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Silkat Arts And Place-Based Core Teaching Practice: Workshop Approach And Cultural Arts Units Development, Megan Ellis

Education

The work presented in this project is representative of the goals of the SILKAT (Sustaining Indigenous and Local Knowledge, Arts and Teaching) project, which is a collaborative effort between the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Bering Strait School District, to create culturally responsive professional development for teachers, and cultural arts units for students. This work is the presentation of one professional development module for the core practice of having the ability to facilitate a workshop approach in the classroom where different students, or groups of students are doing different things at the same time. It is also a presentation …

Integrating Herbivore Population Dynamics Into A Global Land Biosphere Model: Plugging Animals Into The Earth System, Shree R. S. Dangal, Hanqin Tian, Chaoqun Lu, Wei Ren, Shufen Pan, Jia Yang, Nicola Di Cosmo, Amy Hessl

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Mammalian herbivores are an essential component of grassland and savanna ecosystems, and with feedbacks to the climate system. To date, the response and feedbacks of mammalian herbivores to changes in both abiotic and biotic factors are poorly quantified and not adequately represented in the current global land surface modeling framework. In this study, we coupled herbivore population dynamics in a global land model (the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model, DLEM 3.0) to simulate populations of horses, cattle, sheep, and goats, and their responses to changes in multiple environmental factors at the site level across different continents during 1980–2010. Simulated results show …

Natural Histories Of Yup'ik Memoirs, Caroline R. Crecelius

Anthropology

This thesis explores how cultural knowledge is committed to textual form and circulated within and outside of linguistically marginalized communities. Working within a Central Yup'ik context, I have focused my research on collections of Yup'ik elders' memoirs housed within the Alaska Native Language Archive. Published Yup'ik elders' memoirs offer rich descriptions of Yup'ik cultural histories, epistemologies and statements about language, the expression and inclusion of which varies based on the interactional contexts, participant frameworks and funding institutions through which they were produced. This study incorporates both Indigenous and non-Indigenous theoretical frameworks related to the process of entextualization, or text creation, …

Recycled Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites Incorporated In Mortar For Improved Mechanical Performance, Harry Rodin, Somayeh Nassiri, Karl Englund, Osama Fakron, Hui Li

CESTiCC Project Reports

Glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) recycled from retired wind turbines was implemented in mortar as a volumetric replacement of sand during the two phases of this study. In Phase I, the mechanically refined GFRP particle sizes were sieved for four size groups to find the optimum size. In Phase II, the select GFRP size group was incorporated at three different volumetric replacements of sand to identify the optimum replacement content. The mixtures were tested for compressive strength, flexural strength, toughness, and the potential for alkali-silicate reaction. Incorporation of GFRP in mortar proves promising in improving flexural strength and toughness in …

Pedagogy For Reading In Rural Alaska: The Effect Of Culturally Relevant Reading Materials On Student Reading Achievement In Chevak, Alaska, Beth J. Geiges

Indigenous Studies

This study used Culturally Relevant Reading materials (CRRM) with a proprietary, culturally relevant pedagogy for Reading. It was focused on results in Reading Achievement, both reading fluency and comprehension, involving 7th and 8th grade students in a twelve (12)-week program of Reading Language Arts. It was an exploratory sequential mixed methods study using a quasi-experimental design, with two student groups, A and B, experimental and control respectively. The results are situated within cultural expert views of Native perspectives on reading from the community as well as student surveys on motivation. Results from the study indicate that student achievement in Reading …

Helping Veterans Through Outreach, Rodney B. Ebersole

Justice

The present Master's project seeks to develop a better understanding of Veterans and what they are going through. Research methods include extensive data on the high suicide rates of Veterans. Veteran and service members are in need of a service to them that will address the issue of suicide and what can be done to help and eliminate this problem. The programs that need to be designed to help needs should be in locations that have Veteran populations so as to serve them with their needs. Ultimately, Veterans Affairs (VA) officials have boosted their mental health personnel and suicide hotline …

Automatic Detection Of Sensor Calibration Errors In Mining Industry, Rambabu Pothina

Engineering

Sensor errors cost the mining industry millions of dollars in losses each year. Unlike gross errors, "calibration errors" are subtle, develop over time, and are difficult to identify. Economic losses start accumulating even when errors are small. Therefore, the aim of this research was to develop methods to identify calibration errors well before they become obvious. The goal in this research was to detect errors at a bias as low as 2% in magnitude. The innovative strategy developed relied on relationships between a variety of sensors to detect when a given sensor started to stray. Sensors in a carbon stripping …

Baseline Data Of Bird Populations In The Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, Mexico: A Citizen Science Approach, Teresa S. Anderson

Natural Resources

This project tested the viability of converting a local environmental education group, "Eco Chavos" into a team of citizen scientists. In rural biosphere reserves in Mexico, with few resources and large resident populations, community-based biological inventory and monitoring has the potential to increase the impact of Mexican biosphere reserves by generating scientific information and engaging local residents in hands-on environmental education. To test this, I formed a citizen science birding group and trained them in bird identification, survey techniques, data collection, and data management. The project began in January 2016 and in December 2016 I stopped mentoring the program and …

Perceptions Of Success: A Case Study Of Planning For Climate Change In Shaktoolik, Alaska, Stefan G. Tangen

Natural Resources

Climate change planning is increasingly used in places like northwest Alaska where people are dealing with the effects of global climate change in dramatic and life altering ways. Planning for climate change often involves multiple actors from all levels of government working together with various goals, motivations, and perceptions of success. This research provides a perspective on what compelled the community of Shaktoolik to formally plan for climate change, documenting who they worked with throughout the process, the dynamics involved, and the outcomes created. I used a case study approach and qualitative methods in the form of participant observation, semi-structured …

Winning Ideas, Jody Record

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Afterparty, Patrick M. Werle

Creative Writing Programs

Afterparty is built on the question, “Can one overcome the past?”...I think. While the work flows on a loose timeline, I do not intend the manuscript to be a story. As the poems drift in and out of time periods; childhood, adolescence, fatherhood, I hope that this is also a collection that can be opened in the middle or paged through and still be successful. Of course, as the artist, I would love for people to take the journey beginning to end. And I also believe that poetry collections should be able to have a reader jump in at any …

Language Abilities In Single- And Dual- Language Learners With Autism Or Other Developmental Disorders, Yael Dai

Master's Theses

Parents and providers worry that exposure to two languages will impair language acquisition in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or other developmental delays (DD). However, limited research to date suggests that language milestones and abilities are unaffected. The current study explored language abilities in toddlers with ASD or DD exposed to one versus multiple languages, prior to any intervention. Results showed slower language acquisition in ASD than DD but no main effect of language exposure group or interaction of language group by diagnosis. This study suggests that bilingual parents can communicate with their children in both languages without harm …

Factors Associated With Violence Against Women In Rural India, Jennifer Lardner

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Acceptability And Correlates Of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Use For Hiv Prevention Among High-Risk Drug Users In Treatment, Pramila Karki

Master's Theses

Background

Although people who use drugs (PWUD) are a key population recommended to receive pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV, few data are available to guide PrEP delivery in this underserved group. We therefore examined the willingness to initiate PrEP, the anticipation of HIV risk reduction while on PrEP, and the acceptability of PrEP based on a number of known PrEP attributes among high-risk PWUD.

Methods

In a cross-sectional study of 400 HIV-negative, opioid dependent individuals enrolled in a methadone program and reporting recent risk behaviors, we examined independent correlates of being willing to initiate PrEP. Participants also ranked the …

Human Dimensions Of Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus Horridus) Management In Connecticut, Lindsay Keener-Eck

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Factors Influencing Maternal Involvement In Early Childhood: Exploring The Roles Of Maternal Stress And Children’S Narrative Representations Of Mothers, Rahmet Akpolat

Master's Theses

For children from low-income families, parent school involvement can be a crucial protective factor that supports children’s cognitive and emotional development. The present study seeks to explore how maternal stress in early childhood is associated with mothers’ later school involvement and whether children’s internalized positive, disciplinary and negative maternal representations act as potential mediators of this relationship. Currently, little research has been done on the contextual factors influencing parent school involvement in early childhood and this study aims to fill this gap in the literature. The data included 169 children and mothers from low-income families. Mothers completed questionnaires designed to …

Analysis Of A Newly Digitized Long-Term Dataset Of Environmental Observations From Long Island Sound, Jacob Snyder

Master's Theses

Project Oceanology, a non-profit oceanographic educational organization has been collecting data including pH, oxygen, and temperature conditions as well as abundances of benthic invertebrates and near-shore fish catches since 1972 from Eastern Long Island Sound. These data had been stored solely on single-copy paper sheets and were therefore inaccessible to analysis. I digitized more than 100,000 abiotic measurements and 50,000 species abundance and size data collected over the past 45 years, and developed a web-based SQL database housed on the Long Island Sound Integrated Coastal Observing System (LISICOS) server. The database will ultimately become a searchable, downloadable, user-friendly web-based tool …

Buellia Dispersa (Lichens) Used As Bio-Indicator For Air Pollution Transport: A Case Study Within The Las Vegas Valley, Nevada (Usa), Douglas B. Sims, Amanda Hudson, Ji Hye Park, Vernon F. Hodge, Heidi Porter, W. Geffrey Spaulding

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Research

Analyses of lichen biomass (Buellia dispersa), when compared to windrose diagrams, shows pathways of airborne pollutant transport across the Las Vegas Valley. The west and north sectors of the Las Vegas Valley contained the lowest target contaminates (e.g., Cr, Cu, Co, Pb, Ni) and the highest NO3− while the east....

Psychometric Testing Of The Healthy Eating And Physical Activity Self-Efficacy Questionnaire And The Healthy Eating And Physical Activity Behavior Recall Questionnaire For Children, Jane Lassetter Phd, Rn, Christopher I. Macintosh, Mary Williams, Martha Driessnack, Gaye Ray, Jonathan Wisco

Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and assess the psychometric properties for two related questionnaires: the Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (HEPASEQ-C) and theHealthy Eating and PhysicalActivity Behavior RecallQuestionnaire for Children (HEPABRQ-C). Design andMethods: HEPASEQ-C and HEPABRQ-C were administered to 517 participating children with 492 completing. Data were analyzed to evaluate for reliability and validity of the questionnaires. Results: Content validity was established through a 10-person expert panel. For the HEPASEQC, item content validity index (CVI) ranged from 0.80 to 1.00. The CVI for the total questionnaire was 1.0. AllHEPASEQ-C items loaded on …

Decision Making Processes For Bim Software Selection In The U.S. A.E.C. Industry: Developing A Unified, Streamlined Framework., Richelle Fosu

Purdue Polytechnic Doctoral Dissertations

The use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) techniques and tools continues to gain popularity in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry as more companies in the various sectors are utilizing it in one form or another. In this research, the decision-making process of construction firms with respect to the selection of BIM software for use is investigated. Through one on one interviews and gathered survey responses, a framework mapping out the various paths the exist in the decision-making process are explored. This data is then used to form a framework for BIM software selection in the construction sector of …

Testing Environmental Dna Sampling And Predictive Modeling As Means To Investigate Wood Frog (Rana Sylvatica) Distribution In Alaska And Northern Canada, Mark Anthony Spangler

Biological Sciences

Global amphibian declines over the past 30+ years have led to a greater awareness of amphibian conservation issues. Few amphibian species occur in northern landscapes, however, and the species that do occur are widely dispersed and at the northern extent of their range. Accordingly, amphibian research is not prioritized in northern landscapes. Deficient monitoring practices have resulted in incomplete distribution knowledge that impedes the management of wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) in Alaska and northern Canada. I developed an environmental DNA detection assay to complement monitoring practices at the northern extent of the wood frog's range. This assay was tested to …

Evaluation Of Growth And Migration Trends On The Survival And Recruitment Of Chinook Salmon In Southeastern Alaska Rivers, Stephanie Berkman

Fisheries

Highly variable recruitment and declines in productivity and abundance of Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha have created economic and cultural hardships for communities throughout Alaska. Although pre- and post-smolt growth are important for determining brood-year (BY) survival and productivity for Pacific salmon through size-mediated mortality, these relationships remain unclear for Chinook Salmon. As a result, it is necessary to better understand the relationships between environmental and biological factors that influence freshwater and marine growth, smolt outmigrations, and recruitment success. This study used retrospective growth to identify the importance of annual growth in determining BY survival and recruitment, determine if growth dependency …

Following The Flâneur: The Methodological Possibilities And Applications Of Flânerie In New Urban Spaces, Jessica Rizk, Anton Birioukov

The Qualitative Report

This paper considers the historic concept of flânerie, the act of “strolling” through urban spaces, as an unconventional approach to gathering qualitative data. In adopting a flânerie identity, the researcher is able to critically analyze urban spaces and the relation of self to those spaces. Through a (re)conceptualization of the 19th century flâneur, we explicate the methodological possibilities and applications of flânerie, in particular, as suited to excavating new urban tropes, whilst giving expression to new urban subjectivities. The authors adopt a flânerie identity, engaging in a qualitative inquiry vis-à-vis two “strolls” occurring in Toronto, Canada. The strolls provide opportunities …

Empowering Refugees Through Self-Education, Ayanna Osborne

Master's Projects and Capstones

This project focuses on how to create easier access to education in refugee camps. This is discussed through the ideas of self-directed learning and cooperative learning. As well, the current need for education is explored. Several case studies are provided demonstrating that people without a formal education have successfully been able to seek information and teach themselves. As well, studies are discussed in which individuals have been shown to efficiently seek information and teach one another.

My website provided is still under construction as of 01/2018. It will be completed by the end of the year. Anyone is welcome to …

Hydrological, Sedimentological, And Meteorological Observations And Analysis On The Sagavanirktok River, H. Toniolo, E.K. Youcha, K.D. Tape, R. Paturi, J. Homan, A. Bondurant, I. Ladines, J. Laurio, D. Vas, J. Keech, T. Tschetter, E. Lamesjerant

WERC Project Reports

The Dalton Highway near Deadhorse was closed twice during late March and early April 2015 because of extensive overflow from the Sagavanirktok River that flowed over the highway. That spring, researchers from the Water and Environmental Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) monitored the river conditions during breakup, which was characterized by unprecedented flooding that overtopped and consequently destroyed several sections of the Dalton Highway near Deadhorse. The UAF research team has monitored breakup conditions at the Sagavanirktok River since that time. Given the magnitude of the 2015 flooding, the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company started a long-term …

Migration Patterns And Energetics Of Adult Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus Tshawystcha In Alaska Rivers, Kristin R. Neuneker

Fisheries

Adult Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha undertake extensive and energetically costly migrations between food resources in the ocean and their freshwater spawning habitats, requiring them to adapt behavioral and physiological traits that allow them to successfully reach their spawning streams and reproduce. Such adaptations may be shaped by physical factors in the environment and individual- and population-specific biological characteristics. Chinook Salmon in North America are important resources for both United States and Canadian stakeholders, but relatively little is known about their freshwater migration patterns and energetic status in many rivers across their range. This research explored variation in migration timing and …

Meta-Analysis Of Hydraulic Fracture Conductivity Data, Mohammed Rashnur Rahman

Engineering

Previous empirical models of propped fracture conductivity are based either on data sourced from single investigations or on data not in the public domain. In this work, statistically rigorous models of propped fracture conductivity are developed using a database of fracture conductivity experiments reported in technical literature over the last 40 years. The database contains the results from about 2700 experimental runs. Propped fracture conductivity is the dependent variable and proppant types, mesh size, proppant concentration, formation hardness, closure stress, formation temperature, and polymer concentration are the independent variables. The mother database is partitioned into subsets; that is different databases …

Connecting Alaskans: Mixed-Use Safety And Accessibility Challenges In Rural Environments, Carrie L. Sorensen

Engineering

Connectivity in transportation networks, or lack thereof, is a challenge that many people have to deal with. Alaska has many rural communities that are inaccessible by conventional modes of transportation. In order for people to reach these communities and move between them unconventional modes of transportation are needed. However, very few studies have been done on unconventional transportation modes such as ATVs and snowmachines and the level to which they contribute to connecting people and how to help limit traumatic injuries of users. This study focuses on Alaska and three primary datasets. First, the Pacific North West Transportation Survey developed …

Tire Chain Damage On Bridge Deck Wearing Surfaces, Wilhelm Muench

Engineering

A light weight, durable, and damage-resistant material is needed as a wearing surface replacement for a two-lane bridge deck that is on a 6% grade. The wearing surface to be replaced is 9.2-m wide and is attached to an orthotropic closed cell steel deck that supported by two 155.9-cm wide by 414.0-cm deep steel box girders. This is a 699.5-m long six span bridge over the Yukon River located near the Arctic Circle on the gravel road section of the Dalton Highway. The bridge is located approximately 80 km north of Fairbanks, Alaska. The structure was designed in the early …

Spatial Transferability Assessment Of A Composite Walkability Index: The Pedestrian Index Of The Environment (Pie), Gabriel Lefebvre-Ropars, Catherine Morency, Patrick A. Singleton, Kelly J. Clifton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper analyzes the transferability of a composite walkability index, the Pedestrian Index of the Environment (PIE), to the Greater Montréal Area (GMA). The PIE was developed in Portland, Oregon, and is based on proprietary data. It combines six urban form variables into a score ranging from 20 to 100. The measure introduces several methodological refinements which have not been applied concurrently in previous efforts: a wide coverage of the different dimensions of the urban form, together with the use of a distance-based decay function and modelling-based weighing of the variables.