Research Assistants in Community Research: Overcoming Limitations of Community Relationships, Research Expertise, and Quality Assurance

This article is a response to a Main Article published in this journal: Vukotich, C. J., Jr., Cousins, J., & Stebbins, S. (2014). Building sustainable research engagements: Lessons learned from research with schools. Journal of Research Practice, 10(1), Article M1

Improving classifications for cardiac autonomic neuropathy using multi-level ensemble classifiers and feature selection based on random forest

This paper is devoted to empirical investigation of novel multi-level ensemble meta classifiers for the detection and monitoring of progression of cardiac autonomic neuropathy, CAN, in diabetes patients. Our experiments relied on an extensive database and concentrated on ensembles of ensembles, or multi-level meta classifiers, for the classification of cardiac autonomic neuropathy progression. First, we carried out a thorough investigation comparing the performance of various base classifiers for several known sets of the most essential features in this database and determined that Random Forest significantly and consistently outperforms all other base classifiers in this new application. Second, we used feature selection and ranking implemented in Random Forest. It was able to identify a new set of features, which has turned out better than all other sets considered for this large and well-known database previously. Random Forest remained the very best classier for the new set of features too. Third, we investigated meta classifiers and new multi-level meta classifiers based on Random Forest, which have improved its performance. The results obtained show that novel multi-level meta classifiers achieved further improvement and obtained new outcomes that are significantly better compared with the outcomes published in the literature previously for cardiac autonomic neuropathy

Strategies to Integrate Technological Innovations for Caribbean Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Up to 59% of managers in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) fail to integrate technological innovation (TI) strategies. Restricted access to sophisticated technology, limited capital, and discontinuous collaborations between SMEs and government organizations hamper the successful integration of TI by managers of Caribbean SMEs. Managers of SMEs in the Caribbean region must exploit strategies for improved efficiencies in operational capacity, continuous development in business profits and growth, and surviving hyper-competition. Grounded by the theories of diffusion of innovation and adopter-based instrumentalist, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies that 4 operation managers of SMEs in the Caribbean region use to integrate TI into their business operations to increase business growth and profitability. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, operating reports, and technological plans. Data were analyzed using Yin’s 5-step process of compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding. The 4 themes that emerged were (a) customization of technological innovation, (b) empowerment of adopter-based end-user, (c) government intervention, and (d) supplier-buyer networks. A key recommendation is defining a strategic plan that includes the customization of procured TI and its continuous improvement through monitoring and research. The implications for positive social change include the potential for operation managers of SMEs to improve business performance, enhance the work environment of production staff, and contribute to the economic health of regional communities

Novel: No More Yellow.

Abstract not provided

Prevalence of Exposure to Complex Trauma and Community Violence and Their Associations With Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms

Studies about trauma often tend to focus on abuse and neglect. However important, these studies may neglect the importance of the broader community context that is often associated with trauma, and complex trauma (CT) in particular. This study aimed to investigate the effects of CT (defined in terms of experiencing abuse and/or neglect occurring in the context of relationships with caregivers), and of broader environmental adversity (i.e., exposure to community violence), in a sample of adolescents ( N = 218) from a severely disadvantaged district of Lima, Peru. The study had two aims: (a) to assess the prevalence of CT and its associations with internalizing and externalizing symptoms in these adolescents and (b) to investigate the associations between community violence and both internalizing and externalizing symptoms over and above the effects of CT. In total, 39.4% of the adolescents reported at least one type of moderate to severe trauma. There was a clear association between CT and both internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Ordinal logistic regressions showed that children who were exposed to one or more traumatic experiences were more likely to score within a higher range of internalizing and externalizing symptoms than children with no history of trauma. Finally, exposure to community violence was an important predictor of symptomatology beyond the effects of CT

Representation of madness in contemporary Black literature.

This thesis uses Bakhtinian theory, in particular the chronotope, as well as insights into my personal writing and other texts to look at the representation of madness in contemporary black literature. The representation of madness is reflected in three texts by writers of African descent: Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat; Orange Laughter by Leone Ross and Paradise by Toni Morrison.I look at how madness as an instance of rupture and trauma relates to language used within the texts. I draw on Bakhtin's theories on language as a basis on which claims to madness in language, or text, are made. Bakhtin's theories are useful as he attempted to define social aspects of language in a way that illuminated the psycho-social in texts. In an attempt to further define aspects of the chronotope - which relates to the correlation between space and time within aspects of literature - it became useful to add the definition of the "mad" chronotope to aspects of language so that the literature in question could be seen through a new definition that was pertinent to the subject.The writers, Danticat, Ross and Morrison, all approach madness from differing viewpoints that help to emphasise the relationship between madness and the chronotope. This relationship is explored throughout the following chapters and helps to define the new concept of the "mad chronotope" as an aspect of language useful to the interpretation of texts. I analyse my personal writing by looking at madness and other relevant themes in relation to the novel and by relating ideas on Bakhtinian theory, notably the mad chronotope, to the creative process. In the second part of the novel, the protagonist suffers with schizophrenia within an extended period of time. At this point, the novel attempts to mirror the concerns of the thesis in relation to the mad chronotope and other themes relevant to the thesis so that there is a correlation between the two pieces of work

Optimization and matrix constructions for classification of data

Max-plus algebras and more general semirings have many useful applications and have been actively investigated. On the other hand, structural matrix rings are also well known and have been considered by many authors. The main theorem of this article completely describes all optimal ideals in the more general structural matrix semirings. Originally, our investigation of these ideals was motivated by applications in data mining for the design of centroid-based classification systems, as well as for the design of multiple classification systems combining several individual classifiers

Silicon photomultiplier arrays - a novel photon detector for a high resolution tracker produced at FBK-irst, Italy

A silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) array has been developed at FBK-irst having 32 channels and a dimension of 8.0 x 1.1 mm^2. Each 250 um wide channel is subdivided into 5 x 22 rectangularly arranged pixels. These sensors are developed to read out a modular high resolution scintillating fiber tracker. Key properties like breakdown voltage, gain and photon detection efficiency (PDE) are found to be homogeneous over all 32 channels of an SiPM array. This could make scintillating fiber trackers with SiPM array readout a promising alternative to available tracker technologies, if noise properties and the PDE are improved