‘Standing on the shoulders of giants’: diversity and scholarship in Intelligence Studies

This study takes stock of the field of Intelligence Studies thanks to a quantitative review of all the articles published in the two main journals in the field: Intelligence and National Security and the International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence. Particular attention is paid to the diversity of the authors publishing in these two journals and the evolution of the issues they discuss. Publications in the field are widely authored by males based in the United States and the United Kingdom who write about Western intelligence and security organizations. Recent years have seen a slight diversification in the field but further efforts will be necessary to develop a more eclectic body of researchers and research on intelligence and national security

Observations from Canadian practitioners about the investigation and prosecution of crimes involving child and adult witnesses

Hundreds of scientific studies on the competencies and limitations of eyewitnesses have been published, but few have sought input from front-line forensic interviewers. In the current study, a research agenda was established with in-depth input from 13 forensic interviewers. Interviewers indicated which techniques they use most often, rated the usefulness of various interview techniques, and disclosed common challenges when interviewing. Although many recommended techniques were used (e.g., the Cognitive Interview and Rapport Building), some techniques shown to be effective in eliciting quality testimony in scientific studies were not always used or considered useful by front-line interviewers (e.g., permission to correct the interviewer, permission to say ‘I don’t know’). Key areas were identified to guide future research (e.g., techniques when interviewing very young children, witnesses with developmental delays)

The Examination of Fixed and Multi-Tier Source Monitoring Training with Children

The current research consists of two studies examining children’s source monitoring training. As previous research (e.g., Thierry & Spence, 2002; Poole & Lindsay, 2002) on source monitoring training is somewhat inconsistent, this research examined two different types of source training with 3–8 year old children. In Study 1, 131 children across two age ranges (3–4 and 7–8 years) were given comparable source training to that completed by Thierry and Spence (2002). General results indicated that the training benefited 7–8 year olds at two delay times, but only benefited younger children that met the established criterion in training. In Study 2, 136 children across 3 age ranges (3–4, 5–6, and 7–8 years) were given a newly developed multi-tier source monitoring training procedure. This training procedure was intended to scaffold ability and provide more individualized training to participants. General results showed no clear differences between training and no-training groups. However, when the results of Study 2 were compared to the results of Study 1, some evidence suggests that this training procedure may have inadvertently trained all older children in Study 2, thus washing out differences between training and non-training groups. Results are discussed in relation to the source monitoring framework, and forensic interviewing

The meaning of engagement: An exploration of generativity in the domain of politics

Survey research has raised concerns over recent declines in political participation (Putnam, 2000). However, there has yet to be much research examining reasons for this from a narrative, life history perspective. In the current study, we examined intensive interviews of 94 midlife adults from the MacArthur Foundation Study on Successful Midlife Development, for levels of generative concern using the Loyola Generativity Scale, as well as political behaviours, values and beliefs using measures developed by the authors. This exploratory analysis focused on the accounts that men and women gave of political involvement, as well as predictors of these patterns. Generativity was found to be differentially predictive of traditional political engagement in males and females. More specifically, generativity was found to be predictive of engagement only in women, as mediated through a sense of civic obligation. Differences were also found in how men and women relate to traditional politics, in that women overall had more desire to engage, but felt less a part of the political process than did men. Implications and directions for future research are discussed

Marshall University Music Department Presents the Jomie Jazz Visiting Guest Artist: Curtis Johnson, Set 1

https://mds.marshall.edu/music_perf/1211/thumbnail.jp

Managing Household Waste in Ireland: Behavioural Parameters and Policy Options. ESRI WP295. May 2009

Ireland has signed up to ambitious targets for diverting municipal solid waste from landfill. These targets are likely to be very difficult to meet without substantial changes to the way household waste is collected and managed. Data on household waste management behaviour in Ireland is scarce, and policymaking could benefit from improved data and market analysis. In this paper we use data from the EPA and CSO to estimate econometric models of household waste collection in Ireland, providing national estimates of income elasticities of demand, price elasticities where unit charges are in place, effects of imposing weight-based charging and effects of other important changes to service characteristics. These results are then used in a simulation model to illustrate the likely effects of some current policy options

Pedestrian velocity obstacles: pedestrian simulation through reasoning in velocity space

We live in a populous world. Furthermore, as social animals, we participate in activities which draw us together into shared spaces -- office buildings, city sidewalks, parks, events (e.g., religious, sporting, or political), etc. Models that can predict how crowds of humans behave in such settings would be valuable in allowing us to analyze the designs for novel environments and anticipate issues with space utility and safety. They would also better enable robots to safely work in a common environment with humans. Furthermore, credible simulation of crowds of humans would allow us to populate virtual worlds, helping to increase the immersive properties of virtual reality or entertainment applications. We propose a new model for pedestrian crowd simulation: Pedestrian Velocity Obstacles (PedVO). PedVO is based on Optimal Reciprocal Collision Avoidance (ORCA), a local navigation algorithm for computing optimal feasible velocities which simultaneously avoid collisions while still allowing the agents to progress toward their individual goals. PedVO extends ORCA by introducing new models of pedestrian behavior and relationships in conjunction with a modified geometric optimization planning technique to efficiently simulate agents with improved human-like behaviors. PedVO introduces asymmetric relationships between agents through two complementary techniques: Composite Agents and Right of Way. The former exploits the underlying collision avoidance mechanism to encode abstract factors and the latter modifies the optimization algorithm's constraint definition to enforce asymmetric coordination. PedVO further changes the optimization algorithm to more fully encode the agent's knowledge of its environment, allowing the agent to make more intelligent decisions, leading to a better utilization of space and improved flow. PedVO incorporates a new model, which works in conjunction with the local planning algorithm, to introduce a ubiquitous density-sensitive behavior observed in human crowds -- the so-called "fundamental diagram." We also provide a physically-plausible, interactive model for simulating walking motion to support the computed agent trajectories. We evaluate these techniques by simulating various scenarios, such as pedestrian experiments and a challenging real-world scenario: simulating the performance of the Tawaf, an aspect of the Muslim Hajj.Doctor of Philosoph

UR-350 Quantum Game Theory

Quantum computing is a computing paradigm that utilizes the properties of quantum mechanics such as superposition, interface and entanglement for data processing and other tasks. Quantum computing can be used to work on the same problems existing supercomputers do but in a much more efficient manner. Classical game theory is a process of modeling that is widely used in AI applications. The extension of this theory to the quantum field is known as quantum game theory. It can be a promising tool for overcoming critical problems in quantum communication and the implementation of quantum artificial intelligence. Quantum game theory allows the player(s) to formulate strategies differing from the conventional way of playing a game. We review the performance of classical and quantum strategies on five classical games by analyzing the logic and outcomes of each approach