Digital Commons Network^™

Imitation Improvement Learning For Large-Scale Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problems, The Viet Bui, Tien Mai

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Recent works using deep reinforcement learning (RL) to solve routing problems such as the capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP) have focused on improvement learning-based methods, which involve improving a given solution until it becomes near-optimal. Although adequate solutions can be achieved for small problem instances, their efficiency degrades for large-scale ones. In this work, we propose a newimprovement learning-based framework based on imitation learning where classical heuristics serve as experts to encourage the policy model to mimic and produce similar or better solutions. Moreover, to improve scalability, we propose Clockwise Clustering, a novel augmented framework for decomposing large-scale CVRP into …

Withdrawing Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (Ecmo) Against A Family’S Wishes: Three Permissible Scenarios, Trevor M Bibler, Asma Zainab

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

The ethical permissibility of unilaterally withdrawing life-sustaining technologies has been a perennial topic in transplant and critical care medicine, often focusing on CPR and mechanical ventilation. The permissibility of unilateral withdrawal of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been discussed sparingly. When addressed, authors have appealed to professional authority rather than substantive ethical analysis. In this Perspective, we argue that there are at least three (3) scenarios wherein healthcare teams would be justified in unilaterally withdrawing ECMO, despite the objections of the patient's legal representative. The ethical considerations that provide the groundwork for these scenarios are, primarily: equity, integrity, and the …

Testing Automated Driving Systems By Breaking Many Laws Efficiently, Xiaodong Zhang, Wei Zhao, Yang Sun, Jun Sun, Yulong Shen, Xuewen Dong, Zijiang Yang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

An automated driving system (ADS), as the brain of an autonomous vehicle (AV), should be tested thoroughly ahead of deployment. ADS must satisfy a complex set of rules to ensure road safety, e.g., the existing traffic laws and possibly future laws that are dedicated to AVs. To comprehensively test an ADS, we would like to systematically discover diverse scenarios in which certain traffic law is violated. The challenge is that (1) there are many traffic laws (e.g., 13 testable articles in Chinese traffic laws and 16 testable articles in Singapore traffic laws, with 81 and 43 violation situations respectively); and …

Estimation Of Recursive Route Choice Models With Incomplete Trip Observations, Tien Mai, The Viet Bui, Quoc Phong Nguyen, Tho V. Le

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This work concerns the estimation of recursive route choice models in the situation that the trip observations are incomplete, i.e., there are unconnected links (or nodes) in the observations. A direct approach to handle this issue could be intractable because enumerating all paths between unconnected links (or nodes) in a real network is typically not possible. We exploit an expectation–maximization (EM) method that allows dealing with the missing-data issue by alternatively performing two steps of sampling the missing segments in the observations and solving maximum likelihood estimation problems. Moreover, observing that the EM method could be expensive, we propose a …

Young Women In Cities, Yumi Koh, Jing Li, Yifan Wu, Junjian Yi, Hanzhe Zhang

Research Collection School Of Economics

Young women outnumber young men in cities in many countries during periods of economic growth and urbanization. This gender imbalance among young urbanites is more pronounced in larger cities. We use the gradual rollout of special economic zones across China as a quasi-experiment to establish the causes of this gender imbalance. Our analysis suggests that a key contributor is gender-differential incentives to migrate due to rural women’s higher likelihood of marrying and marrying up in cities when urbanization creates more economic opportunities and an abundance of high-income marriage-age men.

Singapore's Ai Applications In The Public Sector: Six Examples, Steven M. Miller

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Steven M. Miller describes six instances in which Singapore has applied AI in the public sector, illustrating different ways of improving its engagement with the public by making government services more accessible, anywhere, anytime, and speeding its responses to public processes and feedback. He illustrates how its leaders made the city a living lab for AI use, and what they learned.

A Lightweight Privacy-Preserving Path Selection Scheme In Vanets, Guojun Wang, Huijie Yang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

With the rapid development of edge computing, artificial intelligence and other technologies, intelligent transportation services in the vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) such as in-vehicle navigation and distress alert are increasingly being widely used in life. Currently, road navigation is an essential service in the vehicle network. However, when a user employs the road navigation service, his private data maybe exposed to roadside nodes. Meanwhile, when the trusted authorization sends the navigation route data to the user, the user can obtain all the road data. Especially, other unrequested data might be related to the military. Therefore, how to achieve secure …

Mindfulness And Cognitive Emotion Regulation In Pediatric Misophonia, Samuel D Spencer, Andrew G Guzick, Matti Cervin, Eric A Storch

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Misophonia is characterized by decreased tolerance of ordinary human-generated trigger sounds and associated visual stimuli (e.g., chewing, sniffing, lip smacking), coupled with intense affective reactions. The disorder often begins during childhood or adolescence and is associated with impairment and distress in numerous life domains. Research has begun to examine the underlying psychological mechanisms of misophonia in adults, but studies in youth are limited. Trait mindfulness (i.e., nonjudgmental and nonavoidant present-moment awareness) and cognitive emotion regulation (i.e., cognitive processing, or responding to, emotionally arousing situations) are two proposed mechanisms that may underpin pediatric misophonia and associated functional impairment. In the present …

العلاقة بين نظام سعر الصرف وتأثير السياسة النقدية في الاقتصاد, بسمان كامل جواد

Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economics Sciences

تُعد السياسة النقدية من اهم ادوات الدولة للتأثير على الاقتصاد بشكل عام من خلال التأثير على المتغيرات الاقتصادية والتي على رأسها معدل الفائدة والتضخم والسيولة غير ان السياسة النقدية لأي بلد هي محكومة باطار عام وهو نوع نظام سعر الصرف المتبع في تلك الدولة اذ ان هناك عدة أنظمة لسعر الصرف تتبعها الدول كما يصنفها صندوق النقد الدولي , لذلك جاءت هذه الدراسة الموسومة بـ (العلاقة بين نظام سعر الصرف وتأثير السياسة النقدية في الاقتصاد) لتسليط الضوء على هذه الأنظمة المختلفة وأسباب اختلافها وفاعليتها من دولة الى أخرى في التأثير على المتغيرات الاقتصادية اذ تهدف الدراسة الى معرفة هل ان …

Implementation Of The "Indonesian Jamu Ritual" Concept As A Club Lounge Attraction At The Ritz Carlton Pacific Place, Maha Dewi

Journal of Indonesian Tourism and Policy Studies

The purpose of this research is to investigate the implementation of the concept of applying 'Indonesian Jamu Ritual' as a Club Lounge attraction at The Ritz Carlton Pacific Place. The concept is based on the use of traditional Indonesian herbal concoctions that have been used for centuries for health and beauty purposes. The research method used is a qualitative - descriptive approach using data collection techniques through observation, interviews, and documentation. The results showed that the use of the 'Indonesian Jamu Ritual' concept at the Club Lounge The Ritz Carlton Pacific Place can increase hotel guest satisfaction and provide an …

The Potential Of Economic Loss Due To Stunting In Indonesia, Esty Asriyana Suryana

Jurnal Ekonomi Kesehatan Indonesia

Stunting cases continue to increase, along with the high risk of undernutrition, the increasing prevalence of malnutrition, and decreasing productivity. If this condition is not handled correctly, it can affect Indonesia's development performance, inequality, and poverty. Stunting can hinder economic growth and labor productivity, affecting 11% of GDP (gross domestic product) and reducing the income of adult workers by up to 20%. Based on this, it is necessary to make prevention and control efforts in nutrition intervention activities an economic investment. Therefore, this study estimates the economic potential lost due to stunting in children under five. This descriptive study is …

Cancerhervdb: Human Endogenous Retrovirus (Herv) Expression Database For Human Cancer Accelerates Studies Of The Retrovirome And Predictions For Herv-Based Therapies, Erik Stricker, Erin C Peckham-Gregory, Michael E Scheurer

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

In this study, we sought to create a database summarizing the expression of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) in various human cancers. HERVs are suitable therapeutic targets due to their abundance in the human genome, overexpression in various malignancies, and involvement in various cancer pathways. We identified articles on HERVs from PubMed and then prescreened and automatically categorized them using the portable document format (PDF) data extractor (PDE) R package. We discovered 196 primary research articles with HERV expression data from cancer tissues or cancer cell lines. HERV RNA and protein expression was reported in brain, breast, cervical, colorectal, endocrine, gastrointestinal, …

Understanding Wellness In Law Enforcement: A Crisis, Phil Baebenroth

Doctorate in Education

This study investigates the perceptions of current licensed peace officers in Minnesota regarding reforming their profession. From 2017 to 2020, more police officers in the United States died by suicide than officers killed by gunfire, assaults, crashes, or accidents in the line of duty (Officer Down Memorial Page, 2023 & Blue H.E.L.P, 2023). These statistics present a wellness crisis in the policing profession that deserves immediate attention. There have been worldwide calls for changes in policing from people outside of law enforcement, but few incorporate the practical insights of police officers and even fewer are concerned with officer wellness aspects. …

Not-So-Super Superfund: Cercla’S Biggest Issues, Cameron Berthiaume

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA/Superfund) is a federal law that allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up contaminated sites and hold the parties responsible for the contamination financially liable. However, CERCLA faces a number of challenges to fulfilling its mission. This report examines some of the biggest issues facing the law in the past and present.

Changes In International Development Environment And China's Choices Of S&T Strategy: Historical Review And Future Prospects, Kaihua Chen, Zehua Xue, Chao Zhang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Changes in international development environment such as geopolitics, geo-economics and science and technology innovation are reshaping the world’s competitive landscape and altering the balance of power among nations. China needs to adapt to the changes in international development environment, accurately grasp the new trends, optimize and adjust the science and technology strategy, effectively respond to new challenges, and seek new advantages in international competition. This study reviews China’s choices of science and technology strategy under the changes in international development environment. By summing up the successful experiences and remaining issues of the past science and technology strategies, the study proposes …

“Pool: A Social History Of Segregation Exhibition” Exploring Social Justice Through The Lens Of Water Safety Awareness And Art-Based Education, Angela K. Beale-Tawfeeq Ph.D., Mph, Tiffany Monique Quash Ph.D., Knolan Rawlins Ph.D., Victoria Prizzia, Miriam Lynch Ph.D.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Art exhibitions, with a focus on water safety and drowning prevention, are rarely seen as a medium to address social justice and public health, or water safety awareness and drowning prevention efforts in communities. Globally, data have shown drowning is considered a “neglected public health threat” (World Health Organization, 2021, CDC, 2023). Additionally, reports have shown that across the globe there are demographic groups of people impacted by drowning, historical traumas, and social determinants, also impacting some communities that are at greater risk (WHO 2021, CDC, 2023). Although there are national and international efforts to address the importance of water …

Gis Use And Land Conflict In Rwanda: Case Of Gasabo District, Emmanuel Mushimiyimana

Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies

Land conflicts in Rwanda have been exacerbated by demographic boom, land scarcity, and social and political instability. Therefore, Rwanda adopted Geographical Information System (GIS) to empower existing traditional land demarcation in order to defuse land conflict. The aim of this research is to investigate and seek the effectiveness of GIS application and Land Information System (LIS) to land-based conflict with a special focus on Gasabo District and the challenges related to that. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to collect and analyse data. Besides, the research used purposive sampling techniques in getting access to potential respondents of a …

Reset Or Revolution? Contemporary Problems Of Political Stability And Some Ancient Solutions, Dariusz Karłowicz

New England Journal of Public Policy

In this article I take a critical look into the challenges faced by the contemporary social, political, and economic scene in Europe and the United States after nearly eighty years of political stability. I question the sources of the anger, frustration, and distrust toward national and supranational institutions that are visible both on the streets and in the light of numerous public opinion polls. I argue that political and legal stability—the driving force and most desirable product of Western democracies—is becoming a problem. Through the tendency to permanent, often hereditary, marginalization of large groups of the population, a stable political …

Seeing Race As We Are: Avoiding, Arguing, Aspiring, Michael A. Cowan

New England Journal of Public Policy

Racial conflict in the United States pushes people to positions of argument or avoidance, more or less intensely and for varying lengths of time, depending on external events like the murder of George Floyd. Neither stance produces the conversations required to seek common ground and compromise around racial issues. Argument alone deepens divisions and avoidance leaves them to metastasize in the social body. In an attempt to go beneath these two positions, this article first explains the role and form of interpretation in all conflict and dispute resolution and how it is shaped. Then it examines the concepts and strategies …

The Art And Artifacts Of Solidarity, Yasmin Merali

New England Journal of Public Policy

In Complex Adaptive Systems in a Contentious World I showed how viewing social systems as Complex Adaptive Systems exposes the systemic mechanisms that underpin their resilience and sustainability. In this article I show the utility of that approach for elucidating the role of art and artists in the evolution of resilient social movements. I do this by exploring the way in which art and artifacts were implicated in the evolution of the Polish Solidarność movement.

The Egyptian Private-Climate Nexus: Private Sector Perceptions On The Green Transition, Yehia Shaheen

Theses and Dissertations

The issue of climate change poses the most pressing threat for humanity. This is especially the case amongst developing countries who, while emitting the minority of global emissions, are forecast to bear the most damage. Such is the case with Egypt, who suffers from marked water scarcity and is vulnerable to climate change driven detriments across a number of levels. As climate finance and private sector investments are key towards the green transition; transitioning to a green economy to fight the adverse impacts of climate change, this thesis aims to analyze the perceptions of private sector actors on the issue …

The Role Of E-Governance On Corruption In The Mena Region: A Panel Data Analysis, Doaa Abdelwareth

Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to understand the role of e-governance on corruption in Middle East and North African (MENA) countries. The study also links the adoption of e-governance to the promotion of sustainable development. The panel data of 17 MENA countries were collected from various secondary sources from 2003 to 2020. This study's empirical result was estimated using the Generalized Method of Moments econometric approach. This study has achieved four objectives by using the different proxies of e-government, namely the human capital index (HCI), the online service index (OSI), the e-participation index (EPI), and the e- government development index (EGDI), for …

Home-Office During Covid-19 Pandemic In Brazil: Perceived Influences On Performance And Competency Management, Yuri Enes, Mariana Borges Nunes Vieira, Francisco Antonio Coelho Junior Dr., Delciene Pereira, Érica Rodrigues Zanon

The Qualitative Report

There has never been so much flexibility and organizational capacity to adjust to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on work. This article examines beliefs and perceptions related to new arrangements imposed by compulsory telework on skills and performance management practices, as well as identifying related advantages and disadvantages associated. This paper draws on 17 in-depth interviews using the collaborative interactive action research method. The authors study how leaders acted in multiple ways, aiming to reduce the negative effects on workers and work design and provide greater balance of actions. The perspective of multiple levels of action was adopted, considering …

Military Masculinities And Honorary Men: A Comparative Analysis Of United States And United Kingdom Approaches To Iraq Security Sector Reform, Caitlyn C. Aldersea

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

The 2003 Iraq War marked the first time in wartime that the United States and United Kingdom deployed female-specific units in support of combat operations. As manifestations of changing gendered norms within defense institutions, these Team Lioness units became symbolic of military transitions to a more diverse fighting force. Following the Iraq War, the US and UK were authorized as governing entities over the post-conflict Security Sector Reform process. Despite growing internal awareness on the importance of gender-inclusive policies, US-UK Coalition Forces instead focused reconstruction efforts on addressing immediate security needs of Iraq. While prior feminist literature has criticized the …

The Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich (Hww) Syndrome– A Rare Case Report, Dr Harisha H L Dr, Dr Vishal Natarajan Dr, Dr Rudresh Hiremath Dr

Radiology Teaching Files

A 20-year-old unmarried female, student by occupation, well built and nourished presented with intermenstrual spotting from past 1 month. No h/o pelvic pain/ mass/ fever. No h/o of similar complaints in the past. Attained menarche at 14 years. Menstrual history otherwise normal.Known case of right renal agenesis (diagnosed incidentally at the age of 8 years).

Pelvic examination by gynecologist revealed a cystic bulge to the anterior wall of vagina. On MRI, our case is right sided renal agenesis; uterus didelphys with obstructed hemi vagina and to infected collection along the vaginal wall.

The Flow Of Power: Addressing Asymmetric Flood Risk In The Upper Valley, Eric Vr Hryniewicz

Geography Undergraduate Senior Theses

Floods are the most damaging natural disasters in America. Land use change in upland watersheds can increase the probability and severity of floods (Bronstert, Niehoff, & Burger, 2002). When watersheds are divided by political and private property boundaries it leads to a misalignment of incentives in which downstream users lack recourse for upstream land use decisions contributing to flood risk. In this thesis, researchers interrogate the attributes of town officials and towns that determine what motivates town governments to act on flooding and what motivates and enables town officials to collaborate on planning and how do they collaborate in practice. …

A Qualitative Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Unarmed Police Officers, Thomas A. Egan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experiences of unarmed law enforcement officers managing workplace violence while performing their duties in New York City at various agencies. The three research questions asked, how do unarmed police officers describe their experiences performing their job duties without a lethal weapon? How do unarmed police officers describe their expectations regarding their likelihood of experiencing workplace violence? How do unarmed police officers describe how they navigate workplace violence? The theory guiding this qualitative descriptive study was prospect theory, a concept that was originally used to study how the bias of money …

Recovery Journey Of Diverse Populations Using Design Thinking Method: Recommendations For Practitioners And Policymakers, Lawrence Bryant, Monica Nandan, Sherrie Cade, Bianca Anderson

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Through a state grant-funded multicultural needs assessment, researchers from a U.S. southeastern state university captured the voices of underserved populations related to their unmet needs and recovery journey from the non-medical use of opioids and other substances. Specific voices of African Americans, Latinx, mature adults, veterans, people who are homeless, college students, and individuals within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ+) communities were captured utilizing design thinking protocol in focus groups. Participants recommended that providers be culturally responsive in disseminating information and providing affirming care. Moreover, participants felt that counselors and other professionals should be more empathetic and …

Making Pla(Y)Ces: Softening The City Through Play, Shivani Pinapotu

Masters Theses

Cities that grow naturally over time integrate spaces of gathering that allow for serendipitous happenstance. However, the cities we design today instruct and codify through intentional planning and design; they assign use, hardening specific function to place. Such strategies lead to spaces devoid of spirit, inculcating in city-dwellers to a sense of disconnect from the city.

In contrast to this, the places we make as children, express our intuitive, direct, and unselfconscious relationships with space and one other. These spaces embody softness through their malleability and adaptability, borrowing from the world around them and imbuing the ordinary with imagination. …

Modeling The Longitudinal Changes Of Ancestry Diversity In The Million Veteran Program, Frank R Wendt, Gita A Pathak, Jacqueline Vahey, Xuejun Qin, Dora Koller, Brenda Cabrera-Mendoza, Angela Haeny, Kelly M Harrington, Nallakkandi Rajeevan, Linh M Duong, Daniel F Levey, Flavio De Angelis, Antonella De Lillo, Tim B Bigdeli, Saiju Pyarajan, John Michael Gaziano, Joel Gelernter, Mihaela Aslan, Dawn Provenzale, Drew A Helmer, Elizabeth R Hauser, Renato Polimanti, Department Of Veteran Affairs Cooperative Study Program (#2006)

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Background: The Million Veteran Program (MVP) participants represent 100 years of US history, including significant social and demographic changes over time. Our study assessed two aspects of the MVP: (i) longitudinal changes in population diversity and (ii) how these changes can be accounted for in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). To investigate these aspects, we divided MVP participants into five birth cohorts (N-range = 123,888 [born from 1943 to 1947] to 136,699 [born from 1948 to 1953]).

Results: Ancestry groups were defined by (i) HARE (harmonized ancestry and race/ethnicity) and (ii) a random-forest clustering approach using the 1000 Genomes Project and …