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Thriving Hives: Processing and Using Beeswax - Candles and Cosmetics
Get PDFBeeswax is a substance produced by bees for constructing honeycomb in a hive. When raw wax is harvested from the hive, it may be quite dirty and can have many different kinds of debris stuck in it. Because of this, it is important that you clean and process the wax before using it. This fact sheet will teach you how to process the wax that you harvest and provide some suggestions on how you can use it in your home
“It Was Oddly Cathartic and Just Good - Freeing”: An Adaptation of a Cognitive Restructuring Task for Non-Binary People Experiencing Sexual Objectification
No full textThe present study uses action research and critical trans theory frameworks to adapt a cognitive restructuring task to assist non-binary people in minimizing internalization from sexual objectification experiences (SOEs). Nine non-binary participants completed process charts documenting their experiences with SOEs. Participants also completed interviews about their experience with the process chart. Findings explored the nine categories of the process chart and the process of completing the process charts, highlighting the power participants reclaimed by interrogating objectifying sentiments and managing their environments in the wake of SOEs. We discuss utilizing our study’s process chart to better support marginalized people through SOEs
Community Partnership Design of a Maker-Related Camp for Underserved Youth: Impacts on Youths’ Present and Future Learning Trajectories
No full textThis paper describes the design of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) maker-related activities offered to middle school youth as part of a free, four-week summer camp. The camp was aimed at academically at-risk youth in a rural, tourism-oriented mountain community with significant income disparities. Guided by an educational model focused on enhancing youths’ present and future interests in and visions of STEM and computing fields, camp activities were collaboratively designed by a community partnership comprised of a local camp provider, the local school district, and researchers. Situating design in a community partnership helped highlight and integrate locally relevant resources, careers, and community opportunities. The paper also reports findings from a study examining how the STEM maker camp activities, which leveraged 3D modeling and printing practices, impacted youths’ perceptions of their disciplinary identity, engagement, and their present and future visions of the relevance of these STEM practices to themselves and their communities. The study also explores design tensions that emerged during the camp design process and identified barriers and opportunities that arose from balancing the needs of each partner, the research team’s focus on youth-centered learning, and the overall program goals
Exploring the Utilization of Benefits and Participation Experiences Among Immigrants and Refugees in WIC Program: A Mixed-Method Study
Get PDFFood insecurity is a critical issue globally and in the United States. The USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) aims to address this by improving the nutrition of low-income pregnant women and children. However, immigrants and refugees, who are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity, often encounter barriers to accessing WIC benefits. This study aimed to: i) evaluate how immigrant and refugee families in Utah utilize WIC benefits, and ii) explore their experiences, challenges, and suggestions for improving the program. This mixed-method study combined surveys with 116 participants and in-depth interviews with 25 participants. Surveys were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression, while interviews provided deeper insight into personal experiences and improvement ideas. Participants represented 19 countries and diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds. Most were refugees (95%), women (97%), and aged 25–34. The study found high utilization rates for eggs (100%), fruits/vegetables (98%), and milk (91%), but low rates for peanut butter (27%), whole wheat bread/grains (18%), infant cereal (16%), cheese (14%), infant fruits/vegetables (13%), and breakfast cereal (12%). Factors such as card understanding, WIC duration, education, marital status, household size, and continent of origin influenced utilization rates for certain foods. Interviews revealed key themes, including motivations for WIC enrollment (e.g., financial support, health worker referrals), challenges (e.g., language barriers, transportation, navigating WIC cards), and suggestions for improvement. Participants recommended providing culturally relevant foods, flexible options, multilingual resources, better communication, extended office hours, and transportation services. The findings emphasize the need to make WIC more accessible and inclusive for immigrant and refugee families. Addressing identified barriers could enhance benefit utilization and improve nutritional outcomes for these vulnerable populations. Future research should explore additional demographic and psychosocial factors and focus on the low utilization of specific foods, such as infant fruits and cereals, to optimize program effectiveness further
Shifting the Paradigm With Wednesday Addams: An Intersectional Analysis of the First (Autistic) Female Latinx Detective
No full textFor centuries, Autistic people have been portrayed in media through two dehumanizing stereotypes, the robot and the superhuman savant. Together, the robot and the superhuman savant combine into one of the most popular hybrid stereotypes to appear in media: the detective. Past detectives have been almost exclusively white male characters, a longstanding pattern that erases Autistic women and people of color, among others. In 2022, however, Netflix’s spinoff series of The Addams Family, Wednesday, brought to the screen the first-ever female Latinx detective. This study is a thematic analysis of Wednesday as a character, the autism stereotypes she reifies as a female detective, and the intersectional facets of her identity for an understanding of her significant contributions to autism representation
The Link Between Environmental Change and Invasive Species
Get PDFClimate change and invasive species represent two pressing environmental challenges facing our planet. Each poses a threat to global biodiversity and ecosystem stability, and together, they amplify the impacts of the other. As global temperatures rise and ecosystems are disrupted, new conditions are created that allow invasive species to spread more easily, establish themselves in new areas, and outcompete native species
Reaching Communities and Serving People: Assessing Utah\u27s Legal Needs
Get PDFUtah Legal Services (ULS) conducted a comprehensive legal needs assessment in 2024 to gather the necessary data and information to better meet its mission of providing high-quality civil legal aid without cost to people who are unable to afford legal representation or are facing disadvantages. Using the combination of an online survey, a series of focus groups throughout the Wasatch front, individual or group interviews, and several community soundboards, ULS conducted a broad, statewide survey. We connected with representatives, organizations, advocates, case managers, and leaders in the community as well as with client-eligible Utahns and ULS staff. This process allowed us to improve ULS’s visibility with key stakeholders in Utah while also identifying barriers that prevent equal access to justice.
The focus of this study was determining how to strategically reallocate resources and staffing based on the demonstrable needs of Utahns today. The ULS Legal Needs Working Group and a consultant research team from the Utah Foundation collected the data that serves as the basis for this report. Through this process, 584 people including more than seventy different organizations statewide gave input and feedback for this report on ULS’s assessment of Utah’s legal needs.
Across the state, there is population growth and changing bases of jobs and economic development, especially in northern Utah. Because of this, there is often a lack of resources and services available to support the needs of vulnerable populations. This process showed top needs continue to be housing (eviction defense and fit premises violations), consumer (identity theft and fraud, vehicle warranties and repossessions, and debt defense), domestic (family law and domestic violence), and public benefits issues. In addition, there are two other areas with increasing need: (1) wills, advanced directives, and other future planning documentation and (2) health needs for people who are struggling to understand medical benefits, billing, and insurance. Importantly, since the Utah Bar Foundation conducted the last Utah legal needs assessment in 2018, the data shows clearly that consumer needs are rising, domestic needs are decreasing, and housing and public benefits are remaining steady. Overwhelmingly, Utahns are looking for stability in shelter, finances, personal safety, and planning for their future.
A key finding from the assessment is that ULS has limited visibility outside of the legal community. Despite ULS being incorporated as a business entity for almost fifty years, the Legal Needs Working Group repeatedly heard from people statewide saying they had not heard of ULS or did not know what we do. From state legislators to service providers, advocates to librarians, this was a frequent refrain. They want to collaborate and work with us. This can include displaying our brochures, referring people to ULS, or coordinating services. They are eager to have community education and clinic events with us.
Often the biggest barriers to legal access are due to non-legal circumstances like not speaking or reading English well, lacking childcare, struggling with low literacy, or not having sufficient public transportation. With increasing populations of asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants, there are non-legal needs as they transition to this country along with the more traditional legal immigration needs. This included issues with lack of accommodation and discrimination. Moreover, some people do not have access to the internet or printers in their home. This makes many of the technological advances that developed during COVID-19 for remote services unavailable for these people especially in rural or frontier areas of Utah
Environmental and Social Values are Important to All Utahns, But Conservative Utahns are More Likely to Prioritize the Economy
Get PDFIn the political landscape of modern America, few would disagree that people on either end of the political spectrum exhibit differences in priorities and values. Since the 1970s, polarization between left and right-leaning individuals and decision-makers regarding environmental matters has grown significantly.1 For example, a 2023 Gallup Poll found that 78% of liberals favored prioritizing the environment over economic concerns, compared to just 20% of conservatives - representing the largest partisan gap since Gallup began including the question in their poll in 1984.
Creating Sustainable School and Home Gardens: Companion Planting
No full textCompanion planting is an agricultural practice in which two or more plants are intentionally grown together to enhance mutual productivity. The special relationships that plants have with other organisms help create balanced ecosystems. Companion planting can be used to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides, increase yields, and attract beneficial insects such as pollinators
Annual Maximum Snow Loads for Weather Stations Outside of the Conterminous United States
No full textHistorical records of snow observations are critical for civil engineering, climate modeling, and risk assessment. While a robust dataset of annual maximum snow loads has been developed for the conterminous United States, a similar dataset does not exist for areas of interest in areas outside of the conterminous United States (OCONUS). This dataset contains over 280,000 annual maximum SWE values across over 7,400 OCONUS stations, both from the Global Historical Climatology-Daily (GHCND) network provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and from country-specific networks of weather stations from international meteorological agencies. This dataset will be valuable for civil engineers, climate scientists, and data scientists for applications including developing engineering snow design loads for international sites and supplementing and validating remote sensing observations of snow depth. By substantially expanding access to global coverage of extreme snow events, this work provides a foundation for future research and engineering standards in snow-prone regions worldwide