As humanity becomes more reliant on digital storage and communication for every aspect of life, cyber attacks pose a growing threat. However, cyber attacks are generally understood as individual incidents reported in technological circles, sometimes tied to a particular vulnerability. They are not generally understood through the macroscopic lens of statistical analysis spanning years over several countries and sectors, leaving researchers largely ignorant of the larger trends and correlates between attacks. This is large part due to the lack of a coherent and open database of prominent attacks. Most data about cyber attacks has been captured using a repository of common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVE’s), and \honey pots", unsecured internet-connected devices which record attacks as they occur against them. These approaches help in the process of identifying vulnerabilities, but they do not capture the real world impact these attacks achieve. Therefore, in this thesis I create a database of 4,000 cyber attacks using a semi-open data source, and perform analytical queries on it to gather insights into how cyber attack volume varies among countries and sectors, and the correlates of cyber attack victims. From here, it is also possible to relate socio-economic data such as GDP and World Happiness Index to cyber attack volume. The end result is an open database of cyber attacks that allows researchers to understand the larger underlying forces which propel cyber attacks.

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This ethnographic study of emerging inquiry-based science instruction in an urban, low socioeconomic elementary school science lab was designed to gain insight into the perspectives of the teacher and students. The study involved a Central Florida elementary school whose population was over 80 percent African-American. In this six month study, the researcher examined the classroom setting of a science lab teacher and her fourth and fifth grade students during a six month period of time. Data sources included interviews, field notes, reflections, and student work , which were used to identify the emerging themes and patterns in the study. The emergent themes were grouped into two categories: the perspective of the teacher and students in the inquiry environment and the microculture of the teacher and students in that environment. The teacher’s perspectives on instructional strategies, standard based instructional guidelines, and the realities of teaching in an urban low socioeconomic setting were the major emergent themes. The students’ perspectives into environment and sense-making of elementary school students were the other major emergent themes. Chapter I provides background and the significance of the study. Chapter II provides a research of the literature surrounding inquiry-based instruction in science education. Chapter III describes the methodology, specifically the ethnographic approach to this study. A metaphoric journey down the river of perspectives in science lab classroom sets the tone for Chapter IV. This chapter provides a "view from the shore," an introduction to the general background of the elementary school. Chapter V explores the teacher perspectives, and uses vignettes to analyze instructional strategies, questioning, assessment, standards state and district guideline and the realities of teaching. Chapter VI discusses the student perspectives, and uses vignettes to analyze behaviors and actions, responsibility of learners, assessment, and ways of knowing. Chapter VII pulls together conclusions, implications, and recommendations for further research.This study contributes to the total body of research of science education in two ways: 1. It provides student and teacher perspectives on science in an urban, low socioeconomic elementary school. 2. It provides research with a teacher and student perspective of inquiry-based science instruction.

A majority of research regarding disruptive behavior disorders in youth has focused primarily upon Caucasian children and adolescents. As a result, more investigation of the unique characteristics of youth from ethnically diverse backgrounds, particularly those from Hispanic American and African American backgrounds, is needed (Balls Organista, Organista, & Kurasaki, 2003). This study investigated the relationships between several characteristics (e.g., ethnic identity, socioeconomic status, social acceptance, and emotional and behavioral symptoms) of early adolescents belonging to diverse ethnic groups. Results suggested that socioeconomic status and degree of early adolescents' social acceptance were important factors in predicting the development of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in this age group. Additionally, perceived social acceptance moderated significantly the relationships between SES and depression, anxiety, and self-concept. Considering these results, useful treatments may be developed that enhance early adolescents' abilities to assess realistically their own social skills and interact appropriately within different social spheres. Increased self-appraisals of acceptance within social situations may modify negative effects (e.g., higher reports of anxiety and depression) of extreme socioeconomic circumstances, particularly for early adolescents experiencing low-income or poverty conditions within their family and/or their community.

Food insecurity is one of the biggest challenges facing American society today. Over 13.7 million US households were food insecure in the year 2019 and 19 million Americans lived in food deserts in the year 2015 (USDA, 2020, 2017). Despite food insecurities affecting communities in every corner of the country, there is a dearth of research on food security and food deserts. Therefore, the main objectives of this study are 1) to identify underlying neighborhood characteristics that predict the communities at higher nutritional risk, 2) to analyze the impacts of household characteristics on household food insecurity, and 3) to examine the combined influences of both household and neighborhood characteristics on household food insecurity. Through exploratory factor analysis, eleven socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods were systematically grouped into two factors. The first factor represented the neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic status and the second factor represented the declining neighborhoods. Both neighborhoods are less attractive to the big retail stores economically (Bonanno, 2012), and are sometimes subject to malpractice like supermarket redlining (Eisenhauer, 2001).The food desert vulnerability index (FDVI) was created by ranking the variables of factor 1 and factor 2, and the ranking was based on percentiles. This index identified the census tracts of the Southern United States, Maine, Oregon, New Mexico, and Arizona as the socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods thereby their possibility of being food deserts. Additionally, analysis of the effect of household characteristics using the regression models suggested that households that were large, minorities, single-parent, male-headed, and lived in the metros, and Midwestern and Southern regions were food insecure. Combined assessment of household and neighborhood characteristics using hierarchical linear modeling revealed that only 2.03 percent of the variance in the household food security score was attributable to differences between counties, thereby implying household food security was mostly dependent on the household’s characteristics. The major limitation of this study is that it does not incorporate the cross-sectional variations in food prices, the role of social capital, and the analysis of the food environment to assess household food insecurity. Research examining the influence of these aspects on household food security would be beneficial.

<p> This dissertation uses multilevel models to test the veracity of two competing theories regarding the effect of Aboriginal language use on socioeconomic well-being. The cohesion hypothesis suggests that Aboriginal language use will contribute to a sense of ethnic identity and, in turn, to socioeconomic prosperity. The ghettoization hypothesis suggests that Aboriginal language use will reduce well-being by contributing to social and economic isolation. </p> <p> Descriptive statistics from the 2001 Census of Canada support the ghettoization hypothesis. Compared to Aboriginal people who do not use an Aboriginal language, Aboriginal language users have lower levels of educational attainment, income, labour force participation and employment. Multilevel models however, demonstrate that neither hypothesis merits unqualified support. Aboriginal language users are predicted to have lower well-being than non-speakers under some circumstances- most notably in non-Aboriginal communities. Under other circumstances, however, the opposite is true. Tests of the mechanisms by which Aboriginal language use is supposed to affect well-being also have inconsistent implications. Additional research is proposed that might clarify the apparently complex relationship between Aboriginal language use and well-being. </p> <p> Aboriginal language use in Canada is declining very rapidly. Of the dozens of Aboriginal languages used in Canada today, only a few are expected to survive into the next century. This dissertation may provide guidance to Aboriginal leaders tasked with allocating resources, as well as to politicians and policy-makers faced with increasingly urgent demands to support Aboriginal language maintenance. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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