RSS 1.0University of Alaska Fairbanks
Sub-communities within this community
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Office of the Provost
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Provost is responsible for providing overall leadership, coordination and direction to UAF research and scholarly activities and graduate studies. -
School of Education (SOE)
The School of Education is committed to preparing and retaining the best possible K-12 educators for this far north, geographically, culturally and linguistically diverse state. -
School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (SFOS)
The School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences is one of the most diverse schools of the University of Alaska in both geographic distribution and academic mission. -
School of Management (SOM)
The School of Management provides a high quality education that prepares students for professional success in meeting the challenges facing businesses in Alaska and around the world. -
School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences (SNRAS)
As the primary land-grant component of the university, SNRAS administers a variety of programs and engages in cooperative efforts with federal, state, and borough governments and agencies. -
UAF Graduate School
University of Alaska Fairbanks Graduate School -
Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity
At the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity (URSA) supports, develops and institutionalizes UAF's diverse and robust programs of undergraduate research and creative ...
Recent Submissions
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Tackling revenge porn: mitigating destructive behaviors among minors through educationRevenge porn is at the forefront of the American consciousness now more than ever before. The effects of revenge pom are long-lasting for both victims and perpetrators, yet efforts to address these behaviors remain highly unorganized. A combination of victim blaming, an inability to keep up with technology, and poor legislation have made the process of addressing revenge pom extremely challenging. Although anyone can become a victim of revenge pom, this report will focus on the group in our society which is the most susceptible to these risks and the least protected, minors and young adults. Furthermore, this report will delve into the social, psychological, financial, and legal ramifications of participating in revenge pom. Finally, this report will advocate for the implementation of comprehensive sex education programs in schools, because education is the only way to render the excuse of ignorance of the law invalid.
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Conceptual design of a test bed for miner rescueIn the mining industry, miners are constantly exposed to various safety and health hazards associated with often unpredictable conditions. When an accident occurs, it is difficult for the rescue team to come up with a proper plan for the rescue mission without having adequate knowledge of the situation. One possible approach to managing these hazards is to provide the rescue team with situational awareness such as real-time data regarding the environment (fire, poisonous or explosive gasses), as well as the location and physical condition of the trapped miners. Before starting the rescue mission, and in order to eliminate or reduce the dangers of exposing more humans to the explosive mining environment for information collection, a combination of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is proposed. In this project, a conceptual test bed is designed to collect one specific set of information about a trapped miner (in this case, heartrate data). This test bed collects the required data from a heart rate sensor on the trapped miner and transmits it wirelessly to a nearby UAV which will receive the data and send it back to the rescue team via a UGV.
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The Importance of communication in land use planning for interior Alaska: a participant observation studyThree case studies (i.e., (1) FNSB Marijuana Zoning, (2) The Joint Land Use Study, and (3) Rethinking Smith Ranch) were examined in the context of land use planning to assist the reader in understanding some of the challenges a second-class borough in Alaska faces. The researcher utilized an opportunity with the Fairbanks North Star Borough to perform a participant observation study which demonstrated the complexity in engaging and communicating with citizens of the area. The researcher identified the three following critical themes and referenced planning literature to analyze them: (1) challenges to accomplishing goals, (2) the importance of communication, and (3) potential solutions to overcoming challenges. Upon identifying the challenges experienced both during the case studies, as well as outside of the case studies, the researcher determined possible solutions to help the borough’s Department of Community Planning overcome the difficulties associated with communication and engagement of citizens.
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Community policing: implementing community policing in our communitiesCommunity policing is a philosophy that is geared towards achieving more effective and efficient crime control, reducing the fear of crime, improving police legitimacy, and services that improve the quality of life in the community. A philosophy such as this is believed to hold law enforcement officers to a higher standard of accountability, allows the public to be involved in the decision-making process, and put a greater emphasis on civil rights and liberties. Law enforcement officers in many communities network in order to build a rapport between the law enforcement agencies and the community. Community-Oriented policing addresses the root of crime and helps reduce the fear that non-law-abiding citizens bestow on the community. community policing is a government-funded program that can only flourish if everybody is involved in reducing the terror of crime.
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Addressing the health needs of patients diagnosed with a chronic disease in a rural Alberta, Canada primary care settingThis comprehensive literature review presents findings associated with the need for more mental health support in rural Alberta. Integrated care with a behavioral health consultant (BHC) presents as a possible solution. Peer-reviewed literature indicates that rural residents are at a higher risk of suicide, substance abuse, depression, and other serious mental health concerns. They are often at a disadvantage when trying to access mental health support, and over 40% of patients with mental health needs will first seek treatment in a primary care setting. Positive mental health and positive health care outcomes are strongly linked to an individual’s total health, and a contributing factor to mental health concerns is the overwhelming number of people who have been diagnosed with a chronic disease. Integrated care with a BHC could help support both primary care providers and their patients by combining the professional competencies of mental health and primary care providers
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Eliminating 3-strikes policies: a secondary research analysis that evaluates 3-strikes policies and proposes a strategy for weaning states off of a policy that does not workThe 3-strike policy was adopted by some states in the 1990s. Crime rates were becoming an increasing issue and the general public was starting to notice. The policy was supposed to decrease the crime rates to make people safe. The drastic sentencing on the last strike was supposed to decrease crime rates and create a safe environment for the public. This policy has done the opposite as what was intended and now states are facing multiple issues. Reversal of the 3-strikes policies could: reverse the increased crime rates, cause less financial issues, and offenders have the opportunity to get an appropriate sentencing.
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Estimating confidence intervals on accuracy in classification in machine learningThis paper explores various techniques to estimate a confidence interval on accuracy for machine learning algorithms. Confidence intervals on accuracy may be used to rank machine learning algorithms. We investigate bootstrapping, leave one out cross validation, and conformal prediction. These techniques are applied to the following machine learning algorithms: support vector machines, bagging AdaBoost, and random forests. Confidence intervals are produced on a total of nine datasets, three real and six simulated. We found in general not any technique was particular successful at always capturing the accuracy. However leave one out cross validation had the most consistency amongst all techniques for all datasets.
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Toward computer generated folk music using recurrent neural networksIn this paper, we compare the effectiveness of two different types of Recurrent Neural Networks, fully connected and Long Short Term Memory, for modeling music compositions. We compare both the categorical accuracies of these models as well as the quality of generated compositions, and find that the model based on Long Short Term Memory is more effective in both cases. We find that the fully connected model is not capable of generating non repeating note sequences longer than a few measures, and that the Long Short Term Memory model can do significantly better in some cases.
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The relationship between the achievement motive and downward communicative adaptabilityIn this paper, a model was created linking the Achievement Motive to Downward Communicative Adaptability. As theorized in the model, there is a significant positive relationship between the Achievement Motive and Downward Communicative Adaptability. Participants who supervise or manage others completed an in-person paper and pencil survey. The collected data were entered into an SPSS data file, and a simple correlational analysis was run. A significant positive correlation was found between the Achievement Motive and Downward Communicative Adaptability.
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Seasonal variation and distribution of zooplankton in the deglaciating fjord of Glacier Bay National Park, AlaskaSeasonal composition and abundance of zooplankton along with their physical and chemical environment were investigated in Glacier Bay, AK. Collections were taken six times annually during 2016 and 2017 and separated into upper (0-50 m) and lower water column (50180 m) strata. We found ~70 zooplankton taxa, with copepods dominating both abundance and biomass. We find that zooplankton concentrations within the bay are often an order of magnitude higher than outside. Zooplankton had species-specific preference for particular habitats, with significant populations of Acartia and Oithona in the upper column, Metridia in the lower column, and Pseudocalanus throughout the water column. Seasonality was clearly evident in the upper column, but less so at depth. Copepod nauplii had highest abundances during the spring, concurrent with the spring phytoplankton bloom. Total zooplankton were highest in the summer but with somewhat different timing between the two years. Highest annual zooplankton abundances were observed during May and July of 2016, while during 2017 the highest observed abundances shifted to July and September. These temporal shifts may be temperature-related as 2016 was generally warmer than 2017 by 1-2 °C. Community composition in Glacier Bay differs slightly in leading species from that of the Gulf of Alaska and adjoining Icy Strait. We suggest bathymetry in the bay is too shallow for Neocalanus and Calanus species to form overwintering populations.
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Continuity of care between medical professionals and behavioral health providers to prevent suicide in AlaskaThis literature review describes the need for continuity of care between medical professionals and behavioral health providers for patients who are experiencing suicidality, highlighting the state of Alaska specifically. An initiative proposal advocating for mandated continuity of care for patients who are experiencing suicidality is included, as well as letters of sponsorship and support which can be sent to various Alaskans in order to advocate for those in need of services. Sending letters of support to a cross-section of Alaskans would ensure that concerns and support are heard from a diverse population of Alaskans. There currently is no act or law which requires continuity of care between medical professionals and behavioral health providers for patients who are experiencing suicidality. This proposal initiative and accompanying letters would be the first step in pursing legal change mandating continuity of care between medical professionals and behavioral health providers in the state of Alaska.
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Passively encouraging offline networking in small, concentrated communities through UI/UX designThe goal of this project is to identify whether it is possible to encourage users to communicate with one an other face-to-face through User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) design. It is well known that users can be maliciously manipulated by design elements and that concerns have been raised about the effects o f social media on interpersonal communication. The key is to find non-harmful means of guiding users to the desired action of speaking face-to-face with others. User testing for a custom web app was conducted for the purposes of this project. It is hoped that the results will provide developers with new consideration for UI and UX design.
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Implementation of various bed load transport equations at monitoring sites along the Sagavanirktok RiverIn May 2015, the Sagavanirktok River in Alaska flooded, spilling over the Dalton Highway and destroying several sections of the road near the community of Deadhorse. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities made repairs to the road and funded the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Water and Environmental Research Center (WERC), to conduct a multiyear study of hydro-sedimentological conditions on the Sagavanirktok River. Personnel from the WERC installed four monitoring stations for research purposes. The first monitoring station (DSS1) is located near Deadhorse at Milepost (MP) 405 of the Dalton Highway, the second (DSS2) is located below the Ivishak River (MP 368), the third (DSS3) is located in Happy Valley (MP 335), and the fourth (DSS4) is located at MP 318. Near each monitoring station, large pits were excavated to trap bed sediment as it moves downstream. Researchers involved in the Sagavanirktok River study have been collecting bathymetry measurements from the sediment pits since fall of 2015. The following document discusses a research project that focused on bed load transport along the Sagavanirktok River at monitoring sites DSS1, DSS2, and DSS3. Monitoring site DSS4 was not included in this study due to difficulties retrieving sediment data caused by high water levels. Sediment transport volumes measured from the test pits were compared with volume estimations calculated using Acronym (a computer program), and applying the bed load equations of Meyer-Peter and Muller, Wong and Parker, Ashida and Michue, Fernandez Luque and Van Beek, Engelund and Fredsoe, the Parker fit to Einstein’s relation, Lajeunesse et al., and Wilson, with a critical Shields value ( t #) of 0.06 and 0.03. The study results showed that in all cases the bed load transport volumes measured at sites DSS2 and DSS3 were far smaller than those calculated using the bed load transport equations. For monitoring site DSS1, a few of the bed load transport equations estimated volumes were close to those measured. The Acronym program was used only for sites DSS2 and DSS3 due to difficulties creating the grain size distribution curve at DSS1. Data show that the volumes calculated by Acronym are greater than those measured at both sites. The bed load transport equations used for the project were not applicable to the Sagavanirktok River.
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Summer's children: an outdoor educational curriculum to help children discover the beauty of natureChanges in current societies are affecting childhood experiences. In an era where children spend countless hours indoors and on electronic devices the questions must be asked, are children developing valuable connections to the natural world around them? How much quality time are they really spending in the out-of-doors in a natural environment that would induce a connection? Time for outdoor play has diminished as nature has become to be regarded as separate from everyday life. The importance of an outdoor educational curriculum is established that would allow children to have a closer connection to nature by allowing a healthy balance of the time children spend outdoors. This project explores the questions of what an outdoor educational curriculum would look like that is project-based and child-led. A curriculum that would help children develop a sense of place, a sense of identity, and one that would help children develop self-efficacy while building self-esteem. This paper presents the main dimensions that quality outdoor experiences help to establish in the growing child and highlights the role of professionals and families in creating quality outdoor learning experiences.
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Infrared video tracking of UAVs: Guided landing in the absence of GPS signalsUnmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) use Global Positioning System (GPS) signals to determine their position for automated flight. The GPS signals require an unobstructed view of the sky in order to obtain position information. When inside without a clear view of the sky, such as in a building or mine, other methods are necessary to obtain the relative position of the UAV. For obstacle avoidance a LIDAR/SONAR system is sufficient to ensure automated flight, but for precision landing the LIDAR/SONAR system is insufficient for effectively identifying the location of the landing platform and providing flight control inputs to guide the UAV to the landing platform. This project was developed in order to solve this problem by creating a guidance system utilizing an infrared (IR) camera to track an IR LED and blue LEDs mounted on the UAV from a RaspberryPI 3 Model B+. The RaspberryPI, using OpenCV libraries, can effectively track the position of the LED lights mounted on the UAV, determine rotational and lateral corrections based on this tracking, and, using Dronekit-Python libraries, command the UAV to position itself and land on the platform of the Husky UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle).
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Lower Tanana flashcardsAs part of a study of Lower Tanana, I found it expedient to create a learning tool to help myself gain familiarity with Lower Tanana. I chose to employ Anki, an open-source tool for creating digital flashcard based learning tools. With Anki, I created cards for individual Lower Tanana words and phrases. In producing the computer flashcards for Lower Tanana, I realized that they could serve as a highly flexible system for both preserving and learning Lower Tanana. Further, because of the built-in system flexibility, such systems can be created to aid in preserving and teaching other endangered languages.
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What is the story of this place? Exploring a community through digital storytellingPlace-based curriculum is essential to educating children about their communities, local environment, and landscape. The purpose of this place-based curriculum project was to provide learners experiences with local people, places, and things that reside outside the classroom, while addressing South Dakota history and social studies curriculum standards. This project used the online digital Story Maps platform along with written lesson plans to create a third-grade social studies curriculum that highlighted the local geography, history, and culture of the city of Aberdeen, SD, and surrounding area through a place-based educational lens. The elementary school students (and teachers) will have access to this material through a shared online access website (www.storymaps.arcgis.com). Through this project, I hope to facilitate students’ place attachment to a specific geographic location (Aberdeen) and support them in developing a sense of belonging and community.
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The practical application of a hydraulic power recovery turbine at the Valdez Marine TerminalA hydraulic power recovery turbine (HPRT) is a machine designed to capture energy from the pressure differential of a fluid. The HPRT recovers energy that would otherwise be lost to entropy in flowing fluid processes. When the shaft of the HPRT is coupled to an electric generator, the electricity produced can be employed for practical purposes. At the terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) in Valdez, favorable hydraulic conditions and electrical infrastructure exists for the application of an HPRT to generate significant power. This project will study the practical application of an HPRT as a source of clean, reliable electricity to the VMT. Installation of an HPRT has the potential to reduce diesel consumption and emissions of air pollutants at the VMT.
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Outdoor education and feminism: a review of the outdoor adventures program at the University of Alaska FairbanksThis report is an organizational review of the Outdoor Adventures (OA) Program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). I will be reviewing the communication strategies within the program as well as the risk mitigation and socialization process of the organization. The goal of this document is to provide a theoretical background to justify decision making and communication practices within the organization based on a feminist critical perspective. This document provides recommendations based upon improving communication dynamics that play a role in the gender disparity as well as the processes through which staff of the organization are socialized. This document provides a brief history of the OA program at UAF and a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis to give perspective on the current state of the program. Next this project contains an overview of the gender disparity in the outdoor field, ways in which risk management is viewed and implemented, and the socialization processes of staff members within the program. Methods used to review the organization included document review, direct observation, and autoethnographic practices. The results of this project include documents to aid in socialization and risk management processes and further explores recommendations to mitigate the gender gap, update risk management practices, and train staff.
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A geostatistical model based on Brownian motion to Krige regions in R2 with irregular boundaries and holesKriging is a geostatistical interpolation method that produces predictions and prediction intervals. Classical kriging models use Euclidean (straight line) distance when modeling spatial autocorrelation. However, for estuaries, inlets, and bays, shortest-in-water distance may capture the system’s proximity dependencies better than Euclidean distance when boundary constraints are present. Shortest-in-water distance has been used to krige such regions (Little et al., 1997; Rathbun, 1998); however, the variance-covariance matrices used in these models have not been shown to be mathematically valid. In this project, a new kriging model is developed for irregularly shaped regions in R 2 . This model incorporates the notion of flow connected distance into a valid variance-covariance matrix through the use of a random walk on a lattice, process convolutions, and the non-stationary kriging equations. The model developed in this paper is compared to existing methods of spatial prediction over irregularly shaped regions using water quality data from Puget Sound.
