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Facilitators and Barriers: Older Adults\u27 Fitness Engagement at an Independent Living Community
Get PDFIn order for a growing aging population to preserve autonomy, older adults need to maintain mobility levels through participating in physical activity (Costello, Kafchinski, Vrazel, & Sullivan, 2011). The importance of physical activity in older adult life is widely recognized, yet older adults are the least active age group in the United States (Bethancourt, Rosenburg, Beatty, & Arterburn, 2014). This qualitative study focused on physical activity through individual interviews with older men and women (N=10) residing in an independent living community. Understanding more about what contributes to engagement may help to improve wellness programs in independent living communities
Don\u27t Call It a Comeback: Popular Reading Collections in Academic Libraries
Get PDFDespite the persisting notion that recreational reading does not have a place in the academic mission of college and university libraries, these libraries have a long history of providing pleasure reading for their patrons. During the latter half of the twentieth century, the idea of academic libraries meeting the recreational reading needs of students seems to have fallen out of favor, but a literature review of that time period shows that the collections themselves still existed. Discussion of—and justifications for—these collections, however, has enjoyed a resurgence in the library literature over the past decade. Given this renewed interest, this study seeks to assess just how common these collections are in US academic libraries today, and whether or not they are, in fact, enjoying a comeback from previous decades. This study surveyed the thirty-nine academic libraries that make up the Orbis Cascade Alliance in the Pacific Northwest, a diverse group of libraries in terms of size, type, budget, and student populations. The results of the survey show that a majority of libraries have a recreational collection and that these collections are valued by patrons and librarians alike. Recommendations are made for shifting the perspective on popular reading collections and their place in academic libraries, as well as for how to study them in the future
The good, the bad, and the ugly: Students report on experiences with instructors in interpreter education programs
Get PDFThis research study was exploratory in nature, seeking to gather and document the experiences and perceptions of current and former students in interpreter education programs with the focus of interpreting between signed language and spoken language in the United States. Data was collected through an online survey for a three-week period, resulting in 514 consenting respondents from 40 states and 126 distinct interpreter education programs. The mixed methods study included quantitative and qualitative questions. The qualitative responses were coded, and emergent themes were identified in a grounded theory approach (Corbin & Strauss, 1990; McMilan & Schumacher, 2009; Strauss & Corbin, 1994, 1998). In this study, the data-driven themes have been limited to two top 10 lists for the most prevalent categories of positive and negative experiences with instructors. The findings show that the top 10 negative categories of student-reported experiences with faculty are: Personality; Feedback/Grading; Classroom Management; Intolerance for Others; Lack of Current Knowledge and Skills; Unclear or Unreasonable Expectations; Turnover or Institution Incompatibility; “Told Me I Couldn’t Do It”; Playing Favorites; and Too Busy Elsewhere. The top 10 positive categories of student-reported experiences with faculty are: Supportive and Encouraging; Teaching Techniques; Kind, Caring, “Wonderful”; Sharing Real Work Experiences; One-on-One Time; Community Connections and Resources; Content of Class/Curriculum; Desirable Outcome of Education; Passionate and Invested; and Available and Willing to Answer Questions. Each of the categories in the two top 10 lists can be shown to either strengthen or weaken the four motivational conditions of Wlodkowski and Ginsberg’s (1995) Motivational Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching: establishing inclusion, developing attitude, enhancing meaning, and engendering competence. The data collected from the instrument, as well as the literature reviewed, suggest that faculty play a crucial role in student motivation. With the emergent themes from the data, ASL and interpreting instructors are given the opportunity to consider the national perspective and use it to improve their individual and systemic practice to work with and motivate adult learners. The findings in this research study can be used to formalize and optimize interpreter education
Initiating and Improving Business Relations in Serbia: Analysis and Recommendations
Get PDFThe purpose of this project is to create a model for the effective initiation and improvement of business relations in The Republic of Serbia. Using Serbia as an example, different economic and cultural values will be analyzed to determine the suitability and benefits of doing business in this market. I will discuss what has been trending politically and economically in Serbia, neighboring countries, and the European Union (EU) to help fill an existing information gap. This information will be published in the interest of producing a comprehensive paper that is relevant for domestic operations, foreign investment opportunity, businesses with individual overseas assignments, or interests in expanding operations. This will include recommendations for improvement and demonstrate characteristics of the current environment for businesses that are interested in expanding their global presence to Serbia’s unique market
El Camino Real: Commercial Trade Route to Santa Fe
Get PDF“El Camino Real: Commercial Trade Route to Santa Fe”
The Royal Road of the Interior Land served as the sole trade and supply route to the frontier regions of New Spain for the better part of three centuries. The eighteenth century mission colony of Santa Fe was the northern terminus of El Camino Real. Caravan trade parties that traveled the near 1,600-mile route were the only means for buying and selling goods in Santa Fe. Native laborers were the backbone of the self-sustaining colony and manufactured numerous trade exports. The combination of Native American contributions and merchant trade on El Camino Real were the reasons for Santa Fe’s ultimate survival as a permanent settlement. I will be examining letters by two eighteenth century governors of New Mexico one of which provides requests and information on supplies needed to be sent overland for mission upkeep. Additionally, colonial era textiles provide an insightful example of commodities produced by Pueblo artisans for trade and purchase of needed imports. Sources from the Spanish and the natives provide some balance in contextualizing trade systems on El Camino Real
2018-10-24 (The Western Howl)
Get PDFStudent newspaper includes campus, local and national news stories and photographs. For additional information about this collection see: http://digitalcommons.wou.edu/studentnewspapers
“Ever since I left the city”: An auto-ethnographic action research project on interpreting in a K-12 setting
Get PDFThis paper discusses the auto-ethnographic action research project that I conducted with the goal of improving my work as an interpreter and therefore reducing the “readiness to work gap” in my own professional practice. This action research project contained two different approaches with the goal of leading to self-improvement in my interpreting ability. The first approach involved working with a mentor to create goals that work toward the improvement of specific aspects of my interpreting process. This was typically done by selecting a sources text that would lend itself to practice working towards a specific interpreting goal. With limited mentoring opportunities in my region, this was mainly done through sharing recorded work samples synchronously and asynchronously with mentors over FaceTime, Google Hangout, Email, and over the phone. The second part of this project involved intentional practice in my work place through the documentation of both social and performance aspects of my interpreting practice. The documentation of these aspects of my interpreting lead to questions about my role as an Educational Interpreter and allowed me to keep track of how many times I intentionally worked towards the interpreting goals I created with my mentor
Happiness Comes Naturally: Engagement with Nature as a Route to Positive Subjective Well-Being
Get PDFEmpirical research consistently indicates that contact with the natural world is associated with broad psychological and physical benefit. Of particular interest are findings indicating that exposure to natural environments improves subjective well-being, suggesting that interacting with nature may be one route by which individuals may achieve and maintain a durable sense of happiness. In the current chapter, key concepts and influential theories concerning the effects of nature on well-being are described. Empirical research detailing the salutogenic effects of nature is then reviewed, with emphasis placed on four main areas of inquiry: (1) exposure to natural environments; (2) connectedness to nature and well-being; (3) physical proximity to nature; and (4) green exercise. Current limitations in the extant literature are discussed, and priorities for future research are outlined. Based on the present state of research in this domain, it is concluded that ample evidence documents the positive effects of nature on subjective well-being. However, additional research examining group differences in responses to nature, causal mechanisms accounting for the relationship between nature and well-being, and environmental factors impacting the effects of nature on well-being, among other topics, is necessary to develop a comprehensive and more nuanced understanding of the myriad ways in which happiness may be achieved through engagement with the natural world
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Jeffersonian; Champion of Natural Law Philosophy
Get PDFMartin Luther King, Jr. is celebrated in mainstream American culture as a champion of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. He is also lauded in the halls of academia for his growing political radicalism prior to his assassination in 1968. Neither view of the man, however, generally acknowledges his deep-rooted political philosophy of Natural Law. This aspect of King, which informed his civic protest, speeches, and political ideology, has been given short shrift in recent decades. While popular culture credits his integrity and intellectuals admire his advocacy for significant reforms in domestic and foreign policy, Martin Luther King, Jr.\u27s principle tenet has been largely removed from public memory. This should be corrected, as King\u27s arguments for civil rights, including the right to protest and equal protection under the law, were steeped in Natural Law philosophy
Accommodation to Minimalist Footwear During a Landing Activity
Get PDFMinimalist footwear is a current trend that has many purported benefits and advantages to running. These claims arise from the idea that this type of footwear is designed to mimic barefoot running by featuring low cushion and negligible arch support. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether this type of footwear could be beneficial in other ballistic activities such as landing. The study included ten participants with an inclusion of five males and five females of various movement backgrounds. The participants conducted twelve trials in two footwear conditions on a force platform. The first condition was a self-selected athletic footwear and the other was the minimalist footwear. The force variable results were inconclusive but statistical significance was found from kinematic analysis in three areas (ankle angle, foot inclination, and ankle ROM) at two contact points (heel contact and maximum knee flexion) during the landings. Ultimately, this complex activity is dependent on many variables and more future studies are needed in order to state whether minimalist footwear can be beneficial in the reduction of injuries during ballistic activities