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Negotiating Agency within Taiwan’s Preschool Special Education Family-Professional Partnerships: An Analysis of Expert Power and Equity
No full textArticle 1: Expert Power and Power’s Use Within the Special Education Family Professional Partnerships of Four Taiwanese Preschools
This article explores expert power and power’s function within Taiwan’s special education system, specifically examining its uses and impact in the special education family-professional partnerships of four Taiwanese preschools. Despite power’s crucial role in this system, there remains limited understanding about these power dynamics and their impact on special education family-professional partnerships in Taiwan. This qualitative case study draws on the concept of expert power, developed by social psychologists John French and Bertram Raven, alongside a power concept by German sociologist Max Weber, to analyze power dynamics within family-professional partnerships.
Article 2: Cultural Impact on the Special Education Family-Professional Partnerships of Four Taiwanese Preschools
Outlined within Taiwan’s special education policy is a collaborative approach between families and educators for special education. The cultural norms of Taiwan’s Chinese majority population rooted in Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism mold these partnerships. Collectivist ideals and social attitudes shape families’ interactions with special education services and their willingness to engage in family-professional partnerships, thereby affecting these collaborations’ benefit on the child’s learning and development. This paper is based on a qualitative case study that explored cultural factors influencing the special education family-professional partnerships of four Taiwanese preschools.
Article 3: Elements that Produce Equity within the Special Education Family Professional Partnerships of Four Taiwanese Preschools
This article examines preschool practices that promote an equitable power distribution between families and educators, as well as elements that foster accountability and transparency in the special education family professional partnerships of four Taiwanese preschools. Taiwan’s The Special Education Act encourages equitable collaboration to strengthen special education for children with disabilities. Research highlights the importance of family professional partnerships, particularly in preschool settings, to improve educational outcomes. Therefore, examining equity in preschool partnerships is essential to understanding effective partnerships that support educational improvement for children with disabilities. This qualitative case study, using documentation review, observations, and interviews, investigated components building equity within preschool special education family professional partnerships.Fulbright Taiwan
UMass Amherst Graduate School Fieldwork Grant
UMass Amherst College of Education Summer Research GrantDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)2030-05-1
Exploring Thermal Runaway in Analog Accelerators for In-Memory CNN Computing
No full textProcessing-in-Memory (PIM) is a technology that integrates computing units directly into memory, enabling data processing at its source. This approach significantly reduces data movement and enhances computational efficiency, making PIM a promising solution for tasks that involve large volumes of data movement, such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). However, when computing units are deployed in 3D memory, the additional power consumed by computing units can significantly increase the temperature of the DRAM die, accelerating the current leakage of DRAM cells. As a result, DRAM needs to refresh more frequently to ensure data integrity. This extra refresh power consumption further increasing the die temperature, creating a positive feedback loop leading to thermal runaway conditions. Consequently, DRAM die has to operate under a critical temperature to avoid thermal runaway through throttling or dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS). In this paper, we investigate the thermal runaway problem in PIM accelerators. We begin by proposing a novel analog PIM accelerator architecture. We then conduct a detailed power analysis and thermal simulation of a 3D DRAM stack to determine the system's operating temperature. This temperature is used to adjust the DRAM refresh cycle, which in turn influences power and thermal characteristics in an iterative loop. The process continues until the system reaches either a thermal steady state or experiences thermal runaway. Through this analysis, we identify the critical temperature threshold at which thermal runaway occurs for the proposed accelerator, under varying 3D DRAM stack heights in in-memory computing environments.Master of Science in Electricrical and Computer Engineering (MSECE)2026-09-0
EXPLORING DEEP EUTECTIC SOLVENTS IN CONCENTRATING NON-ENVELOPED VIRUS FOR IMPROVING RAPID VIRUS DETECTION
No full textNorovirus is noted to be a leading cause of food-borne illness globally, yet its detection in complex food matrices remains challenging due to many limitations of conventional and current rapid diagnostic methods. To address these challenges, this study evaluates the use of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) as a novel technology for virus capture and recovery. DES formulations, including newly developed DESs, were evaluated alongside magnetic ionic liquids (MILs) for their efficiency of capture and recovery of MS2 from an aqueous solution. Bacteriophage MS2 was used as a surrogate for human norovirus, and experiments included aqueous solutions, back elution buffers and lettuce rinsate matrices. Initial protocols included ssRNA extraction methods like the Trizol method were compared to rapid extraction procedures to assess if there would be more viral recovery efficiency and a decrease time of extraction. Vortex time assessments were performed to optimize both capture and recovery using DES formulations. Plaque assays and RT-qPCR quantification provided complementary measures of viral viability of the DESs. The results in this thesis show that DES formulations have the potential to achieve high capture and recovery efficiency. They also show that DES could potentially serve as low-cost, portable, and novel technology for point-of-service virus detection, supporting an application food safety monitoring.USDA
Project number
MASW-2023-08788
Accession number
1032405Master of Science (M.S.)2026-03-0
EXPLORING BLACK BEAN TEMPEH: A NOVEL ADDITION TO PLANT-BASED NUTRITION
No full textTempeh fermentation, a traditional Indonesian food processing method, has been recognized for enhancing the nutritional, bioactive, and sensory properties of soybeans through fermentation with the fungus Rhizopus oligosporus. Although traditionally made from soybeans, this study explores using black beans as a novel ingredient for tempeh fermentation. Black beans, which are rich in protein and bioactive compounds like flavonoids and phenolics, have a unique nutritional profile that has potential for developing into functional, nutritious, plant-based food products. This study evaluates the effects of tempeh fermentation on black beans by comparing their nutritional composition, phenolic content, flavonoid content, antioxidant activity, and antinutrient levels using proximate analysis, colorimetric assays, and in vitro assays before and after 40 hours of fermentation. In addition, sensory analysis was also conducted to test the consumer acceptance of the black bean tempeh, by comparing it to the traditional and commercial soybean tempeh. The results show that tempeh fermentation significantly increased the water content, protein content, total carbohydrate, reducing sugar, free phenolics, flavonoids, bound phenolics, and antioxidant activity. On the other hand, it significantly reduced the fat content, trypsin inhibitors, and phytic acid levels of black beans. Sensory results showed that black bean tempeh achieved comparable hedonic liking scores to commercial soy tempeh in taste, flavor, and texture, though scored significantly lower than traditional soy tempeh, particularly in appearance. Bitterness, nutty flavor, and umami taste were also found to be the drivers of overall liking. These findings demonstrate that fermenting black beans into tempeh produced an affordable, nutritious, and functional plant-based protein with potential for consumer acceptability in the growing plant-based market.Master of Science (M.S.)2026-09-0
Wonderment Throughout the Ages: Baroque Spectacles and the Eurovision Song Contest
No full textThis thesis analyzes the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), the biggest international song competition, through the lens of the Baroque. By pointing out similarities between the contest and baroque spectacles, when it comes to political uses and aesthetic preferences, I propose that the Eurovision Song Contest can be read as a neo-baroque spectacle.
The first part of my thesis discusses the political uses of these events: I first mention some of the ways in which politics were fundamental to baroque spectacles, and then I show how those strategies show up in the ESC. The second part of this thesis deals with the entertainment aspects: divided into three, I explore similarities when it comes to the conceptions of staging, the structure of these spectacles, and the experience of taking part in them.Master of Music (MM
A green and inclusive post-pandemic recovery of the Blue Economy and coastal communities
No full textA team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the University of Glasgow, the United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security (in Bonn) and the University of Costa Rica has been developing a trans-national comparative study across coastal areas in Costa Rica, Germany, Scotland (UK), and the USA to provide science-based guidance for post COVID recovery of coastal communities and shed light on green development and climate resilience strategies adopted at the local level. As part of this project the research team conducted a survey of municipalities and planning agencies in Costa Rica, Germany, Massachusetts, and Scotland, from June 2023, to March, 2024. The key results are
outlined below. Even though the sample size for Scotland and Germany is sometimes small, and therefore estimates should be taken with caution, the figures still provide some insightful information
Dangers and Opportunities Merging AI & OER
No full textGenerative AI has the opportunity to revolutionize the interconnectedness of creating and publishing academic material. The creation and use of OER can also benefit from the uses of generative AI, but there is also a clear and present danger of using AI to replace the author of copyrighted material. At what point does the work done by AI overshadow the work by a person so that it can or cannot be assigned copyright that allows it to follow the 5 Rs and become OER. This presentation and discussion will focus of the gray area of OER and copyright and the usefulness and of AI as a tool in its generation
Dynamics of a von Willebrand Factor A1 Autoinhibitory Module with O-Linked Glycans and Its Roles in Regulation of GPIbα Binding
No full textThe von Willebrand factor (VWF), a multimeric plasma glycoprotein, binds to the platelet glycoprotein (GPIb alpha) to initiate the process of primary hemostasis as a response to blood flow alteration in the site of vascular injury. The GPIb alpha binding site located on the A1 domain of VWF is exposed during the activation of the VWF multimer when it changes from a coiled form to a thread-like, extended form. Though experimental studies have demonstrated that the autoinhibitory module (AIM) connected to the N-/C-termini of the A1 domain is a regulator of VWF activity, the molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of A1-GPIb alpha binding remains unclear. We modeled the structures of the A1 domain having full-length N-terminal AIM (NAIM) and C-terminal AIM (CAIM) with different types of O-linked glycans. The conventional and steered molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to investigate the dynamics of the AIM and O-glycans under different conditions and elucidate how they affect the binding of GPIb alpha. Our results indicate that the NAIM alone with no glycan is sufficient to shield the GPIb alpha binding site under static conditions. However, when the AIM is unfolded with external forces applied, the O-glycans on both NAIM and CAIM increase the shielding of the binding site. These findings suggest a potential mechanism by which the AIM and O-glycans regulate the interaction of the VWF A1 domain and GPIb alpha
Exploitation: theory and empirics
No full textThis paper provides a novel axiomatic analysis of exploitation as the unequal exchange of labour, derives an empirical exploitation index at the individual level, and estimates its distribution in the US in 1975-2022. We show that, among possible definitions of exploitation, only one satisfies a small set of formally weak and normatively salient axioms. From this definition, we derive an individual-level exploitation intensity index which provides a new measure of well-being and inequality, complementary to existing ones and able to jointly take into account the distributions of income and work time. In US data, exploitation intensity provides additional information compared with standard income inequality measures and predicts important well-being and political outcomes. Inequality in exploitation increased more than income inequality since 1975
Breaking Barriers: A Collaborative Approach to Demystifying Social Impact in Graduate Education
No full textThis panel explores an innovative assignment designed to empower graduate students by addressing the hidden curriculum of higher education. The Social Impact Dictionary assignment was created to normalize knowledge gaps and combat imposter syndrome, particularly for first-generation, international, and new graduate students. Through this assignment, students collaborated to define and demystify complex terms and concepts encountered in their studies, fostering a supportive learning environment and increasing confidence. By engaging students as co-creators of knowledge, the assignment aligns with open pedagogy principles, encouraging transparency and inclusivity. The conversation will feature both the instructor and a student participant, sharing insights on the assignment’s development, its impact on student learning, and future potential as an open educational resource (OER). Attendees will gain practical strategies for incorporating similar assignments in their own teaching to support equity and inclusion in graduate education