Little information exists about challenges that bilingual clinical social workers face when engaging individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) in forensic settings, which may influence the efficacy of services provided. Bilingual clinical social workers in the U.S. state of South Carolina lack operational guidelines to assist people with LEP who are involved in forensic matters. The purpose of this study was to explore challenges that affect delivery of bilingual clinical social work to people with LEP in forensic settings. Ecological systems theory served as the conceptual framework for this study. Purposive and snowball sampling methods led to the participation of 6 licensed bilingual clinical social workers who met the criterion of experience in the provision of services to people with LEP in forensic settings, either in Spanish or American Sign Language (ASL). Data were collected using semistructured interviews through phone calls and videoconferencing platforms. Interviews were transcribed and reviewed by participants to ensure accuracy. Collected data were organized, processed, and analyzed through thematic analysis to identify emerging themes. Key themes included: financial constraints; low-priority for LEP clients; lack of community support; issues with service access; cross-agency collaborations; and laws, policies, and initiatives. The findings of this study may lead to positive social change by substantiating the importance of additional support for bilingual social workers in the form of education, supervision, and continued training. With support and collaboration, bilingual social workers may be able to enact social change to overcome challenges in the provision of services for LEP individuals.

Recent designs for low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes have exhibited capacity approaching performance for large block length, overtaking the performance of turbo codes. While theoretically impressive, LDPC codes present some challenges for practical implementation. In general, LDPC codes have higher encoding complexity than turbo codes both in terms of computational latency and architecture size. Decoder circuits for LDPC codes have a high routing complexity and thus demand large amounts of circuit area. There has been recent interest in developing analog circuit architectures suitable for decoding. These circuits offer a fast, low-power alternative to the digital approach. Analog decoders also have the potential to be significantly smaller than digital decoders. In this thesis we present a novel and efficient approach to LDPC encoder / decoder (codec) design. We propose a new algorithm which allows the parallel decoder architecture to be reused for iterative encoding. We present a new class of LDPC codes which are iteratively encodable, exhibit good empirical performance, and provide a flexible choice of code length and rate. Combining the analog decoding approach with this new encoding technique, we design a novel time-multiplexed LDPC codec, which switches between analog decode and digital encode modes. In order to achieve this behaviour from a single circuit we have developed mode-switching gates. These logic gates are able to switch between analog (soft) and digital (hard) computation, and represent a fundamental circuit design contribution. Mode-switching gates may also be applied to built-in self-test circuits for analog decoders. Only a small overhead in circuit area is required to transform the analog decoder into a full codec. The encode operation can be performed two orders of magnitude faster than the decode operation, making the circuit suitable for full-duplex applications. Throughput of the codec scales linearly with block size, for both encode and decode operations. The low power and small area requirements of the circuit make it an attractive option for small portable devices.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Thesis (M.Com. (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Globalization in the sports world is a phenomenon that has received considerable attention in the sport studies literature (Maguire, 1994, 2004). A significant aspect of globalization is labor migration in professional sports, which has been investigated extensively in recent years (e.g., Magee & Sugden, 2002; Takahashi & Horne, 2006). Basketball is one sport that has been discussed in this context (Falcous & Maguire, 2005). The sports encounters of athletes in foreign cultures are often diverse and entail differing pressures, rewards, and interdependencies (Falcous & Maguire, 2005). Players may deal with significant stressors such as performance expectations as is typical of professional sport settings, while simultaneously adjusting to organizational and cultural differences. In light of the various challenges of sport participation in an unfamiliar culture, the purpose of this study was to investigate US professional basketball players’ experiences of playing overseas using an existential phenomenological interview approach (Thomas & Pollio, 2002). Ten current and former professional male players, ages 24 to 55, participated in the study. The diverse sample of this study included six Black and four White players who had competed in a total of 26 different countries. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed eight major themes, four of which pertained to athletes’ personal lives (Learning Local Mentality, Experiencing Isolation, Connecting with Others, Exploring Physical Environment) and four that dealt with basketball-specific aspects of the participants’ experiences (Dealing with “The Business,” Adjusting to Team Resources, Managing Team Dynamics, Playing “The Game”). It was concluded that while playing overseas required these players to manage difficult stressors (e.g., organizational pressures) it also afforded them with unique opportunities for personal (e.g., learning about foreign cultures) and professional (e.g., gaining a different perspective on the game of basketball) growth. In contrast to previous literature (e.g., Cronson & Mitchell, 1987; Kroll, 1979), co-participants in the current study emphasized the positive aspects of their experiences overseas rather than focusing solely on the pressures and obstacles they encountered. Both the positive and negative aspects of their overseas experience seemed to contribute to the self-actualization (Cochran & Cochran, 2006) of these players, as athletes and as people.

Localization of Drosophila embryos in images is a fundamental step in an automatic computational system for the exploration of gene-gene interaction on Drosophila. Contour extraction of embryonic images is challenging due to many variations in embryonic images. In the thesis work, we develop a localization framework based on the analysis of connected components of edge pixels in a scale space. We propose criteria to select optimal scales for embryonic localization. Furthermore, we propose a scale mapping strategy to compress the range of a scale space in order to improve the efficiency of the localization framework. The effectiveness of the proposed framework and the scale mapping strategy are validated in our experiments.

My thesis is about the evolution of the garment industry, both in the U.S and worldwide, with particular emphasis on how this has impacted Latinas and other poor immigrant groups. The thesis traces the rise of garment unions in the U.S. and their subsequent decline as a consequence of competition from the East Asian garment industry and U.S. trade policy. It also discusses the vulnerability of Latinos in the U.S. as a group to exploitation by low wage industries as a result of racial and gender prejudice and legal status.

El treball presentat s'emmarca dins del camp d'actuació propi del Grup de Recerca en Sistemes Intel·ligents: l'aprenentatge artificial. Les grans àrees són la computació evolutiva i el raonament basat en casos, tot dirigint la recerca a problemes de classificació, diagnosi i predicció. En tots aquests camps són objecte d'estudi grans conjunts de dades, pels quals es treballen diferents tècniques que en permeten l'extracció de coneixement i l'aplicació als problemes citats. Els grans avenços en aquestes àrees (sovint en forma de nous algorismes) conviuen amb treballs molt parcials sobre les metodologies adequades per a l'avaluació d'aquestes noves propostes. En front d'aquesta situació, la tesi que aquí es presenta proposa un nou marc general per a l'avaluació del comportament d'un conjunt d'M algorismes que, per tal de ser analitzats, són assajats sobre N problemes de prova. La tesi sosté que l'anàlisi habitual que es fa d'aquests resultats és clarament insuficient, i que degut a això les conclusions que s'exposen en els treballs publicats són sovint parcials, i en alguns casos fins i tot errònies.El treball s'inicia amb un estudi introductori sobre les mesures que permeten expressar la bondat d'un algorisme, a través de l'assaig sobre una col·lecció de problemes de prova. En aquest punt, es demostra la necessitat d'un estudi previ de les propietats inherents d'aquests problemes (a partir, per exemple, de les mètriques de complexitat) si es vol assegurar la fiabilitat de les conclusions que s'obtindran.A continuació, es defineix el marc d'aplicació de tot un conjunt de tècniques d'inferència estadística per les quals, essent aquestes prou ben conegudes, s'analitzen els factors a tenir en compte en la determinació del seu domini d'ús. La tesi proposa un protocol general per a l'estudi, des d'un punt de vista estadístic, del comportament d'un conjunt d'algorismes, incloent uns nous models gràfics que en faciliten l'anàlisi, i l'estudi detallat de les propietats inherents als problemes de prova utilitzats. Aquest protocol determina el domini d'ús de les metodologies per a la comparació dels resultats obtinguts en cada problema. La tesi demostra, a més, com aquest domini està directament relacionat amb la capacitat d'aquesta metodologia per a determinar diferències significatives, i també amb la seva replicabilitat.Finalment, es proposen un conjunt de casos sobre resultats ja publicats amb anterioritat, fruit de nous algorismes desenvolupats pel nostre Grup de Recerca, molt en especial en l'aplicació del raonament basat en casos. En tots ells es mostra la correcta aplicació de les metodologies desenvolupades en els capítols anteriors, i es destaquen els errors comesos habitualment, que duen a conclusions no fiables. / El trabajo presentado se enmarca dentro del campo de actuación propio del Grupo de Investigación en Sistemas Inteligentes: el aprendizaje artificial. Las grandes áreas son la computación evolutiva y el razonamiento basado en casos, dirigiendo la investigación a problemas de clasificación, diagnóstico y predicción. En todos estos campos son objeto de estudio grandes conjuntos de datos, para los cuales se trabajan diferentes técnicas que permiten la extracción de conocimiento y la aplicación a los citados problemas. Los grandes avances en estas áreas (muchas veces en forma de nuevos algoritmos) conviven con trabajos muy parciales sobre las metodologías adecuadas para la evaluación de estas nuevas propuestas.Frente a esta situación, la tesis que aquí se presenta propone un nuevo marco general para la evaluación del comportamiento de un conjunto de M algoritmos que, para poder ser analizados, son ensayados sobre N problemas de prueba. La tesis sostiene que el análisis habitual que se hace de estos resultados es claramente insuficiente, i que debido a esto las conclusiones que se exponen en los trabajos publicados son muchas veces parciales, y en algunos casos hasta erróneas.El trabajo se inicia con un estudio introductoria sobre las medidas que permiten expresar la bondad de un algoritmo, a través del ensayo sobre una colección de problemas de prueba. En este punto, se demuestra la necesidad de un estudio previo de las propiedades inherentes de estos problemas (a partir, por ejemplo, de las métricas de complejidad) si se quiere asegurar la fiabilidad de las conclusiones que se obtendrán.A continuación, se define el marco de aplicación de todo un conjunto de técnicas de inferencia estadística para las cuales, siendo éstas bien conocidas, se analizan los factores a tener en cuenta en la determinación de su dominio de uso. La tesis propone un protocolo general para el estudio, desde un punto de vista estadístico, del comportamiento de un conjunto de algoritmos, incluyendo unos nuevos modelos gráficos que facilitan su análisis, y el estudio detallado de las propiedades inherentes a los problemas de prueba utilizados.Este protocolo determina el dominio de uso de las metodologías para la comparación de resultados obtenidos en cada problema. La tesis demuestra, además, como este dominio está directamente relacionado con la capacidad de esta metodología para determinar diferencias significativas, y también con su replicabilidad.Finalmente, se proponen un conjunto de casos sobre resultados ya publicados con anterioridad, fruto de nuevos algoritmos desarrollados por nuestro Grupo de Investigación, muy en especial en la aplicación del razonamiento basado en casos. En todos ellos se muestra la correcta aplicación de las metodologías desarrolladas en los capítulos anteriores, y se destacan los errores cometidos habitualmente, que llevan a conclusiones no fiables. / The present work is all part of the work field of the Research Group in Intelligent Systems: the machine learning. The main areas are the evolutive computation and the case based reasoning, the investigation being focused on the classification, diagnosis and prediction issues. In all of these fields, great groups of data are studied, for which different techniques are applied, enabling the knowledge extraction and the application of the aforementioned problems. The big breakthroughs in these areas (many times in ways of algorithms) coexist with very partial works on suitable methodologies for the evaluation of these new proposals. Before this situation, the thesis herein presented proposes a new general approach for the assessment of a set of M algorithms behaviour which, in order to be analysed, are tested over N datasets. The thesis maintains that the analysis made for these results is clearly insufficient and consequently the conclusions put forward in the works published are very often partial and in some cases even erroneous.This work begins with an introductory study on the measures allowing to express the performance of an algorithm, through the test over a collection of datasets. At this point it is evidenced that a prior study of the inherent properties of these problems (for instance, based on complexity metrics) is needed, in order to assure the reliability of the conclusions that will be drawn. Next, the scope of application of a whole set of well known techniques of statistical inference is defined, for which the factors to be taken into account in the determination of their application analysed. The thesis proposes a general protocol for the study, from a statistical point of view, of the behaviour of a set of algorithms, including new graphic patterns which facilitate its analysis, as well as the detailed study of the inherent properties of the test problems used.This protocol determines the application domains of the methodologies for the comparison of the results obtained in each problem. The thesis demonstrates furthermore how this domain is directly related to the capability of this methodology to determine significant differences, as well as to its replicability.Finally, a set of cases on results already published are proposed, resulting from new algorithms developed by our Research Group, very specially in the application of the case-based reasoning. In all these cases the application of the methodologies developed in the previous chapters is proved to be correct, and the errors incurred in repeatedly, leading to unreliable conclusions, are highlighted.

This thesis concerns Social Network Analysis as a mechanism for exploring Community Dynamics. To be able to use the Social Network methodologies, relationships existing between the modeling entities are required. In this thesis, we use two different kinds of relationships: e-mails exchanged and co-authorship of papers. The e-mails exchanged, as an indicator of information exchange in an organization, is used to facilitate the emergence of structure within the organization. In this thesis we demonstrate the effectiveness of using e-mail communication patterns for crisis detection in a hierarchically set organization. We compare the performance of a Social Network based Classifier with some of the traditional classifiers from the data mining framework for inferring this hierarchy. A generic framework for studying dynamic group transformations is presented and the co-authorship of papers, as an indicator of collaboration in an academic institution, is used to study the community behavioral patterns evolving over time. Enron e-mail corpus and the IISc Co-authorship Dataset are utilized for illustrative purposes.

Tyrime dalyvavo 18 - 69 metų amžiaus 92 tiriamieji, 63 moterys ir 29 vyrai. Darbe naudoti tiesioginis (akselerometrija) ir netiesioginis (IPAQ-LT trumposios versijos klausimynas) metodai, siekiant įvertinti tiriamųjų bendrą savaitės fizinį aktyvumą ir palyginti gautus duomenis tarpusavyje. Kiekvienas tyrimo dalyvis IPAQ-LT trumposios versijos anketą pildė baigęs fizinio aktyvumo (FA) vertinimą akselerometru (buvo prisimenamas FA praėjusios savaitės – pirmas anketų pildymo atvejis) ir kitą - po savaitės baigus FA vertinimą akselerometru (buvo prašoma ,,prisiminti“ FA vykusį už praėjusią savaitę - antras anketų pildymo atvejis). Pagal IPAQ-LT trumposios versijos pirmo ir antro anketos pildymo atvejų gautus bendrus savaitės fizinio aktyvumo duomenis, tarp pirmo ir antro anketos pildymo atvejų egzistuoja vidutinis koreliacinis ryšys (rho=0,531, p=0,01). Vertinant akselerometro pagalba gautus duomenis ir lyginant juos su anketų duomenimis (bendro savaitės fizinio aktyvumo pirmo ir antro anketos pildymo atvejų) tarp akselerometro nustatyto FA ir IPAQ-LT pirmo anketų pildymo atvejo egzistuoja silpnas koreliacinis ryšys (r=0,270, p=0,009), o tarp antro IPAQ-LT anketų pildymo atvejo – labai silpnas ryšys (r=0,057, p=0,591). Tyrimo metu gauti rezultatai leidžia teigti, kad dauguma tyrime dalyvavusių savanorių savo fizinį aktyvumą buvo linkę pervertinti. Tyrimo objektas - IPAQ-LT trumposios versijos klausimynas ir jo patikimumo bei pagrįstumo nustatymas. Darbo tikslas – nustatyti... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The study involved 92 18 - 69 year old subjects, 63 women and 29 men. In our work we used the direct (accelerometer) and indirect (IPAQ-LT short version of the questionnaire) methods to assess the total weekly physical activity and compare the findings with each other. Each study participant the first International physical activity questionnaire short Lithuanian version filled when completed physical activity estimation with accelerometer (physical activity was remembered of the last week - the first case of the questionnaires filling and another - after a week when physical activity estimation was completed with accelerometer (was asked „to remember“ physical activity that was done for the last week - the second case of the questionnaires filling). According to the IPAQ-LT short version the first and second questionnaire filling cases received the total weekly physical activity data between the first and second questionnaire filling cases exists a moderate correlation (rho=0,531, p=0,01). Evaluating the data of accelerometer and comparing them with the questionnaire data (the first and second guestionnaire filling cases of the total weekly physical activity) between the accelerometer and the the first guestionnaires filling case there is a small correlation (r=0,270, p=0,009), but between the second guestionnaires filling case - a very small (negligible) correliation (r=0,057, p=0,591). The study results suggest that the majority of volunteers in the study of their... [to full text]