Communicating contentious geoscience issues and maintaining impartiality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nice, S. E.; Mitchell, C.

2013-12-01

Shale Gas exploration in the UK has been major and often controversial news in the British media over the last 2 years. The British Geological Survey (BGS) has been an integral part of this story as the UK Governments independent and impartial advisor on geosciences. BGS has been involved in writing policy on fracking and induced earthquakes as well as researching potential quantities of shale gas in the UK and also researching natural methane levels in groundwater before large scale fracking activities begin. Shale Gas in the UK, as in the US and Europe has caused much controversy and as a result has many pro and anti fracking campaigns. The challenge for BGS has been to deliver front line science, whilst maintaining complete impartiality on the subject. The BGS communications team developed a strategy over this period to ensure that our message was clear and strong. This involved working closely with the scientists involved to formulate key messages that could delivered through controlled statements on the BGS webpages, press releases, at press conferences as well as on broadcast and print media. Our scientists were media trained during this time to ensure that they stayed en message and wouldn't be caught by the press or opponents of fracking into making statements that could have been used to either scare up the position or give the antagonist room to cast doubt on our impartiality. This strategy proved highly successful and BGS managed to communicate the facts, remain impartial whilst avoiding attempts to undermine the potential for Shale gas exploitation in the UK. The success of this communication strategy was due to the cooperation of the scientists, a clear strategy from the communications team and the unequivocal support of the senior executive at BGS. This abstract will conclude how the BGS has developed its communication strategy to be more streamlined and open. BGS must allow it's scientists to talk to the media about the science that they do. Much of the research that we do is paid for by the British taxpayer and it's our obligation to make sure we communicate what we're doing and why we're doing it to the public in a transparent and easy to understand way whilst ensuring that we maintain our reputation for being a trusted, independent and impartial source of expert advice.

Rethinking balance and impartiality in journalism? How the BBC attempted and failed to change the paradigm

PubMed Central

Wahl-Jorgensen, Karin; Berry, Mike; Garcia-Blanco, Iñaki; Bennett, Lucy; Cable, Jonathan

2016-01-01

This article reconsiders the concepts of balance and impartiality in journalism, in the context of a quantitative content analysis of sourcing patterns in BBC news programming on radio, television and online in 2007 and 2012. Impartiality is the cornerstone of principles of public service broadcasting at the BBC and other broadcasters modelled on it. However, the article suggests that in the case of the BBC, it is principally put into practice through juxtaposing the positions of the two main political parties – Conservative and Labour. On this basis, the article develops the idea of the ‘paradigm of impartiality-as-balance.’ This paradigm prevails despite the news organisation’s commitment to representing a broader range of opinion. The paradigm of impartiality-as-balance means that only a narrow range of views and voices are heard on the most contentious and important issues. Further, it results in reporting that focuses on party-political conflict, to the detriment of a journalism which provides much-needed context. PMID:29278243

Rethinking balance and impartiality in journalism? How the BBC attempted and failed to change the paradigm.

PubMed

Wahl-Jorgensen, Karin; Berry, Mike; Garcia-Blanco, Iñaki; Bennett, Lucy; Cable, Jonathan

2017-08-01

This article reconsiders the concepts of balance and impartiality in journalism, in the context of a quantitative content analysis of sourcing patterns in BBC news programming on radio, television and online in 2007 and 2012. Impartiality is the cornerstone of principles of public service broadcasting at the BBC and other broadcasters modelled on it. However, the article suggests that in the case of the BBC, it is principally put into practice through juxtaposing the positions of the two main political parties - Conservative and Labour. On this basis, the article develops the idea of the 'paradigm of impartiality-as-balance.' This paradigm prevails despite the news organisation's commitment to representing a broader range of opinion. The paradigm of impartiality-as-balance means that only a narrow range of views and voices are heard on the most contentious and important issues. Further, it results in reporting that focuses on party-political conflict, to the detriment of a journalism which provides much-needed context.

Impartial institutions, pathogen stress and the expanding social network.

PubMed

Hruschka, Daniel; Efferson, Charles; Jiang, Ting; Falletta-Cowden, Ashlan; Sigurdsson, Sveinn; McNamara, Rita; Sands, Madeline; Munira, Shirajum; Slingerland, Edward; Henrich, Joseph

2014-12-01

Anthropologists have documented substantial cross-society variation in people's willingness to treat strangers with impartial, universal norms versus favoring members of their local community. Researchers have proposed several adaptive accounts for these differences. One variant of the pathogen stress hypothesis predicts that people will be more likely to favor local in-group members when they are under greater infectious disease threat. The material security hypothesis instead proposes that institutions that permit people to meet their basic needs through impartial interactions with strangers reinforce a tendency toward impartiality, whereas people lacking such institutions must rely on local community members to meet their basic needs. Some studies have examined these hypotheses using self-reported preferences, but not with behavioral measures. We conducted behavioral experiments in eight diverse societies that measure individuals' willingness to favor in-group members by ignoring an impartial rule. Consistent with the material security hypothesis, members of societies enjoying better-quality government services and food security show a stronger preference for following an impartial rule over investing in their local in-group. Our data show no support for the pathogen stress hypothesis as applied to favoring in-groups and instead suggest that favoring in-group members more closely reflects a general adaptive fit with social institutions that have arisen in each society.

25 CFR 700.513 - Business dealings on behalf of the government.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

..., organizations, business and individuals shall maintain strict impartiality in their business dealings... impartiality that must prevail in all business relationships involving the Commission. However, this...

32 CFR Appendix B to Part 231 - In-Store Banking

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...) MISCELLANEOUS PROCEDURES GOVERNING BANKS, CREDIT UNIONS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ON DOD INSTALLATIONS Pt. 231, App. B Appendix B to Part 231—In-Store Banking A. Selection Process. The purpose of this guidance is to assure an impartial and thorough process to select the best on-base financial institution to...

32 CFR Appendix B to Part 231 - In-Store Banking

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...) MISCELLANEOUS PROCEDURES GOVERNING BANKS, CREDIT UNIONS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ON DOD INSTALLATIONS Pt. 231, App. B Appendix B to Part 231—In-Store Banking A. Selection Process. The purpose of this guidance is to assure an impartial and thorough process to select the best on-base financial institution to...

32 CFR Appendix B to Part 231 - In-Store Banking

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...) MISCELLANEOUS PROCEDURES GOVERNING BANKS, CREDIT UNIONS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ON DOD INSTALLATIONS Pt. 231, App. B Appendix B to Part 231—In-Store Banking A. Selection Process. The purpose of this guidance is to assure an impartial and thorough process to select the best on-base financial institution to...

Educational Myth-Making with "Due Accuracy and Impartiality"? A Current Affairs TV Episode in the United Kingdom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallace, Mike

2007-01-01

The mass media contribution to education politics is explored through the application of a pluralistic theoretical framework to evidence connected with the making of an episode of a U.K. current affairs television program. The episode addressed a politically contentious educational issue but proved controversial in itself. Several sources…

Neuroanatomy of intergroup bias: A white matter microstructure study of individual differences.

PubMed

Baumgartner, Thomas; Nash, Kyle; Hill, Christopher; Knoch, Daria

2015-11-15

Intergroup bias-the tendency to behave more positively toward an ingroup member than an outgroup member-is a powerful social force, for good and ill. Although it is widely demonstrated, intergroup bias is not universal, as it is characterized by significant individual differences. Recently, attention has begun to turn to whether neuroanatomy might explain these individual differences in intergroup bias. However, no research to date has examined whether white matter microstructure could help determine differences in behavior toward ingroup and outgroup members. In the current research, we examine intergroup bias with the third-party punishment paradigm and white matter integrity and connectivity strength as determined by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). We found that both increased white matter integrity at the right temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) and connectivity strength between the right TPJ and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) were associated with increased impartiality in the third-party punishment paradigm, i.e., reduced intergroup bias. Further, consistent with the role that these brain regions play in the mentalizing network, we found that these effects were mediated by mentalizing processes. Participants with greater white matter integrity at the right TPJ and connectivity strength between the right TPJ and the DMPFC employed mentalizing processes more equally for ingroup and outgroup members, and this non-biased use of mentalizing was associated with increased impartiality. The current results help shed light on the mechanisms of bias and, potentially, on interventions that promote impartiality over intergroup bias. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the forensic pathologist: ethical considerations

PubMed Central

Lorin De La Grandmaison, Geoffroy; Durigon, Michel; Moutel, Grégoire; Hervé, Christian

2006-01-01

War crimes in the former Yugoslavia since 1991 have been subjected to several international medico-legal investigations of mass graves within the framework of inquiries led by the ICTY. Forensic pathologists involved in the ICTY missions could be subjected to ethical tensions due to the difficulties of the missions, the emergent conflicts between forensic scientists of the teams and the original nature of the ICTY proceedings. In order to study the nature of such ethical tensions, we sent a questionnaire to 65 forensic pathologists who have been involved in the ICTY missions. The rate of answer was 38%. The majority of the forensic pathologists questioned (n=18) did not know how the medico-legal data were exploited by the ICTY. Three of them have been subjected to pressures. Three of them were aware of mass grave sites wittingly not investigated by the ICTY. Fifteen considered that the ICTY respected the elementary rules of the law and four of them questioned the impartiality of the justice led by the ICTY. Two conflicting types of ethics can be drawn from these results: a conviction ethics which is shared by most of the forensic pathologists questioned and a responsibility ethics. In the first, the forensic pathologist completely agrees with the need for an international war crime tribunal even if such justice can be challenged regarding the respect of human rights and impartiality. In the second, he or she needs to conduct himself in ways that do not infringe impartiality. As medical deontology duty requires an impartiality ethics, discursive ethics are needed to ease ethical tensions and to suggest ethical guidelines. Alternatives to international justice through a truth and reconciliation commission and by the way of humanitarian mission of victims’ identification combined with forensic investigations for historical purposes could be considered. PMID:16909642

The international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the forensic pathologist: ethical considerations.

PubMed

Lorin de la Grandmaison, G; Durigon, M; Moutel, G; Herve, C

2006-07-01

Since 1991, war crimes in the former Yugoslavia have been the subject of several international medico-legal investigations of mass graves within the framework of inquiries led by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Forensic pathologists involved in the ICTY missions could be subjected to ethical tensions due to the difficulties of the missions, the emergent conflicts between forensic scientists of the investigating teams and the original nature of the ICTY proceedings. In order to study the nature of such ethical tensions, we sent a questionnaire to 65 forensic pathologists who have been involved in the ICTY missions. The rate of response was 38%. The majority of forensic pathologists questioned (n=18) did not know how the medico-legal data was exploited by the ICTY. Three of them have been subjected to pressures. Three of them were aware of mass grave sites knowingly not investigated by the ICTY. Fifteen considered that the ICTY respected the elementary rules of the law and four of them questioned the impartiality of the justice led by the ICTY. Two conflicting types of ethics can be drawn from these results: conviction ethics, which are shared by most of the forensic pathologists questioned, and responsibility ethics. In the former, the forensic pathologist completely agrees with the need for an international war crimes tribunal, even if such justice can be challenged regarding the respect of human rights and impartiality. In the latter, he or she needs to conduct him or herself in ways that do not infringe impartiality. As medical deontology duty requires impartiality ethics, discursive ethics are needed to ease ethical tensions and to suggest ethical guidelines. Alternatives to international justice, through a truth and reconciliation commission and by way of humanitarian missions combining victims' identification with forensic investigations for historical purposes, could be considered.

47 CFR 52.11 - North American Numbering Council.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false North American Numbering Council. 52.11 Section... recommendations, reached through consensus, that foster efficient and impartial number administration; (c) Initially resolving disputes, through consensus, that foster efficient and impartial number administration...

Editorial: Conflict of interest policy for Editors of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Integrity in the publication process requires impartiality at all levels of review. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) adheres to the policy of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writin...

Pro: Boards Need Independent, Impartial Experts to Audit Administrative Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boonin, Tobyann; Neuwirth, Paul

1983-01-01

Argues that school boards should use outside "management auditors" to help assess operational effectiveness, especially in five areas: internal financial auditing, personnel and payroll, purchasing, construction and repairs, and data processing. Suggests guidelines for hiring management auditors and lists 11 firms that perform management…

32 CFR 1636.7 - Impartiality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Impartiality. 1636.7 Section 1636.7 National Defense Other Regulations Relating to National Defense SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM CLASSIFICATION OF... another, and all beliefs whether of a religious, ethical, or moral nature are to be given equal...

32 CFR 1636.7 - Impartiality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Impartiality. 1636.7 Section 1636.7 National Defense Other Regulations Relating to National Defense SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM CLASSIFICATION OF... another, and all beliefs whether of a religious, ethical, or moral nature are to be given equal...

32 CFR 1636.7 - Impartiality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Impartiality. 1636.7 Section 1636.7 National Defense Other Regulations Relating to National Defense SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM CLASSIFICATION OF... another, and all beliefs whether of a religious, ethical, or moral nature are to be given equal...

32 CFR 1636.7 - Impartiality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Impartiality. 1636.7 Section 1636.7 National Defense Other Regulations Relating to National Defense SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM CLASSIFICATION OF... another, and all beliefs whether of a religious, ethical, or moral nature are to be given equal...

In a moral dilemma, choose the one you love: Impartial actors are seen as less moral than partial ones.

PubMed

Hughes, Jamie S

2017-09-01

Although impartiality and concern for the greater good are lauded by utilitarian philosophies, it was predicted that when values conflict, those who acted impartially rather than partially would be viewed as less moral. Across four studies, using life-or-death scenarios and more mundane ones, support for the idea that relationship obligations are important in moral attribution was found. In Studies 1-3, participants rated an impartial actor as less morally good and his or her action as less moral compared to a partial actor. Experimental and correlational evidence showed the effect was driven by inferences about an actor's capacity for empathy and compassion. In Study 4, the relationship obligation hypothesis was refined. The data suggested that violations of relationship obligations are perceived as moral as long as strong alternative justifications sanction them. Discussion centres on the importance of relationships in understanding moral attributions. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

The power of mediation.

PubMed

Zerkin, A J

1999-01-01

There is a range of intervention strategies and procedures designed to assist parties in reaching agreement, from negotiation, over which parties have complete control, to arbitration, the process over which they have the least control. In the middle of this spectrum is mediation. Simply put, mediation is assisted negotiation. A mediator is an impartial person (or team) that works with the parties, mostly together and sometimes separately, to help them reach an agreement to resolve a dispute. The cornerstones of mediation are impartiality and confidentiality. The logic of mediation is that disputants can easily fall into many pitfalls trying to resolve a dispute without help. This article explores these common barriers to effective direct negotiations--such as overestimating the likelihood of prevailing through power, litigation, or arbitration--and presents a case study describing how a complex set of problems was resolved through mediation.

5 CFR 5001.103 - Impartiality determinations for members of the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... of the Interstate Commerce Commission. 5001.103 Section 5001.103 Administrative Personnel INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION § 5001.103 Impartiality determinations for members of the Interstate Commerce Commission. A member...

5 CFR 5001.103 - Impartiality determinations for members of the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... of the Interstate Commerce Commission. 5001.103 Section 5001.103 Administrative Personnel INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION § 5001.103 Impartiality determinations for members of the Interstate Commerce Commission. A member...

5 CFR 5001.103 - Impartiality determinations for members of the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... of the Interstate Commerce Commission. 5001.103 Section 5001.103 Administrative Personnel INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION § 5001.103 Impartiality determinations for members of the Interstate Commerce Commission. A member...

5 CFR 5001.103 - Impartiality determinations for members of the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... of the Interstate Commerce Commission. 5001.103 Section 5001.103 Administrative Personnel INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION § 5001.103 Impartiality determinations for members of the Interstate Commerce Commission. A member...

5 CFR 5001.103 - Impartiality determinations for members of the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... of the Interstate Commerce Commission. 5001.103 Section 5001.103 Administrative Personnel INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION § 5001.103 Impartiality determinations for members of the Interstate Commerce Commission. A member...

34 CFR 303.421 - Appointment of an impartial person.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... must be appointed to implement the complaint resolution process in this subpart. The person must— (1... a timely resolution of the complaint. (ii) Provide a record of the proceedings, including a written... appointed to implement the complaint resolution process— (i) Is not an employee of any agency or other...

Impartial Teachers in Religious Education--A Perspective from a Norwegian Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skeie, Geir

2017-01-01

The debate about Norwegian religious education, since the change towards a more multi-faith and non-confessional school subject in 1997, has often touched upon issues of impartiality, using concepts such as neutral, objective, descriptive, critical and pluralistic. Still, international Human Rights bodies have criticised Norwegian regulations for…

Impartiality and Hierarchical Evaluations in the Japanese Development Aid Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maemura, Yu

2016-01-01

This article presents a discourse analytic study of how the concept of impartiality is socially constructed by members of the development aid community through an examination of linguistic traits and patterns within (a) inter- and intraorganizational interactions and (b) relevant aid evaluation policy documents. A qualitative analysis of…

12 CFR 611.320 - Impartiality in the election of directors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Impartiality in the election of directors. 611.320 Section 611.320 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM ORGANIZATION... by any other person for the benefit of any candidate for nomination or election, unless the same...

Beyond Sacrificial Harm: A Two-Dimensional Model of Utilitarian Psychology

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Recent research has relied on trolley-type sacrificial moral dilemmas to study utilitarian versus nonutilitarian modes of moral decision-making. This research has generated important insights into people’s attitudes toward instrumental harm—that is, the sacrifice of an individual to save a greater number. But this approach also has serious limitations. Most notably, it ignores the positive, altruistic core of utilitarianism, which is characterized by impartial concern for the well-being of everyone, whether near or far. Here, we develop, refine, and validate a new scale—the Oxford Utilitarianism Scale—to dissociate individual differences in the ‘negative’ (permissive attitude toward instrumental harm) and ‘positive’ (impartial concern for the greater good) dimensions of utilitarian thinking as manifested in the general population. We show that these are two independent dimensions of proto-utilitarian tendencies in the lay population, each exhibiting a distinct psychological profile. Empathic concern, identification with the whole of humanity, and concern for future generations were positively associated with impartial beneficence but negatively associated with instrumental harm; and although instrumental harm was associated with subclinical psychopathy, impartial beneficence was associated with higher religiosity. Importantly, although these two dimensions were independent in the lay population, they were closely associated in a sample of moral philosophers. Acknowledging this dissociation between the instrumental harm and impartial beneficence components of utilitarian thinking in ordinary people can clarify existing debates about the nature of moral psychology and its relation to moral philosophy as well as generate fruitful avenues for further research. PMID:29265854

Impartiality, statistical tit-for-tats and the construction of balance: UK television news reporting of the 2016 EU referendum campaign

PubMed Central

Cushion, Stephen; Lewis, Justin

2017-01-01

There has been greater news industry recognition in recent years that impartiality should not be translated into simply balancing the competing sides of a debate or issue. The binary nature of a referendum campaign represents a unique moment to consider whether broadcasters have put this into practice beyond routine political reporting. This study examines how impartiality was editorially interpreted in television news coverage during the United Kingdom’s 2016 European Union referendum. We carried out a systematic content analysis of the United Kingdom’s main evening bulletins over the 10-week campaign, examining the issues and sources shaping coverage, as well as all the statistical claims made by campaign actors. Our aim was to critically examine how notions of impartiality were constructed and interpreted, exploring any operational limits and political consequences. Overall, we found that news bulletins maintained a fairly strict adherence to a central binary balance between issues and actors during the campaign. But this binary was politically inflected, with a significant imbalance in party political perspectives, presenting us with a right-wing rather than a left-wing case for European Union membership. We also found that independent expert analysis and testimony was sucked into the partisan binary between leave and remain campaigners, while journalists were reluctant to challenge or contextualise claims and counter-claims. Journalists were, in this sense, constrained by the operational definition of impartiality adopted by broadcasters. We argue for a more evidence-driven approach to impartiality, where journalists independently explore the veracity of campaign claims and have the editorial freedom to challenge them. We also suggest that the reliance on claims and counter-claims by leading Conservative politicians did little to advance public understanding of the European Union, and helped perpetuate a series of long-standing negative associations the British media have been reporting for many decades. PMID:28690350

Impartiality, statistical tit-for-tats and the construction of balance: UK television news reporting of the 2016 EU referendum campaign.

PubMed

Cushion, Stephen; Lewis, Justin

2017-06-01

There has been greater news industry recognition in recent years that impartiality should not be translated into simply balancing the competing sides of a debate or issue. The binary nature of a referendum campaign represents a unique moment to consider whether broadcasters have put this into practice beyond routine political reporting. This study examines how impartiality was editorially interpreted in television news coverage during the United Kingdom's 2016 European Union referendum. We carried out a systematic content analysis of the United Kingdom's main evening bulletins over the 10-week campaign, examining the issues and sources shaping coverage, as well as all the statistical claims made by campaign actors. Our aim was to critically examine how notions of impartiality were constructed and interpreted, exploring any operational limits and political consequences. Overall, we found that news bulletins maintained a fairly strict adherence to a central binary balance between issues and actors during the campaign. But this binary was politically inflected, with a significant imbalance in party political perspectives, presenting us with a right-wing rather than a left-wing case for European Union membership. We also found that independent expert analysis and testimony was sucked into the partisan binary between leave and remain campaigners, while journalists were reluctant to challenge or contextualise claims and counter-claims. Journalists were, in this sense, constrained by the operational definition of impartiality adopted by broadcasters. We argue for a more evidence-driven approach to impartiality, where journalists independently explore the veracity of campaign claims and have the editorial freedom to challenge them. We also suggest that the reliance on claims and counter-claims by leading Conservative politicians did little to advance public understanding of the European Union, and helped perpetuate a series of long-standing negative associations the British media have been reporting for many decades.

Realism and Impartiality: Making Sustainability Effective in Decision-Making.

PubMed

Bastons, Miquel; Armengou, Jaume

2017-08-01

There is both individual and collective widespread concern in society about the impact of human activity and the effects of our decisions on the physical and social environment. This concern is included within the idea of sustainability. The meaning of the concept is still ambiguous and its practical effectiveness disputed. Like many other authors, this article uses as a starting point the definition proposed by the World Commission on Environment and Development (Our common future, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1987), considering it to be a proposal for changing the assessment of the effects of decisions, from at least two perspectives: (1) what effects we should consider and (2) how we should assess them. Based on this double perspective, sustainability is explored as a method for decision-making which both expands the assessment of the consequences, and also provides an objective criterion for such assessment. It will be argued that the idea of sustainability, seen from this perspective, brings to decision-making two qualities which had been partially lost: realism and impartiality. In turn, the criteria for realism and impartiality in decision-making can be used to identify the limitations of some partial approaches to sustainability, which suffer from insufficient realism (emotional altruism), insufficient impartiality (tactical altruism) or both phenomena at once (egoism). The article concludes by demonstrating how realism and impartiality provide the basis for a new form of sustainable decision-making (ethical sustainability), which is dependent on the development of two moral virtues, prudence and benevolence, and which brings practical effectiveness and ethical sense to the concept of sustainability.

7 CFR 1.631 - What are the powers of the ALJ?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false What are the powers of the ALJ? 1.631 Section 1.631... Licenses General Provisions Related to Hearings § 1.631 What are the powers of the ALJ? The ALJ will have all powers necessary to conduct a fair, orderly, expeditious, and impartial hearing process...

43 CFR 45.31 - What are the powers of the ALJ?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false What are the powers of the ALJ? 45.31... the powers of the ALJ? The ALJ will have all powers necessary to conduct a fair, orderly, expeditious, and impartial hearing process, consistent with the requirements of § 45.60(a), including the powers to...

7 CFR 1.631 - What are the powers of the ALJ?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false What are the powers of the ALJ? 1.631 Section 1.631... Licenses General Provisions Related to Hearings § 1.631 What are the powers of the ALJ? The ALJ will have all powers necessary to conduct a fair, orderly, expeditious, and impartial hearing process...

50 CFR 221.31 - What are the powers of the ALJ?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false What are the powers of the ALJ? 221.31... General Provisions Related to Hearings § 221.31 What are the powers of the ALJ? The ALJ will have all powers necessary to conduct a fair, orderly, expeditious, and impartial hearing process, consistent with...

43 CFR 45.31 - What are the powers of the ALJ?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false What are the powers of the ALJ? 45.31... the powers of the ALJ? The ALJ will have all powers necessary to conduct a fair, orderly, expeditious, and impartial hearing process, consistent with the requirements of § 45.60(a), including the powers to...

50 CFR 221.31 - What are the powers of the ALJ?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false What are the powers of the ALJ? 221.31... General Provisions Related to Hearings § 221.31 What are the powers of the ALJ? The ALJ will have all powers necessary to conduct a fair, orderly, expeditious, and impartial hearing process, consistent with...

Impartial judgment by the "gatekeepers" of science: fallibility and accountability in the peer review process.

PubMed

Hojat, Mohammadreza; Gonnella, Joseph S; Caelleigh, Addeane S

2003-01-01

High publication demands and the low acceptance rate of peer review journals place the journal editors and their reviewers in a powerful position. Journal reviewers have a vital role not only in influencing the journal editor's publication decisions, but also in the very nature and direction of scientific research. Because of their influence in peer review outcomes, journal reviewers are aptly described as the "gatekeepers of science." In this article we describe several pitfalls that can impede reviewers' impartial judgement. These include such issues as confirmatory bias, the negative results bias (the file drawer problem), the Matthew effect, the Doctor Fox effect, and gender, race, theoretical orientation, and "political correctness." We argue that procedures currently used by many professional journals, such as blind or masked review, may not completely alleviate the effects of these pitfalls. Instead, we suggest that increasing reviewers' awareness of the pitfalls, accountability, and vigilance can improve fairness in the peer review process. The ultimate responsibilities belong to the journal editors who are confronted with the difficult task of satisfying journal readers, contributors, reviewers, and owners. We recommend that the journal editors conduct periodic internal and external evaluations of their journals' peer review process and outcomes, with participation of reviewers, contributors, readers and owners.

Fairness as partiality aversion: the development of procedural justice.

PubMed

Shaw, Alex; Olson, Kristina

2014-03-01

Adults and children dislike inequity-people being paid unequally for equal work. However, adults will allow inequity if the inequity is determined using an impartial procedure, indicating that they value procedural justice. It is unknown whether children value procedural justice when distributing resources. We investigated whether 5- to 8-year-old children would willingly create inequity between two recipients if they could do so using an impartial procedure. In Experiment 1, children preferred to use an impartial procedure (spinning a wheel that gave both recipients an equal chance to get a resource) over a partial procedure (spinning a wheel that gave one recipient a much better chance to get the resource). In Experiments 2 and 3, children preferred to use the same impartial procedure to assign a resource to one of two recipients, even over an option of keeping things equal by throwing the resource in the trash. Importantly, children preferred to throw the resource in the trash to uphold equality when the only other option was a partial procedure. Older children showed a stronger aversion to using partial procedures than younger children. These results suggest that children value procedural justice increasingly during middle childhood and that their fairness concerns may be more about avoiding partiality than inequity per se. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Putting the "social" back in legal socialization: procedural justice, legitimacy, and cynicism in legal and nonlegal authorities.

PubMed

Trinkner, Rick; Cohn, Ellen S

2014-12-01

Traditionally, legal socialization theory and research has been dominated by a cognitive developmental approach. However, more recent work (e.g., Fagan & Tyler, 2005) has used procedural justice to explain the legal socialization process. This article presents 2 studies that expand this approach by testing a procedural justice model of legal socialization in terms of legal and nonlegal authority. In Study 1, participants completed surveys assessing the degree to which they perceived 3 authorities (police officers, parents, and teachers) as procedurally fair, the degree to which they perceived the authorities as legitimate, how cynical they were about laws, and the extent of their rule violation during the past 6 months. Across all 3 authorities, legitimacy and legal cynicism mediated the relation between procedural justice and rule violation. Study 2 examined the model with the same 3 authority types using experimental methods. Participants read 3 scenarios describing an interaction between an adolescent and an authority figure where a rule is enforced. Within each scenario, we manipulated whether the adolescent had a voice and whether the authority enforced the rule impartially. After reading each scenario, participants rated the authority's legitimacy, their cynicism toward the authority's rule, and the likelihood they would violate the rule. Again, legitimacy and rule cynicism mediated the relation between impartiality, voice, and rule violation. In addition, impartiality had a stronger effect in the parent and teacher scenarios, whereas voice had a stronger effect in the police scenario. Results are discussed in terms of expanding legal socialization to nonlegal contexts and applying legal socialization research to prevention and intervention strategies. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America Lyme guidelines: a cautionary tale about the development of clinical practice guidelines

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Flawed clinical practice guidelines may compromise patient care. Commercial conflicts of interest on panels that write treatment guidelines are particularly problematic, because panelists may have conflicting agendas that influence guideline recommendations. Historically, there has been no legal remedy for conflicts of interest on guidelines panels. However, in May 2008, the Attorney General of Connecticut concluded a ground-breaking antitrust investigation into the development of Lyme disease treatment guidelines by one of the largest medical societies in the United States, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). Although the investigation found significant flaws in the IDSA guidelines development process, the subsequent review of the guidelines mandated by the settlement was compromised by a lack of impartiality at various stages of the IDSA review process. This article will examine the interplay between the recent calls for guidelines reform, the ethical canons of medicine, and due process considerations under antitrust laws as they apply to the formulation of the IDSA Lyme disease treatment guidelines. The article will also discuss pitfalls in the implementation of the IDSA antitrust settlement that should be avoided in the future. PMID:20529367

Pettit on consequentialism and universalizability.

PubMed

Gleeson, Andrew

2005-01-01

Philip Pettit has argued that universalizability entails consequentialism. I criticise the argument for relying on a question-begging reading of the impartiality of universalization. A revised form of the argument can be constructed by relying on preference-satisfaction rationality, rather than on impartiality. But this revised argument succumbs to an ambiguity in the notion of a preference (or desire). I compare the revised argument to an earlier argument of Pettit's for consequentialism that appealed to the theoretical virtue of simplicity, and I raise questions about the force of appeal to notions like simplicity and rationality in moral argument.

Impartial Third-Party Interventions in Captive Chimpanzees: A Reflection of Community Concern

PubMed Central

von Rohr, Claudia Rudolf; Koski, Sonja E.; Burkart, Judith M.; Caws, Clare; Fraser, Orlaith N.; Ziltener, Angela; van Schaik, Carel P.

2012-01-01

Because conflicts among social group members are inevitable, their management is crucial for group stability. The rarest and most interesting form of conflict management is policing, i.e., impartial interventions by bystanders, which is of considerable interest due to its potentially moral nature. Here, we provide descriptive and quantitative data on policing in captive chimpanzees. First, we report on a high rate of policing in one captive group characterized by recently introduced females and a rank reversal between two males. We explored the influence of various factors on the occurrence of policing. The results show that only the alpha and beta males acted as arbitrators using manifold tactics to control conflicts, and that their interventions strongly depended on conflict complexity. Secondly, we compared the policing patterns in three other captive chimpanzee groups. We found that although rare, policing was more prevalent at times of increased social instability, both high-ranking males and females performed policing, and conflicts of all sex-dyad combinations were policed. These results suggest that the primary function of policing is to increase group stability. It may thus reflect prosocial behaviour based upon “community concern.” However, policing remains a rare behaviour and more data are needed to test the generality of this hypothesis. PMID:22412879

Impartial third-party interventions in captive chimpanzees: a reflection of community concern.

PubMed

von Rohr, Claudia Rudolf; Koski, Sonja E; Burkart, Judith M; Caws, Clare; Fraser, Orlaith N; Ziltener, Angela; van Schaik, Carel P

2012-01-01

Because conflicts among social group members are inevitable, their management is crucial for group stability. The rarest and most interesting form of conflict management is policing, i.e., impartial interventions by bystanders, which is of considerable interest due to its potentially moral nature. Here, we provide descriptive and quantitative data on policing in captive chimpanzees. First, we report on a high rate of policing in one captive group characterized by recently introduced females and a rank reversal between two males. We explored the influence of various factors on the occurrence of policing. The results show that only the alpha and beta males acted as arbitrators using manifold tactics to control conflicts, and that their interventions strongly depended on conflict complexity. Secondly, we compared the policing patterns in three other captive chimpanzee groups. We found that although rare, policing was more prevalent at times of increased social instability, both high-ranking males and females performed policing, and conflicts of all sex-dyad combinations were policed. These results suggest that the primary function of policing is to increase group stability. It may thus reflect prosocial behaviour based upon "community concern." However, policing remains a rare behaviour and more data are needed to test the generality of this hypothesis.

'Utilitarian' judgments in sacrificial moral dilemmas do not reflect impartial concern for the greater good.

PubMed

Kahane, Guy; Everett, Jim A C; Earp, Brian D; Farias, Miguel; Savulescu, Julian

2015-01-01

A growing body of research has focused on so-called 'utilitarian' judgments in moral dilemmas in which participants have to choose whether to sacrifice one person in order to save the lives of a greater number. However, the relation between such 'utilitarian' judgments and genuine utilitarian impartial concern for the greater good remains unclear. Across four studies, we investigated the relationship between 'utilitarian' judgment in such sacrificial dilemmas and a range of traits, attitudes, judgments and behaviors that either reflect or reject an impartial concern for the greater good of all. In Study 1, we found that rates of 'utilitarian' judgment were associated with a broadly immoral outlook concerning clear ethical transgressions in a business context, as well as with sub-clinical psychopathy. In Study 2, we found that 'utilitarian' judgment was associated with greater endorsement of rational egoism, less donation of money to a charity, and less identification with the whole of humanity, a core feature of classical utilitarianism. In Studies 3 and 4, we found no association between 'utilitarian' judgments in sacrificial dilemmas and characteristic utilitarian judgments relating to assistance to distant people in need, self-sacrifice and impartiality, even when the utilitarian justification for these judgments was made explicit and unequivocal. This lack of association remained even when we controlled for the antisocial element in 'utilitarian' judgment. Taken together, these results suggest that there is very little relation between sacrificial judgments in the hypothetical dilemmas that dominate current research, and a genuine utilitarian approach to ethics. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On the random distribution of scarce doses of vaccine in response to the threat of an influenza pandemic: a response to Wardrope.

PubMed

McLachlan, Hugh V

2015-02-01

Wardrope argues against my proposed non-consequentialist policy for the distribution of scarce influenza vaccine in the face of a pandemic. According to him, even if one accepts what he calls my deontological ethical theory, it does not follow that we are required to agree with my proposed randomised allocation of doses of vaccine by means of a lottery. He argues in particular that I fail to consider fully the prophylactic role of vaccination whereby it serves to protect from infection more people than are vaccinated. He concludes that: 'The benefits and burdens of vaccination are provided impartially and far more effectively by targeted vaccination than impartial lotteries.' He has shown convincingly that this conclusion can be established in the case of his particular envisaged scenario. However, Wardrope gives no reason to suppose that, in the circumstances that we actually face, targeted vaccination would constitute impartial treatment of citizens in the UK. I readily agree with Wardrope that if it should treat its citizens justly and impartially, it does not necessarily follow that the state should distribute vaccinations of the basis of a lottery. That will be a reasonable thing to do only if certain assumptions are made. These assumptions will not always be reasonable. However, they are reasonable ones to make in the actual circumstances that currently apply. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

‘Utilitarian’ judgments in sacrificial moral dilemmas do not reflect impartial concern for the greater good

PubMed Central

Kahane, Guy; Everett, Jim A.C.; Earp, Brian D.; Farias, Miguel; Savulescu, Julian

2015-01-01

A growing body of research has focused on so-called ‘utilitarian’ judgments in moral dilemmas in which participants have to choose whether to sacrifice one person in order to save the lives of a greater number. However, the relation between such ‘utilitarian’ judgments and genuine utilitarian impartial concern for the greater good remains unclear. Across four studies, we investigated the relationship between ‘utilitarian’ judgment in such sacrificial dilemmas and a range of traits, attitudes, judgments and behaviors that either reflect or reject an impartial concern for the greater good of all. In Study 1, we found that rates of ‘utilitarian’ judgment were associated with a broadly immoral outlook concerning clear ethical transgressions in a business context, as well as with sub-clinical psychopathy. In Study 2, we found that ‘utilitarian’ judgment was associated with greater endorsement of rational egoism, less donation of money to a charity, and less identification with the whole of humanity, a core feature of classical utilitarianism. In Studies 3 and 4, we found no association between ‘utilitarian’ judgments in sacrificial dilemmas and characteristic utilitarian judgments relating to assistance to distant people in need, self-sacrifice and impartiality, even when the utilitarian justification for these judgments was made explicit and unequivocal. This lack of association remained even when we controlled for the antisocial element in ‘utilitarian’ judgment. Taken together, these results suggest that there is very little relation between sacrificial judgments in the hypothetical dilemmas that dominate current research, and a genuine utilitarian approach to ethics. PMID:25460392

Making the morally relevant features explicit: a response to Carson Strong.

PubMed

Gert, Bernard

2006-03-01

Carson Strong criticizes the application of my moral theory to bioethics cases. Some of his criticisms are due to my failure to make explicit that both the irrationality or rationality of a decision and the irrationality or rationality of the ranking of evils are part of morally relevant feature 3. Other criticisms are the result of his not using the two-step procedure in a sufficiently rigorous way. His claim that I come up with a wrong answer depends upon his incorrectly regarding a weakly justified violation as one that all impartial rational persons would agree was permitted, rather than as one about which rational persons disagree.

The role of absorption in women's sexual response to erotica: a cognitive-affective investigation.

PubMed

Sheen, Jade; Koukounas, Eric

2009-01-01

This study examined the effect of absorption on women's emotional and cognitive processing of erotic film. Absorption was experimentally manipulated using 2 different sets of test session instructions. The first, participant-oriented, instruction set directed participants to absorb themselves in the erotic film presentation, imagining that they were active participants in the sexual activities depicted. The second, spectator-oriented, instruction set directed participants to observe and assess the erotic film excerpt as impartial spectators. The participant-oriented instruction set was found to elicit greater subjective absorption in women than the spectator-oriented instruction set, and women reported greater subjective sexual arousal in the former set compared with the latter. Thus, it appears that the degree to which a woman becomes absorbed in an erotic stimulus may affect her subsequent subjective sexual arousal. Also, women reported greater degrees of positive affect when they took a participant-oriented perspective than when they viewed the erotic materials as impartial spectators. Thus, participants who were highly absorbed in the erotic film excerpt were more likely to view the stimulus favorably. By contrast, the degree to which women became absorbed in the stimulus had no effect on their reported negative affect. Future directions for examining female response patterns are suggested.

Children use partial resource sharing as a cue to friendship.

PubMed

Liberman, Zoe; Shaw, Alex

2017-07-01

Resource sharing is an important aspect of human society, and how resources are distributed can provide people with crucial information about social structure. Indeed, a recent partiality account of resource distribution suggested that people may use unequal partial resource distributions to make inferences about a distributor's social affiliations. To empirically test this suggestion derived from the theoretical argument of the partiality account, we presented 4- to 9-year-old children with distributors who gave out resources unequally using either a partial procedure (intentionally choosing which recipient would get more) or an impartial procedure (rolling a die to determine which recipient would get more) and asked children to make judgments about whom the distributor was better friends with. At each age tested, children expected a distributor who gave partially to be better friends with the favored recipient (Studies 1-3). Interestingly, younger children (4- to 6-year-olds) inferred friendship between the distributor and the favored recipient even in cases where the distributor used an impartial procedure, whereas older children (7- to 9-year-olds) did not infer friendship based on impartial distributions (Study 1). These studies demonstrate that children use third-party resource distributions to make important predictions about the social world and add to our knowledge about the developmental trajectory of understanding the importance of partiality in addition to inequity when making social inferences. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An Investigation of Partizan Misere Games

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, Meghan Rose

2010-08-01

Combinatorial games are played under two different play conventions: normal play, where the last player to move wins, and mis play, where the last player to move loses. Combinatorial games are also classified into impartial positions and partizan positions, where a position is impartial if both players have the same available moves and partizan otherwise. Mis play games lack many of the useful calculational and theoretical properties of normal play games. Until Plambeck's indistinguishability quotient and mis monoid theory were developed in 2004, research on mis play games had stalled. This thesis investigates partizan combinatorial mis play games, by taking Plambeck's indistinguishability and mis monoid theory for impartial positions and extending it to partizan ones, as well as examining the difficulties in constructing a category of mis play games in a similar manner to Joyal's category of normal play games. This thesis succeeds in finding an infinite set of positions which each have finite mis monoid, examining conditions on positions for when * + * is equivalent to 0, finding a set of positions which have Tweedledum-Tweedledee type strategy, and the two most important results of this thesis: giving necessary and sufficient conditions on a set of positions Upsilon such that the mis monoid of Upsilon is the same as the mis monoid of * and giving a construction theorem which builds all positions ξ such that the mis monoid of ξ is the same as the mis monoid of *.

Statistical Detection of Anthropogenic Temporal Changes in the Distribution of Tropical Cyclones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joannes-boyau, R.; Bodin, T.; Scheffers, A.; Sambridge, M.

2012-12-01

Recent studies highlighting the potential impact of climate change on tropical cyclones have added fuel to the already controversial debates. The link between climate change and tropical cyclone intensity and frequency has been disputed, as both appear to remain in the natural variability. The difficulty lies in our ability to distinguish natural changes from anthropogenic-induced anomalies. The increased anthropogenic atmospheric carbon dioxide leads to environmental changes such as warmer Sea Surface Temperatures (SST) and thus could impact tropical cyclones intensities and frequencies. However, recent studies show that, against an increasing SST, no global trend in respect to cyclone frequency has yet emerged. Scientists have warned to consider the heterogeneity of the existing dataset; especially since the historical tropical cyclone record is frequently accused to be incomplete. Given the abundance of cyclone record data and its likely sensitivity to a number of environmental factors, the real limitation comes from our ability to understand the record as a whole. Thus, strong arguments against the impartiality of proposed models are often debated. We will present an impartial and independent statistical tool applicable to a wide variety of physical and biological phenomena such as processes described by power laws, to observe temporal variations in the tropical cyclone track record from 1842 to 2010. This methodology allows us to observe the impact of anthropogenic-induced modifications on climatic events, without being clustered in subjective parameterised models.

Enabling Dissimilar Material Joining Using Friction Stir Scribe Technology

DOE PAGES

Hovanski, Yuri; Upadyay, Piyush; Kleinbaum, Sarah; ...

2017-04-05

One challenge in adapting welding processes to dissimilar material joining is the diversity of melting temperatures of the different materials. Although the use of mechanical fasteners and adhesives have mostly paved the way for near-term implementation of dissimilar material systems, these processes only accentuate the need for low-cost welding processes capable of impartially joining dissimilar material components regardless of alloy, properties, or melting temperature. Friction stir scribe technology was developed to overcome the challenges of joining dissimilar material components where melting temperatures vary greatly, and properties and/or chemistry are not compatible with more traditional welding processes. Finally, although the frictionmore » stir scribe process is capable of joining dissimilar metals and metal/polymer systems, a more detailed evaluation of several aluminum/steel joints is presented herein to demonstrate the ability to both chemically and mechanically join dissimilar materials.« less

11 CFR 7.7 - Prohibited conduct-General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Government efficiency or economy; (d) Losing independence or impartiality; (e) Making a Government decision... Employees or Commissioners § 7.7 Prohibited conduct—General. A Commissioner or employee shall avoid any...

Fair and Impartial Recruitment Act of 2010

THOMAS, 111th Congress

Rep. Dent, Charles W. [R-PA-15

2010-09-29

House - 11/01/2010 Referred to the Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

75 FR 18725 - Organization; Eligibility and Scope of Financing; Funding and Fiscal Affairs, Loan Policies and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-12

...The Farm Credit Administration (FCA or we) issues this final rule on Farm Credit System (System) bank and association director elections and other voting procedures. The final rule clarifies director election processes and updates FCA regulations to incorporate interpretations made through bookletters to System institutions. It also consolidates general election procedures, clarifies the role of nominating committees, enhances eligibility and disclosure requirements for director candidates, and improves annual meeting information statement instructions. The final rule also adds new regulations on floor nominations and meetings of stockholders. We expect this final rule will increase stockholder participation, enhance impartiality, and strengthen disclosures in director elections.

Research on comprehensive performance evaluation technology of wind turbine based on Analytic Hierarchy Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Xiangsheng; Zhong, Mingqiu; Li, Ying; Yang, Hongyuan

2018-05-01

High-power of the offshore wind turbine is in the early stage of development, then how to establish a scientific and impartial performance evaluation system of the offshore wind turbine becomes the key to the health development of the industry. This paper adopts the method of multi-level analysis and site testing, which can reduce the impact of human factors on evaluation to the most extent. A more reasonable judging criterion with the relative importance of different factors of the same criterion level is also put forward, which constructs a more scientific and fair evaluation system of the high-power offshore wind turbine.

18 CFR 358.4 - Non-discrimination requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... provisions relating to the sale or purchase of open access transmission service, if the tariff provisions do... relating to the sale or purchase of open access transmission service in a fair and impartial manner that...

In Defence of Bureaucratic Organisation in Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lungu, Gatian F.

1985-01-01

Examines the charges against bureaucracy in education. Cites research studies in arguing that bureaucracy is needed to arbitrate conflicts from an impartial perspective and that problems are failures in application and not of bureaucracies themselves. (MLF)

RIFs: Procedural Issues and Post-Termination Rights.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phay, Robert E.

1980-01-01

Reviews the major procedural issues that have been litigated when an employee has challenged a layoff. These areas include timely notice, notice of reason, burden of proof, standard of proof, prior hearing, and impartial hearer. (Author/IRT)

A Social Contract for University-Industry Collaboration: A Case of Project-Based Learning Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vartiainen, Tero

This study determines a social contract for a form of university-industry collaboration to a project-based learning environment in close collaboration with industry. The author's previous studies on moral conflicts in a project-based learning (PjBL) environment and his 5-year engagement in the PjBL environment are used as background knowledge, and John Rawls' veil of ignorance is used as a method in the contract formulation. Fair and impartial treatment of actors is strived for with the contract which constitutes of sets of obligations for each party, students, clients, and university (instructors) in the chosen project course. With the contract fair and impartial treatment of actors is strived for and the most dilemmatic moral conflicts are tried to be avoided. The forming of the social contract is evaluated, and implications for research and collaborations in practice are offered.

Generic prejudice and the presumption of guilt in sex abuse trials.

PubMed

Vidmar, N

1997-02-01

In 25 Canadian criminal trials involving charges of sexual abuse, 849 prospective jurors were asked under oath whether they could hear the evidence, follow the judge's instructions on the law, and decide the case with a fair and impartial mind. Knowing only the nature of the charges against the accused, on average 36% of the jurors stated that they could not be impartial. Some jurors explained that they themselves had been victims of abuse, others expressed fears for children, while others stated simply that they could not set aside a presumption of guilt. These findings from real trials are consistent with a body of social science literature about attitudes toward sexual abuse and sexual assault charges. The article distinguishes between prejudices arising from specific pretrial publicity and generic prejudices that cause prejudgments of the case of any defendant perceived as belonging to a general class of defendants who likely are guilty of the crime(s) charged.

From ideals to deals-The effect of impartiality experience on stakeholder behavior.

PubMed

Halko, Marja-Liisa; Miettinen, Topi

2017-01-01

In this paper, we study a two-party pie-sharing problem in the presence of asymmetries in the stakeholders' private endowments. Both the two stakeholders and third-party arbitrators may influence the outcome. We consider Nash-demand negotiations, where the two stakeholders place demands and share the pie accordingly if demands are compatible, and elicit dictatorial allocations from the stakeholders and the arbitrators. The Nash demands by stakeholders are strategic; the dictatorial allocations by stakeholders and arbitrators are non-strategic. We are interested in the influence of the past arbitrator experience on stakeholder allocations and demands and the past stakeholder experience on third-party arbitration allocations. We find that the ex-arbitrators' stakeholder allocations differ more from the impartial ideal than the stakeholder allocations by those without arbitration experience. In contrast with previous findings, the arbitration outcomes do not depend on the asymmetries in the previous stakeholder roles.

From ideals to deals—The effect of impartiality experience on stakeholder behavior

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

In this paper, we study a two-party pie-sharing problem in the presence of asymmetries in the stakeholders' private endowments. Both the two stakeholders and third-party arbitrators may influence the outcome. We consider Nash-demand negotiations, where the two stakeholders place demands and share the pie accordingly if demands are compatible, and elicit dictatorial allocations from the stakeholders and the arbitrators. The Nash demands by stakeholders are strategic; the dictatorial allocations by stakeholders and arbitrators are non-strategic. We are interested in the influence of the past arbitrator experience on stakeholder allocations and demands and the past stakeholder experience on third-party arbitration allocations. We find that the ex-arbitrators' stakeholder allocations differ more from the impartial ideal than the stakeholder allocations by those without arbitration experience. In contrast with previous findings, the arbitration outcomes do not depend on the asymmetries in the previous stakeholder roles. PMID:28786988

22 CFR 1203.735-201 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

...) Losing independence or impartiality; (5) Making a Government decision outside official channels; or (6... Foreign Relations UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION AGENCY EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES AND CONDUCT Ethical and Other Conduct and Responsibilities of Employees § 1203.735-201 General. (a) Proscribed...

Look Again: A Response to "Another Look."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fraenkel, Jack R.

1991-01-01

Answers criticism directed at utilitarianism. Argues that the philosophy evaluates choices by identifying the factors that should be considered in weighing the morality of an act. Suggests that the distributive principle of impartiality means everyone's pleasure should count equally. (DK)

75 FR 65014 - Science Advisory Board Staff Office Request for Nominations of Experts for the Consultation on...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-21

.... Nuclear Regulatory Commission, U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Defense) consensus... of impartiality; and (e) skills working in committees, subcommittees and advisory panels; and, (f...

Science, Society, Solutions: An Introduction to the USGS

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2001-01-01

The USGS serves the Nation by providing relevant, impartial scientific information to * Describe and understand the Earth; * Minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; * Manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and * Enhance and protect our quality of life.

5 CFR 2635.601 - Overview.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Overview. 2635.601 Section 2635.601 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS GOVERNMENT ETHICS STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES... statutory requirement, it also addresses the issues of lack of impartiality that require disqualification...

Human Trafficking. Ministering to The 'Invisible' Victim.

PubMed

Scanlon, Colleen; Krausa, Laura

2016-07-01

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery - an insidious, criminal industry that gener- ates billions of dollars in labor trafficking alone. It knows no boundary of continent, country, race or class; it is a shattering, impartial predator that robs individuals of their basic human dignity.

24 CFR 597.401 - Periodic performance reviews.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY FACILITIES URBAN EMPOWERMENT ZONES AND ENTERPRISE COMMUNITIES... regularly evaluate the progress of the strategic plan in each designated Empowerment Zone and Enterprise... will also commission evaluations of the Empowerment Zone program as a whole by an impartial third party...

24 CFR 597.401 - Periodic performance reviews.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY FACILITIES URBAN EMPOWERMENT ZONES AND ENTERPRISE COMMUNITIES... regularly evaluate the progress of the strategic plan in each designated Empowerment Zone and Enterprise... will also commission evaluations of the Empowerment Zone program as a whole by an impartial third party...

24 CFR 597.401 - Periodic performance reviews.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY FACILITIES URBAN EMPOWERMENT ZONES AND ENTERPRISE COMMUNITIES... regularly evaluate the progress of the strategic plan in each designated Empowerment Zone and Enterprise... will also commission evaluations of the Empowerment Zone program as a whole by an impartial third party...

15 CFR 280.214 - Hearings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE ACCREDITATION AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAMS FASTENER QUALITY... conducted in a fair and impartial manner by the administrative law judge, who may limit attendance at any... may nevertheless proceed, and that party's failure to appear will not affect the validity of the...

48 CFR 22.406-1 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Policy. 22.406-1 Section 22.406-1 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS....406-1 Policy. (a) General. Contracting agencies are responsible for ensuring the full and impartial...

RELIABILITY OF CONFOCAL MICROSCOPY SPECTRAL IMAGING SYSTEMS: USE OF MULTISPECTRAL BEADS

EPA Science Inventory

Background: There is a need for a standardized, impartial calibration, and validation protocol on confocal spectral imaging (CSI) microscope systems. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to have testing tools to provide a reproducible way to evaluate instrument performance. ...

17 CFR 37.202 - Access requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... software vendor with impartial access to its market(s) and market services, including any indicative quote... electronic confirmation of their status as eligible contract participants, as defined by the Act and... participants and independent software vendors receiving comparable access to, or services from, the swap...

24 CFR 597.401 - Periodic performance reviews.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY FACILITIES URBAN EMPOWERMENT ZONES AND ENTERPRISE COMMUNITIES... regularly evaluate the progress of the strategic plan in each designated Empowerment Zone and Enterprise... will also commission evaluations of the Empowerment Zone program as a whole by an impartial third party...

Office of the Ombudsman.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Office of Federal Student Aid (ED), Washington, DC.

This pamphlet describes the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman, an impartial resource to help customers resolve student loan concerns when other approaches fail. The ombudsman helps resolve discrepancies in loan balances and payments, and helps customers understand interest and collection charges. The office helps resolve issues related to income tax…

Confidential Financial Disclosure Form for Environmental Protection Agency Special Government Employees (EPA Form 3110-48)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA uses the Confidential Financial Disclosure Form to determine whether there is a conflict of interest or the appearance of a lack of impartiality with regard to the topic under review by the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel.

23 CFR 230.409 - Contract compliance review procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

..., written corrective action plans, PR-1391 or Manpower Utilization Reports, training requirements, previous... result in increased utilization of minorities and women? (iv) Is there impartiality in treatment of...) Have the contractor's efforts produced results? (f) Exit conference (Action R-6). (1) During the exit...

23 CFR 230.409 - Contract compliance review procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

..., written corrective action plans, PR-1391 or Manpower Utilization Reports, training requirements, previous... result in increased utilization of minorities and women? (iv) Is there impartiality in treatment of...) Have the contractor's efforts produced results? (f) Exit conference (Action R-6). (1) During the exit...

23 CFR 230.409 - Contract compliance review procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

..., written corrective action plans, PR-1391 or Manpower Utilization Reports, training requirements, previous... result in increased utilization of minorities and women? (iv) Is there impartiality in treatment of...) Have the contractor's efforts produced results? (f) Exit conference (Action R-6). (1) During the exit...

23 CFR 230.409 - Contract compliance review procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

..., written corrective action plans, PR-1391 or Manpower Utilization Reports, training requirements, previous... result in increased utilization of minorities and women? (iv) Is there impartiality in treatment of...) Have the contractor's efforts produced results? (f) Exit conference (Action R-6). (1) During the exit...

45 CFR 73.735-101 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Welfare Department of Health and Human Services GENERAL ADMINISTRATION STANDARDS OF CONDUCT General Provisions § 73.735-101 Purpose. To assure that the business of the Department of Health and Human Services... observe high standards of honesty, impartiality, and behavior. They must not engage in any conduct...

45 CFR 73.735-101 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION STANDARDS OF CONDUCT General Provisions § 73.735-101 Purpose. To assure that the business of the Department of Health and Human Services... observe high standards of honesty, impartiality, and behavior. They must not engage in any conduct...

45 CFR 73.735-101 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION STANDARDS OF CONDUCT General Provisions § 73.735-101 Purpose. To assure that the business of the Department of Health and Human Services... observe high standards of honesty, impartiality, and behavior. They must not engage in any conduct...

45 CFR 73.735-101 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION STANDARDS OF CONDUCT General Provisions § 73.735-101 Purpose. To assure that the business of the Department of Health and Human Services... observe high standards of honesty, impartiality, and behavior. They must not engage in any conduct...

45 CFR 73.735-101 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION STANDARDS OF CONDUCT General Provisions § 73.735-101 Purpose. To assure that the business of the Department of Health and Human Services... observe high standards of honesty, impartiality, and behavior. They must not engage in any conduct...

The "Regulatory" State and the Use of "Independent" Agencies as Legitimising Mechanisms of Educational Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gouvias, Dionyssios

2007-01-01

The emergence--at the dawn of the new millennium--of "independent agencies", "national commissions" and "councils" around the world, has been based and justified on grounds of "impartiality", "reliability", "democratic-principles guardianship", or even "technical competence".…

47 CFR 52.13 - North American Numbering Plan Administrator.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) shall be an independent and impartial non-government... section. It shall assign and administer NANP resources in an efficient, effective, fair, unbiased, and non... additional functions, including but not limited to: (1) Ensuring the efficient and effective administration...

47 CFR 52.13 - North American Numbering Plan Administrator.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) shall be an independent and impartial non-government... section. It shall assign and administer NANP resources in an efficient, effective, fair, unbiased, and non... additional functions, including but not limited to: (1) Ensuring the efficient and effective administration...

47 CFR 52.13 - North American Numbering Plan Administrator.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) shall be an independent and impartial non-government... section. It shall assign and administer NANP resources in an efficient, effective, fair, unbiased, and non... additional functions, including but not limited to: (1) Ensuring the efficient and effective administration...

47 CFR 52.13 - North American Numbering Plan Administrator.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) shall be an independent and impartial non-government... section. It shall assign and administer NANP resources in an efficient, effective, fair, unbiased, and non... additional functions, including but not limited to: (1) Ensuring the efficient and effective administration...

10 CFR 1706.5 - General rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... contract is likely to diminish the contractor's capacity to give impartial assistance and advice, or... activities or research related to the Board's oversight of defense nuclear facilities, where the award would... consulting or other contractual arrangements with other persons or entities, the result of which could give...

10 CFR 1706.5 - General rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... contract is likely to diminish the contractor's capacity to give impartial assistance and advice, or... activities or research related to the Board's oversight of defense nuclear facilities, where the award would... consulting or other contractual arrangements with other persons or entities, the result of which could give...

5 CFR 2635.503 - Extraordinary payments from former employers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... employers. 2635.503 Section 2635.503 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS GOVERNMENT ETHICS STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH Impartiality in Performing Official.... Waiver authority may be delegated by agency heads to any person who has been delegated authority to issue...

10 CFR 1023.3 - Principles of general applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... functions or procedures, including ADR. (3) Decisions of the Board shall be final agency decisions and shall... (ADR) Functions. (1) Board judges and personnel shall perform ADR related functions impartially, with... judges limited to the nature, procedures, and availability of ADR through the Board are permitted and...

7 CFR 25.402 - Periodic performance reviews.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Agriculture Office of the Secretary of Agriculture RURAL EMPOWERMENT ZONES AND ENTERPRISE COMMUNITIES Post... implementing the strategic plan in each designated Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community on the basis of... evaluations of the Empowerment Zone program as a whole by an impartial third party. Evidence of continual...

7 CFR 25.402 - Periodic performance reviews.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Agriculture Office of the Secretary of Agriculture RURAL EMPOWERMENT ZONES AND ENTERPRISE COMMUNITIES Post... implementing the strategic plan in each designated Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community on the basis of... evaluations of the Empowerment Zone program as a whole by an impartial third party. Evidence of continual...

7 CFR 25.402 - Periodic performance reviews.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Agriculture Office of the Secretary of Agriculture RURAL EMPOWERMENT ZONES AND ENTERPRISE COMMUNITIES Post... implementing the strategic plan in each designated Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community on the basis of... evaluations of the Empowerment Zone program as a whole by an impartial third party. Evidence of continual...

The Neglect of Virtue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sockett, Hugh

2013-01-01

This chapter argues that schooling neglects virtue through the dominant quest for right answers. This is not only intellectually disreputable in presuming the correctness of what is taught, but it undermines the development of necessary intellectual virtues, such as open-mindedness, impartiality, and accuracy in the school curriculum, and it fails…

17 CFR 200.69 - Conduct toward parties and their counsel.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Conduct toward parties and their counsel. 200.69 Section 200.69 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE... toward parties and their counsel. Members should be temperate, attentive, patient and impartial when...

12 CFR 614.4240 - Collateral definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... and impartially prepared by a qualified appraiser setting forth an opinion as to the market value of... the laws of Illinois, in order to enhance the quality of professional appraisals. (d) Appraisal... establishes an indicated value by measuring the current market cost to construct a reproduction of or...

37 CFR 1.803 - Acceptable depository.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Biological Material § 1.803 Acceptable depository. (a) A deposit shall be recognized for the purposes of... depository must: (i) Have a continuous existence; (ii) Exist independent of the control of the depositor... safety measures to minimize the risk of losing biological material deposited with it; (v) Be impartial...

37 CFR 1.803 - Acceptable depository.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Biological Material § 1.803 Acceptable depository. (a) A deposit shall be recognized for the purposes of... depository must: (i) Have a continuous existence; (ii) Exist independent of the control of the depositor... safety measures to minimize the risk of losing biological material deposited with it; (v) Be impartial...

37 CFR 1.803 - Acceptable depository.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Biological Material § 1.803 Acceptable depository. (a) A deposit shall be recognized for the purposes of... depository must: (i) Have a continuous existence; (ii) Exist independent of the control of the depositor... safety measures to minimize the risk of losing biological material deposited with it; (v) Be impartial...

Defendants' Rights in Criminal Trials.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Ralph C., II; Keeley, Elizabeth

1997-01-01

Reviews the protections afforded by the Constitution for defendants in criminal trials. These include the right to a jury trial (in cases of possible incarceration), an impartial jury, and the requirement of a unanimous verdict. Defends the use of plea bargaining as essential to an efficient criminal justice system. (MJP)

7 CFR 1780.1 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

..., regional, State or Federal sources or from a survey conducted by a reliable impartial source. The..., and other places. (c) RUS debt instruments will require an agreement that if at any time it shall... without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, age, or physical or mental...

JPRS Report, Near East & South Asia

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-04-22

come to us for a free, fair and franchise . impartial election. He said 371,000 conducting election, he said 67 Emphasising the importance of the role...Iraq. She told the CNN in an interview in Washington private entrepreneurship . All our top businessmen have that such barbaric bombing should be

7 CFR 25.402 - Periodic performance reviews.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Agriculture Office of the Secretary of Agriculture RURAL EMPOWERMENT ZONES AND ENTERPRISE COMMUNITIES Post... implementing the strategic plan in each designated Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community on the basis of... evaluations of the Empowerment Zone program as a whole by an impartial third party. Evidence of continual...

12 CFR 564.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Definitions. 564.2 Section 564.2 Banks and Banking OFFICE OF THRIFT SUPERVISION, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY APPRAISALS § 564.2 Definitions. (a) Appraisal means a written statement independently and impartially prepared by a qualified appraiser setting...

48 CFR 2009.570-2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... work to be performed under an NRC contract which: (1) May diminish its capacity to give impartial, technically sound, objective assistance and advice, or may otherwise result in a biased work product; or (2) May result in its being given an unfair competitive advantage. Potential conflict of interest means...

48 CFR 2009.570-2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... work to be performed under an NRC contract which: (1) May diminish its capacity to give impartial, technically sound, objective assistance and advice, or may otherwise result in a biased work product; or (2) May result in its being given an unfair competitive advantage. Potential conflict of interest means...

7 CFR 25.402 - Periodic performance reviews.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Agriculture Office of the Secretary of Agriculture RURAL EMPOWERMENT ZONES AND ENTERPRISE COMMUNITIES Post... implementing the strategic plan in each designated Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community on the basis of... evaluations of the Empowerment Zone program as a whole by an impartial third party. Evidence of continual...

The practice of mediation to resolve clinical, bioethical, and medical malpractice disputes.

PubMed

Lee, Danny W H; Lai, Paul B S

2015-12-01

Mediation is a voluntary process whereby a neutral and impartial third party-t-he mediator--is present to facilitate communication and negotiation between the disputing parties so that amicable settlements can be agreed. Being confidential and non-adversarial in nature, the mediation process and skills are particularly applicable in clinical practice to facilitate challenging communications following adverse events, to assist bioethical decision making and to resolve disputes. Mediation is also a more effective and efficient means of dispute resolution in medical malpractice claims when compared with civil litigation. Health care mediation teams should be set up at individual facilities to provide education and consultation services to frontline staff and patients. At a community level, the Government, the mediation community, and the health care professionals should join forces to promote mediation as a means to settle medical malpractice claims outside of the courtroom.

[The investigative and adversarial process in Italy and the United States].

PubMed

Palermo, George B; Mastronardi, Vincenzo; Agostini, Susanna

2012-01-01

The structure of the US legal system, which relies on the presence of different courts to provide for the impartial administration of justice, both civil and criminal is discussed. Therefore, all the steps to conviction or acquittal of the American criminal trial, are taken into consideration. However, there is the presumption of innocence of the accused and the prosecution must prove his guilt beyond any reasonable doubt. Another important procedure in the US trial is the jury selection (voir dire), 12 jurors: 6 for the defense and 6 for the prosecution. In Italy it was observed that the autonomy of the police would squeeze the steering function of the prosecutor, and the practice of "under cover" investigation has granted an extension of police activity.

Memories of an Aid Worker

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daoust, Isabelle

2010-01-01

The author had come to Cote d'Ivoire in April 1999 to work for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), an independent humanitarian organization dedicated to persuading governments to respect the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL), which are found in the Geneva Conventions. These rules provide impartial protection for the…

36 CFR 905.735-201 - General standards of conduct.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... economy; (4) Losing complete independence or impartiality; (5) Making a Government decision outside... CORPORATION STANDARDS OF CONDUCT Conduct and Responsibilities of Employees § 905.735-201 General standards of conduct. (a) All employees shall conduct themselves on the job so as to efficiently discharge the work of...

17 CFR 201.300 - Hearings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Hearings. 201.300 Section 201... Practice Rules Regarding Hearings § 201.300 Hearings. Hearings for the purpose of taking evidence shall be held only upon order of the Commission. All hearings shall be conducted in a fair, impartial...

78 FR 75997 - Provision of Early Intervention and Special Education Services to Eligible DoD Dependents

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-13

... individuals with disabilities; selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, maintaining... specially designed services for an infant or toddler with a disability and the family of such infant or... impartial mediator who is trained in effective mediation techniques. Medical services. Those evaluative...

Henry Ward Beecher: A Nation's Tribune.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chandler, Daniel Ross

Henry Ward Beecher was America's most prominent 19th century liberal preacher and a major spokesperson for New England Transcendentalism. His philosophy integrated four fundamental themes: the creation of a moral code based on the internalization of values and peer group pressures, the establishment of the reform ideal of the impartial nonpartisan…

75 FR 20992 - Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Request for Nominations of Experts To Augment the SAB...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-22

... experts in ecology, environmental economics, social and behavioral science, geographic information systems... services; (2) ecosystem services monitoring design; (3) landscape ecology principles, especially as related... activities, or the appearance of a lack of impartiality, as defined by Federal regulation. Ethics information...

40 CFR 209.18 - Administrative law judge.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2012-07-01 2011-07-01 true Administrative law judge. 209.18... law judge. (a) General. The administrative law judge shall conduct a fair and impartial hearing in... form whenever in the opinion of the administrative law judge oral testimony is not necessary for full...

40 CFR 209.18 - Administrative law judge.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Administrative law judge. 209.18... law judge. (a) General. The administrative law judge shall conduct a fair and impartial hearing in... form whenever in the opinion of the administrative law judge oral testimony is not necessary for full...

33 CFR 20.202 - Powers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Powers. 20.202 Section 20.202... § 20.202 Powers. The ALJ shall have all powers necessary to the conduct of fair, fast, and impartial hearings, including the powers to— (a) Administer oaths and affirmations; (b) Issue subpoenas authorized by...

33 CFR 20.202 - Powers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Powers. 20.202 Section 20.202... § 20.202 Powers. The ALJ shall have all powers necessary to the conduct of fair, fast, and impartial hearings, including the powers to— (a) Administer oaths and affirmations; (b) Issue subpoenas authorized by...

7 CFR 1956.57 - General provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Housing § 1956.57 General provisions. (a) Application of policies. All debtors are entitled to impartial... will make no statements to a debtor concerning the action that may be taken upon a debtor's application..., compromised, adjusted, canceled, or charged off. It is impossible in cases eligible for debt settlement to...

12 CFR 19.5 - Authority of the administrative law judge.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... powers necessary to conduct a proceeding in a fair and impartial manner and to avoid unnecessary delay. (b) Powers. The administrative law judge shall have all powers necessary to conduct the proceeding in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section, including the following powers: (1) To administer oaths and...

12 CFR 509.5 - Authority of the administrative law judge.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... administrative law judge shall have all powers necessary to conduct a proceeding in a fair and impartial manner and to avoid unnecessary delay. (b) Powers. The administrative law judge shall have all powers... following powers: (1) To administer oaths and affirmations; (2) To issue subpoenas, subpoenas duces tecum...

Why Students Procrastinate: A Qualitative Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klingsieck, Katrin B.; Grund, Axel; Schmid, Sebastian; Fries, Stefan

2013-01-01

In this study we adopted an impartial view on academic procrastination in order to gain new insights for the development of intervention programs. Following a qualitative approach, we thereby explored antecedents of procrastination by attending to the actual voices and experiences of 29 students. Students' subjective theories were in line…

49 CFR 837.1 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... proceedings) in which the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB or Board) is not a party, and procedures to be followed by the employee upon receipt of a subpoena, order, or other demand (collectively... impartiality of the Board among private litigants; (4) Avoid spending the time and money of the United States...

76 FR 40820 - Pipeline Safety; Enforcement Proceedings Involving an Informal Hearing

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-12

... communications regarding information, facts, and arguments regarding an issue in the case, but not routine... recommended decision to be issued by the Associate Administrator. The restriction on ex parte communications... in accordance with certain procedures designed to ensure a fair and impartial decision on the merits...

48 CFR 252.227-7015 - Technical data-Commercial items.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...) under a contract, the primary purpose of which is to furnish independent and impartial advice or... Government-Furnished Information Marked with Restrictive Legends. (3) Form, fit, and function data means..., fit, and function data; (iii) Are a correction or change to technical data furnished to the Contractor...

A visual tristimulus projection colorimeter.

PubMed

Valberg, A

1971-01-01

Based on the optical principle of a slide projector, a visual tristimulus projection colorimeter has been developed. The calorimeter operates with easily interchangeable sets of primary color filters placed in a frame at the objective. The apparatus has proved to be fairly accurate. The reproduction of the color matches as measured by the standard deviation is equal to the visual sensitivity to color differences for each observer. Examples of deviations in the matches among individuals as well as deviations compared with the CIE 1931 Standard Observer are given. These deviations are demonstrated to be solely due to individual differences in the perception of metameric colors. Thus, taking advantage of an objective observation (allowing all adjustments to be judged by a group of impartial observers), the colorimeter provides an excellent aid in the study of discrimination, metamerism, and related effects which are of considerable interest in current research in colorimetry and in the study of color vision tests.

Courtside: Private Effects?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zirkel, Perry A.

2004-01-01

After being accused of sexually harassing a student, a high school math teacher in New York was suspended with pay pending an impartial hearing. The district allowed the teacher to return to his classroom to collect his personal effects, which he had kept in boxes, desk drawers, and three filing cabinets, one of which was locked. He did not…

32 CFR Appendix A to Part 197 - Explanation of Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) Exemptions

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... of a right to a fair trial or impartial adjudication; could reasonably be expected to constitute an... information; (c) Intelligence activities (including special activities), intelligence sources or methods, or...; (e) Scientific, technological, or economic matters relating to the national security, which includes...

23 CFR 636.103 - What are the definitions of terms used in this part?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... AND TRAFFIC OPERATIONS DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACTING General § 636.103 What are the definitions of terms... is designed to foster an impartial and comprehensive evaluation of offerors' proposals, leading to... agency awarding and administering a design-build contract. The contracting agency may be the STD or...

23 CFR 636.103 - What are the definitions of terms used in this part?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... AND TRAFFIC OPERATIONS DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACTING General § 636.103 What are the definitions of terms... is designed to foster an impartial and comprehensive evaluation of offerors' proposals, leading to... agency awarding and administering a design-build contract. The contracting agency may be the STD or...

23 CFR 636.103 - What are the definitions of terms used in this part?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... AND TRAFFIC OPERATIONS DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACTING General § 636.103 What are the definitions of terms... is designed to foster an impartial and comprehensive evaluation of offerors' proposals, leading to... agency awarding and administering a design-build contract. The contracting agency may be the STD or...

23 CFR 636.103 - What are the definitions of terms used in this part?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... AND TRAFFIC OPERATIONS DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACTING General § 636.103 What are the definitions of terms... is designed to foster an impartial and comprehensive evaluation of offerors' proposals, leading to... agency awarding and administering a design-build contract. The contracting agency may be the STD or...

23 CFR 636.103 - What are the definitions of terms used in this part?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... AND TRAFFIC OPERATIONS DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACTING General § 636.103 What are the definitions of terms... is designed to foster an impartial and comprehensive evaluation of offerors' proposals, leading to... agency awarding and administering a design-build contract. The contracting agency may be the STD or...

Educational Research as a Form of Democratic Rationality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elliott, John

2006-01-01

Educational Research is commonly regarded as a rational pursuit aimed at the production of objective knowledge. Researchers are expected to avoid value bias by detaching themselves from the normative conceptions of education that shape practice in schools and classrooms, and by casting themselves in the role of the impartial spectator. It is…

34 CFR Appendix A to Subpart B of... - Standards for Audit of Governmental Organizations, Programs, Activities, and Functions (GAO)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... the individual auditors shall maintain an independent attitude. (b) This standard places upon the auditor and the audit organization the responsibility for maintaining sufficient independence so that their opinions, conclusions, judgments, and recommendations will be impartial. If the auditor is not...

50 CFR 600.752 - Use of conveners and facilitators.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... issues of concern, and to ascertain whether the establishment of an FNP regarding such matter is feasible... an impartial, neutral facilitator for the negotiations of the FNP, subject to the approval of the FNP... section. If the FNP does not approve the nominee of the Council or NMFS for facilitator, the FNP shall...

Toward a 21st-Century Understanding of Humans' Relation to Nature: Two Hats?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rennie, Scott

2008-01-01

From its inception, environmental education (EE) has shouldered the imposition of impartiality on its methods and practices. Considering the reality of global climate change, the author urges the adoption of the more accurate theory of humans' relation to the natural world. This theory necessitates partiality toward healthy, functioning natural…

45 CFR 79.18 - Authority of the ALJ.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Authority of the ALJ. 79.18 Section 79.18 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM FRAUD CIVIL REMEDIES § 79.18 Authority of the ALJ. (a) The ALJ shall conduct a fair and impartial hearing, avoid delay...

A Roadmap to Legal Dispute Resolution for Students with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zirkel, Perry A.; McGuire, Brooke L.

2010-01-01

This article maps out the similarities and differences among the various routes to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 dispute resolution, including those not widely and well known to special education leaders. For IDEA-eligible students, the alternative avenues consist of not only the impartial hearing procedures…

The Concepts of Science in Japanese and Western Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kawasaki, Ken

1996-01-01

Uses structural linguistics to offer an impartial frame of reference to analyze science education in the non-Western world. Outlines the associative relation proposed by Saussure and investigates how it works in science education. Examines the problems peculiar to science education in Japan and argues that science education should be identified…

Hand to Hand: Teaching Tolerance and Social Justice One Child at a Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zakin, Andrea

2012-01-01

Tolerance connotes patience, forbearance, and impartiality, as well as open-mindedness. In early childhood, possessing tolerance would refer to children's burgeoning awareness of themselves in relation to others, and the capability to accept appearance and behavior different from one's own. But is teaching tolerance, additionally considered the…

The Role of the DSM in IDEA Case Law

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zirkel, Perry A.

2011-01-01

The school psychologist plays a central role in eligibility and other determinations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) not only at the school level but also, upon formal disputes, at the successive adjudicative levels of impartial hearing officers and courts. One of the sources of professional confusion that requires…

6 CFR 13.18 - Authority of the ALJ.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 6 Domestic Security 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Authority of the ALJ. 13.18 Section 13.18 Domestic Security DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY PROGRAM FRAUD CIVIL REMEDIES § 13.18 Authority of the ALJ. (a) The ALJ will conduct a fair and impartial hearing, avoid delay...

78 FR 45781 - Accreditation of Third-Party Auditors/Certification Bodies to Conduct Food Safety Audits and to...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-29

... following major elements: (1) Legal responsibility, structure, and impartiality; (2) management systems... contains similar requirements for bodies auditing management systems: (1) Legal matters and contractual... 72,611,521 74,396,099 Table of Contents I. Introduction II. Background A. Legal Authority B. FDA...

45 CFR 672.3 - Powers and duties of the Director; Presiding Official; Office of Polar Programs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ENFORCEMENT AND HEARING PROCEDURES § 672.3 Powers and...) The Presiding Officer shall conduct a fair and impartial proceeding, assure that the facts are fully... questions of facts, law or discretion; (8) Require parties to attend conferences for the settlement or...

45 CFR 672.3 - Powers and duties of the Director; Presiding Official; Office of Polar Programs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ENFORCEMENT AND HEARING PROCEDURES § 672.3 Powers and...) The Presiding Officer shall conduct a fair and impartial proceeding, assure that the facts are fully... questions of facts, law or discretion; (8) Require parties to attend conferences for the settlement or...

45 CFR 672.3 - Powers and duties of the Director; Presiding Official; Office of Polar Programs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ENFORCEMENT AND HEARING PROCEDURES § 672.3 Powers and...) The Presiding Officer shall conduct a fair and impartial proceeding, assure that the facts are fully... questions of facts, law or discretion; (8) Require parties to attend conferences for the settlement or...

45 CFR 672.3 - Powers and duties of the Director; Presiding Official; Office of Polar Programs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ENFORCEMENT AND HEARING PROCEDURES § 672.3 Powers and...) The Presiding Officer shall conduct a fair and impartial proceeding, assure that the facts are fully... questions of facts, law or discretion; (8) Require parties to attend conferences for the settlement or...

45 CFR 672.3 - Powers and duties of the Director; Presiding Official; Office of Polar Programs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ENFORCEMENT AND HEARING PROCEDURES § 672.3 Powers and...) The Presiding Officer shall conduct a fair and impartial proceeding, assure that the facts are fully... questions of facts, law or discretion; (8) Require parties to attend conferences for the settlement or...

Navigating the Power Dynamics between Institutions and Their Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Byron P.

2009-01-01

The author's career experiences--as an impartial observer of community building, as an advocate working from within urban communities, and as a catalyst working from the outside--have given him a unique perspective into the dynamics of institutional/community engagement. "Basically, they have left me with three overriding convictions. First,…

Net Neutrality: What Librarians Should Know

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Byron

2007-01-01

The openness of the Internet has greatly facilitated scholarly communication and led to creative developments in many fields. The Internet has been called the most democratic of media. In many countries, one does not need permission to post a new Web page. Public domain information flows freely and is widely accessible on an impartial basis to…

12 CFR 950.11 - Capital stock requirements; unilateral redemption of excess stock.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Capital stock requirements; unilateral redemption of excess stock. 950.11 Section 950.11 Banks and Banking FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD FEDERAL... affairs of the Bank shall be administered fairly and impartially and without discrimination in favor of or...

19 CFR 200.735-126 - Administrative enforcement proceedings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... violated 18 U.S.C. 207 (a), (b), or (c) or implementing regulations of the Office of Government Ethics (5... government attorney of high moral character and sound judgment. (3) An examiner shall be impartial. No... issue. The recommended determination shall be delivered to the parties. (2) Within ten (10) days of the...

22 CFR 507.4 - Grounds on which meetings may be closed.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... closed. The Board shall open every portion of every meeting of the agency for public observation except... disclosure by statute: Provided, that such statute: (1) Requires that the matters be withheld from the public...) Interfere with enforcement proceedings, (2) Deprive a person of a right to a fair trial on an impartial...

Vegetation classification system for California: user's guide

Treesearch

Serena C. Hunter; Timothy E. Paysen

1986-01-01

The Vegetation Classification System for California is an unbiased system of defining and naming units of vegetation. The concept was devised by an interagency, interdisciplinary team (Paysen and others 1980, 1982). The system derives its uniqueness from its impartiality to any particular agency or resource discipline, thus providing a long-needed link between diverse...

77 FR 25015 - Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Bureau of Consumer Financial...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-27

... indebtedness is unlikely to raise ethics concerns regarding the motivation of the lender or the impartiality of... Prohibited Recommendations This section prohibits employees from making any recommendation or suggestion... CFR 2635.402(b)(4). An employee participates when, for example, he or she makes a decision, gives...

Home Page - Alaska Court System

Science.gov Websites

every Friday afternoon » 2018 State of the Judiciary Address: Video | Transcript Search Court Cases accessible and impartial forum for the just resolution of all cases that come before it, and to decide such cases in accordance with the law, expeditiously and with integrity. Message from the Chief Justice

"It's in My Veins": Identity and Disciplinary Practice in Students' Discussions of a Historical Issue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldberg, Tsafrir

2013-01-01

Learners' identity is considered a resource, but is also assumed to conflict with impartial history learning practices. This empirical study explores the relationship between learners' social identity and their historical practices and understanding. Sixty-four Jewish-Israeli 12th-grade students of Mizrahi and Ashkenazi ethnicities studied a…

Child Well-Being in Flanders: A Multidimensional Account

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghysels, Joris; Van Vlasselaer, Evelien

2008-01-01

In this article we characterise the well-being of young children in the Belgian region of Flanders. We focus on three commonly used indicators: educational attainment, the existence of special needs and the occurrence of problematic behaviour. The former derives from a relatively impartial source, the schooling system, while the latter two…

Navigating the boundary of science for decision making at the state and local level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzales, L. M.; Wood, C.; Boland, M. A.; Rose, C. A.

2015-12-01

Scientific information should play a vital role in many decision making processes, yet issues incorporating geoscience information often arise due to inherent differences between how scientists and decision makers operate. Decision makers and scientists have different priorities, produce work at different rates, and often lack an understanding of each others' institutional constraints. Boundary organizations, entities that facilitate collaboration and information flow across traditional boundaries such as that between scientists and decision makers, are in a unique position to improve the dialogue between disparate groups. The American Geosciences Institute (AGI), a nonprofit federation of 50 geoscience societies and organizations, is linking the geoscience and decision-making communities through its Critical Issues Program. AGI's Critical Issues program has first-hand experience in improving the transfer of information across the science-decision making boundary, particularly in areas pertaining to water resources and hazards. This presentation will focus on how, by collaborating with organizations representing the decision making and geoscience communities to inform our program development, we have created our three main content types - website, webinar series, and research database - to better meet the needs of the decision-making process. The program presents existing geoscience information in a way that makes the interconnected nature of geoscience topics more easily understood, encourages discussion between the scientific and decision-making communities, and has established a trusted source of impartial geoscience information. These efforts have focused on state and local decision makers—groups that increasingly influence climate and risk-related decisions, yet often lack the resources to access and understand geoscience information.

Neural substrates of context- and person-dependent altruistic punishment.

PubMed

Wang, Lili; Lu, Xiaping; Gu, Ruolei; Zhu, Ruida; Xu, Rui; Broster, Lucas S; Feng, Chunliang

2017-11-01

Human altruistic behaviors are heterogeneous across both contexts and people, whereas the neural signatures underlying the heterogeneity remain to be elucidated. To address this issue, we examined the neural signatures underlying the context- and person-dependent altruistic punishment, conjoining event-related fMRI with both task-based and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC). Acting as an impartial third party, participants decided how to punish norm violators either alone or in the presence of putative others. We found that the presence of others decreased altruistic punishment due to diffusion of responsibility. Those behavioral effects paralleled altered neural responses in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and putamen. Further, we identified modulation of responsibility diffusion on task-based functional connectivity of dACC with the brain regions implicated in reward processing (i.e., posterior cingulate cortex and amygdala/orbital frontal cortex). Finally, the RSFC results revealed that (i) increased intrinsic connectivity strengths of the putamen with temporoparietal junction and dorsolateral PFC were associated with attenuated responsibility diffusion in altruistic punishment and (ii) increased putamen-dorsomedial PFC connectivity strengths were associated with reduced responsibility diffusion in self-reported responsibility. Taken together, our findings elucidate the context- and person-dependent altruistic behaviors as well as associated neural substrates and thus provide a potential neurocognitive mechanism of heterogeneous human altruistic behaviors. Hum Brain Mapp 38:5535-5550, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

"Philia" and Pedagogy "Side by Side": The Perils and Promise of Teacher-Student Friendships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shuffelton, Amy B.

2012-01-01

This paper asks whether teachers and students can be friends with one another and yet maintain their integrity as teachers and students. It provides an account of friendship, drawing on Aristotle, Montaigne, and contemporary work by Elizabeth Telfer and Lawrence Blum, and addresses two key challenges: first, that teachers must be impartial and…

Coarse-to-Fine Encoding of Spatial Frequency Information into Visual Short-Term Memory for Faces but Impartial Decay

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gao, Zaifeng; Bentin, Shlomo

2011-01-01

Face perception studies investigated how spatial frequencies (SF) are extracted from retinal display while forming a perceptual representation, or their selective use during task-imposed categorization. Here we focused on the order of encoding low-spatial frequencies (LSF) and high-spatial frequencies (HSF) from perceptual representations into…

The Radical Left and the Far Right. Fringe Groups Speak on the Problem of Race. Opposing Viewpoints Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCuen, Gary E., Ed.; Bender, David L., Ed.

Intended to fill a gap in social studies, this collection of readings focuses on contemporary fringe political parties and organizations, particularly their stands on race. No editorializing is attempted; rather, the editors impartially introduce each selection, provide questions on the readings, and offer student exercises aimed at stimulating…

TV EQUIPMENT, SYSTEMS, FACILITIES, AND PERSONNEL--A GUIDE FOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, A STUDY PREPARED FOR THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS INSTRUCTIONAL TV COMMITTEE.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

WADE, WARREN L.

TELEVISED INSTRUCTION IS WIDESPREAD, YET THERE EXISTS LITTLE QUALIFIED, IMPARTIAL INFORMATION EXPRESSED IN NONTECHNICAL TERMS (AS IN THIS REPORT), CONCERNING EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL STANDARDS, REQUIREMENT, AND COSTS, FOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS TO CONSULT. EVALUATION OF THE MEDIUM'S POTENTIAL MUST BE BASED ON INFORMATION CONCERNING TELEVISION'S…

Women in Literature of the Old Testament.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tanner, Stephen L.

According to Edith Hamilton, "The Bible is the only literature in the world up to our century which looks at women as human beings, no better and no worse than men. The Old Testament writers considered them just as impartially as they did men, free from prejudice and even from condescension." The Bible portrays Rebekah, Rahab, Deborah,…

NREL Validates $1-Million H-Prize Submission for DOE | News | NREL

Science.gov Websites

H2 Refuel H-Prize Competition to develop a home hydrogen fueling system. NREL acted as the independent validator for the competition by collecting and analyzing three months of system performance data per day, system availability, and cost. To ensure data integrity and impartial evaluation of the

The Effect of Variations in Handwriting and Print on Evaluation of Student Essays

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klein, Joseph; Taub, David

2005-01-01

The variety of factors contributing to the quality of handwriting or print provides an opportunity to determine the extent to which teachers are influenced by the interaction between different bias elements during evaluation of examinations. Fifty-three teachers evaluated compositions that had been awarded grades of 80% by impartial experts. A…

22 CFR 1500.5 - Grounds on which meetings may be closed.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Foundation for public observation, except where the Foundation determines that such portion or portions of... the matters be withheld from the public in such manner as to leave no discretion on the issue, or (ii... proceedings, (ii) Deprive a person of a right to fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (iii) Constitute an...

Implications of Perceived Parental Treatment of Self and Siblings by Adult Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nardine, Frank E.; Zeidler, Anita L.

To discover what part parent impartiality might play in creating a climate in which each individual child can prosper, 198 college students from a large Midwestern urban university were questioned about their perceptions of their parents' behavior during the time that they were growing up. The first section of the survey consisted of 50 questions…

Ar+ and CuBr laser-assisted chemical bleaching of teeth: estimation of whiteness degree

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimitrov, S.; Todorovska, Roumyana; Gizbrecht, Alexander I.; Raychev, L.; Petrov, Lyubomir P.

2003-11-01

In this work the results of adaptation of impartial methods for color determination aimed at developing of techniques for estimation of human teeth whiteness degree, sufficiently handy for common use in clinical practice are presented. For approbation and by the way of illustration of the techniques, standards of teeth colors were used as well as model and naturally discolored human teeth treated by two bleaching chemical compositions activated by three light sources each: Ar+ and CuBr lasers, and a standard halogen photopolymerization lamp. Typical reflection and fluorescence spectra of some samples are presented; the samples colors were estimated by a standard computer processing in RGB and B coordinates. The results of the applied spectral and colorimetric techniques are in a good agreement with those of the standard computer processing of the corresponding digital photographs and complies with the visually estimated degree of the teeth whiteness judged according to the standard reference scale commonly used in the aesthetic dentistry.

Patients struggle to access effective health care due to ongoing violence, distance, costs and health service performance in Afghanistan

PubMed Central

Nic Carthaigh, Niamh; De Gryse, Benoit; Esmati, Abdul Sattar; Nizar, Barak; Van Overloop, Catherine; Fricke, Renzo; Bseiso, Jehan; Baker, Corinne; Decroo, Tom; Philips, Mit

2015-01-01

Background The Afghan population suffers from a long standing armed conflict. We investigated patients’ experiences of their access to and use of the health services. Methods Data were collected in four clinics from different provinces. Mixed methods were applied. The questions focused on access obstacles during the current health problem and health seeking behaviour during a previous illness episode of a household member. Results To access the health facilities 71.8% (545/759) of patients experienced obstacles. The combination of long distances, high costs and the conflict deprived people of life-saving healthcare. The closest public clinics were underused due to perceptions regarding their lack of availability or quality of staff, services or medicines. For one in five people, a lack of access to health care had resulted in death among family members or close friends within the last year. Conclusions Violence continues to affect daily life and access to healthcare in Afghanistan. Moreover, healthcare provision is not adequately geared to meet medical and emergency needs. Impartial healthcare tailored to the context will be vital to increase access to basic and life-saving healthcare. PMID:25492948

The Psychology of Groups: Why Quality and Impartial Leadership Is Critical to a Group's Success.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Richard

Many decisions made by outdoor leaders are critical to the well-being of an entire group. Understanding the psychology of groups is important to successful leadership. This paper presents ways that individuals are motivated in groups, how groups respond, some symptoms of problems, and strategies to divert problems that can overwhelm a group.…

Two Views on Discipline: What Happens When a District Abolishes Corporal Punishment? and Discipline, Disruption, and the Dilemma

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerhard, Victor J., Jr.; Mahoney, John T.

1978-01-01

Susquehanna Valley Central School abolished corporal punishment for practical reasons. At Perry Junior-Senior High School, there is a feeling on the part of parents, students, and teachers that all students are dealt with fairly and impartially since the adoption, two years ago, of the Cause-Effect Discipline Code. (Author/AM)

Neutrality and Impartiality in Public Education: The French Investment in Philosophy, Teaching about Religions, and Moral and Civic Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaudin, Philippe

2017-01-01

In France, there is no religious education in state schools. "Convictional education" appeared by drawing its perimeter around three educational subjects: philosophy, teaching about religions, and moral and civic education. Today, the French school is facing new challenges in a highly secularised society on which religion is laying new…

12 CFR 563b.255 - What must the form of proxy include?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 5 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false What must the form of proxy include? 563b.255... FROM MUTUAL TO STOCK FORM Standard Conversions Proxy Solicitation § 563b.255 What must the form of... proxy. (c) Clear and impartial identification of each matter or group of related matters that members...

The Professional Stance of Ethics and Religious Culture Teachers in Québec

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Estivalèzes, Mireille

2017-01-01

In September 2008, a new Ethics and Religious Culture programme was implemented in Québec's elementary and secondary schools. One of the main pedagogical challenges of this new course has been the requirement that teachers adopt a professional stance of impartiality. Teachers must refrain from sharing their points of view, so as not to influence…

A proposed non-consequentialist policy for the ethical distribution of scarce vaccination in the face of an influenza pandemic.

PubMed

McLachlan, Hugh V

2012-05-01

The current UK policy for the distribution of scarce vaccination in an influenza pandemic is ethically dubious. It is based on the planned outcome of the maximum health benefit in terms of the saving of lives and the reduction of illness. To that end, the population is classified in terms of particular priority groups. An alternative policy with a non-consequentialist rationale is proposed in the present work. The state should give the vaccination, in the first instance, to those who are at risk of catching the pandemic flu in the line of their duties of public employment. Thereafter, if there is not sufficient vaccine to give all citizens equally an effective dose, the state should give all citizens an equal chance of receiving an effective dose. This would be the just thing to do because the state has a duty to treat each and all of its citizens impartially and they have a corresponding right to such impartial treatment. Although this article specifically refers to the UK, it is considered that the suggested alternative policy would be applicable generally. The duty to act justly is not merely a local one.

Fever of Unknown Origin in a Patient with Confirmed West Nile Virus Meningoencephalitis

PubMed Central

Sabre, Alexander; Farricielli, Laurie

2014-01-01

West Nile Virus (WNV), an RNA arbovirus and member of the Japanese encephalitis virus antigenic complex, causes a wide range of clinical symptoms, from asymptomatic to encephalitis and meningitis. Nearly all human infections of WNV are due to mosquito bites with birds being the primary amplifying hosts. Advanced age is the most important risk factor for neurological disease leading most often to poor prognosis in those afflicted. We report a case of WNV meningoencephalitis in a 93-year-old Caucasian male who presented with fever of unknown origin (FUO) and nuchal rigidity that rapidly decompensated within 24 h to a persistent altered mental state during inpatient stay. The patient's ELISA antibody titers confirmed pathogenesis of disease by WNV; he given supportive measures and advanced to an excellent recovery. In regard to the approach of FUO, it is important to remain impartial yet insightful to all elements when determining pathogenesis in atypical presentation. PMID:25580318

Information Modeling to Assess Eruptive Behavior and Possible Threats on Mt. Etna, Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pshenichny, C.; Behncke, B.

2008-12-01

One of the best-studied volcanoes of the world, Mt. Etna in Sicily repeatedly exhibits eruptive scenarios that depart from the behavior considered typical for this volcano. Episodes of intense explosive activity, pyroclastic density currents, dome growth, cone collapse, and phreatomagmatic explosions pose a variety of previously underestimated threats to human lives in the summit area of the volcano. However, retrospective analysis of these events shows that they were likely caused by the same very sets of premises and starting conditions as "normal" effusive eruptions, yet combined in an unexpected, probably unique, way. Physical modeling tells us what may happen in terms of physical parameters but not what events we will actually see on a volcano. Bayesian modeling of volcanoes can unite physical parameters and observed events but, unlike physics, it lacks strictness of terms used to describe the events and, hence, may fail to provide a reasonably impartial, complete and self-consistent set of possible scenarios to be expected. Therefore, a tool is needed to process the observational knowledge as strictly as physical matters are treated by mathematics to provide an appropriate event-based framework for assessment of natural hazards during volcanic eruptions. This task requires a modeling not of the volcano itself but of our knowledge of it, and therefore falls into the field of informatis, knowledge engineering, and artificial intelligence. We involved an approach of artificial intelligence developed specially for the needs of geoscience, the method of event bush. Scenarios inferred from event bush fit the observed ones and allow one to foresee other low-probable events that may occur at the volcano. Application of the event bush provides a more impartial vision of volcanic phenomena and may serve as an intermediary between physical modeling, the expert knowledge and numerical assessment, e.g., by means of Bayesian belief networks.

EVENTS AT ORANGEBURG, A REPORT BASED ON STUDY AND INTERVIEWS IN ORANGEBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA, IN THE AFTERMATH OF TRAGEDY.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ROUGEAU, WELDON; WATTERS, PAT

THIS REPORT ON THE RACIAL CONFLICT IN ORANGEBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA, ATTEMPTS TO PRESENT A "CAREFUL AND IMPARTIAL" ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION, BASED ON INTERVIEWS WITH STUDENTS AND FACULTY, NEWSMEN, TOWNSPEOPLE, AND OFFICIALS. THE VIOLENCE IN THIS SMALL NEGRO COLLEGE TOWN BROKE OUT OVERTLY OVER THE ISSUE OF A SEGREGATED BOWLING ALLEY BUT IN…

Advancing Military Professionalism in Africa

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-01

Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo were predominant in the French and British colonial forces prior to independence. This initial ethnic bias had a major impact ...the job, undermining the impartiality of this oversight function and negatively impacting operational capacity. It is very rare in Africa for the...forest reserves and parks from illegal poaching and lumbering.66 Senegal, too, has involved its military in some public works projects through a

Oversight of the Liberian National Police

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-01

Secretary General Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu. At RAND, Olga Oliker and K. Jack Riley offered candid and insightful reviews, and Camille Sawak provided... lack the power to enforce recommendations. Some report to the executive branch of government, which calls their impartiality into question. Police...investigations by lack of subpoena power and by a lack of cooperation from police agencies. Finally, complaint bodies seldom can do more than make findings

Half-Work, Half-Study: Schools in Communist China. Recent Experiments with Self-Supporting Educational Institutions. Bulletin, 1964, No. 24. OE-14100

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barendsen, Robert D.

1964-01-01

This study of experiments with a new type of educational institution in Communist China is based upon an analysis of materials from Chinese Communist newspapers and periodicals. Reliance upon a discriminating use of such materials is necessitated by the lack of impartial first hand evaluations of these new institutions by qualified outside…

Crowd noise as a cue in referee decisions contributes to the home advantage.

PubMed

Unkelbach, Christian; Memmert, Daniel

2010-08-01

The home advantage is one of the best established phenomena in sports (Courneya & Carron, 1992), and crowd noise has been suggested as one of its determinants (Nevill & Holder, 1999). However, the psychological processes that mediate crowd noise influence and its contribution to the home advantage are still unclear. We propose that crowd noise correlates with the criteria referees have to judge. As crowd noise is a valid cue, referee decisions are strongly influenced by crowd noise. Yet, when audiences are not impartial, a home advantage arises. Using soccer as an exemplar, we show the relevance of this influence in predicting outcomes of real games via a database analysis. Then we experimentally demonstrate the influence of crowd noise on referees' yellow cards decisions in soccer. Finally, we discuss why the focus on referee decisions is useful, and how more experimental research could benefit investigations of the home advantage.

From Nutty Professor to Buddy Love--Personality types in modern science.

PubMed

Charlton, Bruce G

2007-01-01

People often suggest that scientists should have a specific personality type, usually conscientious and self-critical. But this is a mistake. Science as a social system needs to be conscientious and self-critical, but scientists as people do not necessarily have to conform to that stereotype. Since science works by a process of selection, it makes sense to have a wide range of personalities in science. It takes all types. However, the selection pressures within science have changed over recent decades. In the past, a successful scientist often resembled the white-coated, bespectacled and introverted Nutty Professor in Jerry Lewis's movie of that name. But the modern science superstar is more like the Nutty Professor's alter ego, nightclub singer 'Buddy Love': a sharp-suited, good-looking and charismatic charmer. While Nutty was dull but impartial, Buddy is compelling but self-seeking. Our attitude towards public scientific pronouncements should be adjusted accordingly.

JPRS Report, China

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-05-06

TAIWAN New KMT Pursues Political Struggle [ HSIN HSIN WEN 6 Mar] 64 HONG KONG, MACAO Newly Elected Local Members of CPPCC Published [MING PAO 20...impartially enforcing them will it be possible to attract more foreign investors. Indeed, some foreign business people said: Today you turn your laws and...difficulties. As for the difficulties we mention here, we do not mean a difficulty in making tax pay- ments. When you encounter temporary difficulties, we

Information Operations: Putting the ’I’ Back Into Dime

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-02-01

Texas Early Warning Center 9. Create New York Corporate Warning Network 10. Digital Marshall Plan using residual capability in abandoned satellites... us , and that all raw information—secret, unclassified, operational, logistic—must be brought together across distributed “pits” that are able to...is overt, using methods that do not compromise the integrity or impartiality of the UN, when the information can be shared and become widely known

Patients struggle to access effective health care due to ongoing violence, distance, costs and health service performance in Afghanistan.

PubMed

Nic Carthaigh, Niamh; De Gryse, Benoit; Esmati, Abdul Sattar; Nizar, Barak; Van Overloop, Catherine; Fricke, Renzo; Bseiso, Jehan; Baker, Corinne; Decroo, Tom; Philips, Mit

2015-05-01

The Afghan population suffers from a long standing armed conflict. We investigated patients' experiences of their access to and use of the health services. Data were collected in four clinics from different provinces. Mixed methods were applied. The questions focused on access obstacles during the current health problem and health seeking behaviour during a previous illness episode of a household member. To access the health facilities 71.8% (545/759) of patients experienced obstacles. The combination of long distances, high costs and the conflict deprived people of life-saving healthcare. The closest public clinics were underused due to perceptions regarding their lack of availability or quality of staff, services or medicines. For one in five people, a lack of access to health care had resulted in death among family members or close friends within the last year. Violence continues to affect daily life and access to healthcare in Afghanistan. Moreover, healthcare provision is not adequately geared to meet medical and emergency needs. Impartial healthcare tailored to the context will be vital to increase access to basic and life-saving healthcare. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

The costs of electoral fraud: establishing the link between electoral integrity, winning an election, and satisfaction with democracy

PubMed Central

Fortin-Rittberger, Jessica; Harfst, Philipp; Dingler, Sarah C.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Previous research has shown that voters’ perception of electoral fairness has an impact on their attitudes and behaviors. However, less research has attempted to link objective measurements of electoral integrity on voters’ attitudes about the democratic process. Drawing on data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems and the Quality of Elections Data, we investigate whether cross-national differences in electoral integrity have significant influences on citizens’ level of satisfaction with democracy. We hypothesize that higher levels of observed electoral fraud will have a negative impact on evaluations of the democratic process, and that this effect will be mediated by a respondent’s status as a winner or loser of an election. The article’s main finding is that high levels of electoral fraud are indeed linked to less satisfaction with democracy. However, we show that winning only matters in elections that are conducted in an impartial way. The moment elections start to display the telltale signs of manipulation and malpractice, winning and losing no longer have different effects on voter’s levels of satisfaction with democracy. PMID:28824703

The costs of electoral fraud: establishing the link between electoral integrity, winning an election, and satisfaction with democracy.

PubMed

Fortin-Rittberger, Jessica; Harfst, Philipp; Dingler, Sarah C

2017-07-03

Previous research has shown that voters' perception of electoral fairness has an impact on their attitudes and behaviors. However, less research has attempted to link objective measurements of electoral integrity on voters' attitudes about the democratic process. Drawing on data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems and the Quality of Elections Data, we investigate whether cross-national differences in electoral integrity have significant influences on citizens' level of satisfaction with democracy. We hypothesize that higher levels of observed electoral fraud will have a negative impact on evaluations of the democratic process, and that this effect will be mediated by a respondent's status as a winner or loser of an election. The article's main finding is that high levels of electoral fraud are indeed linked to less satisfaction with democracy. However, we show that winning only matters in elections that are conducted in an impartial way. The moment elections start to display the telltale signs of manipulation and malpractice, winning and losing no longer have different effects on voter's levels of satisfaction with democracy.

Impact of unseen assumptions on communication of atmospheric carbon mitigation options

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elliot, T. R.; Celia, M. A.; Court, B.

2010-12-01

With the rapid access and dissemination of information made available through online and digital pathways, there is need for a concurrent openness and transparency in communication of scientific investigation. Even with open communication it is essential that the scientific community continue to provide impartial result-driven information. An unknown factor in climate literacy is the influence of an impartial presentation of scientific investigation that has utilized biased base-assumptions. A formal publication appendix, and additional digital material, provides active investigators a suitable framework and ancillary material to make informed statements weighted by assumptions made in a study. However, informal media and rapid communiqués rarely make such investigatory attempts, often citing headline or key phrasing within a written work. This presentation is focused on Geologic Carbon Sequestration (GCS) as a proxy for the wider field of climate science communication, wherein we primarily investigate recent publications in GCS literature that produce scenario outcomes using apparently biased pro- or con- assumptions. A general review of scenario economics, capture process efficacy and specific examination of sequestration site assumptions and processes, reveals an apparent misrepresentation of what we consider to be a base-case GCS system. The authors demonstrate the influence of the apparent bias in primary assumptions on results from commonly referenced subsurface hydrology models. By use of moderate semi-analytical model simplification and Monte Carlo analysis of outcomes, we can establish the likely reality of any GCS scenario within a pragmatic middle ground. Secondarily, we review the development of publically available web-based computational tools and recent workshops where we presented interactive educational opportunities for public and institutional participants, with the goal of base-assumption awareness playing a central role. Through a series of interactive ‘what if’ scenarios, workshop participants were able to customize the models, which continue to be available from the Princeton University Subsurface Hydrology Research Group, and develop a better comprehension of subsurface factors contributing to GCS. Considering that the models are customizable, a simplified mock-up of regional GCS scenarios can be developed, which provides a possible pathway for informal, industrial, scientific or government communication of GCS concepts and likely scenarios. We believe continued availability, customizable scenarios, and simplifying assumptions are an exemplary means to communicate the possible outcome of CO2 sequestration projects; the associated risk; and, of no small importance, the consequences of base assumptions on predicted outcome.

History of the Standing Joint Force Headquarters for Elimination (SJFHQ-E): No More Ad Hoc

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-22

on Max Weber’s organizational hierarchy or did it follow historical examples and Joint doctrine as exampled by Anthony Giddens’ structuration theory...way they do and how agency influences that formation. Max Weber’s theory of ideal bureaucracy defined how an organization could enable employees to...act rationally, serving their clients with impartiality and more efficiently. 35 According to Weber , “ bureaucracy must consist of neutral

Grant opportunities for academic research and training

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2016-08-30

As an unbiased, multidisciplinary science organization, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is dedicated to the timely, relevant, and impartial study of the health of our ecosystems and environment, our natural resources, the impacts of climate and land-use change, and the natural hazards that affect our lives. Grant opportunities for researchers and faculty to participate in USGS science through the engagement of students are available in the selected programs described in this publication.

Does a Sentiment-Based Ethics of Caring Improve upon a Principles-Based One? The Problem of Impartial Morality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnston, James Scott

2008-01-01

My task in this paper is to demonstrate, contra Nel Noddings, that Kantian ethics does not have an expectation of treating those closest to one the same as one would a stranger. In fact, Kantian ethics has what I would consider a robust statement of how it is that those around us come to figure prominently in the development of one's ethics. To…

Segregation versus Integration: The Racial Policy of the Marine Corps from 1942-1962

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-21

equality for its minority members. Riddled with inconsistencies and improper application of the laws and regulations , the Marine Corps’ stand on...personnel of the Navy and Marine Corps shall adhere rigidly and impartially to the Navy Regulations , in which no distinctions made between individuals...1970-1995). Washington, DC: History and Museums Division, 2000. Executive Order 8802, dated 25 June 1941. http://www.eeoc.gov/ eeoc /history/35th

Critical Review of NOAA's Observation Requirements Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

LaJoie, M.; Yapur, M.; Vo, T.; Templeton, A.; Bludis, D.

2017-12-01

NOAA's Observing Systems Council (NOSC) maintains a comprehensive database of user observation requirements. The requirements collection process engages NOAA subject matter experts to document and effectively communicate the specific environmental observation measurements (parameters and attributes) needed to produce operational products and pursue research objectives. User observation requirements documented using a structured and standardized manner and framework enables NOAA to assess its needs across organizational lines in an impartial, objective, and transparent manner. This structure provides the foundation for: selecting, designing, developing, acquiring observing technologies, systems and architectures; budget and contract formulation and decision-making; and assessing in a repeatable fashion the productivity, efficiency and optimization of NOAA's observing system enterprise. User observation requirements are captured independently from observing technologies. Therefore, they can be addressed by a variety of current or expected observing capabilities and allow flexibility to be remapped to new and evolving technologies. NOAA's current inventory of user observation requirements were collected over a ten-year period, and there have been many changes in policies, mission priorities, and funding levels during this time. In light of these changes, the NOSC initiated a critical, in-depth review to examine all aspects of user observation requirements and associated processes during 2017. This presentation provides background on the NOAA requirements process, major milestones and outcomes of the critical review, and plans for evolving and connecting observing requirements processes in the next year.

Letter to the editor : Impartial review is key.

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

Crabtree, G. W.; Materials Science Division

The News Feature, 'Misconduct in physics: Time to wise up? [Nature 418, 120-121; 2002], raises important issues that the physical-science community must face. Argonne National Laboratory's code of ethics calls for a response very similar to that of Bell Labs, namely: 'The Laboratory director may appoint an ad-hoc scientific review committee to investigate internal or external charges of scientific misconduct, fraud, falsification of data, misinterpretation of data, or other activities involving scientific or technical matters.'

Assessing the Economic and National Security Benefits from Publicly Funded Technology Investments: An IDA Round Table.

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-09-01

strong commitment today, as in the past, is that of metrology —the science and technology of measurement. Metrology has applications in the areas of...problem- solving approach: NIST has earned a worldwide reputation for impartiality and techni- cal excellence. Its competencies in metrology —the science... metrological development5 NIST’s evaluations of industry’s technology needs indicate widespread demand for enhanced measurement capabilities, and

JPRS Report, Soviet Union Military Affairs.

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-02-29

similar article on life in a disciplinary battalion was published in SOVETSKIY VOIN in Rus- sian No 23, Dec 87 pp 14-16. The full text ofthat article... Computer " first two paragraphs are KRASNAYA ZVEZDA intro- duction.! [ Text ] On 15 November, Krasnaya Zvezda published S. Belkin’s article "Taking a...in Russian 15 Dec 87 p 1 [Article: "More Concern About People"] [ Text ] Winter is now in full force. Like a stern and impartial examiner, it checks

Policing in nonhuman primates: partial interventions serve a prosocial conflict management function in rhesus macaques.

PubMed

Beisner, Brianne A; McCowan, Brenda

2013-01-01

Studies of prosocial policing in nonhuman societies traditionally focus on impartial interventions because of an underlying assumption that partial support implies a direct benefit to the intervener, thereby negating the potential for being prosocial in maintaining social stability for the benefit of the group. However, certain types of partial interventions have significant potential to be prosocial in controlling conflict, e.g. support of non-kin subordinates. Here, we propose a policing support hypothesis that some types of agonistic support serve a prosocial policing function that maintains group stability. Using seven large captive groups of rhesus macaques, we investigated the relationship between intervention type and group-level costs and benefits (rates of trauma, severe aggression, social relocation) and individual level costs and benefits (preferential sex-dyad targeting, dominance ambiguity reduction, access to mates, and return aggression). Our results show that impartial interventions and support of subordinate non-kin represent prosocial policing as both (1) were negatively associated with group-level rates of trauma and severe aggression, respectively, (2) showed no potential to confer individual dominance benefits, (3) when performed outside the mating season, they did not increase chances of mating with the beneficiary, and (4) were low-cost for the highest-ranking interveners. We recommend expanding the definition of 'policing' in nonhumans to include these 'policing support interventions'.

Application and Utility of Psychodynamic Principles in Forensic Assessment.

PubMed

Simopoulos, Eugene F; Cohen, Bruce

2015-12-01

Effective practice of forensic psychiatry is dependent on a clinical recognition and understanding of core psychodynamic principles and theory. Practice guidelines, rooted in the ethics-based imperative to strive for honesty and objectivity, demand that practitioners remain vigilant to the development of bias and appreciate interpersonal dynamics that may be re-enacted in the forensic setting. Although it is not feasible to maintain complete impartiality, especially when confronted with the nature of certain offenses, knowledge of both conscious and unconscious responses can bolster the intellectual integrity of the clinical assessment. The identification of defense mechanisms within both the evaluator and evaluee and attention to transference and countertransference are essential for an accurate conceptualization of an offender's psychological functioning, vulnerabilities, and risk of reoffense. In this article, we review psychodynamic concepts and their potential impact in the forensic setting and underscore interventions that may aid in the elucidation and management of these processes. © 2015 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

Asymmetric dynamics of the inner core and impact on the outer core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alboussière, Thierry; Deguen, Renaud

2012-10-01

The history and present state of knowledge of the dynamics of the inner core are outlined in this paper. The observations that motivated ideas on the dynamical processes are introduced, but the main objective is really to concentrate on the diverse dynamical models that have been and are currently proposed for the formation and evolution of the inner core. A deliberate choice has been made of reproducing key figures from the literature in a didactic attempt to provide clear and quick identification for these models. This review looses impartiality concerning recent models, notably those aiming at explaining the hemispherical asymmetry. A preference for an intrinsic dynamic mode of the inner core is expressed, as opposed to the distant influence of the dynamics of the mantle through heat-flux heterogeneities. Meanwhile, the opinion is conveyed that the dynamics of the inner core is largely not understood yet and that every model must be considered with a critical eye.

Protecting peer review: correspondence chronology and ethical analysis regarding Logothetis vs. Shmuel and Leopold.

PubMed

Fox, Peter T; Bullmore, Ed; Bandettini, Peter A; Lancaster, Jack L

2009-02-01

Editors of scientific journals are ethically bound to provide a fair and impartial peer-review process and to protect the rights of contributing authors to publish research results. If, however, a dispute arises among investigators regarding data ownership and the right to publish, the ethical responsibilities of journal editors become more complex. The editors of Human Brain Mapping recently had the unusual experience of learning of an ongoing dispute regarding data-access rights pertaining to a manuscript already accepted for publication. Herein the editors describe the nature of the dispute, the steps taken to explore and resolve the conflict, and discuss the ethical principles that govern such circumstances. Drawing on this experience and with the goal of avoiding future controversies, the editors have formulated a Data Rights Policy and a Data Rights Procedure for Human Brain Mapping. Human Brain Mapping adopts this policy effective immediately and respectfully suggests that other journals consider adopting this or similar policies.

Strategy for the Long Haul: The U.S. Defense Industrial Base, Past, Present and Future

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to a penalty for...provides timely, impartial and insightful analyses to senior decision makers in the executive and legislative branches, as well as to the media and the...a representative set of contingen-cies in order to determine what resources will be required, and how they should be ap-portioned among forces and

Student and recent graduate employment opportunities

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2016-08-30

As an unbiased, multidisciplinary science organization, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is dedicated to the timely, relevant, and impartial study of the health of our ecosystems and environment, our natural resources, the impacts of climate and land-use change, and the natural hazards that affect our lives. Opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as recent graduates, to participate in USGS science are available in the selected programs described in this publication. Please note: U.S. citizenship is required for all government positions.

U.S. Geological Survey Menlo Park campus; self-guided tour

USGS Publications Warehouse

Colvard, Elizabeth M.; Tongue, Mara G.; Gordon, Leslie C.

2007-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), established by an act of Congress in 1879, is the Nation's largest natural science and civilian mapping agency. The USGS works in cooperation with more than 2,000 organizations across the country to provide reliable, impartial scientific information. This information is used to minimize the loss of life and property from natural disasters, safeguard the Nation's natural resources, and enhance quality of life through careful monitoring of water, biological, energy, and mineral resources.

U.S. Geological Survey Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jastram, John D.

2017-08-22

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) serves the Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life. In support of this mission, the USGS Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center works in cooperation with many entities to provide reliable, impartial scientific information to resource managers, planners, and the public.

Internships, employment opportunities, and research grants

USGS Publications Warehouse

2008-01-01

As an unbiased, multidisciplinary science organization that focuses on biology, geography, geology, geospatial information, and water, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is dedicated to the timely, relevant, and impartial study of the landscape, our natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten us. Opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and faculty to participate in USGS science are available through the selected programs described below. Please note: U.S. citizenship is required for all positions, although some noncitizens may be eligible in rare circumstances.

MAGNETIC GRID

DOEpatents

Post, R.F.

1960-08-01

An electronic grid is designed employing magnetic forces for controlling the passage of charged particles. The grid is particularly applicable to use in gas-filled tubes such as ignitrons. thyratrons, etc., since the magnetic grid action is impartial to the polarity of the charged particles and, accordingly. the sheath effects encountered with electrostatic grids are not present. The grid comprises a conductor having sections spaced apart and extending in substantially opposite directions in the same plane, the ends of the conductor being adapted for connection to a current source.

[Priority research agendas: a strategic resource for health in Latin America].

PubMed

Becerra-Posada, Francisco; de Snyder, Nelly Salgado; Cuervo, Luis Gabriel; Montorzi, Gabriela

2014-12-01

Understand and analyze procedures used to create national integrated research agendas from 2007 to 2011 in Argentina, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and Paraguay. Descriptive, cross-sectional study using an online survey of agenda preparation processes; specifically, development, integration, implementation, and use and dissemination of the agenda. The 45 respondents reported following specific methodologies for agenda construction and had a good opinion of organizational aspects with regard to prior information provided and balance among disciplines and stakeholders. Some 60% considered the coordinators impartial, although 25% mentioned biases favoring some subject; 42% received technical support from consultants, reading matter, and methodological guidelines; 40% engaged in subject-matter priority-setting; and 55% confirmed dissemination and communication of the agenda. However, only 22% reported inclusion of agenda topics in national calls for research proposals. In the countries studied, development of the health research agenda was characterized by prior planning and appropriate organization to achieve - consensus-based outcomes. Nevertheless, the agendas were not used in national calls for research proposals, reflecting lack of coordination in national health research systems and lack of connection between funders and researchers. It is recommended that stakeholders strengthen integration and advocacy efforts to modify processes and structures of agenda-based calls for research proposals.

Community Researchers Conducting Health Disparities Research: Ethical and other insights from fieldwork journaling

PubMed Central

Mosavel, Maghboeba; Ahmed, Rashid; Daniels, Doria; Simon, Christian

2011-01-01

Lay persons who are trained to conduct research in their own communities form an essential part of many research projects. However, the effects of conducting research in their own communities have not been adequately explored. This paper examines the experiences, perceptions, and challenges faced by a group of community researchers during their involvement in a research project that examined if, and how, the relationships between mothers and their adolescent daughters could be harnessed to develop a daughter-initiated cervical cancer intervention. Seven community researchers interviewed 157 mother-daughter pairs in Cape Town, South Africa. We examine the use of journaling as a tool to document the experiences of community researchers, and we consider how journaling may help the community-based researcher grapple with the research process, and, more broadly, what such journal content illustrates with respect to the nature and challenges of community-engaged health research. An analysis of the content of the journals provides a strong indication of how personal and intimate the research process can be for community researchers by virtue of the background that they bring into the process as well as the additional weight of the research process itself. The complexities of navigating dual and somewhat oppositional roles – the role of impartial scientist or researcher and the role of invested community person - has been both underestimated and insufficiently researched. PMID:21680071

[A discussion of nursing management philosophy in the light of Mo-tzu's concept of love without distinction].

PubMed

Hsiao, Hung-En

2005-10-01

When one mentions the word, "management," people all too easily conclude that one is referring to the question of how to create profit for a business enterprise. This is because, in business, that is indeed the precise purpose of management. So what should the aim of management be in nursing? That is to say, how does the function of management apply to the nursing profession? It is not difficult to understand that behind the implementation of any practice is a key thought or guiding principle. To investigate the central idea or key thought about nursing management requires research into the philosophy of nursing management. The writer believes that the teaching of Mo-tzu, who advocated love without distinction, in ancient (pre-Chin) China, is the fundamental idea of nursing management, because that philosophy emphasizes impartial love of every person. It does not stress investigations of different levels of abstract theories; but simply calls for the practical application of the idea. The goal of nursing management is to care about patients impartially and strengthen nursing care. The aim of nursing care is completely different from that of business enterprises. We can also say that it is precisely because nursing means taking care of sick people, that the goal of nursing management is to care about achieving the recovery of body, mind, and spirit of a patient. The management of nursing, therefore, and the goal of nursing are united harmoniously into one in nursing care.

A mutualistic approach to morality: the evolution of fairness by partner choice.

PubMed

Baumard, Nicolas; André, Jean-Baptiste; Sperber, Dan

2013-02-01

What makes humans moral beings? This question can be understood either as a proximate “how” question or as an ultimate “why” question. The “how” question is about the mental and social mechanisms that produce moral judgments and interactions, and has been investigated by psychologists and social scientists. The “why” question is about the fitness consequences that explain why humans have morality, and has been discussed by evolutionary biologists in the context of the evolution of cooperation. Our goal here is to contribute to a fruitful articulation of such proximate and ultimate explanations of human morality. We develop an approach to morality as an adaptation to an environment in which individuals were in competition to be chosen and recruited in mutually advantageous cooperative interactions. In this environment, the best strategy is to treat others with impartiality and to share the costs and benefits of cooperation equally. Those who offer less than others will be left out of cooperation; conversely, those who offer more will be exploited by their partners. In line with this mutualistic approach, the study of a range of economic games involving property rights, collective actions, mutual help and punishment shows that participants’ distributions aim at sharing the costs and benefits of interactions in an impartial way. In particular, the distribution of resources is influenced by effort and talent, and the perception of each participant’s rights on the resources to be distributed.

How knowledge influences a MCDM analysis: WOCAT Portuguese experience on prevention of forest fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carreiras, M.; Ferreira, A. J. D.; Moreira, J.; Esteves, T. C. J.; Valente, S.; Soares, J.; Coelho, C. O. A.; Schwilch, G.; Bachmann, F.

2012-04-01

Forest management is a major concern for land managers due to its impact on biomass production, surface water quality or landscape beauty. Pursuing the development of a holistic view of the issue (considering economic, environmental and social aspects), an appreciation of the variety policies and techniques is considered essential due to its importance in the context of sustainability. It this context, MCDM could be an important tool on the establishment for the use of the forest. It could be used for exploiting the preferences of decision-makers, stakeholders, or environmental experts obtaining economic values for impacts whose monetization remains problematic. WOCAT has developed a framework for Sustainable Land Management knowledge, covering all steps from data collection, database implementation and decision support. WOCAT methodology allows the environmental risks knowledge and also stakeholder's participation and involvement. It leads to the discussion of issues of the territory and through a participatory, integrative, holistic and impartial process, it identifies environmental problems. In the end guidelines / actions for the territory are settled based on the problems identified. Having an active participatory nature, this process reveals itself as an excellent public participation process. The methodology also brings the territory's decision-makers in contact with the stakeholders. The procedure for identification, assessment and selection of strategies has been developed by the EU project DESIRE in collaboration with WOCAT. The methodology was tested by DESIRE in 16 study sites around the world. As an outcome of the procedure, the methodology may serve as a basis for prioritizing land-use policies, conservation measures and research at a national level. It integrates several exercises for prioritizing land-use policies, conservation measures and research at a regional and national level. In Portugal, forest fires are one of the major factors of land degradation processes. Affecting large areas every year, they also have serious human, socio-economic and psychological impacts. Under the DESIRE project two Portuguese study sites were selected - Góis e Mação. Both study sites are located in Central Portugal and are frequently affected by forest fires. Nowadays different types of solutions applied at the local level are related with the prevention, combat and mitigation of forest fires. At a higher level of analysis the main solution is related with the diversification of the soil uses, mainly by the mixture of cropland, pastures and forest areas. But the selection of the technique isn't so far an open, participative and effective process, and the interests of land users are not represented most of the time. This paper aims to present WOCAT approach and results to forest fire prevention in Portugal considering stakeholder's perspectives and policy recommendations and it's evolution based on an increased of knowledge.

U.S. Geological Survey Information Sources

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2000-01-01

As the nation's largest water, earth and biological science and civilian mapping agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) works in cooperation with more than 2000 organizations across the country to provide reliable, impartial, scientific information to resource managers, planners, and other customers. This information is gathered in every state by USGS scientists to minimize the loss of life and property from natural disasters, to contribute to the conservation and the sound economic and physical development of the nation's natural resources, and to enhance the quality of life by monitoring water, biological, energy and mineral resources.

U.S. Geological Survey Information Sources

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2001-01-01

As the Nation's largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) works in cooperation with more than 2,000 organizations across the country to provide reliable, impartial scientific information to resource managers, planners, and other customers. This information is gathered in every State by USGS scientists to minimize the loss of life and property from natural disasters, to contribute to the conservation and the sound economic and physical development of the Nation's natural resources, and to enhance the quality of life by monitoring water, biological, energy, and mineral resources

What role does performance information play in securing improvement in healthcare? a conceptual framework for levers of change

PubMed Central

Levesque, Jean-Frederic; Sutherland, Kim

2017-01-01

Objective Across healthcare systems, there is consensus on the need for independent and impartial assessment of performance. There is less agreement about how measurement and reporting performance improves healthcare. This paper draws on academic theories to develop a conceptual framework—one that classifies in an integrated manner the ways in which change can be leveraged by healthcare performance information. Methods A synthesis of published frameworks. Results The framework identifies eight levers for change enabled by performance information, spanning internal and external drivers, and emergent and planned processes: (1) cognitive levers provide awareness and understanding; (2) mimetic levers inform about the performance of others to encourage emulation; (3) supportive levers provide facilitation, implementation tools or models of care to actively support change; (4) formative levers develop capabilities and skills through teaching, mentoring and feedback; (5) normative levers set performance against guidelines, standards, certification and accreditation processes; (6) coercive levers use policies, regulations incentives and disincentives to force change; (7) structural levers modify the physical environment or professional cultures and routines; (8) competitive levers attract patients or funders. Conclusion This framework highlights how performance measurement and reporting can contribute to eight different levers for change. It provides guidance into how to align performance measurement and reporting into quality improvement programme. PMID:28851769

Meta-transcriptomics indicates biotic cross-tolerance in willow trees cultivated on petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soil.

PubMed

Gonzalez, Emmanuel; Brereton, Nicholas J B; Marleau, Julie; Guidi Nissim, Werther; Labrecque, Michel; Pitre, Frederic E; Joly, Simon

2015-10-12

High concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) pollution can be hazardous to human health and leave soils incapable of supporting agricultural crops. A cheap solution, which can help restore biodiversity and bring land back to productivity, is cultivation of high biomass yielding willow trees. However, the genetic mechanisms which allow these fast-growing trees to tolerate PHCs are as yet unclear. Salix purpurea 'Fish Creek' trees were pot-grown in soil from a former petroleum refinery, either lacking or enriched with C10-C50 PHCs. De novo assembled transcriptomes were compared between tree organs and impartially annotated without a priori constraint to any organism. Over 45% of differentially expressed genes originated from foreign organisms, the majority from the two-spotted spidermite, Tetranychus urticae. Over 99% of T. urticae transcripts were differentially expressed with greater abundance in non-contaminated trees. Plant transcripts involved in the polypropanoid pathway, including phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), had greater expression in contaminated trees whereas most resistance genes showed higher expression in non-contaminated trees. The impartial approach to annotation of the de novo transcriptomes, allowing for the possibility for multiple species identification, was essential for interpretation of the crop's response treatment. The meta-transcriptomic pattern of expression suggests a cross-tolerance mechanism whereby abiotic stress resistance systems provide improved biotic resistance. These findings highlight a valuable but complex biotic and abiotic stress response to real-world, multidimensional contamination which could, in part, help explain why crops such as willow can produce uniquely high biomass yields on challenging marginal land.

Prevention of violence in prison - The role of health care professionals.

PubMed

Pont, Jörg; Stöver, Heino; Gétaz, Laurent; Casillas, Alejandra; Wolff, Hans

2015-08-01

The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies violence prevention as a public health priority. In custodial settings, where violence is problematic, administrators and custodial officials are usually tasked with the duty of addressing this complicated issue-leaving health care professionals largely out of a discussion and problem-solving process that should ideally be multidisciplinary in approach. Health care professionals who care for prisoners are in a unique position to help identify and prevent violence, given their knowledge about health and violence, and because of the impartial position they must sustain in the prison environment in upholding professional ethics. Thus, health care professionals working in prisons should be charged with leading violence prevention efforts in custodial settings. In addition to screening for violence and detecting violent events upon prison admission, health care professionals in prison must work towards uniform in-house procedures for longitudinal and systemized medical recording/documentation of violence. These efforts will benefit the future planning, implementation, and evaluation of focused strategies for violence prevention in prisoner populations. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Medicine, psychiatry and euthanasia: an argument against mandatory psychiatric review.

PubMed

Parker, M

2000-04-01

The paper critically appraises the argument that requests for active assistance to die should be subject to mandatory psychiatric assessment. The argument for mandatory psychiatric assessment is usually supported by an appeal to the need for safeguards against errors and omissions in both the diagnosis of psychiatric conditions affecting the terminally ill and the exploration of the meanings of their requests. This intuitively appealing view is challenged through a broader analysis which examines connections between medicine's traditional adherence to the moral distinction between acts and omissions and the following issues: the historical relationship between medical practice and dying, the recent development of research into treatment-withdrawal decisions, the scientific status of psychiatry, the logic of rationality and decision-making competence. The analysis reveals a number of hitherto unexamined and unacknowledged influences which would make psychiatric review of requests for assisted death a much less objective and impartial process than is assumed. Mandatory psychiatric review is an instance of the medicalisation of death and dying which could abridge the freedom of certain individuals to make decisions about their deaths.

The U.S. Geological Survey's TRIGA® reactor

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeBey, Timothy M.; Roy, Brycen R.; Brady, Sally R.

2012-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates a low-enriched uranium-fueled, pool-type reactor located at the Federal Center in Denver, Colorado. The mission of the Geological Survey TRIGA® Reactor (GSTR) is to support USGS science by providing information on geologic, plant, and animal specimens to advance methods and techniques unique to nuclear reactors. The reactor facility is supported by programs across the USGS and is organizationally under the Associate Director for Energy and Minerals, and Environmental Health. The GSTR is the only facility in the United States capable of performing automated delayed neutron analyses for detecting fissile and fissionable isotopes. Samples from around the world are submitted to the USGS for analysis using the reactor facility. Qualitative and quantitative elemental analyses, spatial elemental analyses, and geochronology are performed. Few research reactor facilities in the United States are equipped to handle the large number of samples processed at the GSTR. Historically, more than 450,000 sample irradiations have been performed at the USGS facility. Providing impartial scientific information to resource managers, planners, and other interested parties throughout the world is an integral part of the research effort of the USGS.

CERT tribal internship program. Final intern report: Manuel Steele, 1995

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

NONE

The purpose of this internship was to facilitate transfer of advancements in renewable energy to Native American lands for economic and educational benefits and to assist in evaluation of proposals submitted for government funding under Title 26 Indian Energy Resources Program. Specific objectives were to examine specific cost factors stated by each Tribe for economic assessment of each proposal; assess environmental impacts of proposed scope of work presented by each Tribe; monitor existing grants for disbursement of requested funds; and provide Tribal governments with a fair and impartial review of grant proposals for funding by the Department of Energy.

Alaska Science Center: Providing Timely, Relevant, and Impartial Study of the Landscape, Natural Resources, and Natural Hazards for Alaska and Our Nation

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2007-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Nation's largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency, has studied the natural features of Alaska since its earliest geologic expeditions in the 1800s. The USGS Alaska Science Center (ASC), with headquarters in Anchorage, Alaska, studies the complex natural science phenomena of Alaska to provide scientific products and results to a wide variety of partners. The complexity of Alaska's unique landscapes and ecosystems requires USGS expertise from many science disciplines to conduct thorough, integrated research.

[Accreditation of forensic laboratories].

PubMed

Sołtyszewski, Ireneusz

2010-01-01

According to the framework decision of the European Union Council, genetic laboratories which perform tests for the benefit of the law enforcement agencies and the administration of justice are required to obtain a certificate of accreditation testifying to compliance with the PN EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standard. The certificate is the official confirmation of the competence to perform research, an acknowledgement of credibility, impartiality and professional independence. It is also the proof of establishment, implementation and maintenance of an appropriate management system. The article presents the legal basis for accreditation, the procedure of obtaining the certificate of accreditation and selected elements of the management system.

Plans for Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heeg, Jennifer; Ballmann, Josef; Bhatia, Kumar; Blades, Eric; Boucke, Alexander; Chwalowski, Pawel; Dietz, Guido; Dowell, Earl; Florance, Jennifer P.; Hansen, Thorsten;

Live kidney donations and the ethic of care.

PubMed

Kane, Francis; Clement, Grace; Kane, Mary

2008-09-01

In this paper, we seek to re-conceptualize the ethical framework through which ethicists and medical professionals view the practice of live kidney donations. The ethics of organ donation has been understood primarily within the framework of individual rights and impartiality, but we show that the ethic of care captures the moral situation of live kidney donations in a more coherent and comprehensive way, and offers guidance for practitioners that is more attentive to the actual moral transactions among donors and recipients. A final section offers guidelines for the practice of live kidney transplants that emerge from an ethic of care.

[Legislation and inspection for the health and safety of workers. Efficacy and limits].

PubMed

Tozzi, G A

2009-01-01

To provide information regarding Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Inspections in Europe. The dynamics that are transforming regulatory subsystems and complementary inspection services are described. Simplification initiatives, the limits and difficulties of applying the different models of Health and Safety Management Systems are discussed. Examples are given on how to evaluate legislation and technical standards during planning and enforcement. Different approaches for studying characteristics, methodologies and efficacy in practice of OHS Inspection are provided. Targeted inspections need to respond to the needs of enterprises and workers. Impartiality must be guaranteed and workers' participation should be facilitated.

Moralistic gods, supernatural punishment and the expansion of human sociality.

PubMed

Purzycki, Benjamin Grant; Apicella, Coren; Atkinson, Quentin D; Cohen, Emma; McNamara, Rita Anne; Willard, Aiyana K; Xygalatas, Dimitris; Norenzayan, Ara; Henrich, Joseph

2016-02-18

Since the origins of agriculture, the scale of human cooperation and societal complexity has dramatically expanded. This fact challenges standard evolutionary explanations of prosociality because well-studied mechanisms of cooperation based on genetic relatedness, reciprocity and partner choice falter as people increasingly engage in fleeting transactions with genetically unrelated strangers in large anonymous groups. To explain this rapid expansion of prosociality, researchers have proposed several mechanisms. Here we focus on one key hypothesis: cognitive representations of gods as increasingly knowledgeable and punitive, and who sanction violators of interpersonal social norms, foster and sustain the expansion of cooperation, trust and fairness towards co-religionist strangers. We tested this hypothesis using extensive ethnographic interviews and two behavioural games designed to measure impartial rule-following among people (n = 591, observations = 35,400) from eight diverse communities from around the world: (1) inland Tanna, Vanuatu; (2) coastal Tanna, Vanuatu; (3) Yasawa, Fiji; (4) Lovu, Fiji; (5) Pesqueiro, Brazil; (6) Pointe aux Piments, Mauritius; (7) the Tyva Republic (Siberia), Russia; and (8) Hadzaland, Tanzania. Participants reported adherence to a wide array of world religious traditions including Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as notably diverse local traditions, including animism and ancestor worship. Holding a range of relevant variables constant, the higher participants rated their moralistic gods as punitive and knowledgeable about human thoughts and actions, the more coins they allocated to geographically distant co-religionist strangers relative to both themselves and local co-religionists. Our results support the hypothesis that beliefs in moralistic, punitive and knowing gods increase impartial behaviour towards distant co-religionists, and therefore can contribute to the expansion of prosociality.

Neutrality in medicine and health professionals from ethnic minority groups: The case of Arab health professionals in Israel.

PubMed

Keshet, Yael; Popper-Giveon, Ariela

2017-02-01

The ethos of neutrality dominates biomedicine. It has, however, been criticized for leading to a disregard for diversity in medicine. In this article we employ the 'inclusion and difference' approach to gain an understanding of why the ethos of neutrality, on the one hand, and tensions associated with race/ethnicity, on the other, are relevant to the work of ethnic minority health professionals. We sought to explore tensions associated with neutrality in medicine from the point of view of ethnic minority professionals who work in a context of political conflict. We conducted 33 in-depth interviews with Arab health professionals - physicians, nurses and pharmacists - working in Israeli health organizations. The Arab health professionals perceive medical knowledge as being politically neutral; and medical practice as being impartial, universal and humanitarian. They regard the healthcare sector as a relatively egalitarian workplace, into which they can integrate and gain promotion. Nevertheless, the interviewees experienced various instances of treatment refusal, discrimination and racism. In line with the ethos of neutrality, the Israeli medical code of ethics does not relate specifically to Arab professionals and takes their inclusion and integration in healthcare organizations for granted. The ethos of neutrality in medicine underlies the ambivalence inherent in the approach of 'inclusion and difference'. While perceptions of neutrality, alongside values such as equality, cultural competency, impartiality and humanitarian healthcare, do indeed promote the inclusion of minority professionals in health organizations, these same perceptions mask the need to address political events that impinge on the medical milieu and may present an obstacle to designing specific policies to deal with such events. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Water for the Nation: An overview of the USGS Water Resources Division

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1998-01-01

The Water Resources Division (WRD) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides reliable, impartial, timely information needed to understand the Nation's water resources. WRD actively promotes the use of this information by decisionmakers to: * Minimize the loss of life and property as a result of water-related hazards such as floods, droughts, and land movement. * Effectively manage ground-water and surface-water resources for domestic, agricultural, commercial, industrial, recreational, and ecological uses. * Protect and enhance water resources for human health, aquatic health, and environmental quality. * Contribute to wise physical and economic development of the Nation's resources for the benefit of present and future generations.

Quality-assurance and data-management plan for water-quality activities in the Kansas Water Science Center, 2014

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rasmussen, Teresa J.; Bennett, Trudy J.; Foster, Guy M.; Graham, Jennifer L.; Putnam, James E.

2014-01-01

As the Nation’s largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping information agency, the U.S. Geological Survey is relied on to collect high-quality data, and produce factual and impartial interpretive reports. This quality-assurance and data-management plan provides guidance for water-quality activities conducted by the Kansas Water Science Center. Policies and procedures are documented for activities related to planning, collecting, storing, documenting, tracking, verifying, approving, archiving, and disseminating water-quality data. The policies and procedures described in this plan complement quality-assurance plans for continuous water-quality monitoring, surface-water, and groundwater activities in Kansas.

Evolution and Impartiality*

PubMed Central

Kahane, Guy

2014-01-01

Lazari-Radek and Singer argue that evolutionary considerations can resolve Sidgwick’s dualism of practical reason, because such considerations debunk moral views that give weight to self-interested or partial considerations, but cannot threaten the principle Universal Benevolence. I argue that even if we grant these claims, this appeal to evolution is ultimately self-defeating. Lazari-Radek and Singer face a dilemma. Either their evolutionary argument against partial morality succeeds, but then we need to also give up our conviction that suffering is bad; or there is a way to defend this conviction, but then their argument against partiality fails. Utilitarians, I suggest, should resist the temptation to appeal to evolutionary debunking arguments. PMID:24711673

Making a world of difference; recent USGS contributions to the Nation

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1998-01-01

Public service is about making a difference. As the Federal government's principal natural science and information agency, the USGS is committed to providing excellence in public service and to making a difference to the world we live in. Our motto conveys an enduring message: science for a changing world. The changing nature of the natural and physical world is the primary driving force and motivation behind all of the work USGS does in biology, geology, mapping, and water. We live our motto each day in fulfilling our mission to provide reliable, impartial information to the citizen of this country and to the global community.

Public mental health. III: Hatred and reconciliation.

PubMed

Curle, A

1997-01-01

In today's often crazily chaotic conflicts it is particularly important to consider the aftermath of direct violence. Although a ceasefire may have been arranged-or imposed as in Bosnia-the emotions of anger and hatred may still dominate the minds of most people. It is therefore vital to pay great attention to the process of reconciliation. This has not been given the same attention as diplomacy and negotiation in arranging the ceasefire that ended the fighting-but often not the conflict of interests. Health workers are particularly suited for this work for three main reasons. Firstly, their altruistic humanitarian function is very widely appreciated; there is little need for them, as there is for others, to prove their good will and impartiality. Secondly, their work brings them into contact with all levels of society. This is particularly important, since experience shows that arrangements made by leaders are by no means always accepted by the people, upon whom ultimately the creation of a peaceful society depends. Thirdly, the relationships they form are often more long-lasting than those of peace-making negotiators or mediators, and therefore more likely to lead to constructive changes of perception.

Knowledge Engineering Approach to the Geotectonic Discourse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pshenichny, Cyril

2014-05-01

The intellectual challenge of geotectonics is, and always was, much harder than that of most of the sciences: geotectonics has to say much when there is objectively not too much to say. As the target of study (the genesis of regional and planetary geological structures) is vast and multidisciplinary and is more or less generic for many geological disciplines, its more or less complete description is practically inachievable. Hence, the normal pathway of natural-scientific research - first acquire data, then draw conclusion - unlikely can be the case here. Geotectonics does quite the opposite; its approach is purely abductive: first to suggest a conceptualization (hypothesis) based on some external grounds (either general planetary/cosmic/philosophic/religious considerations, or based on experience gained from research of other structures/regions/planets) and then to acquire data that either support or refute it. In fact, geotectonics defines the context for data acquisition, and hence, the paradigm for the entire body of geology. Being an obvious necessity for a descriptive science, this nevertheless creates a number of threats: • Like any people, scientists like simplicity and unity, and therefore a single geotectonic hypothesis may seem preferable once based on the data available at the moment and oppress other views which may acquire evidence in the future; • As impartial data acquisition is rather a myth than reality even in most of the natural sciences, in a study like geology this process becomes strongly biased by the reigning hypothesis and controlled to supply only supportive evidence; • It becomes collectively agreed that any, or great many, domains of geological knowledge are determined by a geotectonic concept, which is, in turn, offered by a reigning hypothesis (sometimes reclassified as theory) - e.g., exploration geologists must involve the global geotectonic terminology in their technical reports on assessment of mineral or hydrocarbon resources, sessions and conferences are entitled like "Geochemical signatures of postcollisional magmas" thus assuming that the concept of collision (i) has been proven to reflect the reality and (ii) surely has something to do with geochemistry of rocks; tectonic terminology becomes a ubiquitous language with no warranty of its correctness and appropriateness to the case. These issues fall into the scope of the field defined as reasoning research in the geosciences (Pshenichny, 2002; 2003). One of its main tools is knowledge engineering (Feigenbaum, 1984). As has been suggested by Anokhin and Longhinos (2013), knowledge engineering, especially its dynamic part being rapidly evolving now, may offer remedies to handle the abovementioned problems. The following solutions will be reported: • Development of an integrated geotectonic context and language shared by the community that follow contrasting geotectonic views; making concepts more or less inter-hypothesis; studying the "anatomy and physiology" of geotectonic hypotheses and fixing the points of concordance, compatibility and disagreement, computation of logical probabilities of the views given a number of hypotheses (Pshenichny, 2004); • Constructing the ontologies, conceptual graphs and event bushes for data acquisition to impartially define the semantics of data and data provenance in geology; • Building the ensembles of event bushes for related domains of geological knowledge (petrology, volcanology, sedimentology and others) to track the actual influence of geotectonic concepts and views on the geo-knowledge. Following these lines of research would create a better environment for flourishing of scientific thought in geology and makes it more efficient and operative in responding to its traditional tasks (impartial geological mapping, mineral and hydrocarbon exploration, geological education and knowledge transfer) and challenges of nowadays such as natural hazard assessment, sustainable regional development, and so forth. Moreover, this would make a significant contribution to creation of a knowledge-based society that is seen as one of the key priorities of Europe and the civilization in general.

The oil rich Niger Delta region: a framework for improved performance of the Nigerian regulatory process.

PubMed

Onu, N Chukemeka Hemanachi

2003-06-01

The adoption of this policy framework has the ability to reconcile industry, the environment and community interests, taking into account all factors that are relevant to managing developments that are both sustainable and contributory to the achievement of industrial and community stability. The management of resource development is crucial in sustaining the Niger Delta ecosystem and the human population resident in the Niger Delta region. If these separate bodies are constituted they would have the potential to reduce and discourage: i) the vulnerability of the regulatory body to influential and powerful multinational oil companies; ii) the proclivity for unaccountability to the people of the Niger Delta region, since the people of the Niger Delta would have access to the regulatory body's classified and unclassified information, and are part of the decision-making process; and iii) a reduction in conflict between the oil mining companies and the aggrieved youths of the oil rich Niger Delta region. This policy framework also has the added advantage of producing high quality decisions and more acceptable decisions than those for which the people of the Niger Delta region are excluded from the processes that concern their existence. The agency decision-making could now become a multilateral process and thus promote and enhance the accurate, impartial and rational application of legislative directives to given cases or classes of cases. Most importantly, the Minister of Petroleum Resources should be empowered by legislation to revoke any license or lease in respect of an area designated as marginal if left undeveloped for a period of 5 years and grant a lease or license for the area to a more responsible oil company.

Role of women in medicine: a look at the history, the present condition and the future status of women in the surgical field, especially neurosurgery.

PubMed

Kato, Y; Mihara, C; Matsuyama, J; Ochi, S; Ono, H; Yamaguchi, S; Kagawa, R; Sanno, N; Yanagawa, N

2004-04-01

We have analyzed the historical background of women's progress in medicine in Japan and the role of female neurosurgeons as models for the next generation. Female neurosurgeons were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their professional life in detail and the problems they are facing while managing their personal life after getting married and having a child. Some feel that there remain some constraints at work for being a female, due to their male colleagues who are not so understanding in nature. The younger generation is not so keen on joining the neurosurgical branch as their life career due to hard work and complete dedication demanded by neurosurgery. It is not easy for all to manage a neurosurgical career along together with a married life and children. Hence it is now time for those successful female neurosurgeons to become role models. Government can play an important role in these social reforms by coming up with programs to give social security to females and initiate programs for child care for married females pursuing such a demanding profession. Certain measures to encourage females to take up surgery are providing more time by arranging care for babies and families, flexibility in working hours, in addition to having a considerate husband and a considerate chief of department and senior staff. Departmental policies need to be completely impartial and should promote everyone based on their skills and knowledge. Women neurosurgeons need to get together and discuss all these issues so that the younger generation will not hesitate to take up this profession and become stalwarts of neurosurgery like their male counterparts.

[Crisis and the independence of public health policies. SESPAS report 2014].

PubMed

Hernández Aguado, Ildefonso; Lumbreras Lacarra, Blanca

2014-06-01

Independence in the formulation of public health policies can be affected by various agents with objectives contrary to population health, such as large corporations. This lack of independence may be exacerbated by the economic crisis due to lower funding for health regulatory bodies or other measures designed to protect health. Large corporations have influenced the formulation of certain policies with an impact on health, such as those related to the tobacco industry, the chemical industry, nutrition, alcohol, pharmaceuticals, and health technology. The main areas in which these companies can influence policies are science, education, politics, and society in general. In this scenario, public health associations should take an active role in ensuring the independence of political decisions via actions such as the following: supporting strategies that guarantee the independence of public health policies and apply criteria of impartiality and transparency; rejecting those public-private partnerships launched to prevent health problems partly caused by these corporations; establishing partnerships to achieve independent training of health professionals and an institution with scientific authority in order to improve public health communication and counteract the lack of sound public health information; promoting a critical analysis of the definition of health problems and their solutions, and establishing related agendas (scientific, political and media) and alliances, so that continuing training for health professionals is independent. Copyright © 2013 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Accurate diagnosis of myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome based upon objective test methods for characteristic symptoms

PubMed Central

Twisk, Frank NM

2015-01-01

Although myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are considered to be synonymous, the definitional criteria for ME and CFS define two distinct, partially overlapping, clinical entities. ME, whether defined by the original criteria or by the recently proposed criteria, is not equivalent to CFS, let alone a severe variant of incapacitating chronic fatigue. Distinctive features of ME are: muscle weakness and easy muscle fatigability, cognitive impairment, circulatory deficits, a marked variability of the symptoms in presence and severity, but above all, post-exertional “malaise”: a (delayed) prolonged aggravation of symptoms after a minor exertion. In contrast, CFS is primarily defined by (unexplained) chronic fatigue, which should be accompanied by four out of a list of 8 symptoms, e.g., headaches. Due to the subjective nature of several symptoms of ME and CFS, researchers and clinicians have questioned the physiological origin of these symptoms and qualified ME and CFS as functional somatic syndromes. However, various characteristic symptoms, e.g., post-exertional “malaise” and muscle weakness, can be assessed objectively using well-accepted methods, e.g., cardiopulmonary exercise tests and cognitive tests. The objective measures acquired by these methods should be used to accurately diagnose patients, to evaluate the severity and impact of the illness objectively and to assess the positive and negative effects of proposed therapies impartially. PMID:26140274

National Water Quality Laboratory Profile

USGS Publications Warehouse

Raese, Jon W.

1994-01-01

The National Water Quality Laboratory determines organic and inorganic constituents in samples of surface and ground water, river and lake sediment, aquatic plant and animal material, and precipitation collected throughout the United States and its territories by the U.S. Geological Survey. In water year 1994, the Laboratory produced more than 900,000 analytical results for about 65,000 samples. The Laboratory also coordinates an extensive network of contract laboratories for the determination of radiochemical and stable isotopes and work for the U.S. Department of Defense Environmental Contamination Hydrology Program. Heightened concerns about water quality and about the possible effects of toxic chemicals at trace and ultratrace levels have contributed to an increased demand for impartial, objective, and independent data.

Alternative management and funding options for aeronautics programs, Task 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Research and technology will be at lower program levels with basic military research for aviation decreasing as fewer aircraft programs are initiated and the present new aircraft programs move into the prototype and production status. The key question is can industry take on the management and financing role and meet the criteria and characteristics considered essential for a viable research and technology program. The criteria for evaluating alternative approaches include an examination of the nature of the product to be provided, responsiveness to changing needs, efficiency in terms of costs, ability to provide leadership, and to provide impartial and independent evaluation of approaches, and to provide technological inputs for regulating functions.

Rescaling citations of publications in physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radicchi, Filippo; Castellano, Claudio

2011-04-01

We analyze the citation distributions of all papers published in Physical Review journals between 1985 and 2009. The average number of citations received by papers published in a given year and in a given field is computed. Large variations are found, showing that it is not fair to compare citation numbers across fields and years. However, when a rescaling procedure by the average is used, it is possible to compare impartially articles across years and fields. We make the rescaling factors available for use by the readers. We also show that rescaling citation numbers by the number of publication authors has strong effects and should therefore be taken into account when assessing the bibliometric performance of researchers.

Double protection passive pour les equipages de l’helicoptere d’attaque Tigre : Concept et etude experimentale (Design and Experimental Study of the Passive Double Hearing Protection for the Crew of the Attack Helicopter Tiger)

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-04-01

alain.leger@fr.thalesgroup.com THALES Aerospace Rue Toussaint Catros 33187 Le Haillan FRANCE RESUME Les coques des écouteurs du casque Topowl ont...déjà fait l’objet d’une étude visant à optimiser leur protection auditive dans les stricts budgets de masse et de volume impartis. La présente...techniques audio (p. 17-1 – 17-14). Compte rendu de réunion RTO-MP-HFM-123, Communication 17. Neuilly-sur-Seine, France : RTO. Disponible sur le site

The place of the ideal observer in medical ethics.

PubMed

Churchill, L R

1983-01-01

The idea of an ideal observer is frequently employed in ethical reasoning and has recently been introduced into medical ethics. The contemporary use of this idea, however, is deeply flawed. It ignores important social and personal dimensions of ethics. By espousing a perspective of observation removed from history and community, the ideal observer notion encourages a pretense of objectivity and overlooks the distortions of distance. If taken seriously as a model for choice, the ideal observer is incoherent, as it dispenses with the concrete moral agent and the locus of choice. Adam Smith's 'impartial spectator' is examined as a more adequate statement of the need for appreciating diverse perspectives in ethical choices.

Portalen Handelsplats Wermland — Practical E-commerce for Värmland's Businesses and Municipalities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, Ulrika Obstfelder; Borg, Ulf

Portalen Handelsplats Wermland (Portal Meetingpoint Wermland) offers a range of services designed by the Wermland Chamber of Commerce to permit the cost-effective exchange of electronic messages, including invoicing, ordering, certification and procurement. The portal meets the needs and expectations faced by businesses, both large and small, in the area of e-commerce. The portal also provides a way for businesses to share the cost of applications and equipment. As a result, they enjoy greater flexibility with their partners and more efficient internal procedures. Most importantly, the portal represents a local, impartial effort to strengthen Varmland's private sector and open up avenues that are beyond the financial means of individual businesses.

Are happier people less judgmental of other people's selfish behaviors? Experimental survey evidence from trust and gift exchange games.

PubMed

Drouvelis, Michalis; Powdthavee, Nattavudh

2015-10-01

What determines people's moral judgments of selfish behaviors? Here we study whether people's normative views in trust and gift exchange games, which underlie many situations of economic and social significance, are themselves functions of positive emotions. We use experimental survey methods to investigate the moral judgments of impartial observers empirically, and explore whether we could influence subsequent judgments by deliberately making some individuals happier. We find that moral judgments of selfish behaviors in the economic context depend strongly on the behavior of the interaction partner of the judged person, but their relationships are significantly moderated by an increase in happiness for the person making the judgment.

Rescaling citations of publications in physics.

PubMed

Radicchi, Filippo; Castellano, Claudio

2011-04-01

We analyze the citation distributions of all papers published in Physical Review journals between 1985 and 2009. The average number of citations received by papers published in a given year and in a given field is computed. Large variations are found, showing that it is not fair to compare citation numbers across fields and years. However, when a rescaling procedure by the average is used, it is possible to compare impartially articles across years and fields. We make the rescaling factors available for use by the readers. We also show that rescaling citation numbers by the number of publication authors has strong effects and should therefore be taken into account when assessing the bibliometric performance of researchers.

What role does performance information play in securing improvement in healthcare? a conceptual framework for levers of change.

PubMed

Levesque, Jean-Frederic; Sutherland, Kim

2017-08-28

Across healthcare systems, there is consensus on the need for independent and impartial assessment of performance. There is less agreement about how measurement and reporting performance improves healthcare. This paper draws on academic theories to develop a conceptual framework-one that classifies in an integrated manner the ways in which change can be leveraged by healthcare performance information. A synthesis of published frameworks. The framework identifies eight levers for change enabled by performance information, spanning internal and external drivers, and emergent and planned processes: (1) cognitive levers provide awareness and understanding; (2) mimetic levers inform about the performance of others to encourage emulation; (3) supportive levers provide facilitation, implementation tools or models of care to actively support change; (4) formative levers develop capabilities and skills through teaching, mentoring and feedback; (5) normative levers set performance against guidelines, standards, certification and accreditation processes; (6) coercive levers use policies, regulations incentives and disincentives to force change; (7) structural levers modify the physical environment or professional cultures and routines; (8) competitive levers attract patients or funders. This framework highlights how performance measurement and reporting can contribute to eight different levers for change. It provides guidance into how to align performance measurement and reporting into quality improvement programme. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Glaciated valleys in Europe and western Asia

PubMed Central

Prasicek, Günther; Otto, Jan-Christoph; Montgomery, David R.; Schrott, Lothar

2015-01-01

In recent years, remote sensing, morphometric analysis, and other computational concepts and tools have invigorated the field of geomorphological mapping. Automated interpretation of digital terrain data based on impartial rules holds substantial promise for large dataset processing and objective landscape classification. However, the geomorphological realm presents tremendous complexity and challenges in the translation of qualitative descriptions into geomorphometric semantics. Here, the simple, conventional distinction of V-shaped fluvial and U-shaped glacial valleys was analyzed quantitatively using multi-scale curvature and a novel morphometric variable termed Difference of Minimum Curvature (DMC). We used this automated terrain analysis approach to produce a raster map at a scale of 1:6,000,000 showing the distribution of glaciated valleys across Europe and western Asia. The data set has a cell size of 3 arc seconds and consists of more than 40 billion grid cells. Glaciated U-shaped valleys commonly associated with erosion by warm-based glaciers are abundant in the alpine regions of mid Europe and western Asia but also occur at the margins of mountain ice sheets in Scandinavia. The high-level correspondence with field mapping and the fully transferable semantics validate this approach for automated analysis of yet unexplored terrain around the globe and qualify for potential applications on other planetary bodies like Mars. PMID:27019665

How to use bibliometric methods in evaluation of scientific research? An example from Finnish schizophrenia research.

PubMed

Koskinen, Johanna; Isohanni, Matti; Paajala, Henna; Jääskeläinen, Erika; Nieminen, Pentti; Koponen, Hannu; Tienari, Pekka; Miettunen, Jouko

2008-01-01

We present bibliometric methods that can be utilized in evaluation processes of scientific work. In this paper, we present some practical clues using Finnish schizophrenia research as an example and comparing the research output of different institutions. Bibliometric data and indicators including publication counts, impact factors and received citations were used as tools for evaluating research performance in Finnish schizophrenia research. The articles and citations were searched from the Web of Science database. We used schizophrenia as a keyword and defined address Finland, and limited years to 1996-2005. When we analysed Finnish schizophrenia research, altogether 265 articles met our criteria. There were differences in impact factors and received citations between institutions. The number of annually published Finnish schizophrenia articles has tripled since the mid-1990s. International co-operation was common (43%). Bibliometric methods revealed differences between institutions, indicating that the methods can be applied in research evaluation. The coverage of databases as well as the precision of their search engines can be seen as limitations. Bibliometric methods offer a practical and impartial way to estimate publication profiles of researchers and research groups. According to our experience, these methods can be used as an evaluation instrument in research together with other methods, such as expert opinions and panels.

[Development and implementation of an outpatient clinic at an initial reception centre for asylum seekers in the German federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg].

PubMed

Nikendei, Christoph; Huhn, Daniel; Adler, Guido; von Rose, Peta Becker; Eckstein, Torsten M; Fuchs, Birgit; Gewalt, Sandra C; Greiner, Bernhard; Günther, Thomas; Herzog, Wolfgang; Junghanss, Thomas; Krczal, Thomas; Lorenzen, Detlef; Lutz, Thomas; Manigault, Meryl A; Reinhart, Nico; Rodenberg, Michiko; Schelletter, Iris; Szecsenyi, Joachim; Steen, Rainer; Straßner, Cornelia; Thomsen, Mirjam; Wahedi, Katharina; Bozorgmehr, Kayvan

2017-10-01

In 2015, more than 890,000 asylum seekers were registered in Germany. The provision of medical and psychosocial care for asylum seekers is facing numerous obstacles. Access to health care is mostly insufficient, particularly in initial reception centres. The present article describes the development and implementation of an interdisciplinary outpatient clinic for asylum seekers at the main registration authority in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg operated by physicians of the University Hospital of Heidelberg and the local Medical Association in Heidelberg. A steering committee was appointed to plan and implement the interdisciplinary outpatient clinic. Semi-structured interviews with nine steering committee members were conducted to elucidate perceived barriers during the planning and implementation phase. The steering committee's strong personal commitment and the health authorities' impartial management were cited as the main contributing factors to the success of the implementation process. Significant barriers were seen in the funding of personnel, equipment, and language mediation as well as in legal liability and billing-related aspects. Results are discussed with a focus on financing, administrative and legal framework as well as language mediation, documentation and further matters that are essential to ensure high-quality care. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

AHRQ series paper 3: identifying, selecting, and refining topics for comparative effectiveness systematic reviews: AHRQ and the effective health-care program.

PubMed

Whitlock, Evelyn P; Lopez, Sarah A; Chang, Stephanie; Helfand, Mark; Eder, Michelle; Floyd, Nicole

2010-05-01

This article discusses the identification, selection, and refinement of topics for comparative effectiveness systematic reviews within the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Effective Health Care (EHC) program. The EHC program seeks to align its research topic selection with the overall goals of the program, impartially and consistently apply predefined criteria to potential topics, involve stakeholders to identify high-priority topics, be transparent and accountable, and continually evaluate and improve processes. A topic prioritization group representing stakeholder and scientific perspectives evaluates topic nominations that fit within the EHC program (are "appropriate") to determine how "important" topics are as considered against seven criteria. The group then judges whether a new comparative effectiveness systematic review would be a duplication of existing research syntheses, and if not duplicative, if there is adequate type and volume of research to conduct a new systematic review. Finally, the group considers the "potential value and impact" of a comparative effectiveness systematic review. As the EHC program develops, ongoing challenges include ensuring the program addresses truly unmet needs for synthesized research because national and international efforts in this arena are uncoordinated, as well as engaging a range of stakeholders in program decisions while also achieving efficiency and timeliness.

Medical marijuana: the conflict between scientific evidence and political ideology. Part two of two.

PubMed

Cohen, Peter J

2009-01-01

In Part I of this article, I examined the role of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in drug approval and then detailed the known risks of medical marijuana (any form of Cannabis sativa used--usually by smoking--to treat a wide variety of pathologic states and diseases). Part II of the article will begin by reviewing the benefits of Cannabis sativa as documented by well designed scientific studies that have been published in the peer-reviewed literature. I will then propose that ability of scientists to conduct impartial studies designed to answer the question of marijuana's role in medical therapy has been greatly hampered by political considerations. I will posit that in spite of the considerable efforts of policymakers, it is becoming apparent that marijuana's benefits should be weighed against its well-described risks. I will conclude that political advocacy is a poor substitute for dispassionate analysis and that neither popular votes nor congressional "findings" should be permitted to trump scientific evidence in deciding whether or not marijuana is an appropriate pharmaceutical agent to use in modern medical practice. Whether or not marijuana is accepted as a legitimate medical therapy should remain in the hands of the usual drug-approval process and that the statutory role of the Food and Drug Administration should be dispositive.

[Development of key indicators for nurses performance evaluation and estimation of their weights for management by objectives].

PubMed

Lee, Eun Hwa; Ahn, Sung Hee

2010-02-01

This methodological research was designed to develop performance evaluation key indicators (PEKIs) for management by objectives (MBO) and to estimate their weights for hospital nurses. The PEKIs were developed by selecting preliminary indicators from a literature review, examining content validity and identifying their level of importance. Data were collected from November 14, 2007 to February 18, 2008. Data set for importance of indicators was obtained from 464 nurses and weights of PEKIs domain was from 453 nurses, who worked for at least 2 yr in one of three hospitals. Data were analyzed using X(2)-test, factor analysis, and the Analytical Hierarchy Process. Based upon Content Validity Index of .8 or above, 61 indicators were selected from the 100 preliminary indicators. Finally, 40 PEKIs were developed from the 61 indicators, and categorized into 10 domains. The highest weight of the 10 domains was customer satisfaction, which was followed by patient education, direct nursing care, profit increase, safety management, improvement of nursing quality, completeness of nursing records, enhancing competence of nurses, indirect nursing care, and cost reduction, in that order. PEKIs and their weights can be utilized for impartial evaluation and MBO for hospital nurses. Further research to verify PEKIs would lead to successful implementation of MBO.

Embedding 'speaking up' into systems for safe healthcare product development and marketing surveillance.

PubMed

Edwards, Brian; Hugman, Bruce; Tobin, Mary; Whalen, Matthew

2012-04-01

Robust, active cooperation, and effective, open communication between all stakeholders is essential for ensuring regulatory compliance and healthcare product safety; avoiding the necessity for whistle-blowing; and, most essentially, meeting the transparency requirements of public trust.The focus here is on what can be done within a healthcare product organization (HPO) to achieve actionable, sustainable policies and practices such as leadership, management, and supervision role-modelling of best practice; ongoing process review and improvements in every department; protection of those who report concerns through robust policies endorsed at Board level throughout an organization to eliminate the fear of retaliation; training in open, non-defensive team-working principles; and mediation structure and process for resolution of differences of opinion or interpretation of contradictory and volatile data.Based on analyses of other safety systems, workplace silence and interpersonal breakdowns are warning signs of defective systems underlying poor compliance and compromising safety. Remedying the situation requires attention to the root causes underlying such symptoms of dysfunction, especially the human factor, i.e. those factors that influence human performance. It is essential that leadership and management listen to employees' concerns about systems and processes, assess them impartially and reward contributions that improve safety.Fundamentally, the safety, transparency, and trustworthiness of HPOs, both commercial and regulatory, can be judged by the extent of the freedom of their staff to 'speak up' when the time is right. This, in turn, consolidates the trust of external stakeholders in the safety of a system and its products. The promotion of 'speaking up' in an organization provides an important safeguard against the risk of poor compliance and the undermining of societal confidence in the safety of healthcare products.

Combined clinical and home rehabilitation: case report of an integrated knowledge-to-action study in a Dutch rehabilitation stroke unit.

PubMed

Nanninga, Christa S; Postema, Klaas; Schönherr, Marleen C; van Twillert, Sacha; Lettinga, Ant T

2015-04-01

There is growing awareness that the poor uptake of evidence in health care is not a knowledge-transfer problem but rather one of knowledge production. This issue calls for re-examination of the evidence produced and assumptions that underpin existing knowledge-to-action (KTA) activities. Accordingly, it has been advocated that KTA studies should treat research knowledge and local practical knowledge with analytical impartiality. The purpose of this case report is to illustrate the complexities in an evidence-informed improvement process of organized stroke care in a local rehabilitation setting. A participatory action approach was used to co-create knowledge and engage local therapists in a 2-way knowledge translation and multidirectional learning process. Evidence regarding rehabilitation stroke units was applied in a straightforward manner, as the setting met the criteria articulated in stroke unit reviews. Evidence on early supported discharge (ESD) could not be directly applied because of differences in target group and implementation environment between the local and reviewed settings. Early supported discharge was tailored to the needs of patients severely affected by stroke admitted to the local rehabilitation stroke unit by combining clinical and home rehabilitation (CCHR). Local therapists welcomed CCHR because it helped them make their task-specific training truly context specific. Key barriers to implementation were travel time, logistical problems, partitioning walls between financing streams, and legislative procedures. Improving local settings with available evidence is not a straightforward application process but rather a matter of searching, logical reasoning, and creatively working with heterogeneous knowledge sources in partnership with different stakeholders. Multiple organizational levels need to be addressed rather than focusing on therapists as sole site of change. © 2015 American Physical Therapy Association.

The United States Geological Survey: A vision for the 21st century

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1993-01-01

Leadership in Earth science for sustained global health, welfare, and prosperity. We envision a U.S. Geological Survey that is a global leader in relevant, innovative, and interdisciplinary Earth science. We shall conduct collaborative, impartial, multi-scale scientific investigations into the Earth's systems and conditions through a spectrum of basic to applied research on the environment, hazards, resources, and information management, all in support of present and future societal needs. We envision an organization that serves the public by sharing Earthscience data and information and by promoting its dissemination, understanding, and application. We shall be a flexible organization that values its employees and works in concert with them for attainment of both institutional and individual goals.

The effects of rehabilitative voir dire on juror bias and decision making.

PubMed

Crocker, Caroline B; Kovera, Margaret Bull

2010-06-01

During voir dire, judges frequently attempt to "rehabilitate" venirepersons who express an inability to be impartial. Venirepersons who agree to ignore their biases and base their verdict on the evidence and the law are eligible for jury service. In Experiment 1, biased and unbiased mock jurors participated in either a standard or rehabilitative voir dire conducted by a judge and watched a trial video. Rehabilitation influenced insanity defense attitudes and perceptions of the defendant's mental state, and decreased scaled guilt judgments compared to standard questioning. Although rehabilitation is intended to correct for partiality among biased jurors, rehabilitation similarly influenced biased and unbiased jurors. Experiment 2 found that watching rehabilitation did not influence jurors' perceptions of the judge's personal beliefs about the case.

Are happier people less judgmental of other people’s selfish behaviors? Experimental survey evidence from trust and gift exchange games

PubMed Central

Drouvelis, Michalis; Powdthavee, Nattavudh

2017-01-01

What determines people’s moral judgments of selfish behaviors? Here we study whether people’s normative views in trust and gift exchange games, which underlie many situations of economic and social significance, are themselves functions of positive emotions. We use experimental survey methods to investigate the moral judgments of impartial observers empirically, and explore whether we could influence subsequent judgments by deliberately making some individuals happier. We find that moral judgments of selfish behaviors in the economic context depend strongly on the behavior of the interaction partner of the judged person, but their relationships are significantly moderated by an increase in happiness for the person making the judgment. PMID:28729964

Pargament's Theory of Religious Coping: Implications for Spiritually Sensitive Social Work Practice

PubMed Central

Xu, Jianbin

2016-01-01

This article proposes that Pargament's theory of religious coping can be a theoretical beacon to spiritually sensitive social work practice. It begins with a discussion of the raison d'être of spiritually sensitive social work, which is examined as being able to cast a holistic and positive glow on social work. Then it provides an overview and a critique of Pargament's theory, emphasising that the theory offers a fuller and more impartial picture of religious coping. In addition, it explores the implications of Pargament's theory for spiritually sensitive social work practice with religious clients in terms of engagement, assessment and intervention. This article concludes by discussing how social work practitioners can avoid the pitfalls and limitations of Pargament's theory. PMID:27559234

Environmental justice: An issue for states

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

Murakami, L.K.; Davis, S.; Starkey, D.

1996-12-01

Environmental justice combines the social justice and the environmental movements. The very term environmental justice is often and inaccurately used interchangeably with environmental racism and environmental equity. Environmental racism refers to any policy, practice or directive, intentional or not, that differentially affects the environment of individuals, groups or communities based on their race. The concept of environmental equity holds that all populations should bear a proportionate share of environmental pollution and health risks. Environmental justice is a broader term that encompasses both these concepts and connotes the laws must be applied with fairness and impartiality. Environmental justice is defined asmore » the achievement of equal protection from environmental and health hazards for all people regardless of race, income, culture or social class.« less

The challenges and effects of globalisation on forensic dentistry.

PubMed

Bernitz, Herman

2009-08-01

This paper deals with the challenges faced by forensic dentists in a world in which globalisation has become a reality. People travelling across the globe on a daily basis become victims of violent crime, terrorist attacks, human displacement, natural and man made disasters. This has forced colleagues in the profession to participate in joint operations exposing inadequacies which need urgent attention. Forensic dentists practise in isolation creating their own rules and regulations oblivious to the greater global community. No international protocols exist for the many procedures practised by the profession. Possible solutions to the complex problems are offered. These include co-operation with colleagues around the globe while striving for the highest levels of quality control, standardisation, reliability, impartiality, reproducibility and ethical accountability.

Increased fairness in priority setting processes within the health sector: the case of Kapiri-Mposhi District, Zambia

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The challenge of priority setting (PS) in health care within contexts of severe resource limitations has continued to receive attention. Accountability for Reasonableness (AFR) has emerged as a useful framework to guide the implementation of PS processes. In 2006, the AFR approach to enhance legitimate and fair PS was introduced by researchers and decision makers within the health sector in the EU funded research project entitled ‘Response to Accountable priority setting for Trust in health systems’ (REACT). The project aimed to strengthen fairness and accountability in the PS processes of health systems at district level in Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya. This paper focuses on local perceptions and practices of fair PS (baseline study) as well as at the evolution of such perceptions and practices in PS following an AFR based intervention (evaluation study), carried out at district level in Kapiri-Mposhi District in Zambia. Methods Data was collected using in depth interviews (IDIs), focus group discussions (FGDs) and review of documents from national to district level. The study population for this paper consisted of health related stakeholders employed in the district administration, in non-governmental organizations (NGO) and in health facilities. Results During the baseline study, concepts of legitimacy and fairness in PS processes were found to be grounded in local values of equity and impartiality. Government and other organizational strategies strongly supported devolution of PS and decision making procedures. However, important gaps were identified in terms of experiences of stakeholder involvement and fairness in PS processes in practice. The evaluation study revealed that a transformation of the views and methods regarding fairness in PS processes was ongoing in the study district, which was partly attributed to the AFR based intervention. Conclusions The study findings suggest that increased attention was given to fairness in PS processes at district level. The changes were linked to a number of simultaneous factors among them the concepts introduced by the present project with its emphasis on fairness and enhanced participation. A responsive leadership that was increasingly accountable to its operational staff and communities emerged as one of the key elements in driving the processes forward. PMID:24548767

Increased fairness in priority setting processes within the health sector: the case of Kapiri-Mposhi District, Zambia.

PubMed

Zulu, Joseph M; Michelo, Charles; Msoni, Carol; Hurtig, Anna-Karin; Byskov, Jens; Blystad, Astrid

2014-02-18

The challenge of priority setting (PS) in health care within contexts of severe resource limitations has continued to receive attention. Accountability for Reasonableness (AFR) has emerged as a useful framework to guide the implementation of PS processes. In 2006, the AFR approach to enhance legitimate and fair PS was introduced by researchers and decision makers within the health sector in the EU funded research project entitled 'Response to Accountable priority setting for Trust in health systems' (REACT). The project aimed to strengthen fairness and accountability in the PS processes of health systems at district level in Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya. This paper focuses on local perceptions and practices of fair PS (baseline study) as well as at the evolution of such perceptions and practices in PS following an AFR based intervention (evaluation study), carried out at district level in Kapiri-Mposhi District in Zambia. Data was collected using in depth interviews (IDIs), focus group discussions (FGDs) and review of documents from national to district level. The study population for this paper consisted of health related stakeholders employed in the district administration, in non-governmental organizations (NGO) and in health facilities. During the baseline study, concepts of legitimacy and fairness in PS processes were found to be grounded in local values of equity and impartiality. Government and other organizational strategies strongly supported devolution of PS and decision making procedures. However, important gaps were identified in terms of experiences of stakeholder involvement and fairness in PS processes in practice. The evaluation study revealed that a transformation of the views and methods regarding fairness in PS processes was ongoing in the study district, which was partly attributed to the AFR based intervention. The study findings suggest that increased attention was given to fairness in PS processes at district level. The changes were linked to a number of simultaneous factors among them the concepts introduced by the present project with its emphasis on fairness and enhanced participation. A responsive leadership that was increasingly accountable to its operational staff and communities emerged as one of the key elements in driving the processes forward.

The NASA Applied Science Program Disasters Area: Disaster Applications Research and Response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murray, J. J.; Lindsay, F. E.; Stough, T.; Jones, C. E.

2014-12-01

The goal of the Natural Disaster Application Area is to use NASA's capabilities in spaceborne, airborne, surface observations, higher-level derived data products, and modeling and data analysis to improve natural disaster forecasting, mitigation, and response. The Natural Disaster Application Area applies its remote sensing observations, modeling and analysis capabilities to provide hazard and disaster information where and when it is needed. Our application research activities specifically contribute to 1) Understanding the natural processes that produce hazards, 2)Developing hazard mitigation technologies, and 3)Recognizing vulnerability of interdependent critical infrastructure. The Natural Disasters Application area selects research projects through a rigorous, impartial peer-review process that address a broad spectrum of disasters which afflict populations within the United States, regionally and globally. Currently there are 19 active projects in the research portfolio which address the detection, characterization, forecasting and response to a broad range of natural disasters including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and ash dispersion, wildfires, hurricanes, floods, tornado damage assessment, oil spills and disaster data mining. The Disasters team works with federal agencies to aid the government in meeting the challenges associated with natural disaster response and to transfer technologies to agencies as they become operational. Internationally, the Disasters Area also supports the Committee on Earth Observations Working Group on Disasters, and the International Charter on Space and Disasters to increase, strengthen, and coordinate contributions of NASA Earth-observing satellites and applications products to disaster risk management. The CEOS group will lead pilot efforts focused on identifying key systems to support flooding, earthquake, and volcanic events.

Best practices for basic and advanced skills in health care service recovery: a case study of a re-admitted patient.

PubMed

Hayden, Anna C; Pichert, James W; Fawcett, Jodi; Moore, Ilene N; Hickson, Gerald B

2010-07-01

Service recovery refers to an organizations entire process for facilitating resolution of dissatisfactions, whether or not visible to patients and families. Patients are an important resource for reporting miscommunications, provider inattention, rudeness, or delays, especially if they perceive a connection to misdiagnosis or failed treatment. Health systems that encourage patients to be "the eyes and ears" of individual and team performance capitalize on a rich source of data for quality improvement and risk prevention. Effective service recovery requires organizations (1) to learn about negative perceptions and experiences and (2) to create an infrastructure that supports staff's ability to respond. Service recovery requires the exercise of both basic and advanced skills. We term certain skills as advanced because of the significant variation in their use or endorsement among 30 health care organizations in the United States. On the basis of our work with the 30 organizations, a mnemonic, HEARD, incorporates best practices for basic service recovery processes: Hearing the person's concern; Empathizing with the person raising the issue; Acknowledging, expressing appreciation to the person for sharing, and Apologizing when warranted; Responding to the problem, setting time lines and expectations for follow-up; and Documenting or Delegating the documentation to the appropriate person. Impartiality, chain of command, setting boundaries, and Documentation represent four advanced service recovery skills critical for addressing challenging situations. Using best practices in service recovery enables the organization to do its best to make right what patients and family members experience as wrong.

Multi-scale curvature for automated identification of glaciated mountain landscapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prasicek, Günther; Otto, Jan-Christoph; Montgomery, David; Schrott, Lothar

2014-05-01

Automated morphometric interpretation of digital terrain data based on impartial rule sets holds substantial promise for large dataset processing and objective landscape classification. However, the geomorphological realm presents tremendous complexity in the translation of qualitative descriptions into geomorphometric semantics. Here, the simple, conventional distinction of V-shaped fluvial and U-shaped glacial valleys is analyzed quantitatively using the relation of multi-scale curvature and drainage area. Glacial and fluvial erosion shapes mountain landscapes in a long-recognized and characteristic way. Valleys incised by fluvial processes typically have V-shaped cross-sections with uniform and moderately steep slopes, whereas glacial valleys tend to have U-shaped profiles and topographic gradients steepening with distance from valley floor. On a DEM, thalweg cells are determined by a drainage area cutoff and multiple moving window sizes are used to derive per-cell curvature over a variety of scales ranging from the vicinity of the flow path at the valley bottom to catchment sections fully including valley sides. The relation of the curvatures calculated for the user-defined minimum scale and the automatically detected maximum scale is presented as a novel morphometric variable termed Difference of Minimum Curvature (DMC). DMC thresholds determined from typical glacial and fluvial sample catchments are employed to identify quadrats of glaciated and non-glaciated mountain landscapes and the distinctions are validated by field-based geological and geomorphological maps. A first test of the novel algorithm at three study sites in the western United States and a subsequent application to Europe and western Asia demonstrate the transferability of the approach.

Water-quality sampling by the U.S. Geological Survey-Standard protocols and procedures

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilde, Franceska D.

2010-01-01

Thumbnail of and link to report PDF (1.0 MB) The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) develops the sampling procedures and collects the data necessary for the accurate assessment and wise management of our Nation's surface-water and groundwater resources. Federal and State agencies, water-resource regulators and managers, and many organizations and interested parties in the public and private sectors depend on the reliability, timeliness, and integrity of the data we collect and the scientific soundness and impartiality of our data assessments and analysis. The standard data-collection methods uniformly used by USGS water-quality personnel are peer reviewed, kept up-to-date, and published in the National Field Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data (http://pubs.water.usgs.gov/twri9A/).

Internships, employment opportunities, and research grants

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2015-01-01

As an unbiased, multidisciplinary science organization, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is dedicated to the timely, relevant, and impartial study of the health of our ecosystems and environment, our natural resources, the impacts of climate and land-use change, and the natural hazards that threaten us. Opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and faculty to participate in USGS science are available in the selected programs described below. Please note: U.S. citizenship is required for all government positions.This publication has been superseded by USGS General Information Product 165 Grant Opportunities for Academic Research and Training and USGS General Information Product 166 Student and Recent Graduate Employment Opportunities.This publication is proceeded by USGS General Information Product 80 Internships, Employment Opportunities, and Research Grants published in 2008.

On the likelihood of single-peaked preferences.

PubMed

Lackner, Marie-Louise; Lackner, Martin

2017-01-01

This paper contains an extensive combinatorial analysis of the single-peaked domain restriction and investigates the likelihood that an election is single-peaked. We provide a very general upper bound result for domain restrictions that can be defined by certain forbidden configurations. This upper bound implies that many domain restrictions (including the single-peaked restriction) are very unlikely to appear in a random election chosen according to the Impartial Culture assumption. For single-peaked elections, this upper bound can be refined and complemented by a lower bound that is asymptotically tight. In addition, we provide exact results for elections with few voters or candidates. Moreover, we consider the Pólya urn model and the Mallows model and obtain lower bounds showing that single-peakedness is considerably more likely to appear for certain parameterizations.

Analysis of Test Case Computations and Experiments for the First Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuster, David M.; Heeg, Jennifer; Wieseman, Carol D.; Chwalowski, Pawel

2013-01-01

This paper compares computational and experimental data from the Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop (AePW) held in April 2012. This workshop was designed as a series of technical interchange meetings to assess the state of the art of computational methods for predicting unsteady flowfields and static and dynamic aeroelastic response. The goals are to provide an impartial forum to evaluate the effectiveness of existing computer codes and modeling techniques to simulate aeroelastic problems and to identify computational and experimental areas needing additional research and development. Three subject configurations were chosen from existing wind-tunnel data sets where there is pertinent experimental data available for comparison. Participant researchers analyzed one or more of the subject configurations, and results from all of these computations were compared at the workshop.

Cultural bias and liberal neutrality: reconsidering the relationship between religion and liberalism through the lens of the physician-assisted suicide debate.

PubMed

Jones, Robert P

2002-01-01

Liberals often view religion chiefly as "a problem" for democratic discourse in modern pluralistic societies and propose an allegedly neutral solution in the form of philosophical distinctions between "the right" and "the good" or populist invocations of a "right to choose." Drawing on cultural theory and ethnographic research among activists in the Oregon debates over the legalization of physician-assisted suicide, I demonstrate that liberal "neutrality" harbors its own cultural bias, flattens the complexity of public debates, and undermines liberalism's own commitments to equality. I conclude that the praiseworthy liberal goal of impartiality in policy decisions would best be met not by the inaccessible norm of neutrality but by a norm of inclusivity, which intentionally solicits multiple cultural perspectives.

Plans and Example Results for the 2nd AIAA Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heeg, Jennifer; Chwalowski, Pawel; Schuster, David M.; Raveh, Daniella; Jirasek, Adam; Dalenbring, Mats

2015-01-01

This paper summarizes the plans for the second AIAA Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop. The workshop is designed to assess the state-of-the-art of computational methods for predicting unsteady flow fields and aeroelastic response. The goals are to provide an impartial forum to evaluate the effectiveness of existing computer codes and modeling techniques, and to identify computational and experimental areas needing additional research and development. This paper provides guidelines and instructions for participants including the computational aerodynamic model, the structural dynamic properties, the experimental comparison data and the expected output data from simulations. The Benchmark Supercritical Wing (BSCW) has been chosen as the configuration for this workshop. The analyses to be performed will include aeroelastic flutter solutions of the wing mounted on a pitch-and-plunge apparatus.

Automatic Perceptual Color Map Generation for Realistic Volume Visualization

PubMed Central

Silverstein, Jonathan C.; Parsad, Nigel M.; Tsirline, Victor

2008-01-01

Advances in computed tomography imaging technology and inexpensive high performance computer graphics hardware are making high-resolution, full color (24-bit) volume visualizations commonplace. However, many of the color maps used in volume rendering provide questionable value in knowledge representation and are non-perceptual thus biasing data analysis or even obscuring information. These drawbacks, coupled with our need for realistic anatomical volume rendering for teaching and surgical planning, has motivated us to explore the auto-generation of color maps that combine natural colorization with the perceptual discriminating capacity of grayscale. As evidenced by the examples shown that have been created by the algorithm described, the merging of perceptually accurate and realistically colorized virtual anatomy appears to insightfully interpret and impartially enhance volume rendered patient data. PMID:18430609

National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive

USGS Publications Warehouse

Faundeen, John L.; Kelly, Francis P.; Holm, Thomas M.; Nolt, Jenna E.

2013-01-01

The National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive (NSLRSDA) resides at the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. Through the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992, the U.S. Congress directed the Department of the Interior (DOI) to establish a permanent Government archive containing satellite remote sensing data of the Earth's land surface and to make this data easily accessible and readily available. This unique DOI/USGS archive provides a comprehensive, permanent, and impartial observational record of the planet's land surface obtained throughout more than five decades of satellite remote sensing. Satellite-derived data and information products are primary sources used to detect and understand changes such as deforestation, desertification, agricultural crop vigor, water quality, invasive plant species, and certain natural hazards such as flood extent and wildfire scars.

Yemen's Unprecedented Humanitarian Crisis: Implications for International Humanitarian Law, the Geneva Convention, and the Future of Global Health Security.

PubMed

Ripoll Gallardo, Alba; Burkle, Frederick M; Ragazzoni, Luca; Della Corte, Francesco

2016-10-01

The current humanitarian crisis in Yemen is unprecedented in many ways. The Yemeni War tragedy is symptomatic of gross failures to recognize, by combatants, existing humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention that have become the new norm in unconventional armed conflicts and are increasingly replicated in Africa, Afghanistan, and other areas of the Middle East with dire consequences on aid workers and the noncombatant population. The health and humanitarian professions must take collective responsibility in calling for all belligerent parties to cease the massacre and commit to guaranteed medical assistance, humanitarian aid, and the free flow of information and respect for the humanitarian principles that protect the neutrality and impartiality of the humanitarian workforce. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;page 1 of 3).

Workplace-based assessment of communication skills: A pilot project addressing feasibility, acceptance and reliability

PubMed Central

Weyers, Simone; Jemi, Iman; Karger, André; Raski, Bianca; Rotthoff, Thomas; Pentzek, Michael; Mortsiefer, Achim

2016-01-01

Background: Imparting communication skills has been given great importance in medical curricula. In addition to standardized assessments, students should communicate with real patients in actual clinical situations during workplace-based assessments and receive structured feedback on their performance. The aim of this project was to pilot a formative testing method for workplace-based assessment. Our investigation centered in particular on whether or not physicians view the method as feasible and how high acceptance is among students. In addition, we assessed the reliability of the method. Method: As part of the project, 16 students held two consultations each with chronically ill patients at the medical practice where they were completing GP training. These consultations were video-recorded. The trained mentoring physician rated the student’s performance and provided feedback immediately following the consultations using the Berlin Global Rating scale (BGR). Two impartial, trained raters also evaluated the videos using BGR. For qualitative and quantitative analysis, information on how physicians and students viewed feasibility and their levels of acceptance was collected in written form in a partially standardized manner. To test for reliability, the test-retest reliability was calculated for both of the overall evaluations given by each rater. The inter-rater reliability was determined for the three evaluations of each individual consultation. Results: The formative assessment method was rated positively by both physicians and students. It is relatively easy to integrate into daily routines. Its significant value lies in the personal, structured and recurring feedback. The two overall scores for each patient consultation given by the two impartial raters correlate moderately. The degree of uniformity among the three raters in respect to the individual consultations is low. Discussion: Within the scope of this pilot project, only a small sample of physicians and students could be surveyed to a limited extent. There are indications that the assessment can be improved by integrating more information on medical context and student self-assessments. Despite the current limitations regarding test criteria, it is clear that workplace-based assessment of communication skills in the clinical setting is a valuable addition to the communication curricula of medical schools. PMID:27990466

Workplace-based assessment of communication skills: A pilot project addressing feasibility, acceptance and reliability.

PubMed

Weyers, Simone; Jemi, Iman; Karger, André; Raski, Bianca; Rotthoff, Thomas; Pentzek, Michael; Mortsiefer, Achim

2016-01-01

Background: Imparting communication skills has been given great importance in medical curricula. In addition to standardized assessments, students should communicate with real patients in actual clinical situations during workplace-based assessments and receive structured feedback on their performance. The aim of this project was to pilot a formative testing method for workplace-based assessment. Our investigation centered in particular on whether or not physicians view the method as feasible and how high acceptance is among students. In addition, we assessed the reliability of the method. Method: As part of the project, 16 students held two consultations each with chronically ill patients at the medical practice where they were completing GP training. These consultations were video-recorded. The trained mentoring physician rated the student's performance and provided feedback immediately following the consultations using the Berlin Global Rating scale (BGR). Two impartial, trained raters also evaluated the videos using BGR. For qualitative and quantitative analysis, information on how physicians and students viewed feasibility and their levels of acceptance was collected in written form in a partially standardized manner. To test for reliability, the test-retest reliability was calculated for both of the overall evaluations given by each rater. The inter-rater reliability was determined for the three evaluations of each individual consultation. Results: The formative assessment method was rated positively by both physicians and students. It is relatively easy to integrate into daily routines. Its significant value lies in the personal, structured and recurring feedback. The two overall scores for each patient consultation given by the two impartial raters correlate moderately. The degree of uniformity among the three raters in respect to the individual consultations is low. Discussion: Within the scope of this pilot project, only a small sample of physicians and students could be surveyed to a limited extent. There are indications that the assessment can be improved by integrating more information on medical context and student self-assessments. Despite the current limitations regarding test criteria, it is clear that workplace-based assessment of communication skills in the clinical setting is a valuable addition to the communication curricula of medical schools.

[Psychoses and unidentified flying objects].

PubMed

Mavrakis, D; Bocquet, J P

1983-04-01

Some individuals claim to have come into contact and communicated with occupants of flying objects of extraterrestrial origin who often would have entrusted them with "missions" regarding the safeguard of humanity. The authors, who have observed six such subjects, conclude that five of them suffered from a paranoid delusional state often akin to paraphrenia; whereas other analogous cases previously reported have been diagnosed as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Their beliefs, inaccessible to criticism and to reasoning, presumably help them to remain outside psychiatric reach. The present article does not take an interest in the physical existence of this phenomenon and does not wish to be reductionistic. It does not claim to express a judgment on the witnesses of such phenomena whose mental health must be evaluated through a rigorous and impartial examination, and not be evaluated in terms of the examiner's preconceptions toward the witnesses' assertions.

Self-regulation in dentistry and the social contract.

PubMed

Holden, A C L

2016-10-21

This article looks at the General Dental Council (GDC) and dental regulation from the perspective of social contract theory. Self-regulation is a requirement for the dental profession to exist within such a contract with society and this article seeks to examine the effects of the GDC upon the social contract. The GDC maintains that it is independent of the dental profession and while this may be true when discussing impartiality, the existence and purpose of the GDC is intrinsically intertwined with the dental profession. This article will show that the GDC has acted in a manner that has a negative impact upon the social contract between the dental profession and society and that for the dental profession to maintain its status and ability to place patients first, the GDC needs to re-evaluate its role and attitudes.

EIA's Role in Energy Data Collection, With Some Notes on Water Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leckey, T. J.

2017-12-01

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. EIA collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding of energy and its interaction with the economy and the environment. EIA conducts a comprehensive data collection program that covers the full spectrum of energy sources, end uses, and energy flows. This presentation will describe EIA's authority to collect energy data, report on the range of energy areas currently collected by EIA, discuss some areas where energy information and water issues intersect, and describe the relatively few areas where EIA does collect a small amount of water data. The presentation will conclude with some thoughts about necessary components for effective collection of water data at the federal level.

Dialogic reverberations: police, domestic abuse, and the discontinuance of cases.

PubMed

Lea, Susan J; Lynn, Nick

2012-10-01

This study investigated the social construction of domestic abuse by police officers, specifically in the context of arguments presented to the prosecutor for a decision on whether to proceed with or discontinue the case. Nineteen police files were examined with a particular focus on the MG3, the "Report to Crown Prosecutors for Charging Decision." Access to such sensitive material is usually denied to researchers; therefore, this study offers unusual insights into the treatment of victims and perpetrators of interpersonal violence by the police. Discourse analysis revealed three dominant speech genres: impartiality, credibility, and the "real" victim. These genres separately and in interaction served to construct domestic abuse cases in ways that did not support the victim's account. The "dialogic reverberations" of these findings are discussed and the implications of the work for research and practice are considered.

Medicolegal investigation of political killings in El Salvador.

PubMed

Thomsen, J L; Gruschow, J; Stover, E

1989-06-17

An axiom of Thomas Hobbes states that "people are never more helpless than when the force meant to protect their rights turns against them." Hobbes' axiom holds true today, with Amnesty International reporting that hundreds of thousands have been murdered by their governments. This article examines the medicolegal aspects of an investigation into the deaths of two Salvadoran peasants who were reportedly tortured and executed by soldiers in February 1988. One of the authors, Thomsen, participated in the investigation as a court-ordered expert, and as a representative of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of a Salvadoran legal aid organization. His necropsy findings are reported with observations and comments. The article concludes with suggestions for initiatives that might be undertaken by individual physicians and institutions to improve the quality and impartiality of medicolegal investigations into political killings.

Comparison of calibration strategies for optical 3D scanners based on structured light projection using a new evaluation methodology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bräuer-Burchardt, Christian; Ölsner, Sandy; Kühmstedt, Peter; Notni, Gunther

2017-06-01

In this paper a new evaluation strategy for optical 3D scanners based on structured light projection is introduced. It can be used for the characterization of the expected measurement accuracy. Compared to the procedure proposed in the VDI/VDE guidelines for optical 3D measurement systems based on area scanning it requires less effort and provides more impartiality. The methodology is suitable for the evaluation of sets of calibration parameters, which mainly determine the quality of the measurement result. It was applied to several calibrations of a mobile stereo camera based optical 3D scanner. The performed calibrations followed different strategies regarding calibration bodies and arrangement of the observed scene. The results obtained by the different calibration strategies are discussed and suggestions concerning future work on this area are given.

Defenses and morality: Adam Smith, Sigmund Freud, and contemporary psychoanalysis.

PubMed

Gabrinetti, Paul A; Özler, Sule

2014-10-01

In this paper we follow the development and transmission of moral learning from Adam Smith's impartial spectator to Sigmund Freud's superego and then to contemporary psychoanalysis. We argue that defenses are an integral component in the acquisition of any moral system. Elaborating on this argument, we assert that there is a progression from defensive systems that are "closed" to defensive systems that are "open," as defined in a recent work by Novick and Novick. The former system is "static, avoids reality, and is characterized by power dynamics, sadomasochism, and omnipotent defense." The latter, on the other hand, is a system that allows for "joy, creativity, spontaneity, love and it is attuned to reality." Furthermore, while Smith and Freud's systems are more one-person systems of defense, contemporary psychoanalysis has moved to more of a two-person system.

One map policy (OMP) implementation strategy to accelerate mapping of regional spatial planing (RTRW) in Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasyim, Fuad; Subagio, Habib; Darmawan, Mulyanto

2016-06-01

A preparation of spatial planning documents require basic geospatial information and thematic accuracies. Recently these issues become important because spatial planning maps are impartial attachment of the regional act draft on spatial planning (PERDA). The needs of geospatial information in the preparation of spatial planning maps preparation can be divided into two major groups: (i). basic geospatial information (IGD), consist of of Indonesia Topographic maps (RBI), coastal and marine environmental maps (LPI), and geodetic control network and (ii). Thematic Geospatial Information (IGT). Currently, mostly local goverment in Indonesia have not finished their regulation draft on spatial planning due to some constrain including technical aspect. Some constrain in mapping of spatial planning are as follows: the availability of large scale ofbasic geospatial information, the availability of mapping guidelines, and human resources. Ideal conditions to be achieved for spatial planning maps are: (i) the availability of updated geospatial information in accordance with the scale needed for spatial planning maps, (ii) the guideline of mapping for spatial planning to support local government in completion their PERDA, and (iii) capacity building of local goverment human resources to completed spatial planning maps. The OMP strategies formulated to achieve these conditions are: (i) accelerating of IGD at scale of 1:50,000, 1: 25,000 and 1: 5,000, (ii) to accelerate mapping and integration of Thematic Geospatial Information (IGT) through stocktaking availability and mapping guidelines, (iii) the development of mapping guidelines and dissemination of spatial utilization and (iv) training of human resource on mapping technology.

Computational integration of nanoscale physical biomarkers and cognitive assessments for Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and prognosis

PubMed Central

Yue, Tao; Jia, Xinghua; Petrosino, Jennifer; Sun, Leming; Fan, Zhen; Fine, Jesse; Davis, Rebecca; Galster, Scott; Kuret, Jeff; Scharre, Douglas W.; Zhang, Mingjun

2017-01-01

With the increasing prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), significant efforts have been directed toward developing novel diagnostics and biomarkers that can enhance AD detection and management. AD affects the cognition, behavior, function, and physiology of patients through mechanisms that are still being elucidated. Current AD diagnosis is contingent on evaluating which symptoms and signs a patient does or does not display. Concerns have been raised that AD diagnosis may be affected by how those measurements are analyzed. Unbiased means of diagnosing AD using computational algorithms that integrate multidisciplinary inputs, ranging from nanoscale biomarkers to cognitive assessments, and integrating both biochemical and physical changes may provide solutions to these limitations due to lack of understanding for the dynamic progress of the disease coupled with multiple symptoms in multiscale. We show that nanoscale physical properties of protein aggregates from the cerebral spinal fluid and blood of patients are altered during AD pathogenesis and that these properties can be used as a new class of “physical biomarkers.” Using a computational algorithm, developed to integrate these biomarkers and cognitive assessments, we demonstrate an approach to impartially diagnose AD and predict its progression. Real-time diagnostic updates of progression could be made on the basis of the changes in the physical biomarkers and the cognitive assessment scores of patients over time. Additionally, the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem was used to determine the minimum number of necessary patient checkups to effectively predict disease progression. This integrated computational approach can generate patient-specific, personalized signatures for AD diagnosis and prognosis. PMID:28782028

Status and perspectives of municipal solid waste incineration in China: A comparison with developed regions.

PubMed

Lu, Jia-Wei; Zhang, Sukun; Hai, Jing; Lei, Ming

2017-11-01

With the rapid expansion of municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration, the applicability, technical status, and future improvement of MSW incineration attract much attention in China. This paper aims to be a sensible response, with the aid of a comparison between China and some representative developed regions including the EU, the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan area. A large number of up-to-date data and information are collected to quantitatively and impartially support the comparison, which covers a wider range of key points including spatial distribution, temporal evolution, technologies, emissions, and perspectives. Analysis results show that MSW incineration is not an outdated choice; however, policy making should prevent the potentially insufficient utilization of MSW incinerators. The structure of MSW incineration technologies is changing in China. The ratio of plants using fluidized bed is decreasing due to various realistic reasons. Decision-makers would select suitable combustion technologies by comprehensive assessments, rather than just by costs. Air pollution control systems are improved with the implementation of China's new emission standard. However, MSW incineration in China is currently blamed for substandard emissions. The reasons include the particular elemental compositions of Chinese MSW, the lack of operating experience, deficient fund for compliance with the emission standard, and the lack of reliable supervisory measures. Some perspectives and suggestions from both technical and managerial aspects are given for the compliance with the emission standard. This paper can provide strategic enlightenments for MSW management in China and other developing countries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Integrated Medical Model: Outcomes from Independent Review

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myers, J.; Garcia, Y.; Griffin, D.; Arellano, J.; Boley, L.; Goodenow, D. A.; Kerstman, E.; Reyes, D.; Saile, L.; Walton, M.;

Effects of empathic social responses on the emotions of the recipient.

PubMed

Seehausen, Maria; Kazzer, Philipp; Bajbouj, Malek; Heekeren, Hauke R; Jacobs, Arthur M; Klann-Delius, Gisela; Menninghaus, Winfried; Prehn, Kristin

2016-03-01

Empathy is highly relevant for social behavior and can be verbally expressed by voicing sympathy and concern (emotional empathy) as well as by paraphrasing or stating that one can mentally reconstruct and understand another person's thoughts and feelings (cognitive empathy). In this study, we investigated the emotional effects and neural correlates of receiving empathic social responses after negative performance feedback and compared the effects of emotionally vs. cognitively empathic comments. 20 participants (10 male) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while receiving negative performance feedback for a cognitive task. Performance feedback was followed by verbal comments either expressing cognitive and emotional empathy or demonstrating a lack of empathy. Empathic comments in general led to less negative self-reported feelings and calmer breathing. At the neural level, empathic comments induced activity in regions associated with social cognition and emotion processing, specifically in right postcentral gyrus and left cerebellum (cognitively empathic comments), right precentral gyrus, the opercular part of left inferior frontal gyrus, and left middle temporal gyrus (emotionally empathic comments), as well as the orbital part of the left middle frontal gyrus and left superior parietal gyrus (emotionally empathic vs. unempathic comments). The study shows that cognitively and emotionally empathic comments appear to be processed in partially separable neural systems. Furthermore, confirming and expanding on another study on the same subject, the present results demonstrate that the social display of cognitive empathy exerts almost as positive effects on the recipient's feelings and emotions in states of distress as emotionally empathic response does. This can be relevant for professional settings in which strong negative emotions need to be de-escalated while maintaining professional impartiality, which may allow the display of cognitive but not emotional empathy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Need and disparities in primary care management of patients with diabetes

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background An aging population means that chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, are becoming more prevalent and demands for care are rising. Members of primary care teams should organize and coordinate patient care with a view to improving quality of care and impartial adherence to evidence-based practices for all patients. The aims of the present study were: to ascertain the prevalence of diabetes in an Italian population, stratified by age, gender and citizenship; and to identify the rate of compliance with recommended guidelines for monitoring diabetes, to see whether disparities exist in the quality of diabetes patient management. Methods A population-based analysis was performed on a dataset obtained by processing public health administration databases. The presence of diabetes and compliance with standards of care were estimated using appropriate algorithms. A multilevel logistic regression analysis was applied to assess factors affecting compliance with standards of care. Results 1,948,622 Italians aged 16+ were included in the study. In this population, 105,987 subjects were identified as having diabetes on January 1st, 2009. The prevalence of diabetes was 5.43% (95% CI 5.33-5.54) overall, 5.87% (95% CI 5.82-5.92) among males, and 5.05% (95% CI 5.00-5.09) among females. HbA1c levels had been tested in 60.50% of our diabetic subjects, LDL cholesterol levels in 57.50%, and creatinine levels in 63.27%, but only 44.19% of the diabetic individuals had undergone a comprehensive assessment during one year of care. Statistical differences in diabetes care management emerged relating to gender, age, diagnostic latency period, comorbidity and citizenship. Conclusions Process management indicators need to be used not only for the overall assessment of health care processes, but also to monitor disparities in the provision of health care. PMID:25011729

A Summary of Data and Findings from the First Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuster, David M.; Chwalowski, Pawel.; Heeg, Jennifer; Wieseman, Carol D.

2012-01-01

This paper summarizes data and findings from the first Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop (AePW) held in April, 2012. The workshop has been designed as a series of technical interchange meetings to assess the state of the art of computational methods for predicting unsteady flowfields and static and dynamic aeroelastic response. The goals are to provide an impartial forum to evaluate the effectiveness of existing computer codes and modeling techniques to simulate aeroelastic problems, and to identify computational and experimental areas needing additional research and development. For this initial workshop, three subject configurations have been chosen from existing wind tunnel data sets where there is pertinent experimental data available for comparison. Participant researchers analyzed one or more of the subject configurations and results from all of these computations were compared at the workshop. Keywords: Unsteady Aerodynamics, Aeroelasticity, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Transonic Flow, Separated Flow.

Why Map Issues? On Controversy Analysis as a Digital Method

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

This article takes stock of recent efforts to implement controversy analysis as a digital method in the study of science, technology, and society (STS) and beyond and outlines a distinctive approach to address the problem of digital bias. Digital media technologies exert significant influence on the enactment of controversy in online settings, and this risks undermining the substantive focus of controversy analysis conducted by digital means. To address this problem, I propose a shift in thematic focus from controversy analysis to issue mapping. The article begins by distinguishing between three broad frameworks that currently guide the development of controversy analysis as a digital method, namely, demarcationist, discursive, and empiricist. Each has been adopted in STS, but only the last one offers a digital “move beyond impartiality.” I demonstrate this approach by analyzing issues of Internet governance with the aid of the social media platform Twitter. PMID:26336325

Utah Science Activities, Update 2010

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2010-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Interior, serves the Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life. The USGS has become a world leader in the natural sciences thanks to our scientific excellence and responsiveness to society's needs. This newsletter describes some of the current and recently completed USGS earth-science activities in Utah. As an unbiased, multi-disciplinary science organization that focuses on biology, geography, geology, and water, we are dedicated to the timely, relevant, and impartial study of the landscape, our natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten us. Learn more about our goals and priorities for the coming decade in the USGS Science Strategy at http://www.usgs.gov/science_strategy/ .

Kansas Water Science Center bookmark

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2017-03-27

The U.S. Geological Survey Kansas Water Science Center has collected and interpreted hydrologic information in Kansas since 1895. Data collected include streamflow and gage height, reservoir content, water quality and water quantity, suspended sediment, and groundwater levels. Interpretative hydrologic studies are completed on national, regional, statewide, and local levels and cooperatively funded through more than 40 partnerships with these agencies. The U.S. Geological Survey provides impartial scientific information to describe and understand the health of our ecosystems and environment; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life. These collected data are in the National Water Information System https://waterdata.usgs.gov/ks/nwis/rt, and all results are documented in reports that also are online at https://ks.water.usgs.gov/. Follow the USGS Kansas Water Science Center on Twitter for the most recent updates and other information: https://twitter.com/USGS_KS.

Computational Substrates of Social Norm Enforcement by Unaffected Third Parties

PubMed Central

Zhong, Songfa; Chark, Robin; Hsu, Ming; Chew, Soo Hong

2016-01-01

Enforcement of social norms by impartial bystanders in the human species reveals a possibly unique capacity to sense and to enforce norms from a third party perspective. Such behavior, however, cannot be accounted by current computational models based on an egocentric notion of norms. Here, using a combination of model-based fMRI and third party punishment games, we show that brain regions previously implicated in egocentric norm enforcement critically extend to the important case of norm enforcement by unaffected third parties. Specifically, we found that responses in the ACC and insula cortex were positively associated with detection of distributional inequity, while those in the anterior DLPFC were associated with assessment of intentionality to the violator. Moreover, during sanction decisions, the subjective value of sanctions modulated activity in both vmPFC and rTPJ. These results shed light on the neurocomputational underpinnings of third party punishment and evolutionary origin of human norm enforcement. PMID:26825438

Are we prepared to implement a Lean philosophy within cancer-care service in Oman?

PubMed

Mehdi, Itrat; Al Bahrani, Bassim J

2017-07-01

Lean, as it applies to business, has come to signify simplicity, swift response, and efficiency. The concept is to do more with less; namely, to use resources in the most productive way possible through the elimination of all types of waste. The Lean approach can be applied to any field, including healthcare, in which the exponential growth of costs is widespread. Hospitals began experimenting with Lean healthcare in 1990s.  Equal accessibility to healthcare is consistent with the tenets of social justice and a society's duty to ensure basic healthcare to everyone. However, the gap between a state's constitutional responsibility and resource availability is widening, creating a need for an evolution in healthcare provision based on relevance, objectivity, and impartiality. Health-services providers must juggle limited resources to ensure even-handed healthcare availability to all in the era of cost explosion.

Malaria vaccine research and development: the role of the WHO MALVAC committee

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

The WHO Malaria Vaccine Advisory Committee (MALVAC) provides advice to WHO on strategic priorities, activities and technical issues related to global efforts to develop vaccines against malaria. MALVAC convened a series of meetings to obtain expert, impartial consensus views on the priorities and best practice for vaccine-related research and development strategies. The technical areas covered during these consultations included: guidance on clinical trial design for candidate sporozoite and asexual blood stage vaccines; measures of efficacy of malaria vaccines in Phase IIb and Phase III trials; standardization of immunoassays; the challenges of developing assays and designing trials for interventions against malaria transmission; modelling impact of anti-malarial interventions; whole organism malaria vaccines, and Plasmodium vivax vaccine-related research and evaluation. These informed discussions and opinions are summarized here to provide guidance on harmonization of strategies to help ensure high standards of practice and comparability between centres and the outcome of vaccine trials. PMID:24112689

Supporting child witnesses during identification lineups: Exploring the effectiveness of registered intermediaries.

PubMed

Wilcock, Rachel; Crane, Laura; Hobson, Zoe; Nash, Gilly; Kirke-Smith, Mimi; Henry, Lucy A

2018-01-01

Performance at identification lineup was assessed in eighty-five 6- to 11-year-old typically developing children. Children viewed a live staged event involving 2 male actors, and were asked to identify the perpetrators from 2 separate lineups (one perpetrator-present lineup and one perpetrator-absent lineup). Half the children took part in lineups adapted by a registered intermediary (an impartial, trained professional who facilitates understanding and communication between vulnerable witnesses and members of the justice system), and half took part in "best-practice" lineups, according to the current guidance for eyewitness identification in England and Wales. Children receiving assistance from a registered intermediary (relative to children who received best-practice lineups) were more accurate in their identifications for perpetrator-present lineups, and there was some evidence that they were also more accurate for perpetrator-absent lineups. This provides the first empirical evidence for the effectiveness of registered intermediary support during identification lineups.

What does it mean to use someone as "a means only": rereading Kant.

PubMed

Green, R M

2001-09-01

Debates about commodification in bioethics frequently appeal to Kant's famous second formulation of the categorical imperative, the formula requiring us to treat the rational (human) being as "an end in itself" and "never as a means only." In the course of her own treatment of commodification, Margaret Jane Radin observes that Kant's application of this formula "does not generate noncontroversial particular consequences." This is so, I argue, because Kant offers three different--and largely incompatible--interpretations of the formula. One focuses on the obligation to preserve rational willing; the second stresses respect for human (physical) dignity and integrity; the third views respect for others as "ends in themselves" as primarily involving a willingness to govern one's conduct by a procedure of impartial co-legislation. Only the third of these interpretations, I conclude, offers a reasonable and coherent approach to moral judgment about the limits of commodification.

Are we prepared to implement a Lean philosophy within cancer-care service in Oman?

PubMed Central

Mehdi, Itrat; Bahrani, Bassim J. Al

2017-01-01

Lean, as it applies to business, has come to signify simplicity, swift response, and efficiency. The concept is to do more with less; namely, to use resources in the most productive way possible through the elimination of all types of waste. The Lean approach can be applied to any field, including healthcare, in which the exponential growth of costs is widespread. Hospitals began experimenting with Lean healthcare in 1990s. Equal accessibility to healthcare is consistent with the tenets of social justice and a society’s duty to ensure basic healthcare to everyone. However, the gap between a state’s constitutional responsibility and resource availability is widening, creating a need for an evolution in healthcare provision based on relevance, objectivity, and impartiality. Health-services providers must juggle limited resources to ensure even-handed healthcare availability to all in the era of cost explosion. PMID:28674713

The influence of liberal political ideology on nursing science.

PubMed

Browne, A J

2001-06-01

Previous notions of science as impartial and value-neutral have been refuted by contemporary views of science as influenced by social, political and ideological values. By locating nursing science in the dominant political ideology of liberalism, the author examines how nursing knowledge is influenced by liberal philosophical assumptions. The central tenets of liberal political philosophy - individualism, egalitarianism, freedom, tolerance, neutrality, and a free-market economy - are primarily manifested in relation to: (i) the individualistic focus of our science; (ii) our view of society as essentially egalitarian and equitable; (iii) our preference for politically neutral knowledge development, and (iv) an economy of knowledge development that supports rather than challenges the status quo. I argue that exposing, rather than ignoring, the liberal ideological values inherent in nursing science will render these assumptions open to debate, stimulate ongoing development of critically oriented knowledge, and increase our capacity to influence the social, political and economic determinants of health.

The veil of ignorance and health resource allocation.

PubMed

Soto, Carlos

2012-08-01

Some authors view the veil of ignorance as a preferred method for allocating resources because it imposes impartiality by stripping deliberators of knowledge of their personal identity. Using some prominent examples of such reasoning in the health care sector, I will argue for the following claims. First, choice behind a veil of ignorance often fails to provide clear guidance regarding resource allocation. Second, regardless of whether definite results could be derived from the veil, these results do not in themselves have important moral standing. This is partly because the veil does not determine which features are morally relevant for a given distributive problem. Third, even when we have settled the question of what features to count, choice behind a veil of ignorance arguably fails to take persons seriously. Ultimately, we do not need the veil to solve distributive problems, and we have good reason to appeal to some other distributive model.

You got a problem with that? Exploring evaluators' disagreements about ethics.

PubMed

Morris, M; Jacobs, L R

2000-08-01

A random sample of American Evaluation Association (AEA) members were surveyed for their reactions to three case scenarios--informed consent, impartial reporting, and stakeholder involvement--in which an evaluator acts in a way that could be deemed ethically problematic. Significant disagreement among respondents was found for each of the scenarios, in terms of respondents' views of whether the evaluator had behaved unethically. Respondents' explanations of their judgments support the notion that general guidelines for professional behavior (such as AEA's Guiding Principles for Evaluators) can encompass sharply conflicting interpretations of how evaluators should behave in specific situations. Respondents employed in private business/consulting were less likely than those in other settings to believe that the scenarios portrayed unethical behavior by the evaluator, a finding that underscores the importance of taking contextual variables into account when analyzing evaluators' ethical perceptions. The need for increased dialogue among evaluators who represent varied perspectives on ethical issues is addressed.

Saving Life, Limb, and Eyesight: Assessing the Medical Rules of Eligibility During Armed Conflict.

PubMed

Gross, Michael L

2017-10-01

Medical rules of eligibility permit severely injured Iraqi and Afghan nationals to receive care in Coalition medical facilities only if bed space is available and their injuries result directly from Coalition fire. The first rule favors Coalition soldiers over host-nation nationals and contradicts the principle of impartial, needs-based medical care. To justify preferential care for compatriots, wartime medicine invokes associative obligations of care that favor friends, family, and comrades-in-arms. Associative obligations have little place in peacetime medical care but significantly affect wartime medicine. The second rule suggests liability for collateral harm that is unsupported by international law and military ethics. Absent liability, there are pragmatic reasons to offer medical care to injured local civilians if it quells resentment and cements support for Coalition forces. In contrast to peacetime medicine, military necessity and associative obligations outweigh distributive principles based on medical need during war.

Justice and care: the implications of the Kohlberg-Gilligan debate for medical ethics.

PubMed

Sharpe, V A

1992-12-01

Carol Gilligan has identified two orientations to moral understanding; the dominant 'justice orientation' and the under-valued 'care orientation'. Based on her discernment of a 'voice of care', Gilligan challenges the adequacy of a deontological liberal framework for moral development and moral theory. This paper examines how the orientations of justice and care are played out in medical ethical theory. Specifically, I question whether the medical moral domain is adequately described by the norms of impartiality, universality, and equality that characterize the liberal ideal. My analysis of justice-oriented medical ethics, focuses on the libertarian theory of H.T. Engelhardt and the contractarian theory of R.M. Veatch. I suggest that in the work of E.D. Pellegrino and D.C. Thomasma we find not only a more authentic representation of medical morality but also a project that is compatible with the care orientation's emphasis on human need and responsiveness to particular others.

Scoring system to guide decision making for the use of gentamicin-impregnated collagen sponge to prevent deep sternal wound infection.

PubMed

Benedetto, Umberto; Raja, Shahzad G

2014-11-01

The effectiveness of the routine retrosternal placement of a gentamicin-impregnated collagen sponge (GICS) implant before sternotomy closure is currently a matter of some controversy. We aimed to develop a scoring system to guide decision making for the use of GICS to prevent deep sternal wound infection. Fast backward elimination on predictors, including GICS, was performed using the Lawless and Singhal method. The scoring system was reported as a partial nomogram that can be used to manually obtain predicted individual risk of deep sternal wound infection from the regression model. Bootstrapping validation of the regression models was performed. The final populations consisted of 8750 adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery through full sternotomy during the study period. A total of 329 patients (3.8%) received GICS implant. The overall incidence of deep sternal wound infection was lower among patients who received GICS implant (0.6%) than patients who did not (2.01%) (P=.02). A nomogram to predict the individual risk for deep sternal wound infection was developed that included the use of GICS. Bootstrapping validation confirmed a good discriminative power of the models. The scoring system provides an impartial assessment of the decision-making process for clinicians to establish if GICS implant is effective in reducing the risk for deep sternal wound infection in individual patients undergoing cardiac surgery through full sternotomy. Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using the Psychology of Language to Effectively Communicate Actionable Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, J. M.

2014-12-01

The words used to articulate science can have as significant a psychological impact on public perception as the data itself. It is therefore essential to utilize language that not only accurately relates the scientific information, but also effectively conveys a message that is congruent with the presenter's motivation for expressing the data. This is especially relevant for environmental subjects that are surrounded by emotionally charged, political discourses. For example are terms like catastrophe and disaster; while these words may accurately illustrate impartial scientific data, they will likely trigger psychological responses in audiences such as fear or denial that have a detrimental impact on the human decision making process. I propose a set of 5 key principles to assist in communicating data to the general public that both support the transfer of ideas and the presenter's intended psychological impact. 1) Articulate the underlying intentions that motivate the communication of data in a transparent manner 2) Use language congruent with the presenter's stated intentions 3) Maintain a neutral, non-judgmental attitude towards the complex human psychological and emotional dynamics present in a target audience 4) Demonstrate acceptance and compassion when analyzing past and present human actions that adversely affect the environment 5) Develop a perspective of non-attachment when proposing future actions and/or consequences of current human behaviors. The application of these 5 principles provides a framework to move from our current understanding of problems and solutions to effective physical action that allows us to gracefully adapt with our ever changing planet.

Weighing the evidence: trends in managed care formulary decision making.

PubMed

de Lissovoy, Gregory

2003-01-01

Health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, and other organizations use drug formularies to promote quality care while controlling costs. However, restrictive formularies are often viewed as constraints on physician practice and potential barriers to optimal patient care. Reluctance to add new drugs to an established formulary is rational economic behavior. Innovative compounds may have unknown properties with uncertain outcomes and therefore may impose costs in the form of risk. Products that seemingly duplicate drugs already on formulary may increase transaction costs without additional benefit. In evaluating new products, formulary managers face the task of identifying, assembling, and synthesizing a wide range of complex information. Manufacturers, who may be in the best position to supply that information, have been severely restricted by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations that limited marketing communications to findings from well-controlled clinical trials. The FDA Modernization Act of 1997 eased these restrictions somewhat by acknowledging that sophisticated purchasers such as organized health plans were capable of weighing the quality and impartiality of manufacturer-supplied evidence. The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) created a standardized template that formularies can use to request comprehensive information about specific drugs from manufacturers. Widespread adoption of the AMCP format by health plans and manufacturers will greatly increase access to information about new drugs, speeding the process of formulary committee deliberation, and instilling greater confidence in the outcome of those decisions. Wider access to new drugs may result.

A prototype computerized synthesis methodology for generic space access vehicle (SAV) conceptual design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Xiao

2006-04-01

Today's and especially tomorrow's competitive launch vehicle design environment requires the development of a dedicated generic Space Access Vehicle (SAV) design methodology. A total of 115 industrial, research, and academic aircraft, helicopter, missile, and launch vehicle design synthesis methodologies have been evaluated. As the survey indicates, each synthesis methodology tends to focus on a specific flight vehicle configuration, thus precluding the key capability to systematically compare flight vehicle design alternatives. The aim of the research investigation is to provide decision-making bodies and the practicing engineer a design process and tool box for robust modeling and simulation of flight vehicles where the ultimate performance characteristics may hinge on numerical subtleties. This will enable the designer of a SAV for the first time to consistently compare different classes of SAV configurations on an impartial basis. This dissertation presents the development steps required towards a generic (configuration independent) hands-on flight vehicle conceptual design synthesis methodology. This process is developed such that it can be applied to any flight vehicle class if desired. In the present context, the methodology has been put into operation for the conceptual design of a tourist Space Access Vehicle. The case study illustrates elements of the design methodology & algorithm for the class of Horizontal Takeoff and Horizontal Landing (HTHL) SAVs. The HTHL SAV design application clearly outlines how the conceptual design process can be centrally organized, executed and documented with focus on design transparency, physical understanding and the capability to reproduce results. This approach offers the project lead and creative design team a management process and tool which iteratively refines the individual design logic chosen, leading to mature design methods and algorithms. As illustrated, the HTHL SAV hands-on design methodology offers growth potential in that the same methodology can be continually updated and extended to other SAV configuration concepts, such as the Vertical Takeoff and Vertical Landing (VTVL) SAV class. Having developed, validated and calibrated the methodology for HTHL designs in the 'hands-on' mode, the report provides an outlook how the methodology will be integrated into a prototype computerized design synthesis software AVDS-PrADOSAV in a follow-on step.

Perceived threat and corroboration: key factors that improve a predictive model of trust in internet-based health information and advice.

PubMed

Harris, Peter R; Sillence, Elizabeth; Briggs, Pam

2011-07-27

How do people decide which sites to use when seeking health advice online? We can assume, from related work in e-commerce, that general design factors known to affect trust in the site are important, but in this paper we also address the impact of factors specific to the health domain. The current study aimed to (1) assess the factorial structure of a general measure of Web trust, (2) model how the resultant factors predicted trust in, and readiness to act on, the advice found on health-related websites, and (3) test whether adding variables from social cognition models to capture elements of the response to threatening, online health-risk information enhanced the prediction of these outcomes. Participants were asked to recall a site they had used to search for health-related information and to think of that site when answering an online questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of a general Web trust questionnaire plus items assessing appraisals of the site, including threat appraisals, information checking, and corroboration. It was promoted on the hungersite.com website. The URL was distributed via Yahoo and local print media. We assessed the factorial structure of the measures using principal components analysis and modeled how well they predicted the outcome measures using structural equation modeling (SEM) with EQS software. We report an analysis of the responses of participants who searched for health advice for themselves (N = 561). Analysis of the general Web trust questionnaire revealed 4 factors: information quality, personalization, impartiality, and credible design. In the final SEM model, information quality and impartiality were direct predictors of trust. However, variables specific to eHealth (perceived threat, coping, and corroboration) added substantially to the ability of the model to predict variance in trust and readiness to act on advice on the site. The final model achieved a satisfactory fit: χ(2) (5) = 10.8 (P = .21), comparative fit index = .99, root mean square error of approximation = .052. The model accounted for 66% of the variance in trust and 49% of the variance in readiness to act on the advice. Adding variables specific to eHealth enhanced the ability of a model of trust to predict trust and readiness to act on advice.

Perceived Threat and Corroboration: Key Factors That Improve a Predictive Model of Trust in Internet-based Health Information and Advice

PubMed Central

Harris, Peter R; Briggs, Pam

2011-01-01

Background How do people decide which sites to use when seeking health advice online? We can assume, from related work in e-commerce, that general design factors known to affect trust in the site are important, but in this paper we also address the impact of factors specific to the health domain. Objective The current study aimed to (1) assess the factorial structure of a general measure of Web trust, (2) model how the resultant factors predicted trust in, and readiness to act on, the advice found on health-related websites, and (3) test whether adding variables from social cognition models to capture elements of the response to threatening, online health-risk information enhanced the prediction of these outcomes. Methods Participants were asked to recall a site they had used to search for health-related information and to think of that site when answering an online questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of a general Web trust questionnaire plus items assessing appraisals of the site, including threat appraisals, information checking, and corroboration. It was promoted on the hungersite.com website. The URL was distributed via Yahoo and local print media. We assessed the factorial structure of the measures using principal components analysis and modeled how well they predicted the outcome measures using structural equation modeling (SEM) with EQS software. Results We report an analysis of the responses of participants who searched for health advice for themselves (N = 561). Analysis of the general Web trust questionnaire revealed 4 factors: information quality, personalization, impartiality, and credible design. In the final SEM model, information quality and impartiality were direct predictors of trust. However, variables specific to eHealth (perceived threat, coping, and corroboration) added substantially to the ability of the model to predict variance in trust and readiness to act on advice on the site. The final model achieved a satisfactory fit: χ2 5 = 10.8 (P = .21), comparative fit index = .99, root mean square error of approximation = .052. The model accounted for 66% of the variance in trust and 49% of the variance in readiness to act on the advice. Conclusions Adding variables specific to eHealth enhanced the ability of a model of trust to predict trust and readiness to act on advice. PMID:21795237

Health in the service of state-building in fragile and conflict affected contexts: an additional challenge in the medical-humanitarian environment.

PubMed

Philips, Mit; Derderian, Katharine

2015-01-01

Global health policy and development aid trends also affect humanitarian health work. Reconstruction, rehabilitation and development initiatives start increasingly earlier after crisis, unleashing tensions between development and humanitarian paradigms. Recently, development aid shows specific interest in contexts affected by conflict and fragility, with increasing expectations for health interventions to demonstrate transformative potential, including towards more resilient health systems as a contribution to state-building agendas. Current drives towards state-building opportunities in health interventions is mainly based on political aspirations, with little conclusive evidence on linking state-building efforts to conflict prevention, neither on transformative effects of health systems support. Moreover, negative consequences are possible in such volatile environments. We explore how to anticipate, discuss and monitor potential negative effects of current state-building approaches on health interventions, including on humanitarian aid. Overriding health systems approaches might increase tension in fragile and conflict affected contexts, because at odds with goals typically associated with immediate emergency response to populations' needs. Especially in protracted crisis, quality and timeliness of humanitarian response can be compromised, with strain on impartiality, targeting the most vulnerable, prioritising direct health benefits and most effective strategies. State-building focus could shift health aid priorities away from sick people and disease. Precedence of state institutions support over immediate, effective health service delivery can reduce population level results. As consequence people might question health workers' intention to privilege health above political, ethnic or other alliances, altering health and humanitarian workers' perception. Particularly in conflict, neither health system nor state are impartial bystanders. In spite of scarce evidence on benefits of health systems support for state-building, current dominant line of thought among donors might influence aid strategies and modalities in settings of crisis, conflict and longer-term health system fragility. Negative consequences may arise from dominance of political agendas over health needs, with risk for effectiveness, nature and perception of health interventions. Potential effects in at least three key health areas merit critical review: quality of humanitarian health interventions, tangible contributions to population level health benefits, perception of health and humanitarian workers. To keep health needs as yardstick to determine effective health and humanitarian priority investments, is challenging.

Premises and evidence in the rhetoric of assisted suicide and euthanasia.

PubMed

Mishara, Brian L; Weisstub, David N

2013-01-01

In debates about euthanasia and assisted suicide, it is rare to find an article that begins with an expression of neutral interest and then proceeds to examine the various arguments and data before drawing conclusions based upon the results of a scholarly investigation. Although authors frequently give the impression of being impartial in their introduction, they invariably reach their prior conclusions. Positions tend to be clearly dichotomized: either one believes that the practice of euthanasia or assisted suicide is totally acceptable or completely unacceptable in a just and moral society. Where there is some admission of a gray zone of incertitude, authors attempt to persuade us that their beliefs (preferences) are the only sensible way to resolve outstanding dilemmas. The practice of vehemently promoting a "pro" or "con" position may be useful when societies must decide to either legalize certain practices or not. Although only a handful of countries have thus far accepted the legal practice of euthanasia or assisted suicide (Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, the U.S. states of Montana, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, and Switzerland), scholarly articles in recent trends mainly promote legalization, to the point of recommending expansion of the current practices. Is this a case of the philosophers being ahead of their time in promoting and rationalizing the wave of the future? Alternatively, does the small number of countries that have legalized these practices indicate a substantial gap between the beliefs and desires of common citizens and the universe of the 'abstracted realm'? For the time being, what we do know is that more countries and states are debating legalization of euthanasia or assisted suicide, the nature of laws and legal practices vary greatly and both ethical and empirical assessments of current practices are the subject of much controversy. This article presents an examination of the premises and evidence in the rhetoric of assisted suicide and euthanasia. Inasmuch as any analysis cannot be totally impartial, we do not contend that our analysis is without influence from our experiences and philosophical affinities. Notwithstanding this caveat, we venture to propose that our scrutiny of the arguments and empirical data may offer some guidance to individuals who are attempting to reach practical conclusions based upon the available evidence, whether empirical or rationalized. © 2013.

"Why the hell do we need electronic health records?". EHR acceptance among physicians in private practice in Austria: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Hackl, W O; Hoerbst, A; Ammenwerth, E

2011-01-01

Progress in the medical sciences, together with related technologies, in the past has led to higher specialization and has created a strong need to exchange health information across institutional borders. The concept of electronic health records (EHR) was introduced to fulfill these needs. Remarkably, many EHR introduction projects ran into trouble, not least because they lacked the acceptance of EHR among physicians. Negative emotions, such as anxiety and fear due to a lack of information, may cause change barriers and hamper physicians' acceptance of such projects. The goal of this study was to gain deeper insight into the negative emotions related to the intended implementation of a mandatory national electronic health record system (called ELGA) in Austria among physicians in private practice. Qualitative, problem-centered interviews were conducted with eight physicians in private practice in the capital region of Tyrol. The methods of qualitative content analysis were used to analyze the data. Three hundred and twenty-eight passages in the interviews were selected, annotated, and paraphrased. These passages were assigned to 139 different primary categories. Finally, 18 main categories in the form of statements were derived. They were correlated and a theoretical model was formed to explain the genesis of the detected fears and anxiety related to the ELGA project. The results show that the physicians feel uninformed and snubbed. They fear unknown changes, increased costs, as well as workload and surveillance without obtaining any advantages from using electronic health records in their daily practice. Impartial information campaigns that are tailored to the physicians' needs and questions as along with a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis could benefit the physicians' opinion of EHRs.

Diffusion of responsibility attenuates altruistic punishment: A functional magnetic resonance imaging effective connectivity study.

PubMed

Feng, Chunliang; Deshpande, Gopikrishna; Liu, Chao; Gu, Ruolei; Luo, Yue-Jia; Krueger, Frank

2016-02-01

Humans altruistically punish violators of social norms to enforce cooperation and pro-social behaviors. However, such altruistic behaviors diminish when others are present, due to a diffusion of responsibility. We investigated the neural signatures underlying the modulations of diffusion of responsibility on altruistic punishment, conjoining a third-party punishment task with event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging and multivariate Granger causality mapping. In our study, participants acted as impartial third-party decision-makers and decided how to punish norm violations under two different social contexts: alone (i.e., full responsibility) or in the presence of putative other third-party decision makers (i.e., diffused responsibility). Our behavioral results demonstrated that the diffusion of responsibility served as a mediator of context-dependent punishment. In the presence of putative others, participants who felt less responsible also punished less severely in response to norm violations. Our neural results revealed that underlying this behavioral effect was a network of interconnected brain regions. For unfair relative to fair splits, the presence of others led to attenuated responses in brain regions implicated in signaling norm violations (e.g., AI) and to increased responses in brain regions implicated in calculating values of norm violations (e.g., vmPFC, precuneus) and mentalizing about others (dmPFC). The dmPFC acted as the driver of the punishment network, modulating target regions, such as AI, vmPFC, and precuneus, to adjust altruistic punishment behavior. Our results uncovered the neural basis of the influence of diffusion of responsibility on altruistic punishment and highlighted the role of the mentalizing network in this important phenomenon. Hum Brain Mapp 37:663-677, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Psychiatric/ psychological forensic report writing.

PubMed

Young, Gerald

Approaches to forensic report writing in psychiatry, psychology, and related mental health disciplines have moved from an organization, content, and stylistic framework to considering ethical and other codes, evidentiary standards, and practice considerations. The first part of the article surveys different approaches to forensic report writing, including that of forensic mental health assessment and psychiatric ethics. The second part deals especially with psychological ethical approaches. The American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct (2002) provide one set of principles on which to base forensic report writing. The U.S. Federal Rules of Evidence (2014) and related state rules provide another basis. The American Psychological Association's Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology (2013) provide a third source. Some work has expanded the principles in ethics codes; and, in the third part of this article, these additions are applied to forensic report writing. Other work that could help with the question of forensic report writing concerns the 4 Ds in psychological injury assessments (e.g., conduct oneself with Dignity, avoid the adversary Divide, get the needed reliable Data, Determine interpretations and conclusions judiciously). One overarching ethical principle that is especially applicable in forensic report writing is to be comprehensive, scientific, and impartial. As applied to forensic report writing, the overall principle that applies is that the work process and product should reflect integrity in its ethics, law, and science. Four principles that derive from this meta-principle concern: Competency and Communication; Procedure and Protection; Dignity and Distance; and Data Collection and Determination. The standards or rules associated with each of these principles are reviewed. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An agile acquisition decision-support workbench for evaluating ISR effectiveness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stouch, Daniel W.; Champagne, Valerie; Mow, Christopher; Rosenberg, Brad; Serrin, Joshua

2011-06-01

The U.S. Air Force is consistently evolving to support current and future operations through the planning and execution of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. However, it is a challenge to maintain a precise awareness of current and emerging ISR capabilities to properly prepare for future conflicts. We present a decisionsupport tool for acquisition managers to empirically compare ISR capabilities and approaches to employing them, thereby enabling the DoD to acquire ISR platforms and sensors that provide the greatest return on investment. We have developed an analysis environment to perform modeling and simulation-based experiments to objectively compare alternatives. First, the analyst specifies an operational scenario for an area of operations by providing terrain and threat information; a set of nominated collections; sensor and platform capabilities; and processing, exploitation, and dissemination (PED) capacities. Next, the analyst selects and configures ISR collection strategies to generate collection plans. The analyst then defines customizable measures of effectiveness or performance to compute during the experiment. Finally, the analyst empirically compares the efficacy of each solution and generates concise reports to document their conclusions, providing traceable evidence for acquisition decisions. Our capability demonstrates the utility of using a workbench environment for analysts to design and run experiments. Crafting impartial metrics enables the acquisition manager to focus on evaluating solutions based on specific military needs. Finally, the metric and collection plan visualizations provide an intuitive understanding of the suitability of particular solutions. This facilitates a more agile acquisition strategy that handles rapidly changing technology in response to current military needs.

Adolescent literacy: learning and understanding content.

PubMed

Goldman, Susan R

2012-01-01

Learning to read--amazing as it is to small children and their parents--is one thing. Reading to learn, explains Susan Goldman of the University of Illinois at Chicago, is quite another. Are today's students able to use reading and writing to acquire knowledge, solve problems, and make decisions in academic, personal, and professional arenas? Do they have the literacy skills necessary to meet the demands of the twenty-first century? To answer these questions, Goldman describes the increasingly complex comprehension, reasoning skills, and knowledge that students need as they progress through school and surveys what researchers and educators know about how to teach those skills. Successfully reading to learn requires the ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information from multiple sources, Goldman writes. Effective readers must be able to apply different knowledge, reading, and reasoning processes to different types of content, from fiction to history and science, to news accounts and user manuals. They must assess sources of information for relevance, reliability, impartiality, and completeness. And they must connect information across multiple sources. In short, successful readers must not only use general reading skills but also pay close attention to discipline-specific processes. Goldman reviews the evidence on three different instructional approaches to reading to learn: general comprehension strategies, classroom discussion, and disciplinary content instruction. She argues that building the literacy skills necessary for U.S. students to read comprehensively and critically and to learn content in a variety of disciplines should be a primary responsibility for all of the nation's teachers. But outside of English, few subject-area teachers are aware of the need to teach subject-area reading comprehension skills, nor have they had opportunities to learn them themselves. Building the capacity of all teachers to meet the literacy needs of today's students requires long-term investment and commitment from the education community as well as society as a whole.

Direct Killing of Patients in Humanitarian Situations and Armed Conflicts: The Profession of Medicine Is Losing Its Meaning

PubMed Central

Asgary, Ramin

2015-01-01

During armed conflicts over the past several years, attacks on humanitarian workers and patients have increased, including the most recent overt killing of patients in their hospital beds in South Sudan and Central African Republic, and bombardments of hospitals in Iraq, Syria, and other countries. Direct attacks on patients inside hospitals, as well as social structural dynamics that undermine patient safety and security, are met with apparent indifference by international and medical communities. How can the medical profession remain silent and stand by while these factors render its core mission futile? In this article, I aim to shed light on this issue, and its implications for the future of the neutral and impartial provision of medical care; provide an analysis of underlying and contributing factors; discuss current international strategies; reflect on the responsibility of health providers; explore ways to strengthen our roles as physician advocates; and call for the medical profession to do more to protect medicine's core values. PMID:25646255

Navigating the profits and pitfalls of governmental partnerships: the ICRC and intergovernmental relief, 1918-23.

PubMed

Lowe, Kimberly A

2015-10-01

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is today a staunch proponent of the need for humanitarian organisations to remain independent of state interests, yet it deliberately solicited intergovernmental intervention in international relief after the First World War of 1914-18. This paper examines why an organisation committed to upholding the independence and impartiality of humanitarian action might still choose to partner with governmental bodies. It also highlights the historical beginnings of a linkage between international aid and geopolitics. To secure governmental funding for refugee relief during the 1920s, the ICRC argued that the humanitarian crises of the post-war years were a threat to the political and social stability of Europe. While this has become axiomatic, the interwar history of the ICRC demonstrates that the perceived connection between relief and geopolitical stability is historically constructed, and that it must continue to be asserted persuasively to be effective. © 2015 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2015.

On Award to Crichton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corbett, Kevin

2006-10-01

The recent Eos Forum article from the Council of the American Quaternary Association (AMQUA) attacking the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)(Eos, 87(36), 364, 2006) goes beyond the pale of reasonable promotion or defense of AGU's position regarding global climate change and is a lamentable low for AGU in overarching political demagoguery. It is certainly within the purview of AGU to adopt a position concerning anthropogenic forcing of current global warming, as the association did in 2003. However, to challenge the competency, integrity, and intent of another scientific organization whose council and members read the data differently is truly reprehensible. The tone of the letter and AGU' position in promoting this view are nothing short of evangelical environmentalism with a dark shade of inquisitional environmental repression. Truly, the credibility, impartiality, and integrity of AGU are at question in the debate over climate science. Evidently, AMQUA believes its position to be so righteous that it should sit in judgment on all other professional scientific societies. Such a poorly reasoned and self-justifying position screams political bias.

Striking the Right Balance: Police Experience, Perceptions and Use of Independent Support Persons During Interviews Involving People with Intellectual Disability.

PubMed

Henshaw, Marie; Spivak, Benjamin; Thomas, Stuart D M

2018-03-01

Several jurisdictions mandate the presence of an independent support person during police interviews with vulnerable people. The current study investigated police officers' experiences and perceptions of these volunteers during interviews with people with intellectual disability(ies) (ID). The sample comprised 229 police officers who attended a mandatory firearms training course in Melbourne, Australia, in 2010. Participants commonly reported utilizing independent support persons and displayed a fair understanding of their role. Overall, volunteers were engaged more frequently than family/friends; police considered the volunteers to be more impartial during interviews, whereas family/friends provided a greater level of emotional support to interviewees. Independent support persons need to demonstrate two quite different types of support to people with intellectual disability(ies) during police interviews; these require quite different skill sets and suggest the need for more tailored training and support for these volunteers. Implications for future research and policy are discussed. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Deficiencies in the reporting of VD and t1/2 in the FDA approved chemotherapy drug inserts

PubMed Central

D’Souza, Malcolm J.; Alabed, Ghada J.

2011-01-01

Since its release in 2006, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) final improved format for prescription drug labeling has revamped the comprehensiveness of drug inserts, including chemotherapy drugs. The chemotherapy drug “packets”, retrieved via the FDA website and other accredited drug information reporting agencies such as the Physician Drug Reference (PDR), are practically the only available unbiased summary of information. One objective is to impartially evaluate the reporting of useful pharmacokinetic parameters, in particular, Volume of Distribution (VD) and elimination half-life (t1/2), in randomly selected FDA approved chemotherapy drug inserts. The web-accessible portable document format (PDF) files for 30 randomly selected chemotherapy drugs are subjected to detailed search and the two parameters of interest are tabulated. The knowledge of the two parameters is essential in directing patient care as well as for clinical research and since the completeness of the core FDA recommendations has been found deficient, a detailed explanation of the impact of such deficiencies is provided. PMID:21643531

National Field Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data. U.S. Geological Survey Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations, Book 9

USGS Publications Warehouse

2015-01-01

The mission of the Water Resources Discipline of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to provide the information and understanding needed for wise management of the Nation's water resources. Inherent in this mission is the responsibility to collect data that accurately describe the physical, chemical, and biological attributes of water systems. These data are used for environmental and resource assessments by the USGS, other government agenices and scientific organizations, and the general public. Reliable and quality-assured data are essential to the credibility and impartiality of the water-resources appraisals carried out by the USGS. The development and use of a National Field Manual is necessary to achieve consistency in the scientific methods and procedures used, to document those methods and procedures, and to maintain technical expertise. USGS field personnel use this manual to ensure that the data collected are of the quality required to fulfill our mission.

Computational substrates of social norm enforcement by unaffected third parties.

PubMed

Zhong, Songfa; Chark, Robin; Hsu, Ming; Chew, Soo Hong

2016-04-01

Enforcement of social norms by impartial bystanders in the human species reveals a possibly unique capacity to sense and to enforce norms from a third party perspective. Such behavior, however, cannot be accounted by current computational models based on an egocentric notion of norms. Here, using a combination of model-based fMRI and third party punishment games, we show that brain regions previously implicated in egocentric norm enforcement critically extend to the important case of norm enforcement by unaffected third parties. Specifically, we found that responses in the ACC and insula cortex were positively associated with detection of distributional inequity, while those in the anterior DLPFC were associated with assessment of intentionality to the violator. Moreover, during sanction decisions, the subjective value of sanctions modulated activity in both vmPFC and rTPJ. These results shed light on the neurocomputational underpinnings of third party punishment and evolutionary origin of human norm enforcement. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Supporting child witnesses during identification lineups: Exploring the effectiveness of registered intermediaries

PubMed Central

Crane, Laura; Hobson, Zoe; Nash, Gilly; Kirke‐Smith, Mimi; Henry, Lucy A.

2018-01-01

Summary Performance at identification lineup was assessed in eighty‐five 6‐ to 11‐year‐old typically developing children. Children viewed a live staged event involving 2 male actors, and were asked to identify the perpetrators from 2 separate lineups (one perpetrator‐present lineup and one perpetrator‐absent lineup). Half the children took part in lineups adapted by a registered intermediary (an impartial, trained professional who facilitates understanding and communication between vulnerable witnesses and members of the justice system), and half took part in “best‐practice” lineups, according to the current guidance for eyewitness identification in England and Wales. Children receiving assistance from a registered intermediary (relative to children who received best‐practice lineups) were more accurate in their identifications for perpetrator‐present lineups, and there was some evidence that they were also more accurate for perpetrator‐absent lineups. This provides the first empirical evidence for the effectiveness of registered intermediary support during identification lineups. PMID:29861545

Caring, objectivity and justice: an integrative view.

PubMed

van Hooft, Stan

2011-03-01

The argument of this article is framed by a debate between the principle of humanity and the principle of justice. Whereas the principle of humanity requires us to care about others and to want to help them meet their vital needs, and so to be partial towards those others, the principle of justice requires us to consider their needs without the intrusion of our subjective interests or emotions so that we can act with impartiality. I argue that a deep form of caring lies behind both approaches and so unites them. In the course of the argument, I reject Michael Slote's sentimentalist form of an ethics of care, and expound Thomas Nagel's moral theory, which seems to lie at the opposite end of a spectrum ranging from moral sentiments to impersonal objectivity. Nevertheless, Nagel's theory of normative realism provides unexpected support for the thesis that a deep and subjective form of caring lies at the base of even our most objective moral reasons.

A novel quality assurance method in a university teaching paediatric radiology department.

PubMed

Gallet, J M; Reed, M H; Hlady, J

2000-08-01

Primary diagnostic equipment in a paediatric radiology department must perform at optimal levels at all times. The Children's Hospital Radiology Department in Winnipeg, Canada, has developed an impartial means of reporting radiographic image quality. The main objectives of this study programme were two-fold. First, to monitor diagnostic X-ray equipment performance, and second, to improve the resultant image quality as a means of implementing the fundamental concepts of continuous quality improvement. Reading radiologists completed a quality assurance (QA) card when they identified a radiographic image quality problem. The cards were subsequently collected by the clinical instructor who then informed, in confidence, the radiographers of the written comments or concerns. QA cards have been conspicuously installed in the paediatric radiology reading room since the middle of 1993. Since its inception, equipment malfunction has been monitored and indicators for improving image quality developed. This component of the QA programme has shown itself to be a successful means of communicating with radiographers in maintaining superior image quality.

The Regulation of Medical Malpractice in Japan

PubMed Central

2008-01-01

How Japanese legal and social institutions handle medical errors is little known outside Japan. For almost all of the 20th century, a paternalistic paradigm prevailed. Characteristics of the legal environment affecting Japanese medicine included few attorneys handling medical cases, low litigation rates, long delays, predictable damage awards, and low-cost malpractice insurance. However, transparency principles have gained traction and public concern over medical errors has intensified. Recent legal developments include courts’ adoption of a less deferential standard of informed consent; increases in the numbers of malpractice claims and of practicing attorneys; more efficient claims handling by specialist judges and speedier trials; and highly publicized criminal prosecutions of medical personnel. The health ministry is undertaking a noteworthy “model project” to enlist impartial specialists in investigation and analysis of possible iatrogenic hospital deaths to regain public trust in medicine’s capacity to assess its mistakes honestly and to improve patient safety and has proposed a nationwide peer review system based on the project’s methods. PMID:19002542

Mass and Spin Measurement Techniques (for the Large Hadron Collider):. Lectures Given at TASI 2011, Boulder, Colorado

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lester, Christopher G.

2013-12-01

For TASI 2011, I was asked to give a series of lectures on "Mass and Spin Measurement Techniques" with relevance to the Large Hadron Collider. This document provides a written record of those lectures - or more precisely of what I said while giving the lectures - warts and all. It is provided as my contribution to the proceedings primarily for the benefit of those who heard the lectures first hand and may wish to refer back to them. What it is not is a scientific paper or a teaching resource. Though lecture slides may be prepared in advance, what is actually said in a lecture is usually extemporaneous, may be partial, can be influenced by audience reaction, and may not even make sense without a visual record of the concomitant gesticulations of the lecturer. More worryingly, some of the statements made may be down-right false, if the lecturer's tongue is in a twist. Accordingly, these proceedings are provided without warranty of any kind - not least in respect of accuracy or impartiality. The lectures were intended to engage the audience and get them thinking about a number of topics that they had not seen before. They were not expected to be the sort of sombre or well-balanced overview of the field that one might hope to achive in a review. These proceedings are provided to jog the memory of those who saw the lectures first hand, and for little other purpose. Footnotes, where they appear, indicate text/thoughts I have added during the editing process that were not voiced during the lectures themselves. Copies of the lecture slides are inserted at approximately the locations they would have become visible in the lectures.

Hazards in volcanic arcs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sparks, S. R.

2008-12-01

Volcanic eruptions in arcs are complex natural phenomena, involving the movement of magma to the Earth's surface and interactions with the surrounding crust during ascent and with the surface environment during eruption, resulting in secondary hazards. Magma changes its properties profoundly during ascent and eruption and many of the underlying processes of heat and mass transfer and physical property changes that govern volcanic flows and magmatic interactions with the environment are highly non-linear. Major direct hazards include tephra fall, pyroclastic flows from explosions and dome collapse, volcanic blasts, lahars, debris avalanches and tsunamis. There are also health hazards related to emissions of gases and very fine volcanic ash. These hazards and progress in their assessment are illustrated mainly from the ongoing eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano. Montserrat. There are both epistemic and aleatory uncertainties in the assessment of volcanic hazards, which can be large, making precise prediction a formidable objective. Indeed in certain respects volcanic systems and hazardous phenomena may be intrinsically unpredictable. As with other natural phenomena, predictions and hazards inevitably have to be expressed in probabilistic terms that take account of these uncertainties. Despite these limitations significant progress is being made in the ability to anticipate volcanic activity in volcanic arcs and, in favourable circumstances, make robust hazards assessments and predictions. Improvements in monitoring ground deformation, gas emissions and seismicity are being combined with more advanced models of volcanic flows and their interactions with the environment. In addition more structured and systematic methods for assessing hazards and risk are emerging that allow impartial advice to be given to authorities during volcanic crises. There remain significant issues of how scientific advice and associated uncertainties are communicated to provide effective mitigation during volcanic crises.

Nursing students' perceptions of faculty members' ethical/unethical attitudes.

PubMed

Arslan, Sevda; Dinç, Leyla

2017-11-01

Through education, individuals acquire knowledge, skill and attitudes that facilitate professional socialization; it involves intellectual, emotional and psychomotor skill development. Teachers are role models for behaviour modification and value development. To examine students' perceptions of faculty members' ethical and unethical attitudes during interactions in undergraduate nursing. This descriptive study consisted of two phases. In Phase I, we developed an instrument, which was administered to nursing students to assess validity and reliability. Exploratory factor analysis yielded 32 items. Cronbach's α was 0.83, and test-retest reliability was good. In Phase II, a 32-item version of the instrument was administered to nursing students from another university. Participants and research context: Participants included 219 nursing students from one university in Phase I and 196 from another university in Phase II. The study was conducted at the universities attended by the participants. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval was granted by the institutions involved, and all participants provided informed consent. In Phase I, the instrument demonstrated good psychometric properties for measuring nursing students' perceptions of faculty members' ethical and unethical behaviours. In Phase II, students considered certain professional and personal qualities, including respecting confidentiality and students' private lives and assuming an impartial stance during interactions in the classroom, examinations, or clinical practice, ethical. They considered using obscene examples or unprofessional speech during teaching, selling textbooks in class, using university facilities for personal interests, engaging in romantic relationships with students, and humiliating students in front of patients or staff in clinical settings unethical. Results of this study suggest that nurse educators should be aware of their critical role in the teaching-learning process, and they must scrutinize their attitudes towards students from an ethical point of view.

[Münchausen syndrome by proxy in a forensic psychiatric evaluation--the description of a case and ethical controversy].

PubMed

Heitzman, Janusz; Opio, Małgorzata; Ruzikowska, Alfreda; Pilszyk, Anna

2012-01-01

Presentation of the difficulties in diagnosing Münchausen syndrome by proxy. Comparison of four different conclusions in forensic psychiatric opinions issued in one case, due to the need of answering to the questions of the court, in what periods and why was the deterioration of the child's health, in connection with an allegation that the mother has acted to his detriment. In the first medical-legal opinion the treating physician, while being the head of the ward and the person informing the police of the action against a child by the mother, recognised Münchausen syndrome by proxy. The second opinion was delivered by a psychologist, who stated that the mother distinguished the introspective attitude characterised by excessive, exaggerated accuracy, thoroughness, and did not give a unambiguous answer to the questions of the court. In the third opinion the experts accepted that the functioning of the subject does not create a threat to life and health of the child. The fourth opinion developed by the authors of this paper noted that in the analysed medical records of the childs' hospitalisation, no arguments were found to recognise Münchausen syndrome by proxy. RESULTS. In the conducted extended ambulant study of the subject and the analysis of the medical documentation of the 31 hospitalisations of the child showed that the improvement of the child's health was not associated in exclusion of pushing aside the mother from the child, but was the result of the consistency of the therapeutic treatment team, the continuation and the modification of the treatment. In appointing the expert, the art. 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure should be considered, which states that the expert should not be the treating doctor, because his opinion loses value impartiality. Diagnosis of Münchausen Syndrome by proxy itself stirs up numerous controversies..

Impacts of forest restoration on water yield: A systematic review

PubMed Central

Filoso, Solange; Bezerra, Maíra Ometto; Weiss, Katherine C. B.; Palmer, Margaret A.

2017-01-01

Background Enhancing water provision services is a common target in forest restoration projects worldwide due to growing concerns over freshwater scarcity. However, whether or not forest cover expansion or restoration can improve water provision services is still unclear and highly disputed. Purpose The goal of this review is to provide a balanced and impartial assessment of the impacts of forest restoration and forest cover expansion on water yields as informed by the scientific literature. Potential sources of bias on the results of papers published are also examined. Data sources English, Spanish and Portuguese peer-review articles in Agricola, CAB Abstracts, ISI Web of Science, JSTOR, Google Scholar, and SciELO. Databases were searched through 2015. Search terms Intervention terms included forest restoration, regeneration/regrowth, forest second-growth, forestation/afforestation, and forestry. Target terms included water yield/quantity, streamflow, discharge, channel runoff, and annual flow. Study selection and eligibility criteria Articles were pre-selected based on key words in the title, abstract or text. Eligible articles addressed relevant interventions and targets and included quantitative information. Results Most studies reported decreases in water yields following the intervention, while other hydrological benefits have been observed. However, relatively few studies focused specifically on forest restoration, especially with native species, and/or on projects done at large spatial or temporal scales. Information is especially limited for the humid tropics and subtropics. Conclusions and implications of key findings While most studies reported a decrease in water yields, meta-analyses from a sub-set of studies suggest the potential influence of temporal and/or spatial scales on the outcomes of forest cover expansion or restoration projects. Given the many other benefits of forest restoration, improving our understanding of when and why forest restoration can lead to recovery of water yields is crucial to help improve positive outcomes and prevent unintended consequences. Our study identifies the critical types of studies and associated measurements needed. PMID:28817639

The sexologist Albert Moll--between Sigmund Freud and Magnus Hirschfeld.

PubMed

Sigusch, Volkmar

2012-04-01

Albert Moll was one of the most influential sexologists during the first three decades of the twentieth century. In contrast to his rivals Sigmund Freud and Magnus Hirschfeld, his achievements have not yet been recognised adequately. The author gives a comparative account of the work of these three protagonists. This shows that Moll formed some ideas which are regarded as psychoanalytical today before Freud, and that he, in contrast to Hirschfeld, was able to reflect critically on contemporary discourses, such as the debates on racial improvement through eugenics. As scientific theories, Freud's psychoanalysis represented the unconscious, fantasy, experience and latency, while Moll's sexology represented consciousness, ontological reality, behaviour and manifestation. Moll's major disagreement with Hirschfeld's sexology was his advocacy of apolitical and impartial science, whereas Hirschfeld's aim was to achieve sexual reforms politically. Added to these differences were strong personal animosities. Freud called Moll a 'beast' and 'pettifogger'; and Moll complained about Hirschfeld's 'problematic' character. When Hirschfeld escaped the Nazi terror and went to Paris, Moll denounced him in order to prevent him rebuilding a new existence in exile.

Science to support the understanding of Ohio's water resources, 2014-15

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shaffer, Kimberly; Kula, Stephanie P.

2014-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) works in cooperation with local, State, and other Federal agencies, as well as universities, to furnish decision makers, policy makers, USGS scientists, and the general public with reliable scientific information and tools to assist them in management, stewardship, and use of Ohio’s natural resources. The diversity of scientific expertise among USGS personnel enables them to carry out large- and small-scale multidisciplinary studies. The USGS is unique among government organizations because it has neither regulatory nor developmental authority—its sole product is impartial, credible, relevant, and timely scientific information, equally accessible and available to everyone. The USGS Ohio Water Science Center provides reliable hydrologic and water-related ecological information to aid in the understanding of the use and management of the Nation’s water resources, in general, and Ohio’s water resources, in particular. This fact sheet provides an overview of current (2014) or recently completed USGS studies and data activities pertaining to water resources in Ohio. More information regarding projects of the USGS Ohio Water Science Center is available at http://oh.water.usgs.gov/.

Gender Problems in the Practice of Professional Interpreters Assisting Migrant Women in Australia: A Theoretical Case for Feminist Education.

PubMed

Norma, Caroline; Garcia-Caro, Olga

2016-10-01

Professional interpreters in Australia have little opportunity to undertake education on issues of violence against women. This article observes a lack of awareness of gender violence-related issues among community interpreters. It then notes examples of gender-related problems arising in the work of interpreters assisting migrant women. It repeats Maree Pardy's call for interpreter education, but diverges from her 1995 work by explicitly recommending this education be informed by feminist principles. It observes that, although community interpreters are key to migrant women accessing social services in Australia, the profession resists calls for specialized education. This resistance occurs in a country that is recognized internationally for its progressive public service interpreting policies. We question why this is the case, and suggest that adherence to a peculiarly superficial notion of "impartiality" dulls the profession's responsiveness to the reality of male violence. We draw on government and non-governmental organization (NGO) reports, as well as interpreting scholarship using a gender lens, to theorize the need for feminist education of professional community interpreters. © The Author(s) 2016.

Who is buying bioethics research?

PubMed

Sharp, Richard R; Scott, Angela L; Landy, David C; Kicklighter, Laura A

2008-08-01

Growing ties to private industry have prompted many to question the impartiality of academic bioethicists who receive financial support from for-profit corporations in exchange for ethics-related services and research. To the extent that corporate sponsors may view bioethics as little more than a way to strengthen public relations or avoid potential controversy, close ties to industry may pose serious threats to professional independence. New sources of support from private industry may also divert bioethicists from pursuing topics of greater social importance, such as the needs of medically underserved communities. To inform ongoing debates about the financing of bioethics and its transparency to those concerned about potential sources of bias, we examined funding disclosures appearing in original research reports in major bioethics journals. Reviewing research published over a 15-year period, we found little evidence that for-profit corporations are influencing bioethics research directly. Instead, we found evidence that a great number of organizations, both public and private, support bioethics research. These findings suggest that worries about the cooption of bioethics research by a few interested stakeholders are greatly overstated and undersupported by available data.

EO Underpinning the Quality of Ecosystem Services with Geospatial Data- The Case of Sustainable Forest Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crosthwaite Eyre, Charles

2010-12-01

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) is an exciting and expanding opportunity for sustainably managed forests. PES are derived from a range of ecosystem benefits from forests including climate change mitigation through afforestation and avoided deforestation, green power generation, wetland and watershed rehabilitation, water quality improvement, marine flood defence and the reduction in desertification and soil erosion. Forests are also the ancestral home to many vulnerable communities which need protection. Sustainable forest management plays a key role in many of these services which generates a potentially critical source of finance. However, for forests to realise revenues from these PES, they must meet demanding standards of project validation and service verification. They also need geospatial data to manage and monitor operational risk. In many cases the data is difficult to collect on the ground - in some cases impossible. This will create a new demand for data that must be impartial, timely, area wide, accurate and cost effective. This presentation will highlight the unique capacity of EO to provide these geospatial inputs required in the generation of PES from forestry and demonstrate products with practical examples.

The concepts of science in Japanese and Western education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawasaki, Ken

1996-01-01

Using structural linguistics, the present article offers an impartial frame of reference to analyze science education in the non-Western world. In Japan, science education has been free from epistemological reflection because Japan regards science only as effective technology for modernization. By not taking account of the world-view aspect of science, Japan can treat science as not self-referential. Issues of science education are then rather simple; they are only concerned with the question of ‘how to’, and answers to this question are judged according to the efficiency achieved for modernization. Science, however, is a way of seeing ‘nature’. This word is generally translated into Japanese as ‘shizen’ which has a totally different connotation and therefore does not lead to an understanding of the Western scientific spirit. Saussure's approach to language is used to expose the consequences of the misinterpretations that spring from this situation. In order to minimize or prevent these misinterpretations, it is emphasized that science education should be identified with foreign language education in the non-Western world.

Data management and digital delivery of analog data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, W.A.; Longhenry, Ryan; Smith, T.

2008-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) data archive at the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center is a comprehensive and impartial record of the Earth's changing land surface. USGS/EROS has been archiving and preserving land remote sensing data for over 35 years. This remote sensing archive continues to grow as aircraft and satellites acquire more imagery. As a world leader in preserving data, USGS/EROS has a reputation as a technological innovator in solving challenges and ensuring that access to these collections is available. Other agencies also call on the USGS to consider their collections for long-term archive support. To improve access to the USGS film archive, each frame on every roll of film is being digitized by automated high performance digital camera systems. The system robotically captures a digital image from each film frame for the creation of browse and medium resolution image files. Single frame metadata records are also created to improve access that otherwise involves interpreting flight indexes. USGS/EROS is responsible for over 8.6 million frames of aerial photographs and 27.7 million satellite images.

Quality-assurance plan for water-resources activities of the U. S. Geological Survey in Montana--1991

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moreland, Joe A.

1991-01-01

As the Nation's principal earth-science information agency, the U.S. Geological Survey has developed a worldwide reputation for collecting accurate data and producing factual, impartial interpretive reports. To ensure continued confidence in the pro- ducts, the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey has implemented a policy that all scientific work will be performed in accordance with a centrally managed quality-assurance program. The formal policy for quality assurance within the Montana District was established and documented in USGS Open-File Report 91-194. This report has been revised to reflect changes in personnel and organi- zational structure that have occurred since 1991. Quality assurance is formalized by describing organization and operational responsibilities, the quality-assurance policy, and the quality- assurance responsibilities for performing District functions. The District conducts its work through offices in Helena, Billings, Kalispell, and Fort Peck. Data-collection programs and interpretive studies are conducted by three operating sections and four support units. Discipline specialists provide technical advice and assistance. Management advisors provide guidance on various personnel issues and support functions.

Quality-assurance plan for water-resources activities of the U.S. Geological Survey in Montana--1995

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moreland, Joe A.

1995-01-01

As the Nation's principal earth-science information agency, the U.S. Geological Survey has developed a worldwide reputation for collecting accurate data and producing factual, impartial interpretive reports. To ensure continued confidence in the pro- ducts, the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey has implemented a policy that all scientific work will be performed in accordance with a centrally managed quality-assurance program. The formal policy for quality assurance within the Montana District was established and documented in USGS Open-File Report 91-194. This report has been revised to reflect changes in personnel and organi- zational structure that have occurred since 1991. Quality assurance is formalized by describing organization and operational responsibilities, the quality-assurance policy, and the quality- assurance responsibilities for performing District functions. The District conducts its work through offices in Helena, Billings, Kalispell, and Fort Peck. Data-collection programs and interpretive studies are conducted by three operating sections and four support units. Discipline specialists provide technical advice and assistance. Management advisors provide guidance on various personnel issues and support functions.

Post-conflict reconstruction of the health system of Afghanistan: assisting in the rehabilitation of a provincial hospital--context and experience.

PubMed

Cook, Judith

2003-01-01

Over more than two decades of conflict, Afghanistan's health system came to depend heavily on assistance from donors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). When the Taliban fell in November 2001 the health system was in a state of collapse; Afghanistan's health indicators were amongst the worst in the world. National Health Policy is to deliver an essential package of health services to the entire population. It is acknowledged that reconstruction of the health system will depend on donor financial support and NGO involvement in health programmes. An example is Médecins du Monde's involvement in health system rehabilitation in the Ghor province. Investing in health can contribute to peace, stability and political transition. Security, needed for reconstruction and for NGOs to continue their crucial work in health, has recently deteriorated in parts of Afghanistan. Joint Regional Teams to provide security to outlying areas have been announced by the US. There is concern that their proposed humanitarian and development role could compromise perception of the neutrality and impartiality of NGOs.

Between international donors and local faith communities: Intermediaries in humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon.

PubMed

Kraft, Kathryn; Smith, Jonathan D

2018-06-12

This paper explores the crucial part that faith-based organisations (FBOs) play in acting as intermediaries between international donors and local faith communities (LFCs) implementing humanitarian relief projects for Syrian refugees. Humanitarian responses to the mounting Syrian refugee crisis have coincided with greater collaboration between international donors and LFCs. This cooperation often is facilitated by a complex web of non-state intermediaries at the international, national, and local level. This study probes the breadth of roles of these intermediaries, drawing on primary data from case studies of two Christian intermediaries supporting Christian LFCs as they deliver aid primarily to Muslim Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. The results of the study are connected to the wider literature on LFCs in humanitarian response, revealing how intermediaries address issues of accountability, capacity-building, impartiality, neutrality, and professionalism. The paper concludes by offering suggestions for further research on intermediaries as key actors in the localisation of humanitarian assistance. © 2018 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2018.

Can editors save peer review from peer reviewers?

PubMed

D'Andrea, Rafael; O'Dwyer, James P

2017-01-01

Peer review is the gold standard for scientific communication, but its ability to guarantee the quality of published research remains difficult to verify. Recent modeling studies suggest that peer review is sensitive to reviewer misbehavior, and it has been claimed that referees who sabotage work they perceive as competition may severely undermine the quality of publications. Here we examine which aspects of suboptimal reviewing practices most strongly impact quality, and test different mitigating strategies that editors may employ to counter them. We find that the biggest hazard to the quality of published literature is not selfish rejection of high-quality manuscripts but indifferent acceptance of low-quality ones. Bypassing or blacklisting bad reviewers and consulting additional reviewers to settle disagreements can reduce but not eliminate the impact. The other editorial strategies we tested do not significantly improve quality, but pairing manuscripts to reviewers unlikely to selfishly reject them and allowing revision of rejected manuscripts minimize rejection of above-average manuscripts. In its current form, peer review offers few incentives for impartial reviewing efforts. Editors can help, but structural changes are more likely to have a stronger impact.

The dissection of risk: a conceptual analysis.

PubMed

O'Byrne, Patrick

2008-03-01

Recently, patient safety has gained popularity in the nursing literature. While this topic is used extensively and has been analyzed thoroughly, some of the concepts upon which it relies, such as risk, have remained undertheorized. In fact, despite its considerable use, the term 'risk' has been largely assumed to be inherently neutral - meaning that its definition and discovery is seen as objective and impartial, and that risk avoidance is natural and logical. Such an oversight in evaluation requires that the concept of risk be thoroughly analyzed as it relates to nursing practices, particularly in relation to those practices surrounding bio-political nursing care, such as public health, as well as other more trendy nursing topics, such as patient safety. Thus, this paper applies the Evolutionary Model of concept analysis to explore 'risk', and expose it as one mechanism of maintaining prescribed/ proscribed social practices. Thereby, an analysis of risk results in the definitions and roles of the discipline and profession of nursing expanding from solely being dedicated to patient care, to include, in addition, its functions as a governmental body that unwittingly maintains hegemonic infrastructures.

Partial and impartial ethical reasoning in health care professionals.

PubMed

Kuhse, H; Singer, P; Rickard, M; Cannold, L; van Dyk, J

1997-08-01

To determine the relationship between ethical reasoning and gender and occupation among a group of male and female nurses and doctors. Partialist and impartialist forms of ethical reasoning were defined and singled out as being central to the difference between what is known as the "care" moral orientation (Gilligan) and the "justice" orientation (Kohlberg). A structured questionnaire based on four hypothetical moral dilemmas involving combinations of (health care) professional, non-professional, life-threatening and non-life-threatening situations, was piloted and then mailed to a randomly selected sample of doctors and nurses. 400 doctors from Victoria, and 200 doctors and 400 nurses from New South Wales. 178 doctors and 122 nurses returned completed questionnaires. 115 doctors were male, 61 female; 50 nurses were male and 72 were female. It was hypothesised that there would be an association between feminine subjects and partialist reasoning and masculine subjects and impartialist reasoning. It was also hypothesised that nurses would adopt a partialist approach to reasoning and doctors an impartialist approach. No relationship between any of these variables was observed.

Partial and impartial ethical reasoning in health care professionals.

PubMed Central

Kuhse, H; Singer, P; Rickard, M; Cannold, L; van Dyk, J

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between ethical reasoning and gender and occupation among a group of male and female nurses and doctors. DESIGN: Partialist and impartialist forms of ethical reasoning were defined and singled out as being central to the difference between what is known as the "care" moral orientation (Gilligan) and the "justice" orientation (Kohlberg). A structured questionnaire based on four hypothetical moral dilemmas involving combinations of (health care) professional, non-professional, life-threatening and non-life-threatening situations, was piloted and then mailed to a randomly selected sample of doctors and nurses. SETTING: 400 doctors from Victoria, and 200 doctors and 400 nurses from New South Wales. RESULTS: 178 doctors and 122 nurses returned completed questionnaires. 115 doctors were male, 61 female; 50 nurses were male and 72 were female. It was hypothesised that there would be an association between feminine subjects and partialist reasoning and masculine subjects and impartialist reasoning. It was also hypothesised that nurses would adopt a partialist approach to reasoning and doctors an impartialist approach. No relationship between any of these variables was observed. PMID:9279744

Linking rights and standards: the process of developing "rights-based" minimum standards on food security, nutrition and food aid.

PubMed

Young, Helen; Taylor, Anna; Way, Sally-Anne; Leaning, Jennifer

2004-06-01

This article examines the recent revision of the Sphere Minimum Standards in disaster response relating to food security, nutrition and food aid. It describes how the revision attempted to incorporate the principles of the Humanitarian Charter, as well as relevant human rights principles and values into the Sphere Minimum Standards. The initial aim of the revision was to ensure that the Sphere Minimum Standards better reflected the principles embodied in the Humanitarian Charter. This was later broadened to ensure that key legal standards and principles from human rights and humanitarian law were considered and also incorporated, in part to fill the "protection gap" within the existing standards. In relation to the food security, nutrition and food aid standards, it was agreed by participants in the process that the human right to adequate food and freedom from hunger should be incorporated. In relation to more general principles underlying the Humanitarian Charter, itself drawn largely from human rights and humanitarian law, it was agreed that there was a need to strengthen "protection" elements within the standards and a need to incorporate the basic principles of the right to life with dignity, non-discrimination, impartiality and participation, as well as to explore the relevance of the concept of the progressive realisation of the right to food. The questions raised in linking rights to operational standards required thought, on the one hand, about whether the technical standards reflected a deep understanding of the values expressed within the legal instruments, and whether the existing standards were adequate in relation to those legal rights. On the other hand, it also required reflection on how operational standards like Sphere could give concrete content to human rights, such as the right to food and the right to be free from hunger. However, there remain challenges in examining what a rights-based approach will mean in terms of the role of humanitarian agencies as duty-bearers of rights, given that the primary responsibility rests with state governments. It will also require reflection on the modes and mechanisms of accountability that are brought to bear in ensuring the implementation of the Minimum Standards.

Teachers’ attitudes towards adolescent sexuality and life skills education in rural South Africa

PubMed Central

Smith, Kelley Alison; Harrison, Abigail

2013-01-01

This study investigated the attitudes of 43 teachers and school administrators towards sex education, young people’s sexuality and their communities in 19 secondary schools in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and how these attitudes affect school-based HIV prevention and sex education. In interviews, teachers expressed judgemental attitudes towards young people’s sexuality and pregnant students, and focused on girls’ perceived irresponsible behaviour instead of strategies to minimise HIV risk. Despite general awareness of the HIV epidemic, few teachers perceived it as an immediate threat, and teachers’ own HIV risk was infrequently acknowledged. Teachers perceived themselves to have higher personal standards and moral authority than members of the communities and schools they served. Male administrators’ authority to determine school policies and teachers’ attitudes towards sexuality fundamentally affect the content and delivery of school-based sexuality education and HIV prevention activities. Opportunities to create a supportive educational environment for students and for female teachers are frequently missed. Improving teachers’ efficacy to deliver impartial, non-judgemental and accurate information about sex and HIV is essential, as are efforts to acknowledge and address their own HIV risks. PMID:23662093

[Medical expert assessment, objectivity and justice in disability pension cases. ].

PubMed

Solli, Hans Magnus

2003-08-14

The formal principle of justice is often interpreted as the requirement of objectivity when a person's situation is to be evaluated in the light of social justice. The aim of this article is to analyse whether or not the formal principle of justice is fulfilled by the ontological and the epistemological concept of objectivity when disability claims are evaluated medically in relation to the Norwegian legislation on disability benefits. material is legal and medical texts about medical disability evaluation. The method is text analysis. The main result is that the concept of ontological objectivity functions as the criterion of objectivity when the causal relations between sickness, impairment and disability are explained. This criterion is, however, problematic because it is based on the assumption that there is a linear causal model of these relations, which precludes the explanation of many cases of disability. The ontological concept of objectivity is not a necessary condition for impartiality and formal justice in relation to the causal relation between sickness and disability. In some situations this concept is a sufficient condition. The epistemological concept of objectivity is a sufficient condition, but it is not a necessary condition. Some cases must be reviewed on a discretionary basis.

The Sexologist Albert Moll – between Sigmund Freud and Magnus Hirschfeld

PubMed Central

Sigusch, Volkmar

2012-01-01

Albert Moll was one of the most influential sexologists during the first three decades of the twentieth century. In contrast to his rivals Sigmund Freud and Magnus Hirschfeld, his achievements have not yet been recognised adequately. The author gives a comparative account of the work of these three protagonists. This shows that Moll formed some ideas which are regarded as psychoanalytical today before Freud, and that he, in contrast to Hirschfeld, was able to reflect critically on contemporary discourses, such as the debates on racial improvement through eugenics. As scientific theories, Freud’s psychoanalysis represented the unconscious, fantasy, experience and latency, while Moll’s sexology represented consciousness, ontological reality, behaviour and manifestation. Moll’s major disagreement with Hirschfeld’s sexology was his advocacy of apolitical and impartial science, whereas Hirschfeld’s aim was to achieve sexual reforms politically. Added to these differences were strong personal animosities. Freud called Moll a ‘beast’ and ‘pettifogger’; and Moll complained about Hirschfeld’s ‘problematic’ character. When Hirschfeld escaped the Nazi terror and went to Paris, Moll denounced him in order to prevent him rebuilding a new existence in exile. PMID:23002292

Just healthcare and human flourishing: Why resource allocation is not just enough.

PubMed

Hewitt, Jayne

2017-01-01

Over many years, different theories have been developed to guide the social practices and policies of institutions so that they demonstrate equal concern and respect for all, and satisfy the requirements of justice. Although the normative principles described in a theory may support just institutions, whether this results in just outcomes will depend on how the decisions that implement the principles are made and actioned. As a societal institution charged with caring for people, ensuring just outcomes is a distinct concern in healthcare. Relationships within this institution are constitutive of human flourishing and are also important to justice. Yet, it is not possible to create, maintain or evaluate interpersonal relationships in the same manner as institutions because rather than being universal and impartial, they are particular and partial. Consequently, the link between theories of justice that guide decision-making in relation to structures or institutions, and the relationships that influence those with a proximate effect on individuals, is not explicit. To address this gap, this article argues that a focus on human flourishing provides a nexus between the decision-making for just institutions and just outcomes for individuals.

Speaking to the yet unknowing world: Hamlet, Horatio and the problem of imperfect witness.

PubMed

Phillips, Christine

2010-12-01

Every day doctors bear witness to others about the experiences, needs and feelings of their patients, drawing on what they have learnt from clinical consultations. This paper considers the medical task of bearing honourable and truthful witness through an examination of the role and actions of Horatio in Hamlet. Horatio is simultaneously located among the background machinery of the play, separate from the lives of the protagonists, and in the foreground, where his authoritative witness is repeatedly called upon by the play's characters. Horatio is invited to watch an unfolding disaster, his warnings are not heard, and at its conclusion he stands apart from the drama to give its account. The tensions between engagement and observation, and between partial and impartial accounting echo those faced by doctors in everyday clinical practice. The act of bearing witness, Shakespeare suggests, even for those who are tasked with being objective, is necessarily imperfect, and not dispassionate. Those people, including doctors, who are expected to construct authoritative accounts of the motives and actions of others may find in Hamlet a small lesson on the need to approach their summary narratives about others more humbly, aware of the narrowness and partiality of their perspective.

Using the social structure of markets as a framework for analyzing vaccination debates: The case of emergency polio vaccination

PubMed Central

Connelly, Yaron; Ziv, Arnona; Goren, Uri; Tal, Orna; Kaplan, Giora; Velan, Baruch

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT The framework of the social structure of markets was used to analyze an online debate revolving around an emergency poliovirus vaccination campaign in Israel. Examination of a representative sample of 200 discussions revealed the activity of three parties: authoritative agents promoting vaccinations, alternative agents promoting anti-vaccination, both representing sellers, and the impartial agents, representing the customers—the general public deliberating whether to comply with vaccination or not. Both sellers interacted with consumers using mechanisms of luring and convincing. The authoritative agents conveyed their message by exhibiting professionalism, building trust and offering to share information. The alternative agents spread doubts and evoked negative emotions of distrust and fear. Among themselves, the alternative agents strived to discredit the authoritative agents, while the latter preferred to ignore the former. Content analysis of discussions conducted by the general public reveal reiteration of the messages conveyed by the sellers, implying that the transaction of pro and anti-vaccination ideas indeed took place. We suggest that the framework of the market as a social structure can be applied to the analysis of other vaccination debates, and thereby provide additional insights into vaccination polemics. PMID:27058586

Character virtues in psychiatric practice.

PubMed

Radden, Jennifer; Sadler, John Z

2008-01-01

The character-focused approach known as virtue ethics is especially well suited to understanding and promoting ethical psychiatric practice. Virtues are stable dispositions and responses attributed to character, and a virtue-based ethics is one in which people's selves or characters are at the center of moral assessment. In this discussion by a clinician and a philosopher, clinical scenarios using exchanges and inner monologue illustrate key aspects of virtues. Virtues are acquired through habituation; they are habits of mind as much as behavior; they are as a group heterogeneous, and individually composite; they involve affective responses; they are not impartial; they are compatible with the "role morality" required of professionals; they are responses to particular temptations and weaknesses; and they include, in the capacity for practical judgment known as phronesis, a way of resolving many of the conflicts and dilemmas that arise in practice. The virtue approach to ethics will likely be most useful in the educational setting where practitioners are learning clinical skills and socialized into the broad ethos of professional practice. Aspects of this educational effort are briefly reviewed, including whether it ought to be undertaken at all, whether the effort to teach virtues is possible, and, if so, how it can be achieved.

Substance abuse prevention program content: systematizing the classification of what programs target for change.

PubMed

Hansen, William B; Dusenbury, Linda; Bishop, Dana; Derzon, James H

2007-06-01

We conducted an analysis of programs listed on the National Registry of Effective Programs and Practices as of 2003. This analysis focused on programs that addressed substance abuse prevention from among those on the effective or model program lists and that had manuals. A total of 48 programs met these inclusion criteria. We coded program manuals for content that was covered based on how much time was devoted to changing targeted mediating variables. The value of this approach is that program content can be judged using an impartial standard that can be applied to a wide range of intervention approaches. On average, programs addressed eight of 23 possible content areas. Our analyses suggested there were seven distinguishable approaches that have been used in substance abuse prevention programs. These include (i) changing access within the environment, (ii) promoting the development of personal and social skills, (iii) promoting positive affiliation, (iv) addressing social influences, (v) providing social support and helping participants develop goals and alternatives, (vi) developing positive schools and (vii) enhancing motivation to avoid substance use. We propose that the field use such analyses as the basis of future theory development.

The Application Research of National Geography Census Data in the Departmental Investigation and Management-Taking Land Management as AN Example

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, N.

2018-04-01

According to the "Natural priority, Status quo priority" principle of acquisition, the national geography census data has the characteristics of objectivity, impartiality and accuracy. It provides a new perspective for the management and decision-making support of other industries as a "third party" and plays an important role in the professional management and investigation of various departments including land, transportation, forestry and water conservancy. Taking land resources supervision as an example, the Yellow River Delta efficient eco-economic zone as the research area, based on the national geographic census data and the land survey data, this paper established the correspondence of the two types of data through the reclassification of the land cover classification data, calculated the spatial coincidence rate of the same land class and the circulation relations among different land classes through the spatial overlay analysis and the calculation of space transfer matrix, quantified the differences between the data and objectively analysed the causes of the differences; On this basis, combined with land supervision hot spots, supplemented by multi-source remote sensing images and socio-economic data, analysed the application of geographic census data in the land regulation from multi-point.

US "Partnership" with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and its Effect on Civil Society and Human Rights.

PubMed

Pierce, Anne R

2014-01-01

Looking at Egypt before, during and after the Arab Spring, this paper examines the intersection of Christian Copts, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian army, moderate Muslims and secular groups. In turn, it examines the Obama administration's policies toward Egypt. It discloses the surprising finding that the only consistent aspect of the administration's policy toward Egypt has been outreach to and engagement with the Muslim Brotherhood. At no time before or after the Brotherhood's ascent to prominence in Egyptian politics and society did the administration make support of the Brotherhood conditional. At no time did it use US leverage - given the massive amount of financial and military aid Egypt was depending on, and given the new Egyptian government's desire for prestige in the world community-to pressure the Morsi government to respect human rights, religious liberty and the impartial rule of law. Arguing that American foreign policy at its best is rooted in democratic ideals, this paper asks whether the United States, while respecting that Egyptians must choose their leaders and their political system, could have done more to encourage a positive strategic, moral and political outcome.

Nature's impartiality, man's inhumanity: reflections on terrorism and world crisis in a context of historical disaster.

PubMed

Alexander, David

2002-03-01

This paper compares the terrorist outrages of 11 September 2001 in New York City and Washington to the Lisbon earthquake of 1 November 1755. Both events occurred, literally out of the blue, at critical junctures in history and both struck at the heart of large trading networks. Both affected public attitudes towards disaster as, not only did they cause unparalleled destruction, but they also represented symbolic victories of chaos over order, and of moral catastrophism over a benign view of human endeavour. The Lisbon earthquake led to a protracted debate on teleology, which has some parallels in the debate on technological values in modern society. It remains to be seen whether there will be parallels in the reconstruction and the ways in which major disasters are rationalised in the long term. But despite the differences between these two events--which are obviously very large as nearly 250 years of history separate them and they were the work of different sorts of forces--there are lessons to be learned from the comparison. One of these is that disaster can contribute to a perilous form of self absorption and cultural isolation.

Towards a balanced approach to identifying conflicts of interest faced by institutional review boards.

PubMed

Kaur, Sharon; Balan, Sujata

2015-10-01

The welfare and protection of human subjects is critical to the integrity of clinical investigation and research. Institutional review boards (IRBs) were thus set up to be impartial reviewers of research protocols in clinical research. Their main role is to stand between the investigator and her human subjects in order to ensure that the welfare of human subjects are protected. While there is much literature on the conflicts of interest (CIs) faced by investigators and researchers in clinical investigations, an area that is less explored is CIs that may affect members of IRBs during the institutional ethics review of clinical investigations. This article examines the notion of CIs in clinical research and attempts to develop a framework for a clearer and more balanced approach to identifying CIs that may influence members of IRBs and impede their independence. It will also apply the proposed framework to demonstrate how IRBs possess, or at least may appear to possess, forms of financial CIs and non-financial CIs. The proper identification and management of these CIs is critical to preserving the integrity of clinical investigations and achieving the primary aim of human subjects protection.

Is it inherently prejudicial to try a juvenile as an adult?

PubMed

Levine, M; Williams, A; Sixt, A; Valenti, R

2001-01-01

Given only information that a youth who could have been tried as either an adult or as a juvenile was being tried as an adult for murder, 218 undergraduate mock jurors were able to form consistent impressions of the defendant. A very high percent of our mock jurors included a criminal or juvenile justice history as part of that impression. A very large majority of the mock jurors also said that knowledge of that criminal history would be relevant to their vote of guilty. Almost all mock jurors said they would be influenced toward voting guilty by knowledge of a previous criminal history. Few of the other components of the impression were so closely correlated with a judgment of relevance, or with a judgment that they would be influenced toward voting guilty by the knowledge of that component of the stereotype. The effect is relatively specific to knowledge of a previous criminal history. The study has limited ecological validity. Nonetheless, we raise questions about whether the fact that a youth is put on trial as an adult is inherently prejudicial, and violates the Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The ethics of medical involvement in torture: commentary

PubMed Central

Hare, R M

1993-01-01

Torture does need to be defined if we are to know exactly what we are seeking to ban; but no single definition will do, because there are many possible ones, and we may want to treat different practices that might be called torture differently. Compare the case of homicide; we do not want to punish manslaughter as severely as murder, and may not want to punish killing in self-defence at all. There are degrees of torture as of murder. Unclarities simply play into the hands of would-be torturers. Downie is unsuccessful in deriving the duty of doctors not to be involved in torture from an analysis of the word `doctor'. It may be contrary to the role-duty of doctors to participate in torture; but there might be other duties which overrode this role-duty. The right approach is to ask what principles for the conduct of doctors have the highest acceptance-utility, or, as Kant might have equivalently put it, what the impartial furtherance of everyone's ends demands. This approach yields the result that torture (suitably defined) should be banned absolutely. It also yields prescriptions for the conduct of doctors where, in spite of them, torture is taking place. PMID:8230144

Newspaper coverage of water issues in Australia.

PubMed

Hurlimann, Anna; Dolnicar, Sara

2012-12-01

The media has been found to have an impact on public debate, public opinion, and public policy agendas. Public debate, and public opinion about water conservation and water supply management projects matter because they can influence specific outcomes. For example, public opinion can potentially lead to positive behaviour, like increased water conservation, or potentially negative behaviours such as public opposition to developments such as dams or water recycling plants, which may be necessary under changing climatic conditions. It is therefore critical to understand how the media reports on water-related topics. Results from a content analysis of 1253 newspaper articles published in Australia in 2008 indicate that water-related reports are characterised by lack of inclusion of views held by various stakeholders, a low level of support of statements with scientific evidence, a low level of impartiality in the sense of reporting on opposing views and a relatively high level of hedging, meaning that the author signals that there is some uncertainly about the reported information. In sum these tendencies could theoretically culminate to work against public engagement in water issues and undermine the public's understanding of and confidence in water management measures. Proactive measures of media management are recommended. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carbon sequestration through urban ecosystem services: A case study from Finland.

PubMed

Kuittinen, Matti; Moinel, Caroline; Adalgeirsdottir, Kristjana

2016-09-01

Plants and soil are natural regulators of atmospheric CO2. Whereas plants sequester atmospheric carbon, soils deposit it for decades. As cities become increasingly more densely built, the available land area for such ecosystem services may decrease. We studied seven different housing areas in the Finnish city of Espoo to ascertain the extent to which site efficiency affects to the ecosystem services if the full life-cycle GHG emissions of these areas are taken into account. The results show that the impact of CO2 uptake through carbon sinks in growing plants and the uptake of soil organic carbon vary greatly. Its share of all emissions varied from a marginal value of 1.2% to a more considerable value of 11.9%. The highest potential was calculated for a detached house located on a large site, while the weakest was calculated for compact apartment blocks. The study revealed that in order to quantify this potential more accurately, several knowledge gaps must first be addressed. These include impartial growth algorithms for Nordic wood species, missing accumulation factors for soil organic carbon in cold climates and statistical maintenance scenarios for gardens. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Parochial altruism in humans.

PubMed

Bernhard, Helen; Fischbacher, Urs; Fehr, Ernst

2006-08-24

Social norms and the associated altruistic behaviours are decisive for the evolution of human cooperation and the maintenance of social order, and they affect family life, politics and economic interactions. However, as altruistic norm compliance and norm enforcement often emerge in the context of inter-group conflicts, they are likely to be shaped by parochialism--a preference for favouring the members of one's ethnic, racial or language group. We have conducted punishment experiments, which allow 'impartial' observers to punish norm violators, with indigenous groups in Papua New Guinea. Here we show that these experiments confirm the prediction of parochialism. We found that punishers protect ingroup victims--who suffer from a norm violation--much more than they do outgroup victims, regardless of the norm violator's group affiliation. Norm violators also expect that punishers will be lenient if the latter belong to their social group. As a consequence, norm violations occur more often if the punisher and the norm violator belong to the same group. Our results are puzzling for evolutionary multi-level selection theories based on selective group extinction as well as for theories of individual selection; they also indicate the need to explicitly examine the interactions between individuals stemming from different groups in evolutionary models.

Progress and Prospects of CRISPR/Cas Systems in Insects and Other Arthropods.

PubMed

Sun, Dan; Guo, Zhaojiang; Liu, Yong; Zhang, Youjun

2017-01-01

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and the CRISPR-associated gene Cas9 represent an invaluable system for the precise editing of genes in diverse species. The CRISPR/Cas9 system is an adaptive mechanism that enables bacteria and archaeal species to resist invading viruses and phages or plasmids. Compared with zinc finger nucleases and transcription activator-like effector nucleases, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has the advantage of requiring less time and effort. This efficient technology has been used in many species, including diverse arthropods that are relevant to agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and public health; however, there is no review that systematically summarizes its successful application in the editing of both insect and non-insect arthropod genomes. Thus, this paper seeks to provide a comprehensive and impartial overview of the progress of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in different arthropods, reviewing not only fundamental studies related to gene function exploration and experimental optimization but also applied studies in areas such as insect modification and pest control. In addition, we also describe the latest research advances regarding two novel CRISPR/Cas systems (CRISPR/Cpf1 and CRISPR/C2c2) and discuss their future prospects for becoming crucial technologies in arthropods.

Due Process in the Accreditation Context: A Reply.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pelesh, Mark L.

1995-01-01

A previous analysis (Prairie and Chamberlain, 1994) of college and university due process rights when accreditation is threatened, which argues that accrediting agencies are quasigovernmental bodies and should be subject to constitutional due process constraints, is criticized. Recent trends in litigation concerning due process, recent…

5 CFR 732.301 - Due process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Due process. 732.301 Section 732.301 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL SECURITY POSITIONS Due Process and Reporting § 732.301 Due process. When an agency makes an...

5 CFR 732.301 - Due process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Due process. 732.301 Section 732.301 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL SECURITY POSITIONS Due Process and Reporting § 732.301 Due process. When an agency makes an...

5 CFR 732.301 - Due process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Due process. 732.301 Section 732.301 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL SECURITY POSITIONS Due Process and Reporting § 732.301 Due process. When an agency makes an...

5 CFR 732.301 - Due process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Due process. 732.301 Section 732.301 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL SECURITY POSITIONS Due Process and Reporting § 732.301 Due process. When an agency makes an...

5 CFR 732.301 - Due process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Due process. 732.301 Section 732.301 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL SECURITY POSITIONS Due Process and Reporting § 732.301 Due process. When an agency makes an...

Due Process in Appraisal: A Quasi-Experiment in Procedural Justice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, M. Susan; And Others

1995-01-01

Extended research on procedural justice by examining effects of a due-process performance-appraisal system on (government) employees' and managers' reactions. Employee-management pairs were randomly assigned to either a due-process appraisal system or the existing one. Although due-process employees received lower evaluations, both employees and…

Non-Financial Conflicts of Interest in Academic Grant Evaluation: A Qualitative Study of Multiple Stakeholders in France

PubMed Central

Abdoul, Hendy; Perrey, Christophe; Tubach, Florence; Amiel, Philippe; Durand-Zaleski, Isabelle; Alberti, Corinne

2012-01-01

Background Peer review is the most widely used method for evaluating grant applications in clinical research. Criticisms of peer review include lack of equity, suspicion of biases, and conflicts of interest (CoI). CoIs raise questions of fairness, transparency, and trust in grant allocation. Few observational studies have assessed these issues. We report the results of a qualitative study on reviewers’ and applicants’ perceptions and experiences of CoIs in reviews of French academic grant applications. Methodology and Principal Findings We designed a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and direct observation. We asked members of assessment panels, external reviewers, and applicants to participate in semi-structured interviews. Two independent researchers conducted in-depth reviews and line-by-line coding of all transcribed interviews, which were also subjected to Tropes® software text analysis, to detect and qualify themes associated with CoIs. Most participants (73/98) spontaneously reported that non-financial CoIs predominated over financial CoIs. Non-financial CoIs mainly involved rivalry among disciplines, cronyism, and geographic and academic biases. However, none of the participants challenged the validity of peer review. Reviewers who felt they might be affected by CoIs said they reacted in a variety of ways: routine refusal to review, routine attempt to conduct an impartial review, or decision on a case-by-case basis. Multiple means of managing non-financial CoIs were suggested, including increased transparency throughout the review process, with public disclosure of non-financial CoIs, and careful selection of independent reviewers, including foreign experts and methodologists. Conclusions Our study underscores the importance of considering non-financial CoIs when reviewing research grant applications, in addition to financial CoIs. Specific measures are needed to prevent a negative impact of non-financial CoIs on the fairness of resource allocation. Whether and how public disclosure of non-financial CoIs should be accomplished remains debatable. PMID:22496913

Planet Earth: Its Past, Our Present, A Future (?)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kieffer, S. W.

2012-04-01

We who have lived through the second half of the 20th century into the 21st century have witnessed a profound transition in the biological and physical relationship between humans and the rest of the planet. In the middle of the last century, our planet still had undeveloped islands: there were frontiers that held new lands, mysteries, adventures, cultures, and resources. However, these islands have merged into a relatively seamless planet by a mobile and expanding population, science and technology, and global communication. We are subject to stealth as well as natural disasters. Natural disasters result from the ongoing geological and meteorological processes on our planet, increasingly exacerbated by human presence and behavior. Stealth disasters, on the other hand, are caused by humans, but involve the natural systems that support us. Examples of stealth disasters are climate change, loss of soils, acidification of the oceans, desertification, and loss of groundwater resources. Civilization is a complex system. It has emergent properties, and a tuning parameter--a parameter that is "tuned" until the unexpected happens. The tuning parameter for populations is the number of members relative to the capacities that support them. Because of our sheer numbers, we are driving the stealth disasters, and we will be affected more severely by natural disasters than we have been in the past on a less densely populated planet. To guide our thinking about geoethical issues, we propose a (hypothetical) world organization modeled after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the U.S., and call it the Center for Disaster Control for Planet Earth (CDCPE). This center would have a scientific body to provide impartial facts and uncertainties, an engineering body to propose and implement technical solutions, a negotiating body to balance the realities of political, economic, religious and cultural values, and an enforcement body that is responsive to all of the inputs. How shall we start?

Non-financial conflicts of interest in academic grant evaluation: a qualitative study of multiple stakeholders in France.

PubMed

Abdoul, Hendy; Perrey, Christophe; Tubach, Florence; Amiel, Philippe; Durand-Zaleski, Isabelle; Alberti, Corinne

2012-01-01

Peer review is the most widely used method for evaluating grant applications in clinical research. Criticisms of peer review include lack of equity, suspicion of biases, and conflicts of interest (CoI). CoIs raise questions of fairness, transparency, and trust in grant allocation. Few observational studies have assessed these issues. We report the results of a qualitative study on reviewers' and applicants' perceptions and experiences of CoIs in reviews of French academic grant applications. We designed a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and direct observation. We asked members of assessment panels, external reviewers, and applicants to participate in semi-structured interviews. Two independent researchers conducted in-depth reviews and line-by-line coding of all transcribed interviews, which were also subjected to Tropes® software text analysis, to detect and qualify themes associated with CoIs. Most participants (73/98) spontaneously reported that non-financial CoIs predominated over financial CoIs. Non-financial CoIs mainly involved rivalry among disciplines, cronyism, and geographic and academic biases. However, none of the participants challenged the validity of peer review. Reviewers who felt they might be affected by CoIs said they reacted in a variety of ways: routine refusal to review, routine attempt to conduct an impartial review, or decision on a case-by-case basis. Multiple means of managing non-financial CoIs were suggested, including increased transparency throughout the review process, with public disclosure of non-financial CoIs, and careful selection of independent reviewers, including foreign experts and methodologists. Our study underscores the importance of considering non-financial CoIs when reviewing research grant applications, in addition to financial CoIs. Specific measures are needed to prevent a negative impact of non-financial CoIs on the fairness of resource allocation. Whether and how public disclosure of non-financial CoIs should be accomplished remains debatable.

Procedural Due Process and Fairness in Student Discipline. A Legal Memorandum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, T. Page

When the Supreme Court decided that the Constitution requires public school principals to follow procedural due process in suspension and expulsion cases, the Justices recognized a link between procedural due process and the fairness of effective discipline. This report reviews the constitutional due process required when public school officials…

25 CFR 42.8 - What are a student's due process rights in a formal disciplinary proceeding?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... EDUCATION STUDENT RIGHTS § 42.8 What are a student's due process rights in a formal disciplinary proceeding? A student has the following due process rights in a formal disciplinary proceeding: (a) The right to... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What are a student's due process rights in a formal...

Validation of Alternative In Vitro Methods to Animal Testing: Concepts, Challenges, Processes and Tools.

PubMed

Griesinger, Claudius; Desprez, Bertrand; Coecke, Sandra; Casey, Warren; Zuang, Valérie

This chapter explores the concepts, processes, tools and challenges relating to the validation of alternative methods for toxicity and safety testing. In general terms, validation is the process of assessing the appropriateness and usefulness of a tool for its intended purpose. Validation is routinely used in various contexts in science, technology, the manufacturing and services sectors. It serves to assess the fitness-for-purpose of devices, systems, software up to entire methodologies. In the area of toxicity testing, validation plays an indispensable role: "alternative approaches" are increasingly replacing animal models as predictive tools and it needs to be demonstrated that these novel methods are fit for purpose. Alternative approaches include in vitro test methods, non-testing approaches such as predictive computer models up to entire testing and assessment strategies composed of method suites, data sources and decision-aiding tools. Data generated with alternative approaches are ultimately used for decision-making on public health and the protection of the environment. It is therefore essential that the underlying methods and methodologies are thoroughly characterised, assessed and transparently documented through validation studies involving impartial actors. Importantly, validation serves as a filter to ensure that only test methods able to produce data that help to address legislative requirements (e.g. EU's REACH legislation) are accepted as official testing tools and, owing to the globalisation of markets, recognised on international level (e.g. through inclusion in OECD test guidelines). Since validation creates a credible and transparent evidence base on test methods, it provides a quality stamp, supporting companies developing and marketing alternative methods and creating considerable business opportunities. Validation of alternative methods is conducted through scientific studies assessing two key hypotheses, reliability and relevance of the test method for a given purpose. Relevance encapsulates the scientific basis of the test method, its capacity to predict adverse effects in the "target system" (i.e. human health or the environment) as well as its applicability for the intended purpose. In this chapter we focus on the validation of non-animal in vitro alternative testing methods and review the concepts, challenges, processes and tools fundamental to the validation of in vitro methods intended for hazard testing of chemicals. We explore major challenges and peculiarities of validation in this area. Based on the notion that validation per se is a scientific endeavour that needs to adhere to key scientific principles, namely objectivity and appropriate choice of methodology, we examine basic aspects of study design and management, and provide illustrations of statistical approaches to describe predictive performance of validated test methods as well as their reliability.

Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), Albuquerque Service Center (ASC) Due Process Hearing Officer Manual. Resolution Session and Due Process Hearing Procedures in Special Education. Revised

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Copenhaver, John

2007-01-01

Due process is a set of procedures that seeks to ensure fairness of education decisions and accountability, for both parents and educational professionals. The due process hearing provides a forum where disagreements about the identification, evaluation, educational placement, and provision of a free appropriate public education for students with…

Due Process and Higher Education: A Systemic Approach to Fair Decision Making. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report, Volume 27, Number 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stevens, Ed

Due process has become an important principle in higher education as a result of many new legal issues, including dismissals of students from campus, firings of staff members, faculty tenure and promotion, sexual harassment, discrimination, and substance abuse. This volume defines due process; explains when due process procedures are required;…

Geospatial Data Fusion and Multigroup Decision Support for Surface Water Quality Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, A. Y.; Osidele, O.; Green, R. T.; Xie, H.

2010-12-01

Social networking and social media have gained significant popularity and brought fundamental changes to many facets of our everyday life. With the ever-increasing adoption of GPS-enabled gadgets and technology, location-based content is likely to play a central role in social networking sites. While location-based content is not new to the geoscience community, where geographic information systems (GIS) are extensively used, the delivery of useful geospatial data to targeted user groups for decision support is new. Decision makers and modelers ought to make more effective use of the new web-based tools to expand the scope of environmental awareness education, public outreach, and stakeholder interaction. Environmental decision processes are often rife with uncertainty and controversy, requiring integration of multiple sources of information and compromises between diverse interests. Fusing of multisource, multiscale environmental data for multigroup decision support is a challenging task. Toward this goal, a multigroup decision support platform should strive to achieve transparency, impartiality, and timely synthesis of information. The latter criterion often constitutes a major technical bottleneck to traditional GIS-based media, featuring large file or image sizes and requiring special processing before web deployment. Many tools and design patterns have appeared in recent years to ease the situation somewhat. In this project, we explore the use of Web 2.0 technologies for “pushing” location-based content to multigroups involved in surface water quality management and decision making. In particular, our granular bottom-up approach facilitates effective delivery of information to most relevant user groups. Our location-based content includes in-situ and remotely sensed data disseminated by NASA and other national and local agencies. Our project is demonstrated for managing the total maximum daily load (TMDL) program in the Arroyo Colorado coastal river basin in Texas. The overall design focuses on assigning spatial information to decision support elements and on efficiently using Web 2.0 technologies to relay scientific information to the nonscientific community. We conclude that (i) social networking, if appropriately used, has great potential for mitigating difficulty associated with multigroup decision making; (ii) all potential stakeholder groups should be involved in creating a useful decision support system; and (iii) environmental decision support systems should be considered a must-have, instead of an optional component of TMDL decision support projects. Acknowledgment: This project was supported by NASA grant NNX09AR63G.

IDEA Special Education Due Process Complaints/Hearing Requests: Including Expedited Hearing Requests. A Guide for Parents of Children & Youth (Ages 3-21)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE), 2014

2014-01-01

A due process complaint is a written document used to request a due process hearing related to the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of a child with a disability, or the provision of a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) to the child. This publication describes Due Process Complaints/Hearing Requests generally for Part B…

Expectations of Faculty, Parents, and Students for Due Process in Campus Disciplinary Hearings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Janosik, Steven M.

2001-01-01

A sample of 464 faculty members, parents, and students responded to a questionnaire that assessed their expectations for due process in campus disciplinary hearings. Respondents indicated they expected high levels of due process would be provided in suspension-level campus disciplinary hearings. The three groups differed on specific due process…

Justice in Health Care Decision-Making: Patients’ Appraisals of Health Care Providers and Health Plan Representatives

PubMed Central

Fondacaro, Mark; Frogner, Bianca; Moos, Rudolf

2010-01-01

This study describes the development of two versions of a Health Care Justice Inventory (HCJI). One version focuses on patients’ interactions with their providers (HCJI-P) and the other focuses on patients’ interactions with the representatives of their health plans (HCJI-HP). Each version of the HCJI assesses patients’ appraisals of their interactions (with either their Provider or representatives of their Health Plan) along three common dimensions of procedural justice: Trust, Impartiality, and Participation. Both the Provider and Health Plan scales assess indices that are relatively independent of patients’ demographic characteristics. In addition, patients’ appraisals of their interactions with their provider were only moderately related to their appraisals of their interactions with representatives of their health plan, indicating that the Provider and Health Plan scales tap distinct aspects of patients’ overall experience with the health care system. Overall, procedural justice dimensions were significantly related to patient satisfaction in both the Provider and the Health Plan contexts. As predicted, procedural justice factors were more strongly tied to patient satisfaction in the Provider than in the Health Plan context, and health care decisions based on distributive justice principles of Need (rather than Equity or Equality) were most closely tied to patient satisfaction in both contexts. PMID:16021741

The U.S.Geological Survey Energy Resources Program

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2010-01-01

Energy resources are an essential component of modern society. Adequate, reliable, and affordable energy supplies obtained using environmentally sustainable practices underpin economic prosperity, environmental quality and human health, and political stability. National and global demands for all forms of energy are forecast to increase significantly over the next several decades. Throughout its history, our Nation has faced important, often controversial, decisions regarding the competing uses of public lands, the supply of energy to sustain development and enable growth, and environmental stewardship. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Energy Resources Program (ERP) provides information to address these challenges by supporting scientific investigations of energy resources, such as research on the geology, geochemistry, and geophysics of oil, gas, coal, heavy oil and natural bitumen, oil shale, uranium, and geothermal resources, emerging resources such as gas hydrates, and research on the effects associated with energy resource occurrence, production, and (or) utilization. The results from these investigations provide impartial, robust scientific information about energy resources and support the U.S. Department of the Interior's (DOI's) mission of protecting and responsibly managing the Nation's natural resources. Primary consumers of ERP information and products include the DOI land- and resource-management Bureaus; other Federal, State, and local agencies; the U.S. Congress and the Administration; nongovernmental organizations; the energy industry; academia; international organizations; and the general public.

Political legitimacy and European monetary union: contracts, constitutionalism and the normative logic of two-level games

PubMed Central

Bellamy, Richard; Weale, Albert

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT The crisis of the euro area has severely tested the political authority of the European Union (EU). The crisis raises questions of normative legitimacy both because the EU is a normative order and because the construction of economic and monetary union (EMU) rested upon a theory that stressed the normative value of the depoliticization of money. However, this theory neglected the normative logic of the two-level game implicit in EMU. It also neglected the need for an impartial and publically acceptable constitutional order to acknowledge reasonable disagreements. By contrast, we contend that any reconstruction of the EU's economic constitution has to pay attention to reconciling a European monetary order with the legitimacy of member state governance. The EU requires a two-level contract to meet this standard. Member states must treat each other as equals and be representative of and accountable to their citizens on an equitable basis. These criteria entail that the EU's political legitimacy requires a form of demoicracy that we call ‘republican intergovernmentalism’. Only rules that could be acceptable as the product of a political constitution among the peoples of Europe can ultimately meet the required standards of political legitimacy. Such a political constitution could be brought about through empowering national parliaments in EU decision-making. PMID:26924935

The ESSENCE Supernova Survey: Survey Optimization, Observations, and Supernova Photometry

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

Miknaitis, Gajus; Pignata, G.; Rest, A.

We describe the implementation and optimization of the ESSENCE supernova survey, which we have undertaken to measure the equation of state parameter of the dark energy. We present a method for optimizing the survey exposure times and cadence to maximize our sensitivity to the dark energy equation of state parameter w = P/{rho}c{sup 2} for a given fixed amount of telescope time. For our survey on the CTIO 4m telescope, measuring the luminosity distances and redshifts for supernovae at modest redshifts (z {approx} 0.5 {+-} 0.2) is optimal for determining w. We describe the data analysis pipeline based on usingmore » reliable and robust image subtraction to find supernovae automatically and in near real-time. Since making cosmological inferences with supernovae relies crucially on accurate measurement of their brightnesses, we describe our efforts to establish a thorough calibration of the CTIO 4m natural photometric system. In its first four years, ESSENCE has discovered and spectroscopically confirmed 102 type Ia SNe, at redshifts from 0.10 to 0.78, identified through an impartial, effective methodology for spectroscopic classification and redshift determination. We present the resulting light curves for the all type Ia supernovae found by ESSENCE and used in our measurement of w, presented in Wood-Vasey et al. (2007).« less

Progress and Prospects of CRISPR/Cas Systems in Insects and Other Arthropods

PubMed Central

Sun, Dan; Guo, Zhaojiang; Liu, Yong; Zhang, Youjun

2017-01-01

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and the CRISPR-associated gene Cas9 represent an invaluable system for the precise editing of genes in diverse species. The CRISPR/Cas9 system is an adaptive mechanism that enables bacteria and archaeal species to resist invading viruses and phages or plasmids. Compared with zinc finger nucleases and transcription activator-like effector nucleases, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has the advantage of requiring less time and effort. This efficient technology has been used in many species, including diverse arthropods that are relevant to agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and public health; however, there is no review that systematically summarizes its successful application in the editing of both insect and non-insect arthropod genomes. Thus, this paper seeks to provide a comprehensive and impartial overview of the progress of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in different arthropods, reviewing not only fundamental studies related to gene function exploration and experimental optimization but also applied studies in areas such as insect modification and pest control. In addition, we also describe the latest research advances regarding two novel CRISPR/Cas systems (CRISPR/Cpf1 and CRISPR/C2c2) and discuss their future prospects for becoming crucial technologies in arthropods. PMID:28932198

Crowd-Funding: A New Resource Cooperation Mode for Mobile Cloud Computing.

PubMed

Zhang, Nan; Yang, Xiaolong; Zhang, Min; Sun, Yan

2016-01-01

Mobile cloud computing, which integrates the cloud computing techniques into the mobile environment, is regarded as one of the enabler technologies for 5G mobile wireless networks. There are many sporadic spare resources distributed within various devices in the networks, which can be used to support mobile cloud applications. However, these devices, with only a few spare resources, cannot support some resource-intensive mobile applications alone. If some of them cooperate with each other and share their resources, then they can support many applications. In this paper, we propose a resource cooperative provision mode referred to as "Crowd-funding", which is designed to aggregate the distributed devices together as the resource provider of mobile applications. Moreover, to facilitate high-efficiency resource management via dynamic resource allocation, different resource providers should be selected to form a stable resource coalition for different requirements. Thus, considering different requirements, we propose two different resource aggregation models for coalition formation. Finally, we may allocate the revenues based on their attributions according to the concept of the "Shapley value" to enable a more impartial revenue share among the cooperators. It is shown that a dynamic and flexible resource-management method can be developed based on the proposed Crowd-funding model, relying on the spare resources in the network.

Science programs in Kansas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kramer, Ariele R.; Kelly, Brian P.

2017-05-08

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is a non-regulatory Earth science agency within the Department of the Interior that provides impartial scientific information to describe and understand the health of our ecosystems and environment; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life. The USGS cooperates with Federal, State, tribal, and local agencies in Kansas to deliver long-term data in real-time and interpretive reports describing what those data mean to the public and resource management agencies. USGS science programs in Kansas provide real-time groundwater monitoring at more than 23 locations; streamflow monitoring at more than 218 locations; water-quality and trends in the Little Arkansas and Kansas Rivers; inflows and outflows of sediment to/from reservoirs and in streams; harmful algal bloom research in the Kansas River, Milford Lake, and Cheney Reservoir; water-quantity and water-quality effects of artificial groundwater recharge for the Equus Beds Aquifer Storage and Recovery project near Wichita, Kansas; compilation of Kansas municipal and irrigation water-use data statewide; the occurrence, effects, and movement of environmental pesticides, antibiotics, algal toxins, and taste-and-odor compounds; and funding to the Kansas Water Resources Research Institute to further research and education through Kansas universities.

Political legitimacy and European monetary union: contracts, constitutionalism and the normative logic of two-level games.

PubMed

Bellamy, Richard; Weale, Albert

2015-02-07

The crisis of the euro area has severely tested the political authority of the European Union (EU). The crisis raises questions of normative legitimacy both because the EU is a normative order and because the construction of economic and monetary union (EMU) rested upon a theory that stressed the normative value of the depoliticization of money. However, this theory neglected the normative logic of the two-level game implicit in EMU. It also neglected the need for an impartial and publically acceptable constitutional order to acknowledge reasonable disagreements. By contrast, we contend that any reconstruction of the EU's economic constitution has to pay attention to reconciling a European monetary order with the legitimacy of member state governance. The EU requires a two-level contract to meet this standard. Member states must treat each other as equals and be representative of and accountable to their citizens on an equitable basis. These criteria entail that the EU's political legitimacy requires a form of demoi cracy that we call 'republican intergovernmentalism'. Only rules that could be acceptable as the product of a political constitution among the peoples of Europe can ultimately meet the required standards of political legitimacy. Such a political constitution could be brought about through empowering national parliaments in EU decision-making.

Crowd-Funding: A New Resource Cooperation Mode for Mobile Cloud Computing

PubMed Central

Zhang, Min; Sun, Yan

2016-01-01

Mobile cloud computing, which integrates the cloud computing techniques into the mobile environment, is regarded as one of the enabler technologies for 5G mobile wireless networks. There are many sporadic spare resources distributed within various devices in the networks, which can be used to support mobile cloud applications. However, these devices, with only a few spare resources, cannot support some resource-intensive mobile applications alone. If some of them cooperate with each other and share their resources, then they can support many applications. In this paper, we propose a resource cooperative provision mode referred to as "Crowd-funding", which is designed to aggregate the distributed devices together as the resource provider of mobile applications. Moreover, to facilitate high-efficiency resource management via dynamic resource allocation, different resource providers should be selected to form a stable resource coalition for different requirements. Thus, considering different requirements, we propose two different resource aggregation models for coalition formation. Finally, we may allocate the revenues based on their attributions according to the concept of the "Shapley value" to enable a more impartial revenue share among the cooperators. It is shown that a dynamic and flexible resource-management method can be developed based on the proposed Crowd-funding model, relying on the spare resources in the network. PMID:28030553

Ethical issues of cost effectiveness analysis and guideline setting in mental health care.

PubMed

Berghmans, R; Berg, M; van den Burg, M; ter Meulen, R

2004-04-01

This article discusses ethical issues which are raised as a result of the introduction of economic evidence in mental health care in order to rationalise clinical practice. Cost effectiveness studies and guidelines based on such studies are often seen as impartial, neutral instruments which try to reduce the influence of non-scientific factors. However, such rationalising instruments often hide normative assumptions about the goals of treatment, the selection of treatments, the role of the patient, and the just distribution of scarce resources. These issues are dealt with in the context of increased control over clinical practice by third parties. In particular, health insurers have a great interest in economic evidence in clinical care settings in order to control access to and quality of (mental) health care. The authors conclude that guideline setting and cost effectiveness analysis may be seen as important instruments for making choices in health care, including mental health care, but that such an approach should always go hand in hand with a social and political debate about the goals of medicine and (mental) health care. This article is partly based on the results of a research project on the normative aspects of guideline setting in psychiatry and cardiology which was conducted under the guidance of the Royal Dutch Medical Association.

Crossing borders: Discussing the evidence relating to the mental health needs of women exposed to female genital mutilation

PubMed Central

Mulongo, Peggy; McAndrew, Sue; Hollins Martin, Caroline

2014-01-01

The terms ‘Female Circumcision’ (FC), ‘FG Cutting’ (FGC) and ‘FG Mutilation’ (FGM) refer to procedures involving the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. In practicing countries, FGC/FC is more widely used, as it is believed to be inoffensive, providing more impartial ways of discussing the practice. Positive beliefs about FC/FGC include virginity, marriage prospects, family reputation, or passage to adulthood. Regardless of terminology, the practice exists in at least 28 African counties, and a few Asian and Middle Eastern countries. In Western society, FGM is considered a breach of human rights, being outlawed in a number of countries. With immigration trends, FGC is now prominent in Western society among practicing communities. While the past decade has seen an increase in studies and recommendations for health-care support related to the physical health consequences of FGM, little is known about the psychological impact and its management. For many girls and women, FGC is a traumatic practice, transforming it to FGM and affecting their mental health. This discussion paper focuses on evidence relating to the mental health consequences of FGM, therapeutic interventions, and the mental health nurse's role in addressing the needs of this group of women. PMID:24548699

The U.S. Geological Survey Energy Resources Program

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2006-01-01

The United States uses tremendous amounts of geologic energy resources. In 2004 alone, the United States consumed more than 7.4 billion barrels of oil, 21.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 1.1 billion short tons of coal. Forecasts indicate the Nation's need for energy resources will continue to grow, raising several questions: How much domestic and foreign petroleum resources are available to meet the growing energy demands of the Nation and world? Does the United States have coal deposits of sufficient quantity and quality to meet demand over the next century? What other geologic energy resources can be added to the U.S. energy mix? How do the occurrence and use of energy resources affect environmental quality and human health? Unbiased information from robust scientific studies is needed for sound energy policy and resource management decisions addressing these issues. The U.S. Geological Survey Energy Resources Program provides impartial, scientifically robust information to advance the understanding of geologically based energy resources including: petroleum (oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids), coal, gas hydrates, geothermal resources, oil shale, oil sands, uranium, and heavy oil and natural bitumen. This information can be used to contribute to plans for a secure energy future and to facilitate evaluation and responsible use of resources.

Implementing a Public Health Objective for Alcohol Premises Licensing in Scotland: A Qualitative Study of Strategies, Values, and Perceptions of Evidence.

PubMed

Fitzgerald, Niamh; Nicholls, James; Winterbottom, Jo; Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal

2017-02-23

The public health objective for alcohol premises licensing, established in Scotland in 2005, is unique globally. We explored how public health practitioners engaged with the licensing system following this change, and what helped or hindered their efforts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 public health actors, audio-recorded, and analysed using an inductive framework approach. Many interviewees viewed the new objective as synonymous with reducing population-level alcohol consumption; however, this view was not always shared by licensing actors, some of whom did not accept public health as a legitimate goal of licensing, or prioritised economic development instead. Some interviewees were surprised that the public health evidence they presented to licensing boards did not result in their hoped-for outcomes; they reported that licensing officials did not always understand or value health data or statistical evidence. While some tried to give "impartial" advice to licensing boards, this was not always easy; others were clear that their role was one of "winning hearts and minds" through relationship-building with licensing actors over time. Notwithstanding the introduction of the public health objective, there remain significant, and political, challenges in orienting local premises licensing boards towards decisions to reduce the availability of alcohol in Scotland.

Enacting Firm, Fair and Friendly Practice: A Model for Strengths-Based Child Protection Relationships?

PubMed

Oliver, Carolyn; Charles, Grant

2016-06-01

Strengths-based solution-focused approaches are gaining ground in statutory child protection work, but few studies have asked front line practitioners how they navigate the complex worker-client relationships such approaches require. This paper describes one component of a mixed-methods study in a large Canadian statutory child protection agency in which 225 workers described how they applied the ideas of strengths-based practice in their daily work. Interviews with twenty-four practitioners were analysed using an interpretive description approach. Only four interviewees appeared to successfully enact a version of strengths-based practice that closely mirrored those described by key strengths-based child protection theorists and was fully congruent with their mandated role. They described navigating a shifting balance of collaboration and authority in worker-client relationships based on transparency, impartial judgement, attentiveness to the worker-client interaction and the value that clients were fellow human beings. Their accounts extend current conceptualisations of the worker-client relationship in strengths-based child protection work and are congruent with current understandings of effective mandated relationships. They provide what may be a useful model to help workers understand and navigate relationships in which they must reconcile their own authority and expertise with genuine support for the authority and expertise of their clients.

Neural signatures of third-party punishment: evidence from penetrating traumatic brain injury

PubMed Central

Glass, Leila; Moody, Lara; Grafman, Jordan

2016-01-01

The ability to survive within a cooperative society depends on impartial third-party punishment (TPP) of social norm violations. Two cognitive mechanisms have been postulated as necessary for the successful completion of TPP: evaluation of legal responsibility and selection of a suitable punishment given the magnitude of the crime. Converging neuroimaging research suggests two supporting domain-general networks; a mentalizing network for evaluation of legal responsibility and a central-executive network for determination of punishment. A whole-brain voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping approach was used in conjunction with a rank-order TPP task to identify brain regions necessary for TPP in a large sample of patients with penetrating traumatic brain injury. Patients who demonstrated atypical TPP had specific lesions in core regions of the mentalizing (dorsomedial prefrontal cortex [PFC], ventromedial PFC) and central-executive (bilateral dorsolateral PFC, right intraparietal sulcus) networks. Altruism and executive functioning (concept formation skills) were significant predictors of TPP: altruism was uniquely associated with TPP in patients with lesions in right dorsolateral PFC and executive functioning was uniquely associated with TPP in individuals with lesions in left PFC. Our findings contribute to the extant literature to support underlying neural networks associated with TPP, with specific brain-behavior causal relationships confirming recent functional neuroimaging research. PMID:26276809

Fleshing out vulnerability.

PubMed

Tavaglione, Nicolas; Martin, Angela K; Mezger, Nathalie; Durieux-Paillard, Sophie; François, Anne; Jackson, Yves; Hurst, Samia A

2015-02-01

In the literature on medical ethics, it is generally admitted that vulnerable persons or groups deserve special attention, care or protection. One can define vulnerable persons as those having a greater likelihood of being wronged - that is, of being denied adequate satisfaction of certain legitimate claims. The conjunction of these two points entails what we call the Special Protection Thesis. It asserts that persons with a greater likelihood of being denied adequate satisfaction of their legitimate claims deserve special attention, care or protection. Such a thesis remains vague, however, as long as we do not know what legitimate claims are. This article aims at dispelling this vagueness by exploring what claims we have in relation to health care - thus fleshing out a claim-based conception of vulnerability. We argue that the Special Protection Thesis must be enriched as follows: If individual or group X has a greater likelihood of being denied adequate satisfaction of some of their legitimate claims to (i) physical integrity, (ii) autonomy, (iii) freedom, (iv) social provision, (v) impartial quality of government, (vi) social bases of self-respect or (vii) communal belonging, then X deserves special attention, care or protection. With this improved understanding of vulnerability, vulnerability talk in healthcare ethics can escape vagueness and serve as an adequate basis for practice. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Due Process Rights of Nursing Students in Case of Misconduct.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osinski, Kay

2003-01-01

Explains the concepts of academic misconduct, due process rights, and the implicit contract between students and the university. Discusses ways to incorporate due process in nursing school course catalogs, course requirements, evaluation methods, and grievance procedures. (SK)

20 CFR 670.545 - How does Job Corps ensure that students receive due process in disciplinary actions?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... receive due process in disciplinary actions? 670.545 Section 670.545 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT AND... process in disciplinary actions? The center operator must ensure that all students receive due process in disciplinary proceedings according to procedures developed by the Secretary. These procedures must include, at...

Student Rights Associated with Disciplinary and Academic Hearings and Sanctions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

La Roche, Claire R.

2005-01-01

This paper examines whether students have due process rights associated with disciplinary and academic hearings. Constitutional challenges, case law, and the requirements of due process are discussed. Suggestions are made for procedures a school should follow to fulfill the requirements of due process.

Constitutional Due Process and Educational Administration.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uerling, Donald F.

1985-01-01

Discusses substantive and procedural due process as required by the United States Constitution and interpreted by the Supreme Court, with particular reference to situations arising in educational environments. Covers interests protected by due process requirements, the procedures required, and some special considerations that may apply. (PGD)

Due Process in the Realm of Higher Education: Considerations for Dealing with Students Rights

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fishner, Jason T.

2006-01-01

Court decisions have laid out expectations of what due process procedures need to be followed in student disciplinary cases and academic dismissal cases due to poor academic performance. This paper will give show where due process comes from and how it found its way into higher education. It will show that there are differences in the ways public…

Procedural Due Process Rights in Student Discipline.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pressman, Robert; Weinstein, Susan

To assist administrators in understanding procedural due process rights in student discipline, this manual draws together hundreds of citations and case summaries of federal and state court decisions and provides detailed commentary as well. Chapter 1 outlines the general principles of procedural due process rights in student discipline, such as…

34 CFR 300.140 - Due process complaints and State complaints.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES State Eligibility Children with Disabilities Enrolled by Their Parents in Private Schools § 300.140 Due process complaints and State complaints. (a) Due process not applicable, except for child find. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, the procedures in...

Due Process: Possible Dangers and Advantages of Extension of Use of Due Process and Off-Campus Legal Machinery.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Funk, Robert N.

Until recently, the name commonly given to the relationship between the college and its students was in loco parentis, a concept that today is completely outdated. Due process of law has replaced it and many feel that its advantages are great. There are many disadvantages, however. (1) The literal adoption of legal processes from "the outside…

Education--Due Process for Washington Public School Students--Wash. Ad. Code ch. 180-40 (1972)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Talmadge, Philip

1975-01-01

In Washington, legislative and administrative rules of the State Board of Education have conferred protections of constitutional due process on public school students. The author examines the regulatory framework and effects concluding that the Washington due process rules should serve as a model for other states. (JT)

25 CFR 42.6 - When does due process require a formal disciplinary hearing?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false When does due process require a formal disciplinary... RIGHTS § 42.6 When does due process require a formal disciplinary hearing? Unless local school policies and procedures provide for less, a formal disciplinary hearing is required before a suspension in...

Procedural "Due Process" Remedies Available to Nontenured Faculty in Private Postsecondary Education in New England in 1979.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Begin, Richard L.

The status of judicial theory regarding private responsibility for granting procedural due process, and the extent to which policies in New England's private postsecondary institutions adhered to judicial requirements for due process in nontenured faculty terminations were studied. A review of the literature, research methodology, and definition…

Equal Protection and Due Process: Contrasting Methods of Review under Fourteenth Amendment Doctrine.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, James A.

1979-01-01

Argues that the Court has, at times, confused equal protection and due process methods of review, primarily by employing interest balancing in certain equal protection cases that should have been subjected to due process analysis. Available from Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA 02138; sc $4.00.…

A novel PON-based mobile distributed cluster of antennas approach to provide impartial and broadband services to end users

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sana, Ajaz; Saddawi, Samir; Moghaddassi, Jalil; Hussain, Shahab; Zaidi, Syed R.

2010-01-01

In this research paper we propose a novel Passive Optical Network (PON) based Mobile Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) access network architecture to provide high capacity and performance multimedia services to mobile WiMAX users. Passive Optical Networks (PON) networks do not require powered equipment; hence they cost lower and need less network management. WiMAX technology emerges as a viable candidate for the last mile solution. In the conventional WiMAX access networks, the base stations and Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antennas are connected by point to point lines. Ideally in theory, the Maximum WiMAX bandwidth is assumed to be 70 Mbit/s over 31 miles. In reality, WiMAX can only provide one or the other as when operating over maximum range, bit error rate increases and therefore it is required to use lower bit rate. Lowering the range allows a device to operate at higher bit rates. Our focus in this research paper is to increase both range and bit rate by utilizing distributed cluster of MIMO antennas connected to WiMAX base stations with PON based topologies. A novel quality of service (QoS) algorithm is also proposed to provide admission control and scheduling to serve classified traffic. The proposed architecture presents flexible and scalable system design with different performance requirements and complexity.

The professional responsibility of lawyers: emotional competence, multiculturalism and ethics.

PubMed

Silver, Marjorie A

2006-05-01

Traditional legal education and the Socratic method it utilises are by and large successful at training lawyers to think, reason and analyse. The cultivation of lawyers' intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, however, has been, at best, neglected by the profession. All lawyers, like all human beings, are emotional. Emotions affect who they are and how they practise law, whether or not they are conscious of them. As emotions cannot be removed from the practice of law, it is essential that lawyers learn to understand and manage their emotions, as well as learn to be attuned to their clients' emotional lives. Ignorance of concepts such as countertransference, denial and unconscious bias adversely impact the lawyer-client relationship. Lawyers who understand basic psychological principles and behaviours, who are aware of their own psychological makeup, understand their cultural perspective and recognise and credit their clients' differences, will enhance their effectiveness as counsellors. The client whose lawyer has these competencies will enjoy a therapeutically superior counselling or representational experience. The neglect of either the lawyer's or the client's emotional life threatens to sabotage the lawyer's ability, and thus professional responsibility, to render competent and impartial legal advice. Through drawing parallels to the training and practice in other counselling disciplines and relationships, this article argues that psychological-mindedness and multicultural competence are essential elements of ethically responsible legal representation.

The growth of psychopharmacology in the 1990s: evidence-based practice or irrational exuberance.

PubMed

Rosenheck, Robert

2005-01-01

The rapid growth in sales of psychotropic medications during the late 1980s and 1990s, eventually reaching $20 billion/year, reflected the increased use of seritonin reuptake inhibitors for depression and atypical antipsychotics for schizophrenia. Recently, however, some of the therapeutic claims for these medications have been challenged, and under-appreciated risks have turned out to be significant liabilities. Drug manufacturers increasingly dominate clinical trials research and evidence suggests that study designs and data presentations have been slanted to show products in a favorable light while unfavorable data were suppressed. At the same time, during the 1990s, potentially independent voices did not effectively or consistently present countervailing views. The extensive financial ties between the pharmaceutical industry and academic researchers, professional associations, and consumer groups may also have discouraged expression of critical views. Additionally, the narrow legal mandate of the FDA to evaluate the safety and efficacy of new drugs only in comparison to placebo (rather than in comparison to other treatments) probably limited its contribution. In the absence of reliable, impartial research on the risk and benefits of psychotropic medications, both before and after they are brought to market, pharmacy benefits management cannot achieve its goal of maximizing health care benefits per dollar spent. Further institutional support is needed for independent research, either conducted or funded by the federal government.

Comment on ``Communicating Government Science''

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lins, Harry F.

2006-05-01

Soroosh Sorooshian's editorial in the 18 April issue of Eos (87(16) 2005) is a timely reminder of the need for unambiguous guidelines governing the interactions between government scientists and the media. His comments implicitly recognize the central role that science plays in a modern democratic society, which includes informing policy at the highest levels of government and educating the general public about the world we inhabit. Federal research scientists, who constitute approximately 15 percent of the AGU's U.S. membership, have a unique public responsibility. They would welcome a consistent policy for the review and approval of publications, oral presentations, and media communications. An example of the value and success that such a policy can have to both science and the nation is evident in the operations of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). For more than a century, the USGS has had clear policies and procedures for ensuring the communication of accurate, high-quality, and impartial scientific information. These policies and procedures are set forth in the USGS Manual under sections entitled ``Approval by the director for outside publication and oral presentation,'' ``Review of USGS publications and abstracts of oral presentations for policy-sensitive issues,'' and ``News release and media relations policy.'' These policies are available online at http:// www.usgs.gov/usgs-manual/500/500-9.html (.../500-8.html and .../500 5.html).

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

Libby, S B

Much has been written about Edward TEller, but little of it is objective. Given, on the one hand, his position as one of the most inventive theoretical physicists of the 20th century, and on the other, his central role in the development and advocacy of thermonuclear weapons, one might imagine it impossible at this point in history to write a scholarly, impartial account of Teller's life and his impact. Now, however, Istvan Hargittai, a prominent Hungarian physical chemist and historian of science, has written a balanced, thoughtful, and beautifully research biography that comes closest. Hargittai is uniquely qualified for thismore » difficult task. Coming a generation and a half later from a similar Hungarian-Jewish background, Hargittai understands well the influences and terrible events that shaped Teller. The advent of virulent, political anti-Semitism, first in Hungary and then in Germany, made Teller twice a refugee. Both Teller and Hargittai lost close family in the Holocaust; Hargittai was himself liberated from a Nazi concentration camp as a child. While Teller was in the US by then, his and Hargittai's surviving family members in Hungary suffered mistreatment at the hands of the postwar Hungarian Communist dictatorship. Hargittai's informed Eastern European perspective also provides a fresh viewpoint to the cold war context of the second half of Teller's career. Furthermore, Hargittai's own scientific work in molecular structure clearly makes him appreciate of Teller's breakthroughs in that field in the 1930s.« less

The Good Clinical Practice guideline and its interpretation - perceptions of clinical trial teams in sub-Saharan Africa.

PubMed

Vischer, N; Pfeiffer, C; Joller, A; Klingmann, I; Ka, A; Kpormegbe, S K; Burri, C

2016-08-01

To explore the advantages and challenges of working with the Good Clinical Practice (GCP)-International Conference of Harmonization (ICH) E6 guideline and its interpretation from the perspective of clinical trial teams based in sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted 60 key informant interviews with clinical trial staff at different levels in clinical research centres in Kenya, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Senegal and thematically analysed the responses. Clinical trial teams perceived working with ICH-GCP as highly advantageous and regarded ICH-GCP as applicable to their setting and efficiently applied. Only for informed consent did some clinical trial staff (one-third) perceive the guideline as insufficiently applicable. Specific challenges included meeting the requirements for written and individual consent, conditions for impartial witnesses for illiterates or legally acceptable representatives for children, guaranteeing voluntary participation and ensuring full understanding of the consent given. It was deemed important to have ICH-GCP compliance monitored by relevant ethics committees and regulatory authorities, without having guidelines applied overcautiously. Clinical trial teams in sub-Saharan Africa perceived GCP as a helpful guideline, despite having been developed by northern organisations and despite the high administrative burden of implementing it. To mitigate consent challenges, we suggest adapting GCP and making use of the flexibility it offers. © 2016 The Authors. Tropical Medicine & International Health Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[ISO 15189 medical laboratory accreditation].

PubMed

Aoyagi, Tsutomu

2004-10-01

This International Standard, based upon ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO 9001, provides requirements for competence and quality that are particular to medical laboratories. While this International Standard is intended for use throughout the currently recognized disciplines of medical laboratory services, those working in other services and disciplines will also find it useful and appropriate. In addition, bodies engaged in the recognition of the competence of medical laboratories will be able to use this International Standard as the basis for their activities. The Japan Accreditation Board for Conformity Assessment (AB) and the Japanese Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (CCLS) are jointly developing the program of accreditation of medical laboratories. ISO 15189 requirements consist of two parts, one is management requirements and the other is technical requirements. The former includes the requirements of all parts of ISO 9001, moreover it includes the requirement of conformity assessment body, for example, impartiality and independence from any other party. The latter includes the requirements of laboratory competence (e.g. personnel, facility, instrument, and examination methods), moreover it requires that laboratories shall participate proficiency testing(s) and laboratories' examination results shall have traceability of measurements and implement uncertainty of measurement. Implementation of ISO 15189 will result in a significant improvement in medical laboratories management system and their technical competence. The accreditation of medical laboratory will improve medical laboratory service and be useful for patients.

The ethics of peer and editorial requests for self-citation of their work and journal.

PubMed

Teixeira da Silva, Jaime A

2017-04-01

Peer reviewers are expected to be experts in a field of study and should be versed with the pertinent literature related with the manuscript they are reviewing. Editors might not necessarily be experts in a particular field, but they have the responsibility of overseeing the requests made by peers, and assessing whether these are ethically appropriate, or not. Thus, requests by peers to cite unrelated literature, which may or may not be their own literature, could be unethical, especially if the objective is to improve their own citations or to boost the citations of the journal for which they are reviewing. In contrast, requests to cite pertinent work that is in fact missing from the paper's literature, even if it may be the reviewer or editor's work, or from the same journal, is acceptable. Editors ultimately approve the requests and suggestions made by reviewers, so inappropriate suggestions made by peer reviewers are the responsibility of the editor and journal. There needs to be a bias-free mechanism in place that offers protection to authors who wish to complain, and consequences for editors who do not conduct an impartial decision. Authors have the right to challenge such suggestions, but may face unfair retaliation in the form of a rejection if they resist making changes that they perceive as being inappropriate.

Use of the WOMAC questionnaire in Mumbai and the challenges of translation and cross cultural adaptation.

PubMed

Gogtay, N J; Thatte, U M; Dasgupta, B; Deshpande, S

2013-01-01

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are disease specific questionnaires that are being increasingly used in clinical practice and research. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), is a widely used PROM in patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis. A validated WOMAC was used by us, and significant challenges were faced in administering it as several questions did not have a cultural connect. Functionally equivalent items in the Indian context had then to be used to complete the score. With greater emphasis today on the use of patient-reported outcome measures, and with data from multi-centric studies being pooled, cross-cultural adaptation becomes very important if the pooled data are to be really relevant. In India, with several languages being spoken, and a significant proportion of the population being illiterate, the physician and/ or the impartial witness must provide considerable explanation without attempting to influence the response. The key to the effective and correct use of PROMs thus lies not just in translation, but also in a stepwise validation of the questionnaire, and modification in the context of the country where it is used. Scores like WOMAC are often primary efficacy endpoints in clinical trials; are gaining greater importance to support label claims; have ethical implications, and directly impact regulatory decision making and thus, eventually, evidence-based practice.

Moderating effects of nurses' organizational justice between organizational support and organizational citizenship behaviors for evidence-based practice.

PubMed

Chang, Ching-Sheng

2014-10-01

Lack of existing literature on the correlation among organizational justice, organizational support, and organizational citizenship behaviors has created a research gap in previous evidence-based practice (EBP) studies on nursing personnel. To investigate whether organizational justice among nurses has a moderating effect between their organizational support and organizational citizenship behaviors in order to bridge such a gap of existing literature with the EBP study on nursing personnel. Nursing staff of one large and influential hospital in Taiwan was surveyed. Four hundred questionnaires were distributed, and 386 were collected with a valid response rate of 96.50%. SPSS 17.0 and Amos 17.0 statistical software packages were used for data analysis. Nurses' organizational support positively influences their organizational citizenship behaviors, and their organizational justice perception has a positive moderating effect between organizational support and organizational citizenship behaviors. Results call hospitals' attention to the type of individual behaviors that may improve organizational performance. When nursing staff perceive fair and impartial treatment by the organization and supportive emotional attachment, behaviors beneficial for the organization are expressed in return. Subjective perceptions of nursing staff play an important role in organizational exchange relationship; the higher the degree of nursing staff's perceived organizational justice, the higher the degree of their organizational support, perception, and exhibition of organizational citizenship behaviors such as altruistic behavior and dedication to the work. © 2014 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Reducing medical complaints and litigation in Malaysia: turning patients' voices into opportunities.

PubMed

Kassim, Puteri Nemie Jahn

2007-10-01

One of the most important ironies of modern health care is that public expectations are rising faster than the ability of health services to meet them. Patients nowadays no longer want to be treated as passive recipients of medical care but as co-producers or partners able to manage their illnesses. Thus, it is not surprising that poor communication and failure to take into account the patient's perspective are at the heart of most formal complaints and legal actions in Malaysia. The difficulties of existing complaint procedures in Malaysia have become manifest over the years and this has been accentuated by patients becoming more willing to challenge the decisions of medical practitioners and health service management in court. To reduce the number of complaints and risks of litigation, a more patient-centred approach should be adopted. When patients voice their concern by making a complaint or inquiry, this should be seen as a unique source of information for health care services on why adverse events occur and how to prevent them. As well as reducing future harm to patients, better management of complaints should restore trust and reduce the risk of litigation, through open communication and a commitment to learn from the problem. The existing procedures for patients to be heard in Malaysia should be reviewed and incorporate features such as responsiveness, accessibility, impartiality, simplicity, speed and accountability.

Effect of soaps and detergents on epidermal barrier function.

PubMed

Wolf, Ronni; Parish, Lawrence Charles

2012-01-01

The past decade has witnessed an explosion of new impartial information about the complex interaction of the skin with topically applied substances, including soaps and detergents. Despite of all these new data, our knowledge on the exact pathomechanism and molecular events leading to detergent-induced barrier dysfunction remains incomplete and the answers continue to elude us. The longtime prevailing opinion which contends that the damaging effect of soaps and detergents is related to their property to extract and remove useful intercellular lipids has mostly been abandoned. Although this effect might be involved in the damaging effect, it is definitely not the sole mechanism, nor, indeed, is it even the main one. Skin proteins damage, the interaction with keratins and their denaturation, swelling of cell membranes and collagen fibers, cytotoxicity expressed with cellular lysis are other important mechanisms. One proposed mechanism is that an initial stratum corneum hyper-hydration results from a continuous disruption of the secondary and tertiary structures of keratin protein by surfactants, exposing new water-binding sites, thereby increasing the hydration of the membrane. Following evaporation of excess water, the denatured keratin possesses a decreased water-binding capacity and decreased ability to function as a barrier. Recent studies have also emphasized the effects of detergents on lipid synthesis, on lipid-metabolizing enzymes and on keratinocyte differentiation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Association Between Financial Conflicts of Interests and Supportive Opinions for Erectile Dysfunction Treatment.

PubMed

Boscolo-Berto, Rafael; Montisci, Massimo; Secco, Silvia; D'Elia, Carolina; Snenghi, Rosella; Viel, Guido; Ferrara, Santo Davide

2016-09-01

A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person has competing loyalties or interests that make it difficult to fulfil his or her duties impartially. Conflict of interest is not categorically improper in itself but requires proper management. A SCOPUS literature search was performed for publications on the efficacy/safety of Phospho-Di-Esterase Inhibitors (PDEIs) for treating erectile dysfunction. A categorization tool (CoOpCaT) was used to review and classify the publications as supportive/not-supportive for the discussed active ingredient and reporting or not reporting a COI for that specific drug or for the remaining PDEIs (i.e. competitors). Multivariable binary logistic regression was performed. In the 419 selected records the prevalence of supportive opinions was higher when a COI for the index label was declared. The CoOpCaT showed good internal consistency, discriminative validity and intra/inter-rater agreement. The strongest predictor for a supportive opinion was the total number of financial COIs for the index label. A mild protective effect of the total number of financial COIs for any competitor label was noted. Financial COIs have frequently been associated with bias, and the measures currently adopted to restrain it lack effectiveness. Some evidence for monitoring and/or compensating this bias is reported here, but the ultimate solution remains distant.

Neural signatures of third-party punishment: evidence from penetrating traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Glass, Leila; Moody, Lara; Grafman, Jordan; Krueger, Frank

2016-02-01

The ability to survive within a cooperative society depends on impartial third-party punishment (TPP) of social norm violations. Two cognitive mechanisms have been postulated as necessary for the successful completion of TPP: evaluation of legal responsibility and selection of a suitable punishment given the magnitude of the crime. Converging neuroimaging research suggests two supporting domain-general networks; a mentalizing network for evaluation of legal responsibility and a central-executive network for determination of punishment. A whole-brain voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping approach was used in conjunction with a rank-order TPP task to identify brain regions necessary for TPP in a large sample of patients with penetrating traumatic brain injury. Patients who demonstrated atypical TPP had specific lesions in core regions of the mentalizing (dorsomedial prefrontal cortex [PFC], ventromedial PFC) and central-executive (bilateral dorsolateral PFC, right intraparietal sulcus) networks. Altruism and executive functioning (concept formation skills) were significant predictors of TPP: altruism was uniquely associated with TPP in patients with lesions in right dorsolateral PFC and executive functioning was uniquely associated with TPP in individuals with lesions in left PFC. Our findings contribute to the extant literature to support underlying neural networks associated with TPP, with specific brain-behavior causal relationships confirming recent functional neuroimaging research. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Patterns of stigma toward schizophrenia among the general population: a latent profile analysis.

PubMed

Loch, Alexandre A; Wang, Yuan-Pang; Guarniero, Francisco B; Lawson, Fabio L; Hengartner, Michael P; Rössler, Wulf; Gattaz, Wagner F

2014-09-01

Our purpose was to assess stigma toward schizophrenia in a representative sample of the Brazilian general population. The sample consisted of 1015 individuals interviewed by telephone. A vignette describing someone with schizophrenia was read, and four stigma aspects regarding this hypothetical individual were assessed: stereotypes, restrictions, perceived prejudice and social distance. Latent profile analysis searched for stigma profiles among the sample. Multinomial logistic regression was used to find correlates of each class. Four stigma profiles were found; 'no stigma' individuals (n = 251) mostly displayed positive opinions. 'Labelers' (n = 222) scored high on social distance; they more often had familial contact with mental illness and more often labeled the vignette's disorder as schizophrenia. 'Discriminators', the group with the majority of individuals (n = 302), showed high levels of stigmatizing beliefs in all dimensions; discriminators were significantly older. 'Unobtrusive stigma' individuals (n = 240) seemed to demonstrate uncertainty or low commitment since they mostly answered items with the middle/impartial option. Some findings from the international literature were replicated; however, familial contact increased stigma, possibly denoting a locally modulated determinant. Hereby, our study also adds important cross-cultural data by showing that stigma toward schizophrenia is high in a Latin-American setting. We highlight the importance of analyzing the general population as a heterogeneous group, aiming to better elaborate anti-stigma campaigns. © The Author(s) 2013.

[The impartiality of ignorance? - A controversy between Paul Julius Möbius and Julius Wagner-Jauregg on the symptoms of reanimated persons after a suicide attempt through self-hanging].

PubMed

Engmann, B; Steinberg, H

2014-05-01

Between 1891 and 1893 the famous Austrian and German neuropsychiatrists Julius Wagner-Jauregg and Paul Julius Möbius disputed in leading German and Austrian medical journals about mental and physiological changes and symptoms in people who after strangulation could be revived in time to survive. Their dispute even touched personal issues. For the study, the original sources were studied and contrasted with relevant secondary sources. The dispute was mainly about two opposing concepts: On the one hand, Wagner-Jauregg supported an organic, neurological concept; on the other hand a psychoreactive-symptoms concept represented by Möbius and elaborated by him first in his concept of hysteria. The study elaborates these factual differences in completely different approaches to psychiatry and - at least in the case of Möbius - how a medical theory was embedded into a pre-existing philosophical system. The dispute studied discusses a philosophical problem which has remained incompletely understood until the present day - the relationship of body and mind. Hence the study on this dispute is more than just an interesting aspect in the history of sciences, but rather the illustration of a meeting of two opponents in a still relevant discussion. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Cancer registries in Japan: National Clinical Database and site-specific cancer registries.

PubMed

Anazawa, Takayuki; Miyata, Hiroaki; Gotoh, Mitsukazu

2015-02-01

The cancer registry is an essential part of any rational program of evidence-based cancer control. The cancer control program is required to strategize in a systematic and impartial manner and efficiently utilize limited resources. In Japan, the National Clinical Database (NCD) was launched in 2010. It is a nationwide prospective registry linked to various types of board certification systems regarding surgery. The NCD is a nationally validated database using web-based data collection software; it is risk adjusted and outcome based to improve the quality of surgical care. The NCD generalizes site-specific cancer registries by taking advantage of their excellent organizing ability. Some site-specific cancer registries, including pancreatic, breast, and liver cancer registries have already been combined with the NCD. Cooperation between the NCD and site-specific cancer registries can establish a valuable platform to develop a cancer care plan in Japan. Furthermore, the prognosis information of cancer patients arranged using population-based and hospital-based cancer registries can help in efficient data accumulation on the NCD. International collaboration between Japan and the USA has recently started and is expected to provide global benchmarking and to allow a valuable comparison of cancer treatment practices between countries using nationwide cancer registries in the future. Clinical research and evidence-based policy recommendation based on accurate data from the nationwide database may positively impact the public.

How the health belief model helps the tobacco industry: individuals, choice, and "information".

PubMed

Balbach, Edith D; Smith, Elizabeth A; Malone, Ruth E

2006-12-01

To analyse trial and deposition testimony of tobacco industry executives to determine how they use the concepts of "information" and "choice" and consider how these concepts are related to theoretical models of health behaviour change. We coded and analysed transcripts of trial and deposition testimony of 14 high-level executives representing six companies plus the Tobacco Institute. We conducted an interpretive analysis of industry executives' characterisation of the industry's role as information provider and the agency of tobacco consumers in making "choices". Tobacco industry executives deployed the concept of "information" as a mechanism that shifted to consumers full moral responsibility for the harms caused by tobacco products. The industry's role was characterised as that of impartial supplier of value-free "information", without regard to its quality, accuracy and truthfulness. Tobacco industry legal defences rely on assumptions congruent with and supported by individual rational choice theories, particularly those that emphasise individual, autonomous decision-makers. Tobacco control advocates and health educators must challenge the industry's preferred framing, pointing out that "information" is not value-free. Multi-level, multi-sectoral interventions are critical to tobacco use prevention. Over-reliance on individual and interpersonal rational choice models may have the effect of validating the industry's model of smoking and cessation behaviour, absolving it of responsibility and rendering invisible the "choices" the industry has made and continues to make in promoting the most deadly consumer product ever made.

How women with high risk pregnancies perceive interactions with healthcare professionals when discussing place of birth: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Lee, Suzanne; Ayers, Susan; Holden, Des

2016-07-01

to investigate women's perceptions of interactions with obstetricians and midwives during high risk pregnancies. The intention was to examine differences and similarities between women planning to give birth at home or in hospital. qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. Setting Maternity department in a hospital in South East England. twenty-six women with high risk pregnancies, at least 32 weeks pregnant. Half were planning hospital births and half homebirths. semi-structured interviews to investigate women's perception of communication. Results were analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: women's experiences of communication about risks in pregnancy; women's perceptions of professionals' beliefs about birth; women's trust in professionals; and women's attitude to professionals' advice. Women spoke more positively about communication with midwives than with obstetricians. Women planning hospital births expressed trust in obstetricians. Women planning homebirths expressed more trust in midwives. Women planning hospital births were less likely to question advice from professionals. Women planning homebirths were more inclined to trust their own instincts when these contradicted professional advice. women prefer to communicate with professionals who are respectful of their thoughts and feelings. They may not follow all professional advice. professionals working with women with high risk pregnancies should acknowledge women's concerns and deliver impartial, evidence-based advice. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Analytical Pragmatic Structure of Procedural Due Process: A Framework for Inquiry in Administrative Decision Making.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fisher, James E.; Sealey, Ronald W.

The study describes the analytical pragmatic structure of concepts and applies this structure to the legal concept of procedural due process. This structure consists of form, purpose, content, and function. The study conclusions indicate that the structure of the concept of procedural due process, or any legal concept, is not the same as the…

41 CFR 301-76.101 - Who is responsible for ensuring that all due process and legal requirements have been met?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... ensuring that all due process and legal requirements have been met? 301-76.101 Section 301-76.101 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System TEMPORARY DUTY (TDY) TRAVEL ALLOWANCES... that all due process and legal requirements have been met? You are responsible for ensuring that all...

Single-machine common/slack due window assignment problems with linear decreasing processing times

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xingong; Lin, Win-Chin; Wu, Wen-Hsiang; Wu, Chin-Chia

2017-08-01

This paper studies linear non-increasing processing times and the common/slack due window assignment problems on a single machine, where the actual processing time of a job is a linear non-increasing function of its starting time. The aim is to minimize the sum of the earliness cost, tardiness cost, due window location and due window size. Some optimality results are discussed for the common/slack due window assignment problems and two O(n log n) time algorithms are presented to solve the two problems. Finally, two examples are provided to illustrate the correctness of the corresponding algorithms.

International boundary experiences by the United Nations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kagawa, A.

2013-12-01

Over the last few decades, the United Nations (UN) has been approached by Security Council and Member States on international boundary issues. The United Nations regards the adequate delimitation and demarcation of international boundaries as a very important element for the maintenance of peace and security in fragile post-conflict situations, establishment of friendly relationships and cross-border cooperation between States. This paper will present the main principles and framework the United Nations applies to support the process of international boundary delimitation and demarcation activities. The United Nations is involved in international boundary issues following the principle of impartiality and neutrality and its role as mediator. Since international boundary issues are multi-faceted, a range of expertise is required and the United Nations Secretariat is in a good position to provide diverse expertise within the multiple departments. Expertise in different departments ranging from legal, political, technical, administrative and logistical are mobilised in different ways to provide support to Member States depending on their specific needs. This presentation aims to highlight some of the international boundary projects that the United Nations Cartographic Section has been involved in order to provide the technical support to different boundary requirements as each international boundary issue requires specific focus and attention whether it be in preparation, delimitation, demarcation or management. Increasingly, the United Nations is leveraging geospatial technology to facilitate boundary delimitation and demarcation process between Member States. Through the presentation of the various case studies ranging from Iraq - Kuwait, Israel - Lebanon (Blue Line), Eritrea - Ethiopia, Cyprus (Green Line), Cameroon - Nigeria, Sudan - South Sudan, it will illustrate how geospatial technology is increasingly used to carry out the support. In having applied a range of geospatial solutions, some of the good practices that have been applied in preceding projects, but there have been challenges and limitations faced. However, these challenges need to be seen as an opportunity to improve the geospatial technology solutions in future international boundary projects. This presentation will also share the aspirations that the United Nations Cartographic Section has in becoming a facilitator in geospatial technical aspects related to international boundary issues as we increasingly develop our geospatial institutional knowledge base and expertise. The presentation will conclude by emphasizing the need for more collaboration between different actors dealing with geospatial technology on borderland issues in order to meet the main goal of the United Nations - to live and work together as "We the Peoples of the United Nations".

Due Process Rights in Public Education: The Constitutional Dimensions of an Employee's 14th Amendment Liberty Interest in Good Name and Reputation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uerling, Donald F.; Strope, John L., Jr.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the due-process rights of public employees. These particular rights are grounded in the constitutionally protected liberty interest in one's good name and reputation. Both employers and employees should be aware of what parameters case law provides with regard to the dimensions of this due-process right and…

Due-Window Assignment Scheduling with Variable Job Processing Times

PubMed Central

Wu, Yu-Bin

2015-01-01

We consider a common due-window assignment scheduling problem jobs with variable job processing times on a single machine, where the processing time of a job is a function of its position in a sequence (i.e., learning effect) or its starting time (i.e., deteriorating effect). The problem is to determine the optimal due-windows, and the processing sequence simultaneously to minimize a cost function includes earliness, tardiness, the window location, window size, and weighted number of tardy jobs. We prove that the problem can be solved in polynomial time. PMID:25918745

5 CFR 581.306 - Lack of moneys due from, or payable by, a governmental entity served with legal process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... governmental entity served with legal process. 581.306 Section 581.306 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS PROCESSING GARNISHMENT ORDERS FOR CHILD SUPPORT AND/OR ALIMONY Compliance With Process § 581.306 Lack of moneys due from, or payable by, a governmental entity...

5 CFR 581.306 - Lack of moneys due from, or payable by, a governmental entity served with legal process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... governmental entity served with legal process. 581.306 Section 581.306 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS PROCESSING GARNISHMENT ORDERS FOR CHILD SUPPORT AND/OR ALIMONY Compliance With Process § 581.306 Lack of moneys due from, or payable by, a governmental entity...

5 CFR 581.306 - Lack of moneys due from, or payable by, a governmental entity served with legal process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... governmental entity served with legal process. 581.306 Section 581.306 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS PROCESSING GARNISHMENT ORDERS FOR CHILD SUPPORT AND/OR ALIMONY Compliance With Process § 581.306 Lack of moneys due from, or payable by, a governmental entity...

5 CFR 581.306 - Lack of moneys due from, or payable by, a governmental entity served with legal process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... governmental entity served with legal process. 581.306 Section 581.306 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS PROCESSING GARNISHMENT ORDERS FOR CHILD SUPPORT AND/OR ALIMONY Compliance With Process § 581.306 Lack of moneys due from, or payable by, a governmental entity...

5 CFR 581.306 - Lack of moneys due from, or payable by, a governmental entity served with legal process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... governmental entity served with legal process. 581.306 Section 581.306 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS PROCESSING GARNISHMENT ORDERS FOR CHILD SUPPORT AND/OR ALIMONY Compliance With Process § 581.306 Lack of moneys due from, or payable by, a governmental entity...

7 CFR 52.806 - Color.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... AND THE EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION ACT PROCESSED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, PROCESSED PRODUCTS THEREOF, AND... uniform in that the number of cherries that vary markedly from this color due to oxidation, improper... cherries that vary markedly from this color due to oxidation, improper processing, or other causes, or that...

7 CFR 52.806 - Color.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... AND THE EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION ACT PROCESSED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, PROCESSED PRODUCTS THEREOF, AND... uniform in that the number of cherries that vary markedly from this color due to oxidation, improper... cherries that vary markedly from this color due to oxidation, improper processing, or other causes, or that...

PACMan to Help Sort Hubble Proposals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohler, Susanna

2017-04-01

Every year, astronomers submit over a thousand proposals requesting time on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Currently, humans must sort through each of these proposals by hand before sending them off for review. Could this burden be shifted to computers?A Problem of VolumeAstronomer Molly Peeples gathered stats on the HST submissions sent in last week for the upcoming HST Cycle 25 (the deadline was Friday night), relative to previous years. This years proposal round broke the record, with over 1200 proposals submitted in total for Cycle 25. [Molly Peeples]Each proposal cycle for HST time attracts on the order of 1100 proposals accounting for far more HST time than is available. The proposals are therefore carefully reviewed by around 150 international members of the astronomy community during a six-month process to select those with the highest scientific merit.Ideally, each proposal will be read by reviewers that have scientific expertise relevant to the proposal topic: if a proposal requests HST time to study star formation, for instance, then the reviewers assigned to it should have research expertise in star formation.How does this matching of proposals to reviewers occur? The current method relies on self-reported categorization of the submitted proposals. This is unreliable, however; proposals are often mis-categorized by submitters due to misunderstanding or ambiguous cases.As a result, the Science Policies Group at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) which oversees the review of HST proposals must go through each of the proposals by hand and re-categorize them. The proposals are then matched to reviewers with self-declared expertise in the same category.With the number of HST proposals on the rise and the expectation that the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will elicit even more proposals for time than Hubble scientists at STScI and NASA are now asking: could the human hours necessary for this task be spared? Could a computer program conceivably do this matching instead?Comparison of PACMans categorization to the manual sorting for HST Cycle 24 proposals. Green: proposals similarly categorized by both. Yellow: proposals whose manual classifications are within the top 60% of sorted PACMan classifications. Red: proposals categorized differently by each. [Strolger et al. 2017]Introducing PACManLed by Louis-Gregory Strolger (STScI), a team of scientists has developed PACMan: the Proposal Auto-Categorizer and Manager. PACMan is whats known as a Naive Bayesian classifier; its essentially a spam-filtering routine that uses word probabilities to sort proposals into multiple scientific categories and identify people to serve on review panels in those same scientific areas.PACMan works by looking at the words in aproposal and comparing them to those in a training set of proposals in this case, the previous years HST proposals, sorted by humans. By using the training set, PACMan learns how to accurately classify proposals.PACMan then looks up each reviewer on the Astrophysical Data System (ADS) and compiles the abstracts from the reviewers past 10 years worth of scientific publications. This text is then evaluated in a similar way to the text of the proposals, determining each reviewers suitability to evaluate a proposal.How Did It Do?Comparison of PACMan sorting to manual sorting, specifically for the HST Cycle 24 proposals that were recategorized by the Science Policies Group (SPG) from what the submitter (PI) selected. Of these swaps, 48% would have been predicted by PACMan. [Strolger et al. 2017]Strolger and collaborators show that with a training set of one previous cycles proposals, PACMan correctly categorizes the next cycles proposals roughly 87% of the time. By increasing the size of the training set to include more past cycles, PACMans accuracy can be improved up to 95% (though the algorithm will have to be retrained any time the proposal categories change).PACMans results were also consistent for reviewers: it found that nearly all of the reviewers (92%) asked to serve in the last cycle were appropriate reviewers for the subject area based on their ADS publication record.There are still some hiccups in automating this process for instance, finding the reviewers on ADS can require human intervention due to names not being unique. As the scientific community moves toward persistent and distinguishable identifiers (like ORCIDs), however, this problem will be mitigated.Strolger and collaborators believe that PACMan demonstrates a promising means of increasing the efficiency and impartiality of the HST proposal sorting process. This tool will likely be used to assist or replace humans in this processin future HST and JWST cycles.CitationLouis-Gregory Strolger et al 2017 AJ 153 181. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aa6112

Assessment of Executive Function in Preschool-Aged Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isquith, Peter K.; Crawford, Jennifer S.; Espy, Kimberly Andrews; Gioia, Gerard A.

2005-01-01

Assessment of the overarching self-regulatory mechanisms, or executive functions, in any age group is challenging, in part due to the complexity of this domain, in part due to their dynamic essence, and in part due to the inextricable links between these central processes and the associated domain-specific processes, such as language, motor…

Standard Setting as Psychometric Due Process: Going a Little Further Down an Uncertain Road.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cizek, Gregory J.

The concept of due process provides an analogy for the process of standard setting that emphasizes many of the procedural and substantive elements of the process over technical and statistical concerns. Surely such concerns can and should continue to be addressed. However, a sound rationale for standard setting does not rest on this foundation.…

Organization, relational justice and absenteeism.

PubMed

Stoetzer, Ulrich; Åborg, Carl; Johansson, Gun; Svartengren, Magnus

2014-01-01

There is a need for more knowledge on how to manage companies towards healthier and more prosperous organizations with low levels of absenteeism. Relational Justice can be a useful concept when managing such organizations. Organizational factors can help to explain why some companies have relatively low absenteeism rates, even though they are equal to other companies in many other aspects. Previous studies suggest that management may be one important factor. Efficient management may depend on good relations between the leaders and the employees. The concept of Relational Justice is designed to capture these relations. Consequently, a Relational Justice framework may be used to understand why some companies have a low incidence of absenteeism. Managers from a representative body of Swedish companies. Interviews were analyzed to explore whether the items representing the concept of Relational Justice can be used to further understand the strategies, procedures and structures that characterize organizations and management in companies with a low incidence of absenteeism. Strategies, procedures or principles related to Relational Justice were common and highlighted in companies with an incidence of absenteeism. The most frequently occurring factors were; to be treated with kindness and consideration, personal viewpoint considered and to be treated impartially. The results suggested that a Relational Justice framework could be used to increase understanding of the organizational and managerial factors typical for companies with a low incidence of absenteeism. A Relational Justice approach to organizational management may be used to successfully lower absenteeism, change organizations and promote healthy and prosperous companies.

Three Years Evaluation of Drug Shortages from Educational Pharmacies in Tehran

PubMed Central

Gholami, Kheirollah; Kamalinia, Golnaz; Ahmadian Attari, Mohammad Mahdi; Salamzadeh, Jamshid

2012-01-01

The effectiveness of any drug supply systems in providing a trustworthy supply of essential drugs is a critical issue. To evaluate this effectiveness, it is necessary to watch over the status of the essential medicines in any country impartially and continuously. Some countries and also the World Health Organization (WHO) have codified a list of minimum medicines needed for a basic health care system and published them in assortments as a list of essential medicines. The aim of this study was to give an evaluation of the shortages status in Iran and identify the strengths and weaknesses of policies made in Ministry of Health during the years 2005 to 2008 in providing the essential drugs based on the WHO list of essential medicines. The reports used in this retrospective study were collected from the central purchasing unit of one of the main chain drugstores in the country (13-Aban Pharmacy) every 2 to 3 weeks. In these reports, a drug is added to the list of shortages when the requested drug is not delivered. The reports were studied and the results were analyzed based on the WHO list of essential medicines and the national drug list of Iran. The shortages always included 20 to 40 medicines from the list of essential drugs compiled by WHO. Based on this finding, the Ministry of Health and particularly Food and Drug Organization can compile a National List of Essential Medicines and try to always supply them and prevent their shortage. PMID:24250480

Waste management: how reducing partiality can promote efficient resource allocation.

PubMed

Choshen-Hillel, Shoham; Shaw, Alex; Caruso, Eugene M

2015-08-01

Two central principles that guide resource-allocation decisions are equity (providing equal pay for equal work) and efficiency (not wasting resources). When these two principles conflict with one another, people will often waste resources to avoid inequity. We suggest that people wish to avoid inequity not because they find it inherently unfair, but because they want to avoid the appearance of partiality associated with it. We explore one way to reduce waste by reducing the perceived partiality of inequitable allocations. Specifically, we hypothesize that people will be more likely to favor an efficient (albeit inequitable) allocation if it puts them in a disadvantaged position than if it puts others in a disadvantaged position. To test this hypothesis, we asked participants to choose between giving some extra resource to one person (thereby creating inequity between this person and equally deserving others) and not giving the resource to anyone (thereby wasting the resource). Six studies, using realistic scenarios and behavioral paradigms, provide robust evidence for a self-disadvantaging effect: Allocators were consistently more likely to create inequity to avoid wasting resources when the resulting inequity would put them at a relative disadvantage than when it would put others at a relative disadvantage. We further find that this self-disadvantaging effect is a direct result of people's concern about appearing partial. Our findings suggest the importance of impartiality even in distributive justice, thereby bridging a gap between the distributive and procedural justice literatures. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Communicating moral reasoning in medicine as an expression of respect for patients and integrity among professionals.

PubMed

Kaldjian, Lauris Christopher

2013-01-01

The communication of moral reasoning in medicine can be understood as a means of showing respect for patients and colleagues through the giving of moral reasons for actions. This communication is especially important when disagreements arise. While moral reasoning should strive for impartiality, it also needs to acknowledge the individual moral beliefs and values that distinguish each person (moral particularity) and give rise to the challenge of contrasting moral frameworks (moral pluralism). Efforts to communicate moral reasoning should move beyond common approaches to principles-based reasoning in medical ethics by addressing the underlying beliefs and values that define our moral frameworks and guide our interpretations and applications of principles. Communicating about underlying beliefs and values requires a willingness to grapple with challenges of accessibility (the degree to which particular beliefs and values are intelligible between persons) and translatability (the degree to which particular beliefs and values can be transposed from one moral framework to another) as words and concepts are used to communicate beliefs and values. Moral dialogues between professionals and patients and among professionals themselves need to be handled carefully, and sometimes these dialogues invite reference to underlying beliefs and values. When professionals choose to articulate such beliefs and values, they can do so as an expression of respectful patient care and collaboration and as a means of promoting their own moral integrity by signaling the need for consistency between their own beliefs, words and actions.

[Economisation of research -- or: what price deception?].

PubMed

Fischer, K

2005-06-01

According to the accepted credo of German science policy the organization of research has to be reshaped to fit the needs of the national economy better than it did so in the past. This is seen as a conditio sine qua non to help German corporations to prevail in the global competition as well as to protect national welfare. The author argues that reorganizing research on a strictly mission-oriented line under economic imperatives will partly suspend the code of science in favor of the code of economy. The focal aim of science, which is to reach at the most reliable information in a methodical and impartial way, will be partly replaced by the aim to reach at the best sellable information in any way which is cheap and profitable. The probability that any information which might endanger the market performance of a product is clandestinely kept under cover by the selling corporation will be greatly enlarged. Expert knowledge necessary to uncover the truth will be mainly interest bound and no longer be freely available. Knowledge perceived to be irrelevant for economy, although possibly being of great intrinsic interest, and even knowledge which might become an essential part of a culture's identity, will be lost on its search for an investor. The great danger is that this applies also to important parts of basic science potentially providing the foundations for future technologies. Externalities such as these could be called the costs of economization, or: the costs of untruth.

Australian Football League concussion guidelines: what do community players think?

PubMed

White, Peta E; Donaldson, Alex; Sullivan, S John; Newton, Joshua; Finch, Caroline F

2016-01-01

Preventing concussion in sport is a global challenge. To assess community-level adult male Australian Football players' views on following the Australian Football League's (AFL) concussion guidelines. 3 focus groups, each comprising 6 players from 1 regional league, were conducted until saturation of issues raised. Discussions followed a semistructured script and were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was conducted by 2 coders independently. Identified advantages of the guidelines included highlighting the seriousness of concussion; changing the culture around playing with concussion and shifting return-to-play decision responsibility from players to others. Disadvantages included players being removed from play unnecessarily; removal of players' rights to decide if they are fit to play and players changing their behaviours to avoid being removed from play. Identified facilitators to guideline use included local league enforcement; broad information dissemination and impartial medically trained staff to assess concussion. Identified barriers to guideline use included players' desire to play at all costs; external pressure that encouraged players to return to play prematurely; and inconvenience and cost. Players generally understand that the AFL concussion guidelines protect their long-term welfare. However, their desire to play at all costs and help their team win is a common barrier to reporting concussion and adhering to guidelines. Leagues should take a lead role by mandating and enforcing the use of the guidelines and educating coaches, game day medical providers and players. The return-to-play component of the guidelines is complex and needs further consideration in the context of community sport.

Development of a microwave clothes dryer

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

Not Available

1993-07-01

The objective of the project is to investigate the microwave drying of clothes and to produce an impartial, generic database for use by interested parties, including appliance manufacturers, who may want to use it when designing and developing microwave clothes dryers. This interim report covers the first year of activity on the project. During that time, a laboratory test model of a microwave clothes dryer was constructed and tested over a wide range of parameters. The test unit was the same size as a residential home dryer and had eight 0.85-kW microwave power supplies from home ovens and a 5-kWmore » resistance air heater. Thus, the model could be used for microwave drying, hot air drying or for a combination of both drying techniques. Microwave drying was effective in three drying modes: Cool drying, fast drying and very efficient drying. Microwaves penetrate the clothes and heat the water molecules directly while conventional heat energy must be conducted through the clothes to evaporate the water. In cool drying, microwaves alone heat the water and an airflow of slightly warmed air carries away the moisture. In fast drying, the microwave power is combined with hot air drying to reduce drying times by as much as 50%. In the most efficient mode of drying, microwave power is used along with the waste heat from the microwave power supply. Hazards testing and fine fabric tests are scheduled for the future.« less

Reducing risk from lahar hazards: concepts, case studies, and roles for scientists

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pierson, Thomas C.; Wood, Nathan J.; Driedger, Carolyn L.

2014-01-01

Lahars are rapid flows of mud-rock slurries that can occur without warning and catastrophically impact areas more than 100 km downstream of source volcanoes. Strategies to mitigate the potential for damage or loss from lahars fall into four basic categories: (1) avoidance of lahar hazards through land-use planning; (2) modification of lahar hazards through engineered protection structures; (3) lahar warning systems to enable evacuations; and (4) effective response to and recovery from lahars when they do occur. Successful application of any of these strategies requires an accurate understanding and assessment of the hazard, an understanding of the applicability and limitations of the strategy, and thorough planning. The human and institutional components leading to successful application can be even more important: engagement of all stakeholders in hazard education and risk-reduction planning; good communication of hazard and risk information among scientists, emergency managers, elected officials, and the at-risk public during crisis and non-crisis periods; sustained response training; and adequate funding for risk-reduction efforts. This paper reviews a number of methods for lahar-hazard risk reduction, examines the limitations and tradeoffs, and provides real-world examples of their application in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and in other volcanic regions of the world. An overriding theme is that lahar-hazard risk reduction cannot be effectively accomplished without the active, impartial involvement of volcano scientists, who are willing to assume educational, interpretive, and advisory roles to work in partnership with elected officials, emergency managers, and vulnerable communities.

Crossing borders: discussing the evidence relating to the mental health needs of women exposed to female genital mutilation.

PubMed

Mulongo, Peggy; McAndrew, Sue; Hollins Martin, Caroline

2014-08-01

The terms 'Female Circumcision' (FC), 'FG Cutting' (FGC) and 'FG Mutilation' (FGM) refer to procedures involving the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. In practicing countries, FGC/FC is more widely used, as it is believed to be inoffensive, providing more impartial ways of discussing the practice. Positive beliefs about FC/FGC include virginity, marriage prospects, family reputation, or passage to adulthood. Regardless of terminology, the practice exists in at least 28 African counties, and a few Asian and Middle Eastern countries. In Western society, FGM is considered a breach of human rights, being outlawed in a number of countries. With immigration trends, FGC is now prominent in Western society among practicing communities. While the past decade has seen an increase in studies and recommendations for health-care support related to the physical health consequences of FGM, little is known about the psychological impact and its management. For many girls and women, FGC is a traumatic practice, transforming it to FGM and affecting their mental health. This discussion paper focuses on evidence relating to the mental health consequences of FGM, therapeutic interventions, and the mental health nurse's role in addressing the needs of this group of women. © 2014 The Authors. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing published by Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd on behalf of Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Community-Based Management: Under What Conditions Do Sámi Pastoralists Manage Pastures Sustainably?

PubMed Central

Hausner, Vera H.; Fauchald, Per; Jernsletten, Johnny-Leo

2012-01-01

Community-based management (CBM) has been implemented in socio-ecological systems (SES) worldwide. CBM has also been the prevailing policy in Sámi pastoral SES in Norway, but the outcomes tend to vary extensively among resource groups (“siidas”). We asked why do some siidas self-organize to manage common pool resources sustainably and others do not? To answer this question we used a mixed methods approach. First, in the statistical analyses we analyzed the relationship between sustainability indicators and structural variables. We found that small winter pastures that are shared by few siidas were managed more sustainably than larger pastures. Seasonal siida stability, i.e., a low turnover of pastoralists working together throughout the year, and equality among herders, also contributed to more sustainable outcomes. Second, interviews were conducted in the five largest pastures to explain the relationships between the structural variables and sustainability. The pastoralists expressed a high level of agreement with respect to sustainable policies, but reported a low level of trust and cooperation among the siidas. The pastoralists requested siida tenures or clear rules and sanctioning mechanisms by an impartial authority rather than flexible organization or more autonomy for the siidas. The lack of nestedness in self-organization for managing pastures on larger scales, combined with the past economic policies, could explain why CBM is less sustainable on the largest winter pastures. We conclude that the scale mis-match between self-organization and the formal governance is a key condition for sustainability. PMID:23240003

Consequentialism, complacency, and slippery slope arguments.

PubMed

Oakley, Justin; Cocking, Dean

2005-01-01

The standard problem with many slippery slope arguments is that they fail to provide us with the necessary evidence to warrant our believing that the significantly morally worse circumstances they predict will in fact come about. As such these arguments have widely been criticised as 'scare-mongering'. Consequentialists have traditionally been at the forefront of such criticisms, demanding that we get serious about guiding our prescriptions for right action by a comprehensive appreciation of the empirical facts. This is not surprising, since consequentialism has traditionally been committed to the idea that right action be driven by empirical realities, and this hard-headed approach has been an especially notable feature of Australian consequentialism. But this apparent empirical hard-headedness is very selective. While consequentialists have understood their moral outlook and commitments as guided by a partnership with empirical science - most explicitly in their replies to the arguments of their detractors - some consequentialists have been remarkably complacent about providing empirical support for their own prescriptions. Our key example here is the consequentialist claim that our current practises of partiality in fact maximise the good, impartially conceived. This claim has invariably been made without compelling support for the large empirical claims upon which it rests, and so, like the speculative empirical hand-waving of weak slippery slope arguments, it seems similarly to be undermined. While these arguments have presented us with 'wishful thinking' rather than 'scare-mongering', we argue in this paper that their complacency in meeting the relevant empirical justificatory burden remains much the same.

Summary of Data from the First AIAA CFD Drag Prediction Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levy, David W.; Zickuhr, Tom; Vassberg, John; Agrawal, Shreekant; Wahls, Richard A.; Pirzadeh, Shahyar; Hemsch, Michael J.

2002-01-01

The results from the first AIAA CFD Drag Prediction Workshop are summarized. The workshop was designed specifically to assess the state-of-the-art of computational fluid dynamics methods for force and moment prediction. An impartial forum was provided to evaluate the effectiveness of existing computer codes and modeling techniques, and to identify areas needing additional research and development. The subject of the study was the DLR-F4 wing-body configuration, which is representative of transport aircraft designed for transonic flight. Specific test cases were required so that valid comparisons could be made. Optional test cases included constant-C(sub L) drag-rise predictions typically used in airplane design by industry. Results are compared to experimental data from three wind tunnel tests. A total of 18 international participants using 14 different codes submitted data to the workshop. No particular grid type or turbulence model was more accurate, when compared to each other, or to wind tunnel data. Most of the results overpredicted C(sub Lo) and C(sub Do), but induced drag (dC(sub D)/dC(sub L)(exp 2)) agreed fairly well. Drag rise at high Mach number was underpredicted, however, especially at high C(sub L). On average, the drag data were fairly accurate, but the scatter was greater than desired. The results show that well-validated Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes CFD methods are sufficiently accurate to make design decisions based on predicted drag.

Integration of Research and Education at USGS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ridky, R. W.

2003-12-01

Education and research are always in the public service and therefore are inextricably bound at all levels. When present, effective integration of research and education infuses the acquisition of knowledge with the spirit of inquiry and assures that the findings and methods of research are quickly and effectively communicated in a broader context and to a larger audience. It can be shown that the best supported and sustained research programs within government, academia or the corporate sector have developed a projectable identity that allows for ready identification. This identification is especially important in public settings as it works both within the organization and without clarifying what it is about, the importance of the group's activities, and what they are striving to accomplish. Working from the Survey's mandated role of providing long-term monitoring, research and assessments, the Survey's Strategic Plan reflects the high priority given to meeting partner and customer needs in disseminating reliable and impartial scientific information. The way in which USGS research translates knowledge and makes it available to scientific organizations and to the public is critical to the intrinsic societal value of USGS. Consequently, in a conformable way, both research and education have, as their ultimate goal, providing useful knowledge within a relevant context. USGS has a long history of integrating its education and research endeavors. Criteria and examples for assessing quality educational contributions, commensurate with bureau's unique role as the nation's principal natural sciences, and information agency will be presented.

75 FR 16022 - Airworthiness Directives; Turbomeca S.A. MAKILA 1A and 1A1 Turboshaft Engines

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-31

... investigation by Turbom[eacute]ca are that these malfunctions are due to a lapse of quality control in the... Turbomeca are that these malfunctions are due to a lapse of quality control in the varnishing process... these malfunctions are due to a lapse of quality control in the varnishing process applied to the boards...

Analysis of Due Process Decisions in Idaho: 2004 to 2012

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wattam, Marni Jo

2014-01-01

This study used an explanatory mixed methods design to examine special education due process outcomes in Idaho for the time period of January 1, 2004 to June 30, 2012. The study was done in two phases. Phase one of the study explored what types of special education related issues are being brought before the state hearing officer(s) as due process…

Meghan Rene, et al., v. Dr. Suellen Reed, et al. "Due Process." Lesson Plans for Secondary School Teachers on the Constitutional Requirement of "Due Process of Law." Courts in the Classroom: Curriculum Concepts and Other Information on Indiana's Courts for the K-12 Educator.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osborn, Elizabeth

In the Rene v. Reed case, Meghan Rene and other disabled students argued that their due process rights were violated in regard to the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress (ISTEP) graduation examination. This set of four lesson plans uses the case of Rene v. Reed, which was first argued before the Indiana Supreme Court, to study the…

Outpatient commitment and procedural due process.

PubMed

Player, Candice Teri-Lowe

2015-01-01

A large empirical literature on Kendra's Law has assessed the impact of court ordered outpatient treatment on outcomes such as treatment adherence, psychiatric hospitalization, quality of life, and treatment costs. Missing from the empirical literature, however, is a better understanding of procedural due process under Kendra's Law. Procedural due process concerns the safeguards that must be in place when governments deprive persons of their liberties, for example--notice, the right to a hearing and the right to appeal. This article reports the findings from a qualitative study of procedural due process and assisted outpatient treatment hearings under Kendra's Law. Attorneys reported significant barriers to effective advocacy on behalf of their clients. Further, despite the shift from a medical model of civil commitment to a judicial model in the 1970s, by and large judges continue to accord great deference to clinical testimony. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.