A theory-based model of translation practices in public health participatory research.

PubMed

Clavier, Carole; Sénéchal, Yan; Vibert, Stéphane; Potvin, Louise

2012-06-01

This article explores the innovative practices of actors specifically mandated to support interactions between academic researchers and their partners from the community during public health participatory research. Drawing on the concept of translation as developed in actor-network theory and found in the literature on knowledge transfer and the sociology of intermediate actors, we build a theory-based model of the translation practices developed by these actors at the interface between community and university. We refine this model by using it to analyse material from two focus groups comprising participants purposively selected because they work at the nexus between research and practice. Our model of translation practices includes cognitive (dealing with the contents of the research), strategic (geared to facilitating the research process and balancing power relationships among the partners) and logistic practices (the hands-on tasks of coordination). Combined, these three types of translation practices demonstrate that actors working at the interface in participatory research contribute to multidirectional exchanges and the co-construction of knowledge among research partners. Beyond the case of participatory research, theorising translation practices helps understand how knowledge is produced at the interface between academic and experiential (or lay) knowledge. © 2011 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2011 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The College President's Role in Fund Raising.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Michael T.

The role of the college president as one of the chief actors in academic fund raising is examined against the background of today's period of financial caution and increased competition for philanthropic support. The paper first provides an overview of the state of the art of fund raising and some ways in which college and universities have…

A Low-cost System for Generating Near-realistic Virtual Actors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afifi, Mahmoud; Hussain, Khaled F.; Ibrahim, Hosny M.; Omar, Nagwa M.

2015-06-01

Generating virtual actors is one of the most challenging fields in computer graphics. The reconstruction of a realistic virtual actor has been paid attention by the academic research and the film industry to generate human-like virtual actors. Many movies were acted by human-like virtual actors, where the audience cannot distinguish between real and virtual actors. The synthesis of realistic virtual actors is considered a complex process. Many techniques are used to generate a realistic virtual actor; however they usually require expensive hardware equipment. In this paper, a low-cost system that generates near-realistic virtual actors is presented. The facial features of the real actor are blended with a virtual head that is attached to the actor's body. Comparing with other techniques that generate virtual actors, the proposed system is considered a low-cost system that requires only one camera that records the scene without using any expensive hardware equipment. The results of our system show that the system generates good near-realistic virtual actors that can be used on many applications.

U.S.-China Relations: An Overview of Policy Issues

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-08-01

consul at the Embassy of Ecuador in London.7 Carney indicated that the White House believed the Chinese central government in Beijing was involved in...the U.S. agenda is commercial cyber espionage that the U.S. government says appears to be directly attributable to official Chinese actors. Other...Trade Organization (WTO) Commitments ................... 38 China and the WTO Government Procurement Agreement

Observers' focus of attention in the simulation of self-perception.

PubMed

Wegner, D M; Finstuen, K

1977-01-01

This research was designed to assess the effects of a manipulation of observers' focus of attention--from a focus on the actor to a focus on the actor's situation--upon observers' attributions of attitude to an actor in a simulation of a forced-compliance cognitive dissonance experiment. Observers induced through empathy instructions to focus attention on the actor's situation inferred less actor attitude positivity than did observers given no specific observational set. In addition, situation-focused observers inferred that the actor's attitude was directly related to reward magnitude, whereas actor-focused observers inferred that the actor's attitude was inversely related to reward magnitude. An extension of self-perception theory, offered as an interpretation of these and other results, suggested that motivation attribution made by actors and observers in dissonance and simulation studies are dependent on focus of attention. The attributions made by actor-focused observers simulate those of objectively self-aware actors and are based upon perceived intrinsic motivation; the attributions of situation-focused observers simulate those of subjectively self-aware actors and are based upon perceived extrinsic motivation.

Flightdeck and air traffic control collaboration evaluation (FACE): evaluating aviation communication in the laboratory and field.

PubMed

Sharples, Sarah; Stedmon, Alex; Cox, Gemma; Nicholls, Alistair; Shuttleworth, Tracey; Wilson, John

2007-07-01

The challenge to anticipate the human factors impact of introducing new technologies into a safety critical environment can be addressed in a number of ways. This paper presents a research programme that utilised both laboratory- and field-based assessments to examine the way in which datalink and freeflight may affect the communication and collaboration between pilots, air traffic controllers, and other actors and artefacts in the flightdeck-air traffic control (ATC) joint cognitive system. An overview of the results from these studies is presented, and guidance is provided as to the likely situations in which this new technology is most likely to be successfully applied. In addition, the methodological approach of combining results from field and laboratory data is discussed.

Intermodal transport and distribution patterns in ports relationship to hinterland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dinu, O.; Dragu, V.; Ruscă, F.; Ilie, A.; Oprea, C.

2017-08-01

It is of great importance to examine all interactions between ports, terminals, intermodal transport and logistic actors of distribution channels, as their optimization can lead to operational improvement. Proposed paper starts with a brief overview of different goods types and allocation of their logistic costs, with emphasis on storage component. Present trend is to optimize storage costs by means of port storage area buffer function, by making the best use of free storage time available, most of the ports offer. As a research methodology, starting point is to consider the cost structure of a generic intermodal transport (storage, handling and transport costs) and to link this to intermodal distribution patterns most frequently cast-off in port relationship to hinterland. The next step is to evaluate storage costs impact on distribution pattern selection. For a given value of port free storage time, a corresponding value of total storage time in the distribution channel can be identified, in order to substantiate a distribution pattern shift. Different scenarios for transport and handling costs variation, recorded when distribution pattern shift, are integrated in order to establish the reaction of the actors involved in port related logistic and intermodal transport costs evolution is analysed in order to optimize distribution pattern selection.

Das baden-württembergische Innovationssystem im Wandel:. Akteure vor neuen Herausforderungen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stahlecker, Thomas; Zenker, Andrea

2017-09-01

Recently, new forms of innovation, new actors and actor constellations can be observed, especially in "mature" innovation systems like Baden-Wuerttemberg, that are flanked by new instruments of innovation support. Against the backdrop of an evolved innovation system heuristics, this paper outlines these new developments in Baden-Wuerttemberg. It uses examples to describe characteristic innovation actors, actors from the research landscape, education and the intermediary function of mediators, social actors as well as the aspect of innovation financing and to reveal current tendencies and trends. It becomes clear that the innovation system in Baden-Wuerttemberg has continuously evolved and become more differentiated. Its industries' research efforts and modernization activities as well as innovation-friendly policies contribute to the adaptability of the system and are major influencing factors for the ongoing success of the innovation system. This is supplemented by diverse innovations at the level of actors, institutions and measures. The question concerns the governance and capacity of this complex system given dynamic changing global circumstances.

Towards a well-connected, global, interdisciplinary research community for rational decision making in the Anthropocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rauser, Florian

2016-04-01

The Young Earth System Scientists community YESS (yess-community.org) is a global network of Earth System Science early career researchers focussing on interdisciplinarity. One of the central goals of our early career network is to communicate to the world that Earth System Science has accepted the central challenge of creating tangible products for the benefit of society. A coordinated and truly global approach to Earth System Science is our best attempt to focus our understanding of the complex interplay of Earth's processes into tools for future societies, i.e., for humanity to move away from being a sorcerer's apprentice and to become a rational actor. We believe that starting with the next generation of Earth system scientists to work on that unified approach and creating an environment that allows ambitious, forward-thinking, interdisciplinary science to blossom will be our best way forward into a mature Anthropocene. In 2015 YESS started a process to come up with a definition of the Frontiers of Earth System Science research from an early career perspective, together with the research arms of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). During this process it became apparent that there are a few major aspects that cannot be put into the forefront often enough: one, the reality of capacity building; societies can only have robust decision-making if their decision makers can be advised not only by global assessment processes like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) but also by local experts. The reality of a globalised science community is often only true for a few scientists at the very top from a selected number of countries. Two, the integration and balance of both user-driven and fundamental research is key to make science one pillar of a global, mature Anthropocene. This includes a better way to communicate science to end users and a more comprehensive homogenisation of weather and climate research agendas. Three, a complete overview of the scales of predictability and control of the Earth system has to be developed and maintained as a basis of societal decision making. Four, the interdisciplinary research that is required for better understanding the Anthropocene requires global research coordination across fields that is currently not necessarily reflected in standing research organisation structures. Five, the necessity of better integration of science into societal decision processes. The 2015 Conference of the Parties 21 in Paris has shown what is possible on a global, aggregated policy level - but the next years will have to show which societal actors can be thought of as rational and deliberate. This point addresses the issue that science alone is not the rational actor we need in the future, but can only advise those actors. In this session we want to outline those arguments with examples and discuss the influence of a global research funding structure that often reflects what we did in the past more, than what we want to do in the future. This discussion includes an example of the concept of science based target setting, a methodology developed to transfer scientific information into guidelines for companies.

Modeling Temporal Variation in Social Network: An Evolutionary Web Graph Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitra, Susanta; Bagchi, Aditya

A social network is a social structure between actors (individuals, organization or other social entities) and indicates the ways in which they are connected through various social relationships like friendships, kinships, professional, academic etc. Usually, a social network represents a social community, like a club and its members or a city and its citizens etc. or a research group communicating over Internet. In seventies Leinhardt [1] first proposed the idea of representing a social community by a digraph. Later, this idea became popular among other research workers like, network designers, web-service application developers and e-learning modelers. It gave rise to a rapid proliferation of research work in the area of social network analysis. Some of the notable structural properties of a social network are connectedness between actors, reachability between a source and a target actor, reciprocity or pair-wise connection between actors with bi-directional links, centrality of actors or the important actors having high degree or more connections and finally the division of actors into sub-structures or cliques or strongly-connected components. The cycles present in a social network may even be nested [2, 3]. The formal definition of these structural properties will be provided in Sect. 8.2.1. The division of actors into cliques or sub-groups can be a very important factor for understanding a social structure, particularly the degree of cohesiveness in a community. The number, size, and connections among the sub-groups in a network are useful in understanding how the network, as a whole, is likely to behave.

Short Cuts and Extended Techniques: Rethinking Relations between Technology and Educational Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thumlert, Kurt; de Castell, Suzanne; Jenson, Jennifer

2015-01-01

Building upon a recent call to renew actor-network theory (ANT) for educational research, this article reconsiders relations between technology and educational theory. Taking cues from actor-network theorists, this discussion considers the technologically-mediated networks in which learning actors are situated, acted upon, and acting, and traces…

Use of 3D techniques for virtual production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grau, Oliver; Price, Marc C.; Thomas, Graham A.

2000-12-01

Virtual production for broadcast is currently mainly used in the form of virtual studios, where the resulting media is a sequence of 2D images. With the steady increase of 3D computing power in home PCs and the technical progress in 3D display technology, the content industry is looking for new kinds of program material, which makes use of 3D technology. The applications range form analysis of sport scenes, 3DTV, up to the creation of fully immersive content. In a virtual studio a camera films one or more actors in a controlled environment. The pictures of the actors can be segmented very accurately in real time using chroma keying techniques. The isolated silhouette can be integrated into a new synthetic virtual environment using a studio mixer. The resulting shape description of the actors is 2D so far. For the realization of more sophisticated optical interactions of the actors with the virtual environment, such as occlusions and shadows, an object-based 3D description of scenes is needed. However, the requirements of shape accuracy, and the kind of representation, differ in accordance with the application. This contribution gives an overview of requirements and approaches for the generation of an object-based 3D description in various applications studied by the BBC R and D department. An enhanced Virtual Studio for 3D programs is proposed that covers a range of applications for virtual production.

Myself or someone like me: a review of the literature on the psychological well-being of child actors.

PubMed

Anderson, Leslie Margaret

2011-09-01

The number of child actors on television, in movies, and on stage has increased dramatically in recent years. While many regulations and laws are in place to protect the physical and financial well-being of these young performers, little attention has been given to their psychological health and the strength of their self-concepts. This paper reviews the literature related to child actors' psychological well-being and makes a case for future research into the topic. Available data are very limited but suggest that actors may have a weaker self-concept and more psychological concerns than people who are not actors, and that the personalities and behaviors actors display publically may be incorporated into their self-concepts. As a result, child actors appear to have unique psychological needs that should be addressed.

[Be in role. Examination of dissociative experiences of theatrical actors].

PubMed

Docsa, Viktória Pálma; Szemán-Nagy, Anita

2012-01-01

In spite of the fact that acting makes great demands on the personality, there is lack of research dealing with the psychological status of actors. Resulted from their profession actors often experience dissociation, since absorption and changing of their identity is a routine task for them. They are acting on the stage, and they are acting in private. 36 theatrical actors completed the DISQ-H version of the Dissociation Questionnaire measuring four subscales: Identity Confusion, Amnesia, Loss of Control and Absorption. In order to understand their experiences deeper, nine actors were interviewed. The sample consisted of 21 men and 15 women and their ages ranged from 23 to 60. Higher ages implied longer career as an actor, thus the youngest subject had been working for 2 years, while the oldest one had been working for 39 years. DISQ-H total score results of the actors were significantly higher compared to the Hungarian standard scores. As we expected, the two non-pathological subscales (Loss of Control and Absorption) showed significant differences compared to the standard scores of the subscales. In the case of Identity Confusion subscale we found no significant differences, however the results indicate that the tendency observed emphasizes the importance of further research of this phenomenon. To sum up, dissociative experiences proved to be important elements of acting.

Who decides? The decision-making process of juvenile judges concerning minors with mental disorders.

PubMed

Cappon, Leen

2016-01-01

Previous research on juvenile judges' decision-making process has neglected the role of the different actors involved in judicial procedures. The decision can be considered as a result of information exchange between the different actors involved. The process of making a decision is equally important as the decision itself, especially when the decision considers minors with mental disorders. The presence and the type of interaction determine the information available to the juvenile judges to make their final decision. The overall aim of this study is to gain insight into the role of all actors, including the juvenile judge, in the juvenile judge's decision-making process in cases relating to minors with mental disorders. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with professional actors (n=32), minors (n=31) and parents (n=17). The findings indicated that the judge's decision is overall the result of an interaction between the juvenile judge, the social services investigator and the youth psychiatrist. The other professional actors, the minors and the parents had only a limited role in the decision-making process. The research concludes that the judge's decision-making process should be based on dialogue, and requires enhanced collaboration between the juvenile court and youth psychiatrists from mental health services. Future decision-making research should pay more attention to the interactions of the actors that guide a juvenile judge's decision. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Actor modelling and its contribution to the development of integrative strategies for management of pharmaceuticals in drinking water.

PubMed

Titz, Alexandra; Döll, Petra

2009-02-01

Widespread presence of human pharmaceuticals in water resources across the globe is documented. While some, but certainly not enough, research on the occurrence, fate and effect of pharmaceuticals in water resources has been carried out, a holistic risk management strategy is missing. The transdisciplinary research project "start" aimed to develop an integrative strategy by the participation of experts representing key actors in the problem field "pharmaceuticals in drinking water". In this paper, we describe a novel modelling method, actor modelling with the semi-quantitative software DANA (Dynamic Actor Network Analysis), and its application in support of identifying an integrative risk management strategy. Based on the individual perceptions of different actors, the approach allows the identification of optimal strategies. Actors' perceptions were elicited by participatory model building and interviews, and were then modelled in perception graphs. Actor modelling indicated that an integrative strategy that targets environmentally-responsible prescription, therapy, and disposal of pharmaceuticals on one hand, and the development of environmentally-friendly pharmaceuticals on the other hand, will likely be most effective for reducing the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in drinking water (at least in Germany where the study was performed). However, unlike most other actors, the pharmaceutical industry itself does not perceive that the production of environmentally-friendly pharmaceuticals is an action that helps to achieve its goals, but contends that continued development of highly active pharmaceutical ingredients will help to reduce the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the water cycle. Investment in advanced waste or drinking water treatment is opposed by both the wastewater treatment company and the drinking water supplier, and is not mentioned as appropriate by the other actors. According to our experience, actor modelling is a useful method to suggest effective and realisable integrative risk management strategies in complex problem fields that involve many societal actors.

From Capitol Hill to Dupont Circle and Beyond: The Influence of Policy Actors in the Federal Higher Education Rulemaking Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Natow, Rebecca S.

2015-01-01

The federal higher education rulemaking process develops policies that can profoundly affect college students, higher education institutions, and other actors in the higher education policy community. But little has been researched about the influence that different types of actors have on higher education rulemaking. By analyzing interviews with…

Emotional labor actors: a latent profile analysis of emotional labor strategies.

PubMed

Gabriel, Allison S; Daniels, Michael A; Diefendorff, James M; Greguras, Gary J

2015-05-01

Research on emotional labor focuses on how employees utilize 2 main regulation strategies-surface acting (i.e., faking one's felt emotions) and deep acting (i.e., attempting to feel required emotions)-to adhere to emotional expectations of their jobs. To date, researchers largely have considered how each strategy functions to predict outcomes in isolation. However, this variable-centered perspective ignores the possibility that there are subpopulations of employees who may differ in their combined use of surface and deep acting. To address this issue, we conducted 2 studies that examined surface acting and deep acting from a person-centered perspective. Using latent profile analysis, we identified 5 emotional labor profiles-non-actors, low actors, surface actors, deep actors, and regulators-and found that these actor profiles were distinguished by several emotional labor antecedents (positive affectivity, negative affectivity, display rules, customer orientation, and emotion demands-abilities fit) and differentially predicted employee outcomes (emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, and felt inauthenticity). Our results reveal new insights into the nature of emotion regulation in emotional labor contexts and how different employees may characteristically use distinct combinations of emotion regulation strategies to manage their emotional expressions at work. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Opportunity or Affection? Participation of Respondents' Partners in a Multi-Actor Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Müller, Bettina

2017-01-01

Multi-actor studies are particularly suited for partner and family research, as they capture relationships beyond the conventional restraint of the household. Previous research on partner participation in the German Family Panel indicates higher participation of cohabiting and married partners compared to those living apart together. The present…

"Research-Based" and "Profession-Oriented" as Prominent Knowledge Discourses in Curriculum Restructuring of Professional Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Afdal, Hilde W.

2017-01-01

This article questions what kind of actors become involved and analyzes what forms of knowledge are activated, when discourses such as "research-based" and "profession-oriented" become basic preconditions in national curriculum change processes in Norway. A "mapping" is conducted, comprised of actors and ideas, played…

Application of actor level social characteristic indicator selection for the precursory detection of bullies in online social networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, Holly M.; Fields, Jeremy; Hall, Robert T.; White, Joshua S.

2016-05-01

Bullying is a national problem for families, courts, schools, and the economy. Social, educational, and professional lives of victims are affected. Early detection of bullies mitigates destructive effects of bullying. Our previous research found, given specific characteristics of an actor, actor logics can be developed utilizing input from natural language processing and graph analysis. Given similar characteristics of cyberbullies, in this paper, we create specific actor logics and apply these to a select social media dataset for the purpose of rapid identification of cyberbullying.

The influence of socio cultural dynamics on convergence communication of aquaculture agribusiness actors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oktavia, Y.

2018-03-01

This research aims to: (1) Analyze the level of socio-cultural dynamics of agibusiness aquaculture actors. (2) Analyze the influence of socio-cultural dynamics on convergence communication of capacity development of aquaculture agribusiness actors.Data was collected by questionnaire and interview of group members on agribusiness. Data analyze was done by descriptive and inferential statistics with using SEM method. The result of descriptive statistics on 284 agribusiness members showed that: Socio-cultural dynamics of agibusiness aquaculture actors was in low category, as shown by lack of the role of customary institutions and quality of local leadership.The communication convergence is significantly and positively influenced by the communication behavior of agribusiness actors in access information.

An Organizational Perspective to the Creation of the Research Field.

PubMed

Talamo, Alessandra; Mellini, Barbara; Camilli, Marco; Ventura, Stefano; Di Lucchio, Loredana

2016-09-01

The aim of the paper is to contribute to the definition and analysis of the "access to the field" (Feldman et al. 2003) through an inter-organizational perspective. The paper discusses a case study on the access of a researcher to a hospital department where both organizations and actors are shown as actively constructing the research site. Both researcher and participants are described in terms of work organizations originally engaged in parallel systems of activity. Dynamics of negotiation "tied" the different actors' activities in a new activity system where researcher and participants concur to the effectiveness of both organizations (i.e., the research and the hospital ward). An Activity Theory perspective (Leont'ev 1978) is used with the aim of focusing the analysis on the activities in charge to the different actors. The approach adopted introduces the idea that, from the outset, research is made possible by a process of co-construction that works through the development of a completely new and shared work space arising around the encounter between researchers and participants. It is the balance between improvised actions and the co-creation of "boundary objects" (Star and Griesemer 1989), which makes interlacement possible between the two activity systems. The concept of "knotworking" (Engeström 2007a) is adopted to interpret specific actions by both organizations and actors intended to build a knot of activities whereby the new research system takes place.

Indicators' role: How do they influence Strategic Environmental Assessment and Sustainable Planning - The Chinese experience.

PubMed

Gao, Jingjing; Christensen, Per; Kørnøv, Lone

2017-08-15

As an information carrier and communication medium, indicators provide useful decision-making assistance in setting process goals and effectively reaching the goals. The main focus of this article is to investigate indicators' role in influencing planning through Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) especially related to Chinese experiences. From the perspective of planning and decision-making theory, the influence on planning is studied as influence of planning structure and influence of planning actors. Such a conceptual framework is applied in order to demonstrate how the use of indicators can influence planning through a SEA process. The study holds two empirical levels. On a general level, based on an online survey, this article investigates SEA practitioners' experiences in using indicators. On a case level, two urban plans are selected to provide more detailed experiences. The case level investigation is based on a documentary study and individual interviews with SEA practitioners/planners. By exploring how indicators influence planning through the structure of and the actors within SEA, this study tries to provide an overview of indicators' role in SEA. The results indicate that indicators are perceived as a useful tool in the Chinese SEA system. By improving and simplifying the procedures of SEA, the indicators exert more structural influence on SEA and on plan making. On the other hand, indicators are also shown to have more influence through political actors than found among technical actors. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The joint flanker effect and the joint Simon effect: On the comparability of processes underlying joint compatibility effects.

PubMed

Dittrich, Kerstin; Bossert, Marie-Luise; Rothe-Wulf, Annelie; Klauer, Karl Christoph

2017-09-01

Previous studies observed compatibility effects in different interference paradigms such as the Simon and flanker task even when the task was distributed across two co-actors. In both Simon and flanker tasks, performance is improved in compatible trials relative to incompatible trials if one actor works on the task alone as well as if two co-actors share the task. These findings have been taken to indicate that actors automatically co-represent their co-actor's task. However, recent research on the joint Simon and joint flanker effect suggests alternative non-social interpretations. To which degree both joint effects are driven by the same underlying processes is the question of the present study, and it was scrutinized by manipulating the visibility of the co-actor. While the joint Simon effect was not affected by the visibility of the co-actor, the joint flanker effect was reduced when participants did not see their co-actors but knew where the co-actors were seated. These findings provide further evidence for a spatial interpretation of the joint Simon effect. In contrast to recent claims, however, we propose a new explanation of the joint flanker effect that attributes the effect to an impairment in the focusing of spatial attention contingent on the visibility of the co-actor.

A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Armed Non State Actors (ANSAs): Strategic Roles and Operational Dynamics

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-01

Dynamics” (Project Code: 10az01). The Socio- cognitive Systems Section (SCSS) at Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), Toronto Research Centre...these actors to its core strategic-level factors. It serves as a cognitive model—or “primer”—on this class of irregular adversary as well as a...1.1 Background The Socio- Cognitive Systems Section (SCSS) at Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), Toronto Research Centre has completed a

Identifying Key Actors in Heterogeneous Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-11-29

analysis (SNA) and game theory (GT) to improve accuracy for detecting significant or “powerful” actors within a total actor space when both resource...coalesce in order to achieve a desired outcome. Cooperative game theory (CGT) models of coalition formation are based on two limiting assumptions: that...demonstration of a new approach for synthesizing social network analysis and game theory. The ultimate goal of this research agenda is to generalize

Reassembling the Information Technology Innovation Process: An Actor Network Theory Method for Managing the Initiation, Production, and Diffusion of Innovations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zendejas, Gerardo; Chiasson, Mike

This paper will propose and explore a method to enhance focal actors' abilities to enroll and control the many social and technical components interacting during the initiation, production, and diffusion of innovations. The reassembling and stabilizing of such components is the challenging goal of the focal actors involved in these processes. To address this possibility, a healthcare project involving the initiation, production, and diffusion of an IT-based innovation will be influenced by the researcher, using concepts from actor network theory (ANT), within an action research methodology (ARM). The experiences using this method, and the nature of enrolment and translation during its use, will highlight if and how ANT can provide a problem-solving method to help assemble the social and technical actants involved in the diffusion of an innovation. Finally, the paper will discuss the challenges and benefits of implementing such methods to attain widespread diffusion.

Recollection and unitization in associating actors with extrinsic and intrinsic motions.

PubMed

Kersten, Alan W; Earles, Julie L; Berger, Johanna D

2015-04-01

Four experiments provide evidence for a distinction between 2 different kinds of motion representations. Extrinsic motions involve the path of an object with respect to an external frame of reference. Intrinsic motions involve the relative motions of the parts of an object. This research suggests that intrinsic motions are represented conjointly with information about the identities of the actors who perform them, whereas extrinsic motions are represented separately from identity information. Experiment 1 demonstrated that participants remembered which actor had performed a particular intrinsic motion better than they remembered which actor had performed a particular extrinsic motion. Experiment 2 replicated this effect with incidental encoding of actor information, suggesting that encoding intrinsic motions leads one to automatically encode identity information. The results of Experiments 3 and 4 were fit by Yonelinas's (1999) source-memory model to quantify the contributions of familiarity and recollection to memory for the actors who carried out the intrinsic and extrinsic motions. Successful performance with extrinsic motion items in Experiment 3 required participants to remember in which scene contexts an actor had appeared, whereas successful performance in Experiment 4 required participants to remember the exact path taken by an actor in each scene. In both experiments, discrimination of old and new combinations of actors and extrinsic motions relied strongly on recollection, suggesting independent but associated representations of actors and extrinsic motions. In contrast, participants discriminated old and new combinations of actors and intrinsic motions primarily on the basis of familiarity, suggesting unitized representations of actors and intrinsic motions. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Partnership in Knowledge Creation: Lessons Learned from a Researcher-Policy Actor Partnership to Co-Produce a Rapid Appraisal Case Study of South Australia's Social Inclusion Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newman, Lareen; Biedrzycki, Kate; Patterson, Jan; Baum, Fran

2011-01-01

This paper describes a partnership between researchers and policy actors that was developed within a short timeframe to produce a rapid appraisal case study of a government policy initiative--South Australia's "Social Inclusion Initiative"--for the Social Exclusion Knowledge Network of the international Commission on Social Determinants…

E Pluribus Analysis: Applying a Superforecasting Methodology to the Detection of Homegrown Violence

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-03-01

actor violence and a set of predefined decision-making protocols. This research included running four simulations using the Monte Carlo technique, which...actor violence and a set of predefined decision-making protocols. This research included running four simulations using the Monte Carlo technique...PREDICTING RANDOMNESS.............................................................24 1. Using a “ Runs Test” to Determine a Temporal Pattern in Lone

[A governance approach applied to analysing research into unemployed workers in the city of Medellin in Colombia].

PubMed

Cardona, Alvaro; Nieto, Emmanuel; Mejía, Luz M

2010-01-01

Performing an academic exercise aimed at applying the analytical categories from the governance approach developed by Marc Hufty et al., to understand social actors’ relationships in an investigation and intervention project studying so-cioeconomic conditions and seeking to guarantee health insurance continuity for those workers who had lost their work in the city of Medellin, Colombia, from 2004 to 2007. A process of investigation and intervention was examined as a casestudy in which researchers were one of the actors so involved. Characterising stake-holders included: their level of inclusion/involvement in the problem; their power for influencing public policy proposals; their perceptions and proposals’ characteristics, power and dynamics regarding the problem of unemployment and health insurance when someone has lost her/his work; and the characteristics of their interaction with other actors. The results showed that the four analytical dimensions proposed by Hufty (actors, social norms, nodal points and processes) were useful for describing and understanding the interaction of the actors involved in the research and intervention proposal being analysed here (i.e. the case-study). It was concluded that the analytical governance framework proposed by Hufty was useful for understanding how the social subjects interacted; these were the rules which were taken for describing their interaction, being the most important nodes for interaction and progresses achieved whilst implementing the intervention proposal.

The burden of responsibility: Interpersonal costs of high self-control.

PubMed

Koval, Christy Zhou; vanDellen, Michelle R; Fitzsimons, Gráinne M; Ranby, Krista W

2015-05-01

The psychological literature on self-control has illustrated the many benefits experienced by people with high self-control, who are more successful both personally and interpersonally. In the current research, we explore the possibility that having high self-control also may have some interpersonal costs, leading individuals to become burdened by others' reliance. In Studies 1 and 2, we examined the effects of actors' self-control on observers' performance expectations and found that observers had higher performance expectations for actors with high (vs. low) self-control. In Study 3, we tested the effect of actors' self-control on work assigned to actors and found that observers assigned greater workloads to actors with high (vs. low) self-control. In Study 4, we examined how actors and observers differed in their assessments of the effort expended by high and low self-control actors and found that observers (but not actors) reported that high self-control actors expended less effort than low self-control actors. Finally, we found that people high (vs. low) in self-control reported greater burden from the reliance of coworkers (Study 5) and romantic partners (Study 6), and this tendency led them to feel less satisfied with their relationships (Study 6). Together, results from these studies provide novel evidence that individuals' self-control affects others' attitudes and behaviors toward them, and suggest that these interpersonal dynamics can have negative consequences for high self-control individuals. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Body height and occupational success for actors and actresses.

PubMed

Stieger, Stefan; Burger, Christoph

2010-08-01

The association of body height with occupational success has been frequently studied, with previous research mainly finding a positive effect among men and positive or null effects among women. Occupational success has almost exclusively been measured so far by short-term success variables (e.g., annual income). In the present study, the relationship of success and height was examined in a group of actors and actresses using a large online database about movies (Internet Movie Database) where heights of actors and actresses are stated. The number of roles played in movies and television series during each actor's lifetime was used as a measure of long-term occupational success. No height effect was found for male actors but a significant negative effect was found for actresses, even after controlling for possible confounding influences (age and birth year). Compared to the general population, actors and actresses were significantly taller; however, actresses who were shorter than average were more likely to achieve greater occupational success, in terms of being featured in more movies.

Seeing Iconic Gestures While Encoding Events Facilitates Children's Memory of These Events.

PubMed

Aussems, Suzanne; Kita, Sotaro

2017-11-08

An experiment with 72 three-year-olds investigated whether encoding events while seeing iconic gestures boosts children's memory representation of these events. The events, shown in videos of actors moving in an unusual manner, were presented with either iconic gestures depicting how the actors performed these actions, interactive gestures, or no gesture. In a recognition memory task, children in the iconic gesture condition remembered actors and actions better than children in the control conditions. Iconic gestures were categorized based on how much of the actors was represented by the hands (feet, legs, or body). Only iconic hand-as-body gestures boosted actor memory. Thus, seeing iconic gestures while encoding events facilitates children's memory of those aspects of events that are schematically highlighted by gesture. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Stakeholder learning for health sector reform in Lao PDR.

PubMed

Phillips, Simone; Pholsena, Soulivanh; Gao, Jun; Oliveira Cruz, Valeria

2016-09-01

Development organizations and academic institutions have expressed the need for increased research to guide the development and implementation of policies to strengthen health systems in low- and middle-income countries. The extent to which evidence-based policies alone can produce changes in health systems remains a point of debate; other factors, such as a country's political climate and the level of actor engagement, have been identified as influential variables in effective policy development and implementation. In response to this debate, this article contends that the success of health sector reform depends largely on policy learning-the degree to which research recommendations saturate a given political environment in order to successfully inform the ideas, opinions and perceived interests of relevant actors. Using a stakeholder analysis approach to analyze the case of health sector reform in Lao PDR, we examine the ways that actors' understanding and interests affect the success of reform-and how attitudes towards reform can be shaped by exposure to policy research and international health policy priorities. The stakeholder analysis was conducted by the WHO during the early stages of health sector reform in Lao PDR, with the purpose of providing the Ministry of Health with concrete recommendations for increasing actor involvement and strengthening stakeholder support. We found that dissemination of research findings to a broad array of actors and the inclusion of diverse stakeholder groups in policy design and implementation increases the probability of a sustainable and successful health sector reform. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Behavioral and brain pattern differences between acting and observing in an auditory task

PubMed Central

Karanasiou, Irene S; Papageorgiou, Charalabos; Tsianaka, Eleni I; Matsopoulos, George K; Ventouras, Errikos M; Uzunoglu, Nikolaos K

2009-01-01

Background Recent research has shown that errors seem to influence the patterns of brain activity. Additionally current notions support the idea that similar brain mechanisms are activated during acting and observing. The aim of the present study was to examine the patterns of brain activity of actors and observers elicited upon receiving feedback information of the actor's response. Methods The task used in the present research was an auditory identification task that included both acting and observing settings, ensuring concurrent ERP measurements of both participants. The performance of the participants was investigated in conditions of varying complexity. ERP data were analyzed with regards to the conditions of acting and observing in conjunction to correct and erroneous responses. Results The obtained results showed that the complexity induced by cue dissimilarity between trials was a demodulating factor leading to poorer performance. The electrophysiological results suggest that feedback information results in different intensities of the ERP patterns of observers and actors depending on whether the actor had made an error or not. The LORETA source localization method yielded significantly larger electrical activity in the supplementary motor area (Brodmann area 6), the posterior cingulate gyrus (Brodmann area 31/23) and the parietal lobe (Precuneus/Brodmann area 7/5). Conclusion These findings suggest that feedback information has a different effect on the intensities of the ERP patterns of actors and observers depending on whether the actor committed an error. Certain neural systems, including medial frontal area, posterior cingulate gyrus and precuneus may mediate these modulating effects. Further research is needed to elucidate in more detail the neuroanatomical and neuropsychological substrates of these systems. PMID:19154586

Dealing with Actors and Compliance in Intervention Operations in a Non-permissive Hybrid Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-12-01

Patton, (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (Vol. Third). California, London, New Delhi: Sage publications, Inc. 59 See these themes...non-compliant actors … … the study follows a question based approach with a general research question in the centre of interest:12 Which...1 Version 1.0 December 2009 Study authors: Col Dieter Muhr (AUT) Hon. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Andrea Riemer, Ph.D. (AUT) Objective

Experiential learning in nursing consultation education via clinical simulation with actors: action research.

PubMed

de Oliveira, Saionara Nunes; do Prado, Marta Lenise; Kempfer, Silvana Silveira; Martini, Jussara Gue; Caravaca-Morera, Jaime Alonso; Bernardi, Mariely Carmelina

2015-02-01

This was an action research study conducted during an undergraduate nursing course. The objective was to propose and implement experiential learning for nursing consultation education using clinical simulation with actors. The 4 steps of action research were followed: planning, action, observation and reflection. Three nursing undergraduate students participated in the study. Data were collected in May and July 2013 via participant comments and interviews and were analyzed in accordance with the operative proposal for qualitative data analysis. Planning included constructing and validating the clinical guides, selecting and training the actors, organizing and preparing the scenario and the issuing invitations to the participants. The action was carried out according to Kolb's (1984) 4 stages of learning cycles: Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization and Active Experimentation. Clinical simulation involves different subjects' participation in all stages, and action research is a method that enables the clinical stimulation to be implemented. It must be guided by clear learning objectives and by a critical pedagogy that encourages critical thinking in students. Using actors and a real scenario facilitated psychological fidelity, and debriefing was the key moment of the reflective process that facilitated the integral training of students through experiential learning. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Qualitative methods: what are they and why use them?

PubMed Central

Sofaer, S

1999-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of reasons why qualitative methods have been used and can be used in health services and health policy research, to describe a range of specific methods, and to give examples of their application. DATA SOURCES: Classic and contemporary descriptions of the underpinnings and applications of qualitative research methods and studies that have used such methods to examine important health services and health policy issues. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Qualitative research methods are valuable in providing rich descriptions of complex phenomena; tracking unique or unexpected events; illuminating the experience and interpretation of events by actors with widely differing stakes and roles; giving voice to those whose views are rarely heard; conducting initial explorations to develop theories and to generate and even test hypotheses; and moving toward explanations. Qualitative and quantitative methods can be complementary, used in sequence or in tandem. The best qualitative research is systematic and rigorous, and it seeks to reduce bias and error and to identify evidence that disconfirms initial or emergent hypotheses. CONCLUSIONS: Qualitative methods have much to contribute to health services and health policy research, especially as such research deals with rapid change and develops a more fully integrated theory base and research agenda. However, the field must build on the best traditions and techniques of qualitative methods and must recognize that special training and experience are essential to the application of these methods. PMID:10591275

The good and bad of being fair: effects of procedural and interpersonal justice behaviors on regulatory resources.

PubMed

Johnson, Russell E; Lanaj, Klodiana; Barnes, Christopher M

2014-07-01

The justice literature has paid considerable attention to the beneficial effects of fair behaviors for recipients of such behaviors. It is possible, however, that exhibiting fair behaviors may come at a cost for actors. In this article, we integrate ego depletion theory with organizational justice research in order to examine the consequences of justice behaviors for actors. We used an experience-sampling method in a sample of managerial employees to examine the relations of performing procedural justice and interpersonal justice behaviors with subsequent changes in actors' regulatory resources. Our results indicate that procedural justice behaviors are draining, whereas interpersonal justice behaviors are replenishing for actors. Depletion, in turn, adversely affected the performance of citizenship behavior, and depletion mediated relations of justice behavior with citizenship. Furthermore, 2 traits that impact self-regulatory skills--extraversion and neuroticism--moderated the replenishing effects of engaging in interpersonal justice behaviors. We conclude by discussing implications and avenues for future research.

Why Ecologists Should Care about Financial Markets.

PubMed

Galaz, Victor; Gars, Johan; Moberg, Fredrik; Nykvist, Björn; Repinski, Cecilia

2015-10-01

Financial actors such as international banks and investors play an important role in the global economy. This role is shifting due to financial innovations, increased sustainability ambitions from large financial actors, and changes in international commodity markets. These changes are creating new global connections that potentially make financial markets, actors, and instruments important aspects of global environmental change. Despite this, the way financial markets and actors affect ecosystem change in different parts of the world has seldom been elaborated in the literature. We summarize these financial trends, explore how they connect to ecosystems and ecological change in both direct and indirect ways, and elaborate on crucial research gaps. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Teacher Educator Changing Perceptions of Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Kim; Hodson, Elaine; Brown, Tony

2013-01-01

An alternative formulation of the actor in educational action research is shown to refresh notions of theory within initial teacher education. Methodologically, the actor is depicted as identifying with ongoing cultural adjustments through reflective data. Specifically, the paper considers the experience of mature trainee teachers in the United…

Competing actors in the climate change arena in Mexico: A network analysis.

PubMed

Ortega Díaz, Araceli; Gutiérrez, Erika Casamadrid

2018-06-01

This paper analyzes the actors in the climate change arena and their influence in directing Mexico toward policies that decrease greenhouse gas emissions, such as the carbon tax and climate change law. The network analysis of the agreement of these laws and public policies in Mexico is a lesson for any country that is in the process of designing and adopting environmental laws. The research is performed using a network analysis that is derived from interviews with various main actors and a discourse analysis of the media. Results show that actors do not coordinate their efforts-they meet frequently but in different inter-ministerial commissions-and do not enforce the same policies. The actors in the industry have formed strong coalitions against the carbon tax and the General Law on Climate Change, whereas international institutions have formed coalitions that support these policies and laws. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of oral health policy in Nigeria: an analysis of the role of context, actors and policy process.

PubMed

Etiaba, Enyi; Uguru, Nkoli; Ebenso, Bassey; Russo, Giuliano; Ezumah, Nkoli; Uzochukwu, Benjamin; Onwujekwe, Obinna

2015-05-06

In Nigeria, there is a high burden of oral health diseases, poor coordination of health services and human resources for delivery of oral health services. Previous attempts to develop an Oral Health Policy (OHP) to decrease the oral disease burden failed. However, a policy was eventually developed in November 2012. This paper explores the role of contextual factors, actors and the policy process in the development of the OHP and possible reasons why the current approved OHP succeeded. The study was undertaken across Nigeria; information gathered through document reviews and in-depth interviews with five groups of purposively selected respondents. Analysis of the policy development process was guided by the policy triangle framework, examining context, policy process and actors involved in the policy development. The foremost enabling factor was the yearning among policy actors for a policy, having had four failed attempts. Other factors were the presence of a democratically elected government, a framework for health sector reform instituted by the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH). The approved OHP went through all stages required for policy development unlike the previous attempts. Three groups of actors played crucial roles in the process, namely academics/researchers, development partners and policy makers. They either had decision making powers or influenced policy through funding or technical ability to generate credible research evidence, all sharing a common interest in developing the OHP. Although evidence was used to inform the development of the policy, the complex interactions between the context and actors facilitated its approval. The OHP development succeeded through a complex inter-relationship of context, process and actors, clearly illustrating that none of these factors could have, in isolation, catalyzed the policy development. Availability of evidence is necessary but not sufficient for developing policies in this area. Wider socio-political contexts in which actors develop policy can facilitate and/or constrain actors' roles and interests as well as policy process. These must be taken into consideration at stages of policy development in order to produce policies that will strengthen the health system, especially in low and middle-income countries, where policy processes and influences can be often less than transparent.

Transferring Goods or Splitting a Resource Pool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dijkstra, Jacob; Van Assen, Marcel A. L. M.

2008-01-01

We investigated the consequences for exchange outcomes of the violation of an assumption underlying most social psychological research on exchange. This assumption is that the negotiated direct exchange of commodities between two actors (pure exchange) can be validly represented as two actors splitting a fixed pool of resources (split pool…

Status Valued Goal Objects and Performance Expectations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hysom, Stuart J.

2009-01-01

I designed an experiment to test predictions, derived from expectation states theories, that the unequal allocation of social rewards among collective task-focused actors will affect the actors' rates of power and prestige behavior. Past research shows that allocations of exchangeable resources can have these effects. The prediction, however, is…

Machinima and Video-Based Soft-Skills Training for Frontline Healthcare Workers.

PubMed

Conkey, Curtis A; Bowers, Clint; Cannon-Bowers, Janis; Sanchez, Alicia

2013-02-01

Multimedia training methods have traditionally relied heavily on video-based technologies, and significant research has shown these to be very effective training tools. However, production of video is time and resource intensive. Machinima technologies are based on videogaming technology. Machinima technology allows videogame technology to be manipulated into unique scenarios based on entertainment or training and practice applications. Machinima is the converting of these unique scenarios into video vignettes that tell a story. These vignettes can be interconnected with branching points in much the same way that education videos are interconnected as vignettes between decision points. This study addressed the effectiveness of machinima-based soft-skills education using avatar actors versus the traditional video teaching application using human actors in the training of frontline healthcare workers. This research also investigated the difference between presence reactions when using avatar actor-produced video vignettes as compared with human actor-produced video vignettes. Results indicated that the difference in training and/or practice effectiveness is statistically insignificant for presence, interactivity, quality, and the skill of assertiveness. The skill of active listening presented a mixed result indicating the need for careful attention to detail in situations where body language and facial expressions are critical to communication. This study demonstrates that a significant opportunity exists for the exploitation of avatar actors in video-based instruction.

Statistical learning in social action contexts.

PubMed

Monroy, Claire; Meyer, Marlene; Gerson, Sarah; Hunnius, Sabine

2017-01-01

Sensitivity to the regularities and structure contained within sequential, goal-directed actions is an important building block for generating expectations about the actions we observe. Until now, research on statistical learning for actions has solely focused on individual action sequences, but many actions in daily life involve multiple actors in various interaction contexts. The current study is the first to investigate the role of statistical learning in tracking regularities between actions performed by different actors, and whether the social context characterizing their interaction influences learning. That is, are observers more likely to track regularities across actors if they are perceived as acting jointly as opposed to in parallel? We tested adults and toddlers to explore whether social context guides statistical learning and-if so-whether it does so from early in development. In a between-subjects eye-tracking experiment, participants were primed with a social context cue between two actors who either shared a goal of playing together ('Joint' condition) or stated the intention to act alone ('Parallel' condition). In subsequent videos, the actors performed sequential actions in which, for certain action pairs, the first actor's action reliably predicted the second actor's action. We analyzed predictive eye movements to upcoming actions as a measure of learning, and found that both adults and toddlers learned the statistical regularities across actors when their actions caused an effect. Further, adults with high statistical learning performance were sensitive to social context: those who observed actors with a shared goal were more likely to correctly predict upcoming actions. In contrast, there was no effect of social context in the toddler group, regardless of learning performance. These findings shed light on how adults and toddlers perceive statistical regularities across actors depending on the nature of the observed social situation and the resulting effects.

Overview of healthcare system in the Czech Republic

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

The healthcare system in the Czech Republic underwent and still is undergoing dramatic changes since the Velvet revolution in 1989. History of the Czech healthcare system, main healthcare laws, and the current status of healthcare documented in the main healthcare indicators is described based on the several main sources as well as delivery of health services and the role of the main actors in healthcare system. The material is based mainly on Czech Health Statistics 2009, and HiT Summary, Health Care Systems in Translation, 2005, public information of Ministry of Health CR. PMID:22738178

Une approche plurilingue pour faciliter l'inclusion scolaire : engagement et dynamique pédagogique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribierre-Dubile, Nathalie

2017-08-01

A multilingual approach to facilitating inclusion: Educational commitment and dynamics - In the school context, the first steps in the process of learning a foreign language require commitment and motivation on the part of the learner, as well as a commitment from the teacher to include all students. This raises questions about the inclusiveness of education and the educational achievement of multilingual and/or immigrant students in predominantly monolingual classes. The author draws on a corpus of research to explore a number of parameters involved in the implementation of a multilingual and inclusive approach. She links the foundations of a multilingual approach to the institutional framework and the positions of the actors in the didactic relationship, as well as in their relationship to languages. The article then gives an overview of the characteristics of the metacognitive strategies employed by multilingual learners and, in conclusion, proposes some innovative methods to go beyond the monolingual principles in learning and foster exchanges that are both multicultural and multilingual.

("un")Doing the Next Generation Science Standards: Climate Change Education Actor-Networks in Oklahoma

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colston, Nicole M.; Ivey, Toni A.

2015-01-01

This exploratory research investigated how science education communities of practice in Oklahoma engage in translations of climate change education (CCE). Applications of actor-network theory to educational policymaking facilitate this analysis of the spaces of prescription and spaces of negotiation that characterize CCE in Oklahoma. Informed by…

Finding The Most Important Actor in Online Crowd by Social Network Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuliana, I.; Santosa, P. I.; Setiawan, N. A.; Sukirman

2017-02-01

Billion of people create trillions of connections through social media every single day. The increasing use of social media has led to dramatic changes in the of way science, government, healthcare, entertainment and enterprise operate. Large-scale participation in Technology-Mediated Social Participation (TMSP) system has opened up incredible new opportunities to deploy online crowd. This descriptive-correlational research used social network analysis (SNA) on data gathered from Fanpage Facebook of Greenpeace Indonesia related to important critical issues, the bushfires in 2015. SNA identifies relations on each member by sociometrics parameter such as three centrality (degree, closeness and betweenesse) for measuring and finding the most important actor in the online community. This paper use Fruchterman Rein-gold algorithm to visualize the online community in a graph, while Clauset-Newman-Moore is a technique to identify groups in community. As the result found 3735 vertices related to actors, 6927 edges as relation, 14 main actors in size order and 22 groups in Greenpeace Indonesia online community. This research contributes to organize some information for Greenpeace Indonesia managing their potency in online community to identify human behaviour.

Public Knowledge, Private Minds: Meaning Making on the Pathways of Science Communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Pryce R.

Every day people are inundated with news reports about the latest scientific research. The ways in which these texts enlighten or misinform the general public is a central question in both the research literature and discussions in popular culture. However, both research and popular discussion often take on deficit views of these texts, and the capabilities of readers to critically engage with them, and treat them as static, one-way conduits that transfer information to a passive audience. In contrast, I advocate treating popular science texts as the result of a chain of consumption and production that are actively shaped by the varied perspectives of scientists, communicators, and members of the general public. My work envisions all of these actors as science learners who simultaneously act as both producers and consumers of science, and who interact with one another through in-the-moment meaning making. This dissertation examines how the meaning of scientific research is filtered and transformed in moments of interaction and knowledge construction as it moves along this pathway of science communication from scientists to the general public. I present the results of a study that attempts to follow pieces of recent scientific research as they work their way from scientists to publication as popular science news stories, and ultimately to the public. To that end, I collected data from three types of actors involved in the paths of science communication, as well as the texts they read and generate. These actors include (1) the scientists who performed the research, (2) the reporters tasked with writing about it for popular dissemination, and (3) members of the public who must read and interpret the research. The texts I analyze include: peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, university-produced news briefs, popular press science stories, and various text-based conversations between scientists and reporters. Through an analysis of texts, individual interviews, and video-recorded interactions between actors, I demonstrate how individual meaning making shapes scientific understanding and how the problems observed in the public's understanding of science are by-products of properties of the process of science communication itself rather than the fault of individual actors.

Management of return-to-work programs for workers with musculoskeletal disorders: a qualitative study in three Canadian provinces.

PubMed

Baril, R; Clarke, J; Friesen, M; Stock, S; Cole, D

2003-12-01

In this qualitative research project, researchers in three Canadian provinces explored the perceptions of many different actors involved in return-to-work (RTW) programs for injured workers, studying their views on successful RTW strategies and barriers to/facilitators of the RTW process, then analyzing the underlying dynamics driving their different experiences. Each research team recruited actors in a variety of different workplaces and key informants in the RTW system, and used a combination of in-depth, semi-structured interviews and focus groups to collect data, which were coded using an open coding system. Analysis took a social constructionist perspective. The roles and mandates of the different groups of actors (injured workers; other workplace actors; actors outside the workplace), while sometimes complementary, could also differ, leading to tension and conflict. Characteristics of injured workers described as influencing RTW success included personal and sociodemographic factors, beliefs and attitudes, and motivation. Human resources managers and health care professionals tended to attribute workers' motivation to their individual characteristics, whereas injured workers, worker representatives and health and safety managers described workplace culture and the degree to which workers' well-being was considered as having a strong influence on workers' motivation. Some supervisors experienced role conflict when responsible for both production quotas and RTW programs, but difficulties were alleviated by innovations such as consideration of RTW program responsibilities in the determination of production quotas and in performance evaluations. RTW program success seemed related to labor-management relations and top management commitment to Health and Safety. Non-workplace issues included confusion stemming from the compensation system itself, communication difficulties with some treating physicians, and role conflict on the part of physicians wishing to advocate for patients whose problems were non-compensable. Several common themes emerged from the experiences related by the wide range of actors including the importance of trust, respect, communication and labor relations in the failure or success of RTW programs for injured workers.

Research funders' roles and perceived responsibilities in relation to the implementation of clinical research results: a multiple case study of Swedish research funders.

PubMed

Brantnell, Anders; Baraldi, Enrico; van Achterberg, Theo; Winblad, Ulrika

2015-07-17

Implementation of clinical research results is challenging, yet the responsibility for implementation is seldom addressed. The process from research to the use of clinical research results in health care can be facilitated by research funders. In this paper, we report the roles of ten Swedish research funders in relation to implementation and their views on responsibilities in implementation. Ten cases were studied and compared using semi-structured interviews. In addition, websites and key documents were reviewed. Eight facilitative roles for research funders in relation to the implementation of clinical research results were identified. Three of them were common for several funders: "Advocacy work," "Monitoring implementation outcomes," and "Dissemination of knowledge." Moreover, the research funders identified six different actors responsible for implementation, five of which belonged to the healthcare setting. Collective and organizational responsibilities were the most common forms of responsibilities among the identified actors responsible for implementation. The roles commonly identified by the Swedish funders, "Advocacy work," "Monitoring implementation outcomes," and "Dissemination of knowledge," seem feasible facilitative roles in relation to the implementation of clinical research results. However, many actors identified as responsible for implementation together with the fact that collective and organizational responsibilities were the most common forms of responsibilities entail a risk of implementation becoming no one's responsibility.

Researchers' Roles in Patient Safety Improvement.

PubMed

Pietikäinen, Elina; Reiman, Teemu; Heikkilä, Jouko; Macchi, Luigi

2016-03-01

In this article, we explore how researchers can contribute to patient safety improvement. We aim to expand the instrumental role researchers have often occupied in relation to patient safety improvement. We reflect on our own improvement model and experiences as patient safety researchers in an ongoing Finnish multi-actor innovation project through self-reflective narration. Our own patient safety improvement model can be described as systemic. Based on the purpose of the innovation project, our improvement model, and the improvement models of the other actors in the project, we have carried out a wide range of activities. Our activities can be summarized in 8 overlapping patient safety improvement roles: modeler, influencer, supplier, producer, ideator, reflector, facilitator, and negotiator. When working side by side with "practice," researchers are offered and engage in several different activities. The way researchers contribute to patient safety improvement and balance between different roles depends on the purpose of the study, as well as on the underlying patient safety improvement models. Different patient safety research paradigms seem to emphasize different improvement roles, and thus, they also face different challenges. Open reflection on the underlying improvement models and roles can help researchers with different backgrounds-as well as other actors involved in patient safety improvement-in structuring their work and collaborating productively.

An Ontology for Modeling Complex Inter-relational Organizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wautelet, Yves; Neysen, Nicolas; Kolp, Manuel

This paper presents an ontology for organizational modeling through multiple complementary aspects. The primary goal of the ontology is to dispose of an adequate set of related concepts for studying complex organizations involved in a lot of relationships at the same time. In this paper, we define complex organizations as networked organizations involved in a market eco-system that are playing several roles simultaneously. In such a context, traditional approaches focus on the macro analytic level of transactions; this is supplemented here with a micro analytic study of the actors' rationale. At first, the paper overviews enterprise ontologies literature to position our proposal and exposes its contributions and limitations. The ontology is then brought to an advanced level of formalization: a meta-model in the form of a UML class diagram allows to overview the ontology concepts and their relationships which are formally defined. Finally, the paper presents the case study on which the ontology has been validated.

ACToR Chemical Structure processing using Open Source ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

ACToR (Aggregated Computational Toxicology Resource) is a centralized database repository developed by the National Center for Computational Toxicology (NCCT) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Free and open source tools were used to compile toxicity data from over 1,950 public sources. ACToR contains chemical structure information and toxicological data for over 558,000 unique chemicals. The database primarily includes data from NCCT research programs, in vivo toxicity data from ToxRef, human exposure data from ExpoCast, high-throughput screening data from ToxCast and high quality chemical structure information from the EPA DSSTox program. The DSSTox database is a chemical structure inventory for the NCCT programs and currently has about 16,000 unique structures. Included are also data from PubChem, ChemSpider, USDA, FDA, NIH and several other public data sources. ACToR has been a resource to various international and national research groups. Most of our recent efforts on ACToR are focused on improving the structural identifiers and Physico-Chemical properties of the chemicals in the database. Organizing this huge collection of data and improving the chemical structure quality of the database has posed some major challenges. Workflows have been developed to process structures, calculate chemical properties and identify relationships between CAS numbers. The Structure processing workflow integrates web services (PubChem and NIH NCI Cactus) to d

Bioprospecting the African Renaissance: The new value of muthi in South Africa

PubMed Central

Reihling, Hanspeter CW

2008-01-01

This article gives an overview of anthropological research on bioprospecting in general and of available literature related to bioprospecting particularly in South Africa. It points out how new insights on value regimes concerning plant-based medicines may be gained through further research and is meant to contribute to a critical discussion about the ethics of Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS). In South Africa, traditional healers, plant gatherers, petty traders, researchers and private investors are assembled around the issues of standardization and commercialization of knowledge about plants. This coincides with a nation-building project which promotes the revitalization of local knowledge within the so called African Renaissance. A social science analysis of the transformation of so called Traditional Medicine (TM) may shed light onto this renaissance by tracing social arenas in which different regimes of value are brought into conflict. When medicinal plants turn into assets in a national and global economy, they seem to be manipulated and transformed in relation to their capacity to promote health, their market value, and their potential to construct new ethics of development. In this context, the translation of socially and culturally situated local knowledge about muthi into global pharmaceuticals creates new forms of agency as well as new power differentials between the different actors involved. PMID:18371221

Researching the Habitus of Global Policy Actors in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lingard, Bob; Sellar, Sam; Baroutsis, Aspa

2015-01-01

This paper reprises the argument for the emergence of a global education policy field and then focuses on the shared habitus of global and national policy actors and technicians. It is argued that this shared habitus is constituted as a reflection of and a contribution to the creation of the global education policy field. Bourdieu's approach to…

Managing the Dynamics of the Bologna Reforms: How Institutional Actors Re-Construct the Policy Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veiga, Amélia; Neave, Guy

2015-01-01

How do the constituencies in higher education re-interpret Bologna's function with regard to the European Higher Education Area? This research examines how institutional actors re-construct the policy framework in the light of their own institutional agendas. Drawing on empirical data from a survey of academics, students and administrative and…

Assessing Mediation in Dyadic Data Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ledermann, Thomas; Macho, Siegfried; Kenny, David A.

2011-01-01

The assessment of mediation in dyadic data is an important issue if researchers are to test process models. Using an extended version of the actor-partner interdependence model the estimation and testing of mediation is complex, especially when dyad members are distinguishable (e.g., heterosexual couples). We show how the complexity of the model…

[The French health care funding system for research and innovation in oncology].

PubMed

Wiernik, Harvey; Katz, Gregory; Coulonjou, Hélène; Salagnac, André; Kletz, Frédéric; Thariat, Juliette

2018-06-01

This article provides an overview of the French health system with respect to allocation of public resources to hospitals, to encourage research and innovation, particularly in the field of oncology. It is explained in a historical, economic and scientific perspective. Important structural and conceptual reforms (T2A, HPST law, etc.) have been carried out. These have significantly impacted the way public funding is allocated. Funding of innovation and research has been modified into a more incentive logic, aimed at strengthening competitiveness between all health care actors. The funding allocation system has evolved towards a more ubiquitous redistribution, including non-academic and private institutions. The baseline endowment includes indicators relating to scientific publications (60% of the endowment), teaching (25%) and clinical trials (15%). Research funding is then redistributed by regional health agencies, and used in health care institutions at the discretion of the directorates. Other funding sources such as calls for grants, funding for mobile research centers and teams, tumor banks and temporary user licenses are also part of the funding by the French Ministry of health. Changes in the health research funding system have an incentive purpose. They have significantly modified the global healthcare landscape. Feedback on these changes will be necessary to assess the success of the reinforcement of the dynamics of research and innovation. Copyright © 2018 Société Française du Cancer. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Visualizing common operating picture of critical infrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rummukainen, Lauri; Oksama, Lauri; Timonen, Jussi; Vankka, Jouko

2014-05-01

This paper presents a solution for visualizing the common operating picture (COP) of the critical infrastructure (CI). The purpose is to improve the situational awareness (SA) of the strategic-level actor and the source system operator in order to support decision making. The information is obtained through the Situational Awareness of Critical Infrastructure and Networks (SACIN) framework. The system consists of an agent-based solution for gathering, storing, and analyzing the information, and a user interface (UI) is presented in this paper. The UI consists of multiple views visualizing information from the CI in different ways. Different CI actors are categorized in 11 separate sectors, and events are used to present meaningful incidents. Past and current states, together with geographical distribution and logical dependencies, are presented to the user. The current states are visualized as segmented circles to represent event categories. Geographical distribution of assets is displayed with a well-known map tool. Logical dependencies are presented in a simple directed graph, and users also have a timeline to review past events. The objective of the UI is to provide an easily understandable overview of the CI status. Therefore, testing methods, such as a walkthrough, an informal walkthrough, and the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT), were used in the evaluation of the UI. Results showed that users were able to obtain an understanding of the current state of CI, and the usability of the UI was rated as good. In particular, the designated display for the CI overview and the timeline were found to be efficient.

Matching safety to access: global actors and pharmacogovernance in Kenya- a case study.

PubMed

Moscou, Kathy; Kohler, Jillian C

2017-03-23

The Kenyan government has sought to address inadequacies in its National Pharmaceutical Policy and the Pharmacy and Poisons Board's (PPB) medicines governance by engaging with global actors (e.g. the World Health Organization). Policy actors have influenced the way pharmacovigilance is defined, how challenges are understood and which norms are requisite to address drug safety issues. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between specific modes of engagement among global (exogenous) and domestic actors at the national and sub-national level to identify the positive or negative effect on pharmacovigilance and pharmacogovernance in Kenya. Pharmacogovernance is defined as the manner in which governing structures; policy instruments; institutional authority (e.g., ability to act, implement and enforce norms, policies and processes) and resources are managed to promote societal interests for patient safety and protection from adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Qualitative research methods that included key informant interviews and document analysis, were employed to investigate the relationship between global actors' patterns of engagement with national actors and pharmacogovernance in Kenya. Global actors' influence on pharmacogovernance and pharmacovigilance priorities in Kenya (e.g., legislation and adverse drug reaction surveillance) was positively perceived by key informants. We found that global actors' engagement with state actors produced positive and negative outcomes. Engagement with the PPB and Ministry of Health (MOH) that was characterized as dependent (advocacy, empowerment, delegated) or interdependent (collaborative, cooperative, consultative) was mostly associated with positive outcomes e.g., capacity building; strengthening legislation and stakeholder coordination. Fragmentation (independent engagement) hindered risk communication between public, private, and NGO health programs. A framework for assessing pharmacogovernance would support policy makers' evidence-based decision making regarding investments to strengthen capacity for pharmacovigilance and guide policies regarding the state and exogenous actor relationship pertaining to pharmacogovernance. Ideally, dependency on exogenous actors should be reduced while retaining consultative, collaborative, and cooperative engagement when inter-dependency is appropriate. The use of global actors to address Kenya's pharmacovigilance inadequacies leaves the country vulnerable to 1) ad hoc drug surveillance; 2) pharmacovigilance fragmentation; 3) shifting priorities; and 4) cross purpose interests.

Ethical issues in medical research in the developing world: a report on a meeting organised by Fondation Mérieux.

PubMed

Perrey, Christophe; Wassenaar, Douglas; Gilchrist, Shawn; Ivanoff, Bernard

2009-08-01

This paper reports on a multidisciplinary meeting held to discuss ethical issues in medical research in the developing world. Many studies, including clinical trials, are conducted in developing countries with a high burden of disease. Conditions under which this research is conducted vary because of differences in culture, public health, political, legal and social contexts specific to these countries. Research practices, including standards of care for participants, may vary as a result. It is therefore not surprising that ethical issues emerge. This meeting sought to identify and discuss these issues from the perspectives of the many actors in such research, including community representatives, with a view to finding ethical and pragmatic solutions to these issues. Dialogue between these actors was also promoted, with a view to identifying the need to develop such dialogue in future. Drawing from the experiences of the speakers, the colloquium attempted to outline some answers to several key questions characterising the field today. Experiences related to epidemiologic research, vaccine trials, drug trials, diagnostic tests and to some fundamental ethical issues in health research. Speakers were from different countries, disciplines and professions. The meeting provided a forum for consultation and debate between different ethics actors. Both encouraging findings and challenges emerged.

Requirements as Goals and Commitments Too

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chopra, Amit K.; Mylopoulos, John; Dalpiaz, Fabiano; Giorgini, Paolo; Singh, Munindar P.

In traditional software engineering research and practice, requirements are classified either as functional or non-functional. Functional requirements consist of all functions the system-to-be ought to support, and have been modeled in terms of box-and-arrow diagrams in the spirit of SADT. Non-functional requirements include desired software qualities for the system-to-be and have been described either in natural language or in terms of metrics. This orthodoxy was challenged in the mid-90 s by a host of proposals that had a common theme: all requirements are initially stakeholder goals and ought to be elicited, modeled and analyzed as such. Through systematic processes, these goals can be refined into specifications of functions the system-to-be needs to deliver, while actions assigned to external actors need to be executed. This view is dominating Requirements Engineering (RE) research and is beginning to have an impact on RE practice. We propose a next step along this line of research, by adopting the concept of conditional commitment as companion concept to that of goal. Goals are intentional entities that capture the needs and wants of stakeholders. Commitments, on the other hand, are social concepts that define the willingness and capability of an actor A to fulfill a predicate ϕ for the benefit of actor B, provided B (in return) fulfills predicate ψ for the benefit of actor A. In our conceptualization, goals are mapped to collections of commitments rather than functions, qualities, or actor assignments. We motivate the importance of the concept of commitment for RE through examples and discussion. We also contrast our proposal with state-of-the-art requirements modeling and analysis frameworks, such as KAOS, MAP, i * and Tropos.

Implementation of evidence-informed practice through central network actors; a case study of three public health units in Canada.

PubMed

Yousefi Nooraie, Reza; Marin, Alexandra; Hanneman, Robert; Lohfeld, Lynne; Dobbins, Maureen

2017-03-15

Workforce development is an important aspect of evidence-informed decision making (EIDM) interventions. The social position of individuals in formal and informal social networks, and the relevance of formal roles in relation to EIDM are important factors identifying key EIDM players in public health organizations. We assessed the role of central actors in information sharing networks in promoting the adoption of EIDM by the staff of three public health units in Canada, over a two-year period during which an organization-wide intervention was implemented. A multi-faceted and tailored intervention to train select staff applying research evidence in practice was implemented in three public health units in Canada from 2011 to 2013. Staff (n = 572) were asked to identify those in the health unit whom they turned to get help using research in practice, whom they considered as experts in EIDM, and friends. We developed multi-level linear regression models to predict the change in EIDM behavior scores predicted by being connected to peers who were central in networks and were engaged in the intervention. Only the group of highly engaged central actors who were connected to each other, and the staff who were not engaged in the intervention but were connected to highly engaged central actors significantly improved their EIDM behavior scores. Among the latter group, the staff who were also friends with their information sources showed a larger improvement in EIDM behavior. If engaged, central network actors use their formal and informal connections to promote EIDM. Central actors themselves are more likely to adopt EIDM if they communicate with each other. These social communications should be reinforced and supported through the implementation of training interventions as a means to promoting EIDM.

Global Comparison of Warring Groups in 2002–2007: Fatalities from Targeting Civilians vs. Fighting Battles

PubMed Central

Hicks, Madelyn Hsiao-Rei; Lee, Uih Ran; Sundberg, Ralph; Spagat, Michael

2011-01-01

Background Warring groups that compete to dominate a civilian population confront contending behavioral options: target civilians or battle the enemy. We aimed to describe degrees to which combatant groups concentrated lethal behavior into intentionally targeting civilians as opposed to engaging in battle with opponents in contemporary armed conflict. Methodology/Principal Findings We identified all 226 formally organized state and non-state groups (i.e. actors) that engaged in lethal armed conflict during 2002–2007: 43 state and 183 non-state. We summed civilians killed by an actor's intentional targeting with civilians and combatants killed in battles in which the actor was involved for total fatalities associated with each actor, indicating overall scale of armed conflict. We used a Civilian Targeting Index (CTI), defined as the proportion of total fatalities caused by intentional targeting of civilians, to measure the concentration of lethal behavior into civilian targeting. We report actor-specific findings and four significant trends: 1.) 61% of all 226 actors (95% CI 55% to 67%) refrained from targeting civilians. 2.) Logistic regression showed actors were more likely to have targeted civilians if conflict duration was three or more years rather than one year. 3.) In the 88 actors that targeted civilians, multiple regressions showed an inverse correlation between CTI values and the total number of fatalities. Conflict duration of three or more years was associated with lower CTI values than conflict duration of one year. 4.) When conflict scale and duration were accounted for, state and non-state actors did not differ. We describe civilian targeting by actors in prolonged conflict. We discuss comparable patterns found in nature and interdisciplinary research. Conclusions/Significance Most warring groups in 2002–2007 did not target civilians. Warring groups that targeted civilians in small-scale, brief conflict concentrated more lethal behavior into targeting civilians, and less into battles, than groups in larger-scale, longer conflict. PMID:21915272

MECHANISMS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY: An update in the genetic aetiologies of combined pituitary hormone deficiency.

PubMed

Castinetti, Frederic; Reynaud, Rachel; Saveanu, Alexandru; Jullien, Nicolas; Quentien, Marie Helene; Rochette, Claire; Barlier, Anne; Enjalbert, Alain; Brue, Thierry

2016-06-01

Over the last 5 years, new actors involved in the pathogenesis of combined pituitary hormone deficiency in humans have been reported: they included a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily glycoprotein and ciliary G protein-coupled receptors, as well as new transcription factors and signalling molecules. New modes of inheritance for alterations of genes encoding transcription factors have also been described. Finally, actors known to be involved in a very specific phenotype (hypogonadotroph hypogonadism for instance) have been identified in a wider range of phenotypes. These data thus suggest that new mechanisms could explain the low rate of aetiological identification in this heterogeneous group of diseases. Taking into account the fact that several reviews have been published in recent years on classical aetiologies of CPHD such as mutations of POU1F1 or PROP1, we focused the present overview on the data published in the last 5 years, to provide the reader with an updated review on this rapidly evolving field of knowledge. © 2016 European Society of Endocrinology.

Research in the real world: Social context and its effects.

PubMed

Levine, Adeline G; Levine, Murray

2014-03-01

Although scientists are supposedly concerned only with the pursuit of scientific truth, it was recognized early on that they have personal and professional agendas and are subject to human fallibilities. Openness allowing the scientific community to oversee each member's work depends a great deal upon publication of scientific work. Research reports are cultural artifacts shaped by social forces. In most instances of theoretically oriented work, the roles making up the social context, the researchers, funding agencies, journal editors, publishers, critics, and consumers of research all tend to be scientists sharing common interests and assumptions. There are many actors in addition to scientists in the social context of evaluative research. The actors-sometimes called stakeholders-include people whose lives may change, politicians, government agencies, private foundations, businesspersons, taxpayers, the mass media, and advocates. These actors have varied interests in the research enterprise, are embedded in varied reference groups, and bring different assumptions and values to the task. Their interactions shape the research product at every step. In this genre of research, the contexts are diverse. To illustrate the generality of the influence of social context, the authors draw on three diverse examples spanning a century: the Love Canal industrial disaster of the late 1970s, the ultimately failed attempt in the early 1900s to transplant the Gary, Indiana, progressive school system to New York City (NYC); and some recent studies of charter school students' academic performance.

Masculine Ideology, Sexual Communication, and Sexual Self-Efficacy Among Parenting Adolescent Couples.

PubMed

Norton, Melanie K; Smith, Megan V; Magriples, Urania; Kershaw, Trace S

2016-09-01

This study examined the relationship between traditional masculine role norms (status, toughness, anti-femininity) and psychosocial mechanisms of sexual risk (sexual communication, sexual self-efficacy) among young, low-income, and minority parenting couples. Between 2007 and 2011, 296 pregnant adolescent females and their male partners were recruited from urban obstetrics clinics in Connecticut. Data regarding participants' beliefs in masculine role norms, frequency of general sex communication and sexual risk communication, and sexual self-efficacy were collected via computer-assisted self-interviews. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were used to test for actor effects (whether a person's masculine role norms at baseline influence the person's own psychosocial variables at 6-month follow-up) and partner effects (whether a partner's masculine role norms at baseline influence an actor's psychosocial variables at 6-month follow-up). Results revealed that higher actor status norms were significantly associated with more sexual self-efficacy, higher actor toughness norms were associated with less sexual self-efficacy, and higher actor anti-femininity norms were significantly associated with less general sex communication, sexual risk communication, and sexual self-efficacy. No partner effects were found. These results indicate a need for redefining masculine role norms through family centered approaches in pregnant or parenting adolescent couples to increase sexual communication and sexual self-efficacy. Further research is needed to understand partner effects in the context of a relationship and on subsequent sexual risk behavior. © Society for Community Research and Action 2016.

Ecological Knowledge Among Communities, Managers and Scientists: Bridging Divergent Perspectives to Improve Forest Management Outcomes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rist, Lucy; Shackleton, Charlie; Gadamus, Lily; Chapin, F. Stuart; Gowda, C. Made; Setty, Siddappa; Kannan, Ramesh; Shaanker, R. Uma

2016-04-01

Multiple actors are typically involved in forest management, namely communities, managers and researchers. In such cases, suboptimal management outcomes may, in addition to other factors, be symptomatic of a divergence in perspectives among these actors driven by fundamental differences in ecological knowledge. We examine the degree of congruence between the understandings of actors surrounding key issues of management concern in three case studies from tropical, subtropical and boreal forests. We identify commonly encountered points of divergence in ecological knowledge relating to key management processes and issues. We use these to formulate seven hypotheses about differences in the bodies of knowledge that frequently underlie communication and learning failures in forest management contexts where multiple actors are involved and outcomes are judged to be suboptimal. Finally, we present a set of propositions to acknowledge and narrow these differences. A more complete recognition of the full triangulation between all actors involved, and of the influence that fundamental differences in ecological knowledge can exert, may help lead to a more fruitful integration between local knowledge and practice, manager knowledge and practice, and contemporary science in forest management.

Transcendental Political Systems and the Gravity Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lock, Connor

2012-01-01

This summer I have been working on an Army Deep Futures Model project named Themis. Themis is a JPL based modeling framework that anticipates possible future states for the world within the next 25 years. The goal of this framework is to determine the likelihood that the US Army will need to intervene on behalf of the US strategic interests. Key elements that are modeled within this tool include the world structure and major decisions that are made by key actors. Each actor makes decisions based on their goals and within the constraints of the structure of the system in which they are located. In my research I have focused primarily on the effects of structures upon the decision-making processes of the actors within them. This research is a natural extension of my major program at Georgetown University, where I am studying the International Political Economy and the structures that make it up. My basic goal for this summer project was to be a helpful asset to the Themis modeling team, with any research done or processes learned constituting a bonus.

What makes a movement a gesture?

PubMed

Novack, Miriam A; Wakefield, Elizabeth M; Goldin-Meadow, Susan

2016-01-01

Theories of how adults interpret the actions of others have focused on the goals and intentions of actors engaged in object-directed actions. Recent research has challenged this assumption, and shown that movements are often interpreted as being for their own sake (Schachner & Carey, 2013). Here we postulate a third interpretation of movement-movement that represents action, but does not literally act on objects in the world. These movements are gestures. In this paper, we describe a framework for predicting when movements are likely to be seen as representations. In Study 1, adults described one of three scenes: (1) an actor moving objects, (2) an actor moving her hands in the presence of objects (but not touching them) or (3) an actor moving her hands in the absence of objects. Participants systematically described the movements as depicting an object-directed action when the actor moved objects, and favored describing the movements as depicting movement for its own sake when the actor produced the same movements in the absence of objects. However, participants favored describing the movements as representations when the actor produced the movements near, but not on, the objects. Study 2 explored two additional features-the form of an actor's hands and the presence of speech-like sounds-to test the effect of context on observers' classification of movement as representational. When movements are seen as representations, they have the power to influence communication, learning, and cognition in ways that movement for its own sake does not. By incorporating representational gesture into our framework for movement analysis, we take an important step towards developing a more cohesive understanding of action-interpretation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Statistical learning in social action contexts

PubMed Central

Meyer, Marlene; Gerson, Sarah; Hunnius, Sabine

2017-01-01

Sensitivity to the regularities and structure contained within sequential, goal-directed actions is an important building block for generating expectations about the actions we observe. Until now, research on statistical learning for actions has solely focused on individual action sequences, but many actions in daily life involve multiple actors in various interaction contexts. The current study is the first to investigate the role of statistical learning in tracking regularities between actions performed by different actors, and whether the social context characterizing their interaction influences learning. That is, are observers more likely to track regularities across actors if they are perceived as acting jointly as opposed to in parallel? We tested adults and toddlers to explore whether social context guides statistical learning and—if so—whether it does so from early in development. In a between-subjects eye-tracking experiment, participants were primed with a social context cue between two actors who either shared a goal of playing together (‘Joint’ condition) or stated the intention to act alone (‘Parallel’ condition). In subsequent videos, the actors performed sequential actions in which, for certain action pairs, the first actor’s action reliably predicted the second actor’s action. We analyzed predictive eye movements to upcoming actions as a measure of learning, and found that both adults and toddlers learned the statistical regularities across actors when their actions caused an effect. Further, adults with high statistical learning performance were sensitive to social context: those who observed actors with a shared goal were more likely to correctly predict upcoming actions. In contrast, there was no effect of social context in the toddler group, regardless of learning performance. These findings shed light on how adults and toddlers perceive statistical regularities across actors depending on the nature of the observed social situation and the resulting effects. PMID:28475619

Contribution mapping: a method for mapping the contribution of research to enhance its impact

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background At a time of growing emphasis on both the use of research and accountability, it is important for research funders, researchers and other stakeholders to monitor and evaluate the extent to which research contributes to better action for health, and find ways to enhance the likelihood that beneficial contributions are realized. Past attempts to assess research 'impact' struggle with operationalizing 'impact', identifying the users of research and attributing impact to research projects as source. In this article we describe Contribution Mapping, a novel approach to research monitoring and evaluation that aims to assess contributions instead of impacts. The approach focuses on processes and actors and systematically assesses anticipatory efforts that aim to enhance contributions, so-called alignment efforts. The approach is designed to be useful for both accountability purposes and for assisting in better employing research to contribute to better action for health. Methods Contribution Mapping is inspired by a perspective from social studies of science on how research and knowledge utilization processes evolve. For each research project that is assessed, a three-phase process map is developed that includes the main actors, activities and alignment efforts during research formulation, production and knowledge extension (e.g. dissemination and utilization). The approach focuses on the actors involved in, or interacting with, a research project (the linked actors) and the most likely influential users, who are referred to as potential key users. In the first stage, the investigators of the assessed project are interviewed to develop a preliminary version of the process map and first estimation of research-related contributions. In the second stage, potential key-users and other informants are interviewed to trace, explore and triangulate possible contributions. In the third stage, the presence and role of alignment efforts is analyzed and the preliminary results are shared with relevant stakeholders for feedback and validation. After inconsistencies are clarified or described, the results are shared with stakeholders for learning, improvement and accountability purposes. Conclusion Contribution Mapping provides an interesting alternative to existing methods that aim to assess research impact. The method is expected to be useful for research monitoring, single case studies, comparing multiple cases and indicating how research can better be employed to contribute to better action for health. PMID:22748169

Using model based systems engineering for the development of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope's operational plan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selvy, Brian M.; Claver, Charles; Willman, Beth; Petravick, Don; Johnson, Margaret; Reil, Kevin; Marshall, Stuart; Thomas, Sandrine; Lotz, Paul; Schumacher, German; Lim, Kian-Tat; Jenness, Tim; Jacoby, Suzanne; Emmons, Ben; Axelrod, Tim

2016-08-01

We† provide an overview of the Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) language, tool, and methodology being used in our development of the Operational Plan for Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) operations. LSST's Systems Engineering (SE) team is using a model-based approach to operational plan development to: 1) capture the topdown stakeholders' needs and functional allocations defining the scope, required tasks, and personnel needed for operations, and 2) capture the bottom-up operations and maintenance activities required to conduct the LSST survey across its distributed operations sites for the full ten year survey duration. To accomplish these complimentary goals and ensure that they result in self-consistent results, we have developed a holistic approach using the Sparx Enterprise Architect modeling tool and Systems Modeling Language (SysML). This approach utilizes SysML Use Cases, Actors, associated relationships, and Activity Diagrams to document and refine all of the major operations and maintenance activities that will be required to successfully operate the observatory and meet stakeholder expectations. We have developed several customized extensions of the SysML language including the creation of a custom stereotyped Use Case element with unique tagged values, as well as unique association connectors and Actor stereotypes. We demonstrate this customized MBSE methodology enables us to define: 1) the rolls each human Actor must take on to successfully carry out the activities associated with the Use Cases; 2) the skills each Actor must possess; 3) the functional allocation of all required stakeholder activities and Use Cases to organizational entities tasked with carrying them out; and 4) the organization structure required to successfully execute the operational survey. Our approach allows for continual refinement utilizing the systems engineering spiral method to expose finer levels of detail as necessary. For example, the bottom-up, Use Case-driven approach will be deployed in the future to develop the detailed work procedures required to successfully execute each operational activity.

Technical Data Exchange Software Tools Adapted to Distributed Microsatellite Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pache, Charly

2002-01-01

One critical issue concerning distributed design of satellites, is the collaborative work it requires. In particular, the exchange of data between each group responsible for each subsystem can be complex and very time-consuming. The goal of this paper is to present a design collaborative tool, the SSETI Design Model (SDM), specifically developed for enabling satellite distributed design. SDM is actually used in the ongoing Student Space Exploration &Technology (SSETI) initiative (www.sseti.net). SSETI is lead by European Space Agency (ESA) outreach office (http://www.estec.esa.nl/outreach), involving student groups from all over Europe for design, construction and launch of a microsatellite. The first part of this paper presents the current version of the SDM tool, a collection of Microsoft Excel linked worksheets, one for each subsystem. An overview of the project framework/structure is given, explaining the different actors, the flows between them, as well as the different types of data and the links - formulas - between data sets. Unified Modeling Language (UML) diagrams give an overview of the different parts . Then the SDM's functionalities, developed in VBA scripts (Visual Basic for Application), are introduced, as well as the interactive features, user interfaces and administration tools. The second part discusses the capabilities and limitations of SDM current version. Taking into account these capabilities and limitations, the third part outlines the next version of SDM, a web-oriented, database-driven evolution of the current version. This new approach will enable real-time data exchange and processing between the different actors of the mission. Comprehensive UML diagrams will guide the audience through the entire modeling process of such a system. Tradeoffs simulation capabilities, security, reliability, hardware and software issues will also be thoroughly discussed.

Actor-partner effects associated with experiencing intimate partner violence or coercion among male couples enrolled in an HIV prevention trial

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) and coercion have been associated with negative health outcomes, including increased HIV risk behaviors, among men who have sex with men (MSM). This is the first study to describe the prevalence and factors associated with experiencing IPV or coercion among US MSM dyads using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM), an analytic framework to describe interdependent outcomes within dyads. Methods Among MSM couples enrolled as dyads in an HIV prevention randomized controlled trial (RCT), two outcomes are examined in this cross-sectional analysis: 1) the actor experiencing physical or sexual IPV from the study partner in the past 3-months and 2) the actor feeling coerced to participate in the RCT by the study partner. Two multilevel APIM logistic regression models evaluated the association between each outcome and actor, partner, and dyad-level factors. Results Of 190 individuals (95 MSM couples), 14 reported experiencing physical or sexual IPV from their study partner in the past 3 months (7.3%) and 12 reported feeling coerced to participate in the RCT by their study partner (6.3%). Results of multivariate APIM analyses indicated that reporting experienced IPV was associated (p < 0.1) with non-Black/African American actor race, lower actor education, and lower partner education. Reporting experienced coercion was associated (p < 0.1) with younger actor age and lower partner education. Conclusions These findings from an HIV prevention RCT for MSM show considerable levels of IPV experienced in the past 3-months and coercion to participate in the research study, indicating the need for screening tools and support services for these behaviors. The identification of factors associated with IPV and coercion demonstrate the importance of considering actor and partner effects, as well as dyadic-level effects, to improve development of screening tools and support services for these outcomes. PMID:24580732

Actors: A Model of Concurrent Computation in Distributed Systems.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-06-01

Artificial Intelligence Labora- tory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Support for the labora- tory’s aritificial intelligence research is...RD-A157 917 ACTORS: A MODEL OF CONCURRENT COMPUTATION IN 1/3- DISTRIBUTED SY𔃿TEMS(U) MASSACHUSETTS INST OF TECH CRMBRIDGE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ...Computation In Distributed Systems Gui A. Aghai MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Thsdocument ha. been cipp-oved I= pblicrelease and sale; itsI

Humanoids Learning to Walk: A Natural CPG-Actor-Critic Architecture.

PubMed

Li, Cai; Lowe, Robert; Ziemke, Tom

2013-01-01

The identification of learning mechanisms for locomotion has been the subject of much research for some time but many challenges remain. Dynamic systems theory (DST) offers a novel approach to humanoid learning through environmental interaction. Reinforcement learning (RL) has offered a promising method to adaptively link the dynamic system to the environment it interacts with via a reward-based value system. In this paper, we propose a model that integrates the above perspectives and applies it to the case of a humanoid (NAO) robot learning to walk the ability of which emerges from its value-based interaction with the environment. In the model, a simplified central pattern generator (CPG) architecture inspired by neuroscientific research and DST is integrated with an actor-critic approach to RL (cpg-actor-critic). In the cpg-actor-critic architecture, least-square-temporal-difference based learning converges to the optimal solution quickly by using natural gradient learning and balancing exploration and exploitation. Futhermore, rather than using a traditional (designer-specified) reward it uses a dynamic value function as a stability indicator that adapts to the environment. The results obtained are analyzed using a novel DST-based embodied cognition approach. Learning to walk, from this perspective, is a process of integrating levels of sensorimotor activity and value.

Humanoids Learning to Walk: A Natural CPG-Actor-Critic Architecture

PubMed Central

Li, Cai; Lowe, Robert; Ziemke, Tom

2013-01-01

The identification of learning mechanisms for locomotion has been the subject of much research for some time but many challenges remain. Dynamic systems theory (DST) offers a novel approach to humanoid learning through environmental interaction. Reinforcement learning (RL) has offered a promising method to adaptively link the dynamic system to the environment it interacts with via a reward-based value system. In this paper, we propose a model that integrates the above perspectives and applies it to the case of a humanoid (NAO) robot learning to walk the ability of which emerges from its value-based interaction with the environment. In the model, a simplified central pattern generator (CPG) architecture inspired by neuroscientific research and DST is integrated with an actor-critic approach to RL (cpg-actor-critic). In the cpg-actor-critic architecture, least-square-temporal-difference based learning converges to the optimal solution quickly by using natural gradient learning and balancing exploration and exploitation. Futhermore, rather than using a traditional (designer-specified) reward it uses a dynamic value function as a stability indicator that adapts to the environment. The results obtained are analyzed using a novel DST-based embodied cognition approach. Learning to walk, from this perspective, is a process of integrating levels of sensorimotor activity and value. PMID:23675345

Forecast Based Financing for Managing Weather and Climate Risks to Reduce Potential Disaster Impacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arrighi, J.

2017-12-01

There is a critical window of time to reduce potential impacts of a disaster after a forecast for heightened risk is issued and before an extreme event occurs. The concept of Forecast-based Financing focuses on this window of opportunity. Through advanced preparation during system set-up, tailored methodologies are used to 1) analyze a range of potential extreme event forecasts, 2) identify emergency preparedness measures that can be taken when factoring in forecast lead time and inherent uncertainty and 3) develop standard operating procedures that are agreed on and tied to guaranteed funding sources to facilitate emergency measures led by the Red Cross or government actors when preparedness measures are triggered. This presentation will focus on a broad overview of the current state of theory and approaches used in developing a forecast-based financing systems - with a specific focus on hydrologic events, case studies of success and challenges in various contexts where this approach is being piloted, as well as what is on the horizon to be further explored and developed from a research perspective as the application of this approach continues to expand.

National innovation policy and public science in Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, Lyn

2017-12-01

In this paper, I have positioned myself with Kean Birch and explored some of the political-economic actors/actants of policy suites implicated in the biotechnologies and bioeconomy. In particular, I have considered Australia's recent National Innovation and Science Agenda and allied documents and entities (that is, Innovation and Science Australia, the National Science Statement and the 2016 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap) as one of the National Innovation Strategies in place now in OECD countries and beyond. In overview, these policy suites utilise the same high knowledge creation/low translation and commericalisation arguments as elsewhere to press for particular ideologically based `improvements' to public science. Mapping the terrain of these entities has revealed the innovation, biotechnology and bioeconomy policy space to be inordinately complex and challenging to navigate. Reviewing Australia's position enables the type of comparative work that contributes to a closer understanding of the largely neoliberal global economic imperatives shaping contemporaneity. Moreover, while these policy suites attempt to constitute and circulate particular visions of science education, their complex nature mitigates against science teachers/educators grappling with their implications.

Forest biodiversity monitoring for REDD+: a case study of actors' views in Peru.

PubMed

Entenmann, Steffen K; Kaphegyi, Thomas A M; Schmitt, Christine B

2014-02-01

The climate change mitigation mechanism Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD+) is currently being negotiated under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Integrating biodiversity monitoring into REDD+ facilitates compliance with the safeguards stipulated by the UNFCCC to exclude environmental risks. Interviews with actors engaged in REDD+ implementation and biodiversity conservation at the national and sub-national level in Peru (n = 30) and a literature review (n = 58) were conducted to pinpoint constraints and opportunities for monitoring effects of REDD+ management interventions on biodiversity, and to identify relevant biodiversity data and indicators. It was found that particularly sub-national actors, who were frequently involved in REDD+ pilot projects, acknowledge the availability of biodiversity data. Actors at both the national and sub-national levels, however, criticized data gaps and data being scattered across biodiversity research organizations. Most of the literature reviewed (78 %) included indicators on the state of certain biodiversity aspects, especially mammals. Indicators for pressure on biodiversity, impacts on environmental functions, or policy responses to environmental threats were addressed less frequently (31, 21, and 10 %, respectively). Integrating biodiversity concerns in carbon monitoring schemes was considered to have potential, although few specific examples were identified. The involvement of biodiversity research organizations in sub-national REDD+ activities enhances monitoring capacities. It is discussed how improvements in collaboration among actors from the project to the national level could facilitate the evaluation of existing information at the national level. Monitoring changes in ecosystem services may increase the ecological and socioeconomic viability of REDD+.

Actor-Network Theory and its role in understanding the implementation of information technology developments in healthcare.

PubMed

Cresswell, Kathrin M; Worth, Allison; Sheikh, Aziz

2010-11-01

Actor-Network Theory (ANT) is an increasingly influential, but still deeply contested, approach to understand humans and their interactions with inanimate objects. We argue that health services research, and in particular evaluations of complex IT systems in health service organisations, may benefit from being informed by Actor-Network Theory perspectives. Despite some limitations, an Actor-Network Theory-based approach is conceptually useful in helping to appreciate the complexity of reality (including the complexity of organisations) and the active role of technology in this context. This can prove helpful in understanding how social effects are generated as a result of associations between different actors in a network. Of central importance in this respect is that Actor-Network Theory provides a lens through which to view the role of technology in shaping social processes. Attention to this shaping role can contribute to a more holistic appreciation of the complexity of technology introduction in healthcare settings. It can also prove practically useful in providing a theoretically informed approach to sampling (by drawing on informants that are related to the technology in question) and analysis (by providing a conceptual tool and vocabulary that can form the basis for interpretations). We draw on existing empirical work in this area and our ongoing work investigating the integration of electronic health record systems introduced as part of England's National Programme for Information Technology to illustrate salient points. Actor-Network Theory needs to be used pragmatically with an appreciation of its shortcomings. Our experiences suggest it can be helpful in investigating technology implementations in healthcare settings.

Do we act upon what we see? Direct effects of alcohol cues in movies on young adults' alcohol drinking.

PubMed

Koordeman, Renske; Kuntsche, Emmanuel; Anschutz, Doeschka J; van Baaren, Rick B; Engels, Rutger C M E

2011-01-01

Ample survey research has shown that alcohol portrayals in movies affect the development of alcohol consumption in youth. Hence, there is preliminary evidence that alcohol portrayals in movies also directly influence viewers' drinking of alcohol while watching movies. One process that might account for these direct effects is imitation. The present study therefore examined whether young people imitate actors sipping alcohol on screen. We observed sipping behaviours of 79 young adults (ages 18-25) watching a 60-min movie clip, 'What Happens in Vegas', in a semi-naturalistic home setting. Each of the 79 participants was exposed to 25 alcohol cues. Two-level logistic regression analyses were used to analyse whether participants in general imitated actors' sipping during this clip. In addition, we applied proportional hazard models in a survival analysis framework (Cox regression) to test whether there was a difference in imitation of the cues between male and female participants, and to test whether the timing of the actors' sipping throughout the movie played a role. The findings showed that participants were more likely to sip in accordance with the actors' sipping than without such a cue. Further, we found that men were more likely to imitate actors' sipping than females and that participants tended to respond to actors' sipping at the beginning of the movie rather than at the end. Exposure to actors sipping alcohol in a movie seems to have an immediate impact on the drinking behaviour of viewers, via the mechanism of imitation.

Theorizing a model information pathway to mitigate the menstrual taboo.

PubMed

Yagnik, Arpan

2017-12-13

The impact of menstruation on the society is directly seen in the educational opportunities, quality of life and professional endeavors of females. However, lack of menstrual hygiene management has indirect implication on the balance and development of the society and nation. This study is set in the Indian context. The researcher identifies actors with a potential of mitigating menstrual taboo and then theorizes an optimal information pathway to mitigate menstrual taboo. Diffusion of innovation, framing and agenda setting theories contribute as frameworks in the creation of an optimal pathway to dissolve the menstrual taboo. The actors identified in this model are scholars, health activists, students, NGOs, media, government, corporations and villages or communities. The determinants for the direction and the order of the pathway to diffuse knowledge and confidence among these actors are the ultimate goal and sustainability of the model, strengths and weaknesses of actors, and actors' extent of influence. Considering the absence of an existing alternate, this model pathway provides a solid framework purely from a theoretical perspective. Theoretically, this model pathway is possible, practical and optimal. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Benefits of transformational behaviors for leaders: A daily investigation of leader behaviors and need fulfillment.

PubMed

Lanaj, Klodiana; Johnson, Russell E; Lee, Stephanie M

2016-02-01

Although a large body of work has examined the benefits of transformational leadership, this work has predominantly focused on recipients of such behaviors. Recent research and theory, however, suggest that there are also benefits for those performing behaviors reflective of transformational leadership. Across 2 experience-sampling studies, we investigate the effects of such behaviors on actors' daily affective states. Drawing from affective events theory and self-determination theory we hypothesize and find that engaging in behaviors reflective of transformational leadership is associated with improvement in actors' daily affect, more so than engaging in behaviors reflective of transactional, consideration, initiating structure, and participative leadership. Behaviors reflective of transformational leadership improved actors' affect in part by fulfilling their daily needs. Furthermore, extraversion and neuroticism moderated these effects such that extraverts benefitted less whereas neurotics benefitted more from these behaviors in terms of affective changes. We consider the theoretical and practical implications of these findings and offer directions for future research. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Application of dyadic data analysis in pediatric psychology: cystic fibrosis health-related quality of life and anxiety in child-caregiver dyads.

PubMed

Driscoll, Kimberly A; Schatschneider, Christopher; McGinnity, Kelly; Modi, Avani C

2012-07-01

To demonstrate the use of the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) of dyadic relationships in a sample of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and their caregivers. Multilevel modeling evaluated relations between health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and anxiety in 29 child-caregiver dyads. The following effects were evaluated: actor and partner, and the respondent (i.e., child or caregiver) × HRQOL interaction. This study demonstrated a practical application of the APIM. Significant actor effects were found (i.e., lower child HRQOL was associated with increased child anxiety, caregiver anxiety increased as caregiver perceptions of their child's HRQOL decreased), but not partner effects. The significant interaction indicated that the effects were different for children and caregivers. The APIM has the potential to increase pediatric researchers' understanding of how social relationships and environments impact health outcomes. Future research should consider using dyadic data analysis when youth and caregiver data are available.

Introduction of male circumcision for HIV prevention in Uganda: analysis of the policy process.

PubMed

Odoch, Walter Denis; Kabali, Kenneth; Ankunda, Racheal; Zulu, Joseph Mumba; Tetui, Moses

2015-06-20

Health policy analysis is important for all health policies especially in fields with ever changing evidence-based interventions such as HIV prevention. However, there are few published reports of health policy analysis in sub-Saharan Africa in this field. This study explored the policy process of the introduction of male circumcision (MC) for HIV prevention in Uganda in order to inform the development processes of similar health policies. Desk review of relevant documents was conducted between March and May 2012. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Conceptual frameworks that demonstrate the interrelationship within the policy development processes and influence of actors in the policy development processes guided the analysis. Following the introduction of MC on the national policy agenda in 2007, negotiation and policy formulation preceded its communication and implementation. Policy proponents included academic researchers in the early 2000s and development partners around 2007. Favourable contextual factors that supported the development of the policy included the rising HIV prevalence, adoption of MC for HIV prevention in other sub-Saharan African countries, and expertise on MC. Additionally, the networking capability of proponents facilitated the change in position of non-supportive or neutral actors. Non-supportive and neutral actors in the initial stages of the policy development process included the Ministry of Health, traditional and Muslim leaders, and the Republican President. Using political authority, legitimacy, and charisma, actors who opposed the policy tried to block the policy development process. Researchers' initial disregard of the Ministry of Health in the research process of MC and the missing civil society advocacy arm contributed to delays in the policy development process. This study underscores the importance of securing top political leadership as well as key implementing partners' support in policy development processes. Equally important is the appreciation of the various forms of actors' power and how such power shapes the policy agenda, development process, and content.

Strategies for proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9 modulation: a perspective on recent patents.

PubMed

Abifadel, Marianne; Pakradouni, Jihane; Collin, Matthieu; Samson-Bouma, Marie-Elisabeth; Varret, Mathilde; Rabès, Jean-Pierre; Boileau, Catherine

2010-11-01

Proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9 (PCSK9) is a new actor discovered in 2003 that is implicated in autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia, cholesterol homeostasis and coronary heart disease. It has been shown to degrade the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor independently of its catalytic activity. Several pharmacological strategies to reduce PCSK9 are being thoroughly investigated. This article reviews all different strategies that are presently pursued to modulate the functional activity of PCSK9 which is a prime target for controlling LDL-cholesterol. It also provides a briefing of all the patents up to July 2010 from various organizations including pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions that have been submitted and/or approved. This review is addressed to researchers from academia and pharmaceutical companies who are engaged in PCSK9 research/cholesterol regulation and in the development of cholesterol lowering drugs. Readers will gain an up-to-date overview of the different strategies that have been investigated to reduce PCSK9 including antisense technology and specific antibodies. Clinical trials have been launched using RNA interference approaches to reduce PCSK9 expression or specific antibodies targeting and inhibiting PCSK9 interaction with the LDL receptor. They constitute very promising approaches to reducing cholesterol levels and coronary heart disease.

An Overview of Process Monitoring Related to the Production of Uranium Ore Concentrate

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

McGinnis, Brent

2014-04-01

Uranium ore concentrate (UOC) in various chemical forms, is a high-value commodity in the commercial nuclear market, is a potential target for illicit acquisition, by both State and non-State actors. With the global expansion of uranium production capacity, control of UOC is emerging as a potentially weak link in the nuclear supply chain. Its protection, control and management thus pose a key challenge for the international community, including States, regulatory authorities and industry. This report evaluates current process monitoring practice and makes recommendations for utilization of existing or new techniques for managing the inventory and tracking this material.

[Participation, knowledge production, and evaluative research: participation by different actors in a mental health study].

PubMed

Furtado, Juarez Pereira; Campos, Rosana Onocko

2008-11-01

This article reflects on the interrelations between participation, knowledge production, and public policy evaluation in light of issues from our own experience with evaluative research on a municipal network of Psychosocial Care Centers (CAPS) in Brazil. The article discusses the coordination of the complex process and the potentials and limits of partnerships for conducting qualitative evaluative studies in mental health with participation by different social actors. The authors conclude that qualitative evaluative research aligned with the perspective of including different points of view representing various segments is the best approach for understanding the numerous spin-offs from the implementation of services linked to the Brazilian psychiatric reform movement, given the inherent specificities of the mental health field.

Designing the RiverCare knowledge base and web-collaborative platform to exchange knowledge in river management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cortes Arevalo, Juliette; den Haan, Robert-Jan; van der Voort, Mascha; Hulscher, Suzanne

2016-04-01

Effective communication strategies are necessary between different scientific disciplines, practitioners and non-experts for a shared understanding and better implementation of river management measures. In that context, the RiverCare program aims to get a better understanding of riverine measures that are being implemented towards self-sustaining multifunctional rivers in the Netherlands. During the RiverCare program, user committees are organized between the researchers and practitioners to discuss the aim and value of RiverCare outputs, related assumptions and uncertainties behind scientific results. Beyond the RiverCare program end, knowledge about river interventions, integrated effects, management and self-sustaining applications will be available to experts and non-experts by means of River Care communication tools: A web-collaborative platform and a serious gaming environment. As part of the communication project of RiverCare, we are designing the RiverCare web-collaborative platform and the knowledge-base behind that platform. We aim at promoting collaborative efforts and knowledge exchange in river management. However, knowledge exchange does not magically happen. Consultation and discussion of RiverCare outputs as well as elicitation of perspectives and preferences from different actors about the effects of riverine measures has to be facilitated. During the RiverCare research activities, the platform will support the user committees or collaborative sessions that are regularly held with the organizations directly benefiting from our research, at project level or in study areas. The design process of the collaborative platform follows an user centred approach to identify user requirements, co-create a conceptual design and iterative develop and evaluate prototypes of the platform. The envisioned web-collaborative platform opens with an explanation and visualisation of the RiverCare outputs that are available in the knowledge base. Collaborative sessions are initiated by one facilitator that invites other users to contribute by agreeing on an objective for the session and ways and period of collaboration. Upon login, users can join the different sessions that they are invited or will be willing to participate. Within these sessions, users collaboratively engage on the topic at hand, acquiring knowledge about the ongoing results of RiverCare, sharing knowledge between actors and co-constructing new knowledge in the process as input for RiverCare research activities. An overview of each session will be presented to registered and non-registered users to document collaboration efforts and promote interaction with actors outside RiverCare. At the user requirements analysis stage of the collaborative platform, a questionnaire and workshop session was launched to uncover the end user's preferences and expectations about the tool to be designed. Results comprised insights about design criteria of the collaborative platform. The user requirements will be followed by interview sessions with RiverCare researchers and user committee members to identify considerations for data management, objectives of collaboration, expected outputs and indicators to evaluate the collaborative platform. On one side, considerations of intended users are important for co-designing tools that effectively communicate and promote a shared understanding of scientific outputs. On the other one, active involvement of end-users is important for the establishment of measurable indicators to evaluate the tool and the collaborative process.

Reading Orientations in State Research Institutes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Late, Elina

2018-01-01

Introduction: This paper reports empirical results of the survey focusing on reading practices in state research institutes. State research institutes are, along with universities, important actors in national innovation systems in producing especially applied research. Majority of earlier studies on scholarly communication have focused on…

The perceptual features of vocal fatigue as self-reported by a group of actors and singers.

PubMed

Kitch, J A; Oates, J

1994-09-01

Performers (10 actors/10 singers) rated via a self-report questionnaire the severity of their voice-related changes when vocally fatigued. Similar frequency patterns and perceptual features of vocal fatigue were found across subjects. Actors rated "power" aspects (e.g., voice projection) and singers rated vocal dynamic aspects (e.g., pitch range) of their voices as most affected when vocally fatigued. Vocal fatigue was evidenced by changes in kinesthetic/proprioceptive sensations and vocal dynamics. The causes and context of vocal fatigue were vocal misuse, being "run down," high performance demands, and using high pitch/volume levels. Further research is needed to delineate the perceptual features of "normal" levels of vocal fatigue and its possible causes.

Emotion and the law: a framework for inquiry.

PubMed

Wiener, Richard L; Bornstein, Brian H; Voss, Amy

2006-04-01

This paper draws on research in social and cognitive psychology to show how theories of judgment and decision making that incorporate decision makers' affective responses apply to legal contexts. It takes 2 widely used models of decision making, the rational actor and lens models, and illustrates their utility for understanding legal judgments by using them to interpret research findings on juror decision making, people's obedience to the law (e.g., paying taxes), and eyewitness memory. The paper concludes with a discussion of the advantages of modifying existing approaches to information processing to include the influence of affect on how legal actors reach judgments about law and legal process.

Transformation of model data to information - experiences with coastDat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, E.; Weisse, R.

2016-02-01

The idea of coastDat is to improve the data base in sparse observational marine regions and to increase data homogeneity and consistency. In doing so long-term historical model data of e.g. wind (e.g. storms), wind wave and tide surge hindcasts are developed and proofed for regions like North Sea and Baltic Sea. These data-sets are available in hourly resolution and highly spatial resolution to simulate the marine environment from 1948/1958 up to now. Scenarios of potential future developments in a changing climate are also available. The coastDat data sets are used for applications e.g. offshore wind industry (design & logistics), risk analysis and analysis of pathways of energy transition. More than 80 stakeholders have used coastDat data sets. They are composed of science networks (31%), economic actors (45 %) and administrating policy actors (14%). The idea of coastDat is compatible in other coastal regions. Also coastDat is suitable as an information base in order to develop possible future adaptation measures. Here the data set and the history are briefly described, validation is reviewed, and an overview about recent uses of the data is provided.

Creating Research Impact: The Roles of Research Users in Interactive Research Mobilisation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morton, Sarah

2015-01-01

An impact assessment of research into children's concerns about their families and relationships found many ways research had been used in different sectors by different actors. Specific impacts from the research were harder to identify. However, instances where there were clear impacts highlighted the ways research users had adapted research to…

Justice in international clinical research.

PubMed

Pratt, Bridget; Loff, Bebe

2011-08-01

Debates about justice in international clinical research problematically conflate two quite different forms of obligation. International research ethics guidelines were intended to describe how to conduct biomedical research in a just manner at the micro or clinical level (within the researcher-participant interaction) but have come to include requirements that are clearly intended to promote justice at the global level. Ethicists have also made a variety of claims regarding what international research should contribute to global justice. This paper argues that the conflation of debates about justice at the micro and macro-levels has not only resulted in the placement of obligations upon the wrong actors but has also served to exclude relevant actors from the ethical picture. Suggestions for who should properly bear macro-level obligations of justice in international clinical research are offered. The paper further contends that, unlike researchers who violate informed consent requirements, no similar type of accountability exists for obligations of global justice, even for those obligation-bearers (incorrectly) identified by current ethics guidelines. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Analysing published global Ebola Virus Disease research using social network analysis

PubMed Central

Hagel, Christiane; Weidemann, Felix; Gauch, Stephan; Edwards, Suzanne

2017-01-01

Introduction The 2014/2015 West African Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak attracted global attention. Numerous opinions claimed that the global response was impaired, in part because, the EVD research was neglected, although quantitative or qualitative studies did not exist. Our objective was to analyse how the EVD research landscape evolved by exploring the existing research network and its communities before and during the outbreak in West Africa. Methods/ Principal findings Social network analysis (SNA) was used to analyse collaborations between institutions named by co-authors as affiliations in publications on EVD. Bibliometric data of publications on EVD between 1976 and 2015 was collected from Thomson Reuters’ Web of Science Core Collection (WoS). Freely available software was used for network analysis at a global-level and for 10-year periods. The networks are presented as undirected-weighted graphs. Rankings by degree and betweenness were calculated to identify central and powerful network positions; modularity function was used to identify research communities. Overall 4,587 publications were identified, of which 2,528 were original research articles. Those yielded 1,644 authors’ affiliated institutions and 9,907 connections for co-authorship network construction. The majority of institutions were from the USA, Canada and Europe. Collaborations with research partners on the African continent did exist, but less frequently. Around six highly connected organisations in the network were identified with powerful and broker positions. Network characteristics varied widely among the 10-year periods and evolved from 30 to 1,489 institutions and 60 to 9,176 connections respectively. Most influential actors are from public or governmental institutions whereas private sector actors, in particular the pharmaceutical industry, are largely absent. Conclusion/ Significance Research output on EVD has increased over time and surged during the 2014/2015 outbreak. The overall EVD research network is organised around a few key actors, signalling a concentration of expertise but leaving room for increased cooperation with other institutions especially from affected countries. Finding innovative ways to maintain support for these pivotal actors while steering the global EVD research network towards an agenda driven by agreed, prioritized needs and finding ways to better integrate currently peripheral and newer expertise may accelerate the translation of research into the development of necessary live saving products for EVD ahead of the next outbreak. PMID:28991915

Analysing published global Ebola Virus Disease research using social network analysis.

PubMed

Hagel, Christiane; Weidemann, Felix; Gauch, Stephan; Edwards, Suzanne; Tinnemann, Peter

2017-10-01

The 2014/2015 West African Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak attracted global attention. Numerous opinions claimed that the global response was impaired, in part because, the EVD research was neglected, although quantitative or qualitative studies did not exist. Our objective was to analyse how the EVD research landscape evolved by exploring the existing research network and its communities before and during the outbreak in West Africa. Social network analysis (SNA) was used to analyse collaborations between institutions named by co-authors as affiliations in publications on EVD. Bibliometric data of publications on EVD between 1976 and 2015 was collected from Thomson Reuters' Web of Science Core Collection (WoS). Freely available software was used for network analysis at a global-level and for 10-year periods. The networks are presented as undirected-weighted graphs. Rankings by degree and betweenness were calculated to identify central and powerful network positions; modularity function was used to identify research communities. Overall 4,587 publications were identified, of which 2,528 were original research articles. Those yielded 1,644 authors' affiliated institutions and 9,907 connections for co-authorship network construction. The majority of institutions were from the USA, Canada and Europe. Collaborations with research partners on the African continent did exist, but less frequently. Around six highly connected organisations in the network were identified with powerful and broker positions. Network characteristics varied widely among the 10-year periods and evolved from 30 to 1,489 institutions and 60 to 9,176 connections respectively. Most influential actors are from public or governmental institutions whereas private sector actors, in particular the pharmaceutical industry, are largely absent. Research output on EVD has increased over time and surged during the 2014/2015 outbreak. The overall EVD research network is organised around a few key actors, signalling a concentration of expertise but leaving room for increased cooperation with other institutions especially from affected countries. Finding innovative ways to maintain support for these pivotal actors while steering the global EVD research network towards an agenda driven by agreed, prioritized needs and finding ways to better integrate currently peripheral and newer expertise may accelerate the translation of research into the development of necessary live saving products for EVD ahead of the next outbreak.

Harm reduction as a complex adaptive system: A dynamic framework for analyzing Tanzanian policies concerning heroin use.

PubMed

Ratliff, Eric A; Kaduri, Pamela; Masao, Frank; Mbwambo, Jessie K K; McCurdy, Sheryl A

2016-04-01

Contrary to popular belief, policies on drug use are not always based on scientific evidence or composed in a rational manner. Rather, decisions concerning drug policies reflect the negotiation of actors' ambitions, values, and facts as they organize in different ways around the perceived problems associated with illicit drug use. Drug policy is thus best represented as a complex adaptive system (CAS) that is dynamic, self-organizing, and coevolving. In this analysis, we use a CAS framework to examine how harm reduction emerged around heroin trafficking and use in Tanzania over the past thirty years (1985-present). This account is an organizational ethnography based on of the observant participation of the authors as actors within this system. We review the dynamic history and self-organizing nature of harm reduction, noting how interactions among system actors and components have coevolved with patterns of heroin us, policing, and treatment activities over time. Using a CAS framework, we describe harm reduction as a complex process where ambitions, values, facts, and technologies interact in the Tanzanian sociopolitical environment. We review the dynamic history and self-organizing nature of heroin policies, noting how the interactions within and between competing prohibitionist and harm reduction policies have changed with patterns of heroin use, policing, and treatment activities over time. Actors learn from their experiences to organize with other actors, align their values and facts, and implement new policies. Using a CAS approach provides researchers and policy actors a better understanding of patterns and intricacies in drug policy. This knowledge of how the system works can help improve the policy process through adaptive action to introduce new actors, different ideas, and avenues for communication into the system. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Unable or Unwilling to Exercise Self-control? The Impact of Neuroscience on Perceptions of Impulsive Offenders

PubMed Central

Blakey, Robert; Kremsmayer, Tobias P.

2018-01-01

In growing numbers of court cases, neuroscience is presented to document the mental state of the offender at the level of the brain. While a small body of research has documented the effects of describing the brain state of psychotic offenders, this study tested the impact of neuroscience that could apply to far more offenders; that is the neuroscience of impulse control. In this online vignette experiment, 759 participants sentenced a normally controlled or normally impulsive actor, who committed a violent offense on impulse, explained in either cognitive or neurobiological terms. Although participants considered the neurobiological actor less responsible for his impulsive disposition than the cognitive actor, the neuroscientific testimony did not affect attributions of choice, blame, dangerousness, or punishment for the criminal act. In fact, the neuroscientific testimony exacerbated the perception that the offender offended consciously and “really wanted” to offend. The described disposition of the actor was also influential: participants attributed more capacity for reform, more free choice and consequently, more blame to the normally controlled actor. Participants also attributed this actor's offending more to his social life experiences and less to his genes and brain. However, this shift in attributions was unable to explain the greater blame directed at this offender. Together, such findings suggest that even when neuroscience changes attributions for impulsive character, attributions for impulsive offending may remain unchanged. Hence this study casts doubt on the mitigating and aggravating potential of neuroscientific testimony in court. PMID:29354076

A Framework for Violence: Clarifying the Role of Motivation in Lone-Actor Terrorism

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-01

Within the timeframe included in this study , there was, on average, just over one case of lone-actor terrorism per year.60 Spaaij expanded his...informants and sting operations.63 Within the Becker study , twelve out of eighty-four attacks, relied on confidential informants.64 In certain cases , the...indicators of personal or ideological grievances. The data used for this research are publicly available and largely based on two case studies compiled

The Risks of Multimedia Methods

PubMed Central

Lenert, Leslie A.; Ziegler, Jennifer; Lee, Tina; Unfred, Christine; Mahmoud, Ramy

2000-01-01

Objective: While the use of multimedia methods in medical education and decision support can facilitate learning, it also has certain hazards. One potential hazard is the inadvertent triggering of racial and gender bias by the appearance of actors or patients in presentations. The authors hypothesized that race and gender affect preferences. To explore this issue they studied the effects of actors' race and gender on preference ratings for health states that include symptoms of schizophrenia. Design: A convenience sample of patients with schizophrenia, family members of patients, and health professionals was used. Participants were randomly assigned to rate two health states, one portrayed by either a man of mixed race (Hispanic-black) or a white man and the second portrayed by either a white woman or a white man. Measurements: Visual analog scale (VAS) and standard gamble ratings of health state preferences for health states that include symptoms of mild and moderate schizophrenia. Results: Studies of the effects of the race of the actor (n = 114) revealed that racial mismatch between the actor and the participant affected the participant's preferences for health states. Ratings were lower when racial groups differed (mean difference, 0.098 for visual analog scale ratings and 0.053 lower in standard gamble, P = 0.006 for interactions between the race of the subject and the actor). In studies of the effects of a female actress on ratings (n = 117), we found no evidence of a corresponding interaction between the gender of the actor and the study participant. Rather, an interaction between actor's gender and method of assessment was observed. Standard gamble ratings (difference between means, 0.151), but not visual analog scale ratings (difference, 0.005), were markedly higher when the state was portrayed by the actress (P = 0.003 for interactions between actor's gender and method of preference assessment). Differential effects on standard gamble ratings suggest than an actor's gender may influence the willingness of viewers to gamble to gain health benefits (or risk attitude). Conclusions: Educators and researchers considering the use of multimedia methods for decision support need to be aware of the potential for the race and gender of patients or actors to influence preferences for health states and thus, potentially, medical decisions. PMID:10730601

Analyzing Collaborative Governance Through Social Network Analysis: A Case Study of River Management Along the Waal River in The Netherlands.

PubMed

Fliervoet, J M; Geerling, G W; Mostert, E; Smits, A J M

2016-02-01

Until recently, governmental organizations played a dominant and decisive role in natural resource management. However, an increasing number of studies indicate that this dominant role is developing towards a more facilitating role as equal partner to improve efficiency and create a leaner state. This approach is characterized by complex collaborative relationships between various actors and sectors on multiple levels. To understand this complexity in the field of environmental management, we conducted a social network analysis of floodplain management in the Dutch Rhine delta. We charted the current interorganizational relationships between 43 organizations involved in flood protection (blue network) and nature management (green network) and explored the consequences of abolishing the central actor in these networks. The discontinuation of this actor will decrease the connectedness of actors within the blue and green network and may therefore have a large impact on the exchange of ideas and decision-making processes. Furthermore, our research shows the dependence of non-governmental actors on the main governmental organizations. It seems that the Dutch governmental organizations still have a dominant and controlling role in floodplain management. This challenges the alleged shift from a dominant government towards collaborative governance and calls for detailed analysis of actual governance.

Holding-based network of nations based on listed energy companies: An empirical study on two-mode affiliation network of two sets of actors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Huajiao; Fang, Wei; An, Haizhong; Gao, Xiangyun; Yan, Lili

2016-05-01

Economic networks in the real world are not homogeneous; therefore, it is important to study economic networks with heterogeneous nodes and edges to simulate a real network more precisely. In this paper, we present an empirical study of the one-mode derivative holding-based network constructed by the two-mode affiliation network of two sets of actors using the data of worldwide listed energy companies and their shareholders. First, we identify the primitive relationship in the two-mode affiliation network of the two sets of actors. Then, we present the method used to construct the derivative network based on the shareholding relationship between two sets of actors and the affiliation relationship between actors and events. After constructing the derivative network, we analyze different topological features on the node level, edge level and entire network level and explain the meanings of the different values of the topological features combining the empirical data. This study is helpful for expanding the usage of complex networks to heterogeneous economic networks. For empirical research on the worldwide listed energy stock market, this study is useful for discovering the inner relationships between the nations and regions from a new perspective.

Analyzing Collaborative Governance Through Social Network Analysis: A Case Study of River Management Along the Waal River in The Netherlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fliervoet, J. M.; Geerling, G. W.; Mostert, E.; Smits, A. J. M.

2016-02-01

Until recently, governmental organizations played a dominant and decisive role in natural resource management. However, an increasing number of studies indicate that this dominant role is developing towards a more facilitating role as equal partner to improve efficiency and create a leaner state. This approach is characterized by complex collaborative relationships between various actors and sectors on multiple levels. To understand this complexity in the field of environmental management, we conducted a social network analysis of floodplain management in the Dutch Rhine delta. We charted the current interorganizational relationships between 43 organizations involved in flood protection (blue network) and nature management (green network) and explored the consequences of abolishing the central actor in these networks. The discontinuation of this actor will decrease the connectedness of actors within the blue and green network and may therefore have a large impact on the exchange of ideas and decision-making processes. Furthermore, our research shows the dependence of non-governmental actors on the main governmental organizations. It seems that the Dutch governmental organizations still have a dominant and controlling role in floodplain management. This challenges the alleged shift from a dominant government towards collaborative governance and calls for detailed analysis of actual governance.

Research, Teaching and Performance Evaluation in Academia: The Salience of Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cadez, Simon; Dimovski, Vlado; Zaman Groff, Maja

2017-01-01

The workload of most academics involves two main activities: research and teaching. Despite the dual nature of the work, career advancement usually chiefly depends on research performance. Since academics are rational actors, warnings are beginning to emerge that current predominantly research-based performance evaluation systems may be…

Student-Teachers' Teaching Techniques: Actors in Pupils' Extrinsic Motivation as They Speak (Técnicas de enseñanza de los docentes practicantes: actores en la motivación extrínseca de los estudiantes a la hora de hablar)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Báez Dueñas, Leidy Tatiana; Chacón Vargas, Leidy Marcela

2013-01-01

This article describes a research project we carried out in order to study the role of student-teachers' teaching techniques as regards their pupils' extrinsic motivation as they partake in communicative speaking activities at a public school in Tunja, Colombia. Data were gathered by means of field notes, focus groups and student-teachers'…

Integrating Markets to Bridge Supply and Demand for Knowledge Intensive Tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Overbeek, Sietse; Janssen, Marijn; van Bommel, Patrick

The advent of the knowledge-based economy has underlined the importance of intellectual capital that is possessed by knowledge intensive organizations. Three general observations of knowledge intensive work produced by actors working in such organizations served as the basis for the initiation of this research. First, knowledge intensive tasks become increasingly complex. Second, actors that perform such tasks experience an increase in cognitive load. Third, the desired quality of task performance and the produced task results are at stake due to the aforementioned two developments. In this research we investigate how supply and demand of intangible assets such as knowledge, cognitive characteristics, and quality factors can be matched based on market mechanisms.

The Human Face of Health News: A Multi-Method Analysis of Sourcing Practices in Health-Related News in Belgian Magazines.

PubMed

De Dobbelaer, Rebeca; Van Leuven, Sarah; Raeymaeckers, Karin

2018-05-01

Health journalists are central gatekeepers who select, frame, and communicate health news to a broad audience, but the selection and content of health news are also influenced by the sources journalists, rely on (Hinnant, Len-Rios, & Oh, 2012). In this paper, we examine whether the traditional elitist sourcing practices (e.g., research institutions, government) are still important in a digitalized news environment where bottom-up non-elite actors (e.g., patients, civil society organizations) can act as producers (Bruns, 2003). Our main goal, therefore, is to detect whether sourcing practices in health journalism can be linked with strategies of empowerment. We use a multi-method approach combining quantitative and qualitative research methods. First, two content analyses are developed to examine health-related news in Belgian magazines (popular weeklies, health magazines, general interest magazines, and women's magazines). The analyses highlight sourcing practices as visible in the texts and give an overview of the different stakeholders represented as sources. In the first wave, the content analysis includes 1047 health-related news items in 19 different Belgian magazines (March-June 2013). In the second wave, a smaller sample of 202 health-related items in 10 magazines was studied for follow-up reasons (February 2015). Second, to contextualize the findings of the quantitative analysis, we interviewed 16 health journalists and editors-in-chief. The results illustrate that journalists consider patients and blogs as relevant sources for health news; nonetheless, elitist sourcing practices still prevail at the cost of bottom-up communication. However, the in-depth interviews demonstrate that journalists increasingly consult patients and civil society actors to give health issues a more "human" face. Importantly, the study reveals that this strategy is differently applied by the various types of magazines. While popular weeklies and women's magazines give a voice to ordinary citizens to translate complex issues and connect with their audiences, general interest magazines and health magazines prefer elite sources and use ordinary citizen stories as a way of "window dressing."

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 color of juvenile justice: racial disparities in dispositional decisions.

PubMed

Fader, Jamie J; Kurlychek, Megan C; Morgan, Kirstin A

2014-03-01

Existing research on dispositional decisions typically models the outcome as merely placed or not placed. However, this does not accurately reflect the wide variation in residential options available to juvenile court actors. In this research, we combine data from ProDES, which tracks adjudicated youth in Philadelphia, with data from the Program Design Inventory, which describes over 100 intervention programs, to further examine the factors that influence court actors' decision making in selecting an appropriate program for a juvenile offender. We find that even after controlling for legal and needs-based factors, race continues to exert a significant influence, with decision makers being significantly more likely to commit minority youth to facilities using physical regimen as their primary modality and reserving smaller, therapeutic facilities for their white counterparts. Using focal concerns theory as an explanatory lens, we suggest that court actors in this jurisdiction employ a racialized perceptual shorthand of youthful offenders that attributes both higher levels of blame and lower evaluations of reformability to minority youth. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[A non-classical approach to medical practices: Michel Foucault and Actor-Network Theory].

PubMed

Bińczyk, E

2001-01-01

The text presents an analysis of medical practices stemming from two sources: Michel Foucault's conception and the research of Annemarie Mol and John Law, representatives of a trend known as Actor-Network Theory. Both approaches reveal significant theoretical kinship: they can be successfully consigned to the framework of non-classical sociology of science. I initially refer to the cited conceptions as a version of non-classical sociology of medicine. The identity of non-classical sociology of medicine hinges on the fact that it undermines the possibility of objective definitions of disease, health and body. These are rather approached as variable social and historical phenomena, co-constituted by medical practices. To both Foucault and Mol the main object of interest was not medicine as such, but rather the network of medical practices. Mol and Law sketch a new theoretical perspective for the analysis of medical practices. They attempt to go beyond the dichotomous scheme of thinking about the human body as an object of medical research and the subject of private experience. Research on patients suffering blood-sugar deficiency provide the empirical background for the thesis of Actor-Network Theory representatives. Michel Foucault's conceptions are extremely critical of medical practices. The French researcher describes the processes of 'medicalising' Western society as the emergence of a new type of power. He attempts to sensitise the reader to the ethical dimension of the processes of medicalising society.

How institutional change and individual researchers helped advance clinical guidelines in American health care.

PubMed

Nigam, Amit

2013-06-01

Clinical guidelines are important tools for managing health care quality. Research on the origins of guidelines primarily focuses on the institutional causes of their emergence and growth. Individual medical researchers, however, have played important roles. This paper develops knowledge of the role of individual medical researchers in advancing guidelines, and of how researchers' efforts were enabled or constrained by broader institutional changes. Drawing on an analytical case study focused on the role of Kerr White, John Wennberg, and Robert Brook, it shows that guidelines were a product of the interplay between institutional change in the medical field and actions by individual researchers, acting as institutional entrepreneurs. Increased government involvement in the health care field triggered the involvement of a range of new actors in health care. These new organizations created a context that allowed individual researchers to advance guidelines by creating job opportunities, providing research funding, and creating opportunities for researchers to engage with the policy process. Individual researchers availed of this context to both advance their ideas, and to draw new actors into the field. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Research Note: The consequences of different methods for handling missing network data in Stochastic Actor Based Models

PubMed Central

Hipp, John R.; Wang, Cheng; Butts, Carter T.; Jose, Rupa; Lakon, Cynthia M.

2015-01-01

Although stochastic actor based models (e.g., as implemented in the SIENA software program) are growing in popularity as a technique for estimating longitudinal network data, a relatively understudied issue is the consequence of missing network data for longitudinal analysis. We explore this issue in our research note by utilizing data from four schools in an existing dataset (the AddHealth dataset) over three time points, assessing the substantive consequences of using four different strategies for addressing missing network data. The results indicate that whereas some measures in such models are estimated relatively robustly regardless of the strategy chosen for addressing missing network data, some of the substantive conclusions will differ based on the missing data strategy chosen. These results have important implications for this burgeoning applied research area, implying that researchers should more carefully consider how they address missing data when estimating such models. PMID:25745276

Research Note: The consequences of different methods for handling missing network data in Stochastic Actor Based Models.

PubMed

Hipp, John R; Wang, Cheng; Butts, Carter T; Jose, Rupa; Lakon, Cynthia M

2015-05-01

Although stochastic actor based models (e.g., as implemented in the SIENA software program) are growing in popularity as a technique for estimating longitudinal network data, a relatively understudied issue is the consequence of missing network data for longitudinal analysis. We explore this issue in our research note by utilizing data from four schools in an existing dataset (the AddHealth dataset) over three time points, assessing the substantive consequences of using four different strategies for addressing missing network data. The results indicate that whereas some measures in such models are estimated relatively robustly regardless of the strategy chosen for addressing missing network data, some of the substantive conclusions will differ based on the missing data strategy chosen. These results have important implications for this burgeoning applied research area, implying that researchers should more carefully consider how they address missing data when estimating such models.

Digitization of the human body in the present-day economy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Apuzzo, Nicola

2004-12-01

In this paper we report on the historic development of human body digitization and on the actual state of commercially available technology. Complete systems for the digitization of the human body exist since more than ten years. One of the main users of this technology was the entertainment industry. Every new movie excited with attractive visual effects, but only few people knew that the most thrilling cuts were realized by using virtual persons. The faces and bodies of actors were digitized and the "virtual twin" replaced the actor in the movie. Nowadays, the state of the human body digitization is so high that it is not possible any more to distinguish the real actor from the virtual one. Indeed, for the rush technical development has to be thanked the movie industry, which was one of the strong economic motors for this technology. Today, with the possibility of a massive cost reduction given by new technologies, methods for digitization of the human body are used also in other fields of application, such as ergonomics, medical applications, computer games, biometry and anthropometrics. With the time, this technology becomes interesting also for sport, fitness, fashion and beauty. A large expansion of human body digitization is expected in the near future. To date, different technologies are used commercially for the measurement of the human body. They can be divided into three distinguished groups: laser-scanning, projection of light patterns, combination modeling and image processing. The different solutions have strengths and weaknesses that profile their suitability for specific applications. This paper gives an overview of their differences and characteristics and expresses clues for the selection of the adequate method. Practical examples of commercial exploitation of human body digitization are also presented and new interesting perspectives are introduced.

A conceptual framework related to ICT-AT competence development: The theoretical foundations of ENTELIS.

PubMed

Mavrou, Katerina; Hoogerwerf, Evert-Jan; Meletiou-Mavrotheris, Maria; Kärki, Anne; Sallinen, Merja

2015-01-01

This paper provides an overview of the construction of a conceptual framework regarding ICT-Assistive Technology (ICT-AT) competence development, designed to gain awareness of the elements involved and to facilitate the understanding and exchange among stakeholders of the ENTELIS (European Network for Technology Enhanced Learning in an Inclusive Society) project. The framework was designed based on the basic principles of Activity Theory, which however have been adapted and adjusted to the project's objectives. Hence, it includes a map of actors and other parameters functioning in a person surrounding "ecosystem", and it allows us to understand and map roles, expectations, barriers, as well as to devise solutions to tackle digital divide. Taking as a starting and central point the person and his/her wish to self-determination and fulfilment (quality of life) and the related needs, it provides a map of how the various concepts and variables interact within the theoretical and methodological perspective of the collection, description and assessment of experiences in ICT-AT education and competences development of persons with disabilities (PwD) of all ages. The conceptual framework represents two interacting learning activity systems: (a) the internal system of the end-user, which includes the end-user and his/her needs, the setting where learning takes place and the other actors involved, and (b) the external system, which embraces the internal system but also wider issues of policy and practice and experiences and 'actors' that contribute to the development and use of ICT and ICT-AT skills in all areas of life. The elements of these systems and their interaction provide the basis for analysing experiences and advancing knowledge relevant for bridging the digital divide.

Digitization of the human body in the present-day economy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Apuzzo, Nicola

2005-01-01

In this paper we report on the historic development of human body digitization and on the actual state of commercially available technology. Complete systems for the digitization of the human body exist since more than ten years. One of the main users of this technology was the entertainment industry. Every new movie excited with attractive visual effects, but only few people knew that the most thrilling cuts were realized by using virtual persons. The faces and bodies of actors were digitized and the "virtual twin" replaced the actor in the movie. Nowadays, the state of the human body digitization is so high that it is not possible any more to distinguish the real actor from the virtual one. Indeed, for the rush technical development has to be thanked the movie industry, which was one of the strong economic motors for this technology. Today, with the possibility of a massive cost reduction given by new technologies, methods for digitization of the human body are used also in other fields of application, such as ergonomics, medical applications, computer games, biometry and anthropometrics. With the time, this technology becomes interesting also for sport, fitness, fashion and beauty. A large expansion of human body digitization is expected in the near future. To date, different technologies are used commercially for the measurement of the human body. They can be divided into three distinguished groups: laser-scanning, projection of light patterns, combination modeling and image processing. The different solutions have strengths and weaknesses that profile their suitability for specific applications. This paper gives an overview of their differences and characteristics and expresses clues for the selection of the adequate method. Practical examples of commercial exploitation of human body digitization are also presented and new interesting perspectives are introduced.

The Path to Savings: Understanding the Federal Purchase of Energy-Consuming Products

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

Taylor, Margaret; Fujita, K. Sydny

Energy efficiency has been a federal procurement policy objective since at least 1992, with the origin of the Energy Efficient Product Procurement (EEPP) program within the larger Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). Today, the EEPP program’s mandate is based on requirements that 95% of new contract actions, task orders, and delivery orders for products and services be energy and water efficient, as laid out in Executive Order 13514 in 2009. Facilitating full compliance with EO 13514 presents a significant strategic planning challenge to the FEMP EEPP program, given the size of the federal government, the range of missions of itsmore » many agencies, the mix of management approaches for its buildings, and the diverse set of roughly 80 energy efficient products which has been established through preceding legislation and executive orders. The goal of this report is to aid the program in prioritizing its resources by providing an overview of how the purchase of energy-consuming products occurs in today’s evolving federal procurement system, as well as identify likely intervention points and compliance review mechanisms. Through a synthesis of the literature on U.S. federal sector procurement and two dozen primary interviews, the report particularly focuses on the importance of price in determining the actor(s) responsible for any given purchase of an energy-consuming product. This identification is important, as the relevant actors are trained and reviewed in different ways that the FEMP EEPP program can prioritize for targeting, based on the decision criteria such as the potential energy savings associated with the actor’s purchases or the administrative ease of the intervention.« less

Local peace and contemporary conflict: Constructing commonality and exclusion during war in Afghanistan.

PubMed

Karell, Daniel

2017-01-01

Despite the "local turn" in international peacekeeping and the emphasis on community-centered development during the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it remains poorly understood how local actors-both foreign and indigenous-shape local-level wartime settings. This article explores the processes and consequences of one military unit's efforts to "win hearts and minds" in Afghanistan during 2012-13. The first portion of the analysis examines original textual data with a novel methodological approach depicting the unit's perceptions of commonalities between itself and local actors. The second portion explores the consequences with data from original interviews with residents of southern Afghanistan in 2014-15. The findings suggest that achieving a local peace can be undermined by military and development actors' own perception of the local community. The article concludes with a discussion of how sociological studies of micro-settings between actors can contribute to research on conflict and wartime development, as well as how the sociological study of war can further develop by disaggregating conflict settings and tracing the social construction of wartime socio-political landscapes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Post Disaster Governance, Complexity and Network Theory: Evidence from Aceh, Indonesia After the Indian Ocean Tsunami 2004.

PubMed

Lassa, Jonatan A

2015-07-01

This research aims to understand the organizational network typology of large--scale disaster intervention in developing countries and to understand the complexity of post--disaster intervention, through the use of network theory based on empirical data from post--tsunami reconstruction in Aceh, Indonesia, during 2005/-2007. The findings suggest that the ' degrees of separation' (or network diameter) between any two organizations in the field is 5, thus reflecting 'small- world' realities and therefore making no significant difference with the real human networks, as found in previous experiments. There are also significant loops in the network reflecting the fact that some actors tend to not cooperate, which challenges post- disaster coordination. The findings show the landscape of humanitarian actors is not randomly distributed. Many actors were connected to each other through certain hubs, while hundreds of actors make 'scattered' single 'principal--client' links. The paper concludes that by understanding the distribution of degree, centrality, 'degrees of separation' and visualization of the network, authorities can improve their understanding of the realities of coordination, from macro to micro scales.

Anthropology, knowledge-flows and global health.

PubMed

Feierman, S; Kleinman, A; Stewart, K; Farmer, D; Das, V

2010-01-01

Global health programmes are damaged by blockages in the upward flow of information from localities and regional centres about realities of professional practice and about patients' lives and conditions of treatment. Power differentials between local actors and national or international decision-makers present further obstacles to effective action. Anthropological research and action, in its most effective current forms, make important contributions to these issues. This research often continues over the long term, intensively. It can be multi-sited, studying actors at local, national and international levels simultaneously. It studies the relative knowledge and power of impoverished patients and global decision-makers, all within a single frame. By doing so, anthropological research is capable of providing new and important insights on the diverse meanings of patient decision-making, informed consent, non-compliance, public health reporting, the building of political coalitions for health and many other issues.

Developmental Impact Evaluation for Facilitating Learning in Innovation Networks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saari, Eveliina; Kallio, Katri

2011-01-01

Innovations and new project ideas often emerge in networks of researchers, users of research, and societal actors. This article analyzes and discusses how research scientists learn to conduct research that has an impact on their clients, scientific community, and society. We describe a new developmental impact evaluation method based on the theory…

World Health Organization and the search for accountability: a critical analysis of the new framework of engagement with non-state actors.

PubMed

Rached, Danielle Hanna; Ventura, Deisy de Freitas Lima

2017-07-03

The article probes the origins and content of the Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors (FENSA) of the World Health Organization (WHO), approved on May 28, 2016, at the 69th World Health Assembly, which established different rules of collaboration to four categories of actors: nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), private sector entities, philanthropic foundations, and academic institutions. Applying the findings of International Legal Theory and based on extensive documentary research, we sought to determine whether FENSA is an appropriate accountability mechanism according to four functions of accountability: constitutional, democratic, epistemic, and populist. The article concludes that there is a risk of the prevalence of the populist function at the expense of the accountability potential that could result from the better use of the other three accountability functions.

Reciprocal Associations Among Maternal and Child Characteristics of At-Risk Families: A Longitudinal Actor-Partner Interdependence Model.

PubMed

Claridge, Amy M; Wojciak, Armeda S; Lettenberger-Klein, Cassandra G; Pettigrew, Haley V; McWey, Lenore M; Chaviano, Casey L

2015-07-01

Researchers have found linear associations among maternal and child characteristics. However, family systems theorists suggest that relationships are more complex and family members are interdependent. We used actor-partner interdependence modeling to unravel associations among maternal and child characteristics to predict outcomes in adolescence. We used data from 361 mother-child dyads from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect and found both actor and partner effects. Maternal depression and history of victimization were associated with children's later reports of lower mother-adolescent relationship quality. Children's perceptions of relationship quality were also associated with mothers' later depressive symptoms and perceptions of relationship quality. Overall, results highlighted interdependence among mothers and their children over time. We discuss implications for marriage and family therapists. © 2014 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Extended mind and after: socially extended mind and actor-network.

PubMed

Kono, Tetsuya

2014-03-01

The concept of extended mind has been impressively developed over the last 10 years by many philosophers and cognitive scientists. The extended mind thesis (EM) affirms that the mind is not simply ensconced inside the head, but extends to the whole system of brain-body-environment. Recently, some philosophers and psychologists try to adapt the idea of EM to the domain of social cognition research. Mind is socially extended (SEM). However, EM/SEM theory has problems to analyze the interactions among a subject and its surroundings with opposition, antagonism, or conflict; it also tends to think that the environment surrounding the subject is passive or static, and to neglect the power of non-human actants to direct and regulate the human subject. In these points, actor-network theory (ANT) proposed by Latour and Callon is more persuasive, while sharing some important ideas with EM/SEM theory. Actor-network is a hybrid community which is composed of a series of heterogeneous elements, animate and inanimate for a certain period of time. I shall conclude that EM/SEM could be best analyzed as a special case of actor-network. EM/SEM is a system which can be controlled by a human agent alone. In order to understand collective behavior, philosophy and psychology have to study the actor-network in which human individuals are situated.

Honey, I got fired! A longitudinal dyadic analysis of the effect of unemployment on life satisfaction in couples.

PubMed

Luhmann, Maike; Weiss, Pola; Hosoya, Georg; Eid, Michael

2014-07-01

Previous research on unemployment and life satisfaction has focused on the effects of unemployment on individuals but neglected the effects on their partners. In the present study, we used dyadic multilevel models to analyze longitudinal data from 2,973 couples selected from a German representative panel study to examine the effects of unemployment on life satisfaction in couples over several years. We found that unemployment decreases life satisfaction in both members of the couple, but the effect is more pronounced for those who become unemployed (actors) than for the other couple members (partners). In both couple members, the reaction is attenuated if they share the same labor status after the job loss: Actors experienced a greater drop in life satisfaction if their partners were employed than if they were unemployed at the time of the job loss, and partners reacted negatively to the job loss only if they were employed or inactive in the workforce, but not if they were unemployed themselves. With respect to couple-level moderator variables, we found that both actors and partners reacted more negatively to unemployment if they had children. The reaction was also more negative in male actors than in female actors, but there was no difference between male and female partners. In sum, these findings indicate that changes in life satisfaction can be caused by major life events experienced by significant others.

Research-based theatre: The making of I'm Still Here!

PubMed

Mitchell, Gail J; Jonas-Simpson, Christine; Ivonoffski, Vrenia

2006-07-01

This column describes the process undertaken by a team of researchers, artists, and actors to create a research-based drama about living with dementia. Researchers had several studies, guided by the human becoming theory, about what life was like when living with dementia, and an additional study in progress about the lived experience of loss for daughters whose mothers were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Researchers partnered with an experienced artistic director and playwright in order to craft a script and performance that could help others understand and see life with dementia in a new light. The crafting of the script was also informed by the experiences and insights of actors, healthcare professionals, and persons living with dementia. The play premiered before a group of 100 persons and families living with dementia and has since been performed approximately 40 times to hundreds of professionals and families. The evaluation of the play, at six of the performances, is presented in this column.

The Importance of Harmony: An Ecological Metaphor for Writing Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleckenstein, Kristie S.; Spinuzzi, Clay; Rickly, Rebecca J.; Papper, Carole Clark

2008-01-01

This essay argues for the value of an ecological metaphor in conceptualizing, designing, and enacting research in writing studies. Such a metaphor conceives of activities, actors, situations, and phenomena as interdependent, diverse, and fused through feedback. This ecological orientation invites composition scholars to research rhetorically: to…

Engaging the Senses, Understanding Publics: Research Methods, Science Engagement, and Synthetic Biology.

PubMed

Meckin, Robert; Balmer, Andrew

2017-11-01

Scientists and government actors often fear a 'public rejection' of biotechnology, especially regarding genetic modification. Through a research project aimed at engaging people's senses, we support an alternative way for scientists to consider non-scientists in their research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

76 FR 22925 - Assumption Buster Workshop: Abnormal Behavior Detection Finds Malicious Actors

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-25

... Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program, National Science Foundation. ACTION: Call for... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Assumption Buster Workshop: Abnormal Behavior Detection Finds...: The NCO, on behalf of the Special Cyber Operations Research and Engineering (SCORE) Committee, an...

Power structure among the actors of financial support to the poor to access health services: Social network analysis approach.

PubMed

Etemadi, Manal; Gorji, Hasan Abolghasem; Kangarani, Hannaneh Mohammadi; Ashtarian, Kioomars

2017-12-01

The extent of universal health coverage in terms of financial protection is worrisome in Iran. There are challenges in health policies to guarantee financial accessibility to health services, especially for poor people. Various institutions offer support to ensure that the poor have financial access to health services. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship network among the institutions active in this field. This study is a policy document analysis. It evaluates the country's legal documents in the field of financial support to the poor for healthcare after the Islamic Revolution in Iran. The researchers looked for the documents on the related websites and referred to the related organizations. The social network analysis approach was chosen for the analysis of the documents. Block-modelling and multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) was used to determine the network structures. The UCINET software was employed to analyse the data. Most the main actors of this network are chosen from the government budget. There is no legal communication and cooperation among some of the actors because of their improper position in the network. Seven blocks have been clustered by CONCOR in terms of the actor's degree of similarity. The social distance among the actors of the seven blocks is very short. Power distribution in the field of financial support to the poor has a fragmented structure; however, it is mainly run by a dominant block consisting of The Supreme Council of Welfare and Social Security, Health Insurance Organization, and the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. The financial support for the poor network involves multiple actors. This variety has created a series of confusions in terms of the type, level, and scope of responsibilities among the actors. The weak presence legislative and regulatory institutions and also non-governmental institutions are the main weak points of this network. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Information overload in healthcare: too much of a good thing?

PubMed

Klerings, Irma; Weinhandl, Alexandra S; Thaler, Kylie J

2015-01-01

The rapidly growing production of healthcare information - both scientific and popular - increasingly leads to a situation of information overload affecting all actors of the healthcare system and threatening to impede the adoption of evidence-based practice. In preparation for the 2015 Cochrane Colloquium in Vienna, we discuss the issues faced by three major actors of this system: patients, healthcare practitioners, and systematic reviewers. We analyze their situation through the concept of "filter failure", positing that the main problem is not that there is "too much information", but that the traditional means of managing and evaluating information are ill-suited to the realities of the digital age. Some of the major instances of filter failure are inadequate information retrieval systems for point-of-care settings, the problem of identifying all relevant evidence in an exceedingly diverse landscape of information resources, and the very basic lack of health information literacy, concerning not only the general public. Finally, we give an overview of proposed solutions to the problem of information overload. These new or adapted filtering systems include adapting review literature to the specific needs of practitioners or patients, technological improvements to information systems, strengthening the roles of intermediaries, as well as improving health literacy. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Health workforce governance: Processes, tools and actors towards a competent workforce for integrated health services delivery.

PubMed

Barbazza, Erica; Langins, Margrieta; Kluge, Hans; Tello, Juan

2015-12-01

A competent health workforce is a vital resource for health services delivery, dictating the extent to which services are capable of responding to health needs. In the context of the changing health landscape, an integrated approach to service provision has taken precedence. For this, strengthening health workforce competencies is an imperative, and doing so in practice hinges on the oversight and steering function of governance. To aid health system stewards in their governing role, this review seeks to provide an overview of processes, tools and actors for strengthening health workforce competencies. It draws from a purposive and multidisciplinary review of literature, expert opinion and country initiatives across the WHO European Region's 53 Member States. Through our analysis, we observe distinct yet complementary roles can be differentiated between health services delivery and the health system. This understanding is a necessary prerequisite to gain deeper insight into the specificities for strengthening health workforce competencies in order for governance to rightly create the institutional environment called for to foster alignment. Differentiating between the contribution of health services and the health system in the strengthening of health workforce competencies is an important distinction for achieving and sustaining health improvement goals. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Evaluating in political turmoil: nursing challenges in prevention programs.

PubMed

Laperrière, Hélène

2007-03-01

The concrete insertion of nurses into the context of an inquiry contributes to empirical evaluation research of health promotion programs. As interveners and concrete actors in social movements, nurses are in a privileged position to give realism to a local understanding of the political and cultural context of evaluative research. Drawing on the practice of empirical evaluation research, this paper seeks to generate new methodological approaches in a way that broadens nursing inquiries in community health nursing. It explores new ways of thinking about epistemology and knowledge production in nursing practice. For 5 months an evaluative research project adopting a participatory-action research approach was conducted with local community actors in an AIDS prevention project in Amazonas (Brazil) in a prostitution setting. An auto-ethnographic journal was used as a reflective approach for the critical analysis of nursing research activities. This paper calls for a closer relationship between scientific research settings and the sociopolitical and the sociocultural aspects of nursing practice. It increases an incorporation of popular, social and professional experiential learning and skill acquisition in embedded knowledge production.

Exploring the use of social network analysis to measure communication between disease programme and district managers at sub-national level in South Africa.

PubMed

Kawonga, Mary; Blaauw, Duane; Fonn, Sharon

2015-06-01

With increasing interest in maximising synergies between disease control programmes (DCP) and general health services (GHS), methods are needed to measure interactions between DCP and GHS actors. In South Africa, administrative integration reforms make GHS managers at decentralised level (district managers) responsible for the oversight of DCP operations within districts, with DCP managers (programme managers) providing specialist support. The reforms necessitate interdependence, but these actors work together ineffectively. Communication is crucial for joint working, but no research to assess communication between these actors has been done. This study explores the use of social network analysis (SNA) to measure the extent to which programme and district managers in South Africa communicate, using HIV monitoring and evaluation (M&E) as an exemplar. Data were collected from fifty one managers in two provinces during 2010-2011, to measure: a) one-on-one task-related communication - talking about the collation (verification, reporting) and use of HIV data for monitoring HIV interventions; and b) group communication through co-participating in management committees where HIV data are used for monitoring HIV interventions in districts. SNA measures were computed to describe actor centrality, network density (cohesion), and communication within and between respective manager groups. Block modelling was applied to identify management committees that connect respective manager groups. Results show HIV programme managers located at higher level communicated largely amongst themselves as a group (homophily), seldom talked to the district managers to whom they are supposed to provide specialist HIV M&E support, and rarely participated with them in management committees. This research demonstrates the utility of SNA as a tool for measuring the extent of communication between DCP and GHS actors at sub-national level. Actions are needed to bridge observed communication gaps in order to promote collaborative monitoring of HIV programme interventions within districts. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do day-to-day finances play a role in relationship satisfaction? A dyadic investigation.

PubMed

Totenhagen, Casey J; Wilmarth, Melissa J; Serido, Joyce; Betancourt, Alejandra E

2018-06-01

Prior researchers have found consistent links between financial issues and relationship outcomes. Yet, because most research is cross-sectional or examines these constructs over longer periods of time (e.g., years), the microlevel processes of how and when these changes occur are unclear. In the present study, we use interdependence theory as a guide to examine the daily fluctuations of financial satisfaction and stress as well as their daily associations with relationship quality in married and unmarried heterosexual couples. Using a dyadic 14-day daily diary research design, we found both financial satisfaction and stress demonstrated significant within-person fluctuations, with women demonstrating greater volatility in financial satisfaction than men. Given that individuals varied in their perceptions of financial satisfaction and stress from day to day, we then examined how these fluctuations were associated with daily relationship satisfaction. We expected financial satisfaction would be positively associated with relationship satisfaction for both actors and partners, whereas financial stress would be negatively associated for both actors and partners. Hypotheses were partially supported. Unmarried women's daily financial satisfaction was associated with increased relationship quality for both themselves (marginal) as well as their partners. An unexpected pattern for unmarried men's financial satisfaction was found; their increased financial satisfaction was associated with decreased relationship satisfaction. Increased financial stress was associated with decreased relationship satisfaction for unmarried men and married women (actor effects). We discuss implications for research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Harm reduction as a complex adaptive system: A dynamic framework for analyzing Tanzanian policies concerning heroin use

PubMed Central

Ratliff, Eric A.; Kaduri, Pamela; Masao, Frank; Mbwambo, Jessie K.K.; McCurdy, Sheryl A.

2016-01-01

Contrary to popular belief, policies on drug use are not always based on scientific evidence or composed in a rational manner. Rather, decisions concerning drug policies reflect the negotiation of actors’ ambitions, values, and facts as they organize in different ways around the perceived problems associated with illicit drug use. Drug policy is thus best represented as a complex adaptive system (CAS) that is dynamic, self-organizing, and coevolving. In this analysis, we use a CAS framework to examine how harm reduction emerged around heroin trafficking and use in Tanzania over the past thirty years (1985-present). This account is an organizational ethnography based on of the observant participation of the authors as actors within this system. We review the dynamic history and self-organizing nature of harm reduction, noting how interactions among system actors and components have coevolved with patterns of heroin us, policing, and treatment activities over time. Using a CAS framework, we describe harm reduction as a complex process where ambitions, values, facts, and technologies interact in the Tanzanian socio-political environment. We review the dynamic history and self-organizing nature of heroin policies, noting how the interactions within and between competing prohibitionist and harm reduction policies have changed with patterns of heroin use, policing, and treatment activities over time. Actors learn from their experiences to organize with other actors, align their values and facts, and implement new policies. Using a CAS approach provides researchers and policy actors a better understanding of patterns and intricacies in drug policy. This knowledge of how the system works can help improve the policy process through adaptive action to introduce new actors, different ideas, and avenues for communication into the system. PMID:26790689

Employing the Gini coefficient to measure participation inequality in treatment-focused Digital Health Social Networks.

PubMed

van Mierlo, Trevor; Hyatt, Douglas; Ching, Andrew T

2016-01-01

Digital Health Social Networks (DHSNs) are common; however, there are few metrics that can be used to identify participation inequality. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the Gini coefficient, an economic measure of statistical dispersion traditionally used to measure income inequality, could be employed to measure DHSN inequality. Quarterly Gini coefficients were derived from four long-standing DHSNs. The combined data set included 625,736 posts that were generated from 15,181 actors over 18,671 days. The range of actors (8-2323), posts (29-28,684), and Gini coefficients (0.15-0.37) varied. Pearson correlations indicated statistically significant associations between number of actors and number of posts (0.527-0.835, p  < .001), and Gini coefficients and number of posts (0.342-0.725, p  < .001). However, the association between Gini coefficient and number of actors was only statistically significant for the addiction networks (0.619 and 0.276, p  < .036). Linear regression models had positive but mixed R 2 results (0.333-0.527). In all four regression models, the association between Gini coefficient and posts was statistically significant ( t  = 3.346-7.381, p  < .002). However, unlike the Pearson correlations, the association between Gini coefficient and number of actors was only statistically significant in the two mental health networks ( t  = -4.305 and -5.934, p  < .000). The Gini coefficient is helpful in measuring shifts in DHSN inequality. However, as a standalone metric, the Gini coefficient does not indicate optimal numbers or ratios of actors to posts, or effective network engagement. Further, mixed-methods research investigating quantitative performance metrics is required.

Modelling the evolution of a bi-partite network Peer referral in interlocking directorates*

PubMed Central

Edling, Christofer

2010-01-01

A central part of relational ties between social actors are constituted by shared affiliations and events. The action of joint participation reinforces personal ties between social actors as well as mutually shared values and norms that in turn perpetuate the patterns of social action that define groups. Therefore the study of bipartite networks is central to social science. Furthermore, the dynamics of these processes suggests that bipartite networks should not be considered static structures but rather be studied over time. In order to model the evolution of bipartite networks empirically we introduce a class of models and a Bayesian inference scheme that extends previous stochastic actor-oriented models for unimodal graphs. Contemporary research on interlocking directorates provides an area of research in which it seems reasonable to apply the model. Specifically, we address the question of how tie formation, i.e. director recruitment, contributes to the structural properties of the interlocking directorate network. For boards of directors on the Stockholm stock exchange we propose that a prolific mechanism in tie formation is that of peer referral. The results indicate that such a mechanism is present, generating multiple interlocks between boards. PMID:24944435

Lost in translation? Rethinking First Nation education via LUCID insights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nielsen, Thomas William

2010-10-01

This paper reports on findings from the Learning for Understanding through Culturally-Inclusive Imaginative Development project (LUCID). LUCID has been a 5-year (2004-2009) research and implementation endeavour and a partnership between Simon Fraser University (SFU) and three districts in British Columbia, Canada. Via emotionally engaging pedagogies and a culturally-inclusive curriculum, the project aimed at improving students' educational experience, particularly First Nations learners. Using a combination of Actor Network Theory (Latour, 2005, in: Reassembling the social: an introduction to Actor-Network Theory, Oxford University Press, Oxford) and Hermeneutic Phenomenology (Van Manen, 1990, in: Researching lived experience, The State University of New York, New York), site visits and interview data were examined with reference to the (f)actors influencing project objectives. Although each school district was unique, shared themes included: the importance of creating a community with shared intent; the role of executives as potential "change agents"; the problematic nature of emotionally-engaging teaching; and the complex influences of cultural and historical trauma. The latter theme is explored in particular, presenting the argument that language deficiency and a consequent lack of autonomy might be at the root of many problems experienced in First Nations communities.

Simultaneous vibration control and energy harvesting using actor-critic based reinforcement learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loong, Cheng Ning; Chang, C. C.; Dimitrakopoulos, Elias G.

2018-03-01

Mitigating excessive vibration of civil engineering structures using various types of devices has been a conspicuous research topic in the past few decades. Some devices, such as electromagnetic transducers, which have a capability of exerting control forces while simultaneously harvesting energy, have been proposed recently. These devices make possible a self-regenerative system that can semi-actively mitigate structural vibration without the need of external energy. Integrating mechanical, electrical components, and control algorithms, these devices open up a new research domain that needs to be addressed. In this study, the feasibility of using an actor-critic based reinforcement learning control algorithm for simultaneous vibration control and energy harvesting for a civil engineering structure is investigated. The actor-critic based reinforcement learning control algorithm is a real-time, model-free adaptive technique that can adjust the controller parameters based on observations and reward signals without knowing the system characteristics. It is suitable for the control of a partially known nonlinear system with uncertain parameters. The feasibility of implementing this algorithm on a building structure equipped with an electromagnetic damper will be investigated in this study. Issues related to the modelling of learning algorithm, initialization and convergence will be presented and discussed.

Commons ignorance: the failure of environmental law to produce needed information on health and the environment.

PubMed

Wagner, Wendy E

2004-04-01

One of the most significant problems facing environmental law is the dearth of scientific information available to assess the impact of industrial activities on public health and the environment. After documenting the significant gaps in existing information, this Article argues that existing laws both exacerbate and perpetuate this problem. By failing to require actors to assess the potential harm from their activities, and by penalizing them with additional regulation when they do, existing laws fail to counteract actors' natural inclination to remain silent about the harms that they might be causing. Both theory and practice confirm that when the stakes are high, actors not only will resist producing potentially incriminating information but will invest in discrediting public research that suggests their activities are harmful. The Article concludes with specific recommendations about how these perverse incentives for ignorance can be reversed.

Actor and Partner Effects of Attachment on Relationship Satisfaction and Sexual Satisfaction Across the Genders: An APIM Approach.

PubMed

Conradi, Henk Jan; Noordhof, Arjen; Dingemanse, Pieter; Barelds, Dick P H; Kamphuis, Jan H

2017-10-01

Previous studies found gender differences in relationship satisfaction and sexuality. We tested gender differences in associations between attachment, a lasting relationship determinant, and two outcomes, relationship and sexual satisfaction. This study improves on earlier research by examining these associations in one Actor-Partner-Interdependence-Model, making direct statistical testing between outcomes possible. Furthermore, a community and a distressed sample (N = 113 heterosexual couples each) were included to attempt replication across samples and to examine clinical implications. In both genders, actor attachment avoidance negatively affected relationship satisfaction and (with one exception) sexual satisfaction. Also in both genders, partner attachment avoidance negatively affected sexual satisfaction. However, whereas partner attachment avoidance influenced female relationship satisfaction, it did not affect male relationship satisfaction. The findings replicated across samples. Clinical implications are discussed. © 2017 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Faces of integration.

PubMed

Williams, Paul; Sullivan, Helen

2009-12-22

Two central themes permeate this paper-the interplay between structure and agency in integration processes and the extent to which this is mediated through sensemaking by individual actors. The empirical base for the paper is provided by case study research from Wales which draws on examples of different types of integration in health and social care. The individual case studies highlight different interpretations of integration set against a background of the resources involved, processes employed and outcomes achieved. A wide ranging discussion exposes the complex interplay and dynamics between structural factors and the manner in which they enable or constrain integration, and individual actors realising their potential agency through leadership, professionalism and boundary spanning to influence outcomes. The importance of structure and agency complementing each other to determine effective integration is emphasised, together with the scope that is available for interpretation and meaning by individual actors within the contested discourse of integration.

Faces of integration

PubMed Central

Williams, Paul; Sullivan, Helen

2009-01-01

Theme Two central themes permeate this paper—the interplay between structure and agency in integration processes and the extent to which this is mediated through sensemaking by individual actors. Case study The empirical base for the paper is provided by case study research from Wales which draws on examples of different types of integration in health and social care. The individual case studies highlight different interpretations of integration set against a background of the resources involved, processes employed and outcomes achieved. Discussion A wide ranging discussion exposes the complex interplay and dynamics between structural factors and the manner in which they enable or constrain integration, and individual actors realising their potential agency through leadership, professionalism and boundary spanning to influence outcomes. The importance of structure and agency complementing each other to determine effective integration is emphasised, together with the scope that is available for interpretation and meaning by individual actors within the contested discourse of integration. PMID:20087420

Effects of big-five personality traits on the quality of relationship and satisfaction in Chinese coach-athlete dyads.

PubMed

Yang, S X; Jowett, S; Chan, D K C

2015-08-01

The present study examined the influence of personality traits on the quality of the Chinese coach-athlete relationship and satisfaction through a dyadic research design. A total of 350 coach-athlete dyads completed a self-report instrument that assessed personality traits, as well as perceptions of relationship quality and satisfaction with training. Results revealed that: (a) actor effects (i.e., actor's personality will predict his or her own perceptions of relationship quality) of personality traits, namely, conscientiousness, extroversion, and neuroticism, on both coaches' and athletes' perceptions of relationship quality and (b) partner effects (an actor's own personality will predict his or her partner's perceptions of relationship quality) of only athletes' personality, namely, conscientiousness, extroversion, and neuroticism, on their coaches' perceptions of relationship quality. The findings suggested that each relationship member's personality trait contributed independently to relationship quality, and both actor and partner effects of the relationship quality on satisfaction with training were found to be significant. In Chinese sports culture, there presents a unique dynamics of personality and relationship quality among coach-athlete dyad. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The need of a multi-actor perspective to understand expectations from virtual presence: managing elderly homecare informatics.

PubMed

Mettler, Tobias; Vimarlund, Vivian

2011-12-01

Different studies have analysed a wide range of use cases and scenarios for using IT-based services in homecare settings for elderly people. In most instances, the impact of such services has been studied using a one-dimensional approach, either focusing on the benefits for the patient or health service provider. The objective of this contribution is to explore a model for identifying and understanding outcomes of IT-based homecare services from a multi-actor perspective. In order to better understand the state of the art in homecare informatics, we conducted a literature review. We use experiences from previous research in the area of informatics to develop the proposed model. The proposed model consists of four core activities 'identify involved actors', 'understand consequences', 'clarify contingencies', 'take corrective actions', and one additional activity 'brainstorming IT use'. The primary goal of innovating organisations, processes and services in homecare informatics today, is to offer continued care, better decision support both to practitioners and patients, as well as effective distribution of resources. A multi-actor analysis perspective is needed to understand utility determination for the involved stakeholders.

Reconceptualizing 'extremism' and 'moderation': from categories of analysis to categories of practice in the construction of collective identity.

PubMed

Hopkins, Nick; Kahani-Hopkins, Vered

2009-03-01

Much psychological research employs the categories of extremism and moderation as categories of analysis (e.g. to identify the psychological bases for, and consequences of, holding certain positions). This paper argues these categorizations inevitably reflect one's values and taken-for-granted assumptions about social reality and that their use as analytic categories limits our ability to explore what is really important: social actors' own constructions of social reality. In turn we argue that if we are to focus on this latter, there may be merit in exploring how social actors themselves use the categories of moderation and extremism to construct their own terms of reference. That is we propose to re-conceptualize the categories of moderation and extremism as categories of practice rather than analysis. The utility of this approach is illustrated with qualitative data. We argue that these data illustrate the importance of respecting social actors' own constructions of social reality (rather than imposing our own). Moreover, we argue that categories of moderation and extremism may be employed by social actors in diverse ways to construct different terms of reference and so recruit support for different identity-related projects.

Does own experience affect perception of others' actions in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella)?

PubMed

Kuroshima, Hika; Kaiser, Ingrid; Fragaszy, Dorothy M

2014-11-01

Anticipating another's actions is an important ability in social animals. Recent research suggests that in human adults and infants one's own action experience facilitates understanding and anticipation of others' actions. We investigated the link between first-person experience and perception of another's action in adult tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella spp., formerly Cebus apella spp.). In Experiment 1, the monkeys observed a familiar human (actor) trying to open a container using either a familiar or an unfamiliar action. They looked for longer when the actor tried to open the container using a familiar action. In Experiment 2, the actor performed two novel actions on a new container. The monkeys looked equally at the two actions. In Experiment 3, the monkeys were trained to open the container using one of the novel actions in Experiment 2. After training, we repeated the same procedure as in Experiment 2. The monkeys looked for longer when the actor manipulated the container using the action they had practiced than when she used the unfamiliar action. These results show that knowledge derived from one's own experience impacts perception of another's action in these New World monkeys.

Searching for realism, structure and agency in Actor Network Theory.

PubMed

Elder-Vass, Dave

2008-09-01

Superficially, Actor Network Theory (ANT) and critical realism (CR) are radically opposed research traditions. Written from a realist perspective, this paper asks whether there might be a basis for finding common ground between these two traditions. It looks in turn at the questions of realism, structure, and agency, analysing the differences between the two perspectives and seeking to identify what each might learn from the other. Overall, the paper argues that there is a great deal that realists can learn from actor network theory; yet ANT remains stunted by its lack of a depth ontology. It fails to recognize the significance of mechanisms, and of their dependence on emergence, and thus lacks both dimensions of the depth that is characteristic of critical realism's ontology. This prevents ANT from recognizing the role and powers of social structure; but on the other hand, realists would do well to heed ANT's call for us to trace the connections through which structures are constantly made and remade. A lack of ontological depth also underpins ANT's practice of treating human and non-human actors symmetrically, yet this remains a valuable provocation to sociologists who neglect non-human entities entirely.

Explaining Strengthening Mechanisms, Institutional Orientations and Problematic Challenges of University Agricultural Research in Iran

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharifzadeh, Aboulghasem; Abdollahzadeh, Gholamhossein

2009-01-01

According to empirical evidence and noted implications of sustainable agricultural development as a systemic and multi-actor process, integration of the research function of higher agricultural education in Iranian agricultural research systems seems to be an ongoing and considerable necessity. With the aim of identification and analysis of…

Minority Students' Responses to Racism: The Case of Cyprus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stevens, Peter A. J.; Charalambous, Panayiota; Mesaritou, Evgenia; Spyrou, Spyros; Van Praag, Lore; D'hondt, Fanny; Vervaet, Roselien; Van Houtte, Mieke

2016-01-01

While research has focused on the role of racism in (re)producing ethnic/racial inequalities in education, there is very little research that investigates how variability in minority students' responses to racism can be explained. By using an ecological approach to integrate existing research on actors' responses to racism, this study finds that…

[Singing formant analysis of KunQu actors in their mutation and grown-up].

PubMed

Zhu, Mei; Zhang, Dao-Xing; Liu, Yong-Xiang; Yang, Xiao-ju

2005-04-01

To compare the singing formant differences between successful opera actors and non-successful opera actors during their adolescence period, and to compare the same index between adolescence and adult period of successful actors. From 1985 to 1986, the author had 21 adolescent actors' voice recorded, all of them were from Beijing KunQu opera troupe. In 2000, all the 21 subjects had their voice recorded and singing formant (Fs) analyzed by using computer and sound spectrograph, 7 of them had become adult actors, others quitted their actors career after adolescents period. Successful actors have obvious Fs, and stronger acoustic energy; successful actors had weaker Fs value during adolescence period than during adult period (t = 2. 9600, P < 0.05). Fs's presence and its acoustic energy were important to evaluate adolescent actors future locality potential.

Tribology and Mechanical Components Branch Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Handschuh, Robert F.

2010-01-01

An overview of NASA Glenn Research Center's Tribology & Mechanical Components Branch is provided. Work in space mechanisms, seals, oil-free turbomachinery, and mechanical components is presented. An overview of current research for these technology areas is contained in this overview.

Translating research findings into community based theatre: More than a dead man's wife.

PubMed

Feldman, Susan; Hopgood, Alan; Dickins, Marissa

2013-12-01

Increasingly, qualitative scholars in health and social sciences are turning to innovative strategies as a way of translating research findings into informative, accessible and enjoyable forms for the community. The aim of this article is to describe how the research findings of a doctoral thesis - a narrative study about 58 older women's experiences of widowhood - were translated into a unique and professionally developed script to form the basis for a successful theatrical production that has travelled extensively within Australia. This article reports on the process of collaboration between a researcher, a highly regarded Australian actor/script writer and an ensemble of well-known and experienced professional actors. Together the collaborating partners translated the research data and findings about growing older and 'widowhood' into a high quality theatre production. In particular, we argue in this paper that research-based theatre is an appropriate medium for communicating research findings about important life issues of concern to older people in a safe, affirming and entertaining manner. By outlining the process of translating research findings into theatre we hope to show that there is a real value in this translation approach for both researcher and audience alike. © 2013.

Performance of community health workers: situating their intermediary position within complex adaptive health systems.

PubMed

Kok, Maryse C; Broerse, Jacqueline E W; Theobald, Sally; Ormel, Hermen; Dieleman, Marjolein; Taegtmeyer, Miriam

2017-09-02

Health systems are social institutions, in which health worker performance is shaped by transactional processes between different actors.This analytical assessment unravels the complex web of factors that influence the performance of community health workers (CHWs) in low- and middle-income countries. It examines their unique intermediary position between the communities they serve and actors in the health sector, and the complexity of the health systems in which they operate. The assessment combines evidence from the international literature on CHW programmes with research outcomes from the 5-year REACHOUT consortium, undertaking implementation research to improve CHW performance in six contexts (two in Asia and four in Africa). A conceptual framework on CHW performance, which explicitly conceptualizes the interface role of CHWs, is presented. Various categories of factors influencing CHW performance are distinguished in the framework: the context, the health system and intervention hardware and the health system and intervention software. Hardware elements of CHW interventions comprise the supervision systems, training, accountability and communication structures, incentives, supplies and logistics. Software elements relate to the ideas, interests, relationships, power, values and norms of the health system actors. They influence CHWs' feelings of connectedness, familiarity, self-fulfilment and serving the same goals and CHWs' perceptions of support received, respect, competence, honesty, fairness and recognition.The framework shines a spotlight on the need for programmes to pay more attention to ideas, interests, relationships, power, values and norms of CHWs, communities, health professionals and other actors in the health system, if CHW performance is to improve.

Consensus and contention in the priority setting process: examining the health sector in Uganda.

PubMed

Colenbrander, Sarah; Birungi, Charles; Mbonye, Anthony K

2015-06-01

Health priority setting is a critical and contentious issue in low-income countries because of the high burden of disease relative to the limited resource envelope. Many sophisticated quantitative tools and policy frameworks have been developed to promote transparent priority setting processes and allocative efficiency. However, low-income countries frequently lack effective governance systems or implementation capacity, so high-level priorities are not determined through evidence-based decision-making processes. This study uses qualitative research methods to explore how key actors' priorities differ in low-income countries, using Uganda as a case study. Human resources for health, disease prevention and family planning emerge as the common priorities among actors in the health sector (although the last of these is particularly emphasized by international agencies) because of their contribution to the long-term sustainability of health-care provision. Financing health-care services is the most disputed issue. Participants from the Ugandan Ministry of Health preferentially sought to increase net health expenditure and government ownership of the health sector, while non-state actors prioritized improving the efficiency of resource use. Ultimately it is apparent that the power to influence national health outcomes lies with only a handful of decision-makers within key institutions in the health sector, such as the Ministries of Health, the largest bilateral donors and the multilateral development agencies. These power relations reinforce the need for ongoing research into the paradigms and strategic interests of these actors. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2014; all rights reserved.

TSH and Thyrotropic Agonists: Key Actors in Thyroid Homeostasis

PubMed Central

Dietrich, Johannes W.; Landgrafe, Gabi; Fotiadou, Elisavet H.

2012-01-01

This paper provides the reader with an overview of our current knowledge of hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid feedback from a cybernetic standpoint. Over the past decades we have gained a plethora of information from biochemical, clinical, and epidemiological investigation, especially on the role of TSH and other thyrotropic agonists as critical components of this complex relationship. Integrating these data into a systems perspective delivers new insights into static and dynamic behaviour of thyroid homeostasis. Explicit usage of this information with mathematical methods promises to deliver a better understanding of thyrotropic feedback control and new options for personalised diagnosis of thyroid dysfunction and targeted therapy, also by permitting a new perspective on the conundrum of the TSH reference range. PMID:23365787

Incorporating BDI Agents into Human-Agent Decision Making Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamphorst, Bart; van Wissen, Arlette; Dignum, Virginia

Artificial agents, people, institutes and societies all have the ability to make decisions. Decision making as a research area therefore involves a broad spectrum of sciences, ranging from Artificial Intelligence to economics to psychology. The Colored Trails (CT) framework is designed to aid researchers in all fields in examining decision making processes. It is developed both to study interaction between multiple actors (humans or software agents) in a dynamic environment, and to study and model the decision making of these actors. However, agents in the current implementation of CT lack the explanatory power to help understand the reasoning processes involved in decision making. The BDI paradigm that has been proposed in the agent research area to describe rational agents, enables the specification of agents that reason in abstract concepts such as beliefs, goals, plans and events. In this paper, we present CTAPL: an extension to CT that allows BDI software agents that are written in the practical agent programming language 2APL to reason about and interact with a CT environment.

Evolutionary Influences on Attribution and Affect

PubMed Central

Brown, Jennie; Trafimow, David

2017-01-01

Evolutionary theory was applied to Reeder and Brewer's schematic theory and Trafimow's affect theory to extend this area of research with five new predictions involving affect and ability attributions, comparing morality and ability attributions, gender differences, and reaction times for affect and attribution ratings. The design included a 2 (Trait Dimension Type: HR, PR) × 2 (Behavior Type: morality, ability) × 2 (Valence: positive, negative) × 2 (Replication: original, replication) × 2 (Sex: female or male actor) × 2 (Gender: female or male participant) × 2 (Order: attribution portion first, affect portion first) mixed design. All factors were within participants except the order and participant gender. Participants were presented with 32 different scenarios in which an actor engaged in a concrete behavior after which they made attributions and rated their affect in response to the behavior. Reaction times were measured during attribution and affect ratings. In general, the findings from the experiment supported the new predictions. Affect was related to attributions for both morality and ability related behaviors. Morality related behaviors received more extreme attribution and affect ratings than ability related behaviors. Female actors received stronger attribution and affect ratings for diagnostic morality behaviors compared to male actors. Male and female actors received similar attribution and affect ratings for diagnostic ability behaviors. Diagnostic behaviors were associated with lower reaction times than non-diagnostic behaviors. These findings demonstrate the utility of evolutionary theory in creating new hypotheses and empirical findings in the domain of attribution. PMID:29312092

Evolutionary Influences on Attribution and Affect.

PubMed

Brown, Jennie; Trafimow, David

2017-01-01

Evolutionary theory was applied to Reeder and Brewer's schematic theory and Trafimow's affect theory to extend this area of research with five new predictions involving affect and ability attributions, comparing morality and ability attributions, gender differences, and reaction times for affect and attribution ratings. The design included a 2 (Trait Dimension Type: HR, PR) × 2 (Behavior Type: morality, ability) × 2 (Valence: positive, negative) × 2 (Replication: original, replication) × 2 (Sex: female or male actor) × 2 (Gender: female or male participant) × 2 (Order: attribution portion first, affect portion first) mixed design. All factors were within participants except the order and participant gender. Participants were presented with 32 different scenarios in which an actor engaged in a concrete behavior after which they made attributions and rated their affect in response to the behavior. Reaction times were measured during attribution and affect ratings. In general, the findings from the experiment supported the new predictions. Affect was related to attributions for both morality and ability related behaviors. Morality related behaviors received more extreme attribution and affect ratings than ability related behaviors. Female actors received stronger attribution and affect ratings for diagnostic morality behaviors compared to male actors. Male and female actors received similar attribution and affect ratings for diagnostic ability behaviors. Diagnostic behaviors were associated with lower reaction times than non-diagnostic behaviors. These findings demonstrate the utility of evolutionary theory in creating new hypotheses and empirical findings in the domain of attribution.

The implementation of public health interventions in Africa: a neglected strategic theme.

PubMed

Ridde, V; Olivier de Sardan, J-P

2017-02-01

Organizing effective public health interventions is required to improve population health and reduce social inequalities in health. However, measuring their effectiveness is not enough; we must also understand how these interventions are implemented and what role is played by the context and the social actors. Today, it seems that the importance of studying intervention implementation by public health actors (stakeholders, policy makers, donors, and researchers) has not yet been sufficiently considered. In this Tribune, we wish to draw the attention of the public health community, including that interested in interventions in Africa, to the need to analyze their implementation in depth. We must produce empirical and theoretical knowledge about implementation but also train students and young researchers more effectively in this scientific approach, which, although indispensable, has been ignored too long.

[Communication and citizenship empowerment in health care: a case of action-research in a polarized Venezuela].

PubMed

Nahón Serfaty, Isaac; Eid, Mahmoud

2015-07-01

An action-research project was implemented in Venezuela from 2009-2013 to empower social activists and patients in their fight against breast cancer (BC). The project was implemented in a context of high political and social polarization of the so-called «Bolivarian revolution». Based on an ecological perspective of health activism and communication, that encompasses the interpersonal, group and social levels, a series of activities were celebrated to develop the advocacy capabilities of citizens, especially women, expand the collaborative networks among different stakeholders, and promote a consensual view between social and institutional actors about a national response to fight BC. A horizontal and participatory communication allowed that the voice of usually marginalized actors was heard in the process of shaping health care policy.

Construal level and free will beliefs shape perceptions of actors' proximal and distal intent

PubMed Central

Plaks, Jason E.; Robinson, Jeffrey S.

2015-01-01

Two components of lay observers' calculus of moral judgment are proximal intent (the actor's mind is focused on performing the action) and distal intent (the actor's mind is focused on the broader goal). What causes observers to prioritize one form of intent over the other? The authors observed whether construal level (Studies 1–2) and beliefs about free will (Studies 3–4) would influence participants' sensitivity to the actor's proximal vs. distal intent. In four studies, participants read scenarios in which the actor's proximal and distal intent were independently manipulated. In Study 1, when only distal intent was present in the actor's mind, participants rated the psychologically distant actor more responsible than the psychologically near actor. In Study 2, when only distal intent was in the actor's mind, participants with a chronic high level of action identification rated the actor more responsible than did those with a low level of action identification. In both studies, when only proximal intent was in the actor's mind, construal level did not predict judgments of responsibility. In Study 3, when only proximal intent was present in the actor's mind, the more participants believed in free will, the more they rated the actor responsible. When only distal intent was in the actor's mind, free will belief did not influence ratings of responsibility. In Study 4, the same pattern emerged when free will/determinism beliefs were manipulated and the actor performed a positive (life-saving) act. The authors discuss how these results shed new light on the literatures on moral reasoning and psycho-legal theory. PMID:26106352

Higher Education Exchange, 2013

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, David W., Ed.; Witte, Deborah, Ed.

2013-01-01

The Kettering Foundation's research has been focused on putting the public back into the public's business for more than thirty years. Some questions that have recently been useful to Kettering researchers as the foundation focuses on its work with institutional actors--especially higher education and its relationship with the public--have…

Urban Regimes, Intermediary Organization Networks, and Research Use: Patterns across Three School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Janelle; DeBray, Elizabeth; Lubienski, Christopher; La Londe, Priya Goel; Castillo, Elise; Owens, Stephen

2017-01-01

Recent advances in conceptualizing structures of influence in education policymaking have emphasized the role of nongovernmental actors working in networks to promote their agendas. These useful insights have allowed researchers to consider the evolution from "government" to "governance" in education policymaking, broadening…

Encounters and Places: Project Negotiations in Galessa, Ethiopia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Habermann, Birgit; Felt, Ulrike; Vogl, Christian R.; Bekele, Kassahun; Mekonnen, Kindu

2012-01-01

Purpose: Reflections on negotiation processes between farmers and scientists in research projects provide insights into issues of participation, power and equity. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how actors chose places to meet, negotiate and represent technologies. Design/methodology/approach: The research involved semi-structured…

Global Security Sciences Home - Global Security Sciences

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Us About Our Research Global Security Sciences Leadership Strategic Initiatives Research Centers Center for Strategic Security Overview Leadership Risk and Infrastructure Science Center Overview Leadership Strategic Alliance for Global Energy Solutions Overview Leadership Systems Science Center Overview

Game of collusions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malarz, Krzysztof; Kułakowski, Krzysztof

2016-09-01

A new model of collusions in an organization is proposed. Each actor a i = 1 , … , N disposes one unique good g i = 1 , … , N. Each actor ai has also a list of other goods which he/she needs, in order from desired most to those desired less. Finally, each actor ai has also a list of other actors, initially ordered at random. The order in the last list means the order of the access of the actors to the good gi. A pair after a pair of actors tries to make a transaction. This transaction is possible if each of two actors can be shifted upwards in the list of actors possessed by the partner. Our numerical results indicate, that the average time of evolution scales with the number N of actors approximately as N2.9. For each actor, we calculate the Kendall's rank correlation between the order of desired goods and actor's place at the lists of the good's possessors. We also calculate individual utility functions ηi, where goods are weighted according to how strongly they are desired by an actor ai, and how easily they can be accessed by ai. Although the individual utility functions can increase or decrease in the time course, its value averaged over actors and independent simulations does increase in time. This means that the system of collusions is profitable for the members of the organization.

Reflection-on-Action in Qualitative Research: A Critical Self-Appraisal Rubric for Deconstructing Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stynes, Martin; Murphy, Timothy; McNamara, Gerry; O'Hara, Joe

2018-01-01

In this paper, four critical friends meet to discuss qualitative research practices. Together they put one of their own case studies under the knife and deconstruct it to investigate the possibilities that knowledge work is complicated not only by the dynamics of socially constructed enterprises and the actors involved therein, but by the…

Beyond regulatory compression: confronting the liminal spaces of health research regulation

PubMed Central

Taylor-Alexander, Samuel; Dove, Edward S.; Fletcher, Isabel; Ganguli Mitra, Agomoni; McMillan, Catriona; Laurie, Graeme

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Biomedicine and the life sciences continuously rearrange the relationship between culture and biology. In consequence, we increasingly look for a suitable regulatory response to reduce perceived uncertainty and instability. This article examines the full implications of this ‘regulatory turn’ by drawing on the anthropological concept of liminality. We offer the term ‘regulatory compression’ to characterise the effects of extant regulatory approaches on health research practices. With its focus on transformation and the ‘in-between’, liminality allows us to see how regulatory frameworks rely on a silo-based approach to classifying and regulating research objects such that they: (1) limit the flexibility necessary in clinical and laboratory research; (2) result in the emergence of unregulated spaces that lie between the bounded regulatory spheres; and (3) curtail modes of public participation in the health research enterprise. We suggest there is a need to develop the notion of ‘processual regulation’, a novel framework that requires a temporal-spatial examination of regulatory spaces and practices as these are experienced by all actors, including the relationship of actors with the objects of regulation. PMID:28058061

Beyond "implementation strategies": classifying the full range of strategies used in implementation science and practice.

PubMed

Leeman, Jennifer; Birken, Sarah A; Powell, Byron J; Rohweder, Catherine; Shea, Christopher M

2017-11-03

Strategies are central to the National Institutes of Health's definition of implementation research as "the study of strategies to integrate evidence-based interventions into specific settings." Multiple scholars have proposed lists of the strategies used in implementation research and practice, which they increasingly are classifying under the single term "implementation strategies." We contend that classifying all strategies under a single term leads to confusion, impedes synthesis across studies, and limits advancement of the full range of strategies of importance to implementation. To address this concern, we offer a system for classifying implementation strategies that builds on Proctor and colleagues' (2013) reporting guidelines, which recommend that authors not only name and define their implementation strategies but also specify who enacted the strategy (i.e., the actor) and the level and determinants that were targeted (i.e., the action targets). We build on Wandersman and colleagues' Interactive Systems Framework to distinguish strategies based on whether they are enacted by actors functioning as part of a Delivery, Support, or Synthesis and Translation System. We build on Damschroder and colleague's Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to distinguish the levels that strategies target (intervention, inner setting, outer setting, individual, and process). We then draw on numerous resources to identify determinants, which are conceptualized as modifiable factors that prevent or enable the adoption and implementation of evidence-based interventions. Identifying actors and targets resulted in five conceptually distinct classes of implementation strategies: dissemination, implementation process, integration, capacity-building, and scale-up. In our descriptions of each class, we identify the level of the Interactive System Framework at which the strategy is enacted (actors), level and determinants targeted (action targets), and outcomes used to assess strategy effectiveness. We illustrate how each class would apply to efforts to improve colorectal cancer screening rates in Federally Qualified Health Centers. Structuring strategies into classes will aid reporting of implementation research findings, alignment of strategies with relevant theories, synthesis of findings across studies, and identification of potential gaps in current strategy listings. Organizing strategies into classes also will assist users in locating the strategies that best match their needs.

Commercialization of genetic research and its impact on the communication of results.

PubMed

Cardinal, G

1999-01-01

Canada has recently seen significant commercial growth in biotechnology; at the same time we have witnessed a considerable reduction in public funding for research. One result is the development of partnerships between academic institutions and industry, which has had important effects on the relationships between researchers, companies, research subjects and society, particularly in the field of genetics. Commercialization of research creates obstacles to the diffusion of research results which is fundamental to the advancement of science. Several recent studies and cases, which are briefly reviewed here, have highlighted these problems. In this paper, the author examines clauses in research contracts in order to analyze and categorize the types of provisions these contracts may contain regarding publication and disclosure of research results. She then discusses the relationships between various actors in genetic research and the issues and conflicts that may arise. Finally, an examination of some recently developed policies in this area reveals the complex network of norms to which a researcher must adhere. The normative framework must take into account the interests of all the various actors, should apply to the broadest possible population, and its various parts must be consistent. Researchers must then be vigilant that they do not enter into contracts which conflict with their rights and obligations regarding publication and dissemination of results.

A comparative analysis of biomedical research ethics regulation systems in Europe and Latin America with regard to the protection of human subjects.

PubMed

Lamas, Eugenia; Ferrer, Marcela; Molina, Alberto; Salinas, Rodrigo; Hevia, Adriana; Bota, Alexandre; Feinholz, Dafna; Fuchs, Michael; Schramm, Roland; Tealdi, Juan-Carlos; Zorrilla, Sergio

2010-12-01

The European project European and Latin American Systems of Ethics Regulation of Biomedical Research Project (EULABOR) has carried out the first comparative analysis of ethics regulation systems for biomedical research in seven countries in Europe and Latin America, evaluating their roles in the protection of human subjects. We developed a conceptual and methodological framework defining 'ethics regulation system for biomedical research' as a set of actors, institutions, codes and laws involved in overseeing the ethics of biomedical research on humans. This framework allowed us to develop comprehensive national reports by conducting semi-structured interviews to key informants. These reports were summarised and analysed in a comparative analysis. The study showed that the regulatory framework for clinical research in these countries differ in scope. It showed that despite the different political contexts, actors involved and motivations for creating the regulation, in most of the studied countries it was the government who took the lead in setting up the system. The study also showed that Europe and Latin America are similar regarding national bodies and research ethics committees, but the Brazilian system has strong and noteworthy specificities.

Research Universities, Technology Transfer, and Job Creation: What Infrastructure, For What Training?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brodhag, Christian

2013-01-01

Technology transfer and innovation are considered major drivers of sustainable development; they place knowledge and its dissemination in society at the heart of the development process. This article considers the role of research universities, and how they can interact with key actors and institutions involved in "innovation…

The Inextricable Link between Age and Criminal History in Sentencing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bushway, Shawn D.; Piehl, Anne Morrison

2007-01-01

In sentencing research, significant negative coefficients on age research have been interpreted as evidence that actors in the criminal justice system discriminate against younger people. This interpretation is incomplete. Criminal sentencing laws generally specify punishment in terms of the number of past events in a defendant's criminal history.…

VET Research for Industry. Conference Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karmel, Tom

2012-01-01

This paper was a keynote address at the Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) conference held in Canberra in April 2012. The author notes that industry is arguably the key stakeholder in the Australian vocational education and training (VET) sector, but is not a single actor nor a disinterested consumer of…

The Legitimation of Novel Technologies: The Case of Nanotechnology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thyroff, Anastasia E.

Nanotechnology is the control, manipulation, and application of matter on an atomic and molecular level. The technology is complex and confusing to consumers, and its long-term safety and effect on the human body, as well as the environment, are unknown. However, for the past decade, nanotechnology has been used to develop consumer products and food with novel and attractive attributes. Since nanotechnology is still not well known, it is not legitimized; that is, it has not been deemed safe and accepted by society. However, the market for nanotechnology is in the legitimation process. It will take an entire network of key stakeholders playing a specific roles for nanotechnology to legitimize. Specifically, each key stakeholder will align with a certain cultural discourse to frame nanotechnology in a particular way that complements their values. In Essay 1, I follow previous market system dynamic's literature and combine Actor Network Theory (ANT), Foucault's Discourse on Power and Goffman's Frame analysis to theoretically explore what the actor network for nanotechnology looks like. Four dominate frames are identified: 1) Advancement (i.e., government), 2) Management (i.e., industry), 3) Development (i.e., academia/scientists), and 4) Informant (i.e., NGO). Essay 2 empirically explores each actor's perspective on the nanotechnology network through a total of 24 interviews. A hermeneutic approach is used to analyze the 208 page text and themes describing each actor's role from a self and other's perspective are discussed. Additionally, three overarching themes (i.e., contradiction, constance, and cutoff) emerge; these themes describe the degree of similarity in how actors view their role in the nanotechnology network compared to how other actor's view that actor's role. In Essay 3, I bring critical theory into market system's research to better contextualize market formation theories. Specifically, I discuss how critical theory can be used to supplement ANT. I suggest that ANT can be combined with critical theory to better understand the process of translation through exploring conflicts and contradictions among key stakeholders. To show this process, I explore the juxtaposition of economic benefits vs. cultural concerns that has emerged in the nanotechnology marketplace. It is determined that this exploration process can determine why mobilization has not occurred.

A Poor Man's Nuclear Deterrent: Assessing the Value of Radiological Weapons for State Actors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donohue, Nathan

The threat of weapons of mass destruction is an issue which remains at the forefront on national security. Nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons are all considered very dangerous by both state and non-state actors. Radiological weapons exist in that same category yet are not held in the same regard; the reason that is given is that these types of weapons are not the weapons of mass destruction that the other three are. Instead, radiological weapons are better considered weapons of mass disruption. Accordingly, in the academic and policy literature there has been very little perceived value associated with such weapons for use by state actors. However the historical focus on the military efficacy of radiological weapons has obscured the obvious truth that they may pose significant value for state actors. What this research shows is that the explosion of a radiological weapon could disrupt a target area in ways which could cripple the economy of an adversary state and promote widespread fear concerning exposure to radiation. Any such attack would not only necessitate large scale evacuation, but cleanup, decontamination, demolition, territory exclusion, and relocation. Moreover, the effects of such an attack would be unlikely to remain an isolated event as evacuated and displaced citizens spread across the nation carrying both fear and residual radiation. All of these factors would only be compounded by a state actor's ability to not only develop such weapons, but to manufacture them in such a composition that contemporary examples of such weapons grossly underestimate their impact. Accordingly, radiological weapons could hold great value for any state actor wishing to pursue their development and to threaten their use. Moreover, "while RDDs may not be well suited as "military weapons" in the classic sense, the use of RDDs could be powerfully coercive."1 In that sense, state actors could even acquire radiological weapons for their deterrent value. 1James L. Ford, "Radiological Dispersal Devices: Assessing the Transnational Threat," Strategic Forum, No. 136, (March 1998), March 29, 2012, http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ndu/forum136.htm.

NOAA Office of Exploration and Research > Data Access > Overview

Science.gov Websites

Management of Environmental Data and Information and related Procedural Directives inform OER INFORMATION ON THE NOAA OFFICE OF OCEAN EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH, VISIT: OCEANEXPLORER.NOAA.GOV weather oceans Science Overview Data Access Overview Operational Data Management Publications Education Overview Alliance

Personality, communication, and depressive symptoms across the transition to parenthood: A dyadic longitudinal investigation.

PubMed

Marshall, Emma M; Simpson, Jeffry A; Rholes, W Steven

2015-03-01

This study adopted a person (actor) by partner perspective to examine how actor personality traits, partner personality traits, and specific actor by partner personality trait interactions predict actor's depressive symptoms across the first two years of the transition to parenthood. Data were collected from a large sample of new parents (both partners in each couple) 6 weeks before the birth of their first child, and then at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months postpartum. The results revealed that higher actor neuroticism and lower partner agreeableness predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms in actors. Moreover, the specific combination of high actor neuroticism and low partner agreeableness was a particularly problematic combination, which was intensified when prepartum dysfunctional problem-solving communication and aggression existed in the relationship. These results demonstrate the importance of considering certain actor by partner disposition pairings to better understand actors' emotional well-being during major life transitions.

US Army Research Laboratory and University of Notre Dame Distributed Sensing: Hardware Overview

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-11-01

ARL-TR-8199 ● NOV 2017 US Army Research Laboratory US Army Research Laboratory and University of Notre Dame Distributed Sensing...US Army Research Laboratory US Army Research Laboratory and University of Notre Dame Distributed Sensing: Hardware Overview by Roger P...TITLE AND SUBTITLE US Army Research Laboratory and University of Notre Dame Distributed Sensing: Hardware Overview 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT

Approaches to chronic disease management evaluation in use in Europe: a review of current methods and performance measures.

PubMed

Conklin, Annalijn; Nolte, Ellen; Vrijhoef, Hubertus

2013-01-01

An overview was produced of approaches currently used to evaluate chronic disease management in selected European countries. The study aims to describe the methods and metrics used in Europe as a first to help advance the methodological basis for their assessment. A common template for collection of evaluation methods and performance measures was sent to key informants in twelve European countries; responses were summarized in tables based on template evaluation categories. Extracted data were descriptively analyzed. Approaches to the evaluation of chronic disease management vary widely in objectives, designs, metrics, observation period, and data collection methods. Half of the reported studies used noncontrolled designs. The majority measure clinical process measures, patient behavior and satisfaction, cost and utilization; several also used a range of structural indicators. Effects are usually observed over 1 or 3 years on patient populations with a single, commonly prevalent, chronic disease. There is wide variation within and between European countries on approaches to evaluating chronic disease management in their objectives, designs, indicators, target audiences, and actors involved. This study is the first extensive, international overview of the area reported in the literature.

Soil ecotoxicology in Brazil is taking its course.

PubMed

Niva, Cintia Carla; Niemeyer, Julia Carina; Júnior, Flávio Manoel Rodrigues Da Silva; Nunes, Maria Edna Tenório; De Sousa, Danilo Lourenço; Aragão, Clara Wandenkolck Silva; Sautter, Klaus Dieter; Espindola, Evaldo Gaeta; Sousa, José Paulo; Römbke, Jörg

2016-06-01

Soil ecotoxicology has been motivated by the increasing global awareness on environmental issues. Northern Hemisphere has been the main driver of this science branch; however, the number and quality of contributions from the Southern Hemisphere are increasing quickly. In this case study, Brazil is taken as an example of how soil ecotoxicology has developed over the last 30 years. It starts with a brief historical overview depicting the main events on soil ecotoxicology in the country. Following, an overview on the Brazilian legislation related to soil ecotoxicology is given, covering regulations with prospective focus, mainly on the registration of pesticides. Regulations with retrospective focus in contaminated areas are also given. Then, an outline of the actors in soil ecotoxicology and examples of prospective ecotoxicological studies performed with soil organisms and plants are given by stressor groups: pesticides, pharmaceuticals, metals, and residues. Experiences from retrospective studies, mainly looking at the assessment of industrial sites, are also covered. Emphasis is given on methodological aspects, pointing to needed actions, mainly regarding the different biotic and abiotic conditions of a tropical country. Finally, the last session discusses how soil ecotoxicology could be improved in methodological adaptations as well as legal requirements.

Relation between social information processing and intimate partner violence in dating couples.

PubMed

Setchell, Sarah; Fritz, Patti Timmons; Glasgow, Jillian

2017-07-01

We used couple-level data to predict physical acts of intimate partner violence (IPV) from self-reported negative emotions and social information-processing (SIP) abilities among 100 dating couples (n = 200; mean age = 21.45 years). Participants read a series of hypothetical conflict situation vignettes and responded to questionnaires to assess negative emotions and various facets of SIP including attributions for partner behavior, generation of response alternatives, and response selection. We conducted a series of negative binomial mixed-model regressions based on the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM; Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006, Dyadic data analysis. New York, NY: Guilford Press). There were significant results for the response generation and negative emotion models. Participants who generated fewer coping response alternatives were at greater risk of victimization (actor effect). Women were at greater risk of victimization if they had partners who generated fewer coping response alternatives (sex by partner interaction effect). Generation of less competent coping response alternatives predicted greater risk of perpetration among men, whereas generation of more competent coping response alternatives predicted greater risk of victimization among women (sex by actor interaction effects). Two significant actor by partner interaction effects were found for the negative emotion models. Participants who reported discrepant levels of negative emotions from their partners were at greatest risk of perpetration. Participants who reported high levels of negative emotions were at greatest risk of victimization if they had partners who reported low levels of negative emotions. This research has implications for researchers and clinicians interested in addressing the problem of IPV. Aggr. Behav. 43:329-341, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Politics and the struggle to define: a discourse analysis of the framing strategies of competing actors in a 'new' participatory forum.

PubMed

Skillington, T

1997-09-01

On account of the current wave of environmental consciousness, the state is adapting to the phenomena of systems of negotiations outside of the traditional institutional framework on environmental issues in an attempt to preserve cultural support. However recent experiments in discursive democracy have proven to be a modality for the transmission of productivist culture and for the reassertion of corporatist tendencies. This interpretation finds support here primarily through a discourse analysis based on a three-dimensional framework. The analysis begins by examining the structure of discursive formations of various participating actors at the Irish National Recycling Conference in 1993, and explores the ways in which actors struggled at the symbolic level to define the rules constitutive of this space of play. It argues from the perspective of discourse as social practice and justifies this approach by assessing the degree of synchronization between collective actors' systems of discursivity and the socially structured institutional sites within which they are embedded. Finally, by examining the position of this field vis-à-vis the field of political power, this research will show how broader relations of domination and traditional power asymmetries came to be reasserted in a 'new' participatory arrangement.

GestuRe and ACtion Exemplar (GRACE) video database: stimuli for research on manners of human locomotion and iconic gestures.

PubMed

Aussems, Suzanne; Kwok, Natasha; Kita, Sotaro

2018-06-01

Human locomotion is a fundamental class of events, and manners of locomotion (e.g., how the limbs are used to achieve a change of location) are commonly encoded in language and gesture. To our knowledge, there is no openly accessible database containing normed human locomotion stimuli. Therefore, we introduce the GestuRe and ACtion Exemplar (GRACE) video database, which contains 676 videos of actors performing novel manners of human locomotion (i.e., moving from one location to another in an unusual manner) and videos of a female actor producing iconic gestures that represent these actions. The usefulness of the database was demonstrated across four norming experiments. First, our database contains clear matches and mismatches between iconic gesture videos and action videos. Second, the male actors and female actors whose action videos matched the gestures in the best possible way, perform the same actions in very similar manners and different actions in highly distinct manners. Third, all the actions in the database are distinct from each other. Fourth, adult native English speakers were unable to describe the 26 different actions concisely, indicating that the actions are unusual. This normed stimuli set is useful for experimental psychologists working in the language, gesture, visual perception, categorization, memory, and other related domains.

Acoustic changes in student actors' voices after 12 months of training.

PubMed

Walzak, Peta; McCabe, Patricia; Madill, Cate; Sheard, Christine

2008-05-01

This study was to evaluate acoustic changes in student actors' voices after 12 months of actor training. The design used was a longitudinal study. Eighteen students enrolled in an Australian tertiary 3-year acting program (nine male and nine female) were assessed at the beginning of their acting course and again 12 months later using a questionnaire, interview, maximum phonation time (MPT), reading, spontaneous speaking, sustained phonation tasks, and a pitch range task. Samples were analyzed for MPT, fundamental frequency across tasks, pitch range for speaking and reading, singing pitch range, noise-to-harmonic ratio, shimmer, and jitter. After training, measures of shimmer significantly increased for both male and female participants. Female participants' pitch range significantly increased after training, with a significantly lower mean frequency for their lowest pitch. The finding of limited or negative changes for some measures indicate that further investigation is required into the long-term effects of actor voice training and which parameters of voicing are most targeted and valued in training. Particular investigation into the relationship between training targets and outcomes could more reliably inform acting programs about changes in teaching methodologies. Further research into the relationship between specific training techniques, physiological changes, and vocal changes may also provide information on implementing more evidence-based training methods.

Patterns of Negotiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sood, Suresh; Pattinson, Hugh

Traditionally, face-to-face negotiations in the real world have not been looked at as a complex systems interaction of actors resulting in a dynamic and potentially emergent system. If indeed negotiations are an outcome of a dynamic interaction of simpler behavior just as with a complex system, we should be able to see the patterns contributing to the complexities of a negotiation under study. This paper and the supporting research sets out to show B2B (business-to-business) negotiations as complex systems of interacting actors exhibiting dynamic and emergent behavior. This paper discusses the exploratory research based on negotiation simulations in which a large number of business students participate as buyers and sellers. The student interactions are captured on video and a purpose built research method attempts to look for patterns of interactions between actors using visualization techniques traditionally reserved to observe the algorithmic complexity of complex systems. Students are videoed negotiating with partners. Each video is tagged according to a recognized classification and coding scheme for negotiations. The classification relates to the phases through which any particular negotiation might pass, such as laughter, aggression, compromise, and so forth — through some 30 possible categories. Were negotiations more or less successful if they progressed through the categories in different ways? Furthermore, does the data depict emergent pathway segments considered to be more or less successful? This focus on emergence within the data provides further strong support for face-to-face (F2F) negotiations to be construed as complex systems.

You're a What? Voice Actor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liming, Drew

2009-01-01

This article talks about voice actors and features Tony Oliver, a professional voice actor. Voice actors help to bring one's favorite cartoon and video game characters to life. They also do voice-overs for radio and television commercials and movie trailers. These actors use the sound of their voice to sell a character's emotions--or an advertised…

Discursive gaps in the implementation of public health policy guidelines in India: the case of HIV testing.

PubMed

Sheikh, Kabir; Porter, John

2010-12-01

The implementation of standardized policy guidelines for care of diseases of public health importance has emerged as a subject of concern in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) globally. We conducted an empirical research study using the interpretive policy analysis approach to diagnose reasons for gaps in the implementation of national guidelines for HIV testing in Indian hospitals. Forty-six in-depth interviews were conducted with actors involved in policy implementation processes in five states of India, including practitioners, health administrators, policy-planners and donors. We found that actors' divergences from their putative roles in implementation were underpinned by their inhabitation of discrete 'systems of meaning' - frameworks for perceiving policy problems, acting and making decisions. Key gaps in policy implementation included conflicts between different actors' ideals of performance of core tasks and conformance with policy, and problems in communicating policy ideas across systems of meaning. These 'discursive' gaps were compounded by the lack of avenues for intellectual intercourse and by unaccounted interrelationships of power between implementing actors. Our findings demonstrate the importance of thinking beyond short-sighted ideals of aligning frontline practices with global policymakers' intentions. Recognising the deliberative nature of implementation, and strengthening discourse and communications between involved actors may be critical to the success of public health policies in Indian and comparable LMIC settings. Effective policy implementation in the long term also necessitates enhancing practitioners' contributions to the policy process, and equipping country public health functionaries to actualize their policy leadership roles. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interacting hands: the role of attention for the joint Simon effect

PubMed Central

Liepelt, Roman

2014-01-01

Recent research in monkeys and humans has shown that the presence of the hands near an object enhances spatial processing for objects presented near the hand. This study aimed to test the effect of hand position on the joint Simon effect. In Experiment 1, two human co-actors shared a Simon task while placing their response hands either near the objects appearing on the monitor or away from the monitor. Experiment 2 varied each co-actor’s hand position independently. Experiment 3 tested whether enhanced spatial processing for objects presented near the hand is obtained when replacing one of the two co-actors by a non-human event-producing rubber hand. Experiment 1 provided evidence for a Simon effect. Hand position significantly modulated the size of the Simon effect in the joint Simon task showing an increased Simon effect when the hands of both actors were located near the objects on the monitor, than when they were located away from the monitor. Experiment 2 replicated this finding showing an increased Simon effect when the actor’s hand was located near the objects on the monitor, but only when the co-actor also produced action events in spatial reference. A similar hand position effect was observed in Experiment 3 when a non-human rubber hand replaced the human co-actor. These findings suggest that external action events that are produced in spatial reference bias the distribution of attention to the area near the hand. This strengthens the weight of the spatial response codes (referential coding) and hence increases the joint Simon effect. PMID:25566140

Knowledge of response location alone is not sufficient to generate social inhibition of return.

PubMed

Welsh, Timothy N; Manzone, Joseph; McDougall, Laura

2014-11-01

Previous research has revealed that the inhibition of return (IOR) effect emerges when individuals respond to a target at the same location as their own previous response or the previous response of a co-actor. The latter social IOR effect is thought to occur because the observation of co-actor's response evokes a representation of that action in the observer and that the observation-evoked response code subsequently activates the inhibitory mechanisms underlying IOR. The present study was conducted to determine if knowledge of the co-actor's response alone is sufficient to evoke social IOR. Pairs of participants completed responses to targets that appeared at different button locations. Button contact generated location-contingent auditory stimuli (high and low tones in Experiment 1 and colour words in Experiment 2). In the Full condition, the observer saw the response and heard the auditory stimuli. In the Auditory Only condition, the observer did not see the co-actor's response, but heard the auditory stimuli generated via button contact to indicate response endpoint. It was found that, although significant individual and social IOR effects emerged in the Full conditions, there were no social IOR effects in the Auditory Only conditions. These findings suggest that knowledge of the co-actor's response alone via auditory information is not sufficient to activate the inhibitory processes leading to IOR. The activation of the mechanisms that lead to social IOR seems to be dependent on processing channels that code the spatial characteristics of action. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

How to increase the benefits of cooperation: Effects of training in transactive communication on cooperative learning.

PubMed

Jurkowski, Susanne; Hänze, Martin

2015-09-01

Transactive communication means referring to and building on a learning partner's idea, by, for example, extending the partner's idea or interlinking the partner's idea with an idea of one's own. This transforms the partner's idea into a more elaborate one. Previous research found a positive relationship between students' transactive communication and their learning results when working in small groups. To increase the benefits of cooperation, we developed and tested a module for training students in transactive communication. We assumed that this training would enhance students' transactive communication and also increase their knowledge acquisition during cooperative learning. Further, we distinguished between an actor's transactive communication and a learning partner's transactive communication and expected both to be positively associated with an actor's knowledge acquisition. Participants were 80 university students. In an experiment with pre- and post-test measurements, transactive communication was measured by coding students' communication in a cooperative learning situation before training and in another cooperative learning situation after training. For the post-test cooperative learning situation, knowledge was pre-tested and post-tested. Trained students outperformed controls in transactive communication and in knowledge acquisition. Positive training effects on actors' knowledge acquisition were partially mediated by the improved actors' transactive communication. Moreover, actors' knowledge acquisition was positively influenced by learning partners' transactive communication. Results show a meaningful increase in the benefits of cooperation through the training in transactive communication. Furthermore, findings indicate that students benefit from both elaborating on their partner's ideas and having their own ideas elaborated on. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

When to stop? Decision-making when children’s cancer treatment is no longer curative: a mixed-method systematic review

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Children with cancer, parents, and clinicians, face difficult decisions when cure is no longer possible. Little is known about decision-making processes, how agreement is reached, or perspectives of different actors. Professionals voice concerns about managing parental expectations and beliefs, which can be contrary to their own and may change over time. We conducted the first systematic review to determine what constitutes best medico-legal practice for children under 19 years as context to exploring the perspectives of actors who make judgements and decisions when cancer treatment is no longer curative. Methods Theory-informed mixed-method thematic systematic review with theory development. Results Eight legal/ethical guidelines and 18 studies were included. Whilst there were no unresolved dilemmas, actors had different perspectives and motives. In line with guidelines, the best interests of the individual child informed decisions, although how different actors conceptualized ‘best interests’ when treatment was no longer curative varied. Respect for autonomy was understood as following child/parent preferences, which varied from case to case. Doctors generally shared information so that parents alone could make an informed decision. When parents received reliable information, and personalized interest in their child, they were more likely to achieve shared trust and clearer transition to palliation. Although under-represented in research studies, young people’s perspectives showed some differences to those of parents and professionals. For example, young people preferred to be informed even when prognosis was poor, and they had an altruistic desire to help others by participating in research. Conclusion There needs to be fresh impetus to more effectively and universally implement the ethics of professionalism into daily clinical practice in order to reinforce humanitarian attitudes. Ethical guidelines and regulations attempt to bring professionals together by articulating shared values. While important, ethics training must be supported by institutions/organizations to assist doctors to maintain good professional standards. Findings will hopefully stimulate further normative and descriptive lines of research in this complex under-researched field. Future research needs to be undertaken through a more deliberative cultural lens that includes children’s and multi-disciplinary team members’ perspectives to more fully characterize and understand the dynamics of the decision-making process in this specific end-of life context. PMID:24884514

Identification of Difficulties in the Consolidation of Research Processes at a Higher Education Institution: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arias, Alejandro Valencia

2015-01-01

Research is one of the three institutional basic functions of the University, and as such, universities that do not consolidate their research processes do not present a good projection in the future. As a multilevel organization, the University must create and strengthen guidelines that transform it into a strategic actor in competitive markets,…

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Endangered Mangroves in Segara Anakan, Indonesia: Effective and Failed Problem-Solving Policy Advice.

PubMed

Dharmawan, Budi; Böcher, Michael; Krott, Max

2017-09-01

The success of scientific knowledge transfer depends on if the decision maker can transform the scientific advice into a policy that can be accepted by all involved actors. We use a science-policy interactions model called research-integration-utilization to observe the process of scientific knowledge transfer in the case of endangered mangroves in Segara Anakan, Indonesia. Scientific knowledge is produced within the scientific system (research), science-based solutions to problems are practically utilized by political actors (utilization), and important links between research and utilization must be made (integration). We looked for empirical evidence to test hypotheses about the research-integration-utilization model based on document analysis and expert interviews. Our study finds that the failures in knowledge transfer are caused by the inappropriate use of scientific findings. The district government is expected by presidential decree to only used scientifically sound recommendations as a prerequisite for designing the regulation. However, the district government prefers to implement their own solutions because they believe that they understand the solutions better than the researcher. In the process of integration, the researcher cannot be involved, since the selection of scientific recommendations here fully depends on the interests of the district government as the powerful ally.

Endangered Mangroves in Segara Anakan, Indonesia: Effective and Failed Problem-Solving Policy Advice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dharmawan, Budi; Böcher, Michael; Krott, Max

2017-09-01

The success of scientific knowledge transfer depends on if the decision maker can transform the scientific advice into a policy that can be accepted by all involved actors. We use a science-policy interactions model called research-integration-utilization to observe the process of scientific knowledge transfer in the case of endangered mangroves in Segara Anakan, Indonesia. Scientific knowledge is produced within the scientific system (research), science-based solutions to problems are practically utilized by political actors (utilization), and important links between research and utilization must be made (integration). We looked for empirical evidence to test hypotheses about the research-integration-utilization model based on document analysis and expert interviews. Our study finds that the failures in knowledge transfer are caused by the inappropriate use of scientific findings. The district government is expected by presidential decree to only used scientifically sound recommendations as a prerequisite for designing the regulation. However, the district government prefers to implement their own solutions because they believe that they understand the solutions better than the researcher. In the process of integration, the researcher cannot be involved, since the selection of scientific recommendations here fully depends on the interests of the district government as the powerful ally.

Collaborative dissemination and exploitation of research infrastructures and their products within COOP+

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Järvi, L.; Asmi, A.; Bonet-García, F.; Suárez-Muñoz, M.

2016-12-01

COOP+ is a recently started European level project (EU Horizon 2020 Coordination and Support Action) that promotes cooperation between European research infrastructures (RIs) and their global counterparts to address global environmental challenges with emphasis on marine science, arctic research and biodiversity (see www.coop-plus.eu). As part of the project, the purpose is to understand and position the relevant ESFRI RIs (EMSO, EISCAT, ICOS and LifeWatch jointly with other European RIs) as a clear reference to the main stakeholders, and examine the best practices in how different RI products could be best exploited by different actors varying from research communities to stakeholders and SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises). A relevant question is that what collaboration approaches could be implemented to foster the cooperation among RIs and to disseminate their products and services to researchers, policy makers, SMEs and citizens? Within the project, a valued map describing the different global and local actors and their connections with optimal approaches will be developed and updated along the project span (March 2016 - September 2018). The map includes both cooperation of global RIs and their connections to researchers, industry and stakeholders.

Good and Bad Research Collaborations: Researchers' Views on Science and Ethics in Global Health Research.

PubMed

Parker, Michael; Kingori, Patricia

2016-01-01

There has been a dramatic rise in the scale and scope of collaborative global health research. A number of structural and scientific factors explain this growth and there has been much discussion of these in the literature. Little, if any, attention has been paid, however, to the factors identified by scientists and other research actors as important to successful research collaboration. This is surprising given that their decisions are likely to play a key role in the sustainability and effectiveness of global health research initiatives. In this paper, we report on qualitative research with leading scientists involved in major international research collaborations about their views on good and bad collaborations and the factors that inform their decision-making about joining and participating actively in research networks. We identify and discuss eight factors that researchers see as essential in judging the merits of active participation in global health research collaborations: opportunities for active involvement in cutting-edge, interesting science; effective leadership; competence of potential partners in and commitment to good scientific practice; capacity building; respect for the needs, interests and agendas of partners; opportunities for discussion and disagreement; trust and confidence; and, justice and fairness in collaboration. Our findings suggest that the sustainability and effectiveness of global health research collaborations has an important ethical or moral dimension for the research actors involved.

Media actors' perceptions of their roles in reporting food incidents.

PubMed

Wilson, Annabelle M; Henderson, Julie; Coveney, John; Meyer, Samantha B; Webb, Trevor; Calnan, Michael; Caraher, Martin; Lloyd, Sue; McCullum, Dean; Elliott, Anthony; Ward, Paul R

2014-12-18

Previous research has shown that the media can play a role in shaping consumer perceptions during a public health crisis. In order for public health professionals to communicate well-informed health information to the media, it is important that they understand how media view their role in transmitting public health information to consumers and decide what information to present. This paper reports the perceptions of media actors from three countries about their role in reporting information during a food incident. This information is used to present ideas and suggestions for public health professionals working with media during food incidents. Thirty three semi-structured interviews with media actors from Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom were conducted and analysed thematically. Media actors were recruited via purposive sampling using a sampling strategy, from a variety of formats including newspaper, television, radio and online. Media actors said that during a food incident, they play two roles. First, they play a role in communicating information to consumers by acting as a conduit for information between the public and the relevant authorities. Second, they play a role as investigators by acting as a public watchdog. Media actors are an important source of consumer information during food incidents. Public health professionals can work with media by actively approaching them with information about food incidents; promoting to media that as public health professionals, they are best placed to provide the facts about food incidents; and by providing angles for further investigation and directing media to relevant and correct information to inform such investigations. Public health professionals who adapt how they work with media are more likely to influence media to portray messages that fit what they would like the public to know and that are in line with public health recommendations and enable consumers to engage in safe and health promoting behaviours in response to food incidents.

Zika in Twitter: Temporal Variations of Locations, Actors, and Concepts

PubMed Central

Vraga, Emily; Lamprianidis, Georgios; Radzikowski, Jacek; Delamater, Paul L; Jacobsen, Kathryn H; Pfoser, Dieter; Croitoru, Arie; Crooks, Andrew

2017-01-01

Background The recent Zika outbreak witnessed the disease evolving from a regional health concern to a global epidemic. During this process, different communities across the globe became involved in Twitter, discussing the disease and key issues associated with it. This paper presents a study of this discussion in Twitter, at the nexus of location, actors, and concepts. Objective Our objective in this study was to demonstrate the significance of 3 types of events: location related, actor related, and concept related, for understanding how a public health emergency of international concern plays out in social media, and Twitter in particular. Accordingly, the study contributes to research efforts toward gaining insights on the mechanisms that drive participation, contributions, and interaction in this social media platform during a disease outbreak. Methods We collected 6,249,626 tweets referring to the Zika outbreak over a period of 12 weeks early in the outbreak (December 2015 through March 2016). We analyzed this data corpus in terms of its geographical footprint, the actors participating in the discourse, and emerging concepts associated with the issue. Data were visualized and evaluated with spatiotemporal and network analysis tools to capture the evolution of interest on the topic and to reveal connections between locations, actors, and concepts in the form of interaction networks. Results The spatiotemporal analysis of Twitter contributions reflects the spread of interest in Zika from its original hotspot in South America to North America and then across the globe. The Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization had a prominent presence in social media discussions. Tweets about pregnancy and abortion increased as more information about this emerging infectious disease was presented to the public and public figures became involved in this. Conclusions The results of this study show the utility of analyzing temporal variations in the analytic triad of locations, actors, and concepts. This contributes to advancing our understanding of social media discourse during a public health emergency of international concern. PMID:28428164

Contribution of marital conflict to marital quality in short and long-term marriages: An actor-partner interdependence model

PubMed Central

Ahmadi, Khodabakhsh; Rezazade, Majid; Saadat, Hassan; Kimiaei, Seyed Ali; Zade, Nima Hoseyn

2015-01-01

Aims: In the field of family research, previous studies have made great strides toward understanding the relationship between marital conflict and quality. However, they have only studied couples in short-term marriages. Therefore, much remains to be unraveled with regard to long-term marriages. We aimed investigate the comparative contribution of aspects of marital conflict to marital quality in short-and long-term marriages in Iranian families. Materials and Methods: Using random clustered sampling, 400 dyads in intact first marriages were surveyed across eight provinces of Iran. Complete surveys for both husbands and wives were returned for 162 households (couple's response rate: 40.5%). Survey measures included demographics questionnaire, Barati and Sanai's Marital Conflict Questionnaire and Blum and Mehrabian's Comprehensive Marital Satisfaction Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to test the actor-partner interdependence model of marital conflict-marital quality. Results: Generalized additive models were incorporated to define what constitutes short-and long-term marriages. Based on the models regressed, duration ≤ 10 years was defined as short-term, whereas duration ≥ 25 years was labeled long-term. In short-term marriages (n = 44), decreased sexual relations, increased daily hassles and sidedness in relations with parents were negatively associated with marital quality in both actor and actor-to-partner paths. In long-term married couples (n = 46), only increased daily hassles (P < 0.001) and disagreement over financial affairs (P = 0.005) contributed to actor paths and only sidedness in relationships with parents showed significant negative association to marital quality in actor-to-partner paths. Conclusions: Different themes of conflict contribute to the diminished level of marital quality in early and late stages of the marriage. Conflicts over sex, relationship with extended family and daily hassles are emphasized in the early years of marriage, while in later years; dispute over money and daily hassles dominate. PMID:26097856

Local energy governance in vermont: an analysis of energy system transition strategies and actor capacity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rowse, Tarah

While global, national, and regional efforts to address climate and energy challenges remain essential, local governments and community groups are playing an increasingly stronger and vital role. As an active state in energy system policy, planning and innovation, Vermont offers a testing ground for research into energy governance at the local level. A baseline understanding of the energy planning and energy organizing activities initiated at the local level can support efforts to foster a transition to a sustainable energy system in Vermont. Following an inductive, applied and participatory approach, and grounded in the fields of sustainability transitions, energy planning, and community energy, this research project identifies conditions for change, including opportunities and challenges, within Vermont energy system decision-making and governance at the local level. The following questions are posed: What are the main opportunities and challenges for sustainable energy development at the town level? How are towns approaching energy planning? What are the triggers that will facilitate a faster transition to alternative energy systems, energy efficiency initiatives, and localized approaches? In an effort to answer these questions two studies were conducted: 1) an analysis of municipal energy plans, and 2) a survey of local energy actors. Study 1 examined Vermont energy planning at the state and local level through a review and comparison of 40 municipal plan energy chapters with the state 2011 Comprehensive Energy Plan. On average, municipal plans mentioned just over half of the 24 high-level strategies identified in the Comprehensive Energy Plan. Areas of strong and weak agreement were examined. Increased state and regional interaction with municipal energy planners would support more holistic and coordinated energy planning. The study concludes that while municipalities are keenly aware of the importance of education and partnerships, stronger policy mechanisms and financial stimulus are essential if Vermont hopes to increase strategic energy planning alignment and spur whole-scale energy system change. Study 2 examined local energy actors to assess their ability to develop and sustain energy action on the local level. A survey of 120 municipalities collected statewide baseline data covering the structures, processes, and activities of local energy actors. The analysis examined the role that various forms of capacity play in local energy activity. The results show that towns with higher incomes are more likely to have local energy actors and towns with higher populations have higher aggregate energy activity levels. Structurally, energy actors that had both an energy coordinator and an energy committee were more active, and municipal committees were more active than independent committees. Access to a budget and volunteer engagement were both associated with higher activity levels. The network of local energy actors in Vermont consists of committed and knowledgeable volunteers. Yet, the capacity of these local energy actors to implement sustainable energy change is limited due to resource constraints of time and money. In most cases, the scope of municipal energy planning strategy is modest. Prioritization of strategy and action at the central and local levels, along with increased interaction and coordination, is necessary to increase the regional compatibility and pace of energy system transformation.

Experiments in mixed reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krum, David M.; Sadek, Ramy; Kohli, Luv; Olson, Logan; Bolas, Mark

2010-01-01

As part of the Institute for Creative Technologies and the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, the Mixed Reality lab develops technologies and techniques for presenting realistic immersive training experiences. Such experiences typically place users within a complex ecology of social actors, physical objects, and collections of intents, motivations, relationships, and other psychological constructs. Currently, it remains infeasible to completely synthesize the interactivity and sensory signatures of such ecologies. For this reason, the lab advocates mixed reality methods for training and conducts experiments exploring such methods. Currently, the lab focuses on understanding and exploiting the elasticity of human perception with respect to representational differences between real and virtual environments. This paper presents an overview of three projects: techniques for redirected walking, displays for the representation of virtual humans, and audio processing to increase stress.

Combatting Electoral Traces: The Dutch Tempest Discussion and Beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pieters, Wolter

In the Dutch e-voting debate, the crucial issue leading to the abandonment of all electronic voting machines was compromising radiation, or tempest: it would be possible to eavesdrop on the choice of the voter by capturing the radiation from the machine. Other countries, however, do not seem to be bothered by this risk. In this paper, we use actor-network theory to analyse the socio-technical origins of the Dutch tempest issue in e-voting, and we introduce concepts for discussing its implications for e-voting beyond the Netherlands. We introduce the term electoral traces to denote any physical, digital or social evidence of a voter’s choices in an election. From this perspective, we provide a framework for risk classification as well as an overview of countermeasures against such traces.

The biopolitics of reproductive technologies beyond the clinic: localizing HPV vaccines in India.

PubMed

Towghi, Fouzieyha

2013-01-01

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine research and marketing in India exemplifies the privatization of public sectors and global assemblages of novel actors and public-private partnerships in service delivery and pharmaceutical marketing. Drawing on ethnographic research, in this article I examine how the molecularized conception of cervical cancer and the simultaneous global rise of the HPV vaccine is redefining the meaning of prevention, the role of the state, and blurring the relationship between health care and health research in India. In 2009, two Indian states began "demonstration projects" to vaccinate 30,000 girls. The subsequent deaths of a number of girls exposed inherent problems with the projects. For many health activists, the vaccine has potentially grave consequences for India's public health system. This case demonstrates how biopolitical actors, and the drive for biocapital, can create a public health campaign that might in the end place women's health and the public health system at a greater risk.

MicroRNAs in Valvular Heart Diseases: Potential Role as Markers and Actors of Valvular and Cardiac Remodeling

PubMed Central

Oury, Cécile; Servais, Laurence; Bouznad, Nassim; Hego, Alexandre; Nchimi, Alain; Lancellotti, Patrizio

2016-01-01

miRNAs are a class of over 5000 noncoding RNAs that regulate more than half of the protein-encoding genes by provoking their degradation or preventing their translation. miRNAs are key regulators of complex biological processes underlying several cardiovascular disorders, including left ventricular hypertrophy, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, hypertension and arrhythmias. Moreover, circulating miRNAs herald promise as biomarkers in acute myocardial infarction and heart failure. In this context, this review gives an overview of studies that suggest that miRNAs could also play a role in valvular heart diseases. This area of research is still at its infancy, and further investigations in large patient cohorts and cellular or animal models are needed to provide strong data. Most studies focused on aortic stenosis, one of the most common valvular diseases in developed countries. Profiling and functional analyses indicate that miRNAs could contribute to activation of aortic valve interstitial cells to a myofibroblast phenotype, leading to valvular fibrosis and calcification, and to pressure overload-induced myocardial remodeling and hypertrophy. Data also indicate that specific miRNA signatures, in combination with clinical and functional imaging parameters, could represent useful biomarkers of disease progression or recovery after aortic valve replacement. PMID:27420053

CpG island methylator phenotype in adenocarcinomas from the digestive tract: Methods, conclusions, and controversies

PubMed Central

Sánchez-Vega, Francisco; Gotea, Valer; Chen, Yun-Ching; Elnitski, Laura

2017-01-01

Over the last two decades, cancer-related alterations in DNA methylation that regulate transcription have been reported for a variety of tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. Due to its relevance for translational research, great emphasis has been placed on the analysis and molecular characterization of the CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP), defined as widespread hypermethylation of CpG islands in clinically distinct subsets of cancer patients. Here, we present an overview of previous work in this field and also explore some open questions using cross-platform data for esophageal, gastric, and colorectal adenocarcinomas from The Cancer Genome Atlas. We provide a data-driven, pan-gastrointestinal stratification of individual samples based on CIMP status and we investigate correlations with oncogenic alterations, including somatic mutations and epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes. Besides known events in CIMP such as BRAF V600E mutation, CDKN2A silencing or MLH1 inactivation, we discuss the potential role of emerging actors such as Wnt pathway deregulation through truncating mutations in RNF43 and epigenetic silencing of WIF1. Our results highlight the existence of molecular similarities that are superimposed over a larger backbone of tissue-specific features and can be exploited to reduce heterogeneity of response in clinical trials. PMID:28344746

Engaging One Health for Non-Communicable Diseases in Africa: Perspective for Mycotoxins

PubMed Central

Ladeira, Carina; Frazzoli, Chiara; Orisakwe, Orish Ebere

2017-01-01

The role of mycotoxins—e.g., aflatoxins, ochratoxins, trichothecenes, zearalenone, fumonisins, tremorgenic toxins, and ergot alkaloids—has been recognized in the etiology of a number of diseases. In many African countries, the public health impact of chronic (indoor) and/or repeated (dietary) mycotoxin exposure is largely ignored hitherto, with impact on human health, food security, and export of African agricultural food products. Notwithstanding, African scientific research reached milestones that, when linked to findings gained by the international scientific community, make the design and implementation of science-driven governance schemes feasible. Starting from Nigeria as leading African Country, this article (i) overviews available data on mycotoxins exposure in Africa; (ii) discusses new food safety issues, such as the environment–feed–food chain and toxic exposures of food producing animals in risk assessment and management; (iii) identifies milestones for mycotoxins risk management already reached in West Africa; and (iv) points out preliminary operationalization aspects for shielding communities from direct (on health) and indirect (on trade, economies, and livelihoods) effects of mycotoxins. An African science-driven engaging of scientific knowledge by development actors is expected therefore. In particular, One health/One prevention is suggested, as it proved to be a strategic and sustainable development framework. PMID:29085817

Good and Bad Research Collaborations: Researchers’ Views on Science and Ethics in Global Health Research

PubMed Central

Parker, Michael; Kingori, Patricia

2016-01-01

There has been a dramatic rise in the scale and scope of collaborative global health research. A number of structural and scientific factors explain this growth and there has been much discussion of these in the literature. Little, if any, attention has been paid, however, to the factors identified by scientists and other research actors as important to successful research collaboration. This is surprising given that their decisions are likely to play a key role in the sustainability and effectiveness of global health research initiatives. In this paper, we report on qualitative research with leading scientists involved in major international research collaborations about their views on good and bad collaborations and the factors that inform their decision-making about joining and participating actively in research networks. We identify and discuss eight factors that researchers see as essential in judging the merits of active participation in global health research collaborations: opportunities for active involvement in cutting-edge, interesting science; effective leadership; competence of potential partners in and commitment to good scientific practice; capacity building; respect for the needs, interests and agendas of partners; opportunities for discussion and disagreement; trust and confidence; and, justice and fairness in collaboration. Our findings suggest that the sustainability and effectiveness of global health research collaborations has an important ethical or moral dimension for the research actors involved. PMID:27737006

Using Bibliometric and Social Media Analyses to Explore the "Echo Chamber" Hypothesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldie, David; Linick, Matthew; Jabbar, Huriya; Lubienski, Christopher

2014-01-01

Educational policy debates are no longer occurring exclusively in academic or governmental settings. Intermediary actors are promoting research using a variety of traditional and non-traditional media to advance and oppose policy agendas. Given the current policy arena, it is useful to re-examine the research underlying current reforms, and to…

Ethical Considerations for Research Involving Boys Diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tucker, Leigh Adams; Govender, Kaymarlin

2017-01-01

The "new sociology of childhood" has activated a growing interest in children as social actors and their level of involvement in activities that affect their lives. In the field of research, debate is underway regarding the consent processes and methodological activities that support child participation. This paper highlights…

Designing Social Presence in e-Learning Environments: Testing the Effect of Interactivity on Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tung, Fang-Wu; Deng, Yi-Shin

2006-01-01

The "computers are social actors" paradigm asserts that human-to-computer interactions are fundamentally social responses. Earlier research has shown that effective management of the social presence in user interface design can improve user engagement and motivation. Much of this research has focused on adult subjects. This study…

Morphophonological Practice: An Ethnographic Study of Grammar and Discourse in Four American English Stuttering Speech Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dumas, Nathaniel William

2010-01-01

Using the Practice Theory Approach to Language, this dissertation examines how social actors use communicative practices within activities to constitute a communicative context that I call the American English Stuttering Speech Community (AESSC). Building on previous linguistic research on stuttering and sociological research on collectives of…

Composing Lives: Listening and Responding to Marginalized Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boydell, Katherine; Caine, Vera

2010-01-01

Shifting perspectives in childhood research have moved the authors away from the objectified status of the child to a view of children and young people as competent social actors who take an active role in sharing their experiences and pose challenges for rethinking the power relationships implicit in many research paradigms. They have listened to…

Local Skills Case Study. Research Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Anne; Hogarth, Terence; Thom, Graham; MacLeod, Katie; Warhurst, Chris; Willis, Robert; Mackay, Susan

2017-01-01

This study, jointly conducted by the University of Warwick Institute for Employment Research (IER) and SQW Ltd., discusses the UK Government's intention to accelerate the process of ceding more responsibility for delivering a range of services to the local level. The logic is that local actors are better placed to identify local priorities. This…

A Stigmergy Approach for Open Source Software Developer Community Simulation

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

Cui, Xiaohui; Beaver, Justin M; Potok, Thomas E

2009-01-01

The stigmergy collaboration approach provides a hypothesized explanation about how online groups work together. In this research, we presented a stigmergy approach for building an agent based open source software (OSS) developer community collaboration simulation. We used group of actors who collaborate on OSS projects as our frame of reference and investigated how the choices actors make in contribution their work on the projects determinate the global status of the whole OSS projects. In our simulation, the forum posts and project codes served as the digital pheromone and the modified Pierre-Paul Grasse pheromone model is used for computing developer agentmore » behaviors selection probability.« less

Overviews in Education Research: A Systematic Review and Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polanin, Joshua R.; Maynard, Brandy R.; Dell, Nathaniel A.

2017-01-01

Overviews, or syntheses of research syntheses, have become a popular approach to synthesizing the rapidly expanding body of research and systematic reviews. Despite their popularity, few guidelines exist and the state of the field in education is unclear. The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence and current state of overviews of…

Formal Specification and Validation of a Hybrid Connectivity Restoration Algorithm for Wireless Sensor and Actor Networks †

PubMed Central

Imran, Muhammad; Zafar, Nazir Ahmad

2012-01-01

Maintaining inter-actor connectivity is extremely crucial in mission-critical applications of Wireless Sensor and Actor Networks (WSANs), as actors have to quickly plan optimal coordinated responses to detected events. Failure of a critical actor partitions the inter-actor network into disjoint segments besides leaving a coverage hole, and thus hinders the network operation. This paper presents a Partitioning detection and Connectivity Restoration (PCR) algorithm to tolerate critical actor failure. As part of pre-failure planning, PCR determines critical/non-critical actors based on localized information and designates each critical node with an appropriate backup (preferably non-critical). The pre-designated backup detects the failure of its primary actor and initiates a post-failure recovery process that may involve coordinated multi-actor relocation. To prove the correctness, we construct a formal specification of PCR using Z notation. We model WSAN topology as a dynamic graph and transform PCR to corresponding formal specification using Z notation. Formal specification is analyzed and validated using the Z Eves tool. Moreover, we simulate the specification to quantitatively analyze the efficiency of PCR. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of PCR and the results shown that it outperforms contemporary schemes found in the literature.

System on chip module configured for event-driven architecture

DOEpatents

Robbins, Kevin; Brady, Charles E.; Ashlock, Tad A.

2017-10-17

A system on chip (SoC) module is described herein, wherein the SoC modules comprise a processor subsystem and a hardware logic subsystem. The processor subsystem and hardware logic subsystem are in communication with one another, and transmit event messages between one another. The processor subsystem executes software actors, while the hardware logic subsystem includes hardware actors, the software actors and hardware actors conform to an event-driven architecture, such that the software actors receive and generate event messages and the hardware actors receive and generate event messages.

Personality, communication, and depressive symptoms across the transition to parenthood: A dyadic longitudinal investigation

PubMed Central

Marshall, Emma M.; Simpson, Jeffry A.; Rholes, W. Steven

2015-01-01

This study adopted a person (actor) by partner perspective to examine how actor personality traits, partner personality traits, and specific actor by partner personality trait interactions predict actor's depressive symptoms across the first two years of the transition to parenthood. Data were collected from a large sample of new parents (both partners in each couple) 6 weeks before the birth of their first child, and then at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months postpartum. The results revealed that higher actor neuroticism and lower partner agreeableness predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms in actors. Moreover, the specific combination of high actor neuroticism and low partner agreeableness was a particularly problematic combination, which was intensified when prepartum dysfunctional problem-solving communication and aggression existed in the relationship. These results demonstrate the importance of considering certain actor by partner disposition pairings to better understand actors’ emotional well-being during major life transitions. PMID:26028813

Overview of NASA GRC's Efforts In SWBLI

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Long-Davis, Mary Jo

2017-01-01

Overview of NASA Efforts (related to SWBLI research) An overview of NASA's restructured ARMD Program and the resulting new projects. Areas of research pertaining to shock wave boundary layer interaction are highlighted. Plans and status for specific tasks are presented.

A Research Experience for American Indian Undergraduates: Utilizing an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to Examine the Student-Mentor Dyad

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griese, Emily R.; McMahon, Tracey R.; Kenyon, DenYelle Baete

2017-01-01

The majority of research examining Undergraduate Research Experiences focuses singularly on student-reported outcomes, often overlooking assessment of the mentor role in student learning and outcomes after these experiences. The goal of the current study was to examine the student-mentor dyad at the beginning and end of a 10-week summer research…

Dryden Flight Research Center: Center Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ratnayake, Nalin

2009-01-01

This viewgraph presentation describes a general overview of Dryden Flight Research Center. Strategic partnerships, Dryden's mission activity, exploration systems and aeronautics research programs are also described.

Networking expertise: discursive coalitions and collaborative networks of experts in a public creationism controversy in the UK.

PubMed

Allgaier, Joachim

2012-04-01

Experts do play a particular role in public socio-scientific debates, even more so if they form heterogeneous coalition with other actors and experts. A case study about a public science education controversy surrounding the teaching of evolution/creationism in the UK press is used to investigate in detail how connections and coalitions between experts and other actors involved in the controversy emerged and played out. The research focuses on the question of what role collaborative and other networks of experts played in terms of influence, visibility, credibility, consensus and weight of argument. Issues that are considered in the research are the status of the members of the coalitions forming during the debate and how it is displayed in media representations and letters and petitions, and also how these networks and coalitions of experts perform in relation to each other.

Networking expertise: Discursive coalitions and collaborative networks of experts in a public creationism controversy in the UK

PubMed Central

Allgaier, Joachim

2012-01-01

Experts do play a particular role in public socio-scientific debates, even more so if they form heterogeneous coalition with other actors and experts. A case study about a public science education controversy surrounding the teaching of evolution/creationism in the UK press is used to investigate in detail how connections and coalitions between experts and other actors involved in the controversy emerged and played out. The research focuses on the question of what role collaborative and other networks of experts played in terms of influence, visibility, credibility, consensus and weight of argument. Issues that are considered in the research are the status of the members of the coalitions forming during the debate and how it is displayed in media representations and letters and petitions, and also how these networks and coalitions of experts perform in relation to each other. PMID:23045882

Community Participation on an Urban Sanitation Program: a Comparative Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rini Dwi Ari, Ismu; Nyoman Suluh Wijaya, I.; Dewanto, Aditya

2018-05-01

Sanitation development becomes one aspect, particularly the sixth pillar, of Sustainable Development Goals that aims at ensuring the access to water and sanitation for all. The success of the sanitation program will bring about significant changes in the human life. However, it is necessary to consider community involvement in the development program in all of the steps holistically – planning, implementation, operation and maintenance. This research scrutinizes the key factors of successful urban sanitation development programs in Talangagung sub-district as compared to Ardirejo sub-district in Kepanjen district in Malang regency, Indonesia. Through field observation in the two-research areas, and questionnaire survey distributed to to104 heads of households in Talangagung sub-district and 84 heads of households in Ardirejo sub-district, an evaluation on the suitability of the program as well as the social capital measurement was conducted. The result of estimation illustrates that Talangagung sub-district has higher score than Adirejo sub-district, which respectively 470 and 340 for the whole steps of the development. Then, the study continued with the social capital measurement using three indices of social network analysis – covering rate of participation, density and centrality. In general, the rate of participation and density of the residents involved in the urban sanitation program development in Talangagung sub-district was higher value than in Ardirejo sub-district. However, the residents’ participation in the development process tends to decrease from the planning – implementation – operation/maintenance. It is predicted that the low participation in the third step – operation/maintenance, is due to the lack of understanding of the whole participants, since the information is exclusively understood by the organizing committee. In other words, there is asymmetrical information occurring between the organizing committee and the residents. For the centrality, this research utilized three indices of the centrality covering degree – closeness – betweenness centrality. The estimation result at planning step draws that there are 21 central actors in Talangagung, wherein 8 of them are the committee members and 13 of them are regular residents. Meanwhile, in Ardirejo sub-disctrict, there are 5 central actors, but all of them are committee members. In the implementation step, there are 10 central actors, consisting of 7 committee members and 3 residents in Talangagung sub-district. Meanwhile, in Ardirejo sub-district, there are 7 central actors and all of them are the committee members. Finally, at the operation/maintenance step, there is no central actor for both sub-districts.

Is extraordinary prosocial behavior more valuable than ordinary prosocial behavior?

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

This study examined how people evaluate ordinary and extraordinary prosocial behaviors, especially their predictions of the likelihood of future prosocial behaviors of ordinary and extraordinary prosocial actors (Study 1). Further, it examined the individual effects of ordinary and extraordinary prosocial behaviors of an actor on the evaluation of his/her trait by considering the cases where the actor engages in and does not engage in the other behavior (Study 2). Study 1 revealed that the likelihood of future prosocial behaviors of ordinary and extraordinary prosocial actors was perceived asymmetrically. Specifically, while the likelihood of ordinary prosocial actors to engage in ordinary prosocial behaviors was perceived as high, the same perception was not observed for extraordinary prosocial behaviors. On the other hand, extraordinary prosocial actors were perceived as highly likely to engage in both ordinary and extraordinary prosocial behaviors. Study 2 revealed that the evaluation of actors who engaged in extraordinary prosocial behaviors but not ordinary prosocial behaviors did not exceed the evaluation of actors who engaged in ordinary prosocial behaviors but not extraordinary prosocial behaviors. Additionally, the effect of extraordinary prosocial behaviors was more when the actor also engaged in ordinary prosocial behaviors. These results suggest that extraordinary prosocial actors are evaluated highly when they also engage in ordinary prosocial behaviors. PMID:29684088

Is extraordinary prosocial behavior more valuable than ordinary prosocial behavior?

PubMed

Futamura, Ikumi

2018-01-01

This study examined how people evaluate ordinary and extraordinary prosocial behaviors, especially their predictions of the likelihood of future prosocial behaviors of ordinary and extraordinary prosocial actors (Study 1). Further, it examined the individual effects of ordinary and extraordinary prosocial behaviors of an actor on the evaluation of his/her trait by considering the cases where the actor engages in and does not engage in the other behavior (Study 2). Study 1 revealed that the likelihood of future prosocial behaviors of ordinary and extraordinary prosocial actors was perceived asymmetrically. Specifically, while the likelihood of ordinary prosocial actors to engage in ordinary prosocial behaviors was perceived as high, the same perception was not observed for extraordinary prosocial behaviors. On the other hand, extraordinary prosocial actors were perceived as highly likely to engage in both ordinary and extraordinary prosocial behaviors. Study 2 revealed that the evaluation of actors who engaged in extraordinary prosocial behaviors but not ordinary prosocial behaviors did not exceed the evaluation of actors who engaged in ordinary prosocial behaviors but not extraordinary prosocial behaviors. Additionally, the effect of extraordinary prosocial behaviors was more when the actor also engaged in ordinary prosocial behaviors. These results suggest that extraordinary prosocial actors are evaluated highly when they also engage in ordinary prosocial behaviors.

Multi-criteria decision model for retrofitting existing buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bostenaru Dan, M. D.

2004-08-01

Decision is an element in the risk management process. In this paper the way how science can help in decision making and implementation for retrofitting buildings in earthquake prone urban areas is investigated. In such interventions actors from various spheres are involved. Their interests range among minimising the intervention for maximal preservation or increasing it for seismic safety. Research was conducted to see how to facilitate collaboration between these actors. A particular attention was given to the role of time in actors' preferences. For this reason, on decision level, both the processural and the personal dimension of risk management, the later seen as a task, were considered. A systematic approach was employed to determine the functional structure of a participative decision model. Three layers on which actors implied in this multi-criteria decision problem interact were identified: town, building and element. So-called 'retrofit elements' are characteristic bearers in the architectural survey, engineering simulations, costs estimation and define the realms perceived by the inhabitants. This way they represent an interaction basis for the interest groups considered in a deeper study. Such orientation means for actors' interaction were designed on other levels of intervention as well. Finally, an 'experiment' for the implementation of the decision model is presented: a strategic plan for an urban intervention towards reduction of earthquake hazard impact through retrofitting. A systematic approach proves thus to be a very good communication basis among the participants in the seismic risk management process. Nevertheless, it can only be applied in later phases (decision, implementation, control) only, since it serves verifying and improving solution and not developing the concept. The 'retrofit elements' are a typical example of the detailing degree reached in the retrofit design plans in these phases.

Life of a partnership: the process of collaboration between the National Tuberculosis Program and the hospitals in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

PubMed

Probandari, Ari; Utarini, Adi; Lindholm, Lars; Hurtig, Anna-Karin

2011-11-01

Public-private partnerships (PPP) for improving the health of populations are currently attracting attention in many countries with limited resources. The Public-Private Mix for Tuberculosis Control is an example of an internationally supported PPP that aims to engage all providers, including hospitals, to implement standardized diagnosis and treatment. This paper explores mainly the local actors' views and experiences of the process of PPP in delivering TB care in hospitals in Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia. The study used a qualitative research design. By maximum variation sampling, 33 informants were purposefully selected. The informants were involved in the Public-Private Mix for Tuberculosis Control in Yogyakarta Province. Data were collected during 2008-2009 by in-depth interview and analyzed using content analysis techniques. Triangulation, reference group checking and peer debriefing were conducted to improve the trustworthiness of the data. This analysis showed that the process of partnership was dynamic. In the early phase of partnership, the National Tuberculosis Program and hospital actors perceived barriers to interaction such as low enthusiasm, lack of confidence, mistrust and inequality of relationships. The existence of an intermediary actor was important for approaching the National Tuberculosis Program and hospitals. After intensive interactions, compromises and acceptance were reached among the actors and even enabled the growth of mutual respect and feelings of programme ownership. However, the partnership faced declining interactions when faced with scarce resources and weak governance. The strategies, power and interactions between actors are important aspects of the process of collaboration. We conclude that good partnership governance is needed for the partnership to be effective and sustainable. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Swedish recovered wood waste: linking regulation and contamination.

PubMed

Krook, J; Mårtensson, A; Eklund, M; Libiseller, C

2008-01-01

In Sweden, large amounts of wood waste are generated annually from construction and demolition activities, but also from other discarded products such as packaging and furniture. A large share of this waste is today recovered and used for heat production. However, previous research has found that recovered wood waste (RWW) contains hazardous substances, which has significant implications for the environmental performance of recycling. Improved sorting is often suggested as a proper strategy to decrease such implications. In this study, we aim to analyse the impacts of waste regulation on the contamination of RWW. The occurrence of industrial preservative-treated wood, which contains several hazardous substances, was used as an indicator for contamination. First the management of RWW during 1995-2004 was studied through interviews with involved actors. We then determined the occurrence of industrial preservative-treated wood in RWW for that time period for each supplier (actor). From the results, it can be concluded that a substantially less contaminated RWW today relies on extensive source separation. The good news is that some actors, despite several obstacles for such upstream efforts, have already today proved capable of achieving relatively efficient separation. In most cases, however, the existing waste regulation has not succeeded in establishing strong enough incentives for less contaminated waste in general, nor for extensive source separation in particular. One important factor for this outcome is that the current market forces encourage involved actors to practice weak quality requirements and to rely on end-of-pipe solutions, rather than put pressure for improvements on upstream actors. Another important reason is that there is a lack of communication and oversight of existing waste regulations. Without such steering mechanisms, the inherent pressure from regulations becomes neutralized.

Enabling the transition towards Earth Observation Science 2.0

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mathieu, Pierre-Philippe; Desnos, Yves-Louis

2015-04-01

Science 2.0 refers to the rapid and systematic changes in doing Research and organising Science driven by the rapid advances in ICT and digital technologies combined with a growing demand to do Science for Society (actionable research) and in Society (co-design of knowledge). Nowadays, teams of researchers around the world can easily access a wide range of open data across disciplines and remotely process them on the Cloud, combining them with their own data to generate knowledge, develop information products for societal applications, and tackle complex integrative complex problems that could not be addressed a few years ago. Such rapid exchange of digital data is fostering a new world of data-intensive research, characterized by openness, transparency, and scrutiny and traceability of results, access to large volume of complex data, availability of community open tools, unprecedented level of computing power, and new collaboration among researchers and new actors such as citizen scientists. The EO scientific community is now facing the challenge of responding to this new paradigm in science 2.0 in order to make the most of the large volume of complex and diverse data delivered by the new generation of EO missions, and in particular the Sentinels. In this context, ESA - in particular within the framework of the Scientific Exploitation of Operational Missions (SEOM) element - is supporting a variety of activities in partnership with research communities to ease the transition and make the most of the data. These include the generation of new open tools and exploitation platforms, exploring new ways to exploit data on cloud-based platforms, dissiminate data, building new partnership with citizen scientists, and training the new generation of data scientists. The paper will give a brief overview of some of ESA activities aiming to facilitate the exploitation of large amount of data from EO missions in a collaborative, cross-disciplinary, and open way, from science to applications and education.

Action adaptation during natural unfolding social scenes influences action recognition and inferences made about actor beliefs.

PubMed

Keefe, Bruce D; Wincenciak, Joanna; Jellema, Tjeerd; Ward, James W; Barraclough, Nick E

2016-07-01

When observing another individual's actions, we can both recognize their actions and infer their beliefs concerning the physical and social environment. The extent to which visual adaptation influences action recognition and conceptually later stages of processing involved in deriving the belief state of the actor remains unknown. To explore this we used virtual reality (life-size photorealistic actors presented in stereoscopic three dimensions) to see how visual adaptation influences the perception of individuals in naturally unfolding social scenes at increasingly higher levels of action understanding. We presented scenes in which one actor picked up boxes (of varying number and weight), after which a second actor picked up a single box. Adaptation to the first actor's behavior systematically changed perception of the second actor. Aftereffects increased with the duration of the first actor's behavior, declined exponentially over time, and were independent of view direction. Inferences about the second actor's expectation of box weight were also distorted by adaptation to the first actor. Distortions in action recognition and actor expectations did not, however, extend across different actions, indicating that adaptation is not acting at an action-independent abstract level but rather at an action-dependent level. We conclude that although adaptation influences more complex inferences about belief states of individuals, this is likely to be a result of adaptation at an earlier action recognition stage rather than adaptation operating at a higher, more abstract level in mentalizing or simulation systems.

National Risk Management Research Laboratory Strategic plan and Implementation - Overview

EPA Science Inventory

This publication provides an overview of the strategic plan recently developed by the National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL). It includes a description of NRMRL's mission and goals and their alignment with Agency goals. Additionally, the overview contains a brief se...

A network approach for researching political feasibility of healthcare reform: the case of universal healthcare system in Taiwan.

PubMed

Wang, Guang-Xu

2012-12-01

This study evaluates the political feasibility of healthcare reform taking place in Taiwan in the past decade. Since Taiwan adopted National Health Insurance (NHI) in 1995, it has provided coverage for virtually all of the island's citizens. However, the imbalance between expenditure and revenue has resulted in a cycle of unsustainable spending which has necessitated financial reforms and political confrontations. By applying social network analysis, this paper examines multiple types of ties between policy elites and power distribution that have evolved in crucial policy events of the NHI's financial reforms between 1998 and 2010. Data sources include official documents and 62 social network interviews that were held with government officials and related unofficial policy participants. Blockmodeling and multidimensional scaling (MDS) are used to determine the major participants and network structures in the NHI domain, as well as the influential policy actors, based on information transmission, resource exchange, reputation attribution and action-set coalition networks in Taiwan's current political situation. The results show that although both public actors and all medical associations are the leading actors in the NHI reform, without good communication with societal actors, the promotion of reform proposals ends in failure. As a tool of political feasibility evaluation, social network analysis can map the political conflict between policy stakeholders systematically when policy makers pursue the result of policy adoption. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploring social influences on the joint Simon task: empathy and friendship

PubMed Central

Ford, Ruth M.; Aberdein, Bradley

2015-01-01

Tasks for which people must act together to achieve a goal are a feature of daily life. The present study explored social influences on joint action using a Simon procedure for which participants (n = 44) were confronted with a series of images of hands and asked to respond via button press whenever the index finger wore a ring of a certain color (red or green) regardless of pointing direction (left or right). In an initial joint condition they performed the task while sitting next to another person (friend or stranger) who responded to the other color. In a subsequent individual condition they repeated the task on their own; additionally, they completed self-report tests of empathy. Consistent with past research, participants reacted more quickly when the finger pointed toward them rather than their co-actor (the Simon Effect or SE). The effect remained robust when the co-actor was no longer present and was unaffected by degree of acquaintance; however, its magnitude was correlated positively with empathy only among friends. For friends, the SE was predicted by cognitive perspective taking when the co-actor was present and by propensity for fantasizing when the co-actor was absent. We discuss these findings in relation to social accounts (e.g., task co-representation) and non-social accounts (e.g., referential coding) of joint action. PMID:26217281

Newer Researchers in Higher Education: Policy Actors or Policy Subjects?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ashwin, Paul; Deem, Rosemary; McAlpine, Lynn

2016-01-01

In this article, we explore the extent to which 42 newer researchers, in the academic sub-field of higher education, were aware of, responded to and negotiated their careers in relation to higher education policies. Participants, who were mainly from European countries, tended to divide into two similarly sized groups: one that engaged with and…

The Evaluation and Steering of English Academy Schools through Inspection and Examinations: National Visions and Local Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kauko, Jaakko; Salokangas, Maija

2015-01-01

The article analyses the redefinition and distribution of powers between central governance and local actors in English independent state-funded schooling. Earlier research on governance confirms the importance of the local and the school level in reshaping national-level reforms and steering policies. The research draws on data from interviews…

Networks in Action: New Actors and Practices in Education Policy in Brazil

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shiroma, Eneida Oto

2014-01-01

This paper focuses on the role of networks in the policy-making process in education and discusses the potential of network analysis as an analytical tool for education policy research. Drawing on publically available data from personal or institutional websites, this paper reports the findings from research carried out between 2005 and 2011.…

The "Subject of Ethics" and Educational Research OR Ethics or Politics? Yes Please!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bazzul, Jesse

2017-01-01

This paper outlines a theoretical context for research into "the subject of ethics" in terms of how students come to see themselves as self-reflective actors. I maintain that the "subject of ethics," or ethical subjectivity, has been overlooked as a necessary aspect of creating politically transformative spaces in education. At…

Using Evaluation Research as a Means for Policy Analysis in a "New" Mission-Oriented Policy Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amanatidou, Effie; Cunningham, Paul; Gök, Abdullah; Garefi, Ioanna

2014-01-01

Grand challenges stress the importance of multi-disciplinary research, a multi-actor approach in examining the current state of affairs and exploring possible solutions, multi-level governance and policy coordination across geographical boundaries and policy areas, and a policy environment for enabling change both in science and technology and in…

Script towards Research 2.0: The Influence of Digital and Online Tools in Academic Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grosseck, Gabriela; Bran, Ramona

2016-01-01

The new Internet technologies have infiltrated in a stunning way the academic environment, both at individual and at institutional level. Therefore, more and more teachers have started educational blogs, librarians are active on Twitter, other educational actors curate web content, students post on Instagram or Flickr, and university departments…

"The Only Answer Is Innovation ...": Europe, Policy, and the Big Society

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodgson, Naomi

2012-01-01

Recent European and member state policy shows innovation to be a current guiding logic of government. This article offers an analysis of how innovation, seen partly in terms of learning but more significantly in terms of research, forms part of the discourses and practices of government today. Research is now something that all actors must engage…

Contributions of knowledge products to health policy: a case study on the Public Health Status and Forecasts Report 2010

PubMed Central

Kok, Maarten O.; Janssen, Susan W.J.; Schuit, Albertine J.; van Oers, Hans A.M.

2016-01-01

Background: The Dutch Public Health Status and Forecasts report (PHSF Report) integrates research data and identifies future trends affecting public health in the Netherlands. To investigate how PHSF contributions to health policy can be enhanced, we analysed the development process whereby the PHSF Report for 2010 was produced (PHSF-2010). Method: To collect data, a case study approach was used along the lines of Contribution Mapping including analysis of documents from the PHSF-2010 process and interviews with actors involved. All interviews were recorded and transcribed ad verbatim and coded using an inductive code list. Results: The PHSF-2010 process included activities aimed at alignment between researchers and policy-makers, such as informal meetings. However, we identified three issues that are easily overlooked in knowledge development, but provide suggestions for enhancing contributions: awareness of divergent; continuously changing actor scenarios; vertical alignment within organizations involved and careful timing of draft products to create early adopters. Conclusion: To enhance the contributions made by an established public health report, such as the PHSF Report, it is insufficient to raise the awareness of potential users. The knowledge product must be geared to policy-makers’ needs and must be introduced into the scenarios of actors who may be less familiar. The demand for knowledge product adaptations has to be considered. This requires continuous alignment efforts in all directions: horizontal and vertical, external and internal. The findings of this study may be useful to researchers who aim to enhance the contributions of their knowledge products to health policy. PMID:27452890

iSAW: Integrating Structure, Actors, and Water to study socio-hydro-ecological systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hale, Rebecca L.; Armstrong, Andrea; Baker, Michelle A.; Bedingfield, Sean; Betts, David; Buahin, Caleb; Buchert, Martin; Crowl, Todd; Dupont, R. Ryan; Ehleringer, James R.; Endter-Wada, Joanna; Flint, Courtney; Grant, Jacqualine; Hinners, Sarah; Horsburgh, Jeffery S.; Jackson-Smith, Douglas; Jones, Amber S.; Licon, Carlos; Null, Sarah E.; Odame, Augustina; Pataki, Diane E.; Rosenberg, David; Runburg, Madlyn; Stoker, Philip; Strong, Courtenay

2015-03-01

Urbanization, climate, and ecosystem change represent major challenges for managing water resources. Although water systems are complex, a need exists for a generalized representation of these systems to identify important components and linkages to guide scientific inquiry and aid water management. We developed an integrated Structure-Actor-Water framework (iSAW) to facilitate the understanding of and transitions to sustainable water systems. Our goal was to produce an interdisciplinary framework for water resources research that could address management challenges across scales (e.g., plot to region) and domains (e.g., water supply and quality, transitioning, and urban landscapes). The framework was designed to be generalizable across all human-environment systems, yet with sufficient detail and flexibility to be customized to specific cases. iSAW includes three major components: structure (natural, built, and social), actors (individual and organizational), and water (quality and quantity). Key linkages among these components include: (1) ecological/hydrologic processes, (2) ecosystem/geomorphic feedbacks, (3) planning, design, and policy, (4) perceptions, information, and experience, (5) resource access and risk, and (6) operational water use and management. We illustrate the flexibility and utility of the iSAW framework by applying it to two research and management problems: understanding urban water supply and demand in a changing climate and expanding use of green storm water infrastructure in a semi-arid environment. The applications demonstrate that a generalized conceptual model can identify important components and linkages in complex and diverse water systems and facilitate communication about those systems among researchers from diverse disciplines.

Understanding the complex relationships among actors involved in the implementation of public-private mix (PPM) for TB control in India, using social theory.

PubMed

Salve, Solomon; Harris, Kristine; Sheikh, Kabir; Porter, John D H

2018-06-07

Public Private Partnerships (PPP) are increasingly utilized as a public health strategy for strengthening health systems and have become a core component for the delivery of TB control services in India, as promoted through national policy. However, partnerships are complex systems that rely on relationships between a myriad of different actors with divergent agendas and backgrounds. Relationship is a crucial element of governance, and relationship building an important aspect of partnerships. To understand PPPs a multi-disciplinary perspective that draws on insights from social theory is needed. This paper demonstrates how social theory can aid the understanding of the complex relationships of actors involved in implementation of Public-Private Mix (PPM)-TB policy in India. Ethnographic research was conducted within a district in a Southern state of India over a 14 month period, combining participant observations, informal interactions and in-depth interviews with a wide range of respondents across public, private and non-government organisation (NGO) sectors. Drawing on the theoretical insights from Bourdieu's "theory of practice" this study explores the relationships between the different actors. The study found that programme managers, frontline TB workers, NGOs, and private practitioners all had a crucial role to play in TB partnerships. They were widely regarded as valued contributors with distinct social skills and capabilities within their organizations and professions. However, their potential contributions towards programme implementation tended to be unrecognized both at the top and bottom of the policy implementation chain. These actors constantly struggled for recognition and used different mechanisms to position themselves alongside other actors within the programme that further complicated the relationships between different actors. This paper demonstrates that applying social theory can enable a better understanding of the complex relationship across public, private and NGO sectors. A closer understanding of these processes is a prerequisite for bridging the gap between field-level practices and central policy intentions, facilitating a move towards more effective partnership strategies for strengthening local health systems. The study contributes to our understanding of implementation of PPP for TB control and builds knowledge to help policy makers and programme managers strengthen and effectively implement strategies to enable stronger governance of these partnerships.

Lessons Learned from Custer’s Last Stand for Developing Acquisition Scouts

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-31

8 Overview of the Research Methodology ...32 Chapter 3 – Research Methodology ...Little Bighorn, our organization will be improved. Overview of the Research Methodology This research was conducted utilizing a descriptive

Bombing alone: tracing the motivations and antecedent behaviors of lone-actor terrorists,.

PubMed

Gill, Paul; Horgan, John; Deckert, Paige

2014-03-01

This article analyzes the sociodemographic network characteristics and antecedent behaviors of 119 lone-actor terrorists. This marks a departure from existing analyses by largely focusing upon behavioral aspects of each offender. This article also examines whether lone-actor terrorists differ based on their ideologies or network connectivity. The analysis leads to seven conclusions. There was no uniform profile identified. In the time leading up to most lone-actor terrorist events, other people generally knew about the offender's grievance, extremist ideology, views, and/or intent to engage in violence. A wide range of activities and experiences preceded lone actors' plots or events. Many but not all lone-actor terrorists were socially isolated. Lone-actor terrorists regularly engaged in a detectable and observable range of activities with a wider pressure group, social movement, or terrorist organization. Lone-actor terrorist events were rarely sudden and impulsive. There were distinguishable behavioral differences between subgroups. The implications for policy conclude this article. © 2013 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Power-law behavior in complex organizational communication networks during crisis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uddin, Shahadat; Murshed, Shahriar Tanvir Hasan; Hossain, Liaquat

2011-08-01

Communication networks can be described as patterns of contacts which are created due to the flow of messages and information shared among participating actors. Contemporary organizations are now commonly viewed as dynamic systems of adaptation and evolution containing several parts, which interact with one another both in internal and in external environment. Although there is limited consensus among researchers on the precise definition of organizational crisis, there is evidence of shared meaning: crisis produces individual crisis, crisis can be associated with positive or negative conditions, crises can be situations having been precipitated quickly or suddenly or situations that have developed over time and are predictable etc. In this research, we study the power-law behavior of an organizational email communication network during crisis from complexity perspective. Power law simply describes that, the probability that a randomly selected node has k links (i.e. degree k) follows P(k)∼k, where γ is the degree exponent. We used social network analysis tools and techniques to analyze the email communication dataset. We tested two propositions: (1) as organization goes through crisis, a few actors, who are prominent or more active, will become central, and (2) the daily communication network as well as the actors in the communication network exhibit power-law behavior. Our preliminary results support these two propositions. The outcome of this study may provide significant advancement in exploring organizational communication network behavior during crisis.

Dual-earner couples' weekend recovery support, state of recovery, and work engagement: Work-linked relationship as a moderator.

PubMed

Park, YoungAh; Haun, Verena C

2017-10-01

Despite growing recovery research, little is known about couple-dyadic processes of recovery from work. Given that dual-earner couples experience most of their recovery opportunities during nonwork times when they are together, partners in a couple relationship may substantially affect recovery and work engagement. In this study, we propose a couple-dyadic model in which weekend partner recovery support (reported by the recipient partner) is positively related to the recipient partner's state of recovery after the weekend which, in turn, increases the recipient's work engagement the following week (actor-actor mediation effect). We also test the effect of one's state of recovery on the partner's subsequent work engagement (partner effect). Additionally, work-linked relationship status is tested as a moderator of the partner effect. Actor-partner interdependence mediation modeling is used to analyze the data from 167 dual-earner couples who answered surveys on 4 measurement occasions. The results support the indirect effect of partner recovery support on work engagement through the postweekend state of recovery. Multigroup analysis results reveal that the partner effect of state of recovery on work engagement is significant for work-linked couples only and is absent for non-work-linked couples. Theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

The change-makers of West Africa.

PubMed

Godt, Sue; Mhatre, Sharmila; Schryer-Roy, Anne-Marie

2017-07-12

West Africa was the focus of global attention during the Ebola virus disease outbreak, when systemic health system weaknesses compounded a serious emergency and complicated response efforts. Following the crisis, calls were made to strengthen health systems, but investments to date have fallen short of delivering the support needed to build strong health systems able to prevent and manage future outbreaks.In part, this reality serves to highlight the shortcomings of the solutions being repeatedly prioritised by external funders and experts, solutions that often fail to consider the wealth of West African evidence and actors actively working to strengthen the leadership and health systems needed to drive and sustainably improve national health outcomes. Unfortunately, this knowledge and experience are rarely heard in the global arena.This journal supplement is a contribution, although small, to changing this practice by putting the perspectives, experiences and knowledge of West Africans on the table. It presents findings from a series of research and capacity development projects in West Africa funded by the International Development Research Centre's Maternal and Child Health programme (formerly Governance for Equity in Health Systems).The evidence presented here centres around two key themes. First, the theme that context matters. The evidence shows how context can change the shape of externally imposed interventions or policies resulting in unintended outcomes. At the same time, it highlights evidence showing how innovative local actors are developing their own approaches, usually low-cost and embedded in the context, to bring about change. Second, the collection of articles discusses the critical need to overcome the existing fragmentation of expertise, knowledge and actors, and to build strong working relationships amongst all actors so they can effectively work together to identify priority issues that can realistically be addressed given the available windows of opportunity.Vibrant West African-led collaborations amongst researchers, decision-makers and civil society, which are effectively supported by national, regional and global funding, need to foster, strengthen and use locally-generated evidence to ensure that efforts to strengthen health systems and improve regional health outcomes are successful. The solutions are clearly not to be found in the 'travelling models' of standardised interventions.

Challenges in diabetology research in India.

PubMed

Jena, Swarup; Mishra, Brijesh; Yadav, Anamika; Desai, Pranav

2018-05-01

Diabetes emerges out to be a major epidemic in recent years that engulfs both developed and developing countries across the globe. India, a country witnessing rapid socioeconomic progress and urbanization carries a considerable share of the global diabetes burden. There has been an incongruity between disease burden and the technical capacity to make use of existing knowledge or to generate new knowledge to combat diabetes in India. This paper examines the role of different actors, organizations & institutions in shaping diabetology research in India using arrays of scientific indicators such as research output (publications and patents), research finance and role of policy-making bodies. This paper also identifies research gaps and challenges pertinent to this sector. A combination of three methods patent data analysis, publication data analysis and primary survey corroborated with secondary data to obtain desire objectives. We made an in-depth study of the patent and publication data (2000-2016) to know the research output and direction of Indian actors, institutions and organizations in the area of diabetes research. This paper identifies some key structural barriers and institutional challenges pertinent to diabetology research in India that will help in canvassing and formulating science, technology and policy guidelines for diabetology research in India CONCLUSION: Multilevel intervention requires bridging the gap between knowledge and action hence policy-making should align to balance resources with innovation capabilities. Copyright © 2017 Diabetes India. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[The leprosy "drama": Governador Valadares, public health policies, and their territorial implications in the 1980s].

PubMed

Genovez, Patrícia Falco; Pereira, Flávia Rodrigues

2016-01-01

The incidence of leprosy in Governador Valadares, Brazil, in the 1980s spurred this town to pioneer the introduction of polychemotherapy. The aim of this research was to understand how the different actors involved in this context interacted, especially the employees and patients at the Special Public Health Service. To identify the territories that these interactions inevitably constituted, a variety of theoretical instruments were used, including dramatism (Burke) and performance (Turner). By taking a theatrical metaphor, we sought to find out the dynamics by which the different actors took the stage and established their most significant relationships in a dynamic process of constituted and reconstituted territories.

The Clinical Threat Assessment of the Lone-Actor Terrorist.

PubMed

Meloy, J Reid; Genzman, Jacqueline

2016-12-01

The Terrorist Radicalization Assessment Protocol (TRAP-18) is a structured professional judgment instrument for the assessment of individuals who present a concern for lone-actor terrorism. It consists of eight proximal warning behaviors and 10 distal characteristics. Previous research has demonstrated its interrater reliability and some concurrent and postdictive validity. In this article, TRAP-18 is retrospectively applied to the case of US Army psychiatrist and jihadist Malik Nidal Hasan, who committed a mass murder at Fort Hood, Texas in 2009. The strengths and limitations of TRAP-18 as a structured professional judgment instrument for mental health clinicians are discussed, and clinical risk management suggestions are made. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Level of implementation of best practice policies for creating healthy food environments: assessment by state and non-state actors in Thailand.

PubMed

Phulkerd, Sirinya; Vandevijvere, Stefanie; Lawrence, Mark; Tangcharoensathien, Viroj; Sacks, Gary

2017-02-01

To determine and compare the level of implementation of policies for healthy food environments in Thailand with reference to international best practice by state and non-state actors. Data on the current level of implementation of food environment policies were assessed independently using the adapted Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) by two groups of actors. Concrete actions were proposed for Thai Government. A joint meeting between both groups was subsequently held to reach consensus on priority actions. Thailand. Thirty state actors and twenty-seven non-state actors. Level of policy implementation varied across different domains and actor groups. State actors rated implementation levels higher than non-state actors. Both state and non-state actors rated level of implementation of monitoring of BMI highest. Level of implementation of policies promoting in-store availability of healthy foods and policies increasing tax on unhealthy foods were rated lowest by state and non-state actors, respectively. Both groups reached consensus on eleven priority actions for implementation, focusing on food provision in public-sector settings, food composition, food promotion, leadership, monitoring and intelligence, and food trade. Although the implementation gaps identified and priority actions proposed varied between state and non-state actors, both groups achieved consensus on a comprehensive food policy package to be implemented by the Thai Government to improve the healthiness of food environments. This consensus is a platform for continued policy dialogue towards cross-sectoral policy coherence and effective actions to address the growing burden of non-communicable diseases and obesity in Thailand.

NASA Ames Research Center: An Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tu, Eugene; Yan, Jerry Chi Yiu

2017-01-01

This overview of NASA Ames Research Center is intended to give the target audience of university students a general understanding of the mission, core competencies, and research goals of NASA and Ames.

Adapting public policy theory for public health research: A framework to understand the development of national policies on global health.

PubMed

Jones, Catherine M; Clavier, Carole; Potvin, Louise

2017-03-01

National policies on global health appear as one way that actors from health, development and foreign affairs sectors in a country coordinate state action on global health. Next to a burgeoning literature in which international relations and global governance theories are employed to understand global health policy and global health diplomacy at the international level, little is known about policy processes for global health at the national scale. We propose a framework of the policy process to understand how such policies are developed, and we identify challenges for public health researchers integrating conceptual tools from political science. We developed the framework using a two-step process: 1) reviewing literature to establish criteria for selecting a theoretical framework fit for this purpose, and 2) adapting Real-Dato's synthesis framework to integrate a cognitive approach to public policy within a constructivist perspective. Our framework identifies multiple contexts as part of the policy process, focuses on situations where actors work together to make national policy on global health, considers these interactive situations as spaces for observing external influences on policy change and proposes policy design as the output of the process. We suggest that this framework makes three contributions to the conceptualisation of national policy on global health as a research object. First, it emphasizes collective action over decisions of individual policy actors. Second, it conceptualises the policy process as organised interactive spaces for collaboration rather than as stages of a policy cycle. Third, national decision-making spaces are opportunities for transferring ideas and knowledge from different sectors and settings, and represent opportunities to identify international influences on a country's global health policy. We discuss two sets of challenges for public health researchers using interdisciplinary approaches in policy research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Behaviour change strategies for reducing blood pressure-related disease burden: findings from a global implementation research programme.

PubMed

Peiris, David; Thompson, Simon R; Beratarrechea, Andrea; Cárdenas, María Kathia; Diez-Canseco, Francisco; Goudge, Jane; Gyamfi, Joyce; Kamano, Jemima Hoine; Irazola, Vilma; Johnson, Claire; Kengne, Andre P; Keat, Ng Kien; Miranda, J Jaime; Mohan, Sailesh; Mukasa, Barbara; Ng, Eleanor; Nieuwlaat, Robby; Ogedegbe, Olugbenga; Ovbiagele, Bruce; Plange-Rhule, Jacob; Praveen, Devarsetty; Salam, Abdul; Thorogood, Margaret; Thrift, Amanda G; Vedanthan, Rajesh; Waddy, Salina P; Webster, Jacqui; Webster, Ruth; Yeates, Karen; Yusoff, Khalid

2015-11-09

The Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases comprises the majority of the world's public research funding agencies. It is focussed on implementation research to tackle the burden of chronic diseases in low- and middle-income countries and amongst vulnerable populations in high-income countries. In its inaugural research call, 15 projects were funded, focussing on lowering blood pressure-related disease burden. In this study, we describe a reflexive mapping exercise to identify the behaviour change strategies undertaken in each of these projects. Using the Behaviour Change Wheel framework, each team rated the capability, opportunity and motivation of the various actors who were integral to each project (e.g. community members, non-physician health workers and doctors in projects focussed on service delivery). Teams then mapped the interventions they were implementing and determined the principal policy categories in which those interventions were operating. Guidance was provided on the use of Behaviour Change Wheel to support consistency in responses across teams. Ratings were iteratively discussed and refined at several group meetings. There was marked variation in the perceived capabilities, opportunities and motivation of the various actors who were being targeted for behaviour change strategies. Despite this variation, there was a high degree of synergy in interventions functions with most teams utilising complex interventions involving education, training, enablement, environmental restructuring and persuasion oriented strategies. Similar policy categories were also targeted across teams particularly in the areas of guidelines, communication/marketing and service provision with few teams focussing on fiscal measures, regulation and legislation. The large variation in preparedness to change behaviour amongst the principal actors across these projects suggests that the interventions themselves will be variably taken up, despite the similarity in approaches taken. The findings highlight the importance of contextual factors in driving success and failure of research programmes. Forthcoming outcome and process evaluations from each project will build on this exploratory work and provide a greater understanding of factors that might influence scale-up of intervention strategies.

Guerilla Science: Outreach at music and art festival

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosin, Mark

2012-10-01

Guerilla Science a non-profit science education organization that, since 2007, has brought live events to unconventional venues for science, such as music festivals, art galleries, banquets, department stores and theaters. Guerilla Science sets science free by taking it out of the lab and into the traditional domains of the arts. By producing events that mix science with art, music and play, they create unique opportunities for adult audiences to experience science in unorthodox ways, such as interactive events, games, live experiments, demonstrations and performances by academics, artists, musicians, actors, and professional science communicators. Much of Guerilla Science's work has focused on astrophysical and terrestrial plasmas, and this presentation will provide an overview of Guerilla Science's work in this area. Guerilla Science has produced over twenty events, receiving international media coverage, and directly reached over fifteen thousand members of the public.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 06 in Brazil: the universal access to sanitation as a possible mission.

PubMed

Dias, Cintia M M; Rosa, Luiz P; Gomez, Jose M A; D'Avignon, Alexandre

2018-04-16

Sanitation (which includes national public policies for drinking water, sewage services and waste management) is precarious in Brazil and therefore poses a challenge to a range of actors. Poor sanitation impacts public health, education, the environment, and daily life. Globally, it emits increasing greenhouse gases. Universalization of any major public service appears difficult, if not impossible; however, Brazil's program to universalize access to electricity proves the opposite, as will be shown in this paper. By describing the successful implementation of electricity for everyone, we show that planned public efforts, coordinated with private initiatives and local communities, have worked, and the same can be achieved for the sanitation sector. An overview of all sectors that touch on sanitation and emissions is also provided, highlighting the challenges and possibilities for infrastructure projects.

Spot: A Programming Language for Verified Flight Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bocchino, Robert L., Jr.; Gamble, Edward; Gostelow, Kim P.; Some, Raphael R.

2014-01-01

The C programming language is widely used for programming space flight software and other safety-critical real time systems. C, however, is far from ideal for this purpose: as is well known, it is both low-level and unsafe. This paper describes Spot, a language derived from C for programming space flight systems. Spot aims to maintain compatibility with existing C code while improving the language and supporting verification with the SPIN model checker. The major features of Spot include actor-based concurrency, distributed state with message passing and transactional updates, and annotations for testing and verification. Spot also supports domain-specific annotations for managing spacecraft state, e.g., communicating telemetry information to the ground. We describe the motivation and design rationale for Spot, give an overview of the design, provide examples of Spot's capabilities, and discuss the current status of the implementation.

Attributions of responsibility and affective reactions to decision outcomes.

PubMed

Zeelenberg, M; van der Pligt, J; de Vries, N K

2000-06-01

Immediate affective reactions to outcomes are more intense following decisions to act than following decisions not to act. This finding holds for both positive and negative outcomes. We relate this "actor-effect" to attribution theory and argue that decision makers are seen as more responsible for outcomes when these are the result of a decision to act as compared to a decision not to act. Experiment 1 (N = 80) tests the main assumption underlying our reasoning and shows that affective reactions to decision outcomes are indeed more intense when the decision maker is seen as more responsible. Experiment 2 (N = 40) tests whether the actor effect can be predicted on the basis of differential attributions following action and inaction. Participants read vignettes in which active and passive actors obtained a positive or negative outcome. Action resulted in more intense affect than inaction, and positive outcomes resulted in more intense affect than negative outcomes. Experiment 2 further shows that responsibility attributions and affective reactions to outcomes are highly correlated; that is, more extreme affective reactions are associated with more internal attributions. We discuss the implications for research on post-decisional reactions.

Perception Accuracy of Affiliative Relationships in Elementary School Children and Young Adolescents

PubMed Central

Daniel, João R.; Silva, Rita R.; Santos, António J.; Cardoso, Jordana; Coelho, Leandra; Freitas, Miguel; Ribeiro, Olívia

2017-01-01

There has been a rapid growth of studies focused on selection and socialization processes of peer groups, mostly due to the development of stochastic actor-based models to analyze longitudinal social network data. One of the core assumptions of these models is that individuals have an accurate knowledge of the dyadic relationships within their network (i.e., who is and is not connected to whom). Recent cross-sectional findings suggest that elementary school children are very inaccurate in perceiving their classmates’ dyadic relationships. These findings question the validity of stochastic actor-based models to study the developmental dynamics of children and carry implications for future research as well as for the interpretation of past findings. The goal of the present study was thus to further explore the adequacy of the accuracy assumption, analysing data from three longitudinal samples of different age groups (elementary school children and adolescents). Our results support the validity of stochastic actor-based models to study the network of adolescents and suggest that the violation of the accuracy assumption for elementary school children is not as severe as previously thought. PMID:29163310

Is Romantic Desire Predictable? Machine Learning Applied to Initial Romantic Attraction.

PubMed

Joel, Samantha; Eastwick, Paul W; Finkel, Eli J

2017-10-01

Matchmaking companies and theoretical perspectives on close relationships suggest that initial attraction is, to some extent, a product of two people's self-reported traits and preferences. We used machine learning to test how well such measures predict people's overall tendencies to romantically desire other people (actor variance) and to be desired by other people (partner variance), as well as people's desire for specific partners above and beyond actor and partner variance (relationship variance). In two speed-dating studies, romantically unattached individuals completed more than 100 self-report measures about traits and preferences that past researchers have identified as being relevant to mate selection. Each participant met each opposite-sex participant attending a speed-dating event for a 4-min speed date. Random forests models predicted 4% to 18% of actor variance and 7% to 27% of partner variance; crucially, however, they were unable to predict relationship variance using any combination of traits and preferences reported before the dates. These results suggest that compatibility elements of human mating are challenging to predict before two people meet.

Visions of the Future - the Changing Role of Actors in Data-Intensive Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schäfer, L.; Klump, J. F.

2013-12-01

Around the world scientific disciplines are increasingly facing the challenge of a burgeoning volume of research data. This data avalanche consists of a stream of information generated from sensors and scientific instruments, digital recordings, social-science surveys or drawn from the World Wide Web. All areas of the scientific economy are affected by this rapid growth in data, from the logging of digs in Archaeology, telescope data with observations of distant galaxies in Astrophysics or data from polls and surveys in the Social Sciences. The challenge for science is not only to process the data through analysis, reduction and visualization, but also to set up infrastructures for provisioning and storing the data. The rise of new technologies and developments also poses new challenges for the actors in the area of research data infrastructures. Libraries, as one of the actors, enable access to digital media and support the publication of research data and its long-term archiving. Digital media and research data, however, introduce new aspects into the libraries' range of activities. How are we to imagine the library of the future? The library as an interface to the computer centers? Will library and computer center fuse into a new service unit? What role will scientific publishers play in future? Currently the traditional form of publication still carry greater weight - articles for conferences and journals. But will this still be the case in future? New forms of publication are already making their presence felt. The tasks of the computer centers may also change. Yesterday their remit was provisioning of rapid hardware, whereas now everything revolves around the topic of data and services. Finally, how about the researchers themselves? Not such a long time ago, Geoscience was not necessarily seen as linked to Computer Science. Nowadays, modern Geoscience relies heavily on IT and its techniques. Thus, in how far will the profile of the modern geoscientist change? This gives rise to the question of what tools are required to locate and pursue the correct course in a networked world. One tool from the area of innovation management is the scenario technique. This poster will outline visions of the future as possible developments of the scientific world in 2020 (or later). The scenarios presented will show possible developments - both positive and negative. It is up then to the actors themselves to define their own position in this context, to rethink it and consider steps that can achieve a positive development for the future.

A Framework for Developing Drug Abuse Prevention Strategies for Young People in Ghetto Areas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dembo, Richard; Burgos, William

1976-01-01

Drawing upon research and the literature on socialization, social psychology and drug abuse, an ethnographically informed, social context model of the actor is developed and its implications for prevention activities among ghetto youths examined. (Author)

Overview of the National Risk Management Research Laboratory: The Environmental Research Institute of the States Environmental Council of the States 2007

EPA Science Inventory

An overview of the EPA Science and Research Organization, The National Risk Management Research Lab, the current research being conducted, priority Environmental Technology Research Issues, and new approaches to environmental management and sustainability taking place at the Nati...

Trends in the Global Small Satellite Ecosystem: Implications for Science Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behrens, J.; Lal, B.

2017-12-01

Activity in the small satellite industry has increased in the recent years. New actors and nations have joined the evolving market globally in both the private and public sector. Progress in the smallsat sector has been driven, in part, by growing capabilities and falling costs of smallsats. Advancements include the miniaturization of technology for the small satellite platform, increased data processing capabilities, the ubiquitous presence of GPS enabling location and attitude determination, improvements in ground system costs and signal processing capabilities, and the deployment of inexpensive COTS parts. The emerging trends in the state of the art for smallsat technology, paired with planned smallsat constellation missions by both private and public actors, open the opportunity for new earth and remote sensing scientific endeavors. This presentation will characterize the drivers influencing the development of smallsat technology and the industry more generally. An overview will be provided for trends in the state of the art of smallsat technology, and secondary trends that influence the smallsat sector including infrastructure, demand, the satellite launch market, and the policy environment. These trends are mapped onto current and projected Earth observation needs, as identified by academic and governmental communities, to identify those that could be fulfilled by smallsats in the near and long term. A set of notional science missions that could be enabled, based on the various drivers identified, will be presented for both the near (3 years) and farther term (10 years).

Health governance: principal-agent linkages and health system strengthening.

PubMed

Brinkerhoff, Derick W; Bossert, Thomas J

2014-09-01

Governance is increasingly recognized as an important factor in health system performance, yet conceptually and practically it remains poorly understood and subject to often vague and competing notions of both what its role is and how to address its weaknesses. This overview article for the symposium on health governance presents a model of health governance that focuses on the multiplicity of societal actors in health systems, the distribution of roles and responsibilities among them and their ability and willingness to fulfil these roles and responsibilities. This focus highlights the principal-agent linkages among actors and the resulting incentives for good governance and health system performance. The discussion identifies three disconnects that constitute challenges for health system strengthening interventions that target improving governance: (1) the gap between the good governance agenda and existing capacities, (2) the discrepancy between formal and informal governance and (3) the inattention to sociopolitical power dynamics. The article summarizes the three country cases in the symposium and highlights their governance findings: health sector reform in China, financial management of health resources in Brazilian municipalities and budget reform in hospitals in Lesotho. The concluding sections clarify how the three cases apply the model's principal-agent linkages and highlight the importance of filling the gaps remaining between problem diagnosis and the development of practical guidance that supports 'best fit' solutions and accommodates political realities in health systems strengthening. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2013; all rights reserved.

Changing Power Actors in a Midwestern Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tait, John L.; And Others

A longitudinal study was made of Prairie City, Iowa wherein the personal and social characteristics of the 1962 power actor pool were compared with characteristics of the 1973 power actor pool to test the hypothesis that: the personal and social characteristics of power actors will not change significantly over time. Procedures for identifying…

Overview of the Mid-America Transportation Center Research Program

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-10-20

MATC Research Overview: - U.S.D.O.T. Region VII University Transportation Center - 51 Current Research Projects - 63 Graduate RA's. Improving safety and minimizing risk associated with increasing multi-modal freight movements.

Using attractiveness model for actors ranking in social media networks.

PubMed

Qasem, Ziyaad; Jansen, Marc; Hecking, Tobias; Hoppe, H Ulrich

2017-01-01

Influential actors detection in social media such as Twitter or Facebook can play a major role in gathering opinions on particular topics, improving the marketing efficiency, predicting the trends, etc. This work aims to extend our formally defined T measure to present a new measure aiming to recognize the actor's influence by the strength of attracting new important actors into a networked community. Therefore, we propose a model of the actor's influence based on the attractiveness of the actor in relation to the number of other attractors with whom he/she has established connections over time. Using an empirically collected social network for the underlying graph, we have applied the above-mentioned measure of influence in order to determine optimal seeds in a simulation of influence maximization. We study our extended measure in the context of information diffusion because this measure is based on a model of actors who attract others to be active members in a community. This corresponds to the idea of the IC simulation model which is used to identify the most important spreaders in a set of actors.

Path scheduling for multiple mobile actors in wireless sensor network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trapasiya, Samir D.; Soni, Himanshu B.

2017-05-01

In wireless sensor network (WSN), energy is the main constraint. In this work we have addressed this issue for single as well as multiple mobile sensor actor network. In this work, we have proposed Rendezvous Point Selection Scheme (RPSS) in which Rendezvous Nodes are selected by set covering problem approach and from that, Rendezvous Points are selected in a way to reduce the tour length. The mobile actors tour is scheduled to pass through those Rendezvous Points as per Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP). We have also proposed novel rendezvous node rotation scheme for fair utilisation of all the nodes. We have compared RPSS with Stationery Actor scheme as well as RD-VT, RD-VT-SMT and WRP-SMT for performance metrics like energy consumption, network lifetime, route length and found the better outcome in all the cases for single actor. We have also applied RPSS for multiple mobile actor case like Multi-Actor Single Depot (MASD) termination and Multi-Actor Multiple Depot (MAMD) termination and observed by extensive simulation that MAMD saves the network energy in optimised way and enhance network lifetime compared to all other schemes.

Policy entrepreneurs and structural influence in integrated community case management policymaking in Burkina Faso

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Policy entrepreneurs are individuals who attempt to influence the policy process and its outcomes through their opportunistic or incremental actions. Their success in the policy-making process has been associated with the convergence of four factors: behavioural traits; institutional factors; network position and political capital. Policy entrepreneurs have received little study in low- and middle-income country policy research despite observations of individualized decision-making, informal institutions and the unequal distribution and exercise of power in policymaking. This article aims to identify whether policy entrepreneurs were present in the policy process around integrated community case management (iCCM) in Burkina Faso, whether they were successful in achieving policy change, and whether success or failure can be explained using existing policy entrepreneur frameworks from high-income polities. This mixed methods policy study collected data from in-depth qualitative interviews and social network surveys of actors involved in iCCM policymaking [known locally as C-integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI)]; data were analysed based on the framework categories. Interview data pointed to one key individual who played a significant role in the inclusion of pneumonia treatment into the country’s iCCM policy, an issue that had been a point of contention between government policy elites and development partners. Social network data confirmed that this actor was strategically located in the policy network to be able to reach the most other actors and to be able to control the flow of information. Although some development partner actors were as strategically located, none had the same level of authority or trust as was imbued by being a member of the government civil service. The entrepreneur’s mid-level rank in the health ministry may have encouraged him/her to invest political capital and take risks that would not have been feasible or attractive to a more senior actor. This study highlights the convergence of factors needed to be an entrepreneur, as well as the role of development partner actors in creating a facilitating environment. PMID:26516150

Policy entrepreneurs and structural influence in integrated community case management policymaking in Burkina Faso.

PubMed

Shearer, Jessica C

2015-12-01

Policy entrepreneurs are individuals who attempt to influence the policy process and its outcomes through their opportunistic or incremental actions. Their success in the policy-making process has been associated with the convergence of four factors: behavioural traits; institutional factors; network position and political capital. Policy entrepreneurs have received little study in low- and middle-income country policy research despite observations of individualized decision-making, informal institutions and the unequal distribution and exercise of power in policymaking. This article aims to identify whether policy entrepreneurs were present in the policy process around integrated community case management (iCCM) in Burkina Faso, whether they were successful in achieving policy change, and whether success or failure can be explained using existing policy entrepreneur frameworks from high-income polities. This mixed methods policy study collected data from in-depth qualitative interviews and social network surveys of actors involved in iCCM policymaking [known locally as C-integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI)]; data were analysed based on the framework categories. Interview data pointed to one key individual who played a significant role in the inclusion of pneumonia treatment into the country's iCCM policy, an issue that had been a point of contention between government policy elites and development partners. Social network data confirmed that this actor was strategically located in the policy network to be able to reach the most other actors and to be able to control the flow of information. Although some development partner actors were as strategically located, none had the same level of authority or trust as was imbued by being a member of the government civil service. The entrepreneur's mid-level rank in the health ministry may have encouraged him/her to invest political capital and take risks that would not have been feasible or attractive to a more senior actor. This study highlights the convergence of factors needed to be an entrepreneur, as well as the role of development partner actors in creating a facilitating environment. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Heath Sector Network Governance and State-building in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo.

PubMed

Bwimana, Aembe

2017-12-01

Longstanding patterns of interaction exist between state and non-state actors seeking to improve public health in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). DRC is a weak state, and, in many cases, private actors have stepped in to fill the void created by the lack of state health care provision. However, the role of these interactions in creating a governance network in the health sector has been underexplored. Using data from 18 months of qualitative field research, this study aimed to explore governance networks in DRC's health sector, examining how multiple stakeholders work to manage the health system and how the resulting governance network has been relevant for the state-building process. The findings demonstrate that the health sector in South Kivu is emerging as an arena of networked governance based on active partnerships between state institutions and non-state actors. Interactions between state and non-state actors account for the persistence of the health sector in a setting characterized by state weakness. However, networked governance does not function optimally, because, although non-state interventions fill the void where the state falls short, the DRC state has faced the challenge of interacting with partners with fragmented and horizontally competing agendas. Although weak, the shadow of state authority is present in the arena of stakeholders' interactions, as the state plays a determining role by providing a regulatory framework. Overall, the findings show that the interactive engagement of non-state actors contributes to improving institutional capacity through these actors' engagement with state institutions for health system management and institutional development. However, although networked health sector governance does contribute to state capacity, it is difficult to assess the real influence of these interactions on the state-building process in a context of critical fragility, where coordination and alignment have been problematic. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Zika in Twitter: Temporal Variations of Locations, Actors, and Concepts.

PubMed

Stefanidis, Anthony; Vraga, Emily; Lamprianidis, Georgios; Radzikowski, Jacek; Delamater, Paul L; Jacobsen, Kathryn H; Pfoser, Dieter; Croitoru, Arie; Crooks, Andrew

2017-04-20

The recent Zika outbreak witnessed the disease evolving from a regional health concern to a global epidemic. During this process, different communities across the globe became involved in Twitter, discussing the disease and key issues associated with it. This paper presents a study of this discussion in Twitter, at the nexus of location, actors, and concepts. Our objective in this study was to demonstrate the significance of 3 types of events: location related, actor related, and concept related, for understanding how a public health emergency of international concern plays out in social media, and Twitter in particular. Accordingly, the study contributes to research efforts toward gaining insights on the mechanisms that drive participation, contributions, and interaction in this social media platform during a disease outbreak. We collected 6,249,626 tweets referring to the Zika outbreak over a period of 12 weeks early in the outbreak (December 2015 through March 2016). We analyzed this data corpus in terms of its geographical footprint, the actors participating in the discourse, and emerging concepts associated with the issue. Data were visualized and evaluated with spatiotemporal and network analysis tools to capture the evolution of interest on the topic and to reveal connections between locations, actors, and concepts in the form of interaction networks. The spatiotemporal analysis of Twitter contributions reflects the spread of interest in Zika from its original hotspot in South America to North America and then across the globe. The Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization had a prominent presence in social media discussions. Tweets about pregnancy and abortion increased as more information about this emerging infectious disease was presented to the public and public figures became involved in this. The results of this study show the utility of analyzing temporal variations in the analytic triad of locations, actors, and concepts. This contributes to advancing our understanding of social media discourse during a public health emergency of international concern. ©Anthony Stefanidis, Emily Vraga, Georgios Lamprianidis, Jacek Radzikowski, Paul L Delamater, Kathryn H Jacobsen, Dieter Pfoser, Arie Croitoru, Andrew Crooks. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 20.04.2017.

Moral actor, selfish agent.

PubMed

Frimer, Jeremy A; Schaefer, Nicola K; Oakes, Harrison

2014-05-01

People are motivated to behave selfishly while appearing moral. This tension gives rise to 2 divergently motivated selves. The actor-the watched self-tends to be moral; the agent-the self as executor-tends to be selfish. Three studies present direct evidence of the actor's and agent's distinct motives. To recruit the self-as-actor, we asked people to rate the importance of various goals. To recruit the self-as-agent, we asked people to describe their goals verbally. In Study 1, actors claimed their goals were equally about helping the self and others (viz., moral); agents claimed their goals were primarily about helping the self (viz., selfish). This disparity was evident in both individualist and collectivist cultures, attesting to the universality of the selfish agent. Study 2 compared actors' and agents' motives to those of people role-playing highly prosocial or selfish exemplars. In content (Study 2a) and in the impressions they made on an outside observer (Study 2b), actors' motives were similar to those of the prosocial role-players, whereas agents' motives were similar to those of the selfish role-players. Study 3 accounted for the difference between the actor and agent: Participants claimed that their agent's motives were the more realistic and that their actor's motives were the more idealistic. The selfish agent/moral actor duality may account for why implicit and explicit measures of the same construct diverge, and why feeling watched brings out the better angels of human nature.

Brain systems for visual perspective taking and action perception.

PubMed

Mazzarella, Elisabetta; Ramsey, Richard; Conson, Massimiliano; Hamilton, Antonia

2013-01-01

Taking another person's viewpoint and making sense of their actions are key processes that guide social behavior. Previous neuroimaging investigations have largely studied these processes separately. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine how the brain incorporates another person's viewpoint and actions into visual perspective judgments. Participants made a left-right judgment about the location of a target object from their own (egocentric) or an actor's visual perspective (altercentric). Actor location varied around a table and the actor was either reaching or not reaching for the target object. Analyses examined brain regions engaged in the egocentric and altercentric tasks, brain regions where response magnitude tracked the orientation of the actor in the scene and brain regions sensitive to the action performed by the actor. The blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) was sensitive to actor orientation in the altercentric task, whereas the response in right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) was sensitive to actor orientation in the egocentric task. Thus, dmPFC and right IFG may play distinct but complementary roles in visual perspective taking (VPT). Observation of a reaching actor compared to a non-reaching actor yielded activation in lateral occipitotemporal cortex, regardless of task, showing that these regions are sensitive to body posture independent of social context. By considering how an observed actor's location and action influence the neural bases of visual perspective judgments, the current study supports the view that multiple neurocognitive "routes" operate during VPT.

Designing Performance Measurement For Supply Chain's Actors And Regulator Using Scale Balanced Scorecard And Data Envelopment Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusrini, Elisa; Subagyo; Aini Masruroh, Nur

2016-01-01

This research is a sequel of the author's earlier conducted researches in the fields of designing of integrated performance measurement between supply chain's actors and regulator. In the previous paper, the design of performance measurement is done by combining Balanced Scorecard - Supply Chain Operation Reference - Regulator Contribution model and Data Envelopment Analysis. This model referred as B-S-Rc-DEA model. The combination has the disadvantage that all the performance variables have the same weight. This paper investigates whether by giving weight to performance variables will produce more sensitive performance measurement in detecting performance improvement. Therefore, this paper discusses the development of the model B-S-Rc-DEA by giving weight to its performance'variables. This model referred as Scale B-S-Rc-DEA model. To illustrate the model of development, some samples from small medium enterprises of leather craft industry supply chain in province of Yogyakarta, Indonesia are used in this research. It is found that Scale B-S-Rc-DEA model is more sensitive to detecting performance improvement than B-S- Rc-DEA model.

What guidance is available for researchers conducting overviews of reviews of healthcare interventions? A scoping review and qualitative metasummary.

PubMed

Pollock, Michelle; Fernandes, Ricardo M; Becker, Lorne A; Featherstone, Robin; Hartling, Lisa

2016-11-14

Overviews of reviews (overviews) compile data from multiple systematic reviews to provide a single synthesis of relevant evidence for decision-making. Despite their increasing popularity, there is limited methodological guidance available for researchers wishing to conduct overviews. The objective of this scoping review is to identify and collate all published and unpublished documents containing guidance for conducting overviews examining the efficacy, effectiveness, and/or safety of healthcare interventions. Our aims were to provide a map of existing guidance documents; identify similarities, differences, and gaps in the guidance contained within these documents; and identify common challenges involved in conducting overviews. We conducted an iterative and extensive search to ensure breadth and comprehensiveness of coverage. The search involved reference tracking, database and web searches (MEDLINE, EMBASE, DARE, Scopus, Cochrane Methods Studies Database, Google Scholar), handsearching of websites and conference proceedings, and contacting overview producers. Relevant guidance statements and challenges encountered were extracted, edited, grouped, abstracted, and presented using a qualitative metasummary approach. We identified 52 guidance documents produced by 19 research groups. Relatively consistent guidance was available for the first stages of the overview process (deciding when and why to conduct an overview, specifying the scope, and searching for and including systematic reviews). In contrast, there was limited or conflicting guidance for the latter stages of the overview process (quality assessment of systematic reviews and their primary studies, collecting and analyzing data, and assessing quality of evidence), and many of the challenges identified were also related to these stages. An additional, overarching challenge identified was that overviews are limited by the methods, reporting, and coverage of their included systematic reviews. This compilation of methodological guidance for conducting overviews of healthcare interventions will facilitate the production of future overviews and can help authors address key challenges they are likely to encounter. The results of this project have been used to identify areas where future methodological research is required to generate empirical evidence for overview methods. Additionally, these results have been used to update the chapter on overviews in the next edition of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions.

A qualitative study on clinical research in Finland: fragmented governance and volume in the 2000s

PubMed Central

Hemminki, Elina; Veerus, Piret; Virtanen, Jorma; Lehto, Juhani

2013-01-01

Objectives Although concerns over clinical research have been expressed, the governance of clinical research has been little studied. The aim was to describe research policy, volume, funding and concerns over clinical research in Finland. Design A qualitative study and the data were collected from various sources, including documents, statistics and semistructured expert interviews. Setting Finland. Results We found no national policy for clinical research. Many actors were responsible for facilitating, directing, regulating and funding clinical research, but no actor had the main responsibility. Health professionals were the main drivers for clinical research. The role of the health ministry was small. The ministry distributed state money for clinical research in health services (EVO-money), but did not use it to direct research. Municipalities responsible for health services or national health insurance had little interest in clinical research. The Academy of Finland had had initiatives to promote clinical research, but they had not materialised in funding. Clinical research was common and internationally competitive, but its volume had declined relatively in the 2000s. Industry was an important private funder, mainly supporting drug trials made for licensing purposes. Drug trials without an outside sponsor (academic projects) declined between 2002 and 2010. The funding and its targeting and amount were no one's responsibility. Concerns over clinical research were similar as in other countries, but it had appeared late. Conclusions Our results suggest fragmented governance and funding in clinical research. The unsystematic research environment has not prevented clinical research from flourishing, but the public health relevance of the research carried out and its sustainability are unclear. PMID:23408074

Ecologies of Learning: Culture, Context and Outcomes of Workplace LES. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merrifield, Juliet

2013-01-01

There is a need to connect workplace learning and essential skills to a larger domain of workplace learning in general. To do this, the contexts in which learning takes place, and the cultures of the actors and environments involved, should be taken into consideration. Although research on the direct effects of contexts and cultures on workplace…

Selling Pre-K: Media, Politics, and Policy in the Case of Universal Pre-Kindergarten in New York City

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delaney, Katherine K.; Neuman, Susan B.

2018-01-01

Background/Context: Educational policy is informed by multiple stakeholders and actors. Research has focused on understanding how policy decisions are informed and made, as well as how teachers and school leaders take up these policies in their practice. However, few researchers have examined how educational policy is framed for the larger public…

Approaches of Integrated Watershed Management Project: Experiences of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mula, Rosana P.; Wani, Suhas P.; Dar, William D.

2008-01-01

The process of innovation-development to scaling is varied and complex. Various actors are involved in every stage of the process. In scaling the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)-led integrated watershed management projects in India and South Asia, three drivers were identified--islanding approach,…

The Making of Comparability: Education Indicator Research from Jullien De Paris to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cardoso, Manuel; Steiner-Khamsi, Gita

2017-01-01

The authors examine indicator research over three periods and discuss shifts in policy usage over time. The study compares influential actors that reflect discursive shifts in how, and for what purpose, indicators were used: (1) Jullien de Paris, (2) faculty at Teachers College at Columbia University in the early-twentieth century (notably Paul…

The joint Simon effect depends on perceived agency, but not intentionality, of the alternative action

PubMed Central

Stenzel, Anna; Dolk, Thomas; Colzato, Lorenza S.; Sellaro, Roberta; Hommel, Bernhard; Liepelt, Roman

2014-01-01

A co-actor's intentionality has been suggested to be a key modulating factor for joint action effects like the joint Simon effect (JSE). However, in previous studies intentionality has often been confounded with agency defined as perceiving the initiator of an action as being the causal source of the action. The aim of the present study was to disentangle the role of agency and intentionality as modulating factors of the JSE. In Experiment 1, participants performed a joint go/nogo Simon task next to a co-actor who either intentionally controlled a response button with own finger movements (agency+/intentionality+) or who passively placed the hand on a response button that moved up and down on its own as triggered by computer signals (agency−/intentionality−). In Experiment 2, we included a condition in which participants believed that the co-actor intentionally controlled the response button with a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) while placing the response finger clearly besides the response button, so that the causal relationship between agent and action effect was perceptually disrupted (agency−/intentionality+). As a control condition, the response button was computer controlled while the co-actor placed the response finger besides the response button (agency−/intentionality−). Experiment 1 showed that the JSE is present with an intentional co-actor and causality between co-actor and action effect, but absent with an unintentional co-actor and a lack of causality between co-actor and action effect. Experiment 2 showed that the JSE is absent with an intentional co-actor, but no causality between co-actor and action effect. Our findings indicate an important role of the co-actor's agency for the JSE. They also suggest that the attribution of agency has a strong perceptual basis. PMID:25140144

The joint Simon effect depends on perceived agency, but not intentionality, of the alternative action.

PubMed

Stenzel, Anna; Dolk, Thomas; Colzato, Lorenza S; Sellaro, Roberta; Hommel, Bernhard; Liepelt, Roman

2014-01-01

A co-actor's intentionality has been suggested to be a key modulating factor for joint action effects like the joint Simon effect (JSE). However, in previous studies intentionality has often been confounded with agency defined as perceiving the initiator of an action as being the causal source of the action. The aim of the present study was to disentangle the role of agency and intentionality as modulating factors of the JSE. In Experiment 1, participants performed a joint go/nogo Simon task next to a co-actor who either intentionally controlled a response button with own finger movements (agency+/intentionality+) or who passively placed the hand on a response button that moved up and down on its own as triggered by computer signals (agency-/intentionality-). In Experiment 2, we included a condition in which participants believed that the co-actor intentionally controlled the response button with a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) while placing the response finger clearly besides the response button, so that the causal relationship between agent and action effect was perceptually disrupted (agency-/intentionality+). As a control condition, the response button was computer controlled while the co-actor placed the response finger besides the response button (agency-/intentionality-). Experiment 1 showed that the JSE is present with an intentional co-actor and causality between co-actor and action effect, but absent with an unintentional co-actor and a lack of causality between co-actor and action effect. Experiment 2 showed that the JSE is absent with an intentional co-actor, but no causality between co-actor and action effect. Our findings indicate an important role of the co-actor's agency for the JSE. They also suggest that the attribution of agency has a strong perceptual basis.

Glenn Research Center Human Research Program: Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nall, Marsha M.; Myers, Jerry G.

2013-01-01

The NASA-Glenn Research Centers Human Research Program office supports a wide range of technology development efforts aimed at enabling extended human presence in space. This presentation provides a brief overview of the historical successes, current 2013 activities and future projects of NASA-GRCs Human Research Program.

The 1% rule in four digital health social networks: an observational study.

PubMed

van Mierlo, Trevor

2014-02-04

In recent years, cyberculture has informally reported a phenomenon named the 1% rule, or 90-9-1 principle, which seeks to explain participatory patterns and network effects within Internet communities. The rule states that 90% of actors observe and do not participate, 9% contribute sparingly, and 1% of actors create the vast majority of new content. This 90%, 9%, and 1% are also known as Lurkers, Contributors, and Superusers, respectively. To date, very little empirical research has been conducted to verify the 1% rule. The 1% rule is widely accepted in digital marketing. Our goal was to determine if the 1% rule applies to moderated Digital Health Social Networks (DHSNs) designed to facilitate behavior change. To help gain insight into participatory patterns, descriptive data were extracted from four long-standing DHSNs: the AlcoholHelpCenter, DepressionCenter, PanicCenter, and StopSmokingCenter sites. During the study period, 63,990 actors created 578,349 posts. Less than 25% of actors made one or more posts. The applicability of the 1% rule was confirmed as Lurkers, Contributors, and Superusers accounted for a weighted average of 1.3% (n=4668), 24.0% (n=88,732), and 74.7% (n=276,034) of content. The 1% rule was consistent across the four DHSNs. As social network sustainability requires fresh content and timely interactions, these results are important for organizations actively promoting and managing Internet communities. Superusers generate the vast majority of traffic and create value, so their recruitment and retention is imperative for long-term success. Although Lurkers may benefit from observing interactions between Superusers and Contributors, they generate limited or no network value. The results of this study indicate that DHSNs may be optimized to produce network effects, positive externalities, and bandwagon effects. Further research in the development and expansion of DHSNs is required.

Unpacking policy formulation and industry influence: the case of the draft control of marketing of alcoholic beverages bill in South Africa.

PubMed

Bertscher, Adam; London, Leslie; Orgill, Marsha

2018-06-21

Alcohol is a major contributor to the Non-Communicable Disease burden in South Africa. In 2000, 7.1% of all deaths and 7% of total disability-adjusted life years were ascribed to alcohol-related harm in the country. Regulations proposed to restrict alcohol advertising in South Africa present an evidence-based upstream intervention. Research on policy formulation in low- and middle-income countries is limited. This study aims to describe and explore the policy formulation process of the 2013 draft Control of Marketing of Alcoholic Beverages Bill in South Africa between March 2011 and May 2017. Recognising the centrality of affected actors in policy-making processes, the study focused on the alcohol industry as a central actor affected by the policy, to understand how they-together with other actors-may influence the policy formulation process. A qualitative case study approach was used, involving a stakeholder mapping, 10 in-depth interviews, and review of approximately 240 documents. A policy formulation conceptual framework was successfully applied as a lens to describe a complex policy formulation process. Key factors shaping policy formulation included: (1) competing and shared values-different stakeholders promote conflicting ideals for policymaking; (2) inter-department jostling-different government departments seek to protect their own functions, hindering policy development; (3) stakeholder consultation in democratic policymaking-policy formulation requires consultations even with those opposed to regulation and (4) battle for evidence-evidence is used strategically by all parties to shape perceptions and leverage positions. This research (1) contributes to building an integrated body of knowledge on policy formulation in low- and middle-income countries; (2) shows that achieving policy coherence across government departments poses a major challenge to achieving effective health policy formulation and (3) shows that networks of actors with commercial and financial interests use diverse strategies to influence policy formulation processes to avoid regulation.

The 1% Rule in Four Digital Health Social Networks: An Observational Study

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background In recent years, cyberculture has informally reported a phenomenon named the 1% rule, or 90-9-1 principle, which seeks to explain participatory patterns and network effects within Internet communities. The rule states that 90% of actors observe and do not participate, 9% contribute sparingly, and 1% of actors create the vast majority of new content. This 90%, 9%, and 1% are also known as Lurkers, Contributors, and Superusers, respectively. To date, very little empirical research has been conducted to verify the 1% rule. Objective The 1% rule is widely accepted in digital marketing. Our goal was to determine if the 1% rule applies to moderated Digital Health Social Networks (DHSNs) designed to facilitate behavior change. Methods To help gain insight into participatory patterns, descriptive data were extracted from four long-standing DHSNs: the AlcoholHelpCenter, DepressionCenter, PanicCenter, and StopSmokingCenter sites. Results During the study period, 63,990 actors created 578,349 posts. Less than 25% of actors made one or more posts. The applicability of the 1% rule was confirmed as Lurkers, Contributors, and Superusers accounted for a weighted average of 1.3% (n=4668), 24.0% (n=88,732), and 74.7% (n=276,034) of content. Conclusions The 1% rule was consistent across the four DHSNs. As social network sustainability requires fresh content and timely interactions, these results are important for organizations actively promoting and managing Internet communities. Superusers generate the vast majority of traffic and create value, so their recruitment and retention is imperative for long-term success. Although Lurkers may benefit from observing interactions between Superusers and Contributors, they generate limited or no network value. The results of this study indicate that DHSNs may be optimized to produce network effects, positive externalities, and bandwagon effects. Further research in the development and expansion of DHSNs is required. PMID:24496109

Who Needs What? Some Thoughts on the Possibility of Using Psychology in Actor Training.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vulova, Marina

2001-01-01

Contends that the aim of professional actor training is to reveal and develop an actor's individuality. Proposes that the responsibility of drama teachers is to lead training in such away that students feel accepted, understood, and respected. Proposes that psychodrama is the most appropriate method for student and professional actors' personal…

Breaking into the Business: Experiences of Actors with Disabilities in the Entertainment Industry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raynor, Olivia; Hayward, Katharine

2009-01-01

The pursuit of an acting career is a difficult one for anybody. However, studies have yet to factor how disability affects casting opportunities. This study describes the employment of actors with disabilities, along with the unique barriers they encounter in the audition and casting process. Actors with disabilities from the Screen Actors Guild…

Sacred Shock: Student Actors on Anti-Bullying Improvisation and Impact of Self-Rehearsal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilman, Sharlene Elinor

2017-01-01

This article describes responses of a group of adolescent student actors and actor alumni involved in anti-bullying skits arising from a critical case study of the Tolerance Troupe from a small rural and suburban borough in Pennsylvania. Seventeen active members and 19 actor alumni participated in semi-structured interviews focusing on what the…

Cognitively Central Actors and Their Personal Networks in an Energy Efficiency Training Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hytönen, Kaisa; Palonen, Tuire; Hakkarainen, Kai

2014-01-01

This article aims to examine cognitively central actors and their personal networks in the emerging field of energy efficiency. Cognitively central actors are frequently sought for professional advice by other actors and, therefore, they are positioned in the middle of a social network. They often are important knowledge resources, especially in…

The 1970s and Early 1980s: Enabling a Military Offset

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-04-05

Research ............................................................................................... 4 Overview of the Research Methodology ...11 Chapter 3 – Research Methodology ...attempts to help inform the Army’s actions with regard to the Third Offset. Overview of the Research Methodology This study looked at the Army’s

Balancing Consistency and Flexibility in Student Training Entitlements: Research Overview

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowman, Kaye; McKenna, Suzy; Griffin, Tabatha

2016-01-01

This research overview summarizes the work undertaken by Kaye Bowman and Suzy McKenna in exploring jurisdictional approaches to the implementation of student entitlements to vocational skills training, a key reform initiative in the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform (NPASR) of 2012-16. The overview is a condensed summary of three…

Webinar November 18: An Overview of the Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure

Science.gov Websites

Research and Station Technology (H2FIRST) Project | News | NREL Webinar November 18: An Overview of the Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure Research and Station Technology (H2FIRST) Project Webinar ) Project November 12, 2014 The Energy Department will present a live webinar entitled "An Overview of

Balancing research interests and patient interests: a qualitative study into the intertwinement of care and research in paediatric oncology.

PubMed

Dekking, Sara A S; van der Graaf, Rieke; Kars, Marijke C; Beishuizen, Auke; de Vries, Martine C; van Delden, Johannes J M

2015-05-01

Traditionally, in ethical guidelines and in research ethics literature, care and research are clearly separated based on their different objectives. In contrast, in paediatric oncology, research and care are closely combined. Currently, it is unknown how relevant actors in paediatric oncology perceive this combination of research and care. We conducted a qualitative study into the experiences of those involved in Dutch paediatric oncology with the intertwinement of research and care and the dual role of paediatric oncologists as researchers and treating physicians. A qualitative study approach, using two focus groups and 19 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with paediatric oncologists, research coordinators, parents of children with cancer, and adolescents with cancer. Four themes characterize how actors experience the intertwinement of research and care in paediatric oncology. First, research is considered of major importance, and paediatric oncology professionals convey this message to patients and their parents. Second, there is ambiguity about categorization of studies into cancer therapy as either research or treatment. Third, role conflicts appear within the work of the paediatric oncologists. Finally, the various benefits of combining treatment with research are emphasized. Research is regarded as a fundamental and indispensable characteristic of paediatric oncology practice. Paediatric oncology professionals, parents, and patients have a very positive outlook on combining research and care, but they may not be sufficiently critical with respect to potential conflicts. Increased reflection on how to optimally combine research and care could serve as an important protection of the interests of children with cancer and their parents. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Human Research Program Science Management: Overview of Research and Development Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Charles, John B.

2007-01-01

An overview of research and development activities of NASA's Human Research Science Management Program is presented. The topics include: 1) Human Research Program Goals; 2) Elements and Projects within HRP; 3) Development and Maintenance of Priorities; 4) Acquisition and Evaluation of Research and Technology Proposals; and 5) Annual Reviews

Perception Is Reality: Special Operations Forces In the Gray Zone

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

politics, policy, bureaucracy, and military action is complex, for simplicity this research assumes all players are rational actors who will maximize...Gray Zone—the primary tool being Special Operation Forces (SOF). This research finds that policymakers and others outside of SOF have often misapplied...effect on the ability of the Unites States to reach its foreign policy goals. This research analyzes U.S. SOF employment in the Gray Zone, breaking down

Confessions of a Professor, nee Actor.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soenksen, Roger

Relying on key characteristics of teaching excellence documented by research in higher education, a college professor details how personal undergraduate stage-acting experience helped to develop his teaching. The following comparisons are illuminating: (1) students distinguish professors' interest and enthusiasm toward their subjects as an…

Group relationships in early and late sessions and improvement in interpersonal problems.

PubMed

Lo Coco, Gianluca; Gullo, Salvatore; Di Fratello, Carla; Giordano, Cecilia; Kivlighan, Dennis M

2016-07-01

Groups are more effective when positive bonds are established and interpersonal conflicts resolved in early sessions and work is accomplished in later sessions. Previous research has provided mixed support for this group development model. We performed a test of this theoretical perspective using group members' (actors) and aggregated group members' (partners) perceptions of positive bonding, positive working, and negative group relationships measured early and late in interpersonal growth groups. Participants were 325 Italian graduate students randomly (within semester) assigned to 1 of 16 interpersonal growth groups. Groups met for 9 weeks with experienced psychologists using Yalom and Leszcz's (2005) interpersonal process model. Outcome was assessed pre- and posttreatment using the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems, and group relationships were measured at Sessions 3 and 6 using the Group Questionnaire. As hypothesized, early measures of positive bonding and late measures of positive working, for both actors and partners, were positively related to improved interpersonal problems. Also as hypothesized, late measures of positive bonding and early measures of positive working, for both actors and partners, were negatively related to improved interpersonal problems. We also found that early actor and partner positive bonding and negative relationships interacted to predict changes in interpersonal problems. The findings are consistent with group development theory and suggest that group therapists focus on group-as-a-whole positive bonding relationships in early group sessions and on group-as-a-whole positive working relationships in later group sessions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Being around and knowing the players: networks of influence in health policy.

PubMed

Lewis, Jenny M

2006-05-01

The accumulation and use of power is crucial to the health policy process. This paper examines the power of the medical profession in the health policy arena, by analysing which actors are perceived as influential, and how influence is structured in health policy. It combines an analysis of policy networks and social networks, to examine positional and personal influence in health policy in the state of Victoria, Australia. In the sub-graph of the influence network examined here, those most widely regarded as influential are academics, medically qualified and male. Positional actors (the top politician, political advisor and bureaucrat in health and the top nursing official) form part of a core group within this network structure. A second central group consists of medical influentials working in academia, research institutes and health-related NGOs. In this network locale overall, medical academics appear to combine positional and personal influence, and play significant intermediary roles across the network. While many claim that the medical profession has lost power in health policy and politics, this analysis yields few signs that the power of medicine to shape the health policy process has been greatly diminished in Victoria. Medical expertise is a potent embedded resource connecting actors through ties of association, making it difficult for actors with other resources and different knowledge to be considered influential. The network concepts and analytical techniques used here provide a novel means for uncovering different types of influence in health policy.

Reframing clinical workplace learning using the theory of distributed cognition.

PubMed

Pimmer, Christoph; Pachler, Norbert; Genewein, Urs

2013-09-01

In medicine, knowledge is embodied and socially, temporally, spatially, and culturally distributed between actors and their environment. In addition, clinicians increasingly are using technology in their daily work to gain and share knowledge. Despite these characteristics, surprisingly few studies have incorporated the theory of distributed cognition (DCog), which emphasizes how cognition is distributed in a wider system in the form of multimodal representations (e.g., clinical images, speech, gazes, and gestures) between social actors (e.g., doctors and patients) in the physical environment (e.g., with technological instruments and computers). In this article, the authors provide an example of an interaction between medical actors. Using that example, they then introduce the important concepts of the DCog theory, identifying five characteristics of clinical representations-that they are interwoven, co-constructed, redundantly accessed, intersubjectively shared, and substantiated-and discuss their value for learning. By contrasting these DCog perspectives with studies from the field of medical education, the authors argue that researchers should focus future medical education scholarship on the ways in which medical actors use and connect speech, bodily movements (e.g., gestures), and the visual and haptic structures of their own bodies and of artifacts, such as technological instruments and computers, to construct complex, multimodal representations. They also argue that future scholarship should "zoom in" on detailed, moment-by-moment analysis and, at the same time, "zoom out" following the distribution of cognition through an overall system to develop a more integrated view of clinical workplace learning.

Overview of EPA Research On Condition Assessment of Drinking Water Mains

EPA Science Inventory

This slide presentation provides an overview of condition assessment research that is part of EPA Office of Research and Development’s Aging Water Infrastructure Research Plan (AWIRP). The primary focus is on a water main condition assessment technology forum and associated whit...

Integrating Water, Actors, and Structure to Study Socio-Hydro-Ecological Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hale, R. L.; Armstrong, A.; Baker, M. A.; Bedingfield, S.; Betts, D.; Buahin, C. A.; Buchert, M.; Crowl, T.; Dupont, R.; Endter-Wada, J.; Flint, C.; Grant, J.; Hinners, S.; Horns, D.; Horsburgh, J. S.; Jackson-Smith, D.; Jones, A. S.; Licon, C.; Null, S. E.; Odame, A.; Pataki, D. E.; Rosenberg, D. E.; Runburg, M.; Stoker, P.; Strong, C.

2014-12-01

Urbanization, climate uncertainty, and ecosystem change represent major challenges for managing water resources. Water systems and the forces acting upon them are complex, and there is a need to understand and generically represent the most important system components and linkages. We developed a framework to facilitate understanding of water systems including potential vulnerabilities and opportunities for sustainability. Our goal was to produce an interdisciplinary framework for water resources research to address water issues across scales (e.g., city to region) and domains (e.g., water supply and quality, urban and transitioning landscapes). An interdisciplinary project (iUTAH - innovative Urban Transitions and Aridregion Hydro-sustainability) with a large (N=~100), diverse team having expertise spanning the hydrologic, biological, ecological, engineering, social, planning, and policy sciences motivated the development of this framework. The framework was developed through review of the literature, meetings with individual researchers, and workshops with participants. The Structure-Water-Actor Framework (SWAF) includes three main components: water (quality and quantity), structure (natural, built, and social), and actors (individual and organizational). Key linkages include: 1) ecological and hydrological processes, 2) ecosystem and geomorphic change, 3) planning, design, and policy, 4) perceptions, information, and experience, 5) resource access, and 6) operational water use and management. Our expansive view of structure includes natural, built, and social components, allowing us to examine a broad set of tools and levers for water managers and decision-makers to affect system sustainability and understand system outcomes. We validate the SWAF and illustrate its flexibility to generate insights for three research and management problems: green stormwater infrastructure in an arid environment, regional water supply and demand, and urban river restoration. These applications show that the framework can help identify key components and linkages across diverse water systems.

Can policy analysis theories predict and inform policy change? Reflections on the battle for legal abortion in Indonesia

PubMed Central

Surjadjaja, Claudia; Mayhew, Susannah H

2011-01-01

The relevance and importance of research for understanding policy processes and influencing policies has been much debated, but studies on the effectiveness of policy theories for predicting and informing opportunities for policy change (i.e. prospective policy analysis) are rare. The case study presented in this paper is drawn from a policy analysis of a contemporary process of policy debate on legalization of abortion in Indonesia, which was in flux at the time of the research and provided a unique opportunity for prospective analysis. Applying a combination of policy analysis theories, this case study provides an analysis of processes, power and relationships between actors involved in the amendment of the Health Law in Indonesia. It uses a series of practical stakeholder mapping tools to identify power relations between key actors and what strategic approaches should be employed to manage these to enhance the possibility of policy change. The findings show how the moves to legalize abortion have been supported or constrained according to the balance of political and religious powers operating in a macro-political context defined increasingly by a polarized Islamic-authoritarian—Western-liberal agenda. The issue of reproductive health constituted a battlefield where these two ideologies met and the debate on the current health law amendment became a contest, which still continues, for the larger future of Indonesia. The findings confirm the utility of policy analysis theories and stakeholder mapping tools for predicting the likelihood of policy change and informing the strategic approaches for achieving such change. They also highlight opportunities and dilemmas in prospective policy analysis and raise questions about whether research on policy processes and actors can or should be used to inform, or even influence, policies in ‘real-time’. PMID:21183461

Why do policies change? Institutions, interests, ideas and networks in three cases of policy reform

PubMed Central

Shearer, Jessica C; Abelson, Julia; Kouyaté, Bocar; Lavis, John N; Walt, Gill

2016-01-01

Abstract Policy researchers have used various categories of variables to explain why policies change, including those related to institutions, interests and ideas. Recent research has paid growing attention to the role of policy networks—the actors involved in policy-making, their relationships with each other, and the structure formed by those relationships—in policy reform across settings and issues; however, this literature has largely ignored the theoretical integration of networks with other policy theories, including the ‘3Is’ of institutions, interests and ideas. This article proposes a conceptual framework integrating these variables and tests it on three cases of policy change in Burkina Faso, addressing the need for theoretical integration with networks as well as the broader aim of theory-driven health policy analysis research in low- and middle-income countries. We use historical process tracing, a type of comparative case study, to interpret and compare documents and in-depth interview data within and between cases. We found that while network changes were indeed associated with policy reform, this relationship was mediated by one or more of institutions, interests and ideas. In a context of high donor dependency, new donor rules affected the composition and structure of actors in the networks, which enabled the entry and dissemination of new ideas and shifts in the overall balance of interest power ultimately leading to policy change. The case of strategic networking occurred in only one case, by civil society actors, suggesting that network change is rarely the spark that initiates the process towards policy change. This analysis highlights the important role of changes in institutions and ideas to drive policymaking, but hints that network change is a necessary intermediate step in these processes. PMID:27233927

Can policy analysis theories predict and inform policy change? Reflections on the battle for legal abortion in Indonesia.

PubMed

Surjadjaja, Claudia; Mayhew, Susannah H

2011-09-01

The relevance and importance of research for understanding policy processes and influencing policies has been much debated, but studies on the effectiveness of policy theories for predicting and informing opportunities for policy change (i.e. prospective policy analysis) are rare. The case study presented in this paper is drawn from a policy analysis of a contemporary process of policy debate on legalization of abortion in Indonesia, which was in flux at the time of the research and provided a unique opportunity for prospective analysis. Applying a combination of policy analysis theories, this case study provides an analysis of processes, power and relationships between actors involved in the amendment of the Health Law in Indonesia. It uses a series of practical stakeholder mapping tools to identify power relations between key actors and what strategic approaches should be employed to manage these to enhance the possibility of policy change. The findings show how the moves to legalize abortion have been supported or constrained according to the balance of political and religious powers operating in a macro-political context defined increasingly by a polarized Islamic-authoritarian-Western-liberal agenda. The issue of reproductive health constituted a battlefield where these two ideologies met and the debate on the current health law amendment became a contest, which still continues, for the larger future of Indonesia. The findings confirm the utility of policy analysis theories and stakeholder mapping tools for predicting the likelihood of policy change and informing the strategic approaches for achieving such change. They also highlight opportunities and dilemmas in prospective policy analysis and raise questions about whether research on policy processes and actors can or should be used to inform, or even influence, policies in 'real-time'.

Recipients Affect Prosocial and Altruistic Choices in Jackdaws, Corvus monedula

PubMed Central

Schwab, Christine; Swoboda, Ruth; Kotrschal, Kurt; Bugnyar, Thomas

2012-01-01

Other-regarding preferences are a critical feature of human cooperation but to what extent non-human animals exhibit these preferences is a matter of intense discussion. We tested whether jackdaws show prosocial behaviour (providing benefits to others at no cost to themselves) and altruism (providing benefits to others while incurring costs) with both sibling and non-sibling recipients. In the prosocial condition, a box was baited on both the actor's and the recipient's side (1/1 option), whereas another box provided food only for the actor (1/0 option). In the altruistic condition, the boxes contained food for either the actor (1/0 option) or the recipient (0/1 option). The proportion of selfish (1/0 option) and cooperative (1/1 and 0/1 option, respectively) actors' choices was significantly affected by the recipients' behaviour. If recipients approached the boxes first and positioned themselves next to the box baited on their side, trying to access the food reward (recipient-first trials), actors were significantly more cooperative than when the actors approached the boxes first and made their choice prior to the recipients' arrival (actor-first trials). Further, in recipient-first trials actors were more cooperative towards recipients of the opposite sex, an effect that was even more pronounced in the altruistic condition. Hence, at no cost to the actors, all recipients could significantly influence the actors' behaviour, whereas at high costs this could be achieved even more so by recipients of different sex. Local/stimulus enhancement is discussed as the most likely cognitive mechanism to account for these effects. PMID:22511972

Recipients affect prosocial and altruistic choices in jackdaws, Corvus monedula.

PubMed

Schwab, Christine; Swoboda, Ruth; Kotrschal, Kurt; Bugnyar, Thomas

2012-01-01

Other-regarding preferences are a critical feature of human cooperation but to what extent non-human animals exhibit these preferences is a matter of intense discussion. We tested whether jackdaws show prosocial behaviour (providing benefits to others at no cost to themselves) and altruism (providing benefits to others while incurring costs) with both sibling and non-sibling recipients. In the prosocial condition, a box was baited on both the actor's and the recipient's side (1/1 option), whereas another box provided food only for the actor (1/0 option). In the altruistic condition, the boxes contained food for either the actor (1/0 option) or the recipient (0/1 option). The proportion of selfish (1/0 option) and cooperative (1/1 and 0/1 option, respectively) actors' choices was significantly affected by the recipients' behaviour. If recipients approached the boxes first and positioned themselves next to the box baited on their side, trying to access the food reward (recipient-first trials), actors were significantly more cooperative than when the actors approached the boxes first and made their choice prior to the recipients' arrival (actor-first trials). Further, in recipient-first trials actors were more cooperative towards recipients of the opposite sex, an effect that was even more pronounced in the altruistic condition. Hence, at no cost to the actors, all recipients could significantly influence the actors' behaviour, whereas at high costs this could be achieved even more so by recipients of different sex. Local/stimulus enhancement is discussed as the most likely cognitive mechanism to account for these effects.

Trail-Based Search for Efficient Event Report to Mobile Actors in Wireless Sensor and Actor Networks.

PubMed

Xu, Zhezhuang; Liu, Guanglun; Yan, Haotian; Cheng, Bin; Lin, Feilong

2017-10-27

In wireless sensor and actor networks, when an event is detected, the sensor node needs to transmit an event report to inform the actor. Since the actor moves in the network to execute missions, its location is always unavailable to the sensor nodes. A popular solution is the search strategy that can forward the data to a node without its location information. However, most existing works have not considered the mobility of the node, and thus generate significant energy consumption or transmission delay. In this paper, we propose the trail-based search (TS) strategy that takes advantage of actor's mobility to improve the search efficiency. The main idea of TS is that, when the actor moves in the network, it can leave its trail composed of continuous footprints. The search packet with the event report is transmitted in the network to search the actor or its footprints. Once an effective footprint is discovered, the packet will be forwarded along the trail until it is received by the actor. Moreover, we derive the condition to guarantee the trail connectivity, and propose the redundancy reduction scheme based on TS (TS-R) to reduce nontrivial transmission redundancy that is generated by the trail. The theoretical and numerical analysis is provided to prove the efficiency of TS. Compared with the well-known expanding ring search (ERS), TS significantly reduces the energy consumption and search delay.

When More Power Makes Actors Worse off: Turning a Profit in the American Economy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piskorski, Mikolaj Jan; Casciaro, Tiziana

2006-01-01

We propose a theory which predicts that an increase in an actor's relative power reduces the actor's rewards in high mutual dependence dyads. Our argument is based on the premise that higher relative power gives the more powerful actor a greater share of surplus, but it also reduces dyadic exchange frequency, which lowers the expected magnitude of…

Compositional schedulability analysis of real-time actor-based systems.

PubMed

Jaghoori, Mohammad Mahdi; de Boer, Frank; Longuet, Delphine; Chothia, Tom; Sirjani, Marjan

2017-01-01

We present an extension of the actor model with real-time, including deadlines associated with messages, and explicit application-level scheduling policies, e.g.,"earliest deadline first" which can be associated with individual actors. Schedulability analysis in this setting amounts to checking whether, given a scheduling policy for each actor, every task is processed within its designated deadline. To check schedulability, we introduce a compositional automata-theoretic approach, based on maximal use of model checking combined with testing. Behavioral interfaces define what an actor expects from the environment, and the deadlines for messages given these assumptions. We use model checking to verify that actors match their behavioral interfaces. We extend timed automata refinement with the notion of deadlines and use it to define compatibility of actor environments with the behavioral interfaces. Model checking of compatibility is computationally hard, so we propose a special testing process. We show that the analyses are decidable and automate the process using the Uppaal model checker.

Bombing Alone: Tracing the Motivations and Antecedent Behaviors of Lone-Actor Terrorists*,†,‡

PubMed Central

Gill, Paul; Horgan, John; Deckert, Paige

2014-01-01

This article analyzes the sociodemographic network characteristics and antecedent behaviors of 119 lone-actor terrorists. This marks a departure from existing analyses by largely focusing upon behavioral aspects of each offender. This article also examines whether lone-actor terrorists differ based on their ideologies or network connectivity. The analysis leads to seven conclusions. There was no uniform profile identified. In the time leading up to most lone-actor terrorist events, other people generally knew about the offender’s grievance, extremist ideology, views, and/or intent to engage in violence. A wide range of activities and experiences preceded lone actors’ plots or events. Many but not all lone-actor terrorists were socially isolated. Lone-actor terrorists regularly engaged in a detectable and observable range of activities with a wider pressure group, social movement, or terrorist organization. Lone-actor terrorist events were rarely sudden and impulsive. There were distinguishable behavioral differences between subgroups. The implications for policy conclude this article. PMID:24313297

Cluster Analysis of Weighted Bipartite Networks: A New Copula-Based Approach

PubMed Central

Chessa, Alessandro; Crimaldi, Irene; Riccaboni, Massimo; Trapin, Luca

2014-01-01

In this work we are interested in identifying clusters of “positional equivalent” actors, i.e. actors who play a similar role in a system. In particular, we analyze weighted bipartite networks that describes the relationships between actors on one side and features or traits on the other, together with the intensity level to which actors show their features. We develop a methodological approach that takes into account the underlying multivariate dependence among groups of actors. The idea is that positions in a network could be defined on the basis of the similar intensity levels that the actors exhibit in expressing some features, instead of just considering relationships that actors hold with each others. Moreover, we propose a new clustering procedure that exploits the potentiality of copula functions, a mathematical instrument for the modelization of the stochastic dependence structure. Our clustering algorithm can be applied both to binary and real-valued matrices. We validate it with simulations and applications to real-world data. PMID:25303095

Continuous-time adaptive critics.

PubMed

Hanselmann, Thomas; Noakes, Lyle; Zaknich, Anthony

2007-05-01

A continuous-time formulation of an adaptive critic design (ACD) is investigated. Connections to the discrete case are made, where backpropagation through time (BPTT) and real-time recurrent learning (RTRL) are prevalent. Practical benefits are that this framework fits in well with plant descriptions given by differential equations and that any standard integration routine with adaptive step-size does an adaptive sampling for free. A second-order actor adaptation using Newton's method is established for fast actor convergence for a general plant and critic. Also, a fast critic update for concurrent actor-critic training is introduced to immediately apply necessary adjustments of critic parameters induced by actor updates to keep the Bellman optimality correct to first-order approximation after actor changes. Thus, critic and actor updates may be performed at the same time until some substantial error build up in the Bellman optimality or temporal difference equation, when a traditional critic training needs to be performed and then another interval of concurrent actor-critic training may resume.

Social capital calculations in economic systems: Experimental study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chepurov, E. G.; Berg, D. B.; Zvereva, O. M.; Nazarova, Yu. Yu.; Chekmarev, I. V.

2017-11-01

The paper describes the social capital study for a system where actors are engaged in an economic activity. The focus is on the analysis of communications structural parameters (transactions) between the actors. Comparison between transaction network graph structure and the structure of a random Bernoulli graph of the same dimension and density allows revealing specific structural features of the economic system under study. Structural analysis is based on SNA-methodology (SNA - Social Network Analysis). It is shown that structural parameter values of the graph formed by agent relationship links may well characterize different aspects of the social capital structure. The research advocates that it is useful to distinguish the difference between each agent social capital and the whole system social capital.

The Relationship between Intimacy Change and Passion: A Dyadic Diary Study.

PubMed

Aykutoğlu, Bülent; Uysal, Ahmet

2017-01-01

In the current study we investigated the association between intimacy and passion by testing whether increases in intimacy generates passion (Baumeister and Bratslavsky, 1999). Furthermore, we examined whether there are partner effects in intimacy change and passion link. Couples ( N = 75) participated in a 14-day long diary study. Dyadic multilevel analyses with residualized intimacy change scores showed that both actors' and partners' intimacy change positively predicted actor's passion. However, analyses also showed that residualized passion change scores positively predicted intimacy. Although these findings provide some empirical evidence for the intimacy change model, in line with the previous research (Rubin and Campbell, 2012), they also suggest that it is not possible to discern whether intimacy increment generates passion or passion increment generates intimacy.

Changing behavior towards sustainable practices using Information Technology.

PubMed

Iveroth, Einar; Bengtsson, Fredrik

2014-06-15

This article addresses the question of how to change individuals' behavior towards more sustainable practices using Information Technology (IT). By following a multidisciplinary and socio-technical perspective, this inquiry is answered by applying a new framework-The Commonality Framework for IT-enabled Change-on a case study of sustainable behavioral change. The framework is grounded in practice theory and is used to analyze the implementation of an IT-system aimed at changing citizens' behavior towards more sustainable transport logistics and procurement in Uppsala, Sweden. The article applies case study research design and the empirical data consists of surveys, in-depth and semi-structured interviews, observations and archival documents. The results show how the change towards sustainable practices is an entanglement of both social and technical-structural elements across time. In this process, structures such as IT are the enablers, and the actors and their social activities are the tipping-point factors that ultimately determine the success of changing individuals' behavior towards a more sustainable direction. This article provides a more balanced view of how both actor and structure related properties interact during the on-going work with change towards greater sustainability practices than earlier research has offered. More specifically, the article offers both a lower-level theory and a method from which we can analyze change processes where technology is seen in its context, and where both technology and the human actor is brought forth to center stage. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Professional development in the context of Healthy Schools in Quebec.

PubMed

Deschesnes, Marthe; Tessier, Caroline; Couturier, Yves; Martin, Catherine

2015-06-01

This article reports preliminary research results on a professional development (PD) model as a mechanism for supporting absorption of the Healthy School (HS) approach into school functioning. The purpose of our study was to document the model implementation process and understand whether it influenced, or not, the accompanied actors' knowledge and practices about HS. The theoretical basis of the model and a description of its implementation, its appreciation by actors and its influence on their knowledge and confidence are presented. The research was conducted in three Quebec schools that had adopted this approach for at least 2 years. Multiple case study methodology, with pre- (T0) and post- (T1) intervention comparison, was adopted. The results disclose that the PD model implemented, which involves socio-constructivist accompaniment, has several assets that support the acquisition and application of new knowledge related to HS in order to promote its absorption within schools. Our findings indicate that PD likely reinforced the actors' knowledge and understanding as well as their confidence. The lessons drawn from the evaluation of this PD model could serve to enhance accompaniment methods implemented to promote the absorption of such initiatives in schools. Our data highlight the relevance and effectiveness of accompaniment anchored in action, calling for practice based on reflection and expert recommendations to meet the objectives of health and academic success. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Research Methods in School Psychology: An Overview.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keith, Timothy Z.

1988-01-01

This article introduces a mini-series on research methods in school psychology. A conceptual overview of research methods is presented, emphasizing the degree to which each method allows the inference that treatment affects outcome. Experimental and nonexperimental, psychometric, descriptive, and meta-analysis research methods are outlined. (SLD)

Artifacts as Authoritative Actors in Educational Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

März, Virginie; Kelchtermans, Geert; Vermeir, Karen

2017-01-01

Educational reforms are often translated in and implemented through artifacts. Although research has frequently treated artifacts as merely functional, more recent work acknowledges the complex relationship between material artifacts and human/organizational behavior. This article aims at disentangling this relationship in order to deepen our…

Successful Components of School Improvement in Culturally Diverse Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hajisoteriou, Christina; Karousiou, Christiana; Angelides, Panayiotis

2018-01-01

Contemporary phenomena, including modernization, globalization, and migration, have altered the sociopolitical and cultural conditions of schooling. Schools are called upon to respond to such change through improvement efforts fostering intercultural education. To this end, this research examines school actors' perceptions of the successful…

Alcohol industry influence on UK alcohol policy: A new research agenda for public health

PubMed Central

Hawkins, Benjamin; Holden, Chris; McCambridge, Jim

2012-01-01

The British government has been criticised for according industry interests too much weight in alcohol policy-making. Consequently, it has been argued that alcohol strategy in the UK is built around policies for which the evidence base is weak. This has clear implications for public health. The purpose of this commentary is to map recent developments in UK alcohol policy and related debates within the alcohol policy literature, thus laying the foundations for a systematic examination of the influence of the alcohol industry on alcohol policy. It highlights the changing structure of the industry and summarises what is known about the positions and strategies of industry actors towards alcohol policy. In so doing, it aims to contribute not just to debates about alcohol policy, but to a broader understanding of health policy processes and the relationships between government and other stakeholders. It advances a new research agenda focused on the role of corporate actors in the field of alcohol policy and public health more broadly. PMID:22815594

Optimizing assessment of sexual arousal in postmenopausal women using erotic film clips.

PubMed

Ramos Alarcon, Lauren G; Dai, Jing; Collins, Karen; Perez, Mindy; Woodard, Terri; Diamond, Michael P

2017-10-01

This study sought to assess sexual arousal in a subgroup of women by identifying erotic film clips that would be most mentally appealing and physically arousing to postmenopausal women. By measuring levels of mental appeal and self-reported physical arousal using a bidirectional scale, we aimed to elucidate the clips that would best be utilized for sexual health research in the postmenopausal or over 50-year-old subpopulation. Our results showed that postmenopausal women did not rate clips with older versus younger actors differently (p>0.05). The mean mental and mean physical scores were significantly correlated for both premenopausal subject ratings (r=0.69, p<0.001) and postmenopausal subject ratings (r=0.94, p<0.001). Thus postmenopausal women do not show a preference for the age of actors used in erotic film clips; this knowledge is relevant for design of future sexual function research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Alcohol industry influence on UK alcohol policy: A new research agenda for public health.

PubMed

Hawkins, Benjamin; Holden, Chris; McCambridge, Jim

2012-09-01

The British government has been criticised for according industry interests too much weight in alcohol policy-making. Consequently, it has been argued that alcohol strategy in the UK is built around policies for which the evidence base is weak. This has clear implications for public health. The purpose of this commentary is to map recent developments in UK alcohol policy and related debates within the alcohol policy literature, thus laying the foundations for a systematic examination of the influence of the alcohol industry on alcohol policy. It highlights the changing structure of the industry and summarises what is known about the positions and strategies of industry actors towards alcohol policy. In so doing, it aims to contribute not just to debates about alcohol policy, but to a broader understanding of health policy processes and the relationships between government and other stakeholders. It advances a new research agenda focused on the role of corporate actors in the field of alcohol policy and public health more broadly.

Managing protected areas under climate change: challenges and priorities.

PubMed

Rannow, Sven; Macgregor, Nicholas A; Albrecht, Juliane; Crick, Humphrey Q P; Förster, Michael; Heiland, Stefan; Janauer, Georg; Morecroft, Mike D; Neubert, Marco; Sarbu, Anca; Sienkiewicz, Jadwiga

2014-10-01

The implementation of adaptation actions in local conservation management is a new and complex task with multiple facets, influenced by factors differing from site to site. A transdisciplinary perspective is therefore required to identify and implement effective solutions. To address this, the International Conference on Managing Protected Areas under Climate Change brought together international scientists, conservation managers, and decision-makers to discuss current experiences with local adaptation of conservation management. This paper summarizes the main issues for implementing adaptation that emerged from the conference. These include a series of conclusions and recommendations on monitoring, sensitivity assessment, current and future management practices, and legal and policy aspects. A range of spatial and temporal scales must be considered in the implementation of climate-adapted management. The adaptation process must be area-specific and consider the ecosystem and the social and economic conditions within and beyond protected area boundaries. However, a strategic overview is also needed: management at each site should be informed by conservation priorities and likely impacts of climate change at regional or even wider scales. Acting across these levels will be a long and continuous process, requiring coordination with actors outside the "traditional" conservation sector. To achieve this, a range of research, communication, and policy/legal actions is required. We identify a series of important actions that need to be taken at different scales to enable managers of protected sites to adapt successfully to a changing climate.

The Press as a Policy Actor and Agent of Social Control and the Efforts of Universities to Negotiate Press Performance. ASHE Annual Meeting Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ratcliff, Gary R.

This study sought to ascertain how the press covers higher education and how public research universities work with the press to advance their agendas. It examined the coverage that eight newspapers devoted to six public research universities, namely the Universities of Pittsburgh, Colorado (Boulder), Minnesota, California (Berkeley), and…

The Links between Academic Research and Economic Development in Ethiopia: The Case of Addis Ababa University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mulu, Nega Kahsay

2017-01-01

This paper aims to examine the major issues concerning the links between academic research and economic development in Ethiopia by considering the Addis Ababa University as a case. The paper is based on two premises. The first pertains to the idea that universities being one of the actors in knowledge production plays a central role in enhancing…

Can a Blind Person Play Dodge Ball? Enacting Body and Cognition with a Group of Youths with Visual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moraes, Marcia

2012-01-01

This paper presents some results of research carried out with a group of blind and partially sighted youths who are enrolled in a school for people with visual disabilities in Brazil. This research aims to promote different articulations between the body and cognition. Based on actor-network theory, it considers that having a body means learning…

Procuring a Sustainable Future: An Action Learning Approach to the Development and Modelling of Ethical and Sustainable Procurement Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boak, George; Watt, Peter; Gold, Jeff; Devins, David; Garvey, Robert

2016-01-01

This paper contributes to an understanding of the processes by which organisational actors learn how to affect positive and sustainable social change in their local region through action learning, action research and appreciative inquiry. The paper is based on a critically reflective account of key findings from an ongoing action research project,…

Promoting research to improve maternal, neonatal, infant and adolescent health in West Africa: the role of the West African Health Organisation.

PubMed

Sombie, Issiaka; Bouwayé, Aissa; Mongbo, Yves; Keita, Namoudou; Lokossou, Virgil; Johnson, Ermel; Assogba, Laurent; Crespin, Xavier

2017-07-12

West Africa has adopted numerous strategies to counter maternal and infant mortality, provides national maternal and infant health programmes, and hosts many active technical and financial partners and non-governmental organisations. Despite this, maternal and infant morbidity and mortality indicators are still very high. In this commentary, internal actors and officials of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) examine the regional organisation's role in promoting research as a tool for strengthening maternal and infant health in West Africa.As a specialised institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) responsible for health issues, WAHO's mission is to provide the sub-region's population with the highest possible health standards by harmonising Member States' policies, resource pooling, and cooperation among Member States and third countries to collectively and strategically combat the region's health problems. To achieve this, WAHO's main intervention strategy is that of facilitation, as this encourages the generation and use of evidence to inform decision-making and reinforce practice.WAHO's analysis of interventions since 2000 showed that it had effected some changes in research governance, management and funding, as well as in individual and institutional capacity building, research dissemination, collaboration and exchanges between the various stakeholders. It also revealed several challenges such as process ownership, member countries' commitment, weak individual and institutional capacity, mobilisation, and stakeholder commitment. To better strengthen evidence-based decision-making, in 2016, WAHO created a unique programme aimed at improving the production, dissemination and use of research information and results in health programme planning to ultimately improve population health.While WAHO's experiences to date demonstrate how a regional health institution can integrate research promotion into the fight against maternal and infant mortality, the challenges the organisation has encountered also demonstrate the importance of cohesion among actors promoting such an initiative, the importance of leadership and commitment among member country actors steering the process, and the need for collaboration and coordination among all partners in member countries and in the region.

2016.11.22 Updated Materials Physics and Applications Division Overview Presentation for TV monitor in 3-1415-Lobby

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

Duran, Susan M.

These slides are the updated overview presentation for the TV monitor in 3-1415-Lobby at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). It gives an overview of the Materials Physics and Applications Division, including descriptions of the leaders, where researchers are fellows (such as APS or OSA), the newest LANL fellows at MPA, and many other researchers who have won prizes. Finally, MPA's research accomplishments and focuses are detailed.

Use of actors as standardized psychiatric patients.

PubMed

Keltner, Norman L; Grant, Joan S; McLernon, Dennis

2011-05-01

Using actors in simulation provides opportunities for immersive, interactive, and reflective experiences to improve health care professionals' clinical expertise and practice. These experiences facilitate the development of enhanced critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills without risks to patients. This article discusses how to integrate actors and students into simulated experiences. Examples are provided using mental health simulations with actors as standardized psychiatric patients. Copyright 2011, SLACK Incorporated.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S DRINKING WATER TREATMENT AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM RESEARCH PROGRAM

EPA Science Inventory

This presentation will provide an overview of drinking water research being conducted by the National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) of the U.S. EPA. The Water Supply and Water Resources Division (WSWRD) is an internationally known water research organization establi...

Overview of NASA's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swenson, Harry N.

2009-01-01

This slide presentation is an overview of the research for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Included is a review of the current air transportation system and the challenges of air transportation research. Also included is a review of the current research highlights and significant accomplishments.

GROUND WATER REMEDIATION RESEARCH: ENHANCED BIOREMEDIATION AND MONITORED NATURAL ATTENUATION

EPA Science Inventory

An overview of ground water remediation research conducted at the Subsurface Protection and Remediation Division is provided. The focus of the overview is on Enhanced Bioremediation and Monitored Natural Attenuation research for the remediation of organic and inorganic contamina...

Science to Protect Public Health and the Environment--EPA Research Program Overview 2016-2019

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document provides an overview of EPA’s research programs within the Office of Research and Development. This critically important work is providing the science needed to address the biggest problems facing environmental science.

Daily Associations Among Self-control, Heavy Episodic Drinking, and Relationship Functioning: An Examination of Actor and Partner Effects

PubMed Central

Crane, Cory A.; Testa, Maria; Derrick, Jaye L.; Leonard, Kenneth E.

2014-01-01

An emerging literature suggests that temporary deficits in the ability to inhibit impulsive urges may be proximally associated with intimate partner aggression. The current study examined the experience of alcohol use and the depletion of self-control in the prediction of relationship functioning. Daily diary data collected from 118 heterosexual couples were analyzed using parallel multi-level Actor Partner Interdependence Models to assess the effects of heavy episodic drinking and depletion of self-control across partners on outcomes of participant-reported daily arguing with and anger toward an intimate partner. Heavy episodic drinking among actors predicted greater arguing but failed to interact with either actor or partner depletion. We also found that greater arguing was reported on days of high congruent actor and partner depletion. Both actor and partner depletion, as well as their interaction, predicted greater partner-specific anger. Greater partner-specific anger was generally reported on days of congruent actor and partner depletion, particularly on days of high partner depletion. The current results highlight the importance of independently assessing partner effects (i.e., depletion of self-control), which interact dynamically with disinhibiting actor effects, in the prediction of daily adverse relationship functioning. Results offer further support for the development of prospective individualized and couples-based interventions for partner conflict. PMID:24700558

A false dichotomy? Mental illness and lone-actor terrorism.

PubMed

Corner, Emily; Gill, Paul

2015-02-01

We test whether significant differences in mental illness exist in a matched sample of lone- and group-based terrorists. We then test whether there are distinct behavioral differences between lone-actor terrorists with and without mental illness. We then stratify our sample across a range of diagnoses and again test whether significant differences exist. We conduct a series of bivariate, multivariate, and multinomial statistical tests using a unique dataset of 119 lone-actor terrorists and a matched sample of group-based terrorists. The odds of a lone-actor terrorist having a mental illness is 13.49 times higher than the odds of a group actor having a mental illness. Lone actors who were mentally ill were 18.07 times more likely to have a spouse or partner who was involved in a wider movement than those without a history of mental illness. Those with a mental illness were more likely to have a proximate upcoming life change, more likely to have been a recent victim of prejudice, and experienced proximate and chronic stress. The results identify behaviors and traits that security agencies can utilize to monitor and prevent lone-actor terrorism events. The correlated behaviors provide an image of how risk can crystalize within the individual offender and that our understanding of lone-actor terrorism should be multivariate in nature.

The Stance Leads the Dance: The Emergence of Role in a Joint Supra-Postural Task

PubMed Central

Davis, Tehran J.; Pinto, Gabriela B.; Kiefer, Adam W.

2017-01-01

Successfully meeting a shared goal usually requires co-actors to adopt complementary roles. However, in many cases, who adopts what role is not explicitly predetermined, but instead emerges as a consequence of the differences in the individual abilities and constraints imposed upon each actor. Perhaps the most basic of roles are leader and follower. Here, we investigated the emergence of “leader-follower” dynamics in inter-personal coordination using a joint supra-postural task paradigm (Ramenzoni et al., 2011; Athreya et al., 2014). Pairs of actors were tasked with holding two objects in alignment (each actor manually controlled one of the objects) as they faced different demands for stance (stable vs. difficult) and control (which actor controlled the larger or smaller object). Our results indicate that when actors were in identical stances, neither led the inter-personal (between actors) coordination by any systematic fashion. Alternatively, when asymmetries in postural demands were introduced, the actor with the more difficult stance led the coordination (as determined using cross-recurrence quantification analysis). Moreover, changes in individual stance difficulty resulted in similar changes in the structure of both intra-personal (individual) and inter-personal (dyadic) coordination, suggesting a scale invariance of the task dynamics. Implications for the study of interpersonal coordination are discussed. PMID:28536547

Neuroimaging of the joint Simon effect with believed biological and non-biological co-actors.

PubMed

Wen, Tanya; Hsieh, Shulan

2015-01-01

Performing a task alone or together with another agent can produce different outcomes. The current study used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural underpinnings when participants performed a Go/Nogo task alone or complementarily with another co-actor (unseen), whom was believed to be another human or a computer. During both complementary tasks, reaction time data suggested that participants integrated the potential action of their co-actor in their own action planning. Compared to the single-actor task, increased parietal and precentral activity during complementary tasks as shown in the fMRI data further suggested representation of the co-actor's response. The superior frontal gyrus of the medial prefrontal cortex was differentially activated in the human co-actor condition compared to the computer co-actor condition. The medial prefrontal cortex, involved thinking about the beliefs and intentions of other people, possibly reflects a social-cognitive aspect or self-other discrimination during the joint task when believing a biological co-actor is present. Our results suggest that action co-representation can occur even offline with any agent type given a priori information that they are co-acting; however, additional regions are recruited when participants believe they are task-sharing with another human.

The supply of pharmaceuticals in humanitarian assistance missions: implications for military operations.

PubMed

Mahmood, Maysaa; Riley, Kevin; Bennett, David; Anderson, Warner

2011-08-01

In this article, we provide an overview of key international guidelines governing the supply of pharmaceuticals during disasters and complex emergencies. We review the World Health Organization's guidelines on pharmaceutical supply chain management and highlight their relevance for military humanitarian assistance missions. Given the important role of pharmaceuticals in addressing population health needs during humanitarian emergencies, a good understanding of how pharmaceuticals are supplied at the local level in different countries can help military health personnel identify the most appropriate supply options. Familiarity with international guidelines involved in cross-border movement of pharmaceuticals can improve the ability of military personnel to communicate more effectively with other actors involved in humanitarian and development spheres. Enhancing the knowledge base available to military personnel in terms of existing supply models and funding procedures can improve the effectiveness of humanitarian military operations and invite policy changes necessary to establish more flexible acquisition and funding regulations.

Toward multidomain integrated network management for ATM and SDH networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galis, Alex; Gantenbein, Dieter; Covaci, Stefan; Bianza, Carlo; Karayannis, Fotis; Mykoniatis, George

1996-12-01

ACTS Project AC080 MISA has embarked upon the task of realizing and validating via European field trials integrated end-to-end management of hybrid SDH and ATM networks in the framework of open network provision. This paper reflects the initial work of the project and gives an overview of the proposed MISA system architecture and initial design. We describe our understanding of the underlying enterprise model in the network management context, including the concept of the MISA Global Broadband Connectivity Management service. It supports Integrated Broadband Communication by defining an end-to-end broadband connection service in a multi-domain business environment. Its implementation by the MISA consortium within trials across Europe aims for an efficient management of network resources of the SDH and ATM infrastructure, considering optimum end-to-end quality of service and the needs of a number of telecommunication actors: customers, value-added service providers, and network providers.

Center Overview and UAV Highlights at NASA Ames Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Feng, Deborah; Yan, Jerry Chi Yiu

2017-01-01

The PowerPoint presentation gives an overview of NASA Ames Research Center and its core competencies, as well as some of the highlights of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) accomplishments and innovations by researchers at Ames.

An Overview of USDOT Connected Vehicle Roadside Unit Research Activities

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-05-01

The USDOT Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) research program has developed this white paper to provide stakeholders with an overview of the history, background, and plans relating to V2I Roadside Unit Research, focusing on the development of Dedicated ...

Language and Tools for Networkers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wielinga, Eelke; Vrolijk, Maarten

2009-01-01

The network society has a major impact on knowledge systems, and in agricultural and rural development. It has changed relationships between actors such as farmers, extension workers, researchers, policy-makers, businessmen and consumers. These changes require different language, concepts and tools compared to the time that it was thought that…

Critique and Politics: A Sociomaterialist Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Richard; Fenwick, Tara

2015-01-01

Sociomaterial theories, including actor-network theory (ANT), materialist feminism and posthumanism, are sometimes argued to not be addressing or unable to address sufficiently the political and are therefore dismissed as irrelevant to educational research. Through an extended discussion of writers across the social sciences, this article seeks to…

Understanding Knowledge Network, Learning and Connectivism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

AlDahdouh, Alaa A.; Osório, António J.; Caires, Susana

2015-01-01

Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism and other growing theories such as Actor-Network and Connectivism are circulating in the educational field. For each, there are allies who stand behind research evidence and consistency of observation. Meantime, those existing theories dominate the field until the background is changed or new concrete…

Commentary on Susan Isaacs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Jane

2011-01-01

A central principle of 1970s feminism was a concern with making women visible and the historical creation of women's public voices is an important methodological premise of feminist research. When written, biographies of female actors "recovered" from the condescension of posterity, can illuminate the telling of individual and collective…

Research impact of systems-level long-term care research: a multiple case study.

PubMed

Kothari, Anita; Peter, Nedra; Donskov, Melissa; Luciani, Tracy

2017-03-21

Traditional reporting of research outcomes and impacts, which tends to focus on research product publications and grant success, does not capture the value, some contributions, or the complexity of research projects. The purpose of this study was to understand the contributions of five systems-level research projects as they were unfolding at the Bruyère Centre for Learning, Research and Innovation (CLRI) in long-term care (LTC) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The research questions were, (1) How are partnerships with research end-users (policymakers, administrators and other public/private organisations) characterised? (2) How have interactions with the CLRI Management Committee and Steering Committee influenced the development of research products? (3) In what way have other activities, processes, unlinked actors or organisations been influenced by the research project activities? The study was guided by Kok and Schuit's concept of research impacts, using a multiple case study design. Data were collected through focus groups and interviews with research teams, a management and a steering committee, research user partners, and unlinked actors. Documents were collected and analysed for contextual background. Cross-case analysis revealed four major themes: (1) Benefits and Perceived Tensions: Working with Partners; (2) Speaking with the LTC Community: Interactions with the CLRI Steering Committee; (3) The Knowledge Broker: Interactions with the Management Committee; and (4) All Forms of Research Contributions. Most contributions were focused on interactions with networks and stimulating important conversations in the province about LTC issues. These contributions were well-supported by the Steering and Management Committees' research-to-action platform, which can be seen as a type of knowledge brokering model. It was also clear that researcher-user partnerships were beneficial and important.

Overview of the Advanced High Frequency Branch

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miranda, Felix A.

2015-01-01

This presentation provides an overview of the competencies, selected areas of research and technology development activities, and current external collaborative efforts of the NASA Glenn Research Center's Advanced High Frequency Branch.

Exploring multifunctional agriculture. A review of conceptual approaches and prospects for an integrative transitional framework.

PubMed

Renting, H; Rossing, W A H; Groot, J C J; Van der Ploeg, J D; Laurent, C; Perraud, D; Stobbelaar, D J; Van Ittersum, M K

2009-05-01

In the last decade the multifunctional agriculture (MFA) concept has emerged as a key notion in scientific and policy debates on the future of agriculture and rural development. Broadly speaking, MFA refers to the fact that agricultural activity beyond its role of producing food and fibre may also have several other functions such as renewable natural resources management, landscape and biodiversity conservation and contribution to the socio-economic viability of rural areas. The use of the concept can be traced to a number of wider societal and political transformation processes, which have influenced scientific and policy approaches in different ways amongst countries and disciplines. This paper critically discusses various existing research approaches to MFA, both from natural and social sciences. To this aim different strands of literature are classified according to their focus on specific governance mechanisms and levels of analysis into four main categories of research approaches (market regulation, land-use approaches, actor-oriented and public regulation approaches). For each category an overview of the state-of-the-art of research is given and an assessment is made of its strengths and weaknesses. The review demonstrates that the multifunctionality concept has attracted a wealth of scientific contributions, which have considerably improved our understanding of key aspects of MFA. At the same time approaches in the four categories have remained fragmented and each has limitations to understand MFA in all its complexity due to inherent constraints of applied conceptualizations and associated disciplinary backgrounds. To go beyond these limitations, we contend, new meta-level frameworks of analysis are to be developed that enable a more integrated approach. The paper concludes by presenting the main lines of an integrative, transitional framework for the study of MFA, which analyses multifunctional agriculture against the background of wider societal change processes towards sustainability and identifies a number of key elements and research challenges for this.

An Institutional Mechanism for Assortment in an Ecology of Games

PubMed Central

Smaldino, Paul E.; Lubell, Mark

2011-01-01

Recent research has revived Long's “ecology of games” model to analyze how social actors cooperate in the context of multiple political and social games. However, there is still a paucity of theoretical work that considers the mechanisms by which large-scale cooperation can be promoted in a dynamic institutional landscape, in which actors can join new games and leave old ones. This paper develops an agent-based model of an ecology of games where agents participate in multiple public goods games. In addition to contribution decisions, the agents can leave and join different games, and these processes are de-coupled. We show that the payoff for cooperation is greater than for defection when limits to the number of actors per game (“capacity constraints”) structure the population in ways that allow cooperators to cluster, independent of any complex individual-level mechanisms such as reputation or punishment. Our model suggests that capacity constraints are one effective mechanism for producing positive assortment and increasing cooperation in an ecology of games. The results suggest an important trade-off between the inclusiveness of policy processes and cooperation: Fully inclusive policy processes reduce the chances of cooperation. PMID:21850249

Understanding Health Information Seeking from an Actor-Centric Perspective

PubMed Central

Batchelor, Simon; Waldman, Linda; Bloom, Gerry; Rasheed, Sabrina; Scott, Nigel; Ahmed, Tanvir; Uz Zaman Khan, Nazib; Sharmin, Tamanna

2015-01-01

This paper presents a conceptual approach for discussing health information seeking among poor households in Africa and Asia. This approach is part of a larger research endeavor aimed at understanding how health systems are adapting; with possibilities and constraints emerging. These health systems can be found in a context of the changing relationships between states, markets and civil society in low and middle income countries. The paper starts from an understanding of the health sector as a “health knowledge economy”, organized to provide people with access to knowledge and advice. The use of the term “health knowledge economy” draws attention to the ways the health sector is part of a broader knowledge economy changing the way individuals and households obtain and use specialist information. The paper integrates an actor centric approach with the theory of planned behavior. It seeks to identify the actors engaged in the health knowledge economy as a precursor to longer term studies on the uptake of innovations integrating health services with mobile phones, commonly designated as mHealth, contributing to an understanding of the potential vulnerabilities of poor people, and highlighting possible dangers if providers of health information and advice are strongly influenced by interest groups. PMID:26184275

Graphic methods for interpreting longitudinal dyadic patterns from repeated-measures actor-partner interdependence models.

PubMed

Perry, Nicholas S; Baucom, Katherine J W; Bourne, Stacia; Butner, Jonathan; Crenshaw, Alexander O; Hogan, Jasara N; Imel, Zac E; Wiltshire, Travis J; Baucom, Brian R W

2017-08-01

Researchers commonly use repeated-measures actor-partner interdependence models (RM-APIM) to understand how romantic partners change in relation to one another over time. However, traditional interpretations of the results of these models do not fully or correctly capture the dyadic temporal patterns estimated in RM-APIM. Interpretation of results from these models largely focuses on the meaning of single-parameter estimates in isolation from all the others. However, considering individual coefficients separately impedes the understanding of how these associations combine to produce an interdependent pattern that emerges over time. Additionally, positive within-person, or actor, effects are commonly misinterpreted as indicating growth from one time point to the next when they actually represent decline. We suggest that change-as-outcome RM-APIMs and vector field diagrams (VFDs) can be used to improve the understanding and presentation of dyadic patterns of association described by standard RM-APIMs. The current article briefly reviews the conceptual foundations of RM-APIMs, demonstrates how change-as-outcome RM-APIMs and VFDs can aid interpretation of standard RM-APIMs, and provides a tutorial in making VFDs using multilevel modeling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Negotiating Intersex: A Case for Revising the Theory of Social Diagnosis

PubMed Central

Short, Susan E.

2017-01-01

The theory of social diagnosis recognizes two principles: 1) extra-medical social structures frame diagnosis; and 2) myriad social actors, in addition to clinicians, contribute to diagnostic labels and processes. The relationship between social diagnosis and (de)medicalization remains undertheorized, however, because social diagnosis does not account for how social actors can also resist the pathologization of symptoms and conditions—sometimes at the same time as they clamor for medical recognition—thereby shaping societal definitions of disease in different, but no less important, ways. In this article, we expand the social diagnosis framework by adding a third principle, specifically that 3) social actors engage with social structures to both contribute to, and resist, the framing of a condition as pathological (i.e. medicalization and demedicalization). This revised social diagnosis framework allows for the systematic investigation of multi-directional, dynamic processes, formalizing the link between diagnosis and (de)medicalization. It also responds to long-standing calls for more contextualized research in (de)medicalization studies by offering a framework that explicitly accounts for the social contexts in which (de)medicalizing processes operate. To showcase the utility of this revised framework, we use it to guide our analyses of a highly negotiated diagnosis: intersex. PMID:28073070

Design Research with a Focus on Learning Processes: An Overview on Achievements and Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prediger, Susanne; Gravemeijer, Koeno; Confrey, Jere

2015-01-01

Design research continues to gain prominence as a significant methodology in the mathematics education research community. This overview summarizes the origins and the current state of design research practices focusing on methodological requirements and processes of theorizing. While recognizing the rich variations in the foci and scale of design…

7 CFR 3402.6 - Overview of the special international study and/or thesis/dissertation research travel allowance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... thesis/dissertation research travel allowance. 3402.6 Section 3402.6 Agriculture Regulations of the... Overview of the special international study and/or thesis/dissertation research travel allowance. (a) For.../dissertation research travel allowance, the Project Director must apply to HEP for a supplemental grant in...

7 CFR 3402.6 - Overview of the special international study and/or thesis/dissertation research travel allowance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... thesis/dissertation research travel allowance. 3402.6 Section 3402.6 Agriculture Regulations of the... Overview of the special international study and/or thesis/dissertation research travel allowance. (a) For.../dissertation research travel allowance, the Project Director must apply to HEP for a supplemental grant in...

Inferring the Size of a Goal Object from an Actor's Grasping Movement in 6- and 9-Month-Old Infants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daum, Moritz M.; Vuori, Maria T.; Prinz, Wolfgang; Aschersleben, Gisa

2009-01-01

The present study applied a preferential looking paradigm to test whether 6- and 9-month old infants are able to infer the size of a goal object from an actor's grasping movement. The target object was a cup with the handle rotated either towards or away from the actor. In two experiments, infants saw the video of an actor's grasping movement…

OVERVIEW OF WET-WEATHER RESEARCH PROGRAM

EPA Science Inventory

This paper presents an overview of EPA,s wet-weather flow (WWF) research program, which was expanded in October 1995 with the establishment of the Urban Watershed Management Branch at Edison, New Jersey. Research priorities for 1998-1999 are presented as well as efforts to col...

Research in Corporate Communication: An Overview of an Emerging Field.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Riel, Cees B. M.

1997-01-01

Provides an overview of research in corporate communication, focusing on achievements found in the international academic literature in both communication and business school disciplines. Gives three key concepts in such research: corporate identity, corporate reputation, and orchestration of communication. Advocates an interdisciplinary approach…

EMERGING CONTAMINANTS: AN OVERVIEW OF ON-GOING RESEARCH

EPA Science Inventory

This presentation covers an overview of research on emerging contaminants on-going at

U.S. EPA's National Exposure Research Laboratory in Las Vegas. Due to the

improvements and sophistication of recent analytical instruments, increasing numbers of

chemicals a...

Representing Micro-Macro Linkages by Actor-Based Dynamic Network Models

PubMed Central

Snijders, Tom A.B.; Steglich, Christian E.G.

2014-01-01

Stochastic actor-based models for network dynamics have the primary aim of statistical inference about processes of network change, but may be regarded as a kind of agent-based models. Similar to many other agent-based models, they are based on local rules for actor behavior. Different from many other agent-based models, by including elements of generalized linear statistical models they aim to be realistic detailed representations of network dynamics in empirical data sets. Statistical parallels to micro-macro considerations can be found in the estimation of parameters determining local actor behavior from empirical data, and the assessment of goodness of fit from the correspondence with network-level descriptives. This article studies several network-level consequences of dynamic actor-based models applied to represent cross-sectional network data. Two examples illustrate how network-level characteristics can be obtained as emergent features implied by micro-specifications of actor-based models. PMID:25960578

Application of the actor model to large scale NDE data analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coughlin, Chris

2018-03-01

The Actor model of concurrent computation discretizes a problem into a series of independent units or actors that interact only through the exchange of messages. Without direct coupling between individual components, an Actor-based system is inherently concurrent and fault-tolerant. These traits lend themselves to so-called "Big Data" applications in which the volume of data to analyze requires a distributed multi-system design. For a practical demonstration of the Actor computational model, a system was developed to assist with the automated analysis of Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) datasets using the open source Myriad Data Reduction Framework. A machine learning model trained to detect damage in two-dimensional slices of C-Scan data was deployed in a streaming data processing pipeline. To demonstrate the flexibility of the Actor model, the pipeline was deployed on a local system and re-deployed as a distributed system without recompiling, reconfiguring, or restarting the running application.

The burgeoning field of transdisciplinary adaptation research in Quebec (1998-): a climate change-related public health narrative.

PubMed

Gosselin, Pierre; Bélanger, Diane; Lapaige, Véronique; Labbé, Yolaine

2011-01-01

This paper presents a public health narrative on Quebec's new climatic conditions and human health, and describes the transdisciplinary nature of the climate change adaptation research currently being adopted in Quebec, characterized by the three phases of problem identification, problem investigation, and problem transformation. A transdisciplinary approach is essential for dealing with complex ill-defined problems concerning human-environment interactions (for example, climate change), for allowing joint research, collective leadership, complex collaborations, and significant exchanges among scientists, decision makers, and knowledge users. Such an approach is widely supported in theory but has proved to be extremely difficult to implement in practice, and those who attempt it have met with heavy resistance, succeeding when they find the occasional opportunity within institutional or social contexts. In this paper we narrate the ongoing struggle involved in tackling the negative effects of climate change in multi-actor contexts at local and regional levels, a struggle that began in a quiet way in 1998. The paper will describe how public health adaptation research is supporting transdisciplinary action and implementation while also preparing for the future, and how this interaction to tackle a life-world problem (adaptation of the Quebec public health sector to climate change) in multi-actors contexts has progressively been established during the last 13 years. The first of the two sections introduces the social context of a Quebec undergoing climate changes. Current climatic conditions and expected changes will be described, and attendant health risks for the Quebec population. The second section addresses the scientific, institutional and normative dimensions of the problem. It corresponds to a "public health narrative" presented in three phases: (1) problem identification (1998-2002) beginning in northern Quebec; (2) problem investigation (2002-2006) in which the issues are successively explored, understood, and conceptualized for all of Quebec, and (3) problem transformation (2006-2009), which discusses major interactions among the stakeholders and the presentation of an Action Plan by a central actor, the Quebec government, in alliance with other stakeholders. In conclusion, we underline the importance, in the current context, of providing for a sustained transdisciplinary adaptation to climatic change. This paper should be helpful for (1) public health professionals confronted with establishing a transdisciplinary approach to a real-world problem other than climate change, (2) professionals in other sectors (such as public safety, built environment) confronted with climate change, who wish to implement transdisciplinary adaptive interventions and/or research, and (3) knowledge users (public and private actors; nongovernment organizations; citizens) from elsewhere in multi-contexts/environments/sectors who wish to promote complex collaborations (with us or not), collective leadership, and "transfrontier knowledge-to-action" for implementing climate change-related adaptation measures.

The burgeoning field of transdisciplinary adaptation research in Quebec (1998–): a climate change-related public health narrative

PubMed Central

Gosselin, Pierre; Bélanger, Diane; Lapaige, Véronique; Labbé, Yolaine

2011-01-01

This paper presents a public health narrative on Quebec’s new climatic conditions and human health, and describes the transdisciplinary nature of the climate change adaptation research currently being adopted in Quebec, characterized by the three phases of problem identification, problem investigation, and problem transformation. A transdisciplinary approach is essential for dealing with complex ill-defined problems concerning human–environment interactions (for example, climate change), for allowing joint research, collective leadership, complex collaborations, and significant exchanges among scientists, decision makers, and knowledge users. Such an approach is widely supported in theory but has proved to be extremely difficult to implement in practice, and those who attempt it have met with heavy resistance, succeeding when they find the occasional opportunity within institutional or social contexts. In this paper we narrate the ongoing struggle involved in tackling the negative effects of climate change in multi-actor contexts at local and regional levels, a struggle that began in a quiet way in 1998. The paper will describe how public health adaptation research is supporting transdisciplinary action and implementation while also preparing for the future, and how this interaction to tackle a life-world problem (adaptation of the Quebec public health sector to climate change) in multi-actors contexts has progressively been established during the last 13 years. The first of the two sections introduces the social context of a Quebec undergoing climate changes. Current climatic conditions and expected changes will be described, and attendant health risks for the Quebec population. The second section addresses the scientific, institutional and normative dimensions of the problem. It corresponds to a “public health narrative” presented in three phases: (1) problem identification (1998–2002) beginning in northern Quebec; (2) problem investigation (2002–2006) in which the issues are successively explored, understood, and conceptualized for all of Quebec, and (3) problem transformation (2006–2009), which discusses major interactions among the stakeholders and the presentation of an Action Plan by a central actor, the Quebec government, in alliance with other stakeholders. In conclusion, we underline the importance, in the current context, of providing for a sustained transdisciplinary adaptation to climatic change. This paper should be helpful for (1) public health professionals confronted with establishing a transdisciplinary approach to a real-world problem other than climate change, (2) professionals in other sectors (such as public safety, built environment) confronted with climate change, who wish to implement transdisciplinary adaptive interventions and/or research, and (3) knowledge users (public and private actors; nongovernment organizations; citizens) from elsewhere in multi-contexts/environments/sectors who wish to promote complex collaborations (with us or not), collective leadership, and “transfrontier knowledge-to-action” for implementing climate change-related adaptation measures. PMID:21966228

Urban revitalization and displacement: types, causes, and public policy

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

Feagin, J.R.

1981-05-01

The policy research report reviews the scholarly and print media literatures on urban revitalization. The extent of revitalization; the incumbent or occupant upgrading; gentrification (displacement of low- and moderate-income households by better-off households); gentrification and displacement from all causes; and the role of powerful actors in revitalization are discussed. Public policy dealing with land use and development in urban areas is discussed. Future research needs are indicated.

Disabled and Non-Disabled Actors Working in Partnership for a Theatrical Performance: A Research on Theatrical Partnerships as Enablers of Social and Behavioural Skills for Persons with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lenakakis, Antonis; Koltsida, Maria

2017-01-01

This case study investigates the working conditions of a mixed theatre group and its impact on its disabled members. The qualitative research aims to explore the impact of drama work, rehearsals and performances on the disabled members' social skills, and behavioural and emotional difficulties. Data collection methods included semi-structured…

Medium of Instruction Policies and Language Practices, Ideologies and Institutional Divides: Voices of Teachers and Students in a Private University in Bangladesh

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamid, M. Obaidul; Jahan, Iffat; Islam, M. Monjurul

2013-01-01

The use of English as a medium of instruction (MOI) in polities across the world has drawn attention of language policy and planning scholars and researchers. Increasingly, research on MOI policy and practice focuses on how macro-level policies are translated into action by "actors" including teachers and students in the micro-context.…

Girls' Access to Education in China: Actors, Cultures and the Windmill of Development Management. CREATE Pathways to Access. Research Monograph No. 39

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Xiaojun Grace

2010-01-01

The world has a mixed record towards achieving EFA [Education for All] and the MDGs [Millennium Development Goals] in relation to the targets on gender equity in basic education. For researchers and practitioners, this raises the question of which factors influence the processes leading to the improvement of access and quality of girls' education…

Permission to Be Looked At: A Collaboration between Theatre Siperia and Wärjäämö, the Centre for Arts and Activity for Disabled People

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papunen, Riikka

2017-01-01

The article describes the author's subjective experience -- as an actor-researcher -- of being part of the performance "Toinen katse." The performance was the first artistic part of her artistic doctoral research conducted for a doctoral degree at the University of Tampere. The article explores carefully two scenes from the performance,…

Lords of the Silk Route: Violent Non-State Actors in Central Asia

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-05-01

communications, internet connectivity, and the like; however, more traditional activities, such as simple cross-border smuggling, remain popular in the...Uzbekistan. It is a government production intended to sustain popular support for an on-going conflict with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU...valuable, cost-effective research to meet the needs of our sponsors. We appreciate your continued interest in INSS and our research products

Curbing misconduct in the pharmaceutical industry: insights from behavioral ethics and the behavioral approach to law.

PubMed

Feldman, Yuval; Gauthier, Rebecca; Schuler, Troy

2013-01-01

Two insights of psychology on which we would like to draw are that people react to law in more complex ways than rational-choice models assume and that good people sometimes do bad things. With that starting point, this article provides a behavioral perspective on some of the factors that policymakers seeking to reduce the level of misconduct in the pharmaceutical industry should consider. Effective regulation and enforcement need to address the following questions: Who are the regulation's targeted actors - researchers or executives? Are the regulations directed toward research or marketing activities? Is the misconduct a product of explicit rational choice or implicit processes of which the actor is unaware? Is it reasonable to address all types of misconduct using the same approach? Certain misconduct - particularly by researchers - is due to automatic, intuitive, and unconscious decisions and needs to be addressed through different means than those used to address misconduct due to controlled, deliberate decisions. This article therefore recommends using different sorts of regulation depending on the context. It suggests more tailored enforcement mechanisms that will be sensitive to the pharmaceutical researchers' unique work motivations and to their awareness or lack of awareness of their own misconduct. © 2013 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Cigar Smoking and Cancer

MedlinePlus

... About NCI NCI Overview History Contributing to Cancer Research Leadership Director's Page Deputy Director's Page Previous NCI Directors ... Overview & Mission History of NCI Contributing to Cancer Research Senior Leadership Director Deputy Director Previous Directors NCI Organization Divisions, ...

(WISCONSIN) OVERVIEW OF US EPA RESEARCH ACTIVITIES AIMED AT CHARACTERIZING CHILDRENS EXPOSURES

EPA Science Inventory

Overview of significant research activities that have been initiated by the USEPA to increase understanding of children’s vulnerabilities and to better characterize children’s exposures to chemical stressors.

Efficient Actor Recovery Paradigm for Wireless Sensor and Actor Networks

PubMed Central

Mahjoub, Reem K.; Elleithy, Khaled

2017-01-01

The actor nodes are the spine of wireless sensor and actor networks (WSANs) that collaborate to perform a specific task in an unverified and uneven environment. Thus, there is a possibility of high failure rate in such unfriendly scenarios due to several factors such as power consumption of devices, electronic circuit failure, software errors in nodes or physical impairment of the actor nodes and inter-actor connectivity problem. Therefore, it is extremely important to discover the failure of a cut-vertex actor and network-disjoint in order to improve the Quality-of-Service (QoS). In this paper, we propose an Efficient Actor Recovery (EAR) paradigm to guarantee the contention-free traffic-forwarding capacity. The EAR paradigm consists of a Node Monitoring and Critical Node Detection (NMCND) algorithm that monitors the activities of the nodes to determine the critical node. In addition, it replaces the critical node with backup node prior to complete node-failure which helps balancing the network performance. The packets are handled using Network Integration and Message Forwarding (NIMF) algorithm that determines the source of forwarding the packets; either from actor or sensor. This decision-making capability of the algorithm controls the packet forwarding rate to maintain the network for a longer time. Furthermore, for handling the proper routing strategy, Priority-Based Routing for Node Failure Avoidance (PRNFA) algorithm is deployed to decide the priority of the packets to be forwarded based on the significance of information available in the packet. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed EAR paradigm, the proposed algorithms were tested using OMNET++ simulation. PMID:28420102

Efficient Actor Recovery Paradigm for Wireless Sensor and Actor Networks.

PubMed

Mahjoub, Reem K; Elleithy, Khaled

2017-04-14

The actor nodes are the spine of wireless sensor and actor networks (WSANs) that collaborate to perform a specific task in an unverified and uneven environment. Thus, there is a possibility of high failure rate in such unfriendly scenarios due to several factors such as power consumption of devices, electronic circuit failure, software errors in nodes or physical impairment of the actor nodes and inter-actor connectivity problem. Therefore, it is extremely important to discover the failure of a cut-vertex actor and network-disjoint in order to improve the Quality-of-Service (QoS). In this paper, we propose an Efficient Actor Recovery (EAR) paradigm to guarantee the contention-free traffic-forwarding capacity. The EAR paradigm consists of a Node Monitoring and Critical Node Detection (NMCND) algorithm that monitors the activities of the nodes to determine the critical node. In addition, it replaces the critical node with backup node prior to complete node-failure which helps balancing the network performance. The packets are handled using Network Integration and Message Forwarding (NIMF) algorithm that determines the source of forwarding the packets; either from actor or sensor. This decision-making capability of the algorithm controls the packet forwarding rate to maintain the network for a longer time. Furthermore, for handling the proper routing strategy, Priority-Based Routing for Node Failure Avoidance (PRNFA) algorithm is deployed to decide the priority of the packets to be forwarded based on the significance of information available in the packet. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed EAR paradigm, the proposed algorithms were tested using OMNET++ simulation.

Psychosocial stress based on public speech in humans: is there a real life/laboratory setting cross-adaptation?

PubMed

Jezova, D; Hlavacova, N; Dicko, I; Solarikova, P; Brezina, I

2016-07-01

Repeated or chronic exposure to stressors is associated with changes in neuroendocrine responses depending on the type, intensity, number and frequency of stress exposure as well as previous stress experience. The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that salivary cortisol and cardiovascular responses to real-life psychosocial stressors related to public performance can cross-adapt with responses to psychosocial stress induced by public speech under laboratory setting. The sample consisted of 22 healthy male volunteers, which were either actors, more precisely students of dramatic arts or non-actors, students of other fields. The stress task consisted of 15 min anticipatory preparation phase and 15 min of public speech on an emotionally charged topic. The actors, who were accustomed to public speaking, responded with a rise in salivary cortisol as well as blood pressure to laboratory public speech. The values of salivary cortisol, systolic blood pressure and state anxiety were lower in actors compared to non-actors. Unlike non-actors, subjects with experience in public speaking did not show stress-induced rise in the heart rate. Evaluation of personality traits revealed that actors scored significantly higher in extraversion than the subjects in the non-actor group. In conclusion, neuroendocrine responses to real-life stressors in actors can partially cross-adapt with responses to psychosocial stress under laboratory setting. The most evident adaptation was at the level of heart rate responses. The public speech tasks may be of help in evaluation of the ability to cope with stress in real life in artists by simple laboratory testing.

Evolution of the knowledge system for agricultural development in the Yaqui Valley, Sonora, Mexico.

PubMed

McCullough, Ellen B; Matson, Pamela A

2016-04-26

Knowledge systems-networks of linked actors, organizations, and objects that perform a number of knowledge-related functions that link knowledge and know how with action-have played a key role in fostering agricultural development over the last 50 years. We examine the evolution of the knowledge system of the Yaqui Valley, Mexico, a region often described as the home of the green revolution for wheat, tracing changes in the functions of critical knowledge system participants, information flows, and research priorities. Most of the knowledge system's key players have been in place for many decades, although their roles have changed in response to exogenous and endogenous shocks and trends (e.g., drought, policy shifts, and price trends). The system has been agile and able to respond to challenges, in part because of the diversity of players (evolving roles of actors spanning research-decision maker boundaries) and also because of the strong and consistent role of innovative farmers. Although the agricultural research agenda in the Valley is primarily controlled from within the agricultural sector, outside voices have become an important influence in broadening development- and production-oriented perspectives to sustainability perspectives.

Linking functional diversity and social actor strategies in a framework for interdisciplinary analysis of nature's benefits to society

PubMed Central

Díaz, Sandra; Cáceres, Daniel M.; Trainor, Sarah F.; Pérez-Harguindeguy, Natalia; Bret-Harte, M. Syndonia; Finegan, Bryan; Peña-Claros, Marielos; Poorter, Lourens

2011-01-01

The crucial role of biodiversity in the links between ecosystems and societies has been repeatedly highlighted both as source of wellbeing and as a target of human actions, but not all aspects of biodiversity are equally important to different ecosystem services. Similarly, different social actors have different perceptions of and access to ecosystem services, and therefore, they have different wants and capacities to select directly or indirectly for particular biodiversity and ecosystem characteristics. Their choices feed back onto the ecosystem services provided to all parties involved and in turn, affect future decisions. Despite this recognition, the research communities addressing biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human outcomes have yet to develop frameworks that adequately treat the multiple dimensions and interactions in the relationship. Here, we present an interdisciplinary framework for the analysis of relationships between functional diversity, ecosystem services, and human actions that is applicable to specific social environmental systems at local scales. We connect the mechanistic understanding of the ecological role of diversity with its social relevance: ecosystem services. The framework permits connections between functional diversity components and priorities of social actors using land use decisions and ecosystem services as the main links between these ecological and social components. We propose a matrix-based method that provides a transparent and flexible platform for quantifying and integrating social and ecological information and negotiating potentially conflicting land uses among multiple social actors. We illustrate the applicability of our framework by way of land use examples from temperate to subtropical South America, an area of rapid social and ecological change. PMID:21220325

Prosocial Motivation: Inferences from an Opaque Body of Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eisenberg, Nancy; VanSchyndel, Sarah K.; Spinrad, Tracy L.

2016-01-01

Because motivations for prosocial actions typically are unclear, sometimes even to actors but especially for observers, it is difficult to study prosocial motivation. This article reviews research that provides evidence regarding children's motives for prosocial behaviors. First, we present a heuristic model to classify motives on the dimension of…

Why Universities Join Cross-Sector Social Partnerships: Theory and Evidence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siegel, David J.

2010-01-01

Cross-sector partnerships are an increasingly popular mode of organizing to address intractable social problems, yet theory and research have virtually ignored university involvement in such activity. This article attempts to ascertain the reasons universities join networks of other social actors to support a common cause. Theories on the…

Five Myths of School Turnaround Policy and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyers, Coby V.; Smylie, Mark A.

2017-01-01

Despite the intensity of funding and numerous intervention efforts in recent school turnaround initiatives, many perspectives, practices, and policies specific to school turnaround appear to be at odds with organizational theory. Yet, many actors in research, policy, and practice arenas appear convinced that their steadfastness will eventually be…

Fanaticism through the Looking Glass of Simulations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ben-Yehuda, Hemda; Zohar, Guy

2018-01-01

This research offers innovative ways to study fanaticism in higher education. It builds on simulations of regional crises to test four expectations and discusses their implications. The first, on the benefits of experimental learning, is supported: participants identify with their actors and show little empathy to rivals, indicating they learn the…

Minorities and Women in the Arts: 1970. Research Division Report #7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beresford, Jack; Ellis, Diane C.

In 1970 there were about 68,000 persons of minority, racial, and ethnic background who had occupations as actors, architects, authors, dancers, designers, musicians, composers, painters, scupltors, photographers, radio and television announcers, university teachers of art, music, or drama, and other types of artists and entertainers. In this…

Rationale of Early Adopters of Fossil Fuel Divestment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beer, Christopher Todd

2016-01-01

Purpose: This research uses the social science perspectives of institutions, ecological modernization and social movements to analyze the rationale used by the early-adopting universities of fossil fuel divestment in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: Through analysis of qualitative data from interviews with key actors at the universities that…

Policy Images of Teachers: How Influential Actors Construct Images of Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bulkley, Katrina E.; Gottlieb, Jessica

2017-01-01

Background/Context: Prior research demonstrates that the policy images of critical target populations, which reflect the ways in which they are socially constructed in the political sphere, have important implications for policy prescriptions and design (Cochran-Smith & Fries, 2001; Jansen, 2001; Schneider & Ingram, 1993). In examining the…

Making Lives Go Better: University Education and "Professional Capabilities"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, M.; McLean, M.

2010-01-01

This article charts a research project on higher education and poverty reduction chronologically, mapping the process of thinking through and generating an Index of public-good professional education based on literatures; empirical data from actors-lecturers, students, alumni, professional bodies and NGOs; and participatory dialogue. Amartya Sen's…

The Demographic Impact of School Desegregation Policy. Discussion Papers No. 478.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taeuber, Karl E.; Wilson, Franklin D.

The inconsistency in research investigations of the process of white flight is especially evident when social scientists become actors in the legal drama surrounding the desegregation of public schools. Social science "experts" for the contending litigants often present contradictory evidence. The resultant ambiguity allows judges and…

Globalisation and International Higher Education: Contested Positionings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dixon, Mary

2006-01-01

This article stems from recent policy research involving participants in an international higher education program. Story lines of the program from Thai and Australian policy makers and policy actors are interpreted from a poststructural stance. Through the multiple and shifting positionings of the participants, agency and identity within this…

Modeling the Creation of Actionable Knowledge within a Joint Task Force Command System (Project GNOSIS)

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-08-01

Force Research Laboratory This report is published in the interest of scientific and technical information exchange, and its publication does not...SYSTEM SJ SYSTEM INTERACTIONS AND INFLUENCES SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEM SYSTEM I Multiple actors egaglng In comunities of Commrunitles of Interest

Principals, Power, and Policy: Enacting "Supplemental Educational Services"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koyama, Jill

2011-01-01

Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), schools that do not make adequate yearly progress must offer afterschool tutoring, entitled "Supplemental Educational Services" (SES). Drawing on 40 months of ethnographic research and utilizing actor-network theory, this article shows principals co-opting the SES provisions to do what they determine is…

Between Structure and Agency: Contextualizing School Leaders' Strategic Responses to Market Pressures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jabbar, Huriya

2016-01-01

School choice is expected to place pressure on schools to improve to attract and retain students. However, little research has examined how competition for students actually operates in socially embedded education markets. Economic approaches tend to emphasize individual actors' choices and agency, an undersocialized perspective, whereas…

Competitive Embeddedness and the Emergence of Interfirm Cooperation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trapido, Denis

2007-01-01

How does a history of competition between two economic actors affect their willingness and ability to work together for mutual benefit? Existing theory and research offer mixed predictions and answers. The competitive embeddedness hypothesis suggested here postulates that the likelihood of cooperation between two firms is positively related to the…

Selling Violence: Television Commercials Targeted to Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmerton, Patricia R.; Judas, Jeff

Noting that little research has addressed the question of violence in commercials directed to children, a study examined commercials aired during the 21 top-rated children's cartoons during one broadcast week in late spring 1993. Commercials were analyzed for violent content, gender of primary actors and recipients of violent action, primary…

History Through Biography? A Conceptual Research Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johns, Robert W.

Social studies classroom teachers can enliven high school history courses and motivate students to learn about history by using dramatic or heroic biographies in teaching history. The biographical approach centers on study of the lives, beliefs, and surroundings of historical actors. This approach differs from the "great man" theory of history in…

(Re/Dis)assembling Learning Practices Online with Fluid Objects and Spaces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Terrie Lynn

2012-01-01

Actor network theory (ANT) is used to explore how work-learning is enacted in informal online communities and illustrates how researchers might use sociomaterial approaches to uncover complexities, uncertainties, and specificities of work-learning practices. Participants in this study were self-employed workers. The relational and material aspects…

Strategic Capacity and Organisational Capabilities: A Challenge for Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thoenig, Jean-Claude; Paradeise, Catherine

2016-01-01

Are universities able to operate as strategic actors? An organisational sociology based approach supported by a comparative field research project identifies three types of social, cultural and cognitive processes that play a decisive role in building and implementing local capabilities required to mobilise a strategic capacity. The paper…

SEWER-SEDIMENT CONTROL: OVERVIEW OF AN EPA WET-WEATHER FLOW RESEARCH PROGRAM

EPA Science Inventory

This paper presents a historical overview of the sewer sediment control projects conducted by the Wet-Weather Flow Research Program of the USEPA. Research presented includes studies of the causes of sewer solids deposition and development/evaluation of control methods that can pr...

NASA. Lewis Research Center materials research and technology: An overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grisaffe, Salvatore J.

1990-01-01

The Materials Division at the Lewis Research Center has a long record of contributions to both materials and process technology as well as to the understanding of key high-temperature phenomena. This paper overviews the division staff, facilities, past history, recent progress, and future interests.

eMedication Meets eHealth with the Electronic Medication Management Assistant (eMMA).

PubMed

Tschanz, Mauro; Dorner, Tim Lucas; Denecke, Kerstin

2017-01-01

A patient's healthcare team is often missing a complete overview on the prescribed and dispensed medication. This is due to an inconsistent information flow between the different actors of the healthcare system. Often, only the patient himself knows exactly which drugs he is actually taking. Our objective is to exploit different eHealth technologies available or planned in Switzerland to improve the information flow of the medication data among the stakeholder and to support the patient in managing his medication. This work is embedded in the "Hospital of the Future Live" project, involving 16 companies and 6 hospitals in order to develop IT solutions for future optimized health care processes. A comprehensive set of requirements was collected from the different actors and project partners. Further, specifications of the available or planned eHealth infrastructure were reviewed to integrate relevant technologies into a coherent concept. We developed a concept that combines the medication list and an eHealth platform. The resulting electronic medication management assistant (eMMA) designed for the patient provides the current medication plan at any time and supports by providing relevant information through a conversational user interface. In Switzerland, we still need a bridging technology to combine the medication information from the electronic patient record with the medication plan's associated QR-Code. The developed app is intended to provide such bridge and demonstrates the usefulness of the eMediplan. It enables the patient to have all data regarding his medication on his personal mobile phone and he can - if necessary - provide the current medication to the health professional.

On the failure to notice that White people are White: Generating and testing hypotheses in the celebrity guessing game.

PubMed

Hegarty, Peter

2017-01-01

Drawing together social psychologists' concerns with equality and cognitive psychologists' concerns with scientific inference, 6 studies (N = 841) showed how implicit category norms make the generation and test of hypothesis about race highly asymmetric. Having shown that Whiteness is the default race of celebrity actors (Study 1), Study 2 used a variant of Wason's (1960) rule discovery task to demonstrate greater difficulty in discovering rules that require specifying that race is shared by White celebrity actors than by Black celebrity actors. Clues to the Whiteness of White actors from analogous problems had little effect on hypothesis formation or rule discovery (Studies 3 and 4). Rather, across Studies 2 and 4 feedback about negative cases-non-White celebrities-facilitated the discovery that White actors shared a race, whether participants or experimenters generated the negative cases. These category norms were little affected by making White actors' Whiteness more informative (Study 5). Although participants understood that discovering that White actors are White would be harder than discovering that Black actors are Black, they showed limited insight into the information contained in negative cases (Study 6). Category norms render some identities as implicit defaults, making hypothesis formation and generalization about real social groups asymmetric in ways that have implications for scientific reasoning and social equality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Vehicle Integrated Propulsion Research Tests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lekki, John D.; Hunter, Gary W.; Simon, Don; Meredith, Roger; Wrbanek, John; Woike, Mark; Tokars, Roger; Guffanti, Marianne; Lyall, Eric

2013-01-01

Overview of the Vehicle Integrated Propulsion Research Tests in the Vehicle Systems Safety Technologies project. This overview covers highlights of the completed VIPR I and VIPR II tests and also covers plans for the VIPR III test.

Fire-Resistant Materials: Research Overview

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-12-01

This report provides an overview of the research being conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop fire safe cabin materials for commercial aircraft. The objective of the Fire-Resistant Materials program is to eliminate burning ...

Coordination of short-term and long-term mitigation measures of hydro-meteorological risks: the importance of establishing a link between emergency management and spatial planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prenger-Berninghoff, Kathrin; Cortes, V. Juliette; Aye, Zar Chi; Sprague, Teresa

2013-04-01

The management of natural hazards involves, as generally known, the four stages of the risk management cycle: Prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. Accordingly, the mitigation of disasters can be performed in terms of short-term and long-term purposes. Whereas emergency management or civil protection helps to strengthen a community's capacity to be better prepared for natural hazards and to better respond in case a disaster strikes, thus addressing the short-term perspective, spatial planning serves long-term planning goals and can therefore implement long-term prevention measures. A purposefully applied risk mitigation strategy requires coordination of short-term and long-term mitigation measures and thus an effective coordination of emergency management and spatial planning. Several actors are involved in risk management and should consequently be linked throughout the whole risk management cycle. However, these actors, partly because of a historically fragmented administrative system, are hardly connected to each other, with spatial planning only having a negligible role compared to other actors1, a problem to which Young (2002) referred to as the "problem of interplay". In contrast, information transfer and decision-taking happen at the same time and are not coordinated among different actors. This applies to the prevention and preparedness phase as well as to the recovery phase, which basically constitutes the prevention phase for the next disaster2. Since investments in both risk prevention and emergency preparedness and response are considered necessary, a better coordination of the two approaches is required. In this regard, Decision Support Systems (DSS) can be useful in order to provide support in the decision-making aspect of risk management. The research work currently undertaken examines the problem of interplay in the four case study areas of the Marie Curie ITN, CHANGES3. The link between different risk management actors will be explored by means of exploratory questionnaires and interviews with government agencies, local administrations, community and research organizations on each study site. First results provided will address the general role of spatial planning in risk management. Additionally, preliminary observations are made in regard to the coordination of emergency preparedness and long-term spatial planning activities. The observations consider that integration facilitates proactive strategies that aim at preventing disaster occurrence and promote interaction between involved parties. Finally, consideration is given to the potential use of a DSS tool to cover both aspects of spatial planning and emergency management in the risk management cycle.

Incentives in financing mental health care in Austria.

PubMed

Zechmeister, Ingrid; Oesterle, August; Denk, Peter; Katschnig, Heinz

2002-09-01

In Austria, financing health care -and even more so mental health care- is characterized by a mix of federal and provincial responsibilities, lack of uniformity in service provision and service providers, and diverse funding arrangements. The division between financing structures for health care and social care makes the situation even more complex. This state of affairs results in various, partly counterproductive and sometimes paradoxical financial incentives and disincentives for the providers, recipients and financiers of mental health services. In several provinces of Austria, recent reform plans in mental health care have focused strongly on establishing community-based and patient-oriented mental health care. One of the main challenges in implementing this new policy is the re-allocation of resources. The authors hypothesize that the existing structure of mental health care financing, with its incentives and disincentives, constitutes an obstacle to patient-oriented community-based mental health care. Analyzing the characteristics of the overall mental health care financing system in one Austrian province, Lower Austria, will provide a better understanding of actor-relationships and inherent incentives and highlight implications for the process of deinstitutionalization. The authors used an analytical framework based on the principal-agent theory, empirical evidence, and information on financial, organizational and legal structures to identify the characteristics of actor-relationships and the position of single actors within the system. The article shows how incentives are linked to existing constellations of actors involved in mental health care financing and identifies significant power relations. As a consequence, incentives and disincentives within the financing system result in hospital- centered and supply-oriented mental health care in Lower Austria. The current system of financing mental health care provides an obstacle to the provision of patient-oriented and community-based mental care. This is due to existing constellations and power relations among the actors where, most importantly, patients are the weakest party in the patient-payer-provider triangle. Balancing power relations will be a significant prerequisite for alternative financing systems. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICIES AND FURTHER RESEARCH: If a community and needs-based mental health care system is to be established in Austria, the financing structures have to be changed accordingly. Applying a principal-agent framework is useful for identifying key aspects in mental health care financing in relation to the provision of services. Further research is needed to help develop alternative financing mechanisms that support community-based and patient-oriented mental health care systems.

The Just War Theory and the ethical governance of research.

PubMed

Malsch, Ineke

2013-06-01

This article analyses current trends in and future expectations of nanotechnology and other key enabling technologies for security as well as dual use nanotechnology from the perspective of the ethical Just War Theory (JWT), interpreted as an instrument to increase the threshold for using armed force for solving conflicts. The aim is to investigate the relevance of the JWT to the ethical governance of research. The analysis gives rise to the following results. From the perspective of the JWT, military research should be evaluated with different criteria than research for civil or civil security applications. From a technological perspective, the boundaries between technologies for civil and military applications are fuzzy. Therefore the JWT offers theoretical grounds for making clear distinctions between research for military, civil security and other applications that are not obvious from a purely technological perspective. Different actors bear responsibility for development of the technology than for resorting to armed force for solving conflicts or for use of weapons and military technologies in combat. Different criteria should be used for moral judgment of decisions made by each type of actor in each context. In addition to evaluation of potential consequences of future use of the weapons or military technologies under development, the JWT also prescribes ethical evaluation of the inherent intent and other foreseeable consequences of the development itself of new military technologies.

Overview of radiation effects research in photonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webb, Robert C.; Cohn, Lewis M.; Taylor, Edward W.; Greenwell, Roger A.

1995-05-01

A brief overview of ongoing radiation effects research in photonics is presented focusing on integrated optic and acousto-optic components. A short summary of radiation-induced effects in electro-optic modulators, detector arrays, and other photonic technologies is presented along with extensive references. The coordinated radiation effects studies among researchers within the Tri-Service Organizations and international experimental teams are beginning to demonstrate consistent measurements of radiation-induced effects in photonic components and confirming earlier reported data. This paper will present an overview of these coordinated investigations and focus on key research being conducted with the AFMC Phillips Laboratory, Naval Research Laboratory, Defence Nuclear Agency, NATO Nuclear Effects Task Group, and the Tri-Service Photonics Coordinating Committee.

COLLECTION SYSTEM SOLIDS CONTROL: OVERVIEW OF AN EPA WET-WEATHER FLOW RESEARCH PROGRAM

EPA Science Inventory

This paper presents an historical overview of the sewer-solids control projects conducted by the Wet-Weather Flow Research Program of the US EPA. Research includes studies of the causes of sewer-solids deposition and development/evaluation of control methods that can prevent sewe...

People and Buildings--a Brief Overview of Research. Exchange Bibliography No. 301.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Canter, David

This bibliography and paper provide a brief overview of empirical studies that attempt to apply the insights of modern psychology to architecture. Items are discussed under headings of scientific research, methodology, perceptual studies, the use of space, interpersonal distance, personality development, learning, decision-related research, and…

A Dyadic Approach to Infertility Stress, Marital Adjustment, and Depression on Quality of Life in Infertile Couples.

PubMed

Kim, Ju Hee; Shin, Hye Sook; Yun, Eun Kyoung

2018-03-01

This study was conducted to examine the level of infertility stress, marital adjustment, depression, and quality of life in infertile couples and assess the actor and partner effects in these areas using the actor-partner interdependence model. Cross-sectional study. Participants were 121 infertile couples. After pilot study, data were collected from November 2012 to March 2013 using the following questionnaires: the Fertility Quality of Life, Fertility Problem Inventory, Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and Beck Depression Inventory. There was a gender difference in infertility stress, depression, and quality of life. Infertility stress had actor and partner effects on the quality of life. Marital adjustment had an actor effect on the quality of life for the wives. Depression had actor and partner effects on quality of life for the wives, but only an actor effect for the husbands. This study found that there were actor and partner effects of infertility stress, marital adjustment, and depression on the quality of life in infertile couples. These findings may help nurses be aware of such effects and can be used as a baseline data in the development of nursing interventions for infertile couples.

Place-Based Initiatives to Improve Health in Disadvantaged Communities: Cross-Sector Characteristics and Networks of Local Actors in North Carolina.

PubMed

Dupre, Matthew E; Moody, James; Nelson, Alicia; Willis, Janese M; Fuller, Lori; Smart, Allen J; Easterling, Doug; Silberberg, Mina

2016-09-01

To examine the leadership attributes and collaborative connections of local actors from the health sector and those outside the health sector in a major place-based health initiative. We used survey data from 340 individuals in 4 Healthy Places North Carolina counties from 2014 to assess the leadership attributes (awareness, attitudes, and capacity) and network connections of local actors by their organizational sector. Respondents' leadership attributes-scored on 5-point Likert scales-were similar across Healthy Places North Carolina counties. Although local actors reported high levels of awareness and collaboration around community health improvement, we found lower levels of capacity for connecting diversity, identifying barriers, and using resources in new ways to improve community health. Actors outside the health sector had generally lower levels of capacity than actors in the health sector. Those in the health sector exhibited the majority of network ties in their community; however, they were also the most segregated from actors in other sectors. More capacity building around strategic action-particularly in nonhealth sectors-is needed to support efforts in making widespread changes to community health.

False recollection of the role played by an actor in an event

PubMed Central

Earles, Julie L.; Upshaw, Christin

2013-01-01

Two experiments demonstrated that eyewitnesses more frequently associate an actor with the actions of another person when those two people had appeared together in the same event, rather than in different events. This greater likelihood of binding an actor with the actions of another person from the same event was associated with high-confidence recognition judgments and “remember” responses in a remember–know task, suggesting that viewing an actor together with the actions of another person led participants to falsely recollect having seen that actor perform those actions. An analysis of age differences provided evidence that familiarity also contributed to false recognition independently of a false-recollection mechanism. In particular, older adults were more likely than young adults to falsely recognize a novel conjunction of a familiar actor and action, regardless of whether that actor and action were from the same or from different events. Older adults’ elevated rate of false recognition was associated with intermediate confidence levels, suggesting that it stemmed from increased reliance on familiarity rather than from false recollection. The implications of these results are discussed for theories of conjunction errors in memory and of unconscious transference in eyewitness testimony. PMID:23722927

Defining the global health system and systematically mapping its network of actors.

PubMed

Hoffman, Steven J; Cole, Clarke B

2018-04-17

The global health system has faced significant expansion over the past few decades, including continued increase in both the number and diversity of actors operating within it. However, without a stronger understanding of what the global health system encompasses, coordination of actors and resources to address today's global health challenges will not be possible. This study presents a conceptually sound and operational definition of the global health system. Importantly, this definition can be applied in practice to facilitate analysis of the system. The study tested the analytical helpfulness of this definition through a network mapping exercise, whereby the interconnected nature of websites representing actors in the global health system was studied. Using a systematic methodology and related search functions, 203 global health actors were identified, representing the largest and most transparent list of its kind to date. Identified global health actors were characterized and the structure of their social network revealed intriguing patterns in relationships among actors. These findings provide a foundation for future inquiries into the global health system's structure and dynamics that are critical if we are to better coordinate system activities and ensure successful response to our most pressing global health challenges.

Place-Based Initiatives to Improve Health in Disadvantaged Communities: Cross-Sector Characteristics and Networks of Local Actors in North Carolina

PubMed Central

Moody, James; Nelson, Alicia; Willis, Janese M.; Fuller, Lori; Smart, Allen J.; Easterling, Doug; Silberberg, Mina

2016-01-01

Objectives. To examine the leadership attributes and collaborative connections of local actors from the health sector and those outside the health sector in a major place-based health initiative. Methods. We used survey data from 340 individuals in 4 Healthy Places North Carolina counties from 2014 to assess the leadership attributes (awareness, attitudes, and capacity) and network connections of local actors by their organizational sector. Results. Respondents’ leadership attributes—scored on 5-point Likert scales—were similar across Healthy Places North Carolina counties. Although local actors reported high levels of awareness and collaboration around community health improvement, we found lower levels of capacity for connecting diversity, identifying barriers, and using resources in new ways to improve community health. Actors outside the health sector had generally lower levels of capacity than actors in the health sector. Those in the health sector exhibited the majority of network ties in their community; however, they were also the most segregated from actors in other sectors. Conclusions. More capacity building around strategic action—particularly in nonhealth sectors—is needed to support efforts in making widespread changes to community health. PMID:27459443

Couple adjustment to a stressful life event: a dyadic investigation of the roles of positive reframing and perceived benefits.

PubMed

Samios, Christina; Baran, Shayne

2018-03-01

This study examines positive reframing (a form of meaning making), perceived benefits (a form of meanings made) and adjustment in couples who experienced a stressful life event in the past year. This study tested whether couple members' scores were nonindependent and whether one's own perceived benefits was predicted by their own positive reframing (actor effect) as well as their partner's positive reframing (partner effect). Further, this study tested actor and partner effects for the link between perceived benefits and adjustment and whether positive reframing (the initial variable) works through perceived benefits (the mediator) to affect adjustment (the outcome) at the dyadic level. A standard dyadic design was used. Eighty couples completed measures of positive reframing, perceived benefits, and adjustment (depression, anxiety, positive affect, life satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction). Partners' scores on study variables were related, and although only actor effects were found for the path between positive reframing and perceived benefits, both actor and partner effects were found for the path between perceived benefits and adjustment. Mediation was found for actor-actor and actor-partner indirect effects. Results indicate that a greater focus on interpersonal factors is needed to further meaning-making theory and inform practice.

Campus Energy Approach, REopt Overview, and Solar for Universities

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

Elgqvist, Emma M; Van Geet, Otto D

2017-10-19

This presentation gives an overview of the climate neutral research campus framework for reducing energy use and meeting net zero electricity on research campuses. It gives an overview of REopt and the REopt Lite web tool, which can be used to evaluate cost optimal sizes of behind the meter PV and storage. It includes solar PV installation trends at universities and case studies for projects implemented on university campuses.

MicroGen: a MIAME compliant web system for microarray experiment information and workflow management.

PubMed

Burgarella, Sarah; Cattaneo, Dario; Pinciroli, Francesco; Masseroli, Marco

2005-12-01

Improvements of bio-nano-technologies and biomolecular techniques have led to increasing production of high-throughput experimental data. Spotted cDNA microarray is one of the most diffuse technologies, used in single research laboratories and in biotechnology service facilities. Although they are routinely performed, spotted microarray experiments are complex procedures entailing several experimental steps and actors with different technical skills and roles. During an experiment, involved actors, who can also be located in a distance, need to access and share specific experiment information according to their roles. Furthermore, complete information describing all experimental steps must be orderly collected to allow subsequent correct interpretation of experimental results. We developed MicroGen, a web system for managing information and workflow in the production pipeline of spotted microarray experiments. It is constituted of a core multi-database system able to store all data completely characterizing different spotted microarray experiments according to the Minimum Information About Microarray Experiments (MIAME) standard, and of an intuitive and user-friendly web interface able to support the collaborative work required among multidisciplinary actors and roles involved in spotted microarray experiment production. MicroGen supports six types of user roles: the researcher who designs and requests the experiment, the spotting operator, the hybridisation operator, the image processing operator, the system administrator, and the generic public user who can access the unrestricted part of the system to get information about MicroGen services. MicroGen represents a MIAME compliant information system that enables managing workflow and supporting collaborative work in spotted microarray experiment production.

Children's Moral Judgments as a Function of Intention, Damage, and an Actor's Physical Harm.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suls, Jerry; Kalle, Robert J.

1979-01-01

Examines children's moral judgments of story characters who accidently harm themselves. Children in kindergarten and in grades 3 and 5 rated actors in stories which varied in terms of intention, damage, and harm to the actor. (SS)

Two-Photon Fluorescence Microscopy for Biomedical Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fischer, David; Zimmerli, Greg; Asipauskas, Marius

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation gives an overview of two-photon microscopy as it applies to biomedical research. The topics include: 1) Overview; 2) Background; 3) Principles of Operation; 4) Advantages Over Confocal; 5) Modes of Operation; and 6) Applications.

Results of coronal hole research: An overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, R. M.

1976-01-01

An overview of the last 10 years of coronal hole research, in particular since 1970, is presented. The findings of the early investigations and the more recent results obtained with Skylab/Apollo Telescope Mount instrumentation are discussed.

The Interaction of Radio-Frequency Fields With Dielectric Materials at Macroscopic to Mesoscopic Scales

PubMed Central

Baker-Jarvis, James; Kim, Sung

2012-01-01

The goal of this paper is to overview radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic interactions with solid and liquid materials from the macroscale to the nanoscale. The overview is geared toward the general researcher. Because this area of research is vast, this paper concentrates on currently active research areas in the megahertz (MHz) through gigahertz (GHz) frequencies, and concentrates on dielectric response. The paper studies interaction mechanisms both from phenomenological and fundamental viewpoints. Relaxation, resonance, interface phenomena, plasmons, the concepts of permittivity and permeability, and relaxation times are summarized. Topics of current research interest, such as negative-index behavior, noise, plasmonic behavior, RF heating, nanoscale materials, wave cloaking, polaritonic surface waves, biomaterials, and other topics are overviewed. Relaxation, resonance, and related relaxation times are overviewed. The wavelength and material length scales required to define permittivity in materials is discussed. PMID:26900513

NOAA Office of Exploration and Research > About OER > Overview

Science.gov Websites

Organization Guiding Documents Organizational Structure Map of Staff and Affiliate Locations Strategic Plan Media News Room OER Symposium Overview Organization Guiding Documents Organizational Structure Map of Overview Home About OER Overview Organization Guiding Documents Organizational Structure Map of Staff and

Building inhabitant feedback: Creating a reflective practice for environmental design using activity theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cunningham, Dara Suzanne

The way buildings are designed now, there is little feedback from use involved in the design process. Attempts to correct this problem have been made in the form of Post Occupancy Evaluations (POEs) for 50-years but have largely failed. POEs are the accepted method for environmental designers to collect feedback about buildings in use. They are infrequently conducted, after the building is built, in a one-time only evaluation, and not funded as part of the build process. Other products receive feedback about the design in use from online critiques. Online critiques could provide a platform for feedback from actors engaged with buildings in use for environmental designers to utilize in developing reflective design rationale to avoid adverse consequences in future designs or correct consequences in past and current designs. Since buildings constitute such a large part of the human environment, it's important to research the effects of buildings on their inhabitants. In order for environmental designers to act on feedback from situated use, designers need to have access to that feedback and all actors interacting with the building design need to have an easy, inexpensive, and accessible method to submit feedback. These needs can be addressed by utilizing modern networked and mobile computing to collect and access building feedback. The analysis presented in this dissertation is informed by a thorough evaluation of the theory of reflective practice, activity theory, environmental design, and cognitive science research. From this analysis, I developed the following contributions. First, I expanded Schon's reflective practice by combining his theory with a modified version of activity theory, using activity theory to enrich reflective practice and create Reflective Activity Systems Theory (RAST), which provides a new framework to develop design rationale based on feedback from use and a focus on the activity. Second, I suggest the design of an activity information system, Socio-Technical Environments for Evolutionary Design (STEED), which provides an interactive platform for actor and artifact feedback from the use situation. Third, I discuss implications for practice by discussing how the feedback from actors and artifacts in situated use can be used to create reflective design rationale.

Bad Actors Criticality Assessment for Pipeline system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasir, Meseret; Chong, Kit wee; Osman, Sabtuni; Siaw Khur, Wee

2015-04-01

Failure of a pipeline system could bring huge economic loss. In order to mitigate such catastrophic loss, it is required to evaluate and rank the impact of each bad actor of the pipeline system. In this study, bad actors are known as the root causes or any potential factor leading to the system downtime. Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is used to analyze the probability of occurrence for each bad actor. Bimbaum's Importance and criticality measure (BICM) is also employed to rank the impact of each bad actor on the pipeline system failure. The results demonstrate that internal corrosion; external corrosion and construction damage are critical and highly contribute to the pipeline system failure with 48.0%, 12.4% and 6.0% respectively. Thus, a minor improvement in internal corrosion; external corrosion and construction damage would bring significant changes in the pipeline system performance and reliability. These results could also be useful to develop efficient maintenance strategy by identifying the critical bad actors.

The moral sense of humanitarian actors: an empirical exploration.

PubMed

Rességuier, Anaïs

2018-01-01

This paper examines humanitarianism's moral positioning above private and political interests to save lives and alleviate suffering. It does not aim to assess the legitimacy of this stance, but rather to probe the way in which humanitarian actors relate to this moral dimension in their everyday work. It investigates empirically humanitarian ethics from the perspective of humanitarian actors, drawing on interviews conducted in Beirut, Lebanon, in 2014. As it is exploratory, three key conceptual innovations were required. The first of these is the introduction of the tools developed to consider a neglected reality: humanitarian actors' 'moral sense' vis-à-vis the humanitarian sector's 'moral culture'. Second, the study shows how the sector's moral culture is structured around the notion of 'concern for persons in need'. Third, it analyses the way in which the sector and its actors handle the asymmetrical relationships encountered daily. Ultimately this paper seeks to valorise humanitarian actors' creativity in their common practices and explore potential challenges to it. © 2018 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2018.

Meeting the quest for spatial efficiency: progress and prospects of extensive aquaculture within offshore wind farms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buck, B. H.; Krause, G.; Michler-Cieluch, T.; Brenner, M.; Buchholz, C. M.; Busch, J. A.; Fisch, R.; Geisen, M.; Zielinski, O.

2008-09-01

Along the German North Sea coast, the observed high spatial competition of stakeholders has encouraged the idea of integrating open ocean aquaculture in conjunction with offshore wind farms beyond the 12 miles zone. The article provides an overview on the current state of transdisciplinary research on a potential implementation of such a multifunctional use concept on a showcase basis, covering biological, technical, economic and social/policy aspects as well as private-public partnerships and the relevant institutional bodies. We show that the cultivation of seaweeds and blue mussels is biologically and technically feasible in a high-energy environment using modified cultivation strategies. The point of departure of our multi-use concept was that the solid groundings of wind turbines could serve as attachment points for the aquaculture installations and become the key to the successful commercial cultivation of any offshore aquatic organism. However, spaces in between the turbines are also attractive for farming projects, since public access is restricted and thus the cultivation site protected from outside influences. An economic analysis of different operation scenarios indicates that the market price and the annual settlement success of juvenile mussels are the main factors that determine the breakeven point. Social and policy science research reveals that the integration of relevant actors into the development of a multi-use concept for a wind farm-mariculture interaction is a complex and controversial issue. Combining knowledge and experience of wind farm planners as well as mussel fishermen and mariculturists within the framework of national and EU policies is probably the most important component for designing and developing an effective offshore co-management regime to limit the consumption of ocean space.

10 best resources on power in health policy and systems in low- and middle-income countries.

PubMed

Sriram, Veena; Topp, Stephanie M; Schaaf, Marta; Mishra, Arima; Flores, Walter; Rajasulochana, Subramania Raju; Scott, Kerry

2018-05-01

Power is a critical concept to understand and transform health policy and systems. Power manifests implicitly or explicitly at multiple levels-local, national and global-and is present at each actor interface, therefore shaping all actions, processes and outcomes. Analysing and engaging with power has important potential for improving our understanding of the underlying causes of inequity, and our ability to promote transparency, accountability and fairness. However, the study and analysis of the role of power in health policy and systems, particularly in the context of low- and middle-income countries, has been lacking. In order to facilitate greater engagement with the concept of power among researchers and practitioners in the health systems and policy realm, we share a broad overview of the concept of power, and list 10 excellent resources on power in health policy and systems in low- and middle-income countries, covering exemplary frameworks, commentaries and empirical work. We undertook a two-stage process to identify these resources. First, we conducted a collaborative exercise involving crowdsourcing and participatory validation, resulting in 24 proposed articles. Second, we conducted a structured literature review in four phases, resulting in 38 articles reviewed. We present the 10 selected resources in the following categories to bring out key facets of the literature on power and health policy and systems-(1) Resources that provide an overarching conceptual exploration into how power shapes health policy and systems, and how to investigate it; and (2) examples of strong empirical work on power and health policy and systems research representing various levels of analyses, geographic regions and conceptual understandings of power. We conclude with a brief discussion of key gaps in the literature, and suggestions for additional methodological approaches to study power.

Taking stock of monitoring and evaluation systems in the health sector: findings from Rwanda and Uganda.

PubMed

Holvoet, Nathalie; Inberg, Liesbeth

2014-07-01

In the context of sector-wide approaches and the considerable funding being put into the health sectors of low-income countries, the need to invest in well-functioning national health sector monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems is widely acknowledged. Regardless of the approach adopted, an important first step in any strategy for capacity development is to diagnose the quality of existing systems or arrangements, taking into account both the supply and demand sides of M&E. As no standardized M&E diagnostic instrument currently exists, we first invested in the development of an assessment tool for sector M&E systems. To counter the criticism that M&E is often narrowed down to a focus on technicalities, our diagnostic tool assesses the quality of M&E systems according to six dimensions: (i) policy; (ii) quality of indicators and data (collection) and methodology; (iii) organization (further divided into iiia: structure and iiib: linkages); (iv) capacity; (v) participation of non-government actors and (vi) M&E outputs: quality and use. We subsequently applied the assessment tool to the health sector M&E systems of Rwanda and Uganda, and this article provides a comparative overview of the main research findings. Our research may have important implications for policy, as both countries receive health sector (budget) support in relation to which M&E system diagnosis and improvement are expected to be high on the agenda. The findings of our assessments indicate that, thus far, the health sector M&E systems in Rwanda and Uganda can at best be diagnosed as 'fragmentary', with some stronger and weaker elements. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2013; all rights reserved.

Overview of the dairy and food processing research conducted at the Dairy and Functional Foods Research Unit, ERRC, and research to develop sustainable food processes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The DFFRU is dedicated to solving critical problems in the utilization of milk and specialty crop byproducts by developing high-quality, value-added functional foods and consumer products. The presentation will give an overview of the research projects that will benefit human health and well-being. ...

Trail-Based Search for Efficient Event Report to Mobile Actors in Wireless Sensor and Actor Networks †

PubMed Central

Xu, Zhezhuang; Liu, Guanglun; Yan, Haotian; Cheng, Bin; Lin, Feilong

2017-01-01

In wireless sensor and actor networks, when an event is detected, the sensor node needs to transmit an event report to inform the actor. Since the actor moves in the network to execute missions, its location is always unavailable to the sensor nodes. A popular solution is the search strategy that can forward the data to a node without its location information. However, most existing works have not considered the mobility of the node, and thus generate significant energy consumption or transmission delay. In this paper, we propose the trail-based search (TS) strategy that takes advantage of actor’s mobility to improve the search efficiency. The main idea of TS is that, when the actor moves in the network, it can leave its trail composed of continuous footprints. The search packet with the event report is transmitted in the network to search the actor or its footprints. Once an effective footprint is discovered, the packet will be forwarded along the trail until it is received by the actor. Moreover, we derive the condition to guarantee the trail connectivity, and propose the redundancy reduction scheme based on TS (TS-R) to reduce nontrivial transmission redundancy that is generated by the trail. The theoretical and numerical analysis is provided to prove the efficiency of TS. Compared with the well-known expanding ring search (ERS), TS significantly reduces the energy consumption and search delay. PMID:29077017

Structural integration and performance of inter-sectoral public health-related policy networks: An analysis across policy phases.

PubMed

Peters, D T J M; Raab, J; Grêaux, K M; Stronks, K; Harting, J

2017-12-01

Inter-sectoral policy networks may be effective in addressing environmental determinants of health with interventions. However, contradictory results are reported on relations between structural network characteristics (i.e., composition and integration) and network performance, such as addressing environmental determinants of health. This study examines these relations in different phases of the policy process. A multiple-case study was performed on four public health-related policy networks. Using a snowball method among network actors, overall and sub-networks per policy phase were identified and the policy sector of each actor was assigned. To operationalise the outcome variable, interventions were classified by the proportion of environmental determinants they addressed. In the overall networks, no relation was found between structural network characteristics and network performance. In most effective cases, the policy development sub-networks were characterised by integration with less interrelations between actors (low cohesion), more equally distributed distances between the actors (low closeness centralisation), and horizontal integration in inter-sectoral cliques. The most effective case had non-public health central actors with less connections in all sub-networks. The results suggest that, to address environmental determinants of health, sub-networks should be inter-sectorally composed in the policy development rather than in the intervention development and implementation phases, and that policy development actors should have the opportunity to connect with other actors, without strong direction from a central actor. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The key role of supply chain actors in groundwater irrigation development in North Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lejars, Caroline; Daoudi, Ali; Amichi, Hichem

2017-09-01

The role played by supply chain actors in the rapid development of groundwater-based irrigated agriculture is analyzed. Agricultural groundwater use has increased tremendously in the past 50 years, leading to the decline of water tables. Groundwater use has enabled intensification of existing farming systems and ensured economic growth. This "groundwater economy" has been growing rapidly due to the initiative of farmers and the involvement of a wide range of supply chain actors, including suppliers of equipment, inputs retailers, and distributors of irrigated agricultural products. In North Africa, the actors in irrigated production chains often operate at the margin of public policies and are usually described as "informal", "unstructured", and as participating in "groundwater anarchy". This paper underlines the crucial role of supply chain actors in the development of groundwater irrigation, a role largely ignored by public policies and rarely studied. The analysis is based on three case studies in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, and focuses on the horticultural sub-sector, in particular on onions and tomatoes, which are irrigated high value crops. The study demonstrates that although supply chain actors are catalyzers of the expansion of groundwater irrigation, they could also become actors in adaptation to the declining water tables. Through their informal activities, they help reduce market risks, facilitate credit and access to subsidies, and disseminate innovation. The interest associated with making these actors visible to agricultural institutions is discussed, along with methods of getting them involved in the management of the resource on which they depend.

Societal response to nanotechnology: converging technologies-converging societal response research?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ronteltap, Amber; Fischer, Arnout R. H.; Tobi, Hilde

2011-10-01

Nanotechnology is an emerging technology particularly vulnerable to societal unrest, which may hinder its further development. With the increasing convergence of several technological domains in the field of nanotechnology, so too could convergence of social science methods help to anticipate societal response. This paper systematically reviews the current state of convergence in societal response research by first sketching the predominant approaches to previous new technologies, followed by an analysis of current research into societal response to nanotechnology. A set of 107 papers on previous new technologies shows that rational actor models have played an important role in the study of societal response to technology, in particular in the field of information technology and the geographic region of Asia. Biotechnology and nuclear power have, in contrast, more often been investigated through risk perception and other affective determinants, particularly in Europe and the USA. A set of 42 papers on societal response to nanotechnology shows similarities to research in biotechnology, as it also builds on affective variables such as risk perception. Although there is a tendency to extend the rational models with affective variables, convergence in social science approaches to response to new technologies still has a long way to go. The challenge for researchers of societal response to technologies is to converge to some shared principles by taking up the best parts from the rational actor models dominant in information technology, whilst integrating non-rational constructs from biotechnology research. The introduction of nanotechnology gives a unique opportunity to do so.

Overview of the immune response to phytonutrient in poultry

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Overview of the immune response to phytonutrient in poultry. Lillehoj, Hyun S. Animal Biosciences and Biotechnology Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA Phytochemicals are non-nutritive, plant-derived chemicals, many w...

Alcohol industry involvement in science: A systematic review of the perspectives of the alcohol research community.

PubMed

McCambridge, Jim; Mialon, Melissa

2018-06-13

Alcohol companies have recently invested large sums of money in answering research questions to which they have clear vested interests in the outcomes. There have been extensive concerns about corporate influence on public health sciences, following the experience with the tobacco industry. This systematic review aims to investigate the perspectives of researchers on the activities of alcohol industry actors in relation to science, in order to guide future research. All data published in peer-reviewed journals (including commentaries, opinion pieces, editorials and letters as well as research reports) were eligible for inclusion. This analysis focuses on the manifest rather than latent content of the articulated views, and accordingly adopts a thematic analysis using an inductive approach to the generation of themes. There are serious concerns identified in three main areas, principally defined by where the impacts of industry scientific activities occur; on evidence informed policy making (instrumental uses of research by industry actors), on the content of the scientific evidence base itself (industry funding as a source of bias); and on the processes of undertaking research (transgressions of basic scientific norms). There are also opposing views which provide a useful critique. The evidence-base on the validity of all concerns has been slow to develop. The concerns are extensive, longstanding and unresolved and high quality investigations are needed. This study informs the detailed content of the research needed to address the concerns identified here. © 2018 The Authors Drug and Alcohol Review published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

ACToR: Aggregated Computational Toxicology Resource (T)

EPA Science Inventory

The EPA Aggregated Computational Toxicology Resource (ACToR) is a set of databases compiling information on chemicals in the environment from a large number of public and in-house EPA sources. ACToR has 3 main goals: (1) The serve as a repository of public toxicology information ...

Brain Research and Education: An Overview.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Kenneth L.

An overview of some educational implications of brain related research indicates that new insights can be gained from brain research. Four areas of study appear to be promising. First, the study of the evolution of the brain involves theories derived mostly from sociobiology, which is the study of the social behavior of animals, including humans…

Learning, Teaching and Assessment: A Theoretical Overview. SCRE Project Report No. 20.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Black, Harry; And Others

This overview of the literature on teaching, learning, and assessment was prepared to help develop a shared understanding by educators, researchers, and students to inform subsequent research conducted by the Scottish Council for Research in Education (SCRE) into the National Certificate in Scotland. Section 1 serves as an introduction to the…

Breeding and genetic resources of five-needle pines: Growth, adaptability, and pest resistance

Treesearch

Richard A. Sniezko; Safiya Samman; Scott E. Schlarbaum; Howard B. Kriebel

2004-01-01

This volume presents 29 overview and research papers on the breeding, genetic variation, genecology, gene conservation, and pest resistance of five-needle pines (Pinus L. subgenus Strobus Lemm.) from throughout the world. Overview papers provide information on past and present research as well as future needs for research on white...

Keeping Connected: The Design and Overview of the Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moss, Julianne

2014-01-01

The special issue "Keeping Connected: Identity, Social Connection and Education for Young People" opens with a paper that discusses the research design and overview of a three-year project by a Melbourne (Australia)-based multi-disciplinary team. Over 2007-2009, the Keeping Connected team of 10 researchers investigated the lives of…

Overview of U.S. EPA Aging Water Infrastructure Research Program - Interfacing with the Water Industry on Technology Assessment

EPA Science Inventory

This slide presentation summarizes key elements of the EPA Office of Research and Development’s (ORD) Aging Water Infrastructure (AWI) Research program. An overview of the national problems posed by aging water infrastructure is followed by a brief description of EPA’s overall r...

An overview of the Penn State Propulsion Engineering Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merkle, Charles L.

1991-01-01

An overview of the Penn State Propulsion Engineering Research Center is presented. The following subject areas are covered: research objectives and long term perspective of the Center; current status and operational philosophy; and brief description of Center projects (combustion, fluid mechanics and heat transfer, materials compatibility, turbomachinery, and advanced propulsion concepts).

Early Childhood Music Education Research: An Overview

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Susan

2016-01-01

This article offers a short commentary on the "state of play" in early childhood music education research to accompany the articles published in this special issue. It provides an international overview of recent research trends in this field, with examples drawn from Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, East and South Africa and…

Gender Issues in Technical Communication Studies: An Overview of the Implications for the Profession, Research, and Pedagogy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Jo

1991-01-01

Presents an overview of research and unanswered questions related to gender issues in technical communication. Addresses the consequences of the feminization of technical communication, research on gender differences in technical communication, and the means for encouraging a more gender-balanced view of business and industry. (SR)

A Mobile Learning Overview by Timeline and Mind Map

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parsons, David

2014-01-01

Mobile learning has been a research topic for some 20 years. Over that time it has encompassed a wide range of concepts, theories, designs, experiments and evaluations. With increasing interest in mobile learning from researchers and practitioners, an accessible overview of this area of research that encapsulates its many facets and features can…

Danish Universities in the Financial Crisis: Change and Trust

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milthers, Pernille Meyn

2011-01-01

Universities have always been important to national economies, but since the financial crisis of 2007-08 they have become key economic actors. Because they supply highly skilled labour and undertake basic research that enable nations to engage in global competition, they are capable of boosting production and innovation. This article explores the…

Dutch Adolescents' Tolerance of Practices by Muslim Actors: The Effect of Issue Framing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gieling, Maike; Thijs, Jochem; Verkuyten, Maykel

2012-01-01

This research, conducted in the Netherlands, examines whether native adolescents' tolerance of practices by Muslim immigrants (e.g., the founding of Islamic schools) is affected by the type of considerations (e.g., educational freedom vs. integration of Muslims in Dutch society). Using an experimental questionnaire design (N = 970), the findings…

Policy Intensions and the Folds of the Self

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webb, P. Taylor; Gulson, Kalervo N.

2013-01-01

In this essay, P. Taylor Webb and Kalervo N. Gulson argue that educational policy is a spatial process and that implementation processes in particular produce crucial emergent geographies for policy research. Webb and Gulson describe how emergent geographies are produced when policy "folds" actors through senses and enactments of policy. The idea…

Building a Strong Ensemble of Teaching Artists: Characteristics, Contexts, and Strategies for Success and Sustainability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mages, Wendy K.

2013-01-01

This research analyzes the techniques, strategies, and philosophical foundations that contributed to the quality and maintenance of a strong theatre-in-education ensemble. This study details how the company selected ensemble members and describes the work environment the company developed to promote collaboration and encourage actor-teacher…

Reimagining Internationalization in Higher Education: International Consortia as a Transformative Space?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tadaki, Marc; Tremewan, Christopher

2013-01-01

From ongoing practices and rhetorics of globalization have emerged a new set of actors, logics and relations between and beyond institutions of higher education and research. As universities across the world continue to grapple with fundamental changes in resource structures and institutional missions, the "rolling back" of state support…

The Emergence and Institutionalisation of the European Higher Education and Research Area

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beerkens, Eric

2008-01-01

Since the European unification project started in the 1950s, rules, regulations and policies have been formulated by the European Union (and its predecessors) to facilitate the flow of products and people; those who benefited from the increasing transnational exchange urged European actors to remove remaining obstacles and further facilitate…

Performativity, Fabrication and Trust: Exploring Computer-Mediated Moderation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clapham, Andrew

2013-01-01

Based on research conducted in an English secondary school, this paper explores computer-mediated moderation as a performative tool. The Module Assessment Meeting (MAM) was the moderation approach under investigation. I mobilise ethnographic data generated by a key informant, and triangulated with that from other actors in the setting, in order to…

Responding to Policy Challenges with Research Evidence: Introduction to Special Issue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aydarova, Elena; Berliner, David C.

2018-01-01

In a policy climate where various actors claim to have solutions for the enduring challenges of teacher education, policy deliberations sideline certain voices and omit important perspectives. This special issue brings together scholars who attend to the voices, perspectives, and issues overlooked by teacher education policy debates dominated by…

Boundary-Spanning Actors in Urban 4-H: An Action Research Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

David, Victoria Dotson

2014-01-01

Today's Cooperative Extension organization continues to face challenges of providing relevant, quality programming in urban communities. Challenges include the ability to build capacity in Extension's urban youth educators to assess and interpret the unique, variable needs of urban clients and to communicate effectively the identified…

A Right Brain/Left Brain Model of Acting.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowlen, Clark

Using current right brain/left brain research, this paper develops a model that explains acting's underlying quality--the actor is both himself and the character. Part 1 presents (1) the background of the right brain/left brain theory, (2) studies showing that propositional communication is a left hemisphere function while affective communication…

Politics of Education and Teachers' Support for High-Stakes Teacher Accountability Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pizmony-Levy, Oren; Woolsey, Ashley

2017-01-01

Although educators are at the center of contentious high-stakes teacher accountability policies, we know very little about their attitudes toward these policies. This research gap is unfortunate because teachers are considered key actors in successful implementation of educational reforms. To what extent do the politics that accompany the…

Scholars as Policy Actors: Research, Public Discourse, and the Zone of Judicial Constraints

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Welner, Kevin G.

2012-01-01

Courts, students are told, will protect minorities' legal rights against popular sentiment and political pressure. But courts can be expected to protect rights only within boundaries shaped in part by popular and political opinion. This suggests that litigation outcomes regarding education rights issues will depend on shifting the policymaking…

Role Balance and Marital Satisfaction in Taiwanese Couples: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Lung Hung; Li, Tsui-Shan

2012-01-01

Role balance theory proposed that a well-organized self-system, rather than a salient hierarchy role, contributes to individual psychological well-being. However, research on role balance focuses only on the intrapersonal process without regard for the interpersonal process on the spouse's well-being. Furthermore, previous studies were all…

Using Student Voice to Respond to Middle School Bullying: A Student Leadership Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shriberg, David; Brooks, Keeshawna; Jenkins, Kisha; Immen, Jennifer; Sutter, Caroline; Cronin, Karen

2017-01-01

Bullying prevention and intervention are ongoing challenges for all educators, school psychologists included. A lack of research exists regarding the potential role of middle school students as direct actors in bullying prevention and intervention. This article describes a novel student leadership group for seventh graders in which the primary…

Lost in Translation: Reconsidering Reflective Practice and Design Studio Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mewburn, Inger

2012-01-01

Drawing on empirical research done in the early 1980s, Donald Schon developed the theory of "reflective practice", putting forward the idea that the design studio teacher is a "coach" who helps students align with disciplinary norms and start to "think like an architect". Drawing on actor-network theory as a tool of…

The Internet, Political Communications Research and the Search for a New Information Paradigm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiu, William Franklin

2013-01-01

The Internet, as a digital record of human discourse, provides an opportunity to directly analyze political communicative behavior. The rapid emergence of social online networks augurs a transformation in the quality and quantity of information people have to evaluate their political system. Digital formats instantiate new categories of actors and…

Disassembling the Classroom--An Ethnographic Approach to the Materiality of Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roehl, Tobias

2012-01-01

The ethnography of education is challenged by the materiality of the classroom. Ethnographic accounts of school lessons mostly highlight language and interaction and offer no suitable methodology for researching objects and their role in the classroom. Moreover, objects are part of complex and interwoven assemblages involving human actors,…

A Social-ecological framework for urban stewardship network research to promote sustainable and resilient cities

Treesearch

Michele Romolini; R. Patrick Bixler; Morgan Grove

2016-01-01

To realize more sustainable and resilient urban social-ecological systems, there is great need for active engagement from diverse public agencies, non-profit organizations, businesses, natural resource managers, scientists, and other actors. Cities present unique challenges and opportunities for sustainability and resilience, as issues and organizations are frequently...