Expert and Public Evaluations of Technological Risks: Searching for Common Ground

Drs. Flynn and Slovic compare and evaluate the ways in which the public and experts perceive technological risks

Document Classification in Support of Automated Metadata Extraction Form Heterogeneous Collections

A number of federal agencies, universities, laboratories, and companies are placing their documents online and making them searchable via metadata fields such as author, title, and publishing organization. To enable this, every document in the collection must be catalogued using the metadata fields. Though time consuming, the task of identifying metadata fields by inspecting the document is easy for a human. The visual cues in the formatting of the document along with accumulated knowledge and intelligence make it easy for a human to identify various metadata fields. Even with the best possible automated procedures, numerous sources of error exist, including some that cannot be controlled, such as scanned documents with text obscured by smudges, signatures, or stamps. A commercially viable process for metadata extraction must remain robust in the presence of these external sources of error as well as in the face of the uncertainty that accompanies any attempts to automate intelligent behavior. While extraction accuracy and completeness must be the primary goal of an extraction system, the ability to detect and report questionable results is equally important for a production quality system, since it promotes confidence in the system. We have developed and demonstrated a novel system for extracting metadata. First, a document is examined in an attempt to recognize it as an instance of a known document layout. Then a template, a scripted description of how to associate blocks of text in the layout with metadata fields, is applied to the document to extract the metadata. The extraction is validated after post-processing to evaluate the quality of the extraction and, if necessary, to flag untrusted extractions for human recognition. The success or failure of the template approach is directly tied to document classification, which is the ability to match the document to the proper template correctly and consistently. Document classification in our system is implemented as a module which applies every template available in the system to a document to find candidate templates that extract any data at all. The candidate templates are evaluated by a validation module to select the best performing template. This method is called post hoc classification. Post hoc classification is not only effective at selecting the correct class but it also excels at minimizing false positives. It is, however, very sensitive to changes in the template collection and to poorly written templates. While this dissertation examines the evolution and all the major components of an automated metadata extraction system, the primary focus is on the problem of document classification. The main thrust of my research has been investigating alternative methods of document classification to replace or supplement post hoc classification. I experimented with machine learning techniques as an additional input factor for the post hoc classification script or the final validation script

Mapping the denial of space : Latinos and United States immigration law

Immigration legal spaces such as courtrooms and national borders are constructed by the geopolitical tensions that exist between U.S. nationalism and foreign bodies traversing its territory. Mexican, Guatemalan, Salvadorian, and Hondurans—referred to as Latinos in this research—constitute nearly all of deportation from the United States in recent decades. In addition to these deportation trends, Latinos are also less likely to receive some form of relief from deportation despite increasing violence and political instability in Latin America. Immigration law is federal and therefore is supposed to provide the same standards and protocols for all nationalities in every immigration court. This thesis investigates how the immigration and asylum process is in fact spatialized and biased to regional politics. The connection between rituals, myths, and symbols of nationalism in the judgement of Latinos are also examined. A third component explores how migrant and refugee bodies are codified in immigration law through their experiences with immigration legal spaces. This thesis uses a mixed methods approach to understanding the spatial processes involved in the judgement and deportation of Latinos from the United States. GIS is used to validate the uneven geography of immigrant justice and identify specific locations of inequality. Reflected in the geospatial analysis, Texas’ courts are places of increased deportations and denials of asylum. Ethnographic observations in San Antonio and Pearsall’s courtrooms were conducted to extract qualitative information elucidating the asymmetric use of immigration enforcement. A second field site in Chicago was chosen to compare the impacts of border politics on Latinos in removal hearings. My research finds that immigration legal spaces are constructed through the use of nationalist myths and symbols to control the mobility of Latino bodies. Moreover, deportations are significantly influenced by geopolitics and the spatial relationship of immigration legal spaces.Geography and the Environmen

Effective Non-Hermiticity and Topology in Markovian Quadratic Bosonic Dynamics

Recently, there has been an explosion of interest in re-imagining many-body quantum phenomena beyond equilibrium. One such effort has extended the symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phase classification of non-interacting fermions to driven and dissipative settings, uncovering novel topological phenomena that are not known to exist in equilibrium which may have wide-ranging applications in quantum science. Similar physics in non-interacting bosonic systems has remained elusive. Even at equilibrium, an effective non-Hermiticity intrinsic to bosonic Hamiltonians poses theoretical challenges. While this non-Hermiticity has been acknowledged, its implications have not been explored in-depth. Beyond this dynamical peculiarity, major roadblocks have arisen in the search for SPT physics in non-interacting bosonic systems, calling for a much needed paradigm shift beyond equilibrium. The research program undertaken in this thesis provides a systematic investigation of effective non-Hermiticity in non-interacting bosonic Hamiltonians and establishes the extent to which one must move beyond equilibrium to uncover SPT-like bosonic physics. Beginning in the closed-system setting, whereby systems are modeled by quadratic Hamiltonians, we classify the types of dynamical instabilities effective non-Hermiticity engenders. While these flavors of instability are distinguished by the algebraic behavior of normal modes, they can be unified under the umbrella of spontaneous generalized parity-time symmetry-breaking. By harnessing tools from Krein stability theory, a numerical indicator of dynamical stability phase transitions is also introduced. Throughout, the role played by non-Hermiticity in dynamically stable systems is scrutinized, resulting in the discovery of a Hermiticity-restoring duality transformation. Building on the preceding analysis, we take the necessary plunge into open bosonic systems undergoing Markovian dissipation, modeled by quadratic (Gaussian) Lindblad master equations. The first finding is that of a uniquely-bosonic notion of dynamical metastability, whereby asymptotically stable dynamics are preempted by a regime of transient amplification. Incorporating non-trivial topological invariants leads to the notion of topological metastability which, remarkably, features tight bosonic analogues to the edge modes characteristic of fermionic SPT phases - which we deem Majorana and Dirac bosons - along with a manifold of long-lived quasi-steady states. Implications regarding the breakdown of Noether\u27s theorem are explored, and several observable signatures based on two-time correlation functions and power spectra are proposed

The Evolution of International Fisheries Management in the North Pacific Ocean and Prospects for the Future

The abundant resources of the North Pacific Ocean have been the subject of international disputes and negotiations through the 20th century. The management of species which range throughout this vast area, are not under the jurisdiction of a single state. That fact has required the establishment of a framework in which allocation and conservation measures can be researched and agreed upon. This has been accomplished through various multilateral and bilateral agreements. From the voluntary Japanese suspension of a directed salmon fishery off the coast of Alaska in 1938 to recently completed multilateral treaties, significant advances have been made in Pacific fisheries management. How have the events of the last 60 years influenced current trends in international fisheries treaties? How will the structure of future agreements reflect these emerging trends? This study will describe four periods which have fostered the evolution of fisheries management in the North Pacific. It will examine two treaties which represent this evolution, the 1992 Convention for the Conservation of Anadromous Stocks in the North pacific ocean and the 1994 convention for the Conservation and Management of Pollock Resources in the Central Bering Sea. it will explore the development and implementation of these agreements, as well as their strengths and weaknesses, within the context of domestic pressures and existing norms of international ocean law. it will identify trends in high seas fisheries management, and consider the likelihood of the emergence of a more holistic arrangement for managing the living marine resources of the North Pacific Ocean

Leg Strength, Leg Power, and Sprinting Speed as Affected by a Select Weight Training Program

In athletic activities, strength, speed, and power are important factors that determine how effective and efficiently an individual will perform. Present day coaches realize that in order to have championship athletes and teams, the individual athlete must have muscular strength, speed, and power sufficient to meet the challenges of prolonged strenuous practice and competition. Other things being equal, the faster and stronger man will be more effective in athletics than the slower, weaker man. Kirkley indicates that the use of weights for improving one\u27s ability in various sports and games is now largely accepted by the world\u27s leading coaches. The myth that weightlifting will hamper speed has been argued, but today many coaches and sport scientists feel that an increase in strength through the use of weights will also increase the speed of muscular contractions. Strenuous sports make heavy physical demands on participants. Sheer strength, speed, power, and quickness in addition to skill are essential for an individual to be an adequate competitor. Leg strength explosive power, and sprinting speed are valuable assets to all athletes, and coaches are constantly searching for new methods of improving these qualities in their players. Carnes stated that an increase \u27in an athlete\u27s leg power may also help him increase his speed. Roy has contended that leg strength is the most important element in explosive power. In light of the evidence that over-all strength, power and speed may be increased by a select weight training program, the investigator felt that a study on the effects of weight training on only the legs would be feasible. Questions asked are: does exercising one leg at a time produce greater strength improvement than exercising both legs at the same time? Does a weight training program specifically designed for strengthening only the legs develop power and increase sprinting speed? Is the time required to exercise one leg at a time administratively feasible? Hopefully such a study will provide objective and practical knowledge about off-season training programs and their relation to leg strength, leg power, and sprinting speed. The purpose of this investigation was to determine what effects a select weight training program consisting of exercises for each leg individually would have on leg strength as compared to the same program exercising both legs simultaneously

Structural Family Therapy of a Family with a Hyperactive Child: A Single-Subject Investigation and Demonstration of a Doctoral Student and Chairperson Clinical-Research Team

The University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.Presenters: Paul Mills, Ph.D., and Ray Flynn, Ph.D., clinical social workers at the Birmingham Psychiatric and Medical Service, Birmingham, Alabama - "Structural Family Therapy of a Family with a Hyperactive Child: A Single-Subject Investigation and Demonstration of a Doctoral Student and Chairperson Clinical-Research Team".The Ohio State University College of Social Wor

Theory in public procurement research

This paper examines the role of theory in public procurement research. Theoretical rigour is integral to management science, yet little is known on the extent and form of theory in public procurement. With the field starting to mature, addressing this issue is timely. From conducting a systematic literature review we find that 29 percent of articles are theoretically grounded, with the incidence of theory having increased in recent years. Economic, sociological, psychological, and management theories are all in evidence, but micro-economic theories predominate. Our findings also show that survey reporting and case studies account for almost half of all studies; procurement research is focused on organizational-level aspects more than regulatory-policy issues or public buyers; and studies to date have largely emanated from the North American and European regions. The contribution of this paper lies in clarifying the theoretical underpinnings of public procurement. Out of this we highlight the need for greater theoretical rigour, point to the under-use and even absence of theories that could have high validity and utility, and suggest a narrowing of research foci