The purpose of this paper is to design and test a vehicle control system in order to achieve full vehicle automation in the longitudinal direction for several modes of operation, where the infrastructure manages the vehicle following. A supervisory controller is designed to provide the required intelligence for the modes. The controller process input and sends the appropriate commands to the brake and throttle controllers. It makes decisions about normal, emergency and transition operations so that the resulting motion of vehicle is safe and follows Automated Highway System (AHS) objectives. Simulation results are used to test the performance of the designated controllers. Finally, the experimental results of a vehicle following test conducted on I-15 demonstrate the effectiveness of the controller in an actual highway environment.

The Legal Construction of Central American Unworthiness: An Examination of Human Rights in U.S. Immigration Law, examines how the discourse and policy of human rights is deployed in domestic immigration legislation, contributing to the process of racial formation, and reification of white supremacy. This dissertation argues that the project of human rights—both as a discourse and international and domestic legal movement—ultimately fails to provide protections for immigrants and communities of color. Instead, it obfuscates how the law maintains racial logics domestically and globally.

This dissertation centers domestic legislation outlined in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and its corresponding reauthorizations (TVPA). Specific attention is given to two categories of immigrants that the TVPA provides protections and immigration relief for- victims of human trafficking and unaccompanied ‘alien’ children. These two groups were chosen because of their primacy in international human rights laws which depicts them as particularly vulnerable migrants, and the United States’ incorporation of protections for them within the TVPA. Through tracing the evolution of the TVPA this dissertation explores the various ways the law operates, and how it obscures projects of racialization as applied to Central American migrants. By analyzing specific legal protections for trafficking victims and migrant children, such as Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, this dissertation exposes how the law works to racialize and de-humanize even those groups that are veiled as worthy of rights and humanity.

This dissertation is empirically grounded in data collection in the form of case law, legislative histories, federal prosecution data, and case studies. The data obtained is analyzed through a mixed-method approach, combining legal analysis with discourse and narrative analysis, as well as grounded theory and aspects of autoethnography. As an interdisciplinary study it departs from traditional legal analysis by examining the law through critical race theory, cultural studies, and critical ethnic studies frameworks.

An important benefit of cancer genetic testing is the potential for detection of an actionable mutation in genes conferring an increased lifetime risk for hereditary cancer. Individuals with a suggestive personal or family history may seek genetic counseling to assess their risk and pursue genetic testing. Genetic counselors review detected pathogenic variants, in combination with personal and family history, to make recommendations for cancer risk management. Two major recommendations include clinical screening (such as imaging) and surgical methodologies designed to prevent or detect cancer at an early and more treatable stage. Uptake of recommendations can vary significantly across patient populations with diverse medical histories, family histories, socioeconomic factors, and institutional factors. Previous studies have identified trends in risk management behavior for high-risk patients after genetic counseling, including facilitators and barriers to uptake. Cancer genetics clinics can apply this knowledge to improve outcomes for low-uptake groups through enhanced service delivery models, provider education, and community engagement. This study aimed to characterize a population of mutation-positive patients (n=149) who have received genetic counseling at UCI from 2018-2020 in order to evaluate uptake of risk management recommendations. In general, uptake of recommended screening and suggested surgery was high for this group of patients; 74% of those who were provided with screening recommendations were documented as having completed screening, and 36% of those who had discussed surgery with a genetic counselor were documented as having completed a subsequent surgery. Patient demographics, personal medical history, family history, and genetic counseling visit details were analyzed as possible predictors of uptake, and were ultimately not determined to be strong predictors. However, for a subset of the population (n=22, 14.8%), the charts which may have documented risk management behavior were not available, perhaps because these patients had on-going healthcare outside of the medical system. Whether patients initiated genetic testing outside of UCI, and whether they received only post-test counseling were predictors for availability of charts. The lack of complete information on all study participants limited the statistical power to identify significant predictors of risk management behavior. Overall, this study revealed high uptake for risk management recommended in the genetic counseling clinic, though significant predictors for uptake were not identified. The findings of this study underscore the importance of accessible, thorough documentation available between care sites to improve longitudinal research on genetic counseling outcomes and achieve comprehensive continuity of care.

Final Report/Synopsis of Research Results:

This study contributes to research on informal financial networks known as Beesi among poor skilled Zardozi (embroidery) workers in Lucknow. Beesi are a kind of rotating savings and credit association. Each member contributes a weekly or monthly sum and the pot is given to a member selected randomly by lottery. In these Beesi networks, members can transfer their right to the funds to another person in the network. The study also documents other money management practices, and provides quantitative data on food, medical and educational expenses for a population experiencing poverty, large income fluctuations and ethno-religious segregation.