Health and Social Issues
Laughter: Motivation and Medicine
Can humor motivate your employees, students, social group and loved ones to succeed? Yes. Can it cure illness? Well… it doesn’t hurt. Research shows us that laughter can be used to enhance people’s health and memory by stimulating the immune system and both sides of the brain. A sense of humor has also been found to be an excellent antidote to apprehension and panic. It has been demonstrated that when used in a classroom or training session, laughter builds trust, relieves test anxiety, makes learning more fun and helps students remember information longer. Using personal anecdotes from his long teaching career and from his experience with three life-threatening illnesses, Robert Keiper will show you how laughter can be both motivational and medicinal.
Dr. Robert Keiper is associate professor of secondary education at Woodring College of Education. He supervises student teachers and is the instructor for “The Dynamics of Teaching,” a required course at Woodring College of Education. Dr. Keiper has more than 20 years’ public school teaching experience and has been at Western since 1990. He has presented his “Teacher As Actor” workshops nationwide. His presentations utilize a computer and a data projection system to involve the audience.
What Is Your Health Worth to You?
Americans’ sedentary lifestyle has spread across all age groups and is proving to be a major health crisis in our country. Physical inactivity has become the Number 2 preventable health problem in the United States, behind smoking, and is associated with increased occurrences of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other chronic conditions. Kathy Knutzen, director of Western’s Center for Healthy Living, discusses the programs the center has to encourage participation in physical activity by all Americans and provides up-to-date information on the impacts of sedentary living on our health, our health care system and the economy.
Dr. Kathy Knutzen is the director of Western’s Center for Healthy Living and associate dean for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She has been a faculty member in the department of physical education, health and recreation since 1977. Her bachelor’s and master’s degrees are from Western. Her Ph.D. in physical education is from the University of Oregon.
Schizophrenia: What? Who? When? And Why?
Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness affecting approximately one percent of the population and robbing those individuals of normal human thought, emotion and behavior. Onset of the illness is generally in late adolescence or early adulthood and many patients will experience life-long adverse effects. Like heart disease, diabetes and cancer, schizophrenia is a disease. Recent research has provided new insights into how brain function is altered in individuals suffering from schizophrenia. Join Janet Finlay in discussing the symptoms, course, cause and treatment of this brain disorder.
Dr. Janet Finlay is an associate professor of psychology. Her research focusing on the neurobiology of schizophrenia is supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and an Independent Investigator Award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD). She has also been the recipient of two NARSAD Young Investigator Awards. Her Ph.D. is from the University of British Columbia.
A Mind Apart: Travels in a Neurodiverse World
Body Toxic: An Environmental Memoir, written by associate professor Suzanne Paola, was named a New York Times Notable Book of 2001 and won an American Book Award for that year. After its publication, Paola received $20,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts to work on her second nonfiction book, published in 2005. In this new book, A Mind Apart: Travels in a Neurodiverse World, Paola, writing as Suzanne Antonetta, shows how we can learn from those with neurological disorders such as depression, multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia and autism.
Becoming an Ally: Building Community and Interrupting Prejudice
Most of us are committed to living in a diverse world free of prejudice and discrimination, yet we sometimes lack the concrete skills and experiences needed to become an ally for people who belong to groups other than our own. This workshop, facilitated by Pat Fabiano, offers an empowering and skill-building experience that celebrates similarities and differences. By listening to others’ stories we learn to identify misinformation learned about other groups, find ways to address internalized oppression, claim pride in our identity and the identities of others, assess the personal impact of discrimination, and practice skills for building community and interrupting prejudice. Fabiano received specialized training at the National Coalition Building Institute, a national nonprofit leadership training organization working to eliminate prejudice and inter-group conflict in communities throughout the world.
A Community Approach to Preventing and Solving Alcohol and Drug Problems
When it comes to preventing and solving problems related to alcohol and drug abuse, there isn’t a magic fix. Learn from Pat Fabiano how Western Washington University, the city of Bellingham and many community groups are innovatively working through the Campus Community Coalition to reduce/prevent underage drinking and to effectively deal with it when it does occur. Key leaders on campus and in the community recognize that substance abuse, specifically underage drinking, is a shared problem that requires shared solutions. This ambitious and active coalition, established in 1999, consists of law enforcement officers, property owners, bar owners, neighborhood associations, students, campus health and safety staff and representatives from the mayor’s office and the university’s president’s office.
Dr. Patricia Fabiano is active nationally in the field of college student wellness. She has received several federal grants to develop new strategies to help students make healthy choices regarding drug and alcohol use. She is a recipient of the Miguel Garcia-Tunon Memorial Award in Human Dignity, presented by the American College Health Association, and received a 2005 Northwest Women’s Hall of Fame award for service to the community. Fabiano is an adviser to the U.S. Department of Higher Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention. She is currently serving as a Woodring College of Education faculty member in educational leadership. Her Ph.D. in community health is from the Union Institute.
The Importance of Diversity in the Legal Profession
Underrepresented groups face many obstacles in the legal profession. In the American legal system, there is a current lack of diversity; only 10 percent of U.S. lawyers are people of color. Since 1991, Fairhaven College’s undergraduate Law and Diversity Program has been helping students in underrepresented groups overcome these obstacles. In this workshop, led by Julie Helling, you will learn what the obstacles are, identify possible solutions and examine how a multiplicity of voices strengthens the legal system for everyone.
Julie A. Helling has been the director of the Law & Diversity Program at Fairhaven College since 2000. A former Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, West Africa, she was a domestic violence prosecutor in the city of Minneapolis and an employment discrimination investigator for a Minnesota state agency. She has a B.A. in English from the University of Iowa and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.
Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tsunamis: Disaster Preparedness, Psychological Adjustment and Resiliency
Population trends in the United States and other countries indicate that increasing numbers of people are moving into regions that are vulnerable to recurring natural disasters. In this presentation, nationally recognized expert David Sattler reviews projects he has conducted following natural disasters in Thailand, India, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the United States. The goal of these projects is to explore ways to increase disaster preparedness and promote recovery following disaster. The findings show that preparation is influenced by demographic and personality characteristics and experience with previous disasters. The findings also show who is most likely to experience disaster stress as well as resiliency and suggest ways to improve intervention and recovery programs.
Dr. David Sattler is an associate professor of psychology. He earned his B.A. in psychology at San Diego State University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in social psychology at Michigan State University. He is on the editorial board of the “Journal of Traumatic Stress” and is a social and behavioral science editor of “Natural Hazards Review.” Dr. Sattler has co-authored four textbooks. Additional information about his research program may be found at www.wwu.edu/~sattler.
Smart Growth: Protecting the Green by Land and by Sea
Like many areas throughout the country, Bellingham is at the intersection of growth. Experts predict that from 2000 to 2025, the five U.S. counties lying between Vancouver, B.C., and Seattle could gain 750,000 people, a 72 percent surge in population. With the onslaught of such rapid growth and the infrastructure needed to support that growth, how do we protect the green that lures people to, and roots them, in our communities? Examining the long-term human impact on the environment has been a focus at Western’s Huxley College of the Environment for decades, long before sustainability became an international buzzword. Bradley Smith will discuss the issues surrounding growth that are now receiving universal attention.
Dr. Bradley Smith, dean of Huxley College of the Environment, has led a statewide effort for a sustainable Washington. He has been an adviser to UNESCO, the World Bank and the U.S. State Department and has served on the International Scholars Program for the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), speaking on environmental issues at U.S. embassies worldwide. Dr. Smith is the author of “Environmental Science: A Study of Interrelationships.”
The Power of Effective Schooling
In this presentation, Steven VanderStaay emphasizes that the importance of good schooling in a child’s life can never be overestimated. Teachers who engage their students and provide challenging curriculum can have a profound effect on whether those students become delinquents. Dr. VanderStaay, a former high school teacher, is writing a book on the expanding influence of the juvenile justice system within the educational system. He will share the results of a year-long study examining the effectiveness of an award-winning Seattle teacher and the links between literacy and criminal behavior.
Street Lives: An Oral History of Homeless America
Steven VanderStaay, author of Street Lives: An Oral History of Homeless America, was the 1999-2000 National Academy of Education/Spencer postdoctoral fellow. VanderStaay discusses the writing process and research leading to the publication of this book..
Dr. Steven VanderStaay is a writer and literary scholar who taught high school for seven years in urban, rural and bilingual settings. He was awarded a fellowship by the National Academy of Education four years after receiving his doctorate from the University of Iowa and spent the 1999-2000 academic year researching the factors that protect at-risk children from engaging in criminal or dangerous behavior. An associate professor of English, VanderStaay teaches courses at Western in literacy, language and literature.
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