37200 research outputs found
Sort by
What This Work Really Takes: Lessons, Tensions, and Student Perspectives in a Social Justice Math Classroom
No full textIn recent years, there have been growing calls for mathematics instruction that engages students in understanding and critiquing injustice through mathematics. While resources for social justice math (SJM) lessons have become increasingly available, implementing these lessons in real classrooms--with real students, real time constraints, and real pressures--remains a challenge. This dissertation explores how teachers and students navigate this complexity through three connected papers.
The first paper introduces a framework to support teachers and mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) in selecting and modifying pre-designed SJM lessons (PSJMLs). The framework is organized around three guiding principles: (1) center student identity and teacher self-awareness, (2) maintain cognitively demanding mathematics, and (3) preserve the lesson\u27s sociopolitical integrity while attending to teacher identity and reflective practice. After using the framework to select and modify a PSJML in a college capstone course, we found that students engaged in ways we hoped to elicit--reasoning through mathematical models, questioning data and assumptions, and connecting the mathematics to their own lived and historical knowledge. While not tested in a K-12 setting, this framework offers a practical tool for helping teachers bridge the gap between existing social justice resources and the realities of their own classrooms.
The second paper examines the tensions that emerged when a high school teacher (Mr. L) and I co-created and co-taught a course specifically designed around social justice math lessons. Despite ideal conditions--a dedicated course, administrative support, and a collaborative teaching team--tensions arose around balancing content (specifically proportional reasoning) and context, aligning lesson goals with students\u27 lived experiences, and pushing against dominant ideas of what counts as mathematics. These findings speak to the real challenges teachers face, even when they are fully committed to this work.
The third paper shifts focus to students\u27 perspectives. Drawing on five anonymous surveys, this study explores how students defined community, whether they felt the class was a community, and how community-building activities shaped those feelings. Students emphasized themes like group, shared experiences, and interaction, while also naming belonging and atmosphere as key to feeling comfortable in the classroom. Importantly, the percentage of students who viewed the class as a community rose from 39% at the start of the semester to 75% by the end, with many citing the community-building activities as a reason.
Together, these three papers offer insight into how SJM lessons can be selected, modified, implemented, and supported in practice, and how community-building can play a critical role in helping students feel safe enough to engage in conversations about injustice. This dissertation contributes to ongoing conversations about bridging theory and practice, supporting teacher-researcher partnerships, and creating mathematics classrooms that are not only rigorous, but centered on helping students use mathematics to understand and question injustice
The Evolving Future of Work: Implications for Newcomer Adaptability and Connectivity During Organizational Socialization
No full textOrganizational socialization and the practice of onboarding new hires are central human resources functions. However, traditional socialization theory and practice were built on assumptions that are increasingly misaligned with today\u27s work context. We identified four current, emerging, and future work trends that characterize the evolving landscape surrounding organizational socialization: technological advancement, the expansion of remote work arrangements, rising societal loneliness and mental health challenges, and aging workforce demographics. Collectively, these trends have contributed to dramatic shifts in the context and performance of work, as well as the expectations that employees and organizations hold for one another. Accordingly, we argue that these shifts require a renewed examination of the organizational socialization process that reflects contemporary realities such as the move away from stable, physically co‐located, psychologically anchored work toward boundaryless, tech‐mediated, and transient work arrangements. Our review presents a future‐forward look at organizational socialization through the lens of these societal and workplace shifts. We identify newcomer adaptability and connection as emergent critical factors for the future of onboarding. Through this lens, we offer practical implications for human resource practice and invite future research that advances our understanding of organizational socialization in today\u27s context
Voice As a Biomarker: Exploratory Analysis for Benign and Malignant Vocal Fold Lesions
No full textBenign and malignant vocal fold lesions can alter voice quality and lead to significant morbidity or, in the case of malignancy, mortality. Early, noninvasive identification of these lesions using voice as a biomarker may improve diagnostic access and outcomes. In this study, we analyzed data from the initial release of the Bridge2AI-Voice dataset to evaluate which acoustic features best distinguish laryngeal cancer and benign vocal fold lesions from other vocal pathologies and healthy voice function. Seven diagnostic cohorts were grouped into two analyses: the first included participants with laryngeal cancer, benign lesions, or no voice disorder; the second included those with laryngeal cancer or benign lesions without other voice disorders, as well as individuals with spasmodic dysphonia or vocal fold paralysis. Acoustic features including fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, and harmonic-to-noise ratio (HNR) were extracted from standardized speech recordings and compared using nonparametric statistical methods. Among the overall sample, significant differences were identified in HNR and fundamental frequency between benign lesions and both healthy controls and laryngeal cancer. In cisgender men, these distinctions were also observed, particularly in HNR and its variability. No statistically significant differences were observed among cisgender women, likely due to the limited sample size. These findings suggest that HNR, particularly its variability, may hold promise as a voice-based marker for early detection and monitoring of vocal fold lesions. Further research with larger, more diverse populations is needed to refine these features and validate their clinical utility
Seeking Common Ground with a Conversational Chatbot
No full textConversational AI is advancing rapidly, enabling significant improvements in chatbots’ conversational abilities. Currently, available conversational chatbots (e.g., Snapchat’s MyAI) appear to generate fairly realistic, often human-like output. As collaboration between humans and machines becomes more common, and AI systems are increasingly viewed as more than just tools, understanding human communication in such contexts is crucial. Despite the vast array of applications and the increasing number of human-bot interactions, research on how humans interact with conversational chatbots is scarce. One possible reason for this gap is that studying human-computer communication may require adaptations of existing pragmatic frameworks, due to the unique characteristics of these interactions. A key feature of such conversations is their asymmetrical nature. In this paper, we present evidence that the sociocognitive approach (SCA), which takes into account the asymmetry between interlocutors as regards their possible common grounds, has explanatory potential to describe human-AI-powered chatbot interactions. We collected data from thirty-two L1 Hungarian participants interacting with a conversational chatbot on three consecutive days. The turn-by-turn analysis of the 96 conversations provides insights not only into the nature of common ground humans presuppose with a conversational agent, but also into the processes of building emergent common ground over time. Furthermore, we present linguistic evidence that both egocentrism and cooperation play a role in human-chatbot interaction. While the former is manifested in approaching the chatbot as if it were human, the latter appears to play a role in changing strategies that serve common ground seeking and building
Bridgeless to Better Burnside: Reclaiming Burnside, Reconnecting the West Side
No full textThis report, produced for Better Block PDX, is a resource for shaping the future of lower West Burnside Street during and after the 2028–2033 Burnside Bridge closure. It captures current conditions, community input, principles of transportation planning and placemaking, and recommended interventions to build a shared vision for transforming the corridor from a barrier into a pedestrian-friendly, vibrant street. Framed around a two-phase timeline, temporary interventions during the bridge closure and permanent improvements after the new bridge opens, it offers a snapshot of community visions and a blueprint for turning those visions into action. Recommended interventions for the new bridge period aim to establish West Burnside as a balanced transportation corridor and a lively neighborhood street. Ultimately, designs at that time should reflect the community’s evolving needs and aspirations, building on the lessons and successes of the previous phase
Synthesis of Publications on the Anomalous June 2021 Heat Wave in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada
No full textWe synthesized more than 70 articles, most peer reviewed, that addressed the heat wave that occurred across the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada in late June 2021, breaking hundreds of daily and all-time daily maximum temperature records across the region. A persistent, extraordinarily strong ridge of high pressure was a primary driver of the heat wave. Contributing mechanisms were moisture originating in the tropical western Pacific Ocean, high solar radiation, low pressure offshore, large-scale subsidence over land, and unusually dry soils. Climate change contributed to the heat wave’s magnitude by increasing mean temperature, although it is unclear whether the trend in extreme temperature is steeper than the trend in mean temperature. Mortality, heat-induced illness, and the number of visits to emergency departments during the 2021 heat wave were anomalously high. Individual and compounded social determinants of adverse outcomes included older age, living alone, lower income, and lack of functioning air conditioning. Browning or scorch of tree leaves and needles following the heat wave was extensive, although the extent of long-term tree mortality is not yet clear. Following the heat wave, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia established new regulations and programs to reduce the risk of heat-related illness in the workplace. It is not yet feasible to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of these new initiatives
Our Ethical Duty: Assessing the Competencies of Counselors-In-Training for Counseling with Transgender and Gender Expansive Clients
No full textCounselors report a lack of competence in working with transgender and gender expansive (TGE) individuals. TGE people report a lack of competent and affirming care. This study used the Gender Identity Counselor Competency Scale- Revised (GICCS-R) to understand self-reported competence and training levels in working with this population. Participants were 90 masters-level counselors in training who had at least started practicum in CACREP-accredited programs. Hierarchical linear regression was utilized to determine factors that predict competence including identities and training levels. Results highlight a lack of perceived competence in skill-based training. Counselor education programs must focus on improving TGE affirmative skills
Convergence Research for Microplastic Pollution at the Watershed Scale
No full textMicroplastics are found in Earth’s atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, pedosphere, and ecosphere. While there is a growing interest and need to solve this grand challenge in both the academic and policy realms, few have engaged with academics, policymakers, and community partners to co-identify the problem, co-design research, and co-produce knowledge in tackling this issue. Using a convergence research framework, we investigated the perception of microplastic pollution among different end users, delivered educational materials to K-12 teachers and practitioners, and identified key sampling points for assessing environmental microplastic concentrations in the Columbia River Basin, United States. Three community partner workshops identified regional issues and concerns associated with microplastic pollution and explored potential policy intervention strategies. The stakeholder survey, co-designed with community partners, identified varying perceptions around microplastic pollution across educators, government employees, non-profit employees, and industry practitioners. Pre- and post-test results of teacher workshops show increases in participants’ knowledge after taking a four-week summer class with the knowledge being translated to their students. Community partners also helped develop a unique passive sampling plan for atmospheric deposition of microplastics using synoptic moss samples and provided freshwater samples for microplastic quantification across the basin. Our study drew three major lessons for successfully conducting convergence environmental research—(1) communication and trust building, supported by the use of key-informants to expand networks; (2) co-creation through collaboration, where partners and students shaped research and education to enhance impact; and (3) change-making, as project insights were translated into policy discussions, community outreach, and classrooms
Enhancement of Spin Transport Properties in Angled-Channel Graphene Spin Valves via Hybrid Spin Drift-Diffusion
No full textGraphene has promise as a channel connecting separate units of large-scale spintronic circuits owing to its outstanding theoretical spin transport properties. However, spin transport properties of experimental devices consistently fall short of theoretical estimates due to impacts from the substrate, electrodes, or defects in the graphene itself. In this study, we fabricate both traditional non-local spin valves (NLSVs) and novel hybrid drift-diffusion spin valves (HDDSVs) to explore the impact of charge current and AC spin injection efficiency on spin transport. HDDSVs feature channel branches that allow investigation of charge-based spin drift enhancement compared to diffusion-only configurations. We investigate the modulation of spin transport through hybrid drift-diffusion, observing a decrease in spin signal by 11% for channels with a 45° branch angle, and a 21% increase in spin signal for 135° branch angle channels. We then fabricate symmetrical 90° channel branch angle devices, which do not produce consistent spin transport modulation in drift diffusion mode. These findings highlight the role of carrier drift in enhancing or suppressing spin transport, depending on channel geometry and injection configuration. Overall, our work demonstrates a promising approach to optimizing spin transport in graphene devices by leveraging hybrid drift-diffusion effects without requiring additional DC current sources
Path to Parenthood for Medical Residents and Fellows: the Impact of Leave Policies on Parent Trainees at Oregon Health and Science University
No full textResidents and fellows in graduate medical education (GME) programs across the USA often complete training during childbearing years, presenting challenges for pregnant and parenting trainees balancing work and family. Institutional policies must better support these trainees. Previous studies show supported trainees experience reduced burnout, better health, and improved patient outcomes.
This study assessed the experiences and unmet needs of pregnant and parenting GME trainees and presents their recommendations for improved support.
Methods: Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, we examined the unmet needs and challenges of pregnant and parenting trainees, and their recommendations for improvement. We distributed a survey to all GME trainees across all specialties at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in 2023. Ninety-eight out of 160 eligible participants completed the survey (~60% response rate).
Results: Despite existing policies, trainees at Oregon Health and Science University faced persistent challenges. We identified three themes and related recommendations from our analysis of quantitative and open-ended survey data: (1) Leave and coverage—barriers to adequate parental leave and inconsistent enforcement of GME policies; [2] Lactation—meeting breast/chest-feeding goals required immense effort due to limited resources; and [3] Health and childcare—existing policies negatively impacted fertility, childcare access, and mental health. Respondents recommended standardized, flexible leave policies; transparent processes for work adjustments and planning; improved access to private, well-equipped lactation spaces; and tailored mental health and wellness programs to support the perinatal period.
Barriers persist for trainees starting families. Institutional leaders have actionable opportunities to improve equity and institutional support of parenting trainees