Mandatory Measles Vaccination Program: Is There a Place for one in Switzerland?

The investigation of this topic began as a curiosity from the measles outbreak in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland in early 2009. As I began to gain a deeper knowledge of the subject of measles and measles vaccination in this community I saw the potential it held as a topic to explore my interests in the juncture of public policy and public health. As I approached the topic of measles vaccination from not only a public health perspective but also from that of political and ethical perspective I was able to make an analysis of potential changes in the health policy of Switzerland for a mandatory measles vaccination. The following paper details my efforts to explore the potential of a mandatory measles vaccine in Switzerland

Modern Quilting: DIY Discourse

This study explores the modern quilting movement from the perspective of members of the Modern Quilt Guild (MQG), a new guild that includes both online and in-person elements. Twenty-six members of seven MQG’s across the United States were interviewed. The interviews focused on the factors that draw participants into the MQG as well as how the art/craft debate shapes the experiences of modern quilters. This study concludes that modern quilting is both an attitude and an aesthetic. The attitude of modern quilting encompasses common themes among participants like the lack of rules dictating their quilting practices and an open and inviting atmosphere at meetings. The attitude portion of modern quilting was present to some degree in all participants of this study. The current aesthetic of modern quilting emphasizes clean lines, minimalism, and solid fabrics, among many other characteristics. All the participants of this study did not embody the aesthetic of modern quilting. The results suggest that all participants are drawn to the guild due to the attitude of modern quilting whereas only some participants are inclined to join due to the aesthetic of modern quilting. The aesthetic of modern quilting does not appear to be tied to the art/craft debate in that most participants did not link the differences between art and craft to their own work. The study also illustrates the excitement, motivation, and enjoyment that surrounds MQG membership for the participants of this study. Advisor: Michael Jame

Can I tell you what really happened?: learning to make decisions in response to indigenous student voice in a high school language arts classroom

Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2019This study focuses on engaging high school students in reading and the decisions I make to sustain that engagement. I learned that one way to enhance the engagement in my classroom is to listen to my students' stories and to incorporate culturally relevant texts. All of the students in this study were previously in our school's language intervention program: Read 180. While teaching this intervention-based class, I noticed this class was a behavior management nightmare. The students' challenging behavior led me to question the intervention program's ability to sustain my students' engagement through the prescribed texts. This study aims to describe my observations in a 10th grade Language Arts II class in Chefornak, Alaska. Specifically, this thesis describes my findings and analysis as it relates to how students show engagement and how I make (and revise) decisions in response to my students' voices. I used teacher action research (TAR) to research the events in my classroom. During an 11-week period, I collected audio recordings, student work samples, and teacher action research journal entries. At the end of the research, I also wrote memos about the data. I used constructive grounded theory (CGT) to make sense of the story the data tells and to see what kind of patterns were present. This research is important to me because it helps me to understand the weaknesses and the strengths in my own instructional planning as well as how I interpret students' participation in class. After this research, I am convinced that learning outcomes are preceded by learner engagement, and that learner engagement is complex

Lead-free piezoceramics - Where to move on?

Lead-free piezoceramics aiming at replacing the market-dominant lead-based ones have been extensively searched for more than a decade worldwide. Some noteworthy outcomes such as the advent of commercial products for certain applications have been reported, but the goal, i.e., the invention of a lead-free piezocermic, the performance of which is equivalent or even superior to that of PZT-based piezoceramics, does not seem to be fulfilled yet. Nevertheless, the academic effort already seems to be culminated, waiting for a guideline to a future research direction. We believe that a driving force for a restoration of this research field needs to be found elsewhere, for example, intimate collaborations with related industries. For this to be effectively realized, it would be helpful for academic side to understand the interests and demands of the industry side as well as to provide the industry with new scientific insights that would eventually lead to new applications. Therefore, this review covers some of the issues that are to be studied further and deeper, so-to-speak, lessons from the history of piezoceramics, and some technical issues that could be useful in better understanding the industry demands. As well, the efforts made in the industry side will be briefly introduced for the academic people to catch up with the recent trends and to be guided for setting up their future research direction effectively.ope