Culturally Relevant Leisure Experiences as Predictors of Intercultural Sensitivity Among Study Abroad Students

Study abroad programs are promoted on the premise that they offer valuable cross-cultural experiences and provide students with desired 21st century skills including global awareness, cross-cultural communications, and intercultural sensitivity (IS); however, simply to send students abroad is not enough to ensure skill development. Rather, there is a need for intentional pedagogy. As Engle and Engle (2004) have suggested regarding IS, the most successful study abroad programs seem to include culturally relevant leisure within the host community. Moreover, the theoretical framework of Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity has suggested the importance of various culturally relevant leisure experiences in assisting students in progressing from the worldview of ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the relationship between participation in culturally relevant leisure during study abroad and IS. Findings suggest importance of leisure engagement in culturally relevant media during study abroad. Pedagogical implications will be discussed

Determining an Alternative Skeletal Feature to be Utilized in 87Sr/86Sr Isotopic Analysis When Tooth Enamel is Unavailable

Samantha Powers Forensic Anthropology MA Student Advisor: Dr. Meradeth Snow UM Grad Con Abstract Determining an Alternative Skeletal Feature to be Utilized in Strontium Isotope Analysis When Teeth are Unavailable Abstract Strontium is an alkaline earth metal that enters the human body via the consumption of food and water. A minimal level of these molecules integrate into human bone, replacing calcium. The level found in skeletal material directly correlates to the level of strontium found in the fauna and soil of the region an individual resides. Due to this correlation, strontium isotopes are currently being used in forensic cases to determine the region an individual resided, at or near their time of death. Previous research supports using enamel of the teeth for the most accurate reading of strontium levels. However, teeth are not recovered in many cases or may be too damaged or decayed to provide enough enamel. This research explores alternative locations of the human skeleton to be utilized in these cases. There is currently minimal research that explores this alternative. The University of Montana houses an individual that such destructive analysis has been approved. Samples of bone from multiple locations will be extracted and sent to a lab at the University of Utah to determine strontium isotope levels. These levels will then be compared to the levels found in the enamel and the known residence around the time of death. This research will then be applied to future projects that include samples from the Pima County Office of Medical Examiners. They currently house an overwhelming number of individuals that remain unidentified. Most of these individuals perished while crossing the United States Southern border. A predominant factor in these individuals remaining unidentified is not knowing the country or region of origin. The use of strontium isotopes can help direct the search when attempting to locate next of kin. In addition, this research will be helpful in the field of bioarchaeology to determine migration patterns of past populations when complete skeletons are not able to be recovered

PRELIMINARY STUDY IN MORE EFFECTIVE UTILIZATION OF 87Sr/86Sr ANALYSIS IN THE FIELD OF FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY

Isotopic analyses are gaining attention in the field of anthropology. The current utilization of strontium isotopes primarily focuses on residence and migration patterns of past populations extracting data from tooth enamel to indicate early-life residence This study aims to identify a skeletal feature to be set as a field standard in strontium analysis of modern remains when seeking end-of-life residence, the impact of diagenesis on modern remains, and to test the accuracy of the petrous as an alternative to tooth enamel. The results of this research were unable to suggest such a standard but gathered helpful data to be used in future efforts. The trabecular bone showed evidence of higher strontium alterations due to diagenesis. The data also suggested that the petrous bone is a suitable alternative to tooth enamel. A new technique of coring cortical bone was applied and demonstrates a less destructive extraction method when gathering material to perform isotopic and DNA analysis. The nature of this research is preliminary, any and all data will contribute to the better understanding and capability for the application of strontium analysis of forensically modern humans. The expansion of these techniques and methods to include end-of-life data would benefit the forensic, molecular, and archaeology sub-fields. This data would provide an additional tool to aid in the positive identification of modern remains of unknown individuals

Gender Performativity in the Community College: A Case Study of Female Backline Classified Staff

This case study explored the gendered performances of five female backline classified staff members who work in non-traditional fields within a community college. More specifically, this study defined gendered behaviors at a community college, and explored how these behaviors have affected the identities of women working in non-traditional fields at the community college. This study indicated through documents, observations, and interviews that there was mixed evidence of the degree to which gendered behavior is cultivated at a community college in Washington. Document review, interview, and observation findings showed that women at the community college reported expectations of gendered behavior, gender normative reinforcement, resistance to claiming feminine traits, skills in navigating various roles, and an evolution of women\u27s roles

A novel video game peripheral for detecting fine hand motion and providing haptic feedback

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 51-53).This thesis documents the design and implementation of a game controller glove that employs optical tracking technology to detect movement of the hand and fingers. The vision algorithm captures an image from a webcam in real-time and determines the centroids of colored sections on a glove worn by the player; assigning a distinctive identifier for each section which is associated with a 3D model retrieved from a preexisting library. A Vivitouch artificial muscle module is also mounted to the top of the glove to provide vibratory haptic feedback to the user. The system has been user tested and a number of potential use scenarios have been conceived for integration of the controller in various gaming applications.by Samantha N. Powers and Lauren K. Gust.S.B

Constraints and Negotiations to Student Recreational Sport Center Usage

Studies have shown that student recreational sports centers offer a variety of benefits to emerging adult students. Previous research has identified the presence of constraints to physical activity and student recreational sports center (SRSC) usage (Flood & Parker, 2014; Stankowski, Trauntvein, & Hall, 2017; Young, Ross, & Barcelona, 2003). However, little research has examined the negotiation strategies which students use to increase their physical activity levels through use of the SRSC. This study focused on the constraints and negotiation strategies which affected both users and infrequent users of the SRSC at a mid-size, public university in the northeastern United States. Results suggested that constraints and negotiation strategies differed significantly between user groups and that several constraints and negotiations predict frequency of visitation to the SRSC. Findings suggest the importance of management actions which help students to create social networks, improve their planning and prioritization, and develop self-efficacy with regard to physical activity at the SRSC

Randomised trial of cord clamping at very preterm birth: outcomes at 2 years

Objective: To report outcomes at 2 years corrected age for children of women recruited to a trial comparing alternative policies for timing of cord clamping and immediate neonatal care at very preterm birth. Design: Parallel group randomised (1:1) trial. Setting: Eight UK tertiary maternity units. Participants: Two hundred and seventy six babies born to 261 women expected to have a livebirth before 32+0 weeks gestation. Interventions: Deferred cord clamping (≥2 minutes) and immediate neonatal care with cord intact, or immediate (≤20 seconds) clamping and immediate neonatal care after clamping. Main outcome measure: Composite of death or adverse neurodevelopmental outcome at 2 years corrected age. Results: Six babies born after 35+6 weeks were excluded. At 2 years corrected age, outcome data were not available for a further 52 children, leaving 218 for analysis (115 deferred clamping, 103 immediate clamping). Overall, 24/115 (21%) children allocated deferred clamping died or had an adverse neurodevelopmental outcome compared with 35/103 (34%) allocated immediate clamping; relative risk (RR) 0.61 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.39 to 0.96); risk difference (RD) -13% (95% CI -25% to -1%). Multiple imputation for missing data gave a RR 0.69 (95% CI 0.44 to 1.09) and RD -9% (95% CI -21% to 2%). Conclusions: Deferred clamping and immediate neonatal care with cord intact may reduce the risk of death or adverse neurodevelopmental outcome at 2 years of age for children born very premature. Confirmation in larger studies is needed to determine the real benefits and harms