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Keynote - Data? We Don\u27t Have Time for Data: A realistic look at law enforcement use of and need for human trafficking data
Get PDFDrawing on over 35 years of law enforcement experience (25 years with the Department of Homeland Security), Dr. Gilmer will speak from a government and law enforcement perspective on the need and use for human trafficking data. Some agencies and components of the U.S. government, and individual states, are heavily invested in collecting data to satisfy their reporting requirements. From a law enforcement perspective, however, big human trafficking data sets are rarely examined. Data science in law enforcement is a relatively new phenomenon, and most law enforcement officers do not have the time, resources, or background to collect or analyze data. This session offers answers to questions about the data is law enforcement looking for, the effectiveness of this data to drive counter trafficking outcomes, the weaknesses in current data collection and how to improve upon them, whether data is telling the complete story, and whether law enforcement and researchers can collaborate to collect better data and present that information in such a way to drive intended outcomes
We Will Figure This Out Together:” Reproductive Health and Resilience in the Rio Grande Valley
No full textThis dissertation incorporates community-based participatory research to explore how the 2022 SCOTUS Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u27s Health Organization ruling and the subsequent sweeping anti-abortion ban in the state of Texas impacts the lived experiences of pregnancy-capable individuals living in the Rio Grande Valley. Through a novel methodological approach that incorporates extensive participant observation, in-depth interviews, free listing, and a Photovoice project, this ethnographic work elucidates the broader social and structural factors that impact reproductive health care-seeking practices for those living along the southern border of Texas and Mexico. The goal of this project was to explore the factors that impact decision-making processes related to abortion care and the ways in which individuals enact resilience in a milieu characterized by high poverty rates and intense policing, acknowledged as a medically underserved area. I found that myriad factors impact abortion access, including a political economic history of violence, conquest, and contestation in the region. I argue that resource inequity creates intersectional vulnerability, which is overcome through acts of resilience stemming from a commitment to the values embodied in reproductive justice advocacy, experience of living in a Post-Roe environment, and extensive support networks
Using Implied Spaces to Influence Combat Engagement
Get PDFThis thesis investigates how implied spaces in level design influence combat engagement. The researcher hypothesized that players prefer areas with more implied space types over areas with less or no implied space types. More implied space types create more opportunities for varied tactical choices and dynamic combat. To test this hypothesis, the researcher created a custom arena level in Half-Life 2. The level is divided into four distinct zones, each designed with a different combination of implied space types. The researcher conducted playtest sessions to analyze playtesters’ perception of implied spaces and those spaces’ impact on combat encounters
Effective Guidance Using Natural and Unnatural Framing
Get PDFThis thesis investigates the impact of six types of framing—Natural, Unnatural, Implied, Implicit, Mixed, and Lighting / Color Contrast Framing—on guiding player navigation in video games. It further examines how additional design elements, such as chokepoints and breadcrumbing, interact with these different types of framing to enhance directional cues across both indoor and outdoor settings. Utilizing the Dying Light Editor: Chrome Engine, the researcher developed a custom single-player level in which these framing methods were implemented and evaluated. Through testing and analysis we can determine the best practices for utilizing the framing techniques
“How Can We Sing in a Strange Land?” The Pastoral Musician as a Master Griot/Griotte
Get PDFThe writer of Psalm 137 asks a question that poignantly resonates with the experiences of enslaved Africans who were taken captive, exiled from their homelands, and told to forget their languages, worship practices, and tribal traditions. Their dehumanization was intensified by expectations that “required a song and . . . mirth.” The question was “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” In response to this question of engaging in song as a community while in a strange land of deep and persistent systemic suffering, enslaved African-descended people founded a unique tradition within Christianity that responded to their persistent suffering by naming said suffering and actively engaging their suffering in a variety of ways that empowered them to survive and thrive. A central question energizing this thesis is, “How do we, through our music ministry leadership, engage and assist communities whose suffering is so great that they have lost their song and/or their ability to sing?” In response to this question, this thesis claims that the Black Church tradition offers vital insights for pastoral musicians seeking to empower and enable song in communities impacted by deep and persistent suffering given its origins in suffering and wide range of responses to suffering
Predictive Modeling of Colorectal Cancer Risk: Leveraging Health, Demographic, and Socioeconomic Factors for Targeted Screening
Get PDFColorectal cancer (CRC) remains a significant public health concern, affecting millions in the United States and worldwide. This study investigates the risk factors associated with CRC using data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial and aims to develop predictive models to identify high-risk individuals for targeted screening and increased awareness. The dataset integrates CRC incidence data from the National Cancer Institute with socioeconomic indicators from U.S. Census Bureau, linked by zip code. We employ Logistic Regression and Neural Network models to predict CRC risk, incorporating health, demographic, and socio-economic features. While the results suggest that factors such as age and address history are significant contributors to CRC risk, the inclusion of Census data had a marginal impact on model performance, likely due to limited geographic diversity. The study further explores the use of a user-facing risk calculator, designed to raise awareness and encourage screening, with a focus on accessibility and simplicity for users. These findings emphasize the importance of incorporating a broad range of factors in CRC risk prediction and the potential for improving outreach through user-friendly tools
Reframe: A New Interpretive Framework for Non-Governmental Entity Responsibility in Outer Space
Get PDFThe mainstream interpretation of State responsibility for Non-Governmental Entities (NGEs) with respect to their commercial operations in outer space may hinder the further development of the commercial space industry. Specifically, that interpretation produces broad responsibility for nation-states (States) under international law and derivative consequences for States and NGEs, but the international space community might avoid the otherwise harsh practical consequences that are likely to hamper the continued growth of commercial activities by NGEs in outer space by reexamining and reinterpreting a few aspects of existing law. This article (1) examines mainstream interpretations of State responsibility for NGEs with respect to their commercial operations in outer space; (2) embraces Curtis Schmeichel’s work and his rejection of “national activities” as an all-encompassing concept that renders States responsible for nearly all of their NGEs’ activities and extends his contextual analysis to the remainder of Article VI of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (Outer Space Treaty or OST); and (3) proposes a reinterpretation of present international space law concerning State responsibility by arguing that the “authorization and continuing supervision” requirement with respect to NGEs, as set forth in the second sentence of OST Article VI, is independent of carrying out activities “in conformity with the provisions set forth in the [OST].” Pursuant to that reinterpretation, each State that is a party to the OST and the 1972 Liability Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (Liability Convention), recognizing its liberation from the need to ensure its NGEs’ conformity with the OST but respecting the remaining potential international liability for outer space activities by its NGEs (which might flow therefrom pursuant to Article VII of the OST and Article III of the Liability Convention, respectively), might endeavor to minimize the likelihood that such activities result in injurious consequences by regulating such activity. Accordingly, a State’s recognition of its ex post international liability for its NGEs’ injurious conduct in outer space may result in its ex ante adoption of authorization regimes and supervisory regulations specifically designed to limit that liability without the burden of, or need to, ensure such NGEs’ adherence to the provisions of the OST when they are not engaged in national activities. As private sector activities in outer space expand, such an approach to the OST’s Article VI should reduce the regulatory load States must shoulder to comply with their duties to authorize and continually supervise NGEs’ non-national activities in outer space while correspondingly increasing the discretion such States may exercise in fulfilling those duties.
In summation, this article proposes a drastic narrowing of States’ responsibility for NGEs’ activities in outer space, which should enable States to reduce their supervisory burden or otherwise tailor their supervisory role for the non-national activities of their NGEs’ in outer space in a manner consistent with such States’ own respective interests and agendas free of the need to ensure those NGEs’ “compliance” with the OST. States’ liability for NGEs’ actions in outer space, however, would not be altered by the reinterpretation of the OST proposed in this Article. But a State’s liability for its NGEs’ activities in outer space is based on comparative fault. States who have laws and regulations governing NGEs’ activities in outer space could argue that they should shoulder less comparative fault than States who lack such laws and regulations; this, coupled with the “stickiness” of liability under international space law (i.e., a launching state retains liability for its space objects indefinitely), should mitigate “race to the bottom” fears for States vis-a-vis their NGEs’ activities in outer space
The Development of Advanced Statistical Methods for Complex Big Data
Get PDFThis dissertation consists of three chapters: 1) Comparative Analysis of Dimension Reduction Methods for Cytometry by Time-of-Flight Data, 2) Integrative Single-Cell Analysis Using Regularized Multitasking Graphical Attention Model with CySCI, and 3) BiGER for Bayesian Rank Aggregation in Genomics with Extended Ranking Schemes.While experimental and informatic techniques around single cell sequencing (scRNA-seq) are advanced, research around mass cytometry (CyTOF) data analysis has severely lagged behind. This calls for the evaluation and development of computational methods specific for CyTOF data. We first benchmarked dimension reduction methods for CyTOF in Chapter 1. Then, we developed an integrative method for multimodal single-cell data with applications in CyTOF and scRNA. In chapter 3, we tackled a downstream task with the rank aggregation of gene lists using a Bayesian model
Exploring The Accreditation Lever: A Multi-Method Examination Of How Accreditation Policy Relates To College Outcomes And Transfer Student Baccalaureate Attainment
No full textThis dissertation is a multi-method approach with a 3-paper format including three related but distinct studies. The first paper utilizes qualitative document analysis. Findings illuminated differences in how accreditors address transfer outcomes and transfer credit, signaling important inconsistencies across accreditors and inconsistencies in accreditation requirements for HEOs that answer to different accreditors. The second paper utilizes descriptive statistics and linear regression models to explore the relationship between HEO transfer graduation rates and accreditors and their policies. Findings illuminate statistically significantly differences in transfer graduation rates between accreditors suggesting that accreditation does matter for transfer outcomes. Finally, the third paper focuses on a continuous improvement accreditation requirement, the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). Using document analysis and interviews with QEP leaders at community colleges, findings illuminate how the QEP works as a catalyst for organizational learning that leads to outcomes. The QEP can be focused on any student outcome, including transfer outcomes if a HEO chooses, making this finding particularly compelling insight for how accreditation can improve student outcomes at HEOs. Collectively, the findings of this dissertation illuminate previously unknown relationship between accreditation and transfer outcomes and provide a methodological map for further research on accreditation policy, an understudied area of policy