Whatcom County Resource Guide - Washington

County level and region-specific resource guides focused on mental health and substance use

Teton County Resource Guide - Idaho

County level and region-specific resource guides focused on mental health and substance use

Application of artificial intelligence in educational measurement: opportunities and ethical challenges

人工智能（Artificial Intelligence, AI）与教育测量的结合促进了测评方法的转变，通过机器学习和自然语言处理，实现了自动评分、快速内容分析和个性化反馈。这些发展为学生的表现提供了宝贵的见解，同时也提升了整体测评体验。然而，AI在教育领域的应用也引发了有关效度、信度、透明性、公平性和公正性的重大伦理问题。算法偏差和AI决策过程不透明等问题有可能加剧不平等，影响测评结果。为此，包括教育工作者、政策制定者和测试机构在内的各利益相关方制定了指导方针，以确保AI在教育领域中的应用符合伦理规范。美国国家教育测量委员会测量与教育中的人工智能特别兴趣小组（AI in Measurement and Education, AIME）致力于制定该领域的伦理规范并推动研究的进一步发展。在本文中，不同背景的AIME成员共同探讨了AI工具在教育测量中的伦理影响，分析了自动化偏差和环境影响等重大挑战，并提出了确保AI在教育领域负责任且高效应用的解决方案

NARRATING THE JOURNEY: ELEMENTARY STEM TEACHERS’ REFLECTIONS ON LEARNING TO IMPLEMENT INTEGRATED STEM

This phenomenological study explores the retrospective accounts of experienced elementary STEM teachers as they reflect on their early experiences implementing integrated STEM instruction. Despite growing national and global emphasis on STEM education, the preparation of elementary STEM teachers continues to fall short, often requiring educators to build their expertise on the job while teaching. Through qualitative interviews and focus groups with six teachers with prior experience working in STEM-focused schools and initiatives this study examines their recollections of the challenges they encountered as novices, the supports they drew upon, and their reflections on how their pre-service preparation influenced their readiness to teach integrated STEM.Findings indicate that teachers struggled with conceptualizing and implementing integrated STEM, aligning lessons with standards, and accessing necessary instructional resources. Many reported feeling underprepared due to inadequate training in interdisciplinary teaching and a lack of exposure to STEM pedagogies prior to taking up positions in STEM-focused schools. However, they overcame these challenges through professional learning, peer collaboration, and administrative and community support.The study highlights the critical role of administrative support, professional learning communities, and external partnerships in sustaining STEM education. It also reveals that teachers’ personal beliefs, professional identity development, and student engagement served as motivators that helped them persist despite initial struggles. Participants expressed a need for significant reforms in elementary STEM teacher preparation, advocating for integrated STEM methods courses, extended field experiences in STEM schools, and explicit instruction in standards-based interdisciplinary teaching.This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on STEM teacher education and offers insights into improving pre-service and in-service support for elementary STEM teachers. The study provides recommendations for policymakers, teacher educators, and school leaders aiming to strengthen STEM education in elementary settings by addressing systemic gaps in teacher preparation and suggestions for enhancing professional development opportunities

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING: AN EXAMINATION OF THE ATTRIBUTES, FACILITATORS, AND BARRIERS WITHIN THE K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOL ARENA

This qualitative study investigated the attributes, facilitators, and barriers to professional learning within K-12 public school districts, focusing on the experiences of Teaching and Learning leaders in Washington state. Recognizing that systemic structures and an organizational culture supportive of professional development are crucial for equitable student outcomes, this research sought to understand how these central office leaders of professional development describe the conditions and challenges in planning and implementing professional development, and how district culture influences this work. Utilizing a qualitative design, the study gathered rich insights through semi-structured interviews, providing a voice to participants to share their leadership successes and challenges within their unique contexts.Key findings indicate that effective professional learning is characterized by strong alignment with district priorities, instructional goals, and systemic strategies, fostering a shared purpose among educators. Crucial facilitators include robust leadership support, which promotes collaboration and communication, and the emotional intelligence of facilitators, vital for building trust and psychologically safe spaces. Conversely, significant barriers identified were educator resistance to change, often stemming from a lack of agency, overload, insufficient support, and a perceived disconnect from classroom realities, alongside limitations in time and financial resources. The study also illuminated the pervasive influence of broader contextual factors, such as public perception, accountability pressures, policy mandates, and collective bargaining agreements, on professional learning initiatives. This research contributes to the field of educational leadership by offering practical insights into cultivating conditions and mitigating barriers for meaningful professional learning experiences that can lead to transformational change. The findings underscore the importance of a holistic and integrated approach to professional development, emphasizing its direct link to enhancing teaching practices, fostering collective responsibility, and promoting continuous improvement

A citizen science guide to wild bees and floral visitors in Western Washington

Wild bees and other pollinators are critical for the sustainability of natural and managed ecosystems. Identifying the diversity and species composition of pollinator communities can aid in developing conservation plans and determining if pollination needs are being met. This guide is intended to provide the tools to identify and monitor wild bees and other floral visitors in the Puget Sound Region. Within the guide are labeled diagrams showing the morphological features, size and shape, pollen-carrying device, flowers frequently visited, and flight pattern for each wild bee group. Moreover, we provide a dichotomous key to aid in identification. This field guide was part of our citizen science program, the Citizen Science Initiative for Bees (CSI Bees), which sought to deliver locally specific, data-driven education on wild bees of the Puget Sound Region. This guide is not intended for taxonomic identification, but rather a means for citizen scientists to become familiar with and monitor wild bees in western Washington urban gardens, farms, and landscapes. Since wild bees are difficult to monitor and identify, this guide acts an introductory document for those who would like to understand wild bee biodiversity and contribute to conservation through monitoring

Sorbent and Catalyst Development for Direct Air Capture and Formate-Based Hydrogen Carrier

Hydrogen becomes one of the most promising energy carriers with high gravimetric energy density (~120 MJ/kg). Its low volumetric density (~10 kJ/L) increases the transport cost through conventional compressed gaseous or liquefied hydrogen, limiting practical application on a large scale. Ammonium formate aqueous solution is a liquid organic hydrogen carrier that can uptake and release hydrogen through the redox reaction cycles of formate/bicarbonate under near ambient conditions and is easy to transport. Two challenges exist in formate-based hydrogen carrier system: 1) develop the formate generation from a highly concentrated CO2 source to a reversible carbon source, such as direct air capture; 2) sluggish kinetics of dehydrogenation and stability issues, especially for Pd/C catalysts. Metal-organic-frameworks (MOFs) serve as promising adsorbents because of their remarkably high surface area, controllable pore structures, and predictable functional groups. However, the effect that the identical MOFs materials display changeable CO2 adsorption capacities and rare works are reported to investigate ionic liquid (ILs) loaded on MOFs composites applied on direct air capture of CO2 attracts us to study the mechanism behind them deeply. Thus, we prepared zirconium-based MOFs (UiO-66) and treated them with methanol solvent and thermal activation approaches, which showed ~3 times enhanced CO2 capacity from 15.1 mg/g to 45 mg/g at 1 bar of CO2 pressure and excellent recyclability of 10 cycles. When we load ionic liquids ([P2228][2CNPyr], [P2228][6BrBnIm], [P4444][Im], and [Na][Im]) on the methanol-treated UiO-66, the CO2 capacity increases from 0.003 mmol/g to the maximum of 0.212 mmol/g at 0.04 mbar of CO2 partial pressure. The [Na][Im]@UiO-66 displayed a good recyclability of 5 cycles. This work deeply explains the MOFs activation mechanism and its applications in direct air capture CO2.On the dehydrogenation side, we investigate the kinetics of the surface-functionalized Pd on carbon catalysts for formate dehydrogenation and the impact of O-functional groups and Ag/Pd surface structure. The fraction of the distinguished O-functional groups was modulated by the different concentrated HNO3 solutions treatment or by H2 reduction. And a carbon-supported Pd-Ag bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) catalyst through galvanic replacement and co-reduction methods. The as-prepared Pd5/re-ACA (reduced activated carbon washed by acid) and Pd3Ag10/ACA-G (a mass ratio 3:10 of Pd: Ag bimetallic NPs prepared by galvanic replacement method) exhibited significant activity with turnover frequencies of 4053 h-1 and 5202 h-1, respectively, higher than commercial Pd/C (1966 h-1). This study provides valuable guidelines for the efficient catalyst design and troubleshooting of the deactivation mechanism in formate-based hydrogen carriers

BREAKING THE CYCLE: WASHINGTON ECOLOGY AND THE SPOKANE RIVER REGIONAL TOXICS TASK FORCE’S APPROACH TO PCB CONTAMINATION

This study investigates the Washington State Department of Ecology’s decision to diverge from conventional regulatory frameworks by adopting a collaborative governance model to address PCB contamination in the Spokane River. Rather than initiating a traditional Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) process, the agency launched the Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force (SRRTTF), which operated from 2012 until its formal conclusion in 2022. Supported by both Ecology and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the initiative was framed as a participatory process intended to move beyond the procedural constraints of the Clean Water Act. It marked an early application of the Direct to Implementation (DtI) approach, where collaboration was pursued in cases where the TMDL model was seen as insufficient to manage diffuse or complex contamination.This research explores the internal motivations, institutional dynamics, and regulatory considerations that shaped Ecology’s choice to pursue this path. Drawing from interviews and document analysis, the study assesses whether the SRRTTF represents a unique deviation or a broader shift toward adaptive and flexible governance within state environmental agencies. The findings suggest that while collaborative governance was embraced as a strategic alternative, its success was conditional and ultimately constrained by legal frameworks, limited enforceability, and unclear closure mechanisms. The Taskforce's collapse into litigation underscores the risks of collaboration when not institutionally reinforced. By applying insights from Organizational Theory and Structuration Theory, the study offers a layered analysis of agency behavior and contributes to broader conversations about the potential and limits of participatory innovation in environmental regulation

DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND CONTROL OF THE SPI-MOD CSR: A SINGLE PNEMATIC INPUT MODULAR CONTINUUM SOFT ROBOT

Soft robotics field is a new field of robotics research that focuses on developing and advancing the use of compliant materials in the development of robots. The inherent properties of these soft materials form the foundation for robots that can safely interact with humans in work environments and adapt to irregular conditions. This foundation has led to the rapid development of soft robot prototypes that range in all sizes and are used for medical devices, search and rescue, and more. The soft nature of the robot’s alternative actuation methods, as compared to heavy rigid motors, is a large focus of soft robotics research. One of the most commonly used actuation methods in the field of soft robotics is pneumatics. Pneumatic robots typically actuate by means of manipulating the shape and properties of soft components to control the direction and force exerted by the expansion of pressurized chambers. While this power system is accessible and capable, the means by which the fluidic pressure is delivered is often cumbersome and restrictive and limits the minimum size of soft robots. For example, common pressure delivery systems for soft robots require a tube for each individually controlled chamber in a robot’s design. Thus, as a soft robot’s design and movement become more complex, more individually controlled chambers are required and the volume for the pressure delivery system increases. This direct relationship of motion complexity to volume for power delivery determines the minimum size of a high degree of freedom robot. In response to this limitation, a nascent concentric-tubed spool valve (CTSV) was developed and integrated into the design of the single pneumatic input modular continuum soft robot (SPI-Mod CSR). The CTSV exploits the three-dimensional space between two concentric tubes to create a flexible adaptable valve system that requires minimal space to supply pneumatic power to multiple chambers in a soft robot with only a single pressure delivery tube. This design allows for a significant decrease in the size of modular continuum soft robots. The SPI-MOD CSR is a continuum soft robot that is fabricated with modular, two-chamber segments that can rotate about a single axis. These segments are attached to each other at a 90-degree offset such that every segment rotates about a different axis than their adjacent segments, providing a discreet approximation of snake-like motion. The central axis of the robot was designed with a channel running through it to serve as the outer tube of the CTSV and allowing for a flexible tube to be inserted. Holes in the pressure supply tube align with the inlets of the robot's chambers allowing for chambers to be selectively pressurized. With segments only one centimeter in length and two centimeters in diameter, the SPI-Mod CSR is one of the smallest modular soft robots to date and required the development of a specialized casting method. The Intermediary Sacrificial Mold Casting method for polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) components presented here allows for the fabrication of the complex and relatively small segments of the SPI-Mod CSR. This fabrication method uses an intermediary sacrificial mold made from Field's metal in combination with the cost-effective high-resolution capabilities of a monochrome LCD 3D printer to bypass the cure inhibition of PDMS parts resulting from chemical compounds found in resin printed parts. The sacrificial nature of the intermediary molds allows for the fabrication of geometrically complex features and fragile components. Due to the single pressure tube nature of the CTSV in the SPI-Mod CSR, the discreet step Jacobian control method was developed to approximate the control found in Jacobian inverse kinematics-based control methods. With the discreet step Jacobian control method and a custom visual feedback system, multiple tests were performed driving the end effector to designated goal positions

FIRST PRINCIPLE DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY CALCULATION FOR PROTEIN BASED MATERIALS IN THE APPLICATION OF LITHIUM ION BATTERY

Chargeable lithium-ion battery has been tremendously important in current society, spanning from electronic vehicles, electronic devices, and large-scale power grids etc. First-principle density functional theory can help with identifying fundamental mechanisms like lithium transport, ion interactions, molecule binding, thus facilitating the nano-scale design of the materials in lithium-ion battery. Previously, tremendous effort has been put into improving electronic performance of traditional polymer based materials, which is a potential candidate for solid electrolyte. In comparison, protein based materials harness some natural properties which is essential in designing lithium ion transport and alleviating problems that prohibit long cycling performance. In this work, density functional theory method was applied thoroughly to study lithium ion transport mechanism in protein-based materials, designing efficient ionic transportpathways, utilizing amnio acids materials to elongate cycling life through lithium polysulfide anchoring, solid electrolyte interface formation etc