Re-Spatializing Gangs in the United States: An Analysis of Macro- and Micro-Level Network Structures

Despite the significant contributions from location-based gang studies, the network structure of gangs beyond localized settings remains a neglected but important area of research to better understand the national security implications of gang interconnectivity. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the network structure of gangs at the macro- and micro-level using social network analysis. At the macro-level, some gangs have formed national alliances in perpetuity with their goals and objectives. In order to study gangs at the macro-level, this research uses open-source data to construct an adjacency matrix of gang alliances and rivalries to map the relationships between gangs and analyze their network centrality across multiple metrics. The results suggest that native gangs are highly influential when compared to immigrant gangs. Some immigrant gangs, however, derive influence by “bridging” the gap between rival gangs. Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations (MDTOs) play a similar role and feature prominently in the gang network. Moreover, removing MDTOs changes the network structure in favor of ideologically-motivated gangs over profit-oriented gangs. Critics deride macro-level approaches to studying gangs for their lack of national cohesion. In response, this research includes a micro-level analysis of gang member connections by mining Twitter data to analyze the geospatial distribution of gang members and, by proxy, gangs, using an exponential random graph model (ERGM) to test location homophily and better understand the extent to which gang members are localized. The findings show a positive correlation between location and shared gang member connections which is conceptually consistent with the proximity principle. According to the proximity principle, interpersonal relationships are more likely to occur in localized geographic spaces. However, gang member connections appear to be more diffuse than is captured in current location-based gang studies. This dissertation demonstrates that macro- and micro-level gang networks exist in unbounded geographic spaces where the interconnectivity of gangs transpose local issues onto the national security consciousness which challenges law and order, weakens institutions, and negatively impacts the structural integrity of the state

The story, the touchscreen and the child: how narrative apps tell stories

Digital children’s literature is a relatively recently established field of research that has been seeking for its theoretical base and defining its position and scope. Its major attention so far has been on the narrative app, a new form of children’s literature displayed on a touchscreen computational device. The narrative app came into being around 2010, and immediately attracted the attention of the academics. So far, various studies have been conducted to explore its educational potential, but very few have investigated the app for what it is in its own right. To bridge the gap, this study has explored the nature of the narrative app and the essential principles of its narrative strategies. As the subject of this study concerns a variety of disciplines, this research has been conducted in an extremely interdisciplinary way in order to develop a thorough understanding of the narrative app. In general, it has consulted scholarship in children’s literature (picturebook studies in particular), narratology, computer science, game studies, social semiotics, film studies, media studies, communication studies, electronic literature and game design. With this interdisciplinary approach, this study has attempted to define the subject of the study, identify some tendencies in its development, and most importantly, develop an original theory of storytelling and a narrative map that may be able to explain the intrinsic methods used in the narrative app storytelling as well as other digital and non-digital storytelling. The findings of this study seem to suggest that the narrative app does not display any essential differences from the codex and other forms of literature in terms of its narrative strategies, but it appears to have great potential to truly innovate storytelling. It is suggested that this study may provide an effective theoretical scope and methodology for the study of the field of digital children’s literature, which may offer the potential to strengthen this field of research. The theoretical framework constructed by this study may be applicable to some educational approaches to the narrative app, and may also be useful for teaching new literacies

Fall Meeting of Council, October 17-19, 1996, Chicago, Illinois

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_assoc/2111/thumbnail.jp

Dependency Management 2.0 – A Semantic Web Enabled Approach

Software development and evolution are highly distributed processes that involve a multitude of supporting tools and resources. Application programming interfaces are commonly used by software developers to reduce development cost and complexity by reusing code developed by third-parties or published by the open source community. However, these application programming interfaces have also introduced new challenges to the Software Engineering community (e.g., software vulnerabilities, API incompatibilities, and software license violations) that not only extend beyond the traditional boundaries of individual projects but also involve different software artifacts. As a result, there is the need for a technology-independent representation of software dependency semantics and the ability to seamlessly integrate this representation with knowledge from other software artifacts. The Semantic Web and its supporting technology stack have been widely promoted to model, integrate, and support interoperability among heterogeneous data sources. This dissertation takes advantage of the Semantic Web and its enabling technology stack for knowledge modeling and integration. The thesis introduces five major contributions: (1) We present a formal Software Build System Ontology – SBSON, which captures concepts and properties for software build and dependency management systems. This formal knowledge representation allows us to take advantage of Semantic Web inference services forming the basis for a more flexibility API dependency analysis compared to traditional proprietary analysis approaches. (2) We conducted a user survey which involved 53 open source developers to allow us to gain insights on how actual developers manage API breaking changes. (3) We introduced a novel approach which integrates our SBSON model with knowledge about source code usage and changes within the Maven ecosystem to support API consumers and producers in managing (assessing and minimizing) the impacts of breaking changes. (4) A Security Vulnerability Analysis Framework (SV-AF) is introduced, which integrates builds system, source code, versioning system, and vulnerability ontologies to trace and assess the impact of security vulnerabilities across project boundaries. (5) Finally, we introduce an Ontological Trustworthiness Assessment Model (OntTAM). OntTAM is an integration of our build, source code, vulnerability and license ontologies which supports a holistic analysis and assessment of quality attributes related to the trustworthiness of libraries and APIs in open source systems. Several case studies are presented to illustrate the applicability and flexibility of our modelling approach, demonstrating that our knowledge modeling approach can seamlessly integrate and reuse knowledge extracted from existing build and dependency management systems with other existing heterogeneous data sources found in the software engineering domain. As part of our case studies, we also demonstrate how this unified knowledge model can enable new types of project dependency analysis

Disrupting the Digital Humanities

All too often, defining a discipline becomes more an exercise of exclusion than inclusion. Disrupting the Digital Humanities seeks to rethink how we map disciplinary terrain by directly confronting the gatekeeping impulse of many other so-called field-defining collections. What is most beautiful about the work of the Digital Humanities is exactly the fact that it can’t be tidily anthologized. In fact, the desire to neatly define the Digital Humanities (to filter the DH-y from the DH) is a way of excluding the radically diverse work that actually constitutes the field. This collection, then, works to push and prod at the edges of the Digital Humanities — to open the Digital Humanities rather than close it down. Ultimately, it’s exactly the fringes, the outliers, that make the Digital Humanities both heterogeneous and rigorous. This collection does not constitute yet another reservoir for the new Digital Humanities canon. Rather, its aim is less about assembling content as it is about creating new conversations. Building a truly communal space for the digital humanities requires that we all approach that space with a commitment to: 1) creating open and non-hierarchical dialogues; 2) championing non-traditional work that might not otherwise be recognized through conventional scholarly channels; 3) amplifying marginalized voices; 4) advocating for students and learners; and 5) sharing generously and openly to support the work of our peers

Digital Media and Textuality: From Creation to Archiving

Due to computers' ability to combine different semiotic modes, texts are no longer exclusively comprised of static images and mute words. How have digital media changed the way we write and read? What methods of textual and data analysis have emerged? How do we rescue digital artifacts from obsolescence? And how can digital media be used or taught inside classrooms? These and other questions are addressed in this volume that assembles contributions by artists, writers, scholars and editors. They offer a multiperspectival view on the way digital media have changed our notion of textuality

Digital Media and Textuality

Due to computers' ability to combine different semiotic modes, texts are no longer exclusively comprised of static images and mute words. How have digital media changed the way we write and read? What methods of textual and data analysis have emerged? How do we rescue digital artifacts from obsolescence? And how can digital media be used or taught inside classrooms? These and other questions are addressed in this volume that assembles contributions by artists, writers, scholars and editors such as Dene Grigar, Sandy Baldwin, Carlos Reis, and Frieder Nake. They offer a multiperspectival view on the way digital media have changed our notion of textuality

American statecraft for a global digital age: warfare, diplomacy and culture in a segregated world

The aim of this thesis is to investigate how American power is adapting to a changing post- Cold War global landscape. It is commonly accepted that many of the most visible cultural expressions of globalisation are American. However, contemporary accounts have proven inadequate in assessing how such forces have helped provide the infrastructure for America’s global dominance. With growing debate over the decline of American influence, the thesis intends to address how American statecraft is attempting to redefine itself for a digital age. With the accelerated transmission of information, images and sounds, nation-states are gradually losing the ability to either dictate their official narrative or control their global image. The new info-war that lies at the heart of contemporary American statecraft thus involves the wholesale integration of struggles over information, technology, communication and culture into the conflict itself. The thesis, therefore, investigates how American military and diplomatic efforts are both shaping and being reshaped by modern techno-culture. The thesis pieces together a contemporary genealogy of American cultural diplomacy in the Middle East from the Cold War through to the “war on terror”. This genealogy pays particular attention to both the continued hold of civilisationist discourses and the shifting question of race in American foreign policy – from the instrumentalisation of jazz at the height of the ideological antagonism of the Cold War, to rap music as a soundtrack to American Empire. The attention paid to African American culture aims to highlight the ways in which the radical traditions of struggle for freedom from the underside of the American Empire are transforming our world today for both better and worse. The thesis concludes by contextualising the evolving relationship between consumption, technology, communication and (national) security, and situating the Occupied Palestinian Territories within these global capital and cultural flows. This takes the form of an analysis of the multiple local and international socio-economic initiatives taking hold in the West Bank – from governmental institutions and NGOs, to the business sector and consumer industries – and their particular attempts at reshaping Palestinian public spheres

Negotiating the 3Rs deconstructing the politics of Rights, Respect and Responsibility in one English primary School

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The Mindful English Teacher: A Toolkit for Learning and Well-Being

This is the publisher's blurb: "In need of some inspiration? Are you feeling you’re losing your mojo? This is the ultimate guide for English teachers in the 21st century because it not only offers advice about the content, skills and strategies necessary to become an effective English teacher but also provides invaluable help in dealing with the stresses and strains of the job. The well-being of students and teachers are seen as integral to outstanding teaching and learning. The Mindful English Teacher is jam-packed with creative ways to be happy and productive on the job: it is full of useful meditations, creative visualisations and activities which not only make being an English teacher fun but also with its moments of relaxation. It is undergirded with a firm grounding in theory and evidence-based practice, which is explored in the form of lively scripts, real-life conundrums & audits. The scripts can be read by groups of teachers, making the book ideal to use for school-based CPD or Initial Teacher Education. This unique guide aims to inject a genuine sense of joy into one of the most challenging jobs in teaching, using techniques that have been proven to work in a wide range of educational settings.