Yup’ik Language Assistance Tribal Outreach: Report to the Alaska Division of Elections

The Division of Elections contracted with the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Alaska Anchorage to help develop a network of key tribal organization and village representatives in the Bethel census area to work with the division on their Yup’ik language assistance program. The division asked ISER to help them communicate with tribes about the division’s current programs and to document additional ways that the division can improve its language assistance program. The Alaska Division of Elections is required under the Federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) to provide language assistance to voters in areas where more than 5% of the voting age citizens are members of a single-language minority and are limited English proficient. In July 2008, a federal court ordered the division to take the following remedial actions, many of which the division had already taken prior to the court order: 1. Provide mandatory poll worker training. 2. Hire a language assistance coordinator fluent in Yup'ik. 3. Recruit bi-lingual poll workers or translators. 4. Provide sample ballots in written Yup'ik. 5. Provide pre-election publicity in Yup'ik. 6. Ensure the accuracy of translations. 7. Provide a Yup'ik glossary of election terms. 8. Submit pre-election and post-election reports. Although the division has a Yup’ik language assistance program and has been addressing the court order, interviews with Bethel census area residents show that some people are unaware of the elements in the division’s language assistance plan. In addition, some Bethel area residents said they feel the election workers and the division should interpret the meaning of the ballot measures and explain the positions of the various candidates—activities that are forbidden by state statute. ISER agreed to help the division address this lack of awareness and the misconceptions about their programs by contacting tribal organizations and inviting them to attend a meeting in Bethel, Alaska, on May 27, 2009. Part I of this report, issued in July 2009, describes ISER’s contacts with tribal organizations and summarizes the comments and feedback from the participants at the election outreach meeting in Bethel. Part II describes ISER’s post-meeting contacts with tribal organizations and meeting participants and summarizes their responses to the post-meeting survey.Alaska Division of ElectionsIntroduction / Part I: Pre-Meeting Comments and Meeting Summary / Part II: Post-Meeting Feedback / Appendix A: ISER Script for Pre-Meeting Contact / Appendix B: ISER Letter of Invitation to Tribal Organizations / Appendix C: ISER Letter of Invitation to PLaintiff Tribral Organizations / Appendix D. List of Participants - Bethel Election Outreach Meeting / Appendix E: Agenda - Bethel Election Outreach Meeting / Appendix F: Pre-Meeting Interview Responses / Appendix G: Post-Meeting Letter to Tribes / Appendix H: Post Meeting Survey / Appendix I: Post-Meeting Interview Summar

Social dominance and biology: investigating female hormonal response to non-physical competition

Within the broad framework of evolutionary theory it is possible to develop a sustainable foundation for social dominance-hormone relationships in women. However, whilst providing an important contribution towards understanding the role of biology in social dominance, hormone-competition interactions have received considerably less attention in females than in males. Consequently, the thesis explores the relationship between salivary testosterone (T), Cortisol (F), and non-physical competition in women.petition in women. In order to address widely acknowledged difficulties with determining levels of female T, particularly the biologically active 'free' fraction as measured in saliva, a highly sensitive 'in-house' enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) was optimised and validated. Assay sensitivity was 0.5pg/mL; intra and inter-assay coefficients were 2.1% and 6.7% respectively; recovery ranges were between 96-105%; cross reactivity with related compounds was minimal - i.e. androstendione <8%. A modest correlation with a commercially available T assay kit is discussed in relation to the limitations inherent in direct enzyme assays. The ability to measure salivary free T at levels below those easily available to users of commercial kits is fundamental to the work in this thesis.In the absence of reliable information on the daily profile of female free T, biobehavioural studies have tended to formulate salivary sampling strategies taken directly from research involving male subjects. However, this approach may be inappropriate. Accordingly, by determining a comprehensive picture of the circadian activity of salivary T in 36 healthy female subjects, it was possible to demonstrate that T follows a circadian rhythm, the relative levels of which differ over two non-consecutive days. Moreover, throughout the course of the day T levels were highly variable, with episodic fluctuation of individual data points exceeding 83% of 9am levels. These findings highlight the necessity of collecting multiple samples in bio-behavioural research involving T and women.Incorporating methodological refinements in both the measurement of T and sampling protocol, an experimental study sought to examine the dynamic relationship between T, F, and non-physical dyadic competition. Twenty-two females (ages 19-24 years) competed in a knockout tournament involving the wood-block game 'Jenga'. They collected comprehensive salivary samples for baseline, pre- and post-competition phases. Subjects additionally reported mood states and answered questions concerning their participation in the competition. Whilst the comprehensive hormonal data resist easy interpretation, compared against baseline levels, pre-comp T and F appeared un¬ responsive in anticipation of competition. However, at 3 hrs post-competition, T levels rose 35% in winners and fell 4% in losers. F levels, conversely, fell in both losers and winners, although in winners this drop was much more pronounced. These results suggest that, similar to males, women experience a dynamic endocrine response following competition. However, the extent to which T is implicated in female social dominance is likely to be extremely small. The findings further illustrate how choice of competitive task and hormonal sampling regimens used in previous studies may, to a large extent, account for the equivocal findings in the literature. Additional research is required to ascertain ifthis pattern of endocrine response holds under a wider variety of competitive situations and also to explore more fully the psychological processes mediating hormonal responses to competition

Subglacial drainage processes at a High Arctic polythermal valley glacier

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Designs for the ATDRSS tri-band reflector antenna

Two approaches to design a tri-band reflector antenna for the Advanced TDRSS are examined. Two reflector antenna configurations utilizing frequency selective surfaces for operation in three frequency bands, S, Ku, and Ka, are proposed. Far-field patterns and the antenna feed losses were computed for each configuration. An offset-fed single reflector antenna configuration was adapted for conceptual spacecraft design. CADAM drawings were completed and a 1/13th scale model of the spacecraft was constructed

Modification of Aluminium Surface Using Picosecond Laser for Printing Applications

Ultrafast picosecond laser pulses of wavelength of 1064nm have allowed the surface modification of anodised aluminium plate for potential industrial application. The interaction of the laser with the substrate created a hydrophilic surface, giving a contact angle of less than 10 degrees. On examination under a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), it was observed that these surfaces have an interesting ‘lotus-leaf’ like structure. It has been found that these laser processed hydrophilic surfaces revert with time. The potential for application in the printing industry is strong due to the reusability and sustainability of the process materials; initial trials confirm this. This technology would offer extra advantages as a non-chemical process without the need for developer, thereby reducing the overall cost and time of printin

Coerced Mechanical Coarsening of Nanoparticle Assemblies

Coarsening is a ubiquitous phenomenon [1-3] that underpins countless processes in nature, including epitaxial growth [1,3,4], the phase separation of alloys, polymers and binary fluids [2], the growth of bubbles in foams5, and pattern formation in biomembranes6. Here we show, in the first real-time experimental study of the evolution of an adsorbed colloidal nanoparticle array, that tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (TM-AFM) can drive the coarsening of Au nanoparticle assemblies on silicon surfaces. Although the growth exponent has a strong dependence on the initial sample morphology, our observations are largely consistent with modified Ostwald ripening processes [7-9]. To date, ripening processes have been exclusively considered to be thermally activated, but we show that nanoparticle assemblies can be mechanically coerced towards equilibrium, representing a new approach to directed coarsening. This strategy enables precise control over the evolution of micro- and nanostructures

Looming struggles over technology for border control

New technologies under development, capable of inflicting pain on masses of people, could be used for border control against asylum seekers. Implementation might be rationalized by the threat of mass migration due to climate change, nuclear disaster or exaggerated fears of refugees created by governments. We focus on taser anti-personnel mines, suggesting both technological countermeasures and ways of making the use of such technology politically counterproductive. We also outline several other types of ‘non-lethal’ technology that could be used for border control and raise human rights concerns: high-powered microwaves, armed robots, wireless tasers, acoustic devices/vortex rings, ionizing and pulsed energy lasers, chemical calmatives, convulsants, bioregulators and malodurants. Whether all these possible border technologies will be implemented is a matter for speculation, but their serious human rights implications warrant advance scrutiny

Staged Introduction of Blended Learning – To Blend or Not to Blend?

The Master’s Degree in Global Mental Health (GMH) is in its sixth year as an on-campus course and in its second year as an online distance learning (ODL) course. A significant review of ILOs, course content, Moodle resource, the role of graduate attributes and assessment types was undertaken prior to the 2017/18 launch. The optimisation of agility and cohesion between Programmes has provided an opportunity to introduce blended learning materials for the on-campus students as a means of supporting learning. With the introduction of blended learning into the on-campus course we wish to ensure that it is embedded robustly, efficiently and effectively