Research Aims Sample Clauses

Research Aims. In order to gain a full appreciation of next generation institutional transnationalism, the study explores the following. First it describes and analyses the patterns of next generation inclusion across a range of philanthropic and political transnational organizations. Second, it investigates the form, frequency and impact of next generation institutionalized activities. Third, the study examines the factors that contribute to the emergence of next generation institutionalized activities. Amongst these factors, particular attention is paid to human variables, opportunity structures, processes of socialization, and individual volition, and how next generation institutionalized transnationalism affects assimilation and incorporation within the United States. The research on these aspects of next generation transnationalism has been organized around five key aims. These are outlined below, and briefly positioned in relation to related works. Furthermore, some brief details are provided on how these aims are addressed. This chapter then outlines the structure of the thesis, before concluding with a brief section on important aspects of the terminology used in the study. Previous studies that have explored institutional (▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇▇, 2005; ▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇, 2008) and non- institutional (▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇, 2002; ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, 2002; ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ et al., 2002) transnational activities among individuals born and/or raised in the United States predict mostly limited involvement - at rates that are significantly lower than the parental generation. This study therefore examines to what extent this also applies to their involvement in transnational organizations, paying particular attention to variations in an attempt to isolate factors and organizational characteristics that could explain next generation inclusion or exclusion. Itzigsohn and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ (2002) distinguished between ‘broad’ and ‘narrow’ forms of transnational activities: the former designated occasional practices and the latter more regular commitments. This study investigates the positions and responsibilities that next generation individuals have assumed within their respective organizations, and the impact their contributions have generated in order to consider to what extent their contributions conform to ‘broad’ or ‘narrow’ definitions of transnationalism.

Research Aims. The IOM revised guidelines include a call for increased research surrounding GWG. AI/AN women are a unique population to the United States with high rates of maternal obesity and diabetes. There needs to be more research surrounding the effects of prepregnancy BMI and GWG during pregnancy and subsequent pregnancy outcomes to help guide clinical management of high-risk pregnancies among AI/AN women. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the individual and joint effects of high prepregnancy BMI and excess GWG on fetal macrosomia using a retrospective cohort study of AI/AN women. A sub-analysis of only non-diabetic women will be conducted to account for the possible confounding of diabetes. The secondary aim of this analysis is to display the associations of macrosomia with these two main exposures for each individual state to look at possible geographic differences.

Research Aims. ‌ The primary research questions that this paper will address are concurrent with those that shaped the research design for the Latrine Training Mat study (referred to in this paper as the WASH-LTM study). In order to ascertain whether the latrine training mat could be considered a feasible tool, it was necessary to first understand the context of rural Western Kenya and how it influences children’s defecation practices – particularly those that take place between the ages of two and five years old. It was hypothesized that, during this age range, children were developmentally capable of learning to use the latrine, but this learning process was often delayed due to specific contextual barriers. Consequently, this study aimed to first identify the local perceptions and practices that related to this issue, and then to evaluate how the latrine training mat could be used and would be perceived within the local context. The following are the three questions that shaped the LTM research design, and which will direct the discussion put forth in this paper. Chapter 2: Literature Review‌

Research Aims. All the work you do is headed towards publications in peer-reviewed journals and conferences. The number of publications expected depends on your situation. For example, if you are enrolled in a master’s thesis program, you can expect to publish 1 journal and 2 conference papers. If you are enrolled in a doctoral program, expect to have 3 journal papers and 6 conferences publications. Conferences could include SPIE Medical Imaging, ISBI, IPCAI & CARS, MICCAI, ICCR, MR in RT Symposium. If you are new to research, you need to realize that it is fundamentally different than academic assignments. Research involves developing novel knowledge. This means that it has never been done before and there is a risk of not meeting the objectives. Because this lab is concerned with ‘applying’ existing knowledge in Computer Science, that risk is reduced. Once meeting a “roadblock”, successful researchers will investigate the reasons behind it. You will need to be diligent, detail-oriented but also committed and perseverant. Once the cause(s) of the ‘roadblock’ is identified, you will be best placed to propose solutions and alternatives. Another key is communication. Communicating what you worked on, what you are working on, and any impediment is paramount. Dr. ▇▇▇▇▇ has an open-door policy, schedules frequent 1-on-1 meetings and we hold lab meetings to facilitate communication. As a member of the research team, you can expect to gain translational skills within several areas of Computer Science; you will be trained in image processing, best development practices and you will be provided with a unique opportunity to learn and revisit concepts learned in the classrooms. We work together to create a personalized and focused training plan for your professional insertion.

Research Aims. In this dissertation, our objective is to enhance the effectiveness of defending ML-based malware detection classifiers against adversarial attacks by proposing novel defenses and developing a deeper understanding of different methods for this problem. We propose two novel defensive methods based on promising approaches with the aim to improve ro- bustness against adversarial attacks on ML-based malware detection: one approach based on moving target defenses (MTDs) and another on stateful defenses, neither of which have been applied to the ML-based malware detection domain before. These approaches are based on other areas of cybersecurity and have demonstrated potential to defend against adversarial ML attacks in other domains (although prior proposed solutions based on these approaches have their own limitations, as we discuss later). MTDs (e.g., [174, 191, 13, 200]) seek to increase the uncertainty and complexity for attackers, making reconnaissance and targeted attacks less successful by using multiple constituent ML models in a particular manner to produce predictions [150, 58]. Meanwhile, stateful defenses (e.g., [52, 130, 110]) analyze queries for abnormalities using different statistical and ML-based methods to protect ML prediction models and detect adversarial attacks, which have been heralded as a promising way forward to deal with adversarial behavior [37]. Therefore, in this dissertation, we propose novel defenses based on these approaches. furthermore, in order to provide context for the performance of our novel defensive approaches, it is imperative to assess how they compare to prior defenses, taking into consideration the malware detection domain’s particular characteristics and constraints regarding the generation of adversarial examples. Hence, as part of our work, we conduct key evaluations, which are the first of their kind, comparing and characterizing prior related work that proposes defensive methods based on MTDs and stateful defenses, as well as other defensive approaches that do not use these techniques. for the first time, we aim to study several MTDs proposed for adversarial ML as a whole, thereby deriving key insights about their effectiveness against attacks on ML-based malware detection, in order to understand how to develop the best-performing MTDs. Moreover, we aim to develop a thorough understanding of how different stateful defenses operate in this domain by comparing and characterizing the performance of a number of prop...

Research Aims. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of CLTS in achieving and sustaining household ODF status in Bukwo, Uganda. The specific aims were: 1. To examine if CLTS is a culturally sensitive and respectful approach for hygiene and sanitation promotion in Bukwo, Uganda 2. Understand the motivators and barriers to achieving ODF status among the households triggered by CRS CLTS programming 3. Among households that attained ODF status, identify what motivates them to continue this practice. Among households that stopped open defecation post-CLTS triggering but have resumed the practice, explore reasons for barriers to latrine use.

Research Aims. In summary, the literature regarding the “gateway” phenomenon in the context of the current tobacco and marijuana market and social norms landscape is limited, with additional research needed to more fully characterize who is most likely to initiate use overall using distinct products and the subsequent use patterns that evolve based on which product was first used. This paper aims to contribute to the literature by examining tobacco and marijuana use outcomes (i.e., number of products ever used or currently used) in relation to first product used among ever users of tobacco or marijuana, as well as characterizing those who initially use the distinct tobacco products or marijuana.

Research Aims. The aim of this study was to identify the genetic cause of NSC. Initially we planned to map areas of homozygosity within the genome of NSC patients by utilising SNP linkage analysis and homozygosity mapping with platforms such as HomozygosityMapper and BeadStudio. This was followed by WES analysis. Through the data generated, potential strong candidate genes were identified and prioritised based on their encoded proteins function and tissue distribution of expression, primarily in the liver and biliary tract. Subsequently, by direct sequencing of the genes, we aimed to confirm the disease causing mutations and the potential effect of the gene product in the manifestation of NSC.

Research Aims. To fill these research gaps, the present research uses secondary data analysis of two national datasets related to drug and MAT use: the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health and the Treatment Episodes Datasets. Use of nationally-representative data among adults and a specific focus on differences by opioid use type enable generalizable findings that forecast needs in order to strategically plan targeted prevention and treatment interventions. This dissertation research aims to: Aim 1: Describe current prevalence and temporal trends in opiate use in the US overall, by opiate use type (NMPO, heroin, and co-use) and demographic (sex, race, age, rurality), substance use and mental health characteristics. Aim 2: Explore associations between multilevel factors related to increased NMPO use (e.g. healthcare access, perceived risk, availability) and transition from NMPO to heroin co-use. Aim 3: Examine temporal trends in demographic characteristics of MAT admissions at publically-funded facilities in the US overall, and by opioid use type, demographic characteristics, and dimensions of healthcare access. Sub-aim 3a: Explore differences in MAT completion by opiate use type, demographic characteristics, and dimensions of healthcare access (i.e. health insurance coverage and referral by care provider).