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Leveraging Student Data to Assess, Inform, and Develop Teachers Capacities
No full textThis quantitative study analyzed 47 survey responses to gauge in-service, pre-licensed teacher, and paraprofessional perceptions of cultural competency. Participants responded to the Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society’s Cultural Competence Self-Assessment Checklist (Alpha = 0.7) to explore their awareness, knowledge, and skills in cultural competency. Moreover, through the application of Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) as a theoretical framework, this study highlighted how these perceptions related to culturally responsive teaching and provided several implications for their future preparation to further develop their cultural competency through the tenets of CRT. The analysis identified participant unfamiliarity with privilege and its impact, as well as the multidimensional nature of culture. Additionally, analysis highlighted a lack of understanding around how to authentically engage with students and their families in an inclusive and comprehensive orientation. These findings indicated several potential considerations for their preparation moving forward to better develop their cultural competencies and culturally responsive teaching
Ambient Air Pollution and the Sex Ratio at Birth: a Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis.
No full textAmbient air pollution is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as stillbirth, miscarriage, and preterm birth. However, its effects on the viability, implantation, and survival of conceptuses-largely unobserved before the clinical detection of pregnancy-remain poorly understood. Shifts in the sex ratio at birth (SRB) provide a sensitive, population-level indicator of sex-biased conception and pregnancy loss. This systematic review examined whether maternal exposure to ambient air pollution before conception and during pregnancy is associated with deviations in the SRB. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, and Global Health from inception to 12 February 2025 for observational studies assessing both ambient air pollution exposure and SRB. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria, representing data from eight countries spanning 1970-2023. PM was the most frequently investigated pollutant, followed by PM. Six studies reported no significant association, while four observed increased feminisation with higher exposure levels. Air pollution may plausibly influence SRB through effects on gamete quality, conceptus viability, and placental development. The SRB therefore provides a valuable proxy for detecting early biological vulnerability, revealing effects of air pollution that are otherwise hidden due to the selective observation of clinically recognised pregnancies. However, current evidence remains limited, heterogeneous, and inconclusive. As ambient air quality continues to deteriorate, more standardised research is needed to improve comparability and quantify the impact of air pollution on reproductive outcomes
The People\u27s Rivers: Early Environmental Regulation and the Oregon State Sanitary Authority
No full textThe environmental movement in Oregon can trace its origins to the turn of the twentieth century, where citizen activism and initiative led to the creation of an early environmental regulatory agency, the Oregon State Sanitary Authority. This creation established that the State of Oregon had a duty to preserve, not just the navigability or usability of rivers and waterways, but the quality and purity of its water. The Oregon State Sanitary Authority played an active role in maintaining and protecting the environment as a mandate of the people, and throughout its thirty-year existence battling industrial polluters, reluctant municipalities, and disinterested legislatures, all the while grappling with shifting and evolving science and technological developments. By establishing policies, setting legal proceedings, studying science, engineering, economic, and technical data, and sometimes even public pressure campaigns, the Oregon State Sanitary Authority fought an uphill battle against the environmental challenges facing the country from World War II to the rapid growth of the post-war period. The Sanitary Authority carved out a modest but nonetheless important victory against the water pollution. The Oregon State Sanitary Authority set the groundwork that becomes Oregon’s apparent leadership as an example of environmentalism nationally and serves as an example of Oregonian’s relationship to the nature of state, agency, and water--what it is for, and who it belongs to
Review of Information Literacy and Social Media: Empowered Student Engagement with the ACRL Framework
No full textReview of Santamaría, M., & Pfannenstiel, N. (2024). Information literacy and social media: Empowered student engagement with the ACRL Framework. Association of College and Research Libraries
Impact of Black Shale Weathering on Stream Water and Sediment Quality in Eastern Kentucky
No full textBlack shales contain high concentrations of trace elements in addition to their elevated organic carbon content. Once exposed at the surface, weathering processes release these elements into the environment, including many (e.g., As, Cu, Cd, Cr, U, Zn) that could pose threats to human and environmental health. Previous studies have focused on how these metals are incorporated into the soil column and their effects on crop nutrition. However, few studies have focused on the impact of natural weathering of black shales on local stream water chemistry and the transport and subsequent partitioning of these geogenic contaminants into stream environments.
This study examines the impacts that black shale surface exposures have on the major and trace element chemistry of stream waters and sediments in eastern Kentucky. This area, along the eastern flank of the Cincinnati Arch, is a near-ideal setting to study the environmental impacts of black shales. Here, black shale outcrops lay adjacent to similarly aged gray shales, providing optimal control of external factors that affect weathering rates. A two-pronged approach was used to analyze the effects of these shales. First, sediment and water samples from the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) database were geostatically analyzed for differences in metal concentrations between watersheds with black shale exposures and surrounding watersheds where black shale are absent. Secondly, an additional 23 water and 11 stream sediment samples were collected from northeastern Kentucky where NURE data was unavailable. These samples allowed a more detailed examination of sediment and water chemistry, with sediment samples analyzed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and a four-stage sequential extraction analysis. Water samples were analyzed for many metals that were excluded from the NURE data, proving better insight into the aqueous trace element chemistry.
Results show that black shale exposures significantly affect the water and sediment chemistry of small streams in Kentucky. The oxidative dissolution of sulfide phases has sufficiently elevated the concentration of sulfate in many streams whose watersheds include black shale exposures to shift the water type from the Ca-HCO3 type prevalent in the region to Ca-SO4 type. Aqueous concentrations of Ba, Cd, Co, F, Mn, Rb, Sb, Se, Sr, U, and Zn were found to be significantly higher (a = 0.05) in lower (1st - 4th) order streams draining watersheds where black shales outcrop than in streams that do not drain black shale exposures, with concentrations of toxic Cd as high as 10 ug/L. Those black shale streams with pH \u3c 6 had Cd and Ni concentrations which were higher than Kentucky fresh-water aquatic standards.
Measured concentrations of As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Mo, V, U, and Zn in sediments from stream segments draining black shales were significantly elevated over control stream sediments. Sequential extraction results show that Ba, Cd, and Mn in black shale stream sediments have the highest potential mobility and bioavailability of all the metals, as the exchangeable and reducible fractions hosted over 80% of their total recoverable fractions. Cr has the lowest bioavailability with an average of 75% of the total amount recovered in the residual fraction. Other elements, including As, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, U, V, and Zn were more evenly partitioned across various fractions. The sediment concentrations of As, Ni, Mo, and Cd exceed consensus-based probable effective (toxic) concentrations for fresh water benthic organisms at many sample locations, with Ni and Cd being the most problematic of these metals due to their relative higher bioavailability. Arsenic concentrations in the black shale stream sediments were found to be sufficiently elevated to pose an increased carcinogenic risk for both adults and children.
The findings from this study may assist in guiding future studies focused on the biological effects produced by the weathering of black shales, bring awareness to the public about the potential human health hazards due to black shales, and add to our understanding of the effects that black shales have on environmental metal loading
From Prohibition to Prescription: Exploring Injustice, Bias, and Science-Based Solutions
No full textThis thesis critiques the war on drugs for disproportionately targeting minority communities and prioritizing systemic exploitation over public health. It examines the flawed, politically influenced DEA drug scheduling process, which neglects evidence of the medical benefits of substances like cannabis, psilocybin, LSD, DMT, and MDMA. This thesis gives a brief history of the evolution of US drug policy, which contributed to mass incarceration, reinforced racial disparities, and failed to reduce overdose deaths. It also highlights the potential mental health benefits of decriminalizing and regulating psychedelics to treat conditions like PTSD, depression, and substance abuse disorder. This thesis concludes by promoting the need for evidence-based drug policy reform. It suggests changes to the DEA\u27s scheduling process and emphasizes the importance of transparency in decision-making
Perspectives of Cannabis Farmers on Intersection of Water Access and Cannabis Frontier Constraints in Southern Oregon
No full textCannabis farming and use are being legalized at unprecedented levels by many states in the United States. Oregon was one of the pioneer states to legalize cannabis in 2016. Although it is legalized at the state level (in Oregon), cannabis remains illegal at the federal level. Due to the quasi-legalization of cannabis, an agricultural frontier for marijuana is unfolding. Cannabis farming in Oregon has grown as there is a market and ideal weather climate for the cannabis industry to flourish. This study seeks to understand the challenges cannabis farmers face in accessing water and the socio-economic and political constraints that they navigate. To explore these challenges, cannabis farmers in southern Oregon (Jackson and Josephine Counties) were interviewed to understand the obstacles they face in their farming endeavors. Southern Oregon is regarded as the cannabis farming capital in the state.
This research is novel as the limited studies on cannabis in the Oregon cannabis frontier have focused on quantitative analysis of cannabis farms and their impact on the environment. In this study, cannabis farmers share how they navigate federal policy, leverage local government resources, traverse restrictions to financial institutions and stigma to overcome the constraints of an emerging cannabis frontier. The findings of this research will help inform interested stakeholders about how they can collaborate with cannabis farmers to ease water access, create a platform to access funding and resources and have seamless access to financial institutions. One policy goal is for cannabis farmers to be included by the system that has so far been exclusionary and to promote sustainable agriculture by the farmers
Effects of the Upwind Spanwise Heterogeneous Terrain on the Wind Resource Distribution
No full textWind energy has become increasingly crucial among renewable energy resources, and as the prerequisite for effective wind energy utilization, accurate wind resource assessments are hence prominent. Topography significantly affects near-surface wind fields and is thus an essential factor to be considered for wind resource assessment. However, few studies have addressed the wind resource distribution downwind of spanwise-heterogeneous terrains, which are frequently encountered in both natural and urban environments. To fill this gap, large eddy simulations were performed to investigate wind distributions over a uniform terrain downwind of terrains featuring spanwise-alternating strips of low and high surface roughness, and the high roughness surface coverage ratio λ is varied from 12.5% to 100%. The analysis focuses on the wind speed within the turbine blades region, and two dominant mechanisms are identified: the rough-to-smooth transition (RST) and spanwise heterogeneity of momentum (SHM). The dominance of the two mechanisms depends strongly on λ, with RST dominating over SHM as λ increases. Moreover, RST initially increases the wind speed due to the growth of the internal boundary layer but leads to a decrease of wind speed further downwind as the internal boundary layer rearranges. SHM results from secondary flows induced by the heterogeneous terrain upwind, which decay downwind. As λ increases, secondary flow structures transition from asymmetric to symmetric patterns, and lower λ leads to asymmetric flows, sustaining momentum heterogeneity farther downwind. Hence, upwind spanwise heterogeneous terrains can significantly impact the wind speed distribution, and suggestions are made for wind farm planning based on the results
The Discovery, Communication, and Implementation of New Geologic Findings: Examining the Cascadia Earthquake
No full textThe Cascadia Subduction Zone, located off the Coast of the Pacific Northwest, is at risk of generating a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in the near future. Despite its significance, the discovery of the seismic potential of Cascadia didn\u27t occur until 1987, when geologist Brian Atwater searched for non-traditional forms of earthquake evidence. As decades of continued research fleshed out Atwater\u27s initial discovery, the implications associated with the discovery became apparent, presenting Washington and Oregon with the high probability that a massive earthquake will take place within the next century. Communicating the severity of this geologic discovery to both the public and the government has increased general awareness and initiated the process for seismic policy progression. However, while scientists, the media, and elected officials have informed the public of the inevitable devastation indicated by geologic analysis, they have failed to communicate that information in an effective way, leaving residents vulnerable. Neither the media or scientists have effectively convinced elected officials to take the financial and political risks to enact adequate mitigation efforts including retrofitting or relocation of at-risk buildings
Hint-Guided Video Frame Interpolation for Video Compression
No full textTraditional video compression continues to advance, but the gainsin efficiency are diminishing and come at the cost of higher compu-tational complexity. Despite achieving competitive rate-distortionresults, current neural video codecs (NVCs) generally lack sup-port for a wide range of quality levels, often requiring multiplemodels to achieve flexible rate control, which increases both train-ing cost and deployment complexity. To address the limitations ofboth traditional codecs and current NVCs, we propose a hybridvideo compression framework that integrates traditional codecswith hint-guided video frame interpolation (VFI), a learning-basedtechnique for synthesizing intermediate frames. By using decodedreference frames and leveraging compressed-domain hints to guideinterpolation, our method improves both motion compensationand reconstruction quality. This design combines the efficiencyof traditional codecs with the adaptability of neural interpolation,achieving consistent rate-distortion performance and supporting awide range of quality levels on standard benchmarks