Universal Challenges of Policing Rooted in Colonialism in the United States and Nigeria

Growing awareness regarding police brutality has generated a massive shift in public views on police institutions and the need for reform. The universal challenges of police authority, abuse, and impunity plague policing institutions across the globe. The roots of many of these contemporary challenges can be traced to European colonization. This paper explores policing structures, abuse, and impunity in the United States and Nigeria

Developmental Bioengineering

Among the challenges for nature-inspired engineering is how to build synthetic devices capable of emulating the process of development, and its uses in repair and regeneration. Here, I offer a set of principles for designing and building bio-synthetic self-repairing devices based upon nature’s process of development. First, nature’s living devices are built by a process of gene and environment regulated self-organization. I illustrate this principle with the process by which nature builds embryos and discuss how bioengineers are using in vitro organoids to model nature’s process. Second, devices are inseparable from the micro-environments in which they develop, as illustrated in nature by the micro-environment of stem cells, called niches, as well as by the regulatory interactions between stem cell and niche. Bioengineers leverage the mechanical and chemical properties of the niche to build synthetic organs, via processes such as bio-printing. A challenge in emulating the way that nature builds organs is the incorporation of vasculature. Third, nature builds consortia of heterogeneous parts that exhibit distributed control, evident in the relation between neurons and glial cells during development of the mammalian nervous system, and in communication between gut bacteria and the brain. Research has demonstrated that manipulating the properties of the gut microbiome influences the brain and may actually change behavior. This may provide leverage for bioengineers in promoting healthy behavior of individuals with neuropathology. Fourth, nature repairs worn-out or damaged parts by recapitulating the developmental processes used to build them. For example, nature uses progenitor, or stem cells, both during development and to repair injured organs. However, not all animals have the same capability for repair and regeneration, as evident in the contrast between salamanders that can regrow a lost limb, and humans who cannot. Bioengineers facing the challenge of repairing human spinal cord injury have made great strides in promoting regeneration by emulating the process in other animals, such as axolotls. Fifth, nature’s parts and systems may switch from one function to another, depending upon the context of intrinsic regulatory networks and environmental signals. Glial cells, called microglia, are resident central nervous system immune surveillance cells that have multiple functions during development, including synaptic refinement and clearing dead and dying cells. The detection of changes in a cell’s microenvironment may switch microglial function from surveillance to clearance. In diseases such as neurodegeneration, synapses may be incorrectly marked as debris, and activate microglia to eliminate them. It may be possible for bioengineers to program swarms of bio-hybrid molecular robots for similar surveillance functions. Sixth, biological regulatory systems allow animals, such as killifish, to enter altered metabolic states under adverse environmental conditions, such as drought. Synthetic biologists are emulating the processes by which nature enables animals to enter different metabolic states. And seventh, biological systems exhibit emergent properties, such as low-dimensional patterns in the vast connectivity of brain networks as well as in behavior. The appearance of these low dimensional patterns in recordings of animal reaching behavior has implications for control of neuro-prosthetic devices

The role of physiology and behavior in the replacement of Neanderthals by anatomically modern humans in Europe

This dissertation comprises three articles that propose explanations for the eventual extinction of Neanderthals in Europe after a period of several thousand years of coexistence with anatomically modern humans (AMH). I propose that bioenergetic differences between Neanderthals and AMH favored the persistence of AMH. This difference in energetic efficiency was augmented by any behavior that was advantageous to AMH. Consequently, such behaviors directly impacted the rate of Neanderthal extinction. The first article proposes a mathematical model that reconstructs Neanderthal and AMH energetic budgets to predict how using fire for cooking might have affected the success of each species. I first use the model to establish that energetic differences alone result in Neanderthal extinction when Neanderthals and AMH occupy the same landscape. I then establish that cooking meat increases its caloric value, and incorporate that parameter into the model. The outcome indicates that differential fire use by Neanderthals and AMH significantly affects the rate of Neanderthal extinction. The second article analyzes the evidence for marrow and bone grease extraction from reindeer carcasses by Neanderthals and AMH during cold climate phases. I analyze two assemblages produced by Neanderthals and three produced by AMH to determine how each group exploited these crucial nutritional resources. Results indicate that marrow processing intensity correlates with site function rather than with human species while bone grease may have been more intensively processed by AMH. In the third article, I integrate these studies within a new theoretical framework combining self-organizing criticality (SOC) and resilience thinking (RT). I explore Neanderthal extinction across multiple scales. SOC explores how interactions at the scale of the individual can combine to cause events such as an extinction. RT provides a systems-level framework for understanding how patterns of change among Neanderthals, AMH, prey populations, and the landscapes they inhabit may lead to instability and collapse. I identify the arrival of AMH into a landscape occupied by Neanderthals as a threshold point that set the process of Neanderthal demise in motion. I then use SOC and RT together to explain Neanderthal extinction as a slow and patchy process, rather than a sudden extinction

Inter group relationships in organisational decision making - an ethnographical study.

This ethnographic study is concerned with the relationship dynamics between groups jointly tasked with decision making. It seeks to answer the general question: what are the main relationship drivers and influences at work during the process of inter group activity? The research examines the issues surrounding the inter group relationship. How are relationships between the groups formed and maintained and how do they impact the efficacy of the inter group decision process? What makes the inter group relationship in organisational decision making work at a practical level? The work lies within, and makes a contribution to, the areas of social and management psychology. In commercial entities, where a Board comprising executive and non-executive members is charged with strategic decision making, a client/advisor relationship often exists with another group. In the situation researched, one group has the ultimate responsibility for making the decisions whilst a second group is tasked with identifying the requirement for a decision, information gathering, the search for alternatives and the recommendation to the Decision Group. This particular situation is not uncommon within limited companies, partnerships, listed companies and a range of other organisations and is the situation within the research organisation. Successful and effective decision making is an essential ingredient of organisational management. The result of a set of dysfunctional relationships and inefficient processes can be terminal to the organisation. An understanding ofthe relationship dynamics at work improves the decision process and enables managers to identify those negative elements that may compromise efficacy. Additionally, the research conclusions have implications for group recruitment and group training. The research deals with individuals, their actions and their thought processes, both conscious and unconscious. The conceptual framework for the research centers upon the relationship dynamics and relationship overlap between the individuals that are members ofboth groups. The subject and circumstances lend themselves to qualitative research methodology and interpretive ethnography is the approach chosen and is seen as a useful counterbalance and addition to the considerable amount of empirical work on group dynamics available to researchers. An additional dimension is added by the position ofthe researcher as both an insider in the organisation and that organisation's Chief Executive. This poses certain ethical issues which are addressed within the thesis and also illustrates and proposes the use of insider interpretive ethnography as a powerful management tool for newly appointed senior managers and organisational leaders. The qualitative interview is the primary method of data gathering, however, a number of ethnographic methods are employed, including the extensive use of observation field notes. The research is directly grounded in the area of inter group relations and the findings show the direct importance oft he sharing dynamics of fate, motivation, values and understanding to the inter group relationship and the impacts upon trust within and between groups. The role of group leadership is examined and its significant impact on the inter group relationships is proposed. The research provides a further example ofthe use of interpretive ethnography by an organisational insider

“Hey Siri, I’m Being Pulled Over.”

Statistics show that policing disproportionately affects communities of color; police are more likely to use force against Black and brown people.1 Data from non-violent encounters (e.g., reason for the stop, type of force used, and presence of witnesses) is rarely collected or disregarded altogether.2 Video evidence can publicize police violence. Bystander video during George Floyd’s murder led to arrests and a global racial reckoning because it depicted the reality of police encounters for people of color. Although technological advancements have led to positive developments for civilian safety (e.g., body cameras and in-car videos), data collection consistency and accountability are barriers to progress. Can society benefit from innovative yet simple tools to promote safety and accountability during police encounters? Our phone application aims to support social justice and safe policing by focusing on consistent and efficient data collection. Our goals with this paper are to: (1) lay out existing policing data collection practices and current issues involving tech and policing; (2) explain and distinguish our app’s functionality; (3) describe the importance of public and private partnerships; (4) examine potential privacy and data limitations; and (5) summarize how our app can magnify law enforcement accountability and reduce race-based policing. _________________________ 1 See Elizabeth Davis, et. al., Contacts Between Police and the Public, 2015 (U.S. DEP’T OF JUSTICE BUREAU OF JUSTICE STAT., 2018), https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cpp15.pdf. 2 See The Stanford Open Policing Project, Findings (2021) https://openpolicing.stanford.edu/findings/

Maneuverable Backpack Scooter Attachment

A mechanical device that will aid in the collaboration between a scooter and a backpack. Due to the weight of typical backpack, our device will aid the consumer to carry less weight on their backs, and create a device to fold into the scooter so that it nicely fits in a classroom setting. This device will be detachable so that the scooter can be operated without the attachment

Genetic variation of the dopamine D2 receptor gene: association with the reinforcing value of food and eating in the absence of hunger in Chilean children

BACKGROUND: food is a powerful reinforcer that motivates people to eat. The TaqI A1 polymorphism (rs1800497; T>C) downstream of the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene has been associated with diminished DRD2 receptor density, higher food reinforcement, and impaired eating behavior in adults. OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the association between the rs1800497 polymorphism and the reinforcing value of food and eating in the absence of hunger in Chilean children. MATERIAL AND METHOD: nineteen Chilean children (aged 8-12 years) who were carriers of the A1-allele and 19 age- and gender-matched non-carriers (A2-allele) were evaluated on the reinforcing value of food and eating in the absence of hunger. Anthropometric measures were performed by standard procedures. Briefly, children received a standard pre-load lunch followed by an ad-libitum exposure to palatable foods. RESULTS: no differences were found between A1-allele carriers and non-carriers, whether obese or non-obese, in ad libitum energy intake, macronutrient consumption, or the relative reinforcing value of food (p > 0.05). In obese children, A1 carriers reported significantly lower satiety and fullness before lunch (p < 0.05). However, in children with normal weight A1 carriers were found to exhibit trends for greater satiety and fullness before lunch when compared to non-carriers, but this trend reversed after lunch such that carriers exhibited lower satiety and fullness (p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: although TaqI A1 may play an important role in some eating behavior-related traits such as satiety and fullness, especially in obese children, our findings indicate that this polymorphism does not appear to affect eating in the absence of hunger or food reinforcement in children