Protective Action Decision Making is used to protect communities from adverse events and hazards. Models such as PADM (Lindell & Perry 2012) describe individual behaviors but have not robustly examined the information requirements in the solicitation process. The literature further indicates gaps in understanding the individual impacts of specific factors...
In this dissertation, I present the results from three studies: (1) a phylogeny of Tenebrionoidea (Coleoptera) inferred from a seven-gene dataset derived from PCR and Sanger sequencing; (2) a phylogeny of Tenebrionidae, the largest family in Tenebrionoidea, inferred from a four-gene dataset also derived from PCR and Sanger sequencing; (3)...
With the growth of Internet technologies, online-based foreign language curricula are being introduced at large numbers of institutions internationally. This peer-reviewed volume, geared towards a broad audience, presents innovative research on online language teaching, with chapters by highly engaged scholars and practitioners from the U.S. and Europe, with a strong...
This symposium dealt primarily with one important aspect of wood quality, namely specific gravity as determined in standing timber by the increment core sampling method. It covered the status of research in this area, the importance of the work, present and potential uses for wood density data, and the need...
By means of a case study and historical analysis, this dissertation examines the past and present of avian influenza. By integrating disconnected histories of human and animal influenza, this dissertation links historical insights with the concerns of contemporary avian flu science. It is not only a natural history of avian...
(Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) PAHs are widespread in the environment, and are derived from both natural and anthropogenic sources. The physicochemical properties of PAHs along with the wide range of PAH sources leads to their persistence in the environment. Since PAHs are ubiquitous, and have the potential to illicit adverse effects,...
We developed and investigated machine learning methods that require
minimal preprocessing of the input data, use few training examples, run fast, and
still obtain high levels of accuracy.
Most approaches to designing machine learning programs are based on the
supervised learning paradigm – training examples are chosen randomly and given...
The major historical studies that have examined American
biology have emphasized the development of experimental biology at
the end of the nineteenth century. In this characterization, the
descriptive branch of biology has often been treated as less than
important and, in several cases, as a hindrance in the application
of...
We do not know how to align a very intelligent AI agent's behavior with human interests. I investigate whether—absent a full solution to this AI alignment problem—we can build smart {\ai} agents which have limited impact on the world, and which do not autonomously seek power. In this thesis, I...