Electronic Signatures: Review and Analysis

Electronic signatures, or e-signatures, are an increasingly ubiquitous component of a rapidly digitizing world. Compared to traditional paper signature, e-signatures have emerged as a viable, potentially more efficient method of entering into a contract. An e-signature can be thought of as an electronic symbol or marking associated with the signer. It acts as a signature and functions in lieu of a manual paper signature. This technical assistance report briefly reviews relevant Kentucky statutes and guidelines regarding e-signatures and public recordkeeping as well as applicable federal law. Following this, the report presents conclusions and points for continued discussion. Relevant statues and laws are included as appendices

Analysis of Autonomous Vehicle Policies

The rapid development and adoption of connected and autonomous vehicles will transform the U.S. transportation system over the next 30 years. Although the widespread use of fully connected and autonomous vehicles is still several years away, it is nonetheless critical that legislators, policymakers, and regulators understand how the presence of these vehicles will restructure the operation of roadway networks. Without a doubt, lawmakers and policymakers will need to develop new laws — and revise existing ones — to account for the presence of connected and autonomous vehicles. This report provides an overview of connected and autonomous vehicles — their positives and negatives, how quickly consumers may adopt them, and strategies state departments of transportation can use to streamline their deployment — before examining the recent efforts at the federal and state level to establish laws and regulations that will smooth the transition for connected and autonomous vehicles. Federal agencies, such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, have issued guidance for manufacturers and state and local governments. Meanwhile, numerous states have enacted or proposed legislation to deal with connected and autonomous vehicles. The content of these statutes varies among states, however, shared areas of concern include defining what constitutes an autonomous vehicle, establishing basic protocols for testing autonomous vehicles on public roadways, specifying under what circumstances a manufacturer is liable for crashes, and setting guidelines for operating autonomous vehicles. Looking toward the Commonwealth, a review of the Kentucky Revised Statutes and Kentucky Administrative Regulations identifies current policies and regulations that may apply to connected and autonomous vehicles. Policymakers and legislators will likely have to grapple with issues pertaining to licensing, registration, cell phone usage, and the definition of vehicle operators in the context of autonomous vehicles. Given that the proliferation of connected and autonomous vehicles will accelerate over the next 10-15 years, Kentucky will benefit if these issues are addressed and resolved in a timely manner

The long road to Tehran: the Iran nuclear deal in perspective

After nearly 20 months of near continuous negotiations, in 2015 Iran and the P5+1 reached a deal designed to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons capability in exchange for relief from the sanctions that have been crippling its economy over the course of the past decade. How was this momentous agreement reached? This Strategic Update traces the story of this major diplomatic breakthrough, through the historical context of long term US-Iran relations and the tireless international effort to prevent domestic political crises from derailing the negotiations

Poor Obama!

I feel quite sorry for the hand that the Obama administration has been dealt in its first term. After all, he came to office during the worst economic crisis the world has seen since the 1930s, the American economy was virtually bankrupt, America is completely divided politically, and he faces Republican obstructionism. And these are but a sampling of his domestic problems. In the international realm, Obama has tackled a number of issues, but nothing as chaotic and potentially dangerous as the present crises in the Arab world. The crisis that Obama now faces is perhaps the most challenging foreign policy crisis since the Islamic revolution of 1979. A tectonic shift could be taking place in the region with pro-American autocrats being replaced by popular, though potentially radical, governments.Tunisia led the way; Egypt is attempting to follow; Jordan is facing protests, of great concern, now Yemen is also revolting. The latter of these is clearly the most dangerous of them all with the presence of al-Qaida, but that is not my focus here. Moving on, the crisis that President Obama faces is a foreign policy nightmare unlike anything since the Iranian revolution. And just as Jimmy Carter was in 1979, Barack Obama is now in the unenviable position of having to choose between maintaining support for its regional allies or abandon them in the face of popular, grass-root, largely democratic uprisings

For all parties involved, the Iran nuclear deal is a big win

On Tuesday, President Obama announced that after nearly two years of negotiations, the United Nations’ P5+1 group had reached an agreement with Iran which limits the country’s nuclear activity in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. Bryan R. Gibson argues that the deal is a win for the US, Iran and Israel. He writes that resolving the Iranian nuclear question aligns perfectly with America’s strategic objectives for the region, and opens the door for cooperation with Iran on important regional issues. While Iranian leaders now face the challenge of selling deal to Iranian public as a victory, the deal will give the country desperately needed relief from sanctions, and the chance for new investment. For Israel, he writes, despite the concerns of the country’s leaders, any reduction of the threat of an Iranian nuclear weapon corresponds to an improvement in its security

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThis dissertation describes a line of research that addresses translational research questions related to the use of computerized simulation to affect the knowledge, beliefs, motivation and self-management behaviors of individuals with chronic disease. The specific research projects focus on type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and physical activity as exemplars of a prevalent chronic disease and an underutilized selfmanagement behavior, respectively. We first describe a conceptual framework for the design of Consumer Health Informatics (CHI) applications. The design of an envisioned diabetes self-management application is described as an example of the application of design principles derived from this framework. Subsequent chapters describe tests of research questions related to this envisioned intervention. The second chapter describes the development and preliminary evaluation of the interface for the intervention described above. The estimation of simulated glucose curves for individuals with T2DM is described. Next, the formative evaluation of a paperbased prototype based on those curves and a novel method to measure individuals' outcome expectations are described. The third chapter describes a randomized experiment of a narrated simulation based on simulated glucose curves. This trial tested the question: can computerized simulations affect the beliefs and behaviors of individuals with T2DM? In this experiment participants' beliefs changed in accordance with the discrepancy between the presented evidence, and their prior beliefs, and in combination with the completion of a planning intervention, which resulted in significantly greater increase in physical activity The fourth chapter describes a test of the question: can predictive models of the acute physiologic effects of behavior be individualized? In this study we compared different predictive modeling techniques and found that a mixed effects modeling approach improves in accuracy as the individual contributes more data. This result is foundational to the development of the next generation of our simulation-based intervention, and has implications for CHI as a field; these are discussed. The dissertation concludes with a review of the strengths and limitations of the work described, a discussion of the implications of this work for consumer health informatics and a brief discussion of the next steps in this line of research

US foreign policy, Iraq, and the Cold War 1958-­1975

This thesis analyses the ways in which U.S. policy toward Iraq was dictated by its broader Cold War strategy between 1958 and 1975. While most historians have focused on ‘hot’ Cold War conflicts such as Cuba, Vietnam, and Afghanistan, few have recognized Iraq’s significance as a Cold War battleground. This thesis shows where Iraq fits into the broader historiography of the Cold War in the Middle East. It argues that U.S. decisions and actions were designed to deny the Soviet Union influence over Iraq and a strategic base in the oil-rich Gulf region. This was evident in the Eisenhower administration’s response to Iraq’s revolution in 1958, when it engaged in covert action to prevent communists from gaining control of the state; in the Kennedy administration’s efforts to bolster the first Ba’th regime during its war with the Kurds in 1963 because it perceived it as anti-communist; in the Johnson administration’s support for the anti-communist, Arab nationalist regimes during the mid-1960s; and in the Nixon administration’s decision to support the Kurdish rebels in 1972-75 after the second Ba’thist regime drew Iraq partially into the Soviet orbit. This suggests a clear pattern. Using newly available primary sources and interviews, this thesis reveals new details on America’s decision-making toward and actions against Iraq during a key part of the Cold War. Significantly, it raises questions about widely held notions, such as the CIA’s alleged involvement in the 1963 Ba’thist coup and the theory that the U.S. sold out the Kurds in 1975. Finally, it argues scholars have relied excessively and uncritically on a leaked congressional report, the Pike Report, which has had a distorting affect on the historiography of U.S.-Iraqi relations. This thesis seeks to redress these historiographical deficiencies and bring new details to light

Human BRCA2 protein promotes RAD51 filament formation on RPA-covered single-stranded DNA.

BRCA2 is a tumor suppressor that functions in homologous recombination, a key genomic integrity pathway. BRCA2 interacts with RAD51, the central protein of recombination, which forms filaments on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) to perform homology search and DNA strand invasion. We report the purification of full-length human BRCA2 and show that it binds to ~6 RAD51 molecules and promotes RAD51 binding to ssDNA coated by replication protein A (RPA), in a manner that is stimulated by DSS1

Wireframes for Patient Facing Real Time Safety Dashboard

presentationPresentation developed to 1) prevent safety issues whenever possible, and 2) react quickly and effectively when safety issues occur

Cost Benefit Analysis: Applications and Future Opportunities

Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA or Benefit Cost Analysis — BCA) is an evaluation tool that state transportation agencies can use to compare infrastructure project options across transportation modes and gauge if the discounted value of benefits exceed the costs. CBA lets policymakers compare alternative project proposals to a baseline scenario, or status quo case, under which no investments are made. CBA is used to select which proposal is the most sensible investment—ideally, the project that maximizes benefits while minimizing costs should be chosen. As the use of CBA to evaluate projects and grant applications (e.g., TIGER Discretionary Grants) continues to grow, state transportation agencies must gain knowledge of CBA methodologies, especially if they want to remain competitive for federal funding. This study documents historical trends in CBA from literature and past studies, provides background on how CBA’s are performed, and describes the purpose and basic function of CBAs. The researchers investigated CBA applications and programs that the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) could potentially use to prioritize projects and identify other investment opportunities. This report serves as a primer on the basic elements of CBA, describes what costs and benefits are typically incorporated into analysis, and gives an overview of the formulas that are used to derive costs and benefits. In the transportation context, most benefits are derived from travel time savings and crash reductions. Typical costs include construction and subsequent maintenance.Researchers developed a simple workbook application that KYTC personnel can use run a CBA. The workbook calculates present value of costs and benefits and makes both NPV and BCR available to the user