Longitudinal Analysis of Android Ad Library Permissions

This paper investigates changes over time in the behavior of Android ad libraries. Taking a sample of 100,000 apps, we extract and classify the ad libraries. By considering the release dates of the applications that use a specific ad library version, we estimate the release date for the library, and thus build a chronological map of the permissions used by various ad libraries over time. We find that the use of most permissions has increased over the last several years, and that more libraries are able to use permissions that pose particular risks to user privacy and security.Comment: Most 201

Comparison of polynomial profiles and input shaping for industrial applications

Command shaping creates reference commands that reduce residual vibrations in a flexible system. This thesis examines the use of command shaping for flexible system control in three industrial applications: cam-follower systems, sloshing liquids, and cherrypickers. One common type of command shaping is command smoothing which creates a smooth transition between setpoints. A specific type of command smoothing used in cam-follower systems is the polynomial profile. An alternative technique to reduce vibration in flexible systems is input shaping. In this thesis, input-shaped commands are compared to polynomial profiles for applications requiring both vibration suppression and fast motion. Simulation and experimental results show that input shaping is faster than polynomial profiles and provides a simple approach to suppressing residual vibration. Secondly, significant experimental contributions have been made in the area of slosh control. The oscillation of liquids in a container can cause liquid spillage or can cause stability issues, especially in space vehicles. In the past, a number of control techniques have been proposed, but only a few recommend the use of input shaping. This thesis describes the use of command shaping to limit slosh. Results are supported by numerical and experimental testing. Input-shaped commands reduce residual slosh amplitude compared to unshaped commands and polynomial profiles. Input-shaped commands can also accommodate uncertainties and changes in the sloshing frequencies. Lastly, a small-scale cherrypicker was constructed to study the use of input-shaping control on these types of aerial lifts. Cherrypickers have flexible dynamic effects that can cause dangerous and life-threatening situations. To study this class of machines and to provide future students an experimental testbed, several design criteria were established before construction began. The resulting machine achieved most design objectives, including a simple-to-use graphical user interface and accurate state measurements. Robust input-shaping controllers were implemented to limit endpoint vibration. The design of the cherrypicker is discussed and experimental results are reported.M.S.Committee Chair: William Singhose; Committee Member: Al Ferri; Committee Member: Jun Ued

AUTOMATED INCIDENT RESPONSE AND INVESTIGATION AFTER VEHICULAR COLLISIONS AND INCIDENTS

Techniques are described herein for leveraging connected vehicles and in-vehicle telemetry to collect evidence for investigations. When an incident occurs, all vehicles within an observation range of the incident and a time period leading up to the incident upload their anonymized but traceable telemetry data to the cloud. Investigators then use this data to re-create the incident in a simulation based on the uploaded telemetries. Furthermore, if eyewitness accounts are needed, law enforcement or investigators can follow-up with the occupants of each vehicle based on the source of the telemetry

REPRODUCTIVE COERCION: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

The purpose of this honors project is to provide a systematic review of reproductive coercion research published through 2021. A search will be done using PubMed, Scopus and Proquest Search. The results will then be imported into Covidence, a systematic review management program. Throughout the screening process, a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flow chart will be used to visualize the narrowing of the literature to the final number of reviewed publications. The PRISMA flow chart will be included in the final systematic review. The studies will be organized using a matrix with five sections. The five sections will consist of authors, sample, methods/instruments, major findings, and a final column to detail the outcome variables used in each individual study (e.g., birth control sabotage, pregnancy pressure, pregnancy outcome pressure, or all three, or one, etc.). The studies will be separated between those that are descriptive of the concept and those that tested an intervention. This tool will be used to synthesize the most up-to-date reproductive coercion literature and find any gaps within the literature. The main goal of this research is to add to the body of knowledge and literature so that future researchers have access to the all published primary research on reproductive coercion and their findings

EHR and Cost: Is "Meaningful Use" Meaningfully Reducing Health Care Costs?

The United States of America is one of the top spenders on health care per capita in the world; in 2013, we spent twice as much as France, a country known for having quality health care for its citizens (OECD, 2013). As a result, the federal government has mandated the use of EHRs in order to curb health care costs and improve health care for the citizens of the United States by increasing efficiency and interoperability of different health care delivery systems. The Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs provide financial incentives for the “meaningful use� of certified EHR technology. However, there is growing doubt whether this monetary incentive is sufficient to offset the substantial costs associated with implementing and maintaining EHR systems (Fleming, Culler, McCorkle, Becker, & Ballard, 2011). Additionally, during this same time period, the landscape of health care facilities has changed; solo practices and small group practices have been acquired by larger health care systems who are more able to purchase expensive EHR technology. This study aims to consider the benefits and drawbacks of implementing and meaningfully using the EHR as well as discuss the specific financial and nonfinancial costs of EHR implementation. This study further aims to contribute to existing research as well as to suggest further topics of related research.B.S

Avoiding the Appearance of Judicial Bias: Allowing a Federal Criminal Defendant to Appeal the Denial of a Recusal Motion Even After Entering an Unconditional Guilty Plea

One of the most fundamental social interests is that law shall be uniform and impartial. There must be nothing in its action that savors of prejudice or favor or even arbitrary whim or fitfulness. A suspect is charged with a federal crime, obtains legal counsel, and finds out who his judge will be. Because of a prominent rumor circulating in the community that the defendant once had an affair with the judge\u27s wife, the defendant questions the judge\u27s ability to be fair with him. He and his counsel file a timely motion for recusal under 28 U.S.C. § 455(a).\u27 The judge promptly denies the motion with little to no comment. Discouraged, and now worried, the defendant considers plea bargaining. The prosecutor, who knows about the rumor, proposes a bargain that includes a recommendation to the judge of a lightened sentence in exchange for the defendant\u27s unconditional guilty plea. The defendant and his counsel repeatedly try bargaining to condition the plea on being able to appeal the denied motion to recuse, but the prosecutor steadfastly refuses: It\u27s all or nothin\u27. Take this deal, or take your chances with the judge at trial. The defendant reluctantly signs the plea. The prosecutor and defense counsel inform the judge of the plea agreement, and the judge sets a date for sentencing. At sentencing, the judge acknowledges the prosecutor\u27s lightened sentence suggestion, but decides that this defendant deserves a harsher sentence. Irate and feeling that the judge has been biased against him, the defendant tries to appeal the denial of the recusal motion.\u27 A split currently exists in the United States Courts of Appeals as to whether this criminal defendant will be able to appeal the judge\u27s denial of his motion to recuse. In 1988, the Tenth Circuit first decided the issue in United States v. Gipson.\u27 In Gipson, the court held that only a charge of actual bias would survive a guilty plea Two years later, the First Circuit came out the other way in United States v. Chantal, holding that Chantal\u27s § 455(a) challenge to the trial judge\u27s qualification was not waived by his guilty plea. Circuits addressing the issue since these two decisions have aligned themselves with one of the two sides. The First and Second Circuits allow a criminal defendant to appeal the denied recusal motion following an unconditional guilty plea-the Fifth, Seventh and Tenth Circuits do not

The Jaded Traveller : John Jasper\u27s Failed Psychic Quest in Charles Dickens\u27s \u3cem\u3eThe Mystery of Edwin Drood\u3c/em\u3e.

This thesis is a Jungian study of John Jasper, the central character in Charles Dickens\u27s The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Jasper fails to achieve psychological wholeness because he suffers from what Carl G. Jung calls dissociation of consciousness, a malady that prevents Jasper from entering the process of individuation--a process of self-discovery. Jasper\u27s boredom, self-alienation, hypocrisy, and secret double life impede his search for self. Faced with projections of his anima and shadow self, Jasper has many opportunities for psychological and spiritual growth. But rather than integrate the aspects of his personality that each of the anima and shadow figures represents, he rejects their messages or attempts to mesmerize them into submission to his will. Throughout the novel, the journey motif constantly surfaces, emphasizing that Jasper is on a quest in search of his self. But it is a failed quest that leads to psychological disintegration