"5 Days in August" – How London Local Authorities used Twitter during the 2011 riots

© IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2012This study examines effects of microblogging communications during emergency events based on the case of the summer 2011 riots in London. During five days in August 2011, parts of London and other major cities in England suffered from extensive public disorders, violence and even loss of human lives. We collected and analysed the tweets posted by the official accounts maintained by 28 London local government authorities. Those authorities used Twitter for a variety of purposes such as preventing rumours, providing official information, promoting legal actions against offenders and organising post-riot community engagement activities. The study shows how the immediacy and communicative power of microblogging can have a significant effect at the response and recovery stages of emergency events

Proteomic analysis of 14-3-3 zeta binding proteins in the mouse hippocampus.

14-3-3 proteins are ubiquitous molecular chaperones with important roles in brain development and neuronal function. Altered expression of 14-3-3 proteins has been reported in several neurologic and neurodegenerative disorders and identifying 14-3-3 binding proteins may provide important insights into the physiologic and pathophysiologic roles of these proteins. Particular interest has emerged on 14-3-3 zeta (ζ) in the setting of neuronal injury because reducing 14-3-3ζ levels triggers an endoplasmic reticulum stress-like response in neurons and increases vulnerability to excitotoxicity. Here we examined the subcellular distribution of 14-3-3ζ in the mouse hippocampus. We then used recombinant His-tagged 14-3-3ζ to pull-down interacting proteins from the mouse hippocampus followed by identification by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. 14-3-3ζ protein was present in the cytoplasm, microsomal compartment, nucleus and mitochondrial fractions of the mouse hippocampus. Recombinant 14-3-3ζ eluted 13 known 14-3-3 binding partners, including three other 14-3-3 isoforms, and 16 other proteins which have not previously been reported to bind 14-3-3ζ. The present study identifies potentially novel 14-3-3ζ binding proteins and contributes to defining the 14-3-3ζ interactome in the mouse brain

Heverin Joy Baker in a Sophomore Recital

This is the program for the sophomore flute recital of Heverin Joy Baker, accompanied by Lowella Cherry on the piano. The recital was held on February 6, 1998, in Mabee Fine Arts Center\u27s McBeth Recital Hall

Assessing behavioural changes in ALS: cross-validation of ALS-specific measures

Objective: The Beaumont Behavioural Inventory (BBI) is a behavioural proxy report for the assessment of behavioural changes in ALS. This tool has been validated against the FrSBe, a non-ALS specific behavioural assessment, and further comparison of the BBI against a disease-specific tool was considered. This study cross-validates the BBI against the ALS-FTD-Q. Methods: 60 ALS patients, 8% also meeting criteria for FTD, were recruited. All patients were evaluated using the BBI and the ALS-FTD-Q, completed by a carer. Correlational analysis was performed to assess construct validity. Precision, sensitivity, specificity and overall accuracy of the BBI, when compared to the ALS-FTD-Q, were obtained. Results: The mean score of the whole sample on the BBI was 11.45±13.06. ALS-FTD patients scored significantly higher than non-demented ALS patients (31.6±14.64, 9.62±11.38; p<.0001). A significant large positive correlation between the BBI and the ALS-FTD-Q was observed (r=.807, p<.0001), and no significant correlations between the BBI and other clinical/demographic characteristics, indicating good convergent and discriminant validity, respectively. 72% of overall concordance was observed. Precision, sensitivity and specificity for the classification of severely impaired patients were adequate. However, lower concordance in the classification of mild behavioural changes was observed, with higher sensitivity using the BBI, most likely secondary to BBI items which endorsed behavioural aspects not measured by the ALS-FTD-Q. Discussion: Good construct validity has been further confirmed when the BBI is compared to an ALS-specific tool. Furthermore, the BBI is a more comprehensive behavioural assessment for ALS, as it measures the whole behavioural spectrum in this condition

Information Behaviors and Cognitive Modes Used for Cyber Situation Assessment

The purpose of this dissertation research was to examine the information behaviors and cognitive modes used by expert cyber defenders when completing cyber situation assessment tasks (SA-tasks) of different complexities. Theoretical propositions from Library and Information Science (LIS) task-complexity research and the Cognitive Continuum Theory (CCT) informed the theoretical framework. LIS task-complexity research predicts that increased task complexity results in numerous changes in information-source and information-type use. The CCT predicts that increased task complexity results in a shift from analytical to intuitive cognition. A multiple-case studies design was selected as the research approach. The Critical Decision Method served as the basis for semi-structured, retrospective interviews conducted with 21 expert cyber defenders from small defense companies. The data analysis techniques included directed content analysis, pattern matching, and statistical analysis (the Freeman-Halton extension of Fisher's Exact test). The main findings of this study are as cyber SA-task complexity increased, the expert cyber defenders sought more technical information, used more external sources, including external experts, and based their information behaviors on intuitive cognition. These findings support several of the theoretical predictions from LIS task-complexity research and the CCT. The findings are important because they show that the expert cyber defenders base their information behaviors on years of experience in the cyber defense domain and on years of experience in designing their own companies' security postures. Each company has its own security posture as well as its own level of acceptance of risk. Therefore, cyber situation assessment tools need a design that can be tailored for each company. Additionally, methods are needed to elicit the intuitive processes used by expert cyber defenders in order to train novice cyber defenders as well as other expert cyber professionals taking over the experts' localized cyber defense roles.Ph.D., Computer Science -- Drexel University, 201

Development of the transferable skill set of Irish undergraduate law students through simulated client interviews

Irish higher education policy recognises that transferable skills are key to the adaptability and flexibility required of graduates. Traditionally Irish undergraduate legal education has focused on subject or disciplinary knowledge and this focus is currently reiterated by the regulatory bodies through their admission requirements for the professions. However, the destinations of law graduates are not limited to those professions and in line with higher education policy, undergraduate legal education should equip its graduates with transferable skills required in any workplace. This research identifies those skills which are deemed most important to law graduates, and also reveals deficits in their current levels of attainment. This led to the design and development of a module that addresses those deficits. An action research methodology was adopted, with a reflective, collaborative and iterative process at its core. The first phase of action research collaborated with practitioners, academics and law graduates to determine the most important skills and their levels of attainment. Communicating orally appropriately and effectively emerged as the most important skill, which also had a deficit in attainment. Two further iterative cycles of action research followed, to inform the development and then refinement of a module which facilitates the development of this skill. The key collaborators and participants in the research were the students themselves. Experiential learning was the chosen pedagogic approach, adopting a constructivist epistemology. The module focused on the initial client interview, using reflection and standardised clients for the assessment, in alignment with this pedagogic approach. Evaluation of the module endorses its effectiveness as a replicable vehicle for transferable skill development generally, not just oral communication, as well as for the enhancement of disciplinary knowledge. Development of the reflection and self-evaluation capacities of students proved fundamental, and this is identified as an area for further research and development

Age-period-cohort analysis of trends in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis incidence

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with an unknown cause. Studies have reported that the incidence rate of ALS might be changing. As ALS is an age related disease, crude incidence could increase as population structure changes and overall life expectancy improves. Age-period-cohort (APC) models are frequently used to investigate trends in demographic rates such as incidence. Age-specific incidence rate for ALS from 1996 to 2014 were taken from a population-based ALS register in Ireland. To circumvent the well-known identifiability issue in APC models, we apply the method of Partial Least Squares Regression to separate the effects of Age, Period and Cohort on ALS incidence over time. This APC analysis shows no cohort effect and the initial signs of a period effect; increasing incidence of ALS in the most recently diagnosed group. As further years of data accrue to the Irish register it will become clear if this effect emerges as a strong trend in the incidence of ALS in Ireland and replication of these analyses in other populations will show if our findings on temporal patterns in ALS incidence are shared elsewhere