facility:university of arizona

  • University of Arizona will charge 2 students over protest of Border Patrol event on campus

    Two students at the University of Arizona will be charged with misdemeanors after a video showing them protesting a Customs and Border Protection event on campus went viral, UA President Robert Robbins announced Friday.

    The potential charges stem from a Border Patrol presentation to a student club, the Criminal Justice Association, on campus on March 19.

    Video of the incident showed two Border Patrol agents in a classroom giving a presentation, with people outside the door recording them and calling them “Murder Patrol,” "murderers" and “an extension of the KKK.”

    After the agents leave the classroom, a group followed them until they left campus, chanting “Murder Patrol,” video footage on social media shows.

    Conservative media and commentators shared the video on social media and blogs as an example of free speech issues on college campuses.

    In the letter sent to students posted online, Robbins said the protest represented a “dramatic departure from our expectations of respectful behavior and support for free speech on this campus.”

    UA police determined Friday that they “will be charging” two students involved in the incident with “interference with the peaceful conduct of an educational institution,” which is a misdemeanor. A Class 1 misdemeanor could result in up to six months of jail time.

    Charges have not been filed yet, UA Police Chief Brian Seastone said in an email. The names of the two students have not been released.

    Robbins wrote that UA police will continue to investigate the matter for potential “additional criminal violations.” The Dean of Students’ office also is reviewing the incident to determine if the student code of conduct was violated.

    Separately, Robbins said the university would conduct a “probe into actions involving UA employees.” It’s unclear what role employees played in the situation.

    Robbins also has directed staff members to examine university policies “to ensure we are working effectively to help prevent similar incidents in the future” while still maintaining First Amendment rights.
    ’Protest is protected … but disruption is not’

    “At the core of these inquiries is the University of Arizona’s commitment to free speech,” he wrote. “The student club and the CBP officers invited by the students should have been able to hold their meeting without disruption. Student protest is protected by our support for free speech, but disruption is not.”

    In the days after the March 19 incident, Robbins wrote a statement affirming the university’s commitment to free speech.

    Top officers from the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, the school’s student government organization, wrote a letter dated March 21 that said unannounced visits to campus by Border Patrol were “unacceptable.”

    The letter pointed to an arrest by Border Patrol a few miles from campus the same day as the UA presentation, saying the concerns of undocumented and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals students were valid.

    Students should be notified in advance of Border Patrol visits to campus, the letter said. And there should be an understanding that the “mere presence” of Border Patrol on campus can negatively affect DACA and undocumented communities, it stated.

    On Monday, DACA recipients who attend UA also released a letter saying they face “discomfort and fear” when they see Customs and Border Protection.

    “As DACA recipients at the university, the presence of CBP on campus has a traumatic impact on our overall well being and impedes us from fully engaging with our academics. In a space where all students are given the right to pursue an education, their presence was and will always be an infringement on that right,” the letter states.

    Since the video was released, students have been “bombarded with threats to their physical and emotional well being,” the letter claimed.

    Robbins’ announcement of criminal charges for two students proves “the swiftness with which institutions criminalize people of color,” the letter said.

    The DACA recipients wrote that they are in “full support” of students who spoke out against Border Patrol on campus.

    https://eu.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2019/04/01/protest-university-arizona-over-border-patrol-event-result-charges-for-2-students/3335688002
    #liberté_d'expression #résistance #criminalisation #USA #Etats-Unis #frontières #protestations #délit_de_solidarité

  • EU border ’lie detector’ system criticised as pseudoscience

    Technology that analyses facial expressions being trialled in Hungary, Greece and Latvia.

    The EU has been accused of promoting pseudoscience after announcing plans for a “#smart_lie-detection_system” at its busiest borders in an attempt to identify illegal migrants.

    The “#lie_detector”, to be trialled in Hungary, Greece and Latvia, involves the use of a computer animation of a border guard, personalised to the traveller’s gender, ethnicity and language, asking questions via a webcam.

    The “deception detection” system will analyse the micro-expressions of those seeking to enter EU territory to see if they are being truthful about their personal background and intentions. Those arriving at the border will be required to have uploaded pictures of their passport, visa and proof of funds.

    According to an article published by the European commission, the “unique approach to ‘deception detection’ analyses the micro-expressions of travellers to figure out if the interviewee is lying”.

    The project’s coordinator, George Boultadakis, who works for the technology supplier, European Dynamics, in Luxembourg, said: “We’re employing existing and proven technologies – as well as novel ones – to empower border agents to increase the accuracy and efficiency of border checks. The system will collect data that will move beyond biometrics and on to biomarkers of deceit.”

    Travellers who have been flagged as low risk by the #avatar, and its lie detector, will go through a short re-evaluation of their information for entry. Those judged to be of higher risk will undergo a more detailed check.

    Border officials will use a handheld device to automatically crosscheck information, comparing the facial images captured during the pre-screening stage to passports and photos taken on previous border crossings.

    When documents have been reassessed, and fingerprinting, palm-vein scanning and face matching have been carried out, the potential risk will be recalculated. A border guard will then take over from the automated system.

    The project, which has received €4.5m (£3.95m) in EU funding, has been heavily criticised by experts.

    Bruno Verschuere, a senior lecturer in forensic psychology at the University of Amsterdam, told the Dutch newspaper De Volskrant he believed the system would deliver unfair outcomes.
    A neuroscientist explains: the need for ‘empathetic citizens’ - podcast

    “Non-verbal signals, such as micro-expressions, really do not say anything about whether someone is lying or not,” he said. “This is the embodiment of everything that can go wrong with lie detection. There is no scientific foundation for the methods that are going to be used now.

    “Once these systems are put into use, they will not go away. The public will only hear the success stories and not the stories about those who have been wrongly stopped.”

    Verschuere said there was no evidence for the assumption that liars were stressed and that this translated to into fidgeting or subtle facial movements.

    Bennett Kleinberg, an assistant professor in data science at University College London, said: “This can lead to the implementation of a pseudoscientific border control.”

    A spokesman for the project said: “The border crossing decision is not based on the single tool (ie lie detection) but on the aggregated risk estimations based on a risk-based approach and technology that has been used widely in custom procedures.

    “Therefore, the overall procedure is safe because it is not relying in the risk on one analysis (ie the lie detector) but on the correlated risks from various analysis.”

    The technology has been designed by a consortium of the Hungarian national police, Latvian customs, and Manchester Metropolitan and Leibnitz universities. Similar technology is being developed in the US, where lie detection is widely used in law enforcement, despite scepticism over its scientific utility in much of the rest of the world.

    Last month, engineers at the University of Arizona said they had developed a system that they hoped to install on the US-Mexico border known as the #Automated_Virtual_Agent_for_Truth_Assessments_in_Real-Time, or Avatar.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/02/eu-border-lie-detection-system-criticised-as-pseudoscience?CMP=share_bt
    #wtf #what_the_fuck #frontières #contrôles_frontaliers #technologie #expressions_faciales #Grèce #Hongrie #Lettonie #mensonge #abus #gardes-frontière #biométrie #biomarqueurs #corps #smart_borders #risques #université #science-fiction
    ping @reka @isskein

    • Smart lie-detection system to tighten EU’s busy borders

      An EU-funded project is developing a way to speed up traffic at the EU’s external borders and ramp up security using an automated border-control system that will put travellers to the test using lie-detecting avatars. It is introducing advanced analytics and risk-based management at border controls.

      More than 700 million people enter the EU every year – a number that is rapidly rising. The huge volume of travellers and vehicles is piling pressure on external borders, making it increasingly difficult for border staff to uphold strict security protocols – checking the travel documents and biometrics of every passenger – whilst keeping disruption to a minimum.

      To help, the EU-funded project IBORDERCTRL is developing an ‘intelligent control system’ facilitating – making faster – border procedures for bona fide and law-abiding travellers. In this sense, the project is aiming to deliver more efficient and secure land border crossings to facilitate the work of border guards in spotting illegal immigrants, and so contribute to the prevention of crime and terrorism.

      ‘We’re employing existing and proven technologies – as well as novel ones – to empower border agents to increase the accuracy and efficiency of border checks,’ says project coordinator George Boultadakis of European Dynamics in Luxembourg. ‘IBORDERCTRL’s system will collect data that will move beyond biometrics and on to biomarkers of deceit.’
      Smart ‘deception detection’

      The IBORDERCTRL system has been set up so that travellers will use an online application to upload pictures of their passport, visa and proof of funds, then use a webcam to answer questions from a computer-animated border guard, personalised to the traveller’s gender, ethnicity and language. The unique approach to ‘deception detection’ analyses the micro-expressions of travellers to figure out if the interviewee is lying.

      This pre-screening step is the first of two stages. Before arrival at the border, it also informs travellers of their rights and travel procedures, as well as providing advice and alerts to discourage illegal activity.

      The second stage takes place at the actual border. Travellers who have been flagged as low risk during the pre-screening stage will go through a short re-evaluation of their information for entry, while higher-risk passengers will undergo a more detailed check.

      Border officials will use a hand-held device to automatically cross-check information, comparing the facial images captured during the pre-screening stage to passports and photos taken on previous border crossings. After the traveller’s documents have been reassessed, and fingerprinting, palm vein scanning and face matching have been carried out, the potential risk posed by the traveller will be recalculated. Only then does a border guard take over from the automated system.

      At the start of the IBORDERCTRL project, researchers spent a lot of time learning about border crossings from border officials themselves, through interviews, workshops, site surveys, and by watching them at work.

      It is hoped that trials about to start in Hungary, Greece and Latvia will prove that the intelligent portable control system helps border guards reliably identify travellers engaging in criminal activity. The trials will start with lab testing to familiarise border guards with the system, followed by scenarios and tests in realistic conditions along the borders.
      A mounting challenge

      ‘The global maritime and border security market is growing fast in light of the alarming terror threats and increasing terror attacks taking place on European Union soil, and the migration crisis,” says Boultadakis.

      As a consequence, the partner organisations of IBORDERCTRL are likely to benefit from this growing European security market – a sector predicted to be worth USD 146 billion (EUR 128 bn) in Europe by 2020.

      Project details

      Project acronym: #iBorderCtrl
      Participants: Luxembourg (Coordinator), Greece, Cyprus, United Kingdom, Poland, Spain, Hungary, Germany, Latvia
      Project N°: 700626
      Total costs: € 4 501 877
      EU contribution: € 4 501 877
      Duration: September 2016 to August 2019


      http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?artid=49726

    • AVATAR - Automated Virtual Agent for Truth Assessments in Real-Time

      There are many circumstances, particularly in a border-crossing scenario, when credibility must be accurately assessed. At the same time, since people deceive for a variety of reasons, benign and nefarious, detecting deception and determining potential risk are extremely difficult. Using artificial intelligence and non-invasive sensor technologies, BORDERS has developed a screening system called the Automated Virtual Agent for Truth Assessments in Real-Time (AVATAR). The AVATAR is designed to flag suspicious or anomalous behavior that warrants further investigation by a trained human agent in the field. This screening technology may be useful at Land Ports of Entry, airports, detention centers, visa processing, asylum requests, and personnel screening.

      The AVATAR has the potential to greatly assist DHS by serving as a force multiplier that frees personnel to focus on other mission-critical tasks, and provides more accurate decision support and risk assessment. This can be accomplished by automating interviews and document/biometric collection, and delivering real-time multi-sensor credibility assessments in a screening environment. In previous years, we have focused on conducting the basic research on reliably analyzing human behavior for deceptive cues, better understanding the DHS operational environment, and developing and testing a prototype system.

      Principal Investigators:
      #Aaron_Elkins
      #Doug_Derrick
      #Jay_Nunamaker, Jr.
      #Judee_Burgoon
      Status:
      Current

      http://borders.arizona.edu/cms/projects/avatar-automated-virtual-agent-truth-assessments-real-time
      #University_of_Arizona

    • Un #détecteur_de_mensonges bientôt testé aux frontières de l’Union européenne

      L’Union européenne va tester dans un avenir proche un moyen de réguler le passage des migrants sur certaines de ses frontières, en rendant celui-ci plus simple et plus rapide. Ce moyen prendra la forme d’un détecteur de mensonges basé sur l’intelligence artificielle.

      Financé depuis 2016 par l’UE, le projet iBorderCtrl fera bientôt l’objet d’un test qui se déroulera durant six mois sur quatre postes-frontière situés en Hongrie, en Grèce et en Lettonie. Il s’avère que chaque année, environ 700 millions de nouvelles personnes arrivent dans l’UE, et les gardes-frontières ont de plus en plus de mal à effectuer les vérifications d’usage.

      Ce projet iBorderCtrl destiné à aider les gardes-frontières n’est autre qu’un détecteur de mensonges reposant sur une intelligence artificielle. Il s’agit en somme d’une sorte de garde frontière virtuel qui, après avoir pris connaissance des documents d’un individu (passeport, visa et autres), lui fera passer un interrogatoire. Ce dernier devra donc faire face à une caméra et répondre à des questions.

      L’IA en question observera la personne et fera surtout attention aux micro-mouvements du visage, le but étant de détecter un éventuel mensonge. À la fin de l’entretien, l’individu se verra remettre un code QR qui déterminera son appartenance à une des deux files d’attente, c’est-à-dire les personnes acceptées et celles – sur lesquelles il subsiste un doute – qui feront l’objet d’un entretien plus poussé avec cette fois, des gardes-frontières humains.

      Le système iBorderCtrl qui sera bientôt testé affiche pour l’instant un taux de réussite de 74 %, mais les porteurs du projet veulent atteindre au moins les 85 %. Enfin, évoquons le fait que ce dispositif pose assez logiquement des questions éthiques, et a déjà de nombreux opposants !

      L’IA a été présentée lors du Manchester Science Festival qui s’est déroulé du 18 au 29 octobre 2018, comme le montre la vidéo ci-dessous :
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fsd3Ubqi38

      https://sciencepost.fr/2018/11/un-detecteur-de-mensonges-bientot-teste-aux-frontieres-de-lunion-europee

  • Detailed images of Schiaparelli and its descent hardware on Mars / ExoMars / Space Science / Our Activities / ESA
    http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars/Detailed_images_of_Schiaparelli_and_its_descent_hardware_on_Mars

    A high-resolution image taken by a NASA Mars orbiter this week reveals further details of the area where the ExoMars Schiaparelli module ended up following its descent on 19 October.
    […]
    The high-resolution images show a central dark spot, 2.4 m across, consistent with the crater made by a 300 kg object impacting at a few hundred km/h.

    The crater is predicted to be about 50 cm deep and more detail may be visible in future images.

    The asymmetric surrounding dark markings are more difficult to interpret. In the case of a meteoroid hitting the surface at 40 000­–80 000 km/h, asymmetric debris surrounding a crater would typically point to a low incoming angle, with debris thrown out in the direction of travel.

    But Schiaparelli was travelling considerably slower and, according to the normal timeline, should have been descending almost vertically after slowing down during its entry into the atmosphere from the west.

    It is possible the hydrazine propellant tanks in the module exploded preferentially in one direction upon impact, throwing debris from the planet’s surface in the direction of the blast, but more analysis is needed to explore this idea further

    An additional long dark arc is seen to the upper right of the dark patch but is currently unexplained. It may also be linked to the impact and possible explosion.

    Finally, there are a few white dots in the image close to the impact site, too small to be properly resolved in this image. These may or may not be related to the impact – they could just be ‘noise’. Further imaging may help identify their origin.

  • Glenn Greenwald sur Facebook à propos de sa rencontre avec Chomsky
    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154666070024112&set=a.10151333500494112.568132.712284111&

    I arrived last night at the University of Arizona for my event with Edward Snowden and Noam Chomsky. Chomsky arrived shortly after I did and, after I greeted him, the following dialogue ensued:

    Chomsky: You know, there’s this interesting essay by Albert Camus, written during his first visit to the United States, in which he described his surprise at what he regarded as the poor clothing taste of Americans, particularly men’s choices of ties.

    Me (slightly confused): Are you sharing that anecdote because you dislike my tie?

    Chomsky: Yes.

    That’s how you receive a fashion critique from the world’s greatest public intellectual.

  • Cartographic Citations: A Style Guide, Second Edition - Books / Professional Development - Books for Academic Librarians - Books for Public Librarians - ALA Store

    http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=3554

    Cartographic Citations: A Style Guide, Second Edition
    Christine Kollen, Wangyal Shawa, Mary Lynette Larsgaard
    Item Number: 978-0-8389-8556-4

    Publisher: MAGIRT
    Price: $20.00

    Cartographic Citations: A Style Guide, Second Edition is the most thorough citation guide to the spectrum of cartographic works available and will aid authors and scholars in crediting specialized resources overlooked by general citation guides.

    Readers will find in the new edition a greatly updated and expanded section on electronic spatial data including entirely new entries for GIS data, real-time online maps and interactive online maps. In addition, the breadth of cartographic items covered include not just standalone print maps, but maps printed in periodicals and books, cross sections, facsimiles, relief models, globes, and aerial photographs. Every entry of the 1992 first edition was revisited by the authors, resulting in a completely revised reference work. About the Authors

    Christine Kollen is the Data Curation Librarian at University of Arizona. She also has responsibility for developing and managing digital projects, such as Arizona Geospatial Data and Maps, collection development and reference for GIS and Maps. She is the 2011 recipient of the Honors Award by ALA Map and Geospatial Information Round Table.

    Tsering Wangyal Shawa is GIS and Map Librarian at Princeton University and recent recipient of the ICT Rowell award supporting Tibetan research.

    #cartographie #sémiologie #cartographes #cartographie_critique

  • YOU ARE HERE: THE JOURNAL OF CREATIVE GEOGRAPHY | the School of Geography and Development(SGD) at the University of Arizona
    http://geography.arizona.edu/youarehere

    YOU ARE HERE: THE JOURNAL OF CREATIVE GEOGRAPHY

    For more information please contact:

    Gigi Owen Co-Editor
    Jesse Quinn Co-Editor

    you are here
    School of Geography and Development
    Univ. of Arizona, Harvill Building, Box 2
    P.O. Box 210076, Tucson, AZ 85721-0076

    Email: youarehere.arizona@gmail.com

    ABOUT THE JOURNAL

    you are here: the journal of creative geography is published by graduate students in the School of Geography & Development at the University of Arizona. The journal is an annual publication that seeks to explore the concept of place through articles, fiction, poetry, essays, maps, photographs, and art.

    you are here encourages submissions from geographers, historians, anthropologists, architects, scientists, writers, artists, and anyone else interested in exploring creative geography.

    #géographie-radicale #géographie-créative #cartographie

  • N***n Small World Photomicrography Competition
    http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/10/nikon_small_world_photomicrogr.html

    Almost 2000 entries from 70 countries vied for recognition in the 37th annual contest, which celebrates photography through a microscope.

    Par exemple :

    The venation network of a young quaking aspen leaf (Populus tremuloides) was magnified 4 times by Benjamin Blonder and David Elliott of the University of Arizona in Tucson utilizing a brightfield image of safranin-stained tissue. (Benjamin Blonder and David Elliott)

  • Dr. Cornel West endorses BDS, supports Ethnic Studies at University of Arizona | The Electronic Intifada
    http://electronicintifada.net/blog/nora/dr-cornel-west-endorses-bds-supports-ethnic-studies-university-a

    “Denying education to Palestinian students and eliminating ethnic studies in Arizona are necessary steps to maintain oppressive, pro-corporate policies. The UofA currently holds contracts with Motorola, Caterpillar…which support Israeli occupation of Palestine and anti-immigrant legislation in Arizona. Divestment is the strongest statement our university can make in support for worldwide human rights. We, as members of the university community, demand that our administration end our university’s contracts with these corporations and stand up for human rights around the world and at home.”

    #cornel_west #bds #israël #palestine

  • Holy Hell! Study Says #Religion May Disappear in Nine Nations | Death and Taxes
    http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/65885/holy-hell-study-says-religion-may-disappear-in-nine-nations

    According to a study first on reported by the BBC, the growth of people from nine nations around the world who identify themselves as “non-affiliated with religion” can be used to predict the extinction of religion.

    “The idea is pretty simple,” one of the researchers, Richard J. Wiener of the University of Arizona, told the BBC. “It posits that social groups that have more members are going to be more attractive to join, and it posits that social groups have a social status or utility.”

    • The countries analyzed were Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland.

      Ah mais ça donne très très envie d’aller s’installer en Suisse, ça. Avec Saint Johnny et Saint Polanski.