Foreign Language Education: Methods of Effective Instruction in the Foreign Language Classroom

This thesis compares the various methods of teaching a foreign language. With the growing diversity of the population of the United States, it is becoming increasingly important for students to expand their knowledge of languages beyond English. Foreign language study has a number of benefits, including the promotion of effective communication and the construction of relationships with those from other countries and cultures. While there are a number of factors that influence effective foreign language acquisition, the factor that will be explored in this thesis is foreign language education methodology. This thesis will present seven methods of teaching foreign language and will analyze those methods using the goal areas and standards developed by the American Council of Teaching Foreign Languages

Monitoring the molecular weight of poly(lactic acid) during fiber spinning and coloration

One fiber that is being researched as a possible alternative to the petroleum based polyester fibers currently being used is polylactic acid (PLA). Being aware of the low heat resistance and degradation of PLA during processing is a concern for practical production and the performance of the polymer. Disperse dyed PLA film and solution dyed PLA film, along with un-dyed film and the original PLA pellets have been investigated to determine molecular weight. Infrared analysis has been conducted to examine the compounds found in the PLA samples at different steps in the polymer processing. Un-dyed PLA samples have been subjected to different heat treatments to observe the changes associated with temperature exposure. PLA has also been analyzed after dyeing to view the effects of the coloration method to the PLA structure

In-store Marketing Campaign to Promote the Purchase of Healthy Foods and Beverages at Convenience Stores in Rural Kentucky

The prevalence of obesity is greater in rural communities, and current health promotion interventions have not shown broad positive impacts on dietary patterns in these areas. Focusing community-based efforts on unconventional food retailers is a unique avenue to encourage healthier food choices in rural populations. This study used shelf-wobblers to market healthier snack and beverage items at convenience stores (n=5) in a rural Kentucky county. Selection of healthy snacks and beverages from the store inventory was conducted using the CDC Food Service Guidelines for Federal Facilities calculator. Items were sorted into four categories: meal replacement snacks, high-protein snacks, low-fat carbohydrate snacks, and no-calorie drinks. Monthly sales data was collected to measure baseline sales and post-intervention sales. This data was analyzed using a difference-in-differences economic model, which assessed percent changes in sales within and among the five stores. This study found an overall increase in healthier snack and beverage purchases after implementation of the marketing wobblers. The findings of this study provide unique insight into community-based efforts for health promotion in unconventional food retailers in the Appalachian region

Infertility Utilization and Women’s Self-Rated Health

Among women of reproductive age in the United States, at least 15 percent will report ever using infertility services. Using data from the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth, this study considers the relationship between use of infertility services and a woman’s self-rated health. This study employs a logistic regression to predict the probability of reporting a certain level of self-rated health or lower when a woman reports seeking medical assistance for infertility. An additional measure considers the interaction between a woman ever using infertility services and the attitude toward having children on the probability of a lower level of self-rated health. Results indicate that ever using infertility services does increase the risk of women reporting worse self-rated health outcomes compared to women who have never used infertility services. The analysis of the interaction between the attitudes toward having children and ever using infertility services suggest that women who believe the reward of having children is worth the cost and who have ever used infertility services are also more likely to report worse self-rated health outcomes compared to women who have not used infertility services. This study provides further insight into the unique relationship between the infertility experience and overall health outcomes for women

Diversity and Cultural Competence in the LIS Classroom: A Curriculum Audit

In a case study examining a library and information science graduate curriculum, 18 graduate students engaged in a comprehensive diversity audit of the School of Information Science curriculum. The diversity audit was a student-generated review of 108 syllabi and permitted students to engage in an action-learning project that benefited the school and allowed them, and the school’s faculty, to see first-hand why diversity and cultural competence are important facets of library and information science curricula

At the Intersection of Health and Justice: How the Health of American Indians and Alaska Natives Is Disproportionately Affected by Disparities in the Criminal Justice System

American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) are a neglected population in the United States. Their health and welfare needs are often swept aside and, because of historical treaty agreements with the United States government, they suffer disparities in the justice system and, consequently, poor health. A deep look into everyday life for an AI/AN tells a story of poverty and relatively low life expectancy, proportionately high incidences of disease, high rates of incarceration, and prolific alcohol and substance abuse. AI/ANs are incarcerated at a higher rate proportionately than their white counterparts. They experience harsher sentences, due in part to jurisdictional laws, and they are the racial group most likely to be killed by law enforcement. This paper highlights concerns about how disparities in the justice system impact the health of AI/ANs

Vetting model and satellite-based estimates of regional scale carbon exchange at northern high latitudes using solar-viewing infrared spectroscopy

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2021Carbon exchange in the Boreal Forest and its response to a warming climate is a critical process that needs to be understood for more accurate predictions of climate change. Therefore, we established a ground-based long-term monitoring site at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA (64.859°N, 147.850°W) operating a solar-viewing Bruker EM27/SUN Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTS). This instrument measures vertically integrated column abundances of carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and carbon monoxide (CO), termed Xgas, i.e., XCO₂. These measurements are directly comparable to satellite-based measurements, for which these ground-based observations provide validation data. Measurements of XCO₂ and XCH₄ have to be extremely precise because variability in atmospheric columns of CO₂ and CH₄ is often less than 1% of the background levels of these long-lived gases. Therefore, the observations in Fairbanks were carefully vetted through comparisons of results from two retrieval algorithms applied to the same observed spectra, comparisons of observations from two EM27/SUN FTS operating side-byside, and comparisons between an EM27/SUN FTS and measurements from a Bruker IFS125HR in the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) at Caltech, Pasadena, California. These data are all collected over a period of about 4.5 years. Comparisons of retrieval methods indicate that the results are tightly correlated, but there are offsets that could be corrected with an appropriate scaling factor. Observed biases between two colocated EM27/SUN FTS were in agreement within instrument precision. Biases between the EM27/SUN and TCCON retrievals at Caltech are larger and more variable than biases between the two EM27/SUN FTS in Fairbanks, which may be partially explained by differences in spectral resolution. These biases are also similar to those reported in previous studies. Vetted Fairbanks observations are used in combination with those from two TCCON sites in the Boreal Forest, East Trout Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada (54.354°N, 104.987°W) and Sodankylä, Finland (67.367°N, 26.631°E), to evaluate quality control methods and bias in XCO₂ from the NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2). This study yielded alternative quality control thresholds and bias correction, tailored to Boreal Forest regions that allow for increased data throughput and reduced seasonality in bias over northern high latitude regions. In particular, increased data throughput in spring and autumn months made it possible to measure XCO₂ seasonal cycles using satellite-based measurements. In this analysis, we found that the Asian Boreal Forest region stood out as having the largest seasonal amplitude and earliest seasonal drawdown of any region. There is also a pronounced west-to-east gradient of increasing seasonal amplitude and earlier seasonal drawdown across the Eurasian continent. Comparisons with two independent global CO₂ models are good, showing high correlation and spatial agreement. Analysis of modeled (GEOS-Chem) surface contact tracer contributions reveals that the largest seasonal amplitudes occur in regions that have the largest contributions from land-based surface contact tracers with 15 or 30 day atmospheric lifetimes, suggesting that accumulations of CO₂ exchanges during atmospheric transport on approximately monthly timescales play an important role in shaping observed XCO₂ seasonal cycles in northern high latitude regions. Furthermore, surface contact tracer contributions from land were more correlated with XCO₂ seasonal amplitude than estimates of total annual fluxes or seasonal amplitudes of flux estimates within a region, emphasizing the importance of understanding the effects of atmospheric transport when interpreting observations of XCO₂.Orbiting Carbon Observa­tory (OCO) Science Team Grant (NNH17ZDA001N-OCO2)Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: Establishing a greenhouse gas observatory for ground-based atmospheric remote sensing in Fairbanks, Alaska -- Chapter 3: Quality controls, bias, and seasonality of CO₂ columns in the boreal forest with Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, Total Carbon Column Observing Network, and EM27/SUN measurements -- Chapter 4: Spatial distributions of XCO₂ seasonal cycle amplitude and phase over northern high latitude regions -- Chapter 5: Conclusions and future outlook -- Appendices

DO ANKLE STABILIZERS INFLUENCE DYNAMIC STABILITY IN PERSONS WITH FUNCTIONAL ANKLE INSTABILITY?

Ankle sprains are the most common injury in the physically active, and reoccurrence rate is high. Repetitive ankle sprains can cause functional ankle instability (FAI), leading to deficits in balance, strength, and stability. Sports medicine professionals prescribe and administer bracing and taping as extrinsic methods of enhancing ankle stability. What is not clear is how these methods affect neuromuscular control during dynamic movements in persons with FAI. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of taping and bracing on time to stabilization (TTS), as a measure of dynamic stability, in persons with FAI during two landing tasks