Effective Estimation Strategy Of Finite Population Variance Using Multi-Auxiliary Variables In Double Sampling, Reba Maji, G. N. Singh, Arnab Bandyopadhyay

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Estimation of population variance in two-phase (double) sampling is considered using information on multiple auxiliary variables. An unbiased estimator is proposed and its properties are studied under two different structures. The superiority of the suggested estimator over some contemporary estimators of population variance was established through empirical studies from a natural and an artificially generated dataset.

Vol. 16, No. 1 (Full Issue), Jmasm Editors

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

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Rhode Island Current Conditions Index -- May 2017, Leonard Lardaro

The Rhode Island Current Conditions Index

No abstract provided.

Lingüística Maricona: The Role Of Intonation In The Perception Of Homophobic Slurs By Straight Caribbean Latino Men, Christopher M. Mendoza

Linguistics Honors Projects

Previous research on swear-taboo words in bilinguals shows that they affirm “in-group membership” and aid in definitive identity constructions (Dewaele 2004). Equal or near-equivalent Spanish/English bilingualism in Miami-area Caribbean Latinxs provides a population of subjects with the ability to frequently code switch between both languages. Studying homophobic language used in Miami’s bilingual Latinx contexts aids in establishing a better understanding of multilingualism’s role in communities of color and its relationship to homophobic speech. The construction of Caribbean Latino queer masculinity also provides an interesting experience in identifying the role of associated gender with the severity or marginalizing force of the …

A Framework For Evaluating And Enhancing Resilience Integration In Conservation Policy: The Case Of Massachusetts, Kyle Pilkington

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper develops a framework for evaluating conservation policy from the perspective of integrating resilience, using Massachusetts as a case study. After an intensive literature review on the topics of resilience and conservation, five resilience-enhancing attributes were identified: biodiversity, stakeholder engagement, acknowledgement of climate change, multiple species or species interaction focus and ecosystem or environment health. The framework ranks the policies with respect to the effectiveness of following the resilience-enhancing attributes. Three Massachusetts-based conservation policies, Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MESA), State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) and MassWildlife Habitat Management Grant Program (MHMGP), were chosen to demonstrate the evaluative capacity of …

The Latina Women & The Informal Microenterprise, Ivette Olmeda

Sustainability and Social Justice

ABSTRACT

THE LATINA WOMEN & THE INFORMAL MICROENTERPRISE

Ivette Olmeda

The informal economy refers to economic transactions that are not generally recorded through formal business compliance systems such as licensing, taxes, permitting and others. Informal economic activities are primarily completed through cash transactions.

This research explores the perceptions, intentions, and motivations of Latina women to operate informal microenterprises in an open market. The research consisted of interviews with five Latina women from Worcester, Massachusetts to gather information and ultimately understand why they are not entering formal entrepreneurship systems. The interviews supported existing research in which women state that they operate …

Asset Assessment For Women: A Case Study Of Imasayi Village In Ogun State, Nigeria & Ngo Development: A Strategic Plan, Olamide Adeyinka

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper presents the findings of an asset assessment performed with women in a village southwest of Nigeria, Imasayi Ogun state. This paper not only describes the process and results of a qualitative study, but also presents the implementation plan for an NGO that will work with the women of Imasayi to implement community-wide development projects. The research upon which this paper is based used the framework of seven capital domains, which are then used in turn to structure findings, recommendations and NGO planning and analysis. For the purpose of this paper, the marketplace is identified as significant for Imasayi’s …

Barriers To Sustainable Hunting-Based Conservation Of Elephants In Zimbabwe, Jessica H. Cusworth

Sustainability and Social Justice

The international demand for ivory has devastated African elephant populations. In 2015, more elephants were poached for ivory than were born. Many countries have sought to decrease poaching pressures through ivory trade bans. However, Zimbabwe, home to the second largest African elephant population, funds its anti-poaching efforts with revenue from ivory exports. The ivory bans implemented by other countries prevent Zimbabwe from generating many sources of ivory revenue. These bans hamper Zimbabwe’s ability to fund anti-poaching efforts and exacerbate the complex interactions between the social, economic, and political factors which contribute to poaching. Increasing the understanding of the relationships between …

Impact Of Two Wars On The Educational System In Nigeria, Helena Onyemelukwe-Waziri

Sustainability and Social Justice

Since the 1960's Nigeria has continuously been in a state of internal conflict, with different ethno-religious groups vying for social, economic, and political control. The situation has played out in extreme violence and has been on the international world's radar since the emergence of Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko Haram in the late 2000's. Boko Haram translates to "Western education is forbidden," and the group has been behind the destruction of over 2,000 schools in Nigeria, killing hundreds of teachers and students, while displacing entire communities. As Nigeria holds the highest African population, it also has the highest number of …

Examining The Intersection Of Refugee Policies And Contemporary Protracted Displacement, Christopher M. Owens

Sustainability and Social Justice

Article 33 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees states that host nations shall not expel or return a refugee to their home nation ‘where his life or freedom would be threatened.’ However, as demonstrated in three contemporary case studies in protracted displacement the interests of the sovereign state drive nations to craft strategies to limit cross-border refugee mobility. The refoulement of refugees escaping drug cartel violence throughout the Americas, internally displaced Haitians, and Syrian refugees in Jordan are all ‘managed’ by one of two methods. First, some destination nations either strategically blur refugees into other mobility …

In Pawn: Kurdish Economic Development In The Context Of Conflict, Stephen E. Mcavene Iii

Sustainability and Social Justice

In this paper the author examines the struggle of the Kurdish people for self-determined social, political, and economic development in the whirlwind of conflict in the Middle East. It uses a case study of how a Kurdish minority in Iraq interact with multiple stakeholders in their struggle for nationhood, and implications of these interactions for overall Kurdish social and economic development. Studies on economic development while interested in social, economic and political aspect of development, are less concerned with the implications of right to self-determination on development; the unique case of the Kurdish struggle provides an opportunity to expand the …

Environmental Justice/Urban Initiative Project: Summer Internship With Massachusetts Department Of Environmental Protection, Tiancheng Ouyang

Sustainability and Social Justice

This report serves as a detailed description of my internship at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) in Worcester, MA, during the summer of 2016. The internship was proposed by Brian Postale, the Urban Compliance Initiative Project Coordinator as a way to automate the integration of GIS data and the computation of data used for visualization purposes. The purpose of this paper is to describe the structure of the organization, my responsibilities as an intern, and my assessment of the internship.

The internship proved to be a precious experience and provided the opportunity to apply and enhance my knowledge …

An Analysis Of Corruption In China: The Guanxi Network Of Chinese High Level Officials And Governors, Xiangru Yin

Sustainability and Social Justice

ABSTRACT

AN ANALYSIS OF CORRUPTION IN CHINA: THE GUANXI NETWORK OF CHINESE HIGH LEVEL OFFICIALS AND GOVERNORS

Xiangru YIN

Corruption is considered as one of the biggest hurdles faced by the Chinese government, as it has the effect of thwarting economic growth by perpetuating poverty and income inequality, and discouraging foreign investments into the country. However, unlike other countries, China is a special case because of the Chinese concept of guanxi that highlights the importance of maintaining relationships and networks. This system helps to better understand corruption in the Chinese context. The rules of guanxi are deeply embedded in Chinese …

A Tanzanian Woman's Place Is On Top: An Exploration Of Women's Participation In Kilimanjaro's Trekking Tourism Industry, Margeaux Prinster

Sustainability and Social Justice

While high poverty rates persist for women in Tanzania, the growing trekking tourism industry surrounding Mount Kilimanjaro and its resulting demand for labor presents these impoverished women with a potential avenue for economic empowerment. This paper examines the national and local realities of women’s work in Tanzania, analyzing culturally informed gendered patterns of employment against the colonial and sexist histories of tourism and commercial mountaineering on Mount Kilimanjaro to identify barriers to women’s economic participation in Kilimanjaro’s trekking tourism industry. This analysis is followed by a cross-cultural comparison with Nepal, focusing specifically on women’s barriers to participation in commercial mountaineering, …

Reconstruction Of The Destroyed Sinjali Secondary School, Isabella Kaganowski

Sustainability and Social Justice

This practitioner paper chronicles my involvement of the grant writing proposal that was designed on behalf of a non-for-profit organization, the Association of Dalit Women’s Advancement of Nepal (ADWAN), in order to secure funding and donations for the reconstruction of the destroyed Sinjali Secondary School in Gorkha district, Taklung village, after a 2015 earthquake struck Nepal. The proposal was guided by and collaborated with Professor Jude Fernando of Clark University, as Professor Fernando was able to visit Taklung village and gather information about the needs in the educational sector damaged by the earthquake. Literature review and research was gathered to …

Geo-Taxonomy Service Development Summer Internship At The United Nations Office For The Coordination Of Humanitarian Affairs, Nyc, Henry Mros Iii

Sustainability and Social Justice

This report provides a detailed account of my internship experience with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) in New York, New York during the summer, autumn, and winter of 2016. The internship was completed at Two United Nations Plaza and remotely from Clark University under the supervision of UN-OCHA Information Management Programme Officer, Andrej Verity. While temporarily serving as an international civil servant, I had the unique opportunity to contribute my knowledge and skills to an intergovernmental organization that continuously aims to improve the nations of our world. Adhering to the requirements set forth by …

Data And Geometry; Model Building At Calthorpe Analytics, Samuel M. Upton

Sustainability and Social Justice

This report documents my Summer 2016 internship with Calthorpe Analytics, a Berkeley CA based urban planning firm. Calthorpe Analytics specializes in scenario development for planning, modeling, and plan evaluation for government and municipal clients. The primary responsibility of my internship was model development and refinement using advanced spatial analytics working in the Python programming language. The internship was extremely successful: it gave me a great opportunity to strengthen my open source GIS skillset, deepen my understanding of data science, and vastly improve my geospatial programming skillset. It also gave me a chance to apply advanced geospatial modeling and spatial statistics …

Hanoi Vietnam’S Peri-Urban Space And Its Impact On People’S Livelihoods, Collin V. Sumera

Sustainability and Social Justice

ABSTRACT

Hanoi Vietnam’s Peri-urban Space and Its Impact on People’s Livelihoods

Collin V. Sumera

Peri-urban is both a space and a process, yet there is no cookie cutter definition that may be applied to developing cities encountering this phenomenon. Each space is constructed differently, and each process has different actors. This paper examines the role that the Communist Party of Vietnam plays in the creation of peri-urban space in Hanoi, and how this space affects residential and former agricultural Land Use Right holder’s livelihood opportunities. The notion of the peri-urban space has not fully been developed for Hanoi, thus I …

Gis Internship At Tighe And Bond, Yuanting Qu M.S.

Sustainability and Social Justice

I started working as GIS Intern at Tighe and Bond Worcester Office on May 11, 2016. I was given a multitude of civil engineering related projects to edit, verify, do analysis and process data. I was able to apply my computer programming skills to help the GIS team develop a useful script tool set that will improve efficiency work. This internship provided me insight into how GIS operate as a part of engineering project on a day-to-day basis. Working background, my responsibilities and what I have learned from this internship is discussed in this report.

Public Health Applications Of Gis: A Spatial Analysis Of Tobacco Sales And Violations For The Worcester Division Of Public Health, Thomas M. Caywood

Sustainability and Social Justice

Performed as part of an internship with the Worcester Division of Public Health in the summer of 2016, this spatial analysis examines the proximity of tobacco retailers to the city’s public schools and finds that those in low-income neighborhoods tend to have greater numbers of tobacco sales outlets in the immediate area than do schools in more-affluent neighborhoods. The analysis also finds that the racial composition of student bodies at individual schools is moderately correlated with the number of tobacco points of purchase located near those schools. Because proximity to tobacco sales outlets is known to be a factor in …

Location-Based Modeling And Statistics Internship With Location, Inc., Yixuan Wang

Sustainability and Social Justice

In the summer 2016, I had the honor to work as a GIS & statistics intern at Location, Inc. It is a Software as a Service (SaaS) private company that builds and delivers location-based big data, analytics, tools, and services. The company’s mission is to create the best location-based technologies to help businesses make well-informed decisions (Location, Inc.). I was chosen by the company’s CEO, Dr. Andrew Schiller, who is also a Clark Alumnus. During the internship period, I worked in the data science team supervised by Jonathan Glick, and my main responsibilities were handling geographical and statistical …

Understanding Urban Wilds: Nature, Culture, And Management, Ted Randich

Sustainability and Social Justice

Undeveloped natural areas in cities, or urban wilds, are an invaluable resource to urban populations. They provide space for physical activity, mental recovery and relaxation, and nature interaction and learning, among other benefits. Through observation, intercept survey, and interviews, this study explores three urban wilds sites in Worcester, Massachusetts. Current literature covers definitions of what makes nature “natural,” contemporary practices in conservation, and evidence of the benefits listed above. This paper builds on the literature, shedding light on what urban wilds are made up of (nature), how they are used (culture), and how they are sustained through management. A conceptual …

Gis Internship At Umass Medical School Information Technology Department, Qiming Shi M.S.

Sustainability and Social Justice

Abstract

GIS INTERNSHIP AT UMASS MEDICAL SCHOOL IFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Qiming Shi

This paper summarizes my internship at the University of Massachusetts Medical School Information Technology Department in Worcester, MA, which lasted for 1 year. I worked on several projects correlating health and disease outcomes to spatial and temporal factors where I not only brought my technical skills in GIS but also turned my solution into a useful web application, using R Shiny.

It was a great learning and professional experience, and I learned a great deal about R programming and public health GIS.

I would highly recommend Internship at Umass …

Atole De Maíz Azul: Building Climate-Change Resilience With Local Knowledge/Food Sovereignty In Northern New Mexico, Katherine C.R. Dixon

Sustainability and Social Justice

The impacts of climate change in Northern New Mexico will cause a variation in seasonal precipitation and increased drought conditions. Northern New Mexico is home to numerous indigenous and rural-agricultural communities who rely on these water resources for subsistence and cultural practices. They are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

This paper investigates the impacts of climate change to Northern New Mexico. It examines the role of participatory methods and local knowledge in building community resilience. This paper is informed primarily through secondary research, and also draws upon a series of personalized interviews from Northern New …

Geospatial Solutions For Insurance, Erica Moody

Sustainability and Social Justice

My Internship with the Travelers Indemnity Company (Travelers) took place fromJune 7^th to August 12^th, 2016, where I worked as a Geospatial Intern in the Business Intelligence and Geospatial (BIG) internship program.

Be Serious About Diversity: Exploring Why Innovation Communities Are Not Diverse, Julia Carrasquel

Sustainability and Social Justice

BE SERIOUS ABOUT DIVERSITY:

EXPLORING WHY INNOVATION COMMUNITIES ARE NOT DIVERSE

JULIA CARRASQUEL

Innovators and entrepreneurs rely on support, resources and collaboration to succeed, but who can access these resources? Failure is a constant variable in the learning progression of an entrepreneur, but who can afford to fail? There exist inherent biases that prevent women and minority entrepreneurs from entering entrepreneurial pipelines, which has led to a general lack of diversity within innovation communities. This paper, unlike other bodies of research, does not explore why diversity (or the lack thereof) is an important issue to consider in innovation and entrepreneurship. …

The Effects Of Quadmill Training On Balance: An Intervention Study 2017, Alexander J. Generali

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to observe and compare the effects of two separate training interventions using the QuadmillTM to a control group on balance in college-aged individuals. It was hypothesized that both experimental groups (I1 and I2) would experience improvements in balance over the intervention whereas the control group would remain at baseline. It was secondarily hypothesized that I2 would experience greater improvements than I1 in balance due to the nature of the exercise protocol. Data was collected using three systems; Balance Tracking Systems, Star Excursion Balance Test, and the Biodex Balance system. A two-way mixed methods ANOVA …

The Effect Of Blood Flow Restriction Training With The Quadmill On Peak Isometric Knee Extensor Strength 2017, Brandon Schrom

Master's Theses

Traditional training methodologies that improve muscular strength use loads as low as 75% of a person’s one-repetition maximum and as high as 110% of a person’s one repetition maximum. With these high loads comes a greater risk for injury. Blood flow restriction (BFR) training is a potential solution to this problem. BFR training originated in Japan, where it was called Kaatsu. With this method of training, a trainee ties a tourniquet around the proximal end of a limb to reduce blood flow to and from the limb’s muscles. The purpose of this study was to determine whether three-weeks of BFR …

Imposed Versus Affect-Based Resistance Training Intensities On Adherence, Session Affect, Session Perceived Exertion, And Intrinsic Motivation Measures During A Six-Week Program In Novice Female Lifters 2017, Ryan Joseph Brennan

Master's Theses

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that individuals perform resistance training exercises at a specific intensity based on external load (percentage of one repetition maximum; %1RM). However, only 29.6% of adults in 2013 reported strength training two or more times per week. Furthermore, individuals lifting at recommended percentages vary in their pleasure and displeasure. Self-selected exercise seems to promote positive affective responses, in part, due to the perceived autonomy. The effects of regulating exercise intensity using affect as opposed to imposed intensities as a means for improved fitness, promoting exercise behavior, and enhancing other psychological outcomes have yet …

Introduction To Richard Nixon And Europe : The Reshaping Of The Postwar Atlantic World, Luke A. Nichter

Presidential Studies Faculty Books and Book Chapters

The U.S.-European relationship remains the closest and most important alliance in the world. Since 1945, successive American presidents each put their own touches on transatlantic relations, but the literature has reached only into the presidency of Lyndon Johnson (1963-9). This first study of transatlantic relations during the era of Richard Nixon shows a complex, turbulent period during which the postwar period came to an end, and the modern era came to be on both sides of the Atlantic in terms of political, economic, and military relations.