What Your Data Didn’t Tell You the First Time Around: Advanced Analytic Approaches to Longitudinal Analyses

The present article describes the gap that exists between traditional data analysis techniques and more sophisticated methods that tend to be used more commonly among researchers outside of the study of violence against women. We briefly characterize growth models and person-centered analyses and describe the growing body of work in violence research that has applied these methods. Through an example from our own application of one of these techniques—latent class growth analysis—we highlight the ways that violence against women researchers may benefit from applying these more sophisticated methods to their own data, both past and present

Opening new dimensions for e-Tourism

In this paper we describe an e-Tourism environment that takes a community-driven approach to foster a lively society of travelers who exchange travel experiences, recommend tourism destinations or just listen to catch some interesting gossip. Moreover, business transactions such as booking a trip or getting assistance from travel advisors or community members are constituent parts of this environment. All these happen in an integrated, game-like e-Business application where each e-Tourist is impersonated as an avatar. More precisely, we apply 3D Electronic Institutions, a framework developed and employed in the area of multi-agent systems, to the tourism domain. The system interface is realized by means of a 3D game engine that provides sophisticated 3D visualization and enables humans to interact with the environment. We present "itchy feet", a prototype implementing this 3D e-Tourism environment to showcase first visual impressions. This new environment is a perfect research playground for examining heterogeneous societies comprising humans and software agents, and their relationship in e-Tourism. © Springer-Verlag London Limited 2006

Relationships between drug use and male sexual aggression across time

The relationship between drug use and sexual aggression in a sample of men was examined at five time points from adolescence through the fourth year of college. Hierarchical Linear Modeling explored the relationship between proximal drug use and level of sexual aggression after controlling for proximal alcohol use at each time period. Results revealed that level of proximal drug use was associated significantly with sexual aggression severity: increased levels of drug use predict increased levels of sexual aggression across time. A second set of analyses explored the relationship between distal marijuana use and level of sexual aggression after controlling for distal alcohol use. Results indicated that increased levels of marijuana use predicted increased levels of sexual aggression across time. A third set of analyses explored the relationship between distal use of other illicit drugs and level of sexual aggression after controlling for distal alcohol use. Results mirrored the results of the second set of analyses. Results are discussed in terms of drug use as a component of deviant lifestyles that may include sexually aggressive behavior

The company they keep: how social networks influence male sexual aggression

The goal of the present study was to add to the existing knowledge concerning predictors of sexually coercive behaviors. After replicating an existing model that details individual-level factors predicting sexual coercion, an alternative model incorporating peer-level factors was built and tested against the existing model. Findings suggest that perceived peer attitudes concerning violence against women significantly influence corresponding individual attitudes. Furthermore, peer group density was found to significantly moderate the relationship between perceived peer attitudes toward violence against women and hostile individual attitudes toward women, in that highly dense peer groups had the strongest positive influence on individual members. The main effect of peer network density on hostile individual attitudes, however, was significantly negative-suggesting that individuals with highly dense peer groups tend to have less hostile attitudes toward women. Taken together, the present findings suggest that perceived peer attitudes and the structure of peer networks have a notable bearing on individual attitudes of violence and hostility toward women, factors long known to predict violent physical and sexual behaviors targeted at women. Implications are discussed in terms of future avenues for research and application to peer-based intervention strategies

Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) Chamber B Thermal Vacuum “Suit 2” Pressure Garment System Test Article Results

Ben Swartout, Jacobs Technology, Inc., USAMichael Lewandowski, Jacobs Technology, Inc., USADavid Westheimer, NASA Johnson Space Center(JSC), USAICES408: Extravehicular Activity: xEMU Thermal Vacuum TestingThe 53rd International Conference on Environmental Systems was held in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, on 21 July 2024 through 25 July 2024.NASA's Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) is the government reference next-generation space suit design and is engineered to protect astronauts from extreme lunar environmental temperatures. To evaluate the xEMU hardware thermal requirements, the xEMU Testing Team invented, designed, and executed a dual-suit, uncrewed thermal vacuum (TVAC) test at Johnson Space Center's (JSC) Chamber B. This paper details the test results from the "Suit 2" Pressure Garment System (PGS) test article. The primary objective of the "Suit 2" PGS test article was to evaluate system-level suit heat leak and environmental protection garment thermal performance. Eleven unique thermal profiles were tested, including both cold and hot environmental cases, over the course of five continuous days of testing. The radiative thermal environment was controlled through exposure to liquid-nitrogen shrouds on the chamber walls and through a heater cage surrounding the test article. This paper will principally focus on system-level thermal results from the "Suit 2" PGS test article. This paper will examine data collected from one-hundred and seventy thermocouples located in critical locations inside and outside of the suit, as well as seven resistance thermometers (RTDs) for calorimetry to determine total heat flux in and out of the suit. The test data will be compared against the system-level PGS thermal models for model validation. To conclude, this paper will address knowledge gaps presented by unmanned xPGS thermal vacuum testing and the current state of lunar PGS thermal modeling and testing

Randomized-Controlled Evaluation of the Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, and Act Sexual Assault Resistance Program

This project is a randomized controlled trial of EAAA, a sexual assault resistance program for first year college women. The trial will be conducted at five U.S. universities

Randomized-Controlled Evaluation of the Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, and Act Sexual Assault Resistance Program

This project is a randomized controlled trial of EAAA, a sexual assault resistance program for first year college women. The trial will be conducted at five U.S. universities

On Reference Dose (RFD) and Its Underlying Toxicity Data Base

The toxicity data of pesticides were summarized and compared amongst different animal species and types of bioassays. These comparisons showed the expected inter-species and inter-bioassay variability. After quantitative and statistical analysis of these data, it was concluded that, on the average, a 2-year dog bioassay detected toxic responses at similar doses as a 2-year rat study, and that both of these bioassays detected toxic responses at lower doses than either a rat 2-generation bioassay, a rat developmental toxicity study, or a 2-year mouse bioassay. Although these chronic dog and rat bioassays were found to detect toxic responses at lower doses than the other studies listed, this analysis does not reflect the seriousness of the effects that were compared. Within the confines of this analysis, then, it appears that a 2-year dog and rat study, reproductive and developmental bioassays are a sufficient data base on which to estimate high confidence Reference Doses (RfDs), and furthermore, that an additional uncertainty factor is needed to estimate RfDs to account for this inter-species and inter-bioassay variability when fewer than this number of bioassays are available. </jats:p