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In recent years, the number of exploits targeting software applications has increased dramatically. These exploits have caused substantial economic damages. Ensuring that software applications are not vulnerable to the exploits has, therefore, become a critical requirement. The last line of defense is to test before hand if a software application is vulnerable to exploits. One can accomplish this by testing for the presence of vulnerabilities. This dissertation presents a framework for deriving verification and validation (V&V) strategies to assess the security of a software application by testing it for the presence of vulnerabilities. This framework can be used to assess the security of any software application that executes above the level of the operating system. It affords a novel approach, which consists of testing if the software application permits violation of constraints imposed by computer system resources or assumptions made about the usage of these resources. A vulnerability exists if a constraint or an assumption can be violated. Distinctively different from other approaches found in the literature, this approach simplifies the process of assessing the security of a software application. The framework is composed of three components: (1) a taxonomy of vulnerabilities, which is an informative classification of vulnerabilities, where vulnerabilities are expressed in the form of violable constraints and assumptions; (2) an object model, which is a collection of potentially vulnerable process objects that can be present in a software application; and (3) a V&V strategies component, which combines information from the taxonomy and the object model; and provides approaches for testing software applications for the presence of vulnerabilities. This dissertation also presents a step-by-step process for using the framework to assess software security. / Ph. D.

Objective: The World Assumptions Questionnaire (WAQ) was developed to assess optimism and assumptions about the world, which often shift after traumatic events. However, no known study has investigated whether the WAQ holds similar meaning across demographic groups. The objective of this study was to investigate measurement invariance of the WAQ across race/ethnic group, sex, and sexual orientation. Method: Participants consisted of 1,181 college students (75% female; 25% Black, 13% Latinx, 18% Asian, 45% White; 90% heterosexual) who completed an online survey on stress, personality, substance use, and mental health. We investigated a unidimensional and the 4-factor structure of the WAQ using confirmatory factor analysis, and configural, metric, and scalar invariance using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Results: After dropping 3 items, a 4-factor structure fit the data well (comparative fit index = .92; root mean square error of approximation =.05; 95% confidence interval [.045, .054]; standardized root mean square residual = .06). Mean WAQ scores were higher for participants with probable posttraumatic stress disorder on 2 of the 4 factors. We also identified multiple items that were not invariant across race/ethnic group, sex, and sexual orientation. However, after invariant items were removed, evidence of configural, scalar, and metric invariance was found. Conclusions: This study replicated the 4-factor structure, mapping onto the 4 WAQ subscales, and indicated that a unidimensional measure of world assumptions should not be used. After making the adjustments recommended herein, the WAQ can be used to investigate differences across race/ethnic group, sex, and sexual orientation.

An in-depth look at my how my desire to make no assumptions with regards to creating art led me to invitation as a guiding principle when directing for the theatre. This thesis will cite examples from three productions I’ve directed as a Master of Fine Arts candidate in the Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of Texas at Austin. / text

The problem of this study was to investigate the philosophical assumptions underlying the holistic paradigm. These underlying philosophical assumptions include beliefs about the nature of being (ontology), goals (axiology), and knowledge (epistemology). The interdependence of these assumptions, as well as how they translate into different research processes, is noted in this study.

This thesis examines the philosophical implications of the assumptions made by researchers involved in the development of mathematical models of metabolism. It does this through an analysis of several detailed historical case studies of models between the 1960’s and the present day, thus also contributing to the growing literature on the historiography of biochemical systems biology. The chapters focus on four main topics: the relationship between models and theory, temporal decomposition as a simplifying strategy for building models of complex metabolic systems, interactions between modellers and experimental biochemists, and the role of biochemical data. Four categories of assumptions are shown to play a significant role in these different aspects of model development; ontological assumptions, idealising assumptions, assumptions about data, and researchers’ commitments. Building on this analysis, the thesis brings to light the importance of researcher’s ontological and idealising assumptions about the temporal organisation, alongside the spatial organisation, of metabolic systems. It also offers an account of different forms of interactions between research groups – hostile interactions, closed collaboration, and open collaboration – on the basis of differences in the characteristics of researcher’s commitments. Throughout the case studies, biological data play a powerful role in model development by virtue of the contents of available data sets, as well as researchers’ perceptions of those data, which are in turn influenced by their ontological assumptions. The historical trajectories explored illustrate how the relationships between different facets of model building, and their associated philosophical abstractions, are often best understood as transient features within a highly dynamic research process, whose role depends on the specific stage of modelling in which they are enacted. This thesis provides an expanded perspective on the different types and roles of assumptions in the development of mathematical models of metabolism, which is firmly grounded in a historical analysis of scientific practice.

A cohesive organizational culture has been linked to positive outcomes in child-serving agencies, such as improved child-level outcomes and positive organizational climate (Glisson & Green, 2006; Glisson & Hemmelgarm, 1998; Glisson & James, 2002; Hemmelgarn, Glisson, & James, 2006). Although isolated studies of organizational culture have been conducted in individual agencies (child welfare and juvenile justice), no study has examined the organization culture of successful, holistic systems of care that involve the coordination of multiple agencies, such as child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health and education. Data collected from the three system-of-care sites selected for participation in Case Studies of System Implementation was analyzed for themes using the Atlas.ti qualitative software package. The analysis was conducted through the framework of Schein's model of organizational culture. For each site, examples of artifacts, values, and assumptions were identified. The artifacts at sites were closely related to the articulated values of the organizations. Findings also suggest that there are underlying components to the organizational culture of system of care, including system of care values and principles, collaboration, willingness to change, and leadership. Results also showed that local context affects organizational culture. Suggestions for future exploration into these hypotheses are provided.

Hot mot anställda inom polisen är ett arbetsmiljöproblem som riskerar att leda till negativa konsekvenser, både för den som blir utsatt och för verksamheten. Att kartlägga fenomenet och utifrån detta ge de anställda förutsättningarna att kunna hantera utsattheten är därför viktigt. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka aspekter kring de allvarliga hot, och dess konsekvenser, som personal anställd vid Polismyndigheten i Västerbotten blivit utsatt för. En webbaserad enkät distribuerades till alla anställda inom verksamheten (n=616), och datamaterialet analyserades genom χ², oberoende t-test och envägs ANOVA. Resultatet visade att upp till var femte anställd hade blivit utsatt för allvarliga hot under det senaste året och att risken för att drabbas varierade mellan personalgrupper. De allvarliga hoten hade lett till negativa konsekvenser, både för de anställdas privatliv och för deras hälsa samt för yrkesutövningen. Respondenterna uttryckte en inacceptans mot hot i tjänsten och en frustration gentemot rättssystemets hantering av dessa ärenden. Utsattheten tolkades utifrån rutinaktivitetsteorins princip om brottsutsatthet i proportion till närvaro i högriskkontexter och de upplevda konsekvenserna analyserades utifrån theory of shattered assumptions och användandet av undvikande copingstrategier. Förebyggande arbete i form av utbildning, samt hjälp och stöd för den som utsatts är viktigt, och eventuell problematik kring hjälpsökande beteende inom polisorganisation belyses. De förvärvade kunskaperna utgör en del i underlaget som fordras för att det förebyggande arbetsmiljöarbetet ska bli framgångsrikt, och kan bidra till att utveckla arbetsmetoderna för att hantera allvarliga hot mot anställda.

Hot mot anställda inom polisen är ett arbetsmiljöproblem som riskerar att leda till negativa konsekvenser, både för den som blir utsatt och för verksamheten. Att kartlägga fenomenet och utifrån detta ge de anställda förutsättningarna att kunna hantera utsattheten är därför viktigt. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka aspekter kring de allvarliga hot, och dess konsekvenser, som personal anställd vid Polismyndigheten i Västerbotten blivit utsatt för. En webbaserad enkät distribuerades till alla anställda inom verksamheten och datamaterialet (n = 330) analyserades genom χ², oberoende t-test och envägs ANOVA. Resultatet visade att upp till var femte anställd hade blivit utsatt för allvarliga hot under det senaste året och att risken för att drabbas varierade mellan personalgrupper. De allvarliga hoten hade lett till negativa konsekvenser, både för de anställdas privatliv och för deras hälsa samt för yrkesutövningen. Respondenterna uttryckte en inacceptans mot hot i tjänsten och en frustration gentemot rättssystemets hantering av dessa ärenden. Utsattheten tolkades utifrån rutinaktivitetsteorins princip om brottsutsatthet i proportion till närvaro i högriskkontexter och de upplevda konsekvenserna analyserades utifrån theory of shattered assumptions och användandet av undvikande copingstrategier. Förebyggande arbete i form av utbildning, samt hjälp och stöd för den som utsatts är viktigt, och eventuell problematik kring hjälpsökande beteende inom polisorganisation belyses. De förvärvade kunskaperna utgör en del i underlaget som fordras för att det förebyggande arbetsmiljöarbetet ska bli framgångsrikt, och kan bidra till att utveckla arbetsmetoderna för att hantera allvarliga hot mot anställda.

This thesis explores the argument that inherent in medical treatment interventions for chronic hepatitis C, there are certain implicit ontological assumptions about the relationship between the body, disease, and society. Focusing primarily on biomedical practices, it is argued that these assumptions might have a profound effect on the world-views of patients undergoing them. This in turn, might have far-reaching sociological implications. Using a methodology specifically developed for the purpose of explicating the ontological assumptions inherent in medical treatment, the visual and narrative texts produced by thirteen hepatitis C positive participants are examined. A deconstructive analytical approach is then applied to these texts as they relate to the treatment interventions pursued by participants. An exploration of the way participants engage with, negotiate, and/or resist the discourses and assumptions inherent in biomedicine, traditional Chinese medicine, and to some extent naturopathy, is conducted. Two broad ways in which the participants visualise the relationship between disease and their bodies, relating to treatment undertaken, are identified. The possible social implications of these are then suggested. The first, and predominant view, is aligned with biomedicine. The relationship between disease and the body is antagonistic in this view. It is suggested that this way of seeing might naturalise xenophobic attitudes and perpetuate social conflict. The marginal view is related to non-biomedical treatments for hepatitis C. The relationship in this case is the result of a negotiated accommodation with the disease. It is suggested that such a view might allow for non-resistant social tolerance of that which is perceived of as new and different. This qualitative study contributes to the body of knowledge in the field of the sociology of health and illness in two ways: Firstly, it proposes a methodology that may be taken up or adapted for future sociological research, and secondly, it suggests something of the social and political nature of treatment decisions made by people living with chronic hepatitis C.