Notables

Anton Daughters, assistant professor of anthropology, co-edited the recently published book “Moquis and Kastiilam: Hopis, Spaniards, and the Trauma of History.” This volume, the first in a two-part series published by the University of Arizona Press, covers the history and culture of the Hopi from 1540, the year of first contact with Europeans, to 1679, the year before the Pueblo Revolt. It represents a 15-year collaboration between anthropologists and Hopi tribe members. Volume II, spanning the years 1680 and 1780, is due out next year.

Justin Jarvis, assistant professor of economics, recently completed research studying the determinants of homelessness. His work entitled “Individual-level determinants of homelessness: A descriptive approach” will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Housing Economics. For this study, Jarvis created a data set by interviewing all the homeless individuals in Costa Mesa, Calif. By restricting the sample to only those who are already homeless and introducing the concept of a homelessness intensity measure, he exploits variation in individual characteristics and usage of a check-in center to predict the intensity of homelessness (defined as the ratio of actual homeless nights to potential homeless nights). He finds that usage of the check-in center (a place for homeless individuals to “check-in” their belongings during the day) has a large negative effect on the intensity of homelessness. The self-reported cause of homelessness is a determining factor as well. He also finds, as would be expected, that education and the presence of family nearby lessens the intensity of homelessness. Jarvis’ research also offers a methodological solution for the statistical discrepancy that can come about when homeless individuals are studied due to the difficulty of finding/enumerating this unique population.

Amber Johnson, professor of anthropology, presented a paper titled “Macroecological exploration of variation in Kalahari site structure” with Dr. Robert Hitchcock of the University of New Mexico at the Conference on Hunting and Gathering Societies in Vienna, Austria. This research will be developed further for a poster at the Society for American Archaeology meetings in the spring.

Jack Winstead, assistant professor of accounting, along with co-authors John Humphreys, Milorad Novicevic and Tobi Popoola had their manuscript entitled, “When the Moral Tail Wags the Entrepreneurial Dog: The Historic Case of Trumpet Records,” accepted for publication in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Management History.

Truman was recently rated No. 23 in the nation in the outcomes-based Educate To Career College Rankings Index. Educate To Career (ETC) is a nonprofit whose rankings place major emphasis on workforce preparedness and the improvement in earnings and employability that graduates derive from attending a particular college. Of the nearly 1,200 schools on the list, Truman was the only Missouri institution to make the top 100. The entire ETC College Rankings Index is available online.