Machine Learning for Drug Overdose Surveillance

ABSTRACT

We describe two recently proposed machine learning approaches for discovering emerging trends in fatal accidental drug overdoses. The Gaussian Process Subset Scan (Herlands, McFowland, Wilson, & Neill, 2017 Neill, D. B. (2017). Multidimensional tensor scan for drug overdose surveillance. Journal of Public Health Informatics, 9(1), e20. doi:10.5210/ojphi.v9i1.7598[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) enables early detection of emerging patterns in spatio-temporal data, accounting for both the complex, correlated nature of the data and the fact that detecting subtle patterns requires integration of information across multiple spatial areas and multiple time steps. We apply this approach to 17 years of county-aggregated data for monthly opioid overdose deaths in the New York City metropolitan area, showing clear advantages in the utility of discovered patterns as compared to typical anomaly detection approaches. To detect and characterize emerging overdose patterns that differentially affect a subpopulation of the data, including geographic, demographic, and behavioral patterns (e.g., which combinations of drugs are involved), we apply the Multidimensional Tensor Scan (Neill, 2017 Neill, D. B. (2017). Multidimensional tensor scan for drug overdose surveillance. Journal of Public Health Informatics, 9(1), e20. doi:10.5210/ojphi.v9i1.7598[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) to 8 years of case-level overdose data from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. We discover previously unidentified overdose patterns which reveal unusual demographic clusters, show impacts of drug legislation, and demonstrate potential for early detection and targeted intervention. These approaches to early detection of overdose patterns can inform prevention and response efforts, as well as understanding the effects of policy changes.     

Rating the revolution: Silicon Valley in normative perspective

Silicon Valley, California – home of Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Google, and so on – is widely regarded as the epicentre of the information revolution. However, it is not just a technical or economic phenomenon; it has also made a social revolution. The article evaluates Silicon Valley from a normative perspective, seeking to identify its real societal impact, negative as well as positive. A select review of significant literature is followed by exposition of primary data, based on in situ face-to-face interviews with Valley occupants; these range from the chief technology officer of a global brand to a homeless, unemployed Vietnam War veteran. The article organises its findings under three headings: the nature of information revolution; iCapitalism as a new technoeconomic synthesis; and the normative crisis of the information society. It concludes with a warning about ongoing attempts to clone Silicon Valley around the world.     

公共视频监控图像信息利用与保护的基本法律问题与立法规制

在智能化和法治化的新时代,公共视频监控图像信息综合应用已成为社会治理社会化、法治化、智能化和专业化的重要方式。公共视频监控系统成为政府部门和社会组织保护公共安全以及公民人身、财产安全的技术项目。公共视频监控图像信息的技术手段和法律属性需要以立法形式加以规定。公共视频监控图像信息综合应用需要在权利保护的法律制度中进行,尤其是视频监控图像信息公开使用与信息安全、隐私权保护之间的法律制度设计。因此,公共视频监控图像信息的法律规制工作应对法律主体、基本原则、权利体系、法律监管、法律责任做出明确规定。     

Mass-mediated surveillance: borders,mobility, and reality television

This article analyzes the social construction of border surveillance and policing in reality-based television. Utilizing content analytic methods to document and decode popular images of borders, mobility, and insecurity, it assesses three programs from Australia, the UK, and the United States. Despite claims of offering accurate and unfiltered depictions, the programs are ideological and provide visions of enforcement that reinforce stereotypes regarding the risks of permeable borders and exonerate intensive regimes of surveillance and securitization. Our findings suggest this occurs in three ways. First, the programs inflate the extent and seriousness of lawlessness associated with cross-border movement. Second, they offer individualistic explanations of crime that cite personal choices and pathologies as determinants. Finally, alongside neglecting their perspectives and interpretations of events, when compared to the reality of official statistics, the programs disproportionately feature suspected offenders as members of marginalized groups. The social and political implications of these findings are discussed.     

Hard and Soft Commitments to Human Rights Treaties, 1966–20001

What factors determine whether and how deeply countries will commit to the international human rights regime? Using data for up to 142 countries between 1966 and 2000, this article analyzes patterns of membership to the International Human Rights Covenants. The analysis produced two main conclusions. First, the potential costs associated with joining a treaty, rather than its substantive content, motivates the decision to join. Treaties that protect different rights but establish comparable implementation mechanisms exhibit similar patterns of membership, whereas treaties that protect identical rights but establish different implementation provisions exhibit dissimilar patterns of membership. Second, rates of treaty membership differ by level of commitment. Countries that sign human rights treaties differ from countries that ratify. Results are interpreted with respect to four theories of commitment and compliance: realism, liberalism, constructivism, and sociological institutionalism. Theories that emphasize the importance of a treaty’s costs (realism and institutionalism) fare better than theories that prioritize a treaty’s content (liberalism and constructivism).     

略论期刊编辑部远程办公的实现

期刊编辑部通过在网站上建立远程办公系统,可实现家庭办公和异地办公。远程办公室主页主要由办公室、会议室、会客室、阅览室、财务室、广告部、发行部等职能部门组成。其中,办公室又分主编室、专业编辑室等,主编可定期在会议室召开会议,各编辑和作者、读者相约在会客室交流。规范的约稿函、修稿函、催版面费函等,可利用邮件系统发送,而审稿费、稿费、版面费等可在财务室通过网上银行转账。作者投稿时可直接进入编辑室对口专业的"办公桌",编辑可在自己"办公桌"上编排校稿件,提交给主编,实现局域网办公、因特网办公等远程办公的功能。利用该系统,可外聘编辑(甚至异地的编辑),本编辑部的编辑也可在别的杂志社兼职,为建立网上编辑部提供了技术支持。     

《仁峰集》与明中叶徽州社会

《仁峰集》所载丰富史料显示出明中叶徽州地区政治、经济和社会的激烈变化。政治方面体现在赋役的改革和基层管理体系的调整。经济方面体现在职业的选择,业贾和习儒并举,在儒贾互动的过程中,儒贾观达到一种新的平衡。社会方面体现在宗族世婚制依然盛行,又有所松动。《仁峰集》所载史料反映了当时徽州社会的一般特点,对阐释整个明中叶社会的不少问题亦具独特价值。     

论《边城》的生命形式及其消解

《边城》最为集中地表现出沈从文的生命理想,寄托着他对理想生命形式的热切期望。小说一方面对故事发生的时间处理得非常模糊,另一方面对故事发生的空间即环境却处理得异常分明,通过这种特殊的时空处理方式构筑起一种具有理想色彩的生命形式。这使边城在小说中具有整体象征的意味。同时,在《边城》的深层意义结构中,还存在着一个理想生命形式的消解模式,这表明沈从文游移于理想与现实之间难以言说的矛盾心态。     

唐代迁谪诗文述略

唐代遭受迁徙、贬谪之苦的众多诗人所创作的“迁谪诗文” ,是唐代文学不可或缺的重要组成部分。唐代的迁谪诗文颇能体现出迁谪文学的本质特点 ,对后世的迁谪文学的发展亦产生了深远的影响。     

西部开发的历史与现实思考

以 5 0年代 15 6项工程建设为开端 ,到 90年代西部大开发战略的实施 ,国家对西部地区已进行了三次大规模的开发建设。前两次西部开发是在毛泽东区域经济均衡发展战略思想指导下进行的 ,对于促进中国工业化建设 ,加快西部地区的发展起了重要作用。目前正在实施的西部大开发是在邓小平“两个大局”思想指导下 ,第三代领导集体为实现现代化建设第三步目标而采取的重大战略步骤。由于时代主题和所处国际环境的变化 ,这次西部大开发应有新的思路和新的举措