electrical engineer seeks new semiconductor for optoelectronics
• Improving communication systems drives computer science researcher
• CEAS alumnus improves health care commerce
• Degree research evolves into new company for WMU alumnus
• Roundabout ways to improve transportation captivate Tanzanian fellow
• Raspberry Pi focus of undergraduate research project
• Comparative learning key in WMU’s Engineering in China program
• ESL courses first step for future Congolese engineer

Rural Land Rights And Security In Cultivated Highland Ethiopia: Incremental Reform But Persistent Uncertainty, Tesfaye Teklu

International Journal of African Development

There are important improvements in tenure stability and security of land rights over the years in administratively allocated land. These gains are due to the private efforts of individual landholders, and incremental policy and legal measures. However, there are still unmet demands for certainty in land rights because of inherent instability in tenure associated with rising excess demand pressure for land, temporal decay in value of use rights certificate, deficiency in design and practice of land expropriation and compensation laws, and weakness in land governance and rural of law.

Governance Of Land And Natural Resource For Sustainable Development In Botswana: Possible Lessons For The Agricultural And Tourism Sectors, David Sebudubudu, Patricia M. Makepe, Kgomotso Montsi, Keratilwe Bodilenyane

International Journal of African Development

Realizing sustainable development is a major challenge for most African countries. Economic growth in most African countries is largely centered on the extraction of natural resources, particularly minerals. Rather than facilitate development, the extraction of natural resources in most countries, has been a source of adverse outcomes. That is, natural resources led to ‘the resource curse’, partly because of bad governance and leadership. Through governance and leadership, Botswana emerged differently. The country transformed itself to a middle income status through the prudent utilization and management of mineral (non-renewable) resources; making Botswana one of the few resource rich countries that have …

Good Governance For Achieving Food Security In Ethiopia: Challenges And Issues, Mussie Ybabe, Sisay Asefa

International Journal of African Development

Although rice technologies have been introduced in Fogera district over the last two decades, farm household’s food demand was not met as expected. Sustained, intensified and coordinated rice research is the key to curb the problem but impaired due to lack of good governance coupled with weak institutional capacity. This has resulted snowballing effects like little or no discussion among/with farmers on good practices, successes/failures of technology adoption and input delivery; poor linkage of small farmers to market and knowledge gap in Development Agents. Therefore, this study identified and evaluated potential determinants of household food security with basic emphasis to …