Gallo-Roman Relations under the Early Empire

This paper examines the changing attitudes of Gallo-Romans from the time of Caesar's conquest in the 50s BCE to the start of Vespasian's reign in 70-71 CE and how Roman prejudice shaped those attitudes. I first examine the conflicted opinions of the Gauls in Caesar's time and how they eventually banded together against him but were defeated. Next, the activities of each Julio-Claudian emperor are examined to see how they impacted Gaul and what the Gallo-Roman response was. Throughout this period there is clear evidence of increased Romanisation amongst the Gauls and the prominence of the region is obvious in imperial policy. This changes with Nero's reign where Vindex's rebellion against the emperor highlights the prejudices still effecting Roman attitudes. This only becomes worse in the rebellion of Civilis the next year. After these revolts, the Gallo-Romans appear to retreat from imperial offices and stick to local affairs, likely as a direct response to Rome's rejection of them

Indicators of Success for Contentious Preservation Campaigns

Success of contentious campaigns advocating for the preservation of a threatened building is characterized by six indicators: (1) leadership, (2) conductivity, (3) numinosity, (4) publicity, (5) legal acuity, and (6) capital. This thesis identifies and defines the indicators through three case studies [Grand Central Terminal, City & Suburban Homes, and 2 Columbus Circle] and examines their future role in an evolving presimosphere. These six indicators can be used as a checklist, rubric, or quantitative estimator, thus offering campaign leaders additional information to aid in the development of their strategies and communication plans

Odyssey: a semi-automated pipeline for phasing, imputation, and analysis of genome-wide genetic data

BACKGROUND: Genome imputation, admixture resolution and genome-wide association analyses are timely and computationally intensive processes with many composite and requisite steps. Analysis time increases further when building and installing the run programs required for these analyses. For scientists that may not be as versed in programing language, but want to perform these operations hands on, there is a lengthy learning curve to utilize the vast number of programs available for these analyses. RESULTS: In an effort to streamline the entire process with easy-to-use steps for scientists working with big data, the Odyssey pipeline was developed. Odyssey is a simplified, efficient, semi-automated genome-wide imputation and analysis pipeline, which prepares raw genetic data, performs pre-imputation quality control, phasing, imputation, post-imputation quality control, population stratification analysis, and genome-wide association with statistical data analysis, including result visualization. Odyssey is a pipeline that integrates programs such as PLINK, SHAPEIT, Eagle, IMPUTE, Minimac, and several R packages, to create a seamless, easy-to-use, and modular workflow controlled via a single user-friendly configuration file. Odyssey was built with compatibility in mind, and thus utilizes the Singularity container solution, which can be run on Linux, MacOS, and Windows platforms. It is also easily scalable from a simple desktop to a High-Performance System (HPS). CONCLUSION: Odyssey facilitates efficient and fast genome-wide association analysis automation and can go from raw genetic data to genome: phenome association visualization and analyses results in 3-8 h on average, depending on the input data, choice of programs within the pipeline and available computer resources. Odyssey was built to be flexible, portable, compatible, scalable, and easy to setup. Biologists less familiar with programing can now work hands on with their own big data using this easy-to-use pipeline

Decision-making following sexual assault: Reporting decisions and exposure to the criminal justice system

Violent crimes represent significant costs to society and survivors; costs which include mental health conditions which may emerge afterward. Victims of sexual assault are at particularly heightened risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Breslau, Davis, Andreski, & Peterson, 1991). Although Crime Victims’ Compensation (CVC) is available to assist with healthcare costs for some individuals who report the event to police (NACVCB, 2009), many crimes are not reported. Theories of crime-reporting behavior suggest that victims decide whether to report crimes to police through the use of a “cost-benefit analysis” (Gottfredson & Gottfredson, 1988, p. 25). Little research, however, has been conducted on how emotional and cognitive sequelae of violent crime affect choices made in the aftermath of a sexual assault. Further, some authors suggest that survivors of sexual assault may experience worsened PTSD symptoms due to participation in the legal system (Campbell & Raja, 1999; Campbell, Wasco, Ahrens, Sefl, & Barnes, 2001; Orth & Maercker, 2004). Yet, this existing body of research lacks comparisons of those who report the crime to police to those who do not, and does not account for post-event PTSD symptom severity. This study collected survey data from 834 male and female participants who reported experiencing an unwanted or forced sexual event. Researchers found that, in addition to assault characteristics and victim perceptions of the event, symptoms of PTSD accounted for a significant portion of the variance in reporting behavior. Specifically, avoidance symptoms decreased report liklihood, while re-experiencing and hyperarousal symptoms increased the probability of police notification. As greater avoidance symptom severity is thought to be related to chronic and severe cases of PTSD (Foa & Cahill, 2001), it is notable that these symptoms may also reduce the likelihood of police notification. In particular, these results suggest that those with perhaps the greatest need for benefits to cover the cost of future mental health care may also be less likely to satisfy CVC eligibility criteria (NACVCB, 2009). Further analyses failed to uncover evidence that participation in various legal system stages contributes to future levels of PTSD symptomatology when after-event symptom levels were accounted for

An Iowa anomaly: Robert Ray and the Indochinese refugees

This dissertation examines the formation and maturation of the state of Iowa’s refugee resettlement program (1975-2010) during the governorship of Robert D. Ray. Though other Indochinese communities are studied, particular attention is devoted to the Tai Dam because the state resettled them as a cluster. Reasons for starting the program, the legacy of the Vietnam War, and Iowans’ varied responses to refugee intake are detailed. It will be proven that Robert Ray wielded more influence over Indochinese refugee resettlement and relief than any other governor. He established his own resettlement agency, admitted 1,500 boat people, influenced the passage of the Refugee Act of 1980, and launched a Cambodian relief program that generated over $540,000. In addition to using archival sources, oral history interviews were conducted with more than thirty refugees and public officials. These oral histories bring to light the Tai Dam’s experiences in Southeast Asia as well as in Iowa. The Tai Dam actively influenced the resettlement process by campaigning for relocation to Iowa as a group. Their cultural background helps to explain the Tai Dam’s successful adaptation to the American Midwest

Constructing Your Thesis

This chapter explores a number of questions most commonly asked by students as they embark on writing a thesis: •What is a thesis? •How is a thesis structured? •How do I select a thesis topic? •How do I formulate a research question or hypothesis? •How can I be sure I take an objective angle in writing my thesis? •How do I start my thesis? •What is theory? •What can I expect from my supervisor? •What will I learn from writing a thesis