Expanding the Role of Synthetic Data at the U.S. Census Bureau

National Statistical offices (NSOs) create official statistics from data collected directly from survey respondents, from government administrative records and from other third party sources. The raw source data, regardless of origin, is usually considered to be confidential. In the case of the U.S. Census Bureau, confidentiality of survey and administrative records microdata is mandated by statute, and this mandate to protect confidentiality is often at odds with the needs of data users to extract as much information as possible from rich microdata. Traditional disclosure protection techniques applied to resolve this tension have resulted in official data products that come no where close to fully utilizing the information content of the underlying microdata. Typically, these products take for the form of basic, aggregate tabulations. In a few cases anonymized public-use micro samples are made available, but these are increasingly under risk of re-identification by the ever larger amounts of information about individuals and firms that is available in the public domain. One potential approach for overcoming these risks is to release products based on synthetic or partially synthetic data where values are simulated from statistical models designed to mimic the (joint) distributions of the underlying microdata rather than making the actual underlying microdata available. We discuss recent Census Bureau work to develop and deploy such products. We also discuss the benefits and challenges involved with extending the scope of synthetic data products in official statistics

The role of finance in the decision-making of higher education applicants and students: findings from the Going into Higher Education Research study (BIS Research Paper No.9)

"This report summarises findings from the Going into HE research project. From the outset, the aim has been to develop a clear understanding of: the role and importance of finance in the decision-making process of English-domiciled people from different groups who are considering entering full-time Higher Education (HE) in the UK; and the impact of the support arrangements on their decisions. When taken alongside quantitative studies on HE participation and student finances, also published by DIUS/BIS, the qualitative research presented here contributes to an overall assessment of current student finance arrangements and should help to inform future developments." - exec. summary

When Extinction is More Ethical Than Conservation: The Endangered Species Act and the Keystone Dilemma

This paper examines how the Endangered Species Act\u27s measures to protect endangered species have resulted in increased rates of extinction. The author summarizes the concept of endangered keystone species and explains the processes and operations of the environmental legislation enacted to protect the species. The paper discusses the harmful consequences that certain laws have had on both species and humans, such as misappropriating resources to species that are not as endangered as others, and abusing regulations in manners that punish people for conservation efforts. By examining opposing arguments that favor increased regulation, this paper explains through data from leading academic sources how withdrawing certain conservation legislation has potential to lower the rate of species extinction

Re-defining the Shakespearean Actor: Casting and Diversity at Shakespeare’s Globe under Emma Rice and Michelle Terry

This paper evaluates casting practices at Shakespeare’s Globe under the artistic directorships of Emma Rice (2016-17) and Michelle Terry (2018-) in the context of diversity. It explores the casting and subsequent optics of two productions: Rice’s Twelfth Night in 2017, and Terry’s Hamlet the following year. I argue that traditional ideas of the “Shakespearean actor” have shifted in an age where companies move towards greater inclusivity, allowing for more diverse casting of people of colour, people with disabilities, and cross-gender casting. Through the processes of embodiment, these casting choices add paratextual readings onto productions, which can provide improved agency for traditionally-marginalised communities, but can also replicate problematic readings. In essence, this article argues that diverse casting practices alone are not enough to provide opportunity and agency for underrepresented identities in theatrical productions. If such diverse casting practices are happening – which they should – then care must be taken not to perpetuate out-dated and harmful stereotypes of Black, disabled, and/or queer people. Inclusive casting fails in its aims if it reduces already marginalised people to the margins yet further, therefore representation onstage is not enough: the stories that these bodies tell must be empowering before the bodies themselves can be empowered.Cet article évalue les pratiques de distribution d’acteurs au Théâtre du Globe de Shakespeare, sous les directions artistiques d’Emma Rice (2016-17) et de Michelle Terry (2018-) sous l’angle de la diversité. Il explore la distribution et l’optique dans laquelle deux mises en scène ont été montées : La Nuit des Rois, par Emma Rice en 2017, et Hamlet, par Michelle Terry en 2018. Je postule que les idées traditionnelles sur ce qu’est l’« acteur shakespearien » ont évolué à une époque où les compagnies théâtrales s’engagent à être plus inclusive, ce qui permet une distribution des rôles plus diverse avec des gens de couleurs, des handicapés, une distribution non genrée. À travers les processus d’incarnation, ces choix de distribution ajoutent aux mises en scènes des lectures paratextuelles qui peuvent fournir aux communautés traditionnellement marginalisées une agentivité renforcée mais aussi reproduire des lectures problématiques. Au fond, cet article avance l’idée que les seules pratiques de distribution de la diversité ne suffisent pas à fournir l’occasion et l’agentivité aux identités sous-représentées dans les spectacles de théâtre. Si de telles pratiques de distribution ont lieu – ce qui devrait être le cas – alors il faut veiller à ne pas perpétuer des stéréotypes obsolètes et nuisibles de Noirs, de handicapés et/ou de personnes queer. Une distribution inclusive manque son but si elle renvoie aux marges des gens déjà marginalisés. Aussi, la représentation sur scène de ces personnes n’est pas suffisante : les histoires que ces corps racontent doivent être source de pouvoir avant que les corps eux-mêmes en soient dotés

Team Teaching: Twice as Nice for Students and Educators

Team Teaching: Twice as Nice for Students and Educators By: Miranda Asebedo, M.A. and Tom Jagosz, M.A. Utilizing team-teaching in the ESL upper intermediate to advanced Speaking Skills classroom, normal class progresses under the supervision of one instructor. Classroom activity centers on projects and activities done in small groups. The second instructor leads intensive, small group pronunciation sessions which provide students with valuable instruction, increasing their speaking time and interactions with an educator. The small groups are able to move in and out of intensive pronunciation and regular classroom instruction because their groups do not change for a period of two weeks, during which time each group will have had several intensive sessions of pronunciation instruction

Excitons in boron nitride single layer

Boron nitride single layer belongs to the family of 2D materials whose optical properties are currently receiving considerable attention. Strong excitonic effects have already been observed in the bulk and still stronger effects are predicted for single layers. We present here a detailed study of these properties by combining \textit{ab initio} calculations and a tight-binding-Wannier analysis in both real and reciprocal space. Due to the simplicity of the band structure with single valence ($\pi$) and conduction ($\pi^*$) bands the tight-binding analysis becomes quasi quantitative with only two adjustable parameters and provides tools for a detailed analysis of the exciton properties. Strong deviations from the usual hydrogenic model are evidenced. The ground state exciton is not a genuine Frenkel exciton, but a very localized "tightly-bound" one. The other ones are similar to those found in transition metal dichalcogenides and, although more localized, can be described within a Wannier-Mott scheme

I Am Wild And Always Will Be

In April, Printer's Devil Review was invited to participate in a round-table conversation with July about her new movie, screening at Independent Film Festival Boston. The other publications represented at the roundtable were: A Bostonian on Film, The Berkeley Beacon (Emerson University), Technology Review (MIT), and Boston University Daily Free Press

The Epstein-Barr Virus Episome Maneuvers between Nuclear Chromatin Compartments during Reactivation.

The human genome is structurally organized in three-dimensional space to facilitate functional partitioning of transcription. We learned that the latent episome of the human Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) preferentially associates with gene-poor chromosomes and avoids gene-rich chromosomes. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus behaves similarly, but human papillomavirus does not. Contacts on the EBV side localize to OriP, the latent origin of replication. This genetic element and the EBNA1 protein that binds there are sufficient to reconstitute chromosome association preferences of the entire episome. Contacts on the human side localize to gene-poor and AT-rich regions of chromatin distant from transcription start sites. Upon reactivation from latency, however, the episome moves away from repressive heterochromatin and toward active euchromatin. Our work adds three-dimensional relocalization to the molecular events that occur during reactivation. Involvement of myriad interchromosomal associations also suggests a role for this type of long-range association in gene regulation.IMPORTANCE The human genome is structurally organized in three-dimensional space, and this structure functionally affects transcriptional activity. We set out to investigate whether a double-stranded DNA virus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), uses mechanisms similar to those of the human genome to regulate transcription. We found that the EBV genome associates with repressive compartments of the nucleus during latency and with active compartments during reactivation. This study advances our knowledge of the EBV life cycle, adding three-dimensional relocalization as a novel component to the molecular events that occur during reactivation. Furthermore, the data add to our understanding of nuclear compartments, showing that disperse interchromosomal interactions may be important for regulating transcription