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Fairness in Recommender Systems: Balancing Bias in Academic Paper Selection
Get PDFBias in academic paper selection remains a consistent issue, even within processes designed to promote fairness, such as double-blind peer review, bias stays persistent. In this paper we investigate demographic bias while particularly focusing on racial bias in the process of selecting academic papers and explore the impact of fairness aware recommender systems on the demographic parity. To build an effective system our focus is on the Special Interest Group on Computer Human Interaction (SIGCHI) a pillar in the community, we develop a neural network-based recommender system that uses real demographic data collected by other systems withing the context of SIGCHI and evaluates fairness from using several methods. Using different parameters such as a fairness value of lambda, our system accepts that there will a tradeoff between utility which is actually measured by the h-index and fairness which is a comparison to the overall paper pool. Through a series of experiments across varying methods and number of papers selected, this paper demonstrates that it is possible to close the gap on bias by improving representation of marginalized groups in paper selection while maintaining appropriate quality of papers
The Prevalence of Cytauxzoon felis in Southern United States
Get PDFCytauxzoonosis, caused by transmission from a tick infected with the pathogen Cytauxzoon felis, is considered an emerging tick-borne disease in domestic felines. While not as fatal in other vertebrates such as the reservoir host Lynx rufus (bobcat), in domestic cats, infection is fatal nearly 100% of the time. This study sought to screen ticks pulled from felines for the pathogen across three states in an area identified as a hotspot. Out of 80 ticks screened, 12 tested positive for the pathogen. The positive population of ticks came from 3 neighboring counties in Southern Missouri: Jasper, McDonald, and Newton. McDonald County yielded the highest percent prevalence of 64%. The results of this study yielded a distribution map displaying positive tick specimens across Southwestern Missouri to aid in the research for a competent vaccine
Redefining Children’s Experience in Social Services Offices
Get PDFThe effects of childhood trauma are far-reaching and diverse, influencing physical, emotional, and mental health across a child’s entire lifetime. Research indicates that children who experience adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as abuse or neglect are at an increased risk for various consequences and that the environments they encounter post-trauma play a significant role in shaping their experiences. Social services offices, where many traumatized children are taken for interviews or assessments after being removed from their homes, can often become places of additional distress. This project seeks to address this issue by proposing redesigns for social services offices to create safer, more welcoming environments for children. By incorporating trauma-informed design principles, this project aims to minimize the potential for further emotional turmoil caused by the physical environments children encounter.
To achieve this, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) model has been developed and integrated into a free-access website. This website allows the user to upload images of their current office and receive AI-generated redesign suggestions that are backed by the literature. The AI tool, coupled with resources and other supplemental information provided in the website, is a complete and easy-to-use resource for offices seeking to make positive changes for the children and families they serve. This project draws inspiration from non-profit organizations such as LilyPad Inc., which has demonstrated the power of child-focused spaces in reducing trauma. The website is intended to be a free and accessible resource for social workers and other professionals in Northwest Arkansas and beyond, with the hope that it will inspire change both locally and nationwide. By offering a tangible solution to creating trauma-informed offices, this project aims to enhance the well-being of children and ensure that they are met with office spaces that support their healing, rather than spaces that could cause further distress or harm
Evaluating Fly-ash as a Sustainable Solution for Contaminant Removal from Wastewater
Get PDFAccess to clean and safe water is an escalating global concern due to the persistent presence of toxic contaminants in aquatic environments. Among these, synthetic dyes and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent two distinct yet significant classes of pollutants, both posing serious environmental and public health risks. Dyes in water contribute to intense coloration, elevated chemical and biological oxygen demand (COD and BOD), reduced light penetration, and disruption of aquatic ecosystems, with potential health risks to humans upon exposure. PFAS, often termed forever chemicals, are synthetic organofluorine compounds associated with a range of adverse health effects, including endocrine disruption, reproductive and developmental toxicity, metabolic disorders, and carcinogenicity. Various strategies have been explored to mitigate these pollutants, with adsorption emerging as a promising method. Fly ash, a carbon-rich byproduct of coal combustion, is particularly attractive as an adsorbent due to its low cost, high availability, and large surface area. Its use also supports sustainable waste valorization, enhancing its economic feasibility for large-scale water treatment applications. In this study, fly ash achieved up to 95% removal of dye contaminants, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 120 ± 5 mg/g. For perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), up to 53% of removal was observed within 2 hours of treatment. Notably, fly ash sample #2 exhibited superior performance compared to sample #1, likely due to its finer pore structure, rougher surface texture, and higher surface area, which enhance adsorption efficiency. The findings also suggest that acidic conditions favor dye adsorption, while alkaline conditions improve PFOS removal. Electrostatic interactions are proposed as a key mechanism governing the adsorption process.
This work was further developed and submitted to Separation Science and Technology
Does the Private Prison Industry Perpetrate More Staff Sexual Misconduct than in Federal Prisons?
Get PDFThis paper compares the reported statistics of staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct allegations in privately and federally operated correctional facilities. The federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was first created with the goal of protecting public safety and promoting rehabilitation for criminal offenders humanely. As decades have passed, and the support for the validity of this mission has wavered, the federal government has implemented oversight and remedial programs to report on the misconduct that is evident in prison management in an attempt to curb these incidents. Previous research in this field highlights the waning reliability of institutional indicators to the success of correctional facilities in purporting the BOP’s founding mission. Prison Rape Elimination Act audits have become the leading index in determining the efficacy of a prison administrations’ ability to prevent sexual misconduct within their facilities. The decreasing dependability of checks against abuse of power by correctional employees signals that the reliability of the current indicators needs to be examined. The purpose of this research is two-fold. The first, to determine whether inmates are at a higher risk of sexual victimization at the hands of correctional staff in private or public prisons. The second is to determine whether PREA standard evaluations are reliable indicators of whether a facility is likely to put an inmate at a higher risk of sexual victimization by correctional staff
Enhancing Asphalt Mix Design through Film Thickness and Bailey’s Gradation Method
Get PDFContemporary asphalt research aims to strike a balance between rutting and fatigue cracking to enhance pavement longevity. The performance of asphalt mixtures is influenced by factors such as aggregate gradation and asphalt film thickness. Although gradation typically adheres to the mid-gradation method, asphalt film thickness is included in certain mix designs, even though it is not universally regarded as an essential parameter. Nonetheless, no current method primarily addresses both gradation and asphalt film thickness together. In this research, aggregate gradations were designed using the principles of Bailey’s method along with various other criteria such as control points, the dust to binder ratio, and the maximum density line. The preliminary mix design was carried out based on an asphalt film thickness of 9 ± 3 microns, and the binder content was determined accordingly. The results indicated that average binder content varied from 3.6% for an AFT of 6 microns in both HMA and BHMA gradations to 6.4% for an AFT of 12 microns in the HMA gradations. For both HMA and BHMA gradations, as the AFT increased, the standard deviation increased from 0.3 to 0.5 microns and the coefficient of variation also rose by 0.009, indicating greater variability in binder content with higher AFT values. Using ARDOT weighted average prices, the Bailey method of gradation shows the potential to reduce the price per ton of asphalt by 2.2% to 5.1% for HMA mixes and 0.4% to 1.0% for BHMA mixes, depending on the target film thickness and binder grade. In summary, the results of this study indicated that Bailey’s method could decrease the quantity of asphalt binder in an asphalt mixture, which could reduce the costs of asphalt production
The Effect of Antemortem Tooth Loss on Craniofacial Shape in Apes and Humans
Get PDFAntemortem tooth loss (AMTL) (i.e., defined as tooth loss occurring before death) is common among humans and many primates, and several studies have examined AMTL across various primate groups. Some research indicates that AMTL can influence masticatory function and diet; however, the effects of AMTL on craniofacial shape and biomechanics have not been extensively analyzed. We assessed craniofacial and mandibular shape in relation to AMTL, anticipating that individuals with at least one tooth lost antemortem would display significant differences in cranial and/or mandibular shape compared to those without AMTL. AMTL rates were evaluated in three primate species: wild-caught samples of Pan troglodytes (n=68) and Gorilla gorilla (n=85), as well as an archaeological sample of Homo sapiens (n=88) from Ancient Nubia. The prevalences of AMTL were initially compared among species and sexes using Fisher’s exact tests, followed by geometric morphometric techniques to measure craniofacial and mandibular shapes and compare individuals with and without AMTL within each species. Results reveal that humans exhibit the highest prevalence of AMTL, followed by chimpanzees and then gorillas. No sex differences were observed in AMTL prevalence for any species. The shape analyses further indicate that gorillas and humans (but not chimpanzees) with AMTL had significantly different mandible shapes; there was no effect of AMTL on cranial shape. This research has implications for comprehending the effects of AMTL on the skulls of both wild primates and modern humans, as well as how AMTL influences craniofacial shape and masticatory function
“What are you saying on that headset, anyway?”- A PRACTICAL LOOK AT STAGE MANAGEMENT THROUGH SILENT SKY
Get PDFThis thesis is a dive into the process of the stage manager during the University of Arkansas\u27 spring 2025 production of Silent Sky
The Different Rhetoric between Upholding and Overriding Disability Rights inside the United States Supreme Court
Get PDFThis paper seeks to explain the rhetoric the U.S. Supreme Court uses when deciding disability cases, specifically when the Court upholds or overrides disability rights. The paper attempts to show how when the Court upholds disabled rights they use passive and weak rhetoric, and utilizes active and enforcing rhetoric when overriding disability rights. This paper analyzes this rhetoric inside education, healthcare, and employment cases heard by the Supreme Court