Transforming Beginner Teacher Mentoring Interventions for Social Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smit, Tanya; du Toit, Pieter H.

2016-01-01

This article reports on an investigation into the use of action research for beginner teachers' professional development through the use of peer mentoring. Action research principles were applied by the mentor and the participating mentees/peers, forming a scholarly community of practice. The mentees were empowered to transform their teaching…

Toward a Shift in Expectations and Values: What We've Learned from Collaborative Action Research in Northern Indigenous Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Shelly Stagg; Horton, Laura; Restoule, Jean Paul

2016-01-01

In this paper we propose that collaborative action research values, goals and practices have much in common with guiding principles for conducting research with educators and community members in First Nation, Inuit and Metis communities, as outlined in the Task Force on Aboriginal Languages and Cultures on Aboriginal Languages and Cultures'…

Insights into Attempts at Using Action Research in a Collaborative Work in a Policy Review Exercise in Botswana

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koosimile, Anthony Tsatsing

2011-01-01

In this paper I embrace the thinking that writing on one's experiences in the use of qualitative educational research strategies and principles could potentially contribute to furthering knowledge in the field. In adopting an action research framework to guide collaborative work in a policy review exercise in Botswana, I found that collaborative…

Participatory Action Research with College Students with Disabilities: Photovoice for an Inclusive Campus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agarwal, Neelam; Moya, Eva M.; Yasui, Naoko Yura; Seymour, Corene

2015-01-01

College students with disabilities face various barriers to academic and social engagement. The present project was conducted based on principles of participatory action research (PAR) using Photovoice method with six students, gathering images representing such barriers, and developing narratives to describe the problems as well as possible ways…

Ethical Principles in Practice: Evidence from Participatory Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Liz

2008-01-01

A significant challenge for all participants in the autism spectrum disorder participatory action research (ASD PAR) project, including the Ministry of Education, the local project teams (LPT) and mentors, was the lack of availability of a single ethics approval process for the project in its entirety and, in particular, one that could accommodate…

Improving the Process of Career Decision Making: An Action Research Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenbank, Paul

2011-01-01

Purpose: This study adopts an action research approach with the aim of improving the process of career decision making among undergraduates in a business school at a "new" university in the UK. Design/methodology/approach: The study utilised unfreezing techniques, multiple case studies in conjunction with the principle of analogical…

Planetary protection principles used for Phobos-Grunt mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martynov, M. B.; Alexashkin, S. N.; Khamidullina, N. M.; Orlov, O. I.; Novikova, N. D.; Deshevaya, E. A.; Trofimov, V. I.

2011-12-01

The article presents an analysis of the Phobos-Grunt mission, a classification of its phases in terms of planetary protection, and the main principles of activities management and definition of actions for fulfilling the planetary-protection requirements developed by Committee on Space Research.

An Action-Oriented Research Approach to Privatized Special Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mendoza, Kathryn

2014-01-01

Bright Horizons, a private school located in Florida, specializes in working with students of varying exceptionalities and is founded on the principles of action research. It began as an effort to create an alternative educational opportunity for a few specific children and grew into a special education school open to the community. The purpose of…

Partnership and Recognition in Action Research: Understanding the Practices and Practice Architectures for Participation and Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards-Groves, Christine; Olin, Anette; Karlberg-Granlund, Gunilla

2016-01-01

This article is the first and introductory article of this special issue. The article gives a societist account of the principles of partnership and recognition as they are encountered and experienced in practices in action research. A societist account of practices requires a social theory for understanding practices. Therefore, the article…

Vocational rehabilitation: facilitating evidence based practice through participatory action research.

PubMed

Maciver, Donald; Prior, Susan; Forsyth, Kirsty; Walsh, Mike; Meiklejohn, Allison; Irvine, Linda; Pentland, Duncan

2013-04-01

Improving vocational rehabilitation in line with the current evidence base is an area of considerable interest. Aims To describe the strategies used by a multidisciplinary team in the initial stages of a participatory action research (PAR) approach to improving a vocational rehabilitation service. A literature review and PAR process were completed. One hundred and fifteen participants engaged in multifaceted data collection and analysis, building consensus around key principles for a new vocational rehabilitation service. A synthesis of our literature review and PAR process was developed into a set of principles for practice which we plan to implement across the service. We have developed methodologies in interdisciplinary collaborations spanning statutory and non-statutory services. We have developed a set of principles for practice and detailed plans for implementation are being drawn up to inform provision in the future.

Typewriting Methodology 1977: Eight Basic Principles for Good Results

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winger, Fred E.

1977-01-01

The eight basic principles of teaching methodology discussed are as follows: Stress position and technique, stress skill building, stress the pretest/practice/posttest method, stress action research, stress true production skills, stress good proofreading skills, stress performance goals, and stress individualized instruction. (TA)

Action Research of a Color-Coded, Onset-Rime Decoding Intervention: Examining the Effects with First Grade Students Identified as at Risk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wall, Candace A.; Rafferty, Lisa A.; Camizzi, Mariya A.; Max, Caroline A.; Van Blargan, David M.

2016-01-01

Many students who struggle to obtain the alphabetic principle are at risk for being identified as having a reading disability and would benefit from additional explicit phonics instruction as a remedial measure. In this action research case study, the research team conducted two experiments to investigate the effects of a color-coded, onset-rime,…

Achieving enhanced organisational resilience by improved management of risk: Summary of research into the principles of resilience and the practices of resilient organisations.

PubMed

Hopkin, Paul

There have been many high-profile incidents in recent times that have affected both individual organisations and large parts of society. In response to these disasters and their consequences, there has been increasing focus on the concept of 'resilience'. Airmic worked with Cranfield School of Management to investigate the features of resilient organisations and whether common characteristics could be identified. The research summarised in this paper discovered five principles that increase an organisation's level of resilence. The paper also reports on the actions taken by organisations to embed these resilience principles into four main business enablers. These business enablers in combination represent the business model of the organisation. The overall conclusion of the research was that, in order to achieve a state of enhanced resilience, organisations need to be aware of risks and threats they face and then combine the actions required to be 'risk compliant' with the ability to be 'risk responsive'.

Using a Participatory Action Research Approach to Create a Universally Designed Inclusive High School Science Course: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dymond, Stacy K.; Renzaglia, Adelle; Rosenstein, Amy; Chun, Eul Jung; Banks, Ronald A.; Niswander, Vicki; Gilson, Christie L.

2006-01-01

Case study methodology was used in combination with a participatory action research (PAR) approach to examine the process of redesigning one high school science course to incorporate the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and to promote access to the general curriculum. The participants included one general education teacher and two…

"Re-story-ing" Our Restorative Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rundell, Frida

2007-01-01

A metaphor for crossing a frontier into a new territory is explored. The restorative justice principles as used by the United Nations and the International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP) help to translate into restorative practice principles. An action research project in South Africa provides the background to an evaluation process.…

Ethical principles in federal regulations: the case of children and research risks.

PubMed

Williams, P C

1996-04-01

Ethical principles play an important part not only in the promulgation of regulations but also in their application, i.e., enforcement and adjudication. while traditional ethical principles--promotion of welfare, freedom, and fairness--play an important role in both elements of regulation, some other kinds of ethical principles are significant as well. Principles governing the structure of decision processes should shape the structure and actions of agencies; principles of wise application should govern the work of those whose responsibility it is to apply regulatory language to particular situations. These points are demonstrated by investigating a case study: federal regulations designed to protect children involved in scientific research applied to a placebo study of the effects of recombinant human growth hormone on children of extremely short stature.

Testing two principles of the Health Action Process Approach in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

PubMed

Lippke, Sonia; Plotnikoff, Ronald C

2014-01-01

The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) proposes principles that can be translated into testable hypotheses. This is one of the first studies to have explicitly tested HAPA's first 2 principles, which are (1) health behavior change process can be subdivided into motivation and volition, and (2) volition can be grouped into intentional and action stages. The 3 stage groups are labeled preintenders, intenders, and actors. The hypotheses of the HAPA model were investigated in a sample of 1,193 individuals with Type 2 diabetes. Study participants completed a questionnaire assessing the HAPA variables. The hypotheses were evaluated by examining mean differences of test variables and by the use of multigroup structural equation modeling (MSEM). Findings support the HAPA's 2 principles and 3 distinct stages. The 3 HAPA stages were significantly different in several stage-specific variables, and discontinuity patterns were found in terms of nonlinear trends across means. In terms of predicting goals, action planning, and behavior, differences transpired between the 2 motivational stages (preintenders and intenders), and between the 2 volitional stages (intenders and actors). Results indicate implications for supporting behavior change processes, depending on in which stage a person is at: All individuals should be helped to increase self-efficacy. Preintenders and intenders require interventions targeting outcome expectancies. Actors benefit from an improvement in action planning to maintain and increase their previous behavior. Overall, the first 2 principles of the HAPA were supported and some evidence for the other principles was found. Future research should experimentally test these conclusions. 2014 APA, all rights reserved

Considering the Impact of Change when Using a Human Performance Technology (HPT) Approach with an Existing Instructional Coaching Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McElwain, Calee A.

2012-01-01

This action research study sought to examine the impact of applying the Human Performance Technology (HPT) principles to an intervention already in place in a suburban Missouri school district, and to review how those involved perceived the change of using the HPT approach. This action research study also examined what happened to the…

Using Web-Based Homework to Teach Principles of Microeconomics: A Preliminary Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Jeannette C.; Mitchell, Johanna E.

2017-01-01

This study evaluates an interactive web-based homework designed to increase student understanding in a principles of microeconomics course. Employing concepts from Action Research, the preliminary investigation was undertaken based on assumptions about the efficacy of online educational resources. Do students who do well on online homework improve…

A precautionary principle for dual use research in the life sciences.

PubMed

Kuhlau, Frida; Höglund, Anna T; Evers, Kathinka; Eriksson, Stefan

2011-01-01

Most life science research entails dual-use complexity and may be misused for harmful purposes, e.g. biological weapons. The Precautionary Principle applies to special problems characterized by complexity in the relationship between human activities and their consequences. This article examines whether the principle, so far mainly used in environmental and public health issues, is applicable and suitable to the field of dual-use life science research. Four central elements of the principle are examined: threat, uncertainty, prescription and action. Although charges against the principle exist - for example that it stifles scientific development, lacks practical applicability and is poorly defined and vague - the analysis concludes that a Precautionary Principle is applicable to the field. Certain factors such as credibility of the threat, availability of information, clear prescriptive demands on responsibility and directives on how to act, determine the suitability and success of a Precautionary Principle. Moreover, policy-makers and researchers share a responsibility for providing and seeking information about potential sources of harm. A central conclusion is that the principle is meaningful and useful if applied as a context-dependent moral principle and allowed flexibility in its practical use. The principle may then inspire awareness-raising and the establishment of practical routines which appropriately reflect the fact that life science research may be misused for harmful purposes. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Building Community-Engaged Health Research and Discovery Infrastructure on the South Side of Chicago: Science in Service to Community Priorities

PubMed Central

Lindau, Stacy Tessler; Makelarski, Jennifer A.; Chin, Marshall H.; Desautels, Shane; Johnson, Daniel; Johnson, Waldo E.; Miller, Doriane; Peters, Susan; Robinson, Connie; Schneider, John; Thicklin, Florence; Watson, Natalie P.; Wolfe, Marcus; Whitaker, Eric

2011-01-01

Objective To describe the roles community members can and should play in, and an asset-based strategy used by Chicago’s South Side Health and Vitality Studies for, building sustainable, large-scale community health research infrastructure. The Studies are a family of research efforts aiming to produce actionable knowledge to inform health policy, programming, and investments for the region. Methods Community and university collaborators, using a consensus-based approach, developed shared theoretical perspectives, guiding principles, and a model for collaboration in 2008, which were used to inform an asset-based operational strategy. Ongoing community engagement and relationship-building support the infrastructure and research activities of the Studies. Results Key steps in the asset-based strategy include: 1) continuous community engagement and relationship building, 2) identifying community priorities, 3) identifying community assets, 4) leveraging assets, 5) conducting research, 6) sharing knowledge and 7) informing action. Examples of community member roles, and how these are informed by the Studies’ guiding principles, are provided. Conclusions Community and university collaborators, with shared vision and principles, can effectively work together to plan innovative, large-scale community-based research that serves community needs and priorities. Sustainable, effective models are needed to realize NIH’s mandate for meaningful translation of biomedical discovery into improved population health. PMID:21236295

Using Science to Take a Stand: Action-Oriented Learning in an Afterschool Science Club

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hagenah, Sara

This dissertation study investigates what happens when students participate in an afterschool science club designed around action-oriented science instruction, a set of curriculum design principles based on social justice pedagogy. Comprised of three manuscripts written for journal publication, the dissertation includes 1) Negotiating community-based action-oriented science teaching and learning: Articulating curriculum design principles, 2) Middle school girls' socio-scientific participation pathways in an afterschool science club, and 3) Laughing and learning together: Productive science learning spaces for middle school girls. By investigating how action-oriented science design principles get negotiated, female identity development in and with science, and the role of everyday social interactions as students do productive science, this research fills gaps in the understanding of how social justice pedagogy gets enacted and negotiated among multiple stakeholders including students, teachers, and community members along what identity development looks like across social and scientific activity. This study will be of interest to educators thinking about how to enact social justice pedagogy in science learning spaces and those interested in identity development in science.

Australian recommendations for the integration of emergency care for older people: Consensus Statement.

PubMed

Lowthian, Judy A; Arendts, Glenn; Strivens, Edward

2018-05-07

Management of older patients during acute illness or injury does not occur in isolation in emergency departments. We aimed to develop a collaborative Consensus Statement to enunciate principles of integrated emergency care. Briefing notes, informed by research and evidence reviews, were developed and evaluated by a Consensus Working Party comprising cross-specialty representation from clinical experts, service providers, consumers and policymakers. The Consensus Working Party then convened to discuss and develop the statement's content. A subcommittee produced a draft, which was reviewed and edited by the Consensus Working Party. Consensus was reached after three rounds of discussion, with 12 principles and six recommendations for how to follow these principles, including an integrated care framework for action. Dissemination will encourage stakeholders and associated policy bodies to embrace the principles and priorities for action, potentially leading to collaborative work practices and improvement of care during and after acute illness or injury. © 2018 AJA Inc.

Using Action Research and Peer Perspectives to Develop Technology That Facilitates Behavioral Change and Self-Management in COPD

PubMed Central

McCabe, Catherine; Dinsmore, John; Brady, Anne Marie; Mckee, Gabrielle; O'Donnell, Sharon; Prendergast, David

2014-01-01

Background. Behavioural change and self-management in patients with chronic illness may help to control symptoms, avoid rehospitalization, enhance quality of life, and decrease mortality and morbidity. Objective. Guided by action research principles and using mixed methods, the aim of this project was to develop peer based educational, motivational, and health-promoting peer based videos, using behavioural change principles, to support self-management in patients with COPD. Methods. Individuals (n = 32) living with COPD at home and involved in two community based COPD support groups were invited to participate in this project. Focus group/individual interviews and a demographic questionnaire were used to collect data. Results. Analysis revealed 6 categories relevant to behavioural change which included self-management, support, symptoms, knowledge, rehabilitation, and technology. Participants commented that content needed to be specific, and videos needed to be shorter, to be tailored to severity of condition, to demonstrate “normal” activities, to be positive, and to ensure that content is culturally relevant. Conclusions. This study demonstrated that detailed analysis of patient perspectives and needs for self-management is essential and should underpin the development of any framework, materials, and technology. The action research design principles provided an effective framework for eliciting the data and applying it to technology and testing its relevance to the user. PMID:24959177

Using action research in nursing practice with older people: democratizing knowledge.

PubMed

Reed, Jan

2005-05-01

This paper reports on an action research study which raised some questions about the processes of developing a sense of shared ownership in action research in a research environment which does not always have the appropriate mechanisms to support and sustain action research. Action research has gained popularity in nursing and healthcare research, offering a way of developing practice-based knowledge, which can assist in changing practice and democratizing inquiry. There are other organizational constraints on action research which arise at different levels, and which also require discussion. These can be issues about communication and ownership at a practice level and issues of funding and project management procedures. This paper reports on a study in which these issues came to the fore, and offers some thoughts on how they can affect the processes of action research. While the principles of action research appear to offer much towards the development of a practice-rooted body of knowledge for nursing, unless some of the issues of ownership are resolved, it is unlikely to move beyond academic rhetoric. If nursing is to engage in action research, this must be done critically and reflectively and careful attention paid to developing an inclusive and collaborative approach to knowledge and practice development. Furthermore, to develop in nursing and health care research, it must find ways to meet the requirements of funding bodies.

What makes moral dilemma judgments "utilitarian" or "deontological"?

PubMed

Gawronski, Bertram; Beer, Jennifer S

2017-12-01

The distinction between utilitarianism and deontology has become a prevailing framework for conceptualizing moral judgment. According to the principle of utilitarianism, the morality of an action depends on its outcomes. In contrast, the principle of deontology states that the morality of an action depends on its consistency with moral norms. To identify the processes underlying utilitarian and deontological judgments, research in psychology and neuroscience has investigated responses to moral dilemmas that pit one principle against the other (e.g., trolley dilemma). However, the interpretation of responses in this paradigm is ambiguous, because the defining aspects of utilitarianism and deontology, outcomes and norms, are not manipulated. We illustrate how this shortcoming distorts interpretations of empirical findings and describe an alternative approach that overcomes the limitations of the traditional paradigm.

Turning Anxiety into Creativity: Using Postmodern Principles to Alleviate Anxiety and Stress through the Art Curriculum and Beyond

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferry, Lisa Marie

2016-01-01

The purpose of this action research study is to help students alleviate their anxiety and stress symptoms using activities based on Olivia Gude's postmodern principles. The activities included are the participants own take-along visual art journal kit and classroom projects. Professional learning outcomes include the knowledge to equip teachers…

Exploring the Action Landscape via Trial World-Lines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joglekar, Yogesh N.; Tham, Weng Kian

2011-01-01

The Hamilton action principle, also known as the principle of least action, and Lagrange equations are an integral part of intermediate and advanced undergraduate mechanics. Although the Hamilton principle is oft stated as "the action for any nearby trial world-line is greater than the action for the classical world-line," the landscape of action…

Quantum Physics Principles and Communication in the Acute Healthcare Setting: A Pilot Study.

PubMed

Helgeson, Heidi L; Peyerl, Colleen Kraft; Solheim-Witt, Marit

This pilot study explores whether clinician awareness of quantum physics principles could facilitate open communication between patients and providers. In the spirit of action research, this study was conceptualized with a holistic view of human health, using a mixed method design of grounded theory as an emergent method. Instrumentation includes surveys and a focus group discussion with twelve registered nurses working in an acute care hospital setting. Findings document that the preliminary core phenomenon, energy as information, influences communication in the healthcare environment. Key emergent themes include awareness, language, validation, open communication, strategies, coherence, incoherence and power. Research participants indicate that quantum physics principles provide a language and conceptual framework for improving their awareness of communication and interactions in the healthcare environment. Implications of this pilot study support the feasibility of future research and education on awareness of quantum physics principles in other clinical settings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Discourses of dementia: a call for an ethnographic, action research approach to care in linguistically and culturally diverse environments.

PubMed

Müller, Nicole; Guendouzi, Jacqueline A

2009-08-01

The methods of ethnography and action research have much to offer to the field of speech-language pathology, particularly as our clinical populations are becoming increasingly diverse. We suggest that practicing speech-language pathologists and students, as well as researchers, will benefit from strategies that use the methods of participatory action research and ethnography as guiding principles to their work. Ethnography seeks to discover meaningful structures in a culture from the perspective of those whose culture it is. Action research, which shares a methodological basis with ethnography, is undertaken with the aim of improving the functioning of the social institution, practice, or structure investigated for the benefit of those most closely involved with that institution or practice. By way of illustration, we use data collected during fieldwork in Louisiana, involving persons with dementia from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds.

Deontological and utilitarian inclinations in moral decision making: a process dissociation approach.

PubMed

Conway, Paul; Gawronski, Bertram

2013-02-01

Dual-process theories of moral judgment suggest that responses to moral dilemmas are guided by two moral principles: the principle of deontology states that the morality of an action depends on the intrinsic nature of the action (e.g., harming others is wrong regardless of its consequences); the principle of utilitarianism implies that the morality of an action is determined by its consequences (e.g., harming others is acceptable if it increases the well-being of a greater number of people). Despite the proposed independence of the moral inclinations reflecting these principles, previous work has relied on operationalizations in which stronger inclinations of one kind imply weaker inclinations of the other kind. The current research applied Jacoby's (1991) process dissociation procedure to independently quantify the strength of deontological and utilitarian inclinations within individuals. Study 1 confirmed the usefulness of process dissociation for capturing individual differences in deontological and utilitarian inclinations, revealing positive correlations of both inclinations to moral identity. Moreover, deontological inclinations were uniquely related to empathic concern, perspective-taking, and religiosity, whereas utilitarian inclinations were uniquely related to need for cognition. Study 2 demonstrated that cognitive load selectively reduced utilitarian inclinations, with deontological inclinations being unaffected. In Study 3, a manipulation designed to enhance empathy increased deontological inclinations, with utilitarian inclinations being unaffected. These findings provide evidence for the independent contributions of deontological and utilitarian inclinations to moral judgments, resolving many theoretical ambiguities implied by previous research. (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Superfund record of decision (EPA Region 3): Langley AFB/NASA Langley Center, Tabbs Creek Operable Unit, Hampton, VA, September 30, 1998

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1998-10-01

This Record of Decision (ROD) presents remedial action for the Tabbs Creek Operable Unit (OU) at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) in Hampton, Virginia (the Site). This action addresses the principle threat at the OU by dredging and disposing contaminated sediment.

Fourth Way in Action: Translation of Research into Policy and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poon, Chew Leng

2012-01-01

This article discusses the relationship between policy, research and practice in the Singapore education landscape in response to Hargreaves and Shirley's arguments of Fourth Way principles of educational change. Examples of recent policy developments in Singapore are used to illustrate the interaction between judicial uses of research data and…

The SEURAT-1 Approach towards Animal Free Human Safety Assessment

EPA Science Inventory

SEURAT-1 is a European public-private research consortium that is working towards animal-free testing of chemical compounds and the highest level of consumer protection. A research strategy was formulated based on the guiding principle to adopt a toxicological mode-of-action fram...

The Power of Belonging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gjøtterud, Sigrid; Krogh, Erling

2017-01-01

Coming from a Nordic environment, professionally working in teacher education, both authors engaged in developmental work and research in the Uluguru mountains in Tanzania. The research is carried out in a community-based organization for vulnerable youth, Mgeta Orphan Education Foundation (MOEF), which builds on principles of action learning and…

Using Participatory Action Research to Develop a Working Model That Enhances Psychiatric Nurses' Professionalism: The Architecture of Stability.

PubMed

Salzmann-Erikson, Martin

2017-11-01

Ward rules in psychiatric care aim to promote safety for both patients and staff. Simultaneously, ward rules are associated with increased patient violence, leading to neither a safe work environment nor a safe caring environment. Although ward rules are routinely used, few studies have explicitly accounted for their impact. To describe the process of a team development project considering ward rule issues, and to develop a working model to empower staff in their daily in-patient psychiatric nursing practices. The design of this study is explorative and descriptive. Participatory action research methodology was applied to understand ward rules. Data consists of audio-recorded group discussions, observations and field notes, together creating a data set of 556 text pages. More than 100 specific ward rules were identified. In this process, the word rules was relinquished in favor of adopting the term principles, since rules are inconsistent with a caring ideology. A linguistic transition led to the development of a framework embracing the (1) Principle of Safety, (2) Principle of Structure and (3) Principle of Interplay. The principles were linked to normative guidelines and applied ethical theories: deontology, consequentialism and ethics of care. The work model reminded staff about the principles, empowered their professional decision-making, decreased collegial conflicts because of increased acceptance for individual decisions, and, in general, improved well-being at work. Furthermore, the work model also empowered staff to find support for their decisions based on principles that are grounded in the ethics of totality.

Gaining a Competitive Edge through Action Design Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexa, L.; Alexa, M.; Avasilcăi, S.

2016-08-01

The current business environment is characterized by increased competition and highly innovative approach, in order to create products and services to better respond to the costumers’ needs and expectations. In this specific context, the research approaches need to be more flexible and business oriented and so, throughout the paper we have used a research method that combines design research and action research, named Action Design Research which is a research method used for generating prescriptive design knowledge through building and evaluating IT artifacts in an organizational setting [1]. Following the Action Design Research stages and principles: problem identification, building, intervention and evaluation, reflection and learning and formalization of learning, the research team has developed an online instrument used to actively involve the consumer in the product development process, in order to generate a better consumers insight regarding their needs and desires and to design and/or adjust the product accordingly. The customer engagement IT tool created and tested by using Action Design Research, E-PICUS, has been developed within the framework of the research project „E-solutions for innovation through customer pro-active involvement in value creation to increase organisational competitiveness (E-PICUS)”, PN- II-PT-PCCA-2013-4-1811, currently undergoing.

Dissemination and implementation sciences in pharmacy: A call to action for professional organizations.

PubMed

Seaton, Terry L

There is a substantial gap between the generation of new knowledge and its widespread incorporation into routine clinical practice, including the medication use process. Principles of dissemination and implementation sciences, if fully embraced by clinicians and researchers, have the potential of improving healthcare effectiveness, efficiency, quality, and safety. This commentary is a call to action for member-driven professional organizations in pharmacy to serve their members and the profession by proactively and strategically leading efforts to develop pharmacist's abilities to incorporate principles of dissemination and implementation sciences into their practice. Additionally, these organizations should provide meaningful support for dissemination and implementation research that hastens the adoption, promotes intervention fidelity, and demonstrates the scaling and sustaining of evidence-based practices to optimize patient care delivery and medication therapy outcomes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Translating evidence-based guidelines to improve feedback practices: the interACT case study.

PubMed

Barton, Karen L; Schofield, Susie J; McAleer, Sean; Ajjawi, Rola

2016-02-09

There has been a substantial body of research examining feedback practices, yet the assessment and feedback landscape in higher education is described as 'stubbornly resistant to change'. The aim of this paper is to present a case study demonstrating how an entire programme's assessment and feedback practices were re-engineered and evaluated in line with evidence from the literature in the interACT (Interaction and Collaboration via Technology) project. Informed by action research the project conducted two cycles of planning, action, evaluation and reflection. Four key pedagogical principles informed the re-design of the assessment and feedback practices. Evaluation activities included document analysis, interviews with staff (n = 10) and students (n = 7), and student questionnaires (n = 54). Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the questionnaire data. Framework thematic analysis was used to develop themes across the interview data. InterACT was reported by students and staff to promote self-evaluation, engagement with feedback and feedback dialogue. Streamlining the process after the first cycle of action research was crucial for improving engagement of students and staff. The interACT process of promoting self-evaluation, reflection on feedback, feedback dialogue and longitudinal perspectives of feedback has clear benefits and should be transferable to other contexts. InterACT has involved comprehensive re-engineering of the assessment and feedback processes using educational principles to guide the design taking into account stakeholder perspectives. These principles and the strategies to enact them should be transferable to other contexts.

Indigenous health: effective and sustainable health services through continuous quality improvement.

PubMed

Bailie, Ross S; Si, Damin; O'Donoghue, Lyn; Dowden, Michelle

2007-05-21

The Australian government's Healthy for Life program is supporting capacity development in Indigenous primary care using continuous quality improvement (CQI) techniques. An important influence on the Healthy for Life program has been the ABCD research project. The key features contributing to the success of the project are described. The ABCD research project: uses a CQI approach, with an ongoing cycle of gathering data on how well organisational systems are functioning, and developing and then implementing improvements; is guided by widely accepted principles of community-based research, which emphasise participation; and adheres to the principles and values of Indigenous health research and service delivery. The potential for improving health outcomes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities using a CQI approach should be strengthened by clear clinical and managerial leadership, supporting service organisations at the community level, and applying participatory-action principles.

Translating Policy Principles into Practice to Improve Health Care Access for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: A Research Review of the Past Decade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krahn, Glora L.; Drum, Charles, E.

2007-01-01

This article extracts principles from two Surgeon General reports, "Closing the Gap: A National Blueprint to Improve the Health of Persons with Mental Retardation" (2002) and "Call to Action to Improve the Health and Wellness of Persons with Disabilities" (2005), and combines them with the Objectives from "Chapter 6 of Healthy People 2010" to…

Principles of Catholic Social Teaching, Critical Pedagogy, and the Theory of Intersectionality: An Integrated Framework to Examine the Roles of Social Status in the Formation of Catholic Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eick, Caroline Marie; Ryan, Patrick A.

2014-01-01

This article discusses the relevance of an analytic framework that integrates principles of Catholic social teaching, critical pedagogy, and the theory of intersectionality to explain attitudes toward marginalized youth held by Catholic students preparing to become teachers. The framework emerges from five years of action research data collected…

Case management: developing practice through action research.

PubMed

Smith, Annetta; Mackay, Seonaid; McCulloch, Kathleen

2013-09-01

This article is a report of an action research study carried out with community nurses to help develop case management within their practice. Using action research principles, nurses reviewed and analysed their current practice and developed recommendations for further embedding case management as a means of supporting patients with complex care needs in their own homes. Findings indicate that a number of factors can influence the community nurse's ability to implement case management. These factors include approaches to case finding, availability of resources and interprofessional working. Important considerations for nurses were the influence of the context of care, the geographical location and the health needs of the local patient population, which meant that case management may need to be adapted to meet local circumstances.

Human Research Program Unique Processes, Criteria, and Guidelines (UPCG). Revision C, July 28, 2011

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chin, Duane

2011-01-01

This document defines the processes, criteria, and guidelines exclusive to managing the Human Research Program (HRP). The intent of this document is to provide instruction to the reader in the form of processes, criteria, and guidelines. Of the three instructional categories, processes contain the most detail because of the need for a systematic series of actions directed to some end. In contrast, criteria have lesser detail than processes with the idea of creating a rule or principle structure for evaluating or testing something. Guidelines are a higher level indication of a course of action typically with the least amount of detail. The lack of detail in guidelines allows the reader flexibility when performing an action or actions.

The ecological level of analysis: can neogibsonian principles be applied beyond perception and action?

PubMed

Travieso, David; Jacobs, David M

2009-12-01

Is it useful to apply ecological principles, developed to understand perception and action, in research areas such as social psychology? Charles (Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Sciences 43(1) 53-66 2009) warns ecological psychologists interested in this question that much time and effort can be saved through a backwards extension to or rediscovery of the New Realism tradition. In response, we analyze what ecological psychology risks to lose with such a backwards extension and describe existing extensions of the approach not considered by Charles. According to Charles, New Realism holds that: (1) we experience reality, (2) relations are real, and (3) things are what you see when you see those things. Our arguments originate from a comparison of these principles with six recently described ecological ones: (1) organism-environment systems are the proper units of analysis, (2) environmental realities should be defined at the ecological scale, (3) behavior is emergent and self-organized, (4) perception and action are continuous and cyclic, (5) information is specificational, and (6) perception is of affordances (Richardson et al. 2008).

Achieving a transparent, actionable framework for public-private partnerships for food and nutrition research.

PubMed

Alexander, Nick; Rowe, Sylvia; Brackett, Robert E; Burton-Freeman, Britt; Hentges, Eric J; Kretser, Alison; Klurfeld, David M; Meyers, Linda D; Mukherjea, Ratna; Ohlhorst, Sarah

2015-06-01

Officers and other representatives of more than a dozen food-, nutrition-, and health-related scientific societies and organizations, food industry scientists, and staff of the USDA, the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration, and the NIH convened on 8 December 2014 in Washington, DC, to reach a consensus among individuals participating on guiding principles for the development of research-oriented, food- and nutrition-related public-private partnerships. During the daylong working meeting, participants discussed and revised 12 previously published guidelines to ensure integrity in the conduct of food and nutrition research collaborations among public, nonprofit, and private sectors. They agreed to reconvene periodically to reassess the public-private partnership principles. This article presents the guiding principles and potential benefits, outlines key discussion points, and articulates points of agreement and reservation. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

Service Learning and Its Influenced to Pre-Service Teachers: Social Responsibility and Self-Efficacy Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prasertsang, Parichart; Nuangchalerm, Prasart; Pumipuntu, Chaloey

2013-01-01

The purpose of the research was to study pre-service teachers on social responsibility and self-efficacy through service learning. The mixed methodology included two major procedures (i) the actual use of a developed service learning instructional model by means of action research principles and qualitative research and (ii) the study into the…

A Study Combining Criticism and Qualitative Research Techniques for Appraising Classroom Media.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swartz, James D.

Qualitative criticism is a method of understanding things, actions, and events within a social framework. It is a method of acquiring knowledge to guide decision making based on local knowledge and a synthesis of principles from criticism and qualitative research. The function of qualitative criticism is centered with Richard Rorty's theoretical…

Behavioral and Neurobiological Mechanisms of Extinction in Pavlovian and Instrumental Learning

PubMed Central

Todd, Travis P.; Vurbic, Drina; Bouton, Mark E.

2013-01-01

This article reviews research on the behavioral and neural mechanisms of extinction as it is represented in both Pavlovian and instrumental learning. In Pavlovian extinction, repeated presentation of a signal without its reinforcer weakens behavior evoked by the signal; in instrumental extinction, repeated occurrence of a voluntary action without its reinforcer weakens the strength of the action. In either case, contemporary research at both the behavioral and neural levels of analysis has been guided by a set of extinction principles that were first generated by research conducted at the behavioral level. The review discusses these principles and illustrates how they have informed the study of both Pavlovian and instrumental extinction. It shows that behavioral and neurobiological research efforts have been tightly linked and that their results are readily integrated. Pavlovian and instrumental extinction are also controlled by compatible behavioral and neural processes. Since many behavioral effects observed in extinction can be multiply determined, we suggest that the current close connection between behavioral-level and neural-level analyses will need to continue. PMID:23999219

Behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms of extinction in Pavlovian and instrumental learning.

PubMed

Todd, Travis P; Vurbic, Drina; Bouton, Mark E

2014-02-01

This article reviews research on the behavioral and neural mechanisms of extinction as it is represented in both Pavlovian and instrumental learning. In Pavlovian extinction, repeated presentation of a signal without its reinforcer weakens behavior evoked by the signal; in instrumental extinction, repeated occurrence of a voluntary action without its reinforcer weakens the strength of the action. In either case, contemporary research at both the behavioral and neural levels of analysis has been guided by a set of extinction principles that were first generated by research conducted at the behavioral level. The review discusses these principles and illustrates how they have informed the study of both Pavlovian and instrumental extinction. It shows that behavioral and neurobiological research efforts have been tightly linked and that their results are readily integrated. Pavlovian and instrumental extinction are also controlled by compatible behavioral and neural processes. Since many behavioral effects observed in extinction can be multiply determined, we suggest that the current close connection between behavioral-level and neural-level analyses will need to continue. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Metaphysics of the principle of least action

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terekhovich, Vladislav

2018-05-01

Despite the importance of the variational principles of physics, there have been relatively few attempts to consider them for a realistic framework. In addition to the old teleological question, this paper continues the recent discussion regarding the modal involvement of the principle of least action and its relations with the Humean view of the laws of nature. The reality of possible paths in the principle of least action is examined from the perspectives of the contemporary metaphysics of modality and Leibniz's concept of essences or possibles striving for existence. I elaborate a modal interpretation of the principle of least action that replaces a classical representation of a system's motion along a single history in the actual modality by simultaneous motions along an infinite set of all possible histories in the possible modality. This model is based on an intuition that deep ontological connections exist between the possible paths in the principle of least action and possible quantum histories in the Feynman path integral. I interpret the action as a physical measure of the essence of every possible history. Therefore only one actual history has the highest degree of the essence and minimal action. To address the issue of necessity, I assume that the principle of least action has a general physical necessity and lies between the laws of motion with a limited physical necessity and certain laws with a metaphysical necessity.

The Collective Black and "Principles to Actions"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Danny Bernard

2015-01-01

In this commentary, Danny Martin describes five key take-aways and two sets of questions that arose from his reading of "Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematics Success for All (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 2014). Martin begins by noting that "Principles to Actions" is clearly a political document that…

Everyday robotic action: lessons from human action control

PubMed Central

de Kleijn, Roy; Kachergis, George; Hommel, Bernhard

2014-01-01

Robots are increasingly capable of performing everyday human activities such as cooking, cleaning, and doing the laundry. This requires the real-time planning and execution of complex, temporally extended sequential actions under high degrees of uncertainty, which provides many challenges to traditional approaches to robot action control. We argue that important lessons in this respect can be learned from research on human action control. We provide a brief overview of available psychological insights into this issue and focus on four principles that we think could be particularly beneficial for robot control: the integration of symbolic and subsymbolic planning of action sequences, the integration of feedforward and feedback control, the clustering of complex actions into subcomponents, and the contextualization of action-control structures through goal representations. PMID:24672474

Against the principle that the individual shall have priority over science.

PubMed

Helgesson, G; Eriksson, S

2008-01-01

This paper highlights a feature common to many ethical guidelines--namely, the idea that the interests of the individual shall always prevail over the interests of science and society. The paper presents how some major ethical guidelines treat the balancing of research interests against those of research subjects and spells out the difficulties in interpreting the principle of the primacy of the individual in a way that can be action-guiding. It suggests various alternative interpretations of the primacy of the individual and argues that they do not hold. Finally, the implications of this analysis for ethical guidelines are discussed.

Limiting climate change: what’s most worth doing?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stern, Paul C.; Wolske, Kimberly S.

2017-09-01

Wynes and Nicholas (2017 Environ. Res. Lett. 12 074024) claim that some of the most important actions individuals can take to mitigate climate change have been overlooked, particularly in educational messages for adolescents, and estimate the potential impact of some of these, including having fewer children and living car free. These estimates raise questions that deserve serious analysis, but they are based only on the technical potential of the actions and do not consider the plasticity of the behaviors and the feasibility of policies to support them. The actions identified as having the greatest potential are lifestyle changes that accrue benefits over a lifetime or longer, so are not realistic alternatives to actions that can be enacted immediately. But presenting lifestyle choices and the relative impacts of different actions as discussion starters for adolescents could be promising, especially if the discussions highlight issues of behavioral plasticity, policy plasticity, and time scale. Research has identified design principles for interventions to achieve the strongest emissions reductions at time scales up to the decadal. Design principles for achieving longer-lasting changes deserve careful analytic attention, as well as a stronger focus in adolescent textbooks and messages to the general population. Both adolescents and researchers would do well to think carefully about what could promote the generational changes needed to reach a climate change target such as ‘well below 2 °C’.

The Principle-Based Method of Practical Ethics.

PubMed

Spielthenner, Georg

2017-09-01

This paper is about the methodology of doing practical ethics. There is a variety of methods employed in ethics. One of them is the principle-based approach, which has an established place in ethical reasoning. In everyday life, we often judge the rightness and wrongness of actions by their conformity to principles, and the appeal to principles plays a significant role in practical ethics, too. In this paper, I try to provide a better understanding of the nature of principle-based reasoning. To accomplish this, I show in the first section that these principles can be applied to cases in a meaningful and sufficiently precise way. The second section discusses the question how relevant applying principles is to the resolution of ethical issues. This depends on their nature. I argue that the principles under consideration in this paper should be interpreted as presumptive principles and I conclude that although they cannot be expected to bear the weight of definitely resolving ethical problems, these principles can nevertheless play a considerable role in ethical research.

"It's the Way That You Do It": Developing an Ethical Framework for Community Psychology Research and Action.

PubMed

Campbell, Rebecca

2016-12-01

In the 50 years since the 1965 Swampscott conference, the field of community psychology has not yet developed a well-articulated ethical framework to guide research and practice. This paper reviews what constitutes an "ethical framework"; considers where the field of community psychology is at in its development of a comprehensive ethical framework; examines sources for ethical guidance (i.e., ethical principles and standards) across multiple disciplines, including psychology, evaluation, sociology, and anthropology; and recommends strategies for developing a rich written discourse on how community psychology researchers and practitioners can address ethical conflicts in our work. © Society for Community Research and Action 2016.

Introduction: evidence-based action in humanitarian crises.

PubMed

Dijkzeul, Dennis; Hilhorst, Dorothea; Walker, Peter

2013-07-01

This introductory paper sets the stage for this special issue of Disasters on evidence-based action in humanitarian crises. It reviews definition(s) of evidence and it examines the different disciplinary and methodological approaches to collecting and analysing evidence. In humanitarian action, the need for evidence-based approaches sometimes is viewed in tension with a principled approach, often unnecessarily. Choosing appropriate research methods depends on the objectives of the researcher, in particular whether the research focuses on the intervention and/or the context and the length and complexity of the causal chains involved. The paper concludes by defining some trends in evidence-based approaches in crises: the move away from inputs and outputs of humanitarian action towards outcomes and impacts; the shift towards a higher degree of partnerships in research, and the participation of users and target groups; and the acceptance of a broad array of approaches to establish evidence. © 2013 The Author(s). Journal compilation © Overseas Development Institute, 2013.

Teacher Intervention to Support Oral Language and Literacy in Dramatic Play Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Shelley Stagg; Greenberg, Janice

2017-01-01

A speech-language pathologist and former primary teacher who is now a researcher conducting action research with kindergarten teachers in northern rural Canadian classrooms collaborate in an analysis of one teacher's interactions with her students in a dramatic play center. We use three principles to show how the teacher supports children's…

The impact of leading empowered organisations (LEO) on leadership development in nursing.

PubMed

Hancock, Helen; Campbell, Steve; Bignell, Pat; Kilgour, Julie

2005-01-01

This study sought to evaluate the impact and sustainability of the Leading Empowered Organisations (LEO) programme on the role of G Grade Nurse Managers, their colleagues and therefore on patient care at CHS. A qualitative, inductive research methodology, which employed 360-degree research evaluation, was used. A purposive sample of four G Grade Nurse Managers was included. Each G Grade and eight of each of their colleagues were interviewed. Data were analysed according to the principles of thematic analysis. There was evidence of a sustained impact of the LEO programme on G Grade Nurse Managers in relation to competence, action plans, delegation, communication strategies, problem solving, risk taking, leadership and management. The study also revealed a number of significant personal and contextual factors that affected the implementation of the LEO principles. Empowerment, or a lack of it, underpinned much of what occurred in the implementation of the LEO principles by the G Grades into practice. The findings indicated that both organisational and individual action is necessary to achieve leadership development. Organisations need to ensure that investment in leadership is not restricted to the LEO programme, but that it becomes a strategic priority.

24 CFR 3282.402 - General principles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 5 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false General principles. 3282.402... and Remedial Actions § 3282.402 General principles. (a) Nothing in this subpart or in these... manufactured home manufacturers to provide remedial actions under this subpart is limited by the principle that...

Eli Lilly and Company's bioethics framework for human biomedical research.

PubMed

Van Campen, Luann E; Therasse, Donald G; Klopfenstein, Mitchell; Levine, Robert J

2015-11-01

Current ethics and good clinical practice guidelines address various aspects of pharmaceutical research and development, but do not comprehensively address the bioethical responsibilities of sponsors. To fill this void, in 2010 Eli Lilly and Company developed and implemented a Bioethics Framework for Human Biomedical Research to guide ethical decisions. (See our companion article that describes how the framework was developed and implemented and provides a critique of its usefulness and limitations.) This paper presents the actual framework that serves as a company resource for employee education and bioethics deliberations. The framework consists of four basic ethical principles and 13 essential elements for ethical human biomedical research and resides within the context of our company's mission, vision and values. For each component of the framework, we provide a high-level overview followed by a detailed description with cross-references to relevant well regarded guidance documents. The principles and guidance described should be familiar to those acquainted with research ethics. Therefore the novelty of the framework lies not in the foundational concepts presented as much as the attempt to specify and compile a sponsor's bioethical responsibilities to multiple stakeholders into one resource. When such a framework is employed, it can serve as a bioethical foundation to inform decisions and actions throughout clinical planning, trial design, study implementation and closeout, as well as to inform company positions on bioethical issues. The framework is, therefore, a useful tool for translating ethical aspirations into action - to help ensure pharmaceutical human biomedical research is conducted in a manner that aligns with consensus ethics principles, as well as a sponsor's core values.

Toward Formulating Evidence-Based Principles of LGB-Affirmative Psychotherapy

PubMed Central

Proujansky, Rachel A.; Pachankis, John E.

2015-01-01

In this commentary, we review eight potential LGB-affirmative psychotherapy principles for improving minority stress coping among sexual minority clients. We illustrate these principles with examples from both Mandel’s (2014) treatment approach and our clinical research team’s recent attempt to create and test the efficacy of a treatment employing these principles in an ongoing randomized controlled trial. These principles are grounded in empirical research regarding the mechanisms through which minority stress compromises the mental health of sexual minority individuals and are supported by clinical expert consensus. The specific principles that we review include: 1) normalizing the mental health impact of minority stress, 2) facilitating emotion awareness, regulation, and acceptance, 3) decreasing avoidance, 4) restructuring minority stress cognitions, 5) empowering sexual minority clients to communicate assertively, 6) validating sexual minority individuals’ unique strengths, 7) building supportive relationships, and 8) affirming healthy, rewarding expressions of sexuality. We believe that Mandel’s skillful approach to helping her hybrid client Adam cope with minority stressors, such as internalized homophobia, and associated mental health problems such as substance abuse and depression, to form a healthy identity as a gay man represents an exemplary demonstration of these principles in action. PMID:26617475

Engineering of the institutionalization of the circular economy at the level of casting production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vescan, M. M.; Soporan, V. F.; Crișan, D. M.; Lehene, T. R.; Pădurețu, S.; Samuila, V.

2017-06-01

This paper is motivated by the necessity of introducing the principles of circular economy at the level of different social - economic activities, and from this point of view one of the fields with a special potential is that of the manufacture of castings. Objective: to connect to the organizing and application of the methodology of the circular economy principles. The proposed method is an innovating one, being connected to the use of institutionalization engineering. Formulating the subject: The subject formulated to be solved aims at the introduction of new approaches, defined through institutionalization engineering, which proposes to set the correlation of actions between the specifics of the circular economy and the specific elements of the manufacture of castings. Research method: An institutional structuring operation was imposed for the optimization of the research method, in which different versions interact at the following levels: the level of public policies, the level of the regulatory framework, the level of technical solutions and the level of financing solutions and financial instruments. The determination of the optimal solution established in a dynamic context, favorable for the requirements of the different actors present within the process, appeals to the elements of critical thinking, specific for the engineer’s actions. Achievement of the research activity: The research activity structures a methodology of quantifying the contributions of each stage of the manufacturing process for castings at the fulfilling of the specific conditions of the circular economy, indicating the critical areas of action for more efficient actions of the circular economy, according to the market economy requirements, where there is a potential of implementing the technical solutions by quantizing the financial solutions and the opportunity of using the financial instruments. The major contribution of the research: The proposed methodology, with examples at the level of castings manufacture, sets the bases of a new field of action of the engineering thinking, namely, that of circular economy institutionalization functioning. Conclusions of the research activity: The proposed methodology represents the bases of establishing a new instrument of action at the level of institutionalized functioning of the circular economy.

Is Principled Pragmatism a Viable Framework for Addressing Complex Problems?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Islam, S.

2017-12-01

Complex water problems are connected with many competing and often conflicting values, interests, and tools. These problems can't be addressed through simply applying dogmatic principles or a deal-making pragmatic approach. Because these problems are interconnected and interdependent, a final solution can't be pre-specified. Any intervention to a complex problem requires attention to both principles and pragmatism. Strict adherence to principles without pragmatism is often not actionable; pure pragmatism exercised without guiding principles is not sustainable. In a colloquial sense, pragmatism is often taken to suggest practical, opportunistic, and expedient approaches at the expense of principles. This perception appears to be rooted in the dichotomy between "being pragmatic" and "being ideological". The notion of principled pragmatism attempts to get away from this duality by focusing on how to make ideas clear and actionable. In other words, how to connect our thoughts to action given the context, constraints, and capacity. Principled pragmatism - rooted in equity and sustainability as guiding principles for water management - approach attempts to synthesize symbolic aspirations with realistic assessment to chart a trajectory of actionable subset of implementable solutions. Case studies from the Ganges Basin will show the utility of principled pragmatism for water management in a changing world.

Supporting Productive Struggle with Communication Moves

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeburn, Ben; Arbaugh, Fran

2017-01-01

"Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All" (NCTM 2014, p. 10) contains eight research-informed teaching practices that have been shown to support students' mathematical thinking and learning. Two teaching practices highlighted herein are "to elicit and use evidence of students' thinking" and "support…

Blended Shore Education: Civic Engagement and Competencies in 21st-Century Doctoral Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strohschen, Gabriele

2015-01-01

This chapter examines the implication of Blended Shore Education to doctoral program design and delivery as it synthesizes adult education principles of Freire and Stanage with findings of Strohschen's international action research on design and delivery practices.

Superfund record of decision (EPA Region 3): Langley AFB/NASA Langley Center, Area E Warehouse Operable Unit, Hampton, VA, September 28, 1998

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1998-10-01

This Record of Decision (ROD) presents the selected remedial action for the Area E Warehouse Operable Unit (OU) at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) in Hampton, Virginia (the Site). This actions addresses the principle threat at the OU by imposing land use restrictions that will prevent any non-industrial activities to take place on the OU.

Action Principle Derivation of Magnetofluid Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wurm, Alexander; Morrison, P. J.

2003-10-01

As it is well-known, ideal MHD possesses an action principle formulation when it is expressed in terms of Lagrangian (or material) variables.^1 Starting with a general magneto-two-fluid Lagrangian, we derive action principles for both MHD approximations and generalizations that contain more complete versions of Ohm's law. ^1 W.A. Newcomb, Nuclear Fusion: 1962 Suppl. Part 2, p. 451

Sustaining organizational culture change in health systems.

PubMed

Willis, Cameron David; Saul, Jessie; Bevan, Helen; Scheirer, Mary Ann; Best, Allan; Greenhalgh, Trisha; Mannion, Russell; Cornelissen, Evelyn; Howland, David; Jenkins, Emily; Bitz, Jennifer

2016-01-01

The questions addressed by this review are: first, what are the guiding principles underlying efforts to stimulate sustained cultural change; second, what are the mechanisms by which these principles operate; and, finally, what are the contextual factors that influence the likelihood of these principles being effective? The paper aims to discuss these issues. The authors conducted a literature review informed by rapid realist review methodology that examined how interventions interact with contexts and mechanisms to influence the sustainability of cultural change. Reference and expert panelists assisted in refining the research questions, systematically searching published and grey literature, and helping to identify interactions between interventions, mechanisms and contexts. Six guiding principles were identified: align vision and action; make incremental changes within a comprehensive transformation strategy; foster distributed leadership; promote staff engagement; create collaborative relationships; and continuously assess and learn from change. These principles interact with contextual elements such as local power distributions, pre-existing values and beliefs and readiness to engage. Mechanisms influencing how these principles sustain cultural change include activation of a shared sense of urgency and fostering flexible levels of engagement. The principles identified in this review, along with the contexts and mechanisms that influence their effectiveness, are useful domains for policy and practice leaders to explore when grappling with cultural change. These principles are sufficiently broad to allow local flexibilities in adoption and application. This is the first study to adopt a realist approach for understanding how changes in organizational culture may be sustained. Through doing so, this review highlights the broad principles by which organizational action may be organized within enabling contextual settings.

Defining Learning Space in a Serious Game in Terms of Operative and Resultant Actions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, Michael W.; Shen, Yuzhong

2012-01-01

This paper explores the distinction between operative and resultant actions in games, and proposes that the learning space created by a serious game is a function of these actions. Further, it suggests a possible relationship between these actions and the forms of cognitive load imposed upon the game player. Association of specific types of cognitive load with respective forms of actions in game mechanics also presents some heuristics for integrating learning content into serious games. Research indicates that different balances of these types of actions are more suitable for novice or experienced learners. By examining these relationships, we can develop a few basic principles of game design which have an increased potential to promote positive learning outcomes.

An Agile Methodology for Implementing Service-Oriented Architecture in Small and Medium Sized Organizations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laidlaw, Gregory

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of Lean/Agile principles, using action research to develop and deploy new technology for Small and Medium sized enterprises. The research case was conducted at the Lapeer County Sheriff's Department and involves the initial deployment of a Service Oriented Architecture to alleviate the data…

From subject to participant: ethics and the evolving role of community in health research.

PubMed

Bromley, Elizabeth; Mikesell, Lisa; Jones, Felica; Khodyakov, Dmitry

2015-05-01

Belmont Report principles focus on the well-being of the research subject, yet community-engaged investigators often eschew the role of subject for that of participant. We conducted semistructured interviews with 29 community and academic investigators working on 10 community-engaged studies. Interviews elicited perspectives on ethical priorities and ethical challenges. Interviewees drew on the Belmont Report to describe 4 key principles of ethical community-engaged research (embodying ethical action, respecting participants, generalizing beneficence, and negotiating justice). However, novel aspects of the participant role were the source of most ethical challenges. We theorize that the shift in ethical focus from subject to participant will pose new ethical dilemmas for community-engaged investigators and for other constituents interested in increasing community involvement in health research.

From Subject to Participant: Ethics and the Evolving Role of Community in Health Research

PubMed Central

Mikesell, Lisa; Jones, Felica; Khodyakov, Dmitry

2015-01-01

Belmont Report principles focus on the well-being of the research subject, yet community-engaged investigators often eschew the role of subject for that of participant. We conducted semistructured interviews with 29 community and academic investigators working on 10 community-engaged studies. Interviews elicited perspectives on ethical priorities and ethical challenges. Interviewees drew on the Belmont Report to describe 4 key principles of ethical community-engaged research (embodying ethical action, respecting participants, generalizing beneficence, and negotiating justice). However, novel aspects of the participant role were the source of most ethical challenges. We theorize that the shift in ethical focus from subject to participant will pose new ethical dilemmas for community-engaged investigators and for other constituents interested in increasing community involvement in health research. PMID:25790380

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, J. David

An action principle for the generalized harmonic formulation of general relativity is presented. The action is a functional of the spacetime metric and the gauge source vector. An action principle for the Z4 formulation of general relativity has been proposed recently by Bona, Bona-Casas, and Palenzuela. The relationship between the generalized harmonic action and the Bona, Bona-Casas, and Palenzuela action is discussed in detail.

Promoting Mathematical Connections Using Three-Dimensional Manipulatives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Safi, Farshid; Desai, Siddhi

2017-01-01

"Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All" (NCTM 2014) gives teachers access to an insightful, research-informed framework that outlines ways to promote reasoning and sense making. Specifically, as students transition on their mathematical journey through middle school and beyond, their knowledge and use of…

Pure connection action principle for general relativity.

PubMed

Krasnov, Kirill

2011-06-24

It has already been known for two decades that general relativity can be reformulated as a certain gauge theory, so that the only dynamical field is an SO(3) connection and the spacetime metric appears as a derived object. However, no simple action principle realizing these ideas has been available. A new elegant action principle for such a "pure connection" formulation of GR is described.

Striving for Excellence: Applications of Successful Business Principles. Ideas for Action in Education and Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owens, Tom

Eight principles that have been used to reach excellence in business and industry and ways that schools can apply those principles are described. The principles, identified by Thomas J. Peters and Robert N. Waterman, Jr. in "In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies" are: (1) a bias for action (not waiting for…

The Values of School Administration: Preferences, Ethics, and Conflicts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Begley, Paul T.; Johansson, Olof

2008-01-01

This article reports the findings of two studies focused on the personal and professional values of school administrators. Two themes were employed as general organizers for the research: the influence of personal preference and trans-rational principles on the problem solving actions of school administrators and the value conflicts that…

Needs Assessments: An Integrated Assignment in Civic Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norris, Debra S.; Schwartz, Charles L.

2009-01-01

An undergraduate social work program developed a service-learning experience in partnership with a local United Way organization to complete a community needs assessment project. The experience integrated the curricula of a social work research methods course and a generalist-macro practice course with the principles and actions of experiential…

77 FR 73669 - Response to Comments Received for the “The Menlo Report: Ethical Principles Guiding Information...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-11

... Technology Research'' (``The Menlo Report'') for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Science and Technology, Cyber Security Division (CSD), Protected Repository for the Defense of Infrastructure Against Cyber Threats (PREDICT) Project AGENCY: Science and Technology Directorate, DHS. ACTION: Response...

Partnering for Real World Learning, Sustainability, Tourism Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jennings, Gayle; Cater, Carl I.; Hales, Rob; Kensbock, Sandra; Hornby, Glen

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to study how real world learning was used to engender and enhance sustainability principles and practices with 11 micro-, small- and medium-tourism business enterprises and 101 university tourism students enrolled across three university courses. Design/methodology/approach: Action research processes were…

Science for Society Workshop Summary Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wolfe, Amy K; Bjornstad, David J; Lenhardt, W Christopher

Science for Society, a workshop held at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on September 27, 20111, explored ways to move Laboratory science toward use. It sought actionable recommendations. Thus the workshop focused on: (1) current practices that promote and inhibit the translation of science into use, (2) principles that could lead to improving ORNL's translational knowledge and technology transfer efforts, and (3) specific recommendations for making these principles operational. This highly interactive workshop struck a positive chord with participants, a group of 26 ORNL staff members from diverse arenas of science and technology (S and T), technology transfer, andmore » external laboratory relations, who represented all levels of science, technology, and management. Recognizing that the transformation of fundamental principles into operational practices often follows a jagged path, the workshop sought to identify key choices that could lead to a smoother journey along this path, as well as choices that created roadblocks and bottlenecks. The workshop emphasized a portion of this pathway, largely excluding the marketplace. Participants noted that research translation includes linkages between fundamental and applied research and development (R and D), and is not restricted to uptake by manufacturers, consumers, or end users. Three crosscutting ideas encapsulate workshop participants observations: (1) ORNL should take more action to usher the translation of its S and T products toward use, so as to make a positive national and global impact and to enhance its own competitiveness in the future; (2) ORNL (and external entities such as DOE and Congress) conveys inconsistent messages with regard to the importance of research translation and application, which (a) creates confusion, (b) poses disincentives to pursue research translation, (c) imposes barriers that inhibit cross-fertilization and collaboration, and (d) diminishes the effectiveness of both the science mission and the translation of that science for use; and (3) ORNL should design its commitments and actions for helping move science from the Laboratory toward use to align with one another and should integrate them into its institutional culture in such a way as to elevate research translation and application to coequal status with scientific excellence. Participants made several actionable recommendations for enhancing research translation at ORNL, some of which were particular to specific S and T domains. Among the recommendations that participants agreed apply Lab-wide are to: align metrics and incentives with research translation goals; manage risks and conflicts of interest instead of avoiding them; and create programs (e.g., entrepreneurial leave) that promote interactions between key ORNL staff and industry in ways that complement careers at ORNL.« less

Ethical challenges in resuscitation.

PubMed

Mentzelopoulos, Spyros D; Slowther, Anne-Marie; Fritz, Zoe; Sandroni, Claudio; Xanthos, Theodoros; Callaway, Clifton; Perkins, Gavin D; Newgard, Craig; Ischaki, Eleni; Greif, Robert; Kompanje, Erwin; Bossaert, Leo

2018-06-01

A rapidly evolving resuscitation science provides more effective treatments to an aging population with multiple comorbidites. Concurrently, emergency care has become patient-centered. This review aims to describe challenges associated with the application of key principles of bioethics in resuscitation and post-resuscitation care; propose actions to address these challenges; and highlight the need for evidence-based ethics and consensus on ethical principles interpretation. Following agreement on the article's outline, subgroups of 2-3 authors provided narrative reviews of ethical issues concerning autonomy and honesty, beneficence/nonmaleficence and dignity, justice, specific practices/circumstances such as family presence during resuscitation, and emergency research. Proposals for addressing ethical challenges were also offered. Respect for patient autonomy can be realized through honest provision of information, shared decision-making, and advance directives/care planning. Essential prerequisites comprise public and specific healthcare professionals' education, appropriate regulatory provisions, and allocation of adequate resources. Regarding beneficence/nonmaleficence, resuscitation should benefit patients, while avoiding harm from futile interventions; pertinent practice should be based on neurological prognostication and patient/family-reported outcomes. Regarding dignity, aggressive life-sustaining treatments against patients preferences should be avoided. Contrary to the principle of justice, resuscitation quality may be affected by race/income status, age, ethnicity, comorbidity, and location (urban versus rural or country-specific/region-specific). Current evidence supports family presence during resuscitation. Regarding emergency research, autonomy should be respected without hindering scientific progress; furthermore, transparency of research conduct should be promoted and funding increased. Major ethical challenges in resuscitation science need to be addressed through complex/resource-demanding interventions. Such actions require support by ongoing/future research.

Lonely GPFUTV-the movement of water under the action of unknown vacuum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Weiyi

2013-11-01

In this paper, firstly, the experiment on the flow resistance of the aerated pipe flow is introduced. The experimental research on comparison between different volumes of air entrained is presented. Secondly, the characteristics of gravity pipe flow under the action of Torricelli's vacuum, shortly called as GPFUTV are dissertated, including creative and functional design, fundamental principle, etc. Under the joint action of an unknown vacuum energy and the formation of non-aerated flow the water flow is full-pipe and continuous, high-speed and non-rotational as distinguished from turbulent flow. Thirdly, an appeal in relation to the experimental research, the applied studies and basic theory research is given. For instance, experimental study of Torricelli's experiment phenomenon in the vacuum environment, applied study of the potential for GPFUTV to be developed for deep seawater suction technology and lifting technology for deep ocean mining, theoretical study of flow stability and flow resistance under GPFUTV condition, etc. At last, the famous GPFUTV project is illustrated. 12 years of rigorous and independent survey research.

78 FR 48334 - Advisory Committees (RRR)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-08

... rulemaking will have no economic impact. Additionally, this action fulfills the principles of Executive Order... this action on small entities and has determined that the action would not have a significant economic... accordance with the principles and criteria contained in Executive Order 13132, dated August 4, [[Page 48336...

Teaching Climate Social Science and Its Practices: A Two-Pronged Approach to Climate Literacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shwom, R.; Isenhour, C.; McCright, A.; Robinson, J.; Jordan, R.

2014-12-01

The Essential Principles of Climate Science Literacy states that a climate-literate individual can: "understand the essential principles of Earth's climate system, assess scientifically credible information about climate change, communicate about climate and climate change in a meaningful way, and make informed and responsible decisions with regard to actions that may affect climate." We argue that further integration of the social science dimensions of climate change will advance the climate literacy goals of communication and responsible actions. The underlying rationale for this argues: 1) teaching the habits of mind and scientific practices that have synergies across the social and natural sciences can strengthen students ability to understand and assess science in general and that 2) understanding the empirical research on the social, political, and economic processes (including climate science itself) that are part of the climate system is an important step for enabling effective action and communication. For example, while climate literacy has often identified the public's faulty mental models of climate processes as a partial explanation of complacency, emerging research suggests that the public's mental models of the social world are equally or more important in leading to informed and responsible climate decisions. Building student's ability to think across the social and natural sciences by understanding "how we know what we know" through the sciences and a scientific understanding of the social world allows us to achieve climate literacy goals more systematically and completely. To enable this integration we first identify the robust social science insights for the climate science literacy principles that involve social systems. We then briefly identify significant social science contributions to climate science literacy that do not clearly fit within the seven climate literacy principles but arguably could advance climate literacy goals. We conclude with suggestions on how the identified social science insights could be integrated into climate literacy efforts.

78 FR 44243 - Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-23

... indication of whether the planned action is likely to have significant economic impact on a substantial... additional information regarding the planned action. In accordance with ED's Principles for Regulating listed... not consistent with the Principles for Regulating. Members of the public are also invited to comment...

78 FR 1568 - Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-08

... indication of whether the planned action is likely to have significant economic impact on a substantial... additional information regarding the planned action. In accordance with ED's Principles for Regulating listed... with the Principles for Regulating. Members of the public are also invited to comment on any...

Unscripted Responsible Research and Innovation: Adaptive space creation by an emerging RRI practice concerning juvenile justice interventions.

PubMed

de Jong, Irja Marije; Kupper, Frank; Broerse, Jacqueline

2018-01-24

Emerging RRI practices have goals with respect to learning, governance and achieving RRI outcomes (action). However, few practices actually achieve the action phase as actors lack room to manoeuvre, and lack guidance on how to move forward because of the inherent unscriptedness of the emerging RRI practice. In this explorative research an emerging RRI practice is studied to identify factors and barriers to the creation of adaptive space, in which actors can be responsive to the other and adapt, and a narrative can be created in the act of doing. This paper describes how formal and informal ways of organizing emerging RRI practices contribute to adaptive space, and how the metaphorical heuristic of improvisational theatre provides clear action principles to actors involved in emerging RRI practices in action. The RRI practice studied here lies in the domain of juvenile justice, where barriers that restrict room to manoeuvre are abundant. Five factors - 'informality over formality', 'shared action space', 'be flexible', 'keep the action moving' and 'put the relationship central' - were identified to facilitate reflexivity and adaptation in this space.

The mass-action law based algorithm for cost-effective approach for cancer drug discovery and development.

PubMed

Chou, Ting-Chao

2011-01-01

The mass-action law based system analysis via mathematical induction and deduction lead to the generalized theory and algorithm that allows computerized simulation of dose-effect dynamics with small size experiments using a small number of data points in vitro, in animals, and in humans. The median-effect equation of the mass-action law deduced from over 300 mechanism specific-equations has been shown to be the unified theory that serves as the common-link for complicated biomedical systems. After using the median-effect principle as the common denominator, its applications are mechanism-independent, drug unit-independent, and dynamic order-independent; and can be used generally for single drug analysis or for multiple drug combinations in constant-ratio or non-constant ratios. Since the "median" is the common link and universal reference point in biological systems, these general enabling lead to computerized quantitative bio-informatics for econo-green bio-research in broad disciplines. Specific applications of the theory, especially relevant to drug discovery, drug combination, and clinical trials, have been cited or illustrated in terms of algorithms, experimental design and computerized simulation for data analysis. Lessons learned from cancer research during the past fifty years provide a valuable opportunity to reflect, and to improve the conventional divergent approach and to introduce a new convergent avenue, based on the mass-action law principle, for the efficient cancer drug discovery and the low-cost drug development.

The mass-action law based algorithm for cost-effective approach for cancer drug discovery and development

PubMed Central

Chou, Ting-Chao

2011-01-01

The mass-action law based system analysis via mathematical induction and deduction lead to the generalized theory and algorithm that allows computerized simulation of dose-effect dynamics with small size experiments using a small number of data points in vitro, in animals, and in humans. The median-effect equation of the mass-action law deduced from over 300 mechanism specific-equations has been shown to be the unified theory that serves as the common-link for complicated biomedical systems. After using the median-effect principle as the common denominator, its applications are mechanism-independent, drug unit-independent, and dynamic order-independent; and can be used generally for single drug analysis or for multiple drug combinations in constant-ratio or non-constant ratios. Since the “median” is the common link and universal reference point in biological systems, these general enabling lead to computerized quantitative bio-informatics for econo-green bio-research in broad disciplines. Specific applications of the theory, especially relevant to drug discovery, drug combination, and clinical trials, have been cited or illustrated in terms of algorithms, experimental design and computerized simulation for data analysis. Lessons learned from cancer research during the past fifty years provide a valuable opportunity to reflect, and to improve the conventional divergent approach and to introduce a new convergent avenue, based on the mass-action law principle, for the efficient cancer drug discovery and the low-cost drug development. PMID:22016837

An In-Depth Look at RACE: Creating a Public Relations Plan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luttrell, Regina

2013-01-01

This article describes an activity in which students will understand, analyze, and apply the principles learned in the RACE process (research, action, communication, and evaluation). Students should have the ability to identify the four-step public relations planning process and ultimately create a public relations plan. This two-week activity is…

Seat-of-the-Pants Parenting and Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schader, Robin

2010-01-01

As a young parent, the author hoped to find ideas, like recipes, that she could immediately put to use. In reality, it is a handful of basic good parenting principles that are especially useful when raising children with exceptional abilities. The author highlights five important elements of parenting that have consistently popped up in her…

Cultural Reciprocity in Sociocultural Perspective: Adapting the Normalization Principle for Family Collaboration.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harry, Beth; Rueda, Robert; Kalyanpur, Maya

1999-01-01

Findings from a collaborative action research project involving seven culturally diverse families with children with disabilities are used to illustrate how professionals can provide assistance in a family's zone of proximal development, rather than targeting goals that are normative for the mainstream, but not for the family. (Author/CR)

Extensive Reading in Enhancing Lexical Chunks Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pereyra, Nilsa

2015-01-01

The purpose of this action research was to investigate the effect of extensive reading and related activities on the acquisition of lexical chunks in EFL students. Seven adult EFL learners with an Intermediate level volunteered to take part in the 16 week project following Extensive Reading principles combined with tasks based on the Lexical…

Verbal Interaction in "Second Life": Towards a Pedagogic Framework for Task Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jauregi, Kristi; Canto, Silvia; de Graaff, Rick; Koenraad, Ton; Moonen, Machteld

2011-01-01

Within a European project on Networked Interaction in Foreign Language Acquisition and Research (NIFLAR), "Second Life" was used as a 3D virtual world in which language students can communicate synchronously with native speakers in the target language, while undertaking action together. For this context, a set of design principles for…

Behavioral Determinants of Drug Action: The Contributions of Peter B. Dews

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrett, James E.

2006-01-01

Peter B. Dews played a significant role in shaping the distinctive characteristics and defining the underlying principles of the discipline of behavioral pharmacology. His early and sophisticated use of schedules of reinforcement in the 1950s, incorporated from research in the experimental analysis of behavior and integrated into the discipline of…

From Theory to Practice: An Illustrative Case for Selecting Evidence-Based Practices and Building Implementation Capacity in Three Canadian Health Jurisdictions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duda, Michelle A.; Riopelle, Richard J.; Brown, Jacquie

2013-01-01

Using principles of Applied Implementation Science, this paper examines strategies for systematically selecting and operationalising National clinical practice guidelines and intentionally creating implementation supports to ensure high fidelity use and sustainable application and outcomes. In the spirit of participatory action research, key…

Experiences with Autonomy: Learners' Voices on Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kristmanson, Paula; Lafargue, Chantal; Culligan, Karla

2013-01-01

This article focuses on the experiences of Grade 12 students using a language portfolio based on the principles and guidelines of the European Language Portfolio (ELP) in their second language classes in a large urban high school. As part of a larger action-research project, focus group interviews were conducted to gather data related to…

Prevention, communication and equity in environmental epidemiology: ethical issues.

PubMed

Pagliarani, Giovanna; Botti, Caterina

2011-01-01

In environmental epidemiology research, decisions about when and how to intervene requires adequate ethical reflection. In fact, different kinds of issues may arise about: research methods and knowledge production; management of the results in terms of their overall assessments or for the implementation of preventive actions; reclamation intervention. In this contribution we propose to consider three topics we regard as crucial to this ethical debate: the reporting of conclusive research data; the correct application of the precautionary principle; and the environmental equity issues.

'Learn the signs. Act early': a campaign to help every child reach his or her full potential.

PubMed

Daniel, K L; Prue, C; Taylor, M K; Thomas, J; Scales, M

2009-09-01

To examine the application of a social marketing approach to increase the early identification and treatment of autism and other developmental disorders. The intervention used formative research, behaviour change theory and traditional social marketing techniques to develop a campaign targeting parents, healthcare professionals and early educators to increase awareness of autism and other developmental delays, and to prompt action if a developmental delay was suspected. Using social marketing principles, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention applied baseline research with the target audiences to understand the barriers and motivators to behaviour change, which included a lack of knowledge and resources (barriers), along with a willingness to learn and do more (motivators). Focus group testing of potential campaign concepts led to one particular approach and accompanying images, which together increased perceived severity of the problem and encouraged taking action. The audience research also helped to shape the marketing mix (product, price, place and promotion). Three-year follow-up research in this case study indicates a significant change in parent target behaviours, particularly among parents aware of the campaign, and substantially more healthcare professionals believe that they have the resources to educate parents about monitoring their child's cognitive, social and physical development. Qualitative results from early educators and childcare professional associations have been positive about products developed for daycare settings. The application of social marketing principles, behavior change theory and audience research was an effective approach to changing behaviours in this case. Understanding what the target audiences want and need, looking beyond parents to engage healthcare professionals and early educators, and engaging many strategic partners to extend the reach of the message helped campaign planners to develop a campaign that resonated with the target audiences and, importantly, moved them towards action.

75 FR 79755 - Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-20

... planned action is likely to have significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities as... regarding the planned action. In accordance with ED's Principles for Regulating listed in its regulatory... Principles for Regulating. Members of the public are also invited to comment on any regulations listed in...

Action principle for Coulomb collisions in plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hirvijoki, Eero

In this study, an action principle for Coulomb collisions in plasmas is proposed. Although no natural Lagrangian exists for the Landau-Fokker-Planck equation, an Eulerian variational formulation is found considering the system of partial differential equations that couple the distribution function and the Rosenbluth-MacDonald-Judd potentials. Conservation laws are derived after generalizing the energy-momentum stress tensor for second order Lagrangians and, in the case of a test-particle population in a given plasma background, the action principle is shown to correspond to the Langevin equation for individual particles.

Action principle for Coulomb collisions in plasmas

DOE PAGES

Hirvijoki, Eero

2016-09-14

In this study, an action principle for Coulomb collisions in plasmas is proposed. Although no natural Lagrangian exists for the Landau-Fokker-Planck equation, an Eulerian variational formulation is found considering the system of partial differential equations that couple the distribution function and the Rosenbluth-MacDonald-Judd potentials. Conservation laws are derived after generalizing the energy-momentum stress tensor for second order Lagrangians and, in the case of a test-particle population in a given plasma background, the action principle is shown to correspond to the Langevin equation for individual particles.

Least action and entropy considerations of self-organization in Benard cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Georgiev, Georgi; Iannacchione, Germano

We study self-organization in complex systems using first principles in physics. Our approach involves the principle of least action and the second law of thermodynamics. In far from equilibrium systems, energy gradients cause internal ordering to facilitate the dissipation of energy in the environment. This internal ordering decreases their internal entropy in order to obey the principle of least action, minimizing the product of time and energy for transport through the system. We are considering the connection between action and entropy decrease inside Benard cells in order to derive some general features of self-organization. We are developing mathematical treatment of this coupling and comparing it to results from experiments and simulations.

Documenting Critical Thinking in a Capstone Course: Moving Students toward a Professional Disposition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kiener, Michael; Ahuna, Kelly H.; Tinnesz, Christine Gray

2014-01-01

This study describes a university capstone course designed to increase student critical thinking skills and preparation for the workforce. Principles of action research and qualitative methods were used to focus on how pedagogical choices of the instructor would influence student learning in these areas. Through extensive use of case studies,…

The Applied Behavior Analytic Heritage of PBS: A Dynamic Model of Action-Oriented Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunlap, Glen; Horner, Robert H., Ed.

2006-01-01

In the past two decades, positive behavior support (PBS) has emerged from applied behavior analysis (ABA) as a newly fashioned approach to problems of behavioral adaptation. ABA was established in the 1960s as a science in which learning principles are systematically applied to produce socially important changes in behavior, whereas PBS was…

The Many Histories of Community Psychology: Analyses of Current Trends and Future Prospects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fowler, Patrick J.; Toro, Paul A.

2008-01-01

Forty years since the seminal Swampscott Conference, the principles of community psychology transcend multiple areas of action and research, as well as international boundaries. The extensive development of community psychology offers an opportunity to examine from where the field has come and where it is going. Yet, a systematic approach to…

Improving Student Learning: Action Principles for Families, Classrooms, Schools, Districts, and States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walberg, Herbert J.

2010-01-01

This book summarizes the major research findings that show how to substantially increase student achievement. This book draws on a number of investigators who have statistically synthesized many studies. A new education method showing superior results in 90% of the studies concerning it has more credibility than a method that shows results in only…

A Multicultural Education Praxis: Integrating Past and Present, Living Theories, and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shannon-Baker, Peggy

2018-01-01

In our current climate of heightened conservatism and criticism, multicultural education is as important as ever. This article argues for the need to reframe multicultural education as a praxis based on its social justice-oriented principles, values, and practices. Using practitioner action research, I examine my implementation of such a praxis in…

Atomic-Scale Principles of Combustion Nanocatalysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-19

of Combustion Nanocatalysts: Structures, Electronic Characteristics and Catalytic Pathways MURI FINAL REPORT Reporting Period: June 1, 2008 to...properties of nanoscale materials to be employed for catalytic combustion of fuels and propellants. Furthermore the research program seeks to establish... catalytic cycle. Both the carbon– hydrogen bond activation and the subsequent desorption of the ethylene product molecule require cooperative action

Gender Equality in SOCRATES. Final Report. SCRE Research Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pirrie, Anne; Wilson, Valerie; Powney, Janet; Hamilton, Sheila

SOCRATES is the European Community education action program. SOCRATES I began in 1995 and ended in 1999. SOCRATES II, begun in 2000, continues until December 31, 2006. This study sought to identify how both the principles and practices of equal opportunities between women and men were interpreted in a sample of 100 centralized and 113…

The minimalist grammar of action

PubMed Central

Pastra, Katerina; Aloimonos, Yiannis

2012-01-01

Language and action have been found to share a common neural basis and in particular a common ‘syntax’, an analogous hierarchical and compositional organization. While language structure analysis has led to the formulation of different grammatical formalisms and associated discriminative or generative computational models, the structure of action is still elusive and so are the related computational models. However, structuring action has important implications on action learning and generalization, in both human cognition research and computation. In this study, we present a biologically inspired generative grammar of action, which employs the structure-building operations and principles of Chomsky's Minimalist Programme as a reference model. In this grammar, action terminals combine hierarchically into temporal sequences of actions of increasing complexity; the actions are bound with the involved tools and affected objects and are governed by certain goals. We show, how the tool role and the affected-object role of an entity within an action drives the derivation of the action syntax in this grammar and controls recursion, merge and move, the latter being mechanisms that manifest themselves not only in human language, but in human action too. PMID:22106430

Apparent failure of the principle of least action

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spandaw, Jeroen

2013-02-01

In this note, we show that casual application of the principle of least action leads to the erroneous conclusion that things ought to fall upwards. We will analyze this paradox and show which lesson can be learned from it.

Moral principles or consumer preferences? Alternative framings of the trolley problem.

PubMed

Rai, Tage S; Holyoak, Keith J

2010-03-01

We created paired moral dilemmas with minimal contrasts in wording, a research strategy that has been advocated as a way to empirically establish principles operative in a domain-specific moral psychology. However, the candidate "principles" we tested were not derived from work in moral philosophy, but rather from work in the areas of consumer choice and risk perception. Participants were paradoxically less likely to choose an action that sacrifices one life to save others when they were asked to provide more reasons for doing so (Experiment 1), and their willingness to sacrifice lives depended not only on how many lives would be saved, but on the number of lives at risk (Experiment 2). The latter effect was also found in a within-subjects design (Experiment 3). These findings suggest caution in the use of artificial dilemmas as a key testbed for revealing principled bases for moral judgment. Copyright © 2009 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Exploring participant appreciation of group-based principles for action in community-based physical activity programs for socially vulnerable groups in the Netherlands.

PubMed

Herens, Marion; Wagemakers, Annemarie; Vaandrager, Lenneke; Koelen, Maria

2015-11-25

Physical inactivity is a core risk factor for non-communicable diseases. In the Netherlands, socially vulnerable groups are relatively less active than groups with higher socio-economic status. Community-based health-enhancing physical activity (CBHEPA) programs aim to empower socially vulnerable groups by improving participants' health and wellbeing through physical activity. CBHEPA programs often revolve around group-based principles for action, such as active participation, enjoyment, and fostering group processes. As such principles are rarely made explicit, our study aims to identify which of the group-based principles for action are considered important by participants. Respondents (n = 76) from ten focus groups scored their individual appreciation of group-based principles for action - active participation, enjoyment, and fostering group processes - on a three-point, statement-based scale. Opinions were further discussed in the focus group. Focus group discussions were transcribed and analysed by a team of investigators. The coding procedures, identifying elements appreciated in group-based principles for action, were thematic and data driven. Statements about participatory programming generated much less consensus in appreciation among respondents than statements about enjoyment and fostering group processes. To some extent, group members participated in the development of program content. Participation in group formation or community initiatives was less frequently perceived as something within group members' control. Enjoyment, expressed as physical and emotional experiences, was found to be an individual driver of group exercise. Fostering group processes, expressed as social support, was found to contribute to enjoyment and learning achievements. Responsive leadership, ensuring responsive guidance, by an enthusiastic exercise trainer acting as a role model, were identified as additional necessary principles for action. Group-based principles for action in CBHEPA programs are not clearly demarcated. Fostering group processes is an overarching principle, conditional for the spin-off in terms of enjoyment and active participation. This, in turn, leads to a sense of ownership among participants, who take up responsibility for the exercise group as well as their individual activity behaviour. CBHEPA programs thrive on participants having fun together and exercise trainers' leadership skills. A professional, competent, responsive exercise trainer plays a key role in the organisation and maintenance of CBHEPA programs.

Superfund record of decision (EPA Region 10): Standard Steel and Metals Salvage Yard, (USDOT), Superfund Site, Anchorage, AK, July 16, 1996

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1996-08-01

The decision document presents the selected remedial action for the Standard Steel and Metals Salvage Yard, in Anchorage, Alaska. This is the final remedial action for the site. The site was not divided into operable units. The Removal Action utilized treatment as a principle element for the principle sources.

Communicating their individual results to participants in an environmental exposure study: Insights from clinical ethics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deck, W.; Kosatsky, T.

1999-02-01

A study measuring the uptake of chemical contaminants among sport fishers who consume fish caught in the St. Lawrence river is currently being conducted in Montreal, Canada. In this study, blood, hair, and urine collected from local sport fishers is being tested for heavy metals and persistent organochlorine chemicals. The objective of this study was to formulate a framework for determining what information to communicate to individual subjects of a study measuring biomarkers of exposure, consistent with the principles of ethical clinical and research practice. Methods consisted of review of the scope of environmental exposure studies, including the use ofmore » biomarker measurement in clinical medicine and environmental research and the relevant principles of clinical ethics and research practice. An exposure biomarker study is designed to elucidate constitutional, behavioral, and environmental determinants of tissue concentrations of exogenous substances. Ethical clinical and research practice, aiming to maximize autonomy and beneficence and to minimize harm, requires that study findings concerning the determinants of exposure be communicated to study participants. In addition, investigators should reference clinical action levels beyond which individual biomarker results are routinely communicated to participants. When biomarkers have no known relation to risk, or when levels fall below action levels, it may be preferable not co communicate individual results, if this arrangement has been formalized at the time of informed consent.« less

The problem of deception in embryonic stem cell research.

PubMed

Doerflinger, R M

2008-02-01

The field of embryonic stem cell research has been plagued by exaggeration and misrepresentation, as three major journals have had to retract significant claims about progress in this field. This problem is exacerbated by the politicized climate in which the research is conducted and defended; it may also lie deeper, in a utilitarian ethic that in principle could justify unethical actions for admittedly worthwhile long-term goals. Such an ethic risks undermining the credibility of science, which must show a commitment to the facts that is independent of social and political goals.

The 'Sydney Principles' for reducing the commercial promotion of foods and beverages to children.

PubMed

Swinburn, Boyd; Sacks, Gary; Lobstein, Tim; Rigby, Neville; Baur, Louise A; Brownell, Kelly D; Gill, Tim; Seidell, Jaap; Kumanyika, Shiriki

2008-09-01

A set of seven principles (the 'Sydney Principles') was developed by an International Obesity Taskforce (IOTF) Working Group to guide action on changing food and beverage marketing practices that target children. The aim of the present communication is to present the Sydney Principles and report on feedback received from a global consultation (November 2006 to April 2007) on the Principles. The Principles state that actions to reduce marketing to children should: (i) support the rights of children; (ii) afford substantial protection to children; (iii) be statutory in nature; (iv) take a wide definition of commercial promotions; (v) guarantee commercial-free childhood settings; (vi) include cross-border media; and (vii) be evaluated, monitored and enforced. The draft principles were widely disseminated and 220 responses were received from professional and scientific associations, consumer bodies, industry bodies, health professionals and others. There was virtually universal agreement on the need to have a set of principles to guide action in this contentious area of marketing to children. Apart from industry opposition to the third principle calling for a statutory approach and several comments about the implementation challenges, there was strong support for each of the Sydney Principles. Feedback on two specific issues of contention related to the age range to which restrictions should apply (most nominating age 16 or 18 years) and the types of products to be included (31% nominating all products, 24% all food and beverages, and 45% energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods and beverages). The Sydney Principles, which took a children's rights-based approach, should be used to benchmark action to reduce marketing to children. The age definition for a child and the types of products which should have marketing restrictions may better suit a risk-based approach at this stage. The Sydney Principles should guide the formation of an International Code on Food and Beverage Marketing to Children.

The amount of ergonomics and user involvement in 151 design processes.

PubMed

Kok, Barbara N E; Slegers, Karin; Vink, Peter

2012-01-01

Ergonomics, usability and user-centered design are terms that are well known among designers. Yet, products often seem to fail to meet the users' needs, resulting in a gap between expected and experienced usability. To understand the possible causes of this gap the actions taken by the designer during the design process are studied in this paper. This can show whether and how certain actions influence the user-friendliness of the design products. The aim of this research was to understand whether ergonomic principles and methods are included in the design process, whether users are involved in this process and whether the experience of the designer (in ergonomics/user involvement) has an effect on the end product usability. In this study the design processes of 151 tangible products of students in design were analyzed. It showed that in 75% of the cases some ergonomic principles were applied. User involvement was performed in only 1/3 of the design cases. Hardly any correlation was found between the designers' experience in ergonomic principles and the way they applied it and no correlations were found between the designers' experience in user involvement and the users' involvement in the design process.

Plan of Action for Real-World Translation of LGBTQ Health and Aging Research.

PubMed

Fredriksen-Goldsen, Karen I; Kim, Hyun-Jun; McKenzie, Glenise L; Krinsky, Lisa; Emlet, Charles A

2017-12-01

Despite accumulating evidence of health disparities, there exists limited translational research to enhance optimal health and aging of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer-identified * (LGBTQ) older adults. Based on the Health Equity Promotion Model that addresses the distinct needs and strengths of LGBTQ older adults, we underscore the important role of collaborations among researchers, practitioners, and communities to build community capacity. Given the rapidly shifting context, we advance principles to guide future work that will enhance translational research and the development of evidence-based practice so that LGBTQ older adults can reach their full health potential.

Quantitative recurrence for free semigroup actions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carvalho, Maria; Rodrigues, Fagner B.; Varandas, Paulo

2018-03-01

We consider finitely generated free semigroup actions on a compact metric space and obtain quantitative information on Poincaré recurrence, average first return time and hitting frequency for the random orbits induced by the semigroup action. Besides, we relate the recurrence to balls with the rates of expansion of the semigroup generators and the topological entropy of the semigroup action. Finally, we establish a partial variational principle and prove an ergodic optimization for this kind of dynamical action. MC has been financially supported by CMUP (UID/MAT/00144/2013), which is funded by FCT (Portugal) with national (MEC) and European structural funds (FEDER) under the partnership agreement PT2020. FR and PV were partially supported by BREUDS. PV has also benefited from a fellowship awarded by CNPq-Brazil and is grateful to the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto for the excellent research conditions.

Is audit research? The relationships between clinical audit and social-research.

PubMed

Hughes, Rhidian

2005-01-01

Quality has an established history in health care. Audit, as a means of quality assessment, is well understood and the existing literature has identified links between audit and research processes. This paper reviews the relationships between audit and research processes, highlighting how audit can be improved through the principles and practice of social research. The review begins by defining the audit process. It goes on to explore salient relationships between clinical audit and research, grouped into the following broad themes: ethical considerations, highlighting responsibilities towards others and the need for ethical review for audit; asking questions and using appropriate methods, emphasising transparency in audit methods; conceptual issues, including identifying problematic concepts, such as "satisfaction", and the importance of reflexivity within audit; emphasising research in context, highlighting the benefits of vignettes and action research; complementary methods, demonstrating improvements for the quality of findings; and training and multidisciplinary working, suggesting the need for closer relationships between researchers and clinical practitioners. Audit processes cannot be considered research. Both audit and research processes serve distinct purposes. Attention to the principles of research when conducting audit are necessary to improve the quality of audit and, in turn, the quality of health care.

Look, Think, Act: Using Critical Action Research to Sustain Reform in Complex Teaching/Learning Ecologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patterson, Leslie; Baldwin, Shelia; Araujo, Juan; Shearer, Ragina; Stewart, Mary Amanda

2010-01-01

This paper argues that educators interested in sustainability should look to complexity science for guiding principles. When we view our classrooms and campuses as living, dynamic ecologies, we can, as insiders, make sense of what might otherwise seem chaotic or meaningless. This perspective enables us not only to describe and explain what is…

Media Education and Video Games: An Action-Research Project with Adolescents in an Out-of-school Educational Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Felini, Damiano

2008-01-01

Background: The penetration of video games in media consumption behaviors is statistically very significant all over the world. Education and media education cannot ignore this phenomenon, as it is so relevant for such a considerable part of the population, especially youth. The application of media education principles and goals to video games is…

An Action Research Study of High School English Language Arts, Intensive Reading, and Formative Assessment Principles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Welch, Karen P.

2017-01-01

Formative assessment has been identified as an effective pedagogical practice in the field of education, where teachers and students engage daily in an interactive process to gather evidence of the students' proficiency of a specific learning goal. The evidence collected by the teacher and a student during the formative assessment process allows…

Teaching and Learning Evolution: Testing the Principles of a Constructivist Approach through Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliver, Mary

2011-01-01

A tenth grade class in an international school studied evolution for four weeks as part of the study of Biology. A diagnostic test was used to determine the main misconceptions students have as they come to the study of evolution. This was followed by a series of explorations of different conceptual models to account for evolution, structured…

Diving into Lake Devo: Modes of Representation and Means of Interaction and Reflection in Online Role-Play

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koechli, Linda; Glynn, Maureen

2014-01-01

This paper outlines an action research project involving the development of an educational online role-playing website, known as Lake Devo. Designed in keeping with constructivist principles, the website is used in select post-secondary courses at Ryerson University and allows learners to work synchronously, using visual, audio, and text elements…

Department of Education Semiannual Regulatory Agenda

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-20

... indication of whether the planned action is likely to have significant economic impact on a substantial... additional information regarding the planned action. In accordance with ED's Principles for Regulating listed... not consistent with the Principles for Regulating. Members of the public are also invited to comment...

The robust corrective action priority-an improved approach for selecting competing corrective actions in FMEA based on principle of robust design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sutrisno, Agung; Gunawan, Indra; Vanany, Iwan

2017-11-01

In spite of being integral part in risk - based quality improvement effort, studies improving quality of selection of corrective action priority using FMEA technique are still limited in literature. If any, none is considering robustness and risk in selecting competing improvement initiatives. This study proposed a theoretical model to select risk - based competing corrective action by considering robustness and risk of competing corrective actions. We incorporated the principle of robust design in counting the preference score among corrective action candidates. Along with considering cost and benefit of competing corrective actions, we also incorporate the risk and robustness of corrective actions. An example is provided to represent the applicability of the proposed model.

[Moderation-integrated-balance presupposition of Chinese medicine compound and pharmacological problems in traditional Chinese drug research].

PubMed

Zhao, Jun-Ning

2017-03-01

The moderation-integrated-balance presupposition (MIBP) of Chinese medicine compound was first proposed in this paper based on the review of function characteristics and action principles of Chinese medicine compound. Furthermore, the pharmacological problems of traditional Chinese drug research were discussed in details. The results were of important value in accelerating the transformation of traditional Chinese medicine compound, and constructing the new drug innovation and review system for traditional Chinese medicine. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Preserved imitation in contrast to limited free application of comfortable hand actions in intellectually able young adults with an autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Beelen, Caroline; Cuypers, Koen; van Schuerbeeck, Lise; Braeken, Marijke; Ross, Veerle; Jongen, Ellen; Meesen, Raf; Vanvuchelen, Marleen

2017-06-01

Imitation problems are commonly reported in children with an autism spectrum disorder. However, it has not yet been determined whether imitation problems persist into young adulthood. In this study, we investigated imitation skills of 20 intellectually able young adults with autism spectrum disorder relative to 19 age-matched neurotypical adults. For this purpose, we used a bar-transport task, which evokes the application of the end-state comfort principle. Specifically, we examined whether young adults with autism spectrum disorder imitated the means-end structure of a demonstrator's bar-transport action with and without application of the end-state comfort principle (imitation task). In addition, we examined whether participants spontaneously applied the end-state comfort principle during a similar bar-transport task (free execution task). Results revealed that young adults with autism spectrum disorder imitated the means-end structure of observed actions to the same degree as neurotypical adults ( p = 0.428). In contrast, they applied the end-state comfort principle less often during free executed actions ( p = 0.035). Moreover, during these actions, they were slower to place the bar into the penholder ( p = 0.023), which contributed to the reduced efficiency of their performance. Findings suggest that imitation abilities of young adults with autism spectrum disorder are preserved and that observing others' actions might promote more efficient action planning in this population.

Focusing on learning through constructive alignment with task-oriented portfolio assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cain, A.; Grundy, J.; Woodward, C. J.

2018-07-01

Approaches to learning have been shown to have a significant impact on student success in technical units. This paper reports on an action research study that applied the principles of constructive alignment to improve student learning outcomes in programming units. The proposed model uses frequent formative feedback to engage students with unit material, and encourage them to adopt deep approaches to learning. Our results provide a set of guiding principles and a structured teaching approach that focuses students on meeting unit learning objectives, the goal of constructive alignment. The results are demonstrated via descriptions of the resulting teaching and learning environment, student results, and staff and student reflections.

Ethnographic research with adolescent students: situated fieldwork ethics and ethical principles governing human research.

PubMed

Hemmings, Annette

2009-12-01

This paper explores ethical dilemmas in situated fieldwork ethics concerning ethnographic studies of adolescent students. While consequentialist and deontological ethics form the basis of the ethical stances shared by ethnographers and research ethics committees, the interpretation of those principles may diverge in school-based ethnography with adolescent students because of the particular role of the adult ethnographer vis-à-vis developmentally immature adolescents not held legally responsible for many of their actions. School ethnographers attempt to build trust with adolescent participants in order to learn about their hidden cultural worlds, which may involve activities that are very harmful to the youths involved. They face many difficult and sometimes unexpected choices, including whether to intervene and how to represent events and adolescents in published findings. Scenarios with examples drawn from research conducted in public high schools are used to illustrate and explicate dilemmas in formal research and latent insider/outsider roles and relations involving harmful adolescent behaviors, advocacy, and psychological trauma. Also examined are analytical procedures used to construct interpretations leading to representations of research participants in the resulting publication.

Reducing social inequities in health through settings-related interventions -- a conceptual framework.

PubMed

Shareck, Martine; Frohlich, Katherine L; Poland, Blake

2013-06-01

The creation of supportive environments for health is a basic action principle of health promotion, and equity is a core value. A settings approach offers an opportunity to bridge these two, with its focus on the interplay between individual, environmental and social determinants of health. We conducted a scoping review of the literature on theoretical bases and practical applications of the settings approach. Interventions targeting social inequities in health through action on various settings were analyzed to establish what is done in health equity research and action as it relates to settings. Four elements emerged as central to an equity-focused settings approach: a focus on social determinants of health, addressing the needs of marginalized groups, effecting change in a setting's structure, and involving stakeholders. Each came with related challenges. To offer potential solutions to these challenges we developed a conceptual framework that integrates theoretical and methodological approaches, along with six core guiding principles, into a 'settings praxis'. Reducing social inequities in health through the creation of supportive environments requires the application of the settings approach in an innovative way. The proposed conceptual framework can serve as a guide to do so, and help develop, implement and evaluate equity-focused settings-related interventions.

Some special features of the le chatelier-braun principle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nesis, E. I.; Skibin, Yu. N.

2000-07-01

The relaxation reaction of a system that follows from the Le Chatelier-Braun principle and weakens the result of an external influence turns out to be more intense under a complex action. A method for quantitative determination of the weakening effect for simple and complex actions is suggested.

The Impact of Information on Decisions: Command and Control System Evaluation

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-02-01

systems do not (necessarily) change the world in which action occurs, but have their principle impact on the cognitive processes that lead to action...are constants and are (in principle ) knowable in advance of their selection for use in a decision context. The particular outcome of a previously...problem (e.g., signalling the presence of enemy platforms in an area) misses are quantifiable in principle and are quite relevant to system evaluation. But

Using strategic planning and organizational development principles for health promotion in an Alaska native community.

PubMed

Lardon, Cecile; Soule, Susan; Kernak, Douglas; Lupie, Henry

2011-01-01

Health promotion aims to support people in their efforts to increase control over factors that impact health and well-being. This emphasis on empowerment and contextual influences allows for a more holistic conceptualization of health and approaches to promoting health that are anchored in principles of community development and systems change. Piciryaratgun Calritllerkaq (Healthy Living Through A Healthy Lifestyle) is a collaboration between a Yup'ik village in rural Alaska and researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The goal was to improve nutrition, increase exercise, and decrease stress. The project utilized elements of organization development and strategic planning to develop a local infrastructure and process and to promote local expertise. The project team developed goals, objectives, action, and evaluation plans that integrated local traditions, Yup'ik culture, and research.

Using strategic planning and organizational development principles for health promotion in an Alaska Native community

PubMed Central

Lardon, Cécile; Soule, Susan; Kernak, Douglas; Lupie, Henry

2011-01-01

SUMMARY Health promotion aims to support people in their efforts to increase control over factors that impact health and well-being. This emphasis on empowerment and contextual influences allows for a more holistic conceptualization of health and approaches to promoting health that are anchored in principles of community development and systems change. Piciryaratgun Calritllerkaq (Healthy Living Through A Healthy Lifestyle) is a collaboration between a Yup’ik village in rural Alaska and researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The goal was to improve nutrition, increase exercise and decrease stress. The project utilized elements of organization development and strategic planning to develop a local infrastructure and process and to promote local expertise. The project team developed goals, objectives, action and evaluation plans that integrated local traditions, Yup’ik culture, and research. PMID:21271433

Applying a Social Justice Lens to Youth Mentoring: A Review of the Literature and Recommendations for Practice.

PubMed

Albright, Jamie N; Hurd, Noelle M; Hussain, Saida B

2017-06-01

Youth mentoring interventions are often designed with the intention of promoting improved outcomes among marginalized youth. Despite their promise to reduce inequality through the provision of novel opportunities and increased social capital to marginalized youth, youth mentoring interventions hold the potential to reproduce rather than reduce inequality. In the current review, we explore literature on youth mentoring that has incorporated a social justice lens. We conclude that there is a need for greater attention to principles of social justice in the design, implementation, and evaluation of youth mentoring interventions. After reviewing the literature, we make recommendations for research and practice based on a social justice perspective and explore alternatives to traditional youth mentoring that may allow for better alignment with social justice principles. © Society for Community Research and Action 2017.

Brst-Bfv Quantization and the Schwinger Action Principle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia, J. Antonio; Vergara, J. David; Urrutia, Luis F.

We introduce an operator version of the BRST-BFV effective action for arbitrary systems with first class constraints. Using the Schwinger action principle we calculate the propagators corresponding to: (i) the parametrized nonrelativistic free particle, (ii) the relativistic free particle and (iii) the spinning relativistic free particle. Our calculation correctly imposes the BRST invariance at the end points. The precise use of the additional boundary terms required in the description of fermionic variables is incorporated.

Embodied cognition for autonomous interactive robots.

PubMed

Hoffman, Guy

2012-10-01

In the past, notions of embodiment have been applied to robotics mainly in the realm of very simple robots, and supporting low-level mechanisms such as dynamics and navigation. In contrast, most human-like, interactive, and socially adept robotic systems turn away from embodiment and use amodal, symbolic, and modular approaches to cognition and interaction. At the same time, recent research in Embodied Cognition (EC) is spanning an increasing number of complex cognitive processes, including language, nonverbal communication, learning, and social behavior. This article suggests adopting a modern EC approach for autonomous robots interacting with humans. In particular, we present three core principles from EC that may be applicable to such robots: (a) modal perceptual representation, (b) action/perception and action/cognition integration, and (c) a simulation-based model of top-down perceptual biasing. We describe a computational framework based on these principles, and its implementation on two physical robots. This could provide a new paradigm for embodied human-robot interaction based on recent psychological and neurological findings. Copyright © 2012 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Development and successful application of a "Community-First" communication model for community-based environmental health research.

PubMed

Emmett, Edward Anthony; Zhang, Hong; Shofer, Frances Susan; Rodway, Nancy; Desai, Chintan; Freeman, David; Hufford, Mary

2009-02-01

Effectively communicate results from a community exposure study to meet predetermined community priorities, maintaining ethical principles of autonomy, empowerment and justice. The community established principles for the communications and a plan to inform study participants, community and other stakeholders of results and recommendations in a novel sequence: the "Community-First" communication model. The communications resulted in positive actions including company sponsored free bottled water, accepted by 77.6% of eligible households. Over 95% of participants in a follow-up survey had made some change to residential water supplies. Serum perfluorooctanoate levels were reduced. Government agencies acted on the results. The unique communication approach generated workable solutions to the problem investigated, raised community awareness and modified behaviors. Information generated a "free market" of community-level solutions. Each major stakeholder voluntarily adopted a "precautionary principle."

Race Research and the Ethics of Belief.

PubMed

Anomaly, Jonathan

2017-06-01

On most accounts, beliefs are supposed to fit the world rather than change it. But believing can have social consequences, since the beliefs we form underwrite our actions and impact our character. Because our beliefs affect how we live our lives and how we treat other people, it is surprising how little attention is usually given to the moral status of believing apart from its epistemic justification. In what follows, I develop a version of the harm principle that applies to beliefs as well as actions. In doing so, I challenge the often exaggerated distinction between forming beliefs and acting on them. 1 After developing this view, I consider what it might imply about controversial research the goal of which is to yield true beliefs but the outcome of which might include negative social consequences. In particular, I focus on the implications of research into biological differences between racial groups.

Homeopathic drug discovery: theory update and methodological aspect.

PubMed

Khuda-Bukhsh, Anisur Rahman; Pathak, Surajit

2008-08-01

Homeopathy treats patient on the basis of totality of symptoms and is based on the principle of 'like cures like'. It uses ultra-low doses of highly diluted natural substances as remedies that originate from plants, minerals or animals. The objectives of this review are to discuss concepts, controversies and research related to understanding homeopathy in the light of modern science. Attempts have been made to focus on current views of homeopathy and to delineate its most plausible mechanism(s) of action. Although some areas of concern remain, research carried out so far both in vitro and in vivo validates the effects of highly diluted homeopathic medicines in a wide variety of organisms. The precise mechanism(s) and pathway(s) of action of highly diluted homeopathic drugs are still unknown.

[Disease-syndrome combination in integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine in andrology: Confusions and countermeasures in studies].

PubMed

Zhang, Min-Jian

2017-07-01

Researches on the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of the disease-syndrome combination approach in integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine are becoming a hot spot in andrology, but many recent studies of this kind have failed to explain the connotation of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine in andrology. Related existing problems include repeated researches into the same indexes of action mechanisms of different therapeutic principles of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Chinese herbal compound and special prescriptions, studies focusing on individual diseases but ignoring symptoms, immature syndrome models for studies of mechanisms, and too much attention to uncertain or immature target mechanisms. The stress should be placed on the action mechanisms of Chinese herbal compound and special prescriptions on male diseases and, what is more important, on the clarification of the essential principles of differentiation and treatment of TCM syndromes. In the recent years, proteomics, genomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics have shed some light upon researches into the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of the disease-syndrome combination approach in integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine in andrology. An insight into the TCM syndrome, a macroscopic inductive analysis, and a comprehension of such microcosmic aspects as the gene, protein, metabolism and metagenome may contribute to some breakthroughs and new ideas in the studies of disease-syndrome combination in integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine in andrology.

Transitions, Risks, and Actions in Coronary Events--Center for Outcomes Research and Education (TRACE-CORE): design and rationale.

PubMed

Waring, Molly E; McManus, Richard H; Saczynski, Jane S; Anatchkova, Milena D; McManus, David D; Devereaux, Randolph S; Goldberg, Robert J; Allison, Jeroan J; Kiefe, Catarina I

2012-09-01

Cardiovascular disease continues to cause significant morbidity, mortality, and impaired quality of life, with unrealized health gains from the underuse of available evidence. The Transitions, Risks, and Actions in Coronary Events Center for Outcomes Research and Education (TRACE-CORE) aims to advance the science of acute coronary syndromes by examining the determinants and outcomes of the quality of transition from hospital to community and by quantifying the impact of potentially modifiable characteristics associated with decreased quality of life, rehospitalization, and mortality. TRACE-CORE comprises a longitudinal multiracial cohort of patients hospitalized with acute coronary syndromes, 2 research projects, and development of a nucleus of early stage investigators. We are currently enrolling 2500 adults hospitalized for acute coronary syndromes at 6 hospitals in the northeastern and southeastern United States. We will follow these patients for 24 months after hospitalization through medical record abstraction and 5 patient interviews focusing on quality of life, cardiac events, rehospitalizations, mortality, and medical, behavioral, and psychosocial characteristics. The Transitions Project studies determinants of and disparities in outcomes of the quality of patients' transition from hospital to community. Focusing on potentially modifiable factors, the Action Scores Project will develop and validate action scores to predict recurrent cardiac events, death, and quality of life, describe longitudinal variation in these scores, and develop a dashboard for patient and provider action on the basis of these scores. In TRACE-CORE, sound methodologic principles of observational studies converge with outcomes and effectiveness research approaches. We expect that our data, research infrastructure, and research projects will inform the development of novel secondary prevention approaches and underpin the careers of cardiovascular outcomes researchers.

Easier said than done: challenges of applying the Ecohealth approach to the study on heavy metals exposure among indigenous communities of the Peruvian Amazon

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The renewed interest in community participation in health research is linked to its potential for bridging gaps between research and practice. Its main attributes are the generation of knowledge that can lead to socially robust, long-lasting solutions and the creation of a co-learner relationship between researchers and research users. Following this philosophy, Ecohealth has evolved into a specialized framework for participatory research on the impact of pollution on ecosystems and human health. However, its principles pose considerable challenges. Its outcomes are strongly influenced by contextual factors that are impossible to control for ahead of time. This paper describes how the Ecohealth principles were applied to an epidemiological study of heavy metals exposure among indigenous communities of the Peruvian Amazon. It illustrates how knowledge generated from participatory research does not necessarily imply solving a public health problem. This study aimed to contribute to the understanding of the benefits and barriers of following the basic principles of the Ecohealth approach, and assist researchers working in similar contexts. Research process Based upon their personal experience as participant observers, the authors describe the research process; then, they discuss the most important challenges faced, their implications, and the attempted strategies for resolution. Challenges Challenges were grouped into four themes: (1) building trust; (2) one partnership, many stakeholders, multiple agendas; (3) being a researcher; and (4) communicating complex and unexpected findings. Conclusions Integrating the principles of transdisciplinarity and participation posed a series of challenges to the research process that were difficult, and sometimes impossible to overcome. However, positive outcomes from this experience were the lessons learned by the different actors. Despite the lack of immediate action, it is expected that useful interventions to prevent and control lead exposure in the Corrientes population will be implemented in the medium term. PMID:23642035

[Modern research progress of traditional Chinese medicine based on integrative pharmacology].

PubMed

Wang, Ping; Tang, Shi-Huan; Su, Jin; Zhang, Jia-Qi; Cui, Ru-Yi; Xu, Hai-Yu; Yang, Hong-Jun

2018-04-01

Integrative pharmacology (IP) is a discipline that studies the interaction, integration and principle of action of multiple components with the body, emphasizing the integrations of multi-level and multi-link, such as "whole and part", " in vivo and in vitro ", " in vivo process and activity evaluation". After four years of development and practice, the theory and method of IP has received extensive attention and application.In order to better promote the development of IP, this paper systematically reviews the concepts, research contents, research methods and application fields about IP. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Introducing survival ethics into engineering education and practice.

PubMed

Verharen, C; Tharakan, J; Middendorf, G; Castro-Sitiriche, M; Kadoda, G

2013-06-01

Given the possibilities of synthetic biology, weapons of mass destruction and global climate change, humans may achieve the capacity globally to alter life. This crisis calls for an ethics that furnishes effective motives to take global action necessary for survival. We propose a research program for understanding why ethical principles change across time and culture. We also propose provisional motives and methods for reaching global consensus on engineering field ethics. Current interdisciplinary research in ethics, psychology, neuroscience and evolutionary theory grounds these proposals. Experimental ethics, the application of scientific principles to ethical studies, provides a model for developing policies to advance solutions. A growing literature proposes evolutionary explanations for moral development. Connecting these approaches necessitates an experimental or scientific ethics that deliberately examines theories of morality for reliability. To illustrate how such an approach works, we cover three areas. The first section analyzes cross-cultural ethical systems in light of evolutionary theory. While such research is in its early stages, its assumptions entail consequences for engineering education. The second section discusses Howard University and University of Puerto Rico/Mayagüez (UPRM) courses that bring ethicists together with scientists and engineers to unite ethical theory and practice. We include a syllabus for engineering and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) ethics courses and a checklist model for translating educational theory and practice into community action. The model is based on aviation, medicine and engineering practice. The third and concluding section illustrates Howard University and UPRM efforts to translate engineering educational theory into community action. Multidisciplinary teams of engineering students and instructors take their expertise from the classroom to global communities to examine further the ethicality of prospective technologies and the decision-making processes that lead to them.

Using an action research process in pharmacy practice research--a cooperative project between university and internship pharmacies.

PubMed

Sørensen, Ellen Westh; Haugbølle, Lotte Stig

2008-12-01

Action research (AR) is a common research-based methodology useful for development and organizational changes in health care when participant involvement is key. However, AR is not widely used for research in the development of pharmaceutical care services in pharmacy practice. To disseminate the experience from using AR methodology to develop cognitive services in pharmacies by describing how the AR process was conducted in a specific study, and to describe the outcome for participants. The study was conducted over a 3-year period and run by a steering group of researchers, pharmacy students, and preceptors. The study design was based on AR methodology. The following data production methods were used to describe and evaluate the AR model: documentary analysis, qualitative interviews, and questionnaires. Experiences from using AR methodology and the outcome for participants are described. A set of principles was followed while the study, called the Pharmacy-University study, was being conducted. These principles are considered useful for designing future AR studies. Outcome for participating pharmacies was registered for staff-oriented and patient-oriented activities. Outcome for students was practice as project leaders and enhancement of clinical pharmacy-based skills. Outcome for researchers and the steering group conducting the study was in-depth knowledge of the status of pharmacies in giving advice to patient groups, and effective learning methods for students. Developing and implementing cognitive pharmaceutical services (CPS) involves wide-reaching changes that require the willingness of pharmacy and staff as well as external partners. The use of AR methodology creates a platform that supports raising the awareness and the possible inclusion of these partners. During this study, a set of tools was developed for use in implementing CPS as part of AR.

Environmental care in agricultural catchments: Toward the communicative catchment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Peter

1991-11-01

Substantial land degradation of agricultural catchments in Australia has resulted from the importation of European farming methods and the large-scale clearing of land. Rural communities are now being encouraged by government to take responsibility for environmental care. The importance of community involvement is supported by the view that environmental problems are a function of interactions between people and their environment. It is suggested that the commonly held view that community groups cannot care for their resources is due to inappropriate social institutions rather that any inherent disability in people. The communicative catchment is developed as a vision for environmental care into the future. This concept emerges from a critique of resource management through the catchment metaphors of the reduced, mechanical, and the complex, evolving catchment, which reflect the development of systemic and people-centered approaches to environmental care. The communicative catchment is one where both community and resource managers participate collaboratively in environmental care. A methodology based on action research and systemic thinking (systemic action research) is proposed as a way of moving towards the communicative catchment of the future. Action research is a way of taking action in organizations and communities that is participative and informed by theory, while systemic thinking takes into account the interconnections and relationships between social and natural worlds. The proposed vision, methodology, and practical operating principles stem from involvement in an action research project looking at extension strategies for the implementation of total catchment management in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales.

Turning challenges into design principles: Telemonitoring systems for patients with multiple chronic conditions.

PubMed

Sultan, Mehwish; Kuluski, Kerry; McIsaac, Warren J; Cafazzo, Joseph A; Seto, Emily

2018-01-01

People with multiple chronic conditions often struggle with managing their health. The purpose of this research was to identify specific challenges of patients with multiple chronic conditions and to use the findings to form design principles for a telemonitoring system tailored for these patients. Semi-structured interviews with 15 patients with multiple chronic conditions and 10 clinicians were conducted to gain an understanding of their needs and preferences for a smartphone-based telemonitoring system. The interviews were analyzed using a conventional content analysis technique, resulting in six themes. Design principles developed from the themes included that the system must be modular to accommodate various combinations of conditions, reinforce a routine, consolidate record keeping, as well as provide actionable feedback to the patients. Designing an application for multiple chronic conditions is complex due to variability in patient conditions, and therefore, design principles developed in this study can help with future innovations aimed to help manage this population.

Revans Reversed: Focusing on the Positive for a Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gold, Jeffrey

2014-01-01

The classical principles of action learning, based on the work of Revans, usually include working with problems as the core. This article aims, by contrast, to show how a recent project of change has incorporated principles of appreciative inquiry (AI) based on social constructionism and positive psychology into an action learning process…

Plan of Action for Real-World Translation of LGBTQ Health and Aging Research

PubMed Central

Kim, Hyun-Jun; McKenzie, Glenise L.; Krinsky, Lisa; Emlet, Charles A.

2017-01-01

Abstract Despite accumulating evidence of health disparities, there exists limited translational research to enhance optimal health and aging of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer-identified* (LGBTQ) older adults. Based on the Health Equity Promotion Model that addresses the distinct needs and strengths of LGBTQ older adults, we underscore the important role of collaborations among researchers, practitioners, and communities to build community capacity. Given the rapidly shifting context, we advance principles to guide future work that will enhance translational research and the development of evidence-based practice so that LGBTQ older adults can reach their full health potential. PMID:29099666

Action principle for overdetermined systems of nonlinear field equations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nissimov, E.; Pacheva, S.; Solomon, S.

1989-01-01

The authors propose a general scheme for constructing an action principle for arbitrary consistent overdetermined systems of nonlinear field equations. The principal tool is the BFV-BRST formalism. There is no need for star-product nor Chern-Simons forms. The main application of this general construction is the derivation of a superspace action in terms of unconstrained superfields for the D = 10N = 1 Super-Yang-Mills theory. The latter contains cubic as well as quartic interactions.

Easier said than done: challenges of applying the Ecohealth approach to the study on heavy metals exposure among indigenous communities of the Peruvian Amazon.

PubMed

Anticona, Cynthia; Coe, Anna-Britt; Bergdahl, Ingvar A; San Sebastian, Miguel

2013-05-03

The renewed interest in community participation in health research is linked to its potential for bridging gaps between research and practice. Its main attributes are the generation of knowledge that can lead to socially robust, long-lasting solutions and the creation of a co-learner relationship between researchers and research users. Following this philosophy, Ecohealth has evolved into a specialized framework for participatory research on the impact of pollution on ecosystems and human health. However, its principles pose considerable challenges. Its outcomes are strongly influenced by contextual factors that are impossible to control for ahead of time.This paper describes how the Ecohealth principles were applied to an epidemiological study of heavy metals exposure among indigenous communities of the Peruvian Amazon. It illustrates how knowledge generated from participatory research does not necessarily imply solving a public health problem. This study aimed to contribute to the understanding of the benefits and barriers of following the basic principles of the Ecohealth approach, and assist researchers working in similar contexts. Based upon their personal experience as participant observers, the authors describe the research process; then, they discuss the most important challenges faced, their implications, and the attempted strategies for resolution. Challenges were grouped into four themes: (1) building trust; (2) one partnership, many stakeholders, multiple agendas; (3) being a researcher; and (4) communicating complex and unexpected findings. Integrating the principles of transdisciplinarity and participation posed a series of challenges to the research process that were difficult, and sometimes impossible to overcome. However, positive outcomes from this experience were the lessons learned by the different actors. Despite the lack of immediate action, it is expected that useful interventions to prevent and control lead exposure in the Corrientes population will be implemented in the medium term.

The precautionary principle in environmental science.

PubMed Central

Kriebel, D; Tickner, J; Epstein, P; Lemons, J; Levins, R; Loechler, E L; Quinn, M; Rudel, R; Schettler, T; Stoto, M

2001-01-01

Environmental scientists play a key role in society's responses to environmental problems, and many of the studies they perform are intended ultimately to affect policy. The precautionary principle, proposed as a new guideline in environmental decision making, has four central components: taking preventive action in the face of uncertainty; shifting the burden of proof to the proponents of an activity; exploring a wide range of alternatives to possibly harmful actions; and increasing public participation in decision making. In this paper we examine the implications of the precautionary principle for environmental scientists, whose work often involves studying highly complex, poorly understood systems, while at the same time facing conflicting pressures from those who seek to balance economic growth and environmental protection. In this complicated and contested terrain, it is useful to examine the methodologies of science and to consider ways that, without compromising integrity and objectivity, research can be more or less helpful to those who would act with precaution. We argue that a shift to more precautionary policies creates opportunities and challenges for scientists to think differently about the ways they conduct studies and communicate results. There is a complicated feedback relation between the discoveries of science and the setting of policy. While maintaining their objectivity and focus on understanding the world, environmental scientists should be aware of the policy uses of their work and of their social responsibility to do science that protects human health and the environment. The precautionary principle highlights this tight, challenging linkage between science and policy. PMID:11673114

Building community resilience to disasters through a community-based intervention: CART applications.

PubMed

Pfefferbaum, Rose L; Pfefferbaum, Betty; Van Horn, Richard L; Neas, Barbara R; Houston, J Brian

2013-01-01

The Communities Advancing Resilience Toolkit (CART)* is a community-driven, publicly available, theory-based, and evidence-informed community intervention designed to build community resilience to disasters and other adversities. Based on principles of participatory action research, CART applications contribute to community resilience by encouraging and supporting community participation and cooperation, communication, self-awareness, and critical reflection. The primary value of CART lies in its ability to stimulate analysis, collaboration, skill building, resource sharing, and purposeful action. In addition to generating community assessment data, CART can be used as a vehicle for delivering other interventions and creating sustainable capacity within communities. Two models for CART implementation are described.

A Lens for Evaluating Genetic Information Governance Models: Balancing Equity, Efficiency and Sustainability.

PubMed

Skorve, Espen; Vassilakopoulou, Polyxeni; Aanestad, Margunn; Grünfeld, Thomas

2017-01-01

This paper draws from the literature on collective action and the governance of the commons to address the governance of genetic data on variants of specific genes. Specifically, the data arrangements under study relate to the BRCA genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) which are linked to breast and ovarian cancer. These data are stored in global genetic data repositories and accessed by researchers and clinicians, from both public and private institutions. The current BRCA data arrangements are fragmented and politicized as there are multiple tensions around data ownership and sharing. Three key principles are proposed for forming and evaluating data governance arrangements in the field. These principles are: equity, efficiency and sustainability.

Intersections of Critical Systems Thinking and Community Based Participatory Research: A Learning Organization Example with the Autistic Community

PubMed Central

Raymaker, Dora M

2016-01-01

Critical systems thinking (CST) and community based participatory research (CBPR) are distinct approaches to inquiry which share a primary commitment to holism and human emancipation, as well as common grounding in critical theory and emancipatory and pragmatic philosophy. This paper explores their intersections and complements on a historical, philosophical, and theoretical level, and then proposes a hybrid approach achieved by applying CBPR's principles and considerations for operationalizing emancipatory practice to traditional systems thinking frameworks and practices. This hybrid approach is illustrated in practice with examples drawn from of the implementation of the learning organization model in an action research setting with the Autistic community. Our experience of being able to actively attend to, and continuously equalize, power relations within an organizational framework that otherwise has great potential for reinforcing power inequity suggests CBPR's principles and considerations for operationalizing emancipatory practice could be useful in CST settings, and CST's vocabulary, methods, and clarity around systems thinking concepts could be valuable to CBPR practioners. PMID:27833398

Intersections of Critical Systems Thinking and Community Based Participatory Research: A Learning Organization Example with the Autistic Community.

PubMed

Raymaker, Dora M

2016-10-01

Critical systems thinking (CST) and community based participatory research (CBPR) are distinct approaches to inquiry which share a primary commitment to holism and human emancipation, as well as common grounding in critical theory and emancipatory and pragmatic philosophy. This paper explores their intersections and complements on a historical, philosophical, and theoretical level, and then proposes a hybrid approach achieved by applying CBPR's principles and considerations for operationalizing emancipatory practice to traditional systems thinking frameworks and practices. This hybrid approach is illustrated in practice with examples drawn from of the implementation of the learning organization model in an action research setting with the Autistic community. Our experience of being able to actively attend to, and continuously equalize, power relations within an organizational framework that otherwise has great potential for reinforcing power inequity suggests CBPR's principles and considerations for operationalizing emancipatory practice could be useful in CST settings, and CST's vocabulary, methods, and clarity around systems thinking concepts could be valuable to CBPR practioners.

[Conclusions. The precautionary principle: its advantages and risks].

PubMed

Tubiana, M

2000-01-01

The proposed extension to health of the precautionary principle is the reaction to two social demands: the desire for greater health safety and for more transparency in the decision making process by associating the public. In medical care, all decisions are based on the balance between cost (dangers induced by the treatment) and benefit (the therapeutic effect). It is as dangerous to overestimate the cost, in other words the risks, as it is to underestimate them. The same problem is encountered in public health. If a vaccination is to be prescribed, the beneficial effects must outweigh the risks; however, these risks are inevitable and have been known to exist since the 18th century, but they have been accepted for the public good. It takes courage to make a vaccination mandatory because those who benefit from it will never know, while those who suffer from its ill effects could take legal action. In order to counter accusations, an evaluation must be made beforehand of the risks and benefits, which underlines the important role of expert opinion. Within the framework of the precautionary principle, actions cannot be taken in ignorance and, at the very least, plausible estimations must be made. The analysis of several recent events (contaminated blood, BSE, growth hormone and Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease) shows that the precautionary principle would have had a very limited impact and that only once there was sufficient knowledge was action made possible. The same is true concerning current debates (the possible risks associated with electromagnetic fields, mobile phones and radon); in these three cases, no country in the world has invoked the precautionary principle, but rather the priority has been given to research. The public understands quite readily the cost/benefit relationship. In the case of oral contraceptives, or hormone replacement therapy the public was aware of their possible health risks but judged that the advantages outweighed the risks. The estimation of risks and benefits, the putting into proper perspective the possible risks that can be incurred from any given action, enables the main pitfalls of the precautionary principle to be avoided: the opposition to progress and the refusal of innovation, ever greater bureaucracy, and the waste of funds in the pursuit of an utopian "zero risk". Other drawbacks are more insidious: increased anxiety in the population, the manipulation of opinion by campaigns fomented by commercial or ideological interests, the influencing of practitioners and decision-makers to choose not the best solution but rather the one that will protect them from any future accusations. At the international level, efforts must be made to avoid that the precautionary principle be used for protectionist reasons. Nevertheless, the precautionary principle can have advantages, such as motivating decision-makers in the public or private sector to explain and quantify their reasoning, and to give objective information. However, the medical practitioner should not be tempted to ask that documents be signed as proof of the information given. This example underlines the possible dangers of the strict application of the law in certain cases and the importance of the role of jurisprudence. The precautionary principle will also impose new obligations on the State, which also must conform to the requirements of proportionality between risk and action, transparency and information in the field of care and health. The application of the precautionary principle will require good judgment because the way it is implemented will determine whether its outcome will be for the better or the worse. That is why it is indispensable that jurists, medical practitioners, and scientists work together so that the precautionary principle will be as precisely defined and codified as possible.

Participatory methods for research prioritization in primary care: an analysis of the World Café approach in Ireland and the USA.

PubMed

MacFarlane, Anne; Galvin, Rose; O'Sullivan, Madeleine; McInerney, Chris; Meagher, Eoghan; Burke, Daniel; LeMaster, Joseph W

2017-06-01

There are increasing imperatives for patients and members of the public to engage as partners in identifying health research priorities. The use of participatory methods to engage stakeholders in health care in research prioritization is not commonly reported. This article analyses the use of World Cafés as a participatory method for research prioritization with marginalized communities in Ireland and the USA. The principles of purposeful and snowball sampling were followed in both settings and a diverse range of community and health care stakeholders participated (n = 63 Ireland and n = 55 USA). The principles for a classic World Café were employed but there were novel features in each setting as well. Stewart et al.'s (Patients' and clinicians' research priorities. Health Expect 2011; 14: 439-48, conceptual framework for patient engagement was adapted and used to comparatively analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the World Cafés, focusing on agenda setting, engagement with research processes, interactional features and outputs. Design principles for World Cafés were found to align with high-quality patient engagement for research prioritization in both settings. They served to facilitate meaningful collaboration among stakeholder groups in research prioritization (research agenda setting) and explored research priorities (engagement with research). The café ambience, emphasis on hospitality and self-facilitation created an environment for dialogues within and across participating groups (interactional features). There was a commitment to follow-up actions with reference to possible subsequent research (outputs). The World Café is a valuable, participatory, flexible method that can be used with community and health care stakeholders for research prioritization with marginalized communities. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

A Call for Mathematics Education Colleagues and Stakeholders to Collaboratively Engage with NCTM: In Response to Martin's Commentary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Briars, Diane J.; Larson, Matt; Strutchens, Marilyn E.; Barnes, David

2015-01-01

In his commentary "The Collective Black and 'Principles to Actions,'" Martin (2015) offers a thought-provoking critique of "Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All" (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 2014). Martin (2015) states that the mathematics education community, in general, and the…

Multimedia Design Principles in the Psychomotor Domain: The Effect of Multimedia and Spatial Contiguity on Students' Learning of Basic Life Support with Task Cards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iserbyt, Peter; Mols, Liesbet; Elen, Jan; Behets, Daniel

2012-01-01

This study adds to the literature by introducing multimedia research in the psychomotor area. In this study, 87 freshman students in pedagogy used task cards to learn Basic Life Support (BLS), a psychomotor skill consisting of nine lifesaving actions to be performed in a specific order. Task cards are printed materials and are often implemented…

Knowledge Translation in Audiology

PubMed Central

Kothari, Anita; Bagatto, Marlene P.; Seewald, Richard; Miller, Linda T.; Scollie, Susan D.

2011-01-01

The impetus for evidence-based practice (EBP) has grown out of widespread concern with the quality, effectiveness (including cost-effectiveness), and efficiency of medical care received by the public. Although initially focused on medicine, EBP principles have been adopted by many of the health care professions and are often represented in practice through the development and use of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). Audiology has been working on incorporating EBP principles into its mandate for professional practice since the mid-1990s. Despite widespread efforts to implement EBP and guidelines into audiology practice, gaps still exist between the best evidence based on research and what is being done in clinical practice. A collaborative dynamic and iterative integrated knowledge translation (KT) framework rather than a researcher-driven hierarchical approach to EBP and the development of CPGs has been shown to reduce the knowledge-to-clinical action gaps. This article provides a brief overview of EBP and CPGs, including a discussion of the barriers to implementing CPGs into clinical practice. It then offers a discussion of how an integrated KT process combined with a community of practice (CoP) might facilitate the development and dissemination of evidence for clinical audiology practice. Finally, a project that uses the knowledge-to-action (KTA) framework for the development of outcome measures in pediatric audiology is introduced. PMID:22194314

From dental science to clinical practice: Knowledge translation and evidence-based dentistry principles.

PubMed

Afrashtehfar, Kelvin I; Assery, Mansour K

2017-07-01

It has been claimed that in order to decrease the gap between what we know and what we do, research findings must be translated from knowledge to action. Such practices better enable dentists to make evidence-based decisions instead of personal ideas and judgments. To this end, this literature review aims to revisit the concepts of knowledge translation and evidence-based dentistry (EBD) and depict their role and influence within dental education. It addresses some possible strategies to facilitate knowledge translation (KT), encourage dental students to use EBD principles, and to encourage dental educators to create an environment in which students become self-directed learners. It concludes with a call to develop up-to-date and efficient online platforms that could grant dentists better access to EBD sources in order to more efficiently translate research evidence into the clinic.

Laboratory research in homeopathy: pro.

PubMed

Khuda-Bukhsh, Anisur R

2006-12-01

Homeopathy is a holistic method of treatment that uses ultralow doses of highly diluted natural substances originating from plants, minerals, or animals and is based on the principle of "like cures like." Despite being occasionally challenged for its scientific validity and mechanism of action, homeopathy continues to enjoy the confidence of millions of patients around the world who opt for this mode of treatment. Contrary to skeptics' views, research on home-opathy using modern tools mostly tends to support its efficacy and advocates new ideas toward understanding its mechanism of action. As part of a Point-Counterpoint feature, this review and its companion piece in this issue by Moffett et al (Integr Cancer Ther. 2006;5:333-342) are composed of a thesis section, a response section in reaction to the companion thesis, and a rebuttal section to address issues raised in the companion response.

Toward actionable science: Empowering ecologists to engage in the process of translation through decision-maker and stakeholder partnerships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Enquist, C.; Jackson, S. T.; Garfin, G. M.

2017-12-01

Translational ecology is an approach by which ecologists, stakeholders, and decision-makers work collaboratively to develop and deliver ecological research that, ideally, results in actionable science that leads to improved environmental decision-making. We analyzed a diverse array of real-world case studies and distilled six principles that characterize the practice of translational ecology: communication, commitment, collaboration, engagement, process, and decision-framing. In this talk, we highlight a subset of the case studies that illustrate these principles. Notably, we found that translational ecology is distinct from both basic and applied ecological research. As a practice, the approach deliberately extends research beyond theory or opportunistic applications, motivated by a search for outcomes that directly serve the needs of natural resource managers and decision-makers. Translational ecology is also distinct from knowledge co-production in that it does not require deep engagement between collaborators, although incorporating differing modes of co-production relative to the decision context, associated time frame, and available financial resources can greatly enhance the translational approach. Although there is a need for incentives to pursue in this type of work, we found that the creativity and context-specific knowledge of resource managers, practitioners, and decision-makers informs and enriches the scientific process, helping shape actionable science. Moreover, the process of addressing research questions arising from on-the-ground management issues, rather than from the top-down or expert-oriented perspectives of traditional science, can foster the long-term trust and commitment that is critical for long-term, sustained engagement between partners. Now, perhaps more than ever, the climate and environmental issues facing society are complex, often politicized, and value-laden. We argue that ecological science should play a key role in informing these problems and ecologists can engage as important partners committed to finding solutions. More broadly, scientists that embrace translational approaches are poised to make science-informed decision-making a reality in the face of a rapidly changing global environment.

Twenty cultural and learning principles to guide the development of pharmacy curriculum in Pacific Island countries.

PubMed

Brown, Andrew N; McCormack, Coralie

2014-01-01

A lack of education capacity to support the development of medical supply management competency is a major issue affecting Pacific Islands countries (PICs). Limited human resources and underdeveloped medicines supply management competency are two significant impediments to reaching the health-related Millennium Development Goals in many countries in this rural and remote region. Two recent review publications have provided relevant background documenting factors affecting learning and teaching. These articles have presented available information regarding competency and training requirements for health personnel involved in essential medicine supply management in the region. This background research has provided a platform from which tangible principles can be developed to aid educators and professionals in PICs in the development and delivery of appropriate pharmacy curriculum. Specifically the aim of the present article is to identify culturally meaningful learning and teaching principles to guide the development and delivery of pharmaceutical curriculum in PICs. Subsequently, this information will be applied to develop and trial new pedagogical approaches to the training of health personnel involved in essential medicines supply management, to improve medicine availability for patients in their own environment. This article forms part of a wider research project involving the United Nations Population Fund Suva subregional office, the University of Canberra, Ministry of Health officials and health personnel within identified PICs. Two previous reviews, investigating Pacific culture, learning approaches, and training requirements affecting pharmaceutical personnel, were synthesised into a set of principles that could be applied to the development of pharmaceutical curriculum. These principles were validated through focus groups of health personnel using action research methods. An initial set of 16 principles was developed from the synthesis of the two reviews. These principles were reviewed by two focus groups held in Fiji and the Solomon Islands to produce a set of 20 validated principles. These validated principles can be grouped under the headings of learning theory, structure and design, and learning and teaching methods. The 20 principles outlined in this article will be used to develop and trial culturally relevant training approaches for the development of medicine management competencies for various cadres of health personnel in PICs. These principles provide a practical framework for educators and health professionals to apply to health-based education and training in the Pacific, with potential application to other rural and remote environments.

Transforming Introductory Physics for Life Scientists: Researching the consequences for students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turpen, Chandra

2011-10-01

In response to policy documents calling for dramatic changes in pre-medical and biology education [1-3], the physics and biology education research groups at the University of Maryland are rethinking how to teach physics to life science majors. As an interdisciplinary team, we are drastically reconsidering the physics topics relevant for these courses. We are designing new in-class tasks to engage students in using physical principles to explain aspects of biological phenomena where the physical principles are of consequence to the biological systems. We will present examples of such tasks as well as preliminary data on how students engage in these tasks. Lastly, we will share some barriers encountered in pursuing meaningful interdisciplinary education.[4pt] Co-authors: Edward F. Redish and Julia Svaboda [4pt] [1] National Research Council, Bio2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists (NAP, 2003).[0pt] [2] AAMC-HHMI committee, Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians (AAMC, 2009).[0pt] [3] American Association for the Advancement of Science, Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action (AAAS, 2009).

Business Simulation Exercises in Small Business Management Education: Using Principles and Ideas from Action Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gabrielsson, Jonas; Tell, Joakim; Politis, Diamanto

2010-01-01

Recent calls to close the rigour-relevance gap in business school education have suggested incorporating principles and ideas from action learning in small business management education. In this paper we discuss how business simulation exercises can be used as a platform to trigger students' learning by providing them with a platform where they…

Fundamental Tactical Principles of Soccer: A Comparison of Different Age Groups

PubMed Central

Guilherme, José; Rechenchosky, Leandro; da Costa, Luciane Cristina Arantes; Rinadi, Wilson

2017-01-01

Abstract The fundamental tactical principles of the game of soccer represent a set of action rules that guide behaviours related to the management of game space. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of fundamental offensive and defensive tactical principles among youth soccer players from 12 to 17 years old. The sample consisted of 3689 tactical actions performed by 48 soccer players in three age categories: under 13 (U-13), under 15 (U-15), and under 17 (U-17). Tactical performance was measured using the System of Tactical Assessment in Soccer (FUT-SAT). The Kruskal Wallis, Mann-Whitney U, Friedman, Wilcoxon, and Cohen’s Kappa tests were used in the study analysis. The results showed that the principles of “offensive coverage” (p = 0.01) and “concentration” (p = 0.04) were performed more frequently by the U-17 players than the U-13 players. The tactical principles “width and length” (p < 0.05) and “defensive unit” (p < 0.05) were executed more frequently by younger soccer players. It can be concluded that the frequency with which fundamental tactical principles are performed varies between the gaming categories, which implies that there is valuation of defensive security and a progressive increase in “offensive coverage” caused by increased confidence and security in offensive actions. PMID:28828091

Fundamental Tactical Principles of Soccer: A Comparison of Different Age Groups.

PubMed

Borges, Paulo Henrique; Guilherme, José; Rechenchosky, Leandro; da Costa, Luciane Cristina Arantes; Rinadi, Wilson

2017-09-01

The fundamental tactical principles of the game of soccer represent a set of action rules that guide behaviours related to the management of game space. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of fundamental offensive and defensive tactical principles among youth soccer players from 12 to 17 years old. The sample consisted of 3689 tactical actions performed by 48 soccer players in three age categories: under 13 (U-13), under 15 (U-15), and under 17 (U-17). Tactical performance was measured using the System of Tactical Assessment in Soccer (FUT-SAT). The Kruskal Wallis, Mann-Whitney U, Friedman, Wilcoxon, and Cohen's Kappa tests were used in the study analysis. The results showed that the principles of "offensive coverage" (p = 0.01) and "concentration" (p = 0.04) were performed more frequently by the U-17 players than the U-13 players. The tactical principles "width and length" (p < 0.05) and "defensive unit" (p < 0.05) were executed more frequently by younger soccer players. It can be concluded that the frequency with which fundamental tactical principles are performed varies between the gaming categories, which implies that there is valuation of defensive security and a progressive increase in "offensive coverage" caused by increased confidence and security in offensive actions.

Fundamental changes to EPA's research enterprise: the path forward.

PubMed

Anastas, Paul T

2012-01-17

Environmental protection in the United States has reached a critical juncture. It has become clear that to address the complex and interrelated environmental challenges we face, we must augment our traditional approaches. The scientific community must build upon its deep understanding of risk assessment, risk management, and reductionism with tools, technologies, insights and approaches to pursue sustainability. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized this need for systemic change by implementing a new research paradigm called "The Path Forward." This paper outlines the principles of the Path Forward and the actions taken since 2010 to align EPA's research efforts with the goal of sustainability.

Convergence and divergence, a concept for explaining drug actions.

PubMed

Watanabe, Takehiko; Kamisaki, Yoshinori; Timmerman, Henk

2004-10-01

For the teaching and/or learning about drug actions and for the discovery and development of new drugs, it is important to understand how drugs act on living bodies. So far, there has been no clear description on the general principle of drug action in pharmacology textbooks. We propose two principles to depict the action mechanism of drugs. The first is that most, if not all, drugs act on proteins at the molecular level, that is, enzymes, receptors, ion channels, and transporters. The second is that a drug may cause divergent or convergent responses, resulting in changes of a physiological or pathological function of the human body. The concept of divergence and convergence can be used to explain the complex individuality of drug actions.

29 CFR 1607.13 - Affirmative action.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 29 Labor 4 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Affirmative action. 1607.13 Section 1607.13 Labor... EMPLOYEE SELECTION PROCEDURES (1978) General Principles § 1607.13 Affirmative action. A. Affirmative action... relieve users of any obligations they may have to undertake affirmative action to assure equal employment...

29 CFR 1607.13 - Affirmative action.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Affirmative action. 1607.13 Section 1607.13 Labor... EMPLOYEE SELECTION PROCEDURES (1978) General Principles § 1607.13 Affirmative action. A. Affirmative action... relieve users of any obligations they may have to undertake affirmative action to assure equal employment...

A new framework for designing programmes of assessment

PubMed Central

Van der Vleuten, C. P. M.; Schuwirth, L. W. T.

2009-01-01

Research on assessment in medical education has strongly focused on individual measurement instruments and their psychometric quality. Without detracting from the value of this research, such an approach is not sufficient to high quality assessment of competence as a whole. A programmatic approach is advocated which presupposes criteria for designing comprehensive assessment programmes and for assuring their quality. The paucity of research with relevance to programmatic assessment, and especially its development, prompted us to embark on a research project to develop design principles for programmes of assessment. We conducted focus group interviews to explore the experiences and views of nine assessment experts concerning good practices and new ideas about theoretical and practical issues in programmes of assessment. The discussion was analysed, mapping all aspects relevant for design onto a framework, which was iteratively adjusted to fit the data until saturation was reached. The overarching framework for designing programmes of assessment consists of six assessment programme dimensions: Goals, Programme in Action, Support, Documenting, Improving and Accounting. The model described in this paper can help to frame programmes of assessment; it not only provides a common language, but also a comprehensive picture of the dimensions to be covered when formulating design principles. It helps identifying areas concerning assessment in which ample research and development has been done. But, more importantly, it also helps to detect underserved areas. A guiding principle in design of assessment programmes is fitness for purpose. High quality assessment can only be defined in terms of its goals. PMID:19821042

A new framework for designing programmes of assessment.

PubMed

Dijkstra, J; Van der Vleuten, C P M; Schuwirth, L W T

2010-08-01

Research on assessment in medical education has strongly focused on individual measurement instruments and their psychometric quality. Without detracting from the value of this research, such an approach is not sufficient to high quality assessment of competence as a whole. A programmatic approach is advocated which presupposes criteria for designing comprehensive assessment programmes and for assuring their quality. The paucity of research with relevance to programmatic assessment, and especially its development, prompted us to embark on a research project to develop design principles for programmes of assessment. We conducted focus group interviews to explore the experiences and views of nine assessment experts concerning good practices and new ideas about theoretical and practical issues in programmes of assessment. The discussion was analysed, mapping all aspects relevant for design onto a framework, which was iteratively adjusted to fit the data until saturation was reached. The overarching framework for designing programmes of assessment consists of six assessment programme dimensions: Goals, Programme in Action, Support, Documenting, Improving and Accounting. The model described in this paper can help to frame programmes of assessment; it not only provides a common language, but also a comprehensive picture of the dimensions to be covered when formulating design principles. It helps identifying areas concerning assessment in which ample research and development has been done. But, more importantly, it also helps to detect underserved areas. A guiding principle in design of assessment programmes is fitness for purpose. High quality assessment can only be defined in terms of its goals.

The Role of Human Factors/Ergonomics in the Science of Security: Decision Making and Action Selection in Cyberspace.

PubMed

Proctor, Robert W; Chen, Jing

2015-08-01

The overarching goal is to convey the concept of science of security and the contributions that a scientifically based, human factors approach can make to this interdisciplinary field. Rather than a piecemeal approach to solving cybersecurity problems as they arise, the U.S. government is mounting a systematic effort to develop an approach grounded in science. Because humans play a central role in security measures, research on security-related decisions and actions grounded in principles of human information-processing and decision-making is crucial to this interdisciplinary effort. We describe the science of security and the role that human factors can play in it, and use two examples of research in cybersecurity--detection of phishing attacks and selection of mobile applications--to illustrate the contribution of a scientific, human factors approach. In these research areas, we show that systematic information-processing analyses of the decisions that users make and the actions they take provide a basis for integrating the human component of security science. Human factors specialists should utilize their foundation in the science of applied information processing and decision making to contribute to the science of cybersecurity. © 2015, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Dual-action gas thrust bearing for improving load capacity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Etsion, I.

1976-01-01

The principle of utilizing hydrodynamic effects in diverging films to improve the load carrying capacity in gas thrust bearings is discussed. A new concept of a dual action bearing based on that principle is described and analyzed. The potential of the new bearing is demonstrated both analytically for an infinitely long slider and by numerical solution for a flat sector shaped thrust bearing. It is shown that the dual action bearing can extend substantially the range of load carrying capacity in gas lubricated thrust bearings and can improve their efficiency.

The dual action gas thrust bearing - A new high load bearing concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Etsion, I.

1976-01-01

The principle of utilizing hydrodynamic effects in diverging films for improving load capacity in gas thrust bearings is discussed. A new concept of dual action bearing based on that principle is described and analyzed. The potential of the new bearing is demonstrated both analytically for an infinitely long slider and by numerical solution for a flat sector shaped thrust bearing. It is shown that the dual action bearing can extend substantially the range of load carrying capacity in gas lubricated thrust bearings and improve their efficiency.

The conduct of Australian Indigenous primary health care research focusing on social and emotional wellbeing: a systematic review.

PubMed

Farnbach, Sara; Eades, Anne-Maree; Gwynn, Josephine D; Glozier, Nick; Hackett, Maree L

2018-06-14

Objectives and importance of study: Values and ethics: guidelines for ethical conduct in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research (Values and ethics) describes key values that should underpin Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous)-focused health research. It is unclear how research teams address this document in primary health care research. We systematically review the primary health care literature focusing on Indigenous social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) to identify how Values and ethics and community preferences for standards of behaviour (local protocols) are addressed during research. Systematic review in accordance with PRISMA Guidelines and MOOSE Guidelines for Meta-Analyses and Systematic Reviews of Observational Studies. We searched four databases and one Indigenous-specific website for qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method studies published since Values and ethics was implemented (2003). Included studies were conducted in primary health care services, focused on Indigenous SEWB and were conducted by research teams. Using standard data extraction forms, we identified actions taken (reported by authors or identified by us) relating to Values and ethics and local protocols. A total of 25 studies were included. Authors of two studies explicitly mentioned the Values and ethics document, but neither reported how their actions related to the document's values. In more than half the studies, we identified at least three actions relating to the values. Some actions related to multiple values, including use of culturally sensitive research processes and involving Indigenous representatives in the research team. Local protocols were rarely reported. Addressing Values and ethics appears to improve research projects. The academic community should focus on culturally sensitive research processes, relationship building and developing the Indigenous research workforce, to facilitate acceptable research that affects health outcomes. For Values and ethics to achieve its full impact and to improve learning between research teams, authors should be encouraged to report how the principles are addressed during research, including barriers and enablers that are encountered.

On the Inclusion of Externally Controlled Actions in Action Planning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Jessica Chia-Chin; Knoblich, Gunther; Sebanz, Natalie

2011-01-01

According to ideomotor theories, perceiving action effects produced by others triggers corresponding action representations in the observer. We tested whether this principle extends to actions performed by externally controlled limbs and tools. Participants performed a go-no-go version of a spatial compatibility task in which their own actions…

In Search of the ‘New Informal Legitimacy’ of Médecins Sans Frontières

PubMed Central

Calain, Philippe

2012-01-01

For medical humanitarian organizations, making their sources of legitimacy explicit is a useful exercise, in response to: misperceptions, concerns over the ‘humanitarian space’, controversies about specific humanitarian actions, challenges about resources allocation and moral suffering among humanitarian workers. This is also a difficult exercise, where normative criteria such as international law or humanitarian principles are often misrepresented as primary sources of legitimacy. This essay first argues for a morally principled definition of humanitarian medicine, based on the selfless intention of individual humanitarian actors. Taking Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) as a case in point, a common source of moral legitimacy for medical humanitarian organizations is their cosmopolitan appeal to distributive justice and collective responsibility. More informally, their legitimacy is grounded in the rightfulness of specific actions and choices. This implies a constant commitment to publicity and accountability. Legitimacy is also generated by tangible support from the public to individual organizations, by commitments to professional integrity, and by academic alliances to support evidence-based practice and operational research. PMID:22442647

Overlapping dose responses of spermatogenic and extragonadal testosterone actions jeopardize the principle of hormonal male contraception

PubMed Central

Oduwole, Olayiwola O.; Vydra, Natalia; Wood, Nicholas E. M.; Samanta, Luna; Owen, Laura; Keevil, Brian; Donaldson, Mandy; Naresh, Kikkeri; Huhtaniemi, Ilpo T.

2014-01-01

Testosterone (T), alone or in combination with progestin, provides a promising approach to hormonal male contraception. Its principle relies on enhanced negative feedback of exogenous T to suppress gonadotropins, thereby blocking the testicular T production needed for spermatogenesis, while simultaneously maintaining the extragonadal androgen actions, such as potency and libido, to avoid hypogonadism. A serious drawback of the treatment is that a significant proportion of men do not reach azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia, commensurate with contraceptive efficacy. We tested here, using hypogonadal luteinizing hormone/choriongonadotropin receptor (LHCGR) knockout (LHR−/−) mice, the basic principle of the T-based male contraceptive method, that a specific T dose could maintain extragonadal androgen actions without simultaneously activating spermatogenesis. LHR−/− mice were treated with increasing T doses, and the responses of their spermatogenesis and extragonadal androgen actions (including gonadotropin suppression and sexual behavior) were assessed. Conspicuously, all dose responses to T were practically superimposable, and no dose of T could be defined that would maintain sexual function and suppress gonadotropins without simultaneously activating spermatogenesis. This finding, never addressed in clinical contraceptive trials, is not unexpected in light of the same androgen receptor mediating androgen actions in all organs. When extrapolated to humans, our findings may jeopardize the current approach to hormonal male contraception and call for more effective means of inhibiting intratesticular T production or action, to achieve consistent spermatogenic suppression.—Oduwole, O. O., Vydra, N., Wood, N. E. M., Samanta, L., Owen, L., Keevil, B., Donaldson, M., Naresh, K., Huhtaniemi, I. T. Overlapping dose responses of spermatogenic and extragonadal testosterone actions jeopardize the principle of hormonal male contraception. PMID:24599970

Integrating Women's Human Rights into Global Health Research: An Action Framework

PubMed Central

Kapungu, Chisina; Khare, Manorama H.; Lewis, Yvonne; Barlow-Mosha, Linda

2010-01-01

Abstract This article uses Scale of Change theory as a framework to guide global health researchers to synergistically target women's health outcomes in the context of improving their right to freedom, equity, and equality of opportunities. We hypothesize that health researchers can do so through six action strategies. These strategies include (1) becoming fully informed of women's human rights directives to integrate them into research, (2) mainstreaming gender in the research, (3) using the expertise of grass roots women's organizations in the setting, (4) showcasing women's equity and equality in the organizational infrastructure, (5) disseminating research findings to policymakers in the study locale to influence health priorities, and (6) publicizing the social conditions that are linked to women's diseases. We explore conceptual and logistical dilemmas in transforming a study using these principles and also provide a case study of obstetric fistula reduction in Nigeria to illustrate how these strategies can be operationalized. Our intent is to offer a feasible approach to health researchers who, conceptually, may link women's health to social and cultural conditions but are looking for practical implementation strategies to examine a women's health issue through the lens of their human rights. PMID:20973667

Integrating women's human rights into global health research: an action framework.

PubMed

Baptiste, Donna; Kapungu, Chisina; Khare, Manorama H; Lewis, Yvonne; Barlow-Mosha, Linda

2010-11-01

This article uses Scale of Change theory as a framework to guide global health researchers to synergistically target women's health outcomes in the context of improving their right to freedom, equity, and equality of opportunities. We hypothesize that health researchers can do so through six action strategies. These strategies include (1) becoming fully informed of women's human rights directives to integrate them into research, (2) mainstreaming gender in the research, (3) using the expertise of grass roots women's organizations in the setting, (4) showcasing women's equity and equality in the organizational infrastructure, (5) disseminating research findings to policymakers in the study locale to influence health priorities, and (6) publicizing the social conditions that are linked to women's diseases. We explore conceptual and logistical dilemmas in transforming a study using these principles and also provide a case study of obstetric fistula reduction in Nigeria to illustrate how these strategies can be operationalized. Our intent is to offer a feasible approach to health researchers who, conceptually, may link women's health to social and cultural conditions but are looking for practical implementation strategies to examine a women's health issue through the lens of their human rights.

The action uncertainty principle and quantum gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mensky, Michael B.

1992-02-01

Results of the path-integral approach to the quantum theory of continuous measurements have been formulated in a preceding paper in the form of an inequality of the type of the uncertainty principle. The new inequality was called the action uncertainty principle, AUP. It was shown that the AUP allows one to find in a simple what outputs of the continuous measurements will occur with high probability. Here a more simple form of the AUP will be formulated, δ S≳ħ. When applied to quantum gravity, it leads in a very simple way to the Rosenfeld inequality for measurability of the average curvature.

Microdosimetry: Principles and applications

PubMed Central

Santa Cruz, Gustavo A.

2016-01-01

Aim to present the most important aspects of Microdosimetry, a research field in radiation biophysics. Background microdosimetry is the branch of radiation biophysics that systematically studies the spatial, temporal and spectral aspects of the stochastic nature of the energy deposition processes in microscopic structures. Materials and Methods we briefly review its history, the people, the formalism and the theories and devices that allowed researchers to begin to understand the true nature of radiation action on living matter. Results and Conclusions we outline some of its applications, especially to Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, attempting to explain the biological effectiveness of the boron thermal neutron capture reaction. PMID:26933397

Traditional Chinese medicine and Western psychopharmacology: building bridges.

PubMed

Shorter, Edward; Segesser, Kathryn

2013-12-01

This paper demonstrates that in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, there are striking similarities between the mechanisms of psychoactive agents used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and those of western psychopharmacology. While western researchers search for new treatments and novel mechanisms of action, investigators in Asia are analyzing traditional remedies in order to understand the mechanisms responsible for their effectiveness. A review of contemporary pharmacologic studies of agents used in TCM for psychiatric indications reveals that virtually all of the active principles of drug action established in 20th century psychopharmacology were encountered empirically in Chinese herbal medicine over the past 2000 years. Building bridges between these two traditions may thus be of benefit to both cultures. In addition to providing western patients with a wider selection of treatment options, the effort may help Asian clinicians and researchers avoid some of the errors that have troubled their western counterparts. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Self-organization, free energy minimization, and optimal grip on a field of affordances

PubMed Central

Bruineberg, Jelle; Rietveld, Erik

2014-01-01

In this paper, we set out to develop a theoretical and conceptual framework for the new field of Radical Embodied Cognitive Neuroscience. This framework should be able to integrate insights from several relevant disciplines: theory on embodied cognition, ecological psychology, phenomenology, dynamical systems theory, and neurodynamics. We suggest that the main task of Radical Embodied Cognitive Neuroscience is to investigate the phenomenon of skilled intentionality from the perspective of the self-organization of the brain-body-environment system, while doing justice to the phenomenology of skilled action. In previous work, we have characterized skilled intentionality as the organism's tendency toward an optimal grip on multiple relevant affordances simultaneously. Affordances are possibilities for action provided by the environment. In the first part of this paper, we introduce the notion of skilled intentionality and the phenomenon of responsiveness to a field of relevant affordances. Second, we use Friston's work on neurodynamics, but embed a very minimal version of his Free Energy Principle in the ecological niche of the animal. Thus amended, this principle is helpful for understanding the embeddedness of neurodynamics within the dynamics of the system “brain-body-landscape of affordances.” Next, we show how we can use this adjusted principle to understand the neurodynamics of selective openness to the environment: interacting action-readiness patterns at multiple timescales contribute to the organism's selective openness to relevant affordances. In the final part of the paper, we emphasize the important role of metastable dynamics in both the brain and the brain-body-environment system for adequate affordance-responsiveness. We exemplify our integrative approach by presenting research on the impact of Deep Brain Stimulation on affordance responsiveness of OCD patients. PMID:25161615

Self-organization, free energy minimization, and optimal grip on a field of affordances.

PubMed

Bruineberg, Jelle; Rietveld, Erik

2014-01-01

In this paper, we set out to develop a theoretical and conceptual framework for the new field of Radical Embodied Cognitive Neuroscience. This framework should be able to integrate insights from several relevant disciplines: theory on embodied cognition, ecological psychology, phenomenology, dynamical systems theory, and neurodynamics. We suggest that the main task of Radical Embodied Cognitive Neuroscience is to investigate the phenomenon of skilled intentionality from the perspective of the self-organization of the brain-body-environment system, while doing justice to the phenomenology of skilled action. In previous work, we have characterized skilled intentionality as the organism's tendency toward an optimal grip on multiple relevant affordances simultaneously. Affordances are possibilities for action provided by the environment. In the first part of this paper, we introduce the notion of skilled intentionality and the phenomenon of responsiveness to a field of relevant affordances. Second, we use Friston's work on neurodynamics, but embed a very minimal version of his Free Energy Principle in the ecological niche of the animal. Thus amended, this principle is helpful for understanding the embeddedness of neurodynamics within the dynamics of the system "brain-body-landscape of affordances." Next, we show how we can use this adjusted principle to understand the neurodynamics of selective openness to the environment: interacting action-readiness patterns at multiple timescales contribute to the organism's selective openness to relevant affordances. In the final part of the paper, we emphasize the important role of metastable dynamics in both the brain and the brain-body-environment system for adequate affordance-responsiveness. We exemplify our integrative approach by presenting research on the impact of Deep Brain Stimulation on affordance responsiveness of OCD patients.

How education for sustainable development is implemented in Germany: Looking through the lens of educational governance theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bormann, Inka; Nikel, Jutta

2017-12-01

The United Nations (UN) Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) aimed to integrate the principles, values and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning around the world. The authors of this article address the implementation process of ESD in Germany during the UN Decade (2005-2014). By undertaking a meta-analysis of the findings of four related sub-studies they carried out during a three-year project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the authors contribute to the understanding of the process of transferring the concept of ESD within a multi-level education system. They investigated this process at two levels - the federal state (a sub-national entity in Germany) and the communal level. Drawing on educational governance theory, the authors unveil principles, norms, rules and procedures in the coordination of action within constellations of heterogeneous actors contributing to the implementation of ESD in their social entities. The outcome of the meta-analysis describes an emerging governance regime in ESD, taking into consideration the following features impacting the coordination of action being carried out by the actors involved: (1) the understanding of the normative concept of ESD as content of negotiation; (2) the perceived opportunity for actors to gain and increase appreciation within the field of ESD as an incentive for and driver of engagement; and (3) the dynamic quality of the set-up, rules and principles of the coordination of action, which renders these subject to situative changes. In the final part of the paper, the findings are discussed from the perspectives of the theory of transfer and the current empirical basis of ESD policy and governance.

Policy on synthetic biology: deliberation, probability, and the precautionary paradox.

PubMed

Wareham, Christopher; Nardini, Cecilia

2015-02-01

Synthetic biology is a cutting-edge area of research that holds the promise of unprecedented health benefits. However, in tandem with these large prospective benefits, synthetic biology projects entail a risk of catastrophic consequences whose severity may exceed that of most ordinary human undertakings. This is due to the peculiar nature of synthetic biology as a 'threshold technology' which opens doors to opportunities and applications that are essentially unpredictable. Fears about these potentially unstoppable consequences have led to declarations from civil society groups calling for the use of a precautionary principle to regulate the field. Moreover, the principle is prevalent in law and international agreements. Despite widespread political recognition of a need for caution, the precautionary principle has been extensively criticized as a guide for regulatory policy. We examine a central objection to the principle: that its application entails crippling inaction and incoherence, since whatever action one takes there is always a chance that some highly improbable cataclysm will occur. In response to this difficulty, which we call the 'precautionary paradox,' we outline a deliberative means for arriving at threshold of probability below which potential dangers can be disregarded. In addition, we describe a Bayesian mechanism with which to assign probabilities to harmful outcomes. We argue that these steps resolve the paradox. The rehabilitated PP can thus provide a viable policy option to confront the uncharted waters of synthetic biology research. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Building partnerships to produce actionable science to support climate-informed management decisions: North Central Climate Science Center example

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lackett, J.; Ojima, D. S.; McNeeley, S.

2017-12-01

As climate change impacts become more apparent in our environment, action is needed to enhance the social-ecological system resilience. Incorporating principles which lead to actionable research and project co-development, when appropriate, will facilitate building linkages between the research and the natural resource management communities. In order to develop strategies to manage for climatic and ecosystem changes, collaborative actions are needed between researchers and resource managers to apply appropriate knowledge of the ecosystem and management environments to enable feasible solutions and management actions to respond to climate change. Our team has been involved in developing and establishing a research and engagement center, the North Central Climate Science Center (NC CSC), for the US Department of Interior, to support the development and translation of pertinent climate science information to natural resource managers in the north central portion of the United States. The NC CSC has implemented a platform to support the Resource for Vulnerability Assessment, Adaptation, and Mitigation Projects (ReVAMP) with research, engagement, and training activities to support resource managers and researchers. These activities are aimed at the co-production of appropriate response strategies to climate change in the region, in particular to drought-related responses. Through this platform we, with other partners in the region, including the Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture, are bringing various training tools, climate information, and management planning tools to resource managers. The implementation of ReVAMP has led to development of planning efforts which include a more explicit representation of climate change as a driver of drought events in our region. Scenario planning provides a process which integrates management goals with possible outcomes derived from observations and simulations of ecological impacts of climate change. Co-development of management options under these various scenarios have allowed for guidance about further research needed, observations needed to better monitor ecological conditions under climate changes, and adaptive management practices to increase resilience.

The French National Nutrition and Health Program: 2001-2006-2010.

PubMed

Hercberg, Serge; Chat-Yung, Stacie; Chaulia, Michel

2008-01-01

Established in 2001-2005 then extended to 2010, the French National Nutrition and Health Program (PNNS) is a nutrition policy whose objective is to improve the health status of the population by acting on one of its major determinants, nutrition. Nine priority objectives focusing on diet, physical activity and nutritional status were determined. Program strategies are based on fundamental principles including food culture, pleasure, and gastronomy. This multidisciplinary program involves stakeholders from ministries, research and educational institutions, food industry, healthcare, and consumers. More than 75% of the public health actions planned were accomplished or in progress by the end of 2005, particularly those concerning nutrition communication, education, research and nutritional surveillance. Dietary guidelines were established and are now considered the official reference in France. Actions focusing on the healthcare system, economic actors and players and specific population groups need further development. The success of a public health program like the PNNS requires a combination of synergistic and complementary actions, measures, regulations and laws. A national study at the end of the PNNS will determine if objectives were achieved.

Transforming corner-office strategy into frontline action.

PubMed

Gadiesh, O; Gilbert, J L

2001-05-01

When CEOs push decision making out to the far reaches of an organization, good things happen: fleeting business opportunities are seized quickly and workers are motivated to innovate and take risks. But it's tricky to achieve both decentralized decision making and coherent strategic action at a company. If everyone is a decision maker, things can spin out of control. In this article, Bain consultants Orit Gadiesh and James Gilbert explore the concept of the strategic principle--a memorable and actionable phrase that distills a company's corporate strategy into its unique essence and communicates it across an organization. If it's devised and disseminated properly, a strategic principle can empower employees to seize business opportunities but also focus everyone in an organization--executives and line managers alike--on the same strategic objectives. The authors outline the three defining characteristics of a good strategic principle--it should force trade-offs between competing resource demands, it should serve as a test for the strategic soundness of a particular action, and it should set clear boundaries for employees to operate within even as it grants them freedom to experiment. They explain how managers can create a strategic principle, how they should test it, and when they should revisit it. The authors present real-world examples of how companies use their strategic principles. For instance, they describe how South-west Airlines stopped flying to Denver after it measured the high costs of providing flight service in that part of the country against its strategic principle of offering customers short-haul air travel at fares competitive with the cost of automobile travel. This tool is increasingly useful in today's rapidly changing business environment, the authors conclude, and it is likely to become even more crucial to corporate success.

Leadership: a new frontier in conservation science.

PubMed

Manolis, Jim C; Chan, Kai M; Finkelstein, Myra E; Stephens, Scott; Nelson, Cara R; Grant, Jacqualine B; Dombeck, Michael P

2009-08-01

Leadership is a critical tool for expanding the influence of conservation science, but recent advances in leadership concepts and practice remain underutilized by conservation scientists. Furthermore, an explicit conceptual foundation and definition of leadership in conservation science are not available in the literature. Here we drew on our diverse leadership experiences, our reading of leadership literature, and discussions with selected conservation science leaders to define conservation-science leadership, summarize an exploratory set of leadership principles that are applicable to conservation science, and recommend actions to expand leadership capacity among conservation scientists and practitioners. We define 2 types of conservation-science leadership: shaping conservation science through path-breaking research, and advancing the integration of conservation science into policy, management, and society at large. We focused on the second, integrative type of leadership because we believe it presents the greatest opportunity for improving conservation effectiveness. We identified 8 leadership principles derived mainly from the "adaptive leadership" literature: recognize the social dimension of the problem; cycle frequently through action and reflection; get and maintain attention; combine strengths of multiple leaders; extend your reach through networks of relationships; strategically time your effort; nurture productive conflict; and cultivate diversity. Conservation scientists and practitioners should strive to develop themselves as leaders, and the Society for Conservation Biology, conservation organizations, and academia should support this effort through professional development, mentoring, teaching, and research.

Multi-finger prehension: control of a redundant mechanical system.

PubMed

Latash, Mark L; Zatsiorsky, Vladimir M

2009-01-01

The human hand has been a fascinating object of study for researchers in both biomechanics and motor control. Studies of human prehension have contributed significantly to the progress in addressing the famous problem of motor redundancy. After a brief review of the hand mechanics, we present results of recent studies that support a general view that the apparently redundant design of the hand is not a source of computational problems but a rich apparatus that allows performing a variety of tasks in a reliable and flexible way (the principle of abundance). Multi-digit synergies have been analyzed at two levels of a hypothetical hierarchy involved in the control of prehensile actions. At the upper level, forces and moments produced by the thumb and virtual finger (an imagined finger with a mechanical action equal to the combined mechanical action of all four fingers of the hand) co-vary to stabilize the gripping action and the orientation of the hand-held object. These results support the principle of superposition suggested earlier in robotics with respect to the control of artificial grippers. At the lower level of the hierarchy, forces and moments produced by individual fingers co-vary to stabilize the magnitude and direction of the force vector and the moment of force produced by the virtual finger. Adjustments to changes in task constraints (such as, for example, friction under individual digits) may be local and synergic. The latter reflect multi-digit prehension synergies and may be analyzed with the so-called chain effects: Sequences of relatively straightforward cause-effect links directly related to mechanical constraints leading to non-trivial strong co-variation between pairs of elemental variables. Analysis of grip force adjustments during motion of hand-held objects suggests that the central nervous system adjusts to gravitational and inertial loads differently. The human hand is a gold mine for researchers interested in the control of natural human movements.

The role of prediction in social neuroscience

PubMed Central

Brown, Elliot C.; Brüne, Martin

2012-01-01

Research has shown that the brain is constantly making predictions about future events. Theories of prediction in perception, action and learning suggest that the brain serves to reduce the discrepancies between expectation and actual experience, i.e., by reducing the prediction error. Forward models of action and perception propose the generation of a predictive internal representation of the expected sensory outcome, which is matched to the actual sensory feedback. Shared neural representations have been found when experiencing one's own and observing other's actions, rewards, errors, and emotions such as fear and pain. These general principles of the “predictive brain” are well established and have already begun to be applied to social aspects of cognition. The application and relevance of these predictive principles to social cognition are discussed in this article. Evidence is presented to argue that simple non-social cognitive processes can be extended to explain complex cognitive processes required for social interaction, with common neural activity seen for both social and non-social cognitions. A number of studies are included which demonstrate that bottom-up sensory input and top-down expectancies can be modulated by social information. The concept of competing social forward models and a partially distinct category of social prediction errors are introduced. The evolutionary implications of a “social predictive brain” are also mentioned, along with the implications on psychopathology. The review presents a number of testable hypotheses and novel comparisons that aim to stimulate further discussion and integration between currently disparate fields of research, with regard to computational models, behavioral and neurophysiological data. This promotes a relatively new platform for inquiry in social neuroscience with implications in social learning, theory of mind, empathy, the evolution of the social brain, and potential strategies for treating social cognitive deficits. PMID:22654749

Harmonization of cancer and noncancer risk assessment: proceedings of a consensus-building workshop.

PubMed

Bogdanffy, M S; Daston, G; Faustman, E M; Kimmel, C A; Kimmel, G L; Seed, J; Vu, V

2001-05-01

Significant advancements have been made toward the use of all relevant scientific information in health risk assessments. This principle has been set forth in risk-assessment guidance documents of international agencies including those of the World Health Organization's International Programme on Chemical Safety, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Health Canada. Improving the scientific basis of risk assessment is a leading strategic goal of the Society of Toxicology. In recent years, there has been a plethora of mechanistic research on modes of chemical toxicity that establishes mechanistic links between noncancer responses to toxic agents and subsequent overt manifestations of toxicity such as cancer. The research suggests that differences in approaches to assessing risk of cancer and noncancer toxicity need to be resolved and a common broad paradigm for dose-response assessments developed for all toxicity endpoints. In November 1999, a workshop entitled "Harmonization of Cancer and Noncancer Risk Assessment" was held to discuss the most critical issues involved in developing a more consistent and unified approach to risk assessment for all endpoints. Invited participants from government, industry, and academia discussed focus questions in the areas of mode of action as the basis for harmonization, common levels of adverse effect across toxicities for use in dose-response assessments, and scaling and uncertainty factors. This report summarizes the results of those discussions. There was broad agreement, albeit not unanimous, that current science supports the development of a harmonized set of principles that guide risk assessments for all toxic endpoints. There was an acceptance among the participants that understanding the mode of action of a chemical is ultimately critical for nondefault risk assessments, that common modes of action for different toxicities can be defined, and that our approach to assessing toxicity should be biologically consistent.

Developing an Action Concept Inventory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGinness, Lachlan P.; Savage, C. M.

2016-01-01

We report on progress towards the development of an Action Concept Inventory (ACI), a test that measures student understanding of action principles in introductory mechanics and optics. The ACI also covers key concepts of many-paths quantum mechanics, from which classical action physics arises. We used a multistage iterative development cycle for…

Affirmative Action: Essential to Achieving Justice and Good Health Care for All in America.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sinkford, Jeanne C.; Valachovic, Richard W.

2003-01-01

Explains the position of the American Dental Education Association regarding affirmative action, namely, that affirmative action represents the United States' longstanding principled and constitutional commitment to equal opportunity for all citizens. (EV)

An ecological basis for ecosystem management

Treesearch

M. R. Kaufmann; R. T. Graham; D. A. Boyce; W. H. Moir; L. Perry; R. T. Reynolds; R. L. Bassett; P. Mehlhop; C. B. Edminster; W. M. Block; P. S. Corn

1994-01-01

Guiding principles based on conservation biology are applied in assessing ecosystem needs. Ecosystem, economic, and social needs are integrated in a decision model in which the guiding principles are used as a primary filter for evaluating proposed actions. Management practices consistent with the guiding principles are likely to lead to ecological, economic, and...

Archimedes' Principle in Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kires, Marian

2007-01-01

The conceptual understanding of Archimedes' principle can be verified in experimental procedures which determine mass and density using a floating object. This is demonstrated by simple experiments using graduated beakers. (Contains 5 figures.)

Consequences, norms, and generalized inaction in moral dilemmas: The CNI model of moral decision-making.

PubMed

Gawronski, Bertram; Armstrong, Joel; Conway, Paul; Friesdorf, Rebecca; Hütter, Mandy

2017-09-01

Research on moral dilemma judgments has been fundamentally shaped by the distinction between utilitarianism and deontology. According to the principle of utilitarianism, the moral status of behavioral options depends on their consequences; the principle of deontology states that the moral status of behavioral options depends on their consistency with moral norms. To identify the processes underlying utilitarian and deontological judgments, researchers have investigated responses to moral dilemmas that pit one principle against the other (e.g., trolley problem). However, the conceptual meaning of responses in this paradigm is ambiguous, because the central aspects of utilitarianism and deontology-consequences and norms-are not manipulated. We illustrate how this shortcoming undermines theoretical interpretations of empirical findings and describe an alternative approach that resolves the ambiguities of the traditional paradigm. Expanding on this approach, we present a multinomial model that allows researchers to quantify sensitivity to consequences (C), sensitivity to moral norms (N), and general preference for inaction versus action irrespective of consequences and norms (I) in responses to moral dilemmas. We present 8 studies that used this model to investigate the effects of gender, cognitive load, question framing, and psychopathy on moral dilemma judgments. The findings obtained with the proposed CNI model offer more nuanced insights into the determinants of moral dilemma judgments, calling for a reassessment of dominant theoretical assumptions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

The Put-and-Fetch Ambiguity: How Magicians Exploit the Principle of Exclusive Allocation of Movements to Intentions.

PubMed

Van de Cruys, Sander; Wagemans, Johan; Ekroll, Vebjørn

2015-04-01

In many magic tricks, magicians fool their audience by performing a mock action (a so-called "ruse"), which merely serves the purpose of providing a seemingly natural explanation for visible movements that are actually part of the secret move they want to hide from the audience. Here, we discuss a special magic ruse in which the action of secretly putting something somewhere is "explained away" by the mock action of fetching something from the same place, or vice versa . Interestingly, the psychological principles underlying the amazing potency and robustness of this technique seem to be very similar to the general perceptual principles underlying figure-ground perception and the assignment of border ownership. This analogy may be useful for exploring the possibility that this and similar magical effects involve immediate "unconscious inferences" about intentions more akin to perceptual processing than to explicit deliberations based on a reflective "theory" of mind.

[Euthanasia, assisted suicide, and the principle of double effect: a reply to Rodolfo Figueroa].

PubMed

Miranda, Alejandro M

2012-02-01

The purpose of this paper is to defend the traditional application of the principle of double effect as a criterion for assessing the permissibility of actions that have as their common aim to end the suffering of seriously ill patients. According to this principle, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are always illicit acts, while the same is not said for other actions that bring about patient's death as a foreseen effect, namely, palliative treatments that hasten death or failure or interruption of life support. The reason for this difference is that, in the first two cases, the patient's death is intended as a means of pain relief; whereas, in the latter two, death is only a side effect of a medical act, an act justifiable if it is necessary to achieve a proportionate good. In a recent issue of this Journal, Professor Rodolfo Figueroa denied the soundness of the principle of double effect and maintained that all actions described above should be considered equivalent in law enforcement. Here, the author presents a reply to that argument, and also offers a justification of the afore said principle's core, that is, the moral and legal relevance of the distinction between intended effects and foreseen side effects.

Research on breakdown characteristics of converter transformer oil-paper insulation under compound electric field in alpine region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, C.; Gao, Z. W.; Lan, S.; Guo, H. X.; Gong, M. C.

2018-01-01

In the paper, existing research and operating experience was summarized. On the basis, the particularity of oil-paper insulation operation condition for converter transformer was combined for studying the influence of temperature on oil-paper insulation field intensity distribution of converter transformers under different AC contents within wide temperature scope (-40°C∼105°C). The law of temperature gradients on space charge accumulation was analyzed. The breakdown or flashover characteristics of typical oil-paper compound insulation structure under the action of DC, AC and AC-DC superposition voltage at different temperatures were explored. The design principles of converter transformer oil-paper insulation structures in alpine region was proposed. The principle was adjusted and optimized properly according to the operation temperature scope and withstood AC-DC proportion. The reliability of transformer operation was improved on the one hand, and the insulating medium can be rationally utilized for reducing the manufacturing cost of the transformer on the other hand.

[History and development of carbonization of Chinese materia medica and exploration on its mechanism of hemostatic action].

PubMed

He, R J; Diao, T M; DU, D

2017-03-28

The first material recorded about hair charcoal is seen in Nei jing ( Inner Canon ). It has a history of over 2 000 years for the carbonization of Chinese materia medica. There were controversies on this matter and its clinical application was seldom seen and underdeveloped. After the Yuan Dynasty, the main theory of carbonic herbs for hemostasis, and keeping the nature of the medicines after carbonization was gradually formed, and physicians of generations began to conduct in-depth research. Through repeated practice and verification, people summed up the suitable species of Chinese materia medica and its principle for carbonization. The methods and degree of carbonization of Chinese materia medica are reasonably discussed, with its principle and basis for application primarily interpreted.

Trauma-Informed Social Policy: A Conceptual Framework for Policy Analysis and Advocacy

PubMed Central

Murshid, Nadine Shaanta

2016-01-01

Trauma-informed care is a service provision model used across a range of practice settings. Drawing on an extensive body of research on trauma (broadly defined as experiences that produce enduring emotional pain and distress) and health outcomes, we have argued that the principles of trauma-informed care can be extended to social policy. Citing a variety of health-related policy examples, we have described how policy can better reflect 6 core principles of trauma-informed care: safety, trustworthiness and transparency, collaboration, empowerment, choice, and intersectionality. This framework conveys a politicized understanding of trauma, reflecting the reality that trauma and its effects are not equally distributed, and offers a pathway for public health professionals to disrupt trauma-driven health disparities through policy action. PMID:26691122

Information-theoretic approach to interactive learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Still, S.

2009-01-01

The principles of statistical mechanics and information theory play an important role in learning and have inspired both theory and the design of numerous machine learning algorithms. The new aspect in this paper is a focus on integrating feedback from the learner. A quantitative approach to interactive learning and adaptive behavior is proposed, integrating model- and decision-making into one theoretical framework. This paper follows simple principles by requiring that the observer's world model and action policy should result in maximal predictive power at minimal complexity. Classes of optimal action policies and of optimal models are derived from an objective function that reflects this trade-off between prediction and complexity. The resulting optimal models then summarize, at different levels of abstraction, the process's causal organization in the presence of the learner's actions. A fundamental consequence of the proposed principle is that the learner's optimal action policies balance exploration and control as an emerging property. Interestingly, the explorative component is present in the absence of policy randomness, i.e. in the optimal deterministic behavior. This is a direct result of requiring maximal predictive power in the presence of feedback.

Point specificity in acupuncture

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

The existence of point specificity in acupuncture is controversial, because many acupuncture studies using this principle to select control points have found that sham acupoints have similar effects to those of verum acupoints. Furthermore, the results of pain-related studies based on visual analogue scales have not supported the concept of point specificity. In contrast, hemodynamic, functional magnetic resonance imaging and neurophysiological studies evaluating the responses to stimulation of multiple points on the body surface have shown that point-specific actions are present. This review article focuses on clinical and laboratory studies supporting the existence of point specificity in acupuncture and also addresses studies that do not support this concept. Further research is needed to elucidate the point-specific actions of acupuncture. PMID:22373514

INFORMAS (International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support): summary and future directions.

PubMed

Kumanyika, S

2013-10-01

This supplement presents the foundational elements for INFORMAS (International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support). As explained in the overview article by Swinburn and colleagues, INFORMAS has a compelling rationale and has set forth clear objectives, outcomes, principles and frameworks for monitoring and benchmarking key aspects of food environments and the policies and actions that influence the healthiness of food environments. This summary highlights the proposed monitoring approaches for the 10 interrelated INFORMAS modules: public and private sector policies and actions; key aspects of food environments (food composition, labelling, promotion, provision, retail, prices, and trade and investment) and population outcomes (diet quality). This ambitious effort should be feasible when approached in a step-wise manner, taking into account existing monitoring efforts, data sources, country contexts and capacity, and when adequately resourced. After protocol development and pilot testing of the modules, INFORMAS aims to be a sustainable, low-cost monitoring framework. Future directions relate to institutionalization, implementation and, ultimately, to leveraging INFORMAS data in ways that will bring key drivers of food environments into alignment with public health goals. © 2013 The Authors. Obesity Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the International Association for the Study of Obesity.

The impact of testimony on children's moralization of novel actions.

PubMed

Rottman, Joshua; Young, Liane; Kelemen, Deborah

2017-08-01

What leads children to moralize actions that cause no apparent harm? We hypothesized that adults' verbal instruction ("testimony"), as well as emotions such as disgust, would influence children's moralization of apparently harmless actions. To test this hypothesis, 7-year-old children were asked to render moral judgments of novel, seemingly victimless, body-directed or nature-directed actions after being exposed to adults' testimony or to an emotional induction. Study 1 demonstrated that children became more likely to judge actions as "wrong" upon being verbally presented with testimony about disgust or anger-but not upon being directly induced to feel disgusted. Study 2 established that principle-based testimony is an even more powerful source of moralization, and additionally found long-term retention of newly formed moral beliefs. These studies also indicated that children frequently lack introspective insight into the sources of their newly acquired moral reactions; they often invoked welfare-based concerns in their explanations regardless of experimental condition. In sum, this research demonstrates that children rapidly and enduringly moralize entirely unfamiliar, apparently innocuous actions upon exposure to a diverse array of morally relevant testimony. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Action observation as a tool for neurorehabilitation to moderate motor deficits and aphasia following stroke

PubMed Central

Ertelt, Denis; Binkofski, Ferdinand

2012-01-01

The mirror neuron system consists of a set of brain areas capable of matching action observation with action execution. One core feature of the mirror neuron system is the activation of motor areas by action observation alone. This unique capacity of the mirror neuron system to match action perception and action execution stimulated the idea that mirror neuron system plays a crucial role in the understanding of the content of observed actions and may participate in procedural learning. These features bear a high potential for neurorehabilitation of motor deficits and of aphasia following stroke. Since the first articles exploring this principle were published, a growing number of follow-up studies have been conducted in the last decade. Though, the combination of action observation with practice of the observed actions seems to constitute the most powerful approach. In the present review, we present the existing studies analyzing the effects of this neurorehabilitative approach in clinical settings especially in the rehabilitation of stroke associated motor deficits and give a perspective on the ongoing trials by our research group. The data obtained up to date showed significant positive effect of action observation on recovery of motor functions of the upper limbs even in the chronic state after stroke, indicating that our approach might become a new standardized add-on feature of modern neurorehabilitative treatment schemes. PMID:25624838

A guide to understanding social science research for natural scientists.

PubMed

Moon, Katie; Blackman, Deborah

2014-10-01

Natural scientists are increasingly interested in social research because they recognize that conservation problems are commonly social problems. Interpreting social research, however, requires at least a basic understanding of the philosophical principles and theoretical assumptions of the discipline, which are embedded in the design of social research. Natural scientists who engage in social science but are unfamiliar with these principles and assumptions can misinterpret their results. We developed a guide to assist natural scientists in understanding the philosophical basis of social science to support the meaningful interpretation of social research outcomes. The 3 fundamental elements of research are ontology, what exists in the human world that researchers can acquire knowledge about; epistemology, how knowledge is created; and philosophical perspective, the philosophical orientation of the researcher that guides her or his action. Many elements of the guide also apply to the natural sciences. Natural scientists can use the guide to assist them in interpreting social science research to determine how the ontological position of the researcher can influence the nature of the research; how the epistemological position can be used to support the legitimacy of different types of knowledge; and how philosophical perspective can shape the researcher's choice of methods and affect interpretation, communication, and application of results. The use of this guide can also support and promote the effective integration of the natural and social sciences to generate more insightful and relevant conservation research outcomes. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Action Learning: Developing Leaders and Supporting Change in a Healthcare Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doyle, Louise

2014-01-01

This account of practice outlines how action learning was used as the key component of a leadership development initiative for managers in an acute hospital setting. It explains how the initiative was conceived, why action learning was chosen and how action learning principles were incorporated. Insights into the outcomes and considerations for…

Using a Simple Neural Network to Delineate Some Principles of Distributed Economic Choice.

PubMed

Balasubramani, Pragathi P; Moreno-Bote, Rubén; Hayden, Benjamin Y

2018-01-01

The brain uses a mixture of distributed and modular organization to perform computations and generate appropriate actions. While the principles under which the brain might perform computations using modular systems have been more amenable to modeling, the principles by which the brain might make choices using distributed principles have not been explored. Our goal in this perspective is to delineate some of those distributed principles using a neural network method and use its results as a lens through which to reconsider some previously published neurophysiological data. To allow for direct comparison with our own data, we trained the neural network to perform binary risky choices. We find that value correlates are ubiquitous and are always accompanied by non-value information, including spatial information (i.e., no pure value signals). Evaluation, comparison, and selection were not distinct processes; indeed, value signals even in the earliest stages contributed directly, albeit weakly, to action selection. There was no place, other than at the level of action selection, at which dimensions were fully integrated. No units were specialized for specific offers; rather, all units encoded the values of both offers in an anti-correlated format, thus contributing to comparison. Individual network layers corresponded to stages in a continuous rotation from input to output space rather than to functionally distinct modules. While our network is likely to not be a direct reflection of brain processes, we propose that these principles should serve as hypotheses to be tested and evaluated for future studies.

Using a Simple Neural Network to Delineate Some Principles of Distributed Economic Choice

PubMed Central

Balasubramani, Pragathi P.; Moreno-Bote, Rubén; Hayden, Benjamin Y.

2018-01-01

The brain uses a mixture of distributed and modular organization to perform computations and generate appropriate actions. While the principles under which the brain might perform computations using modular systems have been more amenable to modeling, the principles by which the brain might make choices using distributed principles have not been explored. Our goal in this perspective is to delineate some of those distributed principles using a neural network method and use its results as a lens through which to reconsider some previously published neurophysiological data. To allow for direct comparison with our own data, we trained the neural network to perform binary risky choices. We find that value correlates are ubiquitous and are always accompanied by non-value information, including spatial information (i.e., no pure value signals). Evaluation, comparison, and selection were not distinct processes; indeed, value signals even in the earliest stages contributed directly, albeit weakly, to action selection. There was no place, other than at the level of action selection, at which dimensions were fully integrated. No units were specialized for specific offers; rather, all units encoded the values of both offers in an anti-correlated format, thus contributing to comparison. Individual network layers corresponded to stages in a continuous rotation from input to output space rather than to functionally distinct modules. While our network is likely to not be a direct reflection of brain processes, we propose that these principles should serve as hypotheses to be tested and evaluated for future studies. PMID:29643773

Optical recording of action potentials and other discrete physiological events: a perspective from signal detection theory.

PubMed

Sjulson, Lucas; Miesenböck, Gero

2007-02-01

Optical imaging of physiological events in real time can yield insights into biological function that would be difficult to obtain by other experimental means. However, the detection of all-or-none events, such as action potentials or vesicle fusion events, in noisy single-trial data often requires a careful balance of tradeoffs. The analysis of such experiments, as well as the design of optical reporters and instrumentation for them, is aided by an understanding of the principles of signal detection. This review illustrates these principles, using as an example action potential recording with optical voltage reporters.

"Dissection" of a Hair Dryer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eisenstein, Stan; Simpson, Jeff

2008-01-01

The electrical design of the common hair dryer is based almost entirely on relatively simple principles learned in introductory physics classes. Just as biology students dissect a frog to see the principles of anatomy in action, physics students can "dissect" a hair dryer to see how principles of electricity are used in a real system. They can…

Developing Principles of Physical Education Teacher Education Practice through Self-Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fletcher, Tim

2016-01-01

Background: The articulation of specific principles of teacher education practice allows teacher educators to make explicit the beliefs, values, and actions that shape their practice. Engaging in processes to articulate the principles that guide practice is beneficial not only for teacher educators and their colleagues but also for students. There…

78 FR 69793 - Voluntary Remedial Actions and Guidelines for Voluntary Recall Notices

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-21

... (Commission, CPSC, or we) proposes an interpretive rule to set forth principles and guidelines for the content... setting forth the Commission's principles and guidelines regarding the content of voluntary recall notices..., ``Principles and Guidelines for Voluntary Recall Notices,'' in part 1115 of title 16 of the Code of Federal...

Precautionary Principles: General Definitions and Specific Applications to Genetically Modified Organisms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lofstedt, Ragnar E.; Fischhoff, Baruch; Fischhoff, Ilya R.

2002-01-01

Precautionary principles have been proposed as a fundamental element of sound risk management. Their advocates see them as guiding action in the face of uncertainty, encouraging the adoption of measures that reduce serious risks to health, safety, and the environment. Their opponents may reject the very idea of precautionary principles, find…

Affirmative Action and the Principle of Equality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sasseen, Robert F.

1976-01-01

A critical look is taken at affirmative action, which is called a preferential policy of proportional employment. The author suggests that affirmative action actually denies citizens equality of opportunity, writing racial distinctions into law and holding contempt for Blacks and other pretended beneficiaries. (LBH)

The Belmont Forum, Open Data and 'Human Dimensions': Lessons learned, ongoing investigations and developing recommendations for the future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, Fiona; Lucas, Vicky

2017-04-01

The Belmont Forum is a group of the world's major and emerging funders of global environmental change research committed to enabling and supporting international, cross-disciplinary research in response to the 'Belmont Challenge' (a range of high-priority international environmental and societal challenges). Critical conditions for fulfilling this remit are to provide (1) a functional research e-infrastructure (2) coherent principles and data policies and (3) ensure that researchers are sufficiently equipped with the necessary digital research and data management skills to leverage these facilities. In January 2016, the Belmont announced the agreement and adoption of an Open Data Policy and Principles. The result of widespread consultation amongst the community, these principles were also benchmarked against existing work being conducted by other groups, such as the Research Data Alliance and national and international funders, in order to provide a coherent framework for stakeholders. Having achieved this consensus, the Belmont is now concentrating on four Action Themes: building coordination internally, developing e-infrastructures, rolling out data management policy and plans, and equipping the 'human dimensions' to be able to exploit these opportunities. This presentation's authors are leading the human dimensions theme and are keen to share progress to date. A survey and skills gap analysis has already been undertaken and results will be shared during this presentation. In order to further develop understanding and plan for recommendations to be made on training requirements, a curricula scoping workshop is being held during EGU. This presentation unpacks the successes already achieved by the Belmont Forum, discusses works in progress and outlines the questions that remain open.

Neurological Principles and Rehabilitation of Action Disorders: Common Clinical Deficits

PubMed Central

Sathian, K.; Buxbaum, Laurel J.; Cohen, Leonardo G.; Krakauer, John W.; Lang, Catherine E.; Corbetta, Maurizio; Fitzpatrick, Susan M.

2014-01-01

In this paper we use the CAP principles to consider the impact of common clinical problems on action. We focus on three major syndromes: paresis, apraxia and ataxia. We also review mechanisms that could account for spontaneous recovery, using what is known about the best studied clinical dysfunction, paresis, and also ataxia. Together, this and the previous paper lay the groundwork for the third paper in this series, which reviews the relevant rehabilitative interventions. PMID:21613535

The good, the bad, and the ugly of partnered research: revisiting the sequestration thesis and the role of universities in promoting social justice.

PubMed

Yassi, Annalee; Dharamsi, Shafik; Spiegel, Jerry; Rojas, Alejandro; Dean, Elizabeth; Woollard, Robert

2010-01-01

As universities increasingly rely on external sources of research funding, researchers worldwide are realizing that if their work is financially supported by organizations with distinct political or financial interests, they risk their careers if their results deviate from the interests of their funding partners. This article presents a case that illustrates how ugly this situation can become. Reviewing the literature on the advantages and dangers of partnered research, the historical role of universities, funding trends, and university mission statements, the authors contend that universities must engage in service learning and participatory action research, but must ensure that faculty members engaging in academic activity with partners-whether industry, hospitals, governments, nongovernmental organizations, or communities-have their professional integrity protected. If doubt exists about whether the partner can or will honor these principles or the mission of universities for social good, universities should avoid granting joint or affiliate appointments or accepting funds or favors of any kind. Universities also need formal structures to ensure ethical application of innovation and principled partnership engagement. In becoming servants of government or corporatism, universities have become less vital to society and are failing in their mission to promote social justice and sustainability. Strong measures are needed to restore public trust.

Agreed but not preferred: expert views on taboo options for biodiversity conservation, given climate change.

PubMed

Hagerman, Shannon M; Satterfield, Terre

2014-04-01

Recent research indicates increasing openness among conservation experts toward a set of previously controversial proposals for biodiversity protection. These include actions such as assisted migration, and the application of climate-change-informed triage principles for decision-making (e.g., forgoing attention to target species deemed no longer viable). Little is known however, about the levels of expert agreement across different conservation adaptation actions, or the preferences that may come to shape policy recommendations. In this paper, we report findings from a web-based survey of biodiversity experts that assessed: (1) perceived risks of climate change (and other drivers) to biodiversity, (2) relative importance of different conservation goals, (3) levels of agreement/disagreement with the potential necessity of unconventional-taboo actions and approaches including affective evaluations of these, (4) preferences regarding the most important adaptation action for biodiversity, and (5) perceived barriers and strategic considerations regarding implementing adaptation initiatives. We found widespread agreement with a set of previously contentious approaches and actions, including the need for frameworks for prioritization and decision-making that take expected losses and emerging novel ecosystems into consideration. Simultaneously, this survey found enduring preferences for conventional actions (such as protected areas) as the most important policy action, and negative affective responses toward more interventionist proposals. We argue that expert views are converging on agreement across a set of taboo components in ways that differ from earlier published positions, and that these views are tempered by preferences for existing conventional actions and discomfort toward interventionist options. We discuss these findings in the context of anticipating some of the likely contours of future conservation debates. Lastly, we underscore the critical need for interdisciplinary, comparative, place-based adaptation research.

The balance principle in scientific research.

PubMed

Hu, Liang-ping; Bao, Xiao-lei; Wang, Qi

2012-05-01

The principles of balance, randomization, control and repetition, which are closely related, constitute the four principles of scientific research. The balance principle is the kernel of the four principles which runs through the other three. However, in scientific research, the balance principle is always overlooked. If the balance principle is not well performed, the research conclusion is easy to be denied, which may lead to the failure of the whole research. Therefore, it is essential to have a good command of the balance principle in scientific research. This article stresses the definition and function of the balance principle, the strategies and detailed measures to improve balance in scientific research, and the analysis of the common mistakes involving the use of the balance principle in scientific research.

INFORMAS (International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support): overview and key principles.

PubMed

Swinburn, B; Sacks, G; Vandevijvere, S; Kumanyika, S; Lobstein, T; Neal, B; Barquera, S; Friel, S; Hawkes, C; Kelly, B; L'abbé, M; Lee, A; Ma, J; Macmullan, J; Mohan, S; Monteiro, C; Rayner, M; Sanders, D; Snowdon, W; Walker, C

2013-10-01

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) dominate disease burdens globally and poor nutrition increasingly contributes to this global burden. Comprehensive monitoring of food environments, and evaluation of the impact of public and private sector policies on food environments is needed to strengthen accountability systems to reduce NCDs. The International Network for Food and Obesity/NCDs Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) is a global network of public-interest organizations and researchers that aims to monitor, benchmark and support public and private sector actions to create healthy food environments and reduce obesity, NCDs and their related inequalities. The INFORMAS framework includes two 'process' modules, that monitor the policies and actions of the public and private sectors, seven 'impact' modules that monitor the key characteristics of food environments and three 'outcome' modules that monitor dietary quality, risk factors and NCD morbidity and mortality. Monitoring frameworks and indicators have been developed for 10 modules to provide consistency, but allowing for stepwise approaches ('minimal', 'expanded', 'optimal') to data collection and analysis. INFORMAS data will enable benchmarking of food environments between countries, and monitoring of progress over time within countries. Through monitoring and benchmarking, INFORMAS will strengthen the accountability systems needed to help reduce the burden of obesity, NCDs and their related inequalities. © 2013 The Authors. Obesity Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the International Association for the Study of Obesity.

On actions for (entangling) surfaces and DCFTs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Armas, Jay; Tarrío, Javier

2018-04-01

The dynamics of surfaces and interfaces describe many physical systems, including fluid membranes, entanglement entropy and the coupling of defects to quantum field theories. Based on the formulation of submanifold calculus developed by Carter, we introduce a new variational principle for (entangling) surfaces. This principle captures all diffeomorphism constraints on surface/interface actions and their associated spacetime stress tensor. The different couplings to the geometric tensors appearing in the surface action are interpreted in terms of response coefficients within elasticity theory. An example of a surface action with edges at the two-derivative level is studied, including both the parity-even and parity-odd sectors. Its conformally invariant counterpart restricts the type of conformal anomalies that can appear in two-dimensional submanifolds with boundaries. Analogously to hydrodynamics, it is shown that classification methods can be used to constrain the stress tensor of (entangling) surfaces at a given order in derivatives. This analysis reveals a purely geometric parity-odd contribution to the Young modulus of a thin elastic membrane. Extending this novel variational principle to BCFTs and DCFTs in curved spacetimes allows to obtain the Ward identities for diffeomorphism and Weyl transformations. In this context, we provide a formal derivation of the contact terms in the stress tensor and of the displacement operator for a broad class of actions.

Food marketing targeting children: unveiling the ethical perspectives in the discourse on self-regulation.

PubMed

Silva, Dillian Adelaine Cesar da; Cunha, Antonio Carlos Rodrigues da; Cunha, Thiago Rocha da; Rosaneli, Caroline Filla

2017-07-01

When it comes to food marketing, children are one of the major targets. Regulatory actions can play a strategic role in health protection. The objective of this research was to characterize the ethical perspective in the discourse against state regulatory actions on food marketing directed at children, aiming to understand the context of the discourse's production and how it creates meaning. The methodology adopted was qualitative, with documentary analysis and use of concepts and procedures from Discourse Analysis. The work of Hans Jonas, specifically his Responsibility Principle, and Garrafa and Port's Intervention Bioethics oriented the analysis. The self-regulation discourse analysis showed an ethical perspective in which relations of consumption predominate over the children´s vulnerability. The rhetorical excess is constant, as well as the use of resources like naturalization, untruthfulness, ideological dissimulation and euphemism. An erasure of social conflicts takes place, and an ahistorical perspective is present. The discourse does not align with Jonas´ Responsibility Principle, nor those of Intervention Bioethics. Lastly, the ethical perspective of the discourse represents a double paradox, because it is a business discourse that hides its competitive roots and metamorphoses into an ethical one.

Achieving Energy Efficiency in Accordance with Bioclimatic Architecture Principles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bajcinovci, Bujar; Jerliu, Florina

2016-12-01

By using our natural resources, and through inefficient use of energy, we produce much waste that can be recycled as a useful resource, which further contributes to climate change. This study aims to address energy effective bioclimatic architecture principles, by which we can achieve a potential energy savings, estimated at thirty-three per cent, mainly through environmentally affordable reconstruction, resulting in low negative impact on the environment. The study presented in this paper investigated the Ulpiana neighbourhood of Prishtina City, focusing on urban design challenges, energy efficiency and air pollution issues. The research methods consist of empirical observations through the urban spatial area using a comparative method, in order to receive clearer data and information research is conducted within Ulpiana's urban blocks, shapes of architectural structures, with the objective focusing on bioclimatic features in terms of the morphology and microclimate of Ulpiana. Energy supply plays a key role in the economic development of any country, hence, bioclimatic design principles for sustainable architecture and energy efficiency, present an evolutive integrated strategy for achieving efficiency and healthier conditions for Kosovar communities. Conceptual findings indicate that with the integrated design strategy: energy efficiency, and passive bioclimatic principles will result in a bond of complex interrelation between nature, architecture, and community. The aim of this study is to promote structured organized actions to be taken in Prishtina, and Kosovo, which will result in improved energy efficiency in all sectors, and particularly in the residential housing sector.

The Relationship between Intuitive Action Choices and Moral Reasoning on Animal Ethics Issues in Students of Veterinary Medicine and Other Relevant Professions.

PubMed

Verrinder, Joy M; Phillips, Clive J C

2018-01-01

With growing understanding of animals' capabilities, and public and organizational pressures to improve animal welfare, moral action by veterinarians and other relevant professionals to address animal issues is increasingly important. Little is known about how their action choices relate to their moral reasoning on animal ethics issues. A moral judgment measure, the VetDIT, with three animal and three non-animal scenarios, was used to investigate the action choices of 619 students in five animal- and two non-animal-related professional programs in one Australian university, and how these related to their moral reasoning based on Personal Interest (PI), Maintaining Norms (MN), or Universal Principles (UP) schemas. Action choices showed significant relationships to PI, MN, and UP questions, and these varied across program groups. Having a previous degree or more experience with farm animals had a negative relationship, and experience with horses or companion animals a positive relationship, with intuitive action choices favoring life and bodily integrity of animals. This study helps to explain the complex relationship between intuitive moral action choices and moral reasoning on animal ethics issues. As a useful research and educational tool for understanding this relationship, the VetDIT can enhance ethical decision making.

Liberty and Higher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Dennis F.

1989-01-01

John Stuart Mill's principle of liberty is discussed with the view that it needs to be revised to guide moral judgments in higher education. Three key elements need to be modified: the action that is constrained; the constraint on the action; and the agent whose action is constrained. (MLW)

Exploring the bases for a mixed reality stroke rehabilitation system, Part I: A unified approach for representing action, quantitative evaluation, and interactive feedback

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Although principles based in motor learning, rehabilitation, and human-computer interfaces can guide the design of effective interactive systems for rehabilitation, a unified approach that connects these key principles into an integrated design, and can form a methodology that can be generalized to interactive stroke rehabilitation, is presently unavailable. Results This paper integrates phenomenological approaches to interaction and embodied knowledge with rehabilitation practices and theories to achieve the basis for a methodology that can support effective adaptive, interactive rehabilitation. Our resulting methodology provides guidelines for the development of an action representation, quantification of action, and the design of interactive feedback. As Part I of a two-part series, this paper presents key principles of the unified approach. Part II then describes the application of this approach within the implementation of the Adaptive Mixed Reality Rehabilitation (AMRR) system for stroke rehabilitation. Conclusions The accompanying principles for composing novel mixed reality environments for stroke rehabilitation can advance the design and implementation of effective mixed reality systems for the clinical setting, and ultimately be adapted for home-based application. They furthermore can be applied to other rehabilitation needs beyond stroke. PMID:21875441

22 CFR 96.35 - Suitability of agencies and persons to provide adoption services consistent with the Convention.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Convention's principles of: (1) Ensuring that intercountry adoptions take place in the best interests of...-year period, any disciplinary action(s) against the agency or person by a licensing or accrediting body, including the basis and disposition of such action(s); (5) For the prior ten-year period, any written...

Supporting Teachers in Designing CSCL Activities: A Case Study of Principle-Based Pedagogical Patterns in Networked Second Language Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wen, Yun; Looi, Chee-Kit; Chen, Wenli

2012-01-01

This paper proposes the identification and use of principle-based pedagogical patterns to help teachers to translate design principles into actionable teaching activities, and to scaffold student learning with sufficient flexibility and creativity. A set of pedagogical patterns for networked Second language (L2) learning, categorized and…

Valuing Our Communities: Ethical Considerations for Economic Evaluation of Community-Based Prevention.

PubMed

Crowley, Max; Jones, Damon

2017-12-01

Restricted public budgets and increasing efforts to link the impact of community interventions to public savings have increased the use of economic evaluation. While this type of evaluation can be important for program planning, it also raises important ethical issues about how we value the time of local stakeholders who support community interventions. In particular, researchers navigate issues of scientific accuracy, institutional inequality, and research utility in their pursuit of even basic cost estimates. We provide an example of how we confronted these issues when estimating the costs of a large-scale community-based intervention. Principles for valuing community members' time and conducting economic evaluations of community programs are discussed. © Society for Community Research and Action 2017.

Implementation Science in Cancer Prevention and Control: A framework for research and programs in low and middle-income countries

PubMed Central

Sanchez, Michael A.; Rimer, Barbara K.; Samet, Jonathan M.; Glasgow, Russell E.

2014-01-01

Implementation Science is a set of tools, principles and methodologies that can be used to bring scientific evidence into action, improve health care quality and delivery and improve public health. As the burden of cancer increases in low- and middle-income countries, it is important to plan cancer control programs that are both evidence-based and delivered in ways that are feasible, cost-effective, contextually appropriate and sustainable. This review presents a framework for using implementation science for cancer control planning and implementation and discusses potential areas of focus for research and programs in low and middle-income countries interested in integrating research into practice and policy. PMID:25178984

Applying Community-Based Participatory Research to Create a Diabetes Prevention Documentary with New Zealand Māori.

PubMed

Farmer, Alison; Gage, Jeffrey; Kirk, Ray; Edgar, Timothy

2016-01-01

Type 2 diabetes is almost three times more prevalent in the indigenous people of New Zealand (Māori) than non-Māori. Despite the high rate of diabetes in the Māori population, little is known about their personal understanding or experience of the disease. To engage Māori in a participatory process to develop a culturally relevant diabetes prevention documentary. Principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR) were applied to a qualitative research design employing key informant interviews and focus groups to develop a diabetes prevention documentary. A CBPR approach provides an appropriate model for enacting local action-oriented approaches in the creation of a documentary that reflects Māori cultural beliefs and practices.

Economic evaluation of occupational health and safety programmes in health care.

PubMed

Guzman, J; Tompa, E; Koehoorn, M; de Boer, H; Macdonald, S; Alamgir, H

2015-10-01

Evidence-based resource allocation in the public health care sector requires reliable economic evaluations that are different from those needed in the commercial sector. To describe a framework for conducting economic evaluations of occupational health and safety (OHS) programmes in health care developed with sector stakeholders. To define key resources and outcomes to be considered in economic evaluations of OHS programmes and to integrate these into a comprehensive framework. Participatory action research supported by mixed qualitative and quantitative methods, including a multi-stakeholder working group, 25 key informant interviews, a 41-member Delphi panel and structured nominal group discussions. We found three resources had top priority: OHS staff time, training the workers and programme planning, promotion and evaluation. Similarly, five outcomes had top priority: number of injuries, safety climate, job satisfaction, quality of care and work days lost. The resulting framework was built around seven principles of good practice that stakeholders can use to assist them in conducting economic evaluations of OHS programmes. Use of a framework resulting from this participatory action research approach may increase the quality of economic evaluations of OHS programmes and facilitate programme comparisons for evidence-based resource allocation decisions. The principles may be applicable to other service sectors funded from general taxes and more broadly to economic evaluations of OHS programmes in general. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

5 CFR 919.610 - What procedures does the OPM use in suspension and debarment actions?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION... handle the actions as informally as practicable, consistent with principles of fundamental fairness. (a...

Application of Hamilton's law of varying action

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, C. D.

1975-01-01

The law of varying action enunciated by Hamilton in 1834-1835 permits the direct analytical solution of the problems of mechanics, both stationary and nonstationary, without consideration of force equilibrium and the theory of differential equations associated therewith. It has not been possible to obtain direct analytical solutions to nonstationary systems through the use of energy theory, which has been limited for 140 years to the principle of least action and to Hamilton's principle. It is shown here that Hamilton's law permits the direct analytical solution to nonstationary, initial value systems in the mechanics of solids without any knowledge or use of the theory of differential equations. Solutions are demonstrated for nonconservative, nonstationary particle motion, both linear and nonlinear.

Commentary: Parallel Evolution of Molecular Endocrinology as a Journal and a Discipline: Convergence of Interests with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK/NIH)

PubMed Central

Margolis, Ronald; Smith, Philip

2010-01-01

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) celebrates in 2010 its 60th year as an institute of the National Institutes of Health. NIDDK has been fundamental in providing support for research in endocrinology, fostering research to elucidate basic principles of endocrine signaling leading to understanding of diseases and disorders of hormone action. Over this time span, a move to a more molecular level in understanding of the basis of hormone action has emerged and been supported by NIDDK, with many advances finding their way into a new journal, Molecular Endocrinology. The merging of disciplines that has made this possible constitutes a major force for further progress as NIDDK moves forward over the next 60 yr. Together, NIDDK and Molecular Endocrinology have served as catalysts for advancing knowledge in the field, energizing new paradigms that have led to advances in the clinic. PMID:20660301

Motor Synergies and the Equilibrium-Point Hypothesis

PubMed Central

Latash, Mark L.

2010-01-01

The article offers a way to unite three recent developments in the field of motor control and coordination: (1) The notion of synergies is introduced based on the principle of motor abundance; (2) The uncontrolled manifold hypothesis is described as offering a computational framework to identify and quantify synergies; and (3) The equilibrium-point hypothesis is described for a single muscle, single joint, and multi-joint systems. Merging these concepts into a single coherent scheme requires focusing on control variables rather than performance variables. The principle of minimal final action is formulated as the guiding principle within the referent configuration hypothesis. Motor actions are associated with setting two types of variables by a controller, those that ultimately define average performance patterns and those that define associated synergies. Predictions of the suggested scheme are reviewed, such as the phenomenon of anticipatory synergy adjustments, quick actions without changes in synergies, atypical synergies, and changes in synergies with practice. A few models are briefly reviewed. PMID:20702893

Motor synergies and the equilibrium-point hypothesis.

PubMed

Latash, Mark L

2010-07-01

The article offers a way to unite three recent developments in the field of motor control and coordination: (1) The notion of synergies is introduced based on the principle of motor abundance; (2) The uncontrolled manifold hypothesis is described as offering a computational framework to identify and quantify synergies; and (3) The equilibrium-point hypothesis is described for a single muscle, single joint, and multijoint systems. Merging these concepts into a single coherent scheme requires focusing on control variables rather than performance variables. The principle of minimal final action is formulated as the guiding principle within the referent configuration hypothesis. Motor actions are associated with setting two types of variables by a controller, those that ultimately define average performance patterns and those that define associated synergies. Predictions of the suggested scheme are reviewed, such as the phenomenon of anticipatory synergy adjustments, quick actions without changes in synergies, atypical synergies, and changes in synergies with practice. A few models are briefly reviewed.

Realising dignity in care home practice: an action research project.

PubMed

Gallagher, Ann; Curtis, Katherine; Dunn, Michael; Baillie, Lesley

2017-06-01

More than 400,000 older people reside in over 18,000 care homes in England. A recent social care survey found up to 50% of older people in care homes felt their dignity was undermined. Upholding the dignity of older people in care homes has implications for residents' experiences and the role of Registered Nurses. The study aimed to explore how best to translate the concept of dignity into care home practice, and how to support this translation process by enabling Registered Nurses to provide ethical leadership within the care home setting. Action research with groups of staff (Registered Nurses and non-registered caregivers) and groups of residents and relatives in four care homes in the south of England to contribute to the development of the dignity toolkit. Action research groups were facilitated by 4 researchers (2 in each care home) to discuss dignity principles and experiences within care homes. These groups reviewed and developed a dignity toolkit over six cycles of activity (once a month for 6 months). The Registered Nurses were individually interviewed before and after the activity. Hard copy and online versions of a dignity toolkit, with tailored versions for participating care homes, were developed. Registered Nurses and caregivers identified positive impact of making time for discussion about dignity-related issues. Registered Nurses identified ongoing opportunities for using their toolkit to support all staff. Nurses and caregivers expressed feelings of empowerment by the process of action research. The collaborative development of a dignity toolkit within each care home has the potential to enable ethical leadership by Registered Nurses that would support and sustain dignity in care homes. Action research methods empower staff to maintain dignity for older people within the care home setting through the development of practically useful toolkits to support everyday care practice. Providing opportunities for caregivers to be involved in such initiatives may promote their dignity and sense of being valued. The potential of bottom-up collaborative approaches to promote dignity in care therefore requires further research. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

IEC planning: eight state-of-the-art principles.

PubMed

Middleton, J

1983-12-01

Considerable experience and research has been accumulated in the last 20 years on the ways in which information/education/communication (IEC) programs can be effectively designed, implemented, and evaluated. Possibly more effort has focused on population and family planning IEC than on any other sectoral program of development communication. Several principles have emerged which, taken together, define the state of the art in the field. These principles provide a framework of experience which can guide the development of comprehensive IEC programs. They include: policy and resource assessment; audience analysis; strategy design; message research and pretesting; participation and feedback; management; evaluation; and collaboration. The nature of the national policy base for population and family planning programs will determine the goals and approaches of the IEC program. Strong policies of limitation on popultion growth lead to equally strong and pervasive IEC efforts designed to directly affect contraceptive behavior. Assessment of existing policy is an essential aspect of the design of an effective IEC program. Policies establish the rationale and boundaries for action. Population and family planning programs are concerned with some of the most intimate human behavior. Consequently, structured and sensitive audience analysis has become an integral part of the design of IEC programs. The design of communication strategy requires clearly stated objectives. Principles of human learning are used to structure information appropriately. Message research and pretesting have become integral components of the strategy design process. Small scale research on specific objectives is necessary to establish the basis for message design. Audience participation and feedback in remaining phases of program development and implementation are important. The management of an IEC program requires a specific combination of planning, flexibility, and creativity. Evaluation of program effects--identification of the degree of change toward stated objectives -- is critical to long term assessment of the underlying strategy and the identification both of needed corrections and new directions for the future. Collaboration with and involvement of stakeholders in the design and implementation of a national IEC program significantly raises the probability that support will be forthcoming. Taken together these 8 principles can become the basic building blocks of an effective population/family planning IEC program.

Identification of good practices for teachers and students training activity in the ENVRIPLUS project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Addezio, Giuliana; Marsili, Antonella; Beranzoli, Laura

2016-04-01

We elaborated basic guiding principles that will be used to improve the content of the ENVRIPLUS e-Training Platform for multimedia education of Secondary School level teachers and students. The purpose is to favour teacher training and consequently students training on selected scientific themes faced within the ENVRIPLUS Research Infrastructures. "Best practices" could positively impacts on students by providing motivation on promoting scientific research and to increase the awareness of the Earth System complexity and Environmental challenges for its preservation and sustainability. Best practice teaching strategies represent an inherent part of a curriculum that exemplifies the connection and relevance identified in education research. The actions are designed to develop thinking and problem-solving skill through integration and active learning. Relationships are built though opportunities for communication and teamwork. Best practices motivate, engage and prompt student to learn and achieve. A starting list of principles is discussed in respect of the following main Best Practices pillars: • Identify the conceptual framework of the subject of the dissemination • Increase personal awareness of the individual potential • Easy personal elaboration and the connection of the subject with the school curriculum.

Gender-transformative health promotion for women: a framework for action

PubMed Central

Pederson, Ann; Greaves, Lorraine; Poole, Nancy

2015-01-01

Gender inequity is a pervasive global challenge to health equity. Health promotion, as a field, has paid only limited attention to gender inequity to date, but could be an active agent of change if gender equity became an explicit goal of health promotion research, policy and programmes. As an aspect of gendered health systems, health promotion interventions may maintain, exacerbate or reduce gender-related health inequities, depending upon the degree and quality of gender-responsiveness within the programme or policy. This article introduces a framework for gender-transformative health promotion that builds on understanding gender as a determinant of health and outlines a continuum of actions to address gender and health. Gender-transformative health promotion interventions could play a significant role in improving the lives of millions of girls and women worldwide. Gender-related principles of action are identified that extend the core principles of health promotion but reflect the significance of attending to gender in the development and use of evidence, engagement of stakeholders and selection of interventions. We illustrate the framework with examples from a range of women's health promotion activities, including cardiovascular disease prevention, tobacco control, and alcohol use. The literature suggests that gender-responsiveness will enhance the acceptance, relevance and effectiveness of health promotion interventions. By moving beyond responsiveness to transformation, gender-transformative health promotion could enhance both health and social outcomes for large numbers of women and men, girls and boys. PMID:25231058

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Social Anxiety - Acceptance and Action Questionnaire.

PubMed

Soltani, Esmail; Bahrainian, Seyed Abdolmajid; Masjedi Arani, Abbas; Farhoudian, Ali; Gachkar, Latif

2016-06-01

Social anxiety disorder is often related to specific impairment or distress in different areas of life, including occupational, social and family settings. The purpose of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the persian version of the social anxiety-acceptance and action questionnaire (SA-AAQ) in university students. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 324 students from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences participated via the cluster sampling method during year 2015. Factor analysis by the principle component analysis method, internal consistency analysis, and convergent and divergent validity were conducted to examine the validity of the SA-AAQ. To calculate the reliability of the SA-AAQ, Cronbach's alpha and test-retest reliability were used. The results from factor analysis by principle component analysis method yielded three factors that were named acceptance, action and non-judging of experience. The three-factor solution explained 51.82% of the variance. Evidence for the internal consistency of SA-AAQ was obtained via calculating correlations between SA-AAQ and its subscales. Support for convergent and discriminant validity of the SA-AAQ via its correlations with the acceptance and action questionnaire - II, social interaction anxiety scale, cognitive fusion questionnaire, believability of anxious feelings and thoughts questionnaire, valued living questionnaire and WHOQOL- BREF was obtained. The reliability of the SA-AAQ via calculating Cronbach's alpha and test-retest coefficients yielded values of 0.84 and 0.84, respectively. The Iranian version of the SA-AAQ has acceptable levels of psychometric properties in university students. The SA-AAQ is a valid and reliable measure to be utilized in research investigations and therapeutic interventions.

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Social Anxiety - Acceptance and Action Questionnaire

PubMed Central

Soltani, Esmail; Bahrainian, Seyed Abdolmajid; Masjedi Arani, Abbas; Farhoudian, Ali; Gachkar, Latif

2016-01-01

Background Social anxiety disorder is often related to specific impairment or distress in different areas of life, including occupational, social and family settings. Objective The purpose of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the persian version of the social anxiety-acceptance and action questionnaire (SA-AAQ) in university students. Materials and Methods In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 324 students from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences participated via the cluster sampling method during year 2015. Factor analysis by the principle component analysis method, internal consistency analysis, and convergent and divergent validity were conducted to examine the validity of the SA-AAQ. To calculate the reliability of the SA-AAQ, Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest reliability were used. Results The results from factor analysis by principle component analysis method yielded three factors that were named acceptance, action and non-judging of experience. The three-factor solution explained 51.82% of the variance. Evidence for the internal consistency of SA-AAQ was obtained via calculating correlations between SA-AAQ and its subscales. Support for convergent and discriminant validity of the SA-AAQ via its correlations with the acceptance and action questionnaire - II, social interaction anxiety scale, cognitive fusion questionnaire, believability of anxious feelings and thoughts questionnaire, valued living questionnaire and WHOQOL- BREF was obtained. The reliability of the SA-AAQ via calculating Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest coefficients yielded values of 0.84 and 0.84, respectively. Conclusions The Iranian version of the SA-AAQ has acceptable levels of psychometric properties in university students. The SA-AAQ is a valid and reliable measure to be utilized in research investigations and therapeutic interventions. PMID:27803719

Utilization of the seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education in general chemistry by community college instructors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panther Bishoff, Jennifer

In recent years, higher education has undergone many changes. The advent of assessment, accountability, and a newfound focus on teaching have required faculty to examine how they are teaching. Administrators and faculty are beginning to recognize that learning is not a "one size fits all" enterprise. To this end, Chickering and Gamson developed an inventory that examined faculty utilization of the Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. The seven principles included by the authors included faculty-student interaction, cooperative learning, active learning, giving prompt feedback, emphasizing time on task, communicating high expectations, and respecting diverse talents and ways of learning. It was determined by Chickering and Gamson, as well as many other researchers, that these seven principles were hallmarks of successful undergraduate education. Community colleges are important institutions to study, as many students begin their higher education at two-year colleges. Most students are also required to take one or more science classes for their general education requirements; therefore, many students must take at least one general chemistry course. Both community colleges and chemistry are rarely studied in literature, which makes this study important. Community college general chemistry instructors were surveyed using an online version of Chickering and Gamson's Faculty Inventory for the Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. Responses were analyzed, and it was discovered that not only did instructors utilize the principles to a different extent, but there were also differences between genders as well as between the specific actions related to each principle.

Ethical, legal, and social aspects of farm animal cloning in the 6th Framework Programme for Research.

PubMed

Claxton, John; Sachez, Elena; Matthiessen-Guyader, Line

2004-01-01

Cloned livestock have potential importance in the provision of improved medicine as well as in the development of livestock production. The public is, however, increasingly concerned about the social and ethical consequences of these advances in knowledge and techniques. There is unevenness throughout Europe in different Member States' attitudes to research into livestock cloning. Although there is EU legislation controlling the use of animals for research purposes, there is no legislation specifically governing cloning in livestock production. The main EU reference is the 9th Opinion of the European Group on Ethics, which states "Cloning of farm animals may prove to be of medical and agricultural as well as economic benefit. It is acceptable only when the aims and methods are ethically justified and when carried out under ethical conditions." The ethical justification includes the avoidance of suffering, the use of the 3Rs principle and a lack of better alternatives. The Commission addresses these issues in the 6th Framework Programme by promoting the integration of ethical, legal and social aspects in all proposals where they are relevant, by fostering ethical awareness and foresight in the proposals, by encouraging public dialogue, and by supporting specific actions to promote the debate. Research must respect fundamental ethical principles, including animal welfare requirements.

7 CFR 1773.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... accounting principles (GAAP) and for determining whether the borrower has complied with applicable laws...”. GAAP means generally accepted accounting principles. GAGAS means generally accepted government auditing... an asset resulting from an action of a regulator as prescribed in Statement of Financial Accounting...

Cognitive approaches to emotions.

PubMed

Oatley, Keith; Johnson-Laird, P N

2014-03-01

Cognitive approaches offer clear links between how emotions are thought about in everyday life and how they are investigated psychologically. Cognitive researchers have focused on how emotions are caused when events or other people affect concerns and on how emotions influence processes such as reasoning, memory, and attention. Three representative cognitive theories of emotion continue to develop productively: the action-readiness theory, the core-affect theory, and the communicative theory. Some principles are common to them and divergences can be resolved by future research. Recent explanations have included how emotions structure social relationships, how they function in psychological illnesses, and how they are central to music and fiction. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

French Counterinsurgency (COIN) Efforts in Spain During the Napoleonic Era - A Modern Analysis Through the Lens of the Principles of COIN In US Joint Doctrine

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-01

the time of Napoleon ???s actions in Spain. At the conclusion of the research, the key findings were of no surprise. Napoleon , King Joseph Bonaparte ...were of no surprise. Napoleon , King Joseph Bonaparte , and his commanders in the field failed to grasp the sociocultural issues motivating the...exile on St. Helena, Napoleon Bonaparte contemplated on how he came to be on this remote island in the Atlantic Ocean after dominating all of Europe

Franchisees in Crisis: Using Action Learning to Self-Organise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Donoghue, Carol

2011-01-01

The present article describes the use of action learning by a group of 30 franchisees to organise themselves and work through a period of upheaval and uncertainty when their parent company faced liquidation. Written from the perspective of one of the franchisees who found herself adopting action learning principles to facilitate the group, it…

Fulfillment of GMP standard, halal standard, and applying HACCP for production process of beef floss (Case study: Ksatria enterprise)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

A'diat, Arkan Addien Al; Liquiddanu, Eko; Laksono, Pringgo Widyo; Sutopo, Wahyudi; Suletra, I. Wayan

2018-02-01

Along with the increasing number of the modern retail business in Indonesia, give an opportunity to small and medium enterprise (SME) to sell its products through the modern retailer. There are some obstacles faced by the SMEs, one of them is about product standard. Product standard that must be owned by SMEs are GMP standard and halal standard. This research was conducted to know the fulfillment by the beef floss enterprise in jagalan in fulfilling the GMP standard and halal. In addition, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system was applied to analyze the process. HACCP which used in this research was based on the seven principles in SNI (Indonesian National Standard) 01-4852-1998. The seven principles included hazard analysis, critical control point (CCP) determination, critical limit establishment, CCP monitor system establishment, corrective action establishment, verification, and also documentation establishment that must be applied in preparing HACCP plan. Based on this case study, it is concluded that there were 5 CCPs : the boiling process, roasting process, frying process, the beef floss draining process, and the packaging process.

Variational energy principle for compressible, baroclinic flow. 2: Free-energy form of Hamilton's principle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmid, L. A.

1977-01-01

The first and second variations are calculated for the irreducible form of Hamilton's Principle that involves the minimum number of dependent variables necessary to describe the kinetmatics and thermodynamics of inviscid, compressible, baroclinic flow in a specified gravitational field. The form of the second variation shows that, in the neighborhood of a stationary point that corresponds to physically stable flow, the action integral is a complex saddle surface in parameter space. There exists a form of Hamilton's Principle for which a direct solution of a flow problem is possible. This second form is related to the first by a Friedrichs transformation of the thermodynamic variables. This introduces an extra dependent variable, but the first and second variations are shown to have direct physical significance, namely they are equal to the free energy of fluctuations about the equilibrium flow that satisfies the equations of motion. If this equilibrium flow is physically stable, and if a very weak second order integral constraint on the correlation between the fluctuations of otherwise independent variables is satisfied, then the second variation of the action integral for this free energy form of Hamilton's Principle is positive-definite, so the action integral is a minimum, and can serve as the basis for a direct trail and error solution. The second order integral constraint states that the unavailable energy must be maximum at equilibrium, i.e. the fluctuations must be so correlated as to produce a second order decrease in the total unavailable energy.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Faizal, Mir, E-mail: f2mir@uwaterloo.ca; Majumder, Barun, E-mail: barunbasanta@iitgn.ac.in

In this paper, we will incorporate the generalized uncertainty principle into field theories with Lifshitz scaling. We will first construct both bosonic and fermionic theories with Lifshitz scaling based on generalized uncertainty principle. After that we will incorporate the generalized uncertainty principle into a non-abelian gauge theory with Lifshitz scaling. We will observe that even though the action for this theory is non-local, it is invariant under local gauge transformations. We will also perform the stochastic quantization of this Lifshitz fermionic theory based generalized uncertainty principle.

Theories of Matter, Space and Time; Classical theories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, N.; King, S. F.

2017-12-01

This book and its sequel ('Theories of Matter Space and Time: Quantum Theories') are taken from third and fourth year undergraduate Physics courses at Southampton University, UK. The aim of both books is to move beyond the initial courses in classical mechanics, special relativity, electromagnetism, and quantum theory to more sophisticated views of these subjects and their interdependence. The goal is to guide undergraduates through some of the trickier areas of theoretical physics with concise analysis while revealing the key elegance of each subject. The first chapter introduces the key areas of the principle of least action, an alternative treatment of Newtownian dynamics, that provides new understanding of conservation laws. In particular, it shows how the formalism evolved from Fermat's principle of least time in optics. The second introduces special relativity leading quickly to the need and form of four-vectors. It develops four-vectors for all kinematic variables and generalize Newton's second law to the relativistic environment; then returns to the principle of least action for a free relativistic particle. The third chapter presents a review of the integral and differential forms of Maxwell's equations before massaging them to four-vector form so that the Lorentz boost properties of electric and magnetic fields are transparent. Again, it then returns to the action principle to formulate minimal substitution for an electrically charged particle.

Principles of Strategic Communication for a New Global Commons

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-06

to help realize these ends and objectives, however, requires the USG to inculcate these principles into their strategies and plans (ends), resource...principles into their strategies and plans (ends), adequately resource the needed capabilities (ways), and use their methods (means) that can best achieve...Communication Commons and National Security Planning Process 75 Chart 5 Attention-Action Cycle 76 Chart 6 Continuum of Expectation

Kwanzaa: A Holiday of Principles.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferguson, Phyllis M.; Young, Terrell A.

1995-01-01

Describes the content and pedagogy of a three-week unit using "Kwanzaa" to validate the Swahili roots of African American cultural heritage. Emphasizes that Kwanzaa is a holiday of principles that applies to all students by emphasizing community, purpose, and personal and collective action. (RS)

76 FR 75860 - National Forest System Invasive Species Management Policy

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-05

..., scope, roles, principles, and responsibilities associated with NFS invasive species management for... threatening the National Forest System. Final Policy or Principles The management of aquatic and terrestrial...-AC77 National Forest System Invasive Species Management Policy AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION...

Nature of the Physical Observer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osoroma, Drahcir S.

2010-12-01

The nature of the observer has long plagued physical science. Here we review the current status of cognitive science in the context of a cosmology of mind in an Anthropic Multiverse. The concept of an élan vital or life force has long been considered the elementary action principle driving the evolution of living-systems by theologically minded scientists and individuals. Sufficiently extending Einstein's original model of a Static Universe, to a Holographic Anthropic Multiverse (HAM), provides a context for solving this centuries old problem for introducing this type of teleological principle into Physics, Biology, Medicine and Psychology. This means the contemporary framework of biological mechanism should no longer be considered the formal philosophical basis for describing living systems and contemporary allopathic (scientific) medicine. The new noetic action principle has far reaching implications for medicine and transpersonal psychology.

"It's like Tuskegee in reverse": a case study of ethical tensions in institutional review board review of community-based participatory research.

PubMed

Malone, Ruth E; Yerger, Valerie B; McGruder, Carol; Froelicher, Erika

2006-11-01

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) addresses the social justice dimensions of health disparities by engaging marginalized communities, building capacity for action, and encouraging more egalitarian relationships between researchers and communities. CBPR may challenge institutionalized academic practices and the understandings that inform institutional review board deliberations and, indirectly, prioritize particular kinds of research. We present our attempt to study, as part of a CBPR partnership, cigarette sales practices in an inner-city community. We use critical and communitarian perspectives to examine the implications of the refusal of the university institutional review board (in this case, the University of California, San Francisco) to approve the study. CBPR requires expanding ethical discourse beyond the procedural, principle-based approaches common in biomedical research settings. The current ethics culture of academia may sometimes serve to protect institutional power at the expense of community empowerment.

Physical activity promotion among underserved adolescents: "make it fun, easy, and popular".

PubMed

Louise Bush, Paula; Laberge, Suzanne; Laforest, Sophie

2010-05-01

There is a paucity of studies regarding noncurricular physical activity promotion interventions among adolescents, and even less such research pertaining to underserved youth. This article describes the development and implementation of a noncurricular, school-based physical activity promotion program designed for a multiethnic, underserved population of adolescents. The program's impact on leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and on physical activity enjoyment (PAE) is also presented. The 16-week program, named FunAction, utilizes social marketing principles. Control (n = 90) and intervention (n = 131) students are assessed pre- and postintervention for levels of LTPA and PAE. Results indicate that although the program did not contribute to an increase in LTPA or PAE among intervention group students, participation in the program was elevated. This study offers preliminary evidence that noncurricular physical activity promotion programs that apply social marketing principles can be effective in engaging multiethnic, underserved adolescents in physical activity.

Development and Successful Application of a “Community-First” Communication Model for Community-Based Environmental Health Research

PubMed Central

Emmett, Edward Anthony; Zhang, Hong; Shofer, Frances Susan; Rodway, Nancy; Desai, Chintan; Freeman, David; Hufford, Mary

2011-01-01

Objectives Effectively communicate results from a community exposure study to meet predetermined community priorities, maintaining ethical principles of autonomy, empowerment and justice. Methods The community established principles for the communications and a plan to inform study participants, community and other stakeholders of results and recommendations in a novel sequence: the “Community-First” communication model. Results The communications resulted in positive actions including company sponsored free bottled water, accepted by 77.6% of eligible households. Over 95% of participants in a follow-up survey had made some change to residential water supplies. Serum PFOA levels were reduced. Government agencies acted on the results. Conclusions The unique communication approach generated workable solutions to the problem investigated, raised community awareness and modified behaviors. Information generated a “free market” of community-level solutions. Each major stakeholder voluntarily adopted a “precautionary principle”. PMID:19209035

Chemical Principles Revisited: Chemical Equilibrium.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mickey, Charles D.

1980-01-01

Describes: (1) Law of Mass Action; (2) equilibrium constant and ideal behavior; (3) general form of the equilibrium constant; (4) forward and reverse reactions; (5) factors influencing equilibrium; (6) Le Chatelier's principle; (7) effects of temperature, changing concentration, and pressure on equilibrium; and (8) catalysts and equilibrium. (JN)

Mentoring: Contemporary Principles and Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bey, Theresa M., Ed.; Holmes, C. Thomas, Ed.

In the spirit of educational reform efforts, an initiative exists to restructure the education of teachers through collaborative action, using mentoring to build alliances. This monograph, based on contemporary principles and issues of mentoring, presents ways to conceptualize the professional preparation and development of teachers. Following a…

Patient safety principles in family medicine residency accreditation standards and curriculum objectives

PubMed Central

Kassam, Aliya; Sharma, Nishan; Harvie, Margot; O’Beirne, Maeve; Topps, Maureen

2016-01-01

Abstract Objective To conduct a thematic analysis of the College of Family Physicians of Canada’s (CFPC’s) Red Book accreditation standards and the Triple C Competency-based Curriculum objectives with respect to patient safety principles. Design Thematic content analysis of the CFPC’s Red Book accreditation standards and the Triple C curriculum. Setting Canada. Main outcome measures Coding frequency of the patient safety principles (ie, patient engagement; respectful, transparent relationships; complex systems; a just and trusting culture; responsibility and accountability for actions; and continuous learning and improvement) found in the analyzed CFPC documents. Results Within the analyzed CFPC documents, the most commonly found patient safety principle was patient engagement (n = 51 coding references); the least commonly found patient safety principles were a just and trusting culture (n = 5 coding references) and complex systems (n = 5 coding references). Other patient safety principles that were uncommon included responsibility and accountability for actions (n = 7 coding references) and continuous learning and improvement (n = 12 coding references). Conclusion Explicit inclusion of patient safety content such as the use of patient safety principles is needed for residency training programs across Canada to ensure the full spectrum of care is addressed, from community-based care to acute hospital-based care. This will ensure a patient safety culture can be cultivated from residency and sustained into primary care practice. PMID:27965349

"G.P.S Matrices" programme: A method to improve the mastery level of social science students in matrices operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Ken Voon

2013-04-01

The purpose of this action research was to increase the mastery level of Form Five Social Science students in Tawau II National Secondary School in the operations of addition, subtraction and multiplication of matrices in Mathematics. A total of 30 students were involved. Preliminary findings through the analysis of pre-test results and questionnaire had identified the main problem faced in which the students felt confused with the application of principles of the operations of matrices when performing these operations. Therefore, an action research was conducted using an intervention programme called "G.P.S Matrices" to overcome the problem. This programme was divided into three phases. 'Gift of Matrices' phase aimed at forming matrix teaching aids. The second and third phases were 'Positioning the Elements of Matrices' and 'Strenghtening the Concept of Matrices'. These two phases were aimed at increasing the level of understanding and memory of the students towards the principles of matrix operations. Besides, this third phase was also aimed at creating an interesting learning environment. A comparison between the results of pre-test and post-test had shown a remarkable improvement in students' performances after implementing the programme. In addition, the analysis of interview findings also indicated a positive feedback on the changes in students' attitude, particularly in the aspect of students' understanding level. Moreover, the level of students' memory also increased following the use of the concrete matrix teaching aids created in phase one. Besides, teachers felt encouraging when conducive learning environment was created through students' presentation activity held in third phase. Furthermore, students were voluntarily involved in these student-centred activities. In conclusion, this research findings showed an increase in the mastery level of students in these three matrix operations and thus the objective of the research had been achieved.

Tobacco: coopting our public health.

PubMed

Basil, M D

1996-01-01

Communication is a tool that can be used to promote public health. The case of tobacco illustrates, however, that behavior change can only be advocated, not ensured. The tobacco industry has focused on individual- and societal-level actions that effectively sabotage antismoking campaigns. Health communication researchers should pay special attention to how politics is subverted, the principle of freedom of speech is abused, message framing encourages the continued marketing of cigarettes, and tobacco advertising swamps public health messages in both quantity and style. The field of health communication should do two things to help counter this campaign. First, we should make a concerted effort to refute the arguments offered by the tobacco companies. Second, we should continue to take action on four levels--as individuals, as responsible citizens, in support of organizations, and to create societal changes that will reduce the use of tobacco.

2 CFR 180.610 - What procedures does a Federal agency use in suspension and debarment actions?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 2 Grants and Agreements 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false What procedures does a Federal agency use in suspension and debarment actions? 180.610 Section 180.610 Grants and Agreements OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND..., consistent with principles of fundamental fairness. (a) For suspension actions, a Federal agency uses the...

Is It Rational to Assume that Infants Imitate Rationally? A Theoretical Analysis and Critique

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paulus, Markus

2012-01-01

It has been suggested that preverbal infants evaluate the efficiency of others' actions (by applying a "principle of rational action") and that they imitate others' actions rationally. The present contribution presents a conceptual analysis of the claim that preverbal infants imitate rationally. It shows that this ability rests on at least three…

Innovation Development--An Action Learning Programme for Medical Scientists and Engineers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beniston, Lee; Ellwood, Paul; Gold, Jeff; Roberts, James; Thorpe, Richard

2014-01-01

There is increasing evidence that action learning is valuable in a higher education setting. This paper goes on to report a personal development programme, based on principles of critical action learning, where the aim is to equip early-career scientists and engineers working in a university setting with the knowledge, skills and confidence to…

An Exploratory Study of Undergraduates' Attitudes toward Affirmative Action Policies for Asian Americans in College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartlep, Nicholas Daniel; Lowinger, Robert Jay

2014-01-01

This exploratory study examined white undergraduate students' (a) racial attitudes towards Asian Americans, (b) principled policy attitudes toward affirmative action, and (c) self-interest in relation to their support for college-based affirmative action policies for Asian Americans at a Midwestern university. A sample (n = 264, 28% male, 72%…

Action Learning, the Tool for Problem-Solving in Universities; Uganda Martyrs Nkozi, Makerere and Nkumba Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bwegyeme, Jacinta; Munene, John C.

2015-01-01

The article presents an account of how action learning principles were implemented to alleviate complex problems in universities. It focuses on the registrars and administrators under the academic Registrar's department. The Marquardt model of action learning was used in combination with the constructivist theories of learning, namely community of…

Development of professional knowledge in action: experiences from an action science design focusing on acknowledging communication in mental health.

PubMed

Vatne, Solfrid; Bjornerem, Heidi; Hoem, Elisabeth

2009-03-01

This article reports a multi-professional development project that was based on an action science design. The purpose was to develop 'acknowledging communication' in a psychiatric department for young people, and the objective to study the staffs' experiences of participating in the project. The professional part of the project has its foundation in Schibbye's treatment theory of inter-subjective understanding of relationships, and involves three main approaches from her theory: self-reflection, self-delimitation and emotional presence. The article presents the specific action design used, where reflection processes were developed in three different arenas: multidisciplinary Reflection groups, a Leader support group for the group leaders of the Reflection groups and collective Project seminars for all employees. A formal study programme designed to increase professional expertise, 15 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), was also offered. The research methods included the researcher's process notes taken during the process, field notes from participating in the Leader support group, and qualitative interviews of eight informants participating in the various reflection arenas. The article presents and discusses the experiences evolved from the methods that were developed during the professional action science project: reflection on specific situations of interaction with patients in the form of oral/written narratives and the development of video presentations in combination with 'reflective teams'. The study showed that to facilitate change in the role of staff members, it is important to combine several reflection arenas where theoretical principles can be converted into practical action. By drawing data from only one study site, the study has a limited transferability, but should be of interest for professionals working with clinical change processes.

Aphasia therapy on a neuroscience basis

PubMed Central

Pulvermüller, Friedemann; Berthier, Marcelo L.

2008-01-01

Background Brain research has documented that the cortical mechanisms for language and action are tightly interwoven and, concurrently, new approaches to language therapy in neurological patients are being developed that implement language training in the context of relevant linguistic and non-linguistic actions, therefore taking advantage of the mutual connections of language and action systems in the brain. A further well-known neuroscience principle is that learning at the neuronal level is driven by correlation; consequently, new approaches to language therapy emphasise massed practice in a short time, thus maximising therapy quantity and frequency and, therefore, correlation at the behavioural and neuronal levels. Learned non-use of unsuccessful actions plays a major role in the chronification of neurological deficits, and behavioural approaches to therapy have therefore employed shaping and other learning techniques to counteract such non-use. Aims Advances in theoretical and experimental neuroscience have important implications for clinical practice. We exemplify this in the domain of aphasia rehabilitation. Main Contribution Whereas classical wisdom had been that aphasia cannot be significantly improved at a chronic stage, we here review evidence that one type of intensive language-action therapy (ILAT)—constraint-induced aphasia therapy—led to significant improvement of language performance in patients with chronic aphasia. We discuss perspectives for further improving speech-language therapy, including drug treatment that may be particularly fruitful when applied in conjunction with behavioural treatment. In a final section we highlight intensive and rapid therapy studies in chronic aphasia as a unique tool for exploring the cortical reorganisation of language. Conclusions We conclude that intensive language action therapy is an efficient tool for improving language functions even at chronic stages of aphasia. Therapy studies using this technique can open new perspectives for research into the plasticity of human language circuits. PMID:18923644

Military Compensation: Additional Actions Are Needed to Better Manage Special and Incentive Pay Programs

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-02-01

services largely applied key principles of effective human capital management in the design of their S&I pay programs for nuclear propulsion...aviation, and cybersecurity occupations. However, the application of these key principles varied by service and occupation. Only the Navy’s S&I pay...programs for nuclear propulsion and aviation fully addressed all seven principles ; programs for other occupations and services generally exhibited a

Empowering Change Agents in Hierarchical Organizations: Participatory Action Research in Prisons

PubMed Central

Penrod, Janice; Loeb, Susan J.; Ladonne, Robert A.; Martin, Lea M.

2017-01-01

Participatory action research (PAR) approaches harness collaborative partnerships to stimulate change in defined communities. The purpose of this article is to illustrate key methodological strategies used in the application of PAR methods in the particularly challenging environment of a hierarchical organization. A study designed to promote sustainable, insider-generated system-level changes in the provision of end-of-life (EOL) care in the restrictive setting of six state prisons is used as an exemplar of the application of three cardinal principles of PAR. First, development of a collaborative network with active partnership between outsider academic researchers and insider co-researchers began with careful attention to understanding the culture and processes of prisons and gaining the support of organizational leadership, using qualitative data gathering and trust-building. During the implementation phase, promoting co-ownership of change in EOL care through the co-construction of knowledge and systems to enhance sustainable change required carefully-orchestrated strategies to maximize the collaborative spirit of the project. Co-researchers were empowered to examine their worlds and capture opportunities for change using new leadership skills role-modeled by the research team. Third, their local knowledge of the barriers inherent in the contextual reality of prisons was translated into achievable system change by production of a toolkit of formalized and well-rehearsed change strategies that collaborative teams were empowered to enact within their hierarchical prison environment. PMID:27028096

Developing, implementing and evaluating a model for an outpatient self-harm service.

PubMed

Brand, Fiona; Lascelles, Karen

2017-05-10

Aim To reduce the incidence of self-harming behaviour and improve well-being and experience of care for individuals who present regularly to the emergency department in one hospital following self-harm, by providing outpatient care. Method This was a 12-month nurse-led practice development project to develop, implement and evaluate a brief-intervention outpatient service for individuals who presented to the emergency department following self-harm and who were identified as being at risk of further self-harm. The service improvement was informed by an action research process and the principles of appreciative inquiry. Findings The project provided a short-term outpatient follow-up service, known as Brief Interventions in Repeat Self Harm (BIRSH), to patients who presented to the emergency department following self-harm, and who were considered at risk of further self-harm. The intervention enabled the clinician to validate the patient's distress and offer them short-term outpatient follow-up care. The BIRSH sessions were offered to 38 patients. A total of 26 patients attended one or more BIRSH session, and all of these individuals showed a reduction in the number of presentations to the emergency department following self-harm in the six months following the intervention, compared to the six months before the intervention. Conclusion The BIRSH outpatient service appears to have been a contributory factor in reducing self-harm for patients who engaged with the service. The service improvement was informed by an action research process and the principles of appreciative inquiry, which provided a positive, focused approach to the practice development project.

Government and Ethics: The Constitutional Foundation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rossum, Ralph A.

1984-01-01

Government and ethics teachers should educate students in the "wholesale sanity" of American democracy. In particular they should (1) identify and defend the principles of the American constitutional order, (2) criticize government actions departing from these principles, and (3) seek means by which to correct for these departures. (RM)

78 FR 53196 - Agency Information Collection (Principles of Excellence Complaint System Intake); Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-28

... (Principles of Excellence Complaint System Intake); Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency...

"More Rain and Less Thunder": Substitute Vocabularies, Richard Nixon, and the Construction of Political Reality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morris, Richard; Stuckey, Mary E.

1997-01-01

Sketches a key mechanism called "Substitute Vocabularies" whereby practitioners of democracies seek to reconcile contradictions between democratic political principle and repressive political action. Illustrates this by identifying the Richard Nixon administration's political principles regarding Native Americans as articulated in…

Integrating community-based participatory research and informatics approaches to improve the engagement and health of underserved populations

PubMed Central

Schaefbauer, Chris L; Campbell, Terrance R; Senteio, Charles; Siek, Katie A; Bakken, Suzanne; Veinot, Tiffany C

2016-01-01

Objective We compare 5 health informatics research projects that applied community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches with the goal of extending existing CBPR principles to address issues specific to health informatics research. Materials and methods We conducted a cross-case analysis of 5 diverse case studies with 1 common element: integration of CBPR approaches into health informatics research. After reviewing publications and other case-related materials, all coauthors engaged in collaborative discussions focused on CBPR. Researchers mapped each case to an existing CBPR framework, examined each case individually for success factors and barriers, and identified common patterns across cases. Results Benefits of applying CBPR approaches to health informatics research across the cases included the following: developing more relevant research with wider impact, greater engagement with diverse populations, improved internal validity, more rapid translation of research into action, and the development of people. Challenges of applying CBPR to health informatics research included requirements to develop strong, sustainable academic-community partnerships and mismatches related to cultural and temporal factors. Several technology-related challenges, including needs to define ownership of technology outputs and to build technical capacity with community partners, also emerged from our analysis. Finally, we created several principles that extended an existing CBPR framework to specifically address health informatics research requirements. Conclusions Our cross-case analysis yielded valuable insights regarding CBPR implementation in health informatics research and identified valuable lessons useful for future CBPR-based research. The benefits of applying CBPR approaches can be significant, particularly in engaging populations that are typically underserved by health care and in designing patient-facing technology. PMID:26228766

Boundary term in metric f ( R) gravity: field equations in the metric formalism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guarnizo, Alejandro; Castañeda, Leonardo; Tejeiro, Juan M.

2010-11-01

The main goal of this paper is to get in a straightforward form the field equations in metric f ( R) gravity, using elementary variational principles and adding a boundary term in the action, instead of the usual treatment in an equivalent scalar-tensor approach. We start with a brief review of the Einstein-Hilbert action, together with the Gibbons-York-Hawking boundary term, which is mentioned in some literature, but is generally missing. Next we present in detail the field equations in metric f ( R) gravity, including the discussion about boundaries, and we compare with the Gibbons-York-Hawking term in General Relativity. We notice that this boundary term is necessary in order to have a well defined extremal action principle under metric variation.

Return of Genomic Results to Research Participants: The Floor, the Ceiling, and the Choices In Between

PubMed Central

Jarvik, Gail P.; Amendola, Laura M.; Berg, Jonathan S.; Brothers, Kyle; Clayton, Ellen W.; Chung, Wendy; Evans, Barbara J.; Evans, James P.; Fullerton, Stephanie M.; Gallego, Carlos J.; Garrison, Nanibaa’ A.; Gray, Stacy W.; Holm, Ingrid A.; Kullo, Iftikhar J.; Lehmann, Lisa Soleymani; McCarty, Cathy; Prows, Cynthia A.; Rehm, Heidi L.; Sharp, Richard R.; Salama, Joseph; Sanderson, Saskia; Van Driest, Sara L.; Williams, Marc S.; Wolf, Susan M.; Wolf, Wendy A.; Harley, John; Myers, Melanie; Namjou, Bahram; Vinks, Sander; Connolly, John; Keating, Brendan; Gerhard, Glenn; Sundaresan, Agnes; Tromp, Gerard; Crosslin, David; Leppig, Kathy; Wicklund, Cathy; Chute, Christopher; Lynch, John; De Andrade, Mariza; Heit, John; McCormick, Jen; Brilliant, Murray; Kitchner, Terrie; Ritchie, Marylyn; Böttinger, Erwin; Peter, Inga; Persell, Stephen; Rasmussen-Torvik, Laura; McGregor, Tracy; Roden, Dan; Antommaria, Armand; Chiavacci, Rosetta; Faucett, Andy; Ledbetter, David; Williams, Janet; Hartzler, Andrea; Vitek, Carolyn R. Rohrer; Frost, Norm; Ferryman, Kadija; Horowitz, Carol; Rhodes, Rosamond; Zinberg, Randi; Aufox, Sharon; Pan, Vivian; Long, Rochelle; Ramos, Erin; Odgis, Jackie; Wise, Anastasia; Hull, Sara; Gitlin, Jonathan; Green, Robert; Metterville, Danielle; McGuire, Amy; Kong, Sek Won; Trinidad, Sue; Veenstra, David; Roche, Myra; Skinner, Debra; Raspberry, Kelly; O’Daniel, Julianne; Parsons, Will; Eng, Christine; Hilsenbeck, Susan; Karavite, Dean; Conlin, Laura; Spinner, Nancy; Krantz, Ian; Falk, Marni; Santani, Avni; Dechene, Elizabeth; Dulik, Matthew; Bernhardt, Barbara; Schuetze, Scott; Everett, Jessica; Gornick, Michele Caroline; Wilfond, Ben; Tabor, Holly; Lemke, Amy A.; Richards, Sue; Goddard, Katrina; Cooper, Greg; East, Kelly; Barsh, Greg; Koenig, Barbara; Van Allen, Eliezer; Garber, Judy; Garrett, Jeremy; Zawati, Ma’n; Lewis, Michelle; Savage, Sarah; Smith, Maureen; Roychowdhury, Sameek; Bailey, Alice; Berkman, Benjamin; Anan, Charlisse Caga; Hindorff, Lucia; Hutter, Carolyn; King, Rosalind; Li, Rongling; Lockhart, Nicole; McEwen, Jean; Scholes, Derek; Schully, Sheri; Sun, Kathie; Burke, Wylie

2014-01-01

As more research studies incorporate next-generation sequencing (including whole-genome or whole-exome sequencing), investigators and institutional review boards face difficult questions regarding which genomic results to return to research participants and how. An American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics 2013 policy paper suggesting that pathogenic mutations in 56 specified genes should be returned in the clinical setting has raised the question of whether comparable recommendations should be considered in research settings. The Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research (CSER) Consortium and the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network are multisite research programs that aim to develop practical strategies for addressing questions concerning the return of results in genomic research. CSER and eMERGE committees have identified areas of consensus regarding the return of genomic results to research participants. In most circumstances, if results meet an actionability threshold for return and the research participant has consented to return, genomic results, along with referral for appropriate clinical follow-up, should be offered to participants. However, participants have a right to decline the receipt of genomic results, even when doing so might be viewed as a threat to the participants’ health. Research investigators should be prepared to return research results and incidental findings discovered in the course of their research and meeting an actionability threshold, but they have no ethical obligation to actively search for such results. These positions are consistent with the recognition that clinical research is distinct from medical care in both its aims and its guiding moral principles. PMID:24814192

When four principles are too many: bloodgate, integrity and an action-guiding model of ethical decision making in clinical practice.

PubMed

Muirhead, William

2012-04-01

Medical ethical analysis remains dominated by the principlist account first proposed by Beauchamp and Childress. This paper argues that the principlist model is unreflective of how ethical decisions are taken in clinical practice. Two kinds of medical ethical decisions are distinguished: biosocial ethics and clinical ethics. It is argued that principlism is an inappropriate model for clinical ethics as it is neither sufficiently action-guiding nor does it emphasise the professional integrity of the clinician. An alternative model is proposed for decision making in the realm of clinical ethics.

The quantum limit for gravitational-wave detectors and methods of circumventing it

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thorne, K. S.; Caves, C. M.; Sandberg, V. D.; Zimmermann, M.; Drever, R. W. P.

1979-01-01

The Heisenberg uncertainty principle prevents the monitoring of the complex amplitude of a mechanical oscillator more accurately than a certain limit value. This 'quantum limit' is a serious obstacle to the achievement of a 10 to the -21st gravitational-wave detection sensitivity. This paper examines the principles of the back-action evasion technique and finds that this technique may be able to overcome the problem of the quantum limit. Back-action evasion does not solve, however, other problems of detection, such as weak coupling, large amplifier noise, and large Nyquist noise.

Conservation of wave action. [in discrete oscillating system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayes, W. D.

1974-01-01

It is pointed out that two basic principles appear in the theory of wave propagation, including the existence of a phase variable and a law governing the intensity, in terms of a conservation law. The concepts underlying such a conservation law are explored. The waves treated are conservative in the sense that they obey equations derivable from a variational principle applied to a Lagrangian functional. A discrete oscillating system is considered. The approach employed also permits in a natural way the definition of a local action density and flux in problems in which the waves are modal or general.

Conceptualising engagement with digital behaviour change interventions: a systematic review using principles from critical interpretive synthesis.

PubMed

Perski, Olga; Blandford, Ann; West, Robert; Michie, Susan

2017-06-01

"Engagement" with digital behaviour change interventions (DBCIs) is considered important for their effectiveness. Evaluating engagement is therefore a priority; however, a shared understanding of how to usefully conceptualise engagement is lacking. This review aimed to synthesise literature on engagement to identify key conceptualisations and to develop an integrative conceptual framework involving potential direct and indirect influences on engagement and relationships between engagement and intervention effectiveness. Four electronic databases (Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO, ISI Web of Knowledge, ScienceDirect) were searched in November 2015. We identified 117 articles that met the inclusion criteria: studies employing experimental or non-experimental designs with adult participants explicitly or implicitly referring to engagement with DBCIs, digital games or technology. Data were synthesised using principles from critical interpretive synthesis. Engagement with DBCIs is conceptualised in terms of both experiential and behavioural aspects. A conceptual framework is proposed in which engagement with a DBCI is influenced by the DBCI itself (content and delivery), the context (the setting in which the DBCI is used and the population using it) and the behaviour that the DBCI is targeting. The context and "mechanisms of action" may moderate the influence of the DBCI on engagement. Engagement, in turn, moderates the influence of the DBCI on those mechanisms of action. In the research literature, engagement with DBCIs has been conceptualised in terms of both experience and behaviour and sits within a complex system involving the DBCI, the context of use, the mechanisms of action of the DBCI and the target behaviour.

Gender-transformative health promotion for women: a framework for action.

PubMed

Pederson, Ann; Greaves, Lorraine; Poole, Nancy

2015-03-01

Gender inequity is a pervasive global challenge to health equity. Health promotion, as a field, has paid only limited attention to gender inequity to date, but could be an active agent of change if gender equity became an explicit goal of health promotion research, policy and programmes. As an aspect of gendered health systems, health promotion interventions may maintain, exacerbate or reduce gender-related health inequities, depending upon the degree and quality of gender-responsiveness within the programme or policy. This article introduces a framework for gender-transformative health promotion that builds on understanding gender as a determinant of health and outlines a continuum of actions to address gender and health. Gender-transformative health promotion interventions could play a significant role in improving the lives of millions of girls and women worldwide. Gender-related principles of action are identified that extend the core principles of health promotion but reflect the significance of attending to gender in the development and use of evidence, engagement of stakeholders and selection of interventions. We illustrate the framework with examples from a range of women's health promotion activities, including cardiovascular disease prevention, tobacco control, and alcohol use. The literature suggests that gender-responsiveness will enhance the acceptance, relevance and effectiveness of health promotion interventions. By moving beyond responsiveness to transformation, gender-transformative health promotion could enhance both health and social outcomes for large numbers of women and men, girls and boys. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Two additional principles for determining which species to monitor.

PubMed

Wilson, Howard B; Rhodes, Jonathan R; Possingham, Hugh P

2015-11-01

Monitoring to detect population declines is widespread, but also costly. There is, consequently, a need to optimize monitoring to maximize cost-effectiveness. Here we develop a quantitative decision analysis framework for how to optimally allocate resources for monitoring among species. By keeping the framework simple, we analytically establish two new principles about which species are optimal to monitor for detecting declines: (1) those that lie on the boundary between species being allocated resources for conservation action and species that are not and (2) those with the greatest uncertainty in whether they are declining. These two principles are in addition to other factors that are also important in monitoring decisions, such as complementarity. We demonstrate the efficacy of these principles when other factors are not present, and show how the two principles can be combined. This analysis demonstrates that the most cost-effective species to monitor are ones where the information gained from monitoring is most likely to change the allocation of funds for action, not necessarily the most vulnerable or endangered. We suggest these results are general and apply to all ecological monitoring, not just of biological species: monitoring and information are only valuable when they are likely to change how people act.

Selecting the correct solution to a physics problem when given several possibilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richards, Evan Thomas

Despite decades of research on what learning actions are associated with effective learners (Palincsar and Brown, 1984; Atkinson, et al., 2000), the literature has not fully addressed how to cue those actions (particularly within the realm of physics). Recent reforms that integrate incorrect solutions suggest a possible avenue to reach those actions. However, there is only a limited understanding as to what actions are invoked with such reforms (Grosse and Renkl, 2007). This paper reports on a study that tasked participants with selecting the correct solution to a physics problem when given three possible solutions, where only one of the solutions was correct and the other two solutions contained errors. Think aloud protocol data (Ericsson and Simon, 1993) was analyzed per a framework adapted from Palincsar and Brown (1984). Cued actions were indeed connected to those identified in the worked example literature. Particularly satisfying is the presence of internal consistency checks (i.e., are the solutions self-consistent?), which is a behavior predicted by the Palincsar and Brown (1984) framework, but not explored in the worked example realm. Participant discussions were also found to be associated with those physics-related solution features that were varied across solutions (such as fundamental principle selection or system and surroundings selections).

Ultrafast Electron Plasma Index: An Ionization Perspective

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-29

picture in mind, the derivation of the index was a combination of the principle of least action and Fermat’s principle. In the current textbook ...multiphoton ionization. Phys Rev Lett 71: 1994-1997. 27. Ivanov MY, Spanner M, Smirnova O (2005) Anatomy of strong field ionization. J. Mod.Phys 52

Feedback in Action--The Mechanism of the Iris.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pingnet, B.; And Others

1988-01-01

Describes two demonstration experiments. Outlines a demonstration of the general principle of positive and negative feedback and the influence of time delays in feedback circuits. Elucidates the principle of negative feedback with a model of the iris of the eye. Emphasizes the importance of feedback in biological systems. (CW)

Matters of Principle.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martz, Carlton

1999-01-01

This issue of "Bill of Rights in Action" looks at individuals who have stood on principle against authority or popular opinion. The first article investigates John Adams and his defense of British soldiers at the Boston Massacre trials. The second article explores Archbishop Thomas Becket's fatal conflict with England's King Henry II.…

Formative Assessment in Primary Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loughland, Tony; Kilpatrick, Laetitia

2015-01-01

This action learning study in a year three classroom explored the implementation of five formative assessment principles to assist students' understandings of the scientific topic of liquids and solids. These principles were employed to give students a greater opportunity to express their understanding of the concepts. The study found that the…

Values and the Scientific Culture of Behavior Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruiz, Maria R.; Roche, Bryan

2007-01-01

As scientists and practitioners, behavior analysts must make frequent decisions that affect many lives. Scientific principles have been our guide as we work to promote effective action across a broad spectrum of cultural practices. Yet scientific principles alone may not be sufficient to guide our decision making in cases with potentially…

An anti-inflammatory principle from cactus.

PubMed

Park, E H; Kahng, J H; Lee, S H; Shin, K H

2001-03-01

In previous studies, the ethanol extract of cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) showed potent anti-inflammatory action. In the present study, following fractionation of the methanol extract of cactus stems guided by adjuvant-induced chronic inflammation model in mice, an active anti-inflammatory principle has been isolated and identified as beta-sitosterol.

76 FR 14825 - Core Principles and Other Requirements for Designated Contact Markets

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-18

... COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION 17 CFR Parts 1, 16, and 38 RIN 3038-AD09 Core Principles and Other Requirements for Designated Contact Markets AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission. ACTION... FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Markowitz, Assistant Deputy Director, 202-418-5453, [email protected

Planning for Impact: A Guide to Planning Effective Family Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardy, James M.

A document intended to provide program planning guidelines for Young Men's Christian Associations (YMCAs) desirous of working with families, recommends adherence to eight principles and following of five steps. The principles involve planning before action, fact finding and analysis, clear delineation of operational objectives, planning at all…

Math Activities that Encourage Inductive Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeman, Christopher

2005-01-01

There are two kinds of logical reasoning: "inductive" and "deductive". Inductive reasoning proceeds from effect back to cause, from special case to general principle. Detectives use it, examining the clues and conjecturing the actions that caused them. On the other hand, deductive reasoning proceeds from cause to effect, from principle to…

Gestalt Principles in the Control of Motor Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klapp, Stuart T.; Jagacinski, Richard J.

2011-01-01

We argue that 4 fundamental gestalt phenomena in perception apply to the control of motor action. First, a motor gestalt, like a perceptual gestalt, is holistic in the sense that it is processed as a single unit. This notion is consistent with reaction time results indicating that all gestures for a brief unit of action must be programmed prior to…

"Medical effectiveness" in Canadian and U.S. health policy: the comparative politics of inferential ambiguity.

PubMed Central

Tanenbaum, S J

1996-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To compare Canadian and U.S. policymaking to determine how different health care systems may use health services research differently in responding to the common problem of ineffective medical care. DATA SOURCES/STUDY DESIGN/DATA COLLECTION: Not applicable. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The United States and Canada are making surprisingly divergent responses to the problem of medical ineffectiveness: reinforcement of the solidarity principle and deprivatization in Canada, and reinforcement of market competition and privatization in the United States. In doing so, Canadian policymakers overstate the societal applicability and U.S. policymakers the individual applicability of outcomes research findings. CONCLUSIONS: Probabilistic findings of medical effectiveness are fundamentally ambiguous as they relate to action. They therefore invite divergent policy responses from different policy regimes. Health services researchers must not imagine that research findings are sufficient to determine the course of health policy. PMID:8943988

Connecting and Using Multiple Representations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nielsen, Maria E.; Bostic, Jonathan D.

2018-01-01

"Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All" (NCTM 2014) emphasizes eight teaching practices for effective mathematics teaching, one of which is to "use and connect multiple representations" (NCTM 2014, p. 24). An action that describes how teachers might promote this practice is to "allocate substantial…

How perception guides action: Figure-ground segmentation modulates integration of context features into S-R episodes.

PubMed

Frings, Christian; Rothermund, Klaus

2017-11-01

Perception and action are closely related. Responses are assumed to be represented in terms of their perceptual effects, allowing direct links between action and perception. In this regard, the integration of features of stimuli (S) and responses (R) into S-R bindings is a key mechanism for action control. Previous research focused on the integration of object features with response features while neglecting the context in which an object is perceived. In 3 experiments, we analyzed whether contextual features can also become integrated into S-R episodes. The data showed that a fundamental principle of visual perception, figure-ground segmentation, modulates the binding of contextual features. Only features belonging to the figure region of a context but not features forming the background were integrated with responses into S-R episodes, retrieval of which later on had an impact upon behavior. Our findings suggest that perception guides the selection of context features for integration with responses into S-R episodes. Results of our study have wide-ranging implications for an understanding of context effects in learning and behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Protecting and Expanding the Richness and Diversity of Life, An Ethic for Astrobiology Research and Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Randolph, Richard O.; McKay, Chris P.

2011-01-01

The ongoing search for life on other worlds and the prospects of eventual human exploration of the Moon and Mars indicate the need for new ethical guidelines to direct our actions as we search and how we respond if we discover microbial life on other worlds. Here we review how life on other worlds presents a novel question in environmental ethics. We propose a principle of protecting and expanding the richness and diversity of life as the basis of an ethic for astrobiology research and space exploration. There are immediate implications for the operational policies governing how we conduct the search for life on Mars and how we plan for human exploration throughout the Solar System.

Protecting and expanding the richness and diversity of life, an ethic for astrobiology research and space exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Randolph, Richard O.; McKay, Christopher P.

2014-01-01

The ongoing search for life on other worlds and the prospects of eventual human exploration of the Moon and Mars indicate the need for new ethical guidelines to direct our actions as we search and how we respond if we discover microbial life on other worlds. Here we review how life on other worlds presents a novel question in environmental ethics. We propose a principle of protecting and expanding the richness and diversity of life as the basis of an ethic for astrobiology research and space exploration. There are immediate implications for the operational policies governing how we conduct the search for life on Mars and how we plan for human exploration throughout the Solar System.

Collaborative research and action to control the geographic placement of outdoor advertising of alcohol and tobacco products in Chicago.

PubMed

Hackbarth, D P; Schnopp-Wyatt, D; Katz, D; Williams, J; Silvestri, B; Pfleger, M

2001-01-01

Community activists in Chicago believed their neighborhoods were being targeted by alcohol and tobacco outdoor advertisers, despite the Outdoor Advertising Association of America's voluntary code of principles, which claims to restrict the placement of ads for age-restricted products and prevent billboard saturation of urban neighborhoods. A research and action plan resulted from a 10-year collaborative partnership among Loyola University Chicago, the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago (ALAMC), and community activists from a predominately African American church, St. Sabina Parish. In 1997 Loyola University and ALAMC researchers conducted a cross-sectional prevalence survey of alcohol and tobacco outdoor advertising. Computer mapping was used to locate all 4,247 licensed billboards in Chicago that were within 500- and 1,000-foot radiuses of schools, parks, and playlots. A 50% sample of billboards was visually surveyed and coded for advertising content. The percentage of alcohol and tobacco billboards within the 500- and 1,000-foot zones ranged from 0% to 54%. African American and Hispanic neighborhoods were disproportionately targeted for outdoor advertising of alcohol and tobacco. Data were used to convince the Chicago City Council to pass one of the nation's toughest anti-alcohol and tobacco billboard ordinances, based on zoning rather than advertising content. The ordinance was challenged in court by advertisers. Recent Supreme Court rulings made enactment of local billboard ordinances problematic. Nevertheless, the research, which resulted in specific legislative action, demonstrated the importance of linkages among academic, practice, and grassroots community groups in working together to diminish one of the social causes of health disparities.

Acupuncture and Its Role in Modern Medicine

PubMed Central

Lewin, Andrew J.

1974-01-01

Although both the philosophic and physiologic basis of acupuncture seems fanciful to Western medical thinking, the results obtained in the treatment of certain disease states cannot be lightly dismissed. Its use in the induction of surgical analgesia may have immediate application for Western Medicine. Its mechanism of action is a complete enigma, but information accumulated from research in hypnosis, visceral learning and, most important, the physiology of pain perception may contain clues to the pathophysiologic principles involved. The fact that many disorders for which acupuncture therapy is useful are thought to have a large psychosomatic component only serves to reinforce the Eastern concept of inseparability of mind and body. A great deal of attention is being given to this concept in the current medical literature. In order to define the role of acupuncture in modern medical practice, a more scientific approach in both clinical and basic research is necessary. If acupuncture can be proved safe and efficacious in the treatment of certain diseases, lack of knowledge regarding its mechanism of action should not delay its incorporation into our medical armamentarium. PMID:4590887

FUNDAMENTALS OF VITAMIN D HORMONE-REGULATED GENE EXPRESSION

PubMed Central

Pike, J. Wesley; Meyer, Mark B.

2014-01-01

Initial research focused upon several known genetic targets provided early insight into the mechanism of action of the vitamin D hormone (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3)). Recently, however, a series of technical advances involving the coupling of chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) to unbiased methodologies that initially involved tiled DNA microarrays (ChIP-chip analysis) and now Next Generation DNA Sequencing techniques (ChIP-Seq analysis) has opened new avenues of research into the mechanisms through which 1,25(OH)2D3 regulates gene expression. In this review, we summarize briefly the results of this early work and then focus on more recent studies in which ChIP-chip and ChIP-seq analyses have been used to explore the mechanisms of 1,25(OH)2D3 action on a genome-wide scale providing specific target genes as examples. The results of this work have advanced our understanding of the mechanisms involved at both genetic and epigenetic levels and have revealed a series of new principles through which the vitamin D hormone functions to control the expression of genes. PMID:24239506

How do local stakeholders respond to the uncertain implications of an innovative flood infrastructure project?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van den Hoek, Ronald; Brugnach, Marcela; Hoekstra, Arjen

2013-04-01

In the 20th century, flood management was dominated by rigid structures - such as dikes and dams - which intend to strictly regulate and control water systems. Although the application of these rigid structures has been successful in the recent past, their negative implications for ecosystems and natural processes is often not properly taken into account. Therefore, flood management practices are currently moving towards more nature-inclusive approaches. Building with Nature (BwN) is such a new approach of nature-inclusive flood management in the Netherlands, which aims to utilize natural dynamics (e.g., wind and currents) and natural materials (e.g., sediment and vegetation) for the realization of effective flood infrastructure, while providing opportunities for nature development. However, the natural dynamics driving a project based on BwN design principles are inherently unpredictable. Furthermore, our factual knowledge base regarding the socio-ecological system in which the BwN initiative is implemented is incomplete. Moreover, in recent years, it is increasingly aimed for by decision-makers to involve local stakeholders in the development of promising flood management initiatives. These stakeholders and other actors involved can have diverging views regarding the project, can perceive unanticipated implications and could choose unforeseen action paths. In short, while a project based on BwN design principles - like any human intervention - definitely has implications for the socio-ecological system, both the extent to which these particular implications will occur and the response of stakeholders are highly uncertain. In this paper, we study the Safety Buffer Oyster Dam case - a BwN pilot project - and address the interplay between the project's implications, the uncertainties regarding these implications and the action paths chosen by the local stakeholders and project team. We determine how the implications of the Safety Buffer project are viewed by local stakeholders, identify the frames and uncertainties related to these implications, and classify these uncertainties according to their nature and level. We describe which action paths are chosen by the local stakeholders and project team regarding the implications identified. Our research shows that there is a correspondence between the level of uncertainty about the implications identified and the action paths chosen by the actors involved. This suggests that the inherent deep uncertainty in projects based on BwN principles calls for more adaptable and flexible strategies to cope with the implications of these initiatives.

Efficient Project Delivery Using Lean Principles - An Indian Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovvuri, P. Ramachandra Reddy; Sawhney, Anil; Ahuja, Ritu; Sreekumar, Aiswarya

2016-03-01

Construction industry in India is growing at a rapid pace. Along with this growth, the industry is facing numerous challenges that are making delivery of projects inefficient. Experts believe that capacity constraints in the industry need to be addressed immediately. Government has recommended `introduction of efficient technologies and modern management techniques' to increase the productivity of the industry. In this context, lean principles can act as a lever to make project delivery more efficient and provide the much needed impetus to the Indian construction sector. Around the globe lean principles are showing positive results on the projects. Project teams are reporting improvements in construction time, cost and quality along with softer benefits of enhanced collaboration, coordination and trust in project teams. Can adoption of lean principles provide similar benefits in the Indian construction sector? This research was conducted to answer this question. Using an action research approach a key lean construction tool called Last Planner System (LPS) was tested on a large Indian construction project. The work described in this work investigates the improvements achieved in project delivery by adopting LPS in Indian construction sector. Comparison in pre- and post-implementation data demonstrates increase in the certainty of work-flow and improves schedule compliance. This is measured through a simple LPS metric called percent plan complete. Explicit improvements in schedule performance are seen during 8 week LPS implementation along with implicit improvements in coordination, collaboration and trust in the project team. This work reports the findings of LPS implementation on the case study project outlining the barriers and drivers to adoption, strategies needed to ensure successful implementation and roadmap for implementation. Based on the findings the authors envision that lean construction can make project delivery more efficient in India.

41 CFR 60-3.13 - Affirmative action.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... action programs. These guidelines are also intended to encourage the adoption and implementation of... 3-UNIFORM GUIDELINES ON EMPLOYEE SELECTION PROCEDURES (1978) General Principles § 60-3.13... validated pursuant to these guidelines does not relieve users of any obligations they may have to undertake...

41 CFR 60-3.13 - Affirmative action.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... action programs. These guidelines are also intended to encourage the adoption and implementation of... 3-UNIFORM GUIDELINES ON EMPLOYEE SELECTION PROCEDURES (1978) General Principles § 60-3.13... validated pursuant to these guidelines does not relieve users of any obligations they may have to undertake...

7 CFR 650.5 - Environmental evaluation in planning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... action; (40 CFR 1502.14). In NRCS-assisted project actions, nonstructural, water conservation, and other alternatives that are in keeping with the Water Resources Council's Principles and Standards are considered, if... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SUPPORT ACTIVITIES COMPLIANCE WITH NEPA Procedures for NRCS...

7 CFR 650.5 - Environmental evaluation in planning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... action; (40 CFR 1502.14). In NRCS-assisted project actions, nonstructural, water conservation, and other alternatives that are in keeping with the Water Resources Council's Principles and Standards are considered, if... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SUPPORT ACTIVITIES COMPLIANCE WITH NEPA Procedures for NRCS...

7 CFR 650.5 - Environmental evaluation in planning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... action; (40 CFR 1502.14). In NRCS-assisted project actions, nonstructural, water conservation, and other alternatives that are in keeping with the Water Resources Council's Principles and Standards are considered, if... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SUPPORT ACTIVITIES COMPLIANCE WITH NEPA Procedures for NRCS...

7 CFR 650.5 - Environmental evaluation in planning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... action; (40 CFR 1502.14). In NRCS-assisted project actions, nonstructural, water conservation, and other alternatives that are in keeping with the Water Resources Council's Principles and Standards are considered, if... CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SUPPORT ACTIVITIES COMPLIANCE WITH NEPA Procedures for NRCS...

Identification of countermeasures for unsafe driving actions. Volume 2, A review of selected literature

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1981-02-01

Literature on decision-making and social control was reviewed to identify key principles of human behavior that have potential for reducing the incidence of speed-too-fast and other conscious and intentional unsafe driving actions (UDAs). The review ...

A model for Entropy Production, Entropy Decrease and Action Minimization in Self-Organization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Georgiev, Georgi; Chatterjee, Atanu; Vu, Thanh; Iannacchione, Germano

In self-organization energy gradients across complex systems lead to change in the structure of systems, decreasing their internal entropy to ensure the most efficient energy transport and therefore maximum entropy production in the surroundings. This approach stems from fundamental variational principles in physics, such as the principle of least action. It is coupled to the total energy flowing through a system, which leads to increase the action efficiency. We compare energy transport through a fluid cell which has random motion of its molecules, and a cell which can form convection cells. We examine the signs of change of entropy, and the action needed for the motion inside those systems. The system in which convective motion occurs, reduces the time for energy transmission, compared to random motion. For more complex systems, those convection cells form a network of transport channels, for the purpose of obeying the equations of motion in this geometry. Those transport networks are an essential feature of complex systems in biology, ecology, economy and society.

Self-organisation and motion in plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lenau, T. A.; Hesselberg, T.

2014-03-01

Self-organisation appeals to humans because difficult and repeated actions can be avoided through automation via bottom-up nonhierarchical processes. This is in contrast to the top-level controlled action strategy normally applied in automated products and in manufacturing. There are many situations where it is required that objects perform an action dependent on external stimuli. An example is automatic window blinds that open or closes in response to sunlight level. However, simpler and more robust designs could be made using the self-organising principles for movement found in many plants. Plants move to adapt to external conditions, e.g. sun-flower buds tracking the sun, touch-me-not Mimosa and Venus fly trap responding to mechanical stimuli by closing leaves to protect them and capture insects respectively. This paper describes 3 of the basic biomimetic principles used by plants to track the sun; i) light causing an inhibiting effect on the illuminated side causing it to bend, ii) light inducing a signal from the illuminated side that causes an action on the darker side and iii) light illuminating a number of sensing plates pointing upwards at an angle activate an expansion on the same side. A concept for mimicking the second principle is presented. It is a very simple and possible reliable self-organising structure that aligns a plate perpendicular to the source of illumination.

Dialectical principlism: an approach to finding the most ethical action.

PubMed

Weinstock, Robert

2015-03-01

Most forensic psychiatrists occasionally face complex situations in forensic work in which ethics dilemmas cause discomfort. They want to determine the most ethical action, but the best choice is unclear. Fostering justice is primary in forensic roles, but secondary duties such as traditional biomedical ethics and personal values like helping society, combating racism, and being sensitive to cultural issues can impinge on or even outweigh the presumptive primary duty in extreme cases. Similarly, in treatment the psychiatrists' primary duty is to patients, but that can be outweighed by secondary duties such as protecting children and the elderly or maintaining security. The implications of one's actions matter. In forensic work, if the psychiatrist determines that he should not assist the party who wants to hire him, despite evidence clearly supporting its side, the only ethical option becomes not to accept the case at all, because the evidence does not support the better side. Sometimes it can be ethical to accept cases only for one side. In ethics-related dilemmas, I call the method of prioritizing and balancing all types of conflicting principles, duties, and personal and societal values in a dialectic to resolve conflicts among them dialectical principlism. This approach is designed to help determine the most ethical action. It is aspirational and is not intended to get the psychiatrist into trouble. © 2015 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

Quantum Mechanics and the Principle of Least Radix Economy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia-Morales, Vladimir

2015-03-01

A new variational method, the principle of least radix economy, is formulated. The mathematical and physical relevance of the radix economy, also called digit capacity, is established, showing how physical laws can be derived from this concept in a unified way. The principle reinterprets and generalizes the principle of least action yielding two classes of physical solutions: least action paths and quantum wavefunctions. A new physical foundation of the Hilbert space of quantum mechanics is then accomplished and it is used to derive the Schrödinger and Dirac equations and the breaking of the commutativity of spacetime geometry. The formulation provides an explanation of how determinism and random statistical behavior coexist in spacetime and a framework is developed that allows dynamical processes to be formulated in terms of chains of digits. These methods lead to a new (pre-geometrical) foundation for Lorentz transformations and special relativity. The Parker-Rhodes combinatorial hierarchy is encompassed within our approach and this leads to an estimate of the interaction strength of the electromagnetic and gravitational forces that agrees with the experimental values to an error of less than one thousandth. Finally, it is shown how the principle of least-radix economy naturally gives rise to Boltzmann's principle of classical statistical thermodynamics. A new expression for a general (path-dependent) nonequilibrium entropy is proposed satisfying the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

Balancing access to participation in research and protection from risks: applying the principle of justice.

PubMed

Kiskaddon, Sarah H

2005-04-01

The problem for Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) of balancing access to participation in research with protection of research subjects has always been a difficult one. IRBs, charged with applying the "Common Rule," as well as the Belmont Principles, in their review of clinical research, are given little guidance on approaching this problem. This article argues that the third Belmont Principle, the Justice Principle, may provide a useful framework for considering this balance. The changing research environment is discussed in an historical context, and the Justice Principle is considered both in the context of individual rights, as well as the potential benefit to classes of people. The author further suggests that application of the Justice Principle be driven by findings derived from an analysis of the first 2 principles. This feedback model will enable a more formal application of the Justice Principle and less ambiguous, more transparent, decisions regarding the equitable selection of subjects. The author calls for more systematic attention to the Justice Principle by IRBs, and proposes a model that includes incorporating the deliberation of the other Belmont Principles into the Justice Principle.

The Role of the NHS in the Development of Revans' Action Learning: Correspondence and Contradiction in Action Learning Development and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brook, Cheryl

2010-01-01

In adapting Bowles' and Gintis's correspondence principle of education, this paper suggests that there are ways in which the theory and practice of action learning developed "in correspondence" with the NHS. In doing so, the paper draws, in part, upon an historical assessment of Revans' Hospital Internal Communications Project of the…

21 CFR 1404.635 - May the Office of National Drug Control Policy settle a debarment or suspension action?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false May the Office of National Drug Control Policy settle a debarment or suspension action? 1404.635 Section 1404.635 Food and Drugs OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) General Principles Relating to Suspension and Debarment Actions § 1404.635...

75 FR 39935 - Drinking Water Strategy Contaminants as Group(s)-Notice of Web Dialogue

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-13

... Group(s)--Notice of Web Dialogue AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY... principles. The purpose of this notice is to announce that EPA will host a Web dialogue. The discussion topics for this Web dialogue are focused on the first of the four principles, addressing some...

77 FR 7940 - Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-13

... economic impact on a substantial number of small entities as defined by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U... with ED's Principles for Regulating listed in its regulatory plan, ED is committed to regulations that... not consistent with the Principles for Regulating. Members of the public are also invited to comment...

Circles and Communities, Sharing Practices and Learning: Looking at New Extension Education Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cristovao, A.; Ferrao, P.; Madeira, R.; Tiberio, M. L.; Rainho, M. J.; Teixeira, M. S.

2009-01-01

We live today in a "knowledge society", but "knowledge transfer" is no longer the dominant extension education paradigm. The principle of "learning to learn" and the concepts of self-directed, collaborative and action learning are more crucial today then ever. The key principles are to stimulate knowledge discovery…

Applying Universal Design for Learning in Online Courses: Pedagogical and Practical Considerations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dell, Cindy Ann; Dell, Thomas F.; Blackwell, Terry L.

2015-01-01

Inclusion of the universal design for learning (UDL) model as a guiding set of principles for online curriculum development in higher education is discussed. Fundamentally, UDL provides the student with multiple means of accessing the course based on three overarching principles: presentation; action and expression; and engagement and interaction.…

Reflections on Using an Adaptive Leadership Approach to Respond to the Needs of Pregnant and Postpartum Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laszewski, Audrey

2017-01-01

The concept of "adaptive leadership" refers to principles that allow professionals and organizations to respond effectively in challenging circumstances. This article presents the personal reflections of a ZERO TO THREE Fellow on selected adaptive leadership principles in action. The author explains how adaptive leadership tools informed…

Decision Making and the Avoidance of Cognitive Demand

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kool, Wouter; McGuire, Joseph T.; Rosen, Zev B.; Botvinick, Matthew M.

2010-01-01

Behavioral and economic theories have long maintained that actions are chosen so as to minimize demands for exertion or work, a principle sometimes referred to as the "law of less work". The data supporting this idea pertain almost entirely to demands for physical effort. However, the same minimization principle has often been assumed also to…

No Rain, No Gain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perna, Mark C.

2005-01-01

Marketing is like the rain. Some people are quickly aware of it, while others take repeated and consistent drops for quite an extended period of time before they take action. Building on the marketing principles discussed in previous issues, the next key principle to smart marketing is the "Rain Effect." The Rain Effect is the use of consistent…

76 FR 47180 - Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program-Eastern Division-2021 Power Marketing Initiative Proposal

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-04

... marketing plan principles. The comment period for the proposed 2021 PMI ended on May 4, 2011. Western... customers the opportunity to review current marketing plan principles and provide informal input to Western... Division--2021 Power Marketing Initiative Proposal AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE. ACTION...

Designing for Discovery Learning of Complexity Principles of Congestion by Driving Together in the TrafficJams Simulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levy, Sharona T.; Peleg, Ran; Ofeck, Eyal; Tabor, Naamit; Dubovi, Ilana; Bluestein, Shiri; Ben-Zur, Hadar

2018-01-01

We propose and evaluate a framework supporting collaborative discovery learning of complex systems. The framework blends five design principles: (1) individual action: amidst (2) social interactions; challenged with (3) multiple tasks; set in (4) a constrained interactive learning environment that draws attention to (5) highlighted target…

Fostering Children's Motivation to Learn

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White-McNulty, Lisa; Patrikakou, Evanthia N.; Weissberg, Roger P.

2005-01-01

Educators and parents share a common goal: helping children and youth become successful in school and life. The basic principles of social and emotional learning serve as the underlying principles of motivation. Motivation is what stimulates and focuses actions. It is an internal state that can be thought of as "reasons for doing". Needs,…

Momentum Maps and Stochastic Clebsch Action Principles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cruzeiro, Ana Bela; Holm, Darryl D.; Ratiu, Tudor S.

2018-01-01

We derive stochastic differential equations whose solutions follow the flow of a stochastic nonlinear Lie algebra operation on a configuration manifold. For this purpose, we develop a stochastic Clebsch action principle, in which the noise couples to the phase space variables through a momentum map. This special coupling simplifies the structure of the resulting stochastic Hamilton equations for the momentum map. In particular, these stochastic Hamilton equations collectivize for Hamiltonians that depend only on the momentum map variable. The Stratonovich equations are derived from the Clebsch variational principle and then converted into Itô form. In comparing the Stratonovich and Itô forms of the stochastic dynamical equations governing the components of the momentum map, we find that the Itô contraction term turns out to be a double Poisson bracket. Finally, we present the stochastic Hamiltonian formulation of the collectivized momentum map dynamics and derive the corresponding Kolmogorov forward and backward equations.

Measuring 'virtue' in medicine.

PubMed

Kotzee, Ben; Ignatowicz, Agnieszka

2016-06-01

Virtue-approaches to medical ethics are becoming ever more influential. Virtue theorists advocate redefining right or good action in medicine in terms of the character of the doctor performing the action (rather than adherence to rules or principles). In medical education, too, calls are growing to reconceive medical education as a form of character formation (rather than instruction in rules or principles). Empirical studies of doctors' ethics from a virtue-perspective, however, are few and far between. In this respect, theoretical and empirical study of medical ethics are out of alignment. In this paper, we survey the empirical study of medical ethics and find that most studies of doctors' ethics are rules- or principles-based and not virtue-based. We outline the challenges that exist for studying medical ethics empirically from a virtue-based perspective and canvas the runners and riders in the effort to find virtue-based assessments of medical ethics.

Study on Mine Emergency Mechanism based on TARP and ICS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xi, Jian; Wu, Zongzhi

2018-01-01

By analyzing the experiences and practices of mine emergency in China and abroad, especially the United States and Australia, normative principle, risk management principle and adaptability principle of constructing mine emergency mechanism based on Trigger Action Response Plans (TARP) and Incident Command System (ICS) are summarized. Classification method, framework, flow and subject of TARP and ICS which are suitable for the actual situation of domestic mine emergency are proposed. The system dynamics model of TARP and ICS is established. The parameters such as evacuation ratio, response rate, per capita emergency capability and entry rate of rescuers are set up. By simulating the operation process of TARP and ICS, the impact of these parameters on the emergency process are analyzed, which could provide a reference and basis for building emergency capacity, formulating emergency plans and setting up action plans in the emergency process.

Principles of Lifeworld Led Public Health Practice in the UK and Sweden: Reducing Health Inequalities.

PubMed

Hemingway, Ann; Norton, Liz; Aarts, Clara

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to consider the role of the lifeworld perspective in reducing inequalities in health and we explain how the public health practitioner can use this perspective to address public health issues with individuals and groups. We offer ideas for public health actions that are based on and deal with the lifeworld context of individual people or families. Each of the dimensions of the lifeworld temporality, spatiality, intersubjectivity, embodiment and mood are outlined and their significance explained in relation to health inequalities. Suggestions for action to reduce health inequalities are made and overall principles of lifeworld led public health practice are proposed by way of conclusion. The principles comprise understanding the community members' lifeworld view, understanding their view of their potential, offering resources and facilitating empowerment, and sharing lifeworld case studies and lobbying to influence local and national policy in relation to both the individual and communities.

The great opportunity: Evolutionary applications to medicine and public health.

PubMed

Nesse, Randolph M; Stearns, Stephen C

2008-02-01

Evolutionary biology is an essential basic science for medicine, but few doctors and medical researchers are familiar with its most relevant principles. Most medical schools have geneticists who understand evolution, but few have even one evolutionary biologist to suggest other possible applications. The canyon between evolutionary biology and medicine is wide. The question is whether they offer each other enough to make bridge building worthwhile. What benefits could be expected if evolution were brought fully to bear on the problems of medicine? How would studying medical problems advance evolutionary research? Do doctors need to learn evolution, or is it valuable mainly for researchers? What practical steps will promote the application of evolutionary biology in the areas of medicine where it offers the most? To address these questions, we review current and potential applications of evolutionary biology to medicine and public health. Some evolutionary technologies, such as population genetics, serial transfer production of live vaccines, and phylogenetic analysis, have been widely applied. Other areas, such as infectious disease and aging research, illustrate the dramatic recent progress made possible by evolutionary insights. In still other areas, such as epidemiology, psychiatry, and understanding the regulation of bodily defenses, applying evolutionary principles remains an open opportunity. In addition to the utility of specific applications, an evolutionary perspective fundamentally challenges the prevalent but fundamentally incorrect metaphor of the body as a machine designed by an engineer. Bodies are vulnerable to disease - and remarkably resilient - precisely because they are not machines built from a plan. They are, instead, bundles of compromises shaped by natural selection in small increments to maximize reproduction, not health. Understanding the body as a product of natural selection, not design, offers new research questions and a framework for making medical education more coherent. We conclude with recommendations for actions that would better connect evolutionary biology and medicine in ways that will benefit public health. It is our hope that faculty and students will send this article to their undergraduate and medical school Deans, and that this will initiate discussions about the gap, the great opportunity, and action plans to bring the full power of evolutionary biology to bear on human health problems.

Instructional Design for Accelerated Macrocognitive Expertise in the Baseball Workplace

PubMed Central

Fadde, Peter J.

2016-01-01

The goal of accelerating expertise can leave researchers and trainers in human factors, naturalistic decision making, sport science, and expertise studies concerned about seemingly insufficient application of expert performance theories, findings and methods for training macrocognitive aspects of human performance. Video-occlusion methods perfected by sports expertise researchers have great instructional utility, in some cases offering an effective and inexpensive alternative to high-fidelity simulation. A key problem for instructional designers seems to be that expertise research done in laboratory and field settings doesn't get adequately translated into workplace training. Therefore, this article presents a framework for better linkage of expertise research/training across laboratory, field, and workplace settings. It also uses a case study to trace the development and implementation of a macrocognitive training program in the very challenging workplace of the baseball batters' box. This training, which was embedded for a full season in a college baseball team, targeted the perceptual-cognitive skill of pitch recognition that allows expert batters to circumvent limitations of human reaction time in order to hit a 90 mile-per-hour slider. While baseball batting has few analogous skills outside of sports, the instructional design principles of the training program developed to improve batting have wider applicability and implications. Its core operational principle, supported by information processing models but challenged by ecological models, decouples the perception-action link for targeted part-task training of the perception component, in much the same way that motor components routinely are isolated to leverage instructional efficiencies. After targeted perceptual training, perception and action were recoupled via transfer-appropriate tasks inspired by in situ research tasks. Using NCAA published statistics as performance measures, the cooperating team improved from middling performance to first in their conference in Runs Scored and team Batting Average. This case suggests that, beyond the usual considerations of effectiveness and efficiency, there are four challenges to embedded training in the workplace setting —namely: duration, curriculum, limited resources, and buy in. In the case reported here, and potentially in many domains beyond sports, part-task perceptual-cognitive training can improve targeted macrocognitive skills and thereby improve full-skill performance. PMID:26973581

The action of the (free) [InlineMediaObject not available: see fulltext.] theory in six spacetime dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henneaux, Marc; Lekeu, Victor; Matulich, Javier; Prohazka, Stefan

2018-06-01

The action of the free [InlineMediaObject not available: see fulltext.] theory in six spacetime dimensions is explicitly constructed. The variables of the variational principle are prepotentials adapted to the self-duality conditions on the fields. The (3, 1) supersymmetry variations are given and the invariance of the action is verified. The action is first-order in time derivatives. It is also Poincaré invariant but not manifestly so, just like the Hamiltonian action of more familiar relativistic field theories.

On the action of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle in discrete linear methods for calculating the components of the deflection of the vertical

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazurova, Elena; Lapshin, Aleksey

2013-04-01

The method of discrete linear transformations that can be implemented through the algorithms of the Standard Fourier Transform (SFT), Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) or Wavelet transform (WT) is effective for calculating the components of the deflection of the vertical from discrete values of gravity anomaly. The SFT due to the action of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle indicates weak spatial localization that manifests in the following: firstly, it is necessary to know the initial digital signal on the complete number line (in case of one-dimensional transform) or in the whole two-dimensional space (if a two-dimensional transform is performed) in order to find the SFT. Secondly, the localization and values of the "peaks" of the initial function cannot be derived from its Fourier transform as the coefficients of the Fourier transform are formed by taking into account all the values of the initial function. Thus, the SFT gives the global information on all frequencies available in the digital signal throughout the whole time period. To overcome this peculiarity it is necessary to localize the signal in time and apply the Fourier transform only to a small portion of the signal; the STFT that differs from the SFT only by the presence of an additional factor (window) is used for this purpose. A narrow enough window is chosen to localize the signal in time and, according to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, it results in have significant enough uncertainty in frequency. If one chooses a wide enough window it, according to the same principle, will increase time uncertainty. Thus, if the signal is narrowly localized in time its spectrum, on the contrary, is spread on the complete axis of frequencies, and vice versa. The STFT makes it possible to improve spatial localization, that is, it allows one to define the presence of any frequency in the signal and the interval of its presence. However, owing to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, it is impossible to tell precisely, what frequency is present in the signal at the current moment of time: it is possible to speak only about the range of frequencies. Besides, it is impossible to specify precisely the time moment of the presence of this or that frequency: it is possible to speak only about the time frame. It is this feature that imposes major constrains on the applicability of the STFT. In spite of the fact that the problems of resolution in time and frequency result from a physical phenomenon (Heisenberg's uncertainty principle) and exist independent of the transform applied, there is a possibility to analyze any signal, using the alternative approach - the multiresolutional analysis (MRA). The wavelet-transform is one of the methods for making a MRA-type analysis. Thanks to it, low frequencies can be shown in a more detailed form with respect to time, and high ones - with respect to frequency. The paper presents the results of calculating of the components of the deflection of the vertical, done by the SFT, STFT and WT. The results are presented in the form of 3-d models that visually show the action of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle in the specified algorithms. The research conducted allows us to recommend the application of wavelet-transform to calculate of the components of the deflection of the vertical in the near-field zone. Keywords: Standard Fourier Transform, Short-Time Fourier Transform, Wavelet Transform, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle.

A Framework for Teaching Tactical Game Knowledge.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Gail E.

2002-01-01

Provides an example of a framework of generic knowledge, designed for teachers, that describes and explains the foundational tactical aspects of invasive team-game play. The framework consists of four modules: participants and their roles, objectives, action principles, and action options. Guidelines to help instructors design practical activities…

Making good use of online case study materials.

PubMed

Keefer, Matthew Wilks

2005-07-01

Web-based access to engaging instructional materials for SEE instruction represents an increasingly viable and attractive opportunity for educators. This paper will review research findings that demonstrate important differences in more experienced and novice ethical responses to engaging online materials, including authentic cases, codes, and commentaries. Results demonstrate that experienced ethical thinkers are more likely than novices to appeal to middle level principles that identify professional role-specific obligations (RSO); to make greater use of professional knowledge in order to recognize moral issues and relevant facts; and to employ more 'contextually sensitive' reasoning strategies when crafting resolutions to moral problems--e.g., identify alternative moral issues, assess the moral implications of actions, and provide alternative practical resolutions to conflicts. These findings suggest that when effectively integrated into SEE courses, authentic instructional materials have the potential to effectively challenge students and enhance student learning. However, there is evidence that the uses and benefits of these materials are not well understood. In the second part of this paper, five research-based instructional principles will be identified and discussed that can help SEE instructors better understand how to effectively integrate these materials into their courses.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Walker, Heidi, E-mail: heidi.mwalker@yahoo.ca; Sinclair, A. John, E-mail: john.sinclair@ad.umanitoba.ca; Spaling, Harry, E-mail: harry.spaling@kingsu.ca

Meaningful public engagement is a challenging, but promising, feature of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) due to its potential for integrating sustainability principles into policies, plans and programs in developing countries such as Kenya. This research examined two selected SEA case studies to identify the extent of participation, learning outcomes attributable to participation, and if any learning outcomes led to social action for sustainability at the community level. Strengths across the two cases were the inclusion of marginalized populations and consideration of socio-economic concerns. Consistent weaknesses included inadequate notice, document inaccessibility, lack of feedback and communication, and late analysis of alternatives.more » Despite some learning conditions being unfulfilled, examples of instrumental, communicative, and transformative learning were identified through a focus group and semi-structured interviews with community participants and public officials. Some of these learning outcomes led to individual and social actions that contribute to sustainability. -- Highlights: • The strengths and weaknesses of Kenyan SEA public participation processes were identified. • Multiple deficiencies in the SEA process likely frustrate meaningful public engagement. • Participant learning was observed despite process weaknesses. • Participant learning can lead to action for sustainability at the community level.« less

A Comprehensive Review on Pharmacotherapeutics of Herbal Bioenhancers

PubMed Central

Dudhatra, Ghanshyam B.; Mody, Shailesh K.; Awale, Madhavi M.; Patel, Hitesh B.; Modi, Chirag M.; Kumar, Avinash; Kamani, Divyesh R.; Chauhan, Bhavesh N.

2012-01-01

In India, Ayurveda has made a major contribution to the drug discovery process with new means of identifying active compounds. Recent advancement in bioavailability enhancement of drugs by compounds of herbal origin has produced a revolutionary shift in the way of therapeutics. Thus, bibliographic investigation was carried out by analyzing classical text books and peer-reviewed papers, consulting worldwide-accepted scientific databases from last 30 years. Herbal bioenhancers have been shown to enhance bioavailability and bioefficacy of different classes of drugs, such as antibiotics, antituberculosis, antiviral, antifungal, and anticancerous drugs at low doses. They have also improved oral absorption of nutraceuticals like vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and certain herbal compounds. Their mechanism of action is mainly through absorption process, drug metabolism, and action on drug target. This paper clearly indicates that scientific researchers and pharmaceutical industries have to give emphasis on experimental studies to find out novel active principles from such a vast array of unexploited plants having a role as a bioavailability and bioefficacy enhancer. Also, the mechanisms of action by which bioenhancer compounds exert bioenhancing effects remain to be explored. PMID:23028251

[Clinical research XXIV. From clinical judgment to ethics in research on humans].

PubMed

Pérez-Rodríguez, Marcela; Palacios-Cruz, Lino; Rivas-Ruiz, Rodolfo; Talavera, Juan O

2014-01-01

Bioethics in research is an essential part of the structured review process of an article and it is based on three fundamental principles: respect for persons, beneficence and justice. In addition to not providing valid knowledge, a research with inadequate design, execution and statistical analysis is not ethical either, since these methodological deficiencies will produce information that will not be useful and, therefore, the risks that the participants were exposed to will have been in vain. Beyond scientific validity, there are other aspects that outline if an investigation is ethical, such as the clinical and social value of a study, a fair selection of participants, favorable risk-benefit balance, an independent review, the informed consent and respect for participants and potential participants. Throughout the article here presented, the documents that profile the behavior of investigators to protect the participants, such as the Declaration of Helsinki, the national regulations that rule us and the differences between research without risk, with minimal risk and with greater than minimal risk are discussed. That like in daily life, behavior in research involving human participants must be self-regulated, ie, people with knowledge of the existence of the law discover that the man is outside the realm of nature where work is done under the necessity of natural causality, and falls within the scope of the will; only if the man is free to decide their actions may be a law regulating their action.

Empowering Change Agents in Hierarchical Organizations: Participatory Action Research in Prisons.

PubMed

Penrod, Janice; Loeb, Susan J; Ladonne, Robert A; Martin, Lea M

2016-06-01

Participatory action research (PAR) approaches harness collaborative partnerships to stimulate change in defined communities. The purpose of this article is to illustrate key methodological strategies used in the application of PAR methods in the particularly challenging environment of a hierarchical organization. A study designed to promote sustainable, insider-generated system-level changes in the provision of end-of-life (EOL) care in the restrictive setting of six state prisons is used as an exemplar of the application of three cardinal principles of PAR. First, development of a collaborative network with active partnership between outsider academic researchers and insider co-researchers began with careful attention to understanding the culture and processes of prisons and gaining the support of organizational leadership, using qualitative data gathering and trust-building. During the implementation phase, promoting co-ownership of change in EOL care through the co-construction of knowledge and systems to enhance sustainable change required carefully-orchestrated strategies to maximize the collaborative spirit of the project. Co-researchers were empowered to examine their worlds and capture opportunities for change using new leadership skills role-modeled by the research team. Third, their local knowledge of the barriers inherent in the contextual reality of prisons was translated into achievable system change by production of a toolkit of formalized and well-rehearsed change strategies that collaborative teams were empowered to enact within their hierarchical prison environment. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Return of genomic results to research participants: the floor, the ceiling, and the choices in between.

PubMed

Jarvik, Gail P; Amendola, Laura M; Berg, Jonathan S; Brothers, Kyle; Clayton, Ellen W; Chung, Wendy; Evans, Barbara J; Evans, James P; Fullerton, Stephanie M; Gallego, Carlos J; Garrison, Nanibaa' A; Gray, Stacy W; Holm, Ingrid A; Kullo, Iftikhar J; Lehmann, Lisa Soleymani; McCarty, Cathy; Prows, Cynthia A; Rehm, Heidi L; Sharp, Richard R; Salama, Joseph; Sanderson, Saskia; Van Driest, Sara L; Williams, Marc S; Wolf, Susan M; Wolf, Wendy A; Burke, Wylie

2014-06-05

As more research studies incorporate next-generation sequencing (including whole-genome or whole-exome sequencing), investigators and institutional review boards face difficult questions regarding which genomic results to return to research participants and how. An American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics 2013 policy paper suggesting that pathogenic mutations in 56 specified genes should be returned in the clinical setting has raised the question of whether comparable recommendations should be considered in research settings. The Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research (CSER) Consortium and the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network are multisite research programs that aim to develop practical strategies for addressing questions concerning the return of results in genomic research. CSER and eMERGE committees have identified areas of consensus regarding the return of genomic results to research participants. In most circumstances, if results meet an actionability threshold for return and the research participant has consented to return, genomic results, along with referral for appropriate clinical follow-up, should be offered to participants. However, participants have a right to decline the receipt of genomic results, even when doing so might be viewed as a threat to the participants' health. Research investigators should be prepared to return research results and incidental findings discovered in the course of their research and meeting an actionability threshold, but they have no ethical obligation to actively search for such results. These positions are consistent with the recognition that clinical research is distinct from medical care in both its aims and its guiding moral principles. Copyright © 2014 The American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Research implications of science-informed, value-based decision making.

PubMed

Dowie, Jack

2004-01-01

In 'Hard' science, scientists correctly operate as the 'guardians of certainty', using hypothesis testing formulations and value judgements about error rates and time discounting that make classical inferential methods appropriate. But these methods can neither generate most of the inputs needed by decision makers in their time frame, nor generate them in a form that allows them to be integrated into the decision in an analytically coherent and transparent way. The need for transparent accountability in public decision making under uncertainty and value conflict means the analytical coherence provided by the stochastic Bayesian decision analytic approach, drawing on the outputs of Bayesian science, is needed. If scientific researchers are to play the role they should be playing in informing value-based decision making, they need to see themselves also as 'guardians of uncertainty', ensuring that the best possible current posterior distributions on relevant parameters are made available for decision making, irrespective of the state of the certainty-seeking research. The paper distinguishes the actors employing different technologies in terms of the focus of the technology (knowledge, values, choice); the 'home base' mode of their activity on the cognitive continuum of varying analysis-to-intuition ratios; and the underlying value judgements of the activity (especially error loss functions and time discount rates). Those who propose any principle of decision making other than the banal 'Best Principle', including the 'Precautionary Principle', are properly interpreted as advocates seeking to have their own value judgements and preferences regarding mode location apply. The task for accountable decision makers, and their supporting technologists, is to determine the best course of action under the universal conditions of uncertainty and value difference/conflict.

Improvement of the First Training for Baccalaureate Nursing Students –A Mutual Approach

PubMed Central

Asadizaker, Marziyeh; Abedsaeedi, Zhila; Abedi, Heidarali; Alijanirenani, Hooshang; Moradi, Mehrnaz; Jahani, Simin

2015-01-01

Background: Examination of problems and application of strategies appropriate for clinical education and learning, especially nursing clinical principles and skills internship can improve educational process and satisfaction of nursing students. The aim of the current study was to revise the current status of the fundamentals of nursing course and implement an improvement plan (2012-2014). Participants & Methods: The present study reports the three rounds of a participatory action-research study with a mutual cooperation approach and focus group discussion, with participation of 104 stakeholders. Content analysis approach was used to analyze the data obtained in focus discussion interviews. In addition, evaluation and reflection were done during the operating rounds, with the participation of all members, including students, were involved. This research program was approved by Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran-capital of Iran, at the Research Deputy of Nursing and Midwifery School and ethics committee of the university. Results: The findings of qualitative study detected Lack of consistency in planning and implementation of curriculum, inadequate intra/extra-organizational communication management, inadequate student understanding of situation, improper control of restrictors and improper use of facilitators in teaching and in clinical setting, were among major challenges in clinical skills and principles internship process in the context of this study. Educational decision-making authorities of the School developed an operational program within national curriculum framework through cooperation and reflection in clinical skills and principles training program. Conclusion: Planning Fundamentals of Nursing training in partnership with all those involved in practice and education, together with students involved can be effective in reducing educational failures, gap between theory and practice, and in students’ accountability and satisfaction. PMID:26153207

Improvement of the First Training for Baccalaureate Nursing Students--A Mutual Approach.

PubMed

Asadizaker, Marziyeh; Abedsaeedi, Zhila; Abedi, Heidarali; Alijanirenani, Hooshang; Moradi, Mehrnaz; Jahani, Simin

2015-03-26

Examination of problems and application of strategies appropriate for clinical education and learning, especially nursing clinical principles and skills internship can improve educational process and satisfaction of nursing students. The aim of the current study was to revise the current status of the fundamentals of nursing course and implement an improvement plan (2012-2014). The present study reports the three rounds of a participatory action-research study with a mutual cooperation approach and focus group discussion, with participation of 104 stakeholders. Content analysis approach was used to analyze the data obtained in focus discussion interviews. In addition, evaluation and reflection were done during the operating rounds, with the participation of all members, including students, were involved. This research program was approved by Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran-capital of Iran, at the Research Deputy of Nursing and Midwifery School and ethics committee of the university. The findings of qualitative study detected Lack of consistency in planning and implementation of curriculum, inadequate intra/extra-organizational communication management, inadequate student understanding of situation, improper control of restrictors and improper use of facilitators in teaching and in clinical setting, were among major challenges in clinical skills and principles internship process in the context of this study. Educational decision-making authorities of the School developed an operational program within national curriculum framework through cooperation and reflection in clinical skills and principles training program. Planning Fundamentals of Nursing training in partnership with all those involved in practice and education, together with students involved can be effective in reducing educational failures, gap between theory and practice, and in students' accountability and satisfaction.

Universal Design for Learning and School Libraries: A Logical Partnership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, David E.

2017-01-01

This article will explore the basic tenets of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in relation to collaborative curriculum development and implementation; provide a case study examination of UDL principles in action; and suggest school library curricular activities that provide opportunities for multiple means of representation, action, and…

Revisiting Jürgen Habermas's Notion of Communicative Action and Its Relevance for South African School Governance: Can It Succeed?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mabovula, Nonceba

2010-01-01

I apply as theoretical framework the Habermassian principles of "communicative action" and "consensus" through deliberation and reasoning. In particular, I focus on "rational" and "argumentative" communication through which school governance stakeholders could advance arguments and counter-arguments. I…

Principles to Actions: Mathematics Programs as the Core for Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brahier, Daniel; Leinwand, Steve; Huniker, DeAnn

2014-01-01

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) launched the "standards-based" education movement in North America in 1989 with the release of "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics," an unprecedented action to promote systemic improvement in mathematics education. Now, twenty-five years later, the…

76 FR 71032 - Notice of Renewal of FASAB Charter

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-16

... FEDERAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS ADVISORY BOARD Notice of Renewal of FASAB Charter AGENCY: Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board. ACTION: Notice. Board Action: Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3511(d), the Federal... accounting standards and principles for the federal government. For Further Information, or to Obtain a Copy...

And now, from the company that brought you the seven-eyed trout: Risk communication in action

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Durbin, M.E.; Klein, S.H.; Molony, S.T.

1992-01-01

Risk communication is a growing specialty field in communication that draws from well-established principles of sociology and psychology. It is a way to communicate with potentially hostile audiences about sensitive environmental, safety, and health issues they face. This paper explains the most important principles of risk communication and discusses audience analyses, perceptions of risk (outrage factors), and risk comparisons. These principles are applied to a risk communication issue in a fictitious community.

Anti-emetic principles of Magnolia obovata bark and Zingiber officinale rhizome.

PubMed

Kawai, T; Kinoshita, K; Koyama, K; Takahashi, K

1994-02-01

Magnolol and honokiol, biphenyl compounds, were isolated as anti-emetic principles from the methanolic extract of Magnolia obovata bark. [6]-, [8]-, and [10]-shogaols and [6]-, [8]-, and [10]-gingerols were isolated from the methanolic extract of Zingiber officinale rhizome as anti-emetic principles. Some phenyl-propanoids with allyl side-chains were found to show the same activity. They inhibited the emetic action induced by the oral administration of copper sulfate pentahydrate to leopard and ranid frogs.

Beyond rational imitation: learning arbitrary means actions from communicative demonstrations.

PubMed

Király, Ildikó; Csibra, Gergely; Gergely, György

2013-10-01

The principle of rationality has been invoked to explain that infants expect agents to perform the most efficient means action to attain a goal. It has also been demonstrated that infants take into account the efficiency of observed actions to achieve a goal outcome when deciding whether to reenact a specific behavior or not. It is puzzling, however, that they also tend to imitate an apparently suboptimal unfamiliar action even when they can bring about the same outcome more efficiently by applying a more rational action alternative available to them. We propose that this apparently paradoxical behavior is explained by infants' interpretation of action demonstrations as communicative manifestations of novel and culturally relevant means actions to be acquired, and we present empirical evidence supporting this proposal. In Experiment 1, we found that 14-month-olds reenacted novel arbitrary means actions only following a communicative demonstration. Experiment 2 showed that infants' inclination to reproduce communicatively manifested novel actions is restricted to behaviors they can construe as goal-directed instrumental acts. The study also provides evidence that infants' reenactment of the demonstrated novel actions reflects epistemic motives rather than purely social motives. We argue that ostensive communication enables infants to represent the teleological structure of novel actions even when the causal relations between means and end are cognitively opaque and apparently violate the efficiency expectation derived from the principle of rationality. This new account of imitative learning of novel means shows how the teleological stance and natural pedagogy--two separate cognitive adaptations to interpret instrumental versus communicative actions--are integrated as a system for learning socially constituted instrumental knowledge in humans. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Beyond rational imitation: Learning arbitrary means actions from communicative demonstrations

PubMed Central

Király, Ildikó; Csibra, Gergely; Gergely, György

2015-01-01

The principle of rationality has been invoked to explain that infants expect agents to perform the most efficient means action to attain a goal. It has also been demonstrated that infants take into account the efficiency of observed actions to achieve a goal outcome when deciding whether to re-enact a specific behavior or not. Puzzlingly, however, they also tend to imitate an apparently suboptimal unfamiliar action even when they can bring about the same outcome more efficiently by applying a more rational action alternative available to them. We propose that this apparently paradoxical behavior is explained by infants' interpretation of action demonstrations as communicative manifestations of novel and culturally relevant means actions to be acquired, and present empirical evidence supporting this proposal. In Experiment 1, we found that 14-month-old infants re-enacted novel arbitrary means actions only following a communicative demonstration. Experiment 2 showed that infants inclination to reproduce communicatively manifested novel actions is restricted to behaviors they can construe as goal-directed instrumental acts. The study also provides evidence that their re-enactment of the demonstrated novel actions reflects epistemic rather than purely social motives. We argue that ostensive communication enables infants to represent the teleological structure of novel actions even when the causal relations between means and end are cognitively opaque and apparently violate the efficiency expectation derived from the principle of rationality. This new account of imitative learning of novel means shows how the teleological stance and natural pedagogy – two separate cognitive adaptations to interpret instrumental vs. communicative actions – are integrated as a system for learning socially constituted instrumental knowledge in humans. PMID:23499323

A critique of principlism.

PubMed

Clouser, K D; Gert, B

1990-04-01

The authors use the term "principlism" to refer to the practice of using "principles" to replace both moral theory and particular moral rules and ideals in dealing with the moral problems that arise in medical practice. The authors argue that these "principles" do not function as claimed, and that their use is misleading both practically and theoretically. The "principles" are in fact not guides to action, but rather they are merely names for a collection of sometimes superficially related matters for consideration when dealing with a moral problem. The "principles" lack any systematic relationship to each other, and they often conflict with each other. These conflicts are unresolvable, since there is no unified moral theory from which they are all derived. For comparison the authors sketch the advantages of using a unified moral theory.

Improving Latino Youths' Environmental Health Literacy and Leadership Skills Through Participatory Research on Chemical Exposures in Cosmetics: The HERMOSA Study.

PubMed

Madrigal, Daniel S; Minkler, Meredith; Parra, Kimberly L; Mundo, Carolina; Gonzalez, Jesus Enrique Cardenas; Jimenez, Ramon; Vera, Carlos; Harley, Kim G

2016-07-18

To increase environmental health literacy (EHL) and leadership skills in Latino youth in Salinas, CA., we worked from 2012-2015 with 15 members of the CHAMACOS Youth Community Council (YCC), an outreach arm of a longitudinal study of impacts of environmental chemicals on children's health. The YCC program provided hands-on research experiences related to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) in cosmetics and their possible health effects. We use participatory research principles and Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives to describe the development of EHC and leadership in the youth co-researchers. Using data from multiple qualitative sources, we explore the youths' engagement in a wide range of research and action processes. Promising outcomes, including perceptions of improved youth self-esteem, EHL, leadership, and career orientation are discussed, as are challenges, such as time constraints and high priority youth concerns not addressed by the study. Implications for other youth-engaged participatory science and leadership programs are presented. © The Author(s) 2016.

Emotion in Action: A Predictive Processing Perspective and Theoretical Synthesis

PubMed Central

Ridderinkhof, K. Richard

2017-01-01

Starting from a decidedly Frijdian perspective on emotion in action, we adopt neurocognitive theories of action control to analyze the mechanisms through which emotional action arises. Appraisal of events vis-à-vis concerns gives rise to a determinate motive to establish a specific state of the world; the pragmatic idea of the action’s effects incurs the valuation of action options and a change in action readiness in the form of incipient ideomotor capture of the selected action. Forward modeling of the sensory consequences of the selected action option allows for the evaluation and fine-tuning of anticipated action effects, which renders the emotional action impulsive yet purposive. This novel theoretical synthesis depicts the cornerstone principles for a mechanistic view on emotion in action. PMID:29098017

Total Quality Education: Profiles of Schools That Demonstrate the Power of Deming's Management Principles.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmoker, Michael J.; Wilson, Richard B.

This book presents profiles of schools that have demonstrated the power of Deming's Total Quality Management (TQM) principles. It describes schools that have successfully applied those strategies for change. The book explores what public education needs most--a compelling but flexible action plan for improvement. Chapter 1 offers a rationale for…

Finding "Meaning" in Psychology: A Lay Theories Approach to Self-Regulation, Social Perception, and Social Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molden, Daniel C.; Dweck, Carol S.

2006-01-01

Much of psychology focuses on universal principles of thought and action. Although an extremely productive pursuit, this approach, by describing only the "average person," risks describing no one in particular. This article discusses an alternate approach that complements interests in universal principles with analyses of the unique psychological…

A Professional Dilemma: Following the Principle or the Principal?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zirkel, Perry A.

2012-01-01

This article reports on a case that resulted in a published court decision which illustrates a dilemma at the intersection of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). On first impression, the finding that teachers were operating based on professional principle seems to validate their actions.…

The Contact Principle and Utilitarian Moral Judgments in Young Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pellizzoni, Sandra; Siegal, Michael; Surian, Luca

2010-01-01

In three experiments involving 207 preschoolers and 28 adults, we investigated the extent to which young children base moral judgments of actions aimed to protect others on utilitarian principles. When asked to judge the rightness of intervening to hurt one person in order to save five others, the large majority of children aged 3 to 5 years…

Sustainability of Our Planet and All Species as the Organizing Principle for SLCE

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kecskes, Kevin; Joyalle, Jennifer; Elliott, Erin; Sherman, Jacob D. B.

2017-01-01

We may define and prioritize them differently, but few would deny that our human community is facing intractable problems at local, national, and global scales. The authors call on higher education institutions (HEIs) around the world to work collectively and with strategic intent and action to use sustainability as an organizing principle to…

Increasing Vaccination: Putting Psychological Science Into Action.

PubMed

Brewer, Noel T; Chapman, Gretchen B; Rothman, Alexander J; Leask, Julie; Kempe, Allison

2017-12-01

Vaccination is one of the great achievements of the 20th century, yet persistent public-health problems include inadequate, delayed, and unstable vaccination uptake. Psychology offers three general propositions for understanding and intervening to increase uptake where vaccines are available and affordable. The first proposition is that thoughts and feelings can motivate getting vaccinated. Hundreds of studies have shown that risk beliefs and anticipated regret about infectious disease correlate reliably with getting vaccinated; low confidence in vaccine effectiveness and concern about safety correlate reliably with not getting vaccinated. We were surprised to find that few randomized trials have successfully changed what people think and feel about vaccines, and those few that succeeded were minimally effective in increasing uptake. The second proposition is that social processes can motivate getting vaccinated. Substantial research has shown that social norms are associated with vaccination, but few interventions examined whether normative messages increase vaccination uptake. Many experimental studies have relied on hypothetical scenarios to demonstrate that altruism and free riding (i.e., taking advantage of the protection provided by others) can affect intended behavior, but few randomized trials have tested strategies to change social processes to increase vaccination uptake. The third proposition is that interventions can facilitate vaccination directly by leveraging, but not trying to change, what people think and feel. These interventions are by far the most plentiful and effective in the literature. To increase vaccine uptake, these interventions build on existing favorable intentions by facilitating action (through reminders, prompts, and primes) and reducing barriers (through logistics and healthy defaults); these interventions also shape behavior (through incentives, sanctions, and requirements). Although identification of principles for changing thoughts and feelings to motivate vaccination is a work in progress, psychological principles can now inform the design of systems and policies to directly facilitate action.

Regret and Behavior: Comment on Zeelenberg and Pieters.

PubMed

Roese, Neal J; Summerville, Amy; Fessel, Florian

2007-01-01

Zeelenberg and Pieter's (2007) regret regulation theory 1.0 offers a synthesis that brings together concepts spanning numerous literatures. We have no substantive disagreement with their theory, but instead offer 3 observations to further aid regret researchers studying consumer decision making. First, the overall arch of any regret theory must be situated within an understanding of behavior regulation. Second, the distinction between regrets of action versus inaction is best understood in terms of motivational implications, particularly with regard to Higgin's (1998) distinction between promotion and prevention focus. Third, the opportunity principle offers a particularly clear means of summarizing the regulatory consequences of the regret experience. Regret is an emotion pivotal for decision making, and its cognitive underpinning has and continues to be elucidated in research focusing on counterfactual thinking.

Regret and Behavior: Comment on Zeelenberg and Pieters

PubMed Central

Roese, Neal J.; Summerville, Amy; Fessel, Florian

2008-01-01

Zeelenberg and Pieter’s (2007) regret regulation theory 1.0 offers a synthesis that brings together concepts spanning numerous literatures. We have no substantive disagreement with their theory, but instead offer 3 observations to further aid regret researchers studying consumer decision making. First, the overall arch of any regret theory must be situated within an understanding of behavior regulation. Second, the distinction between regrets of action versus inaction is best understood in terms of motivational implications, particularly with regard to Higgin’s (1998) distinction between promotion and prevention focus. Third, the opportunity principle offers a particularly clear means of summarizing the regulatory consequences of the regret experience. Regret is an emotion pivotal for decision making, and its cognitive underpinning has and continues to be elucidated in research focusing on counterfactual thinking. PMID:18568095

GetHealthyHarlem.org: Developing a Web Platform for Health Promotion and Wellness Driven by and for the Harlem Community

PubMed Central

Khan, Sharib A.; Ancker, Jessica S.; Li, Jianhua; Kaufman, David; Hutchinson, Carly; Cohall, Alwyn; Kukafka, Rita

2009-01-01

GetHealthyHarlem.org is a community website developed on an open-source platform to facilitate collaborative development of health content through participatory action research (PAR) principles. The website was developed to enable the Harlem community to create a shared health and wellness knowledgebase, to enable discourse about local and culturally relevant health information, and to foster social connections between community members and health promotion organizations. The site is gaining active use with more than 9,500 unique site visits in the six months since going live in November, 2008. In ongoing research studies, we are using the website to explore how the PAR model can be applied to the development of a community health website. PMID:20351872

What Do We Tell People to Do during Earthquake Shaking in Emerging Countries? A Multidisciplinary Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tucker, B. E.; Rodgers, J. E.; Tobin, L. T.; Cedillos, V.; Tshering, K. D.; Kumar, H.; Jomo, J.

2015-12-01

Providing advice on what to do during shaking in developing nations with high earthquake hazard and vulnerable buildings is a daunting task at the intersection of public policy and science. In areas where most buildings are masonry, earthen or concrete and are at high risk of collapse in strong shaking, advice may differ from the "Drop, Cover and Hold On" message given where residential construction is light timber (less lethal) and building codes are enforced. People in emerging countries are often unsure whether to evacuate or "run out" of the building, or to remain inside and protect oneself with Drop, Cover and Hold On, going to a marked "Safe Zone" or one of several other actions. GeoHazards International approached this problem by bringing together scientific research from multiple disciplines: seismology, epidemiology, structural engineering, risk communication, and sociology. We brought together researchers and practitioners, who applied scientific principles and professional judgment to the limited data on effectiveness of various protective actions in emerging countries. We developed guidance on what message creators and policymakers should consider; the process for developing message content and forms; and the people to involve. A responsible message must account for not only the local tectonic environment and site conditions, but also building vulnerability, the presence of safe open space, how people are killed and injured in earthquakes, population exposure, and the beliefs, customs and social context that affect how messages are received and acted upon. We found that local agencies should make a policy decision on the appropriate action, based on local scientific and technical information, because no one protective action will protect the majority in every context. The safest specific action varies according to where people are located, whether they will be safer where they are or by moving, and whether they can make it to the safer place before shaking becomes too strong. We plan to conduct a field test of our guidance process in Haiti, where we will help local agencies create and disseminate messages. GHI's protective actions guidance illustrates how scientific research from multiple disciplines can combine to achieve broader impact, in this case via public safety messaging.

Keeping an Eye on Noisy Movements: On Different Approaches to Perceptual-Motor Skill Research and Training.

PubMed

Dicks, Matt; Button, Chris; Davids, Keith; Chow, Jia Yi; van der Kamp, John

2017-04-01

Contemporary theorizing on the complementary nature of perception and action in expert performance has led to different emphases in the study of movement coordination and gaze behavior. On the one hand, coordination research has examined the role of variability in movement control, evidencing that variability facilitates individualized adaptations during both learning and performance. On the other hand, and at odds with this principle, the majority of gaze behavior studies have tended to average data over participants and trials, proposing the importance of universal 'optimal' gaze patterns in a given task, for all performers, irrespective of stage of learning. In this article, we discuss new lines of inquiry with the aim of reconciling these two distinct approaches. We consider the role of inter- and intra-individual variability in gaze behaviors and suggest directions for future research.

The Research of Improving the Particleboard Glue Dosing Process Based on TRIZ Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Huiling; Fan, Delin; Zhang, Yizhuo

This research creates a design methodology by synthesizing the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) and cascade control based on Smith predictor. The particleboard glue supplying and dosing system case study defines the problem and the solution using the methodology proposed in the paper. Status difference existing in the gluing dosing process of particleboard production usually causes gluing volume inaccurately. In order to solve the problem above, we applied the TRIZ technical contradiction and inventive principle to improve the key process of particleboard production. The improving method mapped inaccurate problem to TRIZ technical contradiction, the prior action proposed Smith predictor as the control algorithm in the glue dosing system. This research examines the usefulness of a TRIZ based problem-solving process designed to improve the problem-solving ability of users in addressing difficult or reoccurring problems and also testify TRIZ is practicality and validity. Several suggestions are presented on how to approach this problem.

The Second Physical Therapy Summit on Global Health: developing an action plan to promote health in daily practice and reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases.

PubMed

Dean, Elizabeth; de Andrade, Armele Dornelas; O'Donoghue, Grainne; Skinner, Margot; Umereh, Gloria; Beenen, Paul; Cleaver, Shaun; Afzalzada, DelAfroze; Delaune, Mary Fran; Footer, Cheryl; Gannotti, Mary; Gappmaier, Ed; Figl-Hertlein, Astrid; Henderson, Bobbie; Hudson, Megan K; Spiteri, Karl; King, Judy; Klug, Jerry L; Laakso, E-Liisa; LaPier, Tanya; Lomi, Constantina; Maart, Soraya; Matereke, Noel; Meyer, Erna Rosenlund; M'kumbuzi, Vyvienne R P; Mostert-Wentzel, Karien; Myezwa, Hellen; Olsén, Monika Fagevik; Peterson, Cathy; Pétursdóttir, Unnur; Robinson, Jan; Sangroula, Kanchan; Stensdotter, Ann-Katrin; Tan, Bee Yee; Tschoepe, Barbara A; Bruno, Selma; Mathur, Sunita; Wong, Wai Pong

2014-05-01

Based on indicators that emerged from The First Physical Therapy Summit on Global Health (2007), the Second Summit (2011) identified themes to inform a global physical therapy action plan to integrate health promotion into practice across the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) regions. Working questions were: (1) how well is health promotion implemented within physical therapy practice; and (2) how might this be improved across five target audiences (i.e. physical therapist practitioners, educators, researchers, professional body representatives, and government liaisons/consultants). In structured facilitated sessions, Summit representatives (n = 32) discussed: (1) within WCPT regions, what is working and the challenges; and (2) across WCPT regions, what are potential directions using World Café(TM) methodology. Commonalities outweighed differences with respect to strategies to advance health-focused physical therapy as a clinical competency across regions and within target audiences. Participants agreed that health-focused practice is a professional priority, and a strategic action plan was needed to develop it as a clinical competency. The action plan and recommendations largely paralleled the principles and objectives of the World Health Organization's non-communicable diseases action plan. A third Summit planned for 2015 will provide a mechanism for follow-up to evaluate progress in integrating health-focused physical therapy within the profession.

Scientist-Teacher Partnerships as Professional Development: An Action Research Study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Willcuts, Meredith H.

The overall purpose of this action research study was to explore the experiences of ten middle school science teachers involved in a three-year partnership program between scientists and teachers at a Department of Energy national laboratory, including the impact of the program on their professional development, and to improve the partnership program by developing a set of recommendations based on the study’s findings. This action research study relied on qualitative data including field notes recorded at the summer academies and data from two focus groups with teachers and scientists. Additionally, the participating teachers submitted written reflections in science notebooks, participatedmore » in open-ended telephone interviews that were transcribed verbatim, and wrote journal summaries to the Department of Energy at the end of the summer academy. The analysis of the data, collaboratively examined by the teachers, the scientists, and the science education specialist acting as co-researchers on the project, revealed five elements critical to the success of the professional development of science teachers. First, scientist-teacher partnerships are a unique contribution to the professional development of teachers of science that is not replicated in other forms of teacher training. Second, the role of the science education specialist as a bridge between the scientists and teachers is a unique and vital one, impacting all aspects of the professional development. Third, there is a paradox for classroom teachers as they view the professional development experience from two different lenses – that of learner and that of teacher. Fourth, learning for science teachers must be designed to be constructivist in nature. Fifth, the principles of the nature of science must be explicitly showcased to be seen and understood by the classroom teacher.« less

The Antitumor Effect of Singlet Oxygen.

PubMed

Bauer, Georg

2016-11-01

Tumor cells are protected against intercellular apoptosis-inducing signaling through expression of membrane-associated catalase and superoxide dismutase. Exogenous singlet oxygen derived from activated photosensitizers or from cold atmospheric plasma causes local inactivation of protective catalase which is followed by the generation of secondary extracellular singlet oxygen. This process is specific for tumor cells and is driven by a complex interaction between H 2 O 2 and peroxynitrite. Secondary singlet oxygen has the potential for autoamplification of its generation, resulting in optimal inactivation of protective catalase and reactivation of intercellular apoptosis-inducing signaling. An increase in the endogenous NO concentration also causes inactivation of catalase and autoamplificatory generation of secondary singlet oxygen. This principle is essential for the antitumor activity of secondary plant products, such as cyanidins and other inhibitors of NO dioxygenase. It seems that the action of the established chemotherapeutic taxol and the recently established antitumor effect of certain azoles are based on the same principles. Copyright© 2016 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.

Ultimate explanations and suboptimal choice.

PubMed

Vasconcelos, Marco; Machado, Armando; Pandeirada, Josefa N S

2018-07-01

Researchers have unraveled multiple cases in which behavior deviates from rationality principles. We propose that such deviations are valuable tools to understand the adaptive significance of the underpinning mechanisms. To illustrate, we discuss in detail an experimental protocol in which animals systematically incur substantial foraging losses by preferring a lean but informative option over a rich but non-informative one. To understand how adaptive mechanisms may fail to maximize food intake, we review a model inspired by optimal foraging principles that reconciles sub-optimal choice with the view that current behavioral mechanisms were pruned by the optimizing action of natural selection. To move beyond retrospective speculation, we then review critical tests of the model, regarding both its assumptions and its (sometimes counterintuitive) predictions, all of which have been upheld. The overall contention is that (a) known mechanisms can be used to develop better ultimate accounts and that (b) to understand why mechanisms that generate suboptimal behavior evolved, we need to consider their adaptive value in the animal's characteristic ecology. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Basic principles of molecular effects of irradiation.

PubMed

Selzer, Edgar; Hebar, Alexandra

2012-02-01

In order to understand the consequences of radiation a thorough understanding of the radiobiological mechanisms of the molecular up to the clinical level is of importance. Radiobiology therefore combines the basic principles of physics as well as biology and medicine and is concerned with the action of radiation from the subcellular level up to the living organism. Topics of interest and relevance are covered in much more broadness as is possible in the short following article in the literature to which the interested reader is referred to. Classical books in this field were written by Steel et al. (1989) as well as by Hall (1994). Topics usually covered by radiobiological reviews are the classification of different types of radiation, cell cycle dependency of radiation effects, types of radiation damage and cell death, dose response curves, measurement of radiation damage, the oxygen effect, relative biological effectiveness, the influence of dose rate, and several other important research areas. This short overview will concentrate on a subset of radiobiological topics of high importance and relative novelty.

Adaptive capacity and community-based natural resource management.

PubMed

Armitage, Derek

2005-06-01

Why do some community-based natural resource management strategies perform better than others? Commons theorists have approached this question by developing institutional design principles to address collective choice situations, while other analysts have critiqued the underlying assumptions of community-based resource management. However, efforts to enhance community-based natural resource management performance also require an analysis of exogenous and endogenous variables that influence how social actors not only act collectively but do so in ways that respond to changing circumstances, foster learning, and build capacity for management adaptation. Drawing on examples from northern Canada and Southeast Asia, this article examines the relationship among adaptive capacity, community-based resource management performance, and the socio-institutional determinants of collective action, such as technical, financial, and legal constraints, and complex issues of politics, scale, knowledge, community and culture. An emphasis on adaptive capacity responds to a conceptual weakness in community-based natural resource management and highlights an emerging research and policy discourse that builds upon static design principles and the contested concepts in current management practice.

Defending the social value of knowledge as a safeguard for public trust.

PubMed

Holzer, Felicitas S

2017-09-01

The 'socially valuable knowledge' (SVK) principle has been widely acknowledged as one of the most important guiding principles for biomedical research involving human subjects. The principle states that the potential of producing socially valuable knowledge is a necessary requirement, although not sufficient, for the ethical conduct of research projects. This is due to the assumption that the social value of knowledge avoids exploitation of research subjects and justifies the use of health resources. However, more recently, several authors have started interrogating the validity of SVK in research and offered various lines of argument against the SVK principle as a necessary constraint to research. In this article, I will reconstruct the main arguments of this discussion between defenders and debunkers of the SVK principle and offer a third way to consider the social value of knowledge in research studies. I will argue that the social value of knowledge can be supported by an independent justification. This justification of the SVK principle addresses the rationality and common interest of researchers. Thus, I will introduce the SVK principle as a safeguarding principle for public trust based on a conceptual framework by Alex John London. My approach justifies keeping the principle as a precautionary and rational requirement for human health research that all rational stakeholders can agree upon. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Tool for evaluating research implementation challenges: A sense-making protocol for addressing implementation challenges in complex research settings

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Many challenges arise in complex organizational interventions that threaten research integrity. This article describes a Tool for Evaluating Research Implementation Challenges (TECH), developed using a complexity science framework to assist research teams in assessing and managing these challenges. Methods During the implementation of a multi-site, randomized controlled trial (RCT) of organizational interventions to reduce resident falls in eight nursing homes, we inductively developed, and later codified the TECH. The TECH was developed through processes that emerged from interactions among research team members and nursing home staff participants, including a purposive use of complexity science principles. Results The TECH provided a structure to assess challenges systematically, consider their potential impact on intervention feasibility and fidelity, and determine actions to take. We codified the process into an algorithm that can be adopted or adapted for other research projects. We present selected examples of the use of the TECH that are relevant to many complex interventions. Conclusions Complexity theory provides a useful lens through which research procedures can be developed to address implementation challenges that emerge from complex organizations and research designs. Sense-making is a group process in which diverse members interpret challenges when available information is ambiguous; the groups’ interpretations provide cues for taking action. Sense-making facilitates the creation of safe environments for generating innovative solutions that balance research integrity and practical issues. The challenges encountered during implementation of complex interventions are often unpredictable; however, adoption of a systematic process will allow investigators to address them in a consistent yet flexible manner, protecting fidelity. Research integrity is also protected by allowing for appropriate adaptations to intervention protocols that preserve the feasibility of ‘real world’ interventions. PMID:23281623

Controlling disasters: Local emergency management perceptions about Federal Emergency Management and Homeland Security actions after September 11, 2001.

PubMed

Hildebrand, Sean

This article examines local emergency manager's beliefs regarding control over tasks during various stages of the hazard cycle since federal policies went into effect following the September 11 attacks. The study considers whether a disparity exists between the actions of local officials during each phase of the "hazard cycle" and the policy expectations of the federal government, which call for greater federal control over activities in emergency management and homeland security. To do so, hypothesis testing investigates the jurisdiction's use of comprehensive emergency management (CEM) practices, the perceived "clarity" of the federal policy demands, and if the local actors feel coerced to comply with federal policy demands so that grant funding is not compromised. Using a model developed from "third-generation" policy implementation research, the results show that the odds of local officials citing federal control over these actions have very limited statistical significance. This signals that the perceived lack of local input into the development of these federal policies and the policies' limited use of traditional CEM measures may not be in concert with what local actors perform in the field. Simply put, the respondents claim to understand the federal policy demands, support the concept of federal control as the policies describe, yet follow their own plans or traditional CEM principles, even if such actions do not support the federal policy demands. These results align with pre-existing research in the emergency management field that show issues with efforts to centralize policies under the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

[The precautionary principle: advantages and risks].

PubMed

Tubiana, M

2001-04-01

The extension of the precautionary principle to the field of healthcare is the social response to two demands of the population: improved health safety and the inclusion of an informed public in the decision-making process. The necessary balance between cost (treatment-induced risk) and benefit (therapeutic effect) underlies all healthcare decisions. An underestimation or an overestimation of cost, i.e. risk, is equally harmful in public healthcare. A vaccination should be prescribed when its beneficial effect outweighs its inevitable risk. Mandatory vaccination, such as in the case of the Hepatitis B virus, is a health policy requiring some courage because those who benefit will never be aware of its positive effect while those who are victims of the risk could resort to litigation. Defense against such accusations requires an accurate assessment of risk and benefit, which underlines the importance of expertise. Even within the framework of the precautionary principle, it is impossible to act without knowledge, or at least a plausible estimation, of expected effects. Recent affairs (blood contamination, transmissible spongiform encephalitis by growth hormone, and new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease) illustrate that in such cases the precautionary principle would have had limited impact and it is only when enough knowledge was available that effective action could be taken. Likewise, in current debates concerning the possible risks of electromagnetic fields, cellular phones and radon, research efforts must be given priority. The general public understands intuitively the concept of cost and benefit. For example, the possible health risks of oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy were not ignored, but the public has judged that their advantages justify the risk. Estimating risk and benefit and finding a balance between risk and preventive measures could help avoid the main drawbacks of the precautionary principle, i.e. inaction and refusal of innovation, highly restrictive administrative procedures, and a waste of funds on the search for the utopian goal of zero risk. Other drawbacks are more insidious. The precautionary principle could contribute to a general feeling of anxiety and unease in the population. It could be used by campaigns to manipulate public opinion in favor of a particular commercial interest or ideology. Furthermore, practitioners and public policy makers could be led to make choices not dictated by a search for the optimal solution but rather a solution that would protect them from future accusations (the so-called umbrella phenomenon). On the international level, the precautionary principle must not be used to mask protectionism. Nevertheless, a clear advantage of the precautionary principle is that it requires decision-makers to explain the rationale behind their decisions, to quantify the risks, and to provide objective information. However, the physician must not be tempted to make patients sign documents certifying that they have been given all relevant information on his or her diagnosis and treatment. This example underlines the role of legal texts and jurisprudence in the application of the precautionary principle. Finally, the precautionary principle implies new obligations for the State. In the field of health and healthcare, the State must undertake actions based on fully open and undisguised decision-making and provide complete information to the public. A pplication of the precautionary principle requires much discernment because the final outcome can be beneficial or harmful, depending on the way it is implemented. The precautionary principle, and its applications, must be precise and detailed within a well-defined framework.

``Dissection'' of a Hair Dryer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eisenstein, Stan; Simpson, Jeff

2008-12-01

The electrical design of the common hair dryer is based almost entirely on relatively simple principles learned in introductory physics classes. Just as biology students dissect a frog to see the principles of anatomy in action, physics students can "dissect" a hair dryer to see how principles of electricity are used in a real system. They can discover how engineers solve problems such as how to vary between low and high heat and fan speed by simply moving the position of a single switch. Principles of alternating versus direct current, series and parallel circuits, electrical safety, voltage dividing, ac rectification, power, and measurement of resistance and continuity all come in to play.

[Hunger, solidarity, and ethics: discourse analysis of the movement Citizen's Action against Hunger and Poverty and for Life].

PubMed

Vasconcelos, Francisco de Assis Guedes de

2004-01-01

The article analyzes the discourse of Citizen's Action against Hunger and Poverty and for Life, a social movement led by sociologist Herbert de Souza (Betinho) that was at its peak between 1993 and 1994. From the perspective of certain concepts and principles introduced and disseminated by so-called bio-ethics, the present study identifies within this campaign an attempt to construct a social movement in Brazil displaying characteristics quite similar to those associated with 'practical ethics'. These features are apparent in the three major principles that the movement applied as strategies for fighting hunger and poverty - to wit, solidarity, partnership, and decentralization.

Going DEEP: guidelines for building simulation-based team assessments.

PubMed

Grand, James A; Pearce, Marina; Rench, Tara A; Chao, Georgia T; Fernandez, Rosemarie; Kozlowski, Steve W J

2013-05-01

Whether for team training, research or evaluation, making effective use of simulation-based technologies requires robust, reliable and accurate assessment tools. Extant literature on simulation-based assessment practices has primarily focused on scenario and instructional design; however, relatively little direct guidance has been provided regarding the challenging decisions and fundamental principles related to assessment development and implementation. The objective of this manuscript is to introduce a generalisable assessment framework supplemented by specific guidance on how to construct and ensure valid and reliable simulation-based team assessment tools. The recommendations reflect best practices in assessment and are designed to empower healthcare educators, professionals and researchers with the knowledge to design and employ valid and reliable simulation-based team assessments. Information and actionable recommendations associated with creating assessments of team processes (non-technical 'teamwork' activities) and performance (demonstration of technical proficiency) are presented which provide direct guidance on how to Distinguish the underlying competencies one aims to assess, Elaborate the measures used to capture team member behaviours during simulation activities, Establish the content validity of these measures and Proceduralise the measurement tools in a way that is systematically aligned with the goals of the simulation activity while maintaining methodological rigour (DEEP). The DEEP framework targets fundamental principles and critical activities that are important for effective assessment, and should benefit healthcare educators, professionals and researchers seeking to design or enhance any simulation-based assessment effort.

Resolving Ethical Issues when Conducting Sexuality Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruess, Clint E.; Greenberg, Jerrold S.

2008-01-01

Ethical issues about conducting sexuality education often arise. This paper describes one system of ethics and how the sexuality educator can use that system to determine whether an action is moral or immoral and, therefore, the appropriate action to take for that sexuality educator to be consistent with his or her values. Ethical principles are…

Microbial control and food Preservation: Theory and practice:Principles of food preservation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Food preservation is an action or method used to maintain foods at certain desirable properties or quality to obtain maximum benefit. A good method of food preservation is one that slows down or prevents altogether the action of the agents of spoilage without damaging the food. To achieve this, cert...

41 CFR 105-68.610 - What procedures does the General Services Administration use in suspension and debarment actions?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What procedures does the... Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property Management Regulations System (Continued..., consistent with principles of fundamental fairness. (a) For suspension actions, we use the procedures in this...

Handicap Accessibility: A Self-Evaluation Guidebook for ACTION and Its Grantees. Handbook 240.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ACTION, Washington, DC. Office of Equal Opportunity.

This handbook is designed to assist managers of ACTION grantee programs in evaluating the degree to which the needs of persons with disabilities are incorporated into their programs for physical accessibility of buildings and facilities. After a general discussion of self-evaluation principles and accessibility guidelines, a checklist is provided…

Energy. Physical Science in Action. Teacher's Manual and Workbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sneider, Cary I.; Piccotto, Henri

The Science in Action series is designed to teach practical science concepts to special-needs students. It is intended to develop students' problem-solving skills by teaching them to observe, record, analyze, conclude, and predict. This document contains a student workbook which deals with basic principles of physical science. Six separate units…

29 CFR 1471.635 - May the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service settle a debarment or suspension action?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false May the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service settle a...) FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) General Principles Relating to Suspension and Debarment Actions § 1471.635 May the Federal Mediation and...

Sound. Physical Science in Action. Teacher's Manual and Workbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, Janis Fisher; Friedland, Mary

The Science in Action series is designed to teach practical science concepts to special-needs students. It is intended to develop students' problem-solving skills by teaching them to observe, record, analyze, conclude, and predict. This document contains a student workbook which deals with basic principles of physical science. Six separate units…

Animals. Life Science in Action. Teacher's Manual and Workbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roderman, Winifred Ho; Booth, Gerald

The Science in Action series is designed to teach practical science concepts to special-needs students. It is intended to develop students' problem-solving skills by teaching them to observe, record, analyze, conclude, and predict. This document contains a student workbook which deals with basic principles of life science. Six separate units…

Siphonic Concepts Examined: A Carbon Dioxide Gas Siphon and Siphons in Vacuum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramette, Joshua J.; Ramette, Richard W.

2011-01-01

Misconceptions of siphon action include assumptions that intermolecular attractions play a key role and that siphons will operate in a vacuum. These are belied by the siphoning of gaseous carbon dioxide and behaviour of siphons under reduced pressure. These procedures are suitable for classroom demonstrations. The principles of siphon action are…

Action Plan for the Development of Civic Morality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chinese Education and Society, 2006

2006-01-01

This paper discusses the action plan for the development of civic morality. Here, the importance, substance, ideology and policy principles guiding the development of civic morality is elaborated. In order to strengthen the development of civic morality, it is a must to adapt to the requirements of the developing situation; seize good…

An ethnographic action research study to investigate the experiences of Bindjareb women participating in the cooking and nutrition component of an Aboriginal health promotion programme in regional Western Australia.

PubMed

Nilson, Caroline; Kearing-Salmon, Karrie-Anne; Morrison, Paul; Fetherston, Catherine

2015-12-01

To investigate the experiences of women participating in a cooking and nutrition component of a health promotion research initiative in an Australian Aboriginal regional community. Weekly facilitated cooking and nutrition classes were conducted during school terms over 12 months. An ethnographic action research study was conducted for the programme duration with data gathered by participant and direct observation, four yarning groups and six individual yarning sessions. The aim was to determine the ways the cooking and nutrition component facilitated lifestyle change, enabled engagement, encouraged community ownership and influenced community action. Regional Bindjareb community in the Nyungar nation of Western Australia. A sample of seventeen Aboriginal women aged between 18 and 60 years from the two kinships in two towns in one shire took part in the study. The recruitment and consent process was managed by community Elders and leaders. Major themes emerged highlighting the development of participants and their recognition of the need for change: the impact of history on current nutritional health of Indigenous Australians; acknowledging shame; challenges of change around nutrition and healthy eating; the undermining effect of mistrust and limited resources; the importance of community control when developing health promotion programmes; finding life purpose through learning; and the need for planning and partnerships to achieve community determination. Suggested principles for developing cooking and nutrition interventions are: consideration of community needs; understanding the impact of historical factors on health; understanding family and community tensions; and the engagement of long-term partnerships to develop community determination.

The Neural Foundations of Reaction and Action in Aversive Motivation.

PubMed

Campese, Vincent D; Sears, Robert M; Moscarello, Justin M; Diaz-Mataix, Lorenzo; Cain, Christopher K; LeDoux, Joseph E

2016-01-01

Much of the early research in aversive learning concerned motivation and reinforcement in avoidance conditioning and related paradigms. When the field transitioned toward the focus on Pavlovian threat conditioning in isolation, this paved the way for the clear understanding of the psychological principles and neural and molecular mechanisms responsible for this type of learning and memory that has unfolded over recent decades. Currently, avoidance conditioning is being revisited, and with what has been learned about associative aversive learning, rapid progress is being made. We review, below, the literature on the neural substrates critical for learning in instrumental active avoidance tasks and conditioned aversive motivation.

Principles of Instruction: Research-Based Strategies That All Teachers Should Know

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenshine, Barak

2012-01-01

This article presents 10 research-based principles of instruction, along with suggestions for classroom practice. These principles come from three sources: (a) research in cognitive science, (b) research on master teachers, and (c) research on cognitive supports. Each is briefly explained in this article. Even though these are three very different…

Risk management systems for health care and safety development on transplantation: a review and a proposal.

PubMed

Pretagostini, R; Gabbrielli, F; Fiaschetti, P; Oliveti, A; Cenci, S; Peritore, D; Stabile, D

2010-05-01

Starting from the report on medical errors published in 1999 by the US Institute of Medicine, a number of different approaches to risk management have been developed for maximum risk reduction in health care activities. The health care authorities in many countries have focused attention on patient safety, employing action research programs that are based on quite different principles. We performed a systematic Medline research of the literature since 1999. The following key words were used, also combining boolean operators and medical subheading terms: "adverse event," "risk management," "error," and "governance." Studies published in the last 5 years were particularly classified in various groups: risk management in health care systems; safety in specific hospital activities; and health care institutions' official documents. Methods of action researches have been analysed and their characteristics compared. Their suitability for safety development in donation, retrieval, and transplantation processes were discussed in the reality of the Italian transplant network. Some action researches and studies were dedicated to entire national healthcare systems, whereas others focused on specific risks. Many research programs have undergone critical review in the literature. Retrospective analysis has centered on so-called sentinel events to particularly analyze only a minor portion of the organizational phenomena, which can be the origin of an adverse event, an incident, or an error. Sentinel events give useful information if they are studied in highly engineered and standardized organizations like laboratories or tissue establishments, but they show several limits in the analysis of organ donation, retrieval, and transplantation processes, which are characterized by prevailing human factors, with high intrinsic risk and variability. Thus, they are poorly effective to deliver sure elements to base safety management improvement programs, especially regarding multidisciplinary systems with high complexity. In organ transplantation, the possibility to increase safety seems greater using proactive research, mainly centred on organizational processes together with retrospective analyses but not limited to sentinel event reports. Copyright (c) 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Mediating Peer Teaching for Learning Games: An Action Research Intervention Across Three Consecutive Sport Education Seasons.

PubMed

Farias, Cláudio; Mesquita, Isabel; Hastie, Peter A; O'Donovan, Toni

2018-03-01

The purpose of this study was to provide an integrated analysis of a teacher's peer-teaching mediation strategies, the student-coaches' instruction, and the students' gameplay development across 3 consecutive seasons of sport education. Twenty-six 7th-grade students participated in 3 consecutive sport education seasons of invasion games (basketball, handball, and soccer). The research involved 3 action research cycles, 1 per season, and each cycle included the processes of planning, acting and monitoring, reflecting, and fact finding. Data collection consisted of videotape and audiotape records of all 47 lessons, a reflective field diary kept by the first author in the role of teacher-researcher, and a total of 24 semistructured focus-group interviews. Trustworthiness criteria for assuring the quality of qualitative research included extensive data triangulation, stakeholders' crosschecking, and collaborative interpretational analysis. Through the application of systematic preparation strategies, student-coaches were able to successfully conduct team instruction that resulted in students' tactical development and improved performance. Aspects such as the study of predominant configurations of players' gameplay and similar tactical principles across games within the same category prevented a setback in the complexity of the learning content addressed at the beginning of each season. Players also showed an increasing ability to adapt gameplay to game conditions. While sport education has the capacity to develop competent players, different levels of teacher guidance and learners' instructional responsibility are necessary when teaching tactics.

High reliability organizing implementation at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Treesearch

David A. Christenson; Mike DeGrosky; Anne E. Black; Brett Fay

2008-01-01

It is said that action often precedes cognition. For example, wildland fire management personnel already do things in the course of their work that they will later recognize as consistent with the principles of high reliability organizing (HRO), once they know about those principles. In the case of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (SEKI), the fire management...

Government in Emergency. Suggestions for Including Civil Defense Principles in the Social Studies Curriculum, Grades 1-12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Office of Civil Defense (DOD), Washington, DC.

This handbook contains suggestions for teaching the facts, principles, and behaviors relevant to civil defense in social studies classes, grades 1-12. These classes were chosen as the entry point for civil defense education because the core of the civil defense concept is government in action with other community agencies to save lives and…

Principle Study of Head Meridian Acupoint Massage to Stress Release via Grey Data Model Analysis.

PubMed

Lee, Ya-Ting

2016-01-01

This paper presents the scientific study of the effectiveness and action principle of head meridian acupoint massage by applying the grey data model analysis approach. First, the head massage procedure for massaging the important head meridian acupuncture points including Taiyang, Fengfu, Tianzhu, Fengqi, and Jianjing is formulated in a standard manner. Second, the status of the autonomic nervous system of each subject is evaluated by using the heart rate variability analyzer before and after the head massage following four weeks. Afterward, the physiological factors of autonomic nerves are quantitatively analyzed by using the grey data modeling theory. The grey data analysis can point out that the status of autonomic nervous system is greatly improved after the massage. The order change of the grey relationship weighting of physiological factors shows the action principle of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves when performing head massage. In other words, the grey data model is able to distinguish the detailed interaction of the autonomic nervous system and the head meridian acupoint massage. Thus, the stress relaxing effect of massaging head meridian acupoints is proved, which is lacked in literature. The results can be a reference principle for massage health care in practice.

Principle Study of Head Meridian Acupoint Massage to Stress Release via Grey Data Model Analysis

PubMed Central

Lee, Ya-Ting

2016-01-01

This paper presents the scientific study of the effectiveness and action principle of head meridian acupoint massage by applying the grey data model analysis approach. First, the head massage procedure for massaging the important head meridian acupuncture points including Taiyang, Fengfu, Tianzhu, Fengqi, and Jianjing is formulated in a standard manner. Second, the status of the autonomic nervous system of each subject is evaluated by using the heart rate variability analyzer before and after the head massage following four weeks. Afterward, the physiological factors of autonomic nerves are quantitatively analyzed by using the grey data modeling theory. The grey data analysis can point out that the status of autonomic nervous system is greatly improved after the massage. The order change of the grey relationship weighting of physiological factors shows the action principle of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves when performing head massage. In other words, the grey data model is able to distinguish the detailed interaction of the autonomic nervous system and the head meridian acupoint massage. Thus, the stress relaxing effect of massaging head meridian acupoints is proved, which is lacked in literature. The results can be a reference principle for massage health care in practice. PMID:26904144

A physician team's experiences in community-based participatory research: insights into effective group collaborations.

PubMed

Dalal, Mehul; Skeete, Rachel; Yeo, Heather L; Lucas, Georgina I; Rosenthal, Marjorie S

2009-12-01

Postdoctoral fellows from the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program are among a growing number of physician-researchers training in community-based participatory research (CBPR). These fellows are uniquely positioned to observe and evaluate CBPR training needs and the experience of collaboratively conducting a CBPR project. To describe, from the perspective of physician-researchers, experiences in intragroup and intergroup collaborations while conducting CBPR. During a 2-year fellowship, a group of seven fellows received 6 months of didactic training and then spent 18 months conducting a mentored CBPR project. The CBPR project was complemented by a 2-year facilitated leadership seminar, which allowed for reflection on intragroup (among fellows) and intergroup (fellows/community members) relationships throughout the CBPR process. Seven core principles of CBPR were found to apply to not only intergroup but also intragroup relationships: (1) building trust, (2) finding a shared interest, (3) power-sharing, (4) fostering co-learning and capacity building among partners, (5) building on existing strengths, (6) employing an iterative process, and (7) finding a balance between research and action for the mutual benefit of all partners. Establishing and maintaining relationships is at the core of CBPR. The development of intragroup relationships paralleled the development of intergroup relationships with community members. Applying the core principles of CBPR to the development of intragroup relationships provided experience that may have enhanced relationships with community partners. An a priori acknowledgement of the importance of relationships and the time needed to develop and manage those relationships may add to the CBPR training experience and assist in successfully executing collaborative projects.

Admiral nursing competency project: practice development and action research.

PubMed

Dewing, Jan; Traynor, Victoria

2005-07-01

Admiral Nurses are specialist dementia care nurses working in the community with carers of those who have a dementia. The aim of the competency project (2000-2003) was threefold. Firstly to work collaboratively with these specialist nurses to facilitate the development a competency framework that reflects the needs of the Admiral Nursing Service. Secondly, to provide a way to structure evidence demonstrating evolving competency. Thirdly, to specifically enable the nurses to demonstrate evidence of achieving the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council's Higher Level Practice standard. The two complementary approaches of emancipatory action research and systematic practice development were adopted. Methods were taken from action research and systematic practice development approaches with an emphasis on promoting and enabling enlightenment, critical reflection, ownership and creating the best conditions for long-term commitment to the competency framework. The main outcome from this project was the development of a specialist nursing competency framework. The Admiral Nurses' Competency Framework is made up of a set of eight core competencies with three levels of competency statements, loosely structured around the Higher Level Practice standard, and guidance documentation to illustrate how work-based evidence can be generated to demonstrate competence. There were also process-derived outcomes associated with combining systematic practice development with emancipatory action research that had an impact on the culture. The main outcomes here were that practitioners engaged in and experienced learning about how to research their own practice and the consequences of doing this. They also learnt about specialist nursing practice more widely than Admiral Nursing. Finally, there was some increase in awareness about the culture within their teams and organizations. The final competency framework reflects the needs of the service, is owned by the majority of practitioners and project commissioners and this has had a positive impact on implementation. In this paper, we report on combining systematic practice development with action research to achieve immediate project aims. In addition we show how a project of this nature can contribute to developing skills in practitioners necessary for cultural changes in practice and contributes to wider issues of modernization within nursing and health care. This competency framework will enable Admiral Nurses to demonstrate their level of specialist practice, as individuals and collectively as a service and it also promotes the principles of nurses as life long learners. This may have relevance to other groups of specialist nurses. The project has widespread relevance for two reasons. Firstly, it shows that nurses can be involved in designing and testing a competency framework as collaborators. Secondly, that to achieve this within the spirit of approaches, such as systematic practice development and action research, can be testing for all collaborators even were there is a shared or espoused aim.

Changes in science classrooms resulting from collaborative action research initiatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Phil Seok

Collaborative action research was undertaken over two years between a Korean science teacher and science education researchers at the University of Iowa. For the purpose of realizing science learning as envisioned by constructivist principles, Group-Investigations were implemented three or five times per project year. In addition, the second year project enacted Peer Assessments among students. Student perceptions of their science classrooms, as measured by the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES), provided evidence that the collaborative action research was successful in creating constructivist learning environments. Student attitudes toward science lessons, as examined by the Enjoyment of Science Lessons Scale (ESLS), indicated that the action research also contributed to developing more positive attitudes of students about science learning. Discourse analysis was conducted on video-recordings of in-class presentations and discussions. The results indicated that students in science classrooms which were moving toward constructivist learning environments engaged in such discursive practices as: (1) Communicating their inquiries to others, (2) Seeking and providing information through dialogues, and (3) Negotiating conflicts in their knowledge and beliefs. Based on these practices, science learning was viewed as the process of constructing knowledge and understanding of science as well as the process of engaging in scientific inquiry and discourse. The teacher's discursive practices included: (1) Wrapping up student presentations, (2) Addressing misconceptions, (3) Answering student queries, (4) Coaching, (5) Assessing and advising, (6) Guiding students discursively into new knowledge, and (7) Scaffolding. Science teaching was defined as situated acts of the teacher to facilitate the learning process. In particular, when the classrooms became more constructivist, the teacher intervened more frequently and carefully in student activities to fulfill a variety of pedagogical functions. Students perceived Group-Investigations and Peer Assessments as positive in that they contributed to realizing constructivist features in their classrooms. The students also reported that they gained several learning outcomes through Group-Investigations, including more positive attitudes, new knowledge, greater learning capabilities, and improved self-esteem. However, the Group-Investigation and Peer Assessment methods were perceived as negative and problematic by those who had rarely been exposed to such inquiry-based, student-centered approaches.

FAIR principles and the IEDB: short-term improvements and a long-term vision of OBO-foundry mediated machine-actionable interoperability

PubMed Central

Vita, Randi; Overton, James A; Mungall, Christopher J; Sette, Alessandro

2018-01-01

Abstract The Immune Epitope Database (IEDB), at www.iedb.org, has the mission to make published experimental data relating to the recognition of immune epitopes easily available to the scientific public. By presenting curated data in a searchable database, we have liberated it from the tables and figures of journal articles, making it more accessible and usable by immunologists. Recently, the principles of Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability have been formulated as goals that data repositories should meet to enhance the usefulness of their data holdings. We here examine how the IEDB complies with these principles and identify broad areas of success, but also areas for improvement. We describe short-term improvements to the IEDB that are being implemented now, as well as a long-term vision of true ‘machine-actionable interoperability’, which we believe will require community agreement on standardization of knowledge representation that can be built on top of the shared use of ontologies. PMID:29688354

Quantum Gauss-Jordan Elimination and Simulation of Accounting Principles on Quantum Computers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diep, Do Ngoc; Giang, Do Hoang; Van Minh, Nguyen

2017-06-01

The paper is devoted to a version of Quantum Gauss-Jordan Elimination and its applications. In the first part, we construct the Quantum Gauss-Jordan Elimination (QGJE) Algorithm and estimate the complexity of computation of Reduced Row Echelon Form (RREF) of N × N matrices. The main result asserts that QGJE has computation time is of order 2 N/2. The second part is devoted to a new idea of simulation of accounting by quantum computing. We first expose the actual accounting principles in a pure mathematics language. Then, we simulate the accounting principles on quantum computers. We show that, all accounting actions are exhousted by the described basic actions. The main problems of accounting are reduced to some system of linear equations in the economic model of Leontief. In this simulation, we use our constructed Quantum Gauss-Jordan Elimination to solve the problems and the complexity of quantum computing is a square root order faster than the complexity in classical computing.

Principles of Lifeworld Led Public Health Practice in the UK and Sweden: Reducing Health Inequalities

PubMed Central

Hemingway, Ann; Norton, Liz; Aarts, Clara

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to consider the role of the lifeworld perspective in reducing inequalities in health and we explain how the public health practitioner can use this perspective to address public health issues with individuals and groups. We offer ideas for public health actions that are based on and deal with the lifeworld context of individual people or families. Each of the dimensions of the lifeworld temporality, spatiality, intersubjectivity, embodiment and mood are outlined and their significance explained in relation to health inequalities. Suggestions for action to reduce health inequalities are made and overall principles of lifeworld led public health practice are proposed by way of conclusion. The principles comprise understanding the community members' lifeworld view, understanding their view of their potential, offering resources and facilitating empowerment, and sharing lifeworld case studies and lobbying to influence local and national policy in relation to both the individual and communities. PMID:25642346

Degas's sculptures--three-dimensionality and action.

PubMed

Rotenberg, Carl T

2005-01-01

The psychological self is formed largely by the steady accretion of forms of organizing experience. Outside of the interpersonal realm, these formal and categorical modes of organization can be incorporated through cyclical, continuous, and episodic interaction with modes of cultural expression, such as art, music, and poetry. Degas's sculptures, a highly experimental and personal section of his overall work, have particular formal modes of organization unique to this artist and to his particular era. Formal principles unique to Degas sculpture include the ways he rendered sculpted surfaces, masses in a state of action, and uniquely collaged materials. Degas's sculptures are proto-cinematic because they depict a brief instant in time, as opposed to a more prolonged narrative episode. Empathic, though unconscious, identification with the formal principles of Degas's sculptures shapes in the viewers ordering principles in the self that govern reactions to the vicissitudes of living, object relations, the sense of mortality, and the accomplishment of a sense of agency significant and consequential to the modern era.

Extended canonical field theory of matter and space-time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Struckmeier, J.; Vasak, D.; matter, H. Stoecker Field theory of; space-time

2015-11-01

Any physical theory that follows from an action principle should be invariant in its form under mappings of the reference frame in order to comply with the general principle of relativity. The required form-invariance of the action principle implies that the mapping must constitute a particular extended canonical transformation. In the realm of the covariant Hamiltonian formulation of field theory, the term ``extended'' implies that not only the fields but also the space-time geometry is subject to transformation. A canonical transformation maintains the general form of the action principle by simultaneously defining the appropriate transformation rules for the fields, the conjugate momentum fields, and the transformation rule for the Hamiltonian. Provided that the given system of fields exhibits a particular global symmetry, the associated extended canonical transformation determines an amended Hamiltonian that is form-invariant under the corresponding local symmetry. This will be worked out for a Hamiltonian system of scalar and vector fields that is presupposed to be form-invariant under space-time transformations xμ\\mapsto Xμ with partial Xμ/partial xν=const., hence under global space-time transformations such as the Poincaré transformation. The corresponding amended system that is form-invariant under local space-time transformations partial Xμ/partial xν≠qconst. then describes the coupling of the fields to the space-time geometry and thus yields the dynamics of space-time that is associated with the given physical system. Non-zero spin matter determines thereby the space-time curvature via a well-defined source term in a covariant Poisson-type equation for the Riemann tensor.

Research Experience and Agreement with Selected Ethics Principles from Canada's "Tri-Council Policy Statement--Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fahy, Pat; Spencer, Bob

2004-01-01

An online survey was conducted of students, instructors, and researchers in distance education regarding principles for the ethical treatment of human research subjects. The study used an online questionnaire based on principles drawn from Canada's "Tri-Council Policy Statement, Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans" (TCPS,…

The infection rate of Daphnia magna by Pasteuria ramosa conforms with the mass-action principle.

PubMed

Regoes, R R; Hottinger, J W; Sygnarski, L; Ebert, D

2003-10-01

In simple epidemiological models that describe the interaction between hosts with their parasites, the infection process is commonly assumed to be governed by the law of mass action, i.e. it is assumed that the infection rate depends linearly on the densities of the host and the parasite. The mass-action assumption, however, can be problematic if certain aspects of the host-parasite interaction are very pronounced, such as spatial compartmentalization, host immunity which may protect from infection with low doses, or host heterogeneity with regard to susceptibility to infection. As deviations from a mass-action infection rate have consequences for the dynamics of the host-parasite system, it is important to test for the appropriateness of the mass-action assumption in a given host-parasite system. In this paper, we examine the relationship between the infection rate and the parasite inoculum for the water flee Daphnia magna and its bacterial parasite Pasteuria ramosa. We measured the fraction of infected hosts after exposure to 14 different doses of the parasite. We find that the observed relationship between the fraction of infected hosts and the parasite dose is largely consistent with an infection process governed by the mass-action principle. However, we have evidence for a subtle but significant deviation from a simple mass-action infection model, which can be explained either by some antagonistic effects of the parasite spores during the infection process, or by heterogeneity in the hosts' susceptibility with regard to infection.

Scientific basis for the Precautionary Principle.

PubMed

Vineis, Paolo

2005-09-01

The Precautionary Principle is based on two general criteria: (a) appropriate public action should be taken in response to limited, but plausible and credible, evidence of likely and substantial harm; (b) the burden of proof is shifted from demonstrating the presence of risk to demonstrating the absence of risk. Not much has been written about the scientific basis of the precautionary principle, apart from the uncertainty that characterizes epidemiologic research on chronic disease, and the use of surrogate evidence when human evidence cannot be provided. It is proposed in this paper that a new scientific paradigm, based on the theory of evolution, is emerging; this might offer stronger support to the need for precaution in the regulation of environmental risks. Environmental hazards do not consist only in direct attacks to the integrity of DNA or other macromolecules. They can consist in changes that take place already in utero, and that condition disease risks many years later. Also, environmental exposures can act as "stressors", inducing hypermutability (the mutator phenotype) as an adaptive response. Finally, environmental changes should be evaluated against a background of a not-so-easily modifiable genetic make-up, inherited from a period in which humans were mainly hunters-gatherers and had dietary habits very different from the current ones.

A Study in Sexual Health Applying the Principles of Community-Based Participatory Research

PubMed Central

Reece, Michael; Dodge, Brian

2012-01-01

The principles of community-based participatory research were applied to an exploratory sexual health study that examined “cruising for sex” among men on a college campus. In the context of a study seeking a broad interpretation of the health implications of cruising, and when faced with methodological challenges, the researchers found these principles to provide invaluable guidance. A review of the research process is offered and the manner in which the principles of community-based participatory research were operationalized for this study is described. PMID:15129042

The Deferent Self: Attributions of Personal Causality to "Impersonal Forces."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaver, Kelly G.; Fleming, John H.

Current social psychological analysis of the self is characterized by three principles: the self is bounded and concrete; the opinions of others are valued for self-definition, self-evaluation and the maintenance of self-esteem; and the road to fame is paved with one's own actions. Attributions of causality for one's actions traditionally have…

Equal Employment Opportunity for Racial and Ethnic Minorities: Affirmative Action, Reverse Discrimination, and Related Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uerling, Donald F.

This paper discusses some basic constitutional and statutory principles related to affirmative action and reverse discrimination in employment of educational personnel. The specifications of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, other statutes and regulations, and selected Supreme Court cases…

On Moral Luck and Nonideal Moral Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chinnery, Ann

2015-01-01

In contrast to the Kantian principle that we are morally accountable only for those actions over which we have control, Bernard Williams, Thomas Nagel, and others have argued that luck plays a significant role in the moral life. Put briefly, moral luck is at play when we are appropriately praised or blamed for our moral actions despite the fact…

Trudge toward Freedom: Moral Commitment and Ethical Action in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ayers, William

2011-01-01

In this article, William Ayers constructs his Phil Smith Lecture as a call to action. Grounded in democratic principles of equality and social justice, the author invokes a liberal conception of human worth and the universal right to educational opportunity. The author critiques the passivity of the American polity in the face of Barack Obama's…

22 CFR 1006.25 - How is this part organized?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 2 2013-04-01 2009-04-01 true How is this part organized? 1006.25 Section 1006... Parties List System (Disseminated by the General Services Administration). F the general principles... suspension action A, B, F, G and I. (3) a respondent in a debarment action A, B, F, H and I. (4) a suspending...

A practical approach for translating climate change adaptation principles into forest management actions

Treesearch

Maria K. Janowiak; Christopher W. Swanston; Linda M. Nagel; Leslie A. Brandt; Patricia R. Butler; Stephen D. Handler; P. Danielle Shannon; Louis R. Iverson; Stephen N. Matthews; Anantha Prasad; Matthew P. Peters

2014-01-01

There is an ever-growing body of literature on forest management strategies for climate change adaptation; however, few frameworks have been presented for integrating these strategies with the real-world challenges of forest management. We have developed a structured approach for translating broad adaptation concepts into specific management actions and silvicultural...

Increasing Capacity for Innovation in Bureaucratic Primary Care Organizations: A Whole System Participatory Action Research Project

PubMed Central

Thomas, Paul; McDonnell, Juliet; McCulloch, Janette; While, Alison; Bosanquet, Nick; Ferlie, Ewan

2005-01-01

PURPOSE We wanted to identify what organizational features support innovation in Primary Care Groups (PCGs). METHODS Our study used a whole system participatory action research model. Four research teams provided complementary insights. Four case study PCGs were analyzed. Two had an intervention to help local facilitators reflect on their work. Data included 70 key informant interviews, observations of clinical governance interventions and committee meetings, analysis of written materials, surveys and telephone interviews of London Primary Care Organizations, interviews with 20 nurses, and interviews with 6 finance directors. A broad range of stakeholders reviewed data at annual conferences and formed conclusions about trustworthy principles. Sequential research phases were refocused in the light of these conclusions and in response to the changing political context. RESULTS Five features were associated with increased organizational capacity for innovation: (1) clear structures and a vision for corporate and clinical governance; (2) multiple opportunities for people to reflect and learn at all levels of the organization, and connections between these “learning spaces”; (3) both clinicians and managers in leadership roles that encourage participation; (4) the right timing for an initiative and its adaptation to the local context; and (5) external facilitation that provides opportunities for people to make sense of their experiences. Low morale was commonly attributed to 3 features: (1) overwhelming pace of reform, (2) inadequate staff experience and supportive infrastructure, and (3) financial deficits. CONCLUSIONS These features together may support innovation in other primary care bureaucracies. The research methodology enabled people from different backgrounds to make sense of diverse research insights. PMID:16046563

Increasing capacity for innovation in bureaucratic primary care organizations: a whole system participatory action research project.

PubMed

Thomas, Paul; McDonnell, Juliet; McCulloch, Janette; While, Alison; Bosanquet, Nick; Ferlie, Ewan

2005-01-01

We wanted to identify what organizational features support innovation in Primary Care Groups (PCGs). Our study used a whole system participatory action research model. Four research teams provided complementary insights. Four case study PCGs were analyzed. Two had an intervention to help local facilitators reflect on their work. Data included 70 key informant interviews, observations of clinical governance interventions and committee meetings, analysis of written materials, surveys and telephone interviews of London Primary Care Organizations, interviews with 20 nurses, and interviews with 6 finance directors. A broad range of stakeholders reviewed data at annual conferences and formed conclusions about trustworthy principles. Sequential research phases were refocused in the light of these conclusions and in response to the changing political context. Five features were associated with increased organizational capacity for innovation: (1) clear structures and a vision for corporate and clinical governance; (2) multiple opportunities for people to reflect and learn at all levels of the organization, and connections between these "learning spaces"; (3) both clinicians and managers in leadership roles that encourage participation; (4) the right timing for an initiative and its adaptation to the local context; and (5) external facilitation that provides opportunities for people to make sense of their experiences. Low morale was commonly attributed to 3 features: (1) overwhelming pace of reform, (2) inadequate staff experience and supportive infrastructure, and (3) financial deficits. These features together may support innovation in other primary care bureaucracies. The research methodology enabled people from different backgrounds to make sense of diverse research insights.

JPRS Report, China, Handbook of Military Knowledge for Commanders

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-03-07

Chemical and Biological Weapons Chapter I Nuclear Weapons (178) A. Summary Statement on Nuclear Weapons (178) 1. Basic Principles of Nuclear...199) 1. Basic Principles of Protection Against Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Weapons* (199) 2. Maior Actions For Protection Against Nuclear...people’s bodies through the digestive tract. Skin contact. Biological warfare agents may enter the body directly through the skin , mucous membranes or

A review of human factors principles for the design and implementation of medication safety alerts in clinical information systems.

PubMed

Phansalkar, Shobha; Edworthy, Judy; Hellier, Elizabeth; Seger, Diane L; Schedlbauer, Angela; Avery, Anthony J; Bates, David W

2010-01-01

The objective of this review is to describe the implementation of human factors principles for the design of alerts in clinical information systems. First, we conduct a review of alarm systems to identify human factors principles that are employed in the design and implementation of alerts. Second, we review the medical informatics literature to provide examples of the implementation of human factors principles in current clinical information systems using alerts to provide medication decision support. Last, we suggest actionable recommendations for delivering effective clinical decision support using alerts. A review of studies from the medical informatics literature suggests that many basic human factors principles are not followed, possibly contributing to the lack of acceptance of alerts in clinical information systems. We evaluate the limitations of current alerting philosophies and provide recommendations for improving acceptance of alerts by incorporating human factors principles in their design.

Research and development of Camellia oleifera fruit sheller and sorting machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Di; Wang, Yong; Fan, Youhua; Chen, Zejun

2018-01-01

Camellia oleifera fruit sheller in this paper was designed by the principle of kneading and extruding. This machine adopted the rolling classification sieve to screen camellia oleifera fruit with different sizes into the husking device, and camellia oleifera fruit was shelled in the mutually co-operative action of transport belt and flexible rubbing washboard. After research, in the condition that the moisture content of camellia oleifera fruit was below 55%, the vibration of the motor frequency was 50 Hz and the horizontal angle of sorting belt was 50 degrees∼55 degrees, the processing capacity was more than 900 kg/h, the threshing ratio was more than 97%, the seed broken ratio was less than 5%, the loss ratio was less than 1%. The machine is of great value in actual production, and should be widely spread and applied.

Motivation and Self-Regulation in Addiction: A Call for Convergence

PubMed Central

Köpetz, Cătălina E.; Lejuez, Carl W.; Wiers, Reinout W.; Kruglanski, Arie W.

2015-01-01

Addiction models have frequently invoked motivational mechanisms to explain the initiation and maintenance of addictive behaviors. However, in doing so, these models have emphasized the unique characteristics of addictive behaviors and overlooked the commonalities that they share with motivated behaviors in general. As a consequence, addiction research has failed to connect with and take advantage of promising and highly relevant advances in motivation and self-regulation research. The present article is a call for a convergence of the previous approaches to addictive behavior and the new advances in basic motivation and self-regulation. The authors emphasize the commonalities that addictive behaviors may share with motivated behavior in general. In addition, it is suggested that the same psychological principles underlying motivated action in general may apply to understand challenging aspects of the etiology and maintenance of addictive behaviors. PMID:26069472

Evaluating everyday competence in older adult couples: epidemiological considerations.

PubMed

Dixon, Roger A

2011-01-01

Among older adults, everyday competence is often expressed in the context of other participating individuals. Although this active human context may be occasionally comprised of mere acquaintances, long-term partners (such as couples) often act as a unit in engaging in everyday actions or reporting on familiar domains. This special section reflects an important movement in aging research to examine couples as an alternative but normatively common unit of analysis. My discussion focuses on 2 main issues. First, I sketch the rationale, logic, expectation and evidence that long-term couples might develop and display unique advantages in everyday competence. Second, I explore the possibilities that epidemiological principles - thus far applied primarily to individual-level aging, decline and disease - may provide concepts or models for research on long-term changes in couple-level adaptation. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Evaluating Everyday Competence in Older Adult Couples: Epidemiological Considerations

PubMed Central

Dixon, Roger A.

2011-01-01

Among older adults, everyday competence is often expressed in the context of other participating individuals. Although this active human context may be occasionally comprised of mere acquaintances, long-term partners (such as couples) often act as a unit in engaging in everyday actions or reporting on familiar domains. This special section reflects an important movement in aging research to examine couples as an alternative but normatively common unit of analysis. My discussion focuses on 2 main issues. First, I sketch the rationale, logic, expectation and evidence that long-term couples might develop and display unique advantages in everyday competence. Second, I explore the possibilities that epidemiological principles – thus far applied primarily to individual-level aging, decline and disease – may provide concepts or models for research on long-term changes in couple-level adaptation. PMID:20733285

Maupertuis, Leibniz, Least Action and Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simmons, James K.

2006-12-01

In current controversies regarding Intelligent Design (ID), critics of ID often claim that naturalisitc science (i.e., science that attempts to explain natural phenomena in terms of strictly non-supernatural processes) has such a good track record that there is no need to introduce supernatural design hypotheses into our thinking. Since ID is not a new idea, we can search through the history of science and look also at ID's track record. In this talk, we focus on the ID thinking of Maupertuis and Leibniz when the former developed the Principle of Least Action and when both of them applied the principle to Snell's law of refraction. In this case, we find that ID did no harm and made no lasting contribution.

Pure field theories and MACSYMA algorithms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ament, W. S.

1977-01-01

A pure field theory attempts to describe physical phenomena through singularity-free solutions of field equations resulting from an action principle. The physics goes into forming the action principle and interpreting specific results. Algorithms for the intervening mathematical steps are sketched. Vacuum general relativity is a pure field theory, serving as model and providing checks for generalizations. The fields of general relativity are the 10 components of a symmetric Riemannian metric tensor; those of the Einstein-Straus generalization are the 16 components of a nonsymmetric. Algebraic properties are exploited in top level MACSYMA commands toward performing some of the algorithms of that generalization. The light cone for the theory as left by Einstein and Straus is found and simplifications of that theory are discussed.

The ethics of promulgating principles of research ethics: the problem of diversion effects

PubMed Central

Wertheimer, Alan

2015-01-01

There is an important distinction between ethical standards for the conduct of research with human subjects and the ethics of promulgating principles of research ethics. Those who promulgate ethical standards for the conduct of research have an ethical responsibility to consider the consequences to which those promulgations give rise. In particular, they must consider whether their promulgations will give researchers incentives not to conduct research or not to conduct research in locales in which participants would benefit from participation. I first show how such ‘diversion effects’ are possible and then examine four principles of research ethics in that light. I then consider several objections to the argument that those who promulgate principles of research ethics should consider diversion effects. PMID:25937934

Contributions to Innovative Learning and Teaching? Effective Research-Based Pedagogy--A Response to TLRP's Principles from a European Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dochy, Filip; Berghmans, Inneke; Kyndt, Eva; Baeten, Marlies

2011-01-01

Starting from the contribution on the "ten principles of effective pedagogy" by James and Pollard, we critically reflect on some of the principles and assess whether these principles can be grounded in the wider European research literature that has accumulated internationally. We conclude that these principles can be supported and…

[Nursing students assessment in simulated conditions : in search of meaning and ethics].

PubMed

Homerin, Marie-Pierre; Roumanet, Marie-Cécile

2014-10-01

A thought about the assessment in simulated conditions is at the origin of this research-action conducted at the Institute of Nursing Education of Chambery, France. Indeed, the differences in the assessment procedures between units that require this kind of validation and the disappointing rate of success at the examinations in simulated situations have led the trainers to raise the following question : « How can these assessments be meaningful and consistent with the goal of training (help to become autonomous and reflexive practitioners) » ?This issue was addressed with concepts such as socioconstructivism, simulation in health, assessment and ethical principles. The change of practices has been the application of the principles of ?educative? assessment according to G. Nunziatti which strongly involves the students in the assessment?s process.In order to estimate the impact of these changes of practices, an unidentified online survey was offered to all students who benefited from this kind of assessment. The results between two classes of students having had different evaluation procedures have also been compared.The objectives were, after the implementation of this new kind of evaluation, to assess the students? satisfaction, to compare the failure rate at the tests in simulated conditions and to verify the compliance with the ethical principles.This study has shown the students? satisfaction about these new forms of assessment in simulated conditions, an increased success rate in the tests and the applicability of the ethical principles with this way of proceeding. However, the principles of justice and non-maleficence are difficult to implement. Nevertheless, this critical thinking on the procedures of assessment in simulated conditions has helped to change the practices and the assessment design by the teachers.

Suicide prevention by online support groups: an action theory-based model of emotional first aid.

PubMed

Gilat, Itzhak; Shahar, Golan

2009-01-01

In the last two decades, online support groups have become a valuable source of help for individuals in suicidal crisis. Their attractiveness is attributed to features that enhance help-seeking and self-disclosure such as availability, anonymity, and use of written communication. However, online support groups also suffer from limitations and potential risks as agents of suicide prevention. The Israeli Association for Emotional First Aid (ERAN) has developed a practical model that seeks to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of online suicide prevention. The model applies the Action Theory concepts whereby individuals shape their own environment. The present paper presents the model, which is based on an online support group combined with personal chat and a telephonic help line. The online support group is moderated by paraprofessionals who function as both process regulators and support providers. The principles and practice of the model are described, the theoretical rationale is presented, and directions for future research are suggested.

Preparing for a "Big One": The great southern California shakeout

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jones, L.M.; Benthien, M.

2011-01-01

The Great Southern California ShakeOut was a week of special events featuring the largest earthquake drill in United States history. On November 13, 2008, over 5 million Southern Californians pretended that the magnitude-7.8 ShakeOut scenario earthquake was occurring and practiced actions derived from results of the ShakeOut Scenario, to reduce the impact of a real, San Andreas Fault event. The communications campaign was based on four principles: 1) consistent messaging from multiple sources; 2) visual reinforcement: 3) encouragement of "milling"; and 4) focus on concrete actions. The goals of the Shake-Out established in Spring 2008 were: 1) to register 5 million people to participate in the drill; 2) to change the culture of earthquake preparedness in Southern California; and 3) to reduce earthquake losses in Southern California. Over 90% of the registrants surveyed the next year reported improvement in earthquake preparedness at their organization as a result of the ShakeOut. ?? 2011, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.

Ethical principles of informed consent: exploring nurses' dual role of care provider and researcher.

PubMed

Judkins-Cohn, Tanya M; Kielwasser-Withrow, Kiersten; Owen, Melissa; Ward, Jessica

2014-01-01

This article describes the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, and justice within the nurse researcher-participant relationship as these principles relate to the informed consent process for research. Within this process, the nurse is confronted with a dual role. This article describes how nurses, who are in the dual role of care provider and researcher, can apply these ethical principles to their practice in conjunction with the American Nurses Association's code of ethics for nurses. This article also describes, as an element of ethical practice, the importance of using participant-centered quality measures to aid informed decision making of participants in research. In addition, the article provides strategies for improving the informed consent process in nursing research. Finally, case scenarios are discussed, along with the application of ethical principles within the awareness of the dual role of the nurse as care provider and researcher. Copyright 2014, SLACK Incorporated.

Confronting ethical permissibility in animal research: rejecting a common assumption and extending a principle of justice.

PubMed

Choe Smith, Chong Un

2014-04-01

A common assumption in the selection of nonhuman animal subjects for research and the approval of research is that, if the risks of a procedure are too great for humans, and if there is a so-called scientific necessity, then it is permissible to use nonhuman animal subjects. I reject the common assumption as neglecting the central ethical issue of the permissibility of using nonhuman animal subjects and as being inconsistent with the principle of justice used in human subjects research ethics. This principle requires that certain classes of individuals not be subjected to a disproportionate share of the burdens or risks of research. I argue for an extension of this principle to nonhuman animal research and show that a prima facie violation of the principle occurs because nonhuman animals bear an overwhelmingly disproportionate share of the risks of research without sufficient justification or reciprocal benefit.

Biases in children's and adults' moral judgments.

PubMed

Powell, Nina L; Derbyshire, Stuart W G; Guttentag, Robert E

2012-09-01

Two experiments examined biases in children's (5/6- and 7/8-year-olds) and adults' moral judgments. Participants at all ages judged that it was worse to produce harm when harm occurred (a) through action rather than inaction (omission bias), (b) when physical contact with the victim was involved (physical contact principle), and (c) when the harm was produced as a direct means to an end rather than as an unintended but foreseeable side effect of the action (intention principle). The youngest participants, however, did not incorporate benefit when making judgments about situations in which harm to one individual resulted in benefit to five individuals. Older participants showed some preference for benefit resulting from action (commission) as opposed to inaction (omission). The findings are discussed in the context of the theory that moral judgments result, in part, from the operation of an inherent, intuitive moral faculty compared with the theory that moral judgments require development of necessary cognitive abilities. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Minutes of the Rapid Action Fire Protection System Seminar Held at Rock Island, Illinois on 23-24 October 1984

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-10-01

A\\5AI5?? 93<» MINUTES OF THE RAPID ACTION FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM SEMINAR AMCCOM SAFETY OFFICE 23-24 OCTOBER 1984 PREFACE This seminar was...held as a medium by which there could be a free exchange of information on rapid action fire protection systems used in munition production operations...The objectives of the seminar were- - Discuss system operating principles & system components. - Exchange latest technical data, developments, and

Signals for a promoting action of radiation in cancer incidence data.

PubMed

Heidenreich, W F

2002-09-01

The two-stage clonal expansion model allows us in principle to separate the initiating and promoting action of radiation. Features of the relative risk functions which indicate the action of promotion most clearly are identified for acute and for protracted exposures. They are compared with data: for acute exposure, some results of a preliminary analysis of the atomic-bomb survivor data are given; for protracted exposure, patterns in the fatal lung tumours of radon-exposed rats are discussed.

Divergent conservation laws in hyperbolic thermoelasticity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murashkin, E. V.; Radayev, Y. N.

2018-05-01

The present study is devoted to the problem of formulation of conservation laws in divergent form for hyperbolic thermoelastic continua. The field formalism is applied to study the problem. A natural density of thermoelastic action and the corresponding variational least action principle are formulated. A special form of the first variation of the action is employed to obtain 4-covariant divergent conservation laws. Differential field equations and constitutive laws are derived from a special form of the first variation of the action integral. The objectivity of constitutive equations is provided by the rotationally invariant forms of the Lagrangian employed.

Yesterday's Extraordinary Research Yields Today's Ordinary Principles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Mary Norris

2005-01-01

Ordinary performance improvement tips, techniques, and principles that are taken for granted today have their roots in extraordinary research. Today, the learning principle that states that things that occur together tend to be recalled together is widely accepted, and this principle of association as an instructional technique is often used. How…

National Clearinghouse for Drug Abuse Information Report Series, Series 22, No. 1. Community Action Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Inst. on Drug Abuse (DHEW/PHS), Rockville, MD. National Clearinghouse for Drug Abuse Information.

Based on the principle that drug abuse is no longer a problem restricted to certain economic, social, educational, or intellectual levels or ethnic groups, this pamphlet relates some examples of on-going community action programs and projects. Essentially, these programs are striving to solve some of the drug related problems in their immediate…

Developing a Service Management Strategy Facilitated by Action Learning: An Empirical Study from the UK Health & Fitness Industry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliver, John

2006-01-01

One of the principle tenets of action learning is that it provides the potential to explore and solve complex organisational problems. The question of how best to develop a future business strategy is such a problem. Existing literature on strategy making presents a multi-faceted debate, suggesting that the complexity of competitive environments…

The Big 5: The Evolution of the Performance Systems Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tosti, Donald T.

2005-01-01

Human Performance Technology (HPT) consists of a few principles and a host of applications. The power of HPT comes from the fact that it is fundamental to an understanding of all forms of purposeful activity, ranging from the actions of an individual to the actions of an international organization. As a practical discipline, HPT began some 40…

Moral Intelligence: An Antidote to Examination Malpractices in Nigerian Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olusola, Olayiwola Idowu; Ajayi, Oluwagbemiga Samson

2015-01-01

Moral intelligence is the capacity to apply moral principles to one's own values, goals and actions (or the ability to see what is right and integrate it into one's life and actions) It is considered as the individual capacity to understand right from wrong, to have strong ethical convictions and to act on them to behave in the right and…

A clash of paradigms? Western and indigenous views on health research involving Aboriginal peoples.

PubMed

Campbell, Theresa Diane

2014-07-01

To explore the issues of data management and data ownership with regard to health research conducted in aboriginal or indigenous populations in Canada. Research with aboriginal communities in Canada has often been conducted by researchers who had little or no understanding of the community in which the research was taking place. This led to 'helicopter' research, which benefitted the researcher but not the community. National aboriginal leadership developed the ownership, control, access, and possession (OCAP) principles, which outline how to manage research data regarding aboriginal people and to counteract disrespectful methodologies. However, these principles present their own set of challenges to those who would conduct research with aboriginal populations. Documents from the Assembly of First Nations, the Government of Canada, Aboriginal writers and researchers, and Nursing theorists and researchers. This is a methodology paper that reviews the issues of data ownership when conducting research with Aboriginal populations. The authors explore indigenous and Western views of knowledge development, outline and discuss the OCAP principles, and present the Canadian Institute of Health Research's guidelines for health research involving aboriginal people as a guide for those who want to carry out ethical and culturally competent research, do no harm and produce research that can benefit aboriginal peoples. There are special considerations associated with conducting research with Aboriginal populations. The Assembly of First Nations wants researchers to use the Ownership, Control, Access and Possession (OCAP) principles with First Nations data. These principles are restrictive and need to be discussed with stakeholders before research is undertaken. In Canada, it is imperative that researchers use the Canadian Institute of Health Research Guidelines for Health Research Involving Aboriginal People to ensure culturally sensitive and ethical conduct during the course of the research with Aboriginal populations. However, some communities may also want to use the OCAP principles and these principles will need to be taken into consideration when designing the study.

Fight, Flight, or Remain Silent? Juggling Multiple Accountabilities throughout the Formative Stage of a Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative.

PubMed

Kesten, Stacey M; Perez, Deborah A; Marques, Denise S; Evans, Scot D; Sulma, Adrienne

2017-12-01

This paper describes the experiences of a research team as they navigated uncertain ethical and political terrain throughout the formative stage of a public housing redevelopment project. Specifically, we discuss the challenges related to balancing multiple accountabilities and the tensions among the various roles and responsibilities that emanated from different accountabilities. Due to contractual obligations to our funding source, established relations with community partners, and an ethical imperative to align with those holding the least power, we grappled with embodying multiple and often conflicting roles. Without oversight provided by our university institutional review board or a clear ethical framework for community psychology research and action, our team was left to negotiate the challenges that emerged through critical reflection and financial considerations. Throughout the case example presented in this paper, we highlight our difficulty in ethical decision-making with respect to the principles of obligation, disclosure, consent, commitment, and professionalism. Community psychologists often straddle the realms of academia, community partnerships, and conscious engagement with little guidance in navigating often conflicting roles and value systems. We present our narrative to highlight the complexity of scholar-activism in the context of community psychology and the necessity for developing ethical standards and guidelines tailored to meet the unique needs of community psychologists. © Society for Community Research and Action 2017.

Endocrine Disruptors and Health Effects in Africa: A Call for Action.

PubMed

Bornman, Maria S; Aneck-Hahn, Natalie H; de Jager, Christiaan; Wagenaar, Gesina M; Bouwman, Hindrik; Barnhoorn, Irene E J; Patrick, Sean M; Vandenberg, Laura N; Kortenkamp, Andreas; Blumberg, Bruce; Kimmins, Sarah; Jegou, Bernard; Auger, Jacques; DiGangi, Joseph; Heindel, Jerrold J

2017-08-22

Africa faces a number of unique environmental challenges. Unfortunately, it lacks the infrastructure needed to support the comprehensive environmental studies that could provide the scientific basis to inform environmental policies. There are a number of known sources of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and other hazardous chemicals in Africa. However, a coordinated approach to identify and monitor these contaminants and to develop strategies for public health interventions has not yet been made. This commentary summarizes the scientific evidence presented by experts at the First African Endocrine Disruptors meeting. We describe a "call to action" to utilize the available scientific knowledge to address the impact of EDCs on human and wildlife health in Africa. We identify existing knowledge gaps about exposures to EDCs in Africa and describe how well-designed research strategies are needed to address these gaps. A lack of resources for research and a lag in policy implementation slows down intervention strategies and poses a challenge to advancing future health in Africa. To address the many challenges posed by EDCs, we argue that Africans should take the lead in prioritization and evaluation of environmental hazards, including EDCs. We recommend the institution of education and training programs for chemical users, adoption of the precautionary principle, establishment of biomonitoring programs, and funding of community-based epidemiology and wildlife research programs led and funded by African institutes and private companies. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1774.

Beyond justice.

PubMed

Orr, R D

1999-01-01

Bioethicists have generally looked after the contractual and fiduciary obligations of health care professionals to patients by their adherence to and insistence on the principles of ethical action--autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice. But these principles, while necessary, only serve the best interests of people already recognized as patients. If we truly want to help vulnerable populations--those who fall outside the margin--then we need to go beyond justice to embrace the theological principles of mercy and grace; that is, we need to rely more completely on the way medicine was before secularization and commercialism. Competency and compassion intertwine in western medicine.

A novel derivation of the boundary term for the action in Lanczos-Lovelock gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakraborty, Sumanta; Parattu, Krishnamohan; Padmanabhan, T.

2017-09-01

We present a novel derivation of the boundary term for the action in Lanczos-Lovelock gravity, starting from the boundary contribution in the variation of the Lanczos-Lovelock action. The derivation presented here is straightforward, i.e., one starts from the Lanczos-Lovelock action principle and the action itself dictates the boundary structure and hence the boundary term one needs to add to the action to make it well-posed. It also gives the full structure of the contribution at the boundary of the complete action, enabling us to read off the degrees of freedom to be fixed at the boundary, their corresponding conjugate momenta and the total derivative contribution on the boundary. We also provide a separate derivation of the Gauss-Bonnet case.

Realising the ICPD 20 years later: shifting the paradigms for research and education.

PubMed

Gruskin, Sofia; Ravindran, T K Sundari

2014-01-01

The extent to which people can enjoy their sexual and reproductive health is invariably intertwined with issues of disadvantage, inequality and human rights. Increased conservatism, lack of political will, outright resistance and the limited incorporation of human rights norms and standards into sexual and reproductive health policies and programmes are central challenges. Building capacity and skills to understand and address the range of issues raised by sexual and reproductive health and rights is of critical importance. Committed to the principles underlying the ICPD agenda and heavily involved in research and education, with a shared desire to bring global attention to the need for gender- and rights-oriented research and training in sexual and reproductive health, a group of us came together to form the Rights-Oriented Research and Education (RORE) Network for Sexual and Reproductive Health at the end of 2012. To generate dialogue, discussion and action, we propose what we mean by a human rights orientation to sexual and reproductive health and what we believe is needed going forward to achieve a human rights orientation to sexual and reproductive health education and research.

Integrating principles and multidisciplinary projects in design education

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nevill, Gale E., Jr.

1992-01-01

The critical need to improve engineering design education in the U.S. is presented and a number of actions to achieve that end are discussed. The importance of teaching undergraduates the latest methods and principles through the means of team design in multidisciplinary projects leading to a testable product is emphasized. Desirable training for design instructors is described and techniques for selecting and managing projects that teach effectively are discussed.

Implementing the 4D cycle of appreciative inquiry in health care: a methodological review.

PubMed

Trajkovski, Suza; Schmied, Virginia; Vickers, Margaret; Jackson, Debra

2013-06-01

To examine and critique how the phases of the 4D cycle (Discovery, Dream, Design, and Destiny) of appreciative inquiry are implemented in a healthcare context. Appreciative inquiry is a theoretical research perspective, an emerging research methodology and a world view that builds on action research, organizational learning, and organizational change. Increasing numbers of articles published provide insights and learning into its theoretical and philosophical underpinnings. Many articles describe appreciative inquiry and the outcomes of their studies; however, there is a gap in the literature examining the approaches commonly used to implement the 4D cycle in a healthcare context. A methodological review following systematic principles. A methodological review was conducted including articles from the inception of appreciative inquiry in 1986 to the time of writing this review in November, 2011. Key database searches included CINAHL, Emerald, MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus. A methodological review following systematic principles was undertaken. Studies were included if they described in detail the methods used to implement the 4D cycle of appreciative inquiry in a healthcare context. Nine qualitative studies met the inclusion criteria. Results highlighted that appreciative inquiry application is unique and varied between studies. The 4D phases were not rigid steps and were adapted to the setting and participants. Overall, participant enthusiasm and commitment were highlighted suggesting appreciative inquiry was mostly positively perceived by participants. Appreciative inquiry provides a positive way forward shifting from problems to solutions offering a new way of practicing in health care and health research. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Climate-smart conservation: putting adaption principles into practice

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stein, Bruce A.; Glick, Patty; Edelson, Naomi; Staudt, Amanda

2014-01-01

Climate change already is having significant impacts on the nation’s species and ecosystems, and these effects are projected to increase considerably over time. As a result, climate change is now a primary lens through which conservation and natural resource management must be viewed. How should we prepare for and respond to the impacts of climate change on wildlife and their habitats? What should we be doing differently in light of these climatic shifts, and what actions continue to make sense? Climate-Smart Conservation: Putting Adaptation Principles into Practice offers guidance for designing and carrying out conservation in the face of a rapidly changing climate. Addressing the growing threats brought about or accentuated by rapid climate change requires a fundamental shift in the practice of natural resource management and conservation. Traditionally, conservationists have focused their efforts on protecting and managing systems to maintain their current state, or to restore degraded systems back to a historical state regarded as more desirable. Conservation planners and practitioners will need to adopt forward-looking goals and implement strategies specifically designed to prepare for and adjust to current and future climatic changes, and the associated impacts on natural systems and human communities—an emerging discipline known as climate change adaptation. The field of climate change adaptation is still in its infancy. Although there is increasing attention focused on the subject, much of the guidance developed to date has been general in nature, concentrating on high-level principles rather than specific actions. It is against this backdrop that this guide was prepared as a means for helping put adaptation principles into practice, and for moving adaptation from planning to action.

Ethical principles and concepts in medicine.

PubMed

Taylor, Robert M

2013-01-01

Clinical ethics is the application of ethical theories, principles, rules, and guidelines to clinical situations in medicine. Therefore, clinical ethics is analogous to clinical medicine in that general principles and concepts must be applied intelligently and thoughtfully to unique clinical circumstances. The three major ethical theories are consequentialism, whereby the consequences of an action determine whether it is ethical; deontology, whereby to be ethical is to do one's duty, and virtue ethics, whereby ethics is a matter of cultivating appropriate virtues. In the real world of medicine, most people find that all three perspectives offer useful insights and are complementary rather than contradictory. The most common approach to clinical ethical analysis is principlism. According to principlism, the medical practitioner must attempt to uphold four important principles: respect for patient autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. When these principles conflict, resolving them depends on the details of the case. Alternative approaches to medical ethics, including the primacy of beneficence, care-based ethics, feminist ethics, and narrative ethics, help to define the limitations of principlism and provide a broader perspective on medical ethics. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Is the Precautionary Principle Really Incoherent?

PubMed

Boyer-Kassem, Thomas

2017-11-01

The Precautionary Principle has been an increasingly important principle in international treaties since the 1980s. Through varying formulations, it states that when an activity can lead to a catastrophe for human health or the environment, measures should be taken to prevent it even if the cause-and-effect relationship is not fully established scientifically. The Precautionary Principle has been critically discussed from many sides. This article concentrates on a theoretical argument by Peterson (2006) according to which the Precautionary Principle is incoherent with other desiderata of rational decision making, and thus cannot be used as a decision rule that selects an action among several ones. I claim here that Peterson's argument fails to establish the incoherence of the Precautionary Principle, by attacking three of its premises. I argue (i) that Peterson's treatment of uncertainties lacks generality, (ii) that his Archimedian condition is problematic for incommensurability reasons, and (iii) that his explication of the Precautionary Principle is not adequate. This leads me to conjecture that the Precautionary Principle can be envisaged as a coherent decision rule, again. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

Feminist Social Work: Practice and Theory of Practice.

PubMed

Eyal-Lubling, Roni; Krumer-Nevo, Michal

2016-07-01

Although feminist social work has been practiced in Israel since the 1970s, little has been written about it. This qualitative study aims to fill this gap by documenting and conceptualizing feminist theory of practice and actual practice based on interviews with 12 feminist social workers. Findings reveal that the interviewees perceive feminist practice as significantly different from traditional social work practice based on four analytical principles: (1) gender analysis, (2) awareness of power relations, (3) analysis of welfare services as structures of oppression, and (4) utilization of feminist language, as well as 10 principles of action. The principles are discussed in the context of feminist social work in Israel and in light of feminist principles described in international literature.

A Canadian framework for applying the precautionary principle to public health issues.

PubMed

Weir, Erica; Schabas, Richard; Wilson, Kumanan; Mackie, Chris

2010-01-01

The precautionary principle has influenced environmental and public health policy. It essentially states that complete evidence of a potential risk is not required before action is taken to mitigate the effects of the potential risk. The application of precaution to public health issues is not straightforward and could paradoxically cause harm to the public's health when applied inappropriately. To avoid this, we propose a framework for applying the precautionary principle to potential public health risks. The framework consists of ten guiding questions to help establish whether a proposed application of the precautionary principle on a public health matter is based on adequacy of the evidence of causation, severity of harm and acceptability of the precautionary measures.

Achieving human and machine accessibility of cited data in scholarly publications

PubMed Central

Starr, Joan; Castro, Eleni; Crosas, Mercè; Dumontier, Michel; Downs, Robert R.; Duerr, Ruth; Haak, Laurel L.; Haendel, Melissa; Herman, Ivan; Hodson, Simon; Hourclé, Joe; Kratz, John Ernest; Lin, Jennifer; Nielsen, Lars Holm; Nurnberger, Amy; Proell, Stefan; Rauber, Andreas; Sacchi, Simone; Smith, Arthur; Taylor, Mike; Clark, Tim

2015-01-01

Reproducibility and reusability of research results is an important concern in scientific communication and science policy. A foundational element of reproducibility and reusability is the open and persistently available presentation of research data. However, many common approaches for primary data publication in use today do not achieve sufficient long-term robustness, openness, accessibility or uniformity. Nor do they permit comprehensive exploitation by modern Web technologies. This has led to several authoritative studies recommending uniform direct citation of data archived in persistent repositories. Data are to be considered as first-class scholarly objects, and treated similarly in many ways to cited and archived scientific and scholarly literature. Here we briefly review the most current and widely agreed set of principle-based recommendations for scholarly data citation, the Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles (JDDCP). We then present a framework for operationalizing the JDDCP; and a set of initial recommendations on identifier schemes, identifier resolution behavior, required metadata elements, and best practices for realizing programmatic machine actionability of cited data. The main target audience for the common implementation guidelines in this article consists of publishers, scholarly organizations, and persistent data repositories, including technical staff members in these organizations. But ordinary researchers can also benefit from these recommendations. The guidance provided here is intended to help achieve widespread, uniform human and machine accessibility of deposited data, in support of significantly improved verification, validation, reproducibility and re-use of scholarly/scientific data. PMID:26167542