Digital Commons Network^™

More Than Human Sacrifice: Teaching About The Aztecs In The New Latino South, Timothy Monreal

Middle Grades Review

This essay details an extended lesson I created to teach about Aztec/Mexica resistance to Spanish conquest in a sixth grade classroom within the context of the New Latino South. Rather than concentrate on the familiar tropes of human sacrifice and European exploration, I centered Aztec/Mexica philosophy, arts, and resistance in order to disrupt majoritarian narratives reified in Social Studies courses. Decentering and complicating the dominant narrative about Aztec/Mexica culture is one way educators can challenge dominant, and negative, discourse about burgeoning Latinx communities. I argue that in order for schools to help remedy deficit perspectives of Latinx people, especially in …

Why Can’T Tyrone Write: Reconceptualizing Flower And Hayes For African-American Adolescent Male Writers, Kimberly J. Stormer

Middle Grades Review

Using qualitative methods and a case study design, the perceptions and writing processes of three African-American eighth grade males were explored. Data were derived from semi-structured and informal interviews; and document analysis. The study concluded that the perceptions of the three participants’ writing processes did not adhere to the steps depicted by the cognitive process model of writing (Flower and Hayes, 1981) that has become a dominant model for describing the composing processes of students. Recommendations are made for altering the Flower and Hayes model to depict how these three, African-American eighth graders perceive school writing.

"That Sh*T Is Rude!" Religion, Picture Books, And Social Narratives In Middle School, Denise Davila, Allison Volz

Middle Grades Review

While the U.S. has a divisive history around the separation of church and state in public school, current national and state teaching standards do include curricular objectives related to the study of religion. This paper focuses on the ways a diverse group of sixth-grade public schoolchildren engaged with religious content in their English Language Arts class. Specifically, it examines the kinds of narratives the children constructed in response to diverse works of public art and children’s picturebooks, including Mora’s (2012) The Beautiful Lady: Our Lady of Guadalupe / La hermosa señora: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Señora), and Garza’s …

You Can’T “Nudge” Nuggets: An Investigation Of Late Night Dining With Behavioral Economics Interventions, Samuel Bevet, Lizzy Pope, Meredith Niles

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

A mixed-methods approach was used to evaluate and improve the “Late-Night Dining” options in a university dining hall. Surveys assessed student desires around Late-Night offerings, and evaluated students’ habits and motivations during Late-Night. Two interventions based on the principles of behavioral economics were implemented to see if students could be “nudged” into making healthier choices. In the first, a “veggie-heavy” entrée was added at the beginning of the entrée line, so that students would substitute a healthier entrée for the less healthy alternatives. In the second, a healthy snack-food bar was set up to cater to students who didn’t want …

Forecasting The Onset And Course Of Mental Illness With Twitter Data, Andrew G. Reece, Andrew J. Reagan, Katharina L.M. Lix, Peter Sheridan Dodds, Christopher M. Danforth, Ellen J. Langer

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

We developed computational models to predict the emergence of depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Twitter users. Twitter data and details of depression history were collected from 204 individuals (105 depressed, 99 healthy). We extracted predictive features measuring affect, linguistic style, and context from participant tweets (N = 279,951) and built models using these features with supervised learning algorithms. Resulting models successfully discriminated between depressed and healthy content, and compared favorably to general practitioners' average success rates in diagnosing depression, albeit in a separate population. Results held even when the analysis was restricted to content posted before first depression diagnosis. …

Erratum To: Instagram Photos Reveal Predictive Markers Of Depression (Epj Data Science, (2017), 6, 1, (15), 10.1140/Epjds/S13688-017-0110-Z), Andrew G. Reece, Christopher M. Danforth

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

Upon publication of the original article [1], it was noticed that Figure 2 contained an error. The horizontal bars for the likes row were incorrectly shown as blue. The horizontal bars for the ‘likes’ row should be orange. This has now been acknowledged and corrected in this erratum. The correct Figure 2 is shown below. In the section Method, subsection Improving data quality, the sentence ‘We also excluded participants with CES-D scores of 22 or higher. should read as We also excluded participants with CES-D scores of 21 or lower. This has now been acknowledged and corrected in this erratum. …

Instagram Photos Reveal Predictive Markers Of Depression, Andrew G. Reece, Christopher M. Danforth

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

Using Instagram data from 166 individuals, we applied machine learning tools to successfully identify markers of depression. Statistical features were computationally extracted from 43,950 participant Instagram photos, using color analysis, metadata components, and algorithmic face detection. Resulting models outperformed general practitioners’ average unassisted diagnostic success rate for depression. These results held even when the analysis was restricted to posts made before depressed individuals were first diagnosed. Human ratings of photo attributes (happy, sad, etc.) were weaker predictors of depression, and were uncorrelated with computationally-generated features. These results suggest new avenues for early screening and detection of mental illness.

Sentiment Analysis Methods For Understanding Large-Scale Texts: A Case For Using Continuum-Scored Words And Word Shift Graphs, Andrew J. Reagan, Christopher M. Danforth, Brian Tivnan, Jake Ryland Williams, Peter Sheridan Dodds

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

The emergence and global adoption of social media has rendered possible the real-time estimation of population-scale sentiment, an extraordinary capacity which has profound implications for our understanding of human behavior. Given the growing assortment of sentiment-measuring instruments, it is imperative to understand which aspects of sentiment dictionaries contribute to both their classification accuracy and their ability to provide richer understanding of texts. Here, we perform detailed, quantitative tests and qualitative assessments of 6 dictionary-based methods applied to 4 different corpora, and briefly examine a further 20 methods. We show that while inappropriate for sentences, dictionary-based methods are generally robust in …

Evaluating Spatial Variability In Sediment And Phosphorus Concentration-Discharge Relationships Using Bayesian Inference And Self-Organizing Maps, Kristen L. Underwood, Donna M. Rizzo, Andrew W. Schroth, Mandar M. Dewoolkar

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

Given the variable biogeochemical, physical, and hydrological processes driving fluvial sediment and nutrient export, the water science and management communities need data-driven methods to identify regions prone to production and transport under variable hydrometeorological conditions. We use Bayesian analysis to segment concentration-discharge linear regression models for total suspended solids (TSS) and particulate and dissolved phosphorus (PP, DP) using 22 years of monitoring data from 18 Lake Champlain watersheds. Bayesian inference was leveraged to estimate segmented regression model parameters and identify threshold position. The identified threshold positions demonstrated a considerable range below and above the median discharge—which has been used previously …

Catastrophic Failure Of Nacre Under Pure Shear Stresses Of Torsion, Saleh Alghamdi, Ting Tan, Christopher Hale-Sills, Floyd Vilmont, Tian Xia, Jie Yang, Dryver Huston, Mandar Dewoolkar

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

Nacre, a composite made from biogenic aragonite and proteins, exhibits excellent strength and toughness. Here, we show that nacreous sections can exhibit complete brittle fracture along the tablet interfaces at the proportional limit under pure shear stresses of torsion. We quantitatively separate the initial tablet sliding primarily resisted by nanoscale aragonite pillars from the following sliding resisted by various microscale toughening mechanisms. We postulate that the ductility of nacre can be limited by eliminating tablet interactions during crack propagations. Our findings should help pursuing further insights of layered materials by using torsion.

Upstream Watershed Condition Predicts Rural Children's Health Across 35 Developing Countries, Diego Herrera, Alicia Ellis, Brendan Fisher, Christopher D. Golden, Kiersten Johnson, Mark Mulligan, Alexander Pfaff, Timothy Treuer, Taylor H. Ricketts

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Diarrheal disease (DD) due to contaminated water is a major cause of child mortality globally. Forests and wetlands can provide ecosystem services that help maintain water quality. To understand the connections between land cover and childhood DD, we compiled a database of 293,362 children in 35 countries with information on health, socioeconomic factors, climate, and watershed condition. Using hierarchical models, here we find that higher upstream tree cover is associated with lower probability of DD downstream. This effect is significant for rural households but not for urban households, suggesting differing dependence on watershed conditions. In rural areas, the effect of …

Mining Drives Extensive Deforestation In The Brazilian Amazon, Laura J. Sonter, Diego Herrera, Damian J. Barrett, Gillian L. Galford, Chris J. Moran, Britaldo S. Soares-Filho

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Mining poses significant and potentially underestimated risks to tropical forests worldwide. In Brazil's Amazon, mining drives deforestation far beyond operational lease boundaries, yet the full extent of these impacts is unknown and thus neglected in environmental licensing. Here we quantify mining-induced deforestation and investigate the aspects of mining operations, which most likely contribute. We find mining significantly increased Amazon forest loss up to 70 km beyond mining lease boundaries, causing 11,670 km2 of deforestation between 2005 and 2015. This extent represents 9% of all Amazon forest loss during this time and 12 times more deforestation than occurred within mining leases …

A Multi-Country Assessment Of Factors Related To Smallholder Food Security In Varying Rainfall Conditions, Meredith T. Niles, Molly E. Brown

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Given that smallholder farmers are frequently food insecure and rely significantly on rain-fed agriculture, it is critical to examine climate variability and food insecurity. We utilize data from smallholder farmer surveys from 12 countries with 30 years of rainfall data to examine how rainfall variability and household resources are correlated with food security. We find that on average, households that experienced a drier than average year are 3.81 months food insecure, while households within a normal range of rainfall were 3.67 months food insecure, and wetter than average households were 2.86 months food insecure. Reduced odds of food insecurity is …

Genomic Signature Of Adaptive Divergence Despite Strong Nonadaptive Forces On Edaphic Islands: A Case Study Of Primulina Juliae, Jing Wang, Chao Feng, Tenglong Jiao, Eric Bishop Von Wettberg, Ming Kang

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Both genetic drift and divergent selection are expected to be strong evolutionary forces driving population differentiation on edaphic habitat islands. However, the relative contribution of genetic drift and divergent selection to population divergence has rarely been tested simultaneously. In this study, restriction-site associated DNA-based population genomic analyses were applied to assess the relative importance of drift and divergent selection on population divergence of Primulina juliae, an edaphic specialist fromsouthern China. All populations were found with low standing genetic variation, small effective population size (NE), and signatures of bottlenecks. Populations with the lowest genetic variation were most genetically differentiated from other …

How We Met Our Data Librarian: Designing, Recruiting, And Implementing A New Position, Graham Sherriff, Christie Silkotch, Laurie Kutner, Fred C. Pond, Laura L. Haines

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Strategic support for a range of data management needs has emerged as a campus-level priority at UVM, as at many other colleges and universities. In Spring 2017, the UVM Libraries reconfigured the vacant position of “Science Librarian” as “Science and Data Librarian” with new responsibilities for supporting data management. This presentation will describe a case study of how the UVM Libraries aligned these responsibilities with campus needs and initiatives; what we learned about data librarianship from the recruitment process; and the opportunities for an incoming librarian shaping the course of new library services.

Recoding “Guide On The Side” To Collect Learner Performance Data: Collaboration, Customization, And Assessment, Graham Sherriff

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

University of Vermont (UVM) libraries use the open-source tutorial platform “Guide on the Side”. This flexible and robust platform for split-screen tutorials provides learners with dynamic, authentic learning experiences. But the out-of-the-box program has a major shortcoming: learners’ performance data is generated in the form of email “certificates”. This poster describes how we collaborated with a UVM Center for Teaching and Learning programmer on the integration of custom code that aggregates and reports this data. It explains how our custom installation now supports the validation of our learning objects and the large-scale assessment of our students’ performance.

The Complete Chloroplast Genome Of Primulina And Two Novel Strategies For Development Of High Polymorphic Loci For Population Genetic And Phylogenetic Studies, Chao Feng, Meizhen Xu, Chen Feng, Eric J.B. Von Wettberg, Ming Kang

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Primulina Hance is an emerging model for studying evolutionary divergence, adaptation and speciation of the karst flora. However, phylogenetic relationships within the genus have not been resolved due to low variation detected in the cpDNA regions. Chloroplast genomes can provide important information for phylogenetic and population genetic studies. Recent advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques greatly facilitate sequencing whole chloroplast genomes for multiple individuals. Consequently, novel strategies for development of highly polymorphic loci for population genetic and phylogenetic studies based on NGS data are needed. Methods: For development of high polymorphic loci for population genetic and phylogenetic studies, two …

Climate Change And Food Systems: Assessing Impacts And Opportunities, Meredith T. Niles, Richie Ahuja, Jimena M. Esquivel, Nelson Mango, Mil Duncan, Martin Heller, Cristina Tirado

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Deciphering The Enigma Of Undetected Species, Phylogenetic, And Functional Diversity Based On Good-Turing Theory, Anne Chao, Chun Huo Chiu, Robert K. Colwell, Luiz Fernando S. Magnago, Robin L. Chazdon, Nicholas J. Gotelli

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

Estimating the species, phylogenetic, and functional diversity of a community is challenging because rare species are often undetected, even with intensive sampling. The Good-Turing frequency formula, originally developed for cryptography, estimates in an ecological context the true frequencies of rare species in a single assemblage based on an incomplete sample of individuals. Until now, this formula has never been used to estimate undetected species, phylogenetic, and functional diversity. Here, we first generalize the Good-Turing formula to incomplete sampling of two assemblages. The original formula and its two-assemblage generalization provide a novel and unified approach to notation, terminology, and estimation of …

A Comprehensive Framework For The Study Of Species Co-Occurrences, Nestedness And Turnover, Werner Ulrich, Wojciech Kryszewski, Piotr Sewerniak, Radosław Puchałka, Giovanni Strona, Nicholas J. Gotelli

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

Binary presence–absence matrices (rows = species, columns = sites) are often used to quantify patterns of species co-occurrence, and to infer possible biotic interactions from these patterns. Previous classifications of co-occurrence patterns as nested, segregated, or modular have led to contradictory results and conclusions. These analyses usually do not incorporate the functional traits of the species or the environmental characteristics of the sites, even though the outcomes of species interactions often depend on trait expression and site quality. Here we address this shortcoming by developing a method that incorporates realized functional and environmental niches, and relates them to species co-occurrence …

Quantifying The Impact That New Capital Projects Will Have On Roadway Snow And Ice Control Operations, James Sullivan, Jonathan Dowds, David Novak, Darren Scott, Cliff Ragsdale

University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

In recent years, many states have experienced heavy burdens on their snow and ice control budgets. Increases in winter/spring precipitation results in increased costs to state DOTs for winter roadway maintenance materials (salt, sand, chemicals, etc.), plow operator time, equipment maintenance and replacement budgets, and fuel use. As state DOTs adjust to climate conditions that include not only more precipitation, but more severe and unpredictable weather events, it will become increasingly important to integrate the cost of roadway snow and ice control (RSIC) operations into their capital-project planning processes. The overall goal of this project was to support state DOTs’ …

Closing The Reference Desk: Increasing Number Of Questions Asked, And Level Of Librarian Embeddedness, Laura Haines, Alice Stokes

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

In January 2016, Dana Medical Library closed its physical Reference Desk and moved to an on-demand reference service model. Reference needs are now predominantly met by para-professional staff at a Main Desk. Librarians answer chat, email and telephone questions in their offices on a shift basis, and respond to more complex questions from in person walk-ins referred from the Main Desk. Patrons can also schedule consultations directly with librarians. Over a year later, the number of interactions has increased, and librarians are more engaged in units across campus. This poster explores the transition from physical desk to on-call service, and …

Isolation By Distance, Not Rivers, Control The Distribution Of Termite Species In The Amazonian Rain Forest, Cristian S. Dambros, José W. Morais, Renato A. Azevedo, Nicholas J. Gotelli

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

The spatial distribution of species is affected by dispersal barriers, local environmental conditions and climate. However, the effect of species dispersal and their adaptation to the environment across geographic scales is poorly understood. To investigate the distribution of species from local to broad geographic scales, we sampled termites in 198 transects distributed in 13 sampling grids in the Brazilian Amazonian forest. The sampling grids encompassed an area of 271 500 km2 and included the five major biogeographic regions delimited by Amazonian rivers. Environmental data for each transect were obtained from local measurements and remote sensing. Similar to previous studies, termite …

Environmental Proteomics Reveals Taxonomic And Functional Changes In An Enriched Aquatic Ecosystem, Amanda C. Northrop, Rachel K. Brooks, Aaron M. Ellison, Nicholas J. Gotelli, Bryan A. Ballif

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

Aquatic ecosystem enrichment can lead to distinct and irreversible changes to undesirable states. Understanding changes in active microbial community function and composition following organic matter loading in enriched ecosystems can help identify biomarkers of such state changes. In a field experiment, we enriched replicate aquatic ecosystems in the pitchers of the northern pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. Shotgun metaproteomics using a custom metagenomic database identified proteins, molecular pathways, and contributing microbial taxa that differentiated control ecosystems from those that were enriched. The number of microbial taxa contributing to protein expression was comparable between treatments; however, taxonomic evenness was higher in controls. …

Studying Human Behavior For Species Conservation, Hilary Byerly, Brendan Fisher

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Historic Preservation Program Newsletter, Historic Preservation Program Newsletter

Historic Preservation Program Newsletter

2017.

UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROGRAM HISTORY DEPARTMENT - WHEELER HOUSE - BURLINGTON, VERMONT

2015 Maple Business Benchmark, Mark Cannella, Christopher Lindgren, Betsy Miller

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

The 2015 Maple Business Benchmark is the third year of financial analysis for a small group of commercial syrup producers. The University of Vermont Extension worked with 14 maple producers to complete financial analysis of their maple enterprise. This report demonstrates key management and financial metrics including: yield statistics, land use, operating costs, investment requirements, total cost of production, marketing strategy and net income. The participants represent a small sample of the entire Vermont maple industry but the findings can compel any manager to consider the methods and results of financial analysis for their particular business situations. This report will …

Identifying The Spatial Pattern And Importance Of Hydro-Geomorphic Drainage Impairments On Unpaved Roads In The Northeastern Usa, Beverley C. Wemple, Gordon E. Clark, Donald S. Ross, Donna M. Rizzo

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

Roads have been widely studied as sources of runoff and sediment and identified as pollutant production sources to receiving waters. Despite the wealth of research on logging roads in forested, upland settings, little work has been conducted to examine the role of extensive networks of rural, low-volume, unpaved roads on water quality degradation at the catchment scale. We studied a network of municipal unpaved roads in the northeastern US to identify the type and spatial extent of ‘hydro-geomorphic impairments’ to water quality. We mapped erosional and depositional features on roads to develop an estimate of pollutant production. We also mapped …

Opening The Classroom Door - A Survey Of Middle Grades Teachers Who Mentor Preservice Teachers— Lessons From Clinical Partnerships And Implications For Practice, Steven L. Turner, Carie C. Greene

Middle Grades Review

Mentor teachers that participate in school-university clinical experiences have a unique opportunity to support preservice middle grades teachers’ development and improve the schooling of young adolescents. This article investigates an early clinical experience and presents data from a survey of 38 middle school teachers who served as mentor teachers. Findings address how middle grades teachers view their role as mentors, their perceptions of the clinical experience as a collaborative learning partnership, and concludes with suggestions to improve clinical experiences for preservice middle grades teacher candidates.

Our History Clips: Collaborating For The Common Good, Beatrice N. Bailey Edd, Nora Mcmillan

Middle Grades Review

This case study reveals how middle school social studies teachers within a professional development program are encouraging their students to use multiple disciplinary literacies to create Our History Clips as they also work toward developing a classroom community of engaged student citizens.