LATINA/O/E/X FOOD SERVICE WORKERS' EXPERIENCES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN TRI-CITIES, WASHINGTON

This study was born of two principal intersecting phenomena: on the one hand, the sizeable population of Latina/o/e/x food service workers in Tri-Cities, Washington, and, on the other, the consequences of the public health measures implemented as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Representing one of the many labor sectors acutely impacted by social distancing restrictions put into place to hinder the spread of the virus, the food service industry experienced distinct phases of both limited activity and widespread labor shortages during the pandemic. The present research project sought to understand the unique experiences of Latina/o/e/x food service workers who were working in Tri-Cities during this period through in-person interviews conducted with 10 such study participants. Respondents discussed their positions in the food service industry prior to the pandemic, the effects of the same on their employment in 2020 and beyond, as well as their envisioned futures either in and/or outside of the industry. Additionally, interviewees reflected on their own linguistic proficiencies—primarily in English and Spanish—and how these influenced (or not) their access to job opportunities, including promotions, in the food service industry. Not surprisingly, many negative outcomes of the pandemic were articulated by participants; however, several respondents were also able to identify more positive impacts caused by the same, some relating to their work life and others of a more personal nature. At the time interviewed (two to three-plus years after the pandemic’s onset), the majority of participants were still working in the food service industry, though some had pursued careers in other areas in no small part due to the virus’s far-reaching effects

Incorporating engineering specificity in the UTeach Observation Protocol

textThe UTeach Observation Protocol (UTOP) is designed to capture what occurs in a classroom. The UTOP was developed for use in the nationally recognized UTeach program (uteach.utexas.edu) and has been validated nationally in the Gates Foundation Measures of Effective Teaching. (http://www.metproject.org/downloads/Preliminary_Findings-Research_Paper.pdf) Currently the UTOP has been used in both science and math classrooms and is being developed for use in English language arts and social studies classrooms as well. This report serves to begin the modification of the UTOP for use in an engineering classroom to evaluate engineering specific content. The UTOP has been described as a lens for reflection on teaching practices and the goal of this report is to help focus that lens more clearly on the engineering classroom. This tool was created for utilization in both educator and administrator roles. Teachers can use the UTOP to self-assess their own teaching practices as well as in observing other teachers and identify classroom best practices. Administrators and other classroom visitors can use the UTOP to understand and evaluate what occurs in a classroom for a multitude of outcomes. The methodology chosen in this report to create the engineering specific examples used real lessons that have been implemented in engineering classrooms and vetted in actual practice. Using both initial lessons from the teachers and their feedback along with language taken from the Next Generation Science Standard Framework and the UTeachEngineering Engineering Design Protocol, the examples were developed to show how to score each indicator on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest score, in a secondary engineering classroom. The next steps recommended for this work are to pilot the examples created in this report and test the usefulness of the examples created. This can be accomplished by field-testing it in UTOP training with teachers and modifying the information based on the feedback that they provide. The work described in this paper was made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation (Award DUE-0831811).Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Educatio

Evaluating and Improving 4D-CT Image Segmentation for Lung Cancer Radiotherapy

Lung cancer is a high-incidence disease with low survival despite surgical advances and concurrent chemo-radiotherapy strategies. Image-guided radiotherapy provides for treatment measures, however, significant challenges exist for imaging, treatment planning, and delivery of radiation due to the influence of respiratory motion. 4D-CT imaging is capable of improving image quality of thoracic target volumes influenced by respiratory motion. 4D-CT-based treatment planning strategies requires highly accurate anatomical segmentation of tumour volumes for radiotherapy treatment plan optimization. Variable segmentation of tumour volumes significantly contributes to uncertainty in radiotherapy planning due to a lack of knowledge regarding the exact shape of the lesion and difficulty in quantifying variability. As image-segmentation is one of the earliest tasks in the radiotherapy process, inherent geometric uncertainties affect subsequent stages, potentially jeopardizing patient outcomes. Thus, this work assesses and suggests strategies for mitigation of segmentation-related geometric uncertainties in 4D-CT-based lung cancer radiotherapy at pre- and post-treatment planning stages

A study of the community adjustments of twenty-two adolescents who were discharged from the Rhode Island Children's Center during July 1, 1946 -July 1, 1948

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University, 1949. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

An analysis of labor costs in the United States Merchant Marine

Thesis (M.B.A)--Boston UniversityThe purpose of this thesis is to analyze the maritime labor costs in connection with their effecta on the industry by three methods of approach: first, to explore the extent of the costs supported by the subsidization policy of the United States Government; second, to evaluate the justifications offered by seamen's unions in support of the wage levels attained by their effortsr and third, to appraise the claims of management in relation to the other two

The Things We Do for Love: Stories

A collection of four short stories meditating on the themes of love, loss, and the things people do for their beloved

SARA LEE FOODS TAKES FLIGHT: AN ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS OF A TURKEY PLANT CLOSURE

In 1998, the Sara Lee Corporation implemented a corporate strategy of deverticalization. Bil Mar Foods, Inc., a subsidiary of Sara Lee responsible for the processing of packaged meat products, followed the strategy by shutting down its turkey slaughter facility in Zeeland, Michigan. As a consequence, turkey growers in Michigan were left with no viable outlet for live bird slaughter and the potential end of live bird production in the region. This study analyzes the economic impact associated with the cessation of live bird slaughter at the Bil Mar Foods plant. The economic consequences may be as high as an $81 million loss in total industry output, a$29 million loss in income, and a total employment loss of nearly 800 jobs. Faced with these economic consequences, turkey growers in the region joined forces to form a valued-added cooperative.impact analysis, plant closure, turkey industry, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Livestock Production/Industries,