1406 research outputs found
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A Brief Study of the Development of Video Games as an Artform
No full textVideo games have come a long way in the few decades since its conception, traversing many styles and platforms that progress with the development of new tech-nology. Video games are an expression of numerous art forms, packaged into an in-teractive work of art with an industry rivaling cinema and film. Visual design of games has evolved alongside technology as more becomes possible, and many games can be dated throughout game history the same as artwork over the course of history. Much like the invention of ready-mixed paints, the publishing of the first Mario Bros marked a turning point in game history. Based on successful predecessors, visual design in games continues to expand to more styles and genres, as well as new platforms. This is where gaming becomes art, and a video game becomes a mixed media art form, the same way a movie combines cinematography with theater and visual arts
Business Intelligence and Security of Big Data
No full textToday’s big data come from everywhere of our living world! Web logs, RFID, GPS systems, sensor networks, social networks, Internet-based text documents, Internet search indexes, call records, astronomy, atmospheric science, biology, genomics, nuclear physics, biochemical experiments, medical records, scientific research, military surveillance, multimedia archives, and more. Utilizing Big Data and Smart Technology, we could develop effective healthcare services and applications to prevent disease and improve human lives. In this research, we present Case Study of Companies that use Big Data Analytics for improving their businesses. We then address major Security & Privacy Challenges. Finally, we present key recommendations in helping mitigate the security & privacy risks and threats identified in the Big Data ecosystem
Driving Sustainable Change in the Fashion Industry
Get PDFClimate change is a threat to global sustainable development and the fashion industry is one of the largest polluters in the world. This thesis explores how fast fashion and consumerism have contributed to an overabundance of clothing, an increase in greenhouse gases, fibers and fabrics that don’t disintegrate properly, and water pollution; all of which create negative environmental and social issues. Through detailing each of these problems, it can be seen that there needs to be internal changes within the fashion industry and external changes made by consumers. In order to create these changes, the fashion industry needs to adjust the current fashion model by reshaping how fashion is made through slowing down production and manufacturing and focusing on the lifespan of a more circular economy through methods such as rental, resale and repurposing of garments. This will pave the way for less pollution and waste, more transparency, the creation and utilization of sustainable textiles, and educating consumers to buy more mindfully. Tools and resources, such as new durable textiles and environmental impact tools, have been helpful innovations so far, but they are not yet ubiquitous. There are additional solutions that can be utilized or carried out on a larger scale in order to make a difference. Finally, there is a discussion on the future of fashion and moving forward after COVID-19, which has had a large impact on the industry. The overall goal is to bring awareness to the issues the fashion industry creates and show how the global fashion community can come together to build a more sustainable fashion industry
Food for Thought: An Exploration of the Interplay between Eating Disorder Recovery and Recovery Instagram Accounts
Get PDFSocial media use is more widespread than ever, with over 800 million monthly active users on Instagram alone (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). The literature suggests an association between social media usage and mental health issues, specifically that it increases body image concerns, body comparisons, and disordered eating (Saunders & Eaton, 2018; Tiggemann & Slater, 2013). While multiple studies have investigated the type of content present and individuals’ experiences within pro-eating disorder (ED) communities, few studies to date have examined Instagram’s (IG) ED recovery communities. The aim of the current study was to explore the interplay between individuals’ ED recovery and their recovery-based IG accounts. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals who have recovery-based IG accounts. These interviews were coded and analyzed using the Auerbach and Silverstein (2003) method and yielded the following constructs: SOCIAL COMPARISON THEORY; SELF-PRESENTATION THEORY/IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT; POSITIVE ASPECTS OF THE COMMUNITY; NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF THE COMMUNITY; MIXED EXPERIENCES AND UNPREDICTABILITY; VULNERABILITY; ACCOUNT CHANGES AS RECOVERY PROGRESSES; and EXPERIENCE MIRRORS THE CURRENT CLIMATE AND STEREOTYPES. This study provides groundwork in understanding how people use their IG ED-recovery accounts, how the accounts impact their identities, and the ways in which exposure to others’ IG ED recovery accounts may affect their recovery. This knowledge has implications for both treatment providers and individuals with EDs, as it may inform how helpful and/or harmful IG recovery accounts are in relation to recovery
Alliance, power dynamics and response styles in the clinical supervisory relationship
Get PDFSupervisors provide evaluations, act as professional gatekeepers, and serve a central function to psychotherapy training, yet little is known about the impact of power dynamics on the supervisory relationship and the psychotherapy trainee. The present study offers a closer examination of Bordin’s (1983) concept of supervisory alliance, revealing a largely unappreciated emphasis on defusing tension associated with power. This study is the first to investigate how soft and hard power impact supervisory alliance, while also further validating the recently developed Power Dynamics in Supervision Scale (PDSS; Cook, McKibben & Wind, 2018). The Core Conflictual Relationship Theme (Luborsky & Crits-Christoph, 1998) enriched results with qualitative investigation of supervisors’ response style. A diverse sample of N = 311 psychotherapy trainees and a subset of 20 matched pairs of trainees and supervisors completed an online self-report survey. A model involving hard power and positive response style by supervisors predicted 56% of variance in trainee-rated supervisory alliance, and a model involving soft power and negative response style by supervisors predicted 51% of variance in alliance. Supervisor use of soft power appeared to serve as a buffer to trainees’ perceived negative response styles by supervisors. Whether supervisors explicitly established goals at the outset of supervision predicted 13% of supervisory alliance and 6% of perceived balance of power. Concurrent validity testing supported the construction of the PDSS. Far fewer matched pair supervisory dyads were recruited than aimed for, but in the matched pair subsample, small, non-significant associations were found between trainee and supervisor ratings of alliance, hard and soft power, and the PDSS. Implications of the results for deepening the quality of supervisor-trainee dyads are discussed
Finding agency in the invalidating environment: Sexism, control, and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
Get PDFEndorsing an external locus of control, the belief that luck, chance, and/or powerful others determine the outcomes of one’s behaviors, leads to myriad negative outcomes. Young women in the United States have been increasingly endorsing external loci, increasing their risk for psychopathology. Experiencing sexism, an unfortunately persistent stressor, notably decreases women’s sense of agency. There therefore is a clear need to identify means by which women can more effectively cope with sexism and the external locus that often follows. Secondary control (SC), a construct whereby people accept their circumstances and adjust their behavior to fit in with their environments, has helped the externally oriented cope with stress and women cope with sexism. SC was therefore proposed as a skillset that could help women cope with sexism and their external loci. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) was proposed to explain why SC could prove helpful. The treatment helps people cope with chronic invalidation by teaching them to accept their circumstances and adjust themselves. This study hypothesized that a DBT skills variable (e.g., mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and empathy) would fit a sample of young adult women in the U.S. It was also hypothesized that, if externally oriented women practiced SC, they would subsequently practice DBT skills and better cope with sexism and their external loci. The current study could not determine that these variables helped women cope. It instead highlighted how sexism both increased endorsement of an external locus and decreased use of DBT skills, further demonstrating sexism’s destructive effects
Forensic Genealogy: A Tool in DNA Analysis
Get PDFDNA is the basic unit of which differentiates one individual to the next. Short Tandem Repeats and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms are two locations of DNA that have been the most successful in DNA analysis. Unique DNA profiles can be created so that interpretations can be made about the individual who contributed to the DNA sample. Systems like STRmix are currently being employed to give unbiased assumptions about the DNA profiles. There are several different statistical approaches in assigning probabilities to DNA evidence, likelihood ratio and random match probability are two common approaches. After assumptions are made, comparisons can be made between DNA profiles to find related familial members due to similarities in DNA profiles. Maternal kinship can be considered based on the mitochondrial DNA while paternal kinship is based on the inheritance of the Y chromosome. The Golden State Killer was a famous case that opened the door of applying forensic genetics and consumer genealogy sites to investigations. The future of forensic genealogy is endless, but first policies must be put out in place to protect the privacy of individuals DN
Social Inequality Reform in Rural China: Changing Gender Norms within Policy Implementation
No full textOver the past 30 years, China has undertaken efforts to relieve rural poverty in the face of mounting urbanization through means of policy change, law revision, and implementation. Several NGOs have taken it upon themselves to act as third-party liaisons, to speak directly with affected villages, determine their issues, formulate research and surveys, then advise the government on moving forward. However, these policy changes are not always implemented properly at the village level due to conflicting cultural and/or customary interests. In this case study, I aim to determine how policy changes in gender norms are implemented in a contemporary Chinese context. I utilize Landesa, a rural development nonprofit that focuses on poverty alleviation and social inequality reform, as the main case. As part of my research, I spent two months as a research assistant at Landesa’s Beijing office. While there, I collected data through participant observation by aiding the legal team in researching rural China’s land issues. I conducted structured and semi-structured interviews with staff. I also reviewed previous land surveys and studies focused on issues regarding land tenure and social inequality. Using Landesa as my primary focus, I have found that there has been resistance in local communities toward policy implementation that imply cultural reforms, so steps must be taken to create programs that will approach them. Simply put, policy changes at a state level are not being properly implemented on a local level. In addition, I have found that there was little emphasis on remedying the issues of gender inequality in policy implementation up until November 2017, wherein Landesa has changed their mission to focus on increased social equality as opposed to poverty alleviation. Following this, I look at potential resistances in policy implementation with regards to future programs that intend to neutralize those resistances from the source
The impact of perfectionism on well-being: Shame in perfectionism’s influence on emotion regulation
Get PDFCombined product development strategy of antisolvent precipitation and spray drying was adopted to create a hybridized redispersible spray dried ritonavir (RTV, BCS Class IV) nanoamorphous micellar dispersion (RTV-rSD-NAMD) to enhance the solubility and masked the bitterness of RTV. Initially, a proof of concept study was designed using DM3 research strategy to develop RTV-NAMD. It was employed in conjunction with the quality-by-design spaces, and quality target product profile to link the critical material attributes and critical process parameters to the quality target product profile’s critical product attributes QbD elements. RTV-NAMD was successfully optimized with Soluplus® as the stabilizer using the response surface methodology Box-Behnken design (BBD) and multivariate analysis using multiple linear regression and partial least squares. The impact of drug concentration, Soluplus® concentration, and solvent:antisolvent ratio, their interactions and square effects on the critical product attributes were assessed. Multiple linear regression and partial least squares computational predictability was evaluated using three verification batches. The prediction error for critical product attributes of three verification batches was \u3c 5%. RTV-NAMD. The hybridized strategy leveraged three different mechanisms to increase RTV\u27s solubility and four mechanisms to increase its dissolution rate. X-ray diffraction confirmed the amorphous nature of the RTV-NAMD. RTV-NAMD exhibited a ‘spring-hover’ dissolution profile at pH 4.5. At pH 6.8, a classic ‘spring-parachute’ dissolution behavior was observed. Later to the successful development of proof of concept study design, RTV-rSD-NAMD were systematically developed. The objective in the current study was to screen and optimize the critical formulation and process variables for converting liquid RTV-NAMDs into stable and redispersible spray dried (rSD) powder form of NAMD (RTV-rSD-NAMD). Initially, a fractional factorial screening design (FFD, resolution IV, 7 variables, 18 runs, 2 center points, 1/8 fraction) was employed. Later, another set of Box-Behnken optimization design (BBD, resolution V, 3 variables, 15 runs, 3 center points) was utilized to study the effect of screened significant formulation parameters and process parameter on particle size (PS), polydispersibility index (PDI), zeta potential (ZP), redispersibility index, percent yield (PY), average d50 particle size, and outlet temperature (OT). Kolliphor® 407, sucrose, and Eudragit® EPO were screened as wetting, matrix former, and taste-masking agent respectively. The data from BBD were modeled with MLR equation to decode the statistically significant impact of design variables, their two-way interactions, and quadratic effects. The optimized formulation predicted by the developed model was further verified experimentally. The optimized RTV-rSD-NAMD were characterized by Xray powder diffraction (XRPD) technique and evaluated for short term (8 weeks) storage stability at 25 °C/60% RH and 40 °C/75% RH. PXRD diffractogram confirmed the amorphicity for RTVrSD-NAMD and maintained its amorphicity displaying redispersibility index (1.00; PS: 292.9 nm and PDI: 0.289) over a period of 8 weeks at 25 °C/60% RH. The prediction error (%) for PS, PDI, ZP, and PY using DoE based MLR models was found to be less than 10% which conforms the maximum computational predictability and compliments to the verification of the optimized RTVrSD-NAMD. Clearly, a systematic hybridized-design approach of screening and optimization of variables provides a better solution to develop a stable RTV-rSD-NAMD with maintaining the critical attributes of amorphicity and nanoredispersibility
Applied Data Analytics and Visualization for Political Data Mining
No full textBig data is changing political campaigns all around the world. In this project we will be discussing how big data can be useful or may be hazard to new century of big data analytics & tools in politics. Big data is creating havoc in political data science that parties all over the world are spying on the voters. It will allow the divide and conquer the public dataset to manipulate their own political agenda in economic, geographic, international trade.
Recent spending on big data by various countries all around the world is alarming. As this feud the big data neutrality issue. Also if we see the positive aspect of big data it far exceeds the importance and welfare of human society. Politicians are the people who take big decisions in the almost all the aspects of cultural economic, health and social welfare. So the use of big data is a must for all the political scientist in the world at present times.
Political data mining in political data science includes various parameters such as a country’s international trade with other countries, defense assistance, economic grant, immigration & visa constraints. This project will dive into deep analysis of how data between different countries can be portrayed in data analytics and visualization from various cross-referencing data sets such as social media, US Census, comparative political data, international trade