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Statistical Learning Of Multimodal Medical Imaging Data With Block-Wise Missing Structure
No full textThis dissertation addresses the pervasive challenge of block-wise missingness in multimodal medical imaging data. To address this, we propose two novel frameworks: BaMM and IMMR. Through rigorous theoretical development, extensive simulations, and real-world applications on the ADNI dataset, these frameworks demonstrate competitive performance in prediction accuracy and uncertainty quantification. These contributions significantly advance the field of multi-modal medical data analysis by providing effective solutions for handling missing data and improving the reliability of diagnostic predictions
A Participatory Approach to Case Management: Co-Creation of Effective Anti-Trafficking Programming Based on the Self-Identified Strengths, Needs, and Priorities of Survivors
No full textSome estimates claim the existence of 50 million victims of human trafficking and the U.S. Department of State suggests that less than 1% of survivors received services to prevent further exploitation. This presentation shares processes for co-creating knowledge with case management tools that empower survivors while gathering data to improve their care, assist service providers in effectively targeting supportive services, and strengthen anti-trafficking initiatives. Findings will be shared from Freedom Lifemap, a self-assessment used by human trafficking survivors to identity their own strengths, needs, and priorities to prevent the risk of re-exploitation and attain lasting freedom. Global patterns in data are explored from self-assessments conducted in Southeast Asia, Latin America, East Africa, and the U.S. Implications for this research include opportunities for collaboration within and beyond the anti-trafficking sector to identify and scale effective programming
Lobbying by Brief: Unveiling the Dominance of Amicus Lobbying in the Development of Business Law
No full textThis Article uncovers the pervasive and significant impact of business law amicus lobbying, a strategic tactic whereby lobby groups have commandeered the amicus curiae filing process in state courts to shape business law according to their interests.
This Article makes three primary contributions to the literature. First, it presents the only comprehensive dataset of amicus curiae filings in business law cases. This hand-collected dataset encompasses nearly all business law amicus curiae filings from 2005 to 2022 in the key jurisdictions of New York, California, Delaware, Texas, and Nevada. Second, it reveals a striking empirical finding: lobby groups account for 67% of all amicus curiae filings in the dataset, with a high rate of success in persuading courts to adopt their positions. Finally, the Article provides a normative assessment of amicus lobbying in business law and proposes policy recommendations designed to ensure a more balanced representation of stakeholder interests. By shedding light on this understudied phenomenon, this Article aims to stimulate critical discourse on the intersection of lobbying, judicial decisionmaking, and business law formation. It offers valuable insights for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers engaged in the ongoing debate over the appropriate role and influence of interest groups in shaping legal doctrine
Sacred Black Motherhood: A Womanist Lens on The Role of the Prophetic Black Church to Construct an Alternative System of Care that Produces Positive Maternal Health Outcomes for Black Women
No full textPregnancy and motherhood are sacred. For Black women, the experience of pregnancy and motherhood is far too often dismissed and disregarded as a result of systemic and systematic racism. As a consequence, there is a Black maternal health crisis in the United States. What is the role of the church in addressing the Black maternal health crisis? Social structures and institutions devalue and dehumanize Black women’s bodies, including the Black Church. The Black maternal health crisis in the United States has a significant impact on birthing women and their families. When it comes to reproductive rights, Black birthing women’s humanity is often diminished. The current political climate and laws place all women, especially Black women, at significant risk of maternal mortality. A hetero-patriarchal society has been and continues to be a breeding ground for stripping body autonomy away from women. The Dobbs Decision of 2022 essentially gave significant power to the states to determine the reproductive rights of women: “Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is the 2022 Supreme Court case that reversed Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, the decisions that originally asserted the fundamental right to an abortion prior to the viability of the fetus. Dobbs v. Jackson states that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; and, the authority to regulate abortion is “returned to the people and their elected representatives.” As of December 13, 2024,13 states are enforcing total bans, 28 states are enforcing abortion bans based on gestational duration, 7 states currently ban abortion at or before 18 weeks gestation, and 21 states ban abortion at some point after 18 weeks. “The inequitable harms of abortion bans were highlighted this year by reporting on the preventable deaths of several women denied care due to abortion bans in Georgia and Texas. Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, two Black women in Georgia, died in 2022 because they were denied abortion care or feared seeking care under the state’s abortion ban. Three women in Texas—Porsha Ngumezi, a Black woman, Josseli Barnica, an immigrant from Honduras, and Neveah Crain, a teenager— died after they were denied miscarriage care under the state’s abortion ban.
Debt Tokens
No full textThe worlds of crypto and bankruptcy have collided. Once-prominent, fast growing, and even politically influential platforms for trading cryptocurrencies have imploded spectacularly. Gone are the glossy advertisements, celebrity endorsements, and proclamations that blockchain operates as a law unto itself. Instead, insolvent crypto businesses—including the crypto exchange giant FTX—find themselves in bankruptcy court, no different from any other failed enterprise. These bankruptcies reveal a startling reality: individual investors who placed their trust in these platforms have been stripped of their digital assets. In their stead, they hold hard-to-collect claims against these defunct platforms. Amid the chill of the crypto winter, bankruptcy has unexpectedly emerged as a crucible for innovation, giving rise to a new digital asset: debt tokens. Entrepreneurs have responded to the tidal wave of trade debts arising from the insolvencies of crypto platforms by embarking on a mission to create blockchain-based digital assets that represent bankruptcy claims. They present debt tokens as cutting-edge devices for swiftly and advantageously liquidating these distressed assets. Yet, the pressing question is this: are these debt tokens actually useful innovations or yet another hollow promise?
This Article offers the first comprehensive analysis of debt tokens, making three seminal contributions. First, we scrutinize existing debt token offerings, laying bare their inherent flaws and casting doubt on their legitimacy. Second, we explore the potential for genuine debt tokens within the framework of the recently adopted 2022 amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code. Lastly, we delve into the broader socio-economic implications of widespread debt token adoption. Specifically, we anticipate debt tokens fostering more effective collective action and improved exit opportunities, particularly for those creditors who traditionally fare the worst in bankruptcy due to having fewer resources and pressing financial needs. However, we also caution against the looming risks of irrational speculation and the exploitation of inexperienced retail investors blinded by the bright lights of innovation
Location of Firearm Suicides in the United States, 2003-2021
No full textSuicide is a leading cause of death in the US, with firearms accounting for more than half of those deaths. Current research about firearm suicide prevention largely focuses on promoting secure storage to reduce or delay access to lethal means at home. While such prevention measures are essential, their exclusive focus on the home environment may fail to address firearm suicides outside the home, which may vary by subpopulation and circumstance. However, there is little information on these factors. We sought to quantify and describe firearm suicides that occur outside the home to inform more comprehensive and effective prevention strategies for these deaths
Corporate Director and Officer Liability: Discretionaries Not Fiduciaries
No full textThe principal theme of this book is that corporate directors and officers are not, in actuality, fiduciaries and that the use of this term should be abandoned. As the book highlights, the liability standards that often apply to directors and officers are so lenient that they are devoid of fiduciary status. Accordingly, to continue to identify these individuals as fiduciaries perpetuates a fiction that should be remedied. Rather, a new substantive term should be recognized that accurately and objectively portrays this situation: the corporate director or officer is a “discretionary.” The degree of discretion allowed before liability arises may be strict or expansive depending on the surrounding facts and circumstances. This distinction is important as legal terms and concepts have impact. They are relied upon for what they claim to represent. Directors and officers accordingly should be accurately characterized as “discretionaries.”https://scholar.smu.edu/facbooks/1072/thumbnail.jp
The Role We Play:Examining Gender, Personality, and Self-Efficacy in Role Selection Across Games
No full textThis study examines the intersection of gender, personality traits, self-efficacy, and role preferences in the online multiplayer games Overwatch 2, League of Legends, and Destiny 2. The findings indicate that non-male players consistently exhibit a preference for support roles across all three games. Personality traits do not have a significant relationship with roles. Self-efficacy is highest among Destiny 2 players, who show a significant difference in self-efficacy between genders. There is no significant relationship between self-efficacy and gender in Overwatch 2 and League of Legends
A Modern Approach to Classifying Medieval Latin Scripts
No full textPaleography, the study of historical handwriting, is essential for preserving societal understanding of cultural, social, and legal frameworks from the past. Medieval manuscripts, often exhibiting refined craftsmanship, present unique challenges to modern readers due to differences in handwriting conventions and the absence of standardized punctuation and spaces. These texts hold valuable insights into the evolution of written communication, literacy, and language development. However, interpreting them requires specialized knowledge and technological solutions. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) can be leveraged to classify scripts, an important step in Historical Document analysis. These models extract and analyze hierarchical features from images, addressing inconsistencies in script style and document quality. Furthermore, transfer learning and data augmentation techniques, like rotation and random cropping, enhance model robustness by mimicking the natural variability of handwritten texts