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Security Vulnerabilities and Defense Tactics for Generative AI Application Development
No full textGenerative AI (GenAI) applications such as OpenAI\u27s ChatGPT leverage large language models (LLMs) trained on enormous amounts of data to accomplish tasks such as document editing, summarization, and query response. Chatbots and LLM programs that are equipped with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) have the ability to draw upon data provided by developers and users to improve the quality of the program\u27s responses. LLM technology has even expanded to generate images, audio, and video from user instructions. Designed around unpredictable user input and typically composed of many opaque components, LLM software products face a paradigm shift of new, constantly evolving security challenges. This paper overviews these emerging challenges and presents best security practices for building and using generative AI applications
Friends and Family: How to Prepare a Themed Recital
No full textRecital preparation is an essential part of being a successful musician that can be very challenging to students that are unfamiliar with the process. A recital that revolves around a theme can lead to greater audience engagement and make a sense of continuity to multiple pieces on a recital. Though there are countless method books to brass playing, very few of them discuss a method or process for organizing recitals, especially recitals revolving around a theme.
In this paper I will discuss the methods that I used to prepare my senior thesis recital: the techniques I used to practice difficult passages of music, how I went about deciding which pieces to select as well as how they revolved around my desired theme. The process is helped through a variety of historical or musicological sources, professional audio recordings, and common performance practices that would be relevant to each piece that I may have learned from other performers. The center-piece of the recital is Ruth Gipps\u27 Horn Concerto, and this piece will receive a more focused and in-depth look.
The methodology outlined in this paper will assist me in producing a polished recital revolving around the theme of friends and family, program notes that explain the themes and history of each piece, and record and reflect on the process so that other performers may use it as a method or reference to their own performances and recitals
In-Between Spaces: First-Generation College Immigrant Experiences
No full textIt is human nature to seek a sense of belonging, acceptance, and community. College students also share this desire for connection in higher education, but some face more barriers and challenges. This study examined the experiences of first-generation college students who are also immigrants. The goal was to understand how to best support students in college, including through academic advising, at a four-year research university in the Pacific Northwest. To gain insight into the students\u27 experiences, I interviewed participants using narrative qualitative methods guided by the framework of sense of belonging and analyzed the data utilizing Bronfenbrenner\u27s Ecological Model. The major themes emerging from the research included the challenge of labeling and categorizing students into a singular label, as well as immigrant experiences with belonging and the pursuit of the American Dream. The results showed that first-generation college and immigrant students encounter both visible and hidden factors that challenge their sense of belonging within their communities and influence their experiences, including those in higher education. As a result, universities must consider all these challenges and opportunities for first-generation college students who are immigrants to validate their lived experiences, foster their sense of belonging on campus, and support their pursuit of a college degree. In short, the more students feel they belong, the more likely they are to succeed and ultimately graduate
Garden of Rust: Conversations with the In-Between Space
No full textGarden of Rust is a series of five oil paintings that explore the mental and emotional changes she calls the In-Between Space, that occur in the artist’s mind as she undergoes a major life change. The artist uses traditional oil painting techniques on a variety of canvas sizes in order to record her emotions, which include anxiety, and grief. Her intent with this series is to highlight the In-Between Space, and to start a conversation with others experiencing it. The artist finds that creating Garden of Rust has been beneficial for her own mental wellbeing to work on, because she was able to physically see her thoughts. This made them easier for her to work through; starting a conversation about the In-Between Space may be beneficial to the audience for the same reasons. Kristen Poore presented work at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art show Long Story Short in 2024
Surveying Management Strategies for Pediatric Autoimmune Hepatitis
No full textPediatric autoimmune hepatitis (PAIH) is a long-term condition that requires ongoing treatment and regular monitoring. It is characterized by its elevation of liver enzymes, interface hepatitis, and the specific presence of circulating autoantibodies. There is a general lack of consensus on appropriate measures of diagnostic criteria, treatment medication, and beneficial practices for monitoring the disease. The existing literature contains several subtle discrepancies that challenge a practitioner\u27s judgement for care management of children with autoimmune hepatitis. This study is a retrospective chart review aimed at understanding the current diagnostics, treatment, and long-term management strategies of PAIH at a single center. Also, the use of corticosteroids and the surveillance methods used during steroid administration during treatment will be reviewed. The goal of this study is to alleviate the discrepancies and issues within management by sharing current clinical practices. In the review, the management of PAIH was heterogeneous. It was found that there were several deviations from recommended guidelines while still maintaining an ideal clinical outcome for children. These deviations were found in medication regimens, practices for steroid withdrawal, and discontinuation
Examining the Impact of Legalized Sports Gambling on NCAA Athletes\u27 Welfare and Game Integrity
No full textThis thesis examines the effects of legalized sports gambling on NCAA player welfare and the integrity of competition through a mixed-method analysis of NCAA reports, academic literature, and media sources. Data disclose that although the overall prevalence of gambling among student-athletes has decreased, these individuals are demonstrating more detrimental behaviors, including solitary gaming and incurring substantial losses in a single day. The emphasis on internet abuse associated with betting results has escalated, especially during prominent tournaments. The NCAA\u27s instructional programs and data-monitoring agreements are compromised by ethical issues surrounding data monetization and varying state gambling rules. The research contends that improved athlete protection necessitates more robust and uniform policy improvements
Knowing Remembers Joe Christmas: An Exploration of Trauma in William Faulkner\u27s \u3ci\u3eLight in August\u3c/i\u3e
No full textWilliam Faulkner wrote Light in August in 1932, during the American prohibition and national Jim Crow laws. As a southern gothic/American modernism text, Light in August is a fictional story that takes place in the southern states of the U.S. and primarily relies on memory and ambiguity to reveal its dark themes of racism, sexual violence, and collective trauma. The novel features two separate narrators as main characters: Lena Burch and Joe Christmas. Joe Christmas, a man of mysterious heritage who lives a life of tragedy and violence, is the focus of my analysis of Light in August. Using textual evidence and historical contexts, I argue for an analysis of the character\u27s childhood that has not yet been written about in literary scholarship. With trauma theory in literature as the framework, I present the possibility that Christmas was molested as a boy by his white adoptive mother, Mrs. McEachern, and the potential implications that this has regarding the novel\u27s story, Faulkner\u27s time period, and present-day literary criticism. Scholars in trauma theory, philosophy, and literature, such as Cathy Caruth and Tommy J. Curry, provide the relevant contextual background for the argument
Defining Antisemitism or Activism?: An Analysis of Congressional Debate Over the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023
No full textIntroduced amid widespread campus protests against the Israeli militarys actions in the Gaza Strip, the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 (AAA) directs the Department of Education to consider the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism during investigations of potential discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. This study investigates congressional debate on the AAA using the Discourse Historical Approach to Critical Discourse Analysis to assess how members of Congress portray the victims and perpetrators of antisemitism and whether these portrayals align with the stated aim to improve safety and security for Jewish Communities. Findings reveal that proponents of the bill construct a stark binary: pro-Israel Jewish activists are portrayed as passive victims, while pro-Palestine protesters are framed as violent, Hamas-sympathizing aggressors. Using a variety of discursive strategies, supporters of the bill justify punitive measures like visa revocations and funding cuts for universities. Opponents of the bill, meanwhile, warn that the IHRA definition\u27s conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism risks chilling free speech and erasing non-Zionist Jewish voices. By privileging Zionist interpretations of Jewish identity and sidelining Palestinian solidarity (including by Jewish groups), the AAA politicizes antisemitism while undermining academic freedom and First Amendment rights. Ultimately, the AAA\u27s reliance on the IHRA definition reflects a broader effort to institutionalize pro-Israel narratives under the guise of combating hate
Spiritual Exercises in Novarodok Mussar and the Early Work
No full textThis paper compares aspects of the teachings launched in pre-revolutionary and revolutionary Russia of two spiritual figures: Rabbi Yoseph Yozel Horwitz and George Gurdjieff. Yozel founded the Novarodok school of Mussar within Judaism; Gurdjieff founded the spiritual tradition known as “the Work” or “Fourth Way.” There are of course great differences between Judaism and the Work, but some similarities might be expected between spiritual disciplines, especially similarities in practice as opposed to doctrine. This paper explores similarities of some spiritual exercises in the Mussar school of Novarodok and secondarily in later or other Mussar teachings and in the early Gurdjieff Work and secondarily in its later development, specifically exercises that are undertaken in the midst of the ordinary activities of daily life. These similarities are interesting given the substantial differences in their Jewish and non-Jewish contexts
The Distribution and Reproductive Success of the Western Snowy Plover along the Central and Southern Oregon Coast - 2025
No full textWe monitored the distribution, abundance and productivity of the federally threatened Western Snowy Plover (Anarhynchus nivosus nivosus) along the central and south coast of Oregon from 3 April – 10 September 2025. We surveyed and monitored plover activity in a project area that included, from north to south, Sutton Beach, Siltcoos River estuary, the Dunes Overlook, North Tahkenitch Creek, Tenmile Creek, Coos Bay North Spit (CBNS), Bandon Snowy Plover Management Area (SPMA), New River Habitat Restoration Area (HRA) and adjacent lands, and Floras Lake. Our objectives for the project area in 2025 were to: 1) estimate the size of the adult Snowy Plover population in the project area, 2) locate plover nests, 3) determine nest success, 4) implement nest protection as appropriate (e.g. ropes and signs), 5) evaluate causes of nest failure and predator activity, and 6) estimate plover productivity.
We estimated the number of Snowy Plovers in the study area at 602 (539-669) individuals. We monitored 692 nests in 2025. Overall apparent nest success was 21%. Nest failures were attributed to unknown depredation, corvid depredation, unknown cause, unknown avian depredation, mammalian depredation, abandonment, harrier depredation, one egg nest, wind/weather, and overwashing. We estimated 188 fledglings were produced with a breeding coefficient of 0.10+/-0.07, indicating relatively poor productivity. We estimated 0.62 (0.56-0.70) fledglings per male