A Flexible Corporation: Classic Period House Societies in Eastern Mesoamerica

House society models, based on the work of Levi-Strauss but since refined by cultural anthropologists and archaeologists, provide a good model for understanding social organization among the ancient Maya and their neighbors in Mesoamerica based on a comparative study of societies in the Copan Valley, the lower Ulua Valley (Sula Valley), and the Cuyumapa Valley, all in Honduras. Social Houses are flexible, enduring social groupings that define kinship flexibly, recognizing adoption, marriage, shared residency, and other factors as ways to create ties that endure over generations

Bodies Moving in Space: Ancient Mesoamerican Human Sculpture and Embodiment

Judith Butler’s proposal that embodiment is a process of repeated citation of precedents leads us to consider the experiential effects of Mesoamerican practices of ornamenting space with images of the human body. At Late Classic Maya Copán, life-size human sculptures were attached to residences, intimate settings in which body knowledge was produced and body practices institutionalized. Moving through the space of these house compounds, persons would have been insistently presented with measures of their bodily decorum. These insights are used to consider the possible effects on people of movement around Formative period Olmec human sculptures, which are not routinely recovered in such well-defined contexts as those of the much later Maya sites

Working With Clay

Evidence from sites in the lower Ulua valley of north-central Honduras, occupied between a.d. 500 and 1000, provides new insight into the connections between households, craft production, and the role of objects in maintaining social relations within and across households. Production of pottery vessels, figurines, and other items in a household context has been documented at several sites in the valley, including Cerro Palenque, Travesía, Campo Dos, and Campo Pineda. Differences in raw materials, in what was made, and in the size and design of firing facilities allow us to explore how crafting with clay created communities of practice made up of people with varying levels of knowledge, experience, and skill. We argue that focusing on the specific features of a particular craft and the crafter\u27s perspective gives us insight into the ways that crafting contributed to the reproduction of social identities, local histories, and connections among members of communities of practice who comprised multicrafting households

Heterarchy as Complexity: Archaeology in Yoro, Honduras

Based on archaeological evidence from the Cuyumapa Valley in Honduras, including the presence of multiple ballcourts, this paper argues that archaeologists need to pay more attention to Carole Crumley\u27s concept of heterarchy when considering social relations, political relations, and power in ancient societies such as those of the Maya and their neighbors in Mesoamerica. We redefine complexity to include less centralized but regionally heterogeneous societies in which social and political relations are not all centralized into a single hierarchical structure. The Cuyumapa Valley falls in the zone traditionally described as the southeastern edge or periphery of Mesoamerica. Yet our research shows that the region was not a less complex periphery reacting to stimuli from neighboring Maya societies but a region with its own specific developmental history

Study Abroad 101 . . . for Parents!

Rosemary Sands, director of study abroad, and Joyce Tullbane, associate director of student abroad, introduce parents to the study abroad program in 2013

The Identification of Psycho-Educational Factors that Inhibit First Year Student Performance

Each new student arriving at the university or college brings an assortment of expectations, different types and levels of academic competency, different levels of psychological well-being, a variety of attitudes, values and divergent life experiences. Each adjusts at his or her own rate and experiences life as a student in unique ways. The focus of this study is on the problems that are encountered by the first year student on arrival at the institution and throughout the course of his or her first year studies. Using both qualitative and quantitative research methods that include work-shopping many issues, a questionnaire and focus group interviews, this triangulation of data-collection techniques has helped to provide a rich and deep exploration of the perceived problem areas. The study examines various factors that are perceived as limiting the potential performance and achievement of the student, specifically academic aspects and those factors and circumstances that affect psychological well-being. The psycho-educational issues found to be perceived as problematic by both students and staff members are a lack of preparation and insufficient academic competencies that are necessary for successful tertiary education. Of critical concern with the resultant necessity of immediate intervention, are the lack of accountability and a fear of failure with concomitant anxiety. Issues other than psycho-educational problem areas are highlighted such as economic and social variables. Although not part of the study, issues such as lack of finance and the impact of HIV/AIDS cannot be ignored as they may have a possible detrimental effect on first year student achievement. As academic competency development and psychological well-being are but two areas of concern within the gestalt of student development, the study is conducted from a theoretical stance that embraces holistic student development. It is in this light of developing the student as a totality that an intervention programme is suggested, affording the new student many opportunities to develop all facets of his being.Faculty of EducationD. Ed

The viability of expressive techniques as used by the educational psychologist

This study proceeds from the assumption that art as a creative modality, is capable of deepening the individual's awareness of the self and the manner in which he communicates and forms relationships with his self as well as with significant others. This assumption is supported by references to personality theory which is essentially client-centred in origin. The study describes and assesses the value of art as a therapy for the emotionally troubled adolescent, focusing on the process rather than the product. The results would indicate that art is therapeutic as the cathartic experience allows the graphic image to speak in symbolic language for the client, allowing the therapist to observe the client's psychic relationships and his coming to terms with his self.Psychology of EducationM.Ed. (Psychology of Education

DETERMINANTS OF STUDENTS’ ENROLMENT IN HOME ECONOMICS PROGRAMME IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN GHANA

Students’ enrolment in Home Economics programme in Senior High Schools (SHSs) in Ghana has been low in recent times. This has become a concern for major stakeholder in education. This study examined the determinants of students’ enrolment in Home Economics programme in SHSs in Ghana. The cross-sectional descriptive survey design was employed for the conduct of the study. The target population comprised first year Home Economics students from 16 selected SHSs in three administrative regions (i.e., Western, Central and Greater Accra Region). A simple random sampling technique (lottery method) was employed to sample 4 schools in the Western Region and 6 each from Central and Greater Accra Region. A census sampling technique was then utilised to include all Home Economics first-year students in the selected schools. A sample size of 1,136 students from 16 schools participated in the study. Data was collected using a questionnaire. Binary logistic regression analysis was employed to analyse the data using 1,000 bootstrap samples with 95% confidence interval with bias-corrected accelerated and 2,000,000 seed for Mersenne Twister. It was revealed that factors which significantly influenced students’ decision to enrol in the Home Economics programme were interest, job prospects, fathers, teachers, BECE grade, family relatives, and perceived workload among others. The study recommended that management of basic schools in Ghana should organise educative programmes to enlighten students and teachers on vocational and technical related courses and as such arouse students’ interest in enrolling in such programmes.  Article visualizations