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The Myth of Individualized Prosecutorial Enforcement
No full textThe Criminal Justice Reform Scholarship Workshop The Myth of Individualized Prosecutorial Enforcement was hosted by the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center on March 8, 2023. The workshop featured Prof. Justin Murray, New York Law School
Law Enforcement\u27s Response to Child Sex Trafficking: Fostering Collaborative Response and Implications for North Texas
Get PDFHuman trafficking is a multifaceted, dynamic issue requiring an inter-disciplinary approach to addressing this egregious crime. This presentation highlights a recent NIJ- funded study examining law enforcement’s response to child sex trafficking. The study included a large quantitative survey of 3,500 law enforcement agencies, over 100 structured investigator interviews, and 80 in-depth interviews exploring forms of law enforcement and community collaboration in 11 purposefully chosen communities. Results of this national study will be shared along with its implications for Texas broadly, and North Texas in particular. Opportunities for ongoing research and evaluation of anti- trafficking responses, including prevention, will be offered. Holistically, this presentation will outline ways communities and researchers can collaboratively engage in the overarching quest to enhance our understanding of human trafficking, improve anti- trafficking responses, and facilitate evidenced-based polices
Combating Forced Labor: Innovative Data Solutions for Risk Assessments
Get PDFToday’s global market demands that businesses ensure their supply chains are free from human rights violations, especially forced labor. Due to the increasing regulatory, commercial, and reputational stakes, it is crucial to identify and address these risks. However, firms must manage forced labor risks for compliance purposes while navigating a lack of data visibility and compliance complexities. Moody’s and The Rights Lab are leveraging data and technology to assist businesses in identifying and mitigating the risk of forced labor within their supply chains. By utilizing technology for data collection, they can pinpoint risks in three key areas: industry, geography, and business operations. This process generates an overall risk score for each company, vendor, and client, aiding organizations in managing their risks effectively. The forward- looking risk-based approach provides companies with an automated, scalable, and consistent measure of risk, enhancing data sharing with suppliers. Additionally, the past and current event investigation approach allows companies to review historical data, interconnected with other financial, environmental violations, and allegations
Title 18’s Property Conundrum
Get PDF“Property,” in legal terms, carries significant weight. Once an object is heralded as “property,” that object becomes a step closer to being afforded the protections of the Constitution, offered equitable remedies at a court’s disposal, or even subjected to taxation by the state or federal government. Defining an object as “property” also puts it within the reach of the Title 18 property fraud statutes. Title 18’s fraud statutes have been often lauded by federal prosecutors for their “extraordinary utility.” In their current iteration, these statutes criminalize schemes to defraud “money,” “property,” and “the intangible right of honest services.” But what exactly constitutes “property”? As simple as the question may appear, it is not so easily answered by jurists, scholars, and practitioners. Of course, one can proffer objects like land or something more generic like “goods” as obvious answers. But the simplicity of the question evaporates when it is asked in relation to a criminal statute. Surprisingly, we are left with the maxim that property is what “the law declares to be property,” rendering a vagueness that should be antithetical to criminal law and statutes. Therein lies the conundrum. Title 18’s “property” conundrum, however, isn’t simply a catchy rhetorical quip; rather, it is a Gordian knot tied by decades of federal jurisprudence. It is this kind of “property” that lies at the heart of the Supreme Court’s Title 18 “property” decisions and is the subject of this Article. This Article provides the first in depth look at the progeny of Title 18 property decisions by the Supreme Court, outlines the inconsistencies, and offers a variety of implications for the checkered understanding of property across the past few decades
Modeling Droplet Levitation Over a Heated Liquid Surface
Get PDFResearch into the interactions between droplets and liquid surfaces is of importance for a number of practical applications. These applications range from spray cooling techniques in engineering, to infectious disease transmission, to the distribution of aerosolized pharmaceuticals and various challenges in particle transport in multiphase flows. In this study, we focus on the dynamics of a slowly condensing droplet, suspended above an evaporating liquid layer. The key objective of the present study is to formulate comprehensive mathematical models that describe the phenomena of diffusion and heat transfer occurring within this system. Using this, we model the flow around the droplet and the force on the droplet. We employ the method of separation of variables in bipolar coordinates for both fluid flow and heat transfer models. We derive series expansions that describe the temperature distribution within the droplet itself and around it, as well as the vapor concentration in the air surrounding the droplet. This framework allows us to obtain the temperature profiles and condensation rates both at the surface of the droplet and along the surface of the liquid layer. Using a similar methodology, we find analytical expressions for the Stokes stream function and force on the droplet, and are able to make conclusions about the levitation height as a function of the droplet radius.
The analytical method is then improved upon by considering the temperature distribution in the liquid layer as spatially variable. A coupled numerical and analytical approach is used to model the heat and mass transfer in the system. Above the liquid layer, we use separation of variables in bipolar coordinates. However, below the layer surface, the geometry is not suitable for the use of bipolar coordinates, so we employ a finite difference scheme in polar coordinates. The two solution methods are coupled at the boundary via the interface boundary conditions. The modification of the original analytical model leads to more accurate predictions for the force on the droplet and levitation height
The Role of Executive Functioning in the Suppression-Induced Forgetting of Reactivated Negative Memories
No full textThis study investigated the effectiveness of direct suppression in reducing negative versus neutral memories and examined whether these effects persisted over a 48-hour delay through memory reactivation and reconsolidation. Additionally, the role of executive functioning in moderating suppression-induced forgetting was examined to determine whether these effects depend on individual differences, as proposed by the executive deficit hypothesis. 142 participants participated in a 3-day memory reconsolidation paradigm that utilized the Think/No Think Task as an intervention to disrupt reconsolidation. Results indicated that while reactivated, neutral memories in the No-Think condition were reduced, negative memories remained resistant to this process. Contrary to expectations, executive functioning did not moderate these effects; however, exploratory analyses revealed that individuals with lower inhibitory control exhibited greater suppression effects for neutral memories and an unintentional faciliatory effect on negative memories when attempting to directly suppress reactivated memories. These findings offer preliminary support for direct suppression as a potential intervention to disrupt memory reconsolidation and suggest that individuals with lower inhibitory control may benefit more from such approaches; however, this may not be an effective intervention for negative emotional memories
The Theology of Home: Cultivating Faith and Belonging Through Community and Hospitality as a Reflection of God’s Presence in the Community and Church
Get PDFThis dissertation examines the essential human need for belonging and its theological significance in shaping faith, identity, and community. Drawing on biblical texts, historical theological perspectives, and contemporary ecclesiological discourse, this study explores the church as a spiritual home—a sacred space of belonging where relationships foster deeper engagement with God and one another. This study contends that the modern church is in decline, and to revitalize it, we must reclaim the ecclesial essence of home. Rather than relying on institutional structures or programming strategies, churches must prioritize relational engagement and radical hospitality and cultivate authentic communities. Organizations like Mission Waco exemplify this transformative approach, alleviating homelessness through the incarnational presence of Christ in intentional community and service. By integrating theological reflection with practical insights for church renewal, this dissertation contends gathering and hospitality are not merely components of the church’s mission but central to its identity. Faith communities flourish when they embody God’s love through radical welcome and genuine fellowship, inviting individuals to experience spiritual transformation and communal belonging. Ultimately, this study calls for a renewed ecclesiology that values relational depth over institutional formality, reclaiming the church as a living, welcoming home for all. While this study aims to develop a comprehensive theological vision of the church as a spiritual home, its primary focus is on the essence and characteristics of such a faith community rather than offering a detailed practical guide for implementation
The Prevalence and Impact of Discourse in Social Media Networks: The 2024 Presidential Election
Get PDFAbstract. Social Media platforms serve as central hubs for global discourse, where political dialogue is widely shared and echoed. This exchange shapes civic participation and influences electoral outcomes, often with both intended and unintended consequences. In its inception, social media platforms served as message boards for the masses, yet manipulation and exploiting of systems via bot usage has made platforms susceptible to outside forces. Thus, false narratives and an artificial sense of consensus are endemically augmented. As for the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections, it is important to investigate the prevalence of evolved bot activity in both political and social media discourse. This research\u27s goal is to investigate how social media influences elections and democratic processes, with a focus on disinformation, the shaping of public discourse, and the influencing of political outcomes. This study examines how systematic and automated accounts artificially shape national engagement within the United States by leveraging machine learning models such as Random Forest, XGBoost, and Botometer for bot detection. The analysis utilizes public, private, and web-scraped datasets from social media platforms, including Facebook, Reddit, and X (sourced from Twibot-22, Kaggle, and independent web scraping). Results will be evaluated not only for bot detection accuracy and prevalence but also for their broader implications on online discourse, polarization, and information dissemination leading up to the 2024 presidential election. Ethical considerations include user anonymity and compliance with platform policies. This research aims to provide insights into the evolving role of social media in shaping public opinion and electoral influence
Why Domestic Violence Offenders Don\u27t Give Up Their Guns
Get PDFPerpetrators of intimate partner violence are barred by federal law and many states\u27 laws from possessing firearms. While such prohibitions enjoy popular support, they are sporadically and inconsistently enforced, placing the lives of survivors at risk when offenders do not voluntarily comply. Many experts, including this author, have offered legal and policy solutions to increase the likelihood that perpetrators of domestic violence will either willingly relinquish their guns or otherwise be dispossessed of them. But these proposals may have been premature.
This Article is the first to take a step back and inquire why offenders do not surrender their firearms as ordered and what might incentivize them to do so. Understanding the worldviews and lived experiences of those subject to domestic violence gun prohibitions is a critical, and to-date ignored, first step to formulating viable solutions.
The Article is based on original empirical research conducted with perpetrators of intimate partner violence enrolled in a Batterer Intervention Program in Texas. The research reveals a range of novel findings based on both survey responses and in-depth interviews. The data show that most men subject to domestic violence firearm regulations are aware that they are prohibited possessors. They are reluctant to comply with the law, however, due to the atypically high levels of violence-including gun violence-they have experienced in their lifetimes, which has led them to conclude that firearms are necessary to protect themselves and their loved ones from harm. Respondents also identify closely with a stereotypically masculine identity that leads them to associate gun ownership with power and control; have strong (but not necessarily accurate) opinions about the Second Amendment; and are enmeshed in cultures where gun-carrying is the norm.
These insights about the men who are impacted by domestic violence gun regulations can help us promulgate laws and policies that offenders will be more inclined to comply with and are more likely to be enforced and enforceable. And importantly, successfully removing firearms from the hands of abusers can bring us one step closer to ending the epidemic of intimate partner violence gun fatalities in the United States
Inverse Kinematics and Physics-Based Animation for a Mech Simulation VR Game
No full textThis thesis explores the integration of procedural animation, inverse kinematics (IK), and physics simulation to replicate the gameplay mechanics of Underdogs within a virtual reality (VR) environment. Leveraging the capabilities of OpenXR for cross-platform VR support and Nvidia PhysX for realistic physics interactions, the project demonstrates how immersive and responsive mech simulation can be achieved in modern VR games. With a focus on blending animation and physics-driven systems in real time, this document presents a detailed technical specification of the project, including architectural UML diagrams, interaction flowcharts, and implementation strategies. The work is built upon my custom C++ game engine, aiming to provide insight into the development pipeline of physics-enhanced VR experiences and the practical application of OpenXR in contemporary XR game development