Consider the Person

Being culturally competent means being able to understand your own personal biases to avoid behaviors that may be considered discriminatory. In healthcare, it also means treating patients with respect and providing optimal care regardless of their background. If patients lack the care that they need or are provided with less than optimal care, then health care disparities arise, increasing the inequalities that are already present within the health care system. At the center of this care are the nurses who interact with patients the most during their clinical session. Thus, it is vital for nurses to be culturally competent and this training should be provided at the undergraduate level to ensure that they are well-prepared when entering the workforce. This thesis highlights the methods and techniques available for optimal training and provides a new teaching model, the Culturally Connected Model of Care, that considers not only the patient’s background but the nurse\u27s background as well

The higher order qq-Dolan-Grady relations and quantum integrable systems

In this thesis, the connection between recently introduced algebraic structures (tridiagonal algebra, $q$-Onsager algebra, generalized $q-$Onsager algebras), related representation theory (tridiagonal pair, Leonard pair, orthogonal polynomials), some properties of these algebras and the analysis of related quantum integrable models on the lattice (the $XXZ$ open spin chain at roots of unity) is first reviewed. Then, the main results of the thesis are described: (i) for the class of $q-$Onsager algebras associated with $\widehat{sl_2}$ and ADE type simply-laced affine Lie algebras, higher order analogs of Lusztig's relations are conjectured and proven in various cases, (ii) for the open $XXZ$ spin chain at roots of unity, new elements (that are divided polynomials of $q-$Onsager generators) are introduced and some of their properties are studied. These two elements together with the two basic elements of the $q-$Onsager algebra generate a new algebra, which can be understood as an analog of Lusztig's quantum group for the $q-$Onsager algebra. Some perspectives are presented.Comment: PhD thesis, November 2014; 136 pages; Some basic material of Chapter 1,2 taken from other works (Terwilliger and coauthors, arXiv:math/0406555, ...; Baseilhac and co-authors arXiv:0906.1482, ...). Main results described in Chapter 3, published in arXiv:1312.3433, arXiv:1312.589

Trends in Nebraska\u27s Wage Distribution

Wage growth has been a persistent challenge for the United States economy in recent decades (Mishel, 2013). Middle class wage growth has been weak while job polarization has widened the gap in wages between the highest and lowest paying jobs. Many argue that technological change and globalization are the two main economic factors behind these trends (Dietz, 2012). These problems have accelerated in the last decade, with U.S. real median wages lower in 2014 than in 2005. These trends have also played out in Nebraska, including two main metropolitan areas, Lincoln and Omaha - Council Bluffs. In this report, these common trends are examined for the two main metropolitan areas in Nebraska, state of Nebraska, and the nation. Those occupational data are used in this report to determine (1) whether wages for higher skilled occupations increase by more than wages for lower skilled occupations, and (2) whether the real standard of living of workers increased by more than the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)

Understanding the roles of images and intermodal relationships for optimized use of visual and verbal resources in Vietnam’s textbooks for lower secondary levels

The study investigates the roles of images and intermodal relationships of both language and images in two English textbooks used in Vietnamese lower secondary schools, namely Tieng Anh and Solutions textbooks to gain insights on the ways to optimise the use of both language and images as resources in teaching and learning activities. Kress and Van Leeuwen’s (1996, 2006) framework on the grammar of visual design is used to analyse the images, looking at the types of image representations and the compositional meanings. The language-image relationships in the books, on the other hand, are analysed using the framework of Intermodal Identification (Unsworth & Cleirigh, 2014). Intermodal identification is built on the notion that language complements the meaning of the image and vice versa. Language identifies image by glossing the image participants which are not encoded in the language elements. Image identifies language in three aspects: intensive to visualise quality such as shape, colour, or texture, possessive to visualise additional participants which are not explicitly addressed in the language and circumstantial to visualise the elements of locations in the language.  While image in textbooks has always been considered essential as a source of teaching and learning materials as well as helping students to learn, this study suggests that the role of image is augmented when juxtaposed with the accompanying language. The study implies the need for further investigation, for example in the classroom action research on how language and image resources can be utilised in teaching and learning activities.  Also, the result of the study may be replicated to analyse language-image relationship in different samples of textbooks.Keywords: images, language,English textbooks, language-image relationship/interactionMemahami peran gambar dan hubungan intermodal untuk optimalisasi penggunaan sumber visual dan verbal dalam buku teks bahasa Inggris untuk siswa sekolah menengah di VietnamPenelitian ini menyelidiki peran gambar dan hubungan antar moda dari kedua bahasa dan gambar dalam dua buku teks bahasa Inggris yang digunakan di sekolah menengah pertama Vietnam, yaitu buku teks Tieng Anh dan Solutions untuk mendapatkan wawasan tentang cara mengoptimalkan penggunaan bahasa dan gambar sebagai sumber daya di kegiatan belajar mengajar. Kerangka kerja dari Kress dan Van Leeuwen (1996, 2006) tentang tata bahasa desain visual digunakan untuk menganalisis gambar, melihat jenis representasi gambar dan makna komposisi. Kemudian, hubungan bahasa-gambar dalam buku dianalisis menggunakan kerangka Identifikasi Intermodal (Unsworth & Cleirigh, 2014). Identifikasi intermodal dibangun di atas gagasan bahwa bahasa melengkapi makna gambar dan sebaliknya. Bahasa mengidentifikasi gambar dengan mengilapkan peserta gambar yang tidak dikodekan dalam elemen bahasa. Gambar mengidentifikasi bahasa dalam tiga aspek: intensif untuk memvisualisasikan kualitas seperti bentuk, warna, atau tekstur, posesif untuk memvisualisasikan peserta tambahan yang tidak secara eksplisit dibahas dalam bahasa dan sirkumstansial untuk memvisualisasikan elemen lokasi dalam bahasa. Sementara gambar dalam buku teks selalu dianggap penting sebagai sumber bahan ajar dan pembelajaran serta membantu siswa untuk belajar, penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa peran gambar bertambah ketika disandingkan dengan bahasa yang menyertainya. Penelitian ini menunjukkan pentingnya penelitian lanjutan, misalnya dalam bentuk penelitian tindakan kelas untuk mengetahui bagaimana bahasa dan gambar dapat dimanfaatkan dalam kegiatan belajar mengajar. Juga, hasil penelitian ini dapat direplika untuk menganalisis hubungan bahasa-gambar dalam sampel buku teks yang berbeda.Kata kunci: bahasa, gambar, buku teks, bahasa Inggris, hubungan/interaksi bahasa-gamba

TEACHERS’ REFLECTIONS ON THE VISUAL RESOURCES IN ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS FOR VIETNAMESE LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOLS

The prominent role of visual resources in language classrooms has long been advocated, as many argued that images could go beyond providing students with a visual background of the context or arousing motivation (Unsworth & Ngo, 2014). This article explores the roles of the visual resources drawn from an English textbook series used in Vietnamese schools, and the teachers’ reflections on their use of those visuals in practice. A qualitative approach was employed, involving in-depth interviews with teachers, along with an analysis of the visual resources using Kress and Van Leeuwen’s (1996, 2006) framework of grammar of visual design. The findings show that the theoretical perspective resonates with the teachers’ reflection in using visual resources in teaching and learning activities. The findings confirmed the importance of visuals in teachers’ practices, but also highlighted the limitations of some images as useful resources for classroom learning. It was suggested that more attention be given to the multimodal nature of the text, and their significant contribution to meaningful learning activities. The selection of images in language textbooks should be more strategically and theoretically driven in order to prepare language-learning students with the ability to negotiate meanings across semiotic modes

Investigation on high-strength low alloy 0.35Cr-1.9Ni-0.55Mo steel deposited on 20Cr substrate by wire and arc-based directed energy deposition

This article aims to observe the microstructure, mechanical properties, and interface bonding of a 0.35Cr-1.9Ni-0.55Mo alloy deposited on 20Cr steel by wire and arc-based directed energy deposition (WA-DED). For this purpose, different characterization techniques such as optical microscope, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and high-resolution X-ray diffractometer were used to analyze microstructure, chemical composition, and phases of the deposited material. Microhardness and tensile tests were also carried out. The results show that the microstructure of the deposited material is relatively homogeneous with a slight increase in grain size from the bottom to the top of the deposited part, thus resulting in a gradually decreasing trend in microhardness, from 288±16.78 HV0.1 (in the bottom) to 256±17.04 HV0.1 (in the top). The heat-affected zone (HAZ) is the hardest (301±2.70 HV0.1), while the substrate has the lowest microhardness (203±17.64 HV0.1). The tensile strengths of deposited materials are relatively isotropic in both the horizontal direction (HD) and vertical (VD) direction: UTSVD = 1013±9.29 MPa, USTHD = 985±24.58 MPa, YS(0.2%)VD = 570±4.51 MPa, and YS(0.2%)HD = 614±19.66 MPa. The tensile strengths of interface specimens are also comparable to those of the substrate materials (e.g., 951 vs. 972 MPa in UTS), indicating an excellent metallurgical bonding between the deposited and substrate materials. The results of this work confirm the efficiency of WA-DED technique to produce high-quality components in industr

Metallurgical Characterization of SS 316L Repurposed by Wire plus Arc Additive Manufacturing

This research aims to analyze the microstructures and mechanical characteristics of stainless steel (SS) 316L repurposed by wire plus arc additive manufacturing (WAAM). The SS 316L wire is deposited on a SS 316 substrate, which can be repurposed. This deposited material underwent optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and tensile test, and the results indicate that it features cellular and columnar dendrites at the bottom and equiaxial grains at the top. The tensile strength of the interface region between the deposited material (DM) and the base material (BM) is the highest (559 ± 4.16 MPa vs. 510 ± 4.93 MPa in DM and 540 ± 2.65 in BM), indicating that the BM and the deposited layers are strongly bonded. All the results from the defect observation, microstructures, and mechanical characteristics confirm the potential of the WAAM process for repurposing

Imagined Communities and Identities in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Learning: A Literature Review

Imagined community and identity have been recognized as critical aspects in English language learning. Imagined community refers to the ideal community that learners wish to get engaged in, while imagined identity refers to the ideal self that language learners wish to become in the future. However, there is a scant research on these two notions in relation to English as a foreign language (EFL) learning. To that end, this paper aims to present the literature review of the contemporary theories on imagined communities and identities in EFL learning. It first discusses the imagined communities regarding the functions, community of practice, notions of imagined communities and concepts of imagined EFL classroom communities. It then scrutinizes imagined identities in terms of poststructuralists’ theory, English language learners’ identities, notion of imagined identity and EFL learners’ imagined identity. This paper is hoped to provide a timely and needed conceptual framework for other relevant constructs (e.g., English language learning investment) in English language learning

English Language Curriculum Reform at the National Level: a Case of Intentions and Realities in Viet Nam

Globalisation and the global economy have become bywords in the new millennium. English has become the lingua franca for increasing international trade and commerce, and the spread, the reach, the creep of English has been an undeniable aspect of the phenomenon. As a result, developing countries are under pressure to increase their numbers of competent English users so as to improve national competitiveness and become participating members in this commercial world. In response, significant efforts in numerous countries have been dedicated to large-scale, heavily-invested reform projects aiming to bring about radical change in English language curricula, materials, and pedagogies. Common to such reform efforts has been a move towards Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), which has generally been promoted as the approach to teaching and learning most likely to produce the communicative English users require for commercial exchange. Vietnam has recently taken the path of English language reform at the school level with the Government allocating $US425 million to the initiative. Project 2020 was announced in 2008 with specific English language achievement targets to be met by 2020. As part of the reform, the curriculum content was provided within a new textbook series and CLT was prescribed as the pedagogy to deliver the curriculum. Project 2020 has provided the context and data for this study. The study focused on the reform at the lower-secondary level (Years 6 – 9) and used a mixed methods research design to facilitate both quantitative and qualitative data analysis. The data set comprise an online teacher survey (n=112), the official curriculum mandates and textbooks, semi-structured interviews with teachers (n=11) and school principals (n=4), as well as 28 recorded classroom observations in urban and rural schools. The findings reveal that the intentions of the reform as expressed by MOET and the realities of classroom implementation are currently at a distance from each other, evident in the negative attitude of the teachers towards the feasibility of the curriculum goals and their fragmented understanding of CLT principles and premises. The analysis of classroom discourse provided evidence that classrooms were largely teacher-dominated, textbook-based and had minimal student-to-student interactions, all of which were at odds with CLT. To bridge the gap and deliver the communicative requirements of the nation, the study argues for an approach to teaching and learning in sympathy with the socio-political and cultural context in Vietnam, driven by a major focus on teacher professional development.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Humanities : Linguistics , 202