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Privacy Preservation in Pervasive Computing Environments
No full textWith the widespread adoption of location-based services it is vital to emphasize location privacy to prevent unexpected and unwanted location disclosure. However, privacy preservation often introduces challenges such as increased computational complexity, communication overhead, or reduced data precision. To address these challenges, this work explores novel protocols in secure multi-party computation (SMPC) to enable accurate and efficient solutions within the domains of location sharing, traffic aggregation, contact tracing, and crowdsensing without sacrificing privacy. In location sharing, the protocols are developed for kNN, range and point queries ensuring location privacy is maintained. In traffic aggregation secure multiparty computation is developed to aggregate near future traffic data in a privacy preserving manner. In contact tracing, privacy-preserving mechanisms are developed to detect potential exposure events without revealing users' movement patterns. In crowdsensing applications, protocols are developed to safeguard location privacy from the task assignment phase through payment for task completion, ensuring participant location privacy throughout the process. In addition to privacy preserving protocols, this work looks at the privacy of servers through the use of novel distributed architecture and protocols for firewall evaluation and management. Lastly, this work looks at the current state of privacy preservation in pervasive environments and the potential of these techniques in future technologies for preserving users’ privacy
Relations between Intellectual Humility, Cognitive Flexibility and Language Experience
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Crisis Leadership Change Theory: Evolving Adaptive Leadership for Crisis Management
No full textLeadership and Organizational Performance White PapersIn the face of crisis, what should a leader do first? How do leaders make strong decisions in times of great stress? Why do some leaders and organizations survive while others fail? The objective of this white paper is to equip leaders with the knowledge needed to survive and thrive through crisis, to feel more confident and prepared when facing crises, and to have clear actionable insights for effective crisis leadership. This paper reviews and organizes the relevant research on crisis theory with unique lenses of adaptive and situational leadership. The paper explores the origins of crisis, leadership during crisis, crisis decision making, building adaptive leadership during crisis, and the case for adaptability. At the end of this white paper, the author reviews the case for adaptive leadership, shares key takeaways for crisis leaders, and presents a theory taking insights from adaptive leadership and situational leadership: crisis leadership change theory
On Behavior Trees and their Verification
No full textBehavior trees are high level controllers that have gained popularity in a variety of safety critical domains such as robotics and medicine. Because of this, it is important that we be able to formally verify that behavior trees work as intended. To that end, we created a formal model for behavior trees called stateful behavior trees. A stateful behavior trees includes a behavior tree and the environment that behavior tree operates in. Furthermore, we created a tool named BehaVerify for the verification of stateful behavior trees. BehaVerify takes as input a stateful behavior tree specified using a domain specific language we created. The domain specific language allows for the use of invariant specifications, linear temporal logic specifications, and computation tree logic specifications. As output, BehaVerify produces a model for verification with nuXmv, a Python implementation, or a Haskell implementation. We compare BehaVerify against various competing tools and find that BehaVerify generally outperforms. We have expanded BehaVerify to use contingency runtime monitors. To create a contingency runtime monitor, a linear temporal logic specification is included in the input. Additionally, actions to be taken in the case of a violation are also included; this allows the behavior tree to respond to violations. With the rising power and popularity of neural networks, it is also important to be able to handle behavior trees that use neural networks. To that end, we expanded BehaVerify to handle neuro-symbolic behavior trees. We tested BehaVerify on neuro-symbolic behavior trees navigating a complex grid world environment and on a simplified version of ACASXu, an aircraft collision avoidance system. In the case of ACASXu, we verified a neuro-symbolic behavior tree that made use of 5 neural networks, each of which had 6 layers of 50 neurons each. We included a comparison of various methods to encode the neural networks in nuXmv
PTEN and the Regulation of Macrophage Antimicrobial Effector Functions
No full textMacrophage effector functions include ingestion and killing of microbes, along with induction, maintenance, and chronicity of the inflammatory response. Understanding the host-derived mechanisms that enhance phagocyte antimicrobial effector function is critical for creating treatments to clear the infection. We and others have shown that lipid and protein phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) reduces microbial ingestion and killing during fungal infection in macrophages. In the current work, we found that macrophage PTEN inhibits Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) phagocytosis in macrophages. PTEN effects are accompanied by reduced gene and protein expression of the scavenger receptors (SRs) MARCO and CD36, hindering receptor-mediated phagocytosis during MRSA infections. We next investigated the killing capacity of macrophages deficient in PTEN and observed enhanced killing compared to control macrophages. To investigate the mechanism of this increase in killing, we measured the pH of these cells and observed increased acidity in the PTEN deficient macrophages. We then investigated the role of PTEN in human phagocytes, using PBMC-derived monocytes from a PTEN haploinsufficient patient and healthy controls. CyTOF analysis showed that certain immune subsets, but not all, were reduced in the patient, highlighting the role for PTEN in the homeostasis of specific monocyte subsets. RNA sequencing analysis gave us further insights into the programming of these cells. Patient monocytes displayed defects in phagosome, lysosome, and innate immune pathways. These results suggest that human and murine PTEN is an important inhibitor of multiple processes during phagocyte effector functions against MRSA infection
Improving Nursing and Provider Knowledge and Comfort Managing Dyspnea in Cancer Patients at End-of-Life
No full textSchool of Nursing Doctor of Nursing Practice Program ProjectPURPOSE:
Dyspnea, or breathlessness, is a common symptom experienced by cancer patients at the end of life. While opioids are the recommended first line treatment for the management of dyspnea at the end of life, high flow nasal cannula is a widespread intervention with limited evidence to support its use within the palliative care setting. The purpose of this study is to utilize an educational presentation to increase provider knowledge and comfort managing dyspnea in cancer patients at end of life from baseline by November 2024 in nurses and providers on the breast/gynecological oncology unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK).
METHODS:
Participants of this quality improvement project included registered nurses (RNs) and advanced practice providers (APPs) on the breast/gynecological oncology unit at MSK. The intervention was a 10 minute evidence-based educational module. Data was collected utilizing de-identified, anonymous pre/post surveys which contained the Thanatophobia scale, Palliative Care Knowledge Test and author generated multiple choice questions as measures. Survey questions focused on knowledge regarding best practices for the management of dyspnea at the end-of-life and comfort scale to determine provider comfort providing end-of-life care. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired t-test analysis comparing pre and post intervention scores.
RESULTS:
Forty quantitative surveys (N=40) were analyzed using descriptive statistics. T-test analysis using repeated measures design was used pre and post educational intervention. Mean knowledge scores increased 39% from baseline following the educational intervention. Pre-survey knowledge scores (M= 58.68, SD= 25.29) were statistically significantly different than post-survey knowledge scores (M= 82.48, SD= 18.42); t(39)= 6.3295, p<0.0001. Mean comfort scores increased 32% increase from baseline following the educational intervention. Pre-survey comfort scores (M= 71.62, SD= 32.36) were statistically significantly different than post-survey comfort scores (M= 94.59, SD= 15.74); t(36)= 4.3026, p=0.0001.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE:
End-of-life care is an essential pillar of high-quality oncology care. The implementation of an educational module on the management of dyspnea at the end of life was effective in improving nursing and provider knowledge and comfort in caring for patients approaching the end of life. The results of this project contribute to the body of evidence supporting education as an effective, low-cost intervention that improves provider comfort and knowledge providing end of life care. This project can be applied to support the implementation of this education on a larger scale within the institution as part of nursing orientation and onboarding to optimize the delivery and of high-quality, patient-centered palliative care
From Cultural Wealth to Systems Change: Assessing the Impact of WOCEC’s Leadership Development Program
No full textLeadership and Learning in Organizations capstone projectThe Women of Color Education Collaborative (WOCEC) is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting equity in educational leadership by supporting and developing women of color through coaching, mentoring, and leadership development programs. This study examined the effectiveness and support of WOCEC's leadership program in enhancing leadership skills, encouraging professional growth, and helping participants navigate systemic barriers shaped by their challenges. A mixed-methods approach was used, combining quantitative survey data with qualitative reflections from participants to capture both measurable results and personal experiences. Overall, the findings show notable improvements in leadership confidence, leadership practices, self-care practices, and strategic career planning, with executive coaching and identity-affirming community identified as particularly transformative features of the program
Improving Retention and Completion for Adult Learners at Nashville State Community College: A Needs Assessment
No full textLeadership Policy and Organizations Department capstone projectAccording to the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), a troubling national trend is underway: the completion rates for adult learners (25+ years old) are generally lower than traditional-aged students (<25 years old). At Nashville State Community College (NSCC), the number of adult learners decreased by 4 percent from fall 2021 to fall 2022, and their completion rates continue to fall below that of NSCC traditional learners. To help NSCC leadership respond to this trend, researchers conducted a mixed-methods needs assessment utilizing survey data from 1,341 enrolled adult and traditional-aged students and 27 one-on-one semi-structured interviews with enrolled adult learners. This study was centered on the following three research questions: 1) What are the characteristics of the NSCC adult learners? 2) What are the needs and strengths of NSCC adult learners, and how do they vary by student characteristics? 3) What supports address the needs and strengths of NSCC adult learners?
Researchers conducted descriptive statistics on both survey and interview responses to identify the strengths, needs, and motivational orientations of all students and a two-tailed t-test to determine the statistical significance between the motivational orientations of adult and traditional-aged students.
Using Kotera et al. (2023) Shortened Academic Motivation Scale, researchers found that traditional-aged students are more strongly motivated by two specific intrinsic motivators (joy and satisfaction) and amotivation (uncertain about their reasons for attending college) than their adult learner peers. Researchers also identified unique strengths that adult learners bring to the NSCC community, including informal mentoring, discussion and facilitation contributions, and a general willingness to provide ongoing feedback. Additionally, accessibility factors impacting motivational orientations and subsequent decision-making exist on a continuum and are influenced by the presence (or absence) of adult learner theory-informed support structures. Although statistical significance did not emerge for extrinsic motivation factors (preparation, feels, and prestige) or the intrinsic motivation factor (pleasure), further research is needed to determine the meaning of the direction of differences and apparent similarities. These differences may be accounted for by needs and strengths that are developmental in origin or a combination of developmental and environmental factors.
Considering these findings, researchers offer the following recommendations:
1. Adopt an adult learner organizational priority in strategic planning, policy development, operations, and research prioritization
2. Create an adult learner welcome center to address key intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors via programming, support staff, and advocacy
3. Expand community-building opportunities to foster peer-to-peer connections and formalize intergenerational mentorship structures
4. Establish an adult learner research priority to address adult learners who have already stopped out and learn more about the shared motivational orientations between adult and traditional-aged students.
These findings include important insights into national, state, and institutional priorities to improve educational outcomes for adult learners (US Department of Labor, n.d.). By adopting these recommendations, NSCC stands to strengthen institutional loyalty to its community, gain recognition as an adult learner-friendly institution, strengthen collaboration efforts with peer institutions, and bolster the US workforce.Peabody College of Education and Human DevelopmentDepartment of Leadership Policy and Organization
Dancing Towards Progress: Understanding Success in Dance Education Business
No full textLeadership and Learning in Organizations capstone projectThis study examines how Rhee Gold's Dance Life Studio Owner Alliance (SOA) programming aligns with the professional needs of dance studio owners. Using a mixed-methods approach including surveys, interviews, and document analysis, the research explored how different stakeholders define success within independent dance studios. Findings reveal that studio owners primarily measure success through achievement metrics, such as financial stability and enrollment growth, while parents prioritize affiliation (community and belonging), and teachers value power through their pedagogical impact. While SOA programming generally aligns with members' values regarding financial success and mental health, recommendations suggest that the organization could more effectively support pedagogical development and community building to better address the varied definitions of success expressed by studio owners, teachers, parents, and alumni
Semantic Memory in Traumatic Brain Injury: An Examination of Word Features
No full textSemantic memory, or the stored knowledge for words and concepts, is the basis for nearly all human behavior, and is critical for academic, vocational, and interpersonal pursuits. As part of the declarative memory system, semantic memory is reliant on a network of interconnected neural structures throughout cortex to function. The neuropathologies of TBI damage these structures and their connections, predicting some level of semantic memory dysfunction that may be contributing to poor outcomes in TBI. Detecting changes to semantic memory in TBI using standardized assessments designed to capture frank impairment in other disorders has proved difficult, resulting in inconsistent findings and conclusions. Here, we use an experimental paradigm shown sensitive to subtle semantic memory disruption in other populations with acquired brain injury to examine semantic memory in a group of individuals with chronic moderate-severe TBI and demographically matched comparison participants. We employ complementary behavioral and computational analyses to demonstrate subtle but reliable semantic memory disruptions in TBI, laying the groundwork for further programmatic investigation of semantic memory in this population