Author: Latest Results

Implementation and Outcomes of the Trauma Ambassadors Program: A Case Study of Trauma-Informed Youth Leadership Development

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Abstract

Community-based programs serve a critical need for vulnerable youth and families. In recent years, researchers and practitioners have urged programs to adopt a trauma-informed care (TIC) approach to address adversity in young people’s lives. The purpose of this article is to describe the implementation and outcomes of the Trauma Ambassador (TA) Program, a pilot youth leadership program guided by a community-university partnership that utilized a TIC approach in an underserved East North Philadelphia neighborhood. Fourteen youth engaged in interactive trainings to build their understanding of trauma and develop practical tools to support encounters with individuals with trauma histories. Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted to better understand program implementation and outcomes. Rich data emerged that identifies a myriad of ways that youth and their community might benefit from a program like the one described. The program successfully impacted participants, as TAs recognized their own trauma and were motivated to help others who may have trauma histories. This program provided quality youth development experiences, particularly with respect to trauma-informed care, and results support taking a holistic, healing-centered approach to foster well-being for youth and adult mentors.

Taking AI risks seriously: a new assessment model for the AI Act

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Abstract

The EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA) defines four risk categories: unacceptable, high, limited, and minimal. However, as these categories statically depend on broad fields of application of AI, the risk magnitude may be wrongly estimated, and the AIA may not be enforced effectively. This problem is particularly challenging when it comes to regulating general-purpose AI (GPAI), which has versatile and often unpredictable applications. Recent amendments to the compromise text, though introducing context-specific assessments, remain insufficient. To address this, we propose applying the risk categories to specific AI scenarios, rather than solely to fields of application, using a risk assessment model that integrates the AIA with the risk approach arising from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and related literature. This integrated model enables the estimation of AI risk magnitude  by considering the interaction between (a) risk determinants, (b) individual drivers of determinants, and (c) multiple risk types. We illustrate this model using large language models (LLMs) as an example.

Enhancing 3D localization in wireless sensor network: a differential evolution method for the DV-Hop algorithm

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Abstract

Wireless sensor network is large-scale, self-organizing and reliable. It is widely used in the military, disaster management, environmental monitoring, and other fields. Algorithms for localization can be classified as range-based or range-free based on their ability to achieve effective localization. Range-based algorithms require hardware support, which increases deployment costs and complexity. Instead of measuring distance directly, range-free algorithms estimate the position based on hop counts between nodes. While simpler in terms of hardware requirements, this algorithm suffers from large localization errors. To address this problem, this paper proposes an improved 3D DV-Hop localization algorithm (3D DEHDV-Hop) using a differential evolutionary algorithm. First of all, theoretical analysis shows a correlation between the volume of the intersection area containing the communication range between neighbors and the number of shared single-hop nodes. Then, using the number of shared single-hop nodes between nodes, the number of hops is converted from a discrete value to an exact continuous value. Finally, the localization problem is transformed into a minimum optimization problem by incorporating a differential evolutionary algorithm. As compared to the other four algorithms compared, 3D DEHDV-Hop improves localization accuracy by an average of 10.3% under different anchor node densities, 13.7% under different communication radiuses, and 12.1% under different anchor node numbers.

An improved SMOTE based on center offset factor and synthesis strategy for imbalanced data classification

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Abstract

It is an enormous challenge for imbalanced data learning in the field of machine learning. To construct balanced datasets, oversampling techniques have been studied extensively. However, many oversampling methods suffer from introducing noisy samples and blurring classification boundaries, leading to overfitting. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a new oversampling method, namely CS-SMOTE, for synthesizing minority class samples by three-point interpolation. CS-SMOTE is mainly based on the center offset factor and a synthesis strategy. First, the CS-SMOTE method removes noise samples, calculates the center offset factor, and selects sparsely distributed minority class samples by using the K-distance graph technique. Next, new samples are generated based on sparse minority samples, random minority samples, and sub-cluster centers located in the same sub-cluster samples. Finally, multiple comparative experiments on 18 well-known datasets demonstrate the effectiveness and general applicability of the proposed CS-SMOTE method for the imbalanced data classification. The experiments show that CS-SMOTE outperforms other competitors in terms of classification accuracy, while avoiding the issue of overfitting.

Self-Change from Alcohol Problems among Racially and Ethnically Minoritized Adults: A Systematic Review

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Abstract

Purpose of the review

Many individuals recover from alcohol problems without formal treatment (referred to here as self-change). However, self-change is understudied, especially among racially and ethnically minoritized (REM) populations. The present paper is a systematic literature review on self-change from alcohol problems among REM adults in the U.S.

Recent findings

Fifteen articles met criteria for inclusion. Of these, the majority (9) described the process of self-change among American Indian and Alaska Native communities and traditional healing strategies (e.g., meeting with elders or traditional healers) were commonly used. Fewer studies described self-change among Black and Latine groups, and no studies provided data on Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, or Multiracial groups.

Summary

Self-change among REM groups has been studied most often among American Indian and Alaska Native groups. Additional research is needed to better understand self-change among REM groups, including the influence of relevant constructs like racial identity.

Response of the shallow groundwater level to the changing environment in Zhongmu County, China

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Abstract

The analysis of the influence of human activities and climate change on groundwater is an important basis for formulating groundwater management policies. However, the relationship between climate change, human activities and groundwater system is complex, and the research on the response of groundwater to changing environment is in the initial stage. In this paper, the interactions between groundwater water cycle and climate change and human activities are analyzed, based on climate change data and hydrogeological information from the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The MODFLOW model was used to develop a numerical model of shallow groundwater movement in Zhongmu County, Henan province, and to predict the response of groundwater levels to climate change and human activities in three cases from 2016 to 2050. The results show that under the current scenario, the groundwater level will decrease at an average annual rate of 4.24 cm/A from 2016 to 2050. Under the climate change scenario, the precipitation increased by an average of 5.01%, the annual evaporation increased by an average of 17.84% and the annual temperature increased by an average of 1.29 °C from 2016 to 2050 under the three emission cases of RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, under the climate change–autonomous human activities scenario, when water conservation and South–North Water Transfer Project water supply are implemented simultaneously, the water table will decrease by an average of 5.58 CMA per year under the direct impact scenario and by an average of 4.44 CMA per year under the indirect impact scenario, the water table dropped by 3.21 cm/A. The changing environment will have an important effect on groundwater circulation, and appropriate measures must be taken to deal with the continuous decline of groundwater level.

Socioeconomic Factors Determining Multidimensional Child Poverty Groups in Central America: A Measurement Proposal from the Wellbeing Approach Using a Comprehensive Set of Children’s Rights

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Abstract

This article aims to show that multidimensional child poverty (MCP) is determined by several socioeconomic factors that influence the formation of stratified groups of poor children under five years of age living in Central America. This study advocates for a comprehensive set of children's rights with the purpose of addressing the different facets of child poverty from the perspective of child well-being, in order to estimate the incidence of MCP, by including multiple childhood deprivations and socioeconomic determinants. Child-specific indicators and household deprivation indicators are considered in the estimation of MCP. The study also states that child poverty is a complex concept, which includes the various types of deprivations experienced by children in the Central American societies and their deprivations are considered as the denial of children’s rights. Therefore, the MCP is estimated based on a conditional latent class analysis that includes not only manifest deprivation variables, but also socioeconomic determinants that help to better predict the incidence and probabilities of children being multidimensionally poor according to different poverty strata. The socioeconomic factors that show high risks of MCP are rural areas, indigenous children, young mothers and low levels of education attained by the head of the household, among others. One of the reasons to investigate the MCP for Belize and El Salvador is because there are few studies that address this problem for these countries and this research sheds light on the characteristics of early childhood poverty. The results indicate that the incidence of MCP is 49% in Belize and 76% in El Salvador. The research work concludes that the International Rights of the Child provide the opportunity to implement comprehensive social policies in Central America to eradicate child poverty.

Dreamcatchers, Water Protectors, and the Question of Authenticity: Supporting Teachers in Choosing and Using Indigenous Children’s Literature

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Abstract

Many early childhood teachers seek to promote diversity in their classrooms through the use of multicultural children’s literature. While these efforts are well-intentioned, teachers may not be fully aware of the issues of culture potentially hidden within such books, nor may they have support in considering the authenticity of the texts they use. While these issues are pervasive within books representing all cultural groups, recent research by Indigenous scholars has highlighted the concerns and implications within Indigenous children’s literature. This article is grounded within Indigenous ways of knowing to provide a helpful tool for supporting teachers as they seek to curate authentic Indigenous children’s literature for classrooms. Resources presented within include a 3-step guide to choosing and using such books and a list of Indigenous titles recommended by members of Indigenous communities.

Children’s Olfactory Picturebooks: Charting New Trends in Early Childhood Education

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Abstract

Converging global trends (digitization, globalization, datafication) have influenced all aspects of children’s literacies, including children’s picturebooks. The recent turn towards embodied, affective and sensory literacies, stimulated our interest in multisensory picturebooks that engage all children’s senses, including the sense of smell (olfaction). Olfactory children’s picturebooks demand new forms of literary conversations, which capitalise on unique properties of odours and integrate these with stories. Drawing on a systematic search of children’s picturebooks about, and with, smell, in paper-based and digital formats, we identified three principal ways in which olfaction is currently embedded in children’s picturebooks: 1, as an add-on to depiction of objects (including foods, plants) and places, 2, as a device to introduce humour into a story, and 3, as an engagement tool for children’s active participation in the story. We mobilise Sipe’s (2008) concept of seven constituting elements in children’s picturebooks to describe how current olfactory picturebooks apply the elements in their design and make recommendations for future development of children’s olfactory picturebooks. Reflecting on the generative potential of literary theories and olfactory power to stimulate children’s non-linguistic embodied interactions with picturebooks, we propose some extensions to the current olfactory picturebook landscape.